Plain is here.

Ninety-four year old barefoot water skiier, George A. “Banana George” Blair, spotted outside CVS (formerly Glendale Bakery) on 87th Street and Lexington Ave.

Official Banana George Website
Banana George on Wikipedia

Sometimes the Guggenheim tries to make friends with its neighbors – like the time our building complained about construction noise and they invited us to a party with way-too-loud club music for the Aztec exhibition (which was great.)  This summer, for yet to be known reasons, ours and some other nearby buildings were invited to see the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition and attend a small reception hosted by the neighborhood liaison in the new cafe on the third floor and I was treated to a unique view from inside the cafe.

I can’t believe I’ve neglected you for over a month. I’m sorry! This is all I can offer for now, some free association…

The other day I was at the CHASE (formerly WAMU) on 88th and Madison, waiting in line to deposit a check. Only one teller was present and was busy helping a Hasidic man wearing ill-fitting pants, with a complicated cash transaction. After a few minutes a little old lady hunched over a small shopping cart joined me in line. Throughout the next eight minutes we waited and I glanced over my shoulder several times to see what she was up to. She was depositing a check- her name, an old fashioned Jewish one, and the address of a building on 87th Street between Madison and Park Avenue, were printed on it. The check was from the New York Lottery. I waited for the amount to become visible and after a few more minutes of shifting in our designated standing area, she moved her thumb over to reveal the staggering amount of $2.00. I looked her up and down and saw that her clothing was very well-made, old fashioned but definitely expensive. So that was kind of crazy.

Then, a few weeks later, I heard of an old man in a nursing home sending his younger relative often, to buy stamps for him. The stamps were for mailing in game pieces for some sort of lottery. His relative didn’t understand it but it seemed to be the old man’s favorite source of entertainment.

Then, the other day I noticed the newest New York Lottery gimmick- the ‘New York Lottery Black,’ another game piece like the rest but its design evokes classic New York luxury, like a 1950’s hotel advertisement, or a fancy whiskey.

I frown on the existence of a state-run lottery. It feels ruthlessly cynical to me that the government provides a pass time whose popularity rests on and highlights the most depressing aspects of the American condition.

I would be curious to know, though, how NY Lottery Black does in ticket sales and what demographic is buying these seemingly classy lottery tickets.

I saw this woman on Madison Avenue while walking with my friend Salty, who, as we were walking away after I took this photo, said she thought the woman was an actress.  This stylin’ senior had a deep smoker’s voice and in my head I can hear her snapping a dry funny insult to a younger relative on a sitcom.  Does anyone know who she is or recognize her?

For more stylish seniors check out the great blog, Advanced Style.

And the UES post on Ann Slater.

Anisette, photo via Vlassis13

Did you or anyone you know ever have the book “Unknown Legends of Rock ‘n’ Roll“ by Richie Unterberger?  The book catalogs and describes some of the most influential and original, often insane, musicians from the 1950’s – 1990’s who for one reason or another never attained mainstream success or fame, including Nick Drake (before that Volkwagon commercial came out!)

I bought the book in 2000 at Saint Mark’s Bookshop and so did a lot of my friends, mainly because it came with a kick-ass compilation CD of rare songs.  I listened to it so much that when I accidentally stepped on it and broke it I bought a second copy of the book just to get a new CD.

So I was thrilled to find out that Anisette, the lead-singer of the Danish 60’s rock band The Savage Rose, whose song ‘A Girl I Knew’ is on the Unknown Legends compilation CD, will be performing this Friday at Joe’s Pub.  As Unterberger notes in his introduction, The Savage Rose is one of the exceptions in the book, having achieved great commercial success in their homeland, Denmark, but are barely known in the United States.

I can also vouch for Anisette’s upcoming performance because last night I was lucky enough to see her sing one song as a special guest during her daughter Naja Rosa’s set at Spike Hill in Williamsburg.  Anisette went up on stage, barefoot like her daughter, dedicated the song to Malcolm X and went on to sing with such a captivating stage presence and strong voice that I felt privileged to experience every moment.

Last night at Spike Hill:

Friday, August 14, 2009
Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St, New York, NY
11:30pm
The Woodstock Celebration
featuring Anisette of The Savage Rose
Buy tickets

The Savage Rose – Official Site

Walking by the Food Emporium on 87th Street and Madison Ave I thought I saw an abandoned funky snowboard out of the corner of my eye.  I was disappointed to realize it was an ironing board.

Wouldn’t it be so UNCOOL it’d be COOL to have a snowboard that looked like an old ironing board?

That thought makes me think of the Futurama (one of my all-time favorite TV shows) episode ‘Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch.’  Amy and Kif are expecting a baby (Kif, a male alien, is the one who is pregnant) and Amy’s mom has Amy’s party board converted to an ironing board.

According to Vintage Inspirations blog, in the days before teflon-coated ironing More on SNOWBOARD DESIGN IDEA

Why would Omer Bhatti resemble Michael Jackson the way Jackson looked AFTER plastic surgery?

Note: high cheekbones, chin dimple, and slim nose.

Image via www.postchronicle.com

Photo via www.nettavisen.no

Young Michael Jackson:

Image via www.psychologytoday.com

Whatever, it’s all O.K.

LINKS:

Was Omer Bhatti Michael Jackson’s Secret Love Child? [Vancouver Sun]
Jackson’s Secret Son No Secret to Family [MSNBC]
Does Jacko Have a Secret Child? [Fox News 2004]

Jessie Leavitt vs. Young Melissa Joan Heart