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.
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
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.’Â 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.
Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been busy trying to figure out how to make a living and this is probably the least likely of my pursuits to assist in that mission. But I couldn’t stay away for long.
I am addicted to TruTV (formerly CourtTV.) I don’t actually sit and watch it. I like to have it on while I’m doing other things, especially when there is a large block of episodes of Forensic Files, or The Investigators, or Mission Road, which are all pretty much the same: like a candle, it creates a certain ambiance in my room.
One show that draws me in more is Dominick Dunne: Power Privilege and Justice where crime writer Dominick Dunne narrates the stories of various high-profile crimes and sometimes casually mentions that he had once hung out with the criminal or murderer in question at a fancy party somewhere. More on Looking at the World through Blue-Tinted Glasses
Setting: 3AM, 6 train from Spring Street to 86th Street. Probably the fourth time I’ve run into Alden a.k.a. Karim Fonda from Team Facelift on the subway in the middle of a weeknight.
Me: What are you working on now?
Alden: Right now we got an album coming out on Duck Down Records. (((At this point a guy standing near us waiting for the subway chimes in that he’s heard of Duck Down and we talk to him for a minute.))) We got Junior Sanchez who’s sort of a legendary New York House guy to executive produce it and I’m also working on a project with a chick named Tigga Galore on some voguing music.
Yesterday, Monday morning, around 3:30am, a small homemade bomb went off outside a Starbucks on 92nd Street and 3rd Avenue. The blast destroyed an outdoor bench, shattered some of the store’s windows, and was heard and felt by nearby residents. So far, surveillance footage and one witness implicate two teens in the crime.
I strolled by the victimized Starbucks later in the day, around 7pm. A few news vans were parked in the area, but the bench and broken glass seemed to have been replaced and the place was up and running, packed with coffee drinkers.
And across 3rd Avenue, Ron Burgundy was on the scene, interviewing the locals.
Morsel: Some thoughts on the Lottery
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