Sadly, Gowanus Lounge blogger and journalist Robert Guskind has passed away. Without his tireless reporting, the New York blogosphere is suddenly a much smaller place. [OTBKB] Curbed remembers.
The (de-) gentrification of the LES through comics--did you know the "whole area is known as Delancey"? [GSN] via [Curbed]
The New Yorker mines the East Village twice this week for Talks of the Town at Lakeside Lounge and McSorley's.
Is there a new "middle-class exodus" from NYC? [yahoo]
View the Chinatown Gentrification Map--and say goodbye to the authenticity of old streets like Doyers. [CR]
Professor of Economics Nancy Folbre touches on the issue of Post-Crash Revisionism, why now the culture suddenly decides greed wasn't good: "Greed seems tolerable when we are rich... When times get hard, greed begins to chafe." [NYT]
Reverend Billy for mayor--join his fight to stop Walmart. [Gothamist]
The LES swarmed by "proper heels." [EVG]
Enjoy a tour of some East Village storefronts. [GVDP]
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
*Everyday Chatter
One blogger tackles Bourdain's Disappearing Manhattan and wonders why Vongerichten and other high-enders weren't included as endangered species. [Murr]
Check out the Tenement Museum's new blog.
Woody Allen's "Whatever Works" to open Tribeca Film Fest--the film features many sites around the Lower East Side.
Boogie says goodbye to another Bowery tenement falling to make room for another Bowery art gallery tower. [BB]
Etherea records, almost saved, now vanishing again. [Stupe]
Saying farewell to Chico of the LES. [12oz] via [EVG]
Union Square Virgin Mega space a bargain--the rent just dropped by millions. [NYP]
Simon Houpt wonders if the downturn will save NYC's creative people or just keep on bleeding them out. [G&M]
"With the economy in shambles and so many people losing their jobs and homes, it is no longer considered cool to brag about possessions and purchases." [CNN]
Check out the Tenement Museum's new blog.
Woody Allen's "Whatever Works" to open Tribeca Film Fest--the film features many sites around the Lower East Side.
Boogie says goodbye to another Bowery tenement falling to make room for another Bowery art gallery tower. [BB]
Etherea records, almost saved, now vanishing again. [Stupe]
Saying farewell to Chico of the LES. [12oz] via [EVG]
Union Square Virgin Mega space a bargain--the rent just dropped by millions. [NYP]
Simon Houpt wonders if the downturn will save NYC's creative people or just keep on bleeding them out. [G&M]
"With the economy in shambles and so many people losing their jobs and homes, it is no longer considered cool to brag about possessions and purchases." [CNN]
Celebu-Rama
In the American Dialect Society's journal American Speech, Volume 3, Number 83, from Fall 2008, I came upon a pair of interesting articles on the popularity of the prefix Celebu.
The first of the two articles, "Paris Hilton, Brenda Frazier, Blogs, and the Proliferation of Celebu-," by David West Brown of the University of Michigan, traces the origin of the prefix to its first appearance in the nonce word Celebutante, coined not recently, but by Walter Winchell in 1939. He was writing about the coming-out party of banking heiress Brenda Frazier, who, he wrote, "inspires a new 1-word description: Celebutante."
Since the 1930s, explains Brown, celebutante receded into the background of the American language, reappearing in the 1980s to refer to club kids, but only gaining prominence thanks to the blogosphere and Paris Hilton. 2003 seems to be celebutante's tipping point, when Gawker editor Elizabeth Spiers listed it among her "Current obsessions/topics of interest."
Source: American Speech
"Thus," writes Brown, "when Hilton and Richie's television show, The Simple Life, debuted on the Fox network on December 2, 2003...celebutante was already circulating in the blog lexicon. The term quickly became associated with her, and its frequency of use mushroomed."
That mushrooming is displayed in the second article from the journal, "Celebu- Word List: An Interesting Foray into Calculating Relevance," by David K. Barnhart of Lexik House Publishers. He begins, "The combining form of celebu-, as in celebutard, celebu-chef, and celebuspawn, to name but a few, came to the attention of the New Words Committee of the American Dialect Society during its deliberations for Word of the Year for 2007."
First of all, how exciting is it that there is such a thing as a New Words Committee and that they've been deliberating on celebutard? Here then, for your reading pleasure, is a handful of celebu- words, provided by Mr. Barnhart:
The question now is, with the yunnipocalypse upon us and the party over, will celebu- keep spawning? Or will it return to the bottom drawer of the cultural filing cabinet, to be dusted off and trotted out again when the new Paris Hiltons of the future rise from the ashes?
The first of the two articles, "Paris Hilton, Brenda Frazier, Blogs, and the Proliferation of Celebu-," by David West Brown of the University of Michigan, traces the origin of the prefix to its first appearance in the nonce word Celebutante, coined not recently, but by Walter Winchell in 1939. He was writing about the coming-out party of banking heiress Brenda Frazier, who, he wrote, "inspires a new 1-word description: Celebutante."
Since the 1930s, explains Brown, celebutante receded into the background of the American language, reappearing in the 1980s to refer to club kids, but only gaining prominence thanks to the blogosphere and Paris Hilton. 2003 seems to be celebutante's tipping point, when Gawker editor Elizabeth Spiers listed it among her "Current obsessions/topics of interest."
Source: American Speech
"Thus," writes Brown, "when Hilton and Richie's television show, The Simple Life, debuted on the Fox network on December 2, 2003...celebutante was already circulating in the blog lexicon. The term quickly became associated with her, and its frequency of use mushroomed."
That mushrooming is displayed in the second article from the journal, "Celebu- Word List: An Interesting Foray into Calculating Relevance," by David K. Barnhart of Lexik House Publishers. He begins, "The combining form of celebu-, as in celebutard, celebu-chef, and celebuspawn, to name but a few, came to the attention of the New Words Committee of the American Dialect Society during its deliberations for Word of the Year for 2007."
First of all, how exciting is it that there is such a thing as a New Words Committee and that they've been deliberating on celebutard? Here then, for your reading pleasure, is a handful of celebu- words, provided by Mr. Barnhart:
The question now is, with the yunnipocalypse upon us and the party over, will celebu- keep spawning? Or will it return to the bottom drawer of the cultural filing cabinet, to be dusted off and trotted out again when the new Paris Hiltons of the future rise from the ashes?
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
*Everyday Chatter
Foreclosures at places like StuyTown could mean "renters come out ahead." [CR]
The Donnell Library was gutted, shredded, and all around decimated (click pics)...for nothing. [Curbed]
"not only is big spending unusual these days, it’s a little out of fashion, maybe even a little tasteless." [NYT]
Read an interview with an elevator man as his ups and downs come to an end. [NYT]
In the land of many banks, the Bowery loses a branch. [EVG]
Ode to Coney's Major Markets, home of the murder burger. [FNY]
Gearing up for the release of Brooklynite Jim Knipfel's new novel. [WWIB]
The Donnell Library was gutted, shredded, and all around decimated (click pics)...for nothing. [Curbed]
"not only is big spending unusual these days, it’s a little out of fashion, maybe even a little tasteless." [NYT]
Read an interview with an elevator man as his ups and downs come to an end. [NYT]
In the land of many banks, the Bowery loses a branch. [EVG]
Ode to Coney's Major Markets, home of the murder burger. [FNY]
Gearing up for the release of Brooklynite Jim Knipfel's new novel. [WWIB]
Secret Peeps
Times Square was once filled with peep show palaces and porno cellars. Some remain, mostly the booth-style video peep, but the majority have vanished.
Here and there, however, if you look closely enough, you can catch a glimpse of their ghosts. Like a paleontologist searching for fossil remains, you might find an errant decoration, a geometric pattern of tiny cut mirrors, shining on the side of an otherwise innocent T-shirt shop.
If you are feeling adventurous, you might pass through one of those T-shirt shops, braving the crush of tourists and forsaking the 9/11 commemorative snow-globes, the giant Lady Liberty pencils. When the shop worker isn't looking, you might duck into a back room or dash down a set of stairs, past strange signs that say "DO NOT TOUCH THE GIRLS."
If you are lucky, you will emerge into a subterranean archeological site and discover one of Times Square's last big-screen porno theaters.
The screen is torn. The ceiling is falling. In chairs that once held untold sticky fantasies and acts performed in flickering cinema light, now sit stacks of "I Heart NY" T-shirts.
It seems shelves would be more useful here. Why leave everything as it was? What are these chairs and that screen waiting for? Somewhere, deep in the wall, a film projector hibernates, its spools loaded with some forgotten skin flick, just waiting for some future day when its switch might once again be flipped.
Here and there, however, if you look closely enough, you can catch a glimpse of their ghosts. Like a paleontologist searching for fossil remains, you might find an errant decoration, a geometric pattern of tiny cut mirrors, shining on the side of an otherwise innocent T-shirt shop.
If you are feeling adventurous, you might pass through one of those T-shirt shops, braving the crush of tourists and forsaking the 9/11 commemorative snow-globes, the giant Lady Liberty pencils. When the shop worker isn't looking, you might duck into a back room or dash down a set of stairs, past strange signs that say "DO NOT TOUCH THE GIRLS."
If you are lucky, you will emerge into a subterranean archeological site and discover one of Times Square's last big-screen porno theaters.
The screen is torn. The ceiling is falling. In chairs that once held untold sticky fantasies and acts performed in flickering cinema light, now sit stacks of "I Heart NY" T-shirts.
It seems shelves would be more useful here. Why leave everything as it was? What are these chairs and that screen waiting for? Somewhere, deep in the wall, a film projector hibernates, its spools loaded with some forgotten skin flick, just waiting for some future day when its switch might once again be flipped.
Monday, March 2, 2009
*Everyday Chatter
Frowning at luxury? "...the mentality that helped propel the city’s real estate prices into lunar altitudes is gone. Not only are there fewer buyers today, but they are also more apt to have a yard-sale attitude." [NYT]
"Mommy didn’t get a big enough bonus" and private-school enrollment will fall. Will this help save the public school system? [NYT] ...It's already happening on the college level. [NYT]
The LES has been flooded with dorms--now they're for rent. [Curbed]
So, will those bad old days and mean streets return in the downturn? Experts say "Nah..." [NYT]
Doing some mall shopping in the old Limelight's shell. [FP]
Take a stagger around the East Village with Forgotten NY.
HunterG visits Wechsler's and, with heart aflutter, digs in. [HGNY]
Chico, the ubiquitous East Village muralist, is moving to Florida. [Villager]
Finding the Czechs of New York. [ENY]
Unfortunately, the Jagermeister "Jagerettes" will be partying at The Holiday. [EVG]
"Mommy didn’t get a big enough bonus" and private-school enrollment will fall. Will this help save the public school system? [NYT] ...It's already happening on the college level. [NYT]
The LES has been flooded with dorms--now they're for rent. [Curbed]
So, will those bad old days and mean streets return in the downturn? Experts say "Nah..." [NYT]
Doing some mall shopping in the old Limelight's shell. [FP]
Take a stagger around the East Village with Forgotten NY.
HunterG visits Wechsler's and, with heart aflutter, digs in. [HGNY]
Chico, the ubiquitous East Village muralist, is moving to Florida. [Villager]
Finding the Czechs of New York. [ENY]
Unfortunately, the Jagermeister "Jagerettes" will be partying at The Holiday. [EVG]
Music Row
Lost City recently delivered the very sad report that Manny's Music will be vanishing from 48th Street where it has been since 1935. Brooks spoke to Sam Ash, who said, "Music Row as you know it will be gone in just a few years."
The block is one of the last authentic pieces of an older New York and a haven from the tourist mash of Times Square. When I used to work around the corner, I would walk this block just to get a little peace, stepping into the shops to look at the instruments, horns and strings I couldn't play but liked anyway.
I wrote here about Jon Baltimore, an old-school craftsman who remembered growing up on the Row, when major musicians played on the corner just for kicks. I saw signs recently that Baltimore has since moved his 37-year-old shop to another location.
It's been a while since I visited the block. All these photos are from 2007, so I don't know if these places still exist--but there were other old shops to explore, like Rudy's Music Stop and all the little places piled one on top of the other, their windows glinting with saxophones and trumpets.
Manny's, of course, is the jewel in the Row. It's the kind of place you think will always be there. When I took these pictures, I thought: When all these other shops are replaced by more Times Square junk, with condos and Duane Reades, Manny's will remain.
With its un-ending, floor-to-ceiling, star-studded wall of fame you could look at for hours, until your neck is kinked...
...and its many artifacts, like "Old Yellow," kept behind glass and described by Modern Guitars as "a beat-up Danolectro that was used by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and other customers to test-drive amps."
Worn and battered, handled by many famous and hopeful, Old Yellow could be a symbol for this street. To the makers of money, it's not much to look at, but it is purposeful, colorful, and it could tell you stories.
The block is one of the last authentic pieces of an older New York and a haven from the tourist mash of Times Square. When I used to work around the corner, I would walk this block just to get a little peace, stepping into the shops to look at the instruments, horns and strings I couldn't play but liked anyway.
I wrote here about Jon Baltimore, an old-school craftsman who remembered growing up on the Row, when major musicians played on the corner just for kicks. I saw signs recently that Baltimore has since moved his 37-year-old shop to another location.
It's been a while since I visited the block. All these photos are from 2007, so I don't know if these places still exist--but there were other old shops to explore, like Rudy's Music Stop and all the little places piled one on top of the other, their windows glinting with saxophones and trumpets.
Manny's, of course, is the jewel in the Row. It's the kind of place you think will always be there. When I took these pictures, I thought: When all these other shops are replaced by more Times Square junk, with condos and Duane Reades, Manny's will remain.
With its un-ending, floor-to-ceiling, star-studded wall of fame you could look at for hours, until your neck is kinked...
...and its many artifacts, like "Old Yellow," kept behind glass and described by Modern Guitars as "a beat-up Danolectro that was used by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and other customers to test-drive amps."
Worn and battered, handled by many famous and hopeful, Old Yellow could be a symbol for this street. To the makers of money, it's not much to look at, but it is purposeful, colorful, and it could tell you stories.
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