Tempus Fugit

It still feels mostly like summer in NYC. Today it was 85 and humid but we've had a nice run of weather with cooler (70s) sunny days for most of the last couple weeks. I've been passing time in the most relaxed ways possible. Reading, doing crosswords, wandering the city and watching lots of baseball and other TV goodness. If you haven't seen Californication on Showtime (I know, the name sucks) I can't recommend it enough. Well not to everyone, but most of you. Saxondale is a genius English comedy from Steve Coogan about a retired roadie with anger management issues. Then there's Still Game, a Glaswegian comedy about pensioners in Craiglang. The accents are a bit thick for some but it's amazing and you can always watch it with the subtitles if you can't understand them. Of course you can't get either Saxondale or Still Game here yet, but they're out there to be downloaded. ANYWAYS...

I ventured over to Long Island City in Queens to visit an old friend. It's an old industrial spot just below the 59th St bridge and right across the east river from Manhattan. It's one of those 'future star' areas that are being remade with countless luxury condo highrises under construction and the slow creep of hip bars and restaurants.

The 59th St Bridge & East River...

The LIC...

While the whole lots-of-space-for-less-money aspect of living in places like this is tempting, I can't bring myself to want to leave my hipster enclave in Manhattan. Time Out New York just voted my neighborhood (Alphabet City) the best neighborhood (or 'hood', as they call it) in the city. Therefore I am cool. See? You get what you pay for.

Last night Sean & I went to MSG to see Bjork. The show was great and I fell for her all over again. There's something strange about the fact that Dispatch, who virtually no one has heard of and aren't even a band anymore, can sell almost 60,000 tickets in 3 days for the Garden and Bjork, who is a well-known favorite of critics and music fans alike can't even sell 3/4 of the place for one night. Nothing against Dispatch but how does this happen? Regardless, it was schweet.

Tomorrow it's off to SF for some west coast lazing and communing with the giant trees and whatnot. All praises to St. Hubbins. May he grant me 1 business-class upgrade (well 2 really...I have to get home too). Amen.