September 17, 2011
What a fucking week this has been. At least I didn’t have to stay as late as I thought I would, but it was just ten hours of pure stress. And it was that way pretty much all week. Crazy deadlines, crazy work, crazy peole, crazy glue...Crazy Eddie where are you? Yes, I’m losing it. So I thought tonight I’d just wander around and have a few drinks on the way home and take pictures. Ready? Set! Wander...
And off we go. It's getting chilly out here, time to get the jacket out of the closet.
I wonder if that pizza place sells beer. I've walked by it probably thousands of times and have never gone in. Let's go check it out.
Biff alert! They have Miller Lite in here, let's go get the first beer of the evening.
Here's the pizza, now where's the beer?
Here we go, they've got a nice selection of bottled beers here.
I chose a bottle of Peroni and this friendly fellow not only sold it to me, but posed for a picture. Cheers!
I'm sitting at a table and relaxing while watching people buy pizza slices.
Okay, the Peroni is drained and we're back out on the road again.
Hey here's the Green Tomato, one of my less frequented Fortress of Solitude stops.
Tonight they're speaking my language, let's go on in.
And here we are at my usual streetside table. Gumby's hiding as he's still a little paranoid after that "prank" he pulled.
It's really nice sitting here, drinking beer and watching the world go by. A great people watching spot for sure.
Obligatory window reflection shot!
Here's a guy practicing his ATM moves.
And yet another getting cash for ATM. Are these people porn stars or what?
Okay, I"m really tired, time to get one for the road here.
And here it is, bagged and strawed and ready to go.
Ha, I like this graffiti on the phone booth of a stickman flipping the bird.
And check out the Snapple bottle, that doesn't look like Kiwi Strawberry to me!
And I've got a feeling this isn't lemonade in the Subway cup. Yeeesh!
And here we are, the last stop of the evening, my corner deli, The Blue Valley.
Sip Ahoy! ("Sip Ahoy is a patented Uncle Waltie catch phrase, please get permission before you use it.) Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
Further reading: Psychology Today, Pub Med, Walking and Drinking Beer and If I Had A Child, This Would Be Him.
You Might Also Like: Lois Lane, Penny Lane and Denny Laine.
I’m on the road again,
Just as sure as you’re born.
(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)
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Bonus Link: St. Mark’s Buy A Book Weekend!
Jeremiah Moss put up a great post and challenge over at his blog, Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York. I’ve written about St. Mark’s Bookshop a few times here on this blog and have encouraged people to buy a book there and help keep this East Village independent landmark bookshop in business. All the information is over at Jeremiah’s blog, just click here: Buy A Book Weekend! And then go buy a book, as Jeremiah notes, you can buy one online, so even if you don’t live in New York, you can help out and get a great book by doing so. There’s no downside, so do it now!
20 Comments
Reader Comments (20)
That snapple bottle reminded me of a little trick a lot of professional drivers use, drivers who spend hours on the road with weak kidneys and limited limited access to public facilities....you were wise not to touch it, believe me.
Is that the right price for a pack of smokes? $13.60? I just can't believe how expensive smoking is,,,,glad I never picked up that nasty habit. Sip Ahoy is right.
I bought 4 books !
1 - Few & Chosen Yankees - Defining Yankees Greatness Across the Eras
2 - The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth
3 - Babe Ruth's Own Book of Baseball
4 - The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood
@Jaws: No way would I have touched that! It was creepy enough taking a photo of it!
@Al: That's the price alright! Cigarettes are taxed out the wazoo here, but you can't smoke them anywhere, even in an open-air park. Oh the irony!
@GENE: That's too cool! I hope others follow what you did! I'm going tonight after Cheeseburger Saturday Night. All of us who enjoy St. Mark's appreciate what you just did!
Man, I used to wander the streets all the time, a can of Bud with me, guzzle guzzle... But what's with the smiley face shoulder bag, you feel lost tonight? My advice GET RID OF THE SMILEY FACE! That bag gives me the creeps...unless you like it. In that case, dude, you're weird haha!
@MAD: Sorry work is being a sack of dicks. Also sorry for being a quasi-political asshole today. (see following)
@AL: The ciggie thing is pretty disgusting. Disguised as a Nanny Sin Tax, it's a blatant uber tax increase on the predominantly lower and middle classes. No one voted on it, it just happened. A pack of Newports is $14 in NYC, $4 in VA. I'm not trying to suggest that tobacco is a healthy thing, but neither is basing your municipality's tax base revenue on a hypercritical short term tax. What would happen to NYC's cash strapped finances if everyone should quit smoking (as the tax increase states as it's goal) at once? Bloomberg, with all his rhetoric, has created a thriving black market in NYC. You don't have to be Milo Mindbender to figure out where the black market goes, crime is soon to follow. When smuggling runs to the Confederate states become a norm for the puff, puff, puff; guess what; they naturally ferry in the things that go bang, bang, bang. For all it's liberalism, NYC is trending to a lot of "Footlose" laws. I remember in the '90's when the dance police would patrol the bars to write citations to enforce the city's cabaret licensing laws. You don't like the new Times Square; you'd better learn to like it, because it is a forced future that is rapidly becoming a city-wide present.
end rant.
@Mykola Mick Dementiuk: That's Gumby! I'll never ditch him! And yes...I"m weird!
@csp: As far as work goes, at least this shit is going to end sometime! And nice cigarette rant, I agree wholeheartedly. A vice tax that sucks money from the poor and middle class to keep them that way.
@CSP: I had no idea about those prices. You are right about Bloomberg creating a black market. I am against smoking but gouging the people that buy this stuff with this crazy tax should be illegal. Your comments made a lot of sense,,,thanks.
Oh yeah, I like Gumby too. He was around when I was a kid, had a cool way of walking. Okay, you're off the hook...and so am I...I think?
I hope your bringing Gumby to the wedding, I put him down as your guest...I hope he likes prime rib
@Mykola Mick Demetiuk: Glad you're into Gumby too! And you were never on the hook, just having some laughs!
@tehennessey: Gumby will be there, although he prefers cottage cheese and ketchup. See you next week!
Hey Marty, what a great clip of the Lovin' Spoonful! That song was the B side of thier first hit (Do You Believe in Magic), and was actually recorded almost a year earlier, before they even had a contract. One of the few times Zal sang lead, before John Sebastian was the full time lead singer. It looks like they are all having a great time doing it.
Thanks so much for finding that!
some great shots and thoughts while meanderin'...yea it's great to sip and observe and you live in such a great city for just that...i can remember rollin' into the city and goin' from bar to bar and just listenin' and observin'...oh well...
grabbed a couple books today...i searched for mick's 100 Whores" w/o success—replaced a couple classics...that for one reason or another never returned into my hands...(sorta like 99 and firetruck which i have replaced twice)...
Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.
~Charles W. Eliot
rr
@rr: "Remember the firemen are rarely necessary. The public stopped reading of its own accord."
@Ken K. in NJ: Glad you enjoyed that! The Lovin' Spoonful were one of my favorite bands as a kid and Zally was my favorite. I loved the way he used to make goony faces at the camera and how he stomped up and down while playing. I found that last night out of the blue and was thrilled. Cool that you enjoyed it too!
@rr: Thanks so much for buying some books, I truly appreciate you and GENE doing that. I went and bought one tonight after Cheeseburger Saturday Night and I'll show it tomorrow. Great quote and very true!
Message to Raginrr: Sorry about 100 Whores, it's a very small press and doing it for St Marks. We had a few copies there but with Marty picking it up it's like he started a tsunami. You can get it through Amazon or visit my web site
http://www.100Whores.com
Again, sorry, and I promise you a good read all about the Lower East Side, through ''whoring' eyes ;)
I am Mick's publisher, and I just called St. Mark's. There IS a nice display of Mick's books, face out. They are in the fiction section. They said if you can't find them, ask.
Sally Miller, Synergy Press
@Sally Miller: Thanks for the update, I think rr had trouble find the book online, but I encourage those of you in New York to stop by and pick up Mick's book and check out the fine selection at St. Mark's Bookshop.
Hooray for Miller Lite! I've had Peroni and it's pretty good too, although in my experience, the skunky to not ratio has been kind of high. So, taking that into consideration, I rank it beside Heineken. Or Molsen. Or Moosehead. Anyhoo, looks like you had a nice, relaxing wander. That stickman is hilarious.
@Biff: To bird-flipping stickman and Miller Lite!