Am beginning to realise how many contacts I have acquired through blogging over the last few months. Just 4-5 days away now means I am overwhelmed with fascinating material and discussions to read.
Have been slowly reading through Norm's US posts and delighting in his pleasure of New York. I felt the same way: we had an awful arrival at JFK (screwed over by Guliani so our friends could not meet us) and by the time we left the airport I was really tired and cranky - quell surprise. But the sight of that skyline at 1am was just dreamlike and by the time we arrived on Broadway (our friends lived just off it near Columbia Uni) we were both just grinning from ear to ear. And across my three New York visits we too have done a number of the 'touristy' things with much lack of concern for how touristy they are: The Empire State building at night, albeit bitterly cold, was a particular pleasure. And of course in terms of overheard conversations, we redirect Norm and others back to the amusing asides of Overheard in New York!
Reading his comments on Crossing Delancey it reminded me of our uncanny a first experience of New York can be: in the Freudian sense I guess. That it is both familiar and unfamilar; homely and unhomely; real but unreal - because having 'been there' so many times through movies, TV, photographs, histories, it is difficult to hold on to how we haven't 'been there'... It's a curious effect.
Sorry: have edited this several times as I read his blog mails!
1 comment:
I don't think Rudy G deliberately set out to screw us over. I recall there was a Brit Art exhibition in Brooklyn with Chris Offili that had engendered loads of controversy and all the surrounding metro stations were closed for essential maintenance (for the duration of the exhibition). Just a coincidence (or maybe a big conspiracy...)
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