New & Notable
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You’ve already met their dogs, so now here are Jonny and Amanda, two dear friends who fall into the top micro-percentile of all living beings on earth.
Jonny is a fellow Canadian who I met when he came through Paris and Shakespeare and Company back in 2000. We became close when we road-tripped to distribute Kilometer Zero magazine in 2001 (though he still hasn’t forgiven me for trying to pin a car theft on him) and then even closer when he moved into the Chateaudun art squat in Paris in 2002 (we played petanque at 5 am and then watched the sun come up on the squat roof his first morning). He is now a stealth bomber of subversion, slipping all kinds of hyper-progressive material into the columns of The L Magazine where he is executive editor.
Amanda is an artist and editor who Jonny and I (along with this freak of humanity named Adrian Hornsby, but that, as Hammy Hamster said, is a story for another day) met when on the 2001 KMZ distribution tour. Amanda, a fellow Aquarian, owns Clovis Press, the best bookstore in Brooklyn (229 Bedford Avenue – you MUST visit). Since that meeting in August 2001 everyone has become best of friends, except for Jonny and Amanda, who have become best of LOVES and are going to be married in September 2006 in what is certain to be the top wedding held in America at anytime over the past 7 years. (How do we know this? Well, I am the official wedding gardener and I have all the inside bumf and all that inside bumf is sensational.)
Jonny and Amanda came down to Philadelphia for Jim’s party and we spent a lovely day wandering the city. This picture is taken in the back of a horse drawn carriage while we were taking the historical tour. We all loved CJ the horse and Amanda even trekked several blocks to buy the horse a rosy apple.
Posted in New & Notable, Waystations | Leave a commentAmerica and Taxes
As something of a neo-comm, I am a big fan of taxes. As I see it, the more taxes we pay, the better our community. Taxes pay for roads, school, police, libraries, museums … all the stuff that makes a city and country great. More taxes, I say. In fact, it has always confused me that America hasn’t recognized this for America is usually a nation of astute consumers. Every American knows that if you pay more and buy a Lexus instead of Cavalier, the extra money is worth it because you get a better product. But, when it comes to taxes, Americans want to pay less and have an economy country instead of paying more and having a luxury country. So strange, so strange.
Why am I thinking about this? Because on a historical tour of Philadelphia, I learned of one of the first American tax evasion schemes. Back in the day, the King (who really shouldn’t have been taxing without representation, so glory glory to the Revolution) taxed houses based on how many panes of glass you had in your windows. So, all of a sudden, there was a rage for shutters and on tax day all the houses closed their shutters so the tax assessor couldn’t count the panes. Pretty clever stuff ….
Posted in New & Notable, Waystations | Leave a commentRide Sharing
As you might know, in an effort to promote ethical car use, I am inviting people to ride share, that is to come along with me on the trip to save gas and make better use of the car. So far, every mile has been ride-shared. First it was my hero and mentor, Sparkle Hayter, and then it was the lovely Rebecca Dolgoy (pictured in front of the Liberty Bell, or at least the building where the Liberty Bell is kept) who made sure I paid attention to important road rules such as ‘Don’t Block the Box.’
Jim Gladstone’s Party
What has been so incredible so far is how friends, old and new, have gone out of their way to make this journey special.
Take Jim Gladstone. We met in Paris where he was working on his second novel and generally living the good life. He is a writer – The Big Book of Misunderstanding, Gladstone’s Games to Go, Skin & Ink (editor) – and an idea man of astonishing capacity. Anybody in search of a million dollar idea should just stand near Jim for a half hour or so and wait with an ear cupped. Fortune and fame will ensue, so long as you can execute well.
Jim lives in a brilliant apartment in Philadelphia that could pass for a solarium. It is about 150 feet long, which means you can dash about with abandon, and there are windows everywhere. He threw me a party (we were soaked in wine and cheese) which attracted a great swath of Philadelphia’s more interesting folk, including an opera singer who awed us all.
If you are going through Philadelphia, Jim will probably even give you a tour of the Eastern State Penitentiary, one of his favourite spots in the city. It was built by Quakers early in the 19th century and is the first modern vision of a prison. Just contact him through his website, www.jimgladstone.com.
(Note that the picture of Jim and myself was taken by Jim’s old friend Jeff, who is in the other photo. I was in such a fever party state that I forgot to take pictures, except for the opera singer, who you can see in full flight.)
New York City Marathon
Not only is Williamsburg Brooklyn’s style ghetto, it is also on the marathon route. Jonny, Amanda, and I walked the half block from their apartment to Bedford Avenue to watch the runners. It was so exhausting watching them speed by (we were at Mile 11) that we had to go eat a whopping Spanish breakfast to restore our vigour. Exercise is good like that.
The Wonder Scott
It is not often I am with someone who outenthusiasms myself, yet once again Scott Stedman has left me choking on his superlatives.
Scott came through Paris in the year 2000 and stayed at Shakespeare and Company at the same time I did. He was working on a Walter Benjamin project (which is well documented in my book), has a head full of eccentricities (which are well documented in my book) and is a genuine friend (which I hope comes across in my book). Scott fears my rendering of him might leave readers with the impression he is somewhat limp. Far from the truth! Rigorous, sturdy, studly, that is our Scott Stedman.
Scott is also the mastermind behind The L Magazine, which is a potent (potent!) mix of listings and progressive content. He has sacrificed about 4 years of sleep to get this magazine up and moving and it simply wouldn’t have happened without his optimism and moxy. Take a look at the online version if you don’t live in New York: www.thelmagazine.com.
Posted in New & Notable, Waystations | 40 Comments ← Older posts Newer posts →
