sundries: cities edition

[rm]

I am so unprepared for class today it's not even funny. Luckily, this class is inadvertently a bit about "how to talk out of your ass about how clever you are" which I am very good at.

Realistically, I'll do the round-up of character death panel responses tomorrow.

Looking your friends up on Wikipedia is weird. I HAD NO IDEA.

Vatican City hit by gay prostitution scandal.

Someone linked me to this video of a day in the life of NYC in miniature. kathrynrose mentioned when she linked to it that she always imagined New York to be dirty and uncomfortable. It's really not.

The thing about New York, is we can't hide things because there just isn't enough space: you'll see garbage bags piled up high on the curbs and poverty even in the wealthiest areas. But it doesn't smell bad; it's not grimy; the light is really like that.

The other thing about New York is that it's feels like a 19th-century city (if you live on the West Coast, you live in the land of 20th-century cities, and it's different), so when it rains it can be very grim and in the winter the cold can feel like a personal affront. But we've also been building buildings to reflect light and parks to ease the people for ages. We know what we're doing, and we know how to do it and we do it well all in the shadow of a variety of cruelly gilded ages. People are always surprised by how many trees there are here.

New York also isn't dangerous; it's the safest big city in America. And the people aren't rude. And it isn't child abuse to raise a kid here. And yes it's expensive and difficult, but it's easier to find a place here than in Boston or San Francisco, I hear, and the cost of living is certainly cheaper than in Zurich or London.

This is my home. I'm a New Yorker before I'm a citizen of anything else. When I was in Australia, people said I must be arrogant because I'm an American. "No," I said, when I wasn't complaining about their tall poppy syndrome (they are so cruel to their successes), "it's New York. You've got to be as big as it to stick it out sometimes."

That's the NYC PSA. I know kathrynrose didn't say many of the things I've addressed here. But I hear it ALL THE TIME. I didn't really grow up in America, because I grew up here. I am vastly ignorant of what life is like for most people in most of the country -- I know nothing of the life of houses and high schools with campuses and I find suburban supermarkets really REALLY interesting. But this is a good place too. It would have to be, for people to want to tear it down so much.

So soon, it's time for me to spend some time in the UK, first with Patty and then I think on my own (her schedule for the summer is not locked in yet, so it's hard to know). I'll be, at various points, in London, Bristol, and Cardiff, and I have some questions.


- How easy is it to find free wireless or at least wireless I pay for but I can use with my own laptop? How expensive is pay Internet as a rule?

- Being gay in England: on one hand, I get the sense that it's politically much better than here. On the other hand, I get the sense you have more anti-gay violence. What can Patty and I expect? We tend to be pretty demonstrative (in a chaste, way, thank you -- we do have manners) in public.

- Being genderqueer in England: this almost feels like a stupid question; you people gave us David Bowie. On the other hand, I know that in the US I rarely pass for male in a suit, and in parts of Europe I pretty much always do in casual interactions. How will I be perceived/treated in the UK? Will people be hostile or mocking? Will they not give a shit? My beautiful suits are not costume, and I'm sensitive to them being perceived as such. Also, safety issues.

- Being gluten-free. I know the supermarkets are amazing, but how do waitstaff take to being asked questions about food or my needing to make small changes (i.e., "hamburger without the bun; I'm allergic to bread") in order not to die?

- I sort of hate the touristy part of tourist shit, but there's a lot of touristy shit I want to see (i.e., Buckingham Palace). Will I enjoy said touristy shit, or will I want to punch the ill-dressed tourists with the cameras they can't figure out how to work?

- Patty's conference is at the British Museum. I don't understand London neighborhoods for shit. Where parts of town do we want to be looking at lodgings in?

- Because I'm that asshole, I sort of want to have lunch or dinner at the Ivy. Funny and must be done, or not funny and totally stupid?

- Theater! We must see some theater. Sadly, it seems nothing that's going to give me fannnish thrills is on during either of my two trips there (April and July), but do you have any recs anyway?

- Random advice for Cardiff (although Graeme Harper sort of planned the whole trip for me at Gally. So, I might be good there)?

- Bristol?!?!?!? I know nothing.

- Other random stuff you want to tell me.

Comments

[jackolantern.livejournal.com]

The first time I visited NYC in the mid-80s, it wasn't under ideal circumstances; there was a garbage strike going on, the 12-block area around the train station had a power blackout so the only thing I could find to eat upon disembarking was cold pizza, and some young entrepreneur at the station had taken all the 75-cent coin lockers and was charging people $3 for them, so I had to drag my bags around with me to do some quick sightseeing before catching a train to New Jersey, where my aunt and uncle lived. Plus, this aunt and uncle were in the process of arguing about their tax returns, because they were undergoing their annual ritual of pushing up against the deadline hard, so even though I got to go up to the top of the WTC, most of the other sights--Central Park, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, etc.--I got to see only as a blur when we drove past them. When I took the train back to Chicago, where I'd lived for several years in my teens, that city had never seemed so clean.

Things went a bit better when I returned to NYC nearly ten years later, first to interview for library jobs and then to live there for about sixteen months. Even the fact that my interview trip coincided with the worst snowstorm in over a century had its benefits; I seemed to have most of the city to myself, and there's nothing like walking into the Cathedral of St. John the Divine with most of the lights off and a blizzard howling outside. Librarians don't get paid squat and I didn't have much to spare, even sharing an apartment in Park Slope, but the great thing about working in a library is that you find out about all the free and cheap things to do. I even came to love the subway system, once I transferred to a different library location and didn't have an hour-long, two-transfer ride between Park Slope and Canarsie. (I calculated that I spent three solid weeks on the subway my first year.)

Still, I decided that, for all its nearly-infinite attractions, living in NYC is just a bit more hassle than I wanted to put up with in the long run. I'm still ambiguous about moving to Chicago, even if I found a really great job there, and Chicago is much more spread-out and less crowded-feeling than NYC. But I wouldn't have given up my time there for anything.

[jackolantern.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the only crime that I witnessed during my time there was a bank branch holdup in Park Slope, complete with lots of squad cars and a police helicopter circling overhead. I was on my way to a meeting in the main library, and when I informed some of my coworkers that there was a real-life reenactment of Dog Day Afternoon going on a few blocks away, their reaction was basically, so what?

[dr-is-in.livejournal.com]

My last trip to London, we stayed at Citadines near Trafalgar Square on Northumberland Ave. Within easy walking distance of Trafalgar Square (about 2 blocks up, can even see it from the other end of the street), between Embankment and Charing Cross train stations. Trafalgar is pretty much the center of everything, and its easy to get to things from there. All the buses, including the tour companies, come down that street. And if the bus you need doesn't, it most likely has a stop at one point around Trafalgar.

Citadines isn't fussy or fancy, but its comfortable and very secure. Its pretty reasonably priced, too, for its location.

If you have the time, do the Original Sightseeing bus tour. It will take you everywhere around the city and your ticket allows you to get on and off the buses anywhere you want, and the ticket is good for 24 hours. Plus, you get a ticket for the river cruise included with it.

[airspaniel.livejournal.com]

I stayed at the Hotel Russell when I was in London, and I found it to be beautiful, well appointed, and convenient in every conceivable way. It may also be of interest to you that the dining room was designed by the same fellow that designed the dining hall on the Titanic, and the hotel bar is called The Tempus Bar.

It was amazing.

[bitsyrant.livejournal.com]

I wrote a rant that touches on the Character Death panel but it really acts more as a bookend to my discussion of recent developments in crazy ass Buffy fandom. Take a look, it's my most recent post (I don't use lj much since I have a blog that gets far more attention) and see if you feel like giving it a rec along with the other Character Death panel responses. I guarantee it will ruffle more than a few feathers, at the very least.

-Dan

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

If I go back to London, I would definitely revisit the Tate Modern, because it is built inside a former power station, and it is SUCH A COOL BUILDING. The interior hall is immense; sometimes they use it for enormous art installations.

The NYC video was really, really awesome! All the infrastructure! :)

I've only spent a few days at a time there, and always in Manhattan, and found I like it a lot. This was kind of a surprise given that I dislike living in/near Boston greatly (and all east coast cities are alike, right), and always found New York from a distance (driving past) really kind of horrifying. I grew up in a rural environment in Oregon, and spending time in Portland and Seattle just did not prepare me for a city built on that scale.

I was really surprised that people there were friendly, because I expected the same kind of reserve that I've gotten used to in Boston. I haven't tried living there, but it seems a much nicer place than Boston (things stay open past midnight! wonder! amazement!).

[isil-helyanwe.livejournal.com]

sometimes they use it for enormous art installations

It's a fabulous space called the Turbine Hall, and there's almost always a huge installation piece in there that everyone will go and see. It's so worth it. And it's free!

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

I posted the link in my LJ with those comments, but I'm also the person who linked it to you in comments to your post. Because when I saw how beautiful it was, I thought about how much you must love being from there.

I meant my comments to be about me realizing my assumptions, rather than to be negative about NYC.

[i-amthecosmos.livejournal.com]

When me and my husband took our reconcilliation trip to New York (we had been seperated), I thought my mom would lose her mind. She didn't so much think we'd be killed, but that those horrible Yankees would be mean to me. I knew it couldn't possible be as bad as she imagined, but most people were very, very nice.

My dad held the opposite opinion, having had a very nice couple day's stay in Brooklyn as a Marine. That was in 1962, but he still had fond memories. He thinks the accents make people assume NY'ers are rude, when it's not the case.

I wound up catching a bit of my mom's paranoia bug until I suddenly realized: "Hey, I've already been to San Fran, New Orleans and Mexico City, NYC can't possibly be any dirtier/ruder/more dangerous than any of those places can be!" And I was more right than I thought I would be.

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

I'm from Philly, which is grimy, nasty smelling in places, and quite dangerous. I admit, I haven't been to NY since I came west in '90, but NY smelled like city (wet cement, tire tread rubber, cooking, and the like), but wasn't unpleasant smelling, or particularly dirty, or more dangerous than home, except for the driving, which was not as crazy as Denver, but sure tried.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

I love Oakland to pieces, warts and all, but I have a big soft spot for NYC. I've always been particularly perplexed by the notion that New Yorkers are rude. Huh? Really, they're among the friendliest and most helpful folks I've ever run into.

Re: Britain

[redfiona99.livejournal.com]

Re: Wifi - an awful lot of pubs and coffee bars have free wifi, if that helps.

Re: Gluten-free - the wait-staff will vary between snooty but obliging and nice and trying to help but failing. I'd make it very clear what you don't eat - not personal experience but a couple of my friends have either nut allergies or don't eat various meats and occasionally people will be unexpectedly stupid, e.g. great halal pork shouting match at my university halls.

Re: Cardiff - I shall talk to the Cardiff people I know and see if they have any suggestions.

[natf.livejournal.com]

Free wifi in MacDonalds. Wifi purchaseable in Starbucks and many many other places. Gluten-free is no problem - I have a LONG lost of foods that I have to avoid and 99% of waitresses and chefs are okay about talking to me about it. They would rather not kill me and I only have intollerances and not allergies!