Stay Tuned

Tomorrow, I’m back at home in Brooklyn for a day, and then I run away to Amsterdam for thesis research from Saturday through Monday the 24th. I’m very excited. If I can find my trusty old European adaptor plug for my computer, I can write from there.

If I find Amsterdam condoms similar in awesomeness to the NYC ones, I’ll let you know. If they’re free, I’ll even pick a few up for you provided you ask kindly. Note: this will be the only item that I’m “smuggling” back into the States. All other orders will be ignored.

Nine Streets

Busy lately. Between school, post school, and watching Dexter and/or Skins (a show deserving of a future post), I’ve barely got time to think of fun things to say. But don’t worry. I’ll be back on my game soon. In the interim, check out this travel article about Negen Straatjes in Amsterdam. I’ve never been to any of the places mentioned. They’re a bit high end for a study abroad budget. Currently, I can barely afford Brooklyn’s own nine streets, which is getting high end in it’s own way.

Damn hipsters and their synthetic cultural capital.

Later…

Dutch Word of the Day
leeg: empty
Deze huis is leeg.
This huis is empty.

At least I hope so. This is a house I found in Clinton Hill near the Broken Angel House. I think it’s had a fire. It’s too bad because the exterior is beautiful. I really hope the shell remains after they do whatever it is.

It’s also a good graphic for this program note: I will be out of blogging range from tomorrow till Sunday. I’ll be back then.

They don’t love you like I love you

Dutch Word of the Day
kaarten: maps
De kaarten zijn veranderd.
The maps have changed.

This is a subway map from the 70s (I think?) that was at the MOMA. The lack of development at that point is kind of startling. Queens and Brooklyn are practically naked. Adding more lines was one of the best things they could’ve done. They still have some work ahead of them.

Some maps and blueprints, unfortunately, don’t change. I’m watching Newport Harbor on MTV cause I’m too lazy to get up and change the channel. Ignore the Times review; this is like the poor man’s same budget regurgitation of Laguna Beach, “The Real O.C.”, a tagline which this show has, too. This even has the same horrible theme song. It’s as if MTV is doing an unfunny parody of their own show.

I didn’t really watch Laguna Beach when it came out, but for some reason I can’t get enough of The Hills. Maybe it’s because they took some years to boil down the most essential characters and refined it. It’s not like the producers have Hoop Dreams- like intuition and depth, but their focus has certainly improved with time. I don’t think anyone’s going to stick around and watch Newport Beach long enough for that to happen.

Broken Commute

Dutch Word of the Day
kapot: broken
Deze huis is kapot.
This house is broken.

But it can and will be mended. Due to the flooding on the subway today, a 45 minute trip to Manhattan became in a 4 hour trek, most of which took place in Brooklyn. I’m not really a huge bus person and was forced to take one today, so I overshot my stop quite a bit. When I walked back, I managed to stumble upon the set of Dave Chappelle’s Block Party with the Broken Angel House at the end of the block. It’s an eccentric house made by eccentric people that played a key role in the film. It was going to get shut down, but it’ll get converted to something else. I was too late for work to try to go inside, but I got some good pictures.

Konijn Eiland

Dutch Word of the Day
konijn: rabbit
Ik ben naar het eiland van konijnen geweest.
I have been to the island of rabbits.

Coney Island is actually named for the little critters that used to live there. It was a Dutch territory (like everything else) called “Rabbit Island.” “Coney” is the anglicized. As for “Eiland”…it’s not even a real island. Whatever.

Today was Siren Fest, a huge music what to do on the boardwalk. It was kind of spur of the moment cause I was wiped after LSAT class, but I’m glad I went. I saw M.I.A. in concert for the second time. It wasn’t as easy as the first time I saw M.I.A../Diplo/DJ Rekha all at the same time at Summerstage two years ago. For one thing, she wasn’t as famous and it was a larger space. Not to mention that it was the only time the opening acts were amazing. Diplo and Rekha were amazing. But today was still really good.

Apparently, she was having visa problems coming from Sri Lanka to America. Well, with lyrics like:

“Down there in my garden/I keep my shit hidden like Bin Laden”
“I be wilder than Tim McVeigh”
“Like PLO I don’t surrend-o!”

… is it any wonder why they gave her issues? Listen to the rest of the CD– everything has its context.

That said, she’s really amazing and I’m a huge fan. Too bad she’s not still with Diplo, I’d love a remix.

Wooo, no, baby please don’t go

Dutch Word of the Day
teleurstelling: disappointment
Leven is vol van teleurstelling.
Life is full if disappointment.

Sorry for the downer sentence. It’s not that bad, really. Here, I’ll show you:

My elementary school, St. Charles Borromeo, was shut down in the winter due to a lack of enrollment. Today I found out that the shoe store where we used to get school shoes was turned into a comic book store. Look at the Johnnie’s Bootery Since 1939 sign above. Yeah, that’s misnomer now.

However, I wasn’t entirely disappointed. It’s a really awesome comic book store called Rocketship. Some of the shoe mirrors by the floor are still on the walls. There was an event there tonight and I got my book signed by Ariel Schrag, who’s kind of my new personal hero in terms of writing. Not for drawing, though. I can barely draw. (Now that we have a scanner, I may or may not subject you to the awfulness. Stay tuned.)

I wonder if St. Charles will turn into something awesome…

Because I already packed the dictionary away:

Things I Can’t Wait To Get Back To:

Familiar People

Starbucks (the REAL one, none of this “coffee shop” crap)

English speaking children

English Speaking Everything

Long Manhattan Walks

TV

Familiar Food

Good Wireless Internet

Consistent Warmth

My own room

The Container Store

The More You Know: New York Edition

Here’s a list of places in New York with Anglicized Dutch Names:

Flatbush
Brooklyn
Midwood
Bedford-Stuyvesant
Boerum Hill
Lefferts Manor
Coney Island
Gerritsen Beach
Gowanus
New Utrecht (duh)
Red Hook

Bed- Stuy, Boerum, Lefferts, and Gerritsen are all family names, but the rest are from words.
I haven’t even begun to look at Manhattan.

"I like it right here, but I cannot stay…"