Live! From the Streets Congratulates Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States
"I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York's skyline. Particularly when one can't see the details. Just the shapes and the thoughts that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need? And then people tell me about pilgrimages to some dank pesthole in a jungle where they go to do homage to a crumbling temple, to a leering stone monster with a pot belly, created by some leprous savage. Is it beauty and genius they want to see? Do they seek a sense of the sublime? Let them come to New York, stand on the shore of the Hudson, look and kneel. When I see the city from my window - no, I don't feel how small I am - but I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body." --Ayn Rand
George Orwell, in his 1933 semi-autobiographical narrative, Down and Out in Paris and London, explained the importance of the street corner proletariat, recognizing their place in everyone's day to day routine. He stressed how, after being "down and out" himself and working passing out "handbills" on cobbled London streets, it was important for the passersby to gracious accept take whatever he is offered. Working in a sandwich shop first, Orwell went on to explain, "the job all sandwich men covet is distributing handbills, which is paid for at the same rate. When you see a man distributing handbills you can do him a good turn by taking one, for he goes off duty when he has distributed all his bills."
So when you see that man down on lower Broadway handing out Chipotle flyers or our friends in Midtown walking with signs on their front and back raving about the lowest-priced suits in the City, make sure you take whatever they're handing out...so they can go home earlier, especially as the cold months are starting to creep in.
"At present I do not feel that I have seen more than the fringe of poverty. Still I can point to one or two things I have definitely learned by being hard up. I shall never again think that all tramps are drunken scoundrels, nor expect a beggar to be grateful when I give him a penny, nor be surprised if men out of work lack energy, nor subscribe to the Salvation Army, nor pawn my cloths, nor refuse a handbill, nor enjoy a meal at a smart restaurant. That is a beginning." -The Immortal Orwell
It's OK if you don't take pamphlets from the religious fanatics. This gem can be found when walking the long, lonely road from the N, R, Q, W, 1, 2, 3, S to the A, C, E at the
Times Square station.
Sorry about the lapse in content, readers. We just relocated our headquarters to the West Village in Manhattan and things have been hectic! Before you know it, we'll be back to blasting the humdrum out of the water, kicking ass and taking names, and showing you that New Amsterdam is the greatest city on earth.
Here's some filler for you while you're waiting:
Editor's Top List of Grievances Before the Weekend
1. Nursing home sex (the residents having sex with each other, not the staff having sex with the residents, which is also disturbing)
2. Hottest day of the year
3. Coldest day of the year
4. Civil War reenactments
5. People who regurgitate goldfish
6. Ulcerative Colitis
7. Puppy mills
8. Vermonters
9. Guys in better shape who jog shirtless
10. People who walk in bike lanes
11. The troll in The Billy Goats Gruff
12. Not knowing the difference between "there," "their," and "they're"
13. Chris Crocker
14. Poet's-collar shirts
15. The memory of Japanese Internment Camps
16. An animated "Star Wars" movie
17. The baseball season lasting so long
18. Wall Street execs' holiday bonuses
19. Jim Cramer and his "sell everything" cavalier attitude, which he obviously doesn't adhere to
20. The U.S.'s unemployment rate
21. Sarah Palin and the people who seriously like her (this one is really just a lay-up)
22. The words/phrases "picnic," "upscale," "affluent," and "pet peeve"
23. The Electoral College
24. Oliver Stone's reportedly sympathetic look at Dubya in his forthcoming film, "W"
25. Friday afternoons at 4:45 PM
If Perez Hilton can help springboard Amy Winehouse to instant stardom/drama/etc., than we here at Live! From the Streets feel just as compelled and obligated to launch our own toe-tapping, contagiously hip "it" girl to the scene. Welcome, Katy Perry, and thank you for making it socially acceptable (via MTV and the radio) for two members of the same sex to kiss. It only took us until 2008, but we'll take what we can get.
Check out her remake of The Outfield's classic "Your Love," and see for yourself why we appreciate Amy's tattoos, physical abuse of her boyfriend, and drug problem, but we're going to stick with Katy, thank you very much. Mark it up on the big board.
Top 10 Downers
1. Fifth Avenue sidewalk traffic
2. Queens becoming the new Brooklyn
3. Hipsters leaving Williamsburg
4. Christo's "Waterfalls"
5. The neglect and abuse of Hansom Cab horses
6. Out-of-Service subway trains that go flying past after you've waited 20 minutes
7. Marquee
8. Sunday SoHo traffic back to New Jersey
9. Tourists who are close-minded as to our unique culture aka Chinatown
10. No recycling bins to be found on the streets
On a sunny Sunday in early September, it was confirmed that Astroland, Brooklyn's famous amusement park, will be closing for good. After 46 years as hands-down the best people-watching spot in all of the Five Boroughs, terms could not be reached to renew the park's lease.
The Cyclone, Astroland's landmarked rollercoaster, is not scheduled to be shut down.
One Astroland devotee pays homage to the Cyclone
Campaign Trail 2000 Election: Al Gore claims to have invented the Internet.
Campaign Trail 2008 Election: John McCain's Senior Domestic Policy Advisor claims the Senator has invented the "miracle of the Blackberry."
According to CNN's Chris Welch, McCain Camp Member Douglas Holtz-Eakin,while bumbling to provide an example of a positive affect McCain has had on the economy, simply held up his Blackberry and said, "He did this."
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