Pride in NYC
It's Monday after Pride Weekend in NYC. I'm typing in an exceedingly comfortable internet cafe on West 10th St. It has been a fun weekend over all, but NYC has changed so much. It's kind of like fun has been privatized. OK, the weather was not ideal: there were major downpours on both Saturday and Sunday, the latter one just as the parade was ending, which definitely affected everyone's mood. But the crowd control has become ridiculous. Police monitoring who walks on which block, checking people in and out at every corner. Also, everyone's jammed onto sidewalks while the whole wide swath the west end of of Christopher St. was entirely empty, other than of all the extraneous cops standing around scratching their asses (and I don't blame New York's finest for this excessive crowd control, but after eight years of Adolph Giuliani, followed by eight years of Walt Bloomberg trying to convert new York into a theme park for rich Europeans, I'm not feeling too charitable).
Best public event was the Metrobears harbor boatride. It poured heavily before the boat sailed, but the entire evening out on the water was lovely. NY Harbor (the third or fourth largest natural harbor in the world, btw) is incredible, a monument of nature and of human achievement. We also got an excellent look at Olafur Eliasson's waterfall installations, which had just had their grand opening. They're great fun, though the only one that works for me aesthetically is the one under the Brooklyn Bridge. It really speaks to the bridge. The others are simply dwarfed by their surroundings, and as a fellow passenger whose Brooklyn Heights view of Manhattan is temporarily blocked by one of the waterfalls (my heart bleeds) rather sourly noted, they're really just scaffolding with water, and it's possible to build a much prettier fountain with much less fuss.
And the group on the boat was really fun. Some very cool guys from Philadelphia and a nice play party on the prow under the stars.
Parade got heavily rained on. I didn't go until late (because I was trying to avoid the rain, but got soaked in the second round), and only marched from 6th & Christopher to the end. I jumped in at random and found myself walking with the (very small) Little Red/Elisabeth Irwin contingent, which happens to be where my ideal job would be, so there was a symbolic serendipity there.
XXl. xxlame. I've been to their parties before, both in New York and in London. They've always been a lot of fun. But this was completely empty. It was at Webster Hall, and the DJ was pretty good, but it needs a critical mass of people to work, and they just didn't have it. Maybe it's because you can't have a Sunday night party in NYC unless Monday's a holiday. And I've noted a "Party's Over" mood at the end of Pride in New York before. But this was fucking expensive.
Good weekend over all, Connected with some old friends, got to be in NYC, which is always energizing. I have acccess to an empty apaartment in Harlem for July, and David's going to be gone for half the month, so I imagine I'll be back soon.
Best public event was the Metrobears harbor boatride. It poured heavily before the boat sailed, but the entire evening out on the water was lovely. NY Harbor (the third or fourth largest natural harbor in the world, btw) is incredible, a monument of nature and of human achievement. We also got an excellent look at Olafur Eliasson's waterfall installations, which had just had their grand opening. They're great fun, though the only one that works for me aesthetically is the one under the Brooklyn Bridge. It really speaks to the bridge. The others are simply dwarfed by their surroundings, and as a fellow passenger whose Brooklyn Heights view of Manhattan is temporarily blocked by one of the waterfalls (my heart bleeds) rather sourly noted, they're really just scaffolding with water, and it's possible to build a much prettier fountain with much less fuss.
And the group on the boat was really fun. Some very cool guys from Philadelphia and a nice play party on the prow under the stars.
Parade got heavily rained on. I didn't go until late (because I was trying to avoid the rain, but got soaked in the second round), and only marched from 6th & Christopher to the end. I jumped in at random and found myself walking with the (very small) Little Red/Elisabeth Irwin contingent, which happens to be where my ideal job would be, so there was a symbolic serendipity there.
XXl. xxlame. I've been to their parties before, both in New York and in London. They've always been a lot of fun. But this was completely empty. It was at Webster Hall, and the DJ was pretty good, but it needs a critical mass of people to work, and they just didn't have it. Maybe it's because you can't have a Sunday night party in NYC unless Monday's a holiday. And I've noted a "Party's Over" mood at the end of Pride in New York before. But this was fucking expensive.
Good weekend over all, Connected with some old friends, got to be in NYC, which is always energizing. I have acccess to an empty apaartment in Harlem for July, and David's going to be gone for half the month, so I imagine I'll be back soon.