new york stories, the new 'book bag'
In honor of the Open City benefit tomorrow (http://www.opencity.org/) here's a link to Mr. Beller's neighborhood - http://www.mrbellersneighborhood.com/ - an often wonderful and always entertaining selection of New York stories by New Yorkers; an added bonus is that each tale is now Google-mapped. Another bonus is that one story this week is called "We Kindly Ask That You Turn Off Your David Mamet."
You can search for stories by neighborhood or topic ("flora and fauna," "redeeming the inanimate," "on the subway," etc.), and you can even submit your own. I've been a fan of this site since I moved to the city in 2000, the same year that a certain ex-coworker I crushed on psychotically introduced me to Open City, which was co-founded by Mr. (Thomas) Beller himself. What followed was a subscription to the magazine (I still remember reading the story Octo http://www.opencity.org/mcintyre.html and thinking, this is one of the best stories I've ever read) and several extremely fun launch parties, including two on the Frying Pan off Chelsea Piers; I think it was in 2001 when Parker Posey staggered (kind of gracefully) toward us on the aforementioned boat, drink in hand; she grabbed my friend's arm, belched loudly, and asked us where the bar was. She asked what we did, we said we were in publishing, and she leaned in, whispering, "I'm a performer." (Stars! They're just like Us!)
Um, so to change the subject, I saw this link on the bookslut blog: How to Make a Handbag Out of a Recycled Book. (Phantomblogger, here's a post-diorama project to consider.)
http://www.curbly.com/Chrisjob/posts/4164-Curbly-Video-Podcast-How-to-Make-a-Handbag-out-of-a-Recycled-Book-
You can search for stories by neighborhood or topic ("flora and fauna," "redeeming the inanimate," "on the subway," etc.), and you can even submit your own. I've been a fan of this site since I moved to the city in 2000, the same year that a certain ex-coworker I crushed on psychotically introduced me to Open City, which was co-founded by Mr. (Thomas) Beller himself. What followed was a subscription to the magazine (I still remember reading the story Octo http://www.opencity.org/mcintyre.html and thinking, this is one of the best stories I've ever read) and several extremely fun launch parties, including two on the Frying Pan off Chelsea Piers; I think it was in 2001 when Parker Posey staggered (kind of gracefully) toward us on the aforementioned boat, drink in hand; she grabbed my friend's arm, belched loudly, and asked us where the bar was. She asked what we did, we said we were in publishing, and she leaned in, whispering, "I'm a performer." (Stars! They're just like Us!)
Um, so to change the subject, I saw this link on the bookslut blog: How to Make a Handbag Out of a Recycled Book. (Phantomblogger, here's a post-diorama project to consider.)
http://www.curbly.com/Chrisjob/posts/4164-Curbly-Video-Podcast-How-to-Make-a-Handbag-out-of-a-Recycled-Book-