Quisquilia: Lib. nov.

Magazines

1. Village Voice: http://www.villagevoice.com/
2. New York Magazine: http://nymag.com/
3. Time Out New York: http://newyork.timeout.com/
4. The L Magazine: http://www.thelmagazine.com/

1-3. Any of the above magazines is a good choice for keeping yourself up-to-date on NYC’s pulsating life and will help you spot events, places, sales and shopping excuses, and news on the city’s haves and have-nots. Basically, they all aim at the same set of a young, fun-loving, educated audience, residents and tourists alike, with an emphasis on the hipper quarters of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Guiding you with view to New York’s club life, fashionable rooftop bars and basement waterholes, you will easily get a fair knowledge of NYC’s eternal 80s revival and the finest in DJ culture within city limits, know where to go during fashion week and which unmarked door next to an unfashionable side street corner store holds a hidden dining room or a prohibition era speakeasy (you will have to figure out yourself the knocking pattern, though), why hipsters suck and New York City under Bloomberg still remains the capital of the world - despite all the pacifying and gentrifying which has taken place in the last decade.

4. I’ve never used this magazine during my time in the city, but it seems to appeal to an artsy and cutting-edge clientele the same way the others do, and perhaps its name is most catchy among them with the queer folk. To me, choosing any of the magazines over one another is pretty much only a matter of personal preference; you will find all the news you need and more in any of them including the juicy stories and sex columns of Village Voice’s Dan Savage, the bloggings on theatre and playwrights in L Magazine, Time Out’s well-structured schedules and categories on events and activities to do (and not to be missed!) in New York, and NY Magazine’s somewhat articulated stint at the underground in favour of high culture and high society. Combine either two of them, and your stay in New York is guaranteed to be full of opportunities, overwhelming night and day life and, sadly, all too many missed chances. There is just too much to do in a city that never sleeps.

Blogs

1. Not for Tourists: http://www.notfortourists.com/newyork.aspx
2. Brooklyn Vegan: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/
3. Gothamist: http://gothamist.com/

1. Insiders know best, and if you are looking for some surf action or lonely beach walking, the local favourite deli-joint or just accurate, reliable neighbourhood portraits including maps, and places preferably not overrun by tourists in general, NFT is the perfect starting point for your research. Articles are written by natives and residents, clear and up-front, and though their tartly comments sometimes come across rude (this is NYC, after all), they get down to the facts effectively, without cutting slack. Spicey, straight, uncompromising - a safe bet for insights into the lesser-known parts of the city, its highlights, and the hot shit (aka faex calesca). Don’t miss out on New York’s narrative and first-hand knowledge and join the esoterics and city-dwellers from within New York City. With your i-prefixed cell phone, you can even navigate while on the walk.

2. Brooklyn Vegan functions as your source for information on concerts and parties at night, particularly if indie, electro and Balkan music is your cup of tea, and it also offers effective news on genres outside mainstream hipsterdom such as rock, metal or house. Do not expect anything too outragous or adventurous here, though, as there are plenty of newsletters, Yahoo groups and secretive lists on the experimental and underground which don’t principally cater to an audience in its late teens, early twenties. Hence you won’t find yourself at an illegal warehouse rave if you solely depend on Brooklyn Vegan. Word of mouth and a network of close and not-so-close friends in your favourite spots will prove more rewarding in this instance, just as a few web-based links on the ever-so insatiable Scylla of social networking sites. Make up a name and fake profile and benefit from the savvyness of the Youtube and Last.fm generation. Also, you may be able to fetch discounts and guestlist spots here time and again.

3. Gothamist tends to take a much brighter look at the city than the DC Comics-inspired nickname may suggest. (Actually, Washington Irving was the first in 1807 to refer to Manhattan as Gotham, but the imagery, architecture and gritty atmosphere often associated with NYC, particularly in movies and artifacts relating to the 1970s and 1980s, strongly corresponds to the image of the metropolis going by this name which is also home to Batman.) Here, you will find extensive food reviews and restaurant recommendations throughout the city, along with cooking recipes, cocktail mixology and formulas and tips on healthy servings. Next to a charming obsession with subsistence and nutrition, it also offers delightful news on arts and entertainment, galleries and exhibitions, dating and local politics (OWS, for instance, as of late), with a lacing of celebrity gossip, blurps on New York’s social circles and light-hearted sports columns. There is nothing too deep and serious about this enjoyable blog, but it will consistently point you to the right direction as regards the cinema, culture and cuisine of The Big Apple.

Indispensable for food & catering

1. Menu Pages: http://www.menupages.com/changecity/newyork
2. Zagat: http://www.zagat.com/newyork

1-2. While you will find many restaurants and food joints in New York City Zagat-rated and the Zagat survey considered indispensable by many distinguished New Yorkers, most often you will rather stumble across a Zagat decal by chance, noticing it at the storefront from inside-out, while looking out and observing the buzzling life and busy streets of Manhattan. An ex post facto if there was ever one, and hence a bit of gambling if you go by older accolades - which rarely get removed from shop windows or front doors - or the Zagat guide you snatched at the hotel reception or local bookstore. If you care to prepare for a restaurant visit in the evening or a bar night with friends or business partners, Menu Pages, which has recently been acquired by Seamless, will at minimum prove a valuable side and provide you with free general information on restaurants, bars and lounges alike. Currently, the directory is listing more than 35,000 menus and close to 175,000 user-generated reviews, made available online for free, for both mobile and home-computing. Your smartphone thus will guide you to the next hot spot or top-notch neighbourhood tavern and avert you from ending up at a dive bar with your guest from Singapore instead of the hippest club in town with the same name next door.

1. Hopstop: http://www.hopstop.com/
2. Seamless: http://www.seamless.com/
3. Airbnb: http://www.airbnb.com/

1. NYC is huge, and despite an extensive 24/7 public transit system ranking among the most advanced in the world (and the oldest, too), connecting the tri-state metropolitan area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, it easily proves overwhelming when you start planning your trips beyond the immediate surroundings. The most reliable and simple way to navigate the city is Hopstop, always up-to-date, at day, at night, including real-time information on the service status of all lines, i.e. delays, service changes and cancellations. In addition, it provides alternative routes, schedules and transfers, and helps its users step by step, with maps and itineraries, for the traveller planning or checking his trips ahead of time. Less user-friendly proves MTA’s info page, and Google Maps is great for its street view feature, but useless for mapping out your routes.

2. Ordering food is tempting after a long day on tour or at work in the office, particularly given the negligent state of many Manhattan kitchenettes, which, often lacking basic utensils such as cooking knives and boards, turn food preparation much more into a challenge and ordeal than daily routine or artisan hobby. With Seamless, hundreds of restaurants, take-aways and other food joints in the immediate neighbourhood are at hand by instant online ordering, without the hassle of busy lines and phone miscommunication - and no awkward discussions about the amount of tipping, due to advance payment by credit card via Seamless’ system. Providing reviews and recommendations, photos, menus and detailed descriptions of the dishes, this site makes choosing (and bookmarking) your favourites and culinary hotspots awfully simple. And re-ordering even more tempting.

3. The NYC market for vacational rentals is stock full of schemes and scams, which renders any search for an (short-term) apartment from outside New York a vabanque, i.e. a risky enterprise, which in turn can get you to find yourself in front of an empty lot upon arrival instead of the shiny, newly refurbished flat you chose for your stay. Fraud is rampant, and Google’s search results unfortunately push some of the most shady and frivolous offers to the top. Airbnb’s design as a social community, enhancing (or corrupting, depending on your point of view) the concept of couchsurfing by facilitating rentals among strangers and friends, is a huge step forward. Reviews for hosts and guests, a secure payment system holding transactions for 24 hours to prevent rip-offs, and verification features for profiles and apartments are among the mechanisms put in place, to make you feel better about choosing a place to stay and venturing into the unknown.

(i) Let me introduce you to New York’s fauna and its habitats: Mus musculus (a fugitive rodent at Westside Cleaners), Columba livia domestica (frequently observed on my window sills and the a/c), and the utterly abominable Scutigera coleoptrata, which ranks high among the most creepy extraterrestials ever.

(ii) An embarrassingly long-sought solution to a standard mathematical problem: t[h] = ((speed.A [km/h] + speed.B[km/h]) / distance [km])^-1. (See here if you wish to inquire what that means.)

(iii) How come all the jams I enjoy here in the States, are of Italian origin? First Fiordifrutta: Organic fruit spread: Raspberry, produced by Rigoni di Asiago Spa, Star-K kosher-certified, and now Pomegranate Raspberry: Organic Preserves by Mediterranean Organic, extra fruit, artisan crafted, “grown under the Mediterranean sun, [...] picked at the peak of ripeness and processed in small batches on a 4th generation Italian family farm”.

(iv) A Gourmet Deli? No doubt, I must be in West Village, bordering on Chelsea.

320 West 14th Street

(v) $800 for a dinner for two (omakase-style)? I’d rather go have cazuelas fajitas-style at hip Dos Caminos on the border to Meatpacking District, and then head over to Gaslight with its laidback, retro atmosphere.

(vi) I need my watch battery replaced. Looking for a dealer in the Manhattan yellow pages, I notice that 47 W St nr 5th Ave is the epicentre of New York’s watch-retail, -service and -repair - a.k.a. the Diamond District.

(vii) Spam: “The Jew Watch Project’s 1.5 Billion Pages Served Demonstrate Our Focus on Professionalism”. - What is wrong with you people?! About 1,500,000,000 skew reasons.

(viii) Do you also have a sense of epiphany with this Google Maps street view image?

Aran Islands or Arran Islands, (p. 58)
in Galway Bay, Co. Galway, Ireland. The three islands are Inishmore, Inisheer, and Inishmaan. They are barren, and living conditions are primitive.

toy dogs. (p. 1278)
Many small dogs have been developed from the larger breeds for the sole purpose of being pets. One of the smallest of these is the Chihuahua, which weighs from 1 to 6 lb. It has a round skull, wide-set eyes, and large, erect ears, and varies in color from white, through shades of tan, to black. [...] Easily recognized by its flat nose and round, protruding eyes is the Pekingese (or Pekinese). Its coat is straight and silky and may be black, tan, fawn, brown, or white. [...] One variety of poodle is a toy dog.

Heine, Heinrich, (p. 543)
1797-1856, German author, of Jewish parentage. His Buch der Lieder [book of songs] (1827) placed him among the greatest German poets. Lyrics have musical, folklike quality (as in “Lorelei”), often spiced with subtle irony or dissonant endings, have attracted many composers, notably Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms. His prose travel sketches [...] show the same mixture of lyric emotion and corrosive wit. [In Paris,] he died after eight years of tragic sickness, confined to his “mattress grave”. [...] Nearly all his work has been translated to English, although his verse often defies translation.

ex:
The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (in 2 volumes),
The Viking Press / Columbia University Press: New York 1953

Queens, (p. 1044)
borough (land area 108 sq. mi.; pop. 1,550,849) of New York city, SE N.Y., W end of Long Isl. adjoining Brooklyn borough. Separated from Manhattan and the Bronx by East R. (mainly bridges, e.g. Queensboro Bridge, built 1909, which stimulated borough’s greatest growth; and tunnel connections); on S is Jamaica Bay, separated from the Atlantic by Rockaway peninsula (c. 12 mi. long; resorts and commuters’ communities). First settled by Dutch 1635; old Queens co. estab. 1683; divided 1898 into Queens and Nassau counties, when Queens also became a New York city borough (largest in area). Mainly residential as in communities of Flushing, with Flushing Meadows park (site of New York World’s Fair in 1939-40, later site of General Assembly meetings of the UN) and Queens Col. (see New York, College of the City of); and Forrest Hills (has West Side Tennis Club where national and international matches are held). Heavily industrialized in area of Long Island City (shipping facilities on East R.; rail yards; consumer commodities); also at Astoria and Jamaica (important railroad transfer point, with extensive business and residential sections). Has two municipal airports, both administered by Port of New York Authority - LaGuardia (558 acres; opened 1939) and New York Internatl. Airport (4,900 acres; opened 1948; sometimes called Idlewild). Here are Jamaica and Aqueduct race tracks.

ex:
The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (in 2 volumes),
The Viking Press / Columbia University Press: New York 1953

Manhattan. (p. 765)
1 City (pop. 19,056), NE Kansas [...] 2 Borough (land area 22 sq. mi.; pop. 1,960,101) of New York city, SE N.Y., coextensive with New York co. Composed chiefly of Manhattan isl. (c. 12 mi. long and 2 mi. wide at greatest width), but also including islands in East R. and in New York Bay (Governors Island; Ellis Island; Bedloe’s Isl., with Statue of Liberty); bounded on W by Hudson R., NE and N by Harlem R. and Spuyten Duyvil Creek. Many bridges, tunnels, ferries link it to the other boroughs and to N.J. Dutch West India Company bought Manhattan from Manhattan Indians in 1626 for trinkets worth $24; first known as New Amsterdam, it became New York under the English 1664; its boundaries were those of New York city until 1874, when several Westchester co. communities were inc. into city; became a New York city borough 1898. Commercial, cultural, financial heart of the city, with extensive and diversified mfg., tremendous wholesale and retail trade, major distribution facilities (rail, ship, truck), banking and finance establishments. Here are Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, Museum of Modern Art; hq. of New York Public Library; numerous theaters (theatrical center of the country) and institutions of music, Columbia University, parts of College of the City of New York and of New York University, New School for Social Research, Juilliard School of Music, theological seminaries and medical schools, Cooper Union; Trinity Church (chartered 1697), Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, Riverside Church, Temple Emanu-El. Famous areas: Harlem, Greenwich Village, the Bowery; streets: Broadway, Fifth Avenue, Wall Street; parks: the Battery, Central Park, Fort Tryon Park (with the Cloisters). Some of the much-visited buildings are: Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Jumel Mansion, and UN hq.

ex:
The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (in 2 volumes),
The Viking Press / Columbia University Press: New York 1953

Staten Island (p. 1212)
(57 sq. mi.; pop. 191,555), SE N.Y., in New York Bay, forming (with small adjacent islands) Richmond borough (since 1898) of New York city and Richmond co. of N.Y. state. N and W, bridges cross to N.J. over Kill Van Kull and Arthur Kill; ferries connect with Manhattan (NE) and Brooklyn. Generally residential, with some semirural sections and resort beaches (SE shore). Industries (shipbuilding and repairing, oil refining, lumber milling) mainly in N. Trade centers are St. George, Stapleton (site of first U.S. free port), Port Richmond. Staten Isl. visited by Henry Hudson 1609; permanent community estab. by 1661. Early buildings include Billopp (or Conference) House (built before 1688), where Lord Howe negotiated with Continentals in 1776; Church of St. Andrew (founded 1708); Garibaldi House (Italian liberator lived here in 1850s).

ex:
The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (in 2 volumes),
The Viking Press / Columbia University Press: New York 1953

(i) Spell it all out: “Watermelon chunks / USA // Watermelon, chunks Great snack for the hot summer ahead. Delicious, mouth-watering. Ingredients: Just Watermelons!!!!! Nothing added, nothing taken off.” (source: Fairway price tag $4.85 / 1.39 lb)

(ii) Abundance all around. It is too much: strictly speaking of quantities. As if the 2 liters (2.1 Qt) soda bottles weren’t enough or the 8 fl oz (236 ml) of lemon juice, a minimum 500 count of cotton swabs seems excessive even in these parts.

(iii) A dove bravely ruffling her feathers on the fire escape railing outside my window, unmoved by my ever so encroaching curiousity. Even the birds prove tough New Yorkers here.

(iv) In the Time Warner cableverse, somewhere there is always a Law & Order franchise running. 24/7.

(v) What does this tell us about the American psyche and what it is longing for?

God is Kung Fu!

(vi) The Five Points Mission: “Finding God through martial arts”. Really?

(vii) E Houston / Forsyth St (Sara D. Roosevelt Park), late afternoon: A brother with earplugs, smartphone is preaching the gospel, and white middle class America is passing by, rushed, at a distance. In the background kids, playing the game on the basketball court, hazy future deities of sports.

(viii) Rush hour, Times Square, hopping onboard the 3 Express Train, on the local track: a surprise stop at 66th St.

(ix) Two words I, as a non-native speaker, need to teach my Manhattan-bred, Manhattan-native host: cutting board and kitchen knife. Seriously, even a Manhattanite needs such lest cutting carrots proves a chore.

(i) In each of the four flights the uppermost stair is noticeably off, hence stepping outside from the apartment is always a steep step downwards at first.

(ii) For one hour straight, between 4 and 5am, a car alarm went on and off on the 82nd street, again and again. From which light sleep followed, and much too early a morning. Shut off the frigging car alarm, now!

(iii) Proceeding from the lake and Central Park Driveway, while ascending towards high life at 72nd street, I notice a striking odour and think to myself: Maybe a more befitting name for Strawberry Fields would be The Weedy Patch?

(iv) How can they not know about liquid sweetener in the US? (Or at least in the organic food fueled, overtly health-conscious Upper West Side of New York?) This is the darn United States of America! The greatest nation under God, the land of opportunity! The beacon of consumer sentiment, the epitome of awesomeness? But no artificial sweetener in liquid form available, anywhere.

(v) And no, syrup doesn’t cut it.

(vi) There is something wrong about nightfall taking place at 8pm in New York City in mid-August.

Hazy shades, West End Ave (Apthorp bldg.)

(vii) At dark, cicadas, katydids or crickets welcome the night just before my window, on the sill, with an unairy (eerie / eyrie) song.

Wassersnoth / Liebesklage¹

Zu Koblenz auf der Brücken / da lag ein tiefer Schnee.
Der Schnee, der ist verschmolzen, / das Wasser fließt zum See.

Es fließt in Liebchens Garten, / da wohnet niemand drein.
Ich kann da lange warten; / es stehn zwei Bäumelein.

Koblenz, Kaiserin-Augusta-Promenaden: Hochwasser 01/2011

Die sehen mit den Kronen / noch aus dem Wasser grün.
Mein Liebchen muß drin wohnen, / ich kann nicht zu ihr hin.

Koblenz, Deutsches Eck: Hochwasser 01/2011

Wenn Gott mich freundlich grüßet / aus blauer Luft und Thal,
aus diesem Flusse grüßet / mein Liebchen allzumal.

Sie geht nicht auf der Brücken, / da gehn viel schöne Fraun.
Sie tun mich viel anblicken, / ich mag die nicht anschaun.

(Sagen und Lieder ut ôler Welt, gesammelt v. Wilhelm Busch,
hrsg. v. seinem Neffen Otto Nöldeke. Lothar Joachim: Leipzig 1922, S. 95)