October 11, 2007
Acid rain.
In New York, when it rains, people overreact absurdly, as if the rain were acid. There was a normal, gentle rain falling as I was walking home from work today, and I saw people cringing, looking deeply distressed. And absolutely everyone had an umbrella. There's this myth that New Yorkers are tough. I don't believe it.
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The rain is cold, woman!
If the rain comes they run and hide their heads.
They might as well be dead.
If the rain comes, if the rain comes.
When the sun shines they slip into the shade...
(beatles)
Cold!? If the rain were cold, it would be snow.
(Nice to see you back, Palladian.)
Kiley: Yes, exactly! What is it with people? Don't they want to live?
I agree. I just moved to NYC from Seattle, and the rain today wouldn't have fazed anyone in Seattle. :)
A very short woman goes into her doctor's office complaining of an irritated crotch. After an examination, the doctor sighs, "I don't seem to see any problem. Does it get better or worse at any time?" "Yeah, it's really bad whenever it rains," she replies. "Well, then," says the Doc, "Next time it rains, get in here at once, and we'll take another look at it."
Two weeks later, it's raining really hard, and the little lady shows up at the doctor's office. "Doctor, it's really bad today. Please, you have to help me!!" "Well, let's have a look," he says, as he lifts her up onto the table. "Oh, yes, I think I see the problem. Nurse, bring me a surgical kit. Don't worry ma'am, this won't hurt a bit."
The women closes her eyes in painful anticipation. The doctor begins snipping away and finishes a few minutes later. "There you go, ma'am, try that." She walks back and forth around the office and exclaims, "That's great, Doc, what did you do?"
"I just took a couple of inches off the top of your rain boots."
(Not all New Yorkers are afraid of the rain, we are just not prepared)
I agree, Ann. We need to embrace the elements. Our air and we are too conditioned in buildings and cars. The between time has become "unnatural" for too many of us.
Besides, weather is a great excuse for cute umbrellas and wet/cold gear.
People from Seattle are able to handle rain, clearly.
It's just when the sun comes out and it gets hot.
You never SAW so much white skin.
*shudder*
Maybe there's something about the rain that you don't know about? Eh? Eh?
;)
There's gotta be a horror movie out there somewhere that proves my point... :)
Madison people are just tougher. The morning I left the heavens opened up and the rain came down. I had my fancy green REI raincoat out and on as I packed the car, got coffee, and otherwise made my way away. The rain was coming down not too hard. But it wasn't drizzle.
Drove down the street. Folks out walking. Folks out riding bikes. Folks chatting on the street corner. No coats or umbrellas.
I lost a good bit of self-esteem in the face of such weather nonchalance.
Here comes the rain again
For Kiley:
Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Susanne the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can't remember who to send it to
I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again
Won't you look down upon me, Jesus
You've got to help me make a stand
You've just got to see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
And I won't make it any other way
(James Taylor)
Its been awhile since I dealt with acid rain, but its likely that rain in NYC is more acidic than Madison or Seattle. Not so bad as a Coke but its not as developed a science as AGW. < /sarcasm >
Anyway, rain makes for good lyrics.
That was not a gentle rain. It was pissing buckets this afternoon. We had 1.8 inches of rain today.
I walked home at 5:30. It was gentle then. Yet people were grimacing like it was a scourge.
People in New York like to pretend nature doesn't exist. The passage of seasons is noted in the condition of concrete: is it wet or dry, hot or cold, does snow cover it?
Amen. Traffic is at a standstill. You can never find a cab and people get really angry.
These are good nights to be home.
I take it you are a Grey Gardens fan.
Guess who lives in the house part-time during the summer months? No peaking.
Sorry about the "ares"-I was just typing like crazy.
I am very excited abou the new movies coming out.
Specifically, what's his name-the one that did the Reynoldo Arenas movie. Julian Schabel-cant wait.
No one wanted to play the package game regarding the presidents.
Tonight I am having Sweet and Sour Soup and Shimp Lo Mein-yum.
Of course they were grimacing. They were melting.
DTL: Funny
Once when it started snowing in Manhattan I had to sit in the street to hail a cab.
"I only wanted
wanted one time see u laughing
I only wanted 2 see u
laughing in the purple
rain.
Purple rain
purple rain
Purple Rain"
More trivia, what academy award nominated movie was originally called, "Bogart Slept Here" and who was the movie about?
Oho rain isn't acid. If anything, it just makes stuff greener.
It's common to see Ohio people under cover, however, until it stops.
Unless they're stuck out on a bicycle, in which case they wear different shoes for a few days afterwards.
Dislike of rain is part of the Doberman breed standard.
Should just move to Michigan then, as here the rain and the snow is acid and you can get both in the same day! We do't run inside from the rain either. Michiganders are tougher than NY'ers anyway as we are surviving a one state recession right now but we will survive!
I recently hired someone from Michigan for a position in Las Vegas and she told me that 1/2 the houses on her block in Oakland (i think) Michigan are for sale and that another 1/3 are under foreclosure.
I think I will stay in NYC. That hasn't hit here at all.
I'm leaving New York titus. Actually leaving the country entirely. I need a new name.
"Tonight I am having Sweet and Sour Soup and Shimp Lo Mein-yum."
Shimp? You mean Shemp?
That's a very pedestrian choice, anyway. It would have been pedestrian even 30 years ago. I don't get the bragging about nothing.
Talking about mean.
You just dished me calling me Pedestrian.
I wasn't stating what I am eating for props just letting everyone know what I am eating.
Wow why are you so mean to me?
Quit knocking my spelling too.
I am a fast typer. You know what I mean.
Why are you so mean to me?
I would like to leave the country for awhile but it is next to impossible to get a job in another country unless you happen to get a transfer from your company (if they have international offices). Even Canada is a pain in the butt. I did have two friends that did go to Canada after the last election. They are a couple and live in Halifax which would not be my pick in Canada. I could definitely live in Montreal or Toronto. Montreal is one of my favorite cities. St. Catherine Street is great fun and the men are hot. I did a guy from Pakistan there once. Montreal's bath houses are like castles. You walk into them and there are these gigantic waterfalls and pools and glass showers. And the little workers there (cum picker uppers) drive around on little golf carts with flashing lights and a siren when they turn the corner. They are so thoughtful. Each golf cart has a little queen in the back selling cigarettes and poppers. One of them I went to had a restaurant in it which was kind of weird. I was walking around the labyrinth in a towel and all of sudden I walked right into a restaurant. Some of the queens were wearing their towels have a Spinach Salad-very euro.
And unfortunately I don't have any money to just "live on my own" for awhile. I make a lot of money but I spend it all.
Please send your rain south. We're having the worst drought since 1954. A quarter inch since July. The heat wave finally broke tonight.
Additionally I am not a sophisticated eater. I try but it is hard. I do go to fancy schmancy restaurants just to be fabulous but sometimes I have a very difficult time finding anything normal enough for me.
That part of Wisconsin has definitely stuck with me. My friends here give me a hard time about it. When I first moved here they called me Ellie May (get it from the Beverly Hillbillies). And most of these queens are from Jersey. I do give them a hard time that I unfortunately have to hang out with people originally from Jersey rather than the Upper West Side. I never met a native gay Upper West Sider in NYC as a friend. I thinking of the "Metropolitan" types but unfortunately no do. One of my best friends here lives in Carroll Gardens and is from Oconto Falls, Wisconsin. I did meet native New Yorkers in Cambridge but not here. Boston and Cambridge is loaded with NYC people who go to school there, especially BU.
I miss my Friday Fish Frys, my fried cheese curds and yes even Tombstone pizzas which you can't find here.
I also have a girlfriend here who lives a couple of buildings over who is originally from Kenosha. When she goes home she brings back cheese curds and deep frys them and we pig out.
I love walking in the rain.
I inevitably think Oooooh, I hear laughter in the rain, walking hand in hand with the one I love.
And there is nothing better than walking around in a rainstorm at night listening to A rainy night in Georgia in your head.
I agree that NYers are wimps.
I also miss Paison's (sp?), Dolly Dumplings, Plaza, Supper Clubs, Lake Wisconsin, Ellas (I think you said it was gross, I love their salad with the big honking croutons), all the bowling alleys (even if they are kind of redneck), curling (which I do with my dad in Lodi when I go home), my mom and dad, even my sisters.
I also miss my family farm, the animals on the farm, the cheap diners in my little town, my parents cottage near Portage on a really pretty lake, my fathers hunting cabin in Bruce, Wisconsin (where I was molested).
But I left there when I was really young-17 so I didn't do much around State Street or the Student Union with the exception of go to dindin sometimes. And all of my friends are gone. None of them stayed there. They all chose their big cities: San Francisco, NYC, LA, Chicago, Boston, Seattle.
I knew Dan Savage when he worked at that video store over by The Plaza. Was it 4 Star Video? Is that still there? I met him one time when I came home and immediately liked him (as a friend). I used to always go there for my "alternative" movies. Not porn, real alternative movies. I am guessing this was around 88 or 89 or so. Who new he would become so fabulous-actually I thought he would become fabulous. He's all married with a kid and everything something that I could never imagine.
Ann:
I like walking in the rain unless I have a good suit on. Got caught on my walk in Philly the other night about a mile from home and was soaked but didn't die.
Then today in Columbus walked (5-6 miles roundtrip) to Ohio State campus in a light rain and saw just what you saw in NYC... a young lady on the campus cringing as if the rain was killing her.
Btw Ann - I forgot how college campuses (where I rarely go) are so different in feel to the rest of the world and I wondered why you don't much comment about that.
Where's Gene Kelly when you need him?
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin',
Singin' in the rain
"There was a normal, gentle rain falling as I was walking home from work today, and I saw people cringing, looking deeply distressed. And absolutely everyone had an umbrella. There's this myth that New Yorkers are tough. I don't believe it."
By temperament, I don't put up my umbrella unless there's downpour. But in a big city, there are other things to consider. (I don't remember New Yorkers' being the way you describe, but people here in Tokyo definitely are.) For one thing, trains and other crowded spaces are really uncomfortable when everyone's rain-wet. For another, if you're wearing a suit and tie, rain can make things sag oddly until you get them cleaned and pressed again.
And then there's the particulate matter rain washes on your head.
If there were to be a contest and Althouse was the judge I think I would be judged the most interesting poster.
Ignore the spellings etc.
Just most interesting.
Don't you all agree?
Look Ann,
Normally I'll leap on any opportunity to point of the climatological imperfections of New Yorkers with regard to their Big Shouldered bretheren out in the midwest. However, I've watched the weather the past few weeks, and I know how this is the first cold snap we've all had this fall. The first one is hard, and I don't think NYC climate is that much different that what your used to. I wouldn't criticize unless they do this through next week.
Then they're a bunch of nancies.
Titus you win by a mile.
Thank you Trooper I am honored. I want a ribbon or a trophy or something.
About the weather I agree New Yorkers are wimps. Wait until it snows girl. The city comes to a standstill.
In Scony it's no big deal but in NYC everyone freaks. And you will never see the snow here that you see in Scony.
The Badgers and Packers lost last weekend.
Go Red Sox. I want to do Manny.
I also fantasize about doing some Saudi Arabian guy in their full Saudi garb.
One time I went on a Saudi gay chat room and talked to a guy from Riyadah (sp) for ever. It was probably a police officer but it was hot. He wanted to be humiliated. He knew I was American and I told him that he had to wear his sheet but just pull his peepee out and show his chest. It was hot. He sent me his picture and he was acutally very hot.
The sad thing is a friend of mine who is a little overweight ended using the picture for his own chatroom adventures in America. How sad is that.
OK now I am pissed one of the dogs has to go outside. This sucks.
Titus, Maxine is sometimes more interesting, but not in a good way.
they called me Ellie May
Maybe you were grabbing their dicks too tightly (Clampett).
I haven't owned an umbrella or worn a watch since I moved to NC 15 years ago, but I do often wear a cap now, which keeps the sun and rain out of my eyes.
As I mentioned a few months ago when you were first showing your spendid view of manhattan, just wait until january when the wind is coming out of those canyons at a million miles an hour and the concrete has chilled everything to minus 10...and although Madison doesn't take many snow days, New York doesn't take many either.
Hm, Titus, or Maxine? I think it's a tie.
Becky
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