From "I sneak outside to a New York in which I am the only person" by David Sedaris in the London Times. When did David Sedaris move to New York City? Last I looked, he was somewhere in England.
Anyway, I wanted to read this so much that I subscribed to the London Times — just for this one thing. Now, I'm exploring the London Times, and it's going to be one of my regular stops.
Get ready to see this blog highlighting things like "guzzling biccies as we gawp at teddies." What does it mean??
During this time of unprecedented national angst, Britons are seeking comfort in a television show about broken teddy bears....As for "biccies" — I guessed what that might mean, and then I looked it up, and I was right: cookies!
[I]t now appears socially acceptable for “wine o’clock” — or cocktail hour — to begin whenever the television is switched on.Noted.
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Vocabulary lesson for the day: "Loris is the common name for the strepsirrhine primates of the subfamily Lorinae (sometimes spelled Lorisinae) in the family Lorisidae. Loris is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender lorises, while Nycticebus is the genus containing the slow lorises." So "a loris in a full body cast is fast [compared to] a 63-year-old"; and there is a kind of loris known as the "slow loris".
It's possible that Sedaris is writing about NYC from memory. To my midwestern eye it looks like a piece written in London.
Thanks h: I thought loris was a Dr. Seuss character.
"Biccies" ha!
If I may be so bold as to suggest that Althouse also have a look at the Telegraph. It's a different kettle of fish from the Times, but mostly a worthwhile read.
Standards are slipping in Old Blighty; one guzzles fluids but snarfs comestibles.
"I have a perfect record step-wise, and am not about to break it for a raging pandemic."
Understandable. Would be like long time blogger missing a day due to illness, trip, or suggestions that she "deserves a day off".
Or Rupert Pupkin sitting out a ballgame
A loris in a full body cast is fast for a 63-year-old. That’s why I decided a few weeks back to leave my wallet at home, and just take a twenty. That way I can be robbed, but not of my hard-to-replace identity card with a picture of a weary tortoise on it.
So, I'm guessing that wallet of his is not embossed with "Bad Mother Fucker".
"That's it. That's my Bad Mother Fucker".
I thought Sedaris drowned in a sewer.
Strike that--I hoped Sedaris drowned in a sewer.
Was a beautiful day today, and the outdoor public spaces like beaches and nature rest areas with parking were full up. Even NYers are restless. Most people are wearing masks, which is probably a good thing, as that's probably going to be a part of city living for a while. A whole new accessory.
Last I heard about Sedaris, he was picking up garbage along the streets in the UK during his usual walks. Didn't the town buy a garbage truck that they named after him?
Maybe the Garbage Pickers Union drove him out as he was taking their jobs?
Now, now. It's not the London Times. It is simply The Times. Has been since January 1, 1788. All others using the name are knockoffs and imitators; The Times is the original.
Althouse
I take The Sunday Times which arrives late Saturday Eastern time. Read the sports section, cricket coverage. Might as well be in Chinese.
"Now, now. It's not the London Times. It is simply The Times. Has been since January 1, 1788. All others using the name are knockoffs and imitators; The Times is the original."
It's like snail mail and acoustic guitar. If I say "the Times," I mean the New York Times, and I've got to have a way to distinguish it.
I truly adore David Sedaris. I wonder why his point of view is so compelling, but it's just fascinating to me.
Biccies being slang for biscuits, many Americans once called cookies biscuits as well. Nabisco is short for National Biscuit Company. They made mostly cookies.
My husband is a compulsive Fitbit user. He’s working as a contractor in Kuwait where they have curfew hours, but he has still managed to get ibetween 20 to 30,000 steps a day. Ramadan has begun and they’ve tightened the hours even more, but he still managed 5000 steps just walking around his apartment. All before 6 am. He’s obsessed.
It's interesting what NYC has become. I moved there in 1983 - I know Professor Althouse predated me. The attraction was that you did whatever you wanted to do and everyone else minded their own. That was the attraction; it wasn't the stupid museums or restaurants. Now, you have to sneak out at night to walk around. It's not your grandfather's New York
Blogger Ken B said...Standards are slipping in Old Blighty; one guzzles fluids but snarfs comestibles.
Wrong-oh Mr. Canuck, you snarf JELLO.
My Fitbit thinks I died about a month ago.
Some SNORT jello.
Takes all kinds.
I have never read more than a paragraph or two of Sedaris. I don’t remember them making any impression on me at all.
Now that everyone is an out-of-shape, overweight, irritable, depressed, agoraphobic, hypochondriac, misanthropic, anti-social, stay-at-home, loser hermit, it makes life tough for those of us who have been that way all along.
People of Earth! Get off your couches and get back to work! Leave the endless, aimless, listless moping to the experienced professionals!
Now, you have to sneak out at night to walk around. It's not your grandfather's New York
That hasn't been my experience. I talk walks every day, and if the weather is nice there are a lot of people out walking, probably 70% with masks, no one judging anyone. Today was especially nice, and I heard Central Park was crowded (by current standards). I just took walks on residential streets. But there's no need to wait till midnight.
"The Times of London", properly just The Times.
There was a time (pun intended subconsciously) when independent master printers composed and published their own bulletins and newspapers, using their apprentices as hawkers and bill posters. Benjamin Franklin and his Pennsylvania Gazette being an obvious example of the practice. A number of master printers in the counties and colonies adopted a version of the venerable newspaper's masthead for their amateur rags, The New York Times being just one of the myriad copycats, though an especially loathsome example.
I've enjoyed reading and listening to Sedaris but his brand feels unfit for the times. In normal times he's a touch of the mood of pandemic. I don't need more heaped on top of what I have at the moment.
From "I sneak outside to a New York in which I am the only person" by David Sedaris in the London Times.
Funny that nobody mentioned that the link is bad.
If he's the only person who snuck out of his cage, who took his non-selfie-looking picture?
Sorry AA, "Sedaris" is just another anointed 'Elite' pushing his brand out there for monetary reasons. It's quite simple!
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