Is it time for Random Thoughts - Part 4?

[WWGD]

New York has a lot of really cool stuff.

Unfortunately all that cool stuff is in New York.

Hey, I thought after 9/11 everyone was supposed to pretend to like NYC.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Hey, I thought after 9/11 everyone was supposed to pretend to like NYC.

I didn't get the memo!

 

[dkotschessaa]

I actually met an anti-vaxxer for the first time on the internet. They were like mythical creatures to me - I never met one. I found myself actually shaking with rage, and am not proud of how I behaved in the conversation. Really lost my cool.

 

[WWGD]

I didn't get the memo!

The comment comes from the way many, largely in the bible belt ,would refer to (pre 9/11) NY, with its largely secular population, as the heathen capital of the US, only to backpedal on their comments after the attacks. Still , there is an interesting book on the personality of cities that claims that ambition and search for success are traits that largely shape/define New York City ;maybe that is what many dislike. N.Y people referring to a good chunk of the US as "flyover country" does not help either.

 

[dkotschessaa]

The comment comes from the way many, largely in the bible belt ,would refer to (pre 9/11) NY, with its largely secular population, as the heathen capital of the US, only to backpedal on their comments after the attacks. Still , there is an interesting book on the personality of cities that claims that ambition and search for success are traits that largely shape/define New York City ;maybe that is what many dislike. N.Y people referring to a good chunk of the US as "flyover country" does not help either.

It's just too many people and things in one little place, resulting in a frantic pace, hot tempers, and a generally toxic psychological atmosphere. Some people claim to like it there, but I have always thought it was the same kind of mentality of someone clinging to an abusive relationship.

It also has the most awesome places in the world one can go to (The math museum! I have to go!). I just wish those places were somewhere else, but their existence is probably dependent on being located in a place with lots of people. (I don't see a math museum thriving in Tampa...)

-Dave K

 

[jim hardy]

maybe that is what many dislike. N.Y people referring to a good chunk of the US as "flyover country" does not help either.

Being basically a small-town southerner I was surprised by my first visit to New York.

With seven millions of people in so few square miles the crowding was just astounding. There's no way you can make eye contact, nod and say "Howdy" to everybody you walk past, let alone give them a generous 'space' on the sidewalk like you do where i came from.
At first brush this gives one the impression of an impersonal almost confrontational culture.
After trying to 'howdy' my first thousand or so New Yorkers i figured out the obvious - you can't politely acknowledge everyone for there's just too many of them. I felt as out of place that poor cowboy in "Bus Stop".

Well, i soon found myself needing directions so pulled out my NYC map and stopped a fellow i'd just picked at random out of the crowd. He looked busy, but everybody there looks busy and intent on getting where they're going.
What an unexpected surprise: the fellow stopped, immediately focusing on me and my map. I could sense his intensity as i asked the whereabouts of my destination. He gave me direct and clear directions complete with arm waving gestures, then went over them on my map - in summary gave me his undivided and focused attention for about a minute. He then asked where was i from and wished me a nice visit .
"Well" , i thought. " New Yorkers are no less friendly than Southerners they're just preoccupied. I guess it's a consequence of living in such close quarters."

A couple decades later i met and married my greater half, Fair Anne, a NYC girl from lower east side who happens to be also a great Southern cook. We greatly enjoyed visiting her Mom who lived at Delancey and Ave A, by that big bridge with a subway on the lower level. . The trains roar past her window every few minutes and while i never adjusted it didn't seem to bother her. Every street is a smorgasboard of different sights. Canal street has the best junkshops anywhere. I can see how people might like that level of constant mental stimulation.

I came to the conclusion that NYC would be a great place to live were one's income enough to enjoy the ten dollar hamburgers, fifty dollar symphony seats and the insane property taxes.
But i'll be poor in a small town, thank you - here i have an acre on a lake where in summertime the grandkids splash about, and my house is deep in a lush green woods . I actually enjoy chopping firewood in winter. There's no rich people to envy here - a status symbol is a nice old tractor. It's just an hour drive to a mid-size town with a university and a pretty good symphony for that occasional dash of culture..

Fair Anne is a paradox to my friends - a NYC girl who makes fabulous biscuits & gravy ?
I tell them she's from South Manhattan.

Dislike NY? Not this good ol' boy. But you guys do need to get Bloomberg under control.

old jim

 

[WWGD]

Being basically a small-town southerner I was surprised by my first visit to New York.

With seven millions of people in so few square miles the crowding was just astounding. There's no way you can make eye contact, nod and say "Howdy" to everybody you walk past, let alone give them a generous 'space' on the sidewalk like you do where i came from.
At first brush this gives one the impression of an impersonal almost confrontational culture.
After trying to 'howdy' my first thousand or so New Yorkers i figured out the obvious - you can't politely acknowledge everyone for there's just too many of them. I felt as out of place that poor cowboy in "Bus Stop".

Well, i soon found myself needing directions so pulled out my NYC map and stopped a fellow i'd just picked at random out of the crowd. He looked busy, but everybody there looks busy and intent on getting where they're going.
What an unexpected surprise: the fellow stopped, immediately focusing on me and my map. I could sense his intensity as i asked the whereabouts of my destination. He gave me direct and clear directions complete with arm waving gestures, then went over them on my map - in summary gave me his undivided and focused attention for about a minute. He then asked where was i from and wished me a nice visit .
"Well" , i thought. " New Yorkers are no less friendly than Southerners they're just preoccupied. I guess it's a consequence of living in such close quarters."

A couple decades later i met and married my greater half, Fair Anne, a NYC girl from lower east side who happens to be also a great Southern cook. We greatly enjoyed visiting her Mom who lived at Delancey and Ave A, by that big bridge with a subway on the lower level. . The trains roar past her window every few minutes and while i never adjusted it didn't seem to bother her. Every street is a smorgasboard of different sights. Canal street has the best junkshops anywhere. I can see how people might like that level of constant mental stimulation.

I came to the conclusion that NYC would be a great place to live were one's income enough to enjoy the ten dollar hamburgers, fifty dollar symphony seats and the insane property taxes.
But i'll be poor in a small town, thank you - here i have an acre on a lake where in summertime the grandkids splash about, and my house is deep in a lush green woods . I actually enjoy chopping firewood in winter. There's no rich people to envy here - a status symbol is a nice old tractor. It's just an hour drive to a mid-size town with a university and a pretty good symphony for that occasional dash of culture..

Fair Anne is a paradox to my friends - a NYC girl who makes fabulous biscuits & gravy ?
I tell them she's from South Manhattan.

Dislike NY? Not this good ol' boy. But you guys do need to get Bloomberg under control.

old jim

Interesting observations, Jim . I think my ideal life would be one in which I would switch back-and-forth between living in NY and then somewhere slower , but neither my life nor my wallet allow me to do that at this point.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Interesting observations, Jim . I think my ideal life would be one in which I would switch back-and-forth between living in NY and then somewhere slower , but neither my life nor my wallet allow me to do that at this point.

I would love to live in upstate New York. I almost moved to Mt. Tremper. (Near or in a zen monastery). I could see living in upstate and maknig the occasionally visits to NYC for what they call "retox." :)

 

[Medicol]

I'll be a doctor next life.

 

[WWGD]

I would love to live in upstate New York. I almost moved to Mt. Tremper. (Near or in a zen monastery). I could see living in upstate and maknig the occasionally visits to NYC for what they call "retox." :)

Maybe we can both use the services of this company:

https://www.homeexchange.com/en/

 

[dkotschessaa]

Maybe we can both use the services of this company:

https://www.homeexchange.com/en/

Hey, that's cool.

We are in the middle of buying a house (here in tampa, FL). I would probably have no problem getting a swap with someone in the frozen north.

 

[AlephZero]

Not the sort of headline you see every day ...

Russia loses control of gecko sex experiment satellite

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28490744

 

[WWGD]

Not the sort of headline you see every day ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28490744

They lost the Gecko? So I won't save 15% on my satellite insurance?

 

[AlephZero]

For some reason it made me think of a sex-mad gecko staring in the sequel to "snakes on a plane".

 

[zoobyshoe]

Boy, I hope they regain control of it. I've been intensely worried about the effects of weightlessness on gecko sex for years.

 

[ChiralWaltz]

So weightlessness is how geckos walk on walls and the ceiling. I always thought it was the shoes they were wearing.

 

[Astronuc]

Today is the birthday of Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 1920 – 16 April 1958), one of the pioneering X-ray crystallographers of the 20th Century.

https://www.facebook.com/PhysicsTod...1406344914./10154456811205164/?type=1&theater

Happy Birthday, Dr. Franklin.

http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/article/56/3/10.1063/1.1570771

 

[Astronuc]

Good advice - what a great mom

https://www.yahoo.com/health/an-open-letter-to-my-son-about-underage-drinking-92763705562.html

 

[DennisN]

It's just too many people and things in one little place, resulting in a frantic pace,

I've been to New York (in July 1998 IIRC), and that was actually one of my impressions of the city. Nevertheless I did enjoy the visit and I liked the city, but I remember thinking that I would probably not like to live there, because I felt it was very compact and hectic - and it stressed me somewhat. It was also very hot, and I am a Scandinavian who is used to colder temperatures. Another thing I remember was that I found it very hard to find a decent cup of coffee. In Sweden we are used to brewing much stronger coffee than in e.g the US, which means US coffee tastes something like colored water to us (no offense intended, that's just the way it is). Finally I found an international coffee shop where I could get some African coffee, which was somewhat better. The case has been the same when I've visited UK, yet the coffee there are somewhat better to us Swedes. On the other hand, if Americans and Brits would try Swedish coffee, they might suffer a caffeine overdose .

EDIT: I forgot to say that I bought a pair of Klipsch loudspeakers in NY which I still use; they have very good sound and are working excellent. That was a good buy.

 

[dkotschessaa]

I've been to New York (in July 1998 IIRC), and that was actually one of my impressions of the city. Nevertheless I did enjoy the visit and I liked the city, but I remember thinking that I would probably not like to live there, because I felt it was very compact and hectic - and it stressed me somewhat. It was also very hot, and I am a Scandinavian who is used to colder temperatures. Another thing I remember was that I found it very hard to find a decent cup of coffee. In Sweden we are used to brewing much stronger coffee than in e.g the US, which means US coffee tastes something like colored water to us (no offense intended, that's just the way it is). Finally I found an international coffee shop where I could get some African coffee, which was somewhat better. The case has been the same when I've visited UK, yet the coffee there are somewhat better to us Swedes. On the other hand, if Americans and Brits would try Swedish coffee, they might suffer a caffeine overdose .

Heh. My coffee tastes have been thoroughly un-Americanized. My wife (who is from Puerto Rico) has me now habitually referring to anything that isn't espresso as "American coffee." I can't even drink the stuff anymore.

 

[WWGD]

I've been to New York (in July 1998 IIRC), and that was actually one of my impressions of the city. Nevertheless I did enjoy the visit and I liked the city, but I remember thinking that I would probably not like to live there, because I felt it was very compact and hectic - and it stressed me somewhat. It was also very hot, and I am a Scandinavian who is used to colder temperatures. Another thing I remember was that I found it very hard to find a decent cup of coffee. In Sweden we are used to brewing much stronger coffee than in e.g the US, which means US coffee tastes something like colored water to us (no offense intended, that's just the way it is). Finally I found an international coffee shop where I could get some African coffee, which was somewhat better. The case has been the same when I've visited UK, yet the coffee there are somewhat better to us Swedes. On the other hand, if Americans and Brits would try Swedish coffee, they might suffer a caffeine overdose .

EDIT: I forgot to say that I bought a pair of Klipsch loudspeakers in NY which I still use; they have very good sound and are working excellent. That was a good buy.

I guess the frantic pace and overstimulation are a matter of taste and getting used to ; after a few months here it would most likely not be that big of a deal, tho staying in during rush hours is helpful. The thing is, IMHO, you can always create a restful environment in your home, but it is much harder to create in your environment, the level of variety and stimulation the city gives you; it is then a matter of your knowing how to manage the amount of stimulation you get .And , re the coffee scene, it has greatly expanded since then, and you will most likely find a place that brews coffee to your taste.

 

[AlephZero]

For the first time in my life, I've just seen five magpies together. (I often see one or two).

According to the old rhyme, "five for silver, six for gold." Bring it on!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_for_Sorrow_(nursery_rhyme) - the version in my part of the UK goes "three for a wedding, four for a birth".

 

[ChiralWaltz]

I prefer milk and tea accompanied by raw local honey.

 

[zoobyshoe]

For the first time in my life, I've just seen five magpies together. (I often see one or two).

According to the old rhyme, "five for silver, six for gold." Bring it on!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_for_Sorrow_(nursery_rhyme) - the version in my part of the UK goes "three for a wedding, four for a birth".

I've never heard this nursery rhyme before, but I wonder if Tolkien was inspired by it when he wrote the verse about the rings.

 

[dkotschessaa]

I've never heard this nursery rhyme before, but I wonder if Tolkien was inspired by it when he wrote the verse about the rings.

My wife (who is REALLY not into fantasy, but who read the Hobbit as a kid) did not know there were 3 hobbit movies. We watched the second one the other day, and when it ended abruptly she was very confused. I said "Yes, to be continued in part 3, Sweety!" "There's a part 3? Why is there a part 3?"

 

[Borek]

"There's a part 3? Why is there a part 3?"

I can't think of a better review. Send her my regards.

 

[AlephZero]

Why is there a part 3?"

For extra credit, also explain why there was part 1 and part 2.

 

[Evo]

Due to popular demand, my dog Ming.

 

[collinsmark]

Ooh, the puppy!

 

[dkotschessaa]

For extra credit, also explain why there was part 1 and part 2.

Because, no matter how much people complain, they love it. They love ridiculously long epic fantasy movies, and have been wishing for something like this every since the last lord of the rings trilogy.

Oh and:

http://aggressivecomix.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/the-hobbit-meme.jpg