Pass me a square

Palm cards: One of the ways my job at DN! and my exploration of NYC coincide this summer is through handing out palm cards at a variety of events around town. A palm card is a small, thick piece of paper with some info about DN! on it, how to listen to the show and such. Amy encourages us to pass them out at any and all events where there'll be a lot of people, and so, we do.

After doing this at several events now, I do have to say that when some hipster hits a card out of my hand, it affects me far less than when folks come up to me thanking me for being a part of the best show on tv and radio. Some people just shout, "Yeah! Amy Goodman!" That's rewarding, too. I try not to think about how many palm cards will be swept up at the night's end and try to remember what it was like for me to discover independent media for the first time and the whole torrent of consciousness and information that followed.

Freegans: I went on a trash tour with these folks last week, ended up with some good salsa and beets. NYC dumpstering is different. First, because there's no dumpster. Second, because it's right out in the open and on the street. Just opening garbage bags as you see them and trying to stay out of the way of people on the sidewalk. And, well, then there are the rats. We didn't see any (thanks God) but if you don't get to the trash quick enough, they will. Today a tiny mouse jumped out of my suitcase at me and I screamed like a child- a rat would probably paralyze me. I also went to a free (really free, they emphasized over and over) market in the East Village. At first, I thought I would only look for something I really needed, like sandals. 3 pairs of pants, 1 skirt, 2 pairs of sandals, a sweater and an armload of books later, I knew what I really needed was to get out of there (especially because I felt bad for not having anything but a lone book to donate). But the folks, from a group called In our Hearts, were more than generous and I even got some iced tea from the Freegans. It was a nice little quadrangle of people, although at events such as this in Kalamazoo, I would know most of them and here's not the case. I also didn't have time to stay and chat with many people because I had to go to Coney Island to pass out palm cards.

The Strand: Miles, miles, miles of books. I don't know how they measure it but what it amounts to in my mind is endless. I wove through shelves, scanned frantically, struggled to remember the names of various authors and books, climbed ladders and stairs, dreamed up stacks of books for my future bookshelves. I finally left after many hours with a portable Ingles-espanol diccionario, some Arabic lessons, and a Saadi Youssef poetry book. Love books, love the Strand.

Speed

Sometimes trains move at the speed of a funeral procession. When they are going very fast they shake and jolt into the darkness and I get anxious. When it is very late, the train slows in tandem with my waning energy. If I'm late for work, the train can miraculously make me on time. Other times stops come quicker when absurdity finds itself in one of the cars. A practicing preacher, a maniacal isolated dancer, a family of musicians, story tellers, avengers. Passed out passengers and explosions don't really seem to slow the trains down much. Watching a train pull out as you come down the stairs sure does.

East River to Moss

East River. Nearly every day I cross the East River on the Q. As the train approaches the Manhattan Bridge, I find myself wondering what color the river will be today, pulling my guess from the sun and time of day and musings about the city's feelings. Sometimes it is liquidy cement, like the edge of Manhattan finally couldn't stand up to the summer sun and slid down into the river bed. Other times it's a seaweedy green and the boats are thin silver fish skipping over a pond. And then there are the days where it hints at a deep blue, a faint reminder of the river's past and the islands' history, in the days where things were not made of steel or glass, but of thick forests and clear waterways. The river is always different, not one day the same, and I appreciate it for this. I like to see it daily, how it interacts with the bridges, how people look up from their books and papers to watch it glide underneath us, how it reminds me (us) that the city is so shaped by water and we so easily forget it.

Sights and sounds. I have been trying to utilize my monthly metro card to the fullest (and I have to buy another tomorrow). I've deepened my appreciation for smaller galleries, finding myself bored, distracted and overly air-conditioned after more than an hour in any museum. Luckily, this city abounds in small galleries in addition to the mammoth-sized museums (or the museums with mammoths). I saw a nice Brazilian photography exhibit at the Americas Society and a mixed-media exhibit on the 2005 riots in France at the Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Art (easier to write, and more fun to say: MoCADA). Also, despite a temporary stomachache, Chad and I saw an interesting mix of "orientalist" art at the Dahesh Museum (right near the Trump Tower, a strange thing to see, for me)- I especially liked a painting that featured fog and camels. There were a lot of architectural drawings that didn't interest me as much. Tomorrow I'll be breaking this trend by going to the mammoth of mammoths- the MET. I've also had the great luck to witness some amazing concerts. Most notably: Manu Chao (free courtesy of volunteering with Celebrate Brooklyn!), Cafe Tacuba (also free, in Central Park), Built to Spill (free AND back stage, gracias a dn!), and tonight, the woman of many guitars, Ani DiFranco (free and sangria, dn! rocks). Also saw Zoe, a Mexican rock band who was enjoyable, along with the Pinkertones, an electronic group with a lot of energy and dance-y beats. Coming up soon are Neko Case and the Siren Music Festival (though I've yet to see who's playing). Finally, I've seen a couple of films. One, 'Y, tu cuanto cuestas?' was good, had funny and poignant moments though a bit long. And the other, Wait Until Dark, was shown in Bryant Park and it was certainly a good film to watch out doors with a big crowd. It also brought back many memories of playing the role that Audrey Hepburn plays when I was in the play way back in high school.

News: Working at Democracy Now! is great, better with each week. True, the office has bizarre undercurrents and moments (what office doesn't?)- but how many people can say that they work for an organization that they truly support with all of their heart? I mean, I feel really proud to say that I'm working with DN! because I run into so many people who love the show and respect Amy very highly and support our work. It's inspiring, really. Even being a intern, low down on the post, so to speak, is a great experience. It's actually quite the lovely mix of not any actual authority, free concerts and lunch, being surrounded with wonderful, experienced, dedicated and conscious folks, and the fact that, ultimately, Amy Goodman is my boss. Highlight: Amy called yesterday personally to get Katie (another intern) and I tickets to Ani. Nice. Also, our supervisor Clara is wonderful and I'm really happy to work with her.

Moss: This city is certainly growing on me. I need to start looking at schools to see if it's really a good idea or some heat-induced, summer fantasy inspired by too much good music and art, too many great people, and too much luck in this amazing city.

Walking shoes & Miles of Museums

I don't want this to turn into a listing of things that I've done, but my, I feel like I'm doing a lot in this city. At the same time, despite my imaginative ventures where I create a jam-packed day of things to see, hear, taste, do all over the city, I usually end up doing about .5% of what I planned- which is still a lot. I mean, walking around in this city is an adventure in its own. The buildings range from modern, shiny, black walkways into the sky to crumbling, dusty, squatty-looking edifices to intricately-engraved, decorous pieces of stone art. And the people! People here seem to revel in their uniqueness and exploit it with color, fabric and attitude. Contrary to what people say, the folks in New York are some of the friendliest, most helpful people I've ever had the pleasure to share a city with. Several times already I've hesitated for a moment on a corner or in the middle of a sidewalk when someone has come up to me asking, "Do you need help?" or "Where do you need to go?" And always in a genuine way because these people LOVE their city and sharing it especially.

During my extended weekend, I made it to the MoMa, the Museum of the City of New York, the Schomburg Center and many cafes, thrift stores and (necessarily) shoe stores in between. How strange to find designer ware upon fancy brand name clothes at the Goodwill instead of ripped-up t-shirts and goofy blue jeans. But good deals, nonetheless. Unfortunately, good walking shoes aren't as economically-priced but I did end up finally with a good pair after much searching. And thank goodness, what a difference it makes!

NYC: Preliminary Notes

NYC Beginning: I've been in New York City for about a week and a half now. Abby and I arrived the Sunday before last after a long, cramped Greyhound ride from Toledo, Ohio. It was, thankfully, easy to get to the Q train and find Andrew who showed us to the apartment, 2 blocks down from the Cortelyou stop. The apartment is great- much larger than I'd expected and with beautiful, light hardwood floors. I can't complain about being on the first floor either or the fact that the Q takes me to within a block of the Democracy Now! office. I was nervous anticipating the newness and difficulty of living in New York but so far things have seemed to come easily. The commute does take about 40 minutes of riding in a cramped and hot subway car but I still enjoy seeing the multitude of people in the mornings. Every subway car tells a hundred stories or more in this way.

Abby's visit: We had a brief visit into the city on the day we arrived, spent most of our time sitting at a cafe and in Union Square with coffee before buying a couple bottles of Trader Joe wine and hopping back on the train. Since I had to start work the very next day, I was in the office for 3 out of the 4 days that Abby was in town. We still managed a trip to Staten Island, to the cooperative community of Ganas, which, they tell me, "is a Spanish word for having the motivation to act." A good translation of that word albeit one I've certainly never heard contextually. We also got to see the ever-wonderful Banjo/guitar-playing, lovely-voiced Andru Bemis, who put on a great show at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn. On Abby's last day in NY, we ran around the Museum of History for a couple hours, spending most of our time in the fossil exhibits. I myself was especially in awe over the dinosaur skeletons filling enormous rooms, letting my imagination run all out wild about the endless possibilities associated with these ancient, fascinating, beautiful creatures. After visiting a few free wine-tasting visits, we went back to the apartment and Abigail jumped on her bus a few hours later. She certainly was a great help in getting me settled in here in this crazy town.

Democracy Now! I just finished my second week with DN! I worked myself up into an anxious mess not knowing what to expect from this organization that I've loved for so many years. To my relief, my supervisor wears cowboy boots, everyone wears what they want, and Amy Goodman pops in and out of the organization, all of which signaled to me that I don't have to fear my workplace at all and it's put my greatly at ease. It was hard initially though to find out exactly what I was supposed to be doing, but after asking some questions, I feel much more confident in my work. Basically I'm helping the Spanish equipo get DN! en espanol on more radio stations in Latin America. The work isn't terribly organized, which is great because I am surely more productive that way. Until yesterday, we were working in a over-crowded office composed mostly of a huge work table in the middle and some peripheral shelves and enclaves for some people's offices. There were never enough chairs, space or computers and finally we were able to move into a bigger office down a few floors and we all breathed a little easier. I will get into all the anecdotal, personality and organization stories later. For now, I love working at DN! and know already that I'm going to miss it.

Manu Chao: Putting my knowledge of how-to-get-free-things-in-life to its best use, last night I saw the most amazing Manu Chao concert that I could have imagined. I danced and danced and in the last song when the rain poured down, all of us only danced that much harder. Amazing, truly.

More to come...