curi·ous {Old French curios} Drawn to investigate, prick up the ears, ponder for the sake of pondering. Enticed by mysteriously labeled bottles.
vo·luptu·ary {Late Latin volupturius} A lass devoted to the pursuit of pleasure. An unabashed epicurean, hedonist, libertine, sensualist, lotus-eater.
Last night in New York as a resident. Friends braved the 102 heat and introduced me to El Quijote, an old-school Spanish place tucked under the Chelsea Hotel thats been serving fresh seafood, tall cocktails, and superb flan since the 1930s.
Tim, Katherine, Harry Smith, William S. Burroughs and Andy Warhol at the Quijote.
Goodbye to all that!
Adirondack weekend: shooting stars, calling loons, holding hands with chipmunks. Hunting in bogs for carnivorous plants, not tipping the canoe, costumed cocktail hour on the veranda. Sassy comebacks, deep ponderings, icy lake swims. A rather perfect send-off from the fine state of New York.
Two ladies! A night at the Red Hook docks, with ladies Madonna and Liberty.
Drag queens who can recite the whole of Mommie Dearest from memory. Barbara, please!
People who pay to witness this.
Flatmates who scuttle around like they own the joint. Even when you are in the shower.
Inviting their friends over without checking with you first. “The Big Apple is one giant melting pot!”
And so forth.
Full moon night on 161st Street rooftop.
Below, all of Harlem played cards at folding tables on the sidewalk.
Perhaps only a New Yorker can grasp the profound unpleasantness of a two hour post-dinner commute (Upper West Side to Noho! Two hours!) that included both walking that bowels-of-hell 7th-6th Ave underground tunnel and also waiting on the F platform while crankily streaming with sweat in the still at midnight 90 degrees/100% humidity as MTA [...]
and then, from my rooftop, birthday moon!
After a looong day of packing in Brooklyn it is supreme to take a last bit of energy to commute to swanky temporary digs in NoHo, around the corner from the once CBGB. Rooftop garden allows me to admire the ubiquitous water towers of the NYC skyline and spy on my firefighter neighbors.
The city is [...]