Tuesday, December 20, 2005

NYC = ME ME ME


Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it, New York, New York
These vagabond shoes
Are longing to stray
And make a brand new start of it
New York, New York
I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps
To find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting awayI'll make a brand new start of it
In old New York
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you, New York, New York.
I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps

To find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'll make a brand new start of it
In old New York
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you, New York, New York.

Yessiree!!!! I am getting ready for Christmas!!! I am working like a mad woman to get my gifts together, my bags packed and ready to rock and roll for the Christmas Holidays!!! So as most of you may know, I will be going home to KC on Friday. As much as I haven’t been around blogging in the last week, I almost guarantee only 1 or 2 posts while I am away for Xmas Vaca! Why, you ask? Well, with the entire forced holiday week off unpaid, I don’t plan on sitting around eating bon bons in the freezing Midwest. I plan on freezing my tail feather off on the East Coast! After Christmas, I am going on a road trip with my dad out to Pennsylvania! He lives in Allentown, and we are moving my stepsister out there in a U-Haul! (which is why it is IMPERITIVE I get my iPod ready for the 2.5 day drive!!!!) Many of you know this plan has been in the works for months, but what you may NOT know, is that my dad and I are going to NYC for a few days!!!! I am so EXCITED!!!!!! I can’t wait to see EVERYTHING!!!! Okay, so maybe I can’t see EVERYTHING in 2 days, but I want to see a lot!!! Does anyone have any suggestions of things I CAN’T miss?

41 comments:

Aaron said...

Go to Harlem. It will remind you why you don't live in NYC.

If it were me, I'd make it a point to see Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty. I could care less about manhattan.

Aaron said...

btw, I thought the equation went:

DCD = me me me!

heather said...

I have been to NYC twice, when i was younger. Try to fit in a broadway play if you have time...they are incredible! We went to the Statue of Liberty both times...it was kind of dissapointing. Time Square at night is definately worth checking out. Oh plus buy some knock off Gucci watches in China Town!!

totalvo said...

it is off to LA for me.. Iam excited
also
Yo saturnia.. that is what they said in ancient rome.. I bet the romans were in an uproar when people said otherwise. so lets start saying Yo' Saturnia

Blackpetunia said...

Whatever you do, don't try to take the subway or bus right now, you'd be screwed!


Hail A Taxi?

Aaron said...

Hey Cas, congratulations on breaking the 5000 barrier on your blog counter. Welcome to the club.

Ted said...

New Yorkers are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet (that includes -GASP!-... Harlem) If you had more time, I wouldn't scoff at you for the tourist-y stuff, but w/ 2 days, I'd suggest hitting a coffeeshop in the Village and just soaking up the atmosphere... The street scenes are better than the best stage show, and It'll give you flashbacks to the live action sequences in Sesame Street. Also, the big neon Buddhist Temples and markets in Chinatown are free.

And you will see someone famous. Or you'll bump into someone you know. Or both. It's weird, but it's a fact.

Denny said...

If it werent so freaking cold i would say go to central park. I think you would also like the brooklyn botanical gardens. For sure catch a broadway show youll love it !

Aaron said...

caffeinator, are you on crack?

New Yorkers are some of the only people in the world who are known for being mean assholes. If you want to meet some nice people you have to get outside a city.

I'm sure the folks in Harlem, or anywhere else in NYC for that matter, will be extra nice to you when they're mugging you - If you tell them you're from the midwest.

Denny said...

ha ha aaron !

Ted said...

Wow. I've never been mugged in New York. And my wife, who was born in the city is always pretty nice.

I did have a friend who was beaten to death and hung from a fence in Laramie, Wy, a few years ago... you know how nice those down home folks can be to people outside the midwest.

Good thing I'm not one of those nice midwesterners who makes blanket judgements on people based on their geographic origin.

Blackpetunia said...

I totally agree with you caffeine. Everyone I've ever talked to said the people in NY are really nice for the most part. There are assholes everywhere, even Parkville, obviously(A-Ron).
I've heard that the quantity of people can be overwhelming. Cass, you should talk to Boo,she went to some really cool off the beaten path galleries and stuff like that.
Anyhow, have fun!

Aaron said...

Ya, that happens all the time in Wyoming. That's why Laramie is the homicide capitol of the country.

You guys think what you will. I'm not making judgements about anybody, I'm just looking at the statistics. I thought it was universally known that New Yorkers are known for being assholes. That's not a judgement, it's just what i've heard. Also, it doesn't have anything to do with the geographical origin. NYC could move to Georgia and they'd still be the way they are. It has to do with the culture of the city. It's probably caused by the multitude of problems such an old city faces today.

So, am I an asshole for pointing out the obvious? Think what you will.

Amber, Parkville is full of assholes, but there hasn't ever been a mugging there, and they average less than one homicide per year. The people there aren't generally bitter and hateful, even to visitors.

Cas, go to NYC, specifically manhattan, and see if you can just start a conversation with somebody walking down the street. See if you can't walk down the street there without the constant deafening sound of car horns. Count how many middle fingers you see. Better yet, go to a busy sidewalk and just stand in the middle of it, see what kind of names you get called and count how many times you get pushed. I bet you can walk down a whole street and not have 5 people look you in the eye.

Denny said...

oh get over it. there are assholes everywhere. Im in a different state almost daily and could make a blanket statement and spout cliches about every community in the country. They all have some truth to them like it or not. There must be somthing good about nyc or there wouldnt be so many goddamn people living there. Nice place to visit and get out of dodge as it were.

Aaron said...

Caf, what was your friend doing in Laramie that caused him to get killed?

heather said...

Wow Cassie...did you have any idea your trip to NYC was going to start this???

Aaron said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Aaron said...

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

Article 4

I'm not pulling this shit out of my ass. Other people have opinions about NYC too.

Blackpetunia said...

You have to look at the statistics in a complete view, A-Ron. How many people per square mile are there in Parkville in comparison to NY?
Let's see...
I'm going to do a post about this one.

locomocos said...

Geez. i sure didn't.....

you get busy working and shopping for xmas, and this is what happens?!
ha!

Thanks for all the great ideas!
And A-ron - because you didn't live here at the time, you probably didn't hear about Matthew Shepard. It was on national news, and that freaky reverend phelps from Topeka came up to protest the funeral. They even made a movie about it. Speaking of which, Michael Moore did and episode of The Awful Truth called The Sodomobile (which you should really check out) in somewhat of a response to Phelps. Unfortunately, Caffenator, there was six degrees to separation with me knowing Matthew, but if you were as friends with him like Ed was, I'm sorry.

Enough of my rant. I don't even know if i will be able to GO to NYC! Apparently they are only letting people with 4 or more people to a car into the city!!! I can predict my dad's reaction:
"We're staying home!"
;D

Ted said...

I think I might 'member Ed. If you talk to him, tell him I'm the Straight Bald Dude who used to work at Diedrich Coffee across from "Queen" Soopers.

Ted said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Aaron said...

Believe me Amber, a statistic is nothing with relativity (comparison based on a 'control' group for those of you in rio linda). Some places are nicer than others - both absolutely and relatively.

Aaron said...

Why yes Cas, at the time I was familiar with Matthew Shepard.

I'm not trying to diminish the horrible crime that took place, but it goes to show that something like that happening in Laramie is quite unusual. A handful of people get killed in NYC EVERY DAY, and lots of them don't even make the paper!

Am I wrong or is Every murder a 'hate crime'?

Blackpetunia said...

I don't believe every murder is a hate crime, some of them are well deserved. Like this co-worker of mine for instance....

Aaron said...

LOL! That's some funny shit Amber.

Blackpetunia said...

There are a lot of stories circulating right now, A-ron, about New Yorkers helping each other out and making the best of the situation, I think it's a gross generalization to say they're mean, there are just more people there, if you put that many anywhere people get kind of rude in certain instances.
So, since there aren't anywhere near that many people in the Midwest, what's their fucking excuse? Answer me that.

Ted said...

Uh... my point in bringing up Matthew wasn't to say "look HOW MANY people are killed in Wy." If one bases their quality of life SOLELY on how likely it would be for them to get violently attacked, yeah, maybe it would be best to live in Idaho, or even a cave somewhere.

But just because somebody won't kill ya doesn't mean they're nice. (IE Fred Phelps) For the record, I wouldn't suggest going to a busy sidewalk and just standing in the middle of it in NYC any more than I'd suggest going to a Wall Mart in Kansas and asking for a book of lesbian erotica, or anything else not in the "Left Behind" series. (But they won't kill ya!)

Anyway, maybe there are more people per square cenimeter in NYC who will kill ya than there are folks in Smalltown, USA who are judgemental, religious fundamentalists complaining about homosexuality and Harry Potter.

But I gotta tell ya, for the art, for the culture, for the music and dance and ideas and people from all over the world w/ accents you've never heard before, New York is the bomb.

And for a place to be with my family and raise my children, I'll take my chances in a city.

But that's just me man, I'm glad you're happy where you're at. Seriously and sincerely, really.

Just keep in mind, no, it's not "universally known that New Yorkers are known for being assholes."

Aaron said...

Well Caf, you haven't really presented any facts to support your opinions, all you've given are appeals to emotion and straw men. If you think that NYC is a good place to raise children, you're obviously a kool-aid drinker. Good luck with that. I prefer to work/live/raise children in good neighborhoods with good schools.

This world is full of ignorant people.

Blackpetunia said...

Ignorance is particularly rampant in the Midwestern and Southern states. It's not a secret.
The fact that people in St. Louis have to send their kids to private catholic schools just to get a decent education says nothing to me about good schools or neighborhoods. It's everywhere.
As far as providing proof. I'm working on that. I'll have a fancy little per capita report for you shortly, A-ron. Let me just tell you this, to far, St. Louis and KC have much higher per capita crimes of theft, arson, larceny and assaults than NYC.

Blackpetunia said...

Proof:

Crime

Since 1991, New York City has seen a continuous fifteen-year trend of decreasing crime and is now the safest large city in the United States. Neighborhoods that were once considered dangerous are now thriving with new businesses and housing, and many residents feel safe to walk the streets late at night. Violent crime in the city has dropped by 75% in the last twelve years and the murder rate in 2004 was at its lowest level in over forty years: there were 572 murders that year, for a murder rate of 7 per 100,000 people, compared to 2,245 murders in 1990. The murder rate is expected to drop even further at the end of 2005. Some feel that the implementation of COMPSTAT crime analysis by the New York Police Department in 1994 is responsible for the positive changes.

Overall, New York City had a rate of 2,801.6 crimes per 100,000 people in 2004, compared with 8,959.7 in Dallas; 7,903.7 in Detroit; 7,402.3 in Phoenix; 7,346.8 in San Antonio; 7,194.8 in Houston; 5,470.5 in Philadelphia; 4,376.0 in Los Angeles; and 4,102.7 in San Diego.

Go to Wikipedia and look up NYC

Aaron said...

Amber, if you want to base your opinions on subjective information from Wikipedia about crime in NYC, go ahead. We all know who creates Wikipedia. It's made by people who have strong feelings about the particular subject. Do you think it's possible for them to be objective?

Crime is just one piece of the puzzle. You don't have to commit a crime to be mean, hateful, or just rude. Amber and Caf, I have only one more question for you both. The statement was made "New Yorkers are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet". Do either of you really believe that to be true?

If New Yorkers are the nicest people you've ever met I feel sorry for you.

Blackpetunia said...

Yes, I do believe in the statement I made. I have many friends who have lived there, or visited for extended period of time, and they have all said that. Perhaps not THE nicest, but some of the nicest. Everything anyone had ever said about the East Coast to me was completely dispelled when I spent a few weeks travelling over through the East Coast, travels which included MA, CT, RI, ME, NH, VT. Things did have more bustle, especially on the highway, but in a person to person situation everyone was friendly.
I will say that of all the places I've been I would hands down say that the people in Seattle are the nicest I've ever met, EVER.

Blackpetunia said...

In addition, KC houses some of the rudest people I've ever had to deal with.

Blackpetunia said...

Ironically, A-ron,
I can see by the map at the bottom of your page that you've never even visited one state on the East Coast, let alone NY.
I'm not trying to be totally bitchy, but I'd say your opinion is based on heresay more than people who've actually been there or dealt with something in at least a 2 state radius.

Blackpetunia said...

Blah, that is what the Pentarchy is about, who told you we were nice??
Apparently I belong in NY flipping people off.

locomocos said...

love it. LOVE IT.
Amber and A-ron are both some of my oldest friends. Amber and A-ron are actally friends as well.
That's what's so awesome about The Pentarchy!!!
Ambo at one side of the spectrum, A-ron at the other! The rest of us inbetween!!! Creates much interresting convos!!!

But I digest,
NEW POST!!!!!!

locomocos said...

p.s.
While i've never been to NYC, i'm sure it's just like Paris.

You either hate it, or you love it!!!

I'll let you know what i think when i get back!

Spoony Quine said...

` Wow, look at the pretty debate! I love 'em.

` Wish I was going to NY. You meet the darnest people there. Then again, you can meet the darndest people anywhere - once I met Cliff from Cheers in little Medina, Ohio! Isn't that just... weird that I'd run into a minor celebrity in the middle of nowhere? He wouldn't tell me what he was doing there, either - though I think it was for that Made in America show.

` Also, Totalvo, I thought it was 'Io, Saturnalia!'

heather said...

You have to give these guys (& girls) credit for their incredible passion!!!

So...Cassie, does this beat some kind of record for the number of comments on a single post in such a short amount of time????

Aaron said...

Why thank you Heather.

Cas, you're exactly right about The Pentarchy.