MetaFilter posts tagged with newyork

"The Neighbors don’t know they are being photographed"

taz — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:42:35 -0800

Photographer Arne Svenson has sparked a bit of controversy with his recent show "The Neighbors," about which he says, "I turned to the residents of a glass-walled apartment building across the street from my NYC studio. The Neighbors don’t know they are being photographed; I carefully shoot from the shadows of my home into theirs. I am not unlike the birder, quietly waiting for hours, watching for the flutter of a hand or the movement of a curtain as an indication that there is life within." In "The Voyeur Next Door," The Tribeca Citizen reports, "The images are gorgeous—the Art in America review [PDF] cites Hopper, Vermeer, and Hitchcock—but they certainly bring up questions regarding privacy. Svenson, in his website remarks, dismisses the issue: 'For my subjects there is no question of privacy; they are performing behind a transparent scrim on a stage of their own creation with the curtain raised high.'" For the curious, The New York Times featured Svenson's Tribeca loft home [slide show here], the staging ground for the telephoto-enabled artistic home invasions, as part of their "Great Homes and Destinations" section back in December, 2012.

Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts

zarq — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:11:38 -0800

Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts: From 1958-1973, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein (Previously on MeFi) played live, educational concerts with the New York Philharmonic that were televised nationwide on CBS. Tapes of the broadcasts were eventually syndicated to 40 countries, introducing an entire generation of children to a wide range musical concepts, styles and composers. The first concert to air was "What Does Music Mean." Bernstein led a total of fifty-three Young People's Concerts during those fourteen years, and covered a broad range of subjects. The works of the great composers were explored, including tributes to modern masters such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Paul Hindemith, Gustav Holst, Aaron Copland and Charles Ives. Bernstein discussed "Jazz in the Concert Hall," "Folk Music in the Concert Hall," and "The Latin-American Spirit." He explained the intricacies of Music Theory in programs such as "Musical Atoms: A Study of Intervals" and "What is a Mode?" He broached complex aesthetic issues such as "What Does Music Mean?" (his first program) with clarity and without condescension. Bernstein also used the Young People's Concerts to introduce young performers to the musical world. The sixteen year-old pianist André Watts made his debut in the concert of January 15, 1963.
25 of the 53 concerts are available on YouTube 1) What Does Music Mean? Playlist. Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 2) What is American Music? Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 3) What is Orchestration? Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 4) What Makes Music Symphonic? Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 5) What is Classical Music? Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 6) Humor in Music. Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 7) What is a Concerto? Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 8) Who is Gustav Mahler? 15) Folk Music in the Concert Hall. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 16) What is Impressionism? Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 18) Happy Birthday, Igor Stravinsky. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 21) What is Melody? Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 23) The Latin American Spirit. Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 27) Jazz in the Concert Hall. Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 28) What is Sonata Form? Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 31) A Tribute to Sibelius. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 32) Musical Atoms: A Study of Intervals. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 33) The Sound of an Orchestra. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 34) A Birthday Tribute to Shostakovich. Playlist. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 36) What is a Mode? Playlist. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 40) A Toast to Vienna in 3/4 Time. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 43) Quiz-Concert: How Musical Are You? Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 46) Berlioz Takes a Trip. Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 47) Two Ballet Birds. Parts: 1, 2 3, 4, 5 48) Fidelio: A Celebration of Life. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Many of the linked videos are in black and white. While the programs are appropriate for children, the language used to describe various music forms is sometimes not politically correct, according to modern sensibilities.

The Fight For Fifteen

SkylitDrawl — Sun, 12 May 2013 17:43:07 -0800

In what could be the largest strike of its kind, hundreds of fast food workers in Detroit walked off their jobs on Friday, echoing the rallying cry heard (or not?) across the country that the currently underpaid workers deserve $15 an hour and the right to form a union without retaliation. Friday's strike in Detroit comes on the heels of similar actions in other cities—Wednesday and Thursday in St. Louis, and in Chicago and New York City last month.

bigger than hip hop

four panels — Sun, 12 May 2013 10:49:54 -0800

“Used to steal clothes, was considered a thief/Until I started hustlin’ on Fulton Street.” The mean streets of the borough that rappers like the Notorious B.I.G. crowed about are now hipster havens, where cupcakes and organic kale rule and “Brooklyn” now evokes artisanal cheese rather than rap artists.

The secret eye of Vivian Maier

salishsea — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:31:54 -0800

Vivian Maier was a photographer who made some incredible images of 20th century America. But almost no one knew about her until 2007. And now a new documentary is being made about this enigmatic character whose incredible eye documented street life and characters in New York, Chicago and beyond.

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

Fizz — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:25:46 -0800

My Psychic Garburator by Margaret Atwood [The New York Review of Books]

"Most dreams of writers aren’t about dead people or writing, and—like everyone else’s dreams—they aren’t very memorable. They just seem to be the products of a psychic garburator chewing through the potato peels and coffee grounds of the day and burping them up to you as mush."

Part of a continuing NYRblog series on dreams. Other recent contributions include Pico Iyer’s “Cities of Sleep,” Francine Prose’s “Chasing the White Rabbit,” and Tim Parks’s “My Invisible Sea.”

Mapping transit inequality

liketitanic — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:18:34 -0800

Dan Grover and Mike Belfrage have mapped transit inequality in the Bay Area after reading a New Yorker piece on the New York City subway (previously). The ways in which a widening income gap are changing the demography of San Francisco have been widely reported of late (previously, previously). The project's code is available if you'd like to try mapping your own city.

"Violence gives weight to the meaningless."

the man of twists and turns — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:51:15 -0800

Falling Men: On Don DeLillo And Terror

In a City of Hipstercrites

shivohum — Thu, 02 May 2013 07:15:23 -0800

How I Became a Hipster (SLNYT)

Do you spit or swallow?

MissySedai — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:20:06 -0800

Bostonians Tyler Balliet and Morgan First love wine. Drinking it, talking about it, introducing other people to it. But wine, unfortunately, is often perceived to have an attitude, a culture of snottiness and pretension that puts people off before they even get close to a wine glass. Why swirl it? What's with that obnoxious sucking sound? What the hell is the deal with spitting it out? What about the confusing vocabulary and snooty descriptors? When did wine become "sassy" or "understated", instead of "delicious"?

At a large wine festival in New York, Tyler Balliet witnessed what he described as “one of the saddest things I ever saw.” A group of young people who—while excited to be at the $85-per-ticket event—were clearly flummoxed about how to appreciate wine. Without knowing what to do, Balliet said one member of the group turned to another and said, “Screw it, let’s just get drunk.” The story, Balliet said, serves as an example of how the wine industry has failed to connect with the younger generation of U.S. wine drinkers.

Frustrated by that disconnect between wine producers and would-be wine consumers, First and Balliet maxed out their credit cards in 2008 to found Second Glass, a company dedicated to making wine more accessible and fun for next-gen wine drinkers. How do they intend to do that? By throwing a series of Wine Riots - expo-style walk-around wine tasting festivals, complete with 20 minute "crash courses", DJs, swag, food...and unlimited tastings of 250 wines from all over the world, presented in a casual, party atmosphere. And to make it easy to keep track of your wine adventuring? They've got a mobile app to help you take notes and tell you where to find your favorites after you've sobered up. The first Wine Riot of 2013 has already passed, but there are more! Next one is this weekend in Chicago, with more scheduled in San Francisco, NYC, DC, Boston, and LA.

Central Park Five

likeatoaster — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:42:11 -0800

Remember the Central Park jogger case from 1990? Here's a (lengthy, fascinating) New York Magazine article discussing the case just around the time of the 2002 exoneration of the initial five accused, four of whom had previously confessed to the crime. 24 years after the attack, a group of filmmakers, together with the five wrongly convicted men, have created a documentary telling the tale: The Central Park Five. Criminal reform activists everywhere are hoping the story might change a few minds. Previously

"You don’t like it? Find another place to live."

zarq — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:53:46 -0800

"Them and Them." "Rockland County, New York's East Ramapo school district is a taxpayer-funded system fighting financial insolvency. It is also bitterly divided between the mostly black and Hispanic children and families who use the schools and the Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox Jewish majority who run the Board of Education and send their children to private, religious schools." Also see: A District Divided. Multi-page link to the NY Mag article. Journal-News: East Ramapo school district proposes dozens of staff layoffs, sports cuts in 2013-14 budget NYT (from last July): Rockland County Parents Ask State to Oust 5 Orthodox Jews on School Board The "East Ramapo Underground" radio show mentioned in the article is also on YouTube. Preserve Ramapo site has additional information on the area and links to region-related news articles.

‘Why do people always want things from me?’

the man of twists and turns — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:01:16 -0800

Unsung Color Photographer Saul Leiter Is In No Great Hurry. "In No Great Hurry" is a documentary about a photographer who started shooting in color in the 1940s, and about whom you may have never heard.

"how much of this distress existed pre-Sandy?"

the man of twists and turns — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:24:57 -0800

After Sandy, a great and complex city reveals traumas new and old. "Occupy Sandy" represented a disaster cooperativism in opposition to "disaster capitalism" (previously: 1, 2, 3) A Disaster For All Seasons

In other words, we’re now on a planet where extreme disaster seems ever more normal and, when it comes to the weather, such extremes can increasingly be considered man-made or at least human-influenced. It’s important to keep in mind as well that what’s a catastrophe for many of us always turns out to be the main chance and a profit center for at least a few of us

Race, Class And Disaster Gentrification

Inequality and the New York subway

nickyskye — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:41:43 -0800

Inequality and the New York subway. An infographic from the New Yorker: The United States has a problem with income inequality. And it’s particularly bad in New York City—according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, if the borough of Manhattan were a country, the income gap between the richest twenty per cent and the poorest twenty per cent would be on par with countries like Sierra Leone, Namibia, and Lesotho.

"...the memory of a blue door with a small wired glass..."

griphus — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:15:07 -0800

"Two years ago, I wrote a post about Rockland County Psychiatric Center, an abandoned insane asylum complex that is easily one of the most haunting places I’ve ever scouted. To my amazement, more than 250 comments have since been left by former patients, doctors and nurses, and residents ... I wanted to share a selection of these with you, to allow those who knew Rockland Psych firsthand to tell its story." (Scouting NY, previously)

"a spontaneous ballet"

the man of twists and turns — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 05:16:02 -0800

James Nares' new exhibition 'Street' is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in NYC. It is an HD video of pedestrians in Manhattan, slowed way, way down. Watch 2:17 of the 61 minute piece here, and another 2:01 clip here. Villlage Voice, New York Times, Vogue, and an interview with Nares in Interview. A Lecture by Nares at the Wadsworth Atheneum. via Fast Company: Super-Slow-Mo Turns NYC Streets Into Graceful Ballet and How James Nares Made An Amazing Work Of Art By Slowing Down New York City

"More like Statue of Watery, right?"

laconic skeuomorph — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:59:47 -0800

How Popular Tourist Destinations Will Look Submerged In 25 Feet Of Water [Pics] For more info, including how the images were created, check out the original blog post by Nickolay Lamm here.

"'Spitzer! You’re Governor Spitzer!'"

zarq — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:53:18 -0800

Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin’s Post-Scandal Playbook (Spoiler: The disgraced Congressman is likely running for Mayor of New York City. SLNYT, Via)

A town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes

Foci for Analysis — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:37:22 -0800

Photos of Manhattan after the blackout caused by Hurricane Sandy.

All our words are written down in chalk out in the rain on the sidewalk

liketitanic — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 02:56:09 -0800

Each year on March 25, the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, Ruth Sergel and a team of volunteers have installed "Chalk," a public art project commemorating the lives lost that day in 1911. Sergel, who also founded the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition has made a publicly available data map that records "the name, home address, likely age, country of origin, and final resting place of all known Triangle Fire victims." Says Sergel, "The chalk will wash away but the following year we return, insisting on the memory of these lost young workers." Of the 146 killed, 129 were women, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrants. The doors to at least one exit had been locked so management could check their purses for stolen items before they left. At trial, witnesses described seeing 62 people jump to their deaths. Some volunteers chalk for their own relatives, while others do so to memorialize the event that helped launch the modern labor movement and put new focus on workplace safety. The RTF Coalition is currently organizing a permanent memorial design competition. See also the Stolperstein project.

"Magna est veritas et praevalet"

zarq — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 18:40:17 -0800

Last June, the New York Times published an exposé of New York's exclusive Horace Mann School, detailing decades of sexual abuse of students by their teachers. The revelations prompted additional accusations and lawsuits from former students, an all-but-useless investigation, an admission by one of the school's former teachers, and a response by the school to parents (pdf). But one person who escaped the Times' notice was former English teacher Robert Berman.

The longest sentence ever served in an American prison: 64 years.

zarq — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 22:28:47 -0800

William Blake has been held in solitary confinement at Elmira Correctional Facility in New York State for nearly 26 years, after he murdered a Sheriff's Deputy and wounded another in a failed escape attempt back in 1987. Sentenced to 77 years to life, he will be eligible for parole in 2064. But Blake has no chance of ever leaving prison alive, and almost no chance of ever leaving solitary — a fate he considers "a sentence worse than death." (Via) For other essays like this one: Voices from Solitary Interview with Mr. Blake: Part 1, 2

Remember that name.

lazaruslong — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 02:53:56 -0800

Billy Joel was recently doing a Q&A at Vanderbilt University when a student named Michael Pollack asked if he could play “New York State of Mind” with him. Something really cool then happened. Make sure you watch all the way to the end for the awesome piano solo!

New York State Capitol Restoration Picture

mmascolino — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 17:01:13 -0800

The New York State Capitol Building was original completed in 1899. A recent renovation was just completed and there are stunning photographs of the results.