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Union Square Food Exhibition

September 10, 2007

On 9/8, there was something going on at Union Square (remember “something’s always going on at Union Square”) and I decided to take a look.

There were the normal artists and farmers’ market, but this time there was a second sort of farmers market going on. It was actually an exhibit by a number of diverse food groups. And there was music. Pretty good music, if I say so myself.

The style started off as straight-out bluegrass. They did a version of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” in an upbeat bluegrass style that I thought was terrific. And, amazingly enough, they then launched into some Brazilian folk tunes. (Hey, Brazil Day was last week!) It was great.

And I wasn’t alone in thinking it. A number of people were up and dancing.

Yes, haybales in Manhattan.

I did some wandering around looking at the exhibits and was initially pretty mystified.

What the heck does NYC have to do with farming, aside from consuming their produce and hosting marketplaces? Historically, NYC had a lot of farming, but that’s gone, ain’t it?

Actually, no. You don’t have regular farms in NYC anymore (that I’m aware of – NYC’s pretty big so who knows), but there are a lot of community gardens where people do grow produce. Well, that’s not going to feed more than a very small number of families in total. But, it does beautify the neighborhoods. I don’t know whether there’s any direct need of farm bills for NYC residents, but the goal of this group was to get people thinking small and locally. Hey, I’ll still eat my produce from Flordia, Peru, California, and Chile, but I’ve got nothing against those who are trying the 100-mile idea. (Maybe the lower demand will lower the prices on some of the stuff I buy.)

At first I was a little more skeptical, but then I found one group that was promoting the growth of herb gardens. Not a bad thing, I thought. And then I ran into this guy.

He was great. A nice guy and an actual beekeeper in the Bronx. I wonder if he considers the bees his “livestock”? Why not?

And then there was a group called “Just Food”, who were promoting “food and justice for all”. Who’d oppose either of those (although I’d insist that “all” buy their own food). Their main exhibit was under their table.

But I have to admit that I’m opposed to chicken-keeping in city limits.

-H

Categories: Food, Manhattan, Union Square, Wanderings

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Tax Protest at Union Square

September 9, 2007

Well, on September 1 there was a tax protest at Union Square.

So, I saw Black Americans protesting income taxes, big deal. I’ve heard about the idea that some Blacks believe that the tax laws don’t apply to them because there is some sort of exception for Blacks or because it is a reparations issue. So, I decided to figure out what it was about. They brought lots of documentation that seemed to support the idea that the issue was oriented toward Blacks, simply because of their use of the word “slave” in a number of their documents.

But that theory was exploded early. Apparently, they’re being black and using the word “slave” were ancillary to their point. I just wish I understood their point…

I talked with one of them. He was very earnest and determined to prove his point. He said the income tax process wasn’t legal. I mentioned there was a Constitutional amendment. He pulled out a copy of the Constitution and read the sixteenth amendment to me (kudos to him). He then said that the amendment only gave the government the power to levy taxes. It wasn’t a law. I was extremely puzzled. I had expected some sort of statement about it being unjust or inapplicable but to say there was the power and authority to tax and that Congress has neglected to pass a law to levy tax simply boggled me. But that’s what he said.

I don’t know the code references, but I did say that every few years, Congress passes a new set of tax laws changing levels and changing exemptions. He became very animated by this and told me that it wasn’t….I don’t know. He didn’t say it wasn’t applicable. He said something about how it didn’t apply to individuals, but that was an aside. He handed me a written document that accuses unnamed IRS and government authorities of high crimes and misdemeaners. It also says that one of these crimes is “…should have known of the non-existence of a law made in pursuance of the Sixteenth Amendment…”.

Twice I heard them cite corporations as paying no taxes and how unjust it is. Which is kind of a strange complaint if they don’t believe there’s any law for any taxes.

While I was there, I saw one of the members engaged in a relatively lengthy conversation. Maybe they have no relationship, but they seemed friendly.

The guy on the right spent a while talking with them. Once again, I have no idea if he’s a comrade in their struggle, a rabid supporter, or a rabid opponent. But the guy on the right is a regular Union Square guy that I think of as “Prison Planet Guy” because he has this weird shirt that has unreadable messages written all over it, with a “www dot prisonplanet dot com” address quite legible. That site is very strange and I hesitate to give it any sort of political assignment. It seems to be on its own. I will say that there doesn’t seem to have a conspiracy theory that it doesn’t ascribe to.

Well, I’m all in favor of the non-enforcement of non-existent laws. But I have a sneaking suspicion that there are tax laws so I’ll be filing my taxes the same way I do every year….reluctantly but on time.

-H

Categories: Manhattan, Union Square, Wanderings

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Ankling to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City

September 6, 2007

It’s FASHION WEEK…and Famous Ankles didn’t get an invite…again. I don’t know how the fashionistas could have overlooked me this year. I even have a blog.

Fashion Week is actually a big deal here in Manhattan. It brings out the glamour in the town and I sure can’t object to that. I’m always looking for something new and odd…and that’s Fashion Week all over. If only they’d invite me. If only I actually cared about fashion.

Typically, I go through Bryant Park once a week or so. It’s sort of on my way to Church and it’s a very pleasant park. Pretty small with a large green open area in the middle. It’s located right behind the New York Public Library at 5th Avenue and 41st Street and it goes to 6th Avenue and 42nd. Fashion Week involves building a series of temporary buildings all over the greenspace and letting the rest of humanity surround the area and hope to see the occasional celebrity and model.

Here’s the main entrance at 6th Avenue.

The crowds were there at rush hour (5:45pm) on Friday.

And here’s a shot of the temporary buildings. This is actually over a hundred yards behind the main entrance.

I had been near this spot last year and apparently it turned out to be one of the “back entrances” used by celebs. There’s a few discrete car park areas for loading/unloading. There’s also a nice hotel back here. I didn’t see anyone using it this year, but I only passed by.

Back at the front, I did get into waiting and watching for about 20 minutes. Just in case…

And of course that’s why we all were waiting. It’s interesting to see how the attendees handled it. Most didn’t even acknowledge the crowd’s presence, while others rushed up/down the stairs as if they didn’t want to be mistaken for someone, and others did love it.

And, as the woman sitting across the way shows…it was a hit with the rest of us.

To keep crimes of fashion at bay, the cops were ever-present.

Walking around, it was easy to spot people who were probably part of the show, whether models or former models or wanna-bees. I’m not one for asking for poses so I really didn’t capture any of them. (Actually, last year there were groups of models parading around with mock protest signs to advertise hair care products. I coulda photographed them without any embarrassment.)

Nevertheless, I did capture one young lady who looked approporiate for the week, but she sure could use some of the GURU energy drink she was advertising.

-H

Categories: Celebrity Points, Events, Manhattan, Mid-town

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The Shake Shack at Madison Square Park

September 5, 2007

The Shake Shack is legendary. And now that Famous Ankles has partaken, he’s ready to pass supreme judgement on the place.

You don’t know the Shake Shack? You must be new to NYC.

Okay, you’ve heard of the Flatiron Building?

The building is shaped like an old-fashioned flat iron. That is, it’s wedge-shaped. It’s real name is the Fuller Building, but no one ever, ever calls it that.

Anyway, the Flat Iron building is on 23rd St at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. Anytime Broadway crossed an avenue, it creates a “square”. (The most famous being Times Square where it crosses 7th Avenue.)

Well, the square next to the Flat Iron building is called Madison Square. Yep. You’ve heard of Madison Square Garden. It’s not here. Well, it used to be…twice, actually. The current Madison Square Garden is way over to the west. But the first two versions of it were right here, at Madison Square.

So. What are the current glories of Madison Square? Ummmm…they’ve got some metal trees….

And….it’s a nice, family-friendly place.

And…it has the Shake Shack.

Don’t let the empty seats fool you. Let the line be your guide. This place is popular. Wildly popular. Strangely popular. I’ve never been here when there was a line less than 50 people long, and they serve FAST. I’ve seen the line with at least 200 people. And they’re all so patient. It’s a NYC thing. You go to the Shake Shack and buy a burger or hot dog or ice cream or shake. They give you a little signaler (a vibrating gizmo you see at a lot of very busy restaurants) and send you out to wander the park while they fix your food. After 10 minutes or so, you get your food and sit out in the local areas and eat.

I’ve seen this place at least a dozen times and turned down the opportunity to experience the wait and the food about 11 times. This time I stayed and ate. I ordered the “Shack Burger” and a strawberry shake. I got the food and ate it. It was $10 and it was fine. It just wasn’t legendary. It was fine. But I don’t know why it has the cult following. I coulda gone to Burger King up the street and gotten more for less. It wouldn’t have the ambiance, but I could have just wandered back to the park.

I guess it is something that I don’t get. There’s some reason for the long lines.

But, I can fault them for something that happened a few months ago. It was “Barbeque NYC” and the city had brought in first rate BBQ makers from all over the country. And they served their food at Madison Square Park. Just a few yards from the Shake Shack. And it was great BBQ. GREAT BBQ! It’s nearly impossible to fine good BBQ in NYC, and they had GREAT BBQ. And people lined up at the Shake Shack for burgers and hotdogs.

NYC gourmands.

-H

Categories: Food, Manhattan, Mid-town, Wanderings

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I’m a star in Brazil

September 4, 2007

The title of this post actually comes from an e-mail I sent to friends and family last year. Kind of the pre-blog days. In it, I talked about the annual celebration that is held on Sixth Street in Manhattan. It’s called “Brazilian Day”. On Sept. 2, it happened for the 23rd time.

I had known it was going to happen, but had put it out of mind. On my way to Church, I noticed a lot of parked trucks near 44th Street and as soon as I got close, I knew it all. Last year’s celebration was big. This one seems to have dwarfed it. Lots and lots of people and a huge street fair going up to around 57th Street.

In my 2006 missive on the event, I talked about being near the boom operator and eventually being rousted by the cops who didn’t want anyone standing near the boom operator. Well, the boom operator was back, I was back (but positioned differently), but it was a different cop who did the rousting.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself. For the 23rd time, NYC hosted Brazilian Day (or maybe it’s Brazil Day, which is what I’ve called it for the two years I’ve been going). It seems that almost every street in Manhattan has a second name, and the second name for East 46th Street is “Little Brazil”. And when there’s gonna be a festival to celebrate all things Brazilian, what better place? None.

I had known it was going on, but hadn’t thought about it for days and didn’t expect it. Imagine my surprise when on my way to Church (we had, I think, 15 at the service), Brazilian Day beckoned me. I was happy to oblige, after Church of course. Actually, it’s better to have gone to Church than wait. In fact, I would have preferred going to the next two services at my church rather than do what I did do: wait. And wait. And wait.

First, here are some pictures, ’cause I gotta show pictures! Here’s some stuff during the setup.

The above were shot around 8:30am or so. It got a little more crowded (okay, a lot more crowded) as the day went on.

And there were the occasional props that I found lying around.

I haven’t the foggiest who it’s supposed to be. I think a soccer player.

And, as any good parade will have, there were characters. The guy below is from the Philippenes. He was posing for everyone. I talked with him for a moment and he seemed a great guy. I saw him off and on for the next couple of hours until the crowds overwhelmed everything.

And the “heads” started to appear.

The area I was in was right next to one of the cameras they used to film the crowd. I found myself right next to it. As soon as the boom operator started moving it, the crowd went crazy. It was just a little odd standing within about three feet of it for a long, long time.

Oh, and here are the boom operators. I had stood near them last year when I first saw Brazil Day and it was like old home week for me. I recognized the guy on the right as the main operator, but I don’t know if the guy on the left was the same operator as last year (that guy didn’t have a beard, but he could have grown it).

And the crowds began to gather…

And the boom operators began their work.

And the crowd showed its desire to be on camera…

Capturing the entire crowd was tough. Every so often I’d see a nice vignette.

A bit blurry, but the look they both had was too good not to include.

Here’s what it really looked like to me most of the time.

While I was standing here, people began cutting over to the sidewalk near me; bypassing the intricate structure that the cops had set up. Last year, I had stood near the boom operators in a little area that bypassed the intricate structures the cops had at that time. One had finally come up and chased me and a couple of others away in a huff. (It was hilarious that he was so upset that I had found a niche they didn’t spot during their setup.) I knew another cop was going to spot this year’s problem and I kept waiting to see if the same cop would come up and roust me again (this year, I was perfectly in the proper spot, but the crowd was shifting the barricade inch by inch). I eventually left, and just seconds after going I saw a cop striding puposefully to the area. It wasn’t the same cop though. Yeah, he did shift everything all over again.

I left the area and did some wandering. There were some sights that you would have expected from the Brazilians.

And finally the music started up. In honesty, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I had expected some sort of jazz/carioca sort of music and this was more of a traditional song standard. But the crowd knew every word and they got into it.

I left soon after it started. I had been there way too long just watching the crowd and experiencing the rush that comes from a well-done festival like this. I left the actual festivities to the Brazilians. And, I think they had a good time.

-H

Categories: Celebrity Points, Events, Manhattan, Mid-town, Times Square

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