20 July 2007

Little New York Moments

This morning, the line for Harry Potter at the Barnes & Noble was way longer than the line a couple of weeks ago for the iPhone at the AT&T store. Of course, Harry Potter costs a lot less than an iPhone, and it doesn't need batteries.

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I had to have falafel for lunch today. Sometimes it's just the right thing. The falafel joint in my neighborhood is a hole in the wall. I think the whole place is about 8' wide, and 16' deep. Two thirds of that is the counter and the kitchen behind it. The front part has about 9 square feet in which to stand - the remainder being taken up by stacked cases of soda/juice/water and a sliding door refrigerator for said beverages. Hole in the wall. But the falafel is great, and a falafel sandwich with a Coke is $4.50. As a result, on a nice day, there are often 10-15 people on line waiting to order.

Today, while I was waiting, a group of kids from a local daycare went by, heading back to their center from the park. They were all wearing sleeveless yellow mesh smocks, and holding onto handles on a rope. Oof. The thought of trying to take a group of 8 or 10 preschoolers out on a walk on the streets of Manhattan rather overwhelms me with anxiety, complication, stress. And the kids looked none too happy - because of the unbecoming smocks, or because they were headed back inside?

Anyway, the line moved quickly and I bellied up to the counter to order my falafel: "Falafel sandwich, with everything, to go." What was I thinking? To go? Of course it's to go. It's not like there's anywhere to stay.

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Amplified cactus! You have to love it that there's a bunch of guys in Brooklyn playing all manner of found objects as instruments, including a cactus.

During a rehearsal in the loft on Monday, Jason Treuting played an amplified cactus, running his hand over the plant’s unfriendly spikes to produce an alluring sound like a babbling brook...“We play David Lang because it’s an amazing experience and Xenakis for the same reason. And then we play a cactus for 20 minutes for a different reason,” he added. “Not because the audience will say, ‘Wow, that’s the best cactus player I’ve ever heard,’ but because the sound is beautiful.”


slouching mom said...

Oh, man. Do I miss falafel. No place to get that in my town.

Furrow said...

My copy of book 7 is in my town, waiting at the UPS hub to be delivered tomorrow morning. I did the Amazon preorder thing.

Oh, yum, yes. falafel. We have a good falafel place, but the ceilings are really low and there's always someone smoking inside, which I don't mind at certain times, but sometimes I do. Yum, falafel.

Kids in yellow on a rope. hee hee. how cute.

One time when I was little I licked a cactus because it seemed so soft. It wasn't.

NotSoSage said...

Oh man, Joe would so love to jam with those guys.

pinknest said...

falafel from hole-in-the-wall places are usually the best!

painted maypole said...

I'm all for anuthing that sounds like a babbling brook... but is it not ironic that a thing that grows in the desert makes a sound like a babbling brook?

BipolarLawyerCook said...

Heh. I sometimes catch myself kicking the ficus at the end of the couch when I read because I like the rustly noise.

thirtysomething said...

Ok. I need to know what falafel is, but I understand a craving like that. I have such cravings for Gyros,a nd only one place here in our town makes really good ones, and of course, unless you knew where it was, well, you wouldn't know where it was..heh. And the best places are often those "holes in the wall" places, although they may appear a bit scary.
But, playing a cactus? Now that sounds really cool.
I have done the kids on a rope thing, I used to be a childcare teacher. It is always a challenge t get them all to cooperate at the same time of course!

mayberry said...

Ditto slouching mom. That is now high on my list for my next NYC trip.

Julie Pippert said...


jen said...

something about that little yellow mesh line made me sad for no good reason.

falafel. and a coke. nothing better.