Rowing away from the rocks
From the category archives:
This is where my head is at today, thanks to a bit of overindulgence at an office holiday party last night. I’m far too old to be out carousing until witching hours these days, especially when the next morning finds me jarred awake by a bouncing three year old boy. Fatherhood and hangovers are a terrible mix.
{ 0 comments }
This graffito is written on one of the steel girders in the Bowery Street J subway station. The suggestion it’s making is unclear. It may be saying do not, under any circumstances, acquire anything at all. Alternatively, it could be read as saying that when one does buy items, one should only buy quality merchandise (i.e. things that are not “shit”).
The former rule, while admirable, is nearly impossible to adhere to. I have no choice but to buy stuff. I’d like to think I could move to a cabin and live off the land, but the truth is I’m not capable of that level of Thoreau-esque commitment. (If I did go for the off the grid lifestyle I’d no doubt want an old International Harvester truck or at least some vintage Carharrt gear). I’m an urbanite living in the early part of the 21st century, and buying stuff is part of the bargain. But I do try to buy things that will last, which means I ultimately buy fewer things.
{ 0 comments }
The old Packard Motors plant on East Grand Boulevard
Fascinating and saddening photo study cataloging the ruins of Detroit from a pair of French photographers. The project was five years in the making. I grew up in suburban Detroit, so many of these places are familiar. That said, Detroit’s demise had already begun by the 1970s, when I was a boy visiting the city. To anybody who lives there, this is nothing new.
{ 0 comments }
Cabrini-Green, the infamous Near North Side Chicago housing project that became a symbol of urban blight and gang violence, closed its doors today as the very last resident moved out. Among its other notorious credits, the 70s sitcom Good Times was set there (though the projects were never explicitly mentioned on air, the red brick buildings were unmistakable in the opening and closing credits of the show).
{ 0 comments }
All content by Peter Hyman, 2003 - present | Development by Bradley Spencer of Wordpress Consulting | Powered by Wordpress
pdhyman.com respects the intellectual property of others but also realizes that "copyright" is an outmoded concept in the digital age.
If you must re-post without citation at least use our best stuff. For reprints, syndication and complaints please contact the site's chargé d'affaires.