Change is here!

Barack Obama is President!

Back in the swing

My updates have been few and far between lately….only because settling back in London has been a little harder than I expected…

Okay, so now I can officially say I’m back into the London swing so expect more entries!

Obama makes History

Can you believe this! – As soon as I return to London everything happens!!! The next couple of months will be interesting indeed….Will Hil be his running mate? Will Obama and Hil clash as team mates?

And what about the main arena “McCain Vs Obama”…the old war veteran versus young blood? Who will be the strongest?

Lots of questions on everyones lips!! Oh I do miss the US!

Time is upon me…

I’ve been soaking up as much New York culture as possible considering my time in NY is coming to an end in two weeks. But I will TRY my best to keep the posts coming!!

NY Hot Spot

 I’ve discovered this little venue in East Village NY that I regard as a great hot spot – The Nuyorican Cafe.

It is one of those places that is great for those who love anything creative from small plays, poetry, film, visual art, Hip hop and other forms of music like Latin Jazz. All held in a warm hub environment.

I went to see ‘Phil’s Speakeasy’ a musical play by a small team of artists. Now the beauty about this play is that the audience is included in the whole thing - I love plays that interact with the audience because it makes you feel as though you’re part of the story and it makes it more memorable that way. I won’t go into details but it’s a funny, great musical written by Phil Young and directed by Thomas Jefferson Byrd with a talented cast.

Nuyorican I can see as a place I’ll be visiting regularly…

New Yorkers draw to Pope

One television news reporter described him as a “holy man” but isn’t it the truth that he is just merely a man with a religious title. Does his title make him holy? – More holy than anyone else?

Pope Benedict XVI in New York was interesting. I mean, I found it amazing how thousands of people were drawn to see him – idolised like a celebrity but on a much larger scale.

The one good thing that I saw from his trip is that he brought all denominations and thousands of people from around the world together in one stadium with inspiring words of unity.

Hurston in the spotlight

I was bitterly disappointed last night that I missed the American Masters series on WNET, which featured legendary African American writer Zora Neale Hurston.

Another Harlemite like Ralph Ellison, Hurston lived on 124th street for a short period. Her literary works, although only now being highly recognised, were way beyond their time in terms of how reflective and controversial her insights were on African American culture and living.

One of her well know works was ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ – I certainly recommend reading it.

See here: American Masters

Guys love to gossip too

So I’m on one of these MTA New York City buses going home and minding my own business like I usually do (yes seriously).

I find myself sitting near a group of three guys towards the back of the bus, I’d guess they were between the ages of 34 to 44, one Latino and the other two African American. Anyway they start talking about how women lead men to do crazy things.

Now as I sit I think to myself I have to say they are right in a way – although men are to blame for getting themselves into that kind of mental state in the first place. And I can’t argue because I’ve heard numerous cases where either the guy  fights with another guy over a girl; attempts or succeeds in murdering his girlfriend and cases where the guy actually attempts suicide – it’s a sad truth.

Anyway, one guy starts going on a rant about how this one friend he knows shot himself in the mouth after his girlfriend left him. The same guy then says “That’s why I stay away from women” (I call him the hypocrite because he later lets slip that he has a girlfriend). The conversation starts to get personal when he tells the two guys that the only thing wrong with his girlfriend is that “she has a flat ass”. But then the other guy says “that’s a good thing because if she had a big one she would have it on show for everyone to see” (insecure or what).

so then they change the conversation slightly and begin talking about how women are becoming too masculine, like “they don’t wear skirts anymore” and “the gender roles are switching”. One of them began saying that he’s seen so many guys on the streets wearing skirts. The same guy who started the rant in the first place then brings me into the discussion by saying “she is the first woman I’ve seen wearing a skirt, – you look nice in your skirt girl”.

I then say: “Ermmm thank you” (All the while I’m thinking: “Dammit, I’m in their conversation now”)

At this point I’m getting off the bus, all three guys say “have a good day”. I sort of wanted to stay on the bus just to hear what other stories they had.  Obviously this is just a snap shot of what they were talking about but you get the idea. Guys can talk just as much as women and it‘s interesting to hear their thoughts on the lengths men will take to keep their partners.

Is tipping big business?

I think there are yes and no answers to this. I’ve never experienced a place like here where everywhere you go you are expected to give someone a tip.

Am I tight when it comes to tipping, well some would say yes and some would say no. I like to think that I’m just careful with the way I handle my money. Think about it, on top of  the valued added tax (VAT) and the tip, you’re actually paying more than what you thought you were paying for something.

In England people of course tip or give a gratuity (whatever you want to call it) but we are not obliged to, I’d say it’s like a token, an act of appreciation.

But in America people are obliged to give at least between a 15 and 20 percent tip from their meal bill. You’re expected to tip bars at least $1 per drink, hairdressers 15 percent and taxis 10 to 15 percent.

Even in some supermarkets, generally in England we don’t have bag packers, we’re used to packing our own bags. But C-Town, quite a popular supermarket in NY have bag packers (the young and the elderly) and usually you’re expected to tip them.

I know that in some restaurants waiters here are paid well below the minimum wage bracket so I can see why tipping would be important to them. Having been a waitress in London I did see the benefits of receiving big tips at the end of the day, especially when serving large group tables and luckily I was paid over the minimum wage.

Ah, the good ol’ taxis drivers of NY, who drive terribly but who pay more for renting their cars than from making up the money from passengers to actually earn a living, it’s a vicious circle. Perhaps that’s why they behave so crazy on the roads – it makes sense – the more passengers they get throughout the day, the more money they make to pay for the rental of their car and that extra profit. So basically those $4 or $6 tips are actually giving those drivers their wage.

So is tipping big business? Well it’s big in the sense that most working class people need it to make a living. I will be more thoughtful of that. But I’m still getting to grips with having to tip all the time…

Ralph Ellison…once a neighbour

I took a little break last week, which is why I haven’t posted in a while. I needed to recharge my batteries…

But the break was actually well worth it because on my walks through the neighbourhood I couldn’t believe when I found out that I’ve been living so close to where the African-American writer Ralph Ellison once lived.

Hamilton Heights, Spanish Harlem (People give it so many names I’m not sure where I live) – But anyway it’s rich in culture.

For those who don’t know, Ellison was best known for his novel Inivisible Man. But writing was not only his profession, he was also a photographer, musician and sculptor.

It’s pretty surreal to think that I’m probably walking the same streets that he walked on and seeing the same things that he did but through my own eyes…