Real Gist

 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…

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.

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

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.

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…

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…

It’s only been a minute that David Paterson became governor of New York and already political sex scandals have been filling the pages of New York newspapers.

I was supposed to write about this yesterday but due to my “free” internet time being cut I’ve had to resort back to spending time at the internet cafe. Anyway if you look at my old post: March, 3rd post

Towards the end I write “Let’s hope Paterson, if he becomes NY governor, keeps his closet clean…”

Not that I’m gloating (well maybe), but my prediction was right. Are we living in a day and age where everyone is having affairs?…well I’d like to think not. But politicians revelations of affairs and ménage a trois’ (ex New Jersey Gov Jim McGreevey, his wife and an aide) are not helping the picture.

The historic moment of Paterson becoming the first African American Governor of New York has been swept a side and instead his personal life is the number one topic of discussion in the city.  Read more: www.nydailynews.com

But I believe that as long as Paterson’s personal life isn’t affecting his job at hand his personal life should be kept private but as we all know well politics and personal lives always intertwine especially when the media is concerned.

The twist in this scandal is that apparently Paterson’s wife began having an affair first which is why Paterson decided to have an affair himself with numerous women - not the best excuse.

Anyway, we now know the identity of one of the women Paterson had an affair with and coincidental the women in question works in his office. Actually I suppose it’s not coincidental because most affairs happen with people who they encounter on a daily basis, when you think about it we spend more time with our work colleagues in a working day than we do with our own families.  But that of course is no excuse to go out and have an affair.

I can see why he decided to speak out about the affair before the media got their hands on it and I hope his pledge to his new role proves his worth otherwise pundits will enjoy devouring him.

Atlantic City in New Jersey is a gambler’s paradise and I can see why. There’s something about that adrenalin rush after winning a game or even losing one that lures you  to want to gamble again - it’s purely addictive.

Casinos in AC are cunning in how they operate, I guess they have to be if they want to make millions in cash. But saying that all the machines and tables in casinos scream money,  they give away free drinks while you gamble (they like to make you feel comfortable while you gamble away your money) and they entice you before you even get there. I bought a return coach ticket for 32 dollars - but the catch is with each purchase you make they give you a “free” bonus of 20 dollars to use at the casinos, so basically I paid 12 dollars for my ticket and had 20 dollars casino money to spend - the enticement.

There’s so many casinos in Atlantic City, some of the big ones are Trump and Caesars, each drawing thousands of people. In England people bar hop, here people casino hop - jumping from one casino to the next hoping their luck changes with each new casino.

People on holiday, people who actually try to make a living from gambling, drug dealers etc - everyone’s here but I’ve noticed there’s certainly a generational gap on who will tend to do what to gamble. Older people, like your grandmas, and grandpas, tend to stick to the fruit machines - or the 25 cent, 50 cent, one dollar cent machines as some people call them. I saw one elderly lady occupying one seat but playing two machines at the same time, probably spending her monthly entitlement.

Middle aged and younger people tend to be around the tables - ie poker tables, etc. People are watched like hawks, for example on each table you have to make hand movements in front of the camera. If you want another card, you can’t say that you want one you have to indicate you want one by tapping the table.  My favourite  table has to be Black Jack (Also known as 21). It’s like a 50/50 chance of winning but it’s also very much down to strategy.

The addiction is extremely euphoric, especially when you‘re winning. I won a couple games and then lost some but played again to win back my losses. I had 50 dollars and came away with 115 dollars. I know I could have made more if I stayed longer (gambler talk) but I think it’s better to leave winning than losing. But then again this could be a bad thing because now I want to go back to Atlantic City just for that rush.

News outlets can be so cheeky…CNN’s headline - “The governor’s gal”. Well I can’t argue because it is the truth anyway…Read more: www.cnn.com

Can you imagine sitting on a toilet seat for two years? And to see your skin grow on to the seat…

Read more: www.nydailynews.com

I feel sorry for the woman - for a phobia to control her entire life is unfortunate.

And the boyfriend is certainly at fault, he shouldn’t have let this go on for so long. To watch someone in that kind of state for a whole month should have given him warning signals to go and ask for help - actually not even a month a week even, he should have gone straight for help as soon as he saw her odd behaviour.

“He said they conversed and had an otherwise normal relationship - except that it all happened in the bathroom,”…he’s crazy if he thought that was normal.