I’m supposed to go to a meeting in California but I’m not wearing any pants. I stop by a mall kiosk that sells yoga gear and plan to buy any pants I can. I’m happily relieved to find a pair that’s on sale, because otherwise I would have spent quite a bit of money. Once I’ve picked out my pants I notice that they’re selling a scarf that’s on sale, so I decide to buy that too. I also grab a bottle of water.

I take my items up to the register and hand the salesclerk my wallet. She rings up a very large dollar amount and I express my surprise; I know the items I’ve selected don’t cost that much. She shows me that she’s rung up a whole list of items that appear on a receipt in my wallet. I explain to her that I’m not buying those items today, and point out the date on the receipt. It’s nearly a year old.

Once I’ve resolved that issue and have some pants on, I go to my meeting. My job is to construct a train. There are some train pieces made out of wood. I add some additional cars by taking pieces of cantaloupe and melon that are in the fruit salad provided as a snack for the meeting.

Someone on the HikiCulture FaceBook group shared a link to this New York Times article about a thirteen-year-old boy from Brooklyn, New York who spent a total of 11 days in a subway station. The boy happened to have Asperger's Syndrome (like myself), which can lead some people to become highly reclusive and anti-social.

I thought I'd share this article since it's not very often that Asperger's is mentioned in major newspapers such as the New York Times.

PS. Thanks for the link Theo.

Posted via email from HikiCulture – A Forum For Reclusive People (and Hikikomori) {HikiCulture.Com Site Blog}

apesar da lista, com certeza, a música de hoje é esta.

I Want To Hear What You Have Got To Say (The Subways)

Another day is here and i’m still alive
I say these words aloud they speak from the inside
And everytime i see you, you just walk away
Still the word is turning…

I want to hear what you
What you`ve got to say
I want to hear what you
What you`ve got to
Say, hey, hey, hey

MAN FATALLY STABBED OVER NYC TRAIN SEAT

A subway passenger was stabbed to death in front of horrified riders in a dispute with another man over a seat in the car in midtown Manhattan, police said.

The victim, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the Seventh Avenue station at West 53rd Street, where the train stopped after the attack at about 2 a.m. Saturday. The victim, who was in his mid-30s, was repeatedly stabbed in the neck and face with a knife, police said.

He had boarded the train at the Rockefeller Center station, police said.

Gerardo Sanchez, 37, was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in the slaying on the northbound “D” train, police said.

It was not immediately clear late Saturday night whether Sanchez had an attorney. There was no home phone number listed for Sanchez at an address provided by police.

Brother: Suspect was on medication
His brother, Louis Sanchez, told the New York Daily News that Gerardo Sanchez recently had been hurt in a workplace accident and was taking medication.

A train conductor alerted workers at a rail control center, who called authorities about the fight.

Sanchez was standing over the bloodied victim when the train doors opened at the Seventh Avenue station, police said.

I learned this tidbit from the Science Section of the NY Times: There are more bacteria in your face when you first turn on your shower than when you’re down in the NY subway. Whether or not this is a comfort to you, accept it as an introduction to three vignettes from my recent travels on the subways of New York. Enjoy!

1.

Rush hour is underway and to add an extra twist, and a few extra thousand bodies, there’s a Yankee game tonight. The 4 train is so crowded I have to let a few pass before I manage to wriggle into a car. I push a bit and duck under a few arms—people tend to stand near the doors even when there’s more room toward the middle of the car—and work over to a spot where I can just about breathe. Just then, big shove comes from behind and to avoid a battering I bend to one side. My hip leans with me, a few inches in the direction of the nose of a woman seated to my right. She’s a formidable, well-dressed middle-aged woman, the sort that Chris Rock makes jokes about, and indeed, she huffs at me, “I don’t need no butt in my face!”

As that was hardly my intention, I straighten up as quickly as I can. I look down and she’s still glaring at me. I smile at her and say, “Are you okay now?”

For several seconds I can read no change in her mood but then I think that I see a tiny relaxing of her. I decide to call this a truce. At least I’m not going to be involved in a major territorial dispute. The subway stops at a station, then picks up speed again as we head toward 125th street.

Suddenly, the woman looks up at me and says, as if it’s the first time she’s ever seen me me, “Would you like to sit down?”

“That’s okay, I said, I’m fine.” And we exchange smiles.

2.

The train’s above ground now, and slowing. The conductor announces in a thick Brooklyn accent, “161st, Yankee Stadium! Yankee fans exit the station at the rear of the platform. Minnesota fans get back on the train and keep on going.”

3.

Tired from a day at the Bronx zoo, I trudge the two flights up from the street. The afternoon is waning and a cold wind is finding all the gaps between the scabrous advertising signs that line sides of the subway platform. At times like this I’d much prefer the muggy subway, but the No. 2 train isn’t underground north of 149th street. I see that there’s a No. 2 train marooned about half a block north where the track curves, causing those cars in my line of sight to lean at a very unstable angle. Oh, oh. That could be trouble. Then I notice that the train isn’t even on the right track, it seems to be on some sort of in between track, but it’s hard to be certain because of the curve.  As I’m calculating the odds of freezing to death or finding alternative routes, a man in an overcoat comes up and asks, “Has that train been there long?”

I give him a quick evaluation and decide he’s harmless. Anyhow, there are at least 30 other people around. I tell him that train’s been there at least five minutes. He says with more interest than I think it merits, “I bet they’re holding it for the cops.”

He nods his head and I follow with my eyes until I see a NY city cop is standing across the tracks on the northbound side, talking into a phone. This could easily be a coincidence but my new companion doesn’t give me a chance to say that. He continues, “The other day, I’m at the station and this guy — he’s got his girlfriend balanced in front of him, walking on his feet and they go through the turnstyle together and a cop sees them. He stops them and the chick she takes off, just like that. The guy gets arrested. Howdiya  like that?”

“Err,” I say, not knowing if I was supposed to not like the girl running off or not like the guy getting arrested. Undeterred, the man continues, “That cop he’s calling to stop the train, for sure.”

I shrug and casually mosey away to another spot on the platform. Across the way the cop is still on the phone. Probably his wife. The No. 2 train appears and I step toward it, holding my hat against the cold rush of air. I don’t see which car my platform buddy enters.

Mickey Hoffman is author of the mystery novel, School of Lies, published by Second Wind Publishing.

www.secondwindpublishing.com

Lies, Schemes and.... school

This may fall under the category of “you kinda had to be there,” but it’s worth writing about, because it really made me laugh for a good while.  And no, I was not laughing at a homeless person, I was more laughing at the situation.  So, for those bleeding hearts, skip this post: I don’t need to hear that you think I’m callous.

Tonight on the subway a homeless guy got on and started doing his shtick (not song and dance – you need to be specific since many will actually do a song and dance!) about how he was homeless and would much prefer some food versus 5 cents.  Shocker, I thought to myself.  Five cents isn’t buying much these days; five dollars isn’t buying much these days.  I’d rather having food too.  His plea was sad, though, as he went on to say that “for 8 years he’d been sleeping on the ground, teeth chattering, looking up at the stars, remembering a better time.”  Eight years??  His trouble predates this economy.   I reached for my purse.  “I remember a better time,” he said, “when just like you guys I used to pay my bills, buy my toiletries, kiss my girl goodnight, pay my cell phone bill, pay my IPhone bill – “

HOLD THE PHONE! This guy’s been homeless for 8 years and he’s remembering a better time when he paid a cell phone bill and had an Iphone? I call B.S!  It was this weird moment of the emotional side of my brain feeling sad and wanting to help, quickly giving way to the logical side being like “Kate, you temp-ed hard for that money, don’t give it away to a homeless guy who doesn’t even have a consistent story to offer!” 

Eight years ago, paying the IPhone bill.  Too funny.  Of course, my friend and I spent the next 30 minutes imagining what else he could have said before people started to think – hey, something is up with this guy…. because there were people still giving him money despite his IPhone slip-up!  “I remember, a better time – 8 years ago before I was out on the street, I was just like you guys, worrying about universal healthcare, and what that would do to the free market system.  A better time, when I could just communicate with my girl with unlimited texts on Verizon.” 

Maybe you had to be there.  But man was it funny.

I’m on a train and I’m standing near the end of a train car. At the opposite end I notice several of the guys from my high school debate team. I walk down and greet them all, and I give hugs to Steve S. and Joe C.

When I get off the train I go home. I’m supposed to attend an event or a party and it’s important that I arrive on time. I’m running late and I realize I don’t have any makeup on. In a hurry, I go to the bathroom and dump powder on my face. I wind up with huge white splotches all over my face, and I try to wipe them off. This process doesn’t save me any time. I look at the clock and see that I’m 20 minutes late already, and resign myself to the fact that I won’t arrive on time.

When I get there, I’m walking around a strange event space, it’s sort of like a store and sort of like an amusement part. I am carrying a silver metal hand weight (shake weight?) I realize that one of the metal end pieces has fallen off. My immediate concern is that something from inside the weight will now fall out.

Last night Victor and I went on a date to a restaurant in Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace neighborhood. Our good friend Ted is a server there and we decided it could be fun and adventurous to try some French food from an authentic place. It’s just of the “F” train so it made for an easy ride as well. I was a bit apprehensive because I had not had authentic French food before, and I am known to be a finicky eater. Not necessarily picky, but sometimes I am very hard to please. Needless to say we were pleasantly surprised. The bistro is called “Le P’tit Paris Bistro” and when we walked in the door the owner, Matthieu, took our coats and seated us in Ted’s section. He was a fantastic server, by the way

I had a glass of white sangria, which was dangerously delicious. I normally don’t drink any kind of white wine, but I have a slight sulfite allergy and had a bit of an allergic reaction to a glass of Malbec earlier in the day, and was still feeling tight in my chest and wind pipe, I felt a glass of white was necessary, obviously. Victor had a Blue Moon, garnished correctly with an orange slice. (Sidebar- why do the bars in NYC garnish Blue Moon with lemon? Not acceptable!) But the white sangria was awesome, because I literally tasted no booze, always a good sign in a drink made with only booze

yum!

When it came time to order the meal, I was pleasantly amused at how the menu was listed in two sections: Ocean, and Land. Victor ordered a salad, and I ordered the hanger steak with frites. Yes, backwards I know, but the idea was to split them. Even though that didn’t really happen. My steak was huge!

I heart meat!

It was not only so radiantly delicious that I finished the whole thing in like two minutes, but it was also extremely moderately priced. I don’t think I breathed the entire time I was gulping it down. This chef knew what he was doing. Victor’s salad was amazing as well, served with a poached egg on top and filled with big chunks of pancheta-like bacon it was thoroughly enjoyable. The owner came by during our meal and I took time enough to actually send compliments to the chef, which I had never done before! The next best part? Dessert!

traditionalist

I went for the traditional French creme brulee, which was fantastic, but I will admit that Victor’s creme puffs with ice cream and chocolate sauce might have been the best thing I have ever tasted in my life. So at this point in the night we were so full we were practically dying – and did I mention I had gone running earlier in the day? Yeah, so basically counteracted any kind of workout I had done in the past week – and I literally don’t care.

The best part about the restaurant is that when you are all finished and ready for the check, they bring you chocolate truffles:

death by chocolate

And then the owner wanted us to have dessert wine with it, so he brought over the Muscat for us on the house:

All of this came to a whopping $46 dollars total! Seriously I had so much food I thought I was going to die, and we paid $46 dollars total. Did I mention it was one of the best meals I have had in a really long time? It was also so nice to see Ted in his work environment, he really seemed to enjoy the place and his coworkers. He is also the only native English speaker in the place so he is learning a lot of French as well.

Overall I had one of the most amazing food experiences last night and felt the need to blog all about it. Go to this restaurant you New Yorkers! It’s totally worth it. I will more than likely be going there for brunch tomorrow I think I have become obsessed. And this will not be good for my new healthy lifestyle. The marathon is going to be a little harder with all this French food!

Photo Courtesy of: 2passthetorch.com

In Boston and across the states, Charice Lewis is being deemed a hero.  Charice Lewis, the driver of a subway train in Boston, was approaching Boston’s North Station when a lady fell in front of the train after losing her balance.  Lewis quickly slammed on the emergency breaks and stopped the train just inches from hitting the lady.  Lewis realized something was wrong when she saw people waving up ahead and her instincts said that she needed to slow the train down.

Reports later stated that the lady had been drinking for several hours before her fall into the pit.  Lewis said that she didnt consider herself a hero, she was just doing what she was supposed to do.  The lady definitely owes Lewis her life.  Such a heroic story!

To read more check out these articles:

NECN

Sky News

This past week in Wonju FLEW by.

I think things are getting a little easier, and though I still need to work on my classroom management and lesson planning skills, I definitely feel like I am learning fast…and Daniel (my boss) telling me about next month’s vacay definitely helped to boost morale Oh, and I had a fun night during the week meeting some other English teachers (from South Africa) and hanging out with my co-worker Hannah.

Also, speaking of flying, that’s what Sean was doing Thursday morning Hawaii time, to come visit me in Korea! I’ll skip the mundane details of my work week to talk a little about my fun filled weekend in Seoul…

Friday- I get off at 8 p.m. after my last evening class. Pick up some onolicious mandoo from down the street from my school. RUN, literally, home. Shower/eat steaming hot spicy dinner/put on make up/pack in record time (20 minutes). Catch a cab to the Wonju city  ”bahssu tumminal.” Sleep + iPod + play word games for an hour. Wait impatiently on the bus in Seoul traffic for half an hour. Get lost on the subway, for like a minute…then take two subway lines to Hongdae area. Get lost, again, trying to find the hostel (imagine- disoriented me, sober and confused, in the midst of drunken university students, European tourists and loud American military men, with my little duffel bag, trying to find this tiny hostel). Walk with a helpful Korean guy in confused, frustrated state for twenty minutes. Make it to hostel, finally, to meet Sean (who has been waiting for me for two hours)- time I finally arrive to Hongdae: 12 midnight.

I meet the guys at the hostel, a nice group. Sean is all comfortable on his bunk bed, checking his email. He tells me the guys were super helpful and nice to him, and that he had no problem finding the place. We decide to head out for a night on the town. By this time, its about 1 a.m. We walk around for a couple hours, overwhelmed by the neon, then settle for the restaurant/bar downstairs of our hostel building. Order some pupus (a tuna dish recommended by the waiter- also the most pricey on the menu, go figure- with a mug of Korea’s Cass beer).

We were supposed to meet up with my friend Marney’s friend who lives in Seoul, a Canadian named Thomas, but decide to meet up the next day for arting…after an exhausting day of work, travel, and a beer to top it off, sleep sounded beautiful.

Saturday- Wake up an hour early, because Sean set his watch wrong to Seoul time. But it was good- we ended up meeting Thomas right on time haha. We have a quick breakfast at Paris Baguette, and decide to head to Insa-dong for some art perusing. We hit up a good range of galleries–mostly modern, and mostly free. And one disturbing installation involving videos of four white people puking different colors. Very um interesting.

Thomas takes us to a traditional tea place, where Sean orders peach tea, Thomas bamboo shoots tea, and me ginger tea. Plus colorful rice cakes mmhmmm. How cultured right? It was a great experience.

We walk around Insa-dong for a bit…then head back to Hongdae. Decide to meet up with Thomas later that evening. Me and Sean walk around the park, they had a market going on, and eat some amazing Indian food (my fav!) Later, hang out with Thomas’s friends- many which happen to also teach English in Seoul- and later go to a cool cavernous bar for some interesting music/mixed media/shisha, oh and really strong cocktails!

Sunday- We slept in a little, explored the overcast side of Seoul. Had a light bfast and coffee at a gallery (aptly named “The Gallery”), walked around a few shops, art markets, and food places. Hung out with the hostel crew for a bit. Decided to leave early for Wonju. Hung out at a cozy cafe near my school, recovering from the fun weekend- Sean sketching, and me blogging.

Overall, a successful weekend. Part plan, part impulse, and always an adventure. I think I’ll be going again to Seoul for my birthday (my champagne birthday, I’m told- I’m turning 23 on 11/23), which I’m excited for. Thomas offered a place to stay, so sweet, and there’s a Benny Benassi concert plus some disco party in Hongdae that weekend. Sounds fun to me!

Sean leaves on tomorrow, and it will be sad to see him go. It was a fun couple days. He came to visit me at school today, and had lunch with me and the kids…I know they really liked having him there. I know he will miss the good food too (street desserts, like the fish shaped custard bread and Korean pancakes, and $5 mandoo plates). After work tonight, me, Sean, and my co-worker Hannah ate shabu, and went upstairs to some little arcade- even took Korean style neoprint photo stickers I’m sad, but also excited for the many expected visitors my way…Christina in December, Mom maybe in January, Marn in April, Mer/Abb in July, etc etc. I simply don’t have time to be lonely!!!

My hair is now officially cut It hasn’t been this short since prom, about 18 months ago, but do you know what? I’m loving it
It’s short, kind of Chase Crawford-esque, and black all over with bits of electric blue slicing through it. Bo-selecta I think it’s nice, Gina thinks it’s “sexy”, and I don’t care what anyone else thinks because I’m happy.
The hair-dresser-y lady was very nice, I’ve forgotten her name again, but I really enjoyed being in there, getting my hair done and talking to her and the other customers. There was full generational representation going on too. We had me, a girl younger than me, the hair dresser (I’d guess she’s late 20s, early 30s), another women customer (she looked about 35-40) and an even older lady (Who I would have guessed to be around 65). The conversation topics bounced around all over the place, we had Christmas presents, Band Night, Hair (obviously), How things, people and times change, People we know, etc. It was good, and I really enjoyed myself.
I always fall asleep if people wash my hair for me, it’s just too relaxing. Haha. Yesterday was no exception. I had to keep reminding myself to not fall asleep.
My hair only took about an hour and twenty minutes though, which for me is quite a short time.
I got compared to Katie Boughy as “hair twins” which made me smile
The hairdressers were even surprised by the amount of hair I have, it’s unbelievably thick, and after about enough to make a good sized dog lay on the flaw, it actually looked a bit thinner. Well, it’s about the same as a normal persons now. Give it a week or so it’ll be thick and unruly again.

I mentioned Christmas earlier. I’m looking forward to it this year. I’ve proposed a “Secret Santa” type thing within my group and I think people have taken to it kindly. I just think it’ll be something different my friends haven’t done before and it’ll give us all a very good reason to get together at Christmas for a proper sit down meal and enjoy ourselves together as a group. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ll miss everyone when I’m at Uni, so I want to make sure we have some good times too remember, before we all disperse around the country. It’s also a good idea, because everyone will get one person to think about really in depth to find a perfect present from the whole group. I don’t know, I just think it’ll be a chance to grow closer as a group. We’ll see what everyone thinks I guess.

My headphones were posted yesterday YAY Should be here by Wednesday I think. The book I bought hasn’t been posted yet though and won’t be today with it being a Sunday. Damn. Might get that by Friday I guess, at the earliest.

I just went outside to get a bike and cycle to Tesco, seeing as my lack of any pens at all is annoying me, and found that both mine and my brothers bikes have flats. I can’t be arsed to piss about in the cold fixing bikes, so I went to borrow Andre’s. Unbelievable, it’s flat too. Damn it. I’ll have to get mum to give me a lift up there later I suppose. Homework is on hold until after then. I was actually going to be good and do it as well. When it’s not even in for tomorrow.

Ahhhhh. Right, this computer game I’ve been playing recently is getting rapidly more and more annoying. It gives no help or clues, then puts you in a seemingly un-winnable situation. Grrr. It’s really stupid. Challenging I don’t mind, thinks that make you think are fine, but things that don’t appear to have any possible answer take the wet.

Broken my small speakers now. Damn it. So I’m playing CDs again Through the bigger speakers. I have a sneaking suspicion that I woke up most of my household by playing music through them earlier, but oh well, I’m sure it’ll be ok. I’ll just blame Sam. (Y) Mmm, The Subways, Young for Eternity. Good album.

Band Night, is fast becoming the bane of my existence. How many things can go wrong with one event? Jesus. Full On Inces.t have dropped out as the guitarist has too go to work, Laura doesn’t want to do her acoustic set now either, and that leaves us two acts down. Fine I thought, I’ll get Chemical Metal, a teachers band, student will enjoy that, right? Well, I asked them, they said yeah, but then four hours later emailed me saying they had changed their minds. Buggerds. So, I’m still two acts down. One would be fine, that’d bring the length down so that we don’t run over, but two creates issues.
Not only that, but pre-occupied are being arse’s about sound checking on Tuesday, which is fine, we can do they beforehand on Wednesday, it just creates more hassle for me, which is annoying. I think my lot, Stilled Motion, are going to be alright, though I did just get a tightness in my chest from nervousness and band night is still three days away. So, I’ll probably die with nervousness. Great. Can’t wait though, it’s going to be so fun

I want to get back into cycling. Not like professionally like Barney or Tim, but I want to do more than I do at the moment at least. I just need a decent bike :/

Mums talking about getting me some driving lessons when she’s back on full time work, which is nice of her. I’d like to pass my test even if I don’t get a car yet, it just means I have the proof that I can drive when the time comes that I do want too. Plus it’s a bit silly using a provisional as proof of identity… I’d prefer the full license.

Second Subways album is now in the player. Excellent stuff. Rock on, eh? The volume is slowly creeping upwards. At about one +1 click on the remote per half hour. Ease them into the loud noise? What a good son I am

The last two night in a row I’ve been to Gina’s and we’ve cuddled up on the sofa and watched TV. It sounds boring, I guess, but I’ve bloody loved it. She’s so comfy to just be with, it’s untrue I know it’s not exactly exciting and usually I don’t watch TV at all, but I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m always bouncy and happy on the walk home even though it’s usually late at night, in Blythe, cold and raining. I couldn’t care less, I still smile and sing until I get home. I have to shut up when I get home, otherwise I’d probably get killed. I mean, if I’m getting back at ten to twelve mum and Andre really don’t want me to wake them up… xP
We talked about me going to Uni last night and the night before… I now have a reason to be sorry that I’m going. Still, I am going to go, and I am going to do well, and I’ll work around the issues that that causes.

Found my favourite hat Woop It was in the car. Which is actually a very odd place for it to be as I’ve not been in that car for quite a while now… Oh well, I have it again now Yay.

I had a curry for tea last night, before going to see Gina, and it was fantastic Not only that, but my mum bought me a couple of can of Karlsberg, and it complemented the meal perfectly Unfortunately at the time I didn’t know I was seeing Gina, so, I had a colourful curry, and my lips were stained quite colourfully. (and still are) Plus, for the same reason, I actually has some of the garlic nan bread for once. I never usually eat it as I had smelling like garlic, but I though, no one will be close enough to notice,s o it’s all good. Then I get rang five minutes after I’ve finished stuffing my face and I panic. Brush my teeth, get dressed nicely, etc. I think I just about pulled it off. Once again though, that was a really good curry Chandi Cottage for the win

On facebook when I post links to this blog, it doesn’t give me many options for photos to tag it with, so below are some piccies, for your viewing pleasure and for my amusement.

Then it was now.

Me

De-Masked

Hearts

boom

BOOM! I’m done x

By Chuck Ring (GadaboutBlogalot ©2009).

Quote Freely From The Article – Leave The Pseudonym Alone

A coughing woman, fresh from spitting and coughing on her fellow subway passengers, was briefly detained by a hair slam to the floor of the train coach.

The “cougher” was cautioned by the “coughee” to cover her mouth, but the suggestion was not taken lightly by the hacker, who continued coughing and uttering several words or phrases that were not likely to engender kind treatment. The inattention to the suggestion to stop exporting the oral peril led to the hair slam mentioned above.

At last account, the expectorating party was scurrying away with the aid of what might have been a friend.

You can read the rest of the story at The Business Insider

The setting … why, New York City!

In Japan during the rush hour, it is better not to use any public transport at all (especially the subway).
It’s really full, I wonder how they come out from the train.

l

Related articles by Zemanta

• GTA’s traffic misery getting worse (thestar.com)
• Why Toronto has an all-day rush hour (thestar.com)
• How Traffic Helps the Environment (online.wsj.com)
• Tea Party Protesters Protest Metro Service (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Smog Alert in Laval – A Tremendous Success – Société de transport de Laval donates $5,000 to Équiterre (newswire.ca)
• Bus Lanes on Wilshire? Chime in at Upcoming Community Meetings (laist.com)
• Olympic road closures start in November (cbc.ca)
• Teabaggers Think the Public (Transit) Option Inadequate (dailykos.com)
• To meet expectations – Bus frequency will be increased in Laval (newswire.ca)

A RESIDENT recently asked me to look into a few issues in the Kestrel Park and Longhey areas in Ashurst.

The first concerned the disused kids’ park between the two estates which has by and large fallen out of use. The area, which is almost like a clearing in a forest, has a swings frame but no actual swings, and a solitary slide built into the side of a pile of stones. Suffice it to say, the latter would hardly past muster with the Health & Safety Police these days.

The resident was concerned that the park is a bit of a hazard and, moreover, doesn’t have a raison d’etre at this moment in time. I wrote to the the Borough Council highlighting the resident’s concerns and they replied by saying that they shared these concerns. However, they added that the existing equipment and mound on which the slide is located will be removed early in the new year following the completion of new play area in Summer Street.

The council will be looking for another play site in Ashurst in the future, at which point the Long Hey site may be considered. This is good news as residents at the ‘top end’ of Ashurst are concerned at the lack of play facilities locally.

The second issue the resident asked me to look into was the almost constant flooding/silt build up in the subway between Longhey and Kestrel Park. Having inspected the site myself, it appears that there is some kind of culvert on land directly next to the problem area which I suspect could be causing the flooding.

I wrote to Lancs County Council’s highways department who told me that works to clear the mud away have now taken place, and that the County Council is now preparing a bid to undertake work on a number of culverts across Skelmersdale which are causing these sorts of problems.

I’ve asked the highways authority to keep me informed and, if the bid is successful, I shall post an update on this blog.

Seen recently on the subway stairs in Seoul are arrows to and from the subway train. The poster states “for safe and convenient travel, use the right side.” The poster is so far estranged from reality it’s pathetic. On closer examination, I see a Victorian gent, a businessman, a musketeer, even Albert Einstein on his way to the patent office. But no stereo-typical Asian characters. Maybe Koreans are afraid of seeing themselves on a poster.

Everyone moving in sync would be great, but given the culture it might be considered a sign of a fascist state or like in the novel, The Wave, which I read in High school. If the Koreans think it as that way (as being bad), then they’ll definitely reject it. Korea was more or less, under military rule for over twenty years since the end of the Korean war, getting democracy around 1980.

I’m not convinced that people read or care to take heed of the advice, for lots of reasons. But usually it’s the culture first (meaning me first and fuck the rest) mindset. It is supposed to be the same side as the road as when they drive. summarily almost anything that the Government says is ignored as being benign, or if it intrudes into their lifestyle too much, they protest with almost no sway in the opinion of the government.

I suppose that this sort of thing will make dashing for the train easier, providing that you have well-ordered lines that is. Whenever I see people running for the train, I make a note of steering clear. Smiling as I do. I’ve done it before too.

Seen recently on the subway stairs in Seoul are arrows to and from the subway train. The poster states “for safe and convenient travel, use the right side.” The poster is so far estranged from reality it’s pathetic. On closer examination, I see a Victorian gent, a businessman, a musketeer, even Albert Einstein on his way to the patent office. But no stereo-typical Asian characters. Maybe Koreans are afraid of seeing themselves on a poster.

Everyone moving in sync would be great, but given the culture it might be considered a sign of a fascist state or like in the novel, The Wave, which I read in High school. If the Koreans think it as that way (as being bad), then they’ll definitely reject it. Korea was more or less, under military rule for over twenty years since the end of the Korean war, getting democracy around 1980.

I’m not convinced that people read or care to take heed of the advice, for lots of reasons. But usually it’s the culture first (meaning me first and fuck the rest) mindset. It is supposed to be the same side as the road as when they drive. summarily almost anything that the Government says is ignored as being benign, or if it intrudes into their lifestyle too much, they protest with almost no sway in the opinion of the government.

I suppose that this sort of thing will make dashing for the train easier, providing that you have well-ordered lines that is. Whenever I see people running for the train, I make a note of steering clear. Smiling as I do. I’ve done it before too.

Since I walk to work I’m not a frequent subway rider. But yesterday I took the F train to Brooklyn to see a friend who was visiting from out of town. I was on what’s known as a R160 train, which the MTA has been phasing into service since 2006. Besides these trains being clean, fast, and smooth, they also sport a pretty amazing interior display system called FIND (for Flexible Information & Notice Display).

This may be old news to many New Yorkers, but it was novel for me. I found the displays to be a brilliant execution of smart engineering and clever design.

R160 train "FIND" displays: great engineering and design

The multi-colored displays show station names, borough changes, and transfer lines cleanly and clearly. The information is dynamically updated at each stop and can reflect station skips or temporary service changes in real time.

What’s most clever though is how the devices handle the display of every station on even extended routes. To do so they display the next 10 stops in fixed positions, and then show subsequent stops in rotating groups of 5 in a dynamic “Further Stops” section.  You can see in this video (at the 12 second mark) how the display changes from stations 16-20 to 21-25.  Announcements are also fully automated, as you can hear in this clip.

These smart displays are a world of difference from the plastic display cards still in place on many NYC trains, and they are about the most sophisticated system I’ve seen on any transit system I’ve ridden in the world.

I’m not sure who handled the electronics for the display system, but Kawasaki Heavy Industries handled the overall engineering for the train. Well done.  And kudos to the MTA for getting these into service.

-Again, every last train was delayed. How do three consecutive trains carry more people in it that the first?

-These new train cars have spacious door entries and shy away from that obnoxious format of old F trains that were made for midgets* and Japanese people. However, the seats have this posture-correcting hump along the back resting area that is killing my back.

-We encountered a woman that got on one stop on our express train and began Jesus-testifying at the top of her lungs. One passenger actually yelled back at her after 20 minutes to shut up as we are not in church. See the culprit below.

*See last week’s review to make sense of why little people are awkward.

The passion of new MTA chaiman Jay Walder in New York is infectious.  I also admit that I have a bit of transit nerd man crush on his use of subway token cuff links.  However, his idea for price restructuring on New York City public transit leaves me a little baffled.  It may just be that the New York Times did an insufficient job explaining the benefits of the policy.

“We might imagine that we offer discounts at later times, or we offer weekend discounts,” Mr. Walder said in an interview on Wednesday. “Time-of-day pricing might be very attractive.”

The goal would be to encourage use of buses and subways during traditionally quieter hours. And it would bring New York’s subway system in line with local commuter rails, which charge a range of fares.

“We have an infrastructure that is set for the capacity of the peak,” Mr. Walder said. “What we really want to do is use that infrastructure all the time.”

The chairman ruled out charging higher prices for longer trips, a system used in cities like Washington and London, saying such a move in New York “would be a mistake.” But he said a frank discussion of changes to the pricing structure “will be an important part of what we’re doing.” A transit spokesman said later that Mr. Walder was not considering higher peak fares.

I understand the desire to have more people riding at non-peak hours in order to make the system run as efficiently as possible.  This is especially true in New York City subways which almost never shut down.  However, I do not follow the logic of reducing prices so people ride more.

In New York there are two types of people who travel at night and weekends, permanent residents and tourists/visitors.  The commuters, who constitute a huge number of MTA’s ridership are avoiding the MTA on nights and weekends if possible.

For the residents and tourists/visitors to ride at night or on weekends requires someplace to go, which is the expensive part in New York, not the subway ride.  Once traveling, though, the only other real option is a taxi and the regardless of the price of an MTA fair, it will almost surely be cheaper than a New York City cab fare which is $2.50 just for getting in the cab.  City residents on the other hand probably own monthly passes which means each additional ride they take, regardless of when they take it, is essentially free.

If anything, it would make more sense to tax certain hours of travel, say 8am-10am and 4pm-7pm to encourage people to take the subway and bus at off peak hours, hence increasing demand the and helping to reduce congestion during rush hours.  However, I like the fact that a transit administrator is excited about transit and trying with innovation to get more people to use it at all times.

Perhaps I am missing something logical and important here.  If one of my readers recognizes it, please inform me and other readers with a comment.

Last night after class I had an impromptu meet up in the village at a great little bar with a few of my friends. West Third and MacDoogal provide two of my favorite things: Mamouns Fafalel and The White Rabbit Bar. The White Rabbit is a bit on the pricey side but they have an awesome selection of imported beers from all over the world. And the best part? It seems to be the only bar in the village where there is not an NYU undergrad to be found.

Who doesn’t love a random Wednesday at a bar anyway?

After we had enough to eat and drink, we headed home, and Vic and I trekked over to the East Side to get on the R train. That was our first mistake. The only reason we chose to do this as opposed to taking the much closer West 4th A train is because of where each train lets us out in Brooklyn. The R train gets out in Brooklyn Heights, at swanky Montague Street. The A train gets out at Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Both are equally close to my house, but Jay Street scares me at night.

The train didn’t come. And didn’t come. And then finally, twenty minutes later a W comes. It claims to be heading to Brooklyn. Except it stops at Canal street and makes us all get off as it rolls away empty. Great. Now we are stuck in Chinatown at 11:30pm. Did I mention I had been teaching all day as well? Finally another train comes, this one is the R. And we sit across from what can only be described as an Asian male model. Striking poses to the beat of his iPod. I am not sure he noticed us all laughing at him, but he definitely didn’t stop the Zoolander show.

But then the train stops again at Whitehall Street and makes us all get off! For the record, Whitehall is the last stop in Manhattan, one stop from ours. After I have some not so nice words with the MTA guy, we discover that there is a train coming “In a few minutes” and all us Brooklynites shuffle to the other platform, hoping he’s not lying. And he’s not. Sure enough the train comes, and I sit across from a young, teenage couple about an hour and a half away from being impregnated. They weren’t all over each other or anything, but they were trying to act all cool, dress all cool, and looked EXACTLY like the Tacoma babydaddies I see when I am at home.

Let me paint a picture. Her: maybe, MAYBE 16. At the oldest. And WAY too pretty for him. Long brown hair, beautiful face, underneath the lip piercing of course. And I kid you not her shirt was so low that when she bent over her whole boob fell out. The guy: Easily 19-22. Ginger kid trying to be ghetto in his baggy clothing and fitted 59/Fifty hat, with all the stickers on of course. But the worst is his facial hair. He has a shaggy beard only growing underneath his jaw bone. So I guess it would be called a neck beard, or a neard. And its all unkempt and red and gross. But its cool because he was mad good at his video game, yo. Nothing better than white kids trying to be hard ghetto.

Either way it took over an hour to get home from a place that was maybe 20 minutes away. Which just goes to show how much MTA employees value their outer-borough customers. We could have walked home faster.

Great to see the “Good Without God” campaign arrive via subway in my neighborhood now:

Atheism Campaign Launches in New York Subways: Coalition of Faithless Advocates Focuses on Increased Secular Awareness

The Big Apple Coalition of Reason, a collection of groups that advocate secularism and atheism, has launched a month-long ad campaign in New York City’s subway system. The ads are a series of printed posters that feature the tagline, “A million New Yorkers are good without God. Are you?” The $25,000 campaign, designed to increase awareness of secular-minded groups, was reportedly funded by an anonymous donor.
Although reports and comments about the campaign have referred to the posters as “atheist,” the group points out that atheism is just a lack of belief in religion or God whereas the scope of the ads is bigger than that, Fox News reports.

“These ads inform New Yorkers that a million or more of their neighbors are good without God,” said Michael De Dora Jr., the executive director for the New York branch of the Center for Inquiry. “That is, a million of us have found or created natural morality, and lead good, productive and meaningful lives without appeal to religious dogma or God. The ads also invite interested New Yorkers to learn more about who we are and what we’re doing, and to get involved in the growing secular community and secular movement.”

Thanks to Meg for the heads up.

Your Thoughts?

Ever wondered what urban-transit systems look like in its geographical scale? Neil Freeman’s website contains an excellent page that depicts the lines of various transit systems in the world in the same geographic scale.

Now how does the geographical depiction compare with its cartographic depiction? The following are the comparisons of selected transit systems in geographical scale alongside its respective current transit map design. (I will be periodically updating this post to include more systems.)

Note: Due to size restrictions on this blog (and in viewing web pages in general), the geographical scale for each transit system depicted below is different from one another. For example, the size of the Paris Métro is in reality a lot smaller than the London Underground, whereas the depiction below displays the opposite.

^ New York City Subway
Technically the lines extending west of Midtown and Lower Manhattan belong to New Jersey’s Path system, and are not apart of the MTA NYC Subway system. So you would have to buy two separate tickets to ride in both systems. Also there are other variations of the current transit design that does depict the Staten Island Railway line that is missing above. (Also missing are the AirTrain lines from JFK to the E and A trains in the above transit map that more current versions depict.)

This current map design is geographical in nature that stresses function over form, as opposed to geometrical like Massimo Vignelli’s iconic 1972 design and his 2008 update. In particular, this map design is the most geographical out of most other current transit maps in the world. (Other geographical designs include the San Francisco Bay Area’s BART system.)

^ London Underground

^ Paris Métro

^ Tokyo Metro

^ Berlin U-Bahn

^ Moscow Metro

^ Madrid Metro:

Peach and apple
Gangs and the media
Subways and landlords
Queens and hate crimes
Natter and panoply
Help is sitting at the front desk