Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
The only problem is that my body is determined to believe it's in another city and another time zone. I can barely keep my eyes open. Stop right there before you say anything about melatonin, it does not work. Yes, yes, I know you think it does. It's the placebo effect. It doesn't.
Anyway, before I cancel my evening plans and sink gratefully into this incredibly comfortable bed, I wanted everyone who doesn't already know--that's to say, everyone not in America--that no, America is not on the verge of a revolution, and no, the OWS protesters are definitely not the 99 percent. I sampled midtown Manhattan comprehensively today. I asked everyone I met. They all thought the OWS protesters were ridiculous. I get the sense that they're already kind of passe: I got that look from people that you got in 1981 when you went on and on about Studio 54.
Pretty much everyone I asked was a first-generation immigrant. I didn't plan it that way, it's just that if you go around speaking to New Yorkers at random, you speak to a lot of recent immigrants. And now that I think about it, it seems to me there weren't a lot of immigrants in the footage I saw of the OWS protesters, were there?
So: The guy from Punjab said, "The problem is that they're mentally ill. And not very educated." (We also had a good chat about Amritsar, the Mogul Empire, and these American guys he knows who converted to Sikhism and speak perfect, idiomatic Punjabi. He showed me a video of them on his iPhone. I'm no Punjabi expert, but they sure sounded convincingly Punjabi.)
The two Uzbek women shrugged and said, "They should get jobs." (I was keen to talk Uzbek politics with them, but they were ethnic Russians and a bit defensive about it---maybe they like it better when Americans don't know so much about Uzbekistan.)
The Israeli woman shrugged and said, "It's not a big deal." (I was keen to talk Israeli politics with her, but she too was an ethnic Russian, and her English wasn't really good enough for us to get much past the pleasantries.)
The Chinese guy from Sichuan province winced at the word "communism."
All in all, people looked at me the way Turkish people look at the tourists who wonder where the camels are. So, another mainstream media non-story bites the dust.
Great shopping here in New York, though. It's amazing how you can find anything you need, any time of the day, in any size, flavor, or brand, within a block of your hotel. Goodness but Americans are brilliant at merchandising. What genius thought of calling that brand of condoms "Magnums?" You think they focus-grouped that? I wasn't looking for them, I should stress; I was just admiring the marketing.
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Comments :
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
You were raving about Studio 54 in 1981?
Mar '11
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
I could have told you that.
The only occupation going on here in the corner of Central Illinois I'm living in would be down in front of the Feed and Grain store. Those guys have been occupying that bench pretty much non-stop since the Civil War. Not the same guys, of course. Every decade or so one or two new ones wander by to replace the one or two that have gone on up to that Feed and Grain store in the sky.
Stand there long enough, and the international, national, and local news will be reported in full, with commentary that would have Krauthammer taking notes. In addition, you'll learn the answers to all of Life's Questions, and hear the most amazing stories ever told, some of which might actually be true, more or less.
Sep '10
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
Guess you could say the Magnum marketers conned 'em into 'em. Or co-oped the competition. It is NYC after all.
Jun '10
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
There's your problem, Claire, if you'd stop being such a skeptic the placebo effect would work for you, too!
In the meantime try caffeine, works for me every time.
Aug '10
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
Well if they'd just put up nice clear pictogram signs with arrows, I could stop asking everyone!
Jan '11
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
Is more good done by revealing melatonin only works through the placebo effect or is more harm done by ruining the placebo effect for readers who thought melatonin worked?
Dec '10
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
The town so nice they named it twice.
Those little town blues are fading away...
If you can take it there you can take it anywhere, so here's to you New York, New York.
Have fun Claire
Nov '11
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
Percival
Stand there long enough, and the international, national, and local news will be reported in full, with commentary that would have Krauthammer taking notes. In addition, you'll learn the answers to all of Life's Questions, and hear the most amazing stories ever told, some of which might actually be true, more or less. · Dec 3 at 3:28pm
That is a delicious slice of American life.
May '10
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
The funny thing is, the "journalist" guys interviewed on Charlie Rose the other night took the Occupy people very seriously. I kept thinking, if they (the occupy people) are serious, why don't they form a political party? That's what you do in a democracy, right? Otherwise they are just a mob (in the Coulter sense).
Are "journalists" all corrupt in their thinking?
Edited on Dec 3, 2011 at 6:34pmMar '11
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
James Gawron: The town so nice they named it twice.
Those little town blues are fading away...
If you can take it there you can take it anywhere, so here's to you New York, New York.
Have fun Claire · Dec 3 at 4:27pm
New York in the Christmas season is remarkable, magical. When people I meet say they've always wanted to visit someday, I suggest they experience it between T'giving and New Year's (but pass on the blizzard). Enjoy every minute, Claire.
May '11
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
Your reference of magnum condoms reminds me of the third grade when Charley Whitamore unrolled a condom he had pilfered from his father's hidden stache. When I saw how long that thing was when fully unrolled, I realized that there was much about sexuality that I didn't understand and I began to think I might never measure up.
Edited on Dec 3, 2011 at 7:22pmJul '10
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
"...a condom he had pilfered from his father's hidden stache..."
Hilarious Inadvertent Ricochet Word Substitution Of The Week.
Edited on Dec 3, 2011 at 8:39pmAug '10
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
Peter Christofferson: "...a condom he had pilfered from his father's hidden stache..."
Hilarious Inadvertent Ricochet Word Substitution Of The Week.
"It needs no explanation. It's not an eyebrow on vacation."
Edited on Dec 3, 2011 at 9:19pmMay '11
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
Oops.
Jun '11
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
I tend to agree with you, but the story of the then editor of The New Yorker (Tina Brown?) who exclaimed that she didn't understand how Richard Nixon just won 49 states since ",,,she didn't know anybody that voted for him!" brings me pause,
Jun '11
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
I tend to agree with you, but the story of the then editor of The New Yorker (Tina Brown?) who exclaimed that she didn't understand how Richard Nixon just won 49 states since ",,,she didn't know anybody that voted for him!" brings me pause,
Apr '11
Re: Live, from New York, It's Saturday Night!
Oh, now we know why you moved to Turkey.