New York
It Was 20 Years Ago Today
Kurt Cobain took his own life on April 5, 1994, but we didn’t learn the news until Friday, April 8. Can you imagine that today, three days passing? No distraught tweet from Courtney Love? No Instagram of the body from an assistant coroner, whose account is taken down the next day? It was bad enough […]
Jackupuncture
Jack, what’s happening? Are you interested in acupuncture? said the text message from my friend Molly. Well, the truth is, I hadn’t ever really given it much thought. Mention acupuncture to me and the thought that comes to mind is drinking a glass of water afterward, and it comes spurting out from all over your […]
Carded at the Library
What’s that old saying? “Unless we know a historian, we’re doomed to repeat it?” Something like that, anyway. Well, I am lucky to have a historian friend, Christina. When she recently told me she had helped put together an exhibit called “Driving for Justice: The New York Taxi Workers Alliance Records,” I was very eager […]
Record Store Review: Rough Trade NYC
I guess I first heard about Rough Trade when I was in high school (not to be confused with lower-case “rough trade,” which is another story for another day). It was a record label, and also a store, or vice-versa, and it was British and mysterious and cool, with an iconic logo, perfect for us […]
Movie Review: If These Knishes Could Talk
4 stars out of 5 When my family moved to California when I was a wee lad, I remember people poking gentle fun at the way my Bronx-raised mom spoke. They’d point out her saying “A glass of wawtuh,” instead of waaa-ter, or however they said it way out west. It was my first inkling […]
I Add Some Words to a Snippet From the New York Times
Kerry Cheeseboro, a manager at Dorrian’s Red Hand, a Yankees-leaning bar on the Upper East Side most known as the place preppy murderer Robert Chambers and his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Levin were hanging out just before he killed her, said it would be difficult for many fans to come to terms with Mr. de Blasio’s feelings. […]
Movie Review: Koch
4 stars out of 5 A nice documentary double feature might be Koch and Helvetica, because the font is all over this movie. Not just on the subway signs that are a seemingly integral part of any movie shot in New York City, but also in Ed Koch’s old campaign materials and even the on-screen […]
Meatball Sandwich Review: Sanpanino
I know the intersection of Christopher and Hudson Streets very, very well. From 1994 through 2011, it was an important part of my daily commute: Get off the train at Christopher, cross Hudson, and be on my merry way—and the reverse in the evening. Still, I’ve never really “hung out” a lot over there. Sure, […]
Jack Silbert, curator