LINES OF THE DAY

". . . But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something over there only because I am here. But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past as past." p. 15

". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153

Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Don't Like Halloween Too Much Any More

So, shall el V return after all, or be doomed forever to ride the subways underneath NYC?


The annual Village Halloween Parade steps off from our street.  The parade attracts something like a million spectators.  This means, among other unpleasant things for the residents in the vicinity of the parade route, all other traffic is shut down for ingress and egress: private vehicles, taxis and buses.  The subways tend to still run but are clogged with people trying to get to our street, to be ad hoc joiners of the Parade, to be screaming loud, drunk and pee in my doorway to have fun. In fact, They began this fun process days ago already, screaming how much fun They are having at 3 AM, thereby waking me to join willy nilly in Their fun. Thank goodness for ear plugs. It's going to be even worse this year, since due to Hurricane Sandy, there was no Parade last years.

Plane gets in 4:55 at JFK.  Customs, etc. baggage.  He's got lots of baggage.  You don't want to take the Train to the Plane subway humping all that baggage, because it involves many sets of stairs and changes.  Taking a taxi means having to get out blocks away, and humping all that luggage through immovable crowds of screaming drunks.

We've discussed this.  There is no good alternative.

Halloween was a lot more fun when it was celebrated only by kids. And the Parade was a local thing, not an international tourist spectacle. And adults devised their kids' and their own costumes instead of spending hundreds of dollars in the pop up Halloween Costume Stores as they do now.  When it was actually local, and the locals were artistic, creative and constructed the most innovative, startling and admirable outfits, sometimes by wearing only a hat, mask and carrying a sign.

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