NYC Day 68: End Of The Line Game #3: Brooklyn By Bus

My route across Brooklyn as mapped by my Map My Walk app.

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ON THE BUSES ACROSS EAST NEW YORK
Today I had every intention of going for a long walk along Brooklyn Bridge Park, which follows the East River for some considerable distance. However, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and it didn't take long before the heat and high humidity dissuaded me from that idea. So what was I to do? After I surfaced from the A-train at the High Street/Brooklyn Bridge station in Brooklyn, I made a spur of the moment decision to board the nearest bus, and see where it would take me.

Yes folks, I was about to play the End Of The Line Game one more time.

The nearest bus turned out to be for the B25 route. I picked it up in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge on Front Street, and before too long I found myself wending my way along the miles long Fulton Street, towards Broadway Junction where I the bus was due to end its run. At Broadway Junction I boarded a B83 bus which was heading to what I assumed was a mall of some type called, Gateway Center, somewhere on the edge of Jamaica Bay (No, not that Jamaica!).

I have written before about my reasons for catching buses rather than taking the subway, which is invariably faster and more direct. However, the subway lines don't take you to every corner of greater New York City, and besides, you don't get to see much of the city while speeding through deep, dark tubes underground.

Let me just say that I am not all that familiar with the far reaches of the outer boroughs. While many parts of this vast city are well maintained, and even quite beautiful, I know that there are others parts that are in desperate need of maintenance and beautification. These areas include parts of the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn.

In Brooklyn, despite the gentrification that is slowly transforming those neighborhoods bordering the East River, the farther away you get from the river and Manhattan the worse the borough begins to look. And so it was, that as I sat on my B25 and B83 buses, I found myself, and not for the first time, as the only non-person of color, or non-Spanish speaker, gazing out the windows as we passed through the neighborhoods of Fort Greene to Crown Heights to Brownsville, and finally to East New York.

Above and Below: A couple of images from my bus seat.

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Above the Brooklyn War Memorial

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It soon became apparent that these outer neighborhoods are among the poorest and least serviced areas of the city. I was amazed at the number of shopfront churches that line the main roads through these neighborhoods. On one short Fulton Street block, there were seven such storefront churches vying for the hearts and souls of the local residents.

Seven!

Starting at 2077 Fulton Street and working your way up you will find The Melchizedk House of Prayer; the Spanish American Christian Church; the New Hope Pentecostal Church; the Blessed Assurance Church of God; Emanuel Christian Church; Gethsemane Baptist Church, and finally Saved To Serve Ministries Inc.

Other nearby churches sported names like Full Gospel Church of God #2 Inc, St. Paul's Pentecostal Church of God, and the St. Matthew Fire Baptist. The Full Gospel Tabernacle-Faith was right next to The Spiritual Israel Church and its Army, both of which were close to the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, and on and on and on. In fact all of the above churches were within a few blocks of each other as were numerous others.

If the neighborhood streets are not taken up by these 'churches', they are are filled with Crown Fried Chicken, and Kennedy Fried Chicken (and other fast food) outlets. Then there are the many Unisex Beauty Parlors, local deli's, small supermarkets and dozens of other small businesses eking out a living from some of the poorest citizens of this great city..

Above and Below: The Gateway Center.

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After nearly two hours of slow, torturous bus travel through these outer Brooklyn neighborhoods, I finally reached the Gateway Center, only to find that it was not your typical enclosed shopping mall, but a series of well-known department stores and cafes laid out in a relatively new shopping complex (surrounded by acres of parking lots), just a mile or so from JFK airport.

I found a seat inside a Panera Bread outlet and sat down to a hearty Thai Salad and a long, cold lemonade. Since I had no need for shopping, once I had finished eating I found a B83 bus, and returned once again to Broadway Junction from where I caught an A-train back to Washington Heights.

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Tuesday 22, August | Expenses $12.72 ($16.10)

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NYC Day 67: In Which I am Eclipsed by The Eclipse

Eclipse screen grab from The New York Times

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Today was the day that millions, yes, millions of Americans have been waiting for. A total eclipse of the sun began soon after 9:00am on the east coast in Oregon, and made its way slowly across the mid-west before passing out to sea somewhere off the coast of South Carolina late in the afternoon. New York City would only experience about a 70 percent eclipse of the sun, but that did not stop a large part of the population from donning eclipse glasses to view this all too rare phenomenon.

Feeling like I was the only person who had not managed to get my hands on a pair of eclipse glasses I headed off to the American Museum of Natural History (at Central Park West and 79th Street), to see if they still had the special glasses for sale. Of course, they had sold out long before (possibly days before) I got there, and the glasses were not to be had for love nor money. Since I was at the museum, I thought I might as well make the most of the afternoon and visit this mighty institution.

Above: Dall Sheep diorama

(Click images to view full-sized)

Above: Gemsbok diorama 

Above: Big Horn Sheep diorama

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I have been to the museum on two previous visits to New York, but I was keen to take another look at the magnificent diorama's the museum is justifiably known for. There are dozens of these diorama's near the main museum entrance, and all are beautifully maintained and presented. The diorama's went through a major refurbishment in 2011, and today they are even better to look at and enjoy.

Now if you are anything like me, you will look at the dozens of animals represented here and say to yourself, These beautiful creatures should be out running free in their natural environments, and not standing or sitting stuffed and mute behind glass.

And you would be right to say that. And the day may yet come that when the last of these magnificent animals has been wiped from the face of the earth, we will bow our collective heads and weep for our stupidity, short-sightedness, and inhumanity, which has already resulted in the extinction of so many animal species. However... Maybe, just maybe, the thousands of visitors who view these diorama's each year will leave the museum with a greater appreciation for these creatures and their place they occupy in our lives. Maybe.

Above: White Rhino, and Below, Black Rhino displays.

Above: The Alaska Brown Bear display.

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I like to think that some of these thousands of visitors have gone on to join the fight to protect and preserve the natural habitats that the animals and creatures represented here so desperately need to thrive and survive. If these past and future environmentalists and conservationists can do this then the loss of the animals enclosed in these diorama's won't have been in vain.

By the time I emerged from the depths of the American Museum of Natural History, the partial eclipse of the sun, as it passed over the city of New York, had been and gone and I had missed it completely. C'est la vie!

 Above: A partial view of some of the diorama's as well as the elephant herd.

Panoramic images of the Bison display (above), and the Alaskan Moose (below)

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MICHELLE SHOCKED @ CITY WINERY
In the evening I returned to City Winery at 155, Varick Street, Manhattan, for the third and last of the Michelle Shocked album performances, which tonight saw her and her fellow musicians perform in full her 1992 album, Arkansas Traveler.

Michelle was joined on stage with a quartet of young musicians who did an admirable job of bringing the music and songs to life. I got the distinct impression that everyone was 'winging it', and I would be surprised if they had had more than a day or two to run through all the songs together. Nevertheless, they pulled it off, thanks to their professionalism and obvious musical ability.

I should add that initially, the Pete Anderson Trio were due to back Michelle at this show, but for reasons that were never explained they were unable to do so, hence the scratch band that Michelle assembled in their place.

I shared a table with Gladys and Joe, two very amiable New Yorkers. Joe and I were talking about other shows we had seen at City Winery, and he mentioned Loudon Wainwright III, who was a particular favorite. Loudon Wainwright, is the father of Rufus and Martha Wainwright, two performers of outstanding ability in their own right.

As it happens, Martha Wainwright is performing later this week at the Rubin Museum of Art, and when I mentioned this to Joe he immediately went online and booked two tickets for that show. Apparently he and Gladys live just a couple of blocks from the Rubin, and they were delighted and excited to learn about her performance there.

It is little connections like these, with perfect strangers, that make travel so much more interesting, especially for the solo traveler like myself.

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Monday 21, August | Expenses $129.52 ($148.40)

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Any questions, comments or suggestions? How about complaints or compliments? Let me know via the comments box below.

NYC Day 66: Oh, No. It's Groundhog Day!

Oh, gawd. Not Sonny and Cher again! And again. And again...

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The Museum of Modern Art: Groundhog Day
1993. Directed by Harold Ramis. With Bill Murray, Andie McDowell, and Chris Elliott.

The Museum of Modern Art: Her
2013. Written and directed by Spike Jonze. With Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt, and Rooney Mara.

Okay, okay. I know what you are thinking, Who goes to the expense of flying to New York City all the way from Australia, and then makes his principle activity for the day watching movies? To make matters worse, you might add, One of which goes back almost 25 years!

Well, for one, I do, although I hasten to add that I have not come to New York just for the movies, as even a cursory look through my blog posts for the past two months will show. But as I have written before, there is only so much high culture (and for that matter, couture) that one can absorb before one's eyes begin to glaze over and even the most priceless works of art and music are at risk of causing a long, drawn out yawn.

So, off to the movies I went.

Above and Below: Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams in scenes from, Her. 

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To recap; in preparation for this trip I became an associate Member of the Metropolitan Museum, and a Global Member of the Museum of Modern Art. These designations apply to members who live well outside the city limits of New York City, whether you live in America or internationally. Regarding MoMA membership, not only does this include unlimited visits to the museum, along with many other benefits, but membership also includes unlimited participation in the museum's film screenings.

The current film calendar for August includes 70 movies from 22 countries built around the theme, Future Imperfect: The Uncanny in Science Fiction.

This exhibition of 70 science-fiction films from all over the world--22 countries including the US, the Soviet Union, China, India, Cameroon, and Mexico--explores our humanity in all its miraculous, uncanny, and perhaps ultimately unknowable aspects.

The series looks beyond space travel, aliens and all the other well-known tropes we come to expect from this genre, and focusses instead "on alternate visions of Earth in the present or very near future."

Among the many great English language films screened this month were/are Ex Machina, Donnie Darko, Under The Skin, Shivers/They Came From within, Dark City, Minority Report, Videodrome, Gattaca, and Children of Men. The international films include the timely Days of Eclipse, (from Russia), The Year of The Plague (Mexico), and Pathetic Fallacy (India). Oh, and of course the two films that I saw on this my 66th day in New York.

Above: Bill Murray and leading lady Andie MacDowell in a scene from Groundhog Day.

Above: Punxsutawney Phil is about to come to an explosive end!

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I had missed the Spike Jonze film, Her when it was first released, and being a fan of Jonze, and his principle actors Scarlett Johansson, and Joaquin Phoenix, as well as Amy Adams and Rooney Mara, this was a good opportunity to make up for my initial loss. As for Groundhog Day, I had seen this way back in the day, but had largely forgotten most of the details. Bill Murray is always good in whatever movie he chooses to participate in, and the delightful and delectable Andie MacDowell always brightens up any film she appears in, so I was keen to see the film again. Having done so, I was reminded of just how funny the film was and still is. This is a film that has aged well, and I suspect that film-goers will still be laughing throughout Groundhog Day in another 25 years.

Quite frankly, if you are reading this, and you live in New York City, and you are a keen film-goer and/or cineaste, then you would be crazy not to become a member of MoMA, if only to have access to the hundreds of film screenings that take place throughout the year. While non-members can also attend screenings, they have to pay $12.00 each visit. Individual membership on the other hand costs just $85.00 -- the equivalent of seeing seven movies at twelve bucks a throw. However, do the math, if you attended just one film screening per week for twelve months, you would have saved a massive $540.00 (52x12=$624 -$85 =$540.00). And this does not take into account all the other benefits that come with your membership.

Dual membership is even cheaper per person ($70.00 each). Personally, I think it's a 'No brainer'.

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Sunday 20, August | Expenses $26.30 ($33.15)

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Any questions, comments or suggestions? How about complaints or compliments? Let me know via the comments box below.