And Now, One Of My Favorite Photos From My NYC Trip
Posted on October 15, 2023 Posted by John Scalzi 12 Comments
It’s looking thorough the Red Cube by Isamu Noguchi, which is located at 140 Broadway, in downtown Manhattan. There’s a lot going on here, and I’m happy I got it into a picture.
New York City was fabulous as ever, but now I’m home and happy to be here. I may sleep all day tomorrow. There are worse ways to spend a Monday.
— JS
Welcome home. Most definitely rest up, you earned it. Hope you got to autograph a bunch of your books and chat with the fans. I know when I’ve met you in the past it’s always nice to talk about your latest works. Thanks for sharing your time with us.
Any single suggestion for a first time visitor? We’re there soon for four nights and three shows. But looking for one more thing.
Noguchi’s Black Hole Sun (yes, it inspired the Soundgarden song) also plays with its surroundings (“borrowed scene”) by providing a viewport to the Space Needle.
https://volunteerparktrust.org/profile/black-sun-reservoir/
Fabulous photo! I have always loved Noguchi’s work. The Isamu Noguchi Museum is located in Long Island City, Queens and has a very inclusive collection of his work. When I lived in NYC, I always enjoyed going there.
It must be tough constantly living out of a suitcase. Thank goodness, you don’t have to do it all the time. You have worked hard and deserve as much rest as you need. I’m really looking forward to reading “Starter Villain”.
Fun picture. It grabs one’s attention.
I used to work in that building 20 years ago and knew it right away before reading the address. It’s amazing how little you might need to recognize something like that. Even though it’s an “International” style black building, there are surprisingly few in the city, especially with a red object in front.
What’s even stranger is that my dad took a picture of me watching a busker playing in front of that cube, almost 40 years ago.
A lot of memories of that building and the surrounding few blocks.
Glad you had a safe and enjoyable trip!
@Matt
What do you like to do? Plenty of suggestions for the city, but it all depends on your tastes and interests.
@Matt Budke
on your way out of town… have cab swing by… call ahead, prepay on creditcard and pick up a pastrami sandwich from Katz Deli on Houston (pronounced “HOW-STAN” never “YOU-STAN” this being MEW YURK not TEX-HUS)…
ask ’em to leave the shamaltz on… (Yiddish for ‘fat’)… chewy but rich in joyous calories…
given the shitstorms during travel passengers are risking starvation… certainly better than any crap at the airport and on the flight everyone will not only envy you but bid off each other for the second half of your sandwich… my last time flying there was complaints from Business Class because I refused to sell it to those fatcats… their top offer was only $30 and it was a long, long miserable flight… big plus was when TSA goons tried to confiscate it for themselves… no really… the scent is that overwhelmingly tempting
https://katzsdelicatessen.com/
their informal motto ==> “clogged artery in every bite”
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CRISIS ALERT:
not everyone here are in US but still a lesson to be learned… one of those pharmacy chains is about to go belly up… getting prescriptions transferred is always a hassle so be sure you-all have a contingency… not to mention lots of unemployed folk
also… a blog topic for anyone looking for basis of a potential book about impacts upon ‘red states’ due to lax federal enforcement during GOP administrations from 1990s onwards
“Rite Aid’s losing battle against mounting debt was exacerbated by its legal troubles stemming from accusations of filing unlawful opioid prescriptions for customers.”
https://lite.cnn.com/2023/10/15/business/rite-aid-bankrupty-hnk-intl/index.html
@Ontogenesis
re: Soundgardens’ “Black Hole Sun” inspired by the Noguchi sculpture Black Sun…not according to Chris Cornell.
The bands’ name however was said by band members to be inspired by another one of his sculptures in the Seattle area: A Sound Garden.
Of course, the misheard TV news broadcast that did inspire the song may have been referring to the sculpture so who knows?
Texans don’t pronounce Houston like that. For one, there’s an H in it. Hew stun.
@Matt Budke
The two things I always recommend to NYC visitors are both free: Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (there are some very good restaurants on the Brooklyn side BTW) and take the Staten Island Ferry (This is free, ignore the scammers trying to sell tickets to it). The ferry goes right by the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Dear Matt,
What an open-ended question — it really depends on what kinds of things you WANT to do. But I’ll throw out some ideas…
First off, if any number of the things on the system appeal to you, definitely buy New York Passes for you and yours:
https://newyorkpass.com/en-us
Read the details: they guarantee that you will NOT lose money and you might well save money.
Moving on, with all due respect to Howard, shmaltz (or schmaltz) does NOT mean “fat!” Not even the right class of animal. It specifically means rendered poultry fat, most commonly chicken but it can be goose and more rarely duck. It’s certainly not something you would find associated with pastrami, mostly it’s used to make dishes more unctuous and to let them set up when they’re chilled (especially chopped liver).
Do NOT go into a deli and ask for pastrami with schmaltz. They will think you’re crazy… at best. Just order the pastrami sandwich and let them serve it to you as they will.
Katz is the most famous deli, but there are two others (at least!) that are equally good, the slightly less famous Sarge’s and the Second Avenue deli. They all serve amazing food and amazing pastrami sandwiches. They are located far enough apart that you should pick the one that fits best with the other activities you are planning for the day.
For example, Second Avenue has a Midtown location which is only a couple of blocks from the Empire State building if that’s on your itinerary. They also have a more southerly location which is convenient if you’re going to take the Staten Island ferry or go out to see the Statue of Liberty.
Slightly different category of food — if you like lox and/or smoked fish of any sort, you absolutely, positively must go to Barney Greengrass (a.k.a. The Sturgeon King). They are only a few blocks from the American Museum of Natural History, so if that is on your visiting list, very convenient. I will declare without fear of contradiction that they are the absolute, best, smoked fish restaurant in the entire world (talk about fighting words!). If your whole family likes fish, then the sampler platter is a wonderful choice — it will feed three people for sure (the menu warns you that it’s huge and so will the servers).
If you like art museums, the Met should be at the top of your list. If you like museums in general, then Natural History. It is arguably the best of its sort in the entire world, and here I am not exaggerating. If any of your kids are into dinosaurs, you REALLY have to go.
Personally, I would strongly recommend the Empire State building, especially at dusk. Not just for the views, but for its incredible architecture. The interiors are amazing. If you want to get that kind of peak of Art Deco, for free, walk around Rockefeller Center.
I would also recommend the tour of the Statue of Liberty. You honestly can’t get a sense of its scale and how impressive it is until you are there. Photographs do not do it justice (I say that as a photographer).
And that’s enough!
Gonna post this, typos and all, before the comments close
pax, Ctein
(Please excuse any word-salad. Dragon Dictate in training! )