The last place I expected to see a hawk for the first time was at Washington Square Park, in the middle of New York City, but that’s what happened. My wife and I were passing through and saw a crowd of people gathered with their phones and/or cameras out.
Part of Washington Square Park is fenced off because it’s still being renovated. Because of that, it’s free of people, which is probably why the hawk chose that area to hang out in, though it might also have had something to do with the squirrel that was on a nearby tree.
I asked a guy near us if the hawk showed up in the park often and he said that it, along with three siblings, lived in the area and had grown up in a nest on a window ledge on a nearby NYU building. He said that when the hawks were young, there was a 24/7 webcam set up above the nest. He took a moment to show me a video he had on his phone that he’d saved. I guess people were allowed to go into the building and look at the hawks from inside.
It’s nice to see that people are supportive of wildlife returning to the area. There are places in the world where birds like this would have been poached, or hunted just for kicks. Some people are sick. I hope these hawks stay cool and don’t make a nuisance of themselves, or you know someone will cry about it right away and want them removed.
For more info about the hawks, you can visit their ‘homepage’: WP Hawks.
Years ago, the fireworks show on July 4th used to be held on the East River. I remember going there and standing on the elevated highway. The view was amazing! It was also real close to where my mother’s apartment is. If we wanted to, we could have just gone to the roof, but going to the river and watching it with the crowd was a lot more exciting.
This was my wife’s first 4th of July and I wanted to make sure we got a chance to see some fireworks. I was excited too. The websites and news reports I’d seen said that 40,000 fireworks were going to be shot off, total. I imagine that includes the ones that don’t really go up and pop, but look like they’re spraying upwards from the boat. Anyway, it sounded like it was going to be awesome, so we planned to spend the day out in the city and end the day with fireworks.
The Pond at Central Park (Yes, “The Pond”)
We did a little shopping and then bought some water before walking through the lower portion of Central Park and heading over to the river. We were in high spirits until we saw the way the crowds were being managed for fireworks viewing. To be blunt, it was done in an obscenely stupid way that left me with the impression that the city didn’t care if the average resident or tourist could see what was going on; it was set up to make everything as convenient as possible for VIPs who paid upwards of 200 dollars for private parties on the piers and in the park that runs along the riverfront. You know, that area where people normally jog.
The ‘view’ at 59th Street. The viewing area was placed behind the row of trees that divides the highway, instead of on the side closer to the river, and behind the pier structure which blocks the skyline.
We started out at 59th street. To get down to the river, you have to go through a checkpoint on the previous block where your bags are searched. Then you can go down to highway. The problem with the 59th street area is that the pier is built up into a huge two story structure and there is absolutely no view. While we stood there, dumbfounded by the fact that it seemed like people were intentionally being herded into the worst viewing areas, I could hear a DJ saying, “Ya! Put your hands together! VIPs!” coming from somewhere beyond the trees and high building in front of us, likely from one of the piers.
Somewhere around 56th Street. Shortly after this, we had to go back to 11th Avenue and reenter the viewing area through another checkpoint. Roads were blocked off for VIP access to the piers.
Also, the cops had different viewing areas sectioned off with barricades. Instead of being able to walk down the highway, we had to go back up to 11th Avenue and walk down that way, then go through another checkpoint to get back down to the river to see if the viewing was any better. At the second point, we wound up being behind the USS Intrepid and the row of trees. There was practically no clear line of sight.
The Intrepid, blocking our view.
When we tried to leave, the police tried to stop us. One cop told us that going to the fireworks “is not just about seeing the fireworks; it’s the experience.” I told him there’s no experience if we can’t see the fireworks. What’s the point of spending the afternoon and evening in a crowd, looking at the butt end of an aircraft carrier? When I argued with the guy, another cop told me that if we left, “That’s it, you won’t be able to come back in.” Uhh? What? As we walked away, I heard him telling another woman that the fireworks are free, but the view might not be free if she wanted a good one. The whole time, we could hear the thumping music of a VIP party coming from the riverfront.
We walked down a bit further but still couldn’t see. Our view was blocked by trees.
Crowds at 34th Street
We walked down to 34th street and saw the massive crowds. We decided the whole thing wasn’t worth the trouble anymore, had something to eat, got some sundaes at the McDonald’s there and then stood in the street and waited for the fireworks to start. We figured we’d just see what we could see and the rest we’d catch on YouTube later. We weren’t the only ones with that idea. As many people as we saw walking down to the river all day, until just before the fireworks started, just as many were walking back into Manhattan, annoyed and complaining about how the barricades were set up and how there wasn’t a good view anywhere. Also, there were NO PORTABLE TOILETS. There were thousands of people heading to the fireworks event, but we didn’t see a single portable toilet set up to accommodate people. That seems like a gross oversight by the city government.
I think it was the better choice. We’d have been annoyed if we’d stayed behind the Intrepid, or behind a line of trees that blocked our view. As it was, I had to wonder what the city government was thinking saying the view would be good from 59th street down to 14th street. From where we were standing on 34th and 10th Avenue, which is admittedly a narrow field of vision in terms of seeing the waterfront, it looked like we were seeing the north-most fireworks, because we didn’t see any flashes of light from further up the river. I couldn’t help but wonder if the people at 59th street were able to see anything at all. At least we saw some fireworks head on.
If you’re reading this and thinking that it sounds like I’m doing nothing but whining, or that I’m hating on “VIPs” that are willing to shell out large sums of cash to stand on a pier, maybe I am. There’s a reason for it though. I remember being able to stand on an elevated highway with a clear, free, perfect view of the fireworks. I heard the excuse for moving the fireworks to the Hudson River was because of concerns about the bridges that go over the East River, but I call bullshit. It seems more likely to me that it was done to give preference to people with money and create new opportunities for monetization of what’s supposed to be a national holiday. The 4th of July is supposed to be about patriotism, pride and unity as Americans, but it has been warped into a business opportunity that emphasizes class struggle, not to mention the fact that it pisses off tourists that come here and are not be able to see anything. That’s embarrassing. Or at least it should be.
I’m not saying people should be able to stand on private piers for free; I’m saying the show was better done on the East River and should be moved back. At the least, the people should be put on the side of the highway that’s closer to the river, rather than right behind a row of trees. As it is now, the view of the fireworks from the ground is disappointing. Very disappointing. Unless you pay for a VIP ticket to stand on a pier or maybe go to New Jersey and view it from their shore, then it’s not even worth it. You’d be more comfortable sitting at home and watching it on TV.
Last Saturday wound up being one of those days that just turned out right. We got a late start because we both slept in, but once we got out the door we were rolling. We started our day off with a visit to Udon West, a great Japanese noodle shop on St. Mark’s Place (8th St) by Astor Place. If you haven’t been there, it’s worth the trip. Seriously.
Gallery 700 – The Charles Engelhard Court – The New American Wing
Just before leaving the house, I’d decided on a whim that we should drop by the Met. We hadn’t been in months and we’d kept talking about going back to see more of the galleries. I kept it a secret from my wife. I just told her we were going out to have a little fun. She didn’t realize where we were going until we turned the corner at 86th street and the museum was in front of us.
Portraits from The American Wing
She was a little hesitant to go in because she wanted to enjoy the sun, but once we were through the door she said she wanted to see “The New American Wing” of the museum. At first I was thinking, “meh…”, because really, how many Americans do you know that want to spend a few hours looking at American art? I tend to get excited about seeing art from other parts of the world, but for her, America is another part of the world and I was a little curious, so off we went.
George Washington crossing the Delaware River.I took a panorama of this panorama so you can pan around the panorama. Seriously, it’s a panorama painting of Versaille. The room it’s in is pretty big.
We detoured a bit through some European galleries because the American galleries are in the back right corner, but once we got there, I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the paintings looked oddly disproportionate considering the relative skill of European painters at the time, but a couple of the paintings and sculptures really caught my attention.
Man sketching a sculpture.Woman contemplating a cross. My wife said the cross could just as easily be a cell phone. Once she said that, I couldn’t un-see it.The Ameya, by Robert Blum (1893)A Tiffany Studios work desk from the early 1900sNot sure, but incredibly disturbing.This entire roof structure was transplanted from its original location to the museum. Many rooms or portions of houses and buildings have been relocated to the museum.
We wore ourselves out walking around in the museum but before heading back downtown I wanted to take my wife up to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park, just north of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The view was great and we resolved to make trips there to jog in the near future.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park
When we got back to the East Village, we capped our night off with dinner at Thai Terminal, which also has great food.
We meant to spend the day shopping and doing chores, but I’m glad we decided to kick that all to the curb and just have a good time for a change.
I’d forgotten about this place until I started going back through my photos. Last week, my wife and were walking down 11th Street. I don’t recall where we were going, but we saw a flea market and stopped in to look around. I’d always thought of flea markets as being a uniquely ‘Southern’ thing and I’ve been to quite a few. I have this vague memory of being at one where a guy had a stall set up to sell animals. I remembering seeing snakes. I have no idea how many years ago that was.
I asked around a bit and this flea market is set up once a week. The space it covers is pretty big, which made me wonder how much each individual seller pays the lot owner for the time they spend there.
If I had more time and more space, I would probably pick up some of the things they sell there, specifically books. I hardly have time to read the ones I have, though, given how much I read for classes I’m taking. I also saw some bicycles near the front entrance. I think I want to get bicycles for myself and my wife again. It would be fun to ride around Central Park and the bike paths that go around Manhattan. I don’t think I’d want to ride inside the city though and especially not on busy roads. Too dangerous.
Guy posing for shot near flea market.
On the way out, this guy saw me taking photos and indicated that he wanted to post for the camera, so I humored him and I’m happy with how it came out. He looks pretty slick.
Israelite U.P.K. School Demonstration in Times Square
Last Saturday my wife and I were in Times Square, heading to Olive Garden to have a nice dinner for our anniversary. We got off the train at 42nd street and walked through Times Square to do a little site seeing first. I was surprised to see what looked like a hate group preaching in the middle of Times Square.
When we were there, I didn’t really pay too much attention to them, other than to stop and take the above photo and note that they were yelling loudly about black people being oppressed. When I got home, I looked them up on Wikipedia and found the following information:
Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK) is a non-profit organization based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, United States. The group is part of the Hebrew Israelism movement, which regards American blacks as descendants of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled ISUPK an “extremist” and “black supremacist” group.
I zoomed in on the info boards they had set up and saw some things I didn’t expect:
Christianity Board Crop-Closeup
They apparently consider Jesus to be the anti-Christ. I’m no expert on Jewish theology, but I think that’s a harder line than the average Jew would take, fears of antisemitism aside.
Islam Board Crop-Closeup
Islam wasn’t spared either; not that anyone thinks to spare Islam these days when there’s an opportunity for criticism. The ISUPK has apparently equated the Ka’aba (the square structure in the photo) with an idol. They’ve gone so far as to tag the ‘black stone’ as a “clitoris”. If you’re not aware, Muslims believe that Abraham visited Hagar and his son by her, Ishmael, and helped them construct a home near a spring which came up out of the ground when struck by Ishmael’s feet as a baby. That’s the black square structure. Or, at least, the rebuilt and maintained representation of it. Muslims pray facing this structure, regardless of where they are in the world and perform a pilgrimage, but not because they worship the structure. It’s just a symbol; it’s the focal point that unites all Muslims. Islam as a religion is big on the concept of unity, though you couldn’t guess it considering some of modern day politics.
The black stone which the ISUPK referred to as a “clitoris” is a black stone said to have fallen from Heaven to show Adam and Eve where to build an altar for sacrifice to God. It was, according to tradition, placed in the Ka’ba by the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims attempt to touch it or kiss it on one of their seven circuits around the Ka’aba during the Hajj, or pilgrimage.
Neither the Ka’aba nor the black stone are idols in the sense that they’re worshipped. They’re merely focal points for the religion. I’d put good money on Jesus Christ not being the anti-Christ as well.
Last Saturday was my and my wife’s fourth anniversary together. We spent our first anniversary in Singapore. Our second anniversary was in the Philippines. Our third anniversary we spent apart. I was here in the US and she was in the Philippines. We spent a lot of time talking about how we would spend our anniversary this year, after having missed one. I don’t recall what we had in mind anymore, but I think it was especially appropriate that we went to Olive Garden in Times Square for our Anniversary Dinner, since we spent so much time talking about being together in New York while we were apart. Plus, the food is pretty good!
Olive Garden’s Lasagna ClassicoOlive Garden’s Shrimp and Crab Tortelline Romana
The amount of food was just right for me. My wife wound up taking a lot of her dish home in a take-out bag, but she had a big breakfast and I just had cereal. Our dishes came with a soup or salad and breadsticks. We both got the chicken & gnocchi soup. It’s outstanding!
I’d like to have done more over the weekend, but I suppose we can put off a trip until a little later in the summer when the weather is nicer. Coney Island maybe? We did spend some time talking about the last four years and it’s hard to believe it has been that long. Time seems to have gone by so fast. It seems like just a little while ago we were doing the 5k run at Pulau Ubin for Run350, or watching fireworks in Singapore on New Year’s Eve, or hanging out at Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand. Time seems to be moving even faster now that we’re both so busy. Hopefully we’ll find time in the coming year to go out, despite our hectic schedules, and create more wonderful memories together.
Last Wednesday night I went back to the Spiritual Life Center at NYU. My class at City College was given the choice to vote between whether they’d rather have class at CCNY or go back to the Ramadan Workshop and they chose the workshop. That was good, because even if they hadn’t, I’d have skipped class to go back. It’s one thing to read about Islam and Muslims in a book or see it in a documentary; it’s quite another to get that first-hand experience in actual religious workshops that discuss the details of the faith and how people are actually practicing it. It’s also nice to socialize with and meet people who practice Islam. It really helps to put things in perspective, in the sense that Islam is not a monolithic evil.
While I was there I was pleasantly surprised to see a former classmate from an English class I took last Fall semester. She was sitting on the other side of the room (the room basically stays divided by gender in Islam, forcing people to focus on the material and God rather than each other), so we chatted by Facebook messenger for a few moments before paying attention to the lecture. She told me that the speaker’s name from the previous week is Khalid, so I went back and edited that post. I’m pretty bad with names.
She also told me the guy has videos up on YouTube so I did a search and found out the NYU Islamic Center has its own YouTube channel. There are two videos from the workshop up already: the first and second. The one from this week hasn’t been uploaded yet. I’m not sure if it will, since it wasn’t Khalid giving the lecture. If you were curious, you can watch the video below to see some of what I sat through during the first week. The video could be a bit better. The information borders cover too much of the viewing area and never fade away, but the important part is what Khalid is saying.
This last week’s lecture was by a guest speaker. Again, I don’t remember his name. He studied Islamic disciplines in South Africa, if I remember right. He spent six years being educated in Islamic schools and he’s now here in New York to begin his undergraduate education in a Western traditional college. His lecture focused on the legal aspects of fasting during Ramadan. The guy has a bit of a sense of humor and I was surprised and happy to see that he was very candid with the topic in the interests of clarity of information.
Issues like menstruation and avoiding any activity that might “get the juices flowing” were addressed. It wasn’t something I expected to hear discussed, but then again, what was I expecting? I suppose topics like that probably wouldn’t come up during a conservative Christian sermon. I wonder if that means Islam has a healthier conception of sex and the body? I’ll have to think about that more. The topics weren’t all racy. Things like medication and health issues were also covered, including when fasting begins and ends and when you’re allowed to eat.
Islam is more of a rule-oriented religion, where you have to follow strict and clear guidelines if you want your act of worship to be valid and effective. On first inspection it seems overly complicated, but in a way, it seems very clear and the complications are only there to prevent people who are trying to find loopholes from cheating. One example of that is having to be told that chewing gum invalidates fasting, since you swallow the flavor of the gum, even involuntarily.
So, essentially what it boils down to is this: When it’s Ramadan, you eat when the sun is down. When it’s fajr (first prayer of the day at dawn) it’s too late to eat. It’s too late to drink. You also don’t smoke, have sexual relations, masturbate, put anything into your mouth or another orifice that would cause your body to receive nourishment for the duration of the day. You attempt to avoid doing anything that would cause sexual arousal and stay away from immoral things. You try to clean up your act and don’t intentionally use foul language or do foul things. When night time comes and you do the sunset prayer, maghrib, you can eat, drink, smoke (if that’s your thing) and engage in sexual relations again. There are exceptions, but I won’t go into all of the details here.
The point of Ramadan is to remind you to be humble by creating empathy with those who do without because they have nothing, rather than voluntarily, people who fast all the time because they’re too poor to eat. It’s a time to refocus your mind on God, drop bad habits, create new, good ones, by studying scriptures and praying more. Ramadan is like a once-a-year opportunity to try to reinvent yourself into what you should be (to be a good Muslim) and to move further away from where you were before you began your fast. As Khalid put it the previous week, you should never meet two Ramadans with the same perspective. You should always grow. Not that I imagine he would say personal growth is restricted to Ramadan.
Here’s a real short video that gives a real good overview of Ramadan from a Turkish family’s perspective:
I’m looking forward to attending the workshop again this coming week. It’s really great, and if you didn’t know, open to anyone with a picture ID. You don’t have to be an NYU student.
Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to go to the Islamic Cultural Center of New York on a field trip for my summer anthropology course: “Islam in the West”. If you don’t count my visit to the Islamic Center at NYU’s Spiritual Life Center, this was my first visit to a mosque. I don’t suppose you can count that, though. NYU’s Islamic Center had a prayer room, but this is the first full-on mosque I’ve visited. Because of how much I’ve read about mosques and how often I’ve seen them in videos, and perhaps because of my trip to NYU’s Islamic Center, the setting felt familiar to me. I didn’t see anything that I didn’t expect. That’s not to say I wasn’t impressed. I just wasn’t surprised.
The one thing that I did find a little unusual was the apparent lack of care for the exterior of the building. The colors seemed a little drab, the doors were slightly rusted and the sign was (obviously) in need of a little help. I also noticed that the trees have been allowed to grow on the front side of the building, obscuring the view from the street. I can’t help but wonder if it was done intentionally to make the building appear non-threatening to the non-Muslim majority, especially in the wake of 9/11.
Back entrance to Islamic Cultural Center of New York (From ICC Website)
The main entrance (in the picture above) isn’t used often. It’s only opened for Jumah, the Friday prayer that comes with a sermon, like Jewish and Christian Sabbath services. The ‘daily entrance’ is around the corner on 97th Street. It’s actually really nice, with wooden terracing for plants, but I didn’t get a photo of it (photo above is borrowed from their site). I was running late because I was waiting at the main entrance for quite a while. I forgot about having to use the other entrance.
When you enter the building through the daily entrance, you wind up on the bottom floor, which is below ground level. There’s a shop that sells Islamic books, Qurans, dates (the fruit) and other related items. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time browsing the store. I’d like to go back and look around. I have a feeling there’s stuff there that isn’t widely available in commercial bookstores.
Just past the gift shop on the right is a daily prayer room. The daily prayer room was lit with soft light and was quiet. A few people were praying. I saw a man sleeping along the wall. The carpet was very comfortable and the atmosphere was reverent. I suppose the people in there at that time of day are the ones that are really looking for answers, since it wasn’t close to a normal prayer time yet.
A curtain divided the female prayer area from the male prayer area. I found out that the reason for the division of genders is that when you’re in the mosque it’s to worship, not to be distracted by women’s back ends being up in the air around or in front of you. The explanation is much more common-sense than what I’d assumed.
When I went in and sat down with a few guys from my class, we started talking about the use of misbaha/tasbih, which are prayer beads. It’s sort of like a Catholic rosary, meant to help you keep track of prayers. The guy I was talking to told me that after the salaat prayer (one of the five daily ritual prayers), some people use prayer beads to continue praying a while longer. He said it’s strongly recommended, but not required.
Then my phone rang. Embarrassing.
Interior of the Dome at ICC New York
About the time I came back, our tour of the building started, though it wasn’t so much a tour as an information and Q&A session with one of the assistant imams. He took us up to the main prayer room, which is under the dome that can be seen from outside. He told us about the basic tenets of Islam and then started answering questions from the class about women’s roles in Islam, how the authenticity of hadith are verified, polygamy, and other similar topics.
99 lights hang from the ceiling under the round dome, some say to symbolize the 99 names of God that are known. According to Islamic theology, God has an infinite number of names.Prayer lines on the carpet of the mosque.
He briefly mentioned the architectural design of the room we were in, the main prayer area. He said the room was stripped of everything except the essentials and that the decoration was kept to a minimum, to prevent distracting people from the worship of God. He explained the use of the lines on the floor and how Muslims line up foot to foot and shoulder to shoulder to pray, which is done because of the story about how Muhammad, the Prophet, told people to stand close and not leave any room for Shaitan (Satan) to get between them and disturb their prayers. Islam as a belief system places heavy emphasis on community, unity, and group actions that maintain proper behavior. It’s harder to do something bad when you’re constantly engaging with your community.
Tapestry of the Kaaba in Mecca, donated by Iran.
He also told us that this tapestry of the Kaaba, which is located in Mecca and the site of pilgrimage of millions of Muslims every year, was donated to the center by Iran. The ICC is primarily maintained by monetary contributions from foreign governments, most notably Kuwait. Not that that should be alarming to anyone. There are lots of establishments in the US that receive funding from overseas. Also, we have a pretty solid political relationship with Kuwait. We have quite a few military bases there. I spent a year living on one.
The mihrab, which indicates the direction of prayer. Muslims always pray facing Mecca.Qu’rans on shelves in the main prayer area.Donation boxes for zakat, sadaqat, and mosque maintenance.
The Q&A session lasted up until it was time for the fourth prayer of the day, maghrib, the prayer that happens just after sunset. This time of year, that’s at 8:30 PM. I didn’t have to hang around for that, so I visited the restroom and then left.
Area for wudu in the male restroom at the New York ICC.
The restroom was the last place I expected to find something unusual, but I was surprised to notice that there were no urinals, just stalls. I double checked to make sure I was in the correct restroom. The other one had a picture of a woman in a hijab on the door and women were going into it, so I hadn’t accidentally gone into the women’s room. Also, there was a bench set up inside where people could comfortably perform the ritual cleansing before prayer: wudu.
I don’t really know what sort of crowd visits this mosque on a Friday, but during the week we were told that it’s primarily cab drivers who stop to pray and then go back to work. Either way, it seems to be a very nice, well maintained building and a great resource for people in Manhattan who need to pray, or for non-Muslims to stop in and ask a few questions.
When I saw this red Swingline stapler on Amazon I just couldn’t resist ordering it. I absolutely loved the movie Office Space and this stapler is one of the memorable items from the film. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. It’s a comedy and it’s hilarious!
My mother’s side of the family has lived in New York City since my great-grandmother immigrated here from Spain (via Puerto Rico) in 1930. Ever since I was a kid, I came here to visit family every summer and then, about every 2 to 3 years. My family has always lived in the East Village and I remember when I used to step out on the streets in the morning and see used syringes in the cracks, but I don’t recall that I’ve ever been to Washington Square Park before last Wednesday.
It’s possible. They’ve renovated it a lot recently. In fact, they were still doing renovations on about half the park when I went through there last week, but I’m pretty sure I’d remember that big arch at the entrance.
Washington Square Park is a really nice, quiet, classy type of area. It’s surrounded by NYU buildings so the crowd is diverse but generally classy. It’s the type of place I’d want to go for an afternoon of reading or people watching. I wish I had more time for that, but lately I’m always so busy.
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