New York
Watching from afar, I noted a press release from a federal minister talking about a Brisbane suburb. It was headlined: “Making Sunnybank’s streets safer”. How can a place called Sunnybank possibly be unsafe?
But, you know, places can get that way. Or un-get that way. Which is what happened to New York. It got safe.
Recently, I re-watched the still-watchable 1979 film The Warriors, about a New York gang’s attempt to get home to Coney Island by crossing from the Bronx through the wilderness of Manhattan.
Continue reading "Zero tolerance on crime: Can you dig it?" »
Once your eyes adjust to the blur of big city New York, you start to notice there’s another world here. Like the botanicas, the curious little stores that are sometimes buried in basements or can be found in poorer parts of town.
You’ll push open the door to a room crammed with statues of Mary, candles, rosaries and bottles of strange oils and potions. And you get the immediate sense that Father McGuire from the Catholic Church across the road would not approve.
Up on West 96th street is Botanica Four Winds. Inside is an elderly woman, Molina Alicia, known to most as Ma, from Cuba; there’s her adopted son, Mark, who’s part Puerto Rican, part Colombian; and Joao, who was raised in Trinidad to a Haitian father and Brazilian mother.
Continue reading "Buried basements, witch hazel and bay rum" »
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believer says:
It all comes down to what you believe in, and what you think helps. When my doctor told me I was free to try anything because he was unable to treat my condition. I tried a lot of things, and had amazing results from a spiritual healer. I went from… Read more »
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Borderer says:
There was aninteresting article about actual zombies a while back though I can’t find it. Zombies aren’t actual undead seeking brains but rather non-persons who have no existance in their society (usually for doing something bad). They are pushed to the fringes of their society and are not even acknowledged… Read more »
Bing Crosby – or maybe it was Bob Hope, or perhaps even Jimmy Stewart – on New York’s Fifth Avenue, stumbling in falling snow outside a department store, weighed down by big boxes of bow-wrapped Christmas presents. It’s an image imprinted in my mind, the quintessential picture of New York.
But this year it didn’t snow in New York. And this year, Christmas didn’t come, except for those who celebrated it like members of a shameful secret society.
I’d heard vaguely about this “War on Christmas” in America, where people don’t say “Merry Christmas” but instead say “Happy Holidays”. I didn’t really believe it, because so much of the culture and imagery of Christmas is American.
Continue reading "New York I love you, but Christmas here is a let-down" »
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Infinitus est says:
@P. Darvio: ‘As an example maybe read my comment on Buddhism only a week ago or so.’ Citation please. Read more »
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marley says:
@P. Darvio - I ‘m not arguing with you, the Pope, or anyone else. I’m stating a fact. The Catholic Church does not represent all, or even most, Christian thought. There’s a diversity out there in the Christian world that you seem unable to grasp. Frankly, only Catholics and lapsed… Read more »
Nathan Edwards was the first Australian photographer at Ground Zero on September 11. He wrote this piece for The Punch when Osama bin Laden was killed.
For the past six months I’ve been sifting through hundreds of photographs that captured the anonymous heroes of September 11. I’ve spent countless hours tracking down those New York firefighters who put their lives on the line as the ten year anniversary looms.
But it wasn’t until the news that Bin Laden had been killed - a decade later - that I had flashbacks to the day that changed the world. I was the only Australian photographer at Ground Zero capturing the horror around me.
Continue reading "Osama’s death took me back to Ground Zero" »
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AKoilus says:
@ Macon Paine all lame links m8. Read more »
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John says:
That’ss only true if demolition experts didn’t rig up the WTC 1,2 and 7 with explosives. Since that is false! Religion has nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Too many people live their lives with a world view that is fiction. Read more »
There are many things I remember about 11 September 2001.
Like almost all New Yorkers on that day, I remember the crisp fresh air and the blue sky unbroken by clouds. I remember going to work, thinking about the busy day I had ahead of me.
For me, that day was just another day. Another day at work as a human rights activist. And then the first plane streaked across New York’s crisp blue sky, flying too near, too low, too fast and too loud.
Continue reading "I was there when the planes hit the towers" »
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Alexander D says:
The planes were flown by over-ride remote control. There were no terrorists on any of the planes at all. Read more »
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Andrew says:
Hi Betty The evidence in the following video, released by Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, proves that building WTC 7 in the World Trade Center complex in New York was demolished using explosives on the afternoon of 11th September, 2001 at approximately 5:20 pm. The evidence in this video… Read more »
What’s more cruel and unusual? Banning same-sex couples from getting hitched or pressuring them to do it at warp speeds (thereby depriving them of the lengthy fights over floral arrangements and weird chair furniture that are the birthright of every straight dyad)?
When gay marriage became legal in New York last weekend, the race was on for queer twosomes to make honest gays and lesbians of themselves.
It was a case of on your marks, get set, MARRY.
Continue reading "Supporting gay marriage just makes cents" »
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No to gay marriage says:
The biggest ‘elephant in the room’ when it comes to gay marriage is… what kind of marriage are we talking about when it comes to gay couples. Research shows that gay couples - particularly men - in the majority are not living a ‘white picket fence’ relationship. Monogamy is not… Read more »
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Ex-Chrisitan says:
@ the apologist ‘The word of God does give some emphasis to particular sins, for example, some were worthy of the death penalty and some weren’t – thus there is a real sense in which some are more serious than others and deserve more attention. Misuse of sexuality Biblically is… Read more »
This week in New York the hottest ticket in town is not the latest Broadway musical or the opening of hip new restaurant, it’s the Marriage Bureau. So many same-sex couples have been waiting for the day when they can say “I do” that a lottery system has had to be introduced to deal with the amount of weddings set to take place.
This marriage boom is much needed in a state that has 50,000 divorces a year, almost 1000 a week! The gays will be combating this figure over the coming months with thousands upon thousands of loving and committed couples set to legalise their love.
Marriage is an institution that so many straight couples have taken for granted for so long, and it is now being strengthened by the same-sex couples who fought to be a part of it.
Continue reading "They’re getting hitched in the city that never sleeps" »
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Shane says:
It’s a bit naive to think that gay men and women would get married for the same reasons as straight couples and thus end up divorcing at the same or similar rate. In actual fact, homosexual divorce rates so far in the UK, Denmark and Sweden are lower than heterosexual… Read more »
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Outraged says:
It’s not pessimistic, just realistic. I don’t believe in Gay Marriage. I don’t believe in Straight Marriage. I dont think ANYONE should get married in this day-and-age. People live too long nowadays. You statistically are not going to spend 70+ years of your live monogomously with one person. Gays had… Read more »
Meet the Naked Cowboy. He’s the scantily dressed country singing, guitar playing busker usually found in Times Square, New York and currently embroiled in a legal battle with the “Naked Cowgirl” after she “copied his look”.
The story goes that cowboy Robert Burck, who earns up to US$1000 per day from busking in his jocks and a Stetson, has sued cowgirl Sandy Kane, who also performs in the Square wearing only a bikini while playing the guitar, after accusing her of stealing his idea, a significant proportion of his profits and “sullying” his name.
New York Daily News reports Burck’s lawyer has accused Kane, an ex-stripper of “devaluing an American brand and Icon” and the “wholesome nature” of the show through her own cowgirl style antics. According to the lawsuit she “has been observed using visual profanity (flipping the bird at the camera) when photographing with people in Times Square,” in a manner that is “inconsistent” with the way “the Naked Cowboy conducts business.”
Burck says despite asking Kane several times over a period of two years for a franchising fee, she had ignored all his requests: “I’m an easy going guy, but this was really a last resort,” he said. Whatever the outcome of the lawsuit, there’s got to be a country song in that somewhere…
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stephen says:
She copied his look ? Prove it ! Read more »
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Lee says:
I don’t know what he’s got to complain/worry about - just the Monday passed I saw both NCB and NCG in NYC - and really they couldn’t be further apart. He’s a total entertainer, interactive with a big crowd, stops for photos etc, but she generally doesn’t get the crowd… Read more »
Welcome to Wednesday at The Punch
New York Mafia boss John Gotti was sentenced to life imprisonment today in 1992.
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New York City is immortalised in pop culture as the place where anything can happen and dreams come true.
Frank Sinatra reckons if you can make it there you’ll make it anywhere. The Sex & the City gals have made us believe there’s an endless pool of dreamy bachelors waiting to show us their skyscraper. Fame promises that any over acting, annoying teenager in a leotard can crack the big time. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York proves that NYC is just a giant playground. Even Ugly Betty and 30 Rock show us that book smarts and quick wit can get you just as far as big bucks and good looks.
But after living and studying in the Big Apple last year, I discovered the city is less like Gossip Girl and more akin to Sylvania Waters with rats. And cockroaches.
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Jamie says:
So Amanda didn’t like New York, considers it overrated and didn’t fall in love with it. Grant it does sound like she’s ragging on a city loved world over, but it’s her experience and while it’s in the minority i think people should cut her some slack, Amanda’s negative experience… Read more »
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JD says:
You are only the second person I have ever heard of who hasn’t liked the town - the other was a miserable English git. Having lived there myself I could tell you about the abundance of culture that is available on nearly every block, the simple accessibility of practically anything… Read more »
After four or so months in New York City, I am heading back to Australia this week for a quickie eight-day Christmas break. And I’m already dreaming of a bright Christmas. I might not get it.
In true made-for-TV movie style, a massive snow storm is crawling up the east coast of America this weekend, delaying flights and disrupting travellers heading home for the holidays.
My flight from JFK is scheduled for about the time the blizzard’s supposed to hit New York.
Continue reading "Postcard from a snow-bound New York City" »
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Shawn says:
Hey Sherlock: Global warning doesn’t mean there will never be cold days or snow. Why don’t you educate yourself about the facts, drop the desperate reactionary childishness and get a life? Read more »
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jp says:
I love New York - I have family there, and have visited it several times from the 1980’s to my last visit in 2006 and can’t wait to go back again. There have been so many changes over the past 30 years. But I think it’s really the frenetic energy… Read more »
The fight for gay marriage in the US took yet another blow last Wednesday when the New York state senate voted down a bill that would have allowed same-sex partners to marry in the empire state.
It follows the repeal of gay marriage rights in California last November when voters in a referendum abolished a short-lived law that allowed gay couples to marry there.
The Governator’s state constitution now reads: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.
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James says:
Ouch Paul, now you’ve hurt my feelings. I had no idea thinking that women are equal to men was such an awful thing. Lucky people like you are around to set us young-uns straight. Read more »
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DG says:
@Bec - No, I did not assume that your meaning was literal. Actually I thought quite the opposite. I understood that you were suggesting that the whole experience was tortuous when there was a concept of “fault” as both parties set out to prove that the other was at fault.… Read more »
Welcome to Friday @ The Punch
It’s been eight years today since the series of terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Centre in New York. Three commercial airliners deliberately flew into all three buildings destroying them and killing a total of 2,750 people.
Where were you on the day of the attacks? What impact did it have on you? Share your thoughts here.
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burobonker says:
I was in a grass hut on the beach in Mexico with a hangover and the saddle from a donkey I’d commandeered from the night before. My mate came in on his way for a swim and told me that there had been a plane crash in NY. By the… Read more »
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Paul says:
Kevin Rudd’s bailout of the bankrupt financial system has saddled Australians with so much extra debt, that 33% of Australian postcodes are now within the “high-risk” category of financial distress. This figure is up 30% on the same time last year, according to a Dun & Bradstreet study. Since increasing… Read more »
Welcome to the weekend @ The Punch
On this day in 1964 The Beatles came to New York City. Watch a newsreel of their arrival. Or track their footsteps on this virtual tour.
What’s your favourite Beatles song?
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Sewana says:
As Charlie Sheen says, this atrcile is ?WINNING!? Read more »
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Paul H says:
Oh yes Paul that’s why the Chinese are such strident supporters of Human Rights and oppose oppression wherever it may occur! HA HA HA!! I am sure Mao Tse Tung would be giving you the thumbs up fella and the hundred million or so Chinese that were starved or brutally… Read more »
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