December 24, 2013
Vintage New York City subway cars from the 1930s through 1970s are making rounds for the holidays, along with flappers and fears of time travel.
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Vintage New York City subway cars from the 1930s through 1970s are making rounds for the holidays, along with flappers and fears of time travel.
Read MoreThe Newsstand at the Metropolitan-Lorimer station walks a fine line between cultural event & nuisance.
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For the approximately two million New Yorkers who use public transit,
advertising can be a meditation tool. While standing on the subway
staring at these ads for Cole Haan and Macy's, I pondered their
inspiration.
Whether you’re waiting on a desolate G-train platform or crossing the Williamsburg Bridge on the J, it’s easy to let your mind
wander on the MTA. Eventually, you can’t help but wonder: if this line was a
rapper, who would it be?
Are you familiar with any of the 12 new saints that have recently been canonized?
Their bloody martyrdoms definitely encompass many of the strange, obscure ways to die.
Perhaps death by body odor will soon be added to the list as well.
Just make sure you're not at the library at the time that's going on.
Though such an experience would make for good poetry, possibly even a mathematical one.
You could even contextualize in on a human subway map if you're feeling artistic.
Why not expand it to include Mexico City, where you'll always be able to find a good drinking hole?
You might be able to find a couple of good Halloween costume ideas while you're down there.
But if that fails, just find a snazzy suit and go as the always classy Alex Trebek.
And speaking of class, you might want to steer clear of any superfluous acronyms for the time being.
I know it’s October, but have a look at these ads, all from the Manhattan-bound platform of the Court Square E/M stop, and consider that there was barely enough remaining wallspace to accommodate that new Paul Blart spinoff.
Read MoreWhat will J.K. Rowling's "adult" novel be about? Harry Potter and the Reverse Mortgage?
It will probably be tamer than Dr. Seuss's book of nudes though.
Speaking of being a fancy shmancy grown up, Whole Foods is finally coming to Brooklyn.
Somewhat related: you may want to brush up on the origin of the word "douche."
In fact, why don't you just read Shel Silverstein's entire alphabet of adult-related words.
But if that's not your scene, perhaps you'd be interested in the MTA's upcoming garage sale.
And in other antiquated things: gender-based bias in literary magazines still exist.
If only there was a fairy tale ending for all of this.
Nowhere am I more besieged by verbal notification and billboard instruction than I am in the bowels of the New York City MTA. “Stand clear of the closing doors.” “A crowded subway is no excuse for unlawful sexual behavior.” “The next Rockaway Parkway bound L train will depart in approximately twenty-two minutes.” Back in August, Oliver Burkeman’s “This column will change your life” series summarized various studies on the impact signs have on human behavior. What I gather is that greater specificity leads to greater compassion (or obedience), and that over-signage is an enormous disturbance that perpetuates compulsive behavior.
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