The Return

Sorry things have been so slow for so long. The Captain and I had a very important date.



I'm back in Wheelville and will now try to be more diligent about posting.

Cities and Ambition

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Most of the time when I try to talk about what frustrates me about living in Slovenia, it just comes out in a big blob of anger and resentment towards the country and its inhabitants, but that's not really what I want to say. What I really want to express is what programmer and essayist Paul Graham writes about so eloquently in his piece "Cities and Ambition".

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An excerpt:

How much does it matter what message a city sends? Empirically, the answer seems to be: a lot. You might think that if you had enough strength of mind to do great things, you'd be able to transcend your environment. Where you live should make at most a couple percent difference. But if you look at the historical evidence, it seems to matter more than that. Most people who did great things were clumped together in a few places where that sort of thing was done at the time.

You can see how powerful cities are from something I wrote about earlier: the case of the Milanese Leonardo. Practically every fifteenth century Italian painter you've heard of was from Florence, even though Milan was just as big. People in Florence weren't genetically different, so you have to assume there was someone born in Milan with as much natural ability as Leonardo. What happened to him?
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No matter how determined you are, it's hard not to be influenced by the people around you. It's not so much that you do whatever a city expects of you, but that you get discouraged when no one around you cares about the same things you do.

I'm Baaack

I'm finally back in Wheelville after a whirlwind trip through NYC, LA, and SF with the CAP.

Just as I was working on my jetlag I decided to stay up until four am watching the presidential debates. So the struggle will continue.

I will post a few pictures here over the next few days. Gimme a lil more time to sleeep first.


cat sleeping at the Polish newsstand in my old hood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn

I Heart (City): NYC

A few months before I moved here, I wondered allowed as to what I would miss about NYC. Now, I am about six months in to this experience and a little list has come together.

I am gonna try to type this list without tearing up.

Things I Miss About NYC....

1) MY FRIENDS! I have some of the coolest and most interesting people as friends. People from all walks of life descended upon that crazy city to do incredible things...and they invite me along! They are the best.



2) FOOD! - I grew up in California where there is just the most fresh and incredible food I've ever had, but New York trumps California for variety. Just about anything you want is available there and often into the wee hours of the night. In particular, I miss brunch. I haven't noticed anything in the way of breakfast culture in this country and brunch is a non-word. I've actually considered opening a weekend brunch restaurant just so I can have warm french toast or an omelette every weekend (without having to make it myself).


3) STYLE - The streets of New York are a runway, you find some of the most colorfully and artfully dressed people there (check out The Sartorialist to see what I mean), and it functions not only as entertainment but as an inspiration and direct challenge. When I see a great outfit it sticks in my brain, taunting me, challenging me to do better next time.


4) CULTURAL EVENTS - There are so many exclusive things that happen in New York. Musicians, artists, intellectuals, performers pick that city to do some of the most incredible things....and sometimes it is absolutely free! Last summer, I attended this incredible one-time only massive drum event in between two bridges in Brooklyn. The queue was thousands of people long and I was fortunate enough to be there. There is no other city where that event could have happened in that way.


5) CELEBS - NYC is the best city for celebrities since people there are too fabulous to really care (or rather too cool to show that they care) about them. We don't go to them, they come to us, since they know they can go out and have a drink like a normal person without any hassle. For that reason, I have had some hilarious and fun celebrity run-ins: dancing with Mike Meyers at a friends birthday party, hanging out with Amy Winehouse in a tattoo parlor, and pouncing on Elijah Wood in the street. One friend called me obsessed with fame. I don't think I am, but I definitely am excited about literally rubbing shoulders with glitterati in hopes that some of the stardust might rub off on me.


6) THE SUBWAY - Oh how I miss this great egalitarian transportation system. Nobody drives anywhere. Everyone goes by train and bus (and occasionally cab). You don't have to worry about showing up to a nightclub on foot since everyone does. There's never any worry for looking for a parking spot or filling up your gas tank. Everyone just hops on the train and (sooner or later) you are there! It is pure (though occasionally stinky and frightening) magic!


There are other things I could think of, but these are the main things. Come back tomorrow to read about what I love about Wheelville and Slovenia!