Toni Knows
“Or did he get the message–that she said, “My parrot” and he said, “Love you,” and she had never said it back or even taken the trouble to name him–”
Usually I think that when one says, “Love you” instead of “I love you,” it doesn’t mean as much, that it’s a cop out, but if it’s a parrot, I guess I’ll give it some leeway.
This passage was very upsetting for me, even though it was a parrot, unrequited love is just the worst thing. Obviously the parrot/Violet relationship parallels Joe and Violet’s relationship.
I don’t know, this just makes me sad, and I don’t have much else to say. Maybe it’s because I’m in a mood. Maybe it’s because I’m talking to my boyfriend. Maybe it’s because I’m listening to (embarrassingly enough) The Honorary Title. But unrequited love is horrible.
Fight Club
Tonight we acted like six year olds, or 13 year old boys.
We threw things.
We wrestled.
We ripped each others’ underwear.
We bit.
We punched.
And it relieved any and all sexual-, school-, relationship-tension, etc.
I highly recommend it.
“Midnight Cowboy” Brings Out the Worst in Humanity.
I was appalled by our class at the end of “Midnight Cowboy.”
The movie is a portrait of the people in this world who come to the city to make it big, to strike it rich, and never reach that apex. They do what they can to try to survive, stealing doesn’t seem wrong anymore, it’s necessary. Fucking a man when you’re straight is just what you do to eat. Not everyone gets to go to $40,000 college and eat in a cafeteria with both vegetarian AND vegan options! People shit all over them because they are the underbelly of society and everyone thinks they are so much better than them.
And our class shit on them, too. The fact that anyone would ever laugh at Ratso’s death, when he was so close to having finally fulfilled the one dream he had left after constantly failing all his life, only to fail again, but this time forever, is disgusting. Maybe those who laughed are just so used to getting everything handed to them on a silver platter that they just don’t understand what it is to struggle; maybe their mommies and daddies always told them that they were special and that it was okay if they didn’t do well in school, because, you know what, you’ve got other talents and you’re their little angel, that they just don’t understand what it is to not get what you want.
This film portrayed everything that’s terrible in this world. No matter what the pair did, they always were shot down and there is nothing more frustrating, but they kept on trying. And Joe Buck did everything he could for Ratso. For him to die when they were so close would be devestating.
Yes, it is just a movie, but there are a lot of people out there cheating, stealing, and fucking because life has dealt them a shitty hand, and they don’t know what else to do. It’s not so easy to get a “real job” when you have a ketchup stain on your crotch.
To laugh (in this context) just shows a lack of mature emotion.
On another note, Ratso was in love with Joe Buck, right? It was more than platonic, wasn’t it? Or was it just a deep bond between two people who need each other to get by?
Winter Wonderland
The city changes when it snows.
Everyone looks clean in white.
Greenpoint Rats Do It Better
I’m not going to pretend that I haven’t been to Greenpoint before, I have. But I did have an entirely new experience there and found out things I didn’t know through my research for this project.
Greenpoint, the northernmost part of Brooklyn, part of Brooklyn Community Board 1, “Little Poland,” was originally founded by the Dutch like the rest of New York. However, it has become a haven for immigrants, especially Poles. It has, unofficially, the second highest population of Polish immigrants in America, next to Chicago.
It made its name in the shipbuilding world and now many of the working-class residents, especially the immigrants, are being pushed out by gentrification and hipsters: it is following the same pattern in gentrification that Williamsburg used.
According to the 2000 census, there were 8744 families living in Greenpoint. This does not include rat families.
When I was in Greenpoint earlier this evening, I saw something I had never seen before and, honestly, never thought I would. I saw two rats mating. Or trying to mate. It’s hard with a group of college kids watching.
In the safety of the Greenpoint Ave. subway station, these rats were putting on an amazing show for us. At first, we weren’t sure if they were really trying to mate, maybe they were just playing. The larger male rat would mount the smaller female one for a split second, but mostly they would just run around chasing each other. The female would play like she was going to run into a pipe in the wall but then she would run in circles and chase the male. I did some research on rat mating and found out that this is perfectly normal. What we couldn’t see from across the tracks was that her vagina was apparently gaping open, which is also supposedly perfectly normal, but weird and a little disconcerting.
The male rat really had some persistance. He would grab her by her scruff and try to mate but then she’d run away. Although she’d always come back; she wanted it. We could even hear her make these little squeaking noises. And it just went on like that for at least ten minutes. Sometimes he would run away, then she’d scamper around the mountains of trash looking for him, sometimes she would run away and he would look for her. But sometimes, sometimes, he would succeed. Apparently it’s also normal for the male to repeatedly mount the female for very brief sessions, although I didn’t find this out until afterwards. We weren’t sure if this was normal or if we were watching Rat Rape.
I was amazed most that when the train finally started pulling into the station, he kept trying to pull into her station. They seemed completely unfazed by the screaming of the train. How could their little rat ears handle such a loud noise? Rats have pretty intense hearing, too, and still they kept flirting and touching like silly teenagers. I realized that love, or maybe just sex, makes us do silly things. And even if it’ll deafen you, you, or a rat, will do anything you can to be with the one you love.
Also, Mae West is from Greenpoint. So is Pat Benatar which is even funnier because I was just listening to “Promises in the Dark.”
Weegee
“The Joy of Living” Weegee (Arthur Felig)
The irony in this picture is just perfect. There’s not much else that has to be said.
I don’t think this is one of the photos we looked at in class, but that’s alright. Weegee’s work has always been so appealing to me because it’s so raw and unabashed. He’s not afraid to show you the hand hanging over the white-clothed stretcher or the blood on the sidewalk. He shows New York in all its grit, grime, and glory.
A. Aubrey Bodine Loves Maryland
A. Aubrey Bodine (1906-1970) was a pictorialist. He mostly photographed Baltimore and other places in Maryland in the 1950s. Pictorialist means it was more than just taking pictures. It was real art. He often dolled up his photos with better clouds or special chemicals.
Bodine dropped out of school in the ninth grade and started working for the Baltimore Sun. He later would attend MICA.
Bodine captured the different Baltimores. He photographed the steelworkers, the harbor, the architecture, the families living in the city (before it was filled with crack.) He focused especially on Baltimore’s landmarks abd traditions though.
Tugboats pull a freighter into the harbor. In the background are the smokestacks of factories and the famous Domino sign: one of the more notable parts of the Baltimore skyline, second only to the winking Natty Boh guy. Bodine captures the importance of the harbor and shipping industry to Baltimore’s economy. The ship is the focal point, larger than the city itself.
Cruising Central Maryland
This is the Double T Diner. The owners are Greek. It is open 24 hours, so you can go here whenever you want. The one in Catonsville is best because it still has a smoking section. There is better people watching in the smoking section. The waitresses call you “Hon.”
This is the Ottobar. This is where the best shows are. It is in Downtown Baltimore. After concerts, you can go around the block to the Paper Moon Diner. It is also open 24 hours. You used to be able to smoke at the bar, but not anymore. There are toys and mannequins glued all over the walls. Hipsters go here. My best friend and I used to go every Saturday. She was in love with one of the cooks. We went to his house once.
This is the playground and Park-N-Ride by Long Gate Shopping Center and across from the Y. Kids come here and get drunk and do lots of hallucinogenic drugs.
This is Old Ellicott City. It’s supposed to be one of the most haunted towns in America. There was a huge flood here once a long time ago. It almost reached the bottom of the railroad overpass. Now it is a quaint shopping area with cafes. If you see Homeless Ed here, do not talk to him.
There used to be a couch in the woods on the edge of Old Ellicott City. Teenagers also came here to drink.
Hell House used to be on this big hill between Old Ellicott City and Catonsville. They tore it down recently though. There are still some spooky ruins. It was a seminary once and there are stories about priests killing nuns there. It’s supposed to be very haunted. Kids also go here to get drunk and have sex. There are lots of beer bottles.
Ed Norton is from Columbia, that’s where the nicer mall is. I worked at that mall. Sisqo is from Silver Spring, that’s just outside Washington D.C. My mother and her husband are moving there. Will Smith almost moved into the neighborhood next to my high school, it’s called the Preserves, and the houses there are enormous.
New York/First Love
I was really into the comparison of love for New York to the love one feels for his/her first love. White and Didion both mentioned it, and for some reason I’m thinking Abbey did also, but that might be wrong. It seems totally accurate and I can really identify with it. Why is that though? What is it about New York that’s like a high school sweetheart, etc.?
P.S. As I’m sitting under my covers, smoking a cigarette, and listening to “Patience” by Guns N’ Roses on vinyl, I realize it could be about New York or that special someone.
