cityrag

headed out on a highway
looking for adventure in whatever comes our way

goodbye Salvation Army, hello gentrification
the "new boutique loft conversion" that took over our favorite local Salvation Army is underway at 115 Allen St. checking out their official website, we were dumbstruck by the irony of this absurd promotional paragraph... Hey Kids - Come be part of the gentrification of the LES as we edge out the old tenement storefronts in the ethnic capitol of the city!!

"The Lower East Side will always be synonymous in the minds of most New Yorkers, as the very first “ethnic” capitol of the city. As the flood of immigrants from Eastern Europe poured onto the city’s shore, at the turn of the century, they settled on the lower east side of town. The area stretched from Canal Street east and then over to Delancey. The most popular hubs for shopping were Delancey and Orchard Streets. Since most of the immigrants were Jewish, the flavors of the day were Pastrami, Knishes and Pickles and the vehicle of choice was the pushcart. Today, gentrification is everywhere. Wine Bars and snappy boutiques are edging out the old tenement storefronts. There’s no doubt about it, the Lower East Side has become one of the most sought after places to live and real estate has been revitalized in a way no one expected."

and check out Curbed's great coverage

Beautiful (creepy, and compelling)
the new Christina Aguilera billboard to raise voter registration is fan-fucking-tastic! startling, thought provoking, and smack in the middle of Times Square for millions to see. the bold, in-your-face Billboard is hard to miss, adding a fitting backdrop to the TS craziness. it's sponsored by a GREAT organization - Declare Yourself - a movement to raise voter registration.

Hallmark of Safety
more preparation for the RNC... drills going on all over the city and in Times Square today.

follow CityRag's coverage of the Times Square and New York security drills - June 23, July 1, July 16 pt. 1, July 16 pt. 2 and guide to RNC Protests

nothing held back
a Buddy fan, Herself, sent in this lovely and insightful note...
"Buddy has in spades what I find so appealing in dogs, that very speaking, emotional, wide-open kind of face. Dogs hold nothing back, and somehow they tap into a very undefended part of ourselves."

Guide to RNC Protests in New York City
ran into the cool dude who inspired our anti-Bush t-shirt post the other day. he asked if we'd seen any lists of protest events going on in the city during the GOP convention... so CityRag's gathered some helpful resourses and news, and will keep a running post (with weekly updates) with info on anti-Bush, anti-GOP, RNC protests, rallies, demonstrations and marches:

Comprehesive Event Calendars (check frequently, the calendars below are growing daily!):
- Not in Our Name's events calendar
- Counter Convention's calendar of events

Hot off the press:
- Anti-War Group Agrees to NYC Protest Site
Important information:
- Conservatives to Protest Anti-GOP Protest

Check out Greg.org's excellent editorial's on RNC protesting (from Janelle's tip in the Gothamist's comment section)...
- How I Would Protest At The Republican Convention
- How Louis Malle would protest at the Republican Convention

CityRag's exclusive coverage of the pre RNC security drills in New York City - June 23, July 1, July 16 pt. 1, July 16 pt. 2, July 22

Gothamist's pre RNC coverage - July 20 , July 22

steady handed
our first submission to the "Tattoo's are Personal" series shows off the artistic percision and accuracy of tattoo artist Dan Higgens and surgeon Dr. Domingo Nuñez. from our submitter: "Ruth is my mother's name and there's a "t" on the thumb also making it TRUTH. The symbols are my astrological ones... sun and moon in Gemini, Cancer rising.

feeling New York City
nothing like a morning walk on the lower east side. so much to see. so many pics to take...

oh-my-Gotti!
huge new billboard on 42nd and Park. it's like we woke up in the Land of the Giant Gotti's...

check out the short clip on the "Growing Up Gotti" show's site - with Victoria freaking out, and her cheesy boyz acting like thugs and beating on each other! (showy blowhard style). yeeehaaa - we'll definately be tuned in! more show info here.

Buddy's good fortune
as our friends know a bit too well, Buddy has issues. a life of abuse had left him very defensive and aggressive when we first got him. he's chilled out a lot, and is starting to trust people, but he still attacks shoes, and is a very tough little boy. at the age of 9 he's just learning know how to play (with people and dogs), and he's starting to let us cuddle him (with no fear of being hurt.) for some reason he'll drop all his defenses in bed. it's like the old fortune cookie game where you add "in bed" to the end of whatever your fortune says... you can roll Buddy on his back - in bed, you can hug Buddy all you want - in bed; you wrestle and rough house Buddy - in bed...

party people in the house
the Swindle Magazine launch party at BLVD was slamming last night. free booze, packed with young and hot peeps, funky fashions, pumping DJ's, out of control dancing! 2 DJ booths. one in the back with an excellent dance floor, has the booth high above, giving the DJ a perfect view to tune-in to the crazy people down on the floor (DJ's Tracy Towers and Shepard Fairey got the floor pumping with hip-hop and dance classics from the 80-90's.) we got a little wasted and lit up in the club (with another group near-by) after being told to put it out by the massive bouncer in the room, we lit up again. he came back and politely gave us a "second warning" (that's all we need). AND we got to meet and hang with the our web hero the Thigh Master!

dam. while putting this post together this morning we caught this story in the Gothamist regarding a rape at BLVD this past Saturday (some fucked up shit) - so adding this info, for what it's worth... a ton of security was there last night, HUGE bouncers everywhere. they seemed pretty on top of everything, and did a good job watching over the rowdy crowd last night.

end of an era - Meow Mix has closed!
Meow Mix - the down and dirty, rock and roll, girl bar that has ruled the East Village lesbian scene since the mid 90's had it's blow-out, party your ass off until 8 am, closing bash this past Saturday (with a final friends and family throw-down last night)

in addition to the copious battles and red-tape obstacles club owners face in this city, and the negative impact the smoking law changes have caused... the Meow Mix owners have had frequent floods and continuous hard core persecution from city law enforcement (random fines, closings, etc) working against them over the years. and word is the recent flood that took out the main floor this month was the final insurmountable blow.

Meow Mix was a one of a kind place where you'd walk in one night and it would be packed with the hottest girls in town dancing up a storm, and then stop by another for a kick-ass rock and punk battle of the bands. they welcomed all people, and the staff, there for years, were there like family to each and extended the love to regulars and newbie's a like. it's hard to know where to begin or end a tribute to such an ICON and LEGEND in the New York, East Village, Lesbian and Rock and Roll, Bar Scene! we'll leave you with this story:

just this last October 31, 2003 - we experienced the BEST HALLOWEEN ever. after cruising the EV, ended up at Meow at around 1:00 am. it's packed with grrlz in sexy costumes. a friend asks us if we want to go down to the closed basement, and smoke a joint. we end up hanging out downstairs with a couple good friends and Joan Jett for a few hours! talking about politics, music, getting drunk, smoking. it was beautiful! (we're not saying Joan smoked or that she's gay, but she's unbelievably hot, very fun to hang out with and totally unpretentious). at around 3 am we all went back upstairs and Joan danced her way into the pulsing floor of women (as we wondered if the room filled with 20 somethin's even recognized the superstar/icon in their midst :-)

the era (and rumors for this location) are officially over, but let the new ones begin!... we heard they're looking for a new space...

smoking-up for Martha
adding a double edge to the continuing CityRag Smoke-In, this weekend we smoked up in front of the Meier Tower penthouse Martha put on the market prior to her Friday sentencing. Margaret Cho (who is blowing our mind with the very dead-on and hilarious commentary on her site) wrote an amazing piece on Martha's sentencing that nails the social hypocrisy with a brilliant ring of truth and some genuine freshness on the subject, and asks "Why are we wasting all this taxpayer money to put her in her place?"

for more commentary and info - check out the Gothamist's comprehensive coverage & links, and Curbed's scoop on the apt sale. and more CityRag Smoke-in contributions: "Handoff" and "Rebel with a Cause"

oh Buddy you're so fine
you're so fine you blow my mind, hey Buddy, hey Buddy...