Weekly Weird in New York City
169 Comments
Here's my first offering:
Capitol Fishing Tackle (132 West 36th, at Broadway and 7th Avenue) has a huge and imaginative array of fishing paraphernalia and equipment. It's also a place for people who enjoy the beauty of simple mechanisms and well-made objects.
How about Manhattan Table Tennis. Does it fit the category of strange? Its unique because it's the only place where you can play the "official' version of table tennis, not ping-pong. It's on Broadway near 99th Street.
I have a great one: Death Bear. Death Bear is a dude in a bear suit that you call upon - via text message - to come over and rid your apartment of anything reminding you of your recent ex. The man behind Death Bear also runs Chinatown garbage taxidermy tours and offers free bouncy rides in the subway whilst dressed in a fish costume. Oh, and he offers a candy crack delivery service on weekends, going for a dollar per bag.
http://clubanimalsnyc.blogspot.com/
http://natehillisnuts.com/
@ BroadwayBK Okay, you definitely got the spirit of this topic. I had to laugh out loud at Death Bear dude.
I've been meaning to somehow fit Death Bear into these forums for a while now - so thanks for the opportunity!
Death Bear sounds amazing! I'm sure there's a couple mementos I'd want to get rid of. My suggestion is Enchanted, on 9th St btwn 1st and 2nd avenues. It's a bona fide "magic shop" - catering to Wiccans, Neo-Pagans, Pagans, or anyone wanting to try a little spellcraft: they make candles for you, sell herbs and spellbooks, and even have broomsticks and daggers in their next-door annex. It ranges from fluffy tween stuff (ie, Silver Ravenwolf) to hard-core Voo-doo, and seems to be a bit of a pagan community centre of sorts, with a notice board, etc. It was my haunt of choice when I was a black-nail-polish wearing, wannabe-goth preteen, and now I've got a bit of nostalgia for the place!
Wow what strange and weird things to see in the city. I have to admit the Death Bear sounds like an intriguing way to make part time income. By the way, ajadedidealist, I like your thinking. I have a friend who is into Wiccan stuff and does Tarot cards and all that stuff. She actually taught me to read Tarot. I still do it now and then, but my writing keeps me busy enough.
The "Polar Bears" are pretty weird - every year a group of New Yorkers actually go swimming on Coney Island for the New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim.This has been going on for over 100 years, but this year more than 1,000 people showed up this year to take the plunge.
Seems I keep running across strange topics involving bears.
@BroadwayBK the Death Bear dude is hilarious and I agree about the Polar Bear swim.. insanity to say the least.
There's also a Turkey Trot (in Prospect Park, I think) where people who can't sit still get up early on Thanksgiving Day and all go running together. I was invited last year but declined and chose to linger in bed...
Oh, and who can forget about the Naked Cowboy? He may be a tourist icon, but I don't care! He's one of the many things that come to mind when I think of New York, and the idea always makes me stop and think "God, I love this place."
Yeah, I heard of the Naked Cowboy. What happened to him? I have not heard about him in a long time? Where was he hanging out at? Was it in the Times Square area?
He actually has a webiste -http://www.nakedcowboy.com/ and tweets about his whereabouts regularly too
I love that the Naked Cowboy is hip to the ways of merchandising and has got himself a whole line of products that he offers for sale...
@Uraniumfish That dude is still around? Reminds me of the Carson Daly days of TRL....
Catch it? I've BEEN on it - at the tender age of thirteen. Which reminds me of another weekly weird - the Rocky Horror Picture Show midnight screenings in Chelsea on 28th Street. Every Fri/Sat night - with a live stage show cast. It's very much a watering hole for disaffected teenagers - isolated either by being goth/LGBT/alternative/any other thing you can think of that makes life hard in high school, but who can't get into nightclubs - and slightly more edgy/savvy twenty-somethings, and can be a lot of fun, in a cheesy sort of way!
@Mayeg I've never seen the Halloween Parade as I'm not that big into what I consider outright drinking holidays, but that actually sounds really awesome. Is it mostly just a gaggle of people in elaborate costumes?
@ajadedidealist Yeah, it seems like every city I've ever lived in hosted a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening at which you absolutely must dress the part, mostly attended by teenagers.
@Mayeg I too love watching the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. I find it totally fun and mad though havent ever taken part in it. Just love watching all the weird and wacky costumes and the whole spooky atmosphere.
I never got to see the Greenwish Village Halloween Parade, but it sounds like fun. Hopefully, I'll be able to go see it this year.
Thanks for all the postings, guys. Here's my weird for this week:
http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/own-this-city/82143/new-york-city-patents
Under the "Patents Filed in NYC" you will find one called "Penis-locking and -lacerating vaginal insert" filed by the Raymond Lee Organization, Inc. A little bit of research into the originators of such a device reveals that they currently hold 889 patents. Among them are such wonders as "Fingernail clipper container" and a guitar pick (number 3650172).
I kid you not.
@Broadway BK You must check out the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. The last time I went (which was umpteen years ago), they had a guy who looked like a blues brother wearing venetian blinds (he was a blind guy), and some guy walking with a fake doberman pincher stuck to his leg taking a gnaw at at. It's a mixture of creativity and hilarity. :-)
That's when Grampa's (from The Munsters) used to have his restaurant open down there.. which goes to show how long ago I'm talking.. hhahahha
@Mayeg Well it sounds pretty cool.. I'll put it on my to do list for later this year.
@Uraniumfish An anti-rape condom, RapeX, has been in development for years, and is sort of similar to the "penis-locking and lacerating vaginal insert." RapeX is meant to deter men in Africa from raping virgins and women in general. It actually has teeth that clamp down on the male member and it has to be removed by a doctor....
The "225 things you don't know about New York City" article led me here: http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/own-this-city/82135/new-york-city-fines.
It mentions that Bloomberg proposed a $10,000 fine for anyone carrying a gun whilst drunk. Nice.
@uraniumfish, Did I read it right: "Penis-locking and -lacerating vaginal insert." Is that article for real. I heard of strange inventions but that one takes the cake.
Yeah, and with diagrams! I'd like to see who can beat that for the weekly weird challenge.
@Uraniumfish and @BroadwayBk I do wish the anti-rape condom RapeX and 'the Penis-locking and -lacerating vaginal insert contraption' become widely available in all parts of the world perhaps then they will somehow deter those perverts and pedophiles who prey on little girls. It always makes me mad when I read about the abduction and sexual molestation of young helpless children by grown men and do hope that these contraptions will one day help to act as a deterrent .
@Uraniumfish I'm going to have to concede to your Weekly Weird; it looks as if you've won this week....
As a woman I still say YOWCH! Reminds of that film, Teeth, that came out a couple of years ago. That said, I'm all for anything that lessens the risk of rape and keeps women safe, but still! Ow!
I second that, ajadedidealist. But you know what. If the device helps to cut down on rape, as you said, I would go for it, even if it is strange looking.
@Uptowngirl: One of the reasons these sex perverts do what they do is because they were molested as children themselves and so they are repeating the pattern. They think if their parents can do it so can they. They never got therapy to resolve those issues.
Thank you BroadwayBK, but don't fret, this new week isn't claimed yet.
I dont know if this qualifies in the weekly weird column but last night as I walking down 81st street in the bitter cold I came across two huge planters which along with the plants in them were completely covered in shrink wrap. Now I dont know if the owner was trying to protect his/her plants from the arctic air that is currently swirling around or he/she was following some new planting trend. It definitely struck me as weird and I would have snapped a pic if it hadnt been so cold that I couldnt feel my fingers even with my gloves on.
What about this. Last night my friend and I came home from shopping on Long Island and as we were unloading the car, two things broke. I told her everything happens in threes. As such, soon after she noticed a small bag was missing. And being it was the full moon, I would say it was a weird situation.
The full moon last night was supposed to be the biggest it will be all year...yeah that was weird.
Here's one related specifically to New York. One place I went to see in my apartment search this week had been converted from a one-bedroom to a three bedroom, so that the "room" for rent was a kind of glorified closet, the door to which didn't even shut properly. Aside from that the entire place was Filthy. I knwo different people have different ideas about clean, but this one would qualify for Filthy in everybody's book, I'm pretty sure. So the weird part of the story is the helplessness with which the kid--he can't have been more than 30--said that he didn't understand why he'd been unable to find someone to move in. I can only shake my head in wonder at the total lack of perspective it must take to be that clueless.
@uraniumfish Isn't it a known fact that a full moon makes people do crazy things?maybe he was 'loco' and to try and rent a filthy room/closet :) sacrilege doesnt he watch any HGTV where staging is all the rule?
Ahhh... during my years working in restaurants there was always a strange but noticeable shift - and not for the greater good - in clientele during the full moon. I'm still not sure if it makes people crazy or if it just makes the crazies come out. :)
Looks like this forum was abandoned? Maybe this will revive it! http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/04/2010-03-04_dogwalker_gets_burned_brooklynite_splashed_with_acid_after_dog_barks_at_man_in_b.html
ajadedidealist: I love Enchanted! I go there to get candles all the time as gifts for people. They'll custom - make them! It's the coolest place
@NeverSleeps I wouldn't classify an acid attack as weird but seriously scary!!! In third world countries it is often used by men to subjugate or take revenge on a woman. Why when I was in Hong Kong in January there were serious acid attacks in popular markets.. its awful!
@NeverSleeps Yeah, I would have to say that is pretty horrifying, especially because the guy wasn't really doing anything....
@uptowngirl That is horrible, but not as horrible as bride burning!
@Jenmac - they've got really nice-smelling things of all varieties! Herbs, oils, candles. But it means my clothes always stink whenever I go inside...
Yeah, it is a little stinky. But, it's a pretty cool place. The only thing I don't like is all the cats running around. . . . because I'm allergic. And, I was pretty surprised at how cool all of the, ahem, witches are. Friendly and not judgmental at all which for some reason, I kind of expected.
I have something weird: this African artifacts store is amazing. Not only are the objects so strange and unique, but the owner is a repository of obscure information. If you stop by, you can end up talking to him for hours.
http://www.ethnix.com/
@uptowngirl @BroadwayBK Okay, it's horrible. But totally weird and completely random - in a horrible way.
@Ajadedidealist: I also like Enchanted, although I don't go into the store as often as I like to.
@NeverSleeps I guess it is rare for someone to just have acid thrown on them for no apparent reason... unless you are in Hong Kong, like uptowngirl said.
This is not as weird as the classic Death Bear, but here goes: there is apparently exactly one drive-in movie theater in Manhattan, but there's a catch: it only has room for one car. So if you want to reserve the space, you have to do so up to ten days in advance: http://www.driveinnyc.com/
@BroadwayBK yes bride burning for dowry is a deplorable practice.. unfortunately its still practiced by some greedy husbands and their families in modern day India.
That's a crazy, disturbing story, @neversleeps.
Wow, how does the drivein movie theatre afford to stay in business, @BroadwayBK? Surely they can't sell more than 2-4 tickets a day?
@Uptowngirl: What is the point of using acid? What is the payoff? What does the person throwing the acid get out of it, except to be considered a jerk or evil person. The victim unfortunately suffers the most.
@hhusted Doubt that there's a payoff, it's just easily obtained and can do some damage if that's what you intend to do. Also, it's easy to just throw it and run, without having to worry about any real retribution. It's a coward's weapon, really.
@NeverSleep: With every action someone undertakes, there is always a payoff. This payoff may be to see someone suffer, or to get revenge on someone. But there is always a payoff. When I studied the human mind in college, there is one thing our professor told us, and that was that no matter who you are, whatever action you perform, you have one aim for it. And that aim is considered a payoff.
When you said it was a coward's weapon, that is the payoff for the perpetrator. He wants to see if he can do harm to another person and get away with it. It is like "catch me if you can." In my therapy sessions, I've seen this type of characterization way too often.
To me, anyone who throws anything at another person to inflict harm should see a psychiatrist or psychologist, for that person shows signs of being unstable. Sorry. I just can't accept the idea of someone hurting someone else for whatever reason it is.
@hhusted the intention at least in the case of men who use acid to hurt women is to cause disfigurement to such an extent that the woman has no hope of ever attracting another man. The many acid attack cases that I have read about have almost always involved a spurned/ scorned male who has used the deadly liquid to wreck havoc on the victim's life
@everyone Spring is in the air in NYC and I think people have gone a bit cooky in the city saw two definite weird specimens this morning.. a guy on the R train dressed head to toe in Gold -gold suit, gold hat, gold walking stick, gold bag and gold shoes! couldn't figure out if he was going to a fancy dress party at 9am or was working as an entertainer for a kids party! then later in Union Square saw a woman who was attired in a royal blue skirt, a black and white checked coat dress, a royal blue feathered cap, royal blue tights and yellow spotted peep toe shoes.. was dying to ask her if she was a Brooklynite or a Manhattanite in the light of our other conversation. Should have photographed both of them for all of you to have a look.. oh well..
@Uptowngirl: Are most men that way in India, or just some. I can't see a person hurting another one out of spite justified. I just can't.
@Uptowngirl: Only in NYC do you see such things that go practically unnoticed. I have found that New Yorkers don't pay any mind to anything strange. But if you look at anyone looking at weird stuff, may just be a tourist, since they really haven't experienced stuff like that much.
@hhusted not all men and their families are like that in India there are countless civilized ones but as you know you can have a few bad apples and in a population of over 1 billion people a few bad apples add up to many!
@hhusted actually a few people stopped Ms. Royal blue and took pictures of her, my hands were full of groceries or I would have as well... I think the people who stopped her were not tourists but locals who seemed to like her bizarre attire!
Hah. Maybe we New Yorkers aren't as cynical and jaded as I thought, eh @uptowngirl? My favorite NY weird moment was the random guy dressed as Spiderman who came up to me and a friend a few years ago and threw some webbing at us, then ran away....
@Uptowngirl: You are right about bad apples. It really only takes one to cause a problem. Remember the old saying "monkey-see, monkey-do." This is usually the case with many people. So when one does it, others follow.
@Ajadedidealist: Did you ever see the human robot? The last time I saw the human robot was at Times Square about three years ago. I haven't been in the area for a long time, so I don't know if the human robot is still around.
@hhusted I have never seen the human robot or the naked cowboy for that matter.
@ajadedidealist how did you react? were you spooked or did you just burst out laughing?
@Uptowngirl: Too bad. You missed one funny show. He actually moved like a robot. He did not talk at all. He just simply moved in a robot like way.
I've never seen the human robot myself, but he sounds like quite a character! Very awesome! As for Spiderman, we were in Times Square, which is crowded enough that I wasnt spooked. Would not like to have met him on a dark alley, though (although I suppose a superhero is precisely who you want to be in a dark alley!)
@Ajadedidealist: Well, any time you have someone throw a web at you will be kind of scary, no matter you are or who is doing it. You are thinking what is going on here.
Oh, the naked cowboy is definitely still around, uptowngirl. You hang around Times Sq - Herald Square in between area for 20 minutes and you are bound to see him.
@JenMac: Is the Naked Cowboy around even in winter. I would think he would get awful cold standing around playing his guitar in the dead of winter like that.
@hhusted good point!
So, getting back on topic, my weird for this week is the experience of walking around a predominantly Hassidic neighborhood and feeling that I'd been suddenly whisked to another planet. To be fair, I've had a similar feeling walking through certain parts of deep Chinatown.
@Uraniumfish: Wow, what an experience. Can you give details as to why you felt walking through a Hassidic neighborhood felt like you were on another planet?
He's not around as much. But, he's definitely around.
My weekly weird is seeing a man having his head stitched in a sports bar.
@JenMac ooh painful! A bar brawl fallout I presume
@JenMac: Probably a typical bar room brawl. A bunch of guys get drunk and start a fight.
@Uraniumfish Which neighborhood?
@JenMac Was this in Williamsburg?
I think some guys were clowning around and one got hurt but didn't want to leave during the game. It was pretty funny.
Not in Willy. It was at the Pourhouse.
I haven't seen any kind of bar fighting since my days in a southern college town. And I don't miss it.
@BroadwayBK; Since I don't drink, I don't go to bars. But I have seen bar fights and know they can get way out of hand.
Wasn't a bar fight. But, I've seen my share of them. And, yeah, they are always started for something completely ridiculous. I saw a guy get stabbed once because he told a dude to stop hitting on his wife.
@JenMac: Oh, my. Actually, I remember my girlfriend told me an incident that happened to her years ago. She was in a bar and someone got really drunk and started picking on this short guy. Before long, a fight broke out with it guns and knives. The end result is the bartender got shot along with a couple of people sitting at the bar. She told me she was sitting in the back when it went down. All she did was lie down on the floor next to where she was sitting and wait for the fight to end. It didn't take long for the cops to get there and arrest the two who were fighting, along with the gunman and the knife thrower.
@JenMac Yeah..and too often a bar fight about nothing turns tragic.
I think the hiChristina folks get my Weird vote for this week:
http://www.hichristina.com/calendar2009.html
and
http://www.hichristina.com/
Near as I can make it out, they put on live soap operas, in which the audience gets to participate and determine the outcome of the action. And everyone, apparently, gets a glitter mustache. Sadly, saw the posting too late and missed out going to the show.
@Urainumfish That just seems cool? The glitter mustache is a bit weird, though.
Reading this - http://gawker.com/5508187/real-housewives-of-new-york-the-manhattan-murders?skyline=true&s=i - made me think that Real Housewives of New York probably belongs in this forum.
@BroadwayBK more than weird this seasons episodes are catty and bitchy and quite boring ...
@BroadwayBK Now that is a weird variety!
I'm not sure if anything I see in New York is "weird" anymore. But on my way to class I saw two people dressed up as Avatars! Pretty cool.
@uptowngirl That Gawker article made the show sound really absurd - but then again that is the one reality show I never really got into.
@msQT Avatars like humans posing as those blue people from the mythical planet of Pandora?
This week I realized how many of my friends are married and I had to go sit down for a minute.
Weird.
Haha i love this thread! It makes me really want to live in New York! BroadwayBK's original post way at the top was a funny one! I think that death bear idea is really unique and neat....sorta or maybe just weird...hmmmmm
@Landee: NYC can have its funny moments as well as bad moments.
@DBlack What made you consider such a thing?
@DBlack being married is not weird:) an endangered species for sure but not weird..
@msQT can't agree more nothing in this city shocks me anymore.. the other day I saw a woman of a certain age dressed head to toe ( really from the top of head to her toes) in gold.. bleached bright blonde hair, gold leather jacket, skinny gold jeans, gold peep toe shoes) walking along Lexington Avenue in the 70's. She was quite the sight in such a chi-chi neighborhood..but nobody paid any attention to her.
@Uptowngirl: I agree being married is not weird. It is trying at times, but definitely not weird. It actually can be an enjoyable experience if the two are compatible and really love each other.
I guess people are so used to seeing strange things in NYC that nothing phases people these days.
Maybe he meant that time flies and all of the sudden your friends are all married? I can understand feeling sort of weird about it in a sense that doesn't actually mean that being married is what's actually weird.
Last week I saw a dude in Clinton Hill walking around in a fluffy pink pimp costume, top hat and all. Inexplicably. And naturally no one else paid attention to him.
Here's another one: I saw I big mound of garbage on a curb and on the ground sticking out from underneath it, somebody's foot. Scared the daylights out of me, till I looked closer and saw that it was a discarded prosthesis. Very realistic, very wacky sight.
@Uraniumfish OMG!! I can totally imagine how spooked you must felt...
@uraniumfish: thank god it was just a prosthesis!
I overheard two friends talking this morning. One of them said to the other, "well, how long ago did you guys break up? Now that she's single she's just not that appealing to me. But, thanks for the heads up." Ummmmmmmm
Haha, at first I thought the visible foot was someone who had dived headfirst into the garbage and didn't want to come out. I guess all this nice weather is making me delirious.
@JenMac That is really creepy, and yet it sounds like something some of the dudes I know would say. Gross.
Ahahahahah, @broadwaybk: don't you hate it when you dive headfirst into garbage and don't want to come out?
@NeverSleeps Yes, that's exactly what I meant about all my friends now being married. It seems like it happened overnight.
@Uraniumfish The foot story is so wild! That would creep me out too! I bet you're not the only one who did a double take...
@Uraniumfish That foot thing...ugh! Even the thought of a fake body part in the trash really creeps me out...
As a footnote (ahaha ha, punny) to that story: later that evening I walked back on the same street and the prosthetic leg was propped upright against the mound of garbage. So I guess it had caught other people's attention too, and they had dragged it out to examine it. I don't know about you all, but I would never put my hands on somebody else's discarded leg.
I am always interested in "Dumb Laws" I've read about them for years but I can't seem to find the books. Luckily, we have the internet. After all dumb laws can fall under the category of weird. I am listing three here and then I will post a new thread for the rest.
1. It is illegal for a woman to be on the street wearing “body hugging clothing”.
2. Citizens may not greet each other by “putting one’s thumb to the nose and wiggling the fingers”. (Think of the whole bit in Romeo and Juliet, "Do you bite your thumb at me, sir?" It's about the same isn't it?)
3. A fine of $25 can be levied for flirting. (Seriously?)
@Freyja4 Hah! Great! But I bet you didn't know that it is NOT illegal for women to go topless in the subway. Why? Because in the 70's a bunch of bra-burning feminists challenged this particular law by....going around topless on subways, until everybody said enough was enough and struck that law from the books.
I wish I could have seen that. Still it was something worth bringing up. In many other countries women can wear bathing suit tops and shorts to school. I think that was . . . Switzerland. I think. I had a friend in high school who told me that. If I correctly recall she was from Switzerland.
@Freyja4 OK, fair enough, but at least they're not going to school topless in Switzerland or wherever, which would really be a little weird. I'm okay with nude beaches, but the subway? The thought is so silly it makes me laugh.
@Uraniumfish wow can you imagine the pandemonium it would create if someone did go topless on the subway today?? bet the perpetrator would be arrested, marched off and thrown in the slammer for isnt there a law governing nudity in public places?
@Freyja4 bathing tops and shorts? I dont think that's uncommon is it? during the summers you do happen to catch scantily clad women in the parks and elsewhere in NYC...but I guess schools need to draw a line somewhere..
Yeah, a bathing suit top to junior high seems a little ridiculous.
@uptowngirl Nooooo, they wouldn't get arrested for going topless on the subway. That's just the point of what I was saying above, the law was challenged in the 70's and removed as a result of those feminists. So we are all free to go around topless on the subways if we want...
@Uraniumfish oh golly!!!!
@Uraniumfish: I would not want to see women topless, especially fat and ugly ones. Oh, those sagging breasts.
The Butterfly Conservatory at the American Museum of Natural History. Celebrate the eleventh annual return of this re-created tropical forest environment filled with over 500 live butterflies. This is a great way to spend a day. Make sure you take a camera with you.
Crif Dog on St. Marks has an extradition collectible Jesus and Moses action figure. There is also the... =)
What about the Coney Island Mermaid Parade? I attended a few years ago - talk about weird - a lot of 'disturbing nudity' on display - and the crowds - it was a great day, and I was sure to hit the Freak Show as well.... yeah, that was weird alright.
Do they still do it? How is CI now that Astroland is no more? I've not been there in a couple years...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/women-abreast-of-rights-on-subway-1446171.html
Women can go topless in the subway,"as long as they don't smoke cigarettes, beg for money or chew gum". Love it. But I am never going to do it.
@jmsurprenant LOL Oh, yes, the Mermaid Parade, and I have witnessed the disturbing nudity of which you speak...I think they still do it--how could they stop??? It's one of those things that has to go on forever. We need our disturbing nudity! But I haven't been to CI in ages, so...
King Tut is back in town again...I attended the first exhibit way back in 1979 and still remember how cool it was. I am not sure how much from the original exhibit will be here in the city but I might just go to check it out and see for myself. I will update if I do. The info is as follows.
Discovery TSX is located in the former New York Times Building on 44th Street
between 7th & 8th Avenues, directly across from Shubert Alley.
Discovery Times Square Exposition
226 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036
Telephone: 888.9TUTNYC (888.988.8692)
» [email protected]
@Neversleeps that's so totally wild... unbelievable!
@NeverSleeps: If the women are gorgeous looking with decent bodies, I wouldn't mind seeing them. But, I think that is the natural reaction for most men.
@hhusted Don't need to know.
@NeverSleeps Ditto.
I wouldn't want to go topless on the subway. But I have no problem with topless sunbathing (not only is it more comfortable, it creates a more even tan line) and often regret that such a thing isn't possible where I live
@ajadeidealist Yeah, well, topless sunbathing makes sense in a way that topless straphanging doesn't quite make sense. You also don't see many men without shirts on the subway, for the simple reason that it
s a little bit icky and inappropriate.
Yeah, I think I would be offended if a bunch of dudes were constantly wandering around the subway half naked. There's no need for that.
@Everyone all this talk about nude straphanging got me poking around the internet to see if they are any nudist colonies in our area.. surprise! surprise there's one in Long Island which is a family camp as well..
http://www.nudistescapes.com/nudist-colonies-resorts/new-york/wantagh/long-island-travasuns.html
I wouldn't feel comfortable in a nudist colony of any sort. I'm very reluctant to even wear a bathing suit anymore. It's not so much my weight that I feel is an issue but more of how I am built. As far as families go, well, it would be interesting to teach your kids about the birds and bees in that setting when the time came. Before I forget, I wouldn't want to even go as a couple with my husband. You can guess why. Not to mention some of the situations he has ended up in in his past before we got together. They are rather embarrasing for him.
@uptowngirl Nudist colonies are pretty creepy.
@BroadwayBK Totally agree with you , I wouldn't be caught dead in one..I am the sort who even likes to go to a female gynecologist.. rather than a male one.. weird aren't I?
@uptowngirl: Me,too. In fact I like all my docs with the exception of the dentist and the eye doc to be female. I had an uncomfortable experience as a child. I don't wish to disclose anything about it.
Guys, I think this attitude about bodies is pretty typically American, whereas Europeans aren't all that hung up about the issue. I've been to nude saunas and nude beaches in Europe, and creepily enough it was the Americans taking photographs as though there was some spectacle going on. Now, THAT was creepy. That said, I would never have anything to do with nudists in the US, they do strike me as a little pervy on the whole. But it's remarkable how worried Americans are about their bodies in contrast to Europeans. It's such a non-issue across the pond. It was funny coming back to the States and realizing I'd have to wear a bathing suit at the sauna. I had never thought of doing so before, since all my first sauna experiences were in Europe.
Women go topless in Miami - and I've been to plenty of European beaches... And I'm not weired out by locker room or sauna nakedness in the least; I see it every day. But there is something about nudists that is definitely creepy. I don't know if there is a different breed of them outside of the US, but why would anyone in their right mind want to be naked in front of a hot stove or grill? Can you imagine being naked and exercising? Maybe it's just my love of self-decorating that puts me at disease of a culture that participates in all aspects of the modern world without wearing clothing. Can't help it.
You remember that whole controversey about Janet Jackson's wardrobe mishap at the superbowl? I think it was funny. I may not be a nudist, but I am not worried about what Janet did. In fact I wasn't paying attenti at the time becuase I was changing a diaper.The Euorpeans were having a hayday about the American reaction to the whole deal. I don't blame them.
@Freyja I thought it was pretty tacky... and lame. I definitely was not worried about it either!
@everyone I don't think nakedness is what's offensive, it's just that there is a time and place for it, you know? Like nakedness in a locker room or in advertisements is not a big deal. But who wants to be naked all winter? I think it's the cult-ishness of nudist colonies that makes them weird, kind of like vegans who preach their beliefs all the time.
The trains were packed today because of construction work on the 2/3 line out of Brooklyn, and one guy got on without a shirt. I thought of this thread just then, and how inappropriate it was at that moment, with people squeezing up against each other. There's a time and a place, man.
Americans get very weird about nipples showing though shirts, but no one cares in France ans women walk around without bras all the time.
@DBlack Ew, yeah. I didn't even think of having to touch some dude without a shirt in a crowded car. Jeez.
Yes @DBlack double yeow.. gross..
One thing I've noticed is oddly fashionable in France/among the French, yet far less so here, is the black bra with a white shirt look. I'm not a fan, but apparently it's the latest trend
I remember that trend. I've done it several times. If you know how to do it, it actually looks pretty good. I've done the black and pink bra with a green spaghetti strap before.
@ajadedidealist, Freyja4 No arguments from me on that fashion trend.
@ajadedidealist That goes in and out of fashion magazines here, but you don't actually see it in the streets too often. I have to say that I don't mind the black bra under a light colored shirt... Not sure about other colors though; it can be a little much.
@ajadedidealist Really? always thought a black bra under a white shirt was a 'Dont'! I tend to live in white shirts/tops during the summer but I dont know if I am ready to embrace this trend...
I've embraced it myself since the start of summer and pretty much only wear black bras under white shirts. One of may favorite summer outfits I have is a white skirt and a white shirt with only the black straps showing. works well for me.
It's a style that one it came in, it wont come out (pun intended). Curse back i those days of the roaring 1920's we would have been called brazen for such dress. I wouldn't care.
@Uraniumfish..hmm maybe I will try it then .planning to wear one of my staple white shirts tomorrow with black pants so lets see how it works out.
Should look good @uptowngirl.
@Everybody: My girlfriend went to France once, especially Paris, and said people act like they are sex starved. She did notice one thing about French people. And that is they are very romantic. They seem to flaunt their sexuality a lot there. Isn't French the language of love, supposedly.
I don't know about other men in this forum, but when a woman gets on the subway, or even the bus, and she has big boobs, I can't resist the temptation to look at them. Okay, I committed a sign. I had a lust for the woman's boobs. :) :) Sometimes you can't help but look at something that is interesting, exciting, sexual, or fascinating, especially for guys.
@hhusted That may be true of many French men, but it was my experience that French women sort of rolled their eyes when men ran after them in the street.
@BroadwayBK: I'd put myself in that category. Though of course I have the strangest ways of meeting men.
@BroadwayBK: Oh, that is interesting. Is it because the French women are so used to the French men coming on to them that they have gotten to the point now where they rolls their eyes, as if to say, "Not again," or "That's old, guy."
What do you think?
@hhusted I'd say it was something like that, yes.
@BroadwayBK: I see. Thanks for the insight. Interesting the different cultures and how they can teach us things.
I don't know - I think a lot of the French "obsession" with sex is - while not insincere - then at least tongue in cheek. Flirtation is as much a social ritual as a sexual come-on - the same way men in the US do the subtle "my car is faster/better/bigger than yours" - a means of interacting socially according to prescribed subtle social cues. I don't think the "meaning" of French flirtation is necessarily "go back to my place." It's just a social way of - for lack of a better term - being French, or rearticulating French/self-identity. Both participants know what's up. That's why it's often difficult for foreigners to grasp the layers of meaning (or what Geertz would call "thick description.")
However tongue in cheek the come-ons may be, I sure got tired of being stalked on the street, being invited on wine country getaways by total strangers, and having guys blatantly try to sleep with me.
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy my fair share of little coffees and glasses of wine with some of the nicer guys that I met.
@BroadwayBk really? wow that sounds like a zoo out there.. I haven't been to Paris but what I do enjoy are Spanish men who truly seem to appreciate women ..the guys who I met in Barcelona, Mallorca when I was single were quite fabulous and great to look at as well..
@BroadwayBK Totally agree with BroadwayBK on this one, and it very much matches my own experience when I lived in France. It was, quite frankly, fatiguing to be hit on ALL THE TIME by random slimy men. And, sadly @uptowngirl French men are not much to look at. They are typically small, scrawny, and have bad teeth.
@uptowngirl Completely agree with you about Spanish guys... they are sooo easy on the eyes.
@Everyone going back to the topic of weekly weird in the city, just came across this report of wild phallic mushrooms growing in an Inwood park in Upper Manhattan. Have a look
http://dnainfo.com/20100920/washington-heights-inwood/phallic-mushrooms-grow-inwood-hill-park
Haha! This would have been even funnier were it in Chelsea...
@Uraniumfish: Are you serious. French men are small and have bad teeth?
@hhusted Yes I am serious. I have met a couple of really beautiful French men, but then they were arrogant about their looks and more hysterical than even women. I'd take the strong silent American cowboy type any day.
@Uraniumfish: I guess us cowboy types have some advantages and usefulness after all. :)
@Everyone the first weekly weird for 2011 definitely has to be the No Pants annual subway ride..
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/01/09/new-yorkers-take-off-their-pants-in-the-subway/
Here's one for the urban legend files: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/the-curious-case-of-the-unscathed-scooter/
Apparently an unmanned Vespa had been lurking on Sutton Place South for months without being ticketed or removed by the city. The occasional driver would use the thing to reserve a parking space for themselves by turning it parallel to the sidewalk. Naturally, when the story was picked up by the NY Times the city (almost) immediately set out to rid itself of the abandoned scooter.
@NeverSleeps Haaa. That would never happen in Bushwick; they are crazy with the ticket-writing out here.
There are lot of weird things everyday here in New York. But I'm still enjoying staying here. Even though, I have some problems but New York is still my home.
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