HUH?

This poem is really short
but believe it or not
It took forever to write



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Oh the Humanity

For the past couple of years I have been thinking about humanity, if such a thing even exists. It first struck me when I was enjoying a sunset on Sheep Meadow in Central Park. Looking down on the rolling beautifully-green grass I started to look up and I saw skyscrapers atop of the lush trees. When I really started thinking of the view before me, I began to realize that it seems rather surreal. I tried to picture myself as an outsider. Not just an outsider like a tourist, or someone who never seen a big city for that matter; An outsider as in someone who has never seen anything but jungles, caves, or someone who was born on an island in the Pacific Ocean. I closed my eyes and tried to get into the psyche of a caveman. For about a minute or two, or as much as my patience permitted me to, I started to forget about the everyday life. I tried to forget about cell phones, the internet, capitalism, empires, planes, lasers, quantum physics, and everything the modern world relies on. I began to open my eyes and saw something that was startling . A scenario that you can see in a sci-fi movie. It does sound crazy when you think about it, but really, we are not that far away from that reality. We build vertically because of space limitations. Buildings have their own zip codes, sometimes several per building. We overpopulate at an alarming rate. Our cities resemble a sci-fi scenario. If you don’t believe, I suggest you do the same thing that I dd. The view from Sheep Meadow was beautiful, but there are many other cities that could create more intense feelings.


The other night I was randomly browsing Wikipedia; An activity that I enjoy doing when I am bored but want to feel somewhat productive. I looked up Hong Kong and read the article. Great City, but attached to the article was a photo of the city skyline at night. The resolution was amazing. Such a large photo that it took a while to load up. I have a 22” display with a large resolution, and even that is not large enough to view the image in full size.
Try to picture yourself as a primitive human being who was put on top of a hill overlooking Hong Kong. Look at the image and try to see whether we resemble civilizations from sci-fi movies. If that does not do it, think of the vast and complex space station we have orbiting our planet. Think of cell phones, have you ever thought about a tiny electronic device that will connect you with someone on the other side of the planet, without wires?
Here is the link to that image of Hong Kong:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Hong_Kong_Night_Skyline.jpg

Looking forward to spring.

View from balcony, Brooklyn, 2008

Here are some things that I am looking forward to once spring comes.

Prospect Park, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, brooklyn beer nights, rain storms, bike rides at midnight, lawn chairs, Vernal Equinox, Cafes with outdoor seating, Frisbees, Tea Lounge, Heat-waves, turning on the AC in the morning, Park Slope Bars, Photo-shoots,
meeting people, watering plants, cooking, BBQ, balconies, rooftops, fire-escapes, windows, concerts, My Birthday, Easter Eggs, T-Shirts, Iced Cream,

I am really excited for spring to finally come around. I like winters, but spring time is definitely the best time of the year. I can't wait to use my bike as my main means of transportation. I want to explore other parts of Brooklyn I have not seen yet. Best of all, I want that spring time weather, when it is 70 degrees out and you feel like it is amazing.

I know everyone has something to look forward to. These are just some of the things I'm looking forward to.

Also, I have a new large format camera that I want to use. It's on a monorail and it's pretty big, the bag itself is the size of a crate. I am not planning on taking it out until it get's warm out. I will try to get the Botanic Garden to allow me photograph some of their plants and flowers.

Synthetic Ice - Anywhere, Anytime, Any Size!

To fellow skaters,

Synthetic ice rinks can create scenarios that are impossible with the limitations of water, such as an inclined or even banked skating surface for strength and speed training.

Skaters find the same benefits as from refrigerated ice. Along with the convenience of portability, no power consumption, and the ability for private citizens to own any size rink, ice skaters and hockey players perform the same stunts and drills on the artificial surface as they would on natural ice.

As many of you know, there is something called synthetic ice. It is basically a special kind of polymer that acts like the surface of a real ice. Synthetic ice has many advantages over real ice. First of all, it does not require any supply of water. Since it does not require any supply of water, you can set up an ice rink in the middle of the Sahara. .How fun would it be to skate on top of a big sand dune?

Another advantage synthetic ice has is the fact that it does not require refrigeration. This helps in cutting down on a lot of costs and possible beef with environmentalists. With this in mind, try to imagine having your own ice skating rink in the basement and your electricity bill that doesn't look like your kid's college tuition bill.

Synthetic ice rinks are portable and can be assembled in just a few hours. Ideal for traveling shows or public exhibitions that would be impossible with real ice.

This leads me to another important point. With synthetic ice, there are infinite possibilities. You can set up synthetic ice in your dormitory hallway, in a school library, in your backyard, on a rooftop in Brooklyn, on the E train (how fun would it be to skate inside a subway car that's moving fast), and possibly in an airplane. You could skate 33,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.

How much would it cost to cover your apartment floor with synthetic ice? KwikRink, a company that specializes in synthetic ice for hockey players, sells synthetic ice for residential and commercial use. Depending on the thickness of the ice, you can get synthetic ice anywhere from $8.99 to $28.99. Assuming you are getting the cheapest one, which is 3/8" thick, you will pay about $8 999 to cover a 1000 sq. ft. apartment. On their website, the company claims that you can get a volume discount. I'm not sure how much, but I'm assuming a 20 percent discount is a likely occurrence. That would come down to about $7 199. Too much? Perhaps you just want to furnish your room with synthetic ice. I am assuming your room is about 12x12 feet. A 144 sq. ft. room would run you about $1 295. Still a lot, right? Well let's assume you have an entrepreneur in you and you will rent your synthetic ice to your friends. You can charge them $10 dollars for a couple hours and within the course of a few weeks you can possibly get some cash back.


Thanks to scientific advancements in polymer technology we can now enjoy ice skating in our very own backyards and your living room(if you can afford it). We are no longer limited to the winter months for ice skating. This holiday season many people will enjoy ice skating because of the wonderful synthetic ice.

P.S. If you are getting synthetic ice, don't forget to buy an inflatable polar bear and cover it with christmas lights. Put it right in the center of your ice rink on top of a tall platform. That way you can skate counterclockwise. Don't forget to practice turning clockwise too, or else you will end up like me. I can't turn clockwise.

-Luke

Toilet at the Cupcake Cafe, November 2007, New York, NY

The forgotten art of walking around

Today I went downtown in the afternoon. I took the A express from school and got to 14th street in no time. I walked around Chelsea for a bit. After an hour or two I took a bus crosstown and then walked down south to East Village. I went inside Tokio7 and got myself a jacket. I really like it. After that I stopped for a bite and then headed towards the virgin megastore and looked for some new music. I got this electronica compilation. I think it's mostly french and swedish electronica on two cds. I am listening to it now and I can say that there are a couple tracks that are really good. I'm not so sure about the other ones, however, I do think that after more plays I will start liking the whole thing. After that I headed back home.

I'm reading this book called The Sweet Hereafter, by Russel Banks. I am about a quarter way into it. From what I've read it seems like a good novel. What I like most about the book is the narrator. From the criticism that I've read I found out that there are four narrators. I am on my second narrator. Both narrators give a deep insight into the psyche of small town people. It's my favorite part about the book. I think the next book I'll get will be about a New Yorker.

Totally unrelated, but, I recently shopped at Whole Foods for a few days, and then switched to Trader Joe's. I know both are kind of different so it seems futile to compare them, but both are super markets geared towards people who eat and live healthy, or at least try to. What concerned me the most were the lines and their products basically. Whole Foods is definitely better in terms of the food and products they offer. They have a much larger variety. I don't mean to knock on TJs, but I definitely enjoy meals from Whole Foods more. For instance, at Whole Foods I found this delicious hot chocolate. It came in several flavors. The one I chose was clementine-something, I think. They have way better dessert, and a much larger selection of cheeses. I believe all the cheeses they have at Trader Joes are the really basic ones you can get at any bodega.

Whole Foods lines move faster, and there is way more space. I didn't have to get annoyed by customers being in my way all the time. Employees at Whole Foods are much more professional. They don't flirt with you at Whole Foods, so you can concentrate on the process of buying food and moving the line faster. The only down side of shopping at Whole Foods are the finances. It's a bit more on the pricey side. Trader Joes is actually relatively cheap. You can get a lot of food there for a little.

I haven't made up my mind as to where I should shop. Most likely in both, not at the same time.

Something that happens to us

cell phone txting is silly.

Sometimes we get so many a day. As much as cell phone technology is useful and important, it creates a lot of unnecessary situations and emotions. A single txt can make you feel all things like wanted, unwanted, happy, sad, pretty, ugly, loved, and hated.

What I hate most, however, is the fact that you are forced to make a fast reply and reveal your thoughts or emotions to a person. Sometimes you need to stand back and think about what you feel. I don't want to have a gun pointing to my head and be forced to say something fast. Maybe I am the only one who feels this way. I do think, however, that there are people out there who also feel the same way about cell phones.

This made me think of a wonderful comic book series by Tove Janssen called The Moomins. They are a bizarre family of forest creatures who live somewhere not on this planet (I believe it is commonly assumed that they are on Earth). If the Moomins learned about cell phones and got their hands on them, they would go nuts. Snorkmaiden would be txting her Moomin. Moominmama would call her family to dinner.And Mymbles would fall in love with a guy through txting. I am convinced that the Moomins would find cell phones very annoying and throw them out over a cliff.

I mentioned the Moomins because I read the comic strips and they are very amusing and innovative. After reading them, I considered writing about them. While reading the last one, I was taking notes and writing. I am trying to compile all my notes into an essay. This is an exciting project for me because as much as I love Moomins, I think that writing about them will make me read closer and perhaps find new hidden meaning in them.