Scratchpad

I moved to NY for this?!

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30 May. 2008

Abridged conversation in which I look back and think to myself, "Dear god, what the fuck has happened to my life....and is it actually as unexpectedly awesome as it seems?" Perhaps this is one of those blog posts that ruins a girl's chance at a "good" job. And you know what? If that's the case, give me a job where I'll be happy shoveling shit and talking dirt all day. Or the other way around. Or whatever.

Alexis: the hootenanny was pretty awesome, but I feel like hell right now
Alexis: too late for a school night!
L: did you just get into work?
Alexis: no, I've been here since normal time
Alexis: but I'm very tempted to leave early
L: it's a great day to play hooky
L: (not that i'm doing that)
Alexis: apparently, megan's taking the morning off herself
Alexis: lol
Alexis: she's so tiny. lightweight
L: how late were you out?
L: and did any of you perform?
Alexis: well, between leaving there at about 1130 and the N sucking....2.00?
Alexis: we did not perform, although megan plucked her ukelele from her chair
L: she plays the ukelele?!?
Alexis: not really
Alexis: lol
L: still, i'm impressed with her initiative to learn as many skills as she can!
L: she is the personification of the term "gung-ho"!
Alexis: yeah, she's cool
Alexis: anyway, it was a fun night, but definitely late
L: live it up!
L: there's time enough in life to go to bed early
Alexis: btw, speaking of going out...when is chris moving? does he have a time for people to help him?
Alexis: I heard about a place I want to try for my birthday lunch
L: i didn't know you were planning a lunch
Alexis: well, I wanted to do the crawfish fest but everyone was so unenthusiastic. and I can't get out there by myself!
Alexis: so i'm just going to pick a day and whoever can come should come
L: that's a good approach
L: so what's the place that you're thinking about?
Alexis: http://www.hillcountryny.com/
L: oh yeah, i've heard good things about that place!
Alexis: i just heard about it last night and got all excited
Alexis: they serve pickles, white bread, and raw onions with the barbeque, which is a good sign
L: i think katie and scott tried it -- they went to every bbq place in the city last year to find their favorite
Alexis: well, they like vinegar bbq, so they're crazy
L: so do i -- i LOVE North Carolina style
Alexis: fuck that stuff man
L: the more things you love, the more fun you'll have
Alexis: i'm not saying it's bad. i'm just saying it's a sad, pale comparison to a slice of actual heaven
Alexis: i mean, it's kind of hard to compete with heaven
Alexis: so even if you're tasty, it doesn't matter. you will never measure up
L: fair enough
Alexis: now if I can just find a girl as good as texas bbq....
L: a tall order!
Alexis: i KNOW
Alexis: I'm trying though. it's important to have goals in life

Oh, Rotel

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25 Mar. 2008

Much as poutine to Quebec, marmite to Queensland, or egg cream to the Bronx, such is Rotel to Texas. Which means it has thus far eluded me in NY, and now I find I need it desperately. Shit, shit, shit. Time for another weekend mission, I guess. Googling indicates the following as possible sources, but I fear the list is outdated:

  • Walmart
  • Stop & Shop (I do recall as a student in Yonkers that this was accurate...but today?)
  • Food Emporium
  • Target
  • Dean & Deluca
  • Random bodegas

If any of you five trusty readers has had a recent Rotel sighting, now is the time to come forward! Do you remember that crap queso I served you recently? Do you?! Do not make me feed that to you again.

Update: Although the bodegas and larger groceries of Astoria and Greenpoint were sadly lacking in the Rotel department (as was Kmart), Food Emporium of Union Square came through.

2: Key Foods @ Ditmars has Rotel. Instead of being shelved with the other canned tomatoes, however, it is tucked away next to the beans and Mexican foods.

Cometbus Guide to Used Bookstores in NYC

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20 Jan. 2008

I've been pestering S. for this list of cool used bookstores in NY ever since I left Portland. It is from the special 2006 25th anniversary issue of Cometbus (issue #50), and I haven't been able to track down a copy of my own, or even another copy of the list online. Thankfully, she finally found her copy buried under thousands of books of her own.

My goal is to visit everyone of these as a start to compiling my own list of used bookstores here in NYC. Please e-mail me ('holla,' at this domain) if you have any personal favorites to recommend).

Skyline Books

13 W. 18th St

Bookoff

14 E 41st St (near NYPL)

Community Books

143 7th Ave, Park Slope, Brooklyn

Uncertain if this is the same one referred to in Cometbus, but looks promising either way.

Clovis Press

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Closed. One story says it's been turned into a wine bar by local gentrification efforts.

Spoonbill and Sugartown

218 Bedford Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

7th Ave Books

Park Slope, Brooklyn - Closed

Brooklyn seems to be hard hit in the book realm.

Park Slope Books

Park Slope, Brooklyn - Closed

Another gentrification fatality.

Junk

197 North 9th St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Alabaster Bookshop

122 4th Ave

Westsider Rare and Used Books

Broadway between 80th and 81st, Upper West Side

Unoppressive, Non-imperialist Bargain Books

34 Carmine below Bleeker

Accidental CDs

location unknown, probably defunct

This used to be on Avenue A but then moved around the corner to St. Marks to squat in "the Cave." The landlord evicted the entire building with a sledgehammer about 5 months later. Unclear what happened to Accidental after that, but their original location is supposedly now a bakery that makes dog treats.

Gotham Book Mart

Closed!

After roughly 87 years in business, this one closed in summer 2007.

The Two in One Shop

52nd near 9th Ave, Times Square - closed?

I can't find any reference to this online or in the Yellow Pages, so I'm thinking it might be gone.

Mercer Street Books

206 Mercer St, NYU

12th Street Books

11 E. 12th St., Greenwich Village

UPDATE: Moved to 179 Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn in July 2008

86 Books

276 12th St, Park Slope, Brooklyn

Unclear if this is the same store mentioned in Cometbus.

Housing Works

126 Crosby St near Houston

Always a winner. Beautiful, delicious, charity.

Heights Books

109 Montague St, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn

The Strand

I should not have to tell you how to get here

Ah, a classic. Probably the first used bookstore I visited in NYC, all the way back in college. Because of its size, The Strand is great if you are looking for something specific, but it can be claustrophobic with all of the traffic and definitely isn't the place to go if you are looking to get lost in quiet stacks of books.

East Village Books

99 St Mark's Place

The Thing

1001 Manhattan Ave, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

The Vortex

222 Montrose Ave, Bushwick, Brooklyn

This used to be around the corner from The Thing and was (is?) run by the Thing's wife

List additions:

Adam's Books/Unnameable Books

456 Bergen Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn

Tiny but enjoyable selection of art, history, philosophy, and lit books. They also have a nice rack of what look like artists' self published zines? I went here looking for an obscure title by Jenny Perlin that they carry. Very cool.