June 28, 2004
i won't dance, so don't ask me...
So my abhorrence for too-large cities was amplified this past weekend spent in Rome. I find that sprawling urban centers are contrary to my way of thinkingliving, and Rome was just that.
It's HUGE. It's made up of many different neighborhoods, all of which are the size of a normal city. I enjoy living in a place where, in twenty minutes, I can walk from one side of town to the other. WALK. In Rome, you can walk from one neighborhood to another.
It's important to me that a city be completely digestible in 24 hours and yet remain a place to be explored and discovered for a lifetime. Florence is exactly this. So is Washington, D.C., to an extent. Yes, it sprawls a bit more than what I like, but the subway system brings it into reach; also, D.C. proper is small, with a few spots to roam in. It's about the biggest I would accept.
Downtown Columbus, Ohio and Cincinnati feel just right. Atmosphere, character, accessibility. These are the words to describe my Ohio cities. Lexington, Kentucky, as well.
New York City, on the contrary, might as well be a country unto itself. Five boroughs are just the beginning; much of New Jersey has been annexed, as well as Connecticut. You can't get to know all of Manhattan in a 24-hour period, let alone all of New York City. It's the antithesis of a wonderful, tremendous city. No offense to all the New York afficionados out there, of course. I'm sure it's a wonderful, tremendous something, just not a city. More than a city. Too much more. This opinion comes from a total of 50+ hours in the place, so maybe it isn't fair to judge, but in the little over two days I spent there, I hardly got to experience anything. And I experienced a lot.
Posted by ashersky at 08:05 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 22, 2004
are you all you want yes you are
I just watched Traffic, directed by Stephen Soderbergh and produced by Edward Zwick. It's funny how everything comes together: Zwick produced and directed The Last Samurai, one of my favorite, current films and of which friends and I had just been talking; Soderbergh directed Ocean's Eleven and is currently in Italy filming Ocean's Twelve, not to mention is obsessed with George Clooney (having directed many of his films, including Out of Sight, Solaris, and his television series "K Street"), who himself has a home in Como, north of Milan.
And I want to be famous.
So it's funny how everything comes together. Six degrees and all that. Now, I just need to run into Soderbergh, Clooney, et al. and work my way into the A-list world. Any clue how I could do that?
Posted by ashersky at 11:12 PM | Comments (3)
June 20, 2004
if she will stay lonely for you...
Is it true there is always an unhappy ending coming? There's the cliche' that an ending is by definition unhappy, or else it wouldn't be over. But others argue that one ending is another beginning.
How many of us are tired of starting over?
So one can sit and wonder about the future, and if it will turn out right or wrong, the way it always has or someway new, or it if will come at all. Can we directly affect the future by thinking? It's an interesting question, since it can be argued that the way we think and feel affect how we react and act and live. If we think positively, we live positively, etc. Or that's all just wishful thinking...
On a different note: Happy Father's Day. I didn't even realize it had come until Bri told me this evening on the phone. Time passes differently here. And holidays are different. And so I didn't realize.
"...come what may...come what may...if she will stay lonely for you..."
Posted by ashersky at 06:53 PM | Comments (10)
June 18, 2004
somewhere...beyond the sea...
This is the latest version of a long-running part of my life. This place on the Internet has been a home, a prison, a dark alleyway, a superhighway, a stage. It has served many purposes, from showcasing writing and graphic work to showcasing my old insecurities and melotraumatic past happenings. I won an award. I've started or joined in Internet wars. I pined and lamented over girls, I got excited over girls. I've made known some opinions on random things.
Cornucopia? Or dried-out buffet?
Now, I'm back. I'm back to make observations about life, mine mostly. To point out interesting people and things. To show some new things graphically. To vent. To heal. To release.
Happy news is, I get to buy myself new toys for this endeavor: This is on its way now. I got it under list price with shipping. And THIS I will order when some money I'm owed comes in. That will rock.
So I don't know what to tell you to expect, other than to expect to be able to expect anything expectable. Or unexpectable.
Posted by ashersky at 10:41 PM | Comments (3)