The Question of the Week

[The East Village Inky]

Hey all. I'm going to get you to contribute to the Zinester's Guide to NYC if it kills me! so answer this question, and if it winds up in the Guide (see earlier thread), you'll have your name and your zine's name in lights, ink-lights...

So. Let us pretend that you are en route to somewhere else and you have a layover of say five hours in NYC. Your one acquaintance who lives in this burg is out of town, and you don't have time to see EVERYTHING but you don't want to hang around the bus station / airport / Grand Central for the whole time. It's your chance to do / see / eat / seek out one fun thing, a thing that might be of interest only to you (have a photo made in a photobooth for the cover of your zine / look for an obscure cooking ingredient you've never been able to find / find a quiet place to write in your journal whilst drinking a certain type of beverage / see a Hong Kong action flick....)

What would YOU want to do? You can phrase it as a question (ie where to I see a Hong Kong action flick in the middle of the day? where do I find the Flight of the Conchords guys' apartment) or I, through the miracle of my dimly recalled education, can REphrase your answer as a question when the time comes... New York City is your oyster / vegan mock oyster.

Lay em on me.

[Amazing Sunflower]

Where can I shop for sex toys, preferably a clean, well lit place where I'm treated in a friendly and respectful manner? (Didn't you get sent on an assignment to a sex toy workshop once for Clamor?)

And if you've ever read any of the witch books by Ruth Chew (What the Witch Left, No Such Thing as a Witch, The Witches Button, Earthstar Magic, and about 50 other witchy books), you will remember that the kids in said books are always running off to Prospect Park. That's a real place, no? In Brooklyn? How do I get there?

Tell me about the real THRIFT stores, not fancy vintage clothing stores. As I have mentioned to you before, I am CHEAP!

[Derek Neuland]

how about coffee shops with free wifi?

[The East Village Inky]

yes yes yes yes yes, thank you, guys! the ball is ROLLING!

and now I am about to run off to Prospect Park, just like those kids in those books I have never read, b/c it is finally feeling a bit springy here in NYC! what's more, this is definitely the weekend day to visit the Prospect Park zoo if you don't want kids or crowds b/c the large Orthodox families won't be here, thus reducing the number of children quite a bit.

and Chantel, good memory. I had forgotten that i covered Bluestockings Sex Toys 101 workshop for Clamor, but you're right, I did. (I also wrote about it in the Inky, euphemistically drawing giant strap on bananas to keep it clean for the kids.) I remember the owners pumping me for information about what motherhood is like b/c both were thinking of having children. One of them had been very humorously and frankly proclaiming her new found addiction to anal beads. I told her she'd probably have a lot less spontaneous quality time with her anal beads. She was immediately like, "Oh, nope, then not for me!" The other, though, has had a baby, who is now I believe four, and only recently has she put up a curtain in the window of their park slope store. Her kid used to sit in the window, playing.

[Whip-ette]

i've never been to new york and my knowledge of it mainly comes from watching the squid and the whale and listening to jeff lewis songs. if i did get a few hours there to spare i'd love to find a residential area that i could walk around.
so, ideally, i'd really like to know if there is a paricular neighbourhood that i could explore and enjoy. look at the buildings where people live, possibly buy a drink and a nice bread-based snack and sit down in a park for an hour or so.
bonus points for independant bookshops, charity/thrift shops, a really good supermarket (looking at nice supermarkets in foreign countries is so much fun).

it might sound sort of boring (the bright lights! the city! the excitement!the possibilites!) but god, i really really love residential areas.

[CocoaPuss Zine]

i was in nyc with a 5 hours layover once and i just went to my friends house and passed out from exhaustion. his family is haitian and speak no english and made all this food for me and i was sound asleep. i had two bites.

maybe where you can take a nap? if you don't know people and don't want to sleep in an airport.

i also got lost in the airport, so maybe how to get out of the airport would be nice (taxi/subway/bus/etc)

where to buy some inexpensive gear (backpack, nalgene bottle, swiss army knife, etc)

something cheap and entertaining for my kid to do (he's nearly 3).

[CocoaPuss Zine]

CocoaPuss Zine said:

i was in nyc with a 5 hours layover once and i just went to my friends house and passed out from exhaustion. his family is haitian and speak no english and made all this food for me and i was sound asleep. i had two bites.

maybe where you can take a nap? if you don't know people and don't want to sleep in an airport.

i also got lost in the airport, so maybe how to get out of the airport would be nice (taxi/subway/bus/etc)

where to buy some inexpensive gear (backpack, nalgene bottle, swiss army knife, etc)

something cheap and entertaining for my kid to do (he's nearly 3) parent's hangout. playground. etc.

[rhagfyr]

where is the record shop run by the guy from pruient? also i'd want a good map/bus route tips x