#BQE Blues

[jellykittycatsmeowclarinet]

i didnt smoke weed today for the first time in like… weeks and i had the most vivid dream. I think it meant I am feeling like a bad friend to my old old friends (i lost my sam ring given to me by sam 8 years ago when our friendship low key was first beginning) and that I need to go to gravesend this week and get away.

I was working at this party in the middle of brooklyn but also in reality probably tribecca but it was in this liminal space that was like a really tall hill that resembled hollywood hills grew in the middle of brooklyn that was heavily built up and you needed to take a highway to get out of.

Earlier that day I was asked by Sam and Sophie if I was busy but all I said was that I was and not why. So part of my job was that I had to pick something up… not sure what. So I borrow Mollies car (Mollie seemingly was also working this event which by the way- was packed full of people like a sea if people like rush hour on any train that leads to jay street- in a way i literally haven’t experienced since high school. Like actually my face was in some mans gross chest consistently.) and the car is a dark blue older looking convertible like one that looks like a cute shoe. But it doesnt start easily at all and the ride out of the party is like thanksgiving day parade paced and it seems like I cant tell if thats the packed party’s fault of the cars fault. But whatever because as I am so caught up starting the car I realize there is a girl that got in my passenger seat trying to leave- she had a daughter in her hand and later tells me she was 17 when she had the baby but the baby was only 3 so she is still younger than me. I try to not he rude because shes a young girl with a young daughter and she needs a way out and it seems like something people do considering you can only drive out of the party. So as I am reachinv the exit is where I run into Sam and Sophie. They are sitting at a bar counter with a group of people for a birthday party like waiting to get into the rest of the party and they did not even talk to me or say hi enough to know I was working the event but instead they give me the cold shoulder- which i am sad about but Im also like they didnt even ask me what i was up to or why i was here or act excited to have run into me which at first I was because i was like okay this is serendipitous… but instead they cold shoulder me and I just shrug it off even tho I do get kinda sad. Next though this random girl i didnt realize also hopped in the convertible in the back gets out and links w them. and I drive out of the party and immediately into a tunnel that looks like the battery park city tunnel and through to the brooklyn side where the girl and her daughter low key disappear around the gas station under the BQE.

But, before the girl and her daughter (who she is holding in her arm like a basketball the whole ride out btw) leave I'm like, God that was so weird I just cant go back I’ll have to get Mollie later (since I have her car even) I need to go to graves end instead and then to the beach to look at the water. The girl however does not know where it is and in my abstracted dream map of brooklyn that entire neighborhood and the beach are where like dumbo would be- when I tell her where it is I say like on the west side of brooklyn” …wut? whatever anyways then I start driving there after shes low key disappeared even tho i did expect her to come with me and did not really realize when she got out and I wake up on the couch like damn. :( because my ring is gone and i can feel where it used to be on my finger and I dont even remember falling asleep on the couch and now all the lights around me are off.

[savagesneversleepnyc]

THE TWO TOWERS

BIZ Y OGE

Inside a lonely and sad place two towers began a long walk down a hard path.

The faces of those who laid the bricks were thick with sad hearts too, for their folk had to walk through endless fires and arduous labor.

These many steps would allow only the strong to endure and pass. But in doing so, a very hard mind would be formed that would not see these towers as functional but oddities to endure and attempt to keep content.

But as my own mother would loose her her cool and plead for the boy to cease running the BARREL GUN of PRADDLE words I could spill out of the windows of the CIVIC. The intervals between lamp posts whizzing by would be a tick of waves I would boundlessly observe. To hear and see the spaces and waves of connection that gave them definitions in the empty space in nature they populate.

The other tower was a flower grown in a small and strong planter. His eyes were held behind walls and long walks to LILLY’S OF THE FIELD. The hard folk were of an old way the two towers shared in a place the OLD WORLD became anew. In a perilous time of many hands reaching they stood PARAMOUNT and held up a catch they sought honest coin in SHILLING.

But the law of the jungle made the tower supremely powerful. The simple faces that he and his brother would create were characters that they made into HEROS and VILLIANS on the block under RAINBOWS, SHARKS and CARS….

The men who would be the flawed GODS to hand off the tabernacle were like old dogs who had been to HELL AND BACK. Both lived a path of kindness and simplicity. They were not folk who society paid in coin but in honor of service. For the great work exists beyond anything that could be MINTED.

But cemented in labor and heart are the ART of faith to labor and living things of all sizes.

When a time came and both TOWERS chose to look up and then look within and begin to toil on the true work of intent, they discarded all that wasn’t of service first. Cast off on blocks before KINGS, QUEENS, PIT BULLS and UBERS. To extend LEE BOWERY, BIGGIE and the sacred SHARKS upon the walls to crawl into minds and run amok. Like a fungus in an old home that makes TERMITES scream in delight, like a triple bypass patient grabbing a third spoon of BERNAISE’ … the GRAVY of flavor was thicker and sicker than EBOLA holes and droll ATOLLS of MISSIONARY devotional, belted out with bellies full of FIRE.

The VIKING fleet had all been left to toil and the BIN MAN had taken old ALEX to sleep with the SHARKS in TOO DARK PARK. The WOODSIDE and WEEDGATE and BQE HOBOs who lived under the bridge. The stragglers that were many crispy BENJAMINS and hugs in STUY TOWN in service of real IRISH WOMEN. As I was born backwards too and grew up in reverse.

The honor of shipping the kind ladies of our ISLE to leave a ISLE the boot of the CROWN stood firm on our necks to DIE UPON or LEAVE… so to ELLIS and WOODRUFF and KNICKERBOCKER we came. But from those houses we shook hands in the flesh and made sure that we saw each others eyes. As the old way commands that sincere acts are done in a way that is TRUE beyond words and only deeds. Each of the QUEENS who’s lives and hearts are allowed a bit of stew and stout bread upon DONEGAL to CORK are the only meat my heart will survive upon as the bad folk circle and into wildness we must retort.

The hands of the old clocks are wrapped so carefully that they slip off to rest and pendulums stand still.

Upon the green and blue mossy rocks of LOCHS that hide deep secrets we are thankful stay cold and old. A little old lady takes a cane and slips out a back gate to step barefoot on the unctuous peat harder row to the garden and chair. For they all earned a way back on the steamer the QUEEN and crown were so sure they had succeeded in driving the IRISH from their own land like the imaginary snakes that an imaginary man banished.

The very name of the same GOD they all knew was a tool and LIE they quite successfuly poisoned like the land and the booze they gave in lieu of bread. The yolk of liquid slavery would be a blanket they wrapped us in tight so the embers of the fires our faith and family were cast to burn up and float up to the sky… but the old way was too deep in the same earth they stole and would never turn to clay, ash, ember or dirt…

In the mighty GOTHAM a different exodus had occurred and left the other TOWER to watch the spoils of his folk lead them to leave them to keep the watch. As the haves sat fat and cozy on lazy boys in Long Island sounds, the workes all died but the work lived on… For JEAN MICHELLE, WARHOL, HERRING, BOWREY and RID all did a thing that must be remembered in endless canvases and panels. The city is a jungle too with rules and mighty steel whales that set sail upon third rails of HI VOLTAGE CURRENT…

The mighty would fall harder and fast the longer they held a smile and crossed digits that GRIFTED and gifted shame to our folk.

So we picked up our HAMMER and smashed the AXIS at the very center of the wheel we turned upon the STOCKADE of our yolk… As we are SAVAGES who run naked in the moon covered in ROTTEN FISH SLURRY at a FOE whose masts we saw breaking at dusk. For the ISLE we charge blindly to defend is our smile and message that a HEART OF GLASS deserves a proper fortress and MOAT full of EELS so fat, we make pies and fry them out back.

4:03am YARDIE HOD OGE 8.11.24.000003

[stellahibernis]

Saturday morning fic rec:

Author’s summary:

Steve runs away after SHIELD defrosts him... 20 years earlier than in canon. He thinks he's alone, except he isn't, not at all.

Words: 16866, Chapters: 1/1

Fandoms: Captain America (Movies)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Steve Rogers, James “Bucky” Barnes

Relationships: James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers

Additional Tags: 1990s, Identity Porn

My notes:

The premise for this is really fascinating, and I love how their relationship progresses and how the story handles showing us the things Steve doesn’t know. I especially liked how it grew into hopefulness, with both of them managing while not quite fine in the beginning.

[thefarfield-s5s]

scatterings (27°f, -2.778°c)

[adz]

in case you were needing it, here is my attempt at creating a comprehensive, mostly chronological list of every song sufjan stevens wrote/released as a solo act

A Sun Came We Are What You Say A Winner Needs a Wand Rake Siamese Twins Demetrius Dumb I Sound Wordsworth’s Ridge Belly Button Rice Pudding A Loverless Bed (Without Remission) Godzuki Super Sexy Woman The Oracle Said Wander Happy Birthday Jason Kill Ya Leil A Sun Came Satan’s Saxophones

Eye of the Beholder All Delighted People

8.21: A Blue Bunny Compilation Woman at the Well Far Physician’s Son

Seen Unseen Damascus

Enjoy Your Rabbit Year of the Asthmatic Cat Year of the Monkey Year of the Rat Year of the Ox Year of the Boar Year of the Tiger Year of the Snake Year of the Sheep Year of the Rooster Year of the Dragon Year of the Rabbit Year of the Dog Year of the Horse Year of Our Lord

To Spirit Back the Mews God’ll Ne’er Let You Down Bushwick Junkie I Can’t Even Life My Head

Michigan Flint All Good Naysayers For the Widows in Paradise Say Yes! To M!ch!gan! The Upper Peninsula Tahquamenon Falls Holland Detroit Romulus Alanson, Crooked River Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie They Also Mourn Oh God, Where Are You Now? Redford Vito’s Ordination Song --- Marching Band Pickerel Lake Niagara Falls Presidents and Magistrates Wolverine

Hope Isn’t a Word Borderline

Metaphysics for Beginners How Can the Stone Remain?

Seven Swans All the Trees The Dress Looks Nice on You In the Devil’s Territory To Be Alone with You Abraham Sister Size Too Small We Won’t Need Legs to Stand A Good Man Is Hard to Find He Woke Me Up Again Seven Swans The Transfiguration --- I Went Dancing with My Sister Waste of What Your Kids Won’t Have Illinois Concerning the UFO Sighting The Black Hawk War Come On! Feel the Illinoise! John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Jacksonville A Short Reprise Decatur One Last “Whoo-Hoo!” Go! Chicago! Go! Yeah! Casimir Pulaski Day To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region The Man of Metropolis Prairie Fire That Wanders About A Conjunction of Drones The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades They Are Night Zombies!! Let’s Hear That String Part Again In This Temple as in the Hearts of Man The Seer’s Tower The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders Riffs and Variations Out of Egypt

NPR single The Lord God Bird

The Avalanche The Avalanche Dear Mr. Supercomputer Adlai Stevenson The Vivian Girls The Henney Buggy Band Saul Bellow Carlyle Lake Springfield The Mistress Witch from McClure Kaskaskia River Inaugural Pop Music No Man’s Land The Palm Sunday Tornado The Pick-Up The Perpetual Self For Clyde Tombaugh Pittsfield The Undivided Self

Mews Too Opie’s Funeral Song

Songs for Christmas ---I We’re Goin’ to the Country! It’s Christmas! Let’s Be Glad! ---II Put The Lights On The Tree Only at Christmas Time ---III Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance! That Was the Worst Christmas Ever Ding! Dong! All the King’s Horns ---IV Hey Guys! It’s Christmas Time! Did I Make You Cry on Christmas? (Well, You Deserved It!) The Incarnation ---V Get Behind Me, Santa! Christmas in July Jupiter Winter Sister Winter Star of Wonder The Winter Solstice

The Believer In the Words of the Governor

The BQE Prelude on the Esplanade Introductory Fanfare for the Hooper Heroes Movement I: In the Countenance of Kings Movement II: Sleeping Invader Interlude I: Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation Movement III: Linear Tableau with Intersecting Surprise Movement IV: Traffic Shock Movement V: Self-Organizing Emergent Patterns Interlude II: Subi Power Waltz Interlude III: Invisible Accidents Movement VI: Isorhythmic Night Dance with Interchanges Movement VII (Finale): The Emperor of Centrifuge Postlude: Critical Mass --- The Sleeping Red Wolves

Single: Sofia’s Song

All Delighted People All Delighted People Enchanting Ghost Heirloom From the Mouth of Gabriel The Owl and the Tanager Arnika Djohariah Side D

The Age of Adz Futile Devices Too Much Age of Adz I Walked Now That I’m Older Get Real, Get Right Bad Communication Vesuvius All for Myself I Want to Be Well Impossible Soul

Silver & Gold ---VI Lumberjack Christmas The Midnight Clear St. Benjamin the Bearded One Barcarola ---VII Christmas Woman Happy Family Christmas Mysteries of the Christmas Mist Behold! The Birth of Man, the Face of Glory Ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling Mr. Frosty Man Make Haste to See the Baby Eternal Happiness or Woe I Am Santa’s Helper Even the Earth Will Perish ---VIII Christmas in the Room Particle Physics The Child with the Star on His Head ---IX X-mas Spirit Catcher ---X Happy Karma Christmas Justice Delivers Its Death Christmas Unicorn

Carrie & Lowell Death with Dignity Should Have Known Better All of Me Wants All of You Drawn to the Blood Eugene Fourth of July The Only Thing Carrie & Lowell John My Beloved No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross Blue Bucket of Gold

One Night Stand #1 Harsh Noise

Exploding Whale single

The Greatest Gift Wallowa Lake Monster The Greatest Gift The Hidden River of My Life City of Roses

CMBYN Singles Mystery of Love Visions of Gideon

Tonya Harding single

Lonely Man of Winter single

The Ascension Make Me An Offer I Cannot Refuse Run Away with Me Video Game Lamentations Tell Me You Love Me Die Happy Ativan Ursa Major Landslide Gilgamesh Death Star Goodbye to All That Sugar The Ascension America

Live Only Majesty Snowbird The 50 States Song Many Guides Maple River

[starsailorstories]

Songs That Remind Me of Every Planet I’ve Developed for Sweet Chariot So Far

Note: Most of these are instrumental or in languages other than English or it’s not really about the lyrics so I didn’t add lyrics like on most of my playlists, but if you’re curious about any of them I can tell you why I chose them--just send an ask!

Aeverell | A wet young world where two fertile continents are actively forming along the tropics as volcanoes push the seafloor up. Verdant hills and carpets of meadow intersected suddenly here and there by rock and fire.

Song: “Suspended in Gaffa”//Ra Ra Riot

Altamai | A warm Venusian planet where ancient ladies of war built fortresses high above the suffocating pink clouds, their spires reaching into the blue sky. Today an old aristocracy live in its dreamlike haze, their supporting peasantry largely dispersed elsewhere.

Song: “N”//iamamiwhoami

Ashtiva | A cold, dim, wild world of mostly permafrost tundra, lit by a red sun. Once, it was home to some of the greatest artists and architects in the galaxy, said to build their own souls into their creations.   

Song: “The Space Between”//Joanna Brouk

Aphacaria | Mostly too hot to inhabit, but encircled by a band of grassland with a rainy and a dry season. This is dotted with graceful sandstone cities full of arched bridges and high gothic windows, canyons of terraced homes that funnel the wind down to the long rivers and wide prairies where huge, graceful animals graze. 

Song: “Free Walk”//Melt Yourself Down

Basilea | Not a “planet” per se, but the urban and glittering Rings--a swarm of orbiting settlements that circle the mutual point of gravitation between Sol Atya and Sol Jenya--are home to the overwhelming majority of Basillans. Most orbiters are highly planned and orderly--grids of soft pinkish grasses and delicate brass-and-glass buildings--yet exploding with all the messiness of life.

Song: “The BQE: Movement VI--Isorhythmic Night Dance With Interchanges”//Sufjan Stevens

Caesura B | A world of teal skies and red earth, bathed in the light of a hot blue sun. Airy white-sand cities, succulent forests, and spires of wind-carved stone hug the waters of its few oases, while dangerous flighted creatures--some as big as a city block--dip beneath its clouds and bathe in its single polar ocean. 

Song: “The Kingdom”//Jesca Hoop  (The song for this one actually is kind of lyrically appropriate, haha.)

Dorong | A huge, mountainous rock whose landscape is punctuated by spindly black-foliage forests and salt seas, many of which have been carved into huge, ever-shifting metropolises full of brazier-lit squares and briny fountains. 

Song: “Performance 1, Part 1″//Terry Riley

Esmrrrder | Much of the land surface of Esmrrrder is occupied by sheer, impassible mountains, so its busy industrial settlements skirt the boundaries between the mountains and seas. Became very technologically advanced very quickly, and has the messy and unfinished feel of rapid building in most populated areas. 

Song: “Colony Collapse”//Beats Antique (I realized after choosing this that the way the samples sound at the beginning imitates the drastic stops and tongue buzzes in the Esmrrrderian languages--exemplified by the one in the name of the planet actually)

Glasmiri | A world of rivers and islands--although the surface is mostly water, there are no defined seas; the distribution of land is fairly even, from the fjords of the north to the swampy jungles of the south. Although settled long ago, it is over 80% rural because building anything bigger than a small island estate is just too hard to build.

Song: “Chin Chin Chidori”//Yo Yo Ma

Shali | A stormy gas giant encircled by terraformed orbiting settlements. This is one of the first areas to be developed with energy-maximizing swarm building technology, and its communities are a bit run down and vulnerable to the volatile nature of their host world. In all their precariousness, the Shalians maintain a tight-knit and vibrant culture, often in harmony with the very turbulence that threatens them.

Song: “Part of the Math”//Panda Bear (first song in this performance; the studio version isn’t on youtube but this live version is very high-quality and very faithful to it. Warning for sudden loud noises)

Sitheria | Highly populated and technologically advanced, but with a cultural character that shifts jarringly between dogmatically conservative and genuinely spiritual. Home to many long-venerated places filled with the marks of honest life, but under the heavy hand of the praeceptorate and the empire and always just a little too formal and clean.

Song: “The Station”//Oneohtrix Point Never (Note: the only version of this on youtube is the official video, which is super different aesthetically from my mental picture of this song)

Tarega | A Mars-like world of cold deserts, its rock-hewn cities are mostly abandoned now that its climate and atmosphere have changed, though there are still scattered populations, and historians and pilgrims still roam its ancient sites.

Song: “Safer”//Animal Collective (I know this is also on my Levinoxia playlist but honestly, this setting is what I think of when I think of her entropy/decay/rebirth aspect, which is what the song’s supposed to represent on her playlist)

[stucky-ficrecs]

Author: aurilly Rating: teen Status: complete Length: 17K

Steve runs away after SHIELD defrosts him... 20 years earlier than in canon. He thinks he's alone, except he isn't, not at all.

[wikifoxnews]

Who was Johnny Pizarro ( Crew member shot dead on ‘Law & Order’ set in NYC ) Wiki, Bio, Age, Crime, Incident Details, Investigations and More Facts

Johnny Pizarro Biography                              Johnny Pizarro Wiki

A crew member working for Law & Order: Organized Crime was shot dead early Tuesday while filming the TV series in Brooklyn in a scene that could have been taken straight from the script, authorities said.

Johnny Pizarro, a 31-year-old married dad of three, had just started his shift and was in the driver's seat of a vehicle saving a parking lot in Greenpoint at around 5.15am when another man suddenly opened the door from the car and blew it, officials and friends said. Johnny Pizarro, 31, was shot in his head and neck in a car near the "Law & Order" set in Greenpoint, police said. https://t.co/1LKMmMT0Ee — CarrollGardens Patch (@CarrollGPatch) July 19, 2022 “It was crazy,” said a distraught colleague of Pizarro, who kept the space on North Henry Street near Norman Avenue free for the last film crew trucks. "I didn't hear a fight or anything. It was quiet, early morning," said the colleague, who asked not to be named. "It was just one shot, and the ran to Nassau . I only heard one shot, but I don't know how many shots. "I don't even know who would do that or why." Local resident Janus Czuj, 60, said he thought the crime scene was for cameras only. "This morning I woke up and saw the police," Czuj said. "I thought it was a fake crime scene. "I didn't think it was a real drama. ... I was trying to walk the dogs here and I saw the tape and I was like, 'Oh, this is a movie'. But it was a real shootout.” The motive for the murder was unclear, but police said they were not ruling anything out, including whether it may have been a parking dispute. A flyer attached to a lamppost read "Stop the film shoots in McGolrick Park" and urged residents to complain to their local lawmakers about "how our neighborhood shooting is affecting your family." “The area around McGolrick Park has had a WEEKLY film for MONTHS taking up TENS OF PARKING SPACES and displacing THOUSANDS of Greenpoint residents, while over 600 parking spaces have recently been REMOVED under the BQE for the construction of 'a bike path no one uses', the post raged. Joe Pedicino, 65, said CBS TV's "Blue Bloods" and "FBI" have also been filmed on the streets in the past six months. "We kill ourselves making movies," Pedicino said. "Some neighbors were really angry because there weren't enough parking spaces. take up so much space that they don't even fully use it." Several residents doubted the parking lot would lead to bloodshed, rocking the quiet neighborhood. Pedicinio also said he was stunned by the violence. "It's one of the best streets in Greenpoint," said the resident, who heard three gunshots at the time of the shooting. “Executions don't take place here. It's a quiet neighborhood." However, local resident Gabrielle Van den Berg, who also heard three gunshots, said: 'There are a lot of drug addicts on this street' and wondered if this situation could be involved in any way. . Pizarro - who a neighbor in Queens says always wanted to work in television - was shot multiple times in the face and neck, officials say. He was taken to Woodhull Medical Center where he was pronounced dead just before 6 a.m., police said. According to the crime scene notice, filming was scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. on set. The suspect fled on foot after the killing and is still floating in the wind, authorities said. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie and black pants, police said. The father of the deceased, Johnny Pizarro Sr., 54, who lives in Puerto Rico, told the Post that he and his son weren't close but had somehow reconnected over the past three years. "It shook me up a lot," the father said after news of his son's death was announced. "We weren't close, but he's my son no matter what. Now he's gone forever, forever. "I feel lost. He was a good boy to me. He took care of his kids. He was always nice to me. The victim had a history of arrests but had been off the hook since around 2015, law enforcement sources said. His previous arrests have included rapping marijuana, but the cases are sealed, the sources said. He was also arrested once for DWI in the 75th Precinct, which includes the boroughs of East New York and Cypress Hills, the sources said. Read the full article

[grimfey]

wizards of the coast is rly letting me down with these new races. they are Unfuckable. none of them are hot. some people from the blue man group?? a fucking elephant??? come on, u guys. wheres the bqe (big queer energy) that tieflings radiate. I know you have it in you

[apexart-journal]

Tasha Dougé, Day 3

Day 3 started with me blogging about Day 2.  As most of us know, time flies when we are having fun even when you are writing about.  So before I knew it, it was almost time for me to dash out the door.  On top of that, the days are all mushed into one in my head.  Sunday usually means a day of rest-ish, until I remember that means the ferry is on a rest-ish schedule too.  That shifted the 8:30am time on my itinerary to a realistic 9am ferry.  I have never been to Staten Island, except for one time.  I was driving home from the beach with some friends.  The story or joke was so funny/distracting that I laughed myself right off the wrong exit on the BQE  and onto the Verrazano bridge.  (I swear that bridge is a dollar for every minute it takes to get across.)  Let me not digress because today was new day.

I get to SI by 9:25am.  I was dashing to find my bus.  There were about 3 lanes and I have to find the S40.  The bus schedule said that there was a 9:20 and the next was for 9:50.  Thank goodness a bus rolled right up around 9:30.  YES!!  My bus driver was zooming.  Zooming so fast, I almost missed my stop.  I get off and ask for directions to the Chinese Scholar Garden.  The person’s name was Jessica.  She told me to follow her since she was going to same way.  Turns out the garden is part of Snug Harbor.  There is so much to see there that I have to come back.  Jessica and I parted ways and I headed over to the garden.  I was the second person there.  Success!  The park rangers came about 10 mins later and the group assembled.  We do a little restoration work before going into the garden.  My body was like “more manual labor,” my toes were like “we are exposed and not ready for this,” but my spirit was ready to go.  (Don’t judge my body.  We still have more than enough residual sheltering-in-place effects that we have to shake off.)  I was quickly transported to a time when I galvanized some friends and community members to clean up our local park.  It was a great memory to ground me in the moment.  It felt great to aesthetically and spiritually clear out debris from the cobblestone culverts making way for the water to flow.  We were doing this work in the Healing Garden that was dedicated to the 267 Staten Islanders who perished on September 11, 2001.

Next, we headed over to the Chinese Scholar Garden for a guided tour by the rangers.  It was breathtaking.  We walked through a bamboo forest and there was water everywhere.  There is so much to say about the garden, but I will narrow it down.  The space was built with not one nail or any glue. Yep, that’s right.  Not a SINGLE nail.  This is the second structure that I have come across where the same is true.  If you are ever in Thailand, check out the Sanctuary of Truth.  You can thank me later.  The garden is so serene and peaceful.  Yes, it is picturesque too.  More so, I was touched my the intentionality and symbolism imbued into everything.  I chose to highlight the stair bridge because the steps are so small to remind us to take our time in life.  Such a poignant reminder for all of us, especially in this moment.  However, the tour ran over 30 mins and taking my “time” ran out the window.

I get back at to the ferry bus terminal roughly by 1pm (minus 5mins or so).  According to google maps, my journey to the next destination is about an hour.  The event starts at 2pm.  Yikes!  As I am waiting on the bus, I get approached by a couple visiting from Columbia.  The gentleman spoke little english, but I could gather that they wanted to go the historical Richmond town area.  Remember, I have never been to S.I., but they needed help.  I googled the location and tell them the take the S74. I noticed that they went to the wrong stop.  I went after them because it turns out we could both take the S74.  I got their attention and I told them to follow me.  We dashed across the bus lanes to just catch the next bus.  It turned out that their stop was the next one after mine.  We rode on the bus for about 40 or so mins.  I am convinced that all S.I. bus drivers are aspiring or retired NASCAR drivers.  Hour commute where?  I informed the bus driver where they were going and said farewell to the Columbian couple.

Google said that my destination was a 9 min walk from the bus stop.  9 minutes for whom?  The picture doesn’t do that hill justice and the temperature was over 80 degrees.  Nonetheless, off I went.  A sidewalk made a cameo appearance like twice.  The houses are huge and gorgeous.  But where was I and did google lie?  I clearly was in residential area, but I was supposed to be headed to the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art.  I continued to let the blue dot guide my way as cars drove by me on the non-sidewalk/shoulder road.  Despite my disbelief, the space exists!  Google didn’t lie!  I followed a woman down some stairs to where I would be attending a singing bowl mediation led by Leslee Penny.  I signed in with Frank at the front desk.  The meditation was exactly what the doctor ordered.  My body immediately responded the C bowl, which is associated with the root chakra.  During the session, I felt sensations happening in the back of my arms, lower back and throat.  After the session, I was still feeling all the vibrations.  I was tempted to purchased a singing bowl, but Leslee was honest about what to look for in a bowl.  It was a C bowl, but she advised me to find a bowl where I could play the rim.  I said my thank yous and before I could leave, the same woman that I had followed into the space asked if I wanted a ride.  She saw me walking up the non-sidewalk/shoulder road earlier, felt for me, but hesitated because she didn’t know where I was going.  As per her words, we just participated in something spiritual and now felt comfortable to ask me about the ride.  I graciously accepted.

Christine and I had a great conversation during our ride back to the ferry.  She was originally from Brooklyn and moved to SI either 20 or 28 years ago.  She told me that there was tons of farmland up until the early 80s.  She used to commute to the city and it would be a total of three hours per day.  Ufff.  I could never.  I told her that was similar to my Dad’s commute to Jersey (pre-COVID).  We laughed about my trip over the Verrazano bridge and how the toll guy had no sympathy for me when I tried to get out of paying the toll.  I mean it was an accident.  She said the same thing happened to her.  Yes in the era of COVID, people can show up for community and do so safely.  Christine, thank you.  Your gesture is another reminder that humanity still exists. Grateful and blessed for another day.  Thanks Staten Island.  I will be back.  Ready for Day 4.

- tasha

[thestuckylibrary]

Ey so are there any fics of cap waking up early? Like in the 80s or 90s? Its ok if they're aren't

A Distant Early Warning by andloawhatsit

When the soldier is sent to investigate a decades-old crash site in the Canadian high Arctic, he finds far more than he expected — instead of retrieving salvage, he pulls the plane’s pilot, injured and amnesiac but still breathing, from the wreck. Curious about the pilot’s fragmented story and strangely hesitant to turn him over to his handler, the soldier pretends to be an officer assigned to the DEW Line and delays his check-in. But the longer he waits, the more he questions the pilot’s identity and his absent handler’s intentions both for the mission and for the American family the man already holds captive, not to mention his own piecemeal memories. He doesn’t know if it’s a test, a set-up, or a disaster, but he knows he can’t let the pilot go.

BQE Blues by aurilly

Steve runs away after SHIELD defrosts him… 20 years earlier than in canon. He thinks he’s alone, except he isn’t, not at all.

Silence = Death by aingeal (major character death)

It’s 1982. Ronald Reagan has dug Captain America out of the ice to win the Cold War for him, but Steve has other ideas.

Bucky Barnes was rescued from the Alps back in 1944. When he came home he’d lost his arm and Steve was gone. He’s gotten used to being alone.

Now Steve is back, but the AIDS epidemic is beginning to tighten its grip on America, and it’s going to destroy the hopeful new life they’re hoping to embark on in this crazy decade.

[thefarfield-s5s]

Blues.

[thisalsocouldbejoy]

I turn right onto the BQE and under the suspension bridge, watch the headlights of the cars travel above the salted water. This past year, my headlights at 5:45 am for so many, too many mornings, bright against the darkness, WNYC broadcast voices against the silence, away and away and away I traveled, the city in my rear view mirror. But not tonight.

Tonight I wind down near the water lapping against the walkway, and I watch for the city lights to peek around the corner, closer and closer until the World Trade Center and lower Manhattan sparkles brightly against the navy blue sky, and I drive towards them, towards them, towards them. Up the ramp to the overpass and the moon appears, full and golden, as I approach the top. It sits, hanging there, as if waiting for just me. Before the gateway buildings, the two tallest of the neighborhood, standing on either side of the main avenue, hide the moon from view, and I wonder if I imagined it. How could it disappear, so grand, in an instant?

The line of cars steer through the highway’s bend and the moon appears again, full and bright— it has been a year since I last saw the full moon and thought to make note. Of the passing time, of the cycles of life, of some type of hope.

“You can only hit the reset button so many times,” he said to me last night, and I see mine so worn, the typeface faded and letters already missing. In my rear view mirror I see my car full of belongings as I roll down the miles of the BQE towards the city towards the city towards the city, before getting off on that old road I know so well. The moon directly in front of me now, hovering between the buildings, brighter than the city lights, bouncing off the pavement, and I wonder if I’m imagining it. A full moon tonight? This bright? I’ve lost track. Of everything.

But I follow the moon, the brightest light in this city, still, and always, and ever more, and I think we can always hit the reset button, however worn, however faded. And I’ve done it again, and I’ll do it again, to go home. To find hope again. To follow the moon.

[adz]

enjoy your rabbit - white/clear 2lp

michigan - lp

seven swans - grey swirl lp

illinois - blue marvel + red star 12”

illinois - lp

avalanche - white & orange 2lp

run rabbit run - 2lp

BQE - 2lp + comic

all delighted people - lp

age of adz - lp

beak & claw - lp

silver & gold - 5lp w/ misc

sisyphus - 2lp (gold/clear/white)

carrie & lowell - clear lp

the greatest gift - translucent yellow lp

blue bucket of gold - translucent blue 12”

decalogue - deluxe 2lp

aporia - yellow lp

america - limited 12”

ascension - clear 2lp

7”: I went dancing with my sister (teal)

take the time flexi

hit & run vol. 1

exploding whale (grey/red)

exploding whale (black)

tonya harding (sealed, not sure blue or red)

lonely man of winter (green)

love yourself (UK yellow tie-dye)

love yourself (US transitional blue/purple)

i’m gonna sell my sufjan vinyl collection for like $3000

[bites-kms]

Chicago, that toddlin' town

I guess very deep inside I love it: I always end up visiting freezing places in December for a quick holiday before the actual big holidays. First it was Russia, then Finland, London and now Chicago. I must definitely have a fetich with the cold, because it’s really unbearable with -18C, and yet, here I am. 

Chicago is cold, yes. But it’s wonderful as well. I can’t wait to come back during summer time. If I find it gorgeous already, I can’t imagine then. Winter isn’t that bad either: all the beautiful places you want to go, see and know are actually empty, picture-perfect awaiting for you and your enjoyment. Some rooftops get cold very easily but, there are other closed ones, surrounded by glass, already ready to fight the winter back, gifting you a beautiful sight of Chicago lights within the comfort of AC. 

You breath and eat its culture. People are polite. The American flavor is present in every corner. It’s hard to describe a particular neighborhood or place; instead, you just have to wing it to discover it. If, as per my point of view, New York City is the heart of the US (at least on the East Coast), where the culture beat and rhythm is determined, Chicago must definitely be its lungs: the air is fresher, the city is cleaner, more tidy yet exciting, smaller but rich, more elegant and better taken care of, making sure the blood stream fluids hassle-free in this living being that is America. I mean, it’s called the Windy City for a reason!

A mix of Sydney, San Francisco, Singapore and Sweden (all of them with S - such a weird coincidence) with a dash of Toronto and Austin, this is a perfect merge of everything. What Yangon is to SEA, I believe Chicago is to North America’s East Coast.  

Downtown Chicago, The Loop & River North, the main stuff. 

Michigan St. is one of the city’s main arteries, it’s fully decorated, with its fancy boutiques, stores and hotels, charming the riverwalk and its surroundings. The sharp cold, the one that makes you feel like you are about to lose your fingers in any sudden bump or gentle touch, paints the city with a crisp white - still figuring out whether it actually came from my frozen watery eyes or the snow itself. Regardless, it’s indeed a charming Winter Wonderland.   

Arriving from O’hare to any part of town is quite easy thanks to the CTA. I went off on Washington stop and walked a few blocks reaching my friend Gabe’s house by New East Park. A compulsory stop at Millennium Park, with a visit to the wrongly named “bean” (it’s actually named Cloud), the Art Institute of Chicago - awarded the best Museum in the World by Trip Advisor until 2018 for four years in a row - is a must. But what is even more important is to try Chicago’s pizza emblem: the stuffed pizza pie at Giordano’s. It has multiple locations, -the original one being at River North- and its menu is full of the good stuff. We went to the one by the Bean instead, and be prepared: it’s a lot of food and it will take at least 45 mins to reach your table. So don’t get fooled, try to hold on and avoid ordering appetizers, don’t be like us, if not you’ll get super full before the main food star. It’s rich and full-filling, the doe is fantastic, it honors the actual “pie” name it stands for, the sauce is delicious and the stuffing reminded me of the pizza rellena my Nona used to make, although with a complete different taste (ours was way better, coz it had bacon, anchovies and eggs). 

After an evident food comma, be prepared to check out a wonderful sunset at London House, a hotel & rooftop bar strategically located on the intersection of Michigan St. and the Riverwalk, where you can be mesmerized by Chicago’s skyline. If you are visiting in winter, remember to drop by early (sunset in December happens approximately around 4:30pm), and if you are checking it out during summer nights, be ready for some music and fun until late. 

A great winter alternative is The Signature Room & Lounge - a closed yet wonderful restaurant, located on the 95th and 96th floor of one of Chicago’s tallest building. A reminiscence of  the Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo and a flashback to Charlotte’s wondering sights at the massive windows in Lost in Translation happens when you first face those monumental glasses, while being charmed by Chicago’s lights and movement. From 5 to 7 there’s a very convenient happy hour, so be mindful to check it out: Prosecco for me, Old Fashion for Gabe. Another incredible talk for our memories. 

Right next to it, you can find The Drake Hotel, now owned by Hilton, also known as the place where Al Capone lived here in Chicago. 

When it comes to dinner, man, you’re in a pickle! Chicago is known for its food scene and for a reason. It’s foodie’s heaven. Thankfully, talking with locals, residents and cross-checking with blogs and seasonal magazines, I can undoubtedly say that The Purple Pig is the place to go. Mediterranean cuisine with a twist, with a wonderful collection of wines and charcuterie. We shared three delicious dishes: whipped feta with honey and sweet heirloom tomatoes, butternut squash with peanut butter and adobo, to finally wrap it up with an exquisite Spanish grilled octopus with potatoes and pesto greens, which made us end up with no extra room for dessert - my friend Belu would be so disappointed on me. 

Right across the street, you can take some pictures at the Intercontinental Hotel, which hosts Michael Jordan Steakhouse (not a biggie, but it’s kind of funny that this legend, Mike 23, has a restaurant on his own). Wrap up your night with some blues. Walk down the area to find your favorite bar, hopefully one with no or little cover fee. We went to Blue Chicago ($10 bucks), grab a IPA Goose Island beer (the local brew) and enjoy some tunes. It was really amazing - I could listen to this music all day long. 

Up North: Old Town, Wicker Park & Longan Park, the cool stuff. 

Head up to Old Town, near Lincoln Park. Take the brown line (if you manage to activate your CTA card, it’s not an easy task if you don’t have a US phone number) and travel 4 long stops. This neighborhood holds St Michael’s Church, one of only seven buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Start your tour over there, and check out the beautiful architecture that surrounds it. It’s an extremely weird merge of modern and old buildings and styles, with some very well preserved gems. Same happens downtown. I guess that after the fire, the city really focused on keeping its charm as untouched as possible. And damn they are doing a great of a job at it! 

Up there, one of the main roads - which is also a National highway - is North Wells Street (IL-64 Route, oh well hello New York’s BQE deja vu!) and check out Second City, an iconic Comedy Club and Theater in the US - thanks Juan for the tip!-. It started as a small cabaret theater nearly 60 years ago and has since become the world’s premier name in improv-based sketch comedy and education. Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Bill Murray and Mike Myers are just some of the name-dropping figures that appear as their alumni. 

Right in front of it, there’s Foxtrot Cafe, a wonderful and warm place where to have breakfast. It’s iconic spicy chicken biscuit is a must, and you can pair it with the coffee of your choice. Almond cap for me. After some needed calories to fight the -8C temperature, I headed east to Wicker Park. 

What a wonderful place. It’s dodgy, ruined down and hipster-looking. It is truly fantastic. The best of British’s Shoreditch with the untapped, gritted vibe of Brooklyn’s Bushwick or Flatbush, with the crazy look of Seattle’s Pike/Pine-Capitol’s Hill. This is where High Fidelity (2000s, John Cusack in a record store movie) was shot. Gentrification is the hype word you’ll hear, but still, Wicker Park remains a vibrant hub of culture and commerce in Chicago, riddled with boutiques, restaurants, cocktail bars, concerts venues and condos. It’s main area is located around the six corners of Milwaukee, North and Damen Avenues.

Starting from Milwaukee Ave. South, make a compulsory stop by Myopic Books, a nerdy paradise for all second-hand book fans. Continue your literally hunt down by Milwaukee Av and rejoice at Volume’s Book, get the warm hot cocoa you were craving for while writing your travel blog post about Chicago or read a new book instead. For a more funky venue, walk down a few more steps to find The Wormhole, Chicago’s most visited coffee shop. 

The Wormhole is a place very hard to define, so I will just say that is an '80s-themed rustic coffee shop, complete with a DeLorean, pouring locally roasted coffee. It’s a fun place with great music and even better wifi. It’s easily and strategically located before arriving to some of greatest stores by Milwaukee Ave. Make some time to check out all the fantastic the second hand, vintage and thrift shops like Kokoroko, Free People, & or if you prefer, stop by Reckless Records for some great music discounts.

Make yourself some time to check it by night as well, you can have fun at Emporium, the great arcade place or even have a drink or two at Davenport’s, the great piano bar and cabaret. 

The best place - and most iconic one - to have a cozy, all-time-classic lunch is Dove’s Lunchonette, inspired in old ‘60s and ‘70s Chicago’s soul and blues. It’s really fantastic. Becky (almost certain that was her name) is the great waitress that will recommend you all the goodness available in the menu and refill your coffee or tea, always with her laugh and great vibe. Make sure to appreciate the tunes and the environment, it’s a great memory from this city. A delicious poblano pepper filled with chicken and cheese, deep fried in delicious crumbles, topping a side of mexican rice with house, home-made spicy sauce. Yummy. 

Continue your exploration heading towards Logan Place, where more cool stores like tattoo parlors and skate stores are located. Don’t miss out on the street art scene and the 606, the Chicago’s Highline. Make a stop at the “Greetings from Chicago” mural and don’t hesitate to refuel at Colectivo Coffee, a great place where co-working and coffee brewery merges. 

Going West: Fulton Market, Greek Town and West Loop

This is THE place to eat. All of Chicago’s top restaurants are here, even the ones that have their venues by the riverwalk, they know they need to be here as well. We tried out luck at Au Cheval, named the best burger in America for a while, but it comes with a cost: an hour and a half waiting queue. Instead of getting our burger treat, with it’s typical knife on top, resembling some kind of conquest your stomach is about to achieve and colonize, we decided to give Green Street Smoked Meats a chance. This is one of Gabe’s favorite spots in Fulton Market, and it’s a nice and fancier Texas Smokehouse. Communal, big tables, great music and vibe, where to find delicious BBQ, even better brisket which we tried to tuned down with healthier sides such as yummy broccoli salad as well as the traditional pickle cabbage one, are there to ignite your night. 

The Green Door Tavern is an awesome tip my parents gave me. Apparently, it was vox populi back in the ‘20s that the establishments that had a green door, hosted a speakeasy inside and did not respect the prohibition rules of no-alcohol. So, let’s party like it’s 1921 and enjoy a drink or two in here! Once you enter, it just look like a regular, sports and antique bar, where memorabilia and Irish Pub look-and-feel rules the place. Yet, do not despair: head to the back, go down the stairs and before reaching the bathroom, try to listen to the music. A wall, a tricky one, hidden behind a books and ornaments shelf, you shall find Heaven’s door. A funky, old school, hour-o-clock-show bar, where to enjoy strong cocktails, and around the clock shows. Music, magic or, it’s signature event: burlesque. After choosing your drink from a very unique tarot-card-like menu, indulge yourself in the ‘20s era with the surprise show and the old-school videos played on the stage curtains. It’s a fantastic experience!

Visit the Hoxton hotel (always beautiful, never disappointing according to my experiences in Brooklyn, Paris and now Chicago) and head up to it’s rooftop restaurant Cabra - a Peruvian fusion delight. Great for brunch or lunch, we indulged on it’s sample menu and enjoyed some fresh guac and chips, a pulled pork belly sandwich, a tuna tiradito, goat empanadas and some delicious mango and chocolate dessert. It was a perfect Thursday food-comma. 

Before leaving Fulton Market, walk around and visit the brand new Time’s Out Market. Contrary to the Hoxton experience, Time’s Out is a great content platform with great venues around the world. Although, no market is as nice and as delicious as the Lisbon one. It was the first Time’s Out market they launched, and although I’ve visited some others like New York’s or Chicago’s, they do not manage to create the same vibe and atmosphere you can find in Lisbon. Chicago’s one is nice and you can find top names such as The Purple Pig and so on, but maybe you wanna give some of the surrounding restaurants a try before choosing Time’s Out Market. 

Wrap it up by Navy Pier & a bis on the Riverwalk 

While my stayed in the Windy City was coming to an end, I went to the Navy Pier for sunset to be wonder by the Michigan Lake and its view. We also walked down again the main road and visited The Protein Bar, a healthy venue were wraps and juices are top notch and you with your purchase you contribute to a local start-up. You can also check out a top view of the Bean and the Millennial park at Cindy’s, the rooftop of Chicago’s Athletic Association. Visit the Public Library and imagine yourself studying at the same booths or with the same texts Obama once did. Have a coffee by the Theater District at Goddess and the Baker. 

Head to Nonnina for some yummy Italian and even better service. We had some wine, pasta and salmon to celebrate my last night in the city. Call it a day by visiting another Varela’s Family recommendation and favorite: The Redhead Piano Bar. This energetic, fun and light-hearted venue is a fantastic spot where to drink your sorrows away, sing your heart out and laugh as hard as you can. The talented crew at the piano and mic will sing your requests for tips and will cheer and entertain your night with fine tunes, Chicago’s stories and public interaction that will certainly lift any night and place a unique bow on your unique Chicago Farewell. 

4 days in Chicago is not enough, specially if the cold forces you to be inside. I guess the same applies in summer: it wont be enough either due to the outdoor activities the city will offer.  Next time I will drive a little bit uptown heading to Superdawn, the traditional and well known Chicago sausage drive thru. I would also love to visit Manny’s Place, a traditional deli that’s been around for quite a while now, as well as to Kingston Mines, the traditional blues bar near Lincoln Park and Zoo -which we did actually go but too early for a show- as well as another fun and very hard to find ( I need to research a little bit more) tiki-bar speakeasy called three dots and a dash. Chicago, you’ve been awesome - I’ll be back!

[girimohan]

This was the moment when we told the story of us. It went something like this from my POV. —————— The Beginning. A feeling so vivid, that evening was both a purge and a new beginning for me. From the get go, there was a familiarity, a familial force even. Little did I know that your fleeting pain, the one that you alone endured and labored through, The one that was mysterious and miraculous, Mysterious in its profound arrival, mysterious in its meticulous timing, Miraculous in its ways to leave you, just enough time to plot our meeting. Just enough time for a metamorphosis - strangers to lovers to partners. From now to eternity. Head or Heart. I stood there, once again rebelling, as if I was impervious to happiness, love and affection You stood with me, not to rebel my rebellion, not to question my insanity, But to find your own ways to let me indulge first, then find rationale. You persisted, not with a push, but with your gentle nudge and caring assertiveness, Reminding me all along that insanity, irrationality is the fog that dissipates on its own terms. Today confirms, I float amidst blue skies because of you. Mornings. You are warm during winters, cool during summers, the thermostat goes coy. Massive trucks and payloads on the BQE, weathered headboard creeks, but I hear the three words, the same three words, yet new. Louder, yet soft. It’s not what you think, it’s sweeter than love and pleasure. Amma (Mother) and Nana’s (Father) cheeky smile again- “How is that for companionship? ——————————— ...to be continued (at Williamsburg, Brooklyn) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrvefbVg1V-/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1tq9rqbx7rn8x