#bobcatmoran

This fic is still an absolute delight and one I keep going back to. TRAINS indeed.

Ahhhhh I’m so glad! I was very self-conscious about it when I first posted it, but its seems to have brought enjoyment to quite a few people and I’m glad I didn’t give up on it.

Sam, you pulled an adult on some kid. And forgot that you're an actual facts adults. Also I bet you are now being immortalised in a 'this one time -' story a bunch of the people around you are telling.

LOL I’m not even sure if anyone else heard me, you know how airplane accoustics are, but he definitely did. :D I swear I just meant to think it to myself.

I don’t think I ever really internalized that I’m an actual facts adult myself -- it took me realizing that this kid was probably 15-20 years younger than me to realize that I actually appear to have authority.  

winds-wanderer replied to your photo “Man, you guys, the Guggenheim is EVEN UGLIER IN PERSON. Nothing...”

Funny stories re the Guggenheim (from former prof who used to work there as an art handler). 1. The walls are a bitch for hanging art. Many drill bits were required. 2. The incline of each floor was too steep for driving small vehicles carrying art work. As for me, the distance between the wall and the rail is too narrow, preventing proper viewing of big art works. So Guggenheim = great architecture, shitty space for displaying art.

Yeah, I did a bit of reading on it and Frank Lloyd Wright never seems to be really interested in the ultimate use of the piece -- I think he was really a frustrated installation artist before they existed (hence the frustration). His architecture was art applied to structure, but he seemed heavily disinterested in what that structure was surrounding. 

jeanninedupree replied to your photo “Some photos I didn’t get to post today! Lanterns in a park in south...”

Sam, I don't know if you ever ran across the work of Rex Stout's sister Ruth, but it's well worth your time. She's mainly known as a gardening writer (author of "How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back") but her book "If You Would Be Happy" is good general philosophy of life.

Oh neat! I wasn’t aware of her, thank you. I’ll add it to my reading queue! 

jaythenerdkid-official replied to your photo “Some photos I didn’t get to post today! Lanterns in a park in south...”

I always read that the address of wolfe's brownstone (which changed quite a bit in the books, just like the name of wolfe's lawyer - IS IT NATHANIEL OR IS IT HENRY GEORGE,, REX) would put his house somewhere in the river. that plaque is so cool, though! wolfe is one of my favourite detectives. he and goodwin are my favourite bickering old married couple to go and visit when I'm feeling down.

Yeah, he shared with Conan Doyle a certain lack of concern with the finer details of his stories, but then I think he thought of them as fun little pulps -- he made them as literary as possible and he had some social commentary to make especially in the later ones, but I don’t think he ever thought they’d be seriously studied by people. 

There were definitely a lot of addresses I found when I decided I’d go searching for the brownstone (there aren’t any brownstones in that area anymore) but once I happened on the fact that there was a plaque, I decided to take the Wolfe Pack’s word for it :D 

sphinxyvic replied to your photo “Some photos I didn’t get to post today! Lanterns in a park in south...”

Gotta show this to Parhelion! We’ll have to look for it next time we’re in NYC!

It’s at 454 West 35th Street -- though I have to warn you there is no brownstone attached to it, it’s just a very nice kind of vintagey-designed apartment block. 

thetimesinbetween replied to your photo “Found hipster foodie Steve’s favorite coffee joint. (It is in...”

pause, i live here (in brooklyn)—where is this???

It’s called The Flat BKSpeed Coffee -- I guess it’s kind of a sales point for a coffee micro-roastery in the area? 

luthorchickv2 replied to your photo “Well I found something to top yesterday’s Vermeer.”

Was in a cab going up first when i was this post and managed to look out the window at exactly the right moment to see it.

Aw yay, how serendipitous! I actually quite like it, it’s weird and I’m not sure where it’s going but it’s having fun on the way there. According to news coverage, it’s meant to be a welcoming, whimsical first sight on the way to the new children’s hospital that’s going up nearby. 

persian-slipper replied to your photo “Well I found something to top yesterday’s Vermeer.”

Who is the artist? It isn't S. Johnson, is it?

No, although there is a Seward Johnson nearby, apparently, I passed close to it on the bus ride back from the doggo. It’s by Donald Lipiski. 

laughingacademy replied to your photo “Well I found something to top yesterday’s Vermeer.”

Too bad it wasn't raining, that causes the windshield wipers to turn on.

I HEARD. I was so mad too because it rained later that day! 

myotherblogisatardis replied to your post “The little statues are in the 14th St/8th Avenue stop, not 34th. St.”

Ohhhh... Those.... I *hate* those guys!

I have to admit the first ones I saw I was like “Oh, how cute!” and the second one I saw next to it I was like “Well that’s funny!” and then the more I saw the more creeped out I got. 

bobcatmoran replied to your photo “Okay kids, you said Ess-A-Bagel so here I am, and bagels aside, the...”

Midwesterner who lived in NY for a few years - I think the thing about NYC bagels isn't necessarily that the best NYC bagels are on a different plane than the best bagels in, say, Chicago. It's that the average NYC bagel is so, SO much better than the average bagel in a Midwestern city, even one as big as Chicago. And they're so ubiquitous.

That makes sense, and the ubiquity I will acknowledge -- the ease of getting a really good bagel in New York is undeniable. If I lived in a city where I could get bagels that good that easily, I’d have a bit of civic pride about it too.  

This does, however, reinforce my belief that people who hear the question “Hey where can I get good bagels in XYZ city” and respond “You can’t, go to New York” are being assholes. It’s not helpful, it just generates noise, and it’s worse now! Because it’s SO EASY to find good bagels in New York! New Yorkers should be sympathetic to the plights of those trying to find good bagels elsewhere. It’s the pettiest of punching-down maneuvers.   

truly-a-gryffindork replied to your photo “Okay kids, you said Ess-A-Bagel so here I am, and bagels aside, the...”

If you want a side of religious experience with your bagels you’ll have to go to Montreal

I am willing to test this hypothesis the next time I find myself in Montreal! 

lh7 replied to your post “Sam I have an important Chicago question: just north of the DuSable...”

hey @copperbadge​ this post on my blog was flagged

Thank you! Even Tumblr knows how atrocious Seward Johnson’s art is. I’ve had it unflagged. 

fanmouse replied to your photo “IT HAS BEEN A VERY EXCITING DAY. I went to Tal’s bagels for breakfast...”

I want to know if one of the silver pitchers in the Met collection belonged to Vermeer (or the model). Wishing you safe travels.

I actually backtracked yesterday morning to the public-access storage room and went through the rack of silver pitchers looking for one that matched, but alas, none had the right shape and spout. 

melinda-t-charville replied to your photo “Funnily enough mum used to complain that people randomly followed her...”

Thank you! I was able to find it now - you must have got a good deal bc they're selling it for $20 on Amazon!

replied to your

post Did I choose which candy bar to buy based on which...

Useless fact: Originally, 3 Musketeers came in a set of 3 candy bars, with vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry nougat. WWII rationing mean they got rid of the vanilla and strawberry, and they never put them back in.

SMILING RABBIT HOW DARE