#changing landscape

L'ère industrielle: Métamorphoses du paysage / Changing Landscape Éric Rohmer. 1964

Tower Ancienne Abbaye Saint-Winoc, Rue d'Ypres, 59380 Bergues, France See in map

There’s a hotel now on 3rd Ave where we used to get drunk in a basement Karaoke bar. The whole area near Cooper Union in the East Village has moved from old tenements to giant glass structures, and it’s still jarring to me even though it’s been years now.

The basement was dark, which was a blessing because those old karaoke booths were not clean. But they let us bring in bottles in paper bags which we passed about over take out Indian food and overflowing ashtrays. In the dark room at the end of the hall, we climbed into each other’s laps and kissed between drags as someone drunkenly sang into the crackling microphone.

And if we were drunk enough not to care we’d slip fingers under dresses or we’d pull cocks from pants as the lights flickered above us. Late at night, we’d try in vain to get off as we screamed out the lyrics to Blondie, the soft-core porn of the karaoke video inspiring nothing at all.

The Impact of Transit Developments: Eglinton Crosstown and the Ontario Line As I stand here, reminiscing about my childhood in Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park, I can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia mixed with anticipation. The upcoming transit developments, the Eglinton Crosstown and the Ontario Line, will undoubtedly bring profound changes to the neighborhoods that shaped my early…