May 1, 2009
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© 2009 James Meléndez / Jaime Patricio Meléndez – All Rights Reserved
February 28, 2008
Sometimes during a given rush hour it is hard even after a decade of consistent ridership by being bumped so readily. I don’t mean a slight brush into my person; I mean a slam; I wonder if I were an older person would that person just slam into that person? I would hope not. I am afraid the answer might be a yes? I don’t think these fellow passenger slams are just because someone is hurried. And in a city like San Francisco it is far to small and too low density (when compared with other cities) to have so many harried, hurried and unfriendly passengers.
January 22, 2008
Living in the city is a joy… well most of the time except when you hear a car honking in your neighborhood trying to pick someone up. But in this era where mobile phones are permanently planted in someone’s ear you would think this is when a mobile phone comes in handy? Right? Does the person who has a car not have a mobile phone? In San Francisco if you can afford a car you can afford a mobile phone. In fact, it is nearly requisite to have a mobile phone in San Francisco.
I have heard a neighbor or two yell out their window to stop honking their cars… ahh those brave souls or maybe they were simply tired souls trying to get some rest before another day of dealing with another crew of cranky co-workers.
January 8, 2008
I need my IPOD; but I also need to enjoy my IPOD with my noise-canceling headphones; they have saved what could have been a miserable flight or help me to be in the world I choose to be on Monday through Friday public transport spheres. I choose my conversation; or at least choose to be out of them. I choose to be intoned with what is important to me—the music that makes me feel great. Noise-cancelling helps me to ignore conversations I don’t want to be part of—the random public.
January 8, 2008
Are magazines the new luxury? They are expensive… much more so than they should be. But magazines are the new luxury because who has time to sit down with a magazine. I feel obligated to be on my computer—I feel like I am not in touch or that my editorial is too singular. The focus is too focused; that I am being lead. Don’t get me wrong… I do enjoy a magazine. Maybe it is that we feel guilty from not being on the world wide web. What are we missing. Sometimes I like being my own editor.
January 7, 2008
I loathe these terribly small and useless luggage pieces that I see so often in Financial Districts and Central Business Districts around the country. In the modern American workaholic culture, it is I guess in some circles a fashion statement or a badge of courage that you take your work with you. But these Urban Trippers (and I wish it was more exciting phenomenon—doesn’t an Urban Tripper sound like something controversial) are accidents waiting to happen. A person with a draping coat with one hand/arm behind them is not always noticeable especially if they are dragging and Urban Tripper. I have nearly tripped over these silly workaholic’s suitcase countless numbers of times. They are long enough and small enough to not be noticed like a real persons suitcase which has width, depth, height. The Urban Tripper has a long handle and super small case on the bottom with wheels. It is to bad the designers of these horrible devices don’t have to be around and interact with their creations and the people who tote them. It should be a requirement. I do wait to see some news in a mainline publication where the Urban Tripper trips some unfortunate soul.
January 7, 2008
My IPOD is not just something for me to have that look; it is absolute urban survival gear. It is my way to opt out of other peoples conversations or even better arguments or disagreements in public. I can remove my self from yelling, crying or solicitation. But I only use on public transport. I do want to hear the public at joyous events, gatherings at a farmers market. I want to hear the wind when I am on my bicycle. I think most of all I do not like to be part of a shared one-way conversation; people on mobile phones talk louder or as if the person were right there. I like to be far and away and I opt out. My IPOD, my piece of urban survival gear is as important as my jacket, shoes, messenger bag or wallet. I need to be surrounded by familiar sounds, inspiring music or to keep up with life via podcasts. But my IPOD is so handy because it is now my home stereo system that I share when friends gather at my house. The IPOD saves me also from hearing people at work who for some reason have to give an audible response to every stimuli they encounter. Isn’t that a condition? I have two IPODs in case one runs out of energy and I carry a spare pair of headphones and splitter for someone to share the experience. IPOD where were you when I bought a lot of stereo peripherals!
December 3, 2007
Music, Moby and the City (New York); more specifically what does music and how does music relate to soul of a city. Sometimes, I feel music is far removed from its soul and yet sometimes it is inextricable. We know that most music is influenced by the city. But sometimes the sound does not impart the listener with that impression. Music is integral to the creation of the city…the musical tradition obviously comes before that but the explosion of style, sounds were woven together by the pulse, soul of the human touch bringing everyone together.
Music gets into to the soul of a city and the city fires the souls of music. A city does not and should not make complete sense by just looking at a map and photos; or by just walking it; New York has an indefinable soul; an electricity and an energy that is contagent. New York is limitless, energetic, dynamic; it is also cold, stony, and every contradiction abounds. There is always more to learn and wouldn’t we be bored if New York was a specimen easy to understand? It is something that is in the back of the city lover. New York is a living organism; it looks different each day and every phase of every day. The steely cool of December eve and a gray overcast that blankets the city makes you delve deeper into it. And for me winter is where you focus into the mysterium; I love New York year-round but particularly fond of it in winter time.
Moby expresses New York like almost no one else. New York is more real; more restful and equally restless in it’s musical cloak. Gramercy Park, East Village, Chelsea, the lower part of Murray Hill and TriBeCa are in my soul and something I think about often; I think about that perhaps residents in those areas don’t think about of their own city. I too think Moby expresses his soul and passion through music; his musical expression is the New York physical and social fabric. Moby’s music would be the closest thing I could imagine New York sounding like if it had a voice and instrumentation. There is a cadence of beat, yearning and slightly pained voice that gives more of the mystery that New York represents. New York represents a beat we feel and see but in many ways it is in our head and not just one sound or word can describe it fully. Moby’s music is contemplative and gritty; some of his music has the sound of a rapid heartbeat or the lingering sound of a singer that we want to know—the sound of someone before they are going to cry. Moby doesn’t always give resolve or that the present state of one of his down and soulful songs. I don’t know if he has thought of his songs as homage to New York. But his music speaks to me and how I feel about the City and in particular New York. I don’t always mean that each and every song is about New York but it feels like Moby’s music is a reflective mirror of a life, lives; a collective soul of all that happens there; and all that passes beyond it’s environs.
My Moby Favourites:
• Lift Me Up
• Porcelain
• South Side
• Sunday
• Whispering Wind
• Spirit
• Sunspot
• Flying over the Date Line
• Running
• We are all Made of Stars
• In my Heart
• In this World
• Sign of Life
• Sunday (before my birthday)
• Rafters
• Why Does My Heart Feel so Bad
• Natural Blues
December 3, 2007
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December 3, 2007
Living in a City you talk about your apartment and public transport. The absurdities of high rent and low qual quarters are cocktail conversation. And sometimes your cocktail hour is about how you got to your job in the City. Usually the absurdities are what stick with us. My subway friends tell me of how a fight erupted when someone asked to sit down on a crowded train and the available seat was occupied by a messenger bag or back pack. Or how one of my friends had an hour of sleep and came to work and she said…. “you have to help me.” At least she was having more fun that I was ..well before she came in hung over. I remember she said oh and that day the subway happened to be terribly crowded. Standing and being hung over is horrible.
I think a City with a capital “C” should only be part of this elite roll call of Cities. San Francisco should politely sit down. A City should have adequate public transport getting you from one part of the city to the other in a short experience. In this 7×7 lower case city; transporting yourself north to south is brutal and coming from the city’s Richmond or Sunset neighbourhoods is slower than if you came in from another county. The city’s and the Bay Area’s subway system is woefully inadequate; never mind those that ride it once a month or less. When you need it most is when it will let you down. So for the fans of SF public transport they either have to not dependent on it’s faults and frailties but for the rest of us we can depend a sub-City public transport system. Also, when someone compares SF as a good example picks on a bad one like Reno or Omaha. A City must have a comprehensive late evening and early morning service and possibly available 24 hours a day! Now that is what you expect from a City.
Recently, I noted the subway was not open on Sunday mornings till 8:30 a.m. I had a 9 am flight to catch. We’ll there would be none of that. I had to scratch my noggin thinking how do I get to the Oakland airport. All of the zip cars were rented or did not have at least a day availability. For San Francisco to believe it is a friendly public transport towns is that the elected official do not have to ride their own system. The Citizens of San Francisco should be the sole board members who govern public transport policy. The officials have cars and for those of you traveling to San Francisco just make sure your Sunday Morning flight isn’t 8:30 a.m. Better trails!
© 2007 James Meléndez / Jaime Patricio Meléndez
