Archive for the ‘Longing’ Category
In which The Gay Recluse ponders the Hills and the empty rooms of his past. So tonight we watched the most recent episode of the Hills. The first part was about Audrina. She had to help promote some horrible band for her job. She invited Lauren, who — now that they are on better terms […]
Filed under: Dissonance, Dream, History, Longing, Memory, Television | 2 Comments
Tags: Audrina, Couches, Empty Rooms, Fans, Heidi, Lauren, Lo, Spencer, The Hills
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with the George Washington Bridge. Wake us up when it’s over.
Filed under: Architecture, GWB Project, Health, Longing, The Gay Recluse, Washington Heights, Weather | Leave a Comment
Tags: Bleak, Fog, Rain, The George Washington Bridge
In which The Gay Recluse reflects on those who died on 9/10 and 9/12. Every year on 9/11, our thoughts inevitably drift to those who died on 9/10 and 9/12. And whether their deaths were any more or less tragic than those so aggressively memorialized. Those who try to elevate themselves on the shoulders of […]
Filed under: Animals, Disease, Dissonance, Government, Longing, Quotes, Resignation | 3 Comments
Tags: 9/11, Death, Mozart
In which The Gay Recluse loves bamboo and The Hills. So we just watched the most recent episode of The Hills. It was a lot better than the Las Vegas episode. We’re never interested in any of the dumb guys, especially when they end up in jail. But fortunately that wasn’t a plot line in […]
Filed under: Gay, Longing, Memory, Nostalgia, Pessimism, Television | Leave a Comment
Tags: Audrina, Bamboo, Gossip Girl, Lauren, The Hills
In which The Gay Recluse braces for the inevitable. This past week has been very depressing to us. You just get the feeling that the election is already slipping away. It’s not like we think Obama is going to save us or anything. But when was the last time we had a major candidate who […]
Filed under: Capitalism, City Pattern Project, Communism, Dissonance, Government, Landscape, Longing, Resignation | 2 Comments
Tags: Andy Warhol, God, Manhole Covers
On Flags for Unknown Territories
In which The Gay Recluse looks through leaves at the sky. For a while we were thinking about watching some of the Republican convention. But — incredibly — it seems even dumber than the Olympics the Democratic convention. It’s hard to imagine people living their lives as politicians, or even journalists. But somehow they do […]
Filed under: Gay, Government, Health, Longing, Politicians, The Gay Recluse, The Summer Garden | Leave a Comment
Tags: Beech Tree, Birch Tree, Conventions, Journalism, Politicians, Sadness
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with the George Washington Bridge. “Love is perceiving and perception is anguish.” — James Baldwin, Just Above My Head
Filed under: Gay, Language, Literature, Longing, Quotes, Writers-American | Leave a Comment
Tags: Anguish, James Baldwin, Love, Perception, The George Washington Bridge
In which The Gay Recluse loves the Manhattan Times. Hey, New York Times! Instead of David Brooks, William Kristol, Maureen Dowd and so on (Zzzzzz), maybe you should turn the column over to a new generation of writers, who aren’t afraid to tell it like it is, and moreover, know how to entertain! We suggest […]
Filed under: Gay, Longing, Memory, Nostalgia, The Times, Washington Heights | Leave a Comment
Tags: Manhattan Times, Opinions, School, Work
In which Dante and Zephyr take over The Gay Recluse. Empty shell + stray kitten = daily heartache. Friends, not every cat is a lolcat…
Filed under: Animals, Architecture, Capitalism, Communism, Longing, New York City, Not Every Cat a Lolcat, Pessimism, The Gay Recluse, Washington Heights | 6 Comments
Tags: Cats, Heartaches, Kittens, Lolcats, Strays
In which The Gay Recluse is increasingly reclusive. Sometimes things happen just the way you dream about. According to our research, the baby shoots will be 800 foot-tall culms within 60 days. The hope is that if we get enough of them, we won’t even be able to see the apartment building behind us. Remember […]
Filed under: Longing, The Gay Recluse, The Summer Garden | 1 Comment
Tags: Bamboo, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Dreams, Privacy, Screens
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with the George Washington Bridge. Sometimes even the bridge seems small and far away under the tumult of the sky; once crushed with regret and longing, we are inspired by its patience. The Gay Recluse is a pansy. It took him until he was fucking 31 to […]
Filed under: Architecture, Gay, Infrastructure, Longing, Resignation, The Gay Recluse, Washington Heights | 2 Comments
Tags: Pansy, Sky, The George Washington Bridge, Tumult
In which The Gay Recluse explores a longstanding obsession with moss-covered brick. Bricks, it seems, are the literal building blocks of civilization, whereas moss is the incremental destroyer. To see them together — and to appreciate the beauty of this — is to understand that you cannot have one without the other, just the way […]
Filed under: Architecture, City Pattern Project, Longing, Ruins, The Gay Recluse, The Summer Garden, Weather | 1 Comment
Tags: Bricks, Heidi, Lauren, Melancholy, Moss, Revelation, Spring, The Hills, Winter
In which The Gay Recluse dreams of the desert. This year one of our cactus bloomed for the first time. Apparently it’s very happy! We admire it, even though it makes us wish that we lived in the desert, far away from everything we hate.
Filed under: Gay, GWB Project, Longing, New York City, The Summer Garden | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blooms, Cactus, Deserts, The George Washington Bridge
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with The George Washington Bridge. Today it’s off to Pittsburgh for the weekend. Travel is so much fun these days! But at least the sky is clear. We’ll miss the bridge. And Zephyr. And Dante, who would like to remind everyone: not every cat is a lolcat! […]
Filed under: Animals, Architecture, GWB Project, Landscape, Longing, Nostalgia, Not Every Cat a Lolcat, The Gay Recluse, The Russian Blue, Travel | 1 Comment
Tags: Airports, Clear, Sky, The George Washington Bridge
On Gay Modern Love: My Father’s Nostalgia for the Past Blinds Him to the Reality of the Present
In which The Gay Recluse presents a gay alternative to this week’s Modern Love offering in The Times. Those looking for our quantitative analysis should click here. I grew up without my “real” — by which I mean biological — father, who lived in New York City. One summer I made the mistake of mentioning […]
Filed under: The Times, Longing, Memory, Gay, The Gay Recluse, Nostalgia, New York City | Leave a Comment
Tags: The New York Times, Modern Love, Gay Modern Love, Tim Elhajj, Oblivious Fathers, Gay Sons
In which The Jane Austen Watch reports on the intersection of two centuries. Today we heard from our newest correspondent, The Jane Austen Watch, who filed the following report: The roses in Astoria are in bloom, and all the local inhabitants are basing the horticulture of their small front gardens on the assumption that they […]
Filed under: Landscape, Language, Literature, Longing, The Gay Recluse, The Jane Austen Watch, Writers-British | Leave a Comment
Tags: Astoria, Blooms, England, Jane Austen, Persuasion, Pink, Roses
In which The Gay Recluse looks up and sees maps. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how arbitrary time is. Like yesterday when we were rushing for the subway (and missed it). And then stepped into the elevator at work with five other people and of course everyone pressed the button for a different floor. We […]
Filed under: Dissonance, Dream, Faith, Landscape, Longing, Pessimism, Photography, The Spring Garden | 4 Comments
Tags: Columnar Pin Oaks, Continental Drift, Leaves, Maps, Sky
In which The Gay Recluse rejoices over the end of gentrification in Washington Heights. Rejoice, kind and courageous foes of gentrification! For those many of you who have added your voice to the cause — i.e., our allies in lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and other gentrified neighborhoods around the city who have never ceased to warn us […]
Filed under: Capitalism, Communism, Drivel, Gentrification, Infrastructure, Longing, Memory, Nostalgia, The Gay Recluse, Washington Heights | 6 Comments
Tags: Coffee, Deaths, Patries, The OC Bakery and Cafe
In which The Gay Recluse remembers life in Washington Heights. We’re in Berlin, which means we’re nostalgic for the George Washington Bridge. Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we? This was last Sunday morning, as in May 11. We don’t remember it, either. This was at the end of the day Monday, which […]
Filed under: Architecture, GWB Project, Infrastructure, Landscape, Longing, Nostalgia, Obsession, The Gay Recluse, Travel, Washington Heights, Weather | Leave a Comment
Tags: Berlin, Friday, Monday, Sunday, The George Washington Bridge, Tuesday, Wednesday
In which The Gay Recluse has shaky hands and doesn’t regret it. There’s a saying among serious gardeners. Annuals are gay! “Friends don’t let friends buy annuals.” We can appreciate that. The colors are sometimes kind of gay garish! But then again, we hate to be austere about anything. And perennials can be very temperamental! […]
Filed under: Gay, GWB Project, Longing, Photography, The Gay Recluse, The Spring Garden, Washington Heights | 1 Comment
Tags: Annuals, Botany, Drugs, Eight, LSD, orange, Pink, Yellow

