Archive for the ‘Memory’ Category
In which The Gay Recluse remembers art class. Yesterday we read about Alton Dulaney, who won the gift-wrapping championship of the world in a wrap-off at Rockefeller Center. Watching Alton’s performance, we couldn’t help but regret all the hours we spent growing up watching football and hockey and baseball on teevee, when we could have […]
Filed under: Athletes, Benefits of Being Gay, Competitions, Dissonance, Gay, GWB Project, Memory, Photography, Resignation | 3 Comments
Tags: Art Class, Bows, Cocksucking, Daddies, Football, Gift Wrapping, Hockey, Steroids, Teevee, The George Washington Bridge, Tom of Finland
In which The Gay Recluse remembers Sergio Leone. Recently we watched the director’s cut of Once Upon a Time in America, Sergio Lione’s epic Jewish/New York City gangster movie from 1984. When originally released in the United States, the producers imposed a chronological sequence onto the movie to shorten it, whereas Lione intended it to […]
Filed under: Dream, Film, Gay, History, Memory, Writers-French | 1 Comment
Tags: Bad Film Scores, Death in Venice, James Woods, Jewish Stereotypes, Luchino Visconti, Once Upon a Time in America, Robert De Niro, Sergio Leone
In which The Gay Recluse files a special investigative report. Recently Reader Lloyd put us on notice about the existence of an entire army of hot gay statues gracing the colonnade at Union Station in Washington, DC. Which ok is awesome, but his note also contained a scandalous rumor, which we reproduce in full: I […]
Filed under: Architecture, Conspiracy, Government, Hot Gay Statues, Memory | 6 Comments
Tags: Augustus Saint Gaudens, Censorship, Centurions, Investigative Reports, Scandals, Shields, Union Station, Washington DC
In which The Gay Recluse lives in the past. Our favorite part of Thanksgiving this year was not the food, but the table,* particularly after it was set and waited patiently in the late afternoon sun. Accompanied by the cats, we spent quite a few minutes quietly circling the table, observing the way the light […]
Filed under: Architecture, Capitalism, Communism, Food, GWB Project, History, Memory, New York City, Nostalgia, Washington Heights, Weather | 1 Comment
Tags: Bygones, Community Plate, Grosvenor, Table Service, Thanksgiving
In which The Gay Recluse considers the dark ages. So today we were reading about the new Thomas Pynchon novel, which is going to be released next year. Like so many adolescent boys we’ve known, we went through a serious Pynchon phase. His maddeningly complex yet (somehow) crystalline prose managed to resonate with the best […]
Filed under: Capitalism, Conspiracy, Gay, GWB Project, Literature, Memory, Science, Technology, The Gay Recluse, Writers-American | 2 Comments
Tags: Adolescents, Boys, Conspiracy, Dark Ages, Entropy, Physics, The George Washington Bridge, Thomas Pynchon
In which The Gay Recluse remembers the fall. This weekend we visited family and spent time remembering what a weirdly obsessive kid we were in many ways, some of which involved books about birds and spiders, others of which involved stuffed animals, and still others of which involved a crippling fear of birthday parties. Perhaps […]
Filed under: Animals, City Pattern Project, Landscape, Memory, Obsession | 2 Comments
Tags: Birds, Birthday Parties, Commuters, Fall, Leaves, Spiders
In which The Gay Recluse remembers an old obsession with the color red. Years ago, we went through a phase when we wore only red shirts. But here’s the thing: you couldn’t find any good ones that were new, so we were required to scour used-clothing shops all over the country in a mostly vain […]
Filed under: Architecture, Gay, Health, Longing, Memory, New York City, Obsession, Ruins, Washington Heights | 1 Comment
Tags: Art Nouveau, Doorways, Flannel, Red, Seattle, Shirts, Tours, Vintage Clothing Shoes, Wrought Iron
In which The Gay Recluse covers the teen beat. We first noticed this trend at the beginning of the summer, when we were walking past a group of kids — including some girls, which was extra cool! — on Fort Washington Avenue, all of whom were messing around with skateboards. Then we noticed a regular […]
Filed under: Architecture, Athletes, Memory, New York City, Photography, Stereotypes, Washington Heights | Leave a Comment
Tags: Baseball, Ghettos, Skateboard, Surfing, Teen Beat, Teenagers, The George Washington Bridge, Trends
On Beatrice, 2008
In which The Gay Recluse remembers Beatrice, two years later. We don’t have too many photographs of Beatrice; although we owned a camera, it was a particularly trying period of our life, so that we were almost never inspired to memorialize it. (All of these pictures were taken by Stephen.) You can tell that this […]
Filed under: Animals, Disease, Dissonance, Longing, Memory, The Russian Blue | Leave a Comment
Tags: Beatrice, Dante, Grooming, Requiescat in Pace, Windows
In which The Gay Recluse cooks. Yesterday we went for a walk in the rain, in part because we wanted to check out what was happening uptown, and in part because none of the grocery stores around us carry the curly parsley that we needed for the lentil soup we planned to make. We’ve been […]
Filed under: City Pattern Project, Dissonance, Food, Gay, Health, Landscape, Longing, Memory, Nostalgia, Photography, Pleasure, Science, Search, The Autumn Garden, Washington Heights, Weather | 4 Comments
Tags: Cultural Revolution, Enbalmed Bread, Health Food, Lentil Soup, Recipes, Sugar Cereals, Uncle Jimmy
In which The Gay Recluse listens with admiration to the new record by The New Year. Recently we went to see The New Year in Williamsburg. It was a great show until we went back to our car and discovered that some frat boy asshole had broken off our side mirror on the car. Goodbye […]
Filed under: Brooklyn, Dissonance, Good Rock, History, Memory, Pessimism, Philosophers, Quotes, Resignation, Retail | Leave a Comment
Tags: Bedhead, CBGBs, Huysmans, Indie Rock, Kim's, Pascal, Rawk Criticism, Shows, Texas, The New York, Williamsburg
On Change in Washington, DC
In which The Gay Recluse returns to Dupont Circle. For the past few days we’ve been staying at a hotel not far from Dupont Circle, which is the same neighborhood where we lived after college and before law school. Mostly it makes us wonder: why did we ever move? It’s so nice around here! It’s […]
Filed under: Architecture, Dream, Government, History, Landscape, Memory, Travel | 2 Comments
Tags: Dupont Circle, Gay Couples, Jobs in the Obama Administration, Safeway, Washington Heights
In which The Gay Recluse learns about drugs and manners. So today we attended a panel discussion on the issue of trademarks and pharmaceuticals. Naming a new drug is sort of like naming a band except it’s even harder! Because you can’t promise more than you can deliver — e.g., Cancercure — or minimize the […]
Filed under: Animals, Law, Memory, Science, Travel | 2 Comments
Tags: Anxiety, Cell Phones, Conferences, Cushions, Imagination, Manners, Opera, Pharmaceuticals, Trademarks
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with birds. Recently one of our oldest friends from high school got in touch. He moved to the city and found our address in the alumni directory. We haven’t seen him since our ten-year reunion, which was — ouch — twelve years ago. It’s strange how someone […]
Filed under: Animals, Architecture, Athletes, Competitions, Disease, Dissonance, GWB Project, Health, Longing, Memory, Resignation, Ruins | 2 Comments
Tags: Bastages, Birds, Demons, Friends, High school, Hockey, Junior Varsity, Varsity
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with birds. Lately we’ve finally gotten around to uploading all of our old compact disks onto iTunes. It’s kind of torturous, trying to remember whatever possessed us to like bands such as _____ or _____ or even _______. We ended up throwing a bunch into the garbage […]
Filed under: Animals, Capitalism, Good Rock, Health, Longing, Memory, Obsession | 1 Comment
Tags: Birds, Cornell, Hüsker Dü, Warehouse
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with the George Washington Bridge. Sometimes we think about what Manhattan looked like 500 years ago. When it was covered with trees and rivers and lakes. In some ways it was probably a lot more beautiful, or at least unspoiled. It was hard to get a taxi […]
Filed under: Architecture, GWB Project, Infrastructure, Landscape, Memory, New York City | Leave a Comment
Tags: Boats, Manhattan, Shorelines, The George Washington Bridge
On Shade Flowers
In which The Gay Recluse enjoys shade plants. Recently we were reminded of a past obsession. There was a part of us that missed being young, filled with longing, even if — as we knew at the time — what we wanted was unattainable. But the greater part of us was relieved not to be […]
Filed under: Brooklyn, Capitalism, Dissonance, Health, Longing, Memory, Obsession, The Autumn Garden | Leave a Comment
Tags: Gardens, Japanese Anemones, Music, Past, Shade
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with the firethorn. Orange is one of the best colors in the autumn garden. It will have to sustain us through the winter. Fortunately, we never get tired of looking at it. Today as we contemplated the clusters of tiny fruit, illuminated by the eastern sun, we […]
Filed under: GWB Project, Memory, Nostalgia, Obsession, Pleasure, The Autumn Garden | Leave a Comment
Tags: Colors, Firethorn, Mountain Ash, orange, Sadness
