Archive for the ‘New York City’ Category
On March Light for Spring Phlox
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with the spring garden. Though undeniably bright, there is a stark quality to the March sun that makes the phlox (and the sempervivum) seem — oddly — both luminous and bedraggled. The silver veins of the surrounding rocks add to this quality, and for a second I […]
Filed under: Dissonance, Dream, Landscape, New York City, The Spring Garden, Washington Heights, Weather | 1 Comment
Tags: Labyrinth, March, Phlox, Queens, Riverdale, Sempervivum
On Is He One of Your Friends
In which The Gay Recluse is charmed. Reader Lloyd — one of our many 80-something y.o. fans — recently sent us this “mash-up” cover of the New Yorker, and we wanted to share it with everyone. Thanks Lloyd, and Happy Mid-February!
Filed under: Animals, Letters, New York City, Not Every Cat a Lolcat, Quotes | Leave a Comment
Tags: 80-somethings, Cats, Lolcats, Mail, Mashups, The New Yorker
On the Search for Spring
In which The Gay Recluse dreams about the garden. When the February blues hit — and considering this winter, how could they not? — we like to immerse ourselves into dreams of spring, which entails many hours in the seed and plant catalogs. Though our garden is dominated by perennials, bushes and trees designed to […]
Filed under: Dream, Faith, Longing, New York City, The Spring Garden, The Summer Garden, Weather | Leave a Comment
Tags: Annuals, Flowering Tobacco, Perennials, Salvia, Sunfower, Zinnia
On Nowhere
In which The Gay Recluse remembers Ride. The opening chords of “Vapour Trail” are high and open, yet filled with same (phase-shifted) melancholy we associate with ringing church bells. To hear this the other day, as we plodded through our thirty minutes on the elliptical at the gym, was to be swept away with a sense of forgotten potential — […]
Filed under: Bad Rock, Capitalism, Conspiracy, Decay, Good Rock, Longing, Memory, New York City, Obsession, Resignation | 3 Comments
Tags: Beth, CBGBs, Kiss, My Bloody Valentine, Nowhere, Ride, Shoegazer Rock, Vapour Trail
In which The Gay Recluse considers a subterranean masterpiece. Our friend Paul just sent us this from his phone: “So what if I voted for McCain?” OMGLMFAO! We’re not sure exactly where this was taken, but Paul lives in Harlem, so we’ll give our downtown neighbors credit for this piece of brilliance. (But Paul would […]
Filed under: Capitalism, Food, Graffiti, New York City, Subway | 1 Comment
Tags: Harlem, John McCain, MTA, Subway Fast Food, Subway Transport
In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with birds (and vlogs about it). Today we decided to go on a walk with our video camera. The streets were slushy and frozen after the snow; the magic of the previous night had dissipated with the sullen day. We trudged along, not really thinking about anything […]
Filed under: Animals, Gay, Graffiti, New York City, Traffic, Video, Washington Heights, Weather | Leave a Comment
Tags: Birds, Geese, Snow, Vlogging, Walks
In which The Gay Recluse writes a book report. Just as the snow began, we finished Among Other Things, I’ve Taken Up Smoking, a 2007 debut novel by Aoibheann Sweeney. The book is about a girl — Miranda — who grows up with her father on a tiny island off the coast of Maine; her […]
Filed under: Gay, History, Literature, New York City, Washington Heights, Writers-American | 2 Comments
Tags: Aoibheann Sweeney, Gay Voice, Ovid, Shakespeare, Snow, Virginia Woolf, Willa Cather
