New York Quotes Volume XXV
"To live in Manhattan is to be persistently amazed at the worlds squirreled inside one another, the chaotic intricacy with which realms interleave, like those lines of television cable and fresh water and steam heat and outgoing sewage and telephone wire and whatever else which cohabit in the same intestinal holes that pavement-demolishing workmen periodically wrench open to the daylight and to our passing, disturbed glances. We only pretend to live on something as orderly as a grid."
Jonathan Lethem in Chronic City
Showing posts with label new york quotation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new york quotation. Show all posts
10/12/2011
6/12/2011
The Ask
New York Quotes Volume XXIV
"Not one of the cute bits, for instance, was the night we had a foursome with that lascivious couple whose Greenpoint loft, perhaps because of the hillocks of cocaine on the coffee table, we found ourselves the last to leave. After some preliminary dialogue that wanted so much to parody the clunky verbal vamping of vintage porn, but had veered into grim, jaw-grinding consequentiality, Maura and the other woman had stripped and entangled themselves on the bed, all pinches and strokes and theatrical licks. Even through the fog of powders and booze, the sight of them aroused me and I turned to grin at the other guy. He smiled back, held up a palm for a louche, almost Wonderlandish high five. I shoved my tongue in his mouth. Really, just meant to be friendly, to complement the writhings beneath us, complete the servicing circuit, but suddenly it seemed I'd broken the sacred swingers code.
'What the fuck,' the guy said. He pulled away, wiped his lips. Then he stuck himself in my wife, glared as he pumped.
'I'm not into that,' he said. 'You had no right.'
I crawled off to the coffee table, decided then and there I had no fondness for Greenpoint."
Sam Lipsyte in The Ask
"Not one of the cute bits, for instance, was the night we had a foursome with that lascivious couple whose Greenpoint loft, perhaps because of the hillocks of cocaine on the coffee table, we found ourselves the last to leave. After some preliminary dialogue that wanted so much to parody the clunky verbal vamping of vintage porn, but had veered into grim, jaw-grinding consequentiality, Maura and the other woman had stripped and entangled themselves on the bed, all pinches and strokes and theatrical licks. Even through the fog of powders and booze, the sight of them aroused me and I turned to grin at the other guy. He smiled back, held up a palm for a louche, almost Wonderlandish high five. I shoved my tongue in his mouth. Really, just meant to be friendly, to complement the writhings beneath us, complete the servicing circuit, but suddenly it seemed I'd broken the sacred swingers code.
'What the fuck,' the guy said. He pulled away, wiped his lips. Then he stuck himself in my wife, glared as he pumped.
'I'm not into that,' he said. 'You had no right.'
I crawled off to the coffee table, decided then and there I had no fondness for Greenpoint."
Sam Lipsyte in The Ask
Labels:
new york quotation,
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5/17/2011
New York was the Nowhere
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XXIII
"New York was an inexhaustible space, a labyrinth of endless steps, and no matter how far he walked, no matter how well he came to know its neighborhoods and streets, it always left him with the feeling of being lost. Lost, not only in the city, but within himself as well. Each time he took a walk, he felt as though he were leaving himself behind, and by giving himself up to the movement of the streets, by reducing himself to a seeing eye, he was able to escape the obligation to think, and this, salutary emptiness within. The world was outside of him, around him, before him, and the speed with which it kept changing made it impossible for him to dwell on any one thing for very long. Motion was of the essence, the act of putting one foot in front of the other and allowing himself to follow the drift of his own body. By wandering aimlessly, all places became equal, and it no longer mattered where he was. On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to be nowhere. New York was the nowhere he had built around himself, and he realized that he has no intention of ever leaving it again."
Paul Auster in City of Glass
"New York was an inexhaustible space, a labyrinth of endless steps, and no matter how far he walked, no matter how well he came to know its neighborhoods and streets, it always left him with the feeling of being lost. Lost, not only in the city, but within himself as well. Each time he took a walk, he felt as though he were leaving himself behind, and by giving himself up to the movement of the streets, by reducing himself to a seeing eye, he was able to escape the obligation to think, and this, salutary emptiness within. The world was outside of him, around him, before him, and the speed with which it kept changing made it impossible for him to dwell on any one thing for very long. Motion was of the essence, the act of putting one foot in front of the other and allowing himself to follow the drift of his own body. By wandering aimlessly, all places became equal, and it no longer mattered where he was. On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to be nowhere. New York was the nowhere he had built around himself, and he realized that he has no intention of ever leaving it again."
Paul Auster in City of Glass
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5/09/2011
Wound-colored Under the March Sunset
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XXII
“Certain pills are literally bitter. When I’d finished my drink from the back seat’s bar, I still tasted the Xanax on the back of my tongue. The adrenaline’s ebb had left me very tired. We broke out of the tall buildings near the water. I watched the Manhattan Bridge pass. The late sun came into view. It hung to our right, red. We both looked at the water as were driven past. The sheet of its surface was wound-colored under the March sunset.”
David Foster Wallace in Girl With The Curious Hair
“Certain pills are literally bitter. When I’d finished my drink from the back seat’s bar, I still tasted the Xanax on the back of my tongue. The adrenaline’s ebb had left me very tired. We broke out of the tall buildings near the water. I watched the Manhattan Bridge pass. The late sun came into view. It hung to our right, red. We both looked at the water as were driven past. The sheet of its surface was wound-colored under the March sunset.”
David Foster Wallace in Girl With The Curious Hair
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4/21/2011
It All Adds Up
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XXI
"New York makes one think of the collapse of civilization, about Sodom and Gomorrah, the end of the world. The end wouldn't come as a surprise here. Many people already bank on it."
Saul Bellow in Mr. Sammler's Planet
"New York makes one think of the collapse of civilization, about Sodom and Gomorrah, the end of the world. The end wouldn't come as a surprise here. Many people already bank on it."
Saul Bellow in Mr. Sammler's Planet
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1/30/2011
I Go Hard For It
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XX
"'He adored New York City. He idolized it all out of proportion." Uh, no. Make that 'He romanticized it all out of proportion.'"
The first line from Woody Allen's Manhattan
"'He adored New York City. He idolized it all out of proportion." Uh, no. Make that 'He romanticized it all out of proportion.'"
The first line from Woody Allen's Manhattan
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10/19/2010
Bright Young Things
Favorite New York Quotes, XIX
"And lastly from that period I remember riding in a taxi one afternoon between very tall buildings under a mauve and rosy sky; I began to bawl because I had everything I wanted and knew I would never be so happy again."
F. Scott Fitzgerald read in "F. Scott Fitzgerald Blows Into Town" from Lapham's Quarterly's City issue.
"And lastly from that period I remember riding in a taxi one afternoon between very tall buildings under a mauve and rosy sky; I began to bawl because I had everything I wanted and knew I would never be so happy again."
F. Scott Fitzgerald read in "F. Scott Fitzgerald Blows Into Town" from Lapham's Quarterly's City issue.
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8/16/2010
Lump in my Throat
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XVIII
"It was night and the sky was lit up. I saw the Statue of Liberty - at first I didn't know what she was. She was turned the other way, but then I recognized her, and I got a lump in my throat."
Ted Steeg from Dan Wakefield's New York in the 50s
"It was night and the sky was lit up. I saw the Statue of Liberty - at first I didn't know what she was. She was turned the other way, but then I recognized her, and I got a lump in my throat."
Ted Steeg from Dan Wakefield's New York in the 50s
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6/26/2010
More is Never Enough
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XVII
"They'd walked all the way to Manhattan a few times, over the grimy Queensborough, they used to walk to Shea Stadium and the old fairgrounds, along the Van Wyck and Grand Central and Interborough. If you could get there by foot, you did. Their walks with Sol were slower but no less determined, as if the only thing that mattered was reaching their destination - the Unisphere, the bank in a replica of Liberty Hall, any of the several overpasses where you could see cars streaming in the night. They stood in silence for a few moments, then turned and went home."
Ehud Havazelet in Bearing the Body
"They'd walked all the way to Manhattan a few times, over the grimy Queensborough, they used to walk to Shea Stadium and the old fairgrounds, along the Van Wyck and Grand Central and Interborough. If you could get there by foot, you did. Their walks with Sol were slower but no less determined, as if the only thing that mattered was reaching their destination - the Unisphere, the bank in a replica of Liberty Hall, any of the several overpasses where you could see cars streaming in the night. They stood in silence for a few moments, then turned and went home."
Ehud Havazelet in Bearing the Body
Labels:
inspiration,
new york quotation,
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5/18/2010
The Tyranny of Distance
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XVI
"There are roughly three New Yorks...Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these three trembling cities the greatest is the last—the city of final destination, the city that is a goal...And whether it is a farmer arriving from Italy to set up a small grocery store in a slum, or a young girl arriving from a small town in Mississippi to escape the indignity of being observed by her neighbors, or a boy arriving from the Corn Belt with a manuscript in his suitcase and a pain in his heart, it makes no difference: each embraces New York with the intense excitement of first love..."
E.B. White in Here Is New York
"There are roughly three New Yorks...Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these three trembling cities the greatest is the last—the city of final destination, the city that is a goal...And whether it is a farmer arriving from Italy to set up a small grocery store in a slum, or a young girl arriving from a small town in Mississippi to escape the indignity of being observed by her neighbors, or a boy arriving from the Corn Belt with a manuscript in his suitcase and a pain in his heart, it makes no difference: each embraces New York with the intense excitement of first love..."
E.B. White in Here Is New York
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3/01/2010
I Hate New York
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XV
Q. What makes someone a New Yorker?
A. When you complain about living here on a regular basis, but can't imagine living anywhere else.
Melissa Febos (no idea who this chick is) for New York Magazine's 21 Questions
Q. What makes someone a New Yorker?
A. When you complain about living here on a regular basis, but can't imagine living anywhere else.
Melissa Febos (no idea who this chick is) for New York Magazine's 21 Questions
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11/29/2009
Mystery & Beauty
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XIV
"The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world." - F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby
"The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world." - F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby
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8/29/2009
Friends of the...
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XIII
"The elevated freight rail line, the High Line—the remaining portion is today a stunning linear park above street level—had run through the parcels and been partially dismantled." - Anthony Flint in Wrestling with Moses
The High Line is stunning, and it stuns me to think that I have been an occupant of this city long enough to see it through to the end. Reading that line just now was like a timely moment of clarity, a proverbial punch to the head. I really do live here.
"The elevated freight rail line, the High Line—the remaining portion is today a stunning linear park above street level—had run through the parcels and been partially dismantled." - Anthony Flint in Wrestling with Moses
The High Line is stunning, and it stuns me to think that I have been an occupant of this city long enough to see it through to the end. Reading that line just now was like a timely moment of clarity, a proverbial punch to the head. I really do live here.
Labels:
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5/21/2009
New York + Weather
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XII
"new york city's demeanor as a whole just gets better when the weather does. i like it."
Pete Wentz, on his Twitter
"new york city's demeanor as a whole just gets better when the weather does. i like it."
Pete Wentz, on his Twitter
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5/20/2009
What Makes Someone a New Yorker?
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume XI
Q. What makes someone a New Yorker?
A. The feeling that you couldn’t live anywhere else.
Janeane Garofalo for New York Magazine's 21 Questions
Q. What makes someone a New Yorker?
A. The feeling that you couldn’t live anywhere else.
Janeane Garofalo for New York Magazine's 21 Questions
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3/21/2009
At The End of the Day
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume X
"At the end of the day, you have to go back to Brooklyn. And I know Brooklyn is very fancy now, but I mean home. You have to go back to reality. You have to go back to nothing in order to maintain the dream." Albert Elbaz, "Ladies' Man" in The New Yorker (Volume LXXXV, NO. 5, March 16, 2009) by Ariel Levy.
I mostly only like this one because I read it on the plane back to Brooklyn from vacation in San Francisco. I really didn't want to go back.
"At the end of the day, you have to go back to Brooklyn. And I know Brooklyn is very fancy now, but I mean home. You have to go back to reality. You have to go back to nothing in order to maintain the dream." Albert Elbaz, "Ladies' Man" in The New Yorker (Volume LXXXV, NO. 5, March 16, 2009) by Ariel Levy.
I mostly only like this one because I read it on the plane back to Brooklyn from vacation in San Francisco. I really didn't want to go back.
Labels:
inspiration,
new york quotation,
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3/08/2009
Stay in New York
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume IX
"Stay in New York or perish." Noel in the pilot episode of Felicity
"Stay in New York or perish." Noel in the pilot episode of Felicity
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3/04/2009
I'm Going Back to New York City
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume VIII.
"I'm going back to New York City / I do believe I've had enough." Bob Dylan in "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" but I really only like this one when Neil Young sings it.
"I'm going back to New York City / I do believe I've had enough." Bob Dylan in "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" but I really only like this one when Neil Young sings it.
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inspiration,
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2/19/2009
What's Your Favorite Place Ever?
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume VII.
"'What do you want to do?'
'I don’t know. What’s your favorite place ever? In the whole city, I mean.'
'My favorite place ever in the whole city?'
'Right.'
'Including the boroughs?'
'Don’t tell me it’s in Brooklyn. That’s awfully disappointing.'
'Not Brooklyn,' Sammy said. 'Queens.'
'Worse still.'
'Only it isn’t there anymore, my favorite place. They closed it. Packed it up and rolled it right it right out of town.'
'The fair,' Bacon said. He shook his head. 'You and that Fair.'"
Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
"'What do you want to do?'
'I don’t know. What’s your favorite place ever? In the whole city, I mean.'
'My favorite place ever in the whole city?'
'Right.'
'Including the boroughs?'
'Don’t tell me it’s in Brooklyn. That’s awfully disappointing.'
'Not Brooklyn,' Sammy said. 'Queens.'
'Worse still.'
'Only it isn’t there anymore, my favorite place. They closed it. Packed it up and rolled it right it right out of town.'
'The fair,' Bacon said. He shook his head. 'You and that Fair.'"
Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Labels:
inspiration,
new york quotation,
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2/10/2009
...Quite Simply, I was in Love with New York
Favorite New York Quotes, Volume VI.
"...quite simply, I was in love with New York. I do not mean 'love' in any colloquial way, I mean that I was in love with the city, the way you love the first person who ever touches you and never love anyone quite that way again." Joan Didion, "Goodbye to All That" in Slouching Towards Bethlehem
"...quite simply, I was in love with New York. I do not mean 'love' in any colloquial way, I mean that I was in love with the city, the way you love the first person who ever touches you and never love anyone quite that way again." Joan Didion, "Goodbye to All That" in Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Labels:
inspiration,
new york quotation,
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