I will always love you, New York

70 years ain't so much

2006-08-24T20:33:00.000Z

New York: Then and Now

The surprising thing is, that so little seems to have changed since the 30's that when you hit a photo that is significantly different, it really jars.

http://www.newyorkchanging.com/imagelist.html

Screw it, I have now had three attempts at getting this to publish as a link. Just copy the address into your browser if you want to see it.

Permanent (Temporary) Hiatus

2006-07-08T23:45:00.000Z

I update so rarely that you probably won't notice, but this Blog is now officially on 'hold'. I have had a 'Laptop Mishap*' this week which has meant that I have had to buy a new one.

All my NY photos were on my old one. Luckily I still have the discs that I saved them to, but I am a lazy arse and I know that it will take me ages to get round to uploading them all again.

The saddest thing is, now that I can't update, I really really want to.

I'm a contrary bastard.

*Someone needs to use that as a name for a blog.

This was my second trip up The Empire State Building

2006-06-20T17:06:00.000Z

There WILL be a third.

Inside my head...

2006-06-20T16:51:00.000Z

Some of you saw me clutching my note book, some of you saw me panic when I thought I had lost it and all the phone numbers and times and places it contained.

It also, however, contained some stuff that now makes me go 'what on earth was going through your head when you did that?'

Mid Town Comics sells the BEST souviners

2006-06-20T16:46:00.000Z

Although they do seem to have taken the phrase 'I walk the line' a little too literally, I never had JC down as a tightrope walker.

What I done on my day trip, by Sam Carpenter

2006-06-19T19:04:00.000Z

I took a day out of New York. I went to Philly...

..I .and helped move cardboard boxes.

...well, I say 'helped'. Actually I just took bad photos of Sarah moving cardboard boxes.

I also watched the best TV show ever. Yay for 'The Dog Whisperer'

I must have been drunk...

2006-06-19T18:53:00.000Z

...cos I have no recollection of meeting Alice Cooper and his oddly normal girlfriend.

I do remember seeing Willie Nelson though.

Despite the seeming evidence, that is not actually shit photography on my part.

That is what Willie Nelson looks like through the thick haze of maijuana smoke that he lives within.

Oh, OK then, it's shit photography

Birds on sticks.

2006-06-19T18:46:00.000Z

look. Birds. On sticks.

(I'm scraping the barrel here aren't I? I better come back and take more pictures)

My coat has been on more women than I have...

2006-05-20T22:51:00.000Z

(luckily for me, the title of this post isn't even close to being true)

'Put the lid down, that'll contain it'

2006-05-20T22:41:00.000Z

This is the best 'inside a toilet lid' grafitti I have ever seen.*

Damn those Commie Bastards!

*actually, I think it may be the only "'inside a toilet lid' graffiti I have ever seen"**

**How the fuck do you spell 'grafiti'?

You can never trust a stranger, eh?

2006-05-20T22:06:00.000Z

This has nothing to do with NY. But it's my blog, so if that bothers you, well...fuck right off!

This is from Toronto last May. A recent conversation inspired me to post it.

Tammy* had just moved from Albany to (some town near Toronto that I forget the name of), so we arranged to meet up.

I asked a random punter to take our photo. This is what I got:

Shit photo, huh?

It doesn't do justice to how lovely Tammy is. I hope this does:

*That's 'Brown_eyed_girl' to you long term IRCers.

She be cool.

Birthdays is fun.

2006-05-09T12:07:00.000Z

Yaay for Kristina:

Yaay for Leigh and Cindee. (I wish I hadn't pulled that face)

and Yay for the birthday boy himself.

In a field of one.

2006-05-07T21:13:00.000Z

I am fairly sure that if you asked everyone in England 'What is the best thing about New York?' I am the only one that would say 'this is':

Thank you for being awesome.

I will always love you, Magnet.

Sexxxxxxxxxy!

2006-05-07T20:55:00.000Z

Through the NY Improv community, I have been lucky enough to meet some very funny, incredibly friendly, particularly smart, gorgeously attractive and all round fantastic people:

And Maddy's quite nice too.

When you are in England...

2006-05-07T20:36:00.000Z

...you get told all sorts of stories about the kind of nutters you will find on the streets of New York.

I have to admit, I actually didn't find that many. But I did find this guy:

He was preaching in Bryant Park.

My biggest regret is that I didn't get a photo of him when he threw himself to the floor and started 'speaking in tongues' seconds after I took this picture.

My second biggest regret is that I didn't get a photo of the policeman standing in front of him, who didn't move a muscle while it happened.

Iwojima

2006-05-06T23:43:00.000Z

I don't even know if that is how it should be spelt.

But I am told that this is Iwojima

or Iwo Jima

or I Wo Jima

or Iwoji Ma

(I don't mean to be disrespectful, but as a Brit, I just took the photo that I was told to)

(Left to Right): Eugenegue, Maddy, Sean Taylor, MichelleD, Stevemw

I did go done some culturish shit too...

2006-05-05T17:57:00.000Z

If you gone don't know what that is, then you less, like cultured than I is.

Wither the weather?

2006-05-04T21:38:00.000Z

Sunny Spring evenings in NY look great.

Sunny Spring afternoons in NY look great.

So how the hell did I end up cleaning up The Bronx River on a Spring morning that looked like this?

(Full 'Hands On New York Day' Photos to follow. Eventually)

No jokes here

2006-05-03T22:55:00.000Z

Seriously.

Seeing this was just amazing.

People were stood around in silence, admiring, reflecting, there was a woman of my Mother's age just staring in peace.

I didn't stay long. but I have thought about it a lot since.

America can be touristy, brash, commercialised and loud.

But it's taken care of Lennon's memory better than France has looked after Jim Morrison's.

The Rolling Stones were right.

2006-05-03T22:45:00.000Z

Even if you have acne...

...In Chinatown, 'You Can't Always Get What You Wan'

I just spent...

2006-05-03T22:27:00.000Z

...about three hours trying to upload my latest set of photos.

This entry was only intended as a test to see if I had uploaded them to a place where I could actually find them again.

I found them.

There is no other point to this entry.

But I took some gay photo's that I probably won't find anything else to do with, so here's one of them.

That was in Bryant Park, I think.

I still have photos from November

2006-05-01T20:58:00.000Z

That I haven't posted.

God I am slow.

The still unposted include...

...Skylines...

...Wildlife...

...and Spanking:

Alert! Alert! Bad Pun Incoming:

2006-03-18T16:13:00.000Z

Sirius-ly, does this look like me?

From a Porn Clerk to a visit

2006-03-18T15:55:00.000Z

Once upon a time, an improvisor started a journal about her job in a video store.

Somehow, that journal got some attention and eventually a guy in England got emailed a link.

4 years later, that guy had taken up Improv, made friends over the internet and found himself standing in front of this:

Thank You Ali.

another great host

2006-03-18T15:53:00.000Z

Wonderful Hosts

2006-03-18T15:50:00.000Z

I wish I knew what this song was.

2006-03-12T17:11:00.000Z

Any ideas?

It's art, I tell you.

2006-03-11T21:37:00.000Z

New York Graffiti is very, very cool.

'Someone' caught me taking one of these photo's and said 'Sam, what on earth are you doing?'

I think the results answer that question.

Vague

2006-03-11T21:22:00.000Z

New York buses are not very specific about their destinations:

Except for this one, which knew exactly where it was going:

The sad thing is, I took these pictures with the express intention of making a post like this.

And then I realised it's just not funny.

(sadder still, I posted it anyway)

By the way...

2006-03-10T21:16:00.000Z

...if you are wondering why there is such a sudden rush of updates, there are two reasons.

1: Because I am having a boring Friday night in alone, and

2: Because if I don't get a move on, I will be starting a new trip to NY before I have stopped writing about this one.

So, here's a photo:

you can't always have an answer to a question.

2006-03-10T21:01:00.000Z

Maybe it was because it was my first day in NY.

Maybe it is because the photo came out so well.

Maybe it represents all the George Bushless, Christian Rightless good that I believe Ameica has in it's heart.

Or maybe I am just a European Whore who was bought by the US myth before I had the chance to resist it.

Anyway round, I love this image.

But I couldn't tell you why.

Photos can lie.

2006-03-10T20:28:00.000Z

On my first full day in NYC, as you may know, I did the Circle Line boat tour.

3 fantastic, photogenic, amazing hours that I will never forget.

I got on the boat on a lovely bright November day, wearing my sexy, dashing '100% Genuine'leather (it says so on the label, I promise), jacket.

I must have a memory problem, because I don't remember changing into an ill-fitting gimp suit with the hood removed before I got someone to take my photo.

Every time I travel, I get high.

2006-03-10T19:37:00.000Z

At home? Less so.

I have been up the CN Tower in Toronto, I have climbed the stairs at the 'Sagradia Familia' in Barcelona, I have been to the top of the tower at Charles Bridge in Prague, I've done the Washington Memorial and I would have done The Sears Tower had it not been closed for high winds.

But...

I have never viewed London from a height.

I have never been to the top of St. Paul's, The Monument, The OXO Tower, The Gherkin, Tower 42 or Canary Wharf.

So if you live in New York, but have never been to the top of here:

Then you are missing out on this.

This:

And this:

(OK, if I knew how to upload a picture from the web, there would be a picture of King Kong right about here)

I can see paradise by the dashboard light.

2006-02-19T16:35:00.000Z

Thankfully, there were plenty of people that stopped me feeling like a sad loner that day. Unfortunately this also meant there were plenty of people to see me butcher Meatloaf at the Karaoke.

More photos of MichelleD's birthday will follow subject to permission of the horribly incriminated subjects...

Travelling solo

2006-02-19T16:23:00.000Z

One of the problems with travelling alone, i discovered, is that you can't have your picture taken with Spiderman. I did consider asking a passer by to take it for me, but had visions of standing there and watching someone run off with my camera. It would have been a heartbreaking moment for me had Spidey not given chase.

So instead I just took a photo OF Spiderman and then walked off feeling like a sad loner.

oh well.

Even the stairs are cool in New York...

2006-02-11T11:03:00.000Z

Not Surprised

2006-02-11T11:00:00.000Z

Sometimes New York looked exactly like I had hoped.

Surprised

2006-02-11T10:54:00.000Z

Sometimes New York just didn't look like I expected it to.

As I said...

2006-01-26T18:38:00.000Z

...right back at the start if this thing, I left the UK at 5am English time.

I had a full English when I got to Heathrow, but that meant I didn't eat again on my flight.

Then when I got to NY, I had a beer with Michelle, then another couple. Then went to see Willie Nelson. Then I was too tired, so I went back to my hotel. That meant I didn't eat in around 30 hours.

So when I got to my first breakfast, I was hungry.

I think we can safely say, I over ordered.

You can get everything in The Big Apple

2006-01-26T18:34:00.000Z

For years I have been in search of one of these. Then I find out you can just get them in machines in New York.

I wish I had asked more people...

2006-01-26T18:29:00.000Z

...to pose as their Avatar.

The lovely Leigh.

Happy Birthday John

2006-01-24T04:26:00.000Z

The most gorgeous woman I have ever met...

2006-01-24T04:00:00.000Z

Mandel

I did the circle line boat tour

2006-01-24T02:37:00.000Z

I thought it was pretty cool.

This guy clearly didn't agree...

Sorry, this is Toronto again

2006-01-24T02:16:00.000Z

Seriously though, if you were called Sam, you would have done the same, wouldn't you?

I promise, It's true

2006-01-24T02:13:00.000Z

The land of opportunity

2006-01-21T13:54:00.000Z

Fake President or Medievel French Royalty, you can still sell fruit in New York

There used to be something else here...

2006-01-21T12:25:00.003Z

...yes, indeed there did.

It's gone now though

So stop reading.

Cos there is nothing else here.

Nothing at all/

#3

2006-01-21T12:25:00.002Z

This is actually Toronto,not NY.

Every time I saw this sign all I could think was 'Bikes On Wheels? As opposed to what?'

#2

2006-01-21T12:25:00.001Z

This one is somewhere in NYC, but I can't remember where.

You'd have to be good friends with someone to share this toilet though.

I took photos of bridges...

2006-01-21T12:25:00.000Z

If you could tell me which bridge is which, that would be cool. Cos I can't fucking remember...

As viewed from Australia (that would be China from NY, no?)

2006-01-21T01:47:00.000Z

I really don't know why that is upside down. I apologise for the disrespect.

I had lovely things to say about that photo too. When I got it developed it made me realise why your flag is so important to you all.

But then I fucked it up.

Typical brit.

I get around

2006-01-21T01:24:00.000Z

I am so cool.

Not only did I go to McManus

I also went to Peter McManus:

Lovely, lovely people

2006-01-20T21:18:00.000Z

Meeting you all was a pleasure.

Kristina is a star:

Dave was so drunk that he probably doesn't even remember meeting me. Still, for the record, he was a fucking star too

Rosie gave me beer as a 'Welcome to The Magnet present'. Rosie is a star.

I already knew Michelle. And yes, she is a star.

Apparently, I propose too often...

2006-01-08T01:37:00.000Z

...but nevermind, cos I am gonna do it again...

Sarah, if you didn't live 3,000 miles away, would you marry me?

Teresa, if you weren't in love with Jed, would you marry me?

Jed, if your country didn't hate same sex marriage so much, ,would you marry me?

I know where you live. Do you?

2006-01-08T01:29:00.000Z

99% of the people that are reading this are from NYC.

I bet that 99% of you that are in NYC don't appreciate, fully, where you are.

You live in the greatest city I have ever been to.

You live here:

Don't look down

2006-01-07T18:23:00.000Z

I am crap.

I am sorry that I am crap. But I am still crap.

I want to keep this blog alive, I want to make my own record of the best trip I have ever had*

I went to see King Kong over the holidays. I swear, at the end, when King Kong was at the top of the Empire State Building. They used this:

*without meaning to be cocky, I should say that I have been to Miami and South Florida (three times), Iceland, Estonia, France (Mant times), Spain, Italy, Holland (well. Amsterdam three times. nothing else), Oregon, DC, Hungary, Toronto, Montreal, Nova Scotia, Wisconsin, Illinois, Scotland, Wales, The Isle of Wight and Jersey.

I say that not to show off, but more to prove how much I loved NYC. I have been to all those places and none of them came close to giving me the same feeling that NY gave me.

My Own Personal Movie

2005-12-13T21:39:00.000Z

I am being so ridiulously slow at this, I know. I will get faster, it's mainly because I stupidly started naming my photos, so now they have all got mixed up into Alphabetical order.

Yes, I really am that stupid.

I am also trying to organise a shutterfly album so I can store the overflow for anyone that may be interested.

In the meantime, this was the first thing I saw when I pulled up outside my hotel on my first night. This is what had me texting home saying, it's like being in a film.

This is what truly compelled me to say...

...Holy Fuck! I'm in New York.

Look at that idiot with the camera

2005-12-10T20:17:00.000Z

When I am in London, if I see someone taking a photo of a Red Bus or a Black Cab, I look at them with barely concealed disdain.

I think something along the lines of:

'You're in one of the greatest cities in the world. We have culture, we have history, we have entertainment, we have bars and pubs and clubs. We have comedy and music and film. We have great parks, majestic buildings, The River Thames. And what are you doing? You're taking a picture of a mode of transport? You loser'

Then I get to NY, and what do I do within an hour of being there?

I'm a hypocrite.

Test

2005-12-04T14:56:00.000Z

If this has worked then a) you are going to have deal with a LOt of photos now, b) I should thank everybody who sent me advice about how to do this and c) wow, I am ugly!

2005-12-04T14:46:00.000Z

Nearly there

2005-11-28T22:53:00.000Z

It's taken me all evening, but I have finally downloaded my photos. If you give me about three weeks. I will have figured out how to post them here.

Seriously, if you know me and know how to get in touch with me, give me an idiots guide to uploading pictures to a blog.

I'll be eternally grateful...

2005-11-26T14:04:00.000Z

I've realised that to do this chronologically will probably require feats of memory of which I am totally incapable of achieving. I'll give it a shot, but I fully expect that i will, quite frankly, fail miserably.

I also swear, this will get more interesting next week when I get the cable for my camera back and can upload photos.

In the meantime though, let's talk Improv, as I took no photos of that anyway. I can't even begin to say what an education a week watching shows in NYC was. It was like nothing I had seen before. From Ampers&nd to Harold Night I was just awestruck by it all. The talent on display was of a level that I can only dream of one day of attaining, but damnit I am going to try. If I am not confident enough to put my name down for Scrimmage (or scribbage, as for some reason I insited on calling it) at The Project by May, when I intend to be back, then I have let myself down.

Being at the UCBT was exciting. Being welcomed to The PIT by Diana's Rock Chick and the stage debut of The Mighty Fist (Do yourselves a favour and check out the link if you haven't already) was touching beyond words, and being greeted at The Magnet by the lovely, lovely Rosie thrusting a giant bottle of beer into my hands was hilarious and much appreciated.

I'm not going to review shows in anyway shape or form. I have my own memories and opinions, but anyone that can do what I saw doesn't deserve to be critiqued in any way by a novice like me.

And, until the photos are here, that's about me done for now.

Getting Started

2005-11-25T10:58:00.000Z

I'd waited for this trip for ages. I'd planned and plotted and finally it was here. I left work, went for a drink with my closest friend. Bored her to death with my childlike excitement. Said our goodbyes and was standing on my front step, thinking 'Eight Hours and I'm away' and then...shit...no keys...

Getting started - take 2. A taxi finally arrives with my spare keys in it. I now have 5 hours until my taxi to the airport arrives and some packing still to do. Sleep now seems like a bad idea in case I don't wake up in time. I get in, finish packing, mess around on the internet for a couple of hours and then fall asleep anyway. And then I am rudely awaken by a loud knocking at my door from a slightly disgruntled taxi driver who didn't seem too impressed to be being forced to get out of his warm, dry car into the cold wet South England air at 5am to find his passenger.

5.15 am, an even more disgruntled by the delay taxi driver finally pulls me out of the car park and my journey is underway. I guess i owe him a substantial tip.

The early start means that the traffic is virtually non existent. The extra sleep I hoped to get in the back of the cab doesn't happen as within 45 minutes I am at the airport. Three hours before I needed to be and 6 hours before my flight.

Lesson of the day? Airports are dull, dull places.