26-VIII-2004.
The city is readying for a siege - Bush is staging a party convention in Madison whole next week, and I've already seen guys with em-sixteens, in armor and helmets, being dežurni in front of more important buildings. In the news I heard (no, haven't started watching, at breakfast I turn my back to the screen, but sound is on) that certain traffic is already observed, one can see bags with wheels everywhere - people leave town until this is over :). The trouble is that a railway station is under Madison, one of two main ones, and also a hub for four main subway lines, and these guys are intent on closing the station, because a riot of a quarter of a million people is expected. I think I'm lucky that I'm here this week, not next.
I set the meeting with Mohan for tonight, his place. Not complicated to find, just one change of subway lines, he's in Queens, more precisely Astoria, which is a rather peaceful end, maybe something like A-burg but with newyorkian habits, it lives at night even outside the downtown and university. The subway trip from Manhattan impressed me as something out of a movie, the passage from underground to the bridge in 49th or 57th street and then rumbling over the raised track, which runs above some main street of Queens. When one comes down it all gets a notch crazier, because all that ironware thunders incredibly. Below it the shops are open, cars pass, they even honk. When a train passes, all talk stops, they wait for it to go away.
From subway to his place it's just four corners, luckily in straight line, because I could get lost among those identical buildings - looks like the place across in our street, the two storey apartment buildings in line, just that the line doesn't break after six doors, it goes the whole block.
He made his apartment into a studio. He's got some incredible machine of a sound mixer, fully computerized and hooked into a mac, the sliders physically move when he changes levels with mouse on the screen, a miracle. Says he wants to make a movie, he's a child of Bollywood, he grew there, and now it's possible to make a movie for 10000$, all the tech stuff is at hand, it now takes only balls and an idea. His idea are the runaways from Cuba, and the dry foot - wet foot rule. Namely, anyone caught while still in the water is returned; caught on dry land is a refugee. The story begins with a family tragedy caused by this. Well, good luck with that endeavour, I got rid of the stuff long ago...
Demoed the monitor speakers, with live version of „Hotel California“. Boy, the sound.
He tried the brandy I brought, only half a liter and loza at that, got nothing else. Liked it. Couldn't bring more, who knows when is the next bottle coming.
Went across the street into a greek bar. Is the owner a Greek? Was, in the beginning, while this was a greek neighborhood, but now it's split between Armenians and Argentinos. The current owner is a Mexican, bought it from the previous owner, a Pole. Only in NYC. We drank two ouzos, didn't have one in quite a while, really good. The bar was calling for a photo. I made several good ones, but this one became famous later.
This outside shot I made by putting the Minolta on the bar's mailbox. It was already past ten and these folks keep sitting outside, I really felt as if at home.
This is, I think, a different bar, where we stopped to just talk and me have a smoke and just sniff the atmosphere. Didn't feel like sitting there, so we moved on.
Took me to eat into some unknown kind of restaurant, I'd say thai, with some morsketina (v. house dictionary), excellent but I still have no clue what I actually ate. We drank some tea, coming across as somewhat milky, misty, sort of foggy white, which slid down the throat with incredible ease. I got an impression that I could ex a liter without noticing.
The waitresses deliciously sweet, owner's daughters. Just looked at them.
On the way back to subway I shot this. The grocery which is open all night, with the front extending around the corner. Bars okay, but a grocery... Only in NYC. This photo was also famous later.
Mentions: Annenburg (A-burg), dežurni, house dictionary, loza, Mohan Merchant, in serbian