
A New Yorker’s Ode to Los Angeles
Cody Lyon Become a fan
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I remember the first time I went to Los Angeles. It was sometime in the early 1990s. As we descended into LAX on the flight from New York that morning, my friend told me to look out the window. I couldn’t see much because it was so cloudy. He told me that was normal: that by midday, all that haze would burn off.
We stayed with a woman who’d moved out there from here in the city. She lived in a bungalow-style house on a street in Hollywood I can’t remember the name of. Over the course of three days, we did a few fun drives. We took a ride up to Malibu, and at some point one evening we had sushi. One memory from that truly stands out. The sense of wonder I felt the first time I walked into her backyard and saw a lemon tree, with big round yellow pieces of fruit dangling from its limbs.
Over the years, I’ve watched Chinatown and Melrose Place. I’ve listened to Tom Petty and The Mamas and the Papas and then, there’s Hole.
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What Stories Do Those Subway Benches Hold?
There’s a special place in Hell that’s the spitting image of New York City subway platforms on hot and humid summer nights. After hours, when MTA’s capital construction efforts translate into fewer trains, the wet air, acrid stench are relieved only by napkins or towels, used to wipe sweat. In New York City, anything can happen and the misery of heat has been known to contribute to all manner of misbehavior-or not.
Complete strangers on a wooden bench waiting for uptown trains. One, a graying thin gentleman with porcelain skin, beige khakis, a blue button down, a reusable shopping bag filled with books in his lap. His right hand holds a cane; The other, a lady with short salt & pepper hair, solid black pants, V-neck T shirt, a firm and full body, she’s wearing black modern glasses and sensible flats.’
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Early One Night in Harlem
On the last Sunday in February at around 8 p.m., Jon Jensen, who teaches English at Kingborough College in Brooklyn, was walking north on Frederick Douglas Boulevard near 135th Street in Harlem.
In one hand, he held a leash, to which was attached his fluffy white Pomeranian dog, Bumpy. In the other hand, he had out his iPhone 5. As he was checking a text, a woman bumped into him, and he dropped the phone onto the sidewalk. The woman made a grab for the phone, took it and then began to calmly walk away up the avenue.
Jensen described the woman as mid-30s, wearing jeans, a gray jacket and tennis shoes. Jensen said he was dressed similarly, wearing jeans, a green jacket and tennis shoes.
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Only in NYC: How Four Old Friends Opened a Gay Bar
Posted: 09/08/2013 5:57 pm
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Anderson Cooper,
Argentina,
France,
LGBT,
Israel,
Atlas Social Club,
Cody Lyon,
Hell’s Kitchen,
New York City Nightlife,
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Bedlam,
Benjamin Maisani,
Eastern Bloc,
Gay Bars,
Illinois,
Josh Wood,
New York News
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Co-owner Pablo Raimondi paints the sign at the new bar that he and three old friends are opening
Late one warm August afternoon, the food, drink and people carnival that is the stretch of Ninth Avenue running down the center of Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen is up and running. Clinking plates and glasses join random chatter up and down the main drag.
One storefront space sits quiet, or so it appears. Behind a brown fabric curtain in the window, drills drill, hammers hit nails and four old friends, now business partners, put finishing touches on a new gay bar they’re saying is more downtown than up.
Atlas Social Club is set to open in mid-September. It’s gotten plenty of headlines due in part to co-owner Benjamin Maisani’s relationship with the CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. There’s also another unique New York story, rooted in a four way friendship, inspired by a city’s innate ability to drive and fulfill entrepreneurial spirits.
Some might say New York is the only city in the world where four friends, all from different points on earth, (Maisani is from France, Pablo Raimondi, Argentina, Asi Mazar, Israel and Josh Wood is from Illinois) might randomly meet, become close friends, and well over a decade later, form an ambitious business partnership based in a tough as nails business — nightlife.
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Does It Really Take A Village To Raise A Child?
Does it really take a village to raise a healthy child, instead of one or two loving caregivers? If so, why? And, more importantly, what are parents supposed to do with that information?
connect:Does Absence Make The Heart Grow Fonder? by CODY LYON
Or does distance drive a wedge between us and our loved ones? Experts say the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Am I more Productive When I Multitask?
Phones are ringing off the hook, your desk looks like a fire hazard and your computer screen just let you know you’ve got new mail. Out of nowhere comes your boss to ask you about that Excel document he’d wanted you to compile. Suddenly you’re gripped by fear as you recall the question from that sweet-talking human-resources person in the days before you landed this new job: “How are your multitasking skills?”
Family Dinner: How Do I Get My Kids To Enjoy The Ritual?
Child-development experts say that although TV, playtime and tight work or after-school schedules sometimes get in the way, sticking to a regular sit-down dinner routine holds more value for families than just nutrition. The time that a family spends together at the table has been shown to reduce all sorts of problems for kids in school — and even later in life. But how to get the kids to actually sit down at the table for an hour — let alone enjoy it?
thrive:Does Vegging Out On TV Recharge Me?
It’s been a busy week, and now you’re curled up on the couch alone — just you and your big bowl of reduced-fat kettle corn — watching your seventh episode of The Golden Girls in a row. Four hours later, do you say to yourself, “I feel great!”, or “I wish I’d gone out with my friends instead”? Did the magic of television recharge your batteries, or did it enervate you? The answer might depend on your personality type.
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