Pretty Pictures

Americans are dumb, (some) Texans are even dumber.

I lived in Europe for two years. Grocery stores there charged you 25 euro cent for a sturdy plastic bag. And ya know what? I remembered to bring my bag to the store! Because like most people, I respond to disincentives.

It’s not that hard. And plastic bags don’t need freedom.

(I took this photo in Richmond, VA in 2010. Plastic bags often pass for flowers in the urban environment. And don’t get me started on garbage patches.)

Bird

St. Felix Street, Fort Greene

Give thanks trucking on Flickr.

Parked in lower Manhattan yesterday.

I was innocently yet surreptitiously taking this woman’s picture (serious question: is it unethical for me to take pictures of strangers and post them on my blog?) while she applied her eye makeup. It was impressive, a very fine point of eyeliner on her top lid. I even continued sitting next to her while she touched up her nail polish, which usually disgusts me. Perhaps I was having a bit of a subway crush.

Then I sneezed. She asked, “Do you have allergies?” I said, “a little.”
Her: “Do you take anything for them?”
Me: “No, it’s not really that bad.”
Her: “I sell Nutrilite, it’s an organic vitamin for allergies. Have you heard of it?”
Me: “No.”
Her: “Its mostly sold online, and through word of mouth. Take my business card, I sell it.”
Me: “No thanks, I’m happy with the vitamins I use.”

Pause. Switch gears.

Her: “What do you do for work?”
Me: “Sorry, but I’m not interested in having a conversation right now.”

Cheers.

Somehow in New York there’s not always enough time to apply makeup in the comfort of one’s home. Public spaces become a sort of shared bathroom or dressing room.

While potentially dangerous, applying eye makeup on the train is not nearly as disruptive as other grooming habits, like clipping or polishing one’s nails, that some people find perfectly acceptable to perform on the train. While sitting right next to me.

That’s when I stop taking pictures, and move my seat.

Bodega peonies on Flickr.

Memorial wall for Yusuf Hawkins (1973-1989), Bed-Stuy