Day 1 Continued

Earth Matters Cafe

Yesterday I went to this place called Earth Matters. It was a pretty good all-organic food place that had internet access, which is harder to come by than it should be her in New York. It's everywhere in California. Is the rest of America in the stone age when it comes to Wi-Fi? I don't see why a cafe would even bother opening without internet access.

Then I wandered around Manhattan. I walked through the projects and around the bridges where all the seedy stuff is supposed to happen. I didn't see much seediness. The city is much cleaner than it was the last time I was here. And I haven't been here since the Trade Center was destroyed, and I must say that it is much more difficult to figure out where the hell you are. I always thought New York was a hard place to get lost in. Now it's easier. There isn't a giant landmark in the middle of town letting you know where you are at all times. For someone like me who prefers to walk everywhere over taking the subway, landmarks are important.

But I wandered around and kind of got lost a few times, but with no place to go, who cares? I half-way was looking for Herman Melville's house and half -way was looking for Tannen's magic shop. I found the former behind the 69th Regiment building, which I had always wanted to see, too. Melville's house was pretty exciting for me for some reason despite it not really being there anymore. Just weird picturing big-bearded Melville hanging out around town I guess, and there are still tons of old things that he would have seen and taken for granted.

Then I went back to Brooklyn where I saw a horrible production of Macbeth with Captain Picard in it. Captain Picard wasn't really horrible, but he couldn't save it no way no how. Brooklyn Academy of Music has a great theater that I wish I could have taken pictures of. I loved the inside of that theater. It reminded me of Vanya on 42nd St. or the catacombs at the end of Phantom of the Opera. But the charm of the theater couldn't save the play either. The curse of Macbeth lives on.