Monthly Archives: November 2010

Woodside, Woodside,
Where you can find all races, ages, and cultures in sight,
Some happy little ones with their smiles so bright,
And some strangers’ gloomy faces oh so fright,
Yet, the next generation holds their pride.

Woodside, Woodside,
The blend of religions, jobs, and beliefs,
Asia meets Latin and Irish ‘good time’ all beneath,
With tolerance and acceptance,
Jewish, Christians, and Muslims live in peace.

Woodside, Woodside,
During rush hour people dash like wind,
Yet, those five-cents collectors patiently wait in line to cash em’ in,
Barbers in uniform skillfully shape the hype and make the scene.

Woodside, Woodside,
Graffiti skin of art signifies it all,
Woodside walks of lives stand proud and tall…

Comic Con

Comic Con is one of the largest annual events held on the East Coast.  In the last several years, it has been held at the Jacob Javits Center.   This event brings together comic book, fantasy and sci-fi fans together.  You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy these things.

As this event seems to be extremely popular, I went that Saturday to check out the hype for myself.  When I arrived, it seems like Halloween had come early.  There were so many people dressed up as their favorite characters from movies such as Star Wars to comic book hero like Spiderman.  The thing I found most interesting was how invested these people are into the characters.  If I didn’t know better, I thought these people really did believe they were these characters.  I was surprised at just how approachable these people were.  Girls would happily pose for pictures as much as the guys.  They were in the zone and appeared to enjoy the fame their superhero/villain brought them.

Along with all the costumes, there was a great deal of merchandise throughout the arena, and it was interesting to see just how lucrative the comic book/fantasy world is.  The whole event is where fans can meet up with each other face to face (instead of via computer) to talk with each other and the creators of their comics and I found this to be a great show.

Aside from attending the Comic Con event, I also went to a comic book store the following week to see what these people are like when not in costume.  Surprisingly, they are quite shy and quiet.  No one really wanted to talk about Comic Con or how they were dressed.  It seemed like they were embarrassed to talk about it and just wanted to be left along to read their comic books.  The costumes brought out another side to these guys that you may never get to know otherwise.

In the United States, New York City is the number one most visited city. Although its has rich history and thousands of tourist attractions, millions flock to Midtown to “see the sights”. This includes the Ladies mile, which stretches down Fifth avenue from 23rd street to 60street, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, to name a few. This community of tourists migrate from landmark to landmark  regardless of the hour or temperature.

This is the Lower East Side Manhattan.

The LES is a microcosm of all NYC. It was once home to thousands of poor immigrants looking to better their standard of living but instead they were ostracized; subjected to racism, no power, no equal rights. But over time thanks to people like Jacob Riis, who helped spread their story of injustice and expose through photographs the reality of their living situation, things did change in LES. Jewish people started to own and operate their own businesses, and they became successful. Artists started moving into the neighborhood for the low rents and great location. Musicians hung out at the local bars. Now developers are building luxury condos. The Lower East Side has everything, grunge, elitism, fashion, food, and nightlife. This is the LES today.