New York, NY 24/05/05

Got to NY about 4. I took a little walk to St Mark’s Place to pick up a replacement piercy bar, get some fresh air, spend $50 in about 3 seconds in Rickys. Then, despite obvious presence of ‘Irving Plaza Band & Crew’ sticker on my trousers, I had to stop and ask someone where Irving Plaza was. Very cool Jill.

NY crowd was very hip. I was out-hipped by miles even with my big hip hair and my hippest top. Sigh. New York, I love you, but you’re hard work.

ClearChannel are feckers. They make gazillions off Britney and the like, and then they go after wee bands from Ireland. They with-held a chunk of the fee for tax purposes, and wanted a ridiculous commission on the tshirts too. Stuck me finger up at the second one and legged it out of there as fast as I could with 3 large boxes of tshirts. Our speedy getaway was hindered only by having to jump start Aqueduct’s shiny silver van. Ours is the little engine that could it seems.

We stayed with America’s Next Top Host, Jon Pack. He would prefer Model, but ANTH is my compromise. So this morning the guys were all sitting around his lovely Lafayette Ave (Brooklyn) apartment eating bagels and discussing music and Robot Chickens, so I says feck this. Hauled my ass to the C train and went downtown. I didn’t have much time, but enough to buy myself a nice Diesel handbag in Century 21, and finally give mum a call. Also I took a few photos at the WTC site. It’s the second time I’ve been there, and it didn’t really feel right doing that. I mean I wouldn’t want photos in Auschwitz. There was a symbol there though, that I think is pretty potent. There is a large cross, made from the girders of the WTC buildings. I don’t know if I’m being naïve, but it appeared very quickly in the aftermath, and I’d like to think it was a spontaneous meaningful gesture of remembrance and wasn’t just ordered by a Bush lackey. The reason I thought of it that way was in contrast to something we saw a lot of in the Southern states – along the freeway, at various intervals there would be 3 crosses, like those that JC & those 2 robbers died on. It seems crass and showy to me, compared to the evocative nature of the same symbol seen somewhere else.

Handbags and crosses, and I find a segueway. A talented writer indeed.

Jon has no cool pets, but he does have a cool apartment and a recently acquired beanie-pig, so we’ll forgive him. Especially since we’re on our way back there from Philadelphia as I type and I’ll be using his wi-fi to post it…