MTA - bringing people together since ...

Today I witnessed a rare phenomena on the N train- a young man with a chello sat next to a Russian woman and the two striked a conversation about music, notes, tonalities and difficulties of learning to play viola. For those who don't know the "normal" of the N train, let me fill you in. It is a mini China town where the fight for the seat is near a bloodshed battle. Here the Asian samurais will use the last of their strengths to push you out of the way and claim the coveted spot under the fluorescent light of the subway car. So to see someone to make room for the guy with his obnoxiously big instrument and talk to him about it, is more than unusual...and very rewarding. I didn't get a chance to sketch the two - I was busy listening but I got to capture another lovely couple who was absorbed by a iPad screen and each other.

The Moth

So I listen to a lot of podcasts while I sketch. One of them is called the Moth. This podcast is composed of stories told by regular people. Some are funny, others are heart felt but all have something that you can relate to. 

I knew that the event that this podcast spins off of takes place in various venues across the states and I decided to go see it life, next time it comes to NYC. The particular Moth I ended up going to was held at Bell House in Brooklyn and the theme of the night was Ambition.  

After surviving a long line to get in, I and multiple Brooklynites of all ages and shapes packed in into the venue. A funny and a bit intimidating host explained that there are 10 stories to be told however there are 14 contenders who would like to pitch their tale and so a name will be drawn out of the bag which will determine who gets to come up on stage.  Each storyteller has a 5 minute frame to tell their story and additional minute to wrap it up. There were 3 groups of judges- regular folks who submitted their condidacy and who would determine whose tale is the best at the end of the evening. As much as I love listening to the moth on the radio, nothing beats a life performance and I can't wait to go to the next one at the end of the month. I think this was the first time in 17 years living in NYC that I felt unity and over all sense of genuine friendliness  at a public space. And out of places - in Brooklyn! It was great to be a part of such experience. And so here are some faces I was able to capture at the event. 

Weird Dreams

We all have weird dreams but more often than not, upon waking, we don't remember them and just stuck with an elusive sense of familiarity but nothing definitive. It is frustrating to say the least.  I had a dream last night which was very vivid but not particularly interesting and it reminded me of on another one that i happened to record. 

I was dreaming that i am visiting my old middle school in Russia but for some reason the director of the school was the Chairman of my Illustration Department at FIT. So me , the Chair and another professor, the famous Sal Catalano for some strange reason walked up to the roof top to look at the sky.  The school, also for some unknown reason, was located on a isolated hill and we could see city lights on the horizon. There was a light breeze in the air. All of a sudden the roof top started to bounce. I felt my body fly up in the air and as if i was on a trampoline, each bounce accelerated me further and further up in the sky. At this point my solar plexus started freaking out and i yelled to my professors who were perfectly grounded and seemed to be carrying on a very interesting conversation.  Their reaction was calm and although the constantly changing distance between them and me, who periodically was floating in cosmos, didn't allow for  a coherent reply, i was able to piece together a respond: i won't miss the roof top on my next bounce because i have a string attached to my foot.... 

Go figure.... Well, that's my weird dream. what is yours? May be i can illustrate it? Would love to hear it!