I <3 NYC Blogs
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 12:08PM NYC is easily my favorite city in the whole world. Now, granted, I haven't seen all of the great and/or lesser-known world cities, but even still - I think NYC will always hold the #1 place in my heart. Not just because it's my birthplace (Go Bronx!) but because I think it's an utterly wonderful, beautiful place. It's honest about who it is, even at its grittiest (and, yes, I will personify the city - it is like a person to me) and it seems to always have this air of striving. NYC always wants to be better or change, and yet somehow stays consistent. I really love no place more than it.
So, naturally, I love to read about the city. In 2001 I took a class in the History of NYC (the class started four weeks after 9/11, which lent a very interesting tone to the course) and have read a lot about NYC history as well as watched countless TV shows about it. I actually own the Ken Burns "New York" documentary about the history of NYC - and I've watched it many times. (Not in a while, though, which means it might be time to pop it in over the winter break between semesters.)
So, given my love for the city, naturally I read some NYC-related blogs. Here are a few of my faves:
Ephemeral New York - Great old photos of how NYC was and how it has changed, as well as information on some of NYC's most interesting historical locations and people.
The Bowery Boys - Their site complements their podcast, which I listen to religiously. I love that they're as obsessed with Robert Moses as I am.
Don't know who Robert Moses is? Ever been stuck in traffic on the Long Island Expressway (LIE) or the Cross-Bronx? Blame him. He is responsible for quite a lot of the current traffic patterns in and around NYC. The most annoying part? HE DIDN'T DRIVE. Yup, NYC's major traffic patterns were determined by someone who never actually drove a car. Explains a lot, doesn't it?
Scouting New York - Love NYC? Love movies? Then you'll LOVE this site. It's written by a film location scout who spends his or her days combing the streets of NYC looking for cool places to film. S/he also sometimes does comparisons of what NYC looked like in a certain film and what those exact same locations look like now (that's probably my favorite part of the site). S/he recently covered Rosemary's Baby (LOVE that film!), Taxi Driver - Part I, Part II, Part III (a film on my must-see list), and Ghostbusters (Part I, Part II)!
So if you love NYC or want to learn more about it, these blogs are a tremendous, fantastic place to start!
If you know of any other cities that have blogs like these, I'd love to find out about them!
Reader Comments (2)
Candice- I love Scouting NY, too! Have you read theunbearablebanishment.blogspot.com? He's a transplanted Ohioian (?) living in NJ and communting to NYC. He's a wonderful writer and posts great play reviews!
Mamasoo
@Mamasoo - No, I hadn't heard of him before, but I checked him out. Looks interesting and thought-provoking.