Help The St. Mark's Bookshop!

I'm always a little tardy to the party when it comes to these things, but today during my lunch hour I realized that the Saint Mark's Bookshop is closing, and they need funds to re-open elsewhere in the East Village.

At the risk of sounding like an old crank who's been in this town for 15 years, I really don't want to see this store go. It's always been the place to find obscure foreign magazines and literary fiction, for when I want to get my nerd on. I realize it's in an ultra-prime location, but not everything in this town needs to be a Pinkberry or yet another bank.

They are crowd funding to raise $50,000 so they can get into their new digs deeper in the East Village. This is such a worthy cause. They have 30 days left to go. (And still a decent amount of books on the shelves, so go buy one.)

St. Mark's Bookshop On The Move

Of course there was a pit bull mix hanging out of a 1970s era RV on East Third Street today. Standard stuff.

Lower East Side Wisdom

This week two old friends of mine, Jennifer Armstrong (no relation to Louis) and Heather Wood Rudulph, released their book, Sexy Feminism. I see Jen all the time, but Heather less so, since she lives out in California and is married with a toddler.

Their reading was down at the Bluestockings bookstore, on the Lower East Side, and then we all retired to Lolita bar, just down the block. Heather lived in New York City back in 2003-2006, when The Lower East Side was still considered edgy, and there was nary a glass and steel tower in sight. We liked to think that we owned the place. The lot where The Ludlow apartment building is now was still a parking lot, and the paint was barely dry on The Hotel on Rivington. Who would want to stay on the Lower East Side? Progressive!

As someone who has lived in Manhattan since 1999, the speed at which the Lower East Side has become clean and mainstream boggles my mind. The neighborhood's charm was always that it was an other, a place where actual working class New Yorkers lived. It was authentic and sometimes legitimately scary. My opinions about the sanitization of the area are complicated.

Anyhow, here we all are. Haven't aged a day.

I also learned that 16 First Avenue, right in front of the bus stop, used to be an Artists Rec Center. The sign is still there.

Alphabet City In The 1970s

This photo of Alphabet City in the 1970s is making the rounds on Facebook. I have no idea what block it is or what direction it's facing. Amazing what a difference a few decades makes. Parts of the Upper East Side haven't changed in a century, while downtown has had at least nine lives.

New Year's Highlights

I love New Year's Eve in New York City, and I don't mean Times Square. This year I was in the East Village at a little party that was big on booze and meat. I took the bus there and back, because waiting for a cab on New Year's is both futile and silly.

I'm also still getting tons of compliments on my Nikon Coolpix camera, which took all these shots. That little camera has some incredible features, and I'm still trying to sort them all out. Full set of the night here.

Pre-game shots. The top is from Express. The white pleather skirt is from Newport News, circa 2008. Because if you can't wear white pleather on New Year's Eve, then when can you?


Kardashian level eye make up.


With the host, Vasilios, and his brother Kostas. Opa!


Three Graces at the party.


Crowd in the front hall, with all the booze.


It took a bullhorn to get us into the living room.


Fun with mirrors.


This is some OCD nonsense.


Crowd shot


One of my faves from the night.


An incredible ham was served roughly around midnight. I cannot say enough good things about this piece of meat.


I even helped cut it.


Who says ham can't be finger food?


On the bus up Third Avenue at 1:00 a.m., I found these two coming home. They were great. I hope I'm as much fun when I'm 70.


After all that ham, a hop around Central Park this afternoon was in order. Perfect, gorgeous weather.

The East Village: Where It's Likely A Meth Addict Was The Tenant Before You

Over the next three days I'm going to be in a property management class. In my absence, enjoy these photos that one of my co-workers took a few months ago of a former drug addict's apartment in the East Village. Note bong on kitchen counter!

At least they were nice enough to take down the fake wall. Now the place is in line with New York City fire codes.

4

East Village Duplex One Bedroom -- Penthouse Level With Terrace

Look what fell into my lap today: a one bedroom duplex on Cooper Square and Saint Marks Place in the East Village. It's a rental unit in a condo building, and is two levels of downtown hipness. King sized bedroom that leads to an east-facing terrace. It's quite the bachelor pad.

$3500. Immediate move-ins only.

Full specs here.

Seen In The East Village

Seen In The East Village, originally uploaded by La Pauline.

East Seventh Street Two Bed/Two Bath -- Three Working Fireplaces!!!

To mix things up a little this afternoon I checked out some new places in the East Village, and found this two bedroom, two bath with a washer/dryer. Even better, it has three working fireplaces. Also, it's one flight up. Crazytown.

Full specs here.

I Guess Christmas Really Is Over...

I found this Christmas tree in a trash can in the East Village this afternoon.

It came with a poem:


The ornaments were, essentially, also trash.

How To Not Get A Woman To Have a Drink With You

A few nights ago I was walking home from an event and I decided to stop in an internet cafe to check my e-mail. It's a place I go often, and I am usually not bothered since it is dark and most of the men are looking at dirty Web sites anyway. (Yes, in front of everyone.)

I was almost done with my session when the guy next to me asked if he could try to e-mail me a music file. He told me that he kept trying to send it to his friend,
but it kept getting returned. I said sure, typed in my e-mail adddress, and sure enough, it went through. This guy told me that he was a musician.

"I wrote the song," he said. "Make sure to LISTEN TO THE WORDS."

The song was okay, but I told him that it really needed a bassline. Hey, I'm no slouch when it comes to music appreciation.

I left the cafe and thought nothing of the guy until I got this e-mail from him this morning. Please note that this guy has the word "liar" in his e-mail address and calls me a "healthy, full-figured, woman." Um, I'm a size 8. Chesty, yes, but still an 8.

Fellas, if you want a woman to loathe you for the rest of your life, call her full-figured. Please note, though, that the following women can be considered full-figured: Oprah Winfrey, Delta Burke, Mo'Nique, etc.

The follwing women may not: Pauline Millard.

Please make a note of it.


While you're at it, file this e-mail under "How Not to Get a Woman to Have a Drink With You."

***
your so cool to let me email you like that.i was
sincere about my computer problem though.but i really
did injoy talking to such a healthy ff. women.and
temted to ask you for a drink or so...well just
listen even more to my music again the same way
loudley eq..with head phones to get it in your head
,and listen to my words ,i write to thanks ...
****