spanning_time in Foreign Lands

We'd love to be able to tell you that spanning_time's absence from the blogosphere since our arrival in Virginia has been because of all sorts of mirth and merriment. Instead, all we can report is that 1) seeing Sportscenter for 4 hours straight can become a Zen-like experience if you let it, and 2) CSI is giving Law and Order a run for its money as the show most likely to be on at all hours of the day (we've watched half a dozen episodes today at least). But that's...ok. We run ourselves pretty ragged in Seattle (check the I Go Out A Lot List) and the rest is a welcome change. But never mind that, here's some observations from our little jaunt to NYC (trust us, this dated content is far better than a recap of how we feel about the Allen Iverson trade):

- Rainer Maria - This is still not a music blog, but this band's last two shows were the reason we went to NYC in the first place, so it's worthy of at least a mention. Great shows, and wonderful goodbyes. If you want some "secret" content, here's a link to a recording of the Saturday night show.

- Jewmobiles - In what seemed to be a Jewish analogue to Santarchy, there were at least five different sightings of RVs and trucks decorated to celebrate Hanukkah (Happy Hanukkah y'all). Not content to just have signs on the sides of their vehicles, the occupants yelled at pedestrians from windows, questioning their Jewishness or singing Hebrew songs along with their amplified stereos. We admired their enthusiasm.

- Late-night food - self-explanatory

- Late-night misadventures - We were walking back to where we were staying at 3am and came across a guy standing in the street at 11 Spring (see below), trying to knock down a pair of wooden sneakers hanging on a power line. We watched him for a half-hour as he tossed a shoe repeatedly, trying to get these shoes for his girlfriends, who's wanted a pair for years. He eventually gave up for the night once an annoyed resident found his own entertainment in throwing things at him.

- 11 Spring - The former carriage house at 11 Spring was a mecca for street artists. They'd come from all over the world to leave their mark. When it was slated to be redeveloped as condos, the owners respected the history and contacted The Wooster Collective who then spent months flying in artists who left gorgeous murals all over the space, finally opening it up for three days before the art was lost forever behind drywall. spanning_time spent four hours in line before narrowly making it in, and it was totally worth it. Just check out this flickr pool for proof.