Pillars of freedom

So this started as a blog on a theme, then I decided to make it a themed blog but one that's also chronological... so (this was originally started 12/20/06 12:17am with just the wtc stuff...)

Recently I've had a few experiences with some friends... I went to the Cfr day in Newark, with Melanie, Terry and Vicki two of whom I really hung out with for the first time, and the last of which this was only really the second time. Ah new friends... life is beginning to look somewhat normal.

Religious freedom (monasteries)

There's something about Religious freedom that makes so much sense that I'm very happy it's chronologically the first that I wanted to remember. It seems a cornerstone of really valuing a person, even though it brings the heart break of knowing that some people may never find Christ, (heck I may never find Him!) it also is seems fundamentally intrinsic to valuing a person. You can never win over a person by violence. Regardless of how that is manifest. And forcing a faith on someone seems completely contrary to what it's supposed to do.


Freedom of Association (aka. Friends)

After volunteering with the CFRs in Newark NJ, we headed over to go watch the live nativity in the Bronx (NYC, NY) a fun little drive, where a seatbelt fight occurred as in a fight with the seat belts. Not with each other.


The live nativity was really cool, with tons and tons and tons of people filling up a blocked off street in the south bronx... the CFRs are known and loved everywhere in this area.

It was a very nice take on the nativity story... a bit funny at times, but the focus was amazing.

Freedom of Speech (rapping friars)

This is Br. Paolo... looking at a video of him playing with his fingers or freestyling, I can't remember which, but he did both ;-) He's a great guy. And so pure of heart.

Freedom of Movement (Ice skating rinks)


After the Live nativity, I went and hung out with Annie. Annie is amazing! I love her so much, she's a coworker/friend/sister from NET and lives in Connecticut (the only person I think). She brought a few of her kids and a parent (she's a youth minister) down to NYC for the holidays. It was nice to spend time with her. We went met up on fifth ave. near the Cathedral (where we went to pick up some of the kids who wanted to go skating at the Rockefeller Center) then trekked uptown to FAO schwartz and finally to central park where the three girls skated, and the Mom and I headed to get starbucks for those of us who didn't want to spend $12 to skate or would rather just chill.

That finished my Saturday... and then Tuesday...

Pillars of freedom?

I finally decided/got the courage to take pictures of the "sculpture" that is part of the twisted remains of part of the WTC. That resides in one of my parishes (I go to several, St. Vincent Ferrer most days for daily 12:10 mass, St. Patrick's Cathedral or St. Francis for 1 or 1:15 mass if class lets out late or I'm a bit slow, St. Malachy's "The actor's chapel" on Times Square for Adoration with the Emmanuel community and my favourite priest so far in this city, Fr. Nicolas who is amazingly loving. And tonight I think I've added another one... Holy Innocents just south of Times Square... it's gorgeous and has adoration until 5pm)


I think it a funny coincidence that the day I decided to take pictures of some steel from the WTC 911 attacks that resides in a church I've been going to for months, was also coincidentally the day they decided to raise two main main columns for the new WTC. (Something I just discovered as I'm about to head to bed.)


The church I go to, St. Francis, is also the church where the first official victim of 911 was a friar at...
Fr. Mychal Judge, the Chaplin of the NYC firefighters. And victim 001 of the wtc attacks.

Now I could go on and on about how I think monuments are important, and how the freedom tower is a monument for many Americans, but I really think the pillars of freedom aren't just monuments. In fact I'd say the Monuments only have meaning because of the pillars of freedom that give them meaning.

Freedom of assembly (another live nativity, this time in Times Square)

Live nativities seem the thing in NYC... this one was in a parking lot in times square (I went to it after adoration on Tuesday night)... just half a block from Broadway... Steven Baldwin apparently talked, and apparently walked right besides me without me batting an eye. (I think I wouldn't recognise any celeb unless they were pointed out... they just aren't any more or less important to me than the next guy.)


And Freedom of Movement #2... Charmin...
Charmin had this great idea to give NYC a Christmas present... and after dinner Tuesday night, I decided to partake much needed public bathrooms in times square... there are 20 of them, on a slightly raised stage... so when you come out the staff cheers and claps... which is actually not as embarrassing as it sounds... because they only do it for people that look like it would be okay with them... which apparently is not me.
Inside the toilet, you get to try out their newest toilet papers... I couldn't tell if there was only one or three types...

And you also get a view... mine was the "top of the Rock" (Rockefeller center) Hetti got disorientated... and almost vomited while I was using the toilet...
There's also a stage where people get to dance... if you want to (the staff is very energetic, and I don't think I could keep it up)... There is also a constant song playing, that though pleasant and actually not as annoying as I would think a repeated song would be, would still get annoying after working for a few hours listening to it, I think.

So there I've blogged... I put photos up, tied it all together with a theme, used headings, and witty commentary... I deserve a big pat on the back!

lately.

(a display on ellis island)

lately life has been quite enchanted (aside from the housing situation, being that NYC has a whole new set of rules for apartment searches/leases).

I've gone to central park numerous times, for various picnics, various dinners with friends, and various beautiful and exciting experiences in the city that I was finding trite until I discovered it's culture, (and a few londoners and a spaniard.)

NYC is filled with wonders, from starbucks, mcdonalds, subway, barnes and nobels, and duane reades (super-drug stores like eckherts or cvs) on every corner.




Life here is very odd, aside from email and making calls and searching for suitable apartments, I have class and friends I keep up with as best I can.

Some time a week or so ago, I ate lunch on Broadway, just west of central park... and when I say on Broadway I mean I ate it ON Broadway. There are islands on various avenues that they occaisionally put benches up on, aside from very beautiful landscaping, so one day I saw it, said why not? and ate a chicken, mashed potatoes, sparkling water and steamed veggies.



I also have a new cell phone, so if you're interested, you can email me and I'll send you back the number.


One of my classes rocks (well all of them really but this one especially). In my Geology of NYC, I basically get to look at the urban development of NYC by walking around it. It's pretty amazing, because I basically have to get to know this city more intimately than most people do who live here for as short a time as I expect to. On one of my trips through harlem, I saw quite a bit of things I never thought I'd see, albeit things I never even thought of. It was quite interesting to see racial divides still in place, and shame about the name "Harlem" (various businesses have changed their names over the last century to take out the name Harlem from their titles).

I also found how alive racism is... how hurt and blaming some african americans are. While on our walk through, we had one man scream "Cracka, WHITE CRACKA" repeatedly at us, and we also had a waterballoon and some eggs thrown at us. I missed the waterballoon, but luckily was the one hit by part of the dozen eggs. I can't explain why I like things like that. They're very humbling and they surely make me face my pride and sense of justice, but most of all in some weird way when someone treats me in a way contrary to dignity, I feel like I'm getting exactly what I deserve, and that oddly excites me and brings me joy. I honestly don't understand it. I really don't, I just know that I feel like a better person a more honest and true person after being denigrated and despised.

Annie and some of her Kids in connecticut, She's amazing and they love her so very much!
Superman one time use cameras are really really really expensive... I'll just stick with my cheap 150$ digital camera, and have to deal with not throwing it away after 24 exposures... though buy one get one free really is a nice deal! I'll have to rethink my position on this whole camera thing... it IS superman.
This is in the church that Annie works at... isn't He gorgeous! I love Him so much!
This is Serendipity 3, the place that inspired the movie Serendipity, and has an awesome frozen hot chocolate!!! (though its 15$ and can serve 3 easily).
A common street scene in (West) Harlem
This is the beautiful church I get to go to mass to every day when I'm at school, it's only three buildings down from school!
This is the ceiling of the Grant memorial. NSE (National Student exchange students) and the few International exchange students, went on a double decker bus tour of NYC last saturday, and apparently Ulysseus S. Grant is buried in NYC. He chose not to be buried in DC, and his wife chose NYC out of his short list of acceptable burial sites. His tomb is the largest in the nation.
The end of the civil war (I think).
Hetti playing dead, and trying to get old Ulysseus and his wife to stop being so boringly dead.
Just a beautiful photo outside of the tomb.
On top of the double decker... that's Chantal. (She's from Houndslow, aka part of London)
This is the site of and construction on the WTC.
That's Roshni and Paloma (a Brit and a Spaniard) on our picnic in central park... after our tour we decided to scout out central park for some fabled water falls, and brought along some picnic food... a baguette, jam, oj, water and maybe some other small stuff.
Central park is pretty at night... isn't it!
This is looking at Downtown from the Jackie Onasis reservoir (AKA the Lake) in Central park... gorgeous!
These are my friends again!
Manhattan from the boat to liberty and ellis island (we went on sunday after our saturday bus tour).
Lady liberty. She's surprisingly small... I wasn't very impressed by her stature.
But I am impressed by her being so meaningful to our country, and the world.
Ever viligant, she stands looking on the city and land she loves.
The docks at Ellis island.
The hall where immigrants would line up for immigration into the USA.


This was a cool display about the impact of the Statue of Liberty on post 9/11 nyc. Read the photo... its quite powerful. And then wonder what she means to you.

The ceiling to the hall of immigrants... I love old ceilings.
Hetti and Roshni became quick friends! This was at the Salsa dance show on battery park... it was by far the single best dance show I've ever been to... and we just stumbled unto it! And it was free... one of the girls from "so you think you can dance" was part of the dance group (she obviously wasn't very important compared to the rest, as she wasn't introduced until the end of the show... the dance group was some broadway show's cast, Mambo nights?).

This was from today... this is a train yard in poor manhattan... Just north of harlem on the west side (Inwood?).

This is actually an atypical scene in NYC... most elevated trains were torn down in the 50's and 70's, and replaced with subways.