Dispatch
May 4, 2025
New York City
Greetings Earthlings,
May the 4th be with you.
It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything, and that’s because I’ve been going through a very Unpleasant Period (as this time will henceforth be known) which has lasted nearly a full year.
I’m not ready to get into all the details yet, as I am still very much in said Unpleasant Period, but suffice to say that my fun little writing projects have taken a back seat to concerns on the low end of Maslow’s hierarchy.
More on that, perhaps, will follow. Perhaps not. Let’s see how much worse it gets (oh, if only I had a nickel for every time I’ve thought this!)
In the meantime, as a means of not entirely losing my shit (any more than already lost it, I mean,) I am trying to carve out time to be creative where I can.
Like many creative types, for reasons unknown, I’ve been compelled to create things since childhood. I drew, wrote stories (…and still do, occasionally—you can read a few short stories here), was briefly in a comedy troupe, acted, wrote songs, played in bands, and so on.
None of these things made me any money. It’s fair to say they cost me money. But I am driven to do it. I don’t know why.
And so it is that I find myself typing this now.
I did enjoy writing my little Substack and the beginnings of a podcast, so I hope to return to them. I’m grateful for the 100 or so of you who tolerate my ramblings and have put up with my shameful inconsistency. I won’t make any promises about changing my ways anytime soon since the Unpleasant Period is still very much ongoing.
But I’ll try to keep creating, if only for my sanity. I encourage you to do the same, and please share anything you create with me so I can pass it along to my absolutely massive following.
New Yawk-isms
Like many places, New York has its lingo.
When one thinks of New York-isms, “I’m walkin’ here!”, uttered by Ratso Rizzo (as played by Dustin Hoffman) in Midnight Cowboy, is probably the first that comes to mind for many.
Because New York is featured in so many widely-consumed films, songs, books, etc., New York-isms tend to spread beyond its borders, which is why this phrase became ubiquitous to the point of cliche—and why you might hear a Gen-X soccer mom in Albuquerque say “Word” in agreement with someone.
I’ve just reached my collective 10th year living in NYC. Some say that is the minimum time one must live in NYC to be considered a “real New Yorker”. Others say you need to have attended elementary school here.
I don’t make any claims to real New Yorker-hood. I always think of myself as a Canadian in New York. Even now, after having obtained US citizenship (ironically on Jan 6th of this year, right before you-know-who took office,) I still consider myself a Canadian in New York.
Here, then, is a list of words and phrases you can try out the next time you visit Gotham (I’ve left off some of the more obvious ones (like the ones referenced above, “Fugghettaboutit,” etc.):
How you doon = hello.
Brick = cold af.
The train/The fuckin’ train = MTA.
Nah nah nah = not happening.
For real = truth (can also be asked as a question.)
Deadass = for certain.
Facts = agree/correct.
Get tha fuck outta here = no/disbelief.
The city = Manhattan (e.g., “Do you live in the city?” “Nah, I’m out in Williamsburg.”)
Mad = extremely (“It’s mad brick out here, deadass.”)
On line = in line.
Lemmegeta = please give me.
Baconeggandcheese (one word) - A bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, usually prepared at a bodega.
Bodega = corner store.
What’s good = what’s up.
Pressed = annoyed.
You good? = can be a genuine vibe check or a serious threat, depending on the inflection.
Don’t get it twisted = don’t get it wrong.
“Following!” = Check-out clerks will yell this at the next person on line (see above) at the drugstore. I couldn’t figure out why they were saying this for months until, finally, one of them uttered the full phrase: “Following guest.”
Dimes Square = A hipster part of the LES (Lower East Side) named after the restaurant “Dimes” (a reference to Times Square, obviously). First started as a joke, then started being used somewhat seriously. There is still much online contention as to whether this should be used. I’m not cool enough to spend much time there, so my daily life is not overly affected by this controversy.
As an aside, one of the great things about the “I’m walkin’ here” moment is that the entire thing was improvised. In this short clip, Hoffman tells the story of how it came to be (poor quality):
British Grandma-isms
If you are like me and enjoy words, here are a few TikToks I did about weird turns of phrase my Grandma used to use (back when I was using TikTok):
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Some New Photos
I recently attended one of the many protests against you-know-who and his broligarchy buds here in NYC.
Reportedly, over 100,000 New Yorkers turned out to vent. 100,000! Deadass.
It gave me a flicker of hope in the midst of what otherwise feels like living inside a Black Mirror episode that I can’t switch off.
Anyhoo, I already shared some of my fave signs from that day on Facebook, so those of you who know me will likely have sent them already, but here are a few of the best:
These are just quick snapshots, but I also sometimes go out into the streets and take photos more intentionally. Street photography, I guess. I’ll share some of those in future posts.
Air, Apparently
I’m a big fan of 90s downtempo French duo Air and was lucky enough to catch them here in NYC when they toured the 25th anniversary of their now-classic-of-the-genre, “Moon Safari.”
Recently, British music producer and DJ, Vegyn (known for producing several of Frank Ocean’s albums, among other things), did a full remix of the Moon Safari album, “Blue Moon Safari.”
I was leery—if it ain’t broke, etc.—but it turned out that I liked it a lot. Those interested can check it out here (YouTube playlist) or below if you are a Spotify user.
Well, that’s it for now.
Until next time,
XO
🍪