Escape From New York

Well, I won't say that I conquered New York in a weekend--conquering this city in any length of time is undoubtedly a claim too great for any one person. However, I think I pulled off a black-ops surgical strike the likes of which hasn't been seen since Snake Plissken.

While I may have missed a lot of the big landmarks, I feel like I got a pretty good whirlwind tour of NY at the ground level. From being the the first on the floor at the goth club, to crazy Japanese bars, to riding the subway solo at commuter hours, I think that I squeezed a lot out of my brief time here. If there isn't a Dude Badge in there somewhere, I think I at least deserve some kind of honorable mention.

And yet it is still miles to go before I sleep. Actually, I did finally sleep, but what I really mean is that the trip is only just beginning. With a bite of the Big Apple still sliding down my gullet and a piece of its skin stuck between my teeth, I and my brave companions now look west toward the rest of America. For the better part of next week, the fly-over states will be driven over for the first time by yours truly. But after New York, everything else is cake, right?

Also, I've been told that I'm giving some kind of lecture on the History of Punk. I'm not really sure I'm that qualified for the task--it's not like I'm a professor of Punkology at NYU--and in any case my area of expertise is more in the related fields of Goth Rock and other forms of Post-Punk. At best, I believe I have an ability to convey what knowledge of music I do have in an interesting, yet academic-seeming manner. However, Paul has made this request of me as part of my contribution to fending off boredom during the drive, so I'll do my best.