Saturday in SoHo

You know, I always think (and say) that Times Square is my least favorite part of Manhattan - the constant, often disgusting, mash of tourists, rubbing up against you in overcrowded shops, stopping dead in front of you on the sidewalk so that they can take their 8 millionth photo of the smoking coffee sign (is that thing even there anymore)... even writing it, I'm recalling how much I absolutely dread any occasion which will bring me close to that area. In fact, I will often go around my ass to get to my elbow in an effort to avoid that area.

All of that said, I was reminded yesterday that no matter how awful Times Square is, it is absolutely NOTHING compared to the hideousness that is Canal Street.

I never really remember it until I get there - and, though I go to SoHo every so often, I usually never venture down that far... probably because my subconscious knows that it would be better to just through myself into a put of ghetto and get it over with. It's hard to explain it to someone who a) isn't a tourist or b) has never been to Manhattan or to that area, but if you have, then you must know what I mean. It's horrible. It's impossible. It's dirty. You can barely cross the street and it takes about 15 minutes to go 5 steps down a sidewalk. You get hit in the face with bubbles and smoke. You get offered every kind of designer bag under the sun. What should be a 10 minute stop into Pearl Paint turns into an ordeal of just making it to the entrance and getting back out again.

If you're smart (like me), you'll use the back exit out of Pearl and be rewarded with some awesome street art on Lispenard Street. The one I saw yesterday was arranged kind of like a tree, but if you click on it to view the larger picture, it looks like a blurred image of some street lights at night. I really loved the way they pasted it up, and the location works out nicely, too. The result is that of a tree on fire - at least that's how I see it. No idea who the artist is, but it's one to check out.

I spotted a few other gems on West Broadway - the first being the guys who set up their vending table to sell copies of "How to Roll a Blunt for Dummies." I'm sure it's a great read. They were really putting in a good effort in selling it, too - everyone's got their niche, I guess.

On my way back up from Canal, I spotted one of those wannabe hot clothing stores with this mannequin out in front that a bunch of old tourists kept stopping to gawk at... mostly because it was really obvious that this particular dummy was originally built for a sex shop. I can't even count how many men were telling their wives (all over 60, btw) how they'd buy that outfit for them if they'd promise to look like the mannequin when they put it on. Good luck, fellas.