New York: Day Three, Four, Five

So the New York Public Library tour was my favourite part of the trip so far. What an honourable, curious, and distinguished institution. Also, architecturally compelling.
They have so many treasures in there - like the 1st edition of Voltaire's Candide from Geneva.

I now am the proud owner of a NYPL library card. Four hours later, my feet feel like they are going to break and I haul ass up Fifth Ave to the MoMa. My very kind friend Claire-Elise lent me her membership card and I got to go in for free. And what a deal! Beautiful Irving Penn photographs in the lobby, new acquisitions -- Avedon photographs made me a bit teary, and the amazing Tim Burton. The exhibit included costumes for Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Batman Returns, and Sleepy Hollow. You wouldn't believe detail, and how big, stiff, and uncomfortable PVC body suits look.

We'll the exhibit is obviously a big commercial for the upcoming Alice in Wonderland but really, that doesn't take away from how wonderfullybizarre and fantastical the works are.

And plus, everyone should see this movie:




I've been off this blog (and very active on Twitter) since the conference started. I don't know how it happened but Katerina and I basically ended up spending time with a lot of Canadians and grads of the MPub program. It was an amazing experience, despite the number of stinker sessions there were. Just a lot of brilliant minds in the room, and a lot of comfort knowing that we know just about as much as everyone else. There were some good speakers and some exceptional ones as well. The ladies from Harlequin and the romance sector were absolute inspirations! Way to pave your own path. As well, Ramy Habeeb, McGill alumnus who talked about the potential to tap into and support the Arab book market, was especially refreshing. Also refreshing: free champagne!

The highlightiest of all the highlights of the conference was seeing the big panel of indie publishers. It was a pack of 6 or 7 young'uns talking about experimenting with social media on real terms. I talked with James Yeh of Gigantic. Like Sad, Gigantic is just a baby magazine focused on print, literature, art, and showing people a good time (in the business world, they call it "building community"). Though they have distribution around the world, we also share a business model based on the principle that "people are willing to pay for beer but not content." On that note, thank you Phillips Brewery, for your awesome support. And thanks to James for the beautiful magazine - cheers to a future indie mag, cross-continent partnership.

We had most of the afternoon off so K and I wandered around Herald Square and then stopped in Macy's. There was a fire in the 7th Ave side of the building so half the store was closed. The staff told us it was an electrical fire. Hopefully everyone was safe. In any case, it was a bit spooky to see that side of the building steeped in black.

At the end of the day, I walked through the East Village to forage for food (the search never ends). Serendipitously, I ended back at Veselka, one of my favourite New York restaurants: a 24-hour Ukranian deli with the best perogies I've ever had in my life.

It's time to pack up now. Tomorrow is my meeting with Esquire and then it's up to the airport and back to the land of reading and homework.

I had fun, New York (look, I'm personifying the city - I am a cliché). I'll be back soon.