yeah, i know. for all my meowing about everything else, new york beats 'em all when it comes to my ranting attention. but hey, it's not as much RANTING as MUSING...this frickin' place never ceases to amaze me. listen to THIS, why don't ya...?

when i first moved here, i got this book outta the library that was supposed to be a bare-bones young person's guide to this great city. it listed establishments of interest from every genre imaginable as well as advice for young newcomers like myself on making our way in the big apple. it was surprisingly informative, as those kind of books are usually beyond shite...but one line DID make me do a double-take - "never get a tattoo anyplace that also sells t-shirts". WHY would you have to tell ANYONE that?, thought i. you've got yer t-shirt shops and you've got yer tattoo parlours and never the twain shall meet. RIGHT? WRONG.

as i say, these new yorkers are a very versatile lot. i was still getting over the existence of fried-chicken joints that also sell and connect beepers when i passed the store front in east harlem. at first glance, it just looked like a furniture and electronics place. that's a combo i can accept. but when you looked closer, you could also see the gold jewellery display in the left hand side window, and over said display, the cardboard sign reading, "WE DO TATTOO AND PIERCING". whaaaa? so lemme get this straight...you can buy your girl a wedding set, furnish the new place, AND get her name tattoo'd on yer bum all in one stop? WIIIIICKED! that ain't such a bad idea no matter what that stoopid book said. in fact, europe could do with a couple of these multi-service centres itself. so the minute i got home that day, i wrote the taoiseach on it. wonder why he's not responded yet...???

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