New York Cool

Sometimes what's cool about New York is not what you would think.

Here, briefly, a sampling of events I witnessed or attended in the City this past month, latest thing first:

1) Book Expo America conference. A friend convinced (er.. coerced?) me to attend the Book Expo at the Javitz Center this weekend. Yesterday and today we came home with about as many books as we could uncomfortably handle. Since I've been in the publishing business for 100 years or so, one would think I'd have gone to this event before, but no. I suspect this is because no one I've ever worked for has ever considered me important enough to be sent to such an event.

This morning, we attended a BEA "Breakfast" Round Table event (and the word "breakfast" really needs to be in quotes here, as it turned out to be nothing fancier than muffins and bagels), MC'd by Craig Ferguson. My cohort, M, made a beeline for a table at the front, albeit all the way to the left, as the center ones were reserved for more important people. Sharing the table with us were some folks from Oklahoma. Okay, so I know I tend to be overly cynical, but these people were so completely stereotypical of buttoned up, corn fed , humorless midwesterners that you'd think they were sent by some local casting agency. They sat with their backs to the stage, and although Craig was his usual charming and witty self, our tablemates had these pissy looks on their faces the whole time. Did they come all the way from Oklahoma just to get some fancy New York breakfast, only to be gravely disappointed by the sparse fare? Because they didn't seem any more interested in the three other authors who were speaking, and they left the complimentary copies of the authors' books on their seats. No worries; these books were quickly picked up by book scavengers. One woman came over to our table and scooped up five extra copies of Craig's book. (I'm really thrilled to have an advance copy of Craig's book, too, but I don't need five copies.) I'm sure the other authors' books found homes as well: Except for those folks from Oklahoma, everyone around us seemed to be proper bookophiles.

2) There's a new little restaurant on Avenue B called Fu Sushi. Fu, the 32-year-old who owns the place, was our host, waiter and busboy the evening we were there. The place has innovative concoctions, and super fresh fish. They were even advertizing a fugu night. It's only six months old. I'm hoping it sticks around for a long time.

3) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex. It's a tease, because it's just a sampler of the real thing, but it's a whole lot of fun, nonetheless. It starts with a short multi-screen film reel of the history of rock and rolll, then you are given headphones and MP3 players that are be triggered to play appropriate music as you approach each exhibit. The whole thing ends with the John Lennon in New York exhibit, which is simultaneously fascinating and bone-chilling. If you can look at that paper bag filled with the clothes Lennon was wearing the night he was shot and not shudder just a bit, you have Coca Cola running in your veins.

4) The First Annual Dance Parade. I saw this quite by accident, because it happened to pass right by my door. You might not think so, but it's actually unusual for a bonafide parade to travel down St Marks Place. I've never seen it before, unless you count the time the Hungry March Band followed me home, or any Saturday with the Hare Krishnas. The Dance Parade better as a concept than it was in execution. By the time the various groups of dancers passed by my house, they were so exhausted they barely cared any more. Marching in a parade is one thing; dancing requires a different kind of energy, one that is intensely tasking. Try doing a routine over and over and then try to cover ground while you're doing it. I've done this in both the Halloween Parade and the Mermaid Parade, and let me just say: yikes.

5) The last significant conference at the Javitz Center before the Book Expo was the Furniture Show. This is only significant to me because of the in-store events. Each May my above-mentioned cohort, M, and I hunt down these events to consume whatever hors d'oevres and drink they provide. This year the first few we went to were kind of sparse, your choice of wine or NYC Tap Water and all the pretzels you could eat. But they got better as the month went on, until the last event we went to where the caterers kept offering us more and more food and we had to decline. It seemed this year that the number of tall skinny Italian designers in black leather that attended an event was directly proportional to the lack of food and drink. Maybe that was just a coincidence.