If this foul-mouthed can figure this out, the rest of us should too, and it’s far better than being told, as we once were, that courtesy is contagious. I particularly enjoyed the puppets’ “Showtime!” routine at around the 45-second mark.
I’ll have more substantial material over the weekend. As a preview, check out David W. Dunlap’s excellent exploration of everyone’s favorite $4 billion subway station. There’s a lot to unpack in that piece, including a kicker that seems to indicate Santiago Calatrava tried to go back to the Port Authority for even more money when his designs fell short of expectations. As you can imagine, I have lots of thoughts on that piece, and I’ll share them soon.
7 comments
It is a good video, even if the language is a little strong at times. Also not a fan of the joke about women who look pregnant, although I understand it’s ironic.
I wish the video had addressed one of my pet peeves: (1) the failure to move to the center of the car, and (2) gratuitously moving through the center of the car.
Point 1 is obvious and I think most people understand it. But it happens all the time and it’s infuriating.
Point 2 is less obvious. I try to be responsible and move to the center of the car unless my stop is coming up. But often my reward is to have to squeeze this way and that to accommodate people who want to move past me to the next set of doors. (The problem is worst on the R-style trains, where the standing area is narrowest in the middle of the car due to the configuration of the seats.) I understand that sometimes people need to move through the car, but that should be pretty rare. By definition I’m not between anyone and the nearest door. It can be very awkward to make room for someone to pass, and usually there’s no real purpose. People just want to get (very slightly) closer to the door nearest the exit at their stop, or to get to a slightly less-crowded part of the car. And in a crowded car, this requires a lot of bumping into people, awkward positioning to let people through, etc. Makes the ride much less pleasant for the public, in return for a minor improvement for the person moving through the car. It makes me understand why some people are reluctant to stand in the middle of the car, which brings me back to point #1.
Ben, did you write the script?
No, he didn’t, but when I saw it I knew I had to send the link. Glove and Boots started out in the city but I’m not sure they are still there – they were street performers. Somehow they managed to get this gig which, given the production values, must have some $$$ behind it. Johnny T isn’t one the main characters; those are Mario and Fafa the Groundhog.
*I* find their videos HILARIOUS and strongly recommend looking up their YouTube channel. 🙂
Johnny T also has some tips for tourists visiting the city: http://youtu.be/8LmPBPWHJu4
i both hate and love that people don’t move to the middle of the car, especially on the older trains with the perpendicular seats. let 20 people cram around the entrance. I’ve got room to swing my arms over here.
LOL: You have to get on and off the subway. You have to! How else are you gonna use it?
Kind of reminds me of Avenue Q to some degree – very funny.
This is an hilarious and informative video that makes several important points. I enjoyed it greatly.
Mike