Demography in NYC

I've found some interesting data about demography in NYC here. The city is largely distinct of any other city of USA in its ethnicity, that makes it a big puzzle of mainly nations in the world.
I will let the census speak for itself, thou.

In 2005
44% of the population was white.
25.3% of the population was black or African American,
11.6% was Asian
0.4% were American Indian.
17% belonged to some other race
1.6% of New Yorkers belonged to more than one race.

The New York City metropolitan area is home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel.In 2002, an estimated 972,000 Ashkenazic Jews lived in New York City and constituted about 12% of the city's population.The Jewish presence in New York City dates to the 1600s when a Jewish community relocated from Recife seeking freedom of worship (ops!).

As of the 2000 census 255,536 New Yorkers reported German ancestry.

As of the 2000 census 213,447 New Yorkers reported Polish ancestry.

The Romanian community of New York is the largest in United States and North America, with unofficial figures showing 200,000 Romanians in New York.

It is also home to nearly a quarter of the nation's South Asians, approximately 275,000 persons from India (226,587), Pakistan (34,310), Bangladesh (18,825), and Sri Lanka (1,094), and comprise a combined 3.5% of New York City's population.

The largest African American community of any city in the country, at over 2 million within the city's boundaries.

NYC has about 800,000 Puerto Ricans and has the largest Puerto Rican population outside of Puerto Rico.

Another historically significant ethnic group are Italians, who emigrated to the city in large numbers in the early twentieth century, New York City is home to the largest Italian population in the US. New York metropolitan area is home to 3,372,512 Italians, which is the third largest concentration in the world after Milan and Rome metropolitan areas.

The Irish also have a notable presence; one in 50 New Yorkers of European origin carry a distinctive genetic signature on their Y chromosomes inherited from Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish high king of the fifth century A.D.
As of the 2000 census 420,810 New Yorkers reported Irish ancestry.

Assertiveness

One of the features of people here I most recognize is the assertiveness. People on the street tend to talk too much - well it's more they shout to each other.Maybe New York is so noisy that people have to act like this. I am more like a very quiet person, I can spend my days without speaking to anyone. Actually, I am very shy, and in NY this is fatal. At the subway I realize people talk a lot with strangers. When they realize the one next to him is from his same background, people don't stop to think before speaking. I always fear the metro situation or the street situation when someone stops you to talk about global warm or some house for children that needs my help. "You can make the difference", he said and got very much annoyed when I just keep walking while mumbling things he probably could not listen. The same at the market when I received a "HOW ARE YOU TODAY" right on the face and mubled some "fine thank you", and the woman say very angry " WHY YOU DON'T WANT TO TALK TO ME?". Then I realize I had to be more assertive in my talk otherwise I could have problems.

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the douche and the turd

"Douche and Turd" is episode 119 of South Park. It was originally broadcast on October 27, 2004, just before the United States presidential election, 2004. The episode is a thinly veiled commentary on the pointlessness of voting for either of the 2004 presidential candidates, a Douche or a Turd.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douche_and_Turd

Let's get out and vote!

Let's make our voices heard.

We've been given the right to choose,

between a douche and a turd.

It’s democracy in action!

Put your freedom to the test.

A big fat turd or a stupid douche,

which do you like best?

Trivia sections are discouraged under this blog guidelines.
This blog could be improved by integrating relevant items into it and removing inappropriate items.

splasher tracks

REVOLUTIONARY CREATIVITY DOES NOT SHOCK OR ENTERTAIN THE BOURGEOISIE, IT DESTROYS THEM. OUR STRUGGLE CANNOT BE HUNG ON WALLS. DESTROY THE MUSEUMS, IN THE STREETS AND EVERYWHERE.
(extracted from the "splasher" manifest)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/arts/design/28stin.html

http://gothamist.com/2007/01/23/against_streeta.php

http://nymag.com/news/features/32388/
(from where all texts in this post were extracted)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/nyregion/thecity/28graf.html

"Whereas graffiti tends to bloom in a city’s poorest neighborhoods and spread outward, street art breeds in pockets of gentrification—Soho, Nolita, the Lower East Side, Williamsburg, Dumbo."


This mural by Banksy, shown in July, was defaced with yellow paint by an unknown vandal and is now covered with gray paint.

“That piece was a gift,” one of them said. “People loved it. We’d sit out there, and people would stop and take photos of that shit all day long. They loved it. There’s 8 trillion other fucking things you could throw paint at in the city. How many people walk down the street and take pictures of AT&T ads?”


Swoon, one of the first street artists attacked by the Splasher

"If you had to choose, from the entire universe of street art, the least likely target of a malicious vandalism campaign, you’d pretty much have to go with Swoon. Her work is unusually quiet, thoughtful, serious, and beautiful: realistic life-size portraits of kids with skateboards and men pushing shopping carts and women sitting and sewing. She spends weeks carving templates in wood or linoleum. She’s a devoted activist, donating her art to raise money for such causes as freeing imprisoned radicals and increasing public awareness of the Mexican government’s repression of the people of Oaxaca. She’s one of the few successful women in the current scene."


Swoon interview at http://one.revver.com/watch/223597


"It was impossible to say if he would strike again, now that spring was about to hit and the walls were starting to fill with fresh targets, or if he’d just been a colorful nightmare in the city’s otherwise drab winter dreams."

Chinatown

Chinatown more than a place, is an idea. There are hundreds of Chinatowns in the world - it exists basically in mostly countries and big cities of North, South and Central Americas, Europe, Oceania, Africa, Mid-Eastern and central Asia, I mean, they are everywhere. And none of them obviously, are located in China (otherwise would have an actual name).
But Chinatown in an international reference for the -note that- not only Chinese but mostly all oriental nations area in the town. They may differ from place to place but basically is a kind of far oriental cultural ghetto. Chinatown in New York doesn't looks different.

There are records of chinese presence in New York since the XIX century, although the main entrance from orientals in America was San Francisco. In New York, they share the Low East Side with Italians and Jews. Today chinatown is quite established and provides a quite interesting view for the unadvised visitor. The feeling is like you still are in NY but why you can't read or understand anything?

images and history at http://www.nychinatown.org/

Coney Island original borders

Well these are some maps I found (again at NYPL) that shows the changes at Coney Island's original geography. Actually Coney Island was an island some day, as you can see in the map, but is not true anymore. Most of the changes took place from 1867 to 1930, when Coney Island was definally no longer an island.

nobody cares

yes I know, yes I know...

This week happened something that shows how the goodwill of some can be used by other's profit. And this also traces the line between the commercial and non commercial uses of anonymous thousands of images posted everyday in the internet. The one above is one of them.
it belongs to Liz Henry and is posted in her Flickr page. I just grab it and put it here. Nobody cares about my blog anyway and I am not taking any financial advantage of it. But when it comes to the use of the same kind image by a big corporation like Virgin how does it works?
I mean, these are the guys that are supposed to have multimillionaire budgets for adversements but they choose to take a photo like that based in the idea of the criative commons.
here's the link for the whole thing here.

The First Jews (some more infos)

At NY Public Library I've found more information about the jews that fled from Brasil, this time in another point of view, as you can notice in the text written:

"Twenty three Sephardic Jews arrived in New amsterdan in 1654, establishing the first permanent Jewish settlement in North America. Since 1492, when the inquisition expelled all Jews froms Spain, Sephardic Jews have been wandering through the Mediterranean region, Western Europe, the Caribbean and South America, seeking havens. Some had settled in the Dutch colony of Recife, in Brazil. When the Portuguese overwhelmed the Dutch, Jews had to flee. Some arrived in New Amsterdan because the Dutch had been sympathetic to the flight of jews from Spain. Although they were allowed to enter New Amsterdan, Governor Peter Stuyvesant protested their remaining. as a result of a petition by Jewish Dutch stockholders of the Dutch West India Company, Stuyvesant was compelled to permit them to stay.(...)

6emeia

Yes, the streets are fuming in São Paulo, too...


Six and a half, http://www.fotolog.com/6emeia is the name of a collective that's using the design of sidewalks in São Paulo to their criative paintings. call it graffitti, call it urban art or whatever.
I think they are great!


The only statement found of the group, says:
"If we had been living in dictatorship, we would be guerilla soldiers.
If we had been living in the 80's, we would be punks.
If we had been living in the 90's, with the face painted we would put down presidents, and in 2006 we would paint storm drains!!!
The time has come.
6emeia

romanian music: Romica Puceanu and Maria Tanase

Romica and the Brothers Gori in recording session, Bucharest, mid 50's

This is for music lovers: I've just found the most beautful site about Romica Puceanu (1928 - 1996), for those of you never heard her, or about her, here follows a brief introduction, and a very precious link for her work.

http://aris.ss.uci.edu/rgarfias/kiosk/romica.html
update Dec., 2019, link not working,
for those interested in the content of the original site, please contact me in the comments
instead, please visit:

http://wesrunoff.blogspot.com/2008/03/romica-puceanu.html


"In November of 1996, the Romanian Gypsy singer, par excellence, Romica Puceanu, died in Bucharest as the result of an automobile accident. Greatly admired by those who knew her singing, she was, nonetheless, the unfortunate victim of a number of circumstances which prevented her receiving the acclaim which she deserved. By the 1960s and 70s she had become in Romania, the unrivaled interpreter of the cintec de pahar, that form of urban Romanian Gypsy song, a combination of Turkish and Romanian elements in a unique Gypsy setting. She possessed an exquisite voice and was singer of great sensitivity and depth. Romanian state policy in effect during most of the years during which Romica was in her prime, made it difficult for most artists, particularly Gypsies, to be heard abroad.(...)"Robert Garfias
department of anthropology
UCI




I was first introduced to Romica by a friend in Viena and her voice and singing touched me forever. This was the best introduction to romenian music one can have.
There are some recordings from Romica that been release not long ago, in a postumous homage to this great singer. I haven't heard it yet, and I believe it may be very interesting, but if you go to this site, you can listen to a lot more of her songs. My favorite always been 'Lume, lume', a very emotional tune, which i got completely amazed when I got the lyrics of. I put then down here in the original and in the translation of two romanians that live in the USA. More information below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNF6eBRYDVQ
sung by Romica Puceanu


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79QVepeBrWA
sung by Maria Tanase

Lume lume

Lume, lume, soră lume
Lume, lume, soră lume
Când să mă satur de tine
Când să mă satur de tine
Lume, soră lume
Când s-o lăsa sec de pâine
Şi păhăruţul de mine
Poate-atunci m-oi sătura
Poate-atunci m-oi sătura
Când o suna scândura
Când o suna scândura
Lume, soră lume
Când m-or băga in mormânt
Şi n-oi mai fi pe pământ
Lume, soră lume

Aşa-i lumea trecătoare
C-aşa-i lumea trecătoare
Unul naşte altul moare
Unul naşte altul moare
Lume, soră lume
Ăl de naşte necăjeşte
Ăl de moare putrezeşte
Lume, soră lume

C-aşa-i lumea trecătoare
Unul naşte altul moare
Lume, soră lume
Ăl de naşte necăjeşte
Ăl de moare putrezeşte
Lume, soră lume

World, world

World, world, sister world
World, world, sister world
When will I have enough of you
When will I have enough of you
When I give up bread for Lent
And the glass will give up on me

Maybe then I'll have enough of you
Maybe then I'll have enough of you
When they hammer the nails on my coffin
When they hammer the nails on my coffin
World, sister world
When they put me in my grave
And I won't be on earth anymore
World, sister world

That's how the world is, transient
'Cause that's how the world is, transient
One is born, another dies
One is born, another dies
World, sister world
The born one suffers
The dead one rots

'Cause that's how the world is, transient
One is born, another dies
World, sister world
The born one suffers
The dead one rots
World, sister world

Maria Tanase

Maria Tanase (1913-1963) according to my romanians friends (the ones which translated 'Lume, lume') is better singer than Romica. No doubt she's an excelent singer. You can listen to a lot of her music in their site, which is totally devoted to romanian culture, and take you own conclusion. They told me Romica has a more urban singing, while Maria has a more tradicional approuch. Both can resume the changes that romanian society passed through the 20th century.

http://virtualromania.org/

Go to romanian music, and don't forget to thank these guys for the beautful work they do.