Siddity In The City

Bloggidy bloggidy blog blog

Thanks to the little camera in my cellamaphone, I have been slacking on the blog of late. So easy to post a picture, you know. But I really have been doing lots of things over the last week or three that I feel the need to share. So here they are, in one summary post, where they will be unjustly dealt with, er, summarily. 1. Kehinde Wiley, Brooklyn Museum of Art After a few weeks of arsing around, I did finally make it (like, three weeks ago) to the BMA to see Wiley's exhibition, Infinite Mobility, and this brother is the shit. The paintings on display, from his "Passing/Posing" series, are larger-than-life portraits of young men he met on the street in Harlem. But see, here's the thing: they are each posed (and the portraits are named) as Renaissance portraits done by some of the masters Wiley studied for his MFA at our mutual alma mater. Though posed in imitation of Renaissance figures, with all the gravity and pomp that entails, the Wiley portraits are more vibrant, with astounding color and ornamentation, and provoke some serious thought about dominant portrayals of black men (at least, I thought it did. When I went, though, there seemed to be some docent training or something going on, and the best one of the trainees could come up with was "Can't you just imagine some of these guys dancing in the club? Can't you just hear the music?" And I just thought, Goddamn, I suspect that was the exact opposite of the point. But art is always open to interpretation, and mine is probably wrong, anyway). There's a whole interesting backstory to this (he approached likely prospects on the street, had them pick out their own poses from art books he had, took pictures of them in said pose, and then sent them on their way, so they remain anonymous) that you can find out more about if you go. So go. Go. Gogogo. And if you want to support other talented black artists, check out my cuz Kojo Griffin. 2. Fitty Three, Four and Five I continued to use the bejeezus out of that NYSC guest pass, and I continued to love that gym. And Buttercup was right. It is a great gym, with amenities and toiletries and all sorts of other gymy goodness. But I really want a trainer and an iPod, and I cannot justify those and the pricier gym. I got two degrees to pay for, dammit. Sorry, NYSC. But if you are looking for a gym and live near the NYSC on 80th and Broadway, check it out. Ask for Abdul Gaffer, who was my rep. He was super nice. So yesterday, I officially joined Synergy. Now I can work out at any Synergy location (a bunch in NYC, Long Island, and one in Jersey City), until January of 2006, for $678. Woohoo! Ten sessions with a trainer, though, cost more than a whole year at the gym. Like, $200 more. Damn. It might just be me and an iPod against the blub. But just to be sure, today I had a free consultation with a trainer at Synergy, who I think was thrown my way by management because they expected me to think he was hot and, I dunno, hand over my Mastercard on the spot. Um, no. Not because he wasn't attractive--hell, he's a trainer, it's practically his job--but I ain't no fool. I'm not in the gym to find men. I'm in the gym to find them out of it, haha. Okay, and also to not feel like a candy-ass doughball sissy-girl, as I have of late. Anyway, I had the whole weigh-in/evaluation/introduction to equipment experience, and he walked me through some things, and I'm still on the fence. I mean, aside from some of the trickier looking resistance contraptions, and despite my plumpity-plump appearance, I actually know my way around a gym, and have a relatively fair grasp of nutrition. See, believe it or not, fat people usually know more about these things than average thin people do, because we are often fucking obsessed. The problem for me, and for my trainer (because I am pretty sure he and management figured I'd be an easy sell) is that I'm not sure he's really going to teach me anything I don't already know, and I'm not sure I want to pay close to $100 an hour for what amounts to little more than encouragement, you know? I'll let you know what I decide. 4. Sometimes I feel like Beaker, from the Muppet Show, and wonder if "Meep meep boop beep," is all people hear when I talk. This is why I like writing. 3. And last, but not least, this past weekend I hung out with TBNY, but I'll do a separate post on that, since I have decided to add a section on my infrequent social outings (read: restaurant/bar reviews) to my sidebar, and it just won't do to have a link in that section lead to a post on art and fitness. Shite.

posted by Sid @ 10/27/2004 08:18:00 PM