29 Comments

Great issue, and loving the EP ;) Wanted to shout out that cool map animation too!

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As long as you keep noticing my map animations, I'll keep making them! No idea what I am doing but glad you like them!

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May 30Liked by Rob Stephenson

Fabulous account. Thank you.

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Thank you!

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There is a Mulberry Street webcam where you can watch tourists deciding whether they want to eat Italian food or not. Oh, and thanks for the link to the EP. My collaborator, John Marcell, has his own Substack and has lots of quirky and catchy music on Bandcamp.

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Oh wow! That webcam is pretty wild. I know cameras are everywhere but there is something and of terrifying about the overseeing eye. Of course I'll be spending the rest of my day looking up different webcams. Checking out John's band camp right now. Can't go wrong with Chapman Sticks and slit drums!

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May 31Liked by Rob Stephenson

P.S. It is funny as I was reading I was thinking 'not much to see anymore in little italy, probably not even worth a visit' and I thought, but of course there is Bahn mi and it is just around the corner.

Totally agree with you on the Bahn mi stop! Ban mi is the best. Miss Saigon is great, I am thrilled to hear it is still there (I'ts been over 10 years since I've been there).

Did you know the secret to the Bahn mi bagette is that they infuse the bread dough with vitamin C and that is what makes it extra fluffy?

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Vitamin C?? that is wild. That may be a rabbit hole I need to explore.

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May 31Liked by Rob Stephenson

Utterly entertaining as usual.

It is a shame that little italy is vanishing, it had so much charater and charm and identity.

"The irish man" is fantastic! What a great complement to this article to pull that scene from the movie.

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Thanks Ana! Writing this has definitely inspired me to rewatch The Irishman and Mean Streets and pretty much every movie set in Little Italy.

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May 31Liked by Rob Stephenson

That is so great about the New Yorker and New York Mag headlines. Journalists!

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Yeah, why not mix it up with a Ciao?

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May 30·edited May 30Liked by Rob Stephenson

I'll never forget the night I sat in Caffe Roma with my family and Napolitano in-laws, when two people in obviously fake nun costumes came in and tried to collect alms from the patrons. It was hysterical. My father-in-law thought they were nuns, until the manager chased them out, cursing in Italian!

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No way! Props for trying though I imagine that particular impersonation is not looked upon kindly in the neighborhood.

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May 30Liked by Rob Stephenson

Another great story about what makes New York a special place. Thanks, Rob. I was glued to my computer screen all the way through, and really enjoyed the Weegee photos and his account. I don't know how you find these audio clips, but they are great to listen to. The connection between Weegee and Dr. Strangelove is really amazing. You could start your own version of Ripley's Believe it or Not!

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Thanks Renato! I was excited to find those Weegee clips and learn of the Strangelove connection. It is so obvious once you hear it! Kubrick started out as a press photographer and was a big Weegee fan so he hired him to shoot stills on the set. Believe it or Not!

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May 30Liked by Rob Stephenson

As half Italian and living in Italy I’m flabbergasted at how much mafia the Italians have exported 🙈🙈

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Fascinating as always - the sound recording synced almost exactly with my scrolling through the photos. I want a cannoli or two now!

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Just like I planned it!

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So fascinating, and fabulous photographs!

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Thanks Jessica!

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So good as always! Earlier this year while in Paris, I paid a visit to the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, expecting to find the man's own photography and instead stumbled into the most incredible Weegee exhibit. I amused myself with the thought that I'd traveled all the way to France to see a dead man on Elizabeth Street.

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Ha! Sometimes it takes a change of scenery. While maybe not a "decisive moment" kind of shooter like HCB (sometimes he re-arranged the bodies for a better composition), Weegee's work is fantastic.

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May 31Liked by Rob Stephenson

The Crazy Joe stuff is a fascinating story! I'll have to give the poorly-received Dylan masterpiece a listen.

Also, the phrase is "by and large."

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Fixed, thanks!

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New York undoubtedly has the most famous "Little Italy", but similar neighborhoods exist in other cities with sizeable Italian populations. The one in my home town of Winnipeg has long been located along Corydon Avenue.

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Ironic that the most famous Little Italy is also the smallest!

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Wowzers! Way to pop off as Megan would say. I’ve been listening to the album it’s amazing. I was a little shocked to see no mention of your AMAZING daughter!

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😂

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