Signspotting
04/22/04
Upper East Side
Tribeca
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Chinatown
CapedMaskedandArmed is well worth a look. I especially liked Street Jams (a collection of political street art) and A Study in American Nationalism.
12:37 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Hey, just wanna say that I'm a long time reader, first time commenter.
Anyways, those Chinese folks with the signs and stuff apparently are from Falun Dafa (a.k.a. Falun Gong) (yes, I know the signs say that). Just for an interesting background info, it's a religion like Tai Chi meets Buddhism and it's pretty spiffy - no clergy, no donations, the required readings and videos and stuff are all downloadble online, etc. It's actually been banned in China where it's deemed as "a dangerous cult".
IMHO, they're like, the anti-Scientology and that's pretty darn spiffy.
And this concludes what will perhaps be my one and only comment.
Posted by: Champthom at April 22, 2004 07:20 PM
Yup, they're very much repressed by the Chinese government. When I was in Shanghai, just doing a Google search for "Falun Gong" or "Falun Dafa" would result in that computer losing all Google access for 10-15 minutes. (Other, non-controversial search terms didn't get that treatment.)
Posted by: Mike at April 22, 2004 08:14 PM
Yeah, WOW is right.
anyway--been reading/looking for a while too. You capture some of the greatest reason that I love NY.
jocelyn
Posted by: Jocelyn at April 22, 2004 10:01 PM
I remember seeing a Falun Gong meditation session near the Chinese consulate here in Chicago. Very peaceful looking people. It's hard to think that they are banned in China.
Posted by: Chris at April 22, 2004 10:35 PM
The cardboard licence plate is just too much. That's even worse than none at all.
Posted by: nantel at April 24, 2004 10:39 AM
I want my site to be like yours when it grows up. As always,
johnseven
Posted by: johnseven at May 1, 2004 12:47 AM
I walk by these Falun Dafa folks every day. There have been five or six of them sitting quietly outside the consulate at 42nd and 12th each and every day, looking all peaceful-like. And now, as I understand it, oppressed. I had been wondering what they were all about...THANKS Satan's Laundromat!
Posted by: Malcolm at May 6, 2004 05:10 PM
my publisher..who grew up on City Island Johnmartone.net turned me on to your site.
I was born in 1941. My mother, l915..Manhattan
HOA
My friend, Fay Chin, now on Vestry..
I will look more cloasely at your "naratives"..
best, Ed