vip in the city

Busy scissors

As usual, I left the salon this evening feeling that my cut was too short. But it’s worth going in just for the head massage that comes with getting my hair washed.

New York ran a feature last November about the dramatic expansion of the spa/salon industry, and the attendant mushrooming (and exploitation) of workers in this relatively new field of labor. Services that were once considered luxuries are now “social imperatives” and deemed necessary for maintaining an overall sense of well-being.

There may be something to that latter point; another theory not espoused in the article is that all these massages, mani-pedis and waxes have become, in part, a symptom of urban isolation, of individuals growing increasingly beyond the reach of one another, despite such close proximities. An entire (legal) industry built up around providing human touch and connections.

Chinatown produce stands:

Tags: Chinatown, Pell Street, spas, touch

Celebrating citizenship

At CL’s invitation, I attended my first ever naturalization ceremony this Wednesday morning. Over 350 people from 55 countries (including one active member of the U.S. Armed Forces) were sworn in as United States citizens at Stuyvesant High School’s Murray Kahn Auditorium. The event was hosted by the Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Emilio T. González (himself a naturalized citizen); the keynote address was delivered by Taiwanese-born U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, who with her father Dr. James S. C. Chao, was being presented with an Outstanding American by Choice Award. According to the USICS, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, the award is designed to recognize naturalized citizens who have made significant contributions to both their community and their adopted country.

Stuyvesant’s principal Stanley Teitel (at the podium) offered the welcoming remarks.

After the Honor Guard from Lt. B.R. Kimlau Chinese Memorial Post 1291 presented the colors, the Stuyvesant Concert Chorus performed a selection of patriotic songs, including “The Star Spangled Banner,” “This is My Country” and “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor,” a tune with lyrics drawn from Emma Lazarus‘ 1833 sonnet “The New Colossus,” whose famous lines appear on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

And then, the moment most had been waiting for: the ceremony itself. As the names of each country represented were read aloud, the range of nations stood as testimony to the richness of America’s variety and its continuing status as a country of immigrants.

The oath was administered solemnly, with the new citizens raising their right hands to repeat the words:

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.“

It was all very moving. When it was done, there were smiles, tears, and cheers as the newly naturalized citizens waved miniature American flags amidst hearty applause and the flashing of cameras. Several leaped out of their chairs and hugged, and many turned to the rear auditorium where their friends and family were seated, beaming broad smiles.

Two of Stuy’s own, Chinese immigrants Minglian Pan, 17, and Yimei Hu, 15, (standing far right on stage in the photo above) were naturalized that morning, and after being presented with their certificates of citizenship, led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Secretary Chao (not always the most sympathetic of characters) delivered a heartfelt speech as she accepted her award as the first Asian-American woman to be appointed to a presidential cabinet. In it, she related part of the story — just one of hundreds in the room — of how her Taiwanese parents came to make their lives in the United States through struggle and hard work, driven by the desire to better the lot of their children.

Chao’s voice choked with emotion as she dedicated her award to her mother, Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, who passed away last August after a 7-year battle against lymphoma.

America’s newest citizens:

Tags: citizenship, Stuyvesant

Love and the Tudors

This Monday our film seminar series screened a somewhat more mainstream feature than usual: Sony Pictures’ The Other Boleyn Girl, based on Philippa Gregory‘s bestselling novel of the same name.

The Other Boleyn Girl draws its inspiration from the rise and fall of the two Boleyn sisters Mary and Anne (played by Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman, respectively), rivals for the attentions of King Henry VIII (who, continuing the onscreen tradition of hunky Henry Tudors, is portrayed by Eric Bana). The young women are portrayed like opposites: sweet blonde, scheming brunette. In their world, nubile female flesh is leveraged for financial and political favor; the girls are quite literally pimped out to the king by their father and uncle. Anne, of course, eventually wiles her way into becoming queen to the already married king, and loses her head to ambition.

The film is intended as a tale of sexual intrigue and family betrayals, set against the backdrop of the King of England’s break with the Catholic Church — an act with far-reaching consequences for the course of modern English history. Ideal for those who want a little eye candy with their history and, as very little is known of the real-life Mary Boleyn, who aren’t overly concerned with factual details. Screenwriter Peter Morgan, acclaimed for his work on The Last King of Scotland and The Queen, stumbles a bit this time out, glossing over the huge historical impact of the king’s divorce (and subsequent founding of The Church of England) and almost entirely loses inspirational steam once Anne takes her place on the throne.

More free love (banners) in Times Square. Marian Bantjes, Canadian designer, artist, illustrator and typographer. Remember Saks’ 2007 “Want It!” campaign?:

Chip Wass, New York-based award-winning illustrator and designer:

A week later, a small bomb would be set off steps from here, in front of the military recruitment center in Times Square.

Tags: bomb, graphic design, Love, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Times Square