Fantastic NYC Vignettes

Charming little snippets of the characters that populate our everyday lives as we bustle past each other, head down about our own business.

One in 8 Million - New York Characters in Sound and Images - The New York Times

Miro!

Miro at the Modern

Great slide show from NYT about MoMA's new show. I hope to take a trek to see it in the coming weeks.

The Uses of Adversity

Annals of Business: The Uses of Adversity: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Fascinating story about the earlier days of Goldman and the man that defined the company for much of the 20th century.

Economics

Why Don't Married Women in New York Work? - Economics Blog - Zubin Jelveh - Odd Numbers - Portfolio.com

Alternative Career?

Weekend in New York: Martinis - Places That Put the Proper Prefix on the -tini - Travel - NYTimes: "Every drink is made with almost appalling care by bartenders who would rather shake up drinks than chat up customers."

Yep, I definitely need to get into this business. Exactly my mentality when I host something... but seriously, excellent article about a return to precision and craftsmanship. Finally!

Sisters in Idiosyncrasy

Sisters in Idiosyncrasy - New York Times

The Economist Does NYC

A bit dated, but here's an excerpt and link to a weekly feature from a week or so back:

"New York is certainly more protean than most European cities, but I wonder whether Mr Whitehead didn’t capture something larger here, something of the wistfulness inherent in urban life. To live in a city is to live in a teeming, hectic present amidst the burnished memories and unblemished hopes of millions of other citizens. Things were great before you got here, and they’ll be wonderful after you leave, but while you are here you are always just the same old you. It’s a horrible fate, I know, and no less horrible for being universal, but I will always be grateful to have suffered it in Brooklyn, if only for a while."

Link to coverage on Economist.com

McKinsey's Prescription for NYC

Courtesy of FT.com, here is a link to McKinsey's report commissioned by Mayor Bloomberg to restore NYC's competitiveness in the global arena for financial services. In a winner-take-all economic battle, my emotions lie with London, but rationality encourages my allegiance to NY's continued competitiveness. Thankfully, I don't think the situation is quite such a zero-sum game, especially since NYC finds the greatest volume of its business in domestic concerns and London, in international ones.

Sustaining New York's and the US' Global Financial Services Leadership

I haven't had a chance to skim this yet, but I'm looking forward to paging through it over the next several days.

Warning to those with a slow connection: link opens directly into a 100+ page pdf!