Category: Reading Material
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Francis Lewis
We live in an era where self centered people flaunt bullshit accomplishments. This timeframe lacks individuality and true conviction. We shouldn’t compare ourselves to others but studies show that people are depressed because they are not living up to some imaginary bar that a fake celebrity lifted. I take no part in that. The things…
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Quartet
When the UA Quartet opened on July 14th, 1971 on Northern Boulevard in Flushing, John Lindsay was the Mayor of New York City and the number one film at the time was Love Story. Originally the building was The Roosevelt Theater, it opened on August 14th, 1926. It was sold and repurposed, becoming the first…
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The Dirty Water
The Flushing Creek is not a resort. It is no longer pretty and hasn’t been for a century. I can reflect on long car rides as a child, gazing out of the window and seeing the big U-Haul building, indicating that we were not far from home. Across the way was where the home team…
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The Ballad Of Pat Sullivan
The first time I ever went out to do graffiti proper was on July 1st, 1994. The record high that day was 88 degrees. The first official bomb. A legitimate attempt at executing a local mission or what I thought one should be. It didn’t go as planned, and maybe I didn’t get many ups…
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BELLA
“If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” – Will Rogers Bella has been gone a little over a week and I miss her terribly. We all do. I know that it takes time, and it’s out of habit but I expect her to be…
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Merch Table For A King
Life got a lot more interesting when shows became a regular occurrence. My fascination with music started early. Music added something else into my life to obsess over. I wanted to be able to play all those songs I loved on guitar. I wished I could sing. I wanted to be in a band. I…
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TRATOR
It was a random summer night in 1996 that I happened to meet an older graffiti writer at Memorial Park. That writer was TRATOR. He was hanging out with a female from our neighborhood. There was no way to know then that after one night of drinking beer and hanging out and catching marker tags…
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You Didn’t Scratch The Paint, Right?
At the risk of offending anyone, this essay will involve a name change to protect the identity of a person involved. If you know you know, feel free to chuckle. It’s all in good fun. No judgment will be passed as we are all guilty of some idiocy. It’s up for debate whether the events…
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Seano’s First Arrest
Last night two police officers were shot in Harlem. One was shot dead and the second is not expected to survive. My condolences to their friends and family. I tried to be a cop in the mid 2000s , I scored fairly well, although I thought I should have done better. My list number was…
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25 Ta Life
It was sometime in 1996 that I was introduced to one of my all time favorite Hardcore bands. It occurred somewhere between discussing music and graffiti at 21 Park and getting tight fades in Boogie Down Mitchell Gardens, when my friend Dombo gifted me a tape that while the artifact is long gone, the impression…
SEAN GABLER 