August 7, 2011

Live from New York, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night! Starring Ray’s Candy Store and a street party in front of the Mars Bar! And now, ladies and gentlemen, from the East Village in New York City, Ray’s Candy Store!

And it's off we go into the night. There's a protest/party starting out at the BMW Guggenheim Lab thingy and then ending up at the Mars Bar for a street party. The BMW portion was too early for me, but I thought I'd stop by Ray's and get a cheeseburger and then wander over to the Mars Bar for the street party/protest. The man organizing this party/protest is longtime NYC activist, John Penley. Last Halloween John was organizing an event for Halloween and we traded comments on EV Grieve and he promised me a kiss! The event didn't happen though, so I didn't  get to receive my kiss. Tonight I'll see if John will make good on that promise.

It's sprinkling a little outside, but it's not that bad and it's brought the heat down.

And here we are at Ray's, time for Cheeseburger Saturday night to begin!

There's a line inside which I always like to see at Ray's.

And here's the man himself, Ray flanked by two of his pretty co-workers.

Ray recently became an American citizen, here's a photo of the legendary day. Congratulations, Ray!

They were out of cheeseburger ingredients for the night, so I opted for a hot sausage with mustard and carmelized onions.

It was delicious!

I also got one of Ray's classic vanilla milkshakes. And now it's all gone. Burp. Okay, off to the street party at Mars Bar.

Hey, where is everybody?

Oh, here they are!

And here's the man who put it all together, John Penley. The group gave the BMW Guggenheimer's a run for their money and I was sorry I missed it. But at least I made it to this portion.

A sign is hoisted in front of Mars Bar.

"Gentrification is class war! Fight back!" The message for the evening.

LES Jewels had a poem he had just written earlier in the evening.

It was a great poem and read with heartfelt conviction. Nice job, LES Jewels!

Ace photographer Bob Arihood was on the scene documenting everything. I look forward to his take on the evening which should be forthcoming this week.

Perfectly summed up. I've asked many people what the point of this whole BMW Guggenheim Lab thing is, and no one seems to know. I haven't gone yet, but it seems like one big circle jerk to me.

And the wine is brought out, let the party begin!

A corkscrew was brought out and the uncorking of the wine begins.

Here's everyone milling around.

Hey John, how about that kiss?

This photo by Bob Arihood just may be the highlight of this blog so far! It'll be hard to top this moment! Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.

Further reading: EV Grieve, Neither More Nor Less, facecrack and The Gog Log.

You Might Also Like: Peaches and Herb.

Five Songs About Parties
Where’s The Party by Madonna
Party on the Patio by ZZ Top
It’s My Party by Lesley Gore
1999 by Prince
The Party by Phil Ochs

In the city there's a thousand men in uniforms,
And I've heard they now have the right to kill a man.

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(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you! This one’s a day late.)