Live from New York, it's Saturday.

I live in the huge, positively huge city of Los Angeles. New York (I'm here working this month) is huge too, but much, much more massive. The same amount of people in half (a quarter? a fifth?) of the space. The same amount of people, except instead of spread out, they're spread up. With everyone packed so close together, lined up next to each other in every bar, every shopping area, every subway station, there's a lot of interaction. This seems to create an energy on the streets that you just don't find in other cities, and so you encounter things on the streets that you just don't see in other cities. Some interesting things that happened in NYC today:

•A group of women selling knock-off purses on a busy SoHo street were suddenly sprung upon by local police and arrested. There was a huge crowd around the display and people dispersed excitedly like a pack of wildebeasts from a lion. They had a system set up whereby they could quickly wrap up their wares and scatter should the five-0 show up, but they were not fast enough today.
•A group of men stood on a stoop and sang a capella 50's classics in front of a gathered crowd of passersby. They appreciate your tips and have CD's for sale. Take as many pictures as you like, but don't take any video.
•A woman stood alone on a street corner and painted a canvas.