Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 446

"I’m on my way to a Burning Man event."“So how...

"I’m on my way to a Burning Man event."

“So how would you describe the Burning Man community?”

“Well… it’s really everything… and nothing… it’s sort of a home for people who have a hard time identifying anywhere else… and there are these ten principles… and it’s all connected…well…basically it’s a bunch of dorks.”

Seen in Grand Central

Seen in Grand Central

"Three thousand years ago I had a disagreement with Zeus about...

"Three thousand years ago I had a disagreement with Zeus about the Trojan War, and he’s been harassing me ever since."

“You were alive three thousand years ago?”

“All of us were.”

Pretty funny/cool surprise last night. I was walking near my...

Pretty funny/cool surprise last night. I was walking near my house around midnight, without my camera and wearing nondescript winter clothes. A cab came flying past me, then immediately slowed down and pulled over. I assumed it was dropping somebody off. When I caught up to the cab, the driver leaned out the window. “There you are,” he said. “I’ve been hauling this thing around for weeks.”

My girlfriend spent most of yesterday gathering debriefings from...

My girlfriend spent most of yesterday gathering debriefings from everyone involved in HONY For The Holidays. We matched about 75 people with hosts, there were no reported murders, and everyone seems to have had a blast. Success! Thanks to everyone who opened up their home and participated.

"We were living with her dad’s parents, but things...

"We were living with her dad’s parents, but things didn’t work out. So now we’re at the shelter."

I was on a commercial flight yesterday, heading back from a...

I was on a commercial flight yesterday, heading back from a visit to Atlanta, when the captain announced that the plane was transporting the body of a slain serviceman. I was sitting at the back of the plane, so when we finally arrived at LaGuardia, I had to wait several minutes for my turn to exit. When I finally stood up from my seat, the scene was surreal. The entire left side of the plane was empty. But everyone on the right side of the plane was still in their seats— faces pressed against the window. I walked past thirty rows of seats before I finally found an open window, and could see what everyone was looking at. The soldier’s name was Ibraham Torres.

"My dad was very domineering when I was growing up, and...

"My dad was very domineering when I was growing up, and discouraged me from expressing myself. Now he’s older and wants a relationship, and doesn’t understand why I can’t express myself to him."

"We didn’t lose a single football game from 7th grade to...

"We didn’t lose a single football game from 7th grade to 12th grade. We had what they called the ‘presidential backfield.’"

“The presidential backfield?”

“We had an all white front line, and three brothers in the backfield named Nixon, Kennedy, and Johnson.”

"She made all her Christmas presents by hand."

"She made all her Christmas presents by hand."