I’m writing this on the train home, having stayed a little late in Manhattan after work to attend a discussion and signing of the new Studio 360 book on creativity. The event, held at a bookstore downtown in Tribeca, was an hour with Julie Burstein, former executive producer of the radio show, and Kurt Andersen, then and current host. They talked about the contents of the book, drawn from years of on-air interviews, played a few clips of those interviews, took a small handful of questions, and then signed copies of the book. All together, it wasn’t much more than an hour; I spent more time (combined, back and forth) on the subway. More time waiting around the bookstore, at whose cafe I grabbed a sandwich for dinner, and more time at Penn Station after, waiting on my train home.
Still, it was a lot of fun. I think this is the third event in the past year (or so) where I’ve seen Andersen, first at a reading for the Neil Gaiman-edited anthology Stories, then at a live recording of Studio 360 (which I think was edited into at least a couple of shows; I’m behind on my listening), and now this. I don’t take advantage of even a small percentage of the things that happen in New York City, but I do love that I can just take a (relatively quick) subway across town and attend free events like this.
I don’t necessarily love the time it adds to my commute, or how late it gets me home. But, with the move of my office coming in April, I am thinking of moving myself, possibly to Queens.
That, though, is another story.