Sketching the Loew’s Jersey

[avram]

I took advantage of today’s nice weather to walk down Newark Avenue to Journal Square and get a look at the Loew’s Jersey Theatre, a once (and maybe future) beautiful Jersey City landmark. There was a bench across the street, well-sited for sketching, but it was still a bit far to catch the detail in the molding. Just a rough sketch, then:




Then I hit the local Indian Row, had a cheap masala dosa for lunch, picked up a cheap Teach Yourself Hindi book to pick words and phrases out of for my character in bsd_rpg, and walked back home. Sat my ass down in Ground with a cuppa decaf and sketched with my trusty 005 Pigma Micron:



I finished Gene Wolfe’s The Knight last night. It’s good; pretty accessible for a Wolfe book. Though it’s got the typical Wolfe touches, like bits where he’ll skip a big chunk of time and not bother to tell you about it till much later. (And that’s doubly odd considering that this is an epistolary novel, supposedly a latter from the protagonist to his brother.) But the language is straightforward, without the exoticisms of New Sun or the slang dialog of Long Sun. And it’s got lots to say about loyalty and heroism. I’m eager for the second half.

Today I started Thomas Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon. I’m glad I followed up on that impulse — I’m enjoying this. It’s a bit tough to penetrate, since it’s written in an 18th-century style, but I can manage it, and past reading (the Aubrey & Maturin books, and Gene Wolfe as well) is coming in handy. So far (not very, since I haven’t actually just sat down and spent a big chunk of time reading), it’s bizarre and a bit funny.

Comments

[mamishka.livejournal.com]

Wow, Loew's Jersey Theater is GORGEOUS!

I also thought you should know that I'm deathly jealous of your mad sketching abilities. Siiiiiiiigh.

[avram]

The photo on that website is from the glory days of the theater. The current marquee isn’t nearly as nice, and detracts from the design of the façade. But there’s a devoted crew of people trying to restore it.

And aw, shucks, thanks.