The Basics
Age and occupation. How long have you lived here, where did you come from, and where do you live now?
I just ushered in the big-30 last month, so I'm still reeling from the shock of leaving my '20s...As for my livelihood, I'm a documentary filmmaker who's been slaving away in the documentary television biz in various capacities for the past 6 years. After being born in that toodlin' town, Chicago, I was moved by my restless (non-military) parents to two more suburbs in Illinois, then southwestern Virginia, and finally Tennessee. As a result of my peripatetic childhood, I've inhabited 12 different apartments in the 12 years that I've lived here. I now live in the lovely West Village, where I am forced to machete a path to my apartment through the seething masses that throng in front of Magnolia Bakery.
Three...two...
1. You've been working on a documentary film about Pedicabs in New York. "Pedicab" seems like an entomologist's word for rickshaw. Is there a difference?
A person pedals a pedicab and runs with a rickshaw. And yes, running is much, much harder.
2. In your transportation utopia should everything be non-motorized? What about Vespas and hovercrafts?
We really must wean ourselves off of our dependency on fossil fuels and come up with more imaginative ways to power our modes of transportation - whether it's electric, fuel cells, solar, etc. Vespas, hovercrafts, Segways, it's all good as long as we're not polluting the air. Personally, I hope we get that cool hovercraft skateboard from Back to the Future 2.
3. This all sounds well and good...for Miami. But we can get some nasty weather in NYC, what good are these toys then?
Bring out the sled dogs...or pray to Mel Gibson to bring us Miami-like weather.
Proust-Krucoff Questionnaire
Please share a personal (and hopefully interesting) NYC taxi story.
I was videotaped as b-roll for an episode of HBO's Taxicab Confessions. They needed some b-roll of an interracial couple kissing - guess they needed some United Colors of Benetton flavor for the show - and so my boyfriend and I smooched in front of Katz's Delicatessen for a princely sum of $20. I guess it didn't take much cash during those lean college years to get us to sell out.
Time travel question: What era, day or event in New York's history would you like to re-live?
Listening to Coltrane at the Village Vanguard when he was alive and kickin' - or tailing Joseph Mitchell on one of his profile hunts for The New Yorker back in the '30s.
9pm, Wednesday night - what are you doing?
Digitizing footage for my documentary about pedicabs, a.k.a. bicycle taxis. For a bit of shameless self-promotion, please visit www.ohzones.com.
What's your New York motto?
You may get more exercise carrying your bicycle up 6 flights of stairs to your walk-up apartment than from actually riding it, but you gotta do what you gotta do to protect your precious cargo from those devious thieves.
Best celebrity sighting in New York, or personal experience with one if you're that type.
All of my celebrity experiences have occurred in elevators for some strange reason. I've shared a lift with Spike Lee, Mike Nichols, Gregory Mosher, Paul Simon, and Tim Robbins. Mr. Robbins was the best, as he commented on how much he liked my big, wooly winter hat that I was wearing at the time he stepped into the Brill Building elevator. He was wearing, oddly enough, a black doorags, so I couldn't return the compliment.
What's the most expensive thing in your wardrobe?
My coveted Katayone Adeli black lace frock. Don't even think about nicking it.
Where do you summer?
Wherever my bicycle, blades, or Xootr can take me.
Who do you consider to be the greatest New Yorker of all-time?
Annie Hall
What was your best dining experience in NYC?
I hate to sound like a trendy foodie whore, but Nobu, bar none.
Just how much do you really love New York?
As much as I love my dog. (Awwwwww)
What happened the last time you went to L.A.?
I distracted myself from the plastic culture by indulging in lots of sushi and sunshine. And setting fire to Ethan Hawke's hair was purely an accident.
Of all the movies made about (or highly associated with) New York, what role would you have liked to be cast in?
Annie Hall's brother, as played by Christopher Walken
If you could change one thing about New York, what would it be?
The traffic. Ban all cars!
The End of The World is finally happening. What are you going to do with your last 24 hours in NYC?
I'd ride my bike to the Brooklyn Bridge with a slice of Joe's Pizza and Tomoe Sushi in my knapsack, roll out a sleeping bag and snuggle down with my boyfriend and dog, play some good tunes on the iPod that I've stolen along the way, and watch my last sunset...
