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Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

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Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#31

Post by raldi »

BucketSort wrote: post #23

I started a subreddit a week ago on a similar premise. I like how simple these interviews are and how they paint a human picture. We hardly know each other, and I feel like that causes a lot of issues. I also liked playing the game of trying to read their backstory by the picture, then seeing if I was affirmed by the blurb. I got the methadone guy because his gruff look, nails, and torn bag. I was disappointed by the…

This is what I wanted http://windowshots.reddit.com to be, but despite everything I could think of to try to shape the community, it mostly turned into a competition for prettiest vista.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#32

Post by BucketSort »

tomjakubowski wrote: post #28
BucketSort wrote: post #23

I started a subreddit a week ago on a similar premise. I like how simple these interviews are and how they paint a human picture. We hardly know each other, and I feel like that causes a lot of issues. I also liked playing the game of trying to read their backstory by the picture, then seeing if I was affirmed by the blurb. I got the methadone guy because his gruff look, nails, and torn bag. I was disappointed by the…

Your Instagram link 404s for me.

Doh, I did noobishly link a private instagram post. Here's a imgur version ( not the best quality ): https://imgur.com/a/iXYby

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#33

Post by BucketSort »

an_ko wrote: post #26
BucketSort wrote: post #23

I started a subreddit a week ago on a similar premise. I like how simple these interviews are and how they paint a human picture. We hardly know each other, and I feel like that causes a lot of issues. I also liked playing the game of trying to read their backstory by the picture, then seeing if I was affirmed by the blurb. I got the methadone guy because his gruff look, nails, and torn bag. I was disappointed by the…

Where can I see this subreddit?

https://www.reddit.com/r/FacesOfAmerica/

As I said, I just started it, so it has nothing yet, but I did find it serendipitous that this piece touched on a similar thing.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#35

Post by muninn_ »

humanrebar wrote: post #4
brndnmtthws wrote: post #2

This is great. People everywhere I go are incredibly friendly, especially in New York. It's always fun to take a moment, act like a human, and talk to people. Not because you want to sell them anything or buy something, but simply because being social is part of being human. One of the things that bothers me about individual automobile travel is how isolating it is. I want to interact with people and experience local…

> One of the things that bothers me about individual automobile travel is how isolating it is. I want to interact with people and experience local art and culture, of which there is a lot in the NYC subway. We're a communal species. You can make phone calls and listen to local podcasts in a car. You get better exposure to architecture, nature, and automobile design in a car than in an underground train. >I want to in…

>You can make phone calls and listen to local podcasts in a car.

And on a train

> You get better exposure to architecture, nature,

How? You're watching the road or stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I drive most of the time and it's a nice relief when my girlfriend drives because I can actually look around and not focus on driving.

> and automobile design in a car than in an underground train.

Seriously? Better exposure to automobile design in a car? lol.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#36

Post by wyager »

brndnmtthws wrote: post #2

This is great. People everywhere I go are incredibly friendly, especially in New York. It's always fun to take a moment, act like a human, and talk to people. Not because you want to sell them anything or buy something, but simply because being social is part of being human. One of the things that bothers me about individual automobile travel is how isolating it is. I want to interact with people and experience local…

I love interacting with strangers when the median interaction doesn’t involve a homeless person asking/threatening you for money. I would emphatically not describe the NYC subway as a good social experience. (Speaking from personal experience as of the last five minutes.)

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#37

Post by sotojuan »

j7ake wrote: post #21

The diversity of occupations is refreshing. I imagine New York City is particularly unique in this respect. Are there cities that are similarly diverse in occupations ?

Outside of industry towns I think it's the opposite that is rare - a large city will almost always have a diverse workforce. Perhaps the Bay Area (which is not "one" city) is unique in that it's largely centered around technology. Even then I bet it's still fairly diverse.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#39

Post by [deleted] »

tomjakubowski wrote: post #28
BucketSort wrote: post #23

I started a subreddit a week ago on a similar premise. I like how simple these interviews are and how they paint a human picture. We hardly know each other, and I feel like that causes a lot of issues. I also liked playing the game of trying to read their backstory by the picture, then seeing if I was affirmed by the blurb. I got the methadone guy because his gruff look, nails, and torn bag. I was disappointed by the…

Your Instagram link 404s for me.

[deleted]

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#40

Post by mc32 »

humanrebar wrote: post #24
gz5 wrote: post #15

The fact we are all on the subway for the same basic purpose subliminally provides a democratizing, unifying and human environment. The person next to you is different than you but is also the same as you. The person is real - not a media concocted persona based on how the person may look, what groups he may belong to or how the media interprets and communicates her assumed motivations. Digital is great but there are…

I don't know. It's hard to feel magnanimous when you have an armpit in your face and someone else is blocking the door to get off the train. > human interaction Honestly, my relationship with the person next to me on the train feels more like the relationship between two cows on a cattle car. Maybe you're riding a different line at a different time of day or something.

I feel the same way with the exception of traveling as a tourist and you're taking more time to know and absorb your surrounds.

In most other cases the cattle car cows analogy is pretty apt.

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