RNC Alert!

The above pictures, in brief, show my adventures yesterday. Supposedly, 250,000 people gathered together in protest. Myself, completely politically unaware, and completely in love with NYC and everything that goes on here. Kanishka managed an anti-war T'Shirt from Snigdha, and I wore one with "Asha for education" - given the number of people, anything written on a white tee looked like a protest.

So, there you go. The only thing of note that happened was a papier-mache dragon catching fire, and that happened right in front of us. The CNN picture is much better than mine, because once the people started running, Kanishka and I made our quick getaway. There's a slim possibility that the crowd thought we were leading the diversion when the fire happened, as we were the first ones to run from 7th to 6th across 33rd(?), and our T'shirts looked like they did.

The march was supposed to assemble at Union Square, so we headed there from midtown. The Secret Service and other officers (who looked like MIB extras) scared us off from midtown. Union Square looked pretty much what it looks like on a weekend - the farmer's market was replaced by poster-touting youngsters. I really liked the business mind of the locals - they had anti-bush T'shirts and buttons and playing cards for sale. Some even had pro-bush versions of the same, just in case you are from the other side. When it comes to making money, you can't afford a political standing. Starbucks and the MTA had booming business.

These are from this morning, around 8:30, from my 28th and 7th subway stop. Haven't seen this many cops in one place before. Anyone dare to crack a cop joke? Or try crossing the street when the light goes red?