I am currently sitting in an internet cafe in Times Square. The floor space feels about the size of a small Walmart. It's very well-lit. There are banks and banks of blond wooden counters, each with a row of screens and keyboards. You pay for a ticket at an automatic booth (like buying a metrocard). The ticket has a number printed on it that you can then use to log on to a terminal and access the credit you purchased. It's a fast and easy system. The place has some human employees that wander around looking dazed. There is banal, pop-music jazz playing just loud enough to be noticeable. The atmosphere is working for me. It's very service-oriented but far from sterile. The keyboard is black with previous users' finger grime. It's a bit disgusting but there's something I like about it, just as I like the layers of human cultural residue that make up a city. Keep trying to remember not to rub my eyes til I've had a chance to wash my hands.
Hey! I've been there. It's like the fast food restaurant of Internet cafes. I kind of liked it too. You don't ever have to communicate with a human being.
The word "cafe" really doesn't really apply, though. It's more like... Hmmm. An enormous college exam room filled with multiple choice terminals.
Oh, and no matter how bad it gets, don't use the bathrooms. Trust me...
KM, that's wild. I did not have to go to the bathroom while I was there, thank goodness. Hey you are going on tour soon, right? Maybe you can post internet cafe reports as you go.
Sally--That would be fun. I wonder how L.A.'s Internet cafes differ from New York's... or Portland's. Are they more "socialized" in Vancouver and Victoria?
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I am currently sitting in an internet cafe in Times Square. The floor space feels about the size of a small Walmart. It's very well-lit. There are banks and banks of blond wooden counters, each with a row of screens and keyboards. You pay for a ticket at an automatic booth (like buying a metrocard). The ticket has a number printed on it that you can then use to log on to a terminal and access the credit you purchased. It's a fast and easy system. The place has some human employees that wander around looking dazed. There is banal, pop-music jazz playing just loud enough to be noticeable. The atmosphere is working for me. It's very service-oriented but far from sterile. The keyboard is black with previous users' finger grime. It's a bit disgusting but there's something I like about it, just as I like the layers of human cultural residue that make up a city. Keep trying to remember not to rub my eyes til I've had a chance to wash my hands.
- sally mckay 4-09-2004 10:57 pm
Hey! I've been there. It's like the fast food restaurant of Internet cafes. I kind of liked it too. You don't ever have to communicate with a human being.
The word "cafe" really doesn't really apply, though. It's more like... Hmmm. An enormous college exam room filled with multiple choice terminals.
Oh, and no matter how bad it gets, don't use the bathrooms. Trust me...
- kiss machine 4-10-2004 3:19 am
KM, that's wild. I did not have to go to the bathroom while I was there, thank goodness. Hey you are going on tour soon, right? Maybe you can post internet cafe reports as you go.
- sally mckay 4-10-2004 9:32 am
Sally--That would be fun. I wonder how L.A.'s Internet cafes differ from New York's... or Portland's. Are they more "socialized" in Vancouver and Victoria?
- kiss machine 4-11-2004 5:28 am