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Cleaning last night I came across a NYC subway map. After living in New York for a while I came to take pride in not having to use this but when I first moved there I I kept one in on me if I was going anywhere other than class. The map wasn't just good for getting you from one stop to another, I'd also use it as a safety net to explore. If you're on Manhattan you really can't get to lost as long as you can get back to the subway. It doesn't matter a bit if you can't find your way back to the stop you came up from, every subway line connects to others in a combination that can get you back to Brooklyn.
The subway photos that came up in Flickr capture many things I love about subways. There are the street performers, they are often amazing. It is oftem more than worth is to keep a collection of ones, a five, and ten on your person at all times to buy CDs from extrememly talented muscians who haven't made it big, and may never do so despite theit amazing skills. If you think, "hey, I'll buy their Cd the next time I'm through this station," all rules of space an logic will bend to ensure you never hear them again.
Subways are also I great shuffling art museum of every art type that has ever been embraced by the people of New York from this goes from design work reminisent of Mackintosh and the Arts and Crafts Movement to Keith Haring cartoons.
People in subways can end up doing really strange things, not the majority of people most of the time, but there are people who just don't know what to do with the energy their saving by not having to navigate a car or feet. Funny things happen. I've seen people hang upside down from the ceiling holding rails like kids on monkey bars and I've seen absolute strangers start making faces at each other across crowded subway cars.
When you get alot of people's photos together, like on Flickr, these things show up.