{"id":1956,"date":"2011-06-02T12:40:58","date_gmt":"2011-06-02T19:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=1956"},"modified":"2011-06-02T12:40:58","modified_gmt":"2011-06-02T19:40:58","slug":"spring-forward-day-76","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/spring-forward-day-76\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

Moscow
\nMay 27, 2011\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\"Another<\/a>
Another one of the striking Seven Sisters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By a large margin, Russians are the most publicly passionate people I have ever seen.\u00a0 The level of PDA is remarkable.\u00a0 Almost every couple that\u2019s walking together is hand in hand, and kissing abounds.\u00a0 Of course, life being what it is, the gay couples have to be more discreet.\u00a0 But they\u2019re around.<\/p>\n

\/\/\/<\/p>\n

\"sleepy_dog\"<\/a>Last night I made it to a movie.\u00a0 I saw Life in a Day<\/em><\/strong>, the first movie I\u2019ve seen produced by YouTube.\u00a0 It\u2019s a beautifully edited documentary built from thousands of clips sent in from all over the world depicting ordinary people\u2019s lives on July 24, 2010.\u00a0 I really enjoyed it.<\/p>\n

\"Gay<\/a>
Gay Russian homosexuals<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The theater experience was puzzling, however.\u00a0 It was very challenging purchasing the ticket, as there was no clear way to point to the movie I wanted to see.\u00a0 Happily an English-speaking native\u00a0 in the line behind me helped.\u00a0 Then the movie started almost forty minutes late<\/em>.\u00a0 No explanation, no apology.\u00a0 That\u2019s just how they cinematically roll in Moscow, I guess.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Duma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I had no problems getting\u00a0 there, a journey which required a subway ride with transfer and a walk.\u00a0 As I\u2019ve pointed out ad nauseum, I\u2019m good at this.<\/p>\n

It occurred to me on the way home that the New York subway is the only one I\u2019ve been on (that I can remember, at least) that has an extensive network of both local<\/em>\u00a0 and express<\/em> trains.\u00a0 All the other systems I\u2019ve been on have local only.\u00a0 I wonder why that is?\u00a0 Is it simply because of Manhattan\u2019s linear shape?\u00a0 That theory doesn\u2019t hold water, as the rest of the boroughs are as round and lumpy as any other city map.\u00a0 New York\u2019s size?\u00a0 That can\u2019t be it, either.\u00a0 There are plenty of subway systems in cities with larger areas than New York \u2013 Moscow, for example.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a>
A venti frappuchino: $10.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"St.<\/a>
St. Basil's, the craziest church architecture I have ever seen. But then, I haven't been to Spain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In fact, Moscow\u2019s Metro carries the second \u2013largest rider volume of any system in the world after Tokyo.\u00a0 The city has over ten million people, after all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The National Hotel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Stop!\"<\/a>
Stop!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another thing about New York\u2019s subway:\u00a0 It seems to me to be the shallowest of any I\u2019ve ridden on.\u00a0 Meaning you don\u2019t seem to go so far into the ground.\u00a0 I suppose that has something to do with the soil in New York.\u00a0 But it also seems a bit surprising considering all those tall buildings it runs under \u2013 wouldn\u2019t you need lots of room for the foundations of those buildings, and wouldn\u2019t shallow subway tunnels interfere with that?\u00a0 Oh well\u2026 my Dad\u2019s the civil engineer, not me.\u00a0 I\u2019ll ask him.<\/p>\n

Metropolitan Subway Systems I\u2019ve Explored[1]<\/a><\/h4>\n