Stacy Horn

I have to post about this story I just read about on Gothamist. On January 8, a man named Steven Santiago saved the life of a drunk guy named Jonathan Parisen who fell on the train tracks in Staten Island.

Steven Santiago died, and according to an article I just read, Jonathan Parisen has yet to contact the family to thank them or Steven. When told about Steven’s death, Parisen tweeted, “I was just informed that Steven Santiago passed away today. My prayers go out to Steven and his family. God bless.”

That’s it. Not a lot of emotion there.

Perhaps his lawyer has advised him to say little and to not contact the family. But if someone saved my life and was now in the hospital fighting for their life I would be in a near-constant state of worry and guilt. But after tweeting twice about Santiago in January, saying he was praying for him, here’s what he’s been tweeting since (a sample):

“I see that there is a rapper with the name Q-tip. I have decided that mt rap name will be ear wax.”

“Researching underwater volcanoes in Hawaii for a screenplay that I am writing.”

“Having a “Hellraiser” marathon today. Let’s see how many I can get through lol”

“Off to Staten Island to fight to keep my attorney for my upcoming case in March. Fun fun fun.”

(That must be related to the fact that he is being charged with criminal trespass for his actions that night.)

“Enjoying a cup of hot coco at The Full Cup on Staten Island.”

“Had a nice dinner with my bestfriend. Picked up some art supplies. Headed home to NJ”

You get the idea. He’s been painting, setting up an art studio, uploading paintings and photographs, watching a lot of movies. Doesn’t sound like a guy who is at all tortured that the man who saved his life was in the hospital in critical condition.

To be completely fair, everyone reacts differently to horrible things. Let’s see if Parisen does something to redeem himself. Santiago had a troubled past, and apparently he was turning his life around and trying to reconnect with his son. Maybe there’s something Parisen could do for Santiago’s son, or to help other ex-cons trying to turn their lives around.

I went swimming in the morning, so I could indulge myself for the rest of the day, which means sitting around eating cheese and wallowing in Oscar tv.

When the red carpet coverage really starts, I’ll be back to live-blog a little.

My day yesterday: I walked crosstown, to Grace Church at 10th and Broadway, and then I sang, sang, sang. It was wonderful. Verdi! Makes me wish I was an opera star! Then I stopped into Murray Cheese on my way home, passing through Washington Square Park, where a wedding photographer had her work cut out for her. Actually, the way that wind was whipping that veil around, it could have made for some more dramatic and interesting pictures.

Fringe. I don’t understand why it keeps falling in the ratings when it keeps getting better.

It has become this great ensemble show, rising to the level of Bones in that respect. Also, the developing mythology is wrapped up in love stories of one kind of another, either romantic or between family members or work partners, which makes it engrossing both intellectually and emotionally. Love, science, science-fiction.

I’m sorry for steering you wrong about Grimm when Once Up a Time developed into a much better show, but I made a snap judgement in that case. Fringe has been on for a while. I am not wrong here.

What were the other things? Oh, I know. I’ve been reading New York Diaries and I’ve been loving how people describe their New York days, and I realized I don’t really do that. I describe what I’m doing but not the city I’m doing it in. I’m going to start doing that.

Bleecker Street. I’ve posted photographs of these building before, because one of them is on sale. I just loved how they looked in the sunlight, with the skies.

My plan for the day: swim and read. After I finish New York Diaries I will need something escapist but great. Any recommendations?

I love this sign. I’ve always been attracted to shades of yellow and blue together. A couple painters I’ve loved also worked with yellow and blue a lot, who were they?? Of course I don’t remember because I no longer possess a working brain.

Everyone is talking about removing their google search history and I was about to do that, but stopped. I need to research this more. Do I really want to? My question is, will anybody be able to search my web history? I agree it could be pretty embarrassing, but not horribly so. I search my name more than anything (to see if anyone is reading my books) and nail polish shades. Okay, and cute animal pictures. You got me.

From the EFF:

“Google’s new unified privacy policy will take effect on March 1. All the data Google automatically gathers about you, such as the sites you visit, will be dumped into one virtual bucket with your name on it. While you can’t opt out of the new approach without abandoning Google sites, you can erase your browsing history.

“Search data can reveal particularly sensitive information about you, including facts about your location, interests, age, sexual orientation, religion, health concerns, and more,” warns the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization based in San Francisco and an advocate for online privacy.

“If you delete your Google Web History that includes the searches you’ve made and the sites you’ve visited, you’ll prevent Google from associating that data with information it has collected from other Google sites you use such as YouTube and Gmail. While no one knows exactly how Google would use your combined information, the policy changes have already prompted more than raised eyebrows.”

We spotted each other immediately. It was true love.