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 Control
 
Location: NYC, All day every day.
Because it's expected
 |  |  | I remember UE.
< on 5/13/2008 5:08 AM >
|  | | | (this is very NYC-centric but fuck it, I'll post it here anyway... some of you can probably jive with it).
I remember UE.
I remember UE. I remember when it wasn't called UE. I remember when no one
would ever call it anything other than going out and 'fucking around'. I
remember when exploring was all about the fun and good times. I remember
when everyone did it because everyone was crazy. I remember the days
before everywhere was some police state. I remember when if cops caught
you someplace you shouldn't be they'd just be like 'what the heck are you
doing here?' I remember when climbing bridges was just something you did
for the fuck of it whenever, and wasn't some terrorist activity. I
remember climbing bridges in broad daylight. I remember when authorities
couldn't figure out UE. Get caught in a subway tunnel, they'd just escort
you out. You didn't have spray paint? Weren't homeless? Then what the fuck
are you doing in here? You musta been crazy... go home you might be told.
Then you'd get sick of waiting a half hour for the next train and start
walking the tunnels back home anyway.
I remember UE, when abandoned buildings were pure. KPPC was tag and smash
free. No one thought of buildings as their 'turf', at least not in most
cases. Sometimes you'd lay claim to a local spot, probably because you
went there drinking and partying and fucking all the time. you'd welcome
anyone that showed up, or maybe screw with them just for fun. If it was a
subway tunnel you'd chase them, steal their paint. There were no limits,
no laws, no cops to protect you or them. UE was primal. UE was The
Warriors. It was survival of the fittest. I remember carrying weapons and
being ready to fight immediately. I remember when just looking at someone
could spark a fight. I remember the scars, and the sick pleasure in
leaving them on others. I remember the brothers that died. I remember
Spook. I remember Seus. Maybe we'll meet again on the other side.
I remember when the biggest majority of people exploring were the graffiti
artists, looking to get up anywhere and everywhere they could. I remember
when Smith Sane bombed the Brooklyn Bridge. Now people think they're hot
shit if they climb out on it and get a photo of themselves.
I remember when abandoned buildings were always easy. No one really
bothered locking the doors, the gates, the tunnels. The people that owned
the places just didn't know about explorers or didn't give a shit. They
were all shooting galleries, with homeless people everywhere. I remember
when real estate wasn't all that valuable. Owners burned their buildings
in the South Bronx. Today, you can't afford a plot of land there for under
a million dollars.
I remember when there wasn't any scrapping really going on. Looting was
fun but not all that hardcore unless done in huge amounts. I remember when
if you wanted money you robbed car stereos, sold drugs, mugged people.
Those were the low hanging fruit crimes. Anyone could do any of those and
get away with it.
I remember when abandoned buildings were everywhere, and no one would ever
consider driving to the next town much less the next state to explore
something. People driving hundreds of miles to explore something good?
Man, they must be crazy, or live in really fucking boring places. That's
how it was... i remember when if you wanted to find something abandoned,
you had to find it yourself. I remember when you couldn't ask the
internet. I remember when you would walk or drive for hours on end to find
stuff on your own. I still do it today, and people wonder why so much of
what I shoot hasn't been seen before, and why I have no respect for 90%
of the 'explorers' out there today.
I remember when you didn't need a camera to go out 'fucking around' . I
remember all the times I never bothered to shoot mine. I remember when to
shoot photos, you needed good money. Film cost money. batteries were not
rechargeable. I remember when drug stores sold B&W film for like 5 bucks.
I remember stocking up on $2 rolls of TMax at B&H. I remember developing
negatives at home. I remember when UE first started hitting the internet,
getting a negative scanner, and spending an hour or two processing photos
to put up. Develop, scan, photoshop. I remember photoshop 3. I remember
when there were next to no UE sites. I remember being inspired by the only
people out there. Dark Passage, Jinx, Infiltration, and Action Squad. I
remember putting up LTV like a month later. I remember going to a Jinx
meeting and wondering what the hell these people were suppose to be about?
I remember meeting 3 people there who became some of my best friends. I
remember M, who just seems ageless now. I remember Rastaman. I remember
his constant talk of becoming a cop. I remember the first time I saw him
in uniform, relieved to know there's still a few honorable men that wear
it. I remember Marcin, the big man who was always down for anything. I
remember his funeral. I remember the 3 of us having breakfast afterwards.
It seems so long ago.
I remember when there was an instant bond with anyone you met that was
into doing the same thing, because in order to meet people into going to
these fucked up places, you had to run into them by chance, or run with
some crazy crowds. I remember when the underground was cool. I remember
that if you wanted to get into anything good, if you wanted to find the
best illegal punk shows, raves, parties, you had to be cool. You had to
get it word of mouth. you had to qualify. I remember when all the cool
shit in life wasn't packaged and made marketable to any old idiot on
myspace.
I remember when punk rock shows in abandoned buildings were not some UE
event or special party. They happened all the time. I remember the Beer
Olympics. I remember raves in tribeca warehouses. you can't even afford to
look at a tribeca warehouse now. I remember the 2001 LTV invitational -
probably the first large modern 'UE" gathering ever.
I remember the friends I've made, the bonds we built. I remember running
from cops on foot, cops in cars, cops in a helicopter. I remember the
moment of terror realizing the helicopter circling the bridge with the
spotlight on it was looking for us, and seeing 3 RMPs on the street below.
I remember the hiding, the climbing, the hoisting one another up. I
remember the near death experiences. I being pinned down in the Queens
Blvd. 4 track funnel during rush hour, not able to move because the trains
kept coming. Local, Express, Local, Express. Move an inch or two either
side of the pillar and you were dead. I remember being drunk on 'Draino'
clipping a hole in the fence to get in the lower east side amphitheater. it
was 2AM and we were pretty blitzed not giving a fuck. I remember the all
weekend exploring marathons, the sleeping over in abandoned buildings.
I remember the long conversations about love and life and filth and shit.
I remember the bonds we built, and I look around myself and see many
of those same faces from back then.
I remember when the press would never dare run an article on UE, because
UE did not exist. I remember all the times I ended up in the newspapers or
TV and how baffled those who didn't previously know about my bad habits
were to learn of my dark side, in their face before they had their coffee.
I remember the company CIO running into me in the hallway and telling me
how he used to do the same thing and thought it was great.
I remember when no one cared about ethics, no one felt like they were part
of some bigger 'thing'. I remember UE, back before the internet even
existed. I remember UE was not some lame drama club full of dorks sitting
behind their computers trying to have a pissing contest. I remember when
UE wasn't about posting on boards and blogs and trying to come off like
you're something serious. I remember when UE wasn't some attempt at an
international social club. I remember when UE could not be bought or sold,
when it was not a fucking commodity. I remember when UE was something
you did, and not something you talked about.
I remember UE.
[email protected]
May, 2008
The Zoo York Goon Squad.
If it looks good, Loot it. |
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MutantMandias
      
Perverse and Often Baffling
Location: Atlanta, GA
Gender: Male
Are you a reporter? Contact me for a UE interview! Also not averse to the the idea of group/anal.
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 1 on 5/13/2008 5:15 AM >
| | | | Yeah, but I was saying that all the way back in February.
mutantMandias may cause dizziness, sexual nightmares, and sleep crime. ++++ mutantMandias has to return some videotapes ++++ Do not taunt mutantMandias
mutantMandias is something more than human, more than a computer. mutantMandias is a murderously intelligent, sensually self-programmed, non-being |
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metawaffle
 
King of Puns
Location: Brisbane!
Gender: Male
Purveyor of Fine Lampshades
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 2 on 5/13/2008 5:56 AM >
| | | | MutantMandias, you are my hero.
http://www.longexposure.net |
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Steed
Location: Edmonton/Seoul
Gender: Male
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Race Traitor
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 3 on 5/13/2008 7:09 AM >
| | | | I invented UE back in 1979 when I UEed my mom's uterus. Would've gotten some wicked pictures too but some asshole dressed in white caught me. But back then it wasn't known as UE, I called it WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!
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lanceeman
Location: richland(aka noob land) washington
Gender: Male
sleep?....nah.
| | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 4 on 5/13/2008 7:30 AM >
| | | | Not true, i invented it when i was in the hospital for a month at age 9 , and i told my uncle that i was bored, and he said lets see whats on the roof of this place. back then i called it looking around 
Oh and Control thank you for bring something worth reading to this site.
lol your the one who choose to jack off to this old house with your tears as lube - Savannah |
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Marzipan
Location: LI, NY
Gender: Male
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 5 on 5/13/2008 8:02 AM >
| | | | A well written article and it's a shame the type of replies you'll get. I can see and agree with what you're saying but on a much smaller scale. Like from hitting places on Long Island around 96/97 and not really knowing about any of the major sites til 06. You can keep the bridge climbing too.
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Alias
Location: UK
Gender: Male
www.nicholas-ada ms.co.uk
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 6 on 5/13/2008 8:42 AM >
| | | | I remember when UE was not elitist and people did not feel they had to prove they were there before the internet forums. I remember when being one of the original Urban Explorers was not thought of on the same wavelength as being in Vietnam.
www.nicholas-adams.co.uk |
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PhotoSeeker
Location: Sudbury
Gender: Male
MikeOnline
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 7 on 5/13/2008 11:23 AM >
| | | | Posted by racetraitor
I invented UE back in 1979 when I UEed my mom's uterus. Would've gotten some wicked pictures too but some asshole dressed in white caught me. But back then it wasn't known as UE, I called it WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!
|
ultimate draining.
Lots of Urban Exploration goodness at https://urbexobsession.com |
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HankScorpio
Location: Southeastern CT
Gender: Male
I Stand Alone
| |  | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 8 on 5/13/2008 11:45 AM >
| | | | I remember UE before it was UE, at least in my eyes. I was 6 years old. Me and the neighbor kid broke into a old sealed up house that was abandoned for years that he had thrown numerous sports equipment through the windows. We got in, grabbed a few years worth of sports balls, discharged a fire extinguisher all over the kitchen ( that happened to be untouched), and left.
C'mon, you know you want to! |
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yokes
Location: Toronto
Gender: Male
I aim to misbehave
| | | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 9 on 5/13/2008 12:29 PM >
| | | | I totally remember their first album. It was way better than the shit they are doing now, that everyone seems to like.
"Great architecture has only two natural enemies: water and stupid men." - Richard Nickel |
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Steed
Location: Edmonton/Seoul
Gender: Male
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Race Traitor
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 10 on 5/13/2008 1:27 PM >
| | | | Posted by HankScorpio
I remember UE before it was UE, at least in my eyes. I was 6 years old. Me and the neighbor kid broke into a old sealed up house that was abandoned for years that he had thrown numerous sports equipment through the windows. We got in, grabbed a few years worth of sports balls, discharged a fire extinguisher all over the kitchen ( that happened to be untouched), and left.
|
Isn't that what it was like for everyone? We all looked around in some place we weren't supposed to be at some point in our lives, and didn't call it UE. Humanity has always been curious to see what's around the corner, or on the other side of the river, or inside that cave. It's a little vain to try to claim it for yourself.
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G to the Race
Hi!
| | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 11 on 5/13/2008 1:28 PM >
| | | | Yokes speaks the truth, I've since moved on to another band that's far more obscure than this "UE" the poseurs dig.
You betcha |
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Brind
Location: Kitchener, ON
Gender: Male
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 12 on 5/13/2008 1:42 PM >
| | | | Get out and explore and quit the long rants.
Instagram
"Adventure is worthwhile in itself." -Amelia Earhart |
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Sgt Marshall
Location: Paris
uer.ca/b...
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 13 on 5/13/2008 1:56 PM >
| | | | Despite the original post being pretty elitist (Umm... little ironic?) I understand and sympathise with the views expressed.
This hobby is full of wankers, an unusually high proportion of wankers I would say, but I pick and chose who I associate with... easy as that.
I would start having a go at the internet and its role in the demise of the noble hobby of UE, but there is only so much irony I can squeeze into one post.
[last edit 5/13/2008 4:36 PM by Sgt Marshall - edited 2 times]
http://pridian.net
I'm not here to break it, just to see how far it bends. |
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argonian
Location: Toronto, ON
Gender: Female
"Now with added cats!"
| | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 14 on 5/13/2008 2:30 PM >
| | | | I liked reading this. I love nostalgia. I get wrapped up in it all the time, even though it will never change anything. I really wish I could live in a world of my own nostalgia. It would be lovely.
Que pasa, baby? |
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Brind
Location: Kitchener, ON
Gender: Male
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 15 on 5/13/2008 3:43 PM >
| | | | Ok, time for a more meaningful response.
No matter what anyone does, this hobby is going to continue to grow in popularity and more jerkoffs will be attracted to it. As with anything fun or exciting, everyone wants a piece.
But since bitching about the current state won't do anything, why bother? Go out. Explore. Keep the old traditions and ways alive. Don't let current state ruin the hobby we all love.
Instagram
"Adventure is worthwhile in itself." -Amelia Earhart |
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Control
Location: NYC, All day every day.
Because it's expected
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 16 on 5/13/2008 3:59 PM >
| | | | Posted by Marzipan
A well written article and it's a shame the type of replies you'll get.
|
It's about what I expected. The people that are old enough to understand the concept will get it. Those that don't will say it's just elitist dribble and what not because well, that's all they got. I think it's pretty shameful when people who claim to be interested in something don't care to know how it was and use that to see where it might all be going. I didn't know Ninj all that well but I suspect he'd roll over in his grave knowing what UE became.
Go ahead people, flame away, you have nothing better to do.
The Zoo York Goon Squad.
If it looks good, Loot it. |
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Control
Location: NYC, All day every day.
Because it's expected
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 17 on 5/13/2008 4:01 PM >
| | | | Posted by Brind
Ok, time for a more meaningful response.
No matter what anyone does, this hobby is going to continue to grow in popularity and more jerkoffs will be attracted to it. As with anything fun or exciting, everyone wants a piece.
But since bitching about the current state won't do anything, why bother? Go out. Explore. Keep the old traditions and ways alive. Don't let current state ruin the hobby we all love.
|
That's all you can do... it's all i do anymore. I just happened to be bored at work so I wrote something...
The Zoo York Goon Squad.
If it looks good, Loot it. |
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Sgt Marshall
Location: Paris
uer.ca/b...
| | | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 18 on 5/13/2008 4:25 PM >
| | | | Don't get me wrong, I read it, I liked it, and it was provoking enough to prompt me to post in a section of this forum which I rarely visit, let alone contribute to.
http://pridian.net
I'm not here to break it, just to see how far it bends. |
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micro
Gender: Male
Slowly I turned
| | Re: I remember UE.
<Reply # 19 on 5/13/2008 4:30 PM >
| | | | I remember one night I got drunk up on a roof.
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