I'm headed to Washington DC this weekend, taking the infamous Bolt Bus, so wish me luck. When I arrive in DC I will be staying at the Renaissance Mayflower, where I'm hoping to get a photo of the Spitzer Suite.
When I forget to bring reading material with me on the train in the morning, I find my mind wandering, thinking about life, love, relationships and names. Hmmm...that guy definitely looks like a Chad. Today I started looking around trying to guess peoples names. If I were to shout out "David" I'm sure someone would respond, right?
When I got home last night from Piccola Cosi, I noticed a faint smell of gas. Cut to an hour later, a PSEG guy stands in my kitchen with his reader but alas, the metal pin does not budge to indicate that gas is present in the room. He knocked on the neighbors door below me first, sorry neighbors.
Exciting day for The Un-Road Trip. Boaz will be appearing on the Today Show trying out some new and cool modes of transportation.
Rats are on the loose in the West Village. Que Michael Cera Cera.
Umm, I want to go see Wicked Plants at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, who's coming with me?
That's right, Boaz Frankel is currently in NYC and in addition to making an appearance at Hammacher Schlemmer today at 3PM, he'll be on The Today Show tomorrow morning. Be sure to tune in and you can follow all of the adventures at The UnRoad Trip site.
Last night, Piccola Cosi opened at the 2009 SoloNOVA festival. Four more nights to see the show critics are calling "An engaging portrait of that special time of life when nascent adults go overseas to find themselves, and end up getting into cars with strangers. Sexual awakening à la Room with a View, here we…come" —Time Out NY
Be sure to vote Aja for the New York innovative Theatre Awards by clicking here!
Thanks to Evan Almighty reader Katie from Brooklyn! Katie snapped the above photos and I'm glad to see that mannequins are being protected from the SF (swine flu).
I woke up at 4:30am this morning and was wide awake, unable to go back to sleep. I don't quite know why. Was I nervous about oversleeping on the first day back to work? Was I bothered by the romance between Ben Stiller's character and Amelia Earhart in the new installment of Night at the Museum? Perhaps.
I hope you had a nice Memorial Day Weekend. The streets were quiet which was nice for a change and I managed to get in a few movies. Star Trek, Hamlet 2, Hellboy 2, and Night at the Museum 2. Anyone see a pattern?
Let me just say that for those of you who haven't seen Hellboy. Go rent it. It's visually stunning and really funny and fun.
Looks like we might be seeing air powered cars sooner than we thought.
I bet if we played six degrees of Kevin Bacon's Blackberry we might be able to solve this case.
I have plugged Aja Nisenson's one woman show, Piccola Cosi on this blog many, many, many times. Well starting tonight, Aja will be performing her show as part of the 2009 SoloNOVA Arts Festival showcasing a few selected shows. It's not too expensive, in a cool Union Square Theater, and I'll be there. Hope you can make it.
Rarely is a movie so bland that I can barely sit through it. I gave it two chances before I decided to send it back to Netflix. I remember there being so much hype over this movie about its surprise ending, if you could stand watching it to the end. The movie I'm talking about is Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith. I could not believe how painful it was to get through this film. Slow moving, bad acting, jellyfish??? I'm glad I didn't see this film in the theaters.
Yesterday I linked to an article about NYC's He-Man and I got many people calling me telling me they see that guy all over the city. So I thought it was appropriate to continue with bizarre NYC characters today. Katie told me last night that a friend of hers always sees this guy walking around with a cat on his head. So, I looked him up on YouTube and found this:
This made me think of the guy that used to hang out around Letterman with his dog and on top of the dog was his cat, and on top of the cat was a rat.
Do you have a favorite NYC character? If so, let us know and we'll feature him/her on this blog.
ATTENTION STEP UP FANS!! STEP UP 3 is now being filmed at NYU...
I don't want to lecture you this morning, I have just been thinking about a discussion I overheard about the Internet and how it has broken down the way we communicate with each other. I completely agree. One person can argue that the internet has created more communication. Reconnecting with high school buds you sort of never wanted to talk to again, chatting away on Gchat, aim... Yes, it may be creating more communication but is it necessarily better communication? I would say no. I try to maintain phone contact with as many people as possible but sometimes it's not so easy. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a phone person but I do think it's important to pick up the phone and call your friends and family instead of shooting them an email to tell them your wife is pregnant. That's my rant for today. What do you think? Is Facebook completely ruining the way we interact with each other? Poke.
I have seen this guy around the city and even on the subway once. People stared, but I had no idea it was HE-MAN!!!
I spent most of last night trying to hook up my new speakers two of which are not up yet because I need to wire them across the room and I ran out of wire. But now I also need to run the wire along the edge of the wall and tack it so it looks neat and there's not a wire running through my living room. At one point last night I had wires everywhere. It was quite the scene. But enough about that, there are more interesting things to talk about like....
A really great story coming out of NJ, of course, I don't know what to say about this other than, gross.
Fleet week starts today so all the ladies out there looking for a drunken sailor, you are in luck.
Since everyone seems to be having babies, I thought it would be appropriate to share with you this How-To Video.
Last night I went with some friends to see the Yankees in their new home and I had a blast. Our seats were way up and despite being situated between a high school group with one girl trying to get everyone to guess her age and some guy who was trying to pick up any female within a 2 mile radius, it was a lot of fun. Towards the end of the game two tipsy guys came up to our section to try to get a wave going. After attempt #5 they gave up. Devang booed them. The garlic fries were good and the stadium even smelled new. I'm ready to go back. See, I can be converted.
Did you go to Coney Island for the Festival by the Sea? No? Well from the posters I saw on the subway it looked like it might be fun. Doesn't look like too many people showed up though.
I've got major issues with people in the office leaving gross things in the bathroom sink. I've seen beard trimmings, fish bowl pebbles, and now this:
At first glance I thought it was spoiled milk but the stench at the end of the day confirmed it was vomit. Don't worry though, that's not blood. It's the pink almond scented soap.
Let me start off this Monday morning with some good news. As you may know, they have been renovating Washington Square Park in pieces. Well, the first renovated portion of the park is going to reopen tomorrow. So grab your lunch and let's meet by the new fountain.
I am still smiling today because I met Gracie yesterday. She is an amazingly beautiful baby and Robert and Mia are going to make great parents. I'm looking forward to seeing her grow, go to Princeton and win a Nobel. Babies are too cute.
Uh oh, Alec Baldwin isn't welcome in the Philippines.
And now a message from Eurovision 2009 Winner ALEXANDER RYBAK:
This is a nice story. Barbara Hillary traveled to the North Pole in what sounds like an amazing journey. When she arrived. cold and tired, Santa's elves came out and brought her to their workshop where she spent the night.
I found myself to be the owner of a surround sound system this weekend. It all started when I went into Best Buy to browse and found what turns out to be an amazing deal on Mirage speakers. A subwoofer and Yamaha receiver later, I was all set to experience the magic of surround sound only there was one problem...no speaker wire. But let me rewind. I'd like to just mention briefly the exchange that took place at the store where I bought the receiver, a store where the salesmen get paid based on commission. Never again. I had two guys fighting over the sale of this receiver. They were basically arguing in front of me and I used it to get them to knock another ten bucks off the price. I usually don't go into these stores so I am not used to this competition. You feel like a chicken walking into a wolves den. Now all I have to do is install my theater seats and my Slushee machine and we can do movie night at my place.
Have a great day!
Oh wait, one more thing. I guess this has been a topic people have discussed on the Internet but I was watching Mike'd Up last night and couldn't help but crack up at the huge bowl of cheetos next to him. Does he eat those? I don't get it. Please explain.
I only recently started having my DVR record Letterman. I stopped watching for awhile because it was on past my bedtime and I felt like some of it had gone stale. Now, they've extended the monologue right into the first commercial break which works, but I miss a lot of the old desk banter. I've started watching again and on shows such as last night's, with kid scientists, Dave is incredible. I could watch that for hours.
Okay Oprah, you have to stop, well unless you are promoting this blog or one of my other projects. First KFC and now the Acai berry?
You probably will never eat another McNugget after looking at this....
I always appreciate a good beat box...this one though is really amazing:
Every office has one, it sits in the corner stuffed to the gills, Ted comes in every day and puts his foil covered leftovers on the top shelf right. The office refrigerator. There is always something rotten in one and in our office, there are often email reminders to clear out any old food we have left in there. Well now comes a story about an office with a stinky refrigerator that caused the office to be evacuated! So the lesson of the day, don't leave food to rot in the refrigerator...which reminds me, I better drink that Kefir before it goes bad.
Hillary spoke at the NYU graduation yesterday and it's been making headlines. Letterman even had a monologue joke about it. I was hoping that another student would make a mad dash to the field so that we could watch him get thrown down by secret security. No such luck.
Is this for real? Blago? It's Bleep'n Golden
Is it me or is Jeanne Moos's voice really irritating?
Up, the new Pixar film is the first animated film to open Cannes Film Festival, and it's going to be in 3-D! C'est plus excitant!
So you LOST fans, what did you think of the season finale? I won't say anything because I know some of you haven't seen it yet. I thought it finished strong and left me wanting more. That's a good sign. It was like a fine wine or like, well you tell me:
Today is NYU's Commencement, being held at Yankee Stadium. So if you see someone floating around the city in a Violet robe be sure to congratulate them and wish them luck in the real world.
Sorry for the short post today. Think your apartment is small? Check out what this guy did to his 210 sq ft. apartment on the upper west side. Pretty impressive.
Yesterday was Grad Alley, and I helped out a bit. I even got to wear the headset and thanks to Lauren, here's a photo.
For those of you who don't know, I get floods of letters coming in everyday, so many in fact that I had to hire an intern to sort through them all. Surprisingly the second most asked question was about what I am reading. So, I figured I would take the time to tell you. Right now I'm reading Chuck Palahniuk's Fugitives and Refugees and I highly recommend it. Chuck takes us on a walk through Portland, Oregon and tells stories and points out some of Portland's most unique and interesting places, people and things. Think of it has a personal tour. It's interesting and I think I'm now ready to make the trip out there. Who doesn't want to see a self cleaning house?
THE SELF-CLEANING HOUSE
Frances Gabe, born 1915, is one of Oregon's most renown inventors. And a quick dash to Newberg can get you a tour of her most famous invention, "The Self-Cleaning House." Correctly realizing that the constant maintenance of the home is bullshit, Frances crammed roughly 68 timesaving measures into her concrete house in Newberg to keep things tidy. These include ceiling spigots that hose down entire rooms, which are in turn covered with waterproof resin; high-powered blowers, which dry everything afterwards; a closet/washing machine; a cupboard/dishwasher and many other oddly endearing ideas. At almost 89 years old, Frances has plenty of intriguing and inspiring tales about being a woman inventor (however, you can also expect to endure an eye-rolling lecture on how "Mexicans are coming up here and taking all our jobs." What are you gonna do? She's 89 years old). Nevertheless, a visit to the Self-Cleaning House is a bizarre and fun trip out of town, and Frances is the very definition of "a piece of work." WSH
Newberg, OR. Reservations are REQUIRED. Call 503-538-4946 for appointment and directions. $25 for one; $5 additional.
I was hoping to find video of the house but all I could find was a self cleaning toilet.
Can you feel all the excitement in the air about the LOST Season Finale? I sure can, and if you really want to go nuts, go check out Previously On Lost's party taking place in Brooklyn tomorrow night. Cotton candy, LOST cupcakes, Dharma punch and more. I'm thinking I better get myself a Dharma Initiative Jumpsuit....I'll be set for Halloween. The Mork jumpsuit might be fun too...
Last but not least, a movie I have not seen yet but one which I think would be fun to screen and watch with friends...Tiptoes
First of all, I hope you all had a wonderful mother's day. What perfect weather to celebrate the woman who gave birth to you, nursed you along and then kicked you out of the house. I love you, mom.
I went to the movies yesterday and on my way, I snapped a Mother's Day photo that I thought was quite funny. Nothing says Mother's Day like a trip to Dave and Buster's where the kids win you a gigantic green monkey.
Now for a reflection on Times Square Today. I was walking along 7th Avenue and noticed that there's an area that is turning into the equivalent of Hollywood Blvd. More and more characters are showing up. Just yesterday alone I saw Elmo,cookie monster, bugs bunny, mickey and minnie, and even a Tin Man!? Now all they need is a charlie chaplin and Marilyn Monroe....speaking of which, I watched an interesting/disturbing/beautiful movie over the weekend, Mister Lonely, a film by Harmony Korine. If you like flying nuns, and impersonators you'll like this film. It's really beautifully directed and the colors, vibrant. If you want to see it, you can borrow it from my collection.
Big news, Joan Rivers won the Celebrity Apprentice which ended sort of abruptly. This would be an appropriate time for me to share with you the video clip of Joan asking me a question in Union Square, but I haven't put that clip on YouTube yet. In fact, I think I mentioned Donald Trump in my answer.
Thanks to Mark for posting this trailer. There are so many Summer blockbuster films on the way but which ones are supposed to be good? Did you see Star Trek? Well, I know of one flick I will not miss. That's right, My Little Pony.
Who doesn't love Michelle and Elmo? I mean, c'mon.
Yes, the Zorb looks like fun but not if you're this reporter:
I thought Oprah was trying to lose weight again so why is she promoting KFC with some coupon that is causing problems? Oh wait, it's a grilled chicken meal. So it must be healthy.
I snapped this photo coming to work this morning. Working at a University you see some bizarre things being thrown away. You have no idea how much I wanted to take this and put it in Erin's chair (my office mate). I almost just took the brain.
I had my first Shake Shack experience last night thanks to Adam and it was darn good. Plus, there was no wait! Not to get all emotional on you, but I believe that when you surround yourself with creative people, good things will happen and I'm looking forward to collaborating and producing a product that we can pitch. So for all of you producers who are reading this, we've got a project or two for you to invest in.
As you know, I'll be joining up with Boaz Frankel for part of his Un-Road Trip. I wanted to pitch in and try to get us some East Coast publicity so I pulled some of the old tricks out of the bag. I contacted tv stations in NYC and Vermont and called in to the Martha Stewart Radio Show to see if she had any ideas for good road trip snacks. You can hear the entire conversation by clicking one of the many links below.
Why is everyone so shocked about the racy photos of Miss California? I feel like every year there are some racy photos that emerge of Miss USA, Miss Universe, whatever. Isn't there some other news we need to be paying attention to?
I'm going to give another plug right now to Piccola Cosi, Aja Nisenson's one-woman show which will have five performances at the SoloNova Arts Festival at the end of the month. Aja was interviewed on BlogStage. You can read the interview here. Tickets are currently available through Telecharge.
If there's one thing I have trouble doing, it's packing light. I always bring too much and my clothes and shoes are so big that they take up a lot and I mean a lot of room. So after having spoken with Boaz yesterday about my joining him on a leg of The Un-Road Trip, I'm wondering what I should pack into the one backpack I'm going to bring. Yikes! I better find a big backpack. Boaz been traveling over 10 days already with just one bag so I'm sure I can do five days, right?
I will be joining Boaz on a train from NYC to Vermont and then we will work our way to Canada and then to Detroit, Michigan. And you can follow along at www.unroadtrip.com. I'll be with Boaz the second week in June.
I was saddened by the news of Dom DeLuise's passing. I used to see Mr. DeLuise all the time in Vermont during the summers where he had a home for a while. In fact, many times I saw him at garage sales and even had an encounter with him where he complimented something we had bought. A very nice man, a very funny man...he will be missed.
Jim Henson's Youth '68, his hour long documentary will be screened tonight at the 92Y Tribeca.
Please allow me a moment for my TWILIGHT TIRADE...the damn movie has been sitting in my apartment for over a month and I finally put it on last night. Luckily I had other stuff to do so I had it on in the background. Why the fascination? I still don't get it. Yes, I'm sure the book is better but the movie was just horrific. My favorite line from the movie had to be "I can’t be sure, of course, but I’d compare it to living on tofu and soy milk; we call ourselves vegetarians, our little inside joke" according to Robert Pattinson, the vampire hotthrob who sparkles when he stands in the sun (he's made of diamonds...ooo he's so sparkly). I know this movie was made for Tweens but they should go rent a good vampire flick, and don't tell me there aren't any.
I'm glad today is Cinco de mayo because we need something to brighten up the day. This rainy weather just makes me sleepy.
I know you're going to laugh but I cannot wait to go see Bye Bye Birdie. It's a sentimental thing. The odd thing is that it appears as though Conrad has not been cast yet or they are just holding back for suspense.
Everyone has told me they have seen people riding the subway wearing surgical masks and I believed them. But when I saw a couple walking around the MOMA yesterday wearing masks, I could just feel the excitement pumping through my veins. Here's why. There is something about seeing all of this modern art and then two people wearing the brightest white masks. It was as though they themselves were art. I would have loved to have posed them against a Picasso but a) they weren't speaking English so trying to convince them that I should take a picture of them was out of the question and b) no photos were allowed in the room. So I had to snap this blurry photo with my phone. This was after some other tourists yelled at me because I was walking into their shot in front of Pollack.
Even though the museum was crowded, I really enjoyed most of the current exhibits and the nice thing about the MOMA is that it's not too big. Oh, and I'm not obsessed with this Vitra Algue...I want them.
Moments later, Secret Service took down each and every duck mistaking them for terrorists. Geez.
Star Trek will be in theaters this week so get ready...Sorry, I just had to post this link because it made me laugh this morning. No offense to any Trekkies who read this blog.
It's Friday, so why not start out with something that cracked me up. Elise sent this website to me which does customized play homes. It's a great way to get the kids out of the house at an early age. The funniest thing about this site is how they dressed and posed the kids in each photo. I'm still laughing at them. Here's another...
Last night was Piccola Cosi, the show has definitely come along way since it's beginnings at Brown. If you missed it, Aja will be performing again in a festival in May.
For those of you NYUers, Strawberry Fest probably has a special place in your hearts. Well, today is Strawberry Fest. So gear up for everything strawberry. But make sure the strawberries have been washed.
I'd like to apologize to anyone who got that Facebook virus from me yesterday. I clicked on a link that a coworker sent me and thinking it was something I could use for our online alumni network, I clicked on it. The messages started flooding in so I apologize. If you were affected just change your password.
I am just about done with making swine flu jokes but I thought that this White Castle commercial puts things into perspective?
