Last night I went to this Tim Burton talk/event put on by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. I’m a huge fan of Tim Burton’s films, and was psyched to see him in person and hear him talk about his career thus far. And while it was fun to see the retrospective they put together, and he did make some funny comments during his on-stage interview, the real highlight of the night (by far) was the thrilling preview of his upcoming film version of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

While I’m sure I would have gone to see it anyway, now I can officially say I can’t wait to see this movie when it comes out! They showed three full scenes from the still unfinished film, and in my opinion, they were pretty damn spectacular. Who better to handle such dark, gothic subject matter? And truly, from what I saw, the singing–while not Broadway style (thank God)–works amazingly well. Is there anything Johnny Depp can’t do?

[image from Sweeney Todd by Leah Gallo, from the Film Society's website]

I’m currently in Las Vegas and though I didn’t ask for it, they put me up in a room that has a view of the New York, New York hotel. I thought it was kind of nice to have a “home” away from home.

Speaking of Times Square, last night we got out of the office late and first got into the very depressing Michael Jordan Steak House at GC, but soon moved on to BXL (which serves awesome Belgium beers and is somewhere around there). Interesting enough, the area is pretty dead after 11 PM so it’s hard to find a decent place to go for a drink which makes BXL maybe more appealing than it really is.

After a beer at BXL I found myself on Times Square.

In contrast to day time, the place was still just as bright, or maybe brighter at night – but felt almost deserted with the very little traffic of cars cabs and people, which made you feel like you are almost alone. Which is pretty weird when you think of it, that you can feel alone if there is only a few 100 people around you.

This was also a missed photo opportunity since I left the camera at home. :O

A classic shot from Times Square in 1964, when New York was still the real New York. Photo is from The New York Times archives.

So, apparently two New Jersey girls tried to rappell down the side of their apartment building using torn bed sheets as ropes, and lo and behold, they got hurt in the process. (Go ahead and laugh–I did.)

That’s about the gist of the story right there, but what’s really fun is how the comments at NJ.com have devolved into a pissing match about parenting, family values, and the bible. Seriously.

There’s lots of stone throwing going on, and man is it fun for us sinners to read. Excuse me while I go get drunk, beat and molest my children, and push them out the window tied up in their bed sheets…

[image from here]

Holy crap, is it that time of year already???

According to NY1, Macy’s tested out three new balloons for their Thanksgiving Day Parade this weekend: Shrek, Abby Cadabby (huh?), and Hello Kitty.

I’ve often wondered how they choose which characters get chosen for balloon immortality… And I have to say, this sometimes jaded New Yorker has always had a bit of a soft spot for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. If you’re in town, live or are staying on the Upper West Side, and the weather’s good (this is key), there’s really nothing else like it.

And don’t forget, you can head up to the Museum of Natural History on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and watch them blow up all the balloons. It’s pretty fun and festive, though probably even more crowded than the parade itself!

[image from here]

Just curious, but how does everyone tip when they go out?

I was told to tip 20% in New York – no matter what.

The other night we were at some pub and the waitress didn’t seem to have such a great day and got pretty annoying while we were there like she didn’t want to take back a drink which no one had ordered etc., and in the end – I believe we probably tipped 15-17% “only” – she even came back to request the full 20%.

In Berlin or most places in Europe, you really tip whatever – I think 10% is ok. Or that is what the tourist guide says, but no one would ever demand it. But I am all up for comments.

Seems like a silly statement, but while at the Opening of Modified Eros: a photographic celebration of body modification at Arena Studios, I noticed that this one woman seemed to take an interest in something about me. I noticed her, but there was too much to see for me to focus on any one person.

Finally, she approached me and said – “Did you notice that we’re the only full sized people here?”. Hm. I looked around and started to laugh. At first, I thought she meant Full Figured and I almost took offense until I realized that we were probably the tallest people in the place. To be fair, I told her I was cheating with my 4 inch heels and I guess I should mention that she may have either been a Transvestite or Transsexual – so she was cheating too.

She then continued by saying… “do you think it’s the lifestyle?”
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Two different picket lines are marching across NYC right now. One is the Writer’s strike which most people would think is isolated in California, but which in actuality is also striking NYC. Pickets can be seen in front of all the major networks, and local shows like David Letterman have shut down production. The other is of course the Stagehands Union, which has been threatened both as a strike and as a lockout for months now.

The Writers Guild has clear and supportable demands. Watch this to better understand what they are asking for. What is basically boils down to is that they want to be paid for a huge new revenue stream that the studios are exploiting but refusing to pay them for. The writers agreed to a paycut in the late 80s with the agreement that they would eventually get that money back after the fledgling home video market got on it’s feet. Well… I think that time has passed. All those streaming videos found online at the various network websites? They get paid NOTHING for that. Easy to see why they are picketing.

The Stagehands on the other hand are asking for things like a clause that requires a fly operator (the person who controls scenery that “flies” or goes up into the fly loft) on shows… even on shows that have no flying scenery… to remain in their contract. They also have the right to control how many of their workers show up at a load in (the day a show moves into a theatre), no matter how big or small the show is. In other words whether the show has 20 trucks worth of scenery or just 1 the same number of workers is required by the union at the same rate. Much harder to have sympathy for in my opinion.

The stagehand strike is costing the city 17 Million dollars a day, it is harder to calculate what the writer’s strike might be costing us but I’m sure the theatre owners were hoping to grab a piece of it by luring people away from inevitable reruns and into the theatre district.

I’m really encouraged by news of a food co-op in the Bronx. I’ve felt for a long time that the next hip neighborhood would be in the Bronx, and it sounds like there are some really forward-thinking people in that borough that see the value of organic food and local produce in that borough.

According to today’s New York Times, Agraduate business svhool student at Baruch, Zena Nelson, is credited for conceiving this co-op, which is the newest of five in the city. Ms. Nelson is also a member of the Green Party. At 30 members, the co-op is still small, but maybe that’s a good thing for now.

for more information, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/nyregion/11co-op.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin