It’s time once again for Lincoln Center’s for Midsummer Night Swing until July 26, 2008. The outdoor dance party features theme nights — including swing, salsa, disco, funk, and more. Like “Dancing with the Stars” but this is under the stars! Each evening begins with a dance lesson at 6:30 PM for dancers of all levels of experience. The live music begins at 7:30 PM.

Midsummer Night Swing events take place on Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center (Columbus Avenue between 62nd and 65th Streets). Most tickets for individual events are $15 (price includes dance lessons) and admission for Kids’ Day events is $5.
Click here to buy tickets or see schedule online or call 212-751-6500.

Yet another excuse to live “the city”, and it’s also just right across the bridge.

Today, Empire Fulton-Ferry State Park, 4-8pm, Corner of Plymouth & Main Streets, Dumbo, Brooklyn

Before I get to the story, we’ve all run into this situation before. How far is too far? Eastside, Westside, Uptown, Downtown, Brooklyn, Queens? For me, as long as I can get there by subway, it’s not too far. The PATH is usually a stretch for me, but I’ve been known to attempt a date out in New Jersey.

During my last family visit to Long Island, I stopped by my brother’s job to meet him for lunch. After my quick stop into the ladies room to primp, this guy walked out of the men’s room at the same time and smiled at me. Turns out, it was Little Dougie from the 5th Grade. Well, not so little anymore. I’m not sure what came over me but I ran over to him, gave him this huge hug and after some small talk, I told him to give me a call the next time he was coming into the city so that we could catch up. Thinking back, I find it amusing that I didn’t even consider telling him that this city girl would meet up on the Island for a drink. God FORBID!
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NYC is where Hip-Hop was born - as if you didn’t know that already (I hope).

That being said, the immortal and revolutionary Rock Steady Crew will be celebrating their 31st Anniversary from July 24th-July 27th. The four funktastic days of festivities will include a Celebrity Benefit Basketball Challenge, B-boy/B-girl Battles, 5 on 5 Crew Battles, and live musical performances from artists like Kurtis Blow, The Beatnuts, Soul Sonik Force, and Craig G & Marly Marl.

More information and locations of the events can be found on their official site.

This is the perfect opportunity to get out from behind your semi-fancy Swedish ‘puter desk thingy and shake your ass, all while witnessing something that is way more indigenous to the 5 Boroughs than Gordon Gekko and Alex Rodriguez.

I come from a long line [well, two generations long] of Mets fans. And it isn’t because I live in Queens either. I was raised in Brooklyn, and then Long Island. My dad was born in Brooklyn. Even his dad was born in Brooklyn. My dad is still sitting shiva for the Dodgers moving to LA! Therefore, in my family, you wouldn’t be caught dead rooting for the Yankees!

But yesterday, I was ready to burn my orange and blue and wear pinstripes. Okay, I’m not running a benefit for Willie Randolph! You can’t even equate his firing to layoffs at United or Starbuck’s or even Bear Stearns. Besides Willie’s money, I’m sure he’ll get snatched up as fast as the Dodgers nabbed Joe Torre.

And I’m not questioning whether he needed to go. Maybe Willie’s time was up. But do you have to fly the guy to California, let him qvell over his winning team, and then fire him at midnight after he reaches his hotel room? Beyond tacky. I never thought anyone could make the Steinbrenners look like nice guys, but this did just that!

Shame on you, Mets Management!! photo credit:Kjetil Ree/Wikimedia Commons

Everyone hates it when they get a call from a telemarketer, or from a repeat caller with a wrong number. But lately, I’ve been getting calls for someone who isn’t at my home number, never has been as far as I can tell, and is actively giving my phone number to creditors as if it were his own. At least two or three times a week, I get calls on my home phone for a Mr. Ramos (he has used Roberto, Alvaro, and Vernon as his latest iteration) from creditors. My roommate and I have begun striking up conversations with the creditors, telling them that we get calls all the time for him and to please mark the number as invalid since he does not live here and we do not know him. And then a few weeks ago, one of the callers, from a city services agency, told me that he had given them the number a few days prior! So it’s not just an old leftover number given to creditors long ago - he is actually giving out my number currently.

I know that identity theft probably happens all the time in New York City. A stolen credit card or careless tossing away of financial information is all it takes. But what do you do if it’s not actual identity theft? The guy is not using my name or SS# and not my address - just my phone number. It’s annoying as all hell, but is it illegal? And what can I do to stop it?

And if you happen to read this, Roberto/Alvaro/Vernon, quit it. I’m starting to get angry, and you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.

Photo from pps.org

Yesterday marked a favorite yearly event - the Museum Mile Festival. Every year, 5th Ave shuts down to cars in the evening and the museums open their doors for free. It’s always a nice opportunity to get to the museums (which I, like many New Yorkers, don’t often do). Plus, it’s just fun to walk down the middle of a street usually filled with traffic.

Last night, the weather was perfect for the occasion. I met up with some friends at the Museum of the City of New York - my first visit there. With a grand entrance and historic appearance, the building is beautiful. We checked out the Maritime exhibit (which showed a historic look at downtown ports), New York Interiors (lavish displays of historic interiors), and a theater exhibit (with costumes from major musicals, including Rent). Definitely worth a visit.

As usual, there wasn’t much time for more than one museum. We headed down to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum courtyard, always a nice spot, and watched a cool glass-blowing demonstration. After that, there was only a little more time to walk along 5th and admire the chalk artwork covering the street.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming free events in the city - movies and concerts in the park. There will be free live music this weekend at the annual Madison Square Park barbecue event.

Photo from northforkwineclub.com

I decided to forgo the traditional male strippers and penis straws for my bachelorette party in exchange for something a little more low-key. Having had a blast in Sonoma with a friend a few years ago, I decided on a trip to Long Island Wine Country.

These bachelorette wine tours are becoming more common, now with specific companies basically devoted to chauffeuring around groups of ladies to a few vineyards. We went with North Fork Wine Tours to three vineyards around Greenport - Duck Walk, Osprey’s Dominion, and Pindar Vinyards.

Greenport is about a 2 hour drive from the city. Only limited public transportation options exist to the area. There’s the LIR, but it doesn’t actually run out there that frequently. And then, the Hampton Jitney - not the cheapest way to travel, but it does get you right in the area. The scenery there is lovely - farms, vineyards, and the ocean.

We began the tour near the adorable Greenport downtown, at the Townsend Manor Inn - a comfortable (though not upscale) hotel with apartment-style rooms. Our guide told us that the region was very similar to Bordeaux and discussed some wines in the area. We boarded a small van which took us first to Duck Walk Vineyards, where we tasted some delicious wine and had a modest lunch. The next spot we hit was Osprey’s Dominion, which had a lovely outdoor seating area where we split a bottle of pink champagne. We ended the day at Pindar, a popular (and crowded) vineyard with live music playing. Another bottle of sparkling wine outside and our time was ended.

The whole day was beautiful and a wonderfully relaxed way to catch up with old friends. I don’t know much about what makes a good wine, but I did enjoy the Rieslings and this yummy dessert wine called Aphrodite from Duck Walk. With the summery weather, I wasn’t in the mood for anything like Bordeaux.

I’ve been working in the West Village for a few weeks now and I’ve been enjoying one of this job’s biggest perks: free live music at lunch. In Washington Square Park, everyday some jazz band or solo guitarist is playing. And some of them really impress me.

My first week, I heard this incredible reggae band, featured in the Tribeca Film Festival’s Playing for Change. I still remember the catchy tune they played that day in the park. Then there’s a small jazz band that plays almost everyday. Their very talented trumpet player does these amazing solos.

But my favorite band so far has been a small group including a base, washboard, and fabulous violinist. When I first heard them play, this violinist, a strikingly beautiful Asian woman, was awing the crowd with a solo in the song Summertime. Happily, they’ve returned every couple days to the park right around lunchtime.

I don’t know what’s funnier - that local NBC newscaster Sue Simmons dropped an f-bomb in a live promo spot for the 11:00 news on Monday night, or that the NY Times wrote a 2-page article about it.

Look, I know she’s a newscaster and should remain professional on the air. Apparently she wasn’t aware the promo spot was live - most of the time they are taped and edited later - so she slipped up. I’m sure plenty of newscasters and other on-air professionals do this all the time. And it’s not like you don’t hear the f-bomb dropped every day walking around New York City streets. Hell, you might even see it on this blog later today. Shocking!

In any case, she apologized. Let it go, NY Times. Find some other minor thing to make a fuss over.