Tattoo Orgy by Sean Toussaint

Metblogs pal and all-around awesome babe Marisa of Needles and Sins brings news of the very naughty-sounding (but suitable for the not-so-naughty) Tattoo Orgy party tonight at Tattoo Culture in Brooklyn. The party is the opening reception for a photography show, Tattoo Orgy, by Sean Toussaint, which features portraits of tattooed folks, always something I like looking at. There will be free booze, music by Lapdance Academy artists, and beautiful photography to look at, not to mention a whole lotta hot tattooed people.

The opening reception will be from 7-10 PM at Tattoo Culture at 129 Roebling Street in Brooklyn, a few blocks from the Bedford Ave stop on the L train. (Did I mention free booze and hot tattooed people? Getcher ass over there.)

If you’ve ever walked by the West 4th street station, you could swear some future NBA’ers are playing basketball. Anytime I witness a dunk at a street park in NYC it’s something that I take with me forever.

This Saturday (20th) there will be an NBA sponsored dunk contest at the South Street Seaport starting at 2 p.m. I won’t be able to go there, but it definitely seems like a good freaking time.

Have Mercy on Animals – Free food and to promote friendliness towards our non-human friends happening @ MooShoes on June 18th, that’s tomorrow, at 6:30 pm.

Laid off? Like free events? Want to network with other people in a similar situation? LaidOffCamp may be for you. A free event happening tonight and tomorrow, LaidOffCamp is for people who want to network with others and look for new opportunities in a different setting than that of traditional job fairs. This isn’t just for the unemployed – it’s really for anyone who wants to look into what’s next for them, whether it’s a new job in the same field, collaborating with like-minded individuals on a new venture, or going back to school to reinvent their careers.

Tonight there will be a panel discussion and reception, and tomorrow there will be sessions on all sorts of topics, from job searching and negotiations to freelancing, personal health, and community involvement. It’s more of an “unconference” than a traditional conference – lots of brainstorming, group discussions, networking, etc. It’s based on the BarCamp model of user-generated conferences, with content provided by participants. It’s free and you don’t have to be laid off or even unemployed to attend.

Tonight’s event starts at 4:30 (hurry!) and goes until 7:30 and is at New World Stages, 340 W. 50th Street. Tomorrow’s event starts at 8 with sessions from 9:30-5 and is at Pace University’s Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts. More info at the LaidOffCamp Wiki.

Watch movies at the Park

NYC parks always have great things to offer. As May approaches and the floral landscape of the city changes from barren wasteland to allergen-heavy blooms, wildflowers take center stage.

But for those who have no interest in botany can still enjoy the parks.

Central Park is a year round treat, but as the weather gets nicer, look for more activities happening there too.

Bryant Park has laid out benches on its lush green lawn for picnicking locals and stress free work time lunches. Did you know Bryant Park offers Tai Chi & Yoga classes on a regular basis?!

And for those of you too lazy to partake in physical activities. Great News! You can watch movies in the park for free. Brooklyn Bridge Park is holding a free series of flicks throughout the summer to keep a smile on your face too.

And finally just because I don’t want to leave out Queens. You can always check out some of the finest parks in the city in the more domestic and cozier of the boroughs. Your choices are Alley Pond, Botanical Gardens or even Flushing Meadows.

Just a reminder that we’re having a Metblogs meetup tonight at d.b.a., 41 1st Ave between 2nd and 3rd Streets, from 6-9 PM. Be there! Meet authors and other readers, maybe get a free t-shirt if you bat your eyelashes at us. See you there!

For future events like this, plus notifications of new authors, new posts, etc., follow us on Twitter: @nycmetblogs.

Attention all readers, authors, and passersby – the NYC Metblog is having a meetup tomorrow night, Wednesday, April 29 at d.b.a. from 6-9 PM. Sean Bonner from Metblogs HQ is in town and he has FREE SHIT to give to the first handful of people who show up! Who can resist free stuff? (You still have to buy your own beer, though.)

Everyone is welcome. If you’re interested in writing for the NYC Metblog, come out and chat with us! We’re looking for more writers and would love to meet you and tell you about the sexy Metblogs lifestyle.

d.b.a. is located at 41 1st Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets. The closest train is the F at 2nd Ave.

Here are some things you can be doing tonight.

Free Workshop on Yoga, Meditation, and the Science of the Mind

Date: Saturday, March 21st
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Art of Living Center (127 W 25th St., due to renovations look for a large wooden frame in front of the building. The code to get in is 1-3-5)
Cost: Free

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Cut & Paste

WHERE:
Webster Hall
125 E. 11th Street
New York, NY 10003
212-353-1600
www.websterhall.com

A crazy mad graphic design competition event.

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Saturday Storytime: Captain Stewart Walks the Plank!
Saturday, March 21 2009, 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Join the Storytime mutiny with McNally’s own Stewart Dawes. Kids will know We’re All in the Same Boat (Shapiro) as we follow Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs (Andrea) to the mysterious world of The Night Pirate (Harris). If you’re conscripted against your will, like The Pirate Girl (Funke), you might find yourself rescued by the brave Captain Stewart. After plundering pirate books for treasure and lore, Captain Stewart will teach every young matey to make their own eyepatch and draw their own pirate ship. Ages 3 to 8. Where? 52 Prince St. (b/t Lafayette & Mulberry) New York, NY 10012 212.274.1160 Mon – Sat: 10am – 10pm Sun: 10am – 9pm Map

It was always nice to have the option– pay for the Midtown Tunnel and get to the Village or Midtown faster, or battle with 59th Street Bridge or the BQE, and the crowded Williamsburg Bridge — but save the toll. Sometimes, it was six of one and half-a-dozen of the other, because you could burn so much gas on the BQE backup that you might as well have paid the tolland sometimes the choice was clear. But you had the choice!

Now, they want to put a toll on previously-free bridges, as an alternative to raising MTA fares. When I first heard, it seemed like a plan; we should be taking more mass-transit anyway! And of course, Bloomberg now has a platform to yell at us like naughty children — on the news, he said something like “See? I had the perfect solution — congestion pricing — and you didn’t want that” Okay, Uncle Mike — we get the point. So here’s another way we can stick it to the “bridge-and-tunnel” crowd.

But here’s what I want to know: let’s say they DO work out a method to collect tolls [since toll-booths are near-impossible, they are talking about a machine that will read your license plate, and bill the driver later — good luck!], how high do we have to raise the stakes before people WILL say “hmmm…..this is just like congestion-pricing after all. AND, congestion pricing wasn’t supposed to be in effect on the weekends anyway. Are they thinking of making the 59th St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges free on weekends? My guess is “no”.

In other words, was it the intention all along to present options to the “bridge-and-tunnel” crowd [of which I am one, by the way] that turn out to be just as bad, or even worse for private cars, than congestion pricing? And how high can the stakes go, before car-dependent suburbanites will finally load their families onto commuter railroads for their day in the city? What is the tipping point when private drivers will leave the cars home?

The Brooklyn Bridge is now free, but would charge a toll under the new proposed plan

If you want to see a great picture gallery of this year’s Village Halloween Parade, click here.

Photo credit: Jeanne Fleming/Wikimedia Commons. Picture from the 1998 Village Halloween Parade. Notice the Twin Towers lit up in the background.
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Thank you Pamela Skillings, About.com’s Manhattan guide.

Here’s your chance to see Governor’s Island, by bike, before the developers go in and change it [and you know that’s next]
Transportation Alternativesand the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation are expanding their popular “Free Bike Fridays” this entire weekend on Governors Island. Bring your own bike, or take a free one-hour rental [limited supply, first-come first-serve]. 250 kites will also be available for flying. From Friday 9/19 10am to 5pm and Saturday 9/20 and Sunday 9/21 10am to 7pm, you can take advantage of this great opportunity. Ferries will leave from the Battery Maritime Building, 10 South St., at Whitehall St. You can check the ferry schedule online at govisland.com.

Castle Williams, Governors Island, NYC