Now that the Gates have bid us a fond farewell, we need more krappy art in NYC to talk about, right? Enter the Soho Photo Gallery who guarantee

Everything you think MTA.info is supposed to do Hop Stop actually does.

I tested it by tracking the train route from my mother’s house to my old job. It gave me train directions down to how to walk to the station. Pass it on to your out of town friends who are visiting the city so they’ll stop calling you for directions.

There is a wonderful place in this world called Dinosaur Barbeque. The Syracuse staple now has an outpost at 131st and 12th. Trust me, it’s worth the trip just for the wings. Check it out online: www.dinosaurbarbque.com/

Now that things seemed to have calmed down around The Gates, it may be a good time to head over to Central Park. I made the mistake of going on opening day, but I will admit that I was looking forward to checking out Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s latest work.

I won’t go into all the stats, but if you want the details, you can check them out at: Christo & Jeanne-Claude

I had initially thought that it would have been cool to see from a nearby rooftop or helicopter(not that I have access to either), but when I arrived, I understood why the artists said that it’s best viewed inside the park. I won’t say that it was one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen, but I definitely enjoyed it and can appreciate the amount of work and planning that went into it.

What I like about The Gates is that Central Park is still the main attraction – the artwork just adds to it. The park gives the observer the ability to see what each view of the saffron skirted gates has to offer. Wherever you stand, sit, walk and how the wind blows will change the appearance… and you can see them from everywhere.

For those people that continue to complain and call it an atrocity

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while. I ran across a really interesting book about the the RNC’s stay in the city this past summer. It’s called “Sticker Shock.” A photographer went out captured all the anti-Bush stickers that popped up on the Lower East Side during the convention. The photography is great, the stickers are awesome and it’s just a fun book to have. Check it out on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0976250705/qid=1108874732/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0604494-0519831?v=glance&s=books.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/10/technology/circuits/10info.html?

I’m not, but while having dinner with a friend of mine, I somehow got suckered into running with her in Sunday’s New York Road Runners Gridiron Classic – 5k. I think the last time I had to run that much was when my soccer coach made me run a few laps around the field for mouthing off – I must have been around 15.

So, I signed up – at least they make that part easy. I registered online and picked up my number and mug at the NYRR’s office on 86th Street the day before the race.

Not being part of the NYRR club, I didn’t think there would be that many people out, but there was a total of 3,935 participants (2,132 men and 1,803 women). The weather was a perfect 45 degrees and we were on our way. We stood in the back by the 10 mile sign – they separate everyone by how long it takes you to run a mile. We would have stood further back, but sadly, 10 is as far as they go. Cool thing is, they give you this yellow radio chip about the size of a quarter that you tie onto your sneaker with a zip tie. The chip is matched up to your name and number and starts recording your time when you pass the start line and stops when you pass the finish line. The information is then uploaded onto their site – where you can check out your stats once you recover.

40 minutes and 12 seconds later, up and down too many hills, we finished. I loved that there were people encouraging you along the way telling you how far you’ve gone. Then, there’s the cheering crowd at the finish line, which helped me get that last burst of energy I needed to cross the finish line. Now I understand why it’s so important to have people cheering you on when you run the marathon.

The race wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be since I did finish. I walked all the way home, a little over 40 blocks, thinking about whether or not I’d run again. 12 hours later, my knees and ankles were still bothering me, but I was able to go online and check my stats. I placed 3,641 overall, 1,614 in my gender, and 623 in my age – HA! Actually, not too shabby for my first race.

If you want to get involved with the New York Road Runners, they have PLENTY of events throughout the year. I’d recommend it. We had a lot of laughs and it was a great experience – even for someone who isn’t fond of running.

I just saw Mark Ibold from Pavement riding his bicycle down Bleecker St. I grinned.

Tonic, a great venue for creative music and video on the Lower East Side, is in trouble. On Saturday, its main sewer line ruptured, flooding Subtonic (the basement venue) and rendering the toilets inoperable. Despite this, Tonic staffers managed to open and make Sunday’s Share at Subtonic a success. This month there will be a series of benefit concerts to raise money to save Tonic, but to get these off the ground vital repairs must be completed as soon as possible. If you’d like to help Tonic, the best thing you can do is make a contribution. Here’s what Tonic has to say:

Since 1998 Tonic has been a haven for creative music. We have helped nurture the vital community of musicians and audiences who keep this music alive. Now we are in danger of closing and ask you to help us keep Tonic alive.

Over the past few years we have suffered a series of blows: our rent has doubled since 1998, our insurance costs have tripled, we

I feel compelled to write about the extraordinary variety of outerwear for dogs out there on the streets. The snow and cold weather has really brought out the best in four-legged fashions. Riding in Louis Vuitton purses is fine for summer, hanging from the crook of their over-manicured owner’s arm, but in the winter, those dogs are going to be on the ground, pulling their own weight, and picking out their own clothes for once. In the past few weeks I have seen raingear, knitted sweaters, fleece hoodies, and what I strongly suspect was a blazer by Marc Jacobs. (The buttons were certainly big enough.)

It’s no surprise, however, that all the outfits were on very small dogs. Big – excuse me, “real” – sized dogs, like big/real-sized women, get no love from Lagerfeld, or anyone else.