I was at a Halloween party this evening and I saw one of the greatest NYC subway tattoos that I have ever seen. My friend Joy Rumore, The Milkmaid, inked this piece on her own leg. Joy is a very talented artist who owns her own shop in Williamsburg. She is also one hot Marilyn Monroe!
Happy Halloween, NYC!
What better way to wile away the few remaining hours until nightfall than with this video (via BoingBoing) of zombies doing yoga in a park in Brooklyn.
Not sure where it took place, but odds are you had to take the L train to get there!
Just kidding… Trick or treat!
Last Thursday night, on our friend Marisa’s recommendation, a few friends and I (including fellow NYC authors Melissa and Atom) went to see Margaret Cho’s show, the Sensuous Woman. We all like Margaret Cho and think she’s hilarious, and were all curious to see what was up with the new show, which features burlesque performances by Margaret (Ms. Cho if you’re nasty) herself as well as a slew of other interesting performers. We expected it to be good, but didn’t really know what to expect besides some burlesque stuff and, of course, Ms. Cho’s comedy. We didn’t know it would be a true variety show – comedy, singing, dancing, sketches, and of course, sassy burlesque performances.
We were cracking up pretty much from beginning to end. The show opened with a short burlesque number, followed by Margaret performing some stand-up, which was decidedly raunchy. (Basically, don’t bring mom and dad to this show unless they are okay with people talking about eating ass. Fo’ reals.) This was followed by some song-and-dance numbers, some burlesque numbers including two by Margaret herself, in which she shows off her ability to twirl her tassels as well as any seasoned burlesque performer, and some stand-up. All the performers were good, but there were some standouts, including Liam Sullivan as “Kelly”, who you’ve probably seen on YouTube performing the “Shoes” song. As for the other standout performances, let’s just say this – I don’t know if they do this particular performance every night, but if you hear the beginning of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana”, pay attention, because the performer dancing to that song will blow your freaking mind. I’ve had that song (and the accompanying dancing!) going through my head ever since.
After the show, the cast goes into the theater’s bar to chat with theatergoers, so you can say hello and heap praise upon them after laughing your ass off. It looks like they’ve extended the run of the show, too! This week, there are performances scheduled tonight through Saturday night – and if the show we saw last week was any indication, I bet the Halloween show tonight is going to be amazing. (And there are still tickets available for tonight’s show, which starts at 8 PM.)
Margaret Cho’s the Sensuous Woman is at the Zipper Factory Wednesdays – Saturdays through November 17. See the Zipper Theater site for information on tickets and showtimes.
I enjoy a bit of spookiness and the macabre. One reason I explore graveyards.
I recently wandered around in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Astoria with my fiance. I like to go there every year around Halloween. It’s right near a highway, but it’s huge. And has some very old graves. We went through a few winds of the path, where the graveyard borders on a forested area. And we heard an odd sound in the underbrush. I jumped! We edged nearer to the forest and heard it again. A faint, but distinct… clucking!
Since my entry about this looming strike, I find it becessary to clarify a few points.
Yes, I oversimplified. One tends to do this in limited space. Here is the link to the NY Times story for more information, and to read more about the issues: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/nyregion/22theater.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/S/Strikes
However I simplified it, the stagehand staffing issue isn’t the only issue, but it is the main one. As the Times reporter says “the producers have proposed loosening restrictions on when stagehands are needed for work, how many are needed and what tasks they are allowed to perform.
The union has said that any alterations to the rules that would mean less work for stagehands need to come with exchanges of equal value.”
I never meant to insinuate that there WOULD be abuses. However, when given the choice, as in the corporate world, management and investors can go for “downsizing” to cut costs. Again, read the NY Times article for the whole story. Personally, I have been on both sides of the labor fence — union member and management. I can see both sides.
As for “Lady” saying that I have no compassion for tourists. Well, shopping isn’t the only other thing to do in NYC. Try checking out our many museums, including Ellis Island. And how about some live theater you can get for free — go to a neighborhood like the Lower East Side, Inwood or to one of the outer boroughs. I guarantee a cast of characters you won’t find on a Broadway Stage, and without spending $80 or more to see a staged production of something you already saw in the movies or on DVD for a few dollars!!!!
Let me start by saying that I am NOT a baseball fan. I’ll go to a game, but I don’t follow it. Some people in my family are CRAZY Mets fans so I sort of consider myself a Mets fan. I actually don’t religiously follow any sport, but I’m more of a Hockey girl than anything else.
Today, while at Physical Therapy I started chatting it up with a tall good-looking guy by asking him what he was “in” for. It’s not often that I see someone cute AND tall at PT and since it was my last time there, I thought I’d entertain myself. After we spoke about our injuries, he asked me where I grew up, where I lived, what I did for a living, blah blah blah. Quite the curious fellow. Me being me, I didn’t ask too much and didn’t inquire further when he told me that he got his injury pitching. I thought he might just have meant pitching for a work league or something. I did ask to see his scar though… good stuff. He hated it, but I told him that it adds character. It does! Plus, it’s always good for a story.
So, after about an hour we parted ways and I wished him luck with his healing. I wonder if my charming personality kept his attention or if it was the cat poses I had to do while he stood behind me with my ass in full view. Hmmm.
When I left, my trainer asked if I knew who I was talking to. My response? “No, should I?” I was just enjoying flirting with a tall good-looking guy… I wasn’t LOOKING for anything, but we all love a little flirting every once in a while. Or is that just me. The mystery is almost ALWAYS better than the reality which is why flirting is so much fun.
OK. I’ll get to who it was. Yankee pitcher Carl Pavano. As soon as I heard he was a Yankee, I felt like I betrayed the team my family has been fans of for ages.
My apologies to the Mets. I will make it up to you if you send one of your tall cuties to my office to flirt with. Promise!
The New York Times reports that members of Local One, the Broadway Stage-Hands Union, voted unanimously to authorize a strike in December if negotiations with the League of American Theaters and Producers producers don’t meet their demands. The issue is number of stagehands working on a show, as well as tasks they are required to perform. The League wants to relax restrictions, which would mean that there will be a whole lot of room for directors and stage managers to reduce numbers of stagehands, overwork the ones they have, and give them tasks that maybe they don’t usually perform.
Of course, December is the target month for the possible srike, because that time of year is prime tourist season. But, a strike would be a terrible thing for the Broadway people who would be out of work, and I hope there is a settlement for that reason. I don’t feel bad for the tourism and hotel people. EVEN IF Broadway goes dark, the tourists will still come– for the shopping and everything else NYC has to offer at holiday season, and every other season throughout the year. The difference will be that the greedy hotels in the Theater District, may not be able to double or triple their room rates
This weekend I experienced Port Authority for the first time. I thought I would be very overwhelmed, but I was glad that there were greeters to guide my way!
One man pointed to the ticket purchasing box, and another guide walked me to my destination.
Then he asked me for lunch money. And it all made sense.
Abrazo coffee has been open for a few months now. Well, not exactly. Jamie (his hair appears in the photo to the right), one of the 3 partners of the quaint East Village coffee shop is an extremely friendly character; so when people came by and asked “hey what’s this?” he gives them a detailed explanation and finally offers up a brew of his specially created
coffee. . .
(more…)
I’m in Boston for the weekend. Every time I travel to Boston, DC, or Philly, I face the same dilemma: to ride or not ride the Chinatown bus. Yesterday, I made the decision to ride it. So waiting outside in the rain for 45 minutes for the bus to come, listening to Chinese pop music pouring out of a nearby store, I thought the same thought I usually do when using this mode of transport: I am not doing this again. But then the time comes to travel to an Eastern city and when I look at price comparisons, there’s just not much comparison. And I’m back in Chinatown again.
