Notebook: New York

1:22:20 PM EST

 It's load-in day for the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City, which means one thing -- tackling 63 other photo bloggers to get these shots.

 

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12:04:01 PM EST

 Residents of Fort Washington Ave. in Hudson Heights know to expect the delightful patch of "Jacks behind bars" this time of year. We thought, however, that with the construction at 190th there would be no funkins this year. BEHOLD -- there they are.... amongst the plywood and dirt piles! It's a Halloween miracle.

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3:24:29 PM EDT

 Not a day goes by that I don't take care not to lean against the doo, thank you very much.

 

 

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5:55:32 PM EDT

  The burlesque renaissance... In these uncertain times, it's nice to see such a postive trend continue to build momentum.  All but left for dead 10 years ago, the ancient art of the tassle-twirling striptease is turning up in more and more bars and clubs every weekend.

As a service to pastie lovers everywhere, we here at CityGuide have compiled some of the best acts and clubs around the country into a list of top burlesque attractions.  (Including those lovely Pontani Sisters on your left.) You can check our list out here. 

In the meantime, tell us what you think about burlesque: liberating lowbrow?  Low-rent tease?  High-concept retro schtick?  

Additionaly, if you have any favorite performers or venues in your town we ought to know about, please, share.

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3:02:17 PM EDT

  There's a war on, bomb threats on the subway, a category 5 hurricane threatening Florida ... and what am I thinking during my lunch hour as I walk by the Sharper Image store outside my Rockefeller Center office?      

Poor Kristin Davis... 

Reduced to hawking neck-supporting contour pillows.  Can't poor Charlotte find decent work anymore? 

Disclaimer: That's probably not even her above, and the IMDB informs me that Davis is slated to appear in two upcoming projects: a film called 'Houseboat' and a TV Movie titled 'Soccer Moms.'   

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1:38:00 PM EDT

 Walking out of my G-Train station in Greenpoint yesterday, I noticed this bit of clever, if common, idea-marketing on a vacant poster slot near the entrance. 

The sticker's web address you can't read in this photo points to a website, www.socrepsoc.com, which, as it turns out, is the landing page for a very entertaining organization billing itself as the "Society for the Representation of Society."  No word on whether black turtleneck and French accent are required for membership.

The society seems to be an equal-parts mixture of Ad Busters magazine editorial and Tyler Durden's Project Mayhem.  The group boasts of public "lawn interventions," anti-consumerist April Fools pranks, and even has set up a fake email chain letter contest...

All in all, a good show -- way beyond the scope of simple rage against chain java.

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12:03:11 PM EDT

  1.  Lindsay Robertson, noise pollution vigilante, is creating an insulting bumper sticker to plaster on the offensive vehicles of car alarm owners.  God bless, Lindsay.  I was up at 3 AM last night ready to take a tire iron downstairs and do a bit of vigilantism myself...  [Lindsayism]

2.  Welcome Village Voice "Best-Of" issue 2005. [Curbed]

3.  While we're on the "Best-Of" subject, our 2006 City's Best polls are now open.  You can vote for your favorite spots around town in dozens of categories. [CityGuide NY]

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11:29:27 AM EDT

  It was an uneasy, but fortunately uneventful commute this morning for most New Yorkers...

 

AOL News has a pretty comprehenisve roundup of the situation here, which includes a report that a suspicious package has shut down part of Penn Station. 

 

I had my eye out for increased police presence on my way in from Brooklyn today, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.  How many officers, I wonder, are in the system undercover?  Just about all I could find this morning in the way of police presence was this officer at left -- who saw me about to snap his picture and came walking towards me through the turnstyles.  Fortunately, he was just headed to the newsstand in the rear of the station and not to perform a Sean Penn on my new Treo...

Any problems with your commute this morning?  Let us know.

 

 

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3:08:44 PM EDT

  1.  Best libertarian campaign swag ever: cigarette lighters inscribed with "End Prohibition: Smoke Bloomberg in '05." [Power Plays]

2.  NY Post: The Upper West Side is overrun with rats.  [Gothamist]

3.  Happy Anniversary Time Out NY.  [FishbowlNY]

4.  Bryant Park: Now with free WiFi ... and an ice skating rink.  Yes, an ice skating rink this winter! [Corante]

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12:47:55 PM EDT

  The universe: is it an elegant design with no apparent designer?  What is the nature of G-d in history?  Can I get an edge in the company softball league by replacing crucial electrolytes with a Kaballah water-laced energy beverage?

All very important questions... All questions I started asking myself on the way to the subway this morning after I stumbled across this poster at my local deli.

Yes, some marketing genius has decided to start hawking mysticism in a can. 

It's Kabbalah Energy Drink: Source of Power!

Hey, if you can get it in audio book format -- or wear it on your wrist -- why not drink the stuff?

Beverage trade site BevNet says the stuff isn't that bad.  (But not really that good either.)

"This stuff does manage to have a lighter, less syrupy taste than you’d imagine; maybe that’s because, as the can says, this product is 'Infused with Kabbalah Water.' But it’s actually infused with high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid, and all kinds of artificial flavors, none of which really taste like anything except other energy drinks we’ve tried."

Has anyone out there actually drank the stuff?  Any crazy accounts of seeing wheels rotating within wheels?  What about hallucinations of George Carlin dressed as Maimonides exhorting you to "Just Do It already!"  

In the meantime, the Kabbalah Drink website is wildly entertaining, if short on facts as to how the water actually obtains Kabbalah status.  Finally, if you're in the mood to ponder the infinite today instead of sorting those Q3 spreadsheets, you might find the Wikipedia entry on Kabbalah diverting for an hour or two...

 

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