Notebook: New York

Attn: Remnick

Wed, 06 Apr 2005 15:03:11 GMT

Dear David:

Since you haven't been responding to my fan letters and phone calls, I thought I'd try another route and attend a lecture by Talk of the Town editor Susan Morrison. You'll be happy to know that I "showed my tenacity" (just like you recommended at the festival!) by button-holing Susan with questions like "Does The New Yorker take unsolicited manuscripts?" "What advice do you have for young people who want to write for the magazine?" "Can you take my submission with you and read it tonight?" "What about my cartoons?"

At any rate, before the lecture even started, I decided to write a Talk of the Town about attending a Talk of the Town lecture. Get it? Like a coffee table book about coffee tables!

Then (wouldn't you know it Dave) Lillian Ross shows up to chat with Susan on stage. How perfect for my piece, right?

I think it's something you'll definitely want to use, so I've taken the liberty of enclosing it. (see below)

Hope to hear from you very soon.

Love,

Brian

P.S. Did you like the fruit basket?

(Enclosure)

Show Dog/Real Dog?

Mon, 14 Feb 2005 20:42:38 GMT

Make your guesses here and we'll post the answers post-show. Our next dog up for guessing:

Riley -- Show Dog/Real Dog?

And did we mention this fella would probably enjoy The Doghouse Kitchen's organic dog treats? Yes, you heard right: organic dog treats.

Spotted: Hump Day at Radio City (Camels!)

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 18:22:20 GMT

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.

Spotted: Jack-O-Lanterns!

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 17:04:01 GMT

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.

Doo the Doo

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 19:24:29 GMT

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

Talking Burlesque

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 21:55:32 GMT

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.

Life After Sex?

Wed, 19 Oct 2005 19:02:17 GMT

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.'

The First Rule of SRS...

Fri, 14 Oct 2005 17:38:00 GMT

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.

The Notebook Roundup

Thu, 13 Oct 2005 16:03:11 GMT

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]

Subway Threat Day 2

Fri, 07 Oct 2005 15:29:27 GMT

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.