WTFMTA?

After seeing signs saying there would be no N running late night tonight, I walked from a post-show Christmas gathering in Hell's Kitchen to Times Square to catch the 7 to QB Plaza. The 7 was stopped at the station for 15 minutes, then again in the tunnel for a few minutes. Then after waiting a good 15 minutes at least at QBP, the N showed up coming from Manhattan. Apparently it WASN'T suspended. All told, it took 2 hours to get from W 50th to Steinway. Thanks MTA.

Luckily the soundtrack was wonderful, selections:

Walking through Hell's Kitchen: "Static-X - "December"

Walking through the Theatre District: Mike Doughty - "I Can Hear the Bells"

Walking through Times Square: Relient K - "Silver Bells"

Waiting on the 7: Tchaikovsky - "Waltz of the Sugar Plum Fairy"

Riding the 7: John Prine - "Christmas in Prison"

Waiting at QB Plaza: Flyleaf - "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

Riding the N: Ramones - "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight)"

Walking down Astoria Blvd: Run DMC - "Christmas in Hollis"

SAVE OUR STEELERS!

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been kidnapped by extraterrestrial alien body snatchers. These aren't ACTUALLY Roethlisberger, Tomlin, Harrison, Parker, Ward, and the offensive line. These are evil doppelgangers. Jon Stewart in "The Faculty." Polamalu's doppelganger couldn't handle BEING Polamalu and went and broke himself. These are NOT the real Pittsburgh Steelers, and SOMETHING MUST BE DONE! We must contact the FBI and the CIA and NASA immediately and let them know that the Steelers have been kidnapped by aliens. SOUND THE ALARM!

SAVE OUR STEELERS! S-O-S!

Either that or this is all some elaborate ruse being perpetrated by the criminal syndicate Cincinattica Bengals, who have somehow risen to the top of the standings for just the second time since 1991. The fix is in.

Safe in New York City

This happened 3 blocks from where I work.

What exactly is an "aggressive" panhandler?

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7163491

A change would do me good.

So since my last post I've left STNJ, moved home, got a job off-Broadway, moved to South Orange for a few weeks, then Brooklyn for a week, and now living in my own place in Astoria. I've been too busy to post on a blog.

But I'm back.

More to come...

Remember when I used to post on this blog?

So I've returned.
I'm currently in the living room of my new temporary home, Tipple Hall on the Drew University campus. It's pretty sweet. It's grad housing, so there's 7 days a week quiet hours, and the building is a COMPLETE dead zone for my cell, but I get my own place: living room, kitchenette, bathroom, bedroom, cable, internet, it's great.

We just opened "Around the World in 80 Days", it's hilarious and highly entertaining, you should go see it.

Dom DeLuise died. Sad day.

My car failed inspection, so now I have to get it fixed then drive it back to NY to get it inspected AGAIN this weekend. Meantime, I'm without an inspection sticker.

Next week Kristen graduates. Mom and Dad are coming down to see "80 Days" and go to Kristen's graduation. Then the following weekend, Kristen and I are off to Montreal.

Found this TV site giving the scoop on next season's network shows: LOST, Heroes, Family Guy, 30 Rock, the Office, Southland, SVU, and the Simpsons have already been renewed. Chuck, Parks and Rec, HIMYM and all the CSIs are all most likely coming back. Better Off Ted is on the fence, and The Unusuals looks on the brink of not returning. For more shows: http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/04/fall-tv-cheat-s.html

I'm out for now.

If you're LOOKING for racism, you'll find it.

The NAACP is calling for Sean Delonas, the cartoonist for the NY Post, to be fired.
Really?
I'm assuming by now everyone has seen the cartoon. And if not, find it somewhere else.
This whole thing is getting way out of hand. Having seen the picture, I can see how one could POSSIBLY see the cartoon as being racist. But I also see how it was in NO WAY intended to be racist. In the official apology, the NY Post said it was sorry if was offensive, it really wasn't meant to be, but it thinks "some" people who are upset are just making a stink because they already hate the Post and its parent company: News Corp. The NAACP took that to mean "everyone" who is upset and is calling for a boycott of News Corp and all of its subsidiaries (including Fox and Fox News).
WHY???
This whole situation is RIDICULOUS.
1) The cartoon was obviously not saying "Obama is an ape," nor was it supporting violence towards him. It was a lame, unoriginal "politicians are stupid monkeys" joke that made light of a tragic situation involving a woman mauled by a chimp. It was a stupid cartoon. Not racist. Besides, most of the people who actually wrote the legislation were WHITE.
2) They apologized for the fact that it appeared racist, as that was not the intent. They already apologized, get over it.
3) Last I checked, we have a little something in this country called the "First Amendment."
This is such a NON-issue, it just needs to die.

Instead of science, we believe in CRAZY hocus pocus. It's like Kansas.

Everyone must watch "Futurama: Bender's Game." It's amazing.

I don't post on here much. I've been busy.

Last week:
Kristen returned from Utah :)
The Steelers are Super Bowl bound! (and I've been darkhorsing AZ as a playoff contender for 2 seasons now, but even I never thought they'd make it to the SB)
Kristen and I are going to Disneyworld in February!
NO MORE BUSH! Don't let the door hit you where evolution split you.
Obama is officially in charge. Happy days are here again.
Kristen and I went to the Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame and NYPL for the Perf. Arts' exhibit, "Curtain Call" about female theatrical designers. I highly recommend both (and both are free). The Jazz HoF is a small installation at "Jazz @ Lincoln Center" in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, and the NY Public Library for the Perf. Arts is at Lincoln Center (right by the box office).
LOST. is. BACK.
I have job possibilities in the works, and applied for unemployment, so sooner or later I'm getting some money.
Went up to Worcester to hit up Stratford's birthday party with Kristen. Got to see Martin, Raj, Billy, Chrysten, Mitch, Robo, Katie, and obviously, Stratford. Played some beer poing, got hammered. Good times.

And if I haven't recommended "The Wackness" yet, go see it NOW. It just came out on DVD, and it is great. Ben Kingsley is brilliant, the soundtrack is awesome, and the story is great. Chuck and I watched it 2 nights in a row (we had to show the girls). He's considering buying it. It's a great movie.

I also recommend "The Express." I still can't decide if I love the movie for it's Syracusery or because it's a great sports film. But West Virginia's portrayal was pretty insulting.

You watch the world complain, but you do it anyway...

Lots of randomness. And begin.
I think we make Tom Cruise to be worse than he may be, because he is crazy. Tom Cruise is an out-there-wackjob with some of his religious and scientific beliefs, and parenting methods, but not EVERYTHING he does is crazy. He is still a very talented actor and other than some of his ideas, seems to be a good and decent man, and I think sometimes some of his actions, under the microscope of the Hollywood media, are viewed as being stranger because he is Tom Cruise.
I saw a clip about him giving Suri a "Valkyrie" teddy bear of his character, in German military apparel and eyepatch. I thought, "that's creepy." A patch-eyed Nazi teddy bear? For a 2-year old girl? But then I thought, "wait, if Tom HANKS were to do the same thing? That'd be kind of fatherly and cute." And I think that we should do that. Whenever we judge a seemingly ridiculous thing done by Tom CRUISE, imagine how it would look if Tom HANKS did the same thing.
Tom Hanks is a talented, beloved, admired, and intelligent man. He is generally well-liked world round. He seems to be a nice guy and a gentleman and a scholar. Some of the things Tom Cruise does are not in and of themselves "weird," but because we know he is, we assume everything he does is nuts. I feel that is unfair to Tom Cruise, who gets more slack than he deserves.
I'm not saying Cruise shouldn't be held accountable for all the truly ridiculous behavior he exhibits. He should be. But next time, just think about what you would think of the same behavior if exhibited by Tom Hanks, before deciding if it's actually nuts.

The Waterlanding of the Millenium

So first off, the news needs to stop calling it a crash. It wasn't, it was a waterlanding.
Second, how frickin' badass is Chesley B. Sullenberger III? The pilot performed a ridiculously sweet maneuver and saved 155 lives (not to mention countless others, had the plane crashed into any other location in New York). I heard on the news that there had never been a commercial airline waterlanding without loss of life. They might have said "serious injury" but I'm not checking my sources because that would be responsible journalism. I'm not a responsible journalist, I'm writing a blog for chrissakes.
Anyways, "Sully" is this unassuming looking 57 year old airline pilot who just became a world-renowned certified ACE. The entire city of New York owes that man a debt of gratitude.
The ferry captains who turned their boats to the plane also deserve credit for the rescue. They made it to the plane within 10 minutes of touchdown.
What was frustrating last night was all the local news coverage was overkill. They ran local news late with "updates" on the story, but there were none. They just kept explaining what happened, and saying they were there with up-to-the-minute news. But the plane was already "docked" at Battery and the passengers were already all home, on their way home, in stable condition at the hospital, or in other ways "safe and sound." There was no news. They kept overhyping it as a "crash," when it wasn't. It was an amazing feat by Sullenberger, and a rescue that appeared to work like a well-oiled machine. Why couldn't the news hype the positive? That's what this was!
Yes, it was awful that the passengers on the flight feared for their lives and went through the traumatic experience, but they'll all be fine. The news was way too ominous about it. Saying "Plane crash" in NYC freaks people out unnecessarily. By all accounts, all the rescue crews (FDNY, NYPD, EMTs, etc.) came in like gangbusters and got everyone out of the water and safe, and even managed to get the plane to shore for the salvage operation. All the rescue operations the City has in place worked better than ever. Everything's going to be OK. There was a brief catastrophic mechanical failure that was overcome by good ol' American knowhow, bravery, compassion, and, let's face it, bad-assitude. This was a good story, but it was hyped as a tragedy, and that's what is wrong with the news.

Joblessness

I need a job.
Bad.
Luckily for me, the economy is booming and I work in a profession where everyone is always gainfully employed and everyone's got money out the ass. Also, ALL the Broadway shows are staying open and no theatres are laying off boatloads of employees, so I'm the only one looking for a job.
Oh wait.
Currently working for 16 hours/week in exchange for housing solves one of my problems, but my limited bank account is gonna run out soon, and there's not even prospects on the job front.
AAAARGH!!!!
SOMEONE HIRE ME!!!

First Insomnia of the New Year

I cannot sleep. Woohoo. Sleep is still out of whack because of New Year's.
Kristen and I were both feeling under the weather (my cold, her ankle) and it was bitter cold, and a variety of other reasons led us to do a relaxing evening in. We couldn't, however, pass up "Shakespearean Who's On First" at Morristown's First Night. Starring the comic perfection that is Jay Liebowitz and the equally incomparable James Michael Reilly, and written by Jay, Jason King Jones and Mr. David Foubert, it reimagines Abbot and Costello's classic routine as Shakespearean vaudeville and other fun with Elizabethan baseball in a 20-30 minute routine. After watching the hilarity and wishing Jay a happy new year, we headed back to my place for movies and champagne.

Took Kristen to Newark at 5am for her flight back to Utah, then slept til the afternoon. My schedule is all wonky.
Now I can't sleep.
This needs to stop.

Movies I've seen in the past few days I recommend: Hancock, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Shoot 'Em Up (fuckin' dig it!), Futurama: Bender's Big Score
Movies I've see in the past few days I'm glad I only spent $1 on: Balls of Fury (funny, but not worth more than a Redbox rental at MOST)
Movies I've seen in the past few days that I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to most people: Miami Vice (It's exactly what I hoped for except for Colin Farell. I like him usually, but wasn't a big fan of him as Crockett, and the seduction was rather sudden, but otherwise a quality flick.