No news is good news

Top 3 most viewed news stories online in NYC today:

Queens teacher accused of rape
NYPD officer killed in friendly fire
Police sodomy case

There is definitely something wrong with that...

Terminator tanked, Tank Girl has not

Being the true Americans we are, we went out to the movies over Memorial Day weekend. We saw the new Terminator movie, but sadly were pretty disappointed. I won't bore you with why or ruin it with any spoilers but just say that it was pretty unmemorable. In fact, we were so un-satiated by it that we walked over to the local Blockbuster and bought a bunch of used DVDs (4 for $20!).

Scott picked out "Tank Girl" for $3.99 and I totally forgot how fun that movie is. First off, I've always had a place in my heart for Lori Petty since she's petite (which I appreciated in my awkward adolescence since I was a late bloomer) and has a cool voice and was in "Point Break" with my beloved. There's also a ton of grunge-tastic music throughout the movie including hits from L7, Bjork (a lot in fact), Veruca Salt, Belly, Portishead, Bush, Hole... (ok, some are better than others), now that I'm listing them, a ton of women rock which makes sense with the whole theme of the movie. Man, I miss good, hard, lady rock. Belly, L7, and Veruca Salt were so good! Damn. Total nostalgia. It also features a young Naomi Watts and Ice-T as the leader of a gang of crazy underground creatures. It will take you back!

Notes from the underground II

Found this lovely gem on the platform which seems to be the start of a poem, maybe, and the rhyme made me smile a bit. Turns out we're not done freaking out about this new strain of flu. There was another unnecessary "we interrupt this program for a special report" today with Bloomberg and others reporting about the closure of 3 other schools in Queens. I do hope people stay well, but I wish the media would stop blowing this illness out of proportion. Bloomberg's tone was very calm which I appreciated and one of the reps today pointed out that the closure of schools is causing a lot of stress for working parents. She urged their employers to be sympathetic and for there to perhaps be a new policy for incidents like this. I imagine most employers can't afford to be sympathetic, but it was a nice, public attempt for workers' rights.


In other slightly related news, these crazy subway grates have popped up in our neighborhood. Have they in yours? I don't know what genius thought of these, but they are both distracting and obstructing. The sidewalks are already crowded with people waiting for the bus and trying to get around. They're also really really ugly. I don't get it. Plus Scott was bitter that someone most likely got overpaid for the steel work on them. What the??

Notes from the underground

While waiting for the F last weekend (I had just missed one and knew I was in for a long wait), I noticed this lovely sign. I had heard about the MTA screwing us E and F line people with less trains, but now it's been confirmed. As you can see, most of us straphangers are a tad distressed about these changes. I just hope the fare hike isn't as severe as they're saying it will be. There's constantly changes to routes due to "construction" and yet it's hard to see what exactly is being constructed and/or improved. I hope the MTA can get it together or they're bound to have some teed off customers. I gotta start greasing up my bicycle.

And now, a haiku

the sun suddenly
broke out today, a welcome
from the wind and rain

Now I've seen everything

Today I had the pleasure of walking around the city with my friend Maggie. It was a lovely day, we sat near some cherry blossoms for lunch in the park and then we ran into this crazy scene. Talk about ingenuity. Everyone was stopping and staring in disbelief. Two cops even stopped in their tracks and I heard them say to each other, "Well now I've seen everything." Awesome.




We also stumbled upon a filming being set up in Chinatown. There was a fake Chinese billboard and lanterns set up so I'm predicting that it's supposed to be set in China but they didn't want to spend the money to film there so they're going to the next best thing. The signs mysteriously said filming for "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Remember that old animated Disney film with the anthropomorphic broom? I can't imagine them filming that live action so as one IMDB commentator wrote, seeing as Nicolas Cage is set to star, this is probably a front for the next "National Treasure" movie unless Nicolas Cage plans to wear that crazy pointy hat instead of a wig this time.

Root for The Roots

Hey, it's Easter so I will say as I always do, hope you all had an eggseptionally eggsellent day. Apart from it being a bit windy and chilly for springtime, it was a nice day out and things are beginning to bloom which is always nice to see.


Speaking of peaceful events, I got to check out The Roots jam session last week in the city. They are doing this residency at the Highline Ballroom and doing it like a jazz jam session with special guest vocalists and instrumentalists. It was all very fresh and fun with a good vibe. Something that's lost its way in modern music. Everything is so robotic and commercial, it's nice to hear rawness and soul live. On top of that, it's only $10 and all ages. It was nice to just walk in like a human being and not be carded, stamped, or patted down. There were definitely some little kids in there which made me feel ancient, but the crowd was good. Aside from a few annoying drunk yuppies, everyone was just there to hear some real music, bob heads, and have a good time.