A Twitter Contest Celebrating 35th Anniversary of STAR WARS

Over at The New Yorker's website, they threw a Twitter contest to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of STAR WARS.  Yes, it was Memorial Day weekend 1977 when George Lucas' blockbuster sci-fi epic hit screens across the country and spawned lines around the block.  So to commemorate the occassion, the magazine asked readers to sum up the movie's plot in a Tweet.  That's right--140 characters to summarize a cultural touchstone and a legendary film.  Easy right?  :)

I'm actually not that crazy about the two winners, which you can read about in full here, but there were a few runners up that caught my attention.  

@fabiorojas: “Whiny, but gifted, teenager trashes spiffy new military base”   LOL!

@samanthaglavin: “In a galaxy far far away, witty robots save stupid humans from trouble over and over again, set to a dramatic musical score”  ROTFL!
And then my favorite for it's simplicity and honesty. How would you sum it all up? Put your tweet in the comment below....or just tweet it!

@mattyshaz: “‘Star Wars’ pretty much sums it up.”

Hi-Fi Bri Turns 3 Today--Celebrate & Donate

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of Hi-Fi Bri.  Yay!!!  I found this delicious looking donut cake on The Internets to faux celebrate.  But I will probably stop by The Donut Pub for the real thing later. :)

Some stats: 725 posts total since March 15, 2009 and, in recent months, the blog is getting 4,000 hits per month.  There has been a huge upswing in viewers/readers since the end of last year, which I attribute to daily links via Facebook and Twitter (and some pretty fun stories too!).  The most popular story of all time remains "Anderson Cooper's Mom Is Kind Of A Perv" (June 19, 2009), about Gloria Vanderbilt's erotic novel and her now more-famous-than-her son.  It has 3,247 hits; apparently there are a lot of people out there googling "Anderson Cooper." The second most popular story after that is "Porky's: Where Are They Now" (June 21, 2009).  Random, right?  But oddly it's one of my favorite films for sentimental reasons; it was the first R-rated film I ever saw.

Anyway, as part of the big celebration, I'm encouraging my readers to click on the DONATE tab here on the right and make today a mini-fundraiser for the site.  As I like the say, the Internet only looks free.  So if you can toss a little coin in the online bucket and help to support your local writer, I would greatly appreciate it. As would Verizon, T-Mobile, Con Edison, Visa, Mastercard, etc.  And please continue to read Hi-Fi Bri...as well as repost, subscribe, forward, tweet (all of which you can do quite easily with all the little buttons just below here on the left). Thanks so much for your support!

Oreo Cookies Are 100 Years Old And Still Taste Delicious

Yesterday, the all-American Oreo cookie celebrated its 100th anniversary.  According to NPR's Marketplace report, sales of the original black and white cookie topped 2 billion dollars worldwide last year.

It's a bit of a New York story too as the chocolate sandwich cookie was created and first made by the Nabisco company at a big factory in the far west section of Chelsea during the now-artsy neighborhood's more industrial phase.  The building that housed the Nabsico company is currently famous to foodies for being the home base for The Food Network and, on the ground floor, the Chelsea Market.

The AP has a nice compilation of the look of Oreos over the years which, despite it's now trademark blue color and logo, has changed a bit over the years. It makes me hungry just looking at it....I think I'll go celebrate the Oreo now!

Some Big NYC Anniversaries in 2011

I often take note here on Hi-Fi Bri of famous anniversaries here in NYC.  In fact, one of the most widely viewed and linked posts was last year's story about the 100th anniversary of the Manhattan Bridge.  Well, as I found out today on the Bowery Boys blog, 2011 is shaping up as a banner year for centennial celebrations here in the city.

The biggest birthday is 100 years for the New York Public Library's landmark building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.  In preparation for the centennial celebration, this landmark has been getting a facelift and, while in midtown yesterday, I noticed the scaffolding had come off the south side of the building on 40th and it looks incredible!  The marble facade is now blindingly white after decades of NYC grime were removed with soap and water.

A more grim anniversary coming up in March is that of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911.  More than 146 people died in this infamous tragedy, with many young immigrant women leaping to their deaths from a locked sweatshop.  And, of course, another sad anniversary will be the the marking of a decade since the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center.  To read more about all the upcoming anniversaries, you can check out the Bowery Boys blog which has a full listing and more information as well.

Happy Anniversary Hi-Fi Bri!!!

Yes folks.....it's Happy Anniversary to me today! March 15th marks one year of posts here on Hi-Fi Bri.  This is officially post number 260 and, as of today, there have been nearly 10,000 page views.  Amazing!  


I've gotten such great feedback about HFB that I've decided expand this blog to six days a week.  Also my goal for the next year it to double the number of readers.  However, to do this, I need your help.  There are three ways I'm asking for a little internet interaction today: 1) you can email or text 5 friends to read/follow/subscribe to HFB, 2) you can post a link to HFB on your Twitter or Facebook feed saying how awesome it is or 3) you can make a donation to the blog which would be super awesome! 


Some people have wondered what is up with the donation button here on the right.  Well, it's simple...if you click on it, it takes you to a PayPal link where you can donate any amount from $1 on up which goes directly to me to support my work.  I don't need to tell you times are tough, especially for a writer/indie filmmaker.  So if you like what you've read here over the last year, please drop a little coin in the online bucket.  Your generosity will be greatly appreciated.  


Anyway, thanks again for all the words of encouragement and support of my latest adventure in writing.  And, as always, thanks for reading!   :)

Happy 100th Birthday Manhattan (Bridge)

The Manhattan Bridge turns 100 today.  But there will be no fireworks, no banners, no cheering crowds like those that greeted the Brooklyn Bridge.  That's because the Manhattan Bridge gets no respect.  


Today's TIMES has an article detailing the reasons why this bridge, sandwiched between the more celebrated Brooklyn and  Williamsburg East River crossings, tends to be somewhat ignored.  It has no storied history behind it, like that of the Roeblings who built the Brooklyn Bridge against all odds. Also, the bridge was poorly constructed from the start, designed by a man who is responsible for one of most spectacular bridge failures of all time.  Personally, one reason I believe the bridge is not so beloved is that so many New Yorkers spend time stranded on this bridge on one of the four subway lines that use it to cross the river.  


However, if you step back and take a nice long look, the Manhattan Bridge is really quite stunning, especially the four globes that stand atop the two central towers.  The bridge is majestic and steely yet still has a certain turn of the century charm to it.  Maybe with time and the completion of the bridge's seemingly endless renovation more people will come to admire it.  Happy Birthday, Manhattan Bridge!

Happy 50th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Tomorrow, the 4th of July, marks this nation's 233rd birthday. It also marks 50 years of marriage for my folks, Robert and Mary Grace Sloan. A couple weeks ago, we had a big family celebration at the Nemacolin resort in western Pennyslvania where my brother Tim, a photojournalist for Agence France Press, took this beautiful shot before the cutting of the cake.

My dad is wearing the same white dinner jacket he wore for the big day in Scranton, PA back in 1959. I know that jacket well as I wore it to my junior prom in the 80's. And my brothers sported it to a couple formals as well. I'm amazed it survived us, more of less 50 years, but things were made better and stronger back then. Just like marriages! :)

Though I won't be with them for the big day tomorrow, I want to wish them the best and thank them for keeping it together for five decades. Happy anniversary mom and dad...and wishing you many more to come!