Kensington Television

When I was home this week, I went up to the little strip mall in downtown K-Town that, when I was growing up, was home to the 7-11, a barbershop, the consignment store, a florist and an old TV repair shop. I noticed that amazingly they were all still there, though the 7-11 had gone upscale as some sort of fancy "Market" that served croissants and macchiatos as well as Hostess snack products.

But what amazed me most was the TV repair shop. It has not changed at all not only since I was a kid but it looks like since maybe the mid-1950s as indicated by the listing of the "Dumont" brand above the door.

Dumont not only manufactured top of the line sets in the 40's and 50's but it was also the original fourth television network. The nascent network broke up in 1956 due to a lack of stations and stars. After that, Dumont TV's were still manufactured by Emerson for a few years. But now, like this store, they are relics of a lost era.

Though Kensington Television listed actual business hours, I peeked in didn't see much activity inside. Or anyone in the store for that matter. The interior was stacked with old antique sets and radios. It made a nice window display though, a sort of living Smithsonian right in my hometown.

DC Recognizes Same Sex Marriage

Today the DC City Council voted 12-1 to recognize gay unions performed in other states.  Go Washington!  

So you may be wondering who was the one holdout in the 90%-plus Democratic District.  It was none other that self-described "moral leader" and infamous ex-Mayor Marion Barry.  OK--I thought this guy was dead.  Or at least not an elected official anymore.  But the formerly crack-addicted mayor who has been married four times(!) has a big problem with the morality of marriage equality.  Really?  Seriously?!  I'll let him explain himself.... 

My Sister-In-Law Is A Flamenco Dancer

For reals!  This weekend I went to see her perform at the American Dance Institute in Rockville. She did this incredible solo performance that she choreographed herself.  It was so good it made me want to go to Spain!  Here's a one-minute clip that I took with my camera.  Congrats Cecilia....Ole! 

Where Were You In 1982...Knoxville?

27 years ago today the Knoxville World's Fair opened. With the theme of "Energy Turns The World", the fair was a huge deal that year...remember all those TV ads saying how "You've Got To Be There"? I remember wanting to go badly, mainly because I didn't have that much to do during the sumer of '82. Also, I had always been fascinated by World's Faris and their monorails and pavilions and fireworks. However, my dad was not interested, adding that it was "just a tourist trap".

He was probably right but still it would have been fun to go up in the Sunsphere. I think I drew pictures of it all over my Algebra text book. Also, there were some miraculous inventions that were first seen at the fair, like Cherry Coke and touch screen monitors. The world has never been the same. If you're nostalgic like I am, I found this bizzaro photo along with others here.

What's remarkable is that is really was the last world's fair that was pretty popular and even turned a profit...though it was just 57$. Really. However, in Knoxville they are still paying off debt in the form of bonds issued nearly 30 years ago to get the whole thing up and runnning. And perhaps this is why World's Fair's have gone the way of the monorail....

Cupcake of the Week

For years, I've been a devoted fan of Magnolia and, more recently, Billy's Bakery and their delicious cupcakes. But since those places have become somewhat oversubscribed recently, I've been searching for a new cupcake joint.

Tonnie's Mini Cupcakes is in a storefront that I'd often passed while walking to the subway at West 4th Street. It's in a shared space on 3rd with that weird cheesteak place that always made me think, well, maybe they're not such great cupcakes if they don't have their own store.

Well, recently Tonnie's expanded to their own store on Macdougal between 3rd and Bleecker (pictured above). So I stopped in and picked up a chocolate w/vanilla icing. What was interesting was that they put the icing on after I ordered it making it super-fresh. And the cupcake itself was extraordinary. And a whole lot moister (as they used to say in those Duncan Hines ads) than Magnolia or Billy's.

So if you have a sweet tooth and are looking for a Village fix, stop by Tonnie's for a treat. I give it my highest, sugary seal of approval.

Hello Dolly

Dolly Parton has been in New York for the last few weeks as she preps her Broadway musical "9 To 5", opening tomorrow night at the Marriot Marquis Theatre. The current issue of The New Yorker has a funny, little Talk of the Town piece in which Dolly discusses her first visit to NYC on a high school class trip in '64 and then a subsequent visit in '70. And here's Dolly in her own inimitable words:

“We came here and we stayed down on, what is it, Forty-second Street, where all the whores run?”

Classic. She was also on David Letterman last night singing "Backwoods Barbie" and doing a Top Ten list of her pet peeves. Hilarious. I just love this woman! But, then again, who the hell doesn't?

Metal Trees at The Met

Today at the Met, the roof opens for the summer with a exhibit of metallic trees by artist Roxy Paine.  The TIMES created a nice audio slide show about the artist and his work. I remember two summers ago, Paine had another one of his remarkable silver tree creations in Madison Square Park.  If you haven't seen them, they are really remarkable and, on the stunning rooftop of the museum looking over all the real trees of Central Park, they'll surely be amazing.   

Tale of Two Species

Last night, there was a fascinating documentary on PBS's "NATURE" about horseshoe crabs. I know that doesn't sound like it would be fascinating but I was riveted. I never thought much about horseshoe crabs when I saw them on their backs, washed up on the shore of Jones Beach. But here's some basic facts that grabbed me when I was flipping channels; horsehoe crab blood is worth $15,000 a quart to the biomedical industry, horsehoe crabs are 350 million years old, and the average female horsehoe crabs lays 80,000 eggs out of which 10 crabs grow to maturity.

The distressing part of their story, though, is that the horseshoe crabs are disappearing from the Delaware Bay at an alarming rate, threatening the lives of a rare species of bird that flies in from Chile to feast on the eggs. And that bird has a whole other story intertwined with the horseshoe crab which is just wild.

Anyway, bottom line here is that I'm not the world's biggest nature nut but this doc told a truly extraordinary story. Here's the link to watch it online directly at PBS's website. An educational hour of TV well spent.

Warmer Weather & Cheaper Cars

With temps heading into the 80's this weekend, it's time to start thinking about getting out of the city. The problem for New Yorkers has always been how since the majority of us don't have cars. ZipCar started offering their services here a few years ago but it's pretty expensive, at $15 an hour and close to $100 per day.

So I was thrilled to hear about a new car rental service where the rates are $2 an hour! It's called MINT and like ZipCar, you pay a membership fee up front and then pay as you go. The only real catch is the super cheap rate is for daytime rentals and, after you hit 180 miles, you have to start paying per mile. But for errands and trips to the beach, this sounds like a great deal. Also, MINT has SmartCarswhich are not only cute but easy to park in the city, that's for sure.

Anyone having any experience with MINT? I'd like to hear more. Thanks and have a great summery weekend!

NetPix: The Wackness

This was another movie I meant to see in theatres when it was out last year. However, despite being a hit at Sundance '08, this film was not such a hit in Summer '08 and it disappeared before I got the chance. So I popped it in last night and, though I wasn't crazy about it at first, this one really grew on me. By the end, this nostalgic story, with a solid and sweet central performance from Josh Peck, had thoroughly won me over.

At first glance, "The Wackness" seems to be your standard coming-of-age story about an 18 year old in NYC. What sets it apart, though, is that it's set in the summer of 1994 and the teenager in question has a thriving summer job as a pot dealer. At first, Peck's character comes off a little too depressed (i.e. flat). But as the movie ambles along at a stoner's pace, he slowly comes to life, as does the movie in general.

At first, I also had some trouble getting over the film's severe stylization, which was a little too hazy and sepia-toned for me. I don't remember the mid-90s being devoid of color...in fact it was sorta the opposite, right? But the script was really sharp and kept me interested. From the opening scene, where Peck is trading pot for therapy from the brilliant Ben Kingsley, I knew this movie had some potential. I mean, when you've got Gandhi doing bong hits, how can you lose? But more than that, Kingsley creates such a total fuck-up of a guy that you can't help care about him as he becomes a surrogate father to the lost, lonely Peck.

First time writer director Jonathan Levine has created some truly unique and memorable characters here which you really start to care about as the film makes it's way through a long, sexy summer. And sure, there's the prerequisite first love and first sex (at the beach even!) but all are dealt with in such a fresh way that to say more would be to spoil the lovely little surprises of this intimate and ultimately charming film.

Another thing I loved about "The Wackness" is its title. It's one of those titles that make you go, whaaaa, until you see the movie and it is all explained about halfway through in a way that then makes perfect sense. My fondness for this sort of titling might come from the fact that I pulled the same trick on my last feature, "WTC View". People are always a bit confused by that title until a crucial scene in which all is revealed.

Anyway, I would throw this one in your queue if like a good coming of age story with a dash of 90's nostalgia. Oh--and on the special features, don't miss the dead-on spoof of a 90's cable access TV show called THE DOPE SHOW. What can I say other than it was dope...and the bomb....and the bum diggity. Word.