From Newburgh To Space And Back Again

A Brooklyn man and his two sons recently made a remarkable journey.  After weeks of building and testing, they drove up to Newburgh, NY and launched a spacecraft. It was essentially a weather ballon with a small insulated capsule attached to it that contained a Flip Cam and GPS locator.  The video below is testament to their remarkable feat.  It's also stunningly beautiful.


Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

Hi-Fi Bri On Hiatus

This week I'm going to be on location working on a TV pilot and Internet access will be spotty at best.  So I'm going to have to take a short hiatus on my postings here.  However, the blog will resume it's regularly scheduled programming when I'm back online in NYC October 5th.  See you then!

Rocker Billie Joe Armstrong Makes His Broadway Debut

The front man of Green Day will be making his Broadway debut this week in a musical that he wrote himself, AMERICAN IDIOT.  Based on the band's album by the same name, Bille Joe will be stepping into the role of St. Jimmy for a short run, from Tuesday September 28th til Sunday October 3rd.  There had been some rumors about this but it was finally confirmed this weekend. You can bet that tickets will be selling briskly today for the rock musical, adapted for the stage by Michael Mayer, about three disaffected youths growing up in Bush years.

If the guest starring shows sell out, as they're likely to do, there is a rush ticket deal at the St. James theatre.  If you show up there at 6pm you can put your name in the lottery for front row seats for $27 bucks.  And that is a sweet deal given that some B-way tickets are closing in on $120 a pop.

The World Trade Center In Movies

The Bowery Boys recently alerted me to an unusual website which has put together a comprehensive list of films and TV shows in which the World Trade Center was featured during it's 30 year existence.  The creator of the site has also created a pretty through compilation of all movie posters that featured the twin towers, even if they were not in the actual movie.  My film about life in NYC after 9/11 WTC View is not on this list for the simple reason that, intentionally, the towers do not appear in the movie or in the poster/advertisments for the film.

An even more fascinating section of the site includes movies that were altered and scenes that were changed as a result of the 9/11 attack.  The site includes clips, some from DVD extras and some bootlegged.  One notable film missing from this list is the Nicholas Cage movie "Adaptation".  In 2002, I saw a very rough cut of the film in which the screenwriting class Cage's character attends takes place at the World Trade Center.  The film, which was shot in 2001, had footage of the towers and Cage entering the complex, though the interior was a generic looking university classroom.  Of course, this version of the film was never made public and the film went through a number of reshoots and re-edits before it's ultimate release in 2003.   

Teacher Who Inspired Rocker, Leonard Skinner Dies

This is becoming a trend here on Hi-Fi Bri.  Another notable obit caught my eye yesterday while scanning the interwebs.  Leonard Skinner, 77, a retired teacher from Jacksonville, Florida died.  If the name sorta sounds familiar its because it was used as the inspiration in the naming of the seminal rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The story goes that Mr. Skinner had an unruly student named Ronnie Van Sant who eventually got suspended from the Robert E. Lee High School where Skinner was the gym teacher.  Van Sant had a band that was originally called "One Percent" but they changed it in honor of (but more likely to mock) their former teacher who was, just guessing here, probably not a fan of that blasted rock'n'roll music.

Anyway, on hearing of the passing of their namesake, band member Gary Rossington had this to say:

"Coach Skinner had such a profound impact on our youth that ultimately led us to naming the band, which you know as Lynyrd Skynyrd, after him. Looking back, I cannot imagine it any other way. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time."

The Largest and Smallest Graffiti Tag Ever

This weekend, the TIMES arts section had a great article about a mysterious orange line of paint that had snaked it's way across Manhattan a few years back.  Turns out this line was an immense graffiti tag by an artist named Momo which actually spelled out his name.

As you can see on the map here, the mysterious Momo traced his name onto the city's grid using a bike that was surreptitiously dripping paint as he wove an 8 mile path from West to East.  Since it was originally done in 2006 the line has gone mainly unnoticed until the blog Best Roof Talk Ever posted about it last month.

The most fascinating mind-bender about this biggest tag ever is, of course, the fact that the tag cannot all be viewed at once.  The line of paint is relatively thin and nearly worn out in some spots.  But, as in all art, it's the thought that counts.

A Tornado Blows In Brooklyn

It's official--the National Weather Service says an F0 class tornado (winds from 40-72mph) hit Brooklyn Thursday afternoon near Park Slope.  This is some incredible video that was shot by a couple of dudes in a design studio who are seriously freaking out.  It's like a real-life version of that movie "Cloverfield", minus any CGI of course.  The sound is freaky too.  Note that there is a lot of cursing and screaming so this video is probably NSFW, unless you have headphones.

A Subway Archeology Find at 57th Street Station

Over at Second Avenue Sagas, I found this picture of a subway map that was recently "unearthed" that dates from the early 1970's.  It's the famous Vignelli map of the system which created a beautifully geometric version of the complicated NYC subway which is now considered a design classic. Unfortunately, it was also considered a pain in the ass by many New Yorkers and tourists who found the disconnect between the city and the map too much to take.  It was gone by 1979.

However, Vignelli's map lingers on in the hearts of subway history buffs and design fanatics.  And in the the F station at 57th Street.  This is one of the least popular stations in the system, ranked 105th for the number of passengers.  That's probably how this map has been able to survive for some 30 plus years.  So see it now...before it's history once again.

The Losers Of America's Got Talent

NBC's variety show America's Got Talent announced "America's choice" for the winner of the competition this week.  It was a talented but somewhat generic white soul singer named Michael Grimm, with 11 year old opera naif Jackie Evancho in second place.  Third place went to a group called Fighting Gravity which was definitely one of the most unique acts seen on that show, or anywhere on TV for that matter. The most unusual aspect of the group is that they are not performers but college students.

The troupe consists of 13 guys who are all fraternity brothers at Virginia Tech.  They are mainly studying business and engineering.  Apparently, they were inspired by some Japanese performers they saw on the internet.  Regardless, their act is just fun to watch and hard to figure out exactly.  Here's a clip of their first performance on AGT back in June.  Despite losing the competition, they hope to get their show onto the Vegas strip eventually.  I don't think that will be a problem.

  

Boy-Lesque By The Sea

In July, I went out to the Sideshow-By-The-Seashore at Coney Island to see the Pontani Sisters burlesque show.  Well, now the boys have gotten in on the act.  Last Friday, I attended the Boy-Lesque show called "Man-A-Tease", hosted by downtown performance nudist Tigger.  I'd been to the Boylesque review before, as this was the 4th annual show.  But this year, Tigger stepped it up a notch with the addition of a trio of real pros from Chi-town known as The Stagedoor Johnnies.

These three gorgeous and inventive artists presented some stunning new numbers which really brought the boys up to the level of the ladies. Jett Adore (pictured below) did a Zorro number and worked his cape like nobody's business.  Bazooka Joe did a steamy number with a towel...actually lots of towels. And Ray Gunn got a standing O with a burlesque version of the Matrix. Seriously. The night ended with a marching band themed number which was awesome (pictured above).  Maybe it's my past history as a band fag but I loved this number especially.

There was also some pre-show stripping by Go-Go Harder as well as performances by the Evil Hate Monkey, who was recently crowned King of Boylesque in Las Vegas, and a special appearance by Julie Atlas Muz at the end of the show.  Overall, it was a very sexy and entertaining night at the Sideshow by the Seashore.