Disney Encourages Second-Screening At LITTLE MERMAID Re-Release

Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID is currently re-released in theatres as part of an advance promotion for the film's ultimate release in October on Blu-Ray DVD. To get people excited and hopefully generate some additional traffic to the theatres, Disney told people to bring their iPads for a "second screening" experience in which a live app plays during the movie and kids or adults can play along on their devices. 

I'm all for re-releasing classic films but this second-screen approach is ridiculous. There are enough problems with adults using their devices in movie theatres these day so to encourage children to do so it only going to cause trouble down the line. Disney says this is a special one-time only event, but what happens when the next Disney movie comes out and that same five-year old wants to bring their iPad? Children will start to think it's perfectly normal to watch an iPad and/or iPhone while watching a movie. Not only is it not normal, it's rude to other people in the theatre not to mention distracting to the viewer/use themself. 

There has been some uproar over this risky bit of marketing, most notably from Andrew Wallenstein VARIETY'S digital editor who admits this idea turns him into a Luddite. And, in checking the weekly box office, the re-release is not even listed in the top 100 grosses so that may be a sign the experiment was a big flop. Let's hope so--when you go to the movies, you should be there to watch a movie. And maybe eat some popcorn. If you wanna second screen in the privacy of your own home, go for it--I often do (depending on how good the show or film is!). But the movies should really be free from this sort of digital distraction. 

Holidaze Skating Through The Meatpacking District

There used to be a time long, long ago (okay, in the 90s) when the only thing you could get in the meatpacking district was a burget at Florent and a hooker to go. Now of course, post-SEX AND THE CITY, MePa (as it is sometimes unfortunately called) is a teeming urban district of high end shops, fancy-pants clubs/restaurants, and the neighborhood's hulking landmark, The Standard hotel.  

This winter, the Standard has created the most unlikely spot for ice skating on a temporary rink set up adjacent to the High line park. It's a cute little rink, about 3000 sq ft in size so not exactly ideal for a hockey game or figure skating leaps. But it is the cheapest rink in town, with rentals and admission at $15. And, even better, it is not nearly as crowded as the ones in midtown that get jammed with tourists and onlookers during this most wonderfully crowded time of the year. 

The hotel doesn't have much info about it on their website but there was a nice review with some photos from a real estate blog called GlenwoodNYC. Check it out and I'll see you on the ice-ice, baby!

NY TIMES Nightlife Review I Wrote For Les Garcons At Le Baron

A couple weeks ago, I got to check out a fancy new gay night called Les Garcons for the NY TIMES style section. I occasionally write bar reviews for thier Boite column and you can read my article/review online and in today's paper as well.

What made this night on the town different than the usual go-go boys and cocktails thing was the location. And in New York, it's all about location :) The party is at the previously uber-exclusive Le Baron, the New York branch of the nightlife empire of Andre Saraiva. The club is highly art directed/decorated, creating the feel of an unusually glamourous night on the town (in Chinatown no less) that felt like being in an old movie. I couldn't include this in the article due to length but one of my favorite quotes was a fellow patron, who said: "I didn't think this sort of thing existed in New York anymore." Neither did I.

LED Lights On Empire State Building Put On A Show

The Empire State Building got a lighting makeover which debuted this week. Brand new LED light banks have been installed for the building's exterior that now create a rainbow of millions of colors that can flash to a syncrhonized beat.

The premiere of the new system happened Monday evening at 9PM with a radio simulcast of Alicia Keys songs "Girl On Fire" and "Empire State of Mind". The new system is called the Philips Color Kinetic Lighting System and creates a whole new look for midtown's signature tower.

I have to say that as cool as it is it also reminds me of those kooky synchronized house lighting displays, which I've featured on here before. Is this new look too kitschy for the staid Empire State Building?

It's The New York City Doughnut Map

This is something I've been waiting for--a map of the best donut spots in New York City.  This map of 35 shops is put out by a small Brooklyn press and costs $8. They had a launch party for the map last Thursday up at the Ace Hotel which I missed due to a late posting on Papermag.com.

Still I would like to check this guide out and see what I'm missing other than my go-to faves like Peter Pan, Donut Pub and Doughnut Plant. I wonder if someone would like to organize a "donut crawl" in the tradition of the "pub crawls" that are popular here in the Village? That would be awesome!

The New Barclays Center Goes Up In Record Time (2:28!)

Last week, the new Barclays Center opened in Brooklyn marking the beginning of a massive transformation of the Atlantic Yards into a retail/entertainment/housing complex. It took more than 4 years from ground-breaking to Jay-Z's opening night show last Friday. But you can see it all happen right before your eyes in this cool time-lapse of the site's transformation.  They even do a little detour to show the building out of the arena's interior.

So Call Me Maybe.....On Your Glove Phone

This picture is not a joke or something from The Onion or the latest Carly Rae Jepsen spoof video.  This is Hi-Fun, a real and crazy little gadget that takes Bluetooth to the next level.

This set of warm winter gloves comes with a built in microphone and speaker so that you can literally put it up to you ear and mouth and hold a conversation.  It's made to connect with the iPhone too, making it a cool new accesory for those iPhone 5 adapters. Granted, people may think you look a little silly and your hand may cramp up a bit for those long conversations with your spouse. But in the winter, something like this might actually come in handy....especially in New York! Made and marketed mainly in Europe so far, the cost is 50 Euros...or about $64.

Staten Island Will Soon Have World's Tallest Ferris Wheel

Big news for NYC's forgotten borough today--they are getting the world's tallest ferris wheel over 680 feet in height. It should have some truly spectacular views of the entire harbor and, in one place, provide a view of probably all five boroughs of the city.  And, finally, there will be a reason for tourists to take the Staten Island ferry other than the view.

It always seemed like a missed opportunity to just have all those people get off the boat and loop back around. Now they will have somewhere to go, along with the usual planned hotel/retail complex. The whole project was announced today by Mayor Bloomberg and, if all goes well, will be completed in 2015.

There's a great quote about the whole thing today from the Borough's shockingly honest president, James Molinaro.  "We've gone from having the world's biggest dump to having the world's biggest wheel."

An NYC Living Room With A View

This week, a suspended living room opened above Columbus Circle which enclosed the famous statue of the man who is credited with discovering America.  It's a truly wacky and inspired work of public art by a man named Tazu Nishi. Actually, that's not his real name...changing his name is also part of his odd work as a multmedia artist.

Tazu scouted a number of statues in NYC and almost picked the one of an angel in Central Park. But he liked that this one was up of the ground a bit, as opposed to other statues which didn't have much of a base. While the living room is nicely designed, what's really cool are the completely unobstructed views out the windows to the north (of Central Park West) and to the East (of Central Park South).

You can read more about him in a fun Times Q&A piece. And you can visit his living room box some 80 feet above the circle through November 18th.

A Year Of Progress At The World Trade Center Site

These are two photos I took of the new World Trade Center tower one year apart, on 9/11/11 and 9/11/12. It shows the remarkable progress that has been made with the new tower, which recently topped out at the 110th floor.

Meanwhile, other progress that is not as visible was announced just this week. The construction on the museum, which has been halted for a year due to a dispute between the Port Authority, the city, and the foundation building the museum will start up again after an agreement was reached regarding finances.

Though this year's commemoration of the attack is much more subdued than last years 10th anniversary, this news is the best way to honor the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that day. The museum, which will tell their story and the story of that fateful day, is now scheduled to open in 2014.

4 World Trade Center Tops Out At 977 Feet

While all the focus on the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site has been on the massive 1 World Trade Center (formerly known as the Freedom Tower), another milestone was reached this week.  4 World Trade Center, a building that is on the southeastern corner of the site, topped out at 977 feet.  The building's design is not nearly as attention getting as number 1 and that was exactly the point.

The architects designed it to fade away into the sky and reflect the memorial and museum, which is located directly across from it's western entrance. There are some great pictures in the TIMES city blog where the building does almost become part of the sky as the panels are so sheer and reflective. It reminds me of another building in Boston, the Hancock tower, which also had the directive to disappear so as not to disrupt the city's historic skyline when it was built in the '70s.

Two New Bleecker Street Subway Entrances Open

In NYC, where improvements to the city's 100 year old-plus subway move at a snails pace, there was some exciting news this week when two new entrances to the Bleecker Street subway station on the 6 line opened. This station is one of the oldest in the system and part of the original IRT trunk line that ran from City Hall up to Washington Heights and opened to the public back in 1904.

For the last three years, construction has been underway to shift the Bleecker Street platform 200 feet to the south to accomodate a new transfer point to the BDFM trains that run just beneath the old IRT line. The actual transfer, with shiny new escalators and elevators and some cool public art by an artist friend of mine, will open in June but this week the new entrances opened from the the street.  There is one right on Houston and, even though it's brand new, it's the style of the older entrances. The other one is a semi-odd spot, just off Houston and actually on Mulberry, hidden behind a Bank of America branch and under an advertising sign. This entrance has actually been there for years but was only for use by MTA employees to get into the tunnel.  Now its a fully tricked out double-wide entrance to a heavily trafficked station long in need of additional access points.

Anyway, it's not every day that a new subway entrance opens...especially in my neighborhood. So it's something to be excited about....at least for a transit geek like myself!

Help Me Tupac Shakur, You Are My Only Hope

A week after Easter Sunday, a different sort of resurrection took place at the Coachella music festival out in Palm Springs. Rapper Tupac Shakur was brought back from the dead as a "hologram" that was projected onto the stage of the festival where he performed a song that stunned the audience.  

When I first heard about this, I was skeptical thinking that the majority of the audience at Coachella is already in a somewhat altered state and could easily mistake some smoke and mirrors for an act of God. But having seen a few versions of the video (one posted below), it truly is stunning and, even more remarkable, it is an entirely digital recreation of the rapper and not a digitzation of archival footage. 

Digital Domain, the company responsible for this technological marvel, has admitted that the image is not actually a hologram but a projection onto a glass screen that was onstage but appears invisible. (This same trick, dating from the 19th century magic shows and known as Pepper's Ghost, can currently be seen on Broadway in the musical GHOST, of course!)  There are now rumors today that Dr. Dre, who conceived the whole Tupac stunt, will be taking this virtual star on tour across the country. Will people pay to come see the resurrected rapper? I would say yes as it truly is a remarkable and bit of digital wizardry. 

"Bronies" Are Grown Men Obsessed With MY LITTLE PONY

Over the weekend, I read a curious article in the Washington Post STYLE section about "bronies", young men age 18-40 who are somewhat obsessed with My Little Pony.  I thought this was a joke but it is true. The self-proclamied "bronies" gather in groups and watch episodes of a newish TV show based on the popular Hasbro toy which was first introduced back in the 1980s.

The new show MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC sounds like the Teletubbies of it's day, with bright colors and goofy characters with names like Twilight Sparkle. Yes, it's perfect stoner television.  There was no mention of this in the POST article, that's my secret suspicion of what is driving this whole thing. Also, no word on whether any of these dudes are gay, though with interest in characters with Sparkles and Rainbow in their names you gotta wonder, right? Anyway, this new trend is yet another incident of the continuing infantilization of our culture, where adults never quite grow up to become...well, adults.

Local Comix Artist Goes On A Bar Scrawl

Bill Roundy is a writer/comix artist who also sometimes writes for NEXT magazine's online nightlife blog, The Nexus (as I do).  He also does a regular feature for the Brooklyn Paper called "Bar Scrawl" where he does a "draw-up" of a neighborhood boit in the BK with his thoughts on what he sees and hears when he checks out the joints. It's one of my favorite local features in the paper as it introduces me to new and noteworthy nightspots while also having having a sly sense of humor.

This weeks Bar Scrawl is great in that he captures a moment of New York realness--the unforutnately timed arrival of a NYC health inspector. Fortunately, it all turns out OK and the bar is not shut down.  But it's still a nice touch of reality in his drawings which I always enjoy. Check it out and maybe you'll be inspired to check out the actual bar! Happy weekend....

Has Someone Struck Oil In Times Square?

I was walking through Times Square last night and noticed something very odd; on an empty lot at the corner of 46th and 8th avenue there were what seemed to be two pump jacks of the kind usually found in Texas or Southern California pumping oil.  I wondered if maybe someone had struck black gold in the heart of the theatre district.  Or if a construction company was doing some sort of test drilling before the next massive skyscraper rose in the teeming neighborhood.

The answer to these questions came in this morning's New York TIMES, which reported that it was a temporary art installation.  The pumps, which will actually run eight hours a day, are the work of Josephine Meckseper, pictured above, who wants to get people thinking about oil, commerce and consumerism.  The exhibit is certainly well timed with spiking oil prices making headlines yet again.  It's just too bad they are not producing actual oil, which we could use apparently.  Meckseper's though-provoking "pumps" will be operating until May.

Queer Country Monthly and A Musical Discovery

On Saturday, I went to something called the Queer Country Monthly at Branded Saloon in Prospect Heights.  I didn't know what to expect but was delighted to find a great lineup of original songs and cover tunes by a nice array of local artists.

I particularly loved a duo called My Gay Banjo, who have been playing around the BK and developing a loyal following over the last couple years. I wrote about them for NEXT magazine's Nexus blog, where I am a semi-regular nightlife correspondent.  You can read my article here and watch My Gay Banjo on YouTube, performing their delicious cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene".  

MTA Closes A Subway Line For FastTrack

This week began an unusual MTA experiment as service was shutdown on the 4 and 6 trains from 10pm to 5am between Grand Central Station and Atlantic Avenue.  It's part of an extraordinary new approach to line maintenance that is being tested called FastTrack.  Usually, this sort of work would be spread out over a month or longer as track workers dodged regular trains and passengers suffered slow overnight service.  Now they are hoping for quicker more efficient repairs in a much shorter amount of time by shutting down an entire section of a line.

Tonight is the last night of this first FastTrack experiment and the reviews from the MTA have been positive.  The amount of work accomplished in those four nights by more than 700 workers has been staggering.  However, straphangers were not happy about having to take 3 trains instead of 1, as reported on CBS-2. Still it seems this sort of repair makes so much more sense in saving time and money while completing the necessary repairs on what is usually a 24/7 system.

Big Gay Ice Cream Guys of the East Village

Just before Christmas, I finally made a trek to the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in the East Village on an unusually warm December night.  The store was started by the couple who drove the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck to fame over the past couple years, tweeting their locations around the city and developing a loyal following for their take on soft-serve ice cream.

At the store, I ordered a "Bea Arthur" cone, which is vanilla with dulce de leche swirled up the sides. Then the whole thing was rolled in crushed Nilla Wafers.  Wow.  It was delicious and the store was so friendly too; not only the help behind the counter (who gave me a sample of this crazy cinamonn/peanut butter spread called Biscoff) but the other customers too. I chatted with a nice young college student who told me she didn't know who Bea Arthur was so I schooled her on the unique genius of Bea, directing her to "Maude" and "Golden Girls" reruns via Netflix.

Anyway, the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop reopens today after a 2 week-long holiday hiatus. Here's a cute video I found about the store's owners/partners, courtesy of the NYTimes/NYU collaboration East Village Local.  What a sweet couple...and making such sweet treats! :)

Getting Down With "The Low Line"

Down under Delancey Street, at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge, lies an old trolley terminus that has been sitting vacant for 60-some years.  Now there is a push to revive the space and maybe turn it into an underground park.

The NY Times recently did a piece about what has come to be known as "The Low Line", a nickname for the project inspired by the success of another reuse of abandoned rail infrastructure, The High Line. Though the two guys who are trying to make this happen are optimistic and the MTA is very eager to lease some of its real estate, the project has a long way to go, both financially and even theoretically. 

I think it's gonna be tough to get people to hang out underground near a major subway station, even if they filter in natural sunlight as pictured above.  A similar project was attempted in Washington DC in the '90s where a food court was developed in an old trolley terminus at Dupont Circle that met with disaster and lawsuits.  Below is the MTA's recent video showcasing the space, which is roughly 600ft x 100ft.  It looks pretty bleak but then again, so did the High Line ten years ago. Time and corporate backing will tell....