Countdown In The Launch Box

As I've blogged before, New York City is currently in the midst of the biggest expansion of its mass transit network in decades. There are four projects underway tunneling beneath the city to build the new 7 line extension, the LIRR Grand Central terminal, a new Hudson tunnel for NJ Transit and the biggest project of them all, the long-delayed Second Avenue Subway.

After months of blasting, the actual tunneling far beneath 2nd avenue is set to begin later this spring. The launchbox, a large cavern where a TBM (tunnel boring machine) is assembled and set in motion, is ready to go. The TBM itself weighs roughly 485 tons, thus the big assembly launch/box. It just arrived in Newark last week.

There are some remarkable photos and videos of this machine (as well as the launch box) posted on a blog following the project called, of course, The Launchbox. The blog will be counting down the days to the start of tunneling from 96th to 63rd street.

The Next Saudi Arabian Idol?

In Saudi Arabia, there is a hit show on national television that looks just like the top US show, "American Idol". It has a flashy set, dramatic lighting, intense music. The only difference is that instead of songs, the Saudi idols recite poetry. That's right....poetry. On television.

The show is called "Millions' Poet" and is taped in Abu Dubai. Each week a new round of men stand at the center of a stage that has all the glitzy trapping's of an "Idol" set and they recite their own personally penned poetry about subjects like family life and the desert. But what's even more remarkable is that during last week's finale, one of the five finalists was a woman.

Hissa Hillal, a 43 year old mother draped in a niquab, defied convention by reciting poetry critical of consersvative Muslims. For taking such a brave and daring step, Ms. Hillal did not win the top prize which was expected. But, even in third place, she took home more than 600K....which is more than most US poets have ever made in a lifetime. However, what she really gained was worldwide recognition, including being named ABC News' Person Of The Week (I've posted the story below). It's a fascinating look at a remarkable woman and well worth watching. But I still can't get over the idea of a poetry contest on television. That's something even PBS wouldn't dare try in this country!

Sunday In The Park With Swing

I was passing through Washington Square Park on Sunday and heard a New Orleans-style jazz band whipping up some swing for a gorgeous spring day. There were also a couple dancers who were cutting some concrete with some pretty sweet moves. They were amateurs but definitely a lot more entertaining than the usual jugglers, showmen and folk singers that populate the center of the Park. A lovely diversion on an April afternoon....

My Brownie Husband

Tina Fey hosted SNL this weekend and it was one of the best shows of the season.  Not only did she bring back Sarah Palin and do a killer routine on Weekend Update about Jesse James' hookers, she also starred in and probably wrote one of the best SNL fake ads I've seen in a while.  It's for the Brownie Husband and it is hysterical.  I possibly laughed a little more than the average viewer as I had just baked some brownies earlier in the evening.  But, just for the the record, I didn't curl up to them on the sofa or bring them to bed.  OMG--that last scene is a riot!

Behind The Scenes @ GLEE

The GLEE kids were on Oprah this week, singing and dancing and being incredibly talented and totally adorkable.  Oprah put together a great little behind the scenes segment on the show, showing the cast going through their dance moves, singing and wardrobe.  They all look like they are having a blast...like they're living in some sorta cotinuous MGM-heyday flashback.  They even dropped a little spoiler in the clip....Kurt joins the Cheerios!  


Season 1.2 starts up in just 4.5 days (next Tuesday night on FOX at 9, to be exact).  My own informal GLEE club will be gathering 'round the flatscreen....no HULU or iTunes for GLEE.  You have to watch it live and preferably with a crowd of enthusiastic gay men who work in the arts. :)  Can't wait!

Chat Roulette--The Song

Well...it didn't take long for someone to do a parody song of ChatRoulette, the face-to-face networking site that has been taking the Internet by storm over the past few months.  This spot-on take on the ChatRoulette phenomenon comes from Hank Green, the brother of fellow teen author John Green and the co-creator the their site nerdfighters.com.  So enjoy this comical musical interlude....and beware the pantless. Next!

Donut of The Weak

As many of you know, I have a weakness for donuts.  And when I am really feeling the craving for warm, sugary, deep fried dough, I head to the Donut Pub.  Despite its name, the Pub does not sell beer or any other alocholic beverages.  But it does have a long bar which stretches the length of the joint, with old fashion spinning stools like you would have found at the Woolworth's lunch counter.  


A trip to the Donut Pub is something of a time warp.  It opened in the 1960s' and, despite a renovation in 2005 that brought it out of the 70's, it still has its old-timey charm.  It's open 24 hours and harbors some real New York characters.  When I first started going there in the early 90's, there was often an interesting mix of club kids and nuns on any given night (there was a convent nearby that has since relocated).  Now, like all of Manhattan, things have blanded out a bit.  But the donuts are still amazing.  


They have all the favorites from my childhood: chocolate w/sprinkles, cinnamon dusted, even crullers and the amazing creme-filled delight.  There are even some industrial sized brownies and muffins too as well as a black and white cookie that gets raves.  You can also have lunch sitting at the bar for under 10 dollars--an amazing feat on the border of Chelsea and the Village. The pub is located at 203 W. 14th Street, just west of Seventh Ave....now and hopefully forever.

Coney Island Comeback

So forget Easter...the true sign of spring happened this weekend as the world-famous Cyclone roller coaster opened for the 2010 season.  The NY Times City Critic columnist took a ride and declared it as frightening and awe inspiring as ever as the coaster enters is 83rd year of scaring the crap out of riders from around the world.  


However, this years' opening was different.  The clacking and rattling sounds of the steel and wooden coaster are now accompanied by the slam-bang and beep-beep of construction activity as the rebuilding of Coney is underway.  In less than 2 months, the new "Luna Park" will open; an entertainment complex with 19 new rides and attractions on the site of the old Astroland.  The photo above is a computer rendering of the park's new Surf Avenue entrance.  In 2011, Phase 2 of the project will unleash two brand new roller coasters on the Stilwell avenue lot which has been empty for a couple years now.  


All this is great news for Coney which was on verge of extinction just a couple years ago under the misguided condo/hotel redevelopment plans of Thor Equities.  You can read about the new Coney on the on the new Luna Park blog, which also has some pictures of the rides coming this summer. Opening day is set for May 29th.

Happy Peepster

Peeps, those sugary, quasi-marshmallowy, neon-colored treats, are slowly but surely usurping the tired old Easter Bunny as the kitschy symbol of Easter.  As you can see by this pic, spotted on Facebook over the weekend, they are trying to take even Jesus himself out of the picture.  

Though they've been around since 1953, made by a candy company based in Lancaster, PA, the popularity of Peeps has been growing in recent years, as evidenced by the growing trend of Peep-diorama contests. Even reputable newspapers like the Washington Post now hold these annual events where they get hundreds of submissions from Peeps-crazed readers.  My favorite is this one below from the Hot Dish blog of Peeps at a peep show:

Currently, the latest in Peeps-trending seems to be cooking.  The soft little birdies and bunnies are being cooked, baked, fried and even added as toppings onto pizzas.  The food blog Serious Eats did an experiment dropping some Peeps onto a NY pie. The results are hysterical and somewhat disturbing too.

They claimed that the mix of savory and sweet tasted interesting....hmmm. I'm not sure this is what I want on my pizza.  However, a melted Peep can be delicious. A couple years ago, I was at an Easter BBQ where Peeps were roasted on an open flame. However, there was a small margin of error between the perfectly roasted Peep and a runny, chemical spill.  You had to time it just right as the unnatural makeup of Peeps, which has been thoroughly documented, is quite particular.  Or should I say Peep-ticular.

New Directors/New Films 2010

The annual survey of international cinema from 1st and 2nd time directors is wrapping up this weekend.  New Directors/New Films presents some of the newest voices in indie cinema on two gorgeous screens; the MOMA's Titus theatre and the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade.  Highlights this weekend including "Beautiful Darling", a doc on Warhol's Candy Darling, and a Russian psychological thriller which received some major awards at Berlin, "How I Ended This Summer".  The festival wraps up on Sunday with the French crie de couer "I Killed My Mother", which is a comedy about a gay boy and his mom.  French cinema with a sense of humor?  Who knew....