Burlesque By The Beach

Last Friday, I headed out to Coney Island for some Burlesque By The Beach.  After checking out the new Luna Park and some serious fireworks on the boardwalk, we strolled back through the summer throngs to the Sideshow By The Seashore for an entertaining evening of old school showgirls.  Pictured here is one of World Famous Pontani Sisters in an amazing act they put together called Goldigger.  


The whole thing was hosted by Murray Hill who had the rowdy, wildly mixed crowd eating out of the palm of his/her hand.  All in all it was a highly entertaining 90 minutes with some amazing outfits and impressive dancing, not to mention some bumping and grinding. ;)  This summer, Burlesque By The Beach has a different act every Thursday and Friday with tickets a reasonable $10 and $15 respectively.  And coming up on September 10th is Tigger's Man-A-Tease, an all-male review which I caught last year that is not to be missed. 

The Gay Agenda Theme Song

A couple of talented young singer/songwriters are getting some attention here in New York, as well as a residency at Ars Nova. The Gay Agenda is a duo composed of two 30 year olds who are wild about showtunes: Micah Bucey and Nicholas Williams.

They were recently brought to my attention through a write-up in NEXT magazine this week which lead me to this YouTube video of their theme song, "The Gay Agenda". Their music is sorta like if Cole Porter were actually out of the closet and had been cloned. Their lyrics are witty and smart and basically anyone who can rhyme "recalcitrant" is OK by me. 

Construction At Ground Zero Uncovers Old Ship

I recently posted about the flurry of construction activity happening at the site of the former and future World Trade Center.  On Tuesday, workers digging 30 feet below street level hit some pieces of wood that were perfectly lined up with each other.  Archeologists rushed to the site and started excavating the remnants of what is an apparently an old ship dating from the 18th century.  The picture was taken by Fred Conrad of the New York Times and you can see a bunch more on the Times' City Blog, which reported the discovery today.  


It was found in an area between Cedar & Liberty Streets, which was not excavated in the '60's for the original Trade Center.  What is most fascinating about this is that archeologists are truly in a hurry because the wood of the ship is so old it will start to deteriorate immediately when exposed to sunlight.  Also, construction at the site has not stopped around them. The new WTC is famously behind schedule so there will be no slow down, even for this historical find.

President Obama Will Not Get His Day In Court

Back in April, Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo chained themselves to the fence of the White House in protest of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy (which by the way has still not been repealed).  Last month, as they prepared for their trial on charges of unlawful conduct, they subpoeaned a powerhouse witness...President Obama himself.  These two soliders stated they were merely following their Commander-In-Chief's orders from last fall to pressure him on the repeal of DADT, a statement Obama made in speaking about his intention to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.


This legal manuever was a clever, headline grabbing ploy but, this morning, it appears the President is off the hook.  The trial, which was supposed to start today, has been cancelled. AmericaBlog reports that everyone was in court this morning, Choi, Pietrangelo and all the officers and Secret Service involved in their arrest.  But for reasons that are currently unclear, the prosecutor dismissed the charges.  Clearly, they were wary of the trial becoming a showcase for Choi and Pietrangelo's crusade to keep the issue of DADT in the public consciousness.  


At the end of the court appearance, Choi asked the judge if the "stay away" order from the White House was no longer valid.  The prosecutor's answer was yes.  So you can bet Choi and others will be back at the gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue soon, demanding their right to serve openly and proudly in the armed forces.   

The Other Summer Movies

There has been a lot of strum and drang out in Hollywood about what a lackluster summer this has been at the movies.  Total box office is down, actual admissions are down and the spirits of moviegoers are low.  Despite the success of "Toy Story 3" and "Despicable Me", there have been a lot of supposedly sure-fire hits that have been underperforming not to mention some eviscerating reviews of movies like "Sex & The City 2" and "Knight and Day". 


But hope exists and you can find it in a couple of small, daring independent films that are the best commercial features out this year.  They are two movies about modern family that could not be more different in style and tone but share one thing in common which is a rarity in mainstream movies lately; the ability to tell a coherent story without anything exploding.  These diamonds in the summer of rough are "I am Love" and "The Kids Are All Right".  


"Love" is the work of an Italian director Luca Guadagnino, who has such a sure visual style and old Hollywood touch that the movie feels like something from the 1950's.  However, it's sexual explicitness along with a riveting and nuanced performance by Tilda Swinton cue its modernity.  I don't want to say much to give away the film's surprising storyline other than it's a sweeping portrait of a wealthy Italian family and its unlikely matriarch.  Simply put, if you like your cinema with a capital C this is not to be missed.


"Kids" is the fourth feature of indie auteur Lisa Cholodenko.  Her previous films ("Laurel Canyon", "High Art") were all extremely well-crafted and had their comic touches as well.  But this film is a revelation. In scenes that are equally hilarious and heartbreaking, this movie explores the complexity of modern family life with a real tenderness and compassion.  Annette Benning and Julianne Moore's portrayal a lesbian couple seems so real that Warren Beatty must be feeling a bit nervous.  Benning is particularly wonderful and will surely be taking home some awards later this year. 

When Trains Ruled The Skies

Long before the NYC subway became the modus operandi for local travel, New Yorkers used an extensive system of elevated railways to get around town.  Starting in the 1870's, steam trains ruled the skies of the city, blazing smoky trails up and down 3rd avenue, 6th avenue and 9th avenue downtown.  They pre-dated the subway system by a good three decades and, if Boss Tweed had had his way, might have expanded to take the place of the subway.


This week The Bowery Boys have posted an excellent podcast detailing the reign of the elevated train.  The last elevated tracks in Manhattan on 3rd avenue were torn down in 1955.  If you are feeling nostalgic, you can get a glimpse of them in the Billy Wilder flick "The Lost Weekend", a rare Hollywood film shot on location in the 1940s.


The Bowery Boys are great local historians who truly know their stuff.  And they have some great visuals too.  Below is a picture from their site of the 3rd Avenue El where it hit the Bowery.  You can subscribe to their podcast on iTunes or get it directly from their website.  It's my recommended weekend listening.  Enjoy!

Tombstone On The Sidewalk: A New York Story

Today's TIMES has a great New York story;  a man walking down E. 4th street one night finds a tombstone. It is dated 1910 and has the name Hinda Amchanitzky on it.  The rest of the tombstone is in Hebrew. 

When artist and part-time cook John Lankenau carted this curiosity back to his apartment, he began a quest to find out who Hinda was and what her tombstone was doing on a city street.  After hitting some dead ends, he enlisted an intrepid reporter from the TIMES. With an assist from the Library of Congress, they found out some surprising facts about this mystery woman who died nearly a century ago.  And, against all odds, they were able to reunite Hinda's tombstone with her final resting place.

What Is It About Kittens and The Internet

In case you have never typed "kittens" into YouTube (and you know you have!), there are thousands of cute kitten videos on the site.  In fact, they could start calling it KittenTube.  Or some smart trendy person could create a website that is all about cute kitten videos.  Well, guess what?  There is a site out there just like that and it's draining the nation's productivity by the cute kitten minute.


It's called KittehRoulette, which is catchy but a bit of a misnomer.  It's not ChatRoulette for cats.  I know all you cat owners out there think your cat is a genius but it's not like there are a bunch of fat cats from Russia sitting in front of their owners' MacBook "nexting" some rangy looking kittys from Malaysia.  Basically, this site is a collection of all those YouTube cat videos, one right after another.  Though it uses the spelling popularized by the LOLCats phenomenon, it is somehow not part of that burgeoning cuteness empire.  The Kittehs stand alone....for now.


So if you're having a bad day or just need a break from the tedium of work, you now have an oasis of cuteness.  Meow.

A Trip Along The National Road

I took a lovely drive over the holiday weekend along the National Highway.  You might think I'm referring to I-95, the east coast mega-freeway that stretches from Maine to Florida.  But the National Highway is I-68 from Hancock, MD to Morgantown, WV.  Whaaaa?  How did that become the National Highway? Well, I decided to look into it...


The National Highway follows the route of the National Road.  This was the first federally funded turnpike in the United States, authorized by President Thomas Jefferson in 1806.  The original path was used by indians and soldiers back in the 1700's  The plan for the "Cumberland Road", it's original name, was to upgrade and extended that road to connect the Potomac and Ohio Rivers, a task that was completed in 1818.  When car travel took over from horses, the National Road became part of US 40 which was the first highway to traverse the entire United States.


Today, sections of I-68 parallel the old National Road, which you can still see winding its way alongside it's newer, faster counterpart through the hills and valleys of scenic Western Maryland.  A ride along the National Road is a beautiful trip with more than 200 years of history behind it.  

A Forest of Construction Cranes At Ground Zero

I was walking past the former site of the World Trade Center recently when I noticed a veritable forest of construction cranes have sprung up there.  Work is moving full-speed ahead on the Memorial, the Museum, One World Trade Center (formerly the Freedom Tower) and Four World Trade Center.  The two new trade center buildings are visible above street level, with 1 WTC rising nearly 20 stories in an impressive framework of steel.  


On the 9/11 Memorial site, the outlines of the former WTC 1 and WTC 2 are now complete and the Memorial itself is scheduled to open on September 11, 2011.  You can read more about the plans for these on the WTC Memorial site.  There is also a temporary visitors center on 20 Vesey Street with models and timelines for the construction, as well as some tribute videos to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.


It's incredible that nearly 10 years after 9/11, this 10 plus acre plot is still a construction site.  But, after years of squabbling and confusion, things are actually moving forward now.  According to current plans, the new World Trade Center complex is scheduled to be complete by 2016.