America's Worst Mom?

I was watching ABC World News last night when, in honor of Mother's Day, they had a story about a New Yorker, Lenore Skenazy, who was being called "America's Worst Mom". Lenore believes in the concept of "Free Range Kids" which also happens to be the title of a book and blog on the subject. Go figure. Anyway, her parenting philosophy is to let her kid roam around on his own, doing his own thing....a notion that's totally anathema to today's so-called "Helicopter Parents", who hover over their children at all times.

The big crime which earned her the "Worst Mom" label was that she had let her child, an adorably bright kid with a huge Jewfro, ride the subway at age 9 and the LIRR at 10. Unaccompanied. Cue horror music. Now this story is a great headline but if you really think about it, it's not as terrible as it sounds. The subway is not some sort of horror show and hasn't been for a good 20 years. I see kids riding on it often, usually in groups but definitely under 13. Personally, my biggest concern about putting a child on the subway would be not so much the danger factor but more that the NYC subway can be so damn confusing, especially with all the service advisories lately. But Lenore's kid asked her if he could do this and, as a city kid, had already been on the subway countless times and knew where he was going.

There is a general feeling these days that the world is very "dangerous" for children. There are predators everywhere...or at least that's the impression you'll get if you watch DATELINE. However, Justice Dept. stats show that crimes against children remaine relatively unchanged over the last 40 years. They are incredibly rare (115 abductions in 2006, in a country of 300 million) and when they do occur, wholly sensationalized and overpublicized.

Growing up in the seemingly pastoral 70's and 80's, I was lucky to have a pretty free range existence, walking to school starting at age 7 and roaming the general Kensington, MD area without parental supervision. But there was nothing extraordinary about it either. And, not only did I survive, I thrived and had a great childhood filled with adventure and mischief, as all childhoods should be. Lenore makes the point that some kids these days are prisoners of their parents irrational fears. Though that may make for a perfectly safe and heremetically sealed childhood, she believes it's not exactly helping kids grow into responsible, self-sufficient adults.

"Dammit Jim!" -- Bones Is Back

Being the film geek that I am, I went to see the new STAR TREK at midnight last night and, I have to say, it's fantastic! For someone who was never keen on the "Next Generation" or all the other TV spinoffs, the new movie revives the spirit of the original series (or TOS, as Trekkies say) and brings it roaring back to life in some familiar as well as unexpected ways.

The cast was uniformly great but Karl Urban, playing "Bones" McCoy was a standout. He boldly goes where none of his other crew mates dare by going for a true imitation of his predecessor, the cranky DeForrest Kelley, while also adding his own unique spin to the role. I had never really heard of this actor but he did look familiar, apparently because he was in two of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Below is an interview about his breakthrough role with some Auckland press (he's a New Zealander) which is quite good, if a little long. No spoilers so feel free to check it out before or after you see the movie. But this guy is one to watch...as is the movie.

Star Trek Porn (SFW)

With the new sexed-up "Star Trek" opening across the country tomorrow, I was recently reminded how the original 1960's era show was pretty racy itself.

I was flipping channels late one night and came upon an episode "Star Trek" or TOS as the fanboys like to call it ("The Original Series"). It was the one where the Enterprise arrives at a planet where Nazi's are in charge, due to a Federation captain who thought he could take Hitler's model of government and use it for good. Well, that didn't quite work out how he'd planned.

Anyway, Kirk and Spock ended up in shirtless in jail and the whole thing looked kinda porny to me. Vintage Shatner was one of my first boyhood crushes but I didn't recall Spock being such a sexy otter! I created a slide show of some screen caps I took and, I gotta say, it sorta looks like scenes from a '60s prison porn flick. So here's the old TOS hunks workin' their shirtless magic.

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.