Brownie Of The Week

I was walking up Fifth Ave in midtown yesterday, something that would usually be a pretty dreary exercise especially given the cold, rainy weather.  Suddenly, there was a flash of silver ahead and the semi-mythical Treats Truck came into view, parked no 38th Street.  Known for it's brownies and sandwich cookies, the truck has been cruising around NYC for a couple years now and getting rave reviews for it's sweet and reasonbly priced treats.  

Unlike some other more stationary truck vendors I've blogged about, the Treats Truck really gets around town: the Village, the Slope, the Upper West Side, Midtown, Chelsea. To keep track, owner Ima Kim regularly updates her location current on the truck's Twitter feed.  Now that's one use of Twitter which I can totally understand.  Next time I need a brownie (which would be later this afternoon), I now know exactly where to find one!  

Life On The Upper East Side Is A Blast

For the last few months, the MTA has been blasting through the city streets of the Upper East Side as work on the fabled Second Avenue subway picks up.  Second Avenue Sagas posted some startling video of a recent controlled explosion that took place last Friday.  The force of the blast looks like a minor earthquake and sounds even worse.  But this is the work that needs to be done as they prepare a so-called "Launch Box" for the Tunnel Boring Machine that will carve out the new "T" line deep under the city's streets.  Completion is schedule for....oh, somewhere around 2016.  Yikes.

Nancy Pelosi & Dems: They Are The Warriors

While checking in on the health care vote yesterday, I found this photo posted on the front of the TIMES website of Pelosi wielding the gavel from '69 that was used to pass Medicare.  However, the first thing this shot made me think of was a somewhat iconic movie poster from my youth....THE WARRIORS.

Congrats to the Congressional Democrats who stood their ground yesterday and voted for this historic and long overdue reform of our nation's health care system.  Simply put, they ARE the warriors.  

Art That's Literally On The Edge

Every year, the Madison Square Park Conservancy funds a public art installation.  For 2010, the project is so ambitious that it will not only spread outside the park but even above it.  

British sculptor Antony Gormley has created 31 naked statues of himself and placed them in the park, on nearby sidewalks and up on the rooftops and ledges of nearby landmark buildings, including the Flatiron and Empire State.  The project is called "Event Horizon" and is actually a restaging of a similar piece he did in London back in 2007. The difference here is that he's got some taller buildings to work with and a concern from local police that the statues might be mistaken for suicidal jumpers.  

Today's TIMES has a write-up about the project and some stunning photos by Todd Heisler. They also have a map so you can find all the statues which are concentrated in the Flatiron District but stretch as far south as Union Square. The exhibit will be up until August. 

The End of Publishing?

This is video response to all the doomsaying about book publishing, including most recently an ominous New York Magazine article this week entitled "The End".  This video was meant originally for an internal sales conference at a UK publisher but now is getting passed around in the online world.  I like it's message which is about seeing the glass half full as opposed to already empty.  And I like the way they did this...which still is sorta mind boggling.

American Idol at The Met

Every year, hundreds of opera hopefuls from around the country participate in an American Idol-esque search for the next generation of classical singing talent.  In a series of auditions, more than 1,800 singers are winnowed down to 22 semi-finalists who come to New York for a change to sing on the storied stage of the Metropolitan Opera in the National Council Grand Finals.


I'm not a big opera fan but I happened to catch a compelling PBS doc called "The Audition" on Channel 13 this week.  It follows these semi-finalists through the end stage of the 2007 process and the crowing of 5 winners in front of an audience at the Met.  It was like American Idol except these 20-something performers are a little plumper than the typical Idol contestant...oh yeah, and they got pipes.  Seriously!  It makes Idol look like the kareoke competition it's become this season.


Anyway, this doc was part of PBS's Great Performances and there is a preview available on their website. It's pledge time so I'm sure it will be re-airing a few more times....check your local listings.

America's Smartest 11 Year Old

I was at the GLAAD media awards on Saturday, where Joy Behar and Cynthia Nixon were honored for their work in promoting positive LGBT issues in the media.  There were many other awards and plenty of speeches.  But there was one that was truly extraordinary.  


Will Phillips, an 11 year old from Arkansas (!), was the subject of a CNN story about his refusal to pledge allegiance to the flag at his grade school because he believed the phrase "with liberty and justice for all" didn't cover the nation's millions of LGBT citizens.  When his story won, he got to the podium with his parents and received a standing ovation. Then, as he pulled out a typed acceptance speech, the audience exploded with laughter.  However, his speech was no joke....this kid had something to say and wowed the crowd with his simple eloquence and excellent diction, not to mention a message for President Obama.   


This kid was easily the highlight of a star-studded evening. And he gives me hope for a future in which this nation's LGBT citizens will get their full and equal rights, as promised in the pledge.

Happy Anniversary Hi-Fi Bri!!!

Yes folks.....it's Happy Anniversary to me today! March 15th marks one year of posts here on Hi-Fi Bri.  This is officially post number 260 and, as of today, there have been nearly 10,000 page views.  Amazing!  


I've gotten such great feedback about HFB that I've decided expand this blog to six days a week.  Also my goal for the next year it to double the number of readers.  However, to do this, I need your help.  There are three ways I'm asking for a little internet interaction today: 1) you can email or text 5 friends to read/follow/subscribe to HFB, 2) you can post a link to HFB on your Twitter or Facebook feed saying how awesome it is or 3) you can make a donation to the blog which would be super awesome! 


Some people have wondered what is up with the donation button here on the right.  Well, it's simple...if you click on it, it takes you to a PayPal link where you can donate any amount from $1 on up which goes directly to me to support my work.  I don't need to tell you times are tough, especially for a writer/indie filmmaker.  So if you like what you've read here over the last year, please drop a little coin in the online bucket.  Your generosity will be greatly appreciated.  


Anyway, thanks again for all the words of encouragement and support of my latest adventure in writing.  And, as always, thanks for reading!   :)

OK Go Does It Again

OK Go continues their string of clever YouTube videos with their newest song, "This Too Shall Pass".  Though their budget has clearly increased a bit since the days of backyard dance routines and synchronized exercise machines, the new video still has the same shaggy charm and catchy beat as their previous material.  Not to mention some incredible physics...

The Movies Of Wonskolaser Brothers

If that headline is puzzling, here's the explanation: Wonskolaser was the original family surname of four enterprising brothers whose parents came to the US from Poland in the late 1800's. Like many families, they simplified and Americanized their last name on arrival.  Thus, the Wonskolasers became the Warners and, a few decades later, an American institution was born with the founding of a motion picture distribution company called Warner Brothers Pictures.


Continuing my TCM habit, I found all this out watching a fascinating documentary called "The Brother's Warner", directed by one of the brother's granddaughters, Cass Warner.  The company got its start showing movies to coal miners in Pennsylvania and each brother played a role: Harry ran the business, Albert took tickets, Sam minded the equipment and the youngest Jack would sing terribly at the end of each screening to clear the house.  Their family business grew through the 20's with stars like Rin Tin Tin and John Barrymore. However, they were they were something like the Fox Network of their day, competing against the big three studios of Paramout, MGM and First National.


That all changed in 1927 when Sam, the tech guy, convinced the brother's Warner that sound was the future of movies.  So they bought the Vitgraph company, decided to make the first feature length sound film, and that film The Jazz Singer practically changed Hollywood overnight.  TCM showed that groundbreaking film after the doc and it was just as fascinating to watch.  The most surprising thing is how little synchronized sound is in the movie....only 2 minutes of dialogue and 6 musical numbers in a 90 minute movie.  But, even with all the title cards and hammy acting, the film tells a dramatically compelling, two-hander of a melodrama which is so effective it's been remade three times since.


The story of the Warner Bros. does not, however, have a happy ending.  Sam died the day before The Jazz Singer premiered. That left Albert, Jack and Harry to feud with each other until Jack basically stole the company right out from under his eldest brothers in the 1950s.  Jack was an infamous figure in Hollywood, a larger than life super-quotable, old school mogul who was known for meddling in the editing room.  He died in 1978.