Emmys Open With GLEE And The Boss

Last night's Emmy awards got off to a musical start with host Jimmy Fallon, the cast of GLEE and an assortment of TV stars in an awesome number featuring Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run".  I thought this one topped Neil Patrick Harris' effort last year but, then again, I'm a bit of a GLEE fanatic. :)  


I only wish that this song was available on iTunes but I doubt that will ever happen.  The Boss is notorious for charging astronomical licensing fees for his music, which is why you don't see his stuff turning up very often on TV or in the movies.  Actually, I was pretty surprised to see a Springsteen song opening the Emmy's but my bet is he must have a teenage daughter who is also a GLEE fan.  


Due to these rights issues, the opening number is not available on NBC's website. But you can watch it here....though probably just for the next 12 hours or so.  

Some Amazing Pics of WTC Ship

Last month, while excavating for the new World Trade Center, workmen discovered the bow of a very old ship.  I posted about it here but wanted to follow up with some extraordinary 360 view photos that have been put up on the web recently.  


The ship dates from the 18th century and was a Brigantine, a workhorse of the seas that up and down the eastern seaboard on short to medium hauls.  It was discovered about 30 feet underground and subsequently was removed from the site in late July and sent to the Maryland Archeological Conservation Library in St. Leonard where it will be examined further.  This was the first ship to be found on a construction site in the city since 1982.  

A Tribute To Artists Lost To AIDS

My friend and fellow filmmaker Ira Sachs made a short film called LAST ADDRESS that premiered at Sundance earlier this year.  The film shows the exteriors of the buildings where gay downtown artists like Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe and David Wojnarowicz lived and often worked before they succumbed to AIDS. Ira's 8-minute short serves as a beautiful elegy to these New York artists and the unique time in which they lived.  


This week, a companion website went up online with more information about these extraordinary men.  I encourage you to check it out; you can watch Ira's film below and you can visit the website here.  All in all, the LAST ADDRESS project serves as a lovely tribute to an amazing group of artists who may be gone but whose work will not soon be forgotten.  

Inception Spoof Is Shot-On

There's a fun spoof of the INCEPTION trailer I came across recently called INEBRIATION.  It's pretty funny and silly and made for about 1/1000th of the actual movie. Though it certainly helps to have Hans Zimmer's score to make the point.  Anyway, I'll just let the damn thing speak for itself. 

Don Draper Is In The Hood

On this week's episode of MAD MEN, Don Draper wrote a check which had on it the address of his new bachelor pad:  104 Waverly Place, apt 3B.  Yes, it's true, Don Draper is in the hood, his apartment just a few blocks from mine....though we are separated, of course, by about 40 years.  


Anyway, I stopped by 104 Waverly Place to see what the joint looked like.  Unfortunately, there is no 104 Waverly Place.  There is 106 to the right and then the back of a large apartment building on the corner, listed as 29 Washington Square West.  If there were a 104, it would be that little alleyway with all the garbage out front. (The picture is from GoogleMaps, clearly taken on garbage pickup day.)


It was probably due to legal necessity that the producers had to use a fake address.  However, I'm sure the people at 106 Waverly are breathing a sigh of relief.  The unfortunate folks who live in the building at the corner of Bedford and Grove (the exterior for FRIENDS) are constantly beseiged by camera-wielding tourists standing on the corner day & night snapping their own friends. 

A New Reminder Of The Old Penn Station

Coming out of Penn Station this weekend, I discovered some new artwork that recalls the glory of old Penn Station.  Inside a new entrance to the station at 31st and 7th ave that NJ Transit opened about a year ago, a series of 10 natural stone mosaics pay homage to the grandeur of the McKim, Mead & White's original "Temple To Travel".  


These pieces are the work of a Russian-born artist Yakov Hanansen and they are a beautiful tribute to the old station, which was torn down in 1964 to make way for Madison Square Garden. Currently, there are many plaques and photos and sculptures scattered through the underground tunnels which now make up the so-called station, in remembrance of the terminal's storied past.  But Hanasen's mosaics are the most elegant homage to a grand place that still lingers in the imagination.

Takin' It To The Summer Streets-Aug 21

This weekend is the last chance to enjoy Park Avenue without cars.  The annual Summer Streets program, which expanded from 1 to 3 Saturdays this year, wraps up on the 21st with all sorts of events from 72nd Street all the way down to Chatam Square.  The biggest buzzed about addition this year are the three dumpster-diving swimming pools that have been set up near Grand Central Terminal.  If you're interested in taking a dip on Park and 40th, you should get there early as the pools are small and there can be a wait.  
Last Saturday, I hit the Summer Streets and took advantage of the free bike rentals, provided by Bike'n'Roll.  You get use of the bike for an hour which was plenty of time to head from Spring and Lafayette to 72nd Street and back.  Riding below 14th Street was a little crowded but once you get onto Park it was better and above Grand Central it was gorgeous, biking past the Seagrams Building and the Lever House and enjoying the wide roadway and no dangerous taxis.


Even if you don't have a bike, there's tons to do; free yoga and exercise classes from Crunch on 25th Street, an outdoor Whole Foods market on 24th and excerpts from Fringe NYC Shows at a small stage on Spring/Lafayette.  Summer Streets starts early tomorrow at 7am and goes to 1pm when the streets are reopened to traffic. 

The Shocking Things You'll Find At Ground Zero

There has been a furious debate lately over the "mosque at Ground Zero." First of all, it's not a mosque they are planning, it's an Islamic community center and secondly, it's not "at" Ground Zero, but roughly 2 1/2 blocks away.  From the street, you can not see Ground Zero from the community center and vice versa. 


The thing that infuriates me the most about this inane debate is that the majority of the uproar is coming from people who don't live in New York City and thus don't understand how this city operates.  Given the limited amount of real estate, the sacred and the profane are often forced to live side by side in NYC. That has always been the nature of this particular urban beast and always will be....even when it comes to Ground Zero.   


To illustrate this fact, Daryl Lang's excellent NYC blog History Eraser Button showed a number of businesses that are within the same 2.5 block radius from the former Trade Center site.  He found a strip joint, a betting parlor and a Burger King.  Notably, this BK served as a makeshift morgue and then police HQ in the weeks after 9/11, as it was directly across from the site. 


My kudos to Daryl for defusing the debate by pointing out the realities of city life. Hopefully, as this controversy continues, people will look start to look beyond the headlines and consider the actual facts involved. Not to mention the merits of the First Amendment.

Hey Ladies--It's The New Cami-Secret

I am a secret fan of bad infomercials.....you know the type, where people have ridiculous problems that are solved by a miracle product.  The only thing the product can't fix is the bad overacting and breathless narration that are the hallmark of these ads.  


Yesterday, I was turned on to a new commercial for a product so ridiculous it could have easily be dreamed up by the writing staff of SNL.  Yes folks....it's the Cami-Secret, which is essentially a dickie for women to hide their cleaveage without the "mess and fuss" of a real camisole.  I found this on D-Listed but apparently it is airing on TV. So check your CW channel, maybe around 2am. Or just watch it here.  Don't delay--watch it TODAY!

Send In The Divas

Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" had a diva switchover last month, as Catherine Zeta-Jones and Agnela Lansbury were replaced by Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch.  This cast change seems to be the inspiration behind a YouTube video posted by a very talented NYC cabaret singer.  If you are a Broadway baby or diva devotee, you'll find her impressions are spot-on.