APARTMENT IN GREENPOINT

If anyone is looking for an apartment, a friend of mine is renting a one-bedroom in Greenpoint.

She's asking for $2200/month, utilities not included. It's really a gorgeous condo unit. She just installed a Bosch washer and dryer. It's brand spanking new with a jacuzzi, 14 ft ceiling, terrace and sunlight for days.

Click here for the link.

And if you contact my friend directly you won't pay any broker's fees.

Her email is: info@3redstripes.com

METERED STIMULUS

Your 401k is in the crapper, you can't pay your mortgage, and your company is laying off thousands of people. What to do? Become a meter maid. The city is hiring a couple hundred maids - um - parking enforcement personnel to help close the budget. It's a job and you're doing good for the city. What's not to love?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON POLLOCK

For all you art fans, today is Jackson Pollock's birthday. He doesn't have any goodie bags or a jumpy house, but you can make your own Pollock by clicking here.

SPRINGSTEEN TOUR

The touring ain't over yet, fans. Bruce Springsteen has announced a 47-day tour, beginning April 1 in San Jose. He'll be in Philly April 28th and 29th at the Wachovia Bailout Spectrum and the Izod Center (when the hell did it become the Izod Center?) in East Rutherford, NJ May 21st and 23rd.


DATE CITY VENUE ON-SALE DATE

• Feb 1 Tampa, FL Super Bowl XLIII
• Apr 1 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion at San Jose Feb 2
• Apr 3 Glendale, AZ Jobing.com Arena Feb 2
• Apr 5 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center Feb 7
• Apr 7 Tulsa, OK BOK Center Feb 7
• Apr 8 Houston, TX Toyota Center Feb 7
• Apr 10 Denver, CO Pepsi Center Feb 2
• Apr 15 Los Angeles, CA LA Memorial Sports Arena Feb 2
• Apr 21 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden Feb 2
• Apr 22 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden Feb 2
• Apr 24 Hartford, CT XL Center Feb 2
• Apr 26 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena Feb 2
• Apr 28 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Spectrum Feb 2
• Apr 29 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Spectrum Feb 2
• May 2 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Feb 6
• May 4 Hempstead, NY Nassau Veterans Mem. Col. Feb 2
• May 5 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena Feb 2
• May 7 Toronto, ONT Air Canada Centre Feb 6
• May 8 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center Feb 2
• May 11 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center Feb 2
• May 12 Chicago, IL United Center Feb 2
• May 14 Albany, NY Times Union Center Feb 2
• May 15 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium Feb 2
• May 18 Washington, DC Verizon Center Feb 2
• May 19 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena Feb 2
• May 21 E. Rutherford, NJ Izod Center Feb 2
• May 23 E. Rutherford, NJ Izod Center Feb 2
• May 30 Landgraaf, Holland Pink Pop Festival March 7
• June 2 Tampere, Finland Ratinan Stadion ON SALE
• June 4 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm Stadium SOLD OUT
• June 5 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm Stadium SOLD OUT
• June 7 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm Stadium SOLD OUT
• June 9 Bergen, Norway Koengen SOLD OUT
• June 10 Bergen, Norway Koengen SOLD OUT
• July 2 Munich, Germany Olympiastadion ON SALE NOW
• July 3 Frankfurt, Germany Commerzbank Arena ON SALE NOW
• July 5 Vienna, Austria Ernst Happel Stadion ON SALE NOW
• July 8 Herning, Denmark Herning MCH ON SALE NOW
• July 11 Dublin, Ireland RDS Jan 30
• July 16 Carhaix, France Festival des Vielles Charrues Jan 30
• July 19 Rome, Italy Stadio Olimpico ON SALE SOON
• July 21 Turino, Italy Olimpico di Torino ON SALE SOON
• July 23 Udine, Italy Stadio Friuli ON SALE SOON
• July 26 Bilbao, Spain San Mames Stadium ON SALE SOON
• July 28 Benidorm, Spain Estadio Municipal de Foietes ON SALE SOON
• July 30 Sevilla, Spain La Cartuja Olympic Stadium ON SALE SOON
• Aug 1 Valladolid, Spain Estadio Jose Zorrilla ON SALE SOON
• Aug 2 Santiago, Spain Monte Del Gozo ON SALE SOON

Life Itself - Bruce Springsteen - The official video.

Bruce Springsteen's new cd comes out today. Here's a video of "Life Itself."

You can even order the cd by clicking on the ad to the right.

SANDY BALLS

And speaking of Nude Gay Luxury Cruises, if you'd rather stay on land, try a trip to Sandy Balls.

* The last 2 posts have been brought to you by the Cockermouth Juvenile League.

FABULOUS AND NAKED

Q. What do you get when you combine a travel agency and Gay Naturists International?
A. Nude Gay Luxury Cruises

So if a Disney Cruise isn't your spoonful of sugar, then maybe a cruise in the buff on what feels like your own private yacht is your thing.

DISNEY WONDER #1

I celebrated the new year on board the Disney Wonder, a glorious cruise ship that hearkens back to the golden age of cruising.
The 9th annual “Reader’s Cruise Poll" at Condé Nast Traveler has named the Wonder the Top Large Cruise Ship.

If you get the chance to take a cruise on the Wonder, do it. You won't regret it.

And right now, Disney is running several deals, including children under 12 sail free from March 12-May 28.

Around The World In 80 Days @ The Cleveland Play House

This makes my show look good.

PRESIDENT OBAMA

I don't need to tell anyone about the significance of today's events. I had goosebumps all day. What an amazing moment in history.

ONE MORE SLEEP

With one more sleep until Change We Need, the internet is being flooded with articles about George W. Bush claiming the title of Worst President Ever. Was he the worst? Time will tell. I wasn't fond of him. The few things, in my mind, the he did right (increasing aid to Africa, aid to victims in Darfur) will be overshadowed by the many things he did wrong.

And the criticism is coming in from all over the world.

Scotland: America is now hated in many parts of the world. The shoe hurled at him during a visit to Iraq last month sums up the anger felt by Millions of people.

Canada: Farewell to George W. Bush, the worst American president ever and one of the worst "friends" to Canada ever to reside in the White House.

Ireland: “W” stands for Worst.

Malaysia: Bush stands to be one of the worst, if not the worst, US president of all times.

Jamaica: George Bush is the worst president in modern America, considering the global crises which occurred under his presidency.

The Telegraph lists what it deems as Bush's 20 Worst Moments:

1. No WMDs
2. Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.
3. No Post-War Plan for Iraq
4. Permitting Torture
5. Ignoring Pre-9/11 Terror Memo
6. "Mission Accomplished"
7. Entering Iraq without a UN mandate.
8. Insisting there was a link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda
9. Failing to capture Osama bin Laden
10. Abandoning the Kyoto Protocol
11. Refusing to let Katrina ruin his holiday
12. Underestimating the cost of the war
13. Lack of body armour for US troops
14. Failure to include Louisiana's coastal parishes in state of emergency plan
15. Tax cuts for the wealthy
16. Losing focus on Afghanistan
17. Limiting stem cell research
18. Appointment and backing of Alberto Gonzales
19. Awarding lucrative Iraq reconstruction contracts to Halliburton
20. Warrantless Wiretapping

The honeymoon will be short for Obama. There's too much to be undone. But I pray a change is gonna come for us all.

BAY RIDGE THEN AND NOW

Just in time for Valentine's Day comes Bay Ridge, the latest book in Arcadia Publishing’s Then and Now series.

Bay Ridge, by authors Peter Scarpa and Lawrence Stelter along with the Bay Ridge Historical Society, is a love letter to the Bay Ridge community. Like the series name suggests, this beautiful book is filled with fantastic vintage and modern day images from then and now, illustrating more than 100 years of local history and reveals the transformation of Bay Ridge from farmland to a thriving multicultural community.

Join the Authors for a Book Signing
Monday, January 19
7:00 p.m.
Barnes and Noble
106 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

My only quibble is I would have liked to have seen the Now photos in color, but that's a minor quibble.

Bay Ridge is a wonderful addition or the start to any collection of books on NYC . It's available from the publisher, Arcadia Publishing, or by calling 888-313-2665.



























You can see more pictures and read more about the book at Bay Ridge Blog.

Photos: Reprinted with permission from Bay Ridge, by Peter Scarpa, Lawrence Stelter and the Bay Ridge Historical Society.

Classic novel reaches comic heights onstage in 80 Days

A nice review of my show now running in Cleveland.

read more | digg story

IT'S TOUGH TO BE A NYC PORCUPINE

The Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium are on the chopping block. Governor Patterson is proposing to cut funding to the Wildlife Conservation Fund by 55% and completely eliminating funding the following year.

The Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium generated more than $289.6 million in economic activity in fiscal year 2008!

Please tell the Governor to rethink his cutting of these vital programs.

Review: 'Around the World in 80 Days' at Laguna Playhouse

A review of Around the World in 80 Days, currently playing at the Laguna Playhouse.

read more | digg story

OUR LADY OF ANGELS CLOSING

According to today's Daily News:

Nearly a dozen Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens are slated to close this summer because of plummeting enrollment. The proposal would shutter 11 schools and merge nine others to form three new schools.

Our Lady of Angels, on 74th and 4th, is one of those schools. No word yet on which school the OLA students will be attending. And no word yet on whether Treasure Island, the preschool which recently had to move from the "yes we're selling okay maybe we're not" Bay Ridge Synagogue, will be forced to move again.

ONE MAN'S WIT...

Here's what I love about reviews. Last time my show Around the World in 80 Days played in Los Angeles, the LA Times called it "clever, crisp, cunning...witty in the extreme."

Now the Laguna Playhouse is doing it and the LA Weekly came out and said, "Adaptor Mark Brown presents little if any wit in the language, or humor in the action to compensate."

Witty in the extreme, or no wit at all. Take your pick.

BRUCE WINS A GOLDEN GLOBE

In honor of Bruce Springsteen's Golden Globe award for Best Song.

WAVE SEASON

Snow has arrived in the Ridge and I'm thinking I want to be back on a boat. Luckily, wave season, the period between the start of the year until the end of March when cruise lines put their cruises on sale, has begun. If you're looking for a good deal on a cruise, now is the time to book.

Photo Courtesy: Me

QUEEN VICTORIA

I've been bitten by the cruise bug after our fantastic cruise in the Bahamas. It was a Disney cruise. Our daughter had an amazing time and my wife and I were able to get some alone time. We had such a good time, we signed up for an 11-night Mediterranean cruise.

But if you want to see one of the Grand Dames of the sea, head out to Manhattan tomorrow to see Cunard's Queen Victoria. Tomorrow the Queen Victoria will be starting her 105-day world cruise!

She's the second largest ship built by Cunard and boasts seven restaurants, thirteen bars, three swimming pools, a ballroom, and a theatre.

Now that's cruising!

CHIP SHOP SHIPS OUT

I read on The Eater that the Chip Shop on 3rd Ave. greeted the new year by shutting down. I guess Bay Ridge didn't cotton to the British deep fryer.

What will take its place? We can only hope for a 99 cent store or a nail salon.

BACK IN THE RIDGE

After six weeks in Florida and a week in the Bahamas, I am back and once again left in Bay Ridge. And the Northeast weather has slapped me back to reality: Rainy, cold and gray. Oh how I miss my blue skies and warm sunshine.

My three year old daughter, who is of the same mind as me when it comes to weather, and I were discussing the yucky weather this morning. She said to me, "You know what else is yucky, daddy?"

"What else is yucky, sweety?"

"Staten Island."

So very true.