Tuesday, March 31, 2009

DEBITS FIELD


The Phantom made a trip out to Citi Field, new home for the Mets. I know the the new name, naming right by Citibank, sticks in the Phantom's throat.

Phantom, what about Debits Field?

Sunday, March 29, 2009

COCKSHOTTS



A recent study was done on out how surnames in Great Britain have changed from 1881 until now.

The top five names, Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, Taylor and Davies, have not changed in 127 years, and have not changed in order.

But I'm saddened to report some names have all but disappeared.
  • The name Cock has been clipped from 3,211 in 1881 to 785 today.
  • Balls shriveled from 2,904 to 1,299.
  • Deaths were killed from 1,133 to 60.
  • People named Smellie decreased by 70 percent.
  • Dafts by 51 percent.
  • Gotobeds by 42 percent.
  • Shufflebottoms by 40 percent.
  • And sadly, Cockshotts by 34 percent.
I wonder if there are more Cocks or Cockshotts in England?

Saturday, March 28, 2009

#1 RATED IMIX



I found out tonight that my Songs For the Soul imix is the #1 rated imix on itunes. I have no idea how long this will last but the mix features some of my favorite musicians, including my good friend Jeffrey Dean Foster, and me.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

THE THREE STOOGES


Sean Penn as Larry of The Three Stooges!? Jim Carey as Curly? Benicio Del Toro (and not Johnny Depp) as Moe!?

Yep.

This is one movie I HAVE to see!

MAGGIE DID WHAT!?


Overheard in Starbucks today:
High School Girl #1: Maggie fucked Ben.
High School Girl #2: She did?
High School Girl #1: Yeah, disgusting. Maggie lost her virginity to Ben.
I wonder if Ben and Maggie know their sex lives are being discussed at loud volumes in public places and then blogged about by douchebag bloggers?

Monday, March 23, 2009

EAT ME, BROOKLYN


Today kicks off Dine in Brooklyn! Today through April 3 about 200 restaurants are offering three-course meals for $23. Some are even offering $23 for two! Not bad at all.

A full list of restaurants and a map can be found here.

Below is a list of the participating restaurants in The Ridge and whether they're serving Brunch, Lunch, or Dinner.

101 Restaurant & Bar L, D
Italian
10018 4th Avenue
718-833-1313

Areo L
Italian
8424 3rd Avenue
718-238-0079

Arirang Hibachi Steakhouse and Sushi Bar D
Japanese
8812-8814 4th Avenue
718-238-9880

Austin’s Steakhouse L
American
8915 5th Avenue
718-439-5000

Bally Bunion Bar & Restaurant D
Irish / American
9510 3rd Avenue
718-833-2801

Cappuccino Café L, D
American Bistro
7721 3rd Avenue
718-238-8700

Casa Calamari Pizza & Pasta L, D
Italian
8602 3rd Avenue
718-921-1900

Casa Pepe Restaurant B, L, D
Spanish / Mexican
114 Bay Ridge Avenue
718-833-8865

Cebu Bar & Bistro B, L, D
American
8801 3rd Avenue
718-492-5095

Chadwick’s Restaurant D
American
8822 3rd Avenue
718-833-9855

Chianti Restaurant D
Italian
8530 3rd Avenue
718-921-6300

Colandrea New Corner Restaurant, Inc. L, D
Italian
7201 8th Avenue
718-833-0800

Embers D
American
9519 3rd Avenue
718-745-3700

Gino’s Restaurant D
Italian
7414 5th Avenue
718-748-1698

Goodfella’s Restaurant & Bar D
Neapolitan
9606 3rd Avenue
718-833-6200

Greenhouse Café L, D
American
7717 3rd Avenue
718-833-8200

Hunter’sSteak & AleHouse L, D
American
9404 4th Avenue
718-238-8899

J.T.’s Restaurant D
American
9703 3rd Avenue
718-238-8781

Los Pollitos D
Mexican
7302 3rd Avenue
718-439-0808

Mambo Italiano Restaurant L, D
Italian
8803 3rd Avenue
718-833-4432

Nouvelle Restaurant L, D
Fusion
8716 3rd Avenue
718-238-8250

The Pearl Room B, L, D
New American
8201 3rd Avenue
718-833-6666

Petit Oven L, D
French/American
276 Bay Ridge Avenue
718-833-3443

Ponte Vecchio L
Italian
8810 4th Avenue
718-238-6449

Ristorante Vaccaro L, D
Italian
6718 Fort Hamilton Parkway
718-238-9447

Saint Germain D
French
8303 3rd Avenue
718-745-8899

Sancho’s L, D
Spanish
7410 3rd Avenue
718-748-0770

Sofia Ristorante Italiano L, D
Italian
8406 3rd Avenue
718-680-4242

Tanoreen L, D
Middle Eastern
7704 3rd Avenue
718-748-5600

Tuscany Grill D
Italian
8620 3rd Avenue
718-921-5633

Vesuvio Restaurant L, D
Italian
7305 3rd Avenue
718-745-0222

Yellow Hook Grille D
American
7003 3rd Avenue
718-238-1089

POLE DANCERS WANTED


I never thought I'd ever write these words but here goes:

The Foxy Lady strip club in Providence will hold a job fair this Saturday.


They're looking to fill around 30 positions, from strippers and waitresses to disc jockeys and bartenders, at that club and two others in Massachusetts.

And there's an article in today's New York Times entitled:
More Women Needing Cash Go From Jobless to Topless.
And you thought this site wasn't helpful.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

MAYBE THIS TIME



Here's Natasha Richardson as Sally Bowles, performing Maybe This Time, during the 1998 Broadway Revival of Cabaret.

She was incredibly talented. She'll be missed.

RIP

FREE WINE AND CHEESE


Looking for a free meal? Then hie thee down to Henry Harde's at 9314 3rd Ave this Friday between 5:30 and 8:30 for free wine and cheese.

Wine will be provided by Henry Harde. Cheese will be provided by Robicelli's.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

SPRINGSTEEN AND STEWART


If you're me, and say your prayers you're not, it doesn't get much better for a Jersey boy than Jon Stewart and Bruce Springsteen. And that's exactly what I'm going to get tonight on The Daily Show. Bruce Springsteen is the guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

He's going to play Working on a Dream from the new cd of the same name.

SIR IMIX ALOT

BRING ME BACK HOME ON ITUNES


My song, Bring Me Back Home, is now available on itunes!

If you can spare the $0.99, please download it. If you could also rate it (ooo, 5 stars would be fantastic) and write a short review I'll be eternally thankful.

All of this will help me get on the itunes radar and hopefully be a featured artist.

Thanks so much. And if you can help me spread the word that would be great.

You can use the lame link below to go right to the song. Seriously, can't Apple come up with a better link?

Mark Brown

NATASHA RICHARDSON

UPDATE: 8:20 pm. Natasha Richardson has died at the age of 45. It's so very very sad.

UPDATE: at 1:30 pm, Natasha was taken off life support.

UPDATE: 1:30 pm, NYC. TMZ is reporting that when Natasha was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital
she was "unconscious," her pupils "non-reactive," her skin was "pale" and she was suffering from "major head trauma."
More and more online sites are reporting that she is brain dead and the family will take her off life support.

UPDATE: 1:30 am, NYC. Rumors are swirling about Natasha's condition. From brain swelling, to brain dead, to dead. No one knows yet.

Natasha Richardson was critically injured in a skiing accident. She fell during a supervised lesson on a beginners run and suffered a brain injury. The Money Times is reporting that she was taken off life support and is dead. I hope it's not true. Natasha was a beautiful and talented woman. More to come.

The look on her mom's face as she enters the hospital isn't good.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

FABCO SHOES


Out with KB Toys. In with Fabco Shoes.

I was working out today at the 86th St. NYSC and watched them put up the banner announcing the arrival of Fabco Shoes.

Self-proclaimed as the #1 Family Shoe Chain in NY/NJ, Fabco will be moving in right next to the Nine West Outlet.

If Fabco's shoes are as fabulous as their fancy website, Fabco will soon be Outco.

ERIN GO BRAUGH


Happy St. Patrick's Day.

'Tis a day to drink, be merry, then shout at the leprechauns. You know, the olde liquid scream. Shoot the Irish Stew.

So Erin go braugh, ya'll.

Monday, March 16, 2009

ALYSSA MILANO, PLEASE MARRY ME


The Bee Hive Hairdresser reports today that sultry Alyssa Milano will be doing a book signing for her book “Safe at Home” at the Book Mark Shoppe (the extra "p" and "e" make it classy) right here in The Ridge.

BHB ponders the
mix of guidos, baseball fans, the “Track 4 special needs” educated people and sad middle aged fat guys who haven’t gotten laid in ten years that will be lined up for this event.
I, for one, qualify in 3 out of the 4 categories...even though I'm not quite sure what a Track 4 special needs educated person is.

Friday, March 13, 2009

BRAWL STREET PART 1

BRAWL STREET PART 2

BRAWL STREET PART 3

FROM BRAWL STREET TO BAWL STREET


Oh my. I'm still reeling from tonight's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Jon hammered Jim Cramer and CNBC for putting entertainment above journalism in what was billed as the "the weeklong feud of the century."

This was no funny-face/fart joke show. Jon was as serious as a financial meltdown. "I understand that you want to make finance entertaining, but it's not a fucking game," Jon told Cramer. The line drew applause, not so much, I think, from "oooo, our guy won a point" but from relief that finally someone was saying what we've all been thinking.

It was clear Jon is pissed off at CNBC and unfortunately for Jim Cramer, he had to bare the brunt of it. At least Cramer had the testies to come on the show. But Jon let him have it. He said Cramer was "disingenuous at best and criminal at worst" -- in a giant fraud that had been played on investors.

For his part, Cramer looked nervous and contrite. I thought he was going to break down and cry. It was uncomfortable and mesmerizing.

Now why can't real journalists be this tough and prepared? Why does it have to be a comedian to show them how it should be done?

The full episode will be on The Daily Show website soon. I can't wait to watch the whole interview.

UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan has written a great article about the show on The Daily Dish. You can read it here.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

FINALLY -- COMPASSION


Here's a fantastic story about a CEO determined to save people's jobs. Hopefully more businesses will be as smart as Paul Levy.

PRE-CLASH


Here's a preview of tonight's clash between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer. Oooo, it looks bloody!

STEWART V. CRAMER



Tonight! Stewart V. Cramer!A battle to the death. Two men will enter the studio. Only two men will walk out.

The much over-hyped "feud" between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer comes to a head tonight as Jim Cramer appears on the Daily Show. Tune in tonight to watch these two titans clash in the Donnybrook of 2009.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

FEED A RECESSION? OR STARVE A RECESSION?


Amy VanDeventer. Smart, frugal shopper? Or a recession's worst nightmare?

There's an article about how people are going to extremes to save money during this economy. Amy VanDeventer is going to extremes.
Before the economy tanked, she was still wearing maternity clothes from her last pregnancy, clipping coupons and using hand-me-downs to dress her daughters, ages 2 and 3. Now, she's salvaging bagel scraps left on their plates for pizza toppings and cutting lotion bottles in half so she can scrape out the last drops.
She's really saving money but aren't you suppose to feed a recession? Or starve a recession?

If everyone in my neighborhood gives up going to Starbucks, the store will not make enough money to stay open. Starbucks will have to close the store because it's not making any money and the employees will most likely have to go on unemployment.

But no one knows where the end will be, or if they'll be the next person with a pink slip, or if they'll have enough money to pay for life's necessities.

It's a difficult path to tread. I wish I knew the answer.

Monday, March 9, 2009

BRING ME BACK HOME



Here's a song I wrote recorded. It'll be available to purchase (I think) by mid-April on itunes, amazon, and a few more places. I'll keep you all up to date.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

SPRING AHEAD


Spring is in the air in The Ridge today. So, too, is daylight savings. It's never as much fun as getting that extra hour of sleep, but we get more daylight later in the day. Whoo hoo!

So don't forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour tonight before you go to bed.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

SMOKE ANYWHERE


So I was driving back to the Ridge from Williamsburg today and passed a billboard for
Smokeanywhere.com.
Fascinated by the billboard, when I got home I went immediately to the website. It seems Smoke Anywhere is an electronic cigarette that truly let's me smoke anywhere. What's the 411 about these revolutionary electronic cigarettes? This is from their website -
Electronic Cigarette - defined by Wikipedia, as an e-cig, ecig, nicstic, electronic cigarette or electric cigarette which is has newly been termed as a mechatronic version of a cigarette. The New ECig – looks, feels and tastes like regular cigarettes and is available in a range of colors, nicotine strengths & flavors. What makes Electronic Cigarettes different from traditional smoking is the fact that they contain no tar, no harmful chemicals, no cancer causing agents and can be legally smoked in places where cigarette smoking is prohibited.
Fancy italics and bold mine.

Well, if it's defined by Wikipedia then it must be credible.

And contains no harmful chemicals and no cancer causing agents. Funny, I thought it mentioned nicotine. Hold on, let me read a bit more on their site. Oh okay, here are the ingredients -
Contains only water, propylene glycol, nicotine, a scent that emulates real cigarette flavor and a membrane to suspend the ingredients.
Nicotine? Why, I thought nicotine was bad. Let me read some more.
Nicotine itself is not believed to have toxicological effects, offers some therapeutic uses.
Wow. Who knew? Nicotine is safe. Hooray! Let me just cross reference with those dolts over at the American Heart Association.
Nicotine is an addictive drug. It causes changes in the brain that make people want to use it more and more. In addition, addictive drugs cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break.
That doesn't sound right.
The 1988 Surgeon General's Report, "Nicotine Addiction," concluded ~
  • Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are addicting.
  • Nicotine is the drug that causes addiction.
Oh what does the Surgeon General know!? What other pleasures can I get from Nicotine, which is not believed to have toxicological effects.
  • Nicotine causes a short-term increase in blood pressure.
  • It also causes the arteries to narrow.
  • The smoke includes carbon monoxide, which reduces the amount of oxygen the blood can carry.
Pish-posh. For the sake of argument, let's say nicotine is addictive. What do those idiots at the AHA say about withdrawal symptoms ~
  • irritability
  • impatience
  • hostility
  • anxiety
  • depressed mood
  • difficulty concentrating
  • restlessness
  • decreased heart rate
  • increased appetite or weight gain
Fiction!

Nicotine is not harmful. It says so on Smokeanywhere.com. So go ahead. Light up an electronic cigarette.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

MY WAY



It's a beautiful day in The Ridge today. Cold, but sunny and not a cloud in the sky. What could possibly make this day any better?

William Shatner singing My Way!

CLEVELAND ROCKS?

A couple of weeks ago I was in Cleveland to see one of my shows. It was a wonderful production.

But the city? Oy my gosh. What a dump. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was great. And the Cleveland Clinic is one of the best hospitals in the country. But the city...

And then today I saw the Forbes list of the Ten Most Miserable Cities in the U.S. Cleveland comes in at #4.
  1. Stockton, Calif
  2. Memphis, Tenn
  3. Chicago, Ill.
  4. Cleveland, Ohio
  5. Modesto, Calif
  6. Flint, Mich.
  7. Detroit, Mich
  8. Buffalo, N.Y
  9. Miami, Fla.
  10. St. Louis, Mo.
My big regret is that I feel I'll have to go back to Cleveland this summer to see the Springsteen exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Monday, March 2, 2009

YET ANOTHER BODEGA


The on-again off-again bodega on the corner of 82nd and 5th has opened again. Lots of banners and grand opening signs.

This comes as good news to those unable or unwilling to walk the three extra doors to the other market/deli on the block, or to 81st and 5th, where there are three more deli/markets.

SNOW SNOW SNOW



The big news of the day here in The Ridge is the snow. Lots of it. So much that the New York City public school system announced a snow day for the first time in five years.

The snow made for a fairly empty NYSC this morning. It was me and about five other people. I stopped by the Rite-Aid and it was slow and there's hardly anyone in Starbucks.

The temperature isn't so bad, but the wind is gusting, pushing the mercury well beyond Witch's Tit.


Photo Courtesy: Me