Spring is Here!

And I couldn't be happier. It's my favorite time of year. Though our city may consist of asphalt, concrete and steel, there's not doubt that Mother Nature is reviving. The trees are blooming, the sun is shining, and the beautiful ladies of this fine town are wearing less clothes. So are the men, but those are the brakes.

A New Yorker that's 100 Years Old and Going Strong

As we all know bad news sells (I can't think that other thing that sells but it'll come back to me) and today's city news is full of misery: a dad died in an accident at Shea stadium, some cop has been moonlighting as a bank robber, yet another construction site worker plunged to his death, and the City Council Speaker still can't spin her way out of this slush-fund scandal. Oy vey.

But in the midst of all this drama is today's delightful story in the Times of a 100 year old lady who still rides the buses and subways and teaches a weekly class at the City College branch downtown on the Supreme Court. Her name is Ruth Proskauer Smith, daughter of the great Jewish lawyer Joseph Proskauer (founder of the mighty Proskauer Rose law firm). Granted Ruth has had a charmed life and is fortunate to be so healthy and vibrant at a century old. Not all of us can be so lucky. But anyone who is able to live so fully at such an unimaginable age can't help but make your heart swell. I only hope that I can be so blessed.

All Rise! A Centenarian Will Analyze the Supreme Court

I Iz a Graduate

Well in a bit of non-NYC related news, I received my graduate degree today. My mastery in the science of publishing has turned me into Master of Science -- at least that's what my degree says.

Thanks to the good people at NYU for taking so much of my money that I could get this piece of paper (it's 11 x 13 inches so its an over sized piece of paper). I opted to get my degree in the mail so that I wouldn't have to sit through a punishing, dehumanizing, exhausting, boring, god-awful graduation ceremony. Now I can just file away my degree and update the resume. So congratulations to me I guess. One more elitist has been created!

Or maybe not. Who knows? You know lots of people accuse other people of being elitist but my question is, what's wrong with being elitist? Aren't we an elitist nation? Don't we all strive to be elitists in some way? I pray and hope to God that one day I'll be prosperous enough, educated enough, and worldly enough to actually be called an elitist. And when that day happens my reply will be "Thank you!"

And with my degree in hand, I'm on my way!

Flying Blind

And talking about Flying Blind, here's the show's very cool opening credits. You gotta love any show that uses the Talking Heads for its theme music. It was on in 1992, before Friends and before Seinfeld was really big. It was kinda ahead of its time. Oh, and it's also the show that gave us Tea Leoni. Cheers.

"30 Rock": The First Great NYC Show of the 21st Century

Every decade or so there's a show that, more than the others, actually "gets" New York. By "get" I mean it perfectly encapsulates the New York City attitude and vibe, captures and expresses the city's l'essence and joie de vivre, its id, ego, and superego -- that actually makes you feel it has the city in its bloodstream.

In the 1950s, it was The Honeymooners.

In the 1960s ... well, okay, I can't think of one.

In the 1970s, it was Saturday Night Live.

In the 1980s, it was Late Night with David Letterman (Late Night was a show for New Yorkers; The Late Show is a show for tourists).

In the 1990s, it was Mad About You (no, not Seinfeld; I will explain in a moment).

And now, in the '00s, it's 30 Rock.

Lots of shows have tried to be great New York shows and some have come close. Sex and the City and Seinfeld are obviously the closest and, while they're great shows, I wouldn't say they are necessarily great New York shows. While I loved them, I didn't get that same palpable New York City vibe that I got from the aforementioned.

Others have tried to be great New York City shows, of course, and failed miserably. Don't get me started on Friends or some of that dreck that used to be on the NBC Thursday night line-up in the late 1990s. Fortunately 30 Rock is one show on the current NBC Thursday line-up and it, in my opinion, qualifies as the next great New York show.

What makes 30 Rock so awesome? What do I love this show about a show? Maybe it's the neurotic and self-deprecating head writer Liz Lemon (a hilarious Tina Fey) or the absolutely brilliant Alec Baldwin as Jack, the big network honcho (his character may seem outrageously over the top but I've worked for guys like that and they do, believe me, exist). And of course there's Tracy Morgan, the ridiculous star of the fictional "Tracy Jordan" who may seem like a pampered celebrity but is actually a buddy to everyone. The cast is so funny, the writing so sharp, you can't have a pulse and not love it.

But what makes it a great New York show is that it has that same irreverent, devil-may-care, caffeine-fueled, Type A attitude that almost all New Yorkers feel and identify with. It gets how people live in this town (i.e. working a lot, eating take-out, negotiating the Darwinian worlds of dating and office politics). It feels like it's "on the level" with the majority of New Yorkers. And, as a New Yorker watching it, I feel it's giving me a wink and smile, saying "We get you buddy. We feel your pain. It's ours too."

What else can a great New York show do? Let's hope "30 Rock" continues to thrive and thrive. Our city will be the better for it.

Postscript: there actually was a show in the early 1990s called Flying Blind and it had the potential to be a really great New York show. Sadly a lousy time slot and ratings made the Fox network give it a short lifespan. One abbreviated season does not a great New York show make but Mr NYC remembers it fondly.

Happy Birthday to Elaine's

Apparently Elaine's, the celebrity saloon on the Upper East Side, turned 45 this past Sunday. The Times did a short write-up about it today. There's even a picture of Woody Allen with Elaine Kaufman, the restaurant's owner and namesake. People like Woody, Gay Talese, and other regulars were there to celebrate. I'm sure the last George Plimpton was there in spirit as well.

P.S. I ate there once about a dozen years ago. The food was okay but not great yet the atmosphere was pleasant and friendly. It's worth checking out if you want to see some celebrities and don't mind be overcharged for dinner.

Cool in Your Code

If you're an NYC junkie like me, then you should check out "Cool in Your Code" on NYC TV. It's a half hour piece of "infotainment" that takes you on a tour of all fun stuff in this city's various zip codes. The very perky hosts of this show visit the myriad cultures treasures (stores, restaurants, museums, bars, beauty salons, fashion shows, everything!) across this town's five boroughs.

While a little dopey and silly, "Cool in Your Code" does makes you realize how much more there is to discover in New York than you can ever imagine ... and how much cool stuff there is to find wherever in this town you may go.

Cool in Your Code

Farewell Artie Lange?

As you may know, Mr NYC is a big Howard Stern fan and even made the leap with him to satellite radio. Due to it's technological limitations, however, I can't listen to him much each morning but I usually catch replays at night and on the weekend. But I missed what went down yesterday and, apparently, it will never be re-broadcast.

Yesterday Howard's faithful sidekick Artie Lange went mental and attacked his own assistant on the air (the reasons are various, had to do with Artie believing his assistant was stealing money from him). Artie was then restrained but the damage was done. Artie quit on the spot and walked off the show. Now Howard et al. is on vacation until April 21. Will Artie be able to return? Probably not. And it's sad.

New York magazine has a great write up about this along with YouTube videos of the incident and its aftermath (the "videos" are audio only). If you're a Howard fan, check it out!

Being Single in NYC: Another View

My fellow blogger at Debonair Debacles, wrote a great entry last year about the single girl-to-guy ratio in NYC. Her experience validates the Forbes study done recently.

Of course being a man in NYC, I can't really ever say that there can be too many single women or too few single men but, obviously, if things were reversed, I'm sure I'd feel differently. :)

Cat Power - New York, New York

Whoever thought this song could be brought into the 21st century and made to sound so sexy?

Well the singer Cat Power did and, man, she pulls it off. You gotta listen to this performance she did of it on the BBC not so long ago. Her breathy, luscious voice is 180 degrees from Ol' Blue Eyes. If you want to check out the original version, hit the Video Bar below and hear for yourself.