The creepiest local 1980s ad you'll ever see

Earthquake!

About an hour and a half ago, NYC felt a tremor from the earthquake in Virginia that sent a ripple up and down the East Coast.

People were scared!

Buildings were evacuated!

The mayor went on TV!

It was a really doozy!

Actually it wasn't. It was more like a big sway. The Big Sway of 2011. After about 45 minutes calm was restored. Heck, the subways didn't even stop running -- and considering that the subways get snarled the moment a drop of rain touches it, you know it really wasn't that big a deal.

So all in all, the earthquake here in NYC wasn't all that, you know, earth shaking.

Peacock Flies Back to NYC Zoo

Views from the High Line - Friday, August 5, 2011

Hugh Carey RIP

Word today that former New York State Governor Hugh Carey has died at age 92. Carey is regarded by many as one of the best governors of the modern era, saving the state and New York City from the fiscal crises of the 1970s. He was an adroit politician, negotiating and cutting deals that kept NYC from going bankrupt.

Last year, when the dysfunction in Albany was at its highest, I opined on this blog about how this state needed a Hugh Carey now more than ever. Well, we got Andrew Cuomo so perhaps out prayers were answered. We shall see. 

Reading about his career, I'm struck at how people like Carey couldn't get elected today. He was not flashy or exciting. He wasn't born to great wealth or into a political dynasty. He wasn't a party machine hack. He was just a public servant to wanted to serve. And his record of service was outstanding.

Most of all, Carey failed the "guy I'd want to have a beer with test." He was a very odd person, fathering lots of children, married a very creepy woman for his second marriage, and eventually alienating all of his friends and allies. He was downright weird and, after he left office, faded from the public eye. Carey was all too human but he saved this city. And for that we should be eternally grateful.   

New York Then and Now

Recently on WNYC's Leonard Lopate Show (although they had guests hosts this past week) there were two very interesting segments about our dear city. 

The first was on, of all things, the typography of the subway system. All of our subways signs have the same font: Helvetica. Yes, good old Helvetica, known in the world of typography as the font to end all fonts, the ultimate font. There was  actually a very good documentary a few years ago about this very font called ... drum roll, please ... Helvetica. You should listen to the segment and then see the movie. You'll never look at a subway sign in this city again quite the same way.

Next up: the Roaring Twenties! NYC in the 1920s was a crazy fun time. It was also a transformative era. The War to End All Wars (also known as The Great War and eventually World War I) had just ended, and America -- especially NYC -- was ready to party. Problem: booze had just become illegal. Prohibition. But the economy was booming and the Charleston was the rage and folks wanted to drink. Thus the rise of organized crime, the Mafia, which provided the booze and broads and all the fun -- and for which American society has paid a terrible price. Another legacy of the 1920s: the rise of the mass media. Radio. Movies. Gossip columns. Neon lights. The city we live in today was shaped in the 1920s so you should definitely check this segment out. 

Happy 100th Birthday Lucy!

Review: "The Winter's Tale" at RSC

Recently I had the pleasure of seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company's production The Winters Tale. The RSC has come over from Stratford-Upon-Avon, England and taken up residence this summer at the Park Avenue Armory, transforming it into a Globe-like, Renaissance-style theater. Not only was it a pleasure to see some of the best Shakespearean actors in the world perform the Bard's work, but it was also amazing to see it as it used to be originally performed right here in NYC.

The Winter's Tale is one of Shakespeare's best if not most widely known plays. It's surprising because  it is also one of his sweetest and most accessible. 

Long story short: The King of Sicilia, Leontes, suspects his guest, the King of Bohemia, Polixenes, of impregnating his wife Hermione. Despite Polixenes and Hermion's protestation, Leontes imprisons his wife and forces Polixeneso flee home. Hermione eventually gives birth to a daughter that Leontes demands be abandoned. Overcome with grief, Hermione dies and Leontes, now humbled and seeing the error of his ways, vows to spend his life in atonement.

Meanwhile, the daughter has been rescued, taken to Bohemia, and raised by shepherds. Sixteen years later she has grown into a beautiful woman named Perdita and Polixenes's son has fallen in love with her, much to the King's dissaproval. I won't give away the rest but, needless to say, secrets and lies are revealead and love conquers all.

The Winter's Tale is an usual play because it is about, of all things, human nature and how it can deceive. How the irrationality of jealousy and bitterness can take hold of us and cause us to make bad decisions that hurt others. As the notes of this play in the program indicate, "This ... is a humanist drama of morality and how it fares when powerful people's emotions smash the fabric of connections that keep society's balance." There are no bad people in this play, only deeply confused ones.

This production is splendid. The actors are not famous but rather journeymen (and women) actors steeped in the Shakespearean tradition. Greg Hicks is a haunting and haunted Leontes, Kelly Hunter plays Hermione as a raw nerve of love and fear, and Darrell D'Silva is a tortured, overwhelmed Polixenes. The entire cast is wonderful and they project such energy and such love for the Bard's words, that it's hard not to be hypnotized. 

The RSC is in town until the middle of August so, if you can make it, you should go. They are doing several other Shakespeare plays and, if they're anything like The Winter's Tale, you'll definately want to check one out.  

Al Jazeera English in NYC

Today the media landscape of NYC was quietly transformed. The cable news network Al Jazeera (the English language version that is) has debuted on Time Warner Cable and FiOS on channel 92. 

I've just watched a little bit of it and it is really, really good. This is truly a news network -- not a liberal or conservative platform for shouting heads, but a smart hard news service that deeply examines the issues and events changing the world. The channel used to be very controversial -- some people said it was anti-American and anti-Western -- but then others said it was anti-Arab, and many middle-east dictators and their apologists hate it. I think they must be doing something right if mindless ideologues are unhappy and smart news consumers like it. It holds up a mirror to the world (literally) and shows the good, the bad and the ugly (and pretty). 


A few days ago I blogged about the NYC media landscape and how it's actually, for the most part, moving in the right direction. With Al Jazeera now in our city, the movement continues afoot.