Nekkid People

I'm sure most of you are wondering where you can find a nude -- sorry, clothing optional -- beach in the NYC area. Well, you can, in good ol' Joisy. This article from today's Times gives you the low-down (or is that the down-low?) on Gunnison Beach, located in Monmouth County.

Ferrying From Manhattan to Bare It All on the Beach

You can get there a twice a day by ferry from Manhattan and go sun yourself au naturale -- or, if you're like most guys, just stare at the unrobed. You are expressly not allowed to take pictures or bring glass containers. And while people may be showing their naughty bits, no naughty "bidness" is allowed.

Yours truly has never been there but those who go seem to love it (no shock there). If you want to learn more, check out Friends of Gunnison Beach.

Pulp Fiction Trailer (1994)

I remember seeing this trailer in 1994 and it gave me shpilkus (literally translated: "hairpins in the tuchas").

1994: A Cultural Nostalgia Trip

Re: my post below. Some of you might recall that 1994 was actually a very, very important year in American culture. In fact, it remains one of the most important cultural years ever. Think about it:

It was the year Pulp Fiction came out, revolutionizing independent cinema, unleashing the whole Tarantino phenomenon, and making John Travolta cool again.

It was the year Friends and ER premiered, giving us George Clooney and Jennifer Aniston and a whole lot more big names.

It was the year of the great but tragically short-lived show, the aforementioned My So-Called Life (that gave us Claire Danes).

It was the year REM released Monster, with their big hit "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" Madonna also had a big hit called "I'll Remember" (the video of which you see here), that appeared in a now forgotten movie called "With Honors." The only thing that was interesting about this movie was that it was the last even semi-successful thing Patrick Dempsey did before Grey's Anatomy.

It was the year Kurt Cobain committed suicide and effectively ended the whole grunge movement.

It was the year Richard Nixon died, the first president to do so in more than 20 years.

It was the year Republicans took over the House and Senate, redrawing the political map. George W. Bush was also elected Governor of Texas that year and, well ... we all know what that led to.

And as I also indicated below, it was the year OJ Simpson was accused of murder, starting the whole 24/7 cable news soap-opera format.

I'm not saying everything that happened in American culture 1994 was great but it sure was memorable and it certainly had a lasting impact.

New York, Summer 1994

There's a movie opening soon called "The Wackness" (odd title) about New York City teenagers in the summer of 1994. Obviously I find this somewhat intriguing because -- you guessed it -- I was a teenager in New York City in the summer of 1994! Good grief. A time of my life when I was in high school is now viewed as an historical era. Gosh I feel old.

From what I've read about this movie in The New York Times, it's basically all getting high and hooking up. I guess that's what lots of New York City teenagers did in 1994 -- and still do today. I can't really say I can relate because 1) I've never been a stoner (not because I am or was morally opposed to smoking pot but because I didn't have any money and was never cool enough to hang out with drug dealers), and 2) I didn't hook up much (okay, okay at all) because I was and forever shall be a giant honkin' nerd (and not in the way "nerds" are cool today, I'm talking repellent, Napoleon Dynamite/Brian from My So-Called Life level nerdiness here). I can relate to what the director of this movie, on whose life it is based, means when he says, “Girls weren’t into me ... I wasn’t cool, and I was so nervous that I then fulfilled the prophecy and became even more uncool.” Hear hear, ad infinitum.

So what was I doing in NYC in the summer of 1994? I was working at a radio station called WPLJ who's tag line of the day was "No Rap. No Hard Stuff. No Sleepy Elevator Music. Just the Best Songs on the Radio." That basically meant Top 40 and the hit songs of the day were "Mr Jones" by Counting Crows and "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen -- and thanks to working at the radio station I heard those songs all the friggin' time.

It was a very hot summer, I remember. Giuliani had just taken office. The Rangers won the Stanley Cup. Baseball went on strike. Forrest Gump and The Lion King were the big hit movies. Everyone, everywhere was talking about the OJ case (remember that?). When I wasn't working during that summer, I spent a lot of time visiting colleges. All in all it was a good summer, but I don't think I would make a movie about it. If I did, however, instead of the "The Wackness" I'd call it the "The Dorkness."

Who Said There's No Good News?

Fox News Finds Its Rivals Closing In

Karma's a bitch!

Money and Beauty Makes NYC Go 'Round

Oh, this is too precious. This is why NYC is so great -- it's totally, utterly shameless.

Fashion Meets Finance

These are events where single people who work in these respective industries can mingle and swap cell numbers and, presumably later on, precious bodily fluids. Put another way:

Fashion = Hot chicks who are underpaid and desperate for someone to buy them dinner

Finance = Nerdy guys who are overpaid and desperate to get girls who ignored them in high school

Fashion Meets Finance = Goldigger and Dork Nirvana.

Mazal tov!

PS. Many thanks to my friend who sent me this link who appropriately called it "Str8 I-Bankers Meet Carrie Bradshaw"

The Waterfalls Hit NYC

They're here! Long in the making, and sure to top the 2005 Gates exhibit in Central Park, the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson's waterfall installation has been unveiled in our fair town.

What are these waterfalls exactly? Well, basically, they are four giant scaffolds in the East River and New York harbor that suck up and spin around water, then dump it back into "the drink" (as my dad would have called it). Two are located on the Brooklyn water front, one on Governors Island, the other off Pier 35 in Manhattan. In order to see them you have to go to one of the viewing areas or take the ferry boat tour. This link will take you to the New York Times review of this project and it has links to lots of viewing info as well.

I think this is so cool. Some cynics might argue that giant public exhibits like this and the Gates are a waste of time and money and contribute nothing to society. I strongly disagree. This is why, besides some of my problems with him, I fundamentally like Mayor Bloomberg: he understands that events like this create excitement, generate tourism (and tourist dollars), and help to give NYC it's special edge -- that of a daring, never conventional city.

Besides, they're just fun. Can't things ever just be fun for fun's sake? And better than that, they're free!

Long live the Waterfalls! Actually they only go until October 13 so don't dawdle, time flies.

Gotta Love New Yorkers

So last night yours truly and my beloved were on the subway heading home when we saw something you happily don't see every day: a man having an epileptic seizure.

It was around 9 PM. It was a lovely summer night. The train was merrily chugging along, the usual smorgasbord of diverse New Yorkers on board chatting with one another. Suddenly a quiet young man on one of the seats began to shake and convulse very violently. This was very clearly a seizure.

Without a moment's thought, without a shred of hesitation, the riders rushed to help him. They picked him up and, as the train pulled into the station, carried him out collectively and put him on the station floor. Cellphones were flashed out and people began calling out for the conductor. Someone offered a bottle of water (not that it would really have helped) and eventually one of the conductors assured us that everything was under control. We got back on the train and it headed off, everyone confident that this young man was being taken care of.

Popular culture likes to imagine New Yorkers as a bunch of rude, super-selfish money hogs but last night proved what a shallow stereotype that is. I saw the best of my fellow citizens and saw how we New Yorkers solve problems in a fast and efficient manner. I was never more proud to live here.

George Carlin RIP

One of the greatest and most fearless comedians ever, George Carlin managed to outrage people for more than forty years -- while also making them think. He blew apart American mores and social conventions with wild abandon, and he didn't care who he offended or delighted in the process.

Carlin will also go down in history as one of the most important comedians ever. He was the very first host of "Saturday Night Live" on October 11, 1975. His "Seven Dirty Word" routine, broadcast on NYC station WBAI in 1972, led to a US Supreme Court case establishing "family friendly" and "safe harbor" hours on TV. And while most comedians rise and fade with the times, he managed to stay relevant to the culture for decades. He will be sorely missed.

Best of all, George Carlin was a native New Yorker. He grew up in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan -- like yours truly -- walking the same streets and drinking the same water some 40 years before moi. If I was only one-fiftieth as talented as him, I would be a very happy man.

Here's a classic routine George Carlin did about religion. Needless to say, it's brilliant.

A Double Whammy for the GOP

Man, these New York Republicans can't seem to get a break these days (Elliot Spitzer excepted).

Today came word that Francis Powers, the candidate Staten Island Republicans nominated to succeed the disgraced Congressman Vito Fossella, died in his sleep last night. He was 67. Obviously this must be a shock to his family so one wishes his family the best. Now the Staten Island GOP has to scramble for another candidate.

And this evening Joe Bruno, the State Senate Majority Leader and guru of the State Republican Party, suddenly dropped out of his re-election race. His wife died recently, his business activities are under Federal investigation, and he's closing in on 80 years old, so Bruno clearly has reasons to go. But obviously the State GOP has to find another candidate for his seat -- and another leader for the State Party.

At this rate New York State will probably be top to bottom Democratic next year.