Monthly Archives: October 2006

Morning View – MetLife Tower

Built on Madison Square in 1909, the 51-story MetLife Tower ruled as the world’s tallest building until the Woolworth Tower went up downtown four years later. The MetLife completed a multi-year renovation in 2002 and today you’d swear it had gone up yesterday, not 97 years ago. My late aunt once had an office behind one of the clockfaces, screwing …

Read More »

Best. Title. Ever.

I don’t think I’ve ever merely posted about someone else’s blogpost title before, but Little Tom’s header for his story about apartment renovation? I’m stilling laughing 12 hours later. Spackle, Neely, spackle!

Read More »

Aaron IM’s A Thoughtful Question

Aaron: Okay…so if a Splash bartender leaves his job and starts doing porn, does that mean that his status in the gay world has gone up or gone down? Joe: Hmm, I’d say that would be a lateral move. Aaron: OK. Joe: Unless he bottoms in the porn. In which case, down. Aaron: He does. Is that so wrong? Joe: …

Read More »

It Was Inevitable

Christopher Street, Sunday 5pm, outside The Hangar bar…..Twink 1: What’s that Ty’s place like? Twink 2: Ugh. A total Foley bar. Twink 1: Ew.

Read More »

Do Not Snack From Bodega Steamtables

I know that days-old imitation seafood salad is mighty tempting, but try and control youself. Relax, take your time, pay first, then enjoy your listeria.

Read More »

Birthplace Of The “Club Kid”

Completing the dismal hat trick of three consecutive posts about the demise of NYC landmarks, here’s a shot I took yesterday of the Church Of The Holy Communion, Chelsea’s grim bit of gothic revival more famously known as The Limelight, the nightclub that brought us the legendary Disco 2000 parties, Michael Alig, DJ Keoki and a dismembered drug dealer here …

Read More »

Tower Toppled

In what many music industry insiders consider the final nail in the music retail coffin, Tower Records was liquidated on Friday after a couple of years of operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. All stores immediately put up their “Going Out Of Business” signs, including New York’s Broadway store, pictured above. This leaves only Virgin Records, with 20 stores nationwide, as …

Read More »

Country Bluegrass & Blues

Landmark punk venue CBGB’s is in its final week of existence. Downtown drugstores are already lamenting lost eyeliner revenues. Yesterday we found a line of baby punks sitting outside, waiting for a show. I asked them who they were waiting for. “Agnostic fucking Front, dude!” Punkers say “dude” now, apparently.

Read More »

Brock Does Manhattan

Everybody say hello to Brock…aka Tank Montreal (find him on BMB yourself), a friend of the Farmboyz visiting from Canadia. Note to self: get thee to Canadia. Here’s an interesting side of Tank Montreal.

Read More »

Great Jones

At the risk of making a tiny, busy place even busier, I must recommend the Lower East Side/Noho joint, Great Jones Cafe, as my new favorite brunching spot. The Farmboyz have taken me there twice now, and this hole-in-the-wall rocks. Cajun-inspired menu, only about 7 items. And hot Bloody Marys. This shack seats about twenty, so c’mon and bring your …

Read More »

People! Please!

The Farmboyz and I attended the annual Mr. Eagle pageant last night. I’ve been to plenty of these things and I had predicted that at some point the MC would have a big-girl breakdown and start screaming at the crowd for not paying attention. I even gave a little pre-show, “People! This is your Mr. Powerhouse! Please show some respect!” …

Read More »

Morning View – Flatiron Building

Most people like to take pictures of the Flatiron Building, one of NYC’s first sky scrappers, from the front, to emphasize its uniquely thin profile, but I think the side view is pretty grand too, don’t you? The Flatiron was built in 1902 and one legend is that it generated the jazz-era slang expression “23 skidoo!”. The story goes that …

Read More »

I Love Sky Scrappers!

From the lobby of the Masonic Temple, where their Manhattan photo essay contained numerous amusing misspellings. More Open House New York photos are coming.

Read More »

Morning View – Mind The Gap

I used to wonder about news stories about people falling into the gap between the subway and the platform. In most stations, the gap is less than a 3-4 inches. How could a person fall into that? And then yesterday, after a few weeks of nonstop news about deaths and injuries from gap incidents, I took a hesitant step out …

Read More »

Instant Disco History #9 – Morning Music

In the halcyon, glittery, mirror-balled days of long ago, before crystal meth invaded the scene and turned every dance event into a nonstop Vietnamesque explosion factory of endless crescendos and drumrolling climaxes, before every party had another party beginning immediately afterwards, doors open at 6am, doors open at 10am, waaaaay back before the most common question at a gay dance …

Read More »

Violated By Bears Man

I don’t know how I came across this on You Tube, but please enjoy the exploits of my new favorite superhero: Violated By Bears Man. See, he was raped by radioactive bears. And it gave him superpowers, right? Go watch. And yes, I am *dying* for his “Bears Did Terrible Things To Me” t-shirt.

Read More »

Morning View – LA Flashback 2001

As my mind is in California this weekend, here’s a snap that a friend sent me this week, taken at 11am on a Sunday morning in L.A. in 2001. As we waited in line to get into some after-after-after party called Redeye, where the late DJ Neil Lewis was about to spin, the sky began to brighten and we realized …

Read More »

The World Can’t Wait: Photos

Read More »

Edith Atkins, 99, Bush Protester

At noon today, from her wheelchair on Dag Hammerskjold Plaza, Edith Atkins, 99, told me, “I’ve been voting for 75 years, since the ’30s. I can’t let it all end with Bush!” I got a little choked up and shook her hand and asked for permission to take her picture. Her sign advocates for Bush to be charged with war …

Read More »

Roy Redux

Siegfried and Roy were inducted into the Las Vegas Walk Of Stars on Tuesday, three years to the day after Roy was attacked and grievously injured by a tiger during their act. In observance, here’s the poem I wrote on that day in 2003. Forced RetirementHis codpiece bulgingHis hair styled highRoy *snapped* his whipAs the tigers raced by One Bengal …

Read More »