WHERE WAS I? My location has been ascertained to my satisfaction! Gary pulls away from Scott and gains on David and Debbie, once again earning winner's privileges.

The current standings:

11 Debbie
9 David (including bonus point)
6 Gary
4 Scott
2 Dolph
1 Myron
1 Trapezia

WHERE WAS I? The guessing is progressing here.

WILDER TIMES. Screenings of Billy Wilder movies (that's Wilder to the right) seem to be unending in New York City repertory houses, but that's okay with me--I'm very fond of Wilder's snappy wit and wry humor, which often satirized the powerful and challenged standards of "good taste." And this, after all, is the Billy Wilder Centennial season.

Among the 22 movies in The Film Forum's Essential Wilder series are at least three movies widely considered to be "classics." There's the noir James Cain adaptation Double Indemnity (June 30-July 1), the comedy Some Like It Hot (July 2), and the Hollywood melodrama Sunset Blvd. (July 7-8).

Among the other series selections, definitely consider the following:

A Foreign Affair (July 3) Wilder's 1948 take on the U.S. occupation of Germany stars Jean Arthur and Marlene Dietrich.

The Seven Year Itch/Kiss Me, Stupid (July 9) Wilder satirizes American sexual mores with the help of Tom Ewell, Kim Novak, Dean Martin, Ray Walston, and, famously, Marilyn Monroe.

One, Two, Three (July 10) Previous coverage here.

Stalag 17 (July 12) Tension builds among American POWs, including William Holden's Sefton--an Oscar-winning role.

The Apartment (July 14-15) This great New York business world romance (later adapted for the musical Promises, Promises) stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray plus Walston.

Here's a James Cagney still from One, Two, Three.

















And here's a still of Jack Lemmon from The Apartment.













Such faces!

FRIDAY FASHION

The Devil and Robin Givhan (plus The Devil and Gawker)

The Sartorialist (great photo here!)

Go Fug Yourself (scandalous!)

What To Wear This Very Second (on hiatus)

BONUS The Tulips & Pansies Benefit (plus more Matt Peyton photos)

WHERE WAS I? It's back! Leave your guesses in the comments section. And have fun!
























VISUAL CLUE ADDED JUNE 30

























BONUS PHOTOS ADDED JUNE 30
















































Photos: David Marc Fischer

DESIGN TO THE RIDICULOUS

design*sponge

print & pattern (I like this pattern.)

Love Made Visible (That's some cake!)

Oh Joy!

Worth1000 Picture of the Day (Dixie Chicks! Ancient Greek Bowling! Baigneuse from the Hood!)

Gallery of the Absurd

WHEN IS A NEW YORKER LIKE AN APARTMENT? At this very moment, Snapple is staging an unusual promotion in Bryant Park--offering quick rides on three little balloons and also giving away samples of its White Tea drink. The message is something to the effect that the drink is very light.

Gothamist coverage is here.














































Photos: David Marc Fischer

CAT MASSAGES DOG. Thanks to Rita and StupidVideos.com!



Source: StupidVideos.com via YouTube

SCREENING OFFER: THE GROOMSMEN. The New York Observer is co-hosting a screening of The Groomsmen, an Ed Burns film starring Burns and Jay Mohr and John Leguizamo and Brittany Murphy.

The Groomsmen
Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 7 pm
The ImaginAsian, 239 East 59th Street (near the tram)

For your chance at a screening pass, click here.

SPEAKING OF CELLPHONE ETIQUETTE... Yesterday there was a cellphone incident while I stood in line to see the luminescent Louise Brooks in the famously sexy Pandora's Box at The Film Forum with live accompaniment from Steve Sterner. (The run is scheduled to end on Thursday.)

Woman A made a cellphone call to Listener X; Woman B asked Woman A to speak at a softer volume. While still on the phone, Woman A "talked back" to Woman B; after hanging up, Woman A continued to talk back. Now, I didn't think Woman A was all that loud...but I think Woman A was rude to get engaged in an argument when she was already talking with Listener X and Woman B had only made a request, and I think Woman A was also rude to pursue the argument after hanging up. Woman B had only made a request and left it at that.

All of that cellphone business almost distracted me from admiring a filmgoer who had gotten dressed up like Louise Brooks. I'm sorry I don't have a snapshot for you--you'll have to satisfy yourself with these.

WAITING WEEKLY. Just one course today: How To Use A Cellphone Without Looking Like An Asshole. So far there are more than 360 comments!

As usual, we encourage you to avail yourself of complimentary shots from your waitress.

BLOGORHYTHMS. It might be hard to believe, but there's one thing that might be even better than going to the circus: Looking at old circus photos! That's what you can do at Bill Strong's blog Yesterday's Towns.

And there are still more great circus photos at Pat Cashin's THE ALLEY: Great Circus Clowns of the Past. Cashin recently posted this Nairobi Trio segment from The Ernie Kovacs Show. The image isn't great, but at least it's online!



Source

Previous clown coverage.

HEARING FROM HARPER LEE. First the world learns that Thomas Pynchon has a new novel scheduled for release in December. Now it turns out that a sweet letter by Harper Lee is in the first summer reading issue of O, The Oprah Magazine--it's the July 2006 issue, on sale now!

Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, reminisces about the role of books in her Depression-era childhood. "Do you remember," she asks Oprah, "when you learned to read, or like me, can you not even remember a time when you didn't know how?" Her family read to her when she was little--"it was Uncle Wiggily at bedtime." Books were scarce, but she and her friends traded to build up their series collections: Bobbsey Twins, Rover Boys, Tom Swift. (I don't know if Lee realizes it, but Uncle Wiggily author Howard Roger Garis also penned Tom Swift and Bobbsey Twins books; Garis's wife Lilian wrote Bobbsey Twins books, too.)

"And it wasn't until we were grown, some of us, that we discovered what had befallen the children of our African American servants," Lee continues. "In some of their schools, pupils learned to read three-to-one--three children to one book, which was more than likely a cast-off primer from a white grammar school."

Lee expresses her abiding affection for words on paper (as opposed to text on computer). "Weeping for Anna Karenina and being terrified by Hannibal Lecter, entering the heart of darkness with Mistah Kurtz, having Holden Caulfield ring you up--some things should happen on soft pages, not cold metal."

In addition to a few photos of Lee from 1961-1962, items of interest in the magazine include Amy Bloom on Grace Paley, "The Reader as Artist" by Toni Morrison, and short short fiction by the likes of Amy Hempel, A.M. Homes, Anna Deavere Smith, and John Edgar Wideman. Also, there's Jeff Goodell on women in West Virginia fighting to improve conditions in coal mining country. Plus, there's Tom Chiarella on breast implants and, of course, Dr. Phil.

Thanks, emdashes, for the lead. Any day now, I expect to learn that J.D. Salinger's tell-all autobiography is due in bookstores by year's end.

TUESDAY NIGHT TRIVIA. Tonight Tuesday Night Trivia co-founder Caren Lissner will host with a friend...and the prizes will include tickets and other stuff related to the The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (pictured right)!

I like it when swag meets Tuesday Night Trivia. I still have a Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! pencil or two, plus fond memories of the flick.

Photo: Joan Marcus

SAD VS. CUTE!

The Saddest Thing I Own

Cute Overload

DOUBLEUP AWESOME. More gymnastics from the people behind Absolutely Crazy and Throwing a Girl Like a Ball.



Source

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION CONTESTS CONTINUE! California continues to clobber the cartoon caption competition as Ryan McCarroll of Los Angeles wins Cartoon Caption Contest #53 (woman and giant bug reading in bed) with

"Two thousand eyes, but it still takes you all day to read the morning paper."

That's 12 wins for California, with half from the Los Angeles area.

New York, which is trailing by six, may get a boost in Caption Contest #55 (two fowl fooling around on a couch), where two-thirds of the nominees are from the Big Apple. Cary Wong wrote

"Wait. Would we still be doing this if the sky weren't falling?"

and Rajiv Joseph wrote

"Quack means quack!"

Their competitor is Kansan David Fulk with

"So this is why you crossed the road."

My loser:

"Oooo…you just gave me goosebumps!"

In Dan Radosh's Anti-Caption Contest #56 (surgeons operating on a bombshell), the winner is TG Gibbon with

"Don't make a sound. You mustn't let the others know I'm asking you this. By any chance do you know anything about gyroscopic inertial guidance systems? Just nod once for 'yes' and then point to it."

My loser:

"Technically, it's not a biological agent. It's Vieux Boulogne--recently judged the stinkiest cheese the world! Legal, yes...humane, no!"

Here's more on Vieux Boulogne.

Caption Contest #57 is here. Anti-Caption Contest #57 is here.

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. (You can take it all in on this map.)

12 California

6 New York (all New York City)
6 Pennsylvania

3 Massachusetts
3 New Jersey

2 Illinois
2 North Carolina
2 Texas
2 Utah

1 Arizona
1 Connecticut
1 Georgia
1 Maryland
1 Minnesota
1 Mississippi
1 Missouri
1 New Hampshire
1 New Mexico
1 Ohio
1 Oklahoma
1 Oregon
1 Rhode Island
1 Vermont
1 Washington, DC

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

POSTSECRET. Pssst! Here's the latest!

PUZZLE TIME! Activate the puzzle by running your cursor over it. Enjoy--it's easy to solve!



Previous Puzzle

Puzzle: flash-gear.com
Photo: David Marc Fischer

TONIGHT ON DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. Martha solves the carpet problem...but discovers a termite problem. A week after she sent the email, Krista realizes that Tom hasn't gotten back to her yet. Melinda loses two hours of travel time after she realizes she left her credit cards behind. Dawn decides to venture outside to run a five-minute errand...and gets drenched in a downpour.

Tonight on "Desperate Housewives" is a weekly series that premiered on Blog About Town on October 23, 2005. Last week's installment is here.

Photo: David Marc Fischer

WHOREMONS? Rae Meadows describes a Salt Lake City escort service.

'ROUND MIDNIGHT. Ahhhhh...it's one of my very favorite jazz numbers. Here's All Things Considered on the Thelonius Monk gem.

The other night, John Schaefer played about eight versions of it on WNYC's New Sounds. Represented: Alex De Grassi, Andy Summers Trio, Newband, George Crumb, Bobby McFerrin, Elliott Sharp, and Monk's Music Trio. You can listen to the show here.

SPEAKING OF NEPTUNE.... Today was the 24th Annual Mermaid Parade at Coney Island. Some flickr sets (that I recommend you run as slideshows at the fastest setting):

12 photos from Mooshies (including the much-photographed mermaid with the long blue tail)

26 photos from themechanism

73 photos from mimi destiny

131 photos from bklynpolar

COSMIC LOOKS. Here are the latest Astronomy Pictures of the Day.





























Crescent Neptune and Triton

GUESS-THE-GOOGLE! See a bunch of images...guess the Google search that produced them!

Thank you, Manhattan User's Guide. When it comes to stuff like this, I can lose myself for hours and hours and hours....

LIFE OF REILLY. The late Donald Reilly might not have been one of the "celebrity" New Yorker cartoonists, but I'm amused by his work and impressed by what I'm learning about him. (For instance: He was a trombonist!) New Yorker-obsessed Emily at emdashes noted the death of Reilly yesterday; her post includes a link to The New Yorker's five-minute slide-show tribute, which I recommend too.

WHERE WAS I? My location has been ascertained to my satisfaction! Gary continues his ascent with a remarkably efficient solo effort, securing winner's privileges as well as the third place spot behind Debbie and David.

The current standings:

11 Debbie
9 David (including bonus point)
5 Gary
4 Scott
2 Dolph
1 Myron
1 Trapezia

NEW HIRE AT THE VILLAGE VOICE! It's...a writer!

Thanks for noticing, Romanesko.

Previous coverage here.

Photo: David Marc Fischer

FRIDAY FASHION

"The Britney Spears interview on NBC's 'Dateline' offered several lessons worth noting, the most significant of which is to remove large wads of gum from one's mouth before engaging in a conversation...."--Robin Givhan...just warming up!

The Sartorialist (Say...maybe there's something to be said for Britney after all!)

Go Fug Yourself (Then again....)

What To Wear This Very Second (But still....)

MOVIE PASS OFFER: THE LAKE HOUSE. If you're interested in seeing Speed stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in The Lake House, hurry up and answer the trivia question here.

WHERE WAS I? This week I'm exercising my prerogative to run another puzzle clue. Run your cursor over it to activate it and post your guesses in the comments section. Enjoy...or else!



Puzzle: flash-gear.com
Photo: David Marc Fischer

GOING TO GODOT. Just my luck. On Tuesday I went to Threepenny Opera when there was no amplification. Then, on Wednesday I saw Waiting for Godot on the one night when Godot showed up ten minutes into the action! You should have seen the rush on the box office....

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

I went to The HSA Theatre to see The Classical Theatre of Harlem's production of the famous Samuel Beckett play...and I lucked out by scoring one of only several tickets that had become available via cancellation. Score!

The Classical Theatre of Harlem won me over with its 2004 production of Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, so I was looking forward to returning. And now that I've gone, I'm glad I went--the production was energetic and inventive and well-acted and well-staged and filled with genuine humor. (My one big worry about productions of Beckett plays is that they might turn out ultra-dour.) All five of the actors delivered their goods, with Billy Eugene Jones and especially Wendell Pierce (pictured), J Kyle Manzay, and Chris McKinney offering powerful characterizations in this Godot's physically demanding staging. (To avoid any spoiler problem, I've written more about that in the comments section.)

I'll fall short of deeming this a peerless production, but Godot strikes me as so hard to pull off that I'm not sure I'll ever see a better one. Those of you who made reservations for the remaining performances (the rest of the run, which ends June 25, is sold out) have much to look forward to; those who don't have tickets but really want to go might have a chance by getting to the theater at least 50 minutes before "curtain time" and seeing if you too can take advantage of cancellations.

Christopher McElroen is the director, Troy Hourie the set designer, Joan H. Cappello the production stage manager, Debra Cardona the dramaturg, and Alfred Preisser the company's Artistic Director.

And by the way: It was pronounced GOD-oh.

Photo of Sign: David Marc Fischer

NEW THOMAS PYNCHON BOOK IN DECEMBER! As usual, rumors are flying about what Thomas Pynchon's next novel might be "about." Could it have something to do with the city of Chicago? The late 1890s?? The mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya??? But at least Penguin confirms that a new Pynchon novel will come out in December!

How does word of a Pynchon book get around these days? Apparently Steven Moore shared the news from Penguin [which, he informed me on July 4, he got from a buyer at Borders] on the moderated Gaddis Mailing List. That came to the attention of the Pynchon Mailing List on June 15. Black is the New Blood posted about it on June 16. A June 20 post at the blog edward champion's return of the reluctant noted confirmation from Penguin. I confirmed the confirmation yesterday, on June 21. Today, after about a week, the news is now starting to surface in the press.

So, if all goes well, I'm pretty sure I know which author I'll be reading later this year--even if I don't yet know the title or the subject matter.

Previous Pynchon coverage.

DESIGN TO THE RIDICULOUS

design*sponge

print & pattern

Love Made Visible

Oh Joy!

Worth1000 Picture of the Day (Note Rockin' Guitar Chick!)

Gallery of the Absurd

WAITING WEEKLY. Today it's a waiter's dream: The serving starts with Tipping Tips from Experts. Then comes Lust. But then it's simply Hideous. Good thing the tips came first!

As usual, we encourage you to avail yourself of complimentary shots from your waitress.

THREEPENNY UNPLUGGED! Of all the nights I could've seen The Threepenny Opera, it had to be the night that the sound system went out! After a 27-minute delay, the already problematic show went on last night with an advisory that, due to computer trouble, the performers would try to do their best without mikes and the electronic cueing used by the production's small orchestra.

Many audience members cheered the news, but there was still a lot of tension in the air. After all, decades had passed since the age of mike-free belters such as Ethel Merman, when theaters were designed for unamplified singing and musicals were cast with singers who could be heard over full pit orchestras.

Even with this show's ten-member "orchestra" reduced to piano accompaniment, things got off to a shaky start with Cyndi Lauper (who has received compliments for her "raspy voiced" delivery) softly singing the lead in the "Song of the Extraordinary Crimes of Mac the Knife" in what her program bio calls "her maiden voyage" on Broadway. But as the evening progressed (and, I believe, some experimentation with miking took place), the projection (spoken and sung) of leads Lauper, Alan Cumming, Jim Dale, Ana Gasteyer, and Nellie McKay improved, sometimes to an impressive degree. This was especially the case after intermission, when the piano accompaniment grew softer and (I imagine) the more warmed-up performers had been advised as to what was and wasn't working.

The five leads probably weren't cast for their ability to perform without microphones, so I admire their gutsiness in giving it their best shot with a "show must go on" spirit. Everyone came through at some point at least, but the ones who most impressed with their delivery were stage veteran Dale and Ana Gasteyer (who developed a grand singing voice over the course of the evening). I was also impressed by Nellie McKay's performance. I expected it to be quirky, but I was surprised by the type of quirky that it was, redolent of stereotypical "purehearted" heroines of the past. I remain very curious as to where she'll take her peculiar mix of personality and talent.

But what stood out the most for me last evening were the performances of the supporting cast. Without an exception, their delivery was consistently clear back where I sat--the third to last row. The standout among that crowd was Brian Charles Rooney, who plays Lucy Brown. People might have heard of his performance only because of the brief moment when he flashes the audience, but there's much more to his character--and perhaps that came across better under Tuesday night's unusual circumstances. Rooney's operatic "sopranista" filled Studio 54 and his campy acting added electricity to the unplugged evening. There was good comic chemistry in his scenes with McKay, too.

Here's The Playgoer on The Threepenny Opera, with input from Rooney!

Photo: David Marc Fischer

NEW YORKER NEWS. First, the sad news: New Yorker cartoonist Donald Reilly has gone the way of Hiram S. Dudson (1930-1993). You can inspect samples of Reilly's work via The New Yorker's Cartoon Bank.

On a more uplifting note: Emily of emdashes is soliciting questions that may or may not be answered by mysterious sources at The New Yorker. Over at Gawker, more than one proposed question seems to indicate a measure of cartoon caption contest fatigue. Imagine that!

MOTH VS. BROADWAY UNDER THE STARS. It's an indoor/fee-outdoor/free kind of situation this Monday evening, June 26.

Indoor/fee: The Moth StorySLAM (Theme: Instruments) at The Bitter End, sign-up at 7:00 pm, slam at 7:30 pm. Admission: $6.

Outdoor/free: Broadway Under the Stars at the Great Lawn in Central Park at 8:00 pm.

BROOKLYN'S TROJAN HORSE. The Other Dave drew my attention to Jonathan Lethem's open letter to Frank Gehry asking the architect to pull out of Bruce Ratner's project for downtown Brooklyn.

I tend to concur with Lethem. I don't see any reason to build a Gehrian skyscraper complex in downtown Brooklyn. And Ratner and his cronies owe Brooklynites an apology for being so deceptive about the disruptive effect their scheme is likely to have on the community.

The entire city is too vertical and too crowded already--the concentration of people per acre is too high, too often out of proportion with green space, and inefficient and unhealthy in terms of street traffic. I would like to see the city's development move towards improving our quality of life by addressing those problems, not adding to them.

Such a change would probably require a groundswell of public opinion to counteract the political and financial momentum of the project. The longer I live in the city, the more I realize that developers and contractors and major landlords are a breed apart. They're certainly entitled do business; it's just that their business can really go against the common good. In suburbs, such people would seek land to increase the sprawl, but so much of this city has been developed that, to make really big money, the developer crowd looks for things to tear down and build up again. Their money and class standing give them political influence that "people power" might be able to moderate.

There was a time when unions built affordable housing, some of which survives to this day. I have to believe that many more such projects could be mounted today. If only the masses could find their mojo again. I'm encouraged by the activism in Brooklyn, but it'd be interesting to see more proactive development done by communities rather than developer types. Unless I'm grossly mistaken, I'm sure this is being done--some, in fact, near the site of the Ratner project--but I'm sure more of it could and should be done, too.

Photo: David Marc Fischer

SAD VS. CUTE!

The Saddest Thing I Own

Cute Overload

LOSER'S LOUNGE: BEFORE, DURING, AFTER, AND AFTER AFTER. A funny thing happened on the way to the Loser's Lounge ABBA tribute Friday evening: A bunch of people dispersed soap bubbles around Astor Place. It turned out to be "interactive public art" by newmindspace, which also pulled off the Union Square Pillow Fight. You can see what it's all about via Gothamist and newmindspace.

One surprise at the concert was the inclusion of "One Night in Bangkok," which was performed by Nick Danger. I hadn't realized that ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson had written it with Tim Rice.



Source


Over the course of the evening, some of my favorite moments came from the backup singers. It was good to see and hear Sean Altman back again ("Suzy Hangaround") along with Connie Petruk ("Dancing Queen") and especially Jennifer Karr ("The Winner Takes It All").

Afterwards we played the Loser's Lounge suggestion game. Our two top picks: Squeeze and Eighties pop (such as Duran Duran). And there's always that tantalizing "female vocalists of the 1960s" possibility. Petula Clark...Lulu...Dionne Warwick...Aretha Franklin...France Gall....

France who?



Source


Then some of us traipsed over to Silver Spurs, where one of our party ordered a vanilla egg cream. Just the right color for a post-ABBA drink! Today, Gothamist posted this item about egg creams. And here's Barry Popik sharing a reminiscence about a very early egg cream.

What's that, you say? You want to know the next Loser's Lounge show? I hear it's a rematch of The Smiths vs. The Cure--at the Bowery Ballroom!

You can browse through past Loser's Lounge programs here.

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION CONTESTS CONTINUE! The winner of this week's Anti-Caption Contest #55 (poultry embracing on couch) is the awful

"I'm sorry Hiro, but my family would never let me date a cock Asian."

That's from mypalmike...who happens to host another caption contest: The Daily Random Web Image Caption Contest.

My losers:

"If you stop now, I won’t bill you."

"Have you been checked for avian flu?"

"This beats hanging around Chinatown!"

"Would you settle for a simple peck on the cheek?"

"Your pillows remind me: We haven’t played tic-tac-toe in a while."

"I can’t believe I’m making out with the tic-tac-toe champion of Chinatown!"

"You've got to let go of that egg thing. When you're with me, I come first."

Birds without feathers fuck together!

So many tries, so little success!

Over at The New Yorker, the winner of Caption Contest #52 (couple in rowboat encountering whale) is Kate Borowske of St. Paul, Minnesota, with

"Mind the whale, dear."

I can just imagine a Minnesotan saying that! Congrats to Kate, who put Minnesota on the map with the first win for the state.

As for the nominations for Caption Contest #54 (two guys in desert, one looking at wristwatch), they include this, from Michael Sievers of Charlottesville, Virginia:

"Maybe this thing isn't a compass."

Mine:

"I'm sure the 12 means 'north'."

Great minds....

Caption Contest #56 is here. Anti-Caption Contest #56 is here.

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state:

11 California

6 New York (all New York City)
6 Pennsylvania

3 Massachusetts
3 New Jersey

2 Illinois
2 North Carolina
2 Texas
2 Utah

1 Arizona
1 Connecticut
1 Georgia
1 Maryland
1 Minnesota
1 Mississippi
1 Missouri
1 New Hampshire
1 New Mexico
1 Ohio
1 Oklahoma
1 Oregon
1 Rhode Island
1 Vermont
1 Washington, DC

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

POSTSECRET. Pssst! Here's the latest! (It's a Father's Day special.)

BLOGORHYTHMS. Here's the long-awaited new post at KingOMiami's View From The Cluttered Throne. It was almost a year in the making!

PUZZLE TIME! Activate the puzzle by running your cursor over it, then find Simba's new home. Enjoy--it's fairly easy to solve!



Previous Puzzle

Puzzle: flash-gear.com
Blurry Photo: David Marc Fischer

WORLD FAMOUS TIC-TAC-TOE TURKEY? Not the same thing as the tic-tac-toe chicken, but virtually close enough! (Sound effects included.)

Photo: David Marc Fischer

NOW HE'S 64. So today Sir Paul McCartney turns 64...only five or so years since 2001. What other milestones do we have to look forward to, beside 2021, 2525 (if man is still alive...) and--for you diehard fans of Sir Arthur C. Clarke--2010, 2061, and 3001?

Here's Julian Lennon crooning When I'm 64.



Source

TONIGHT ON DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. Thea wants to blindfold her son when she sees how her husband eats game hen. Mindy realizes that she's still too chicken to play tic-tac-toe against her father. Nan's husband throws a fit when he wakes up to find that the kids slid tic tacs between his toes. Sandy doesn't even have a paltry excuse why she and her daughter left McNuggets on the roof of her husband's car.

Tonight on "Desperate Housewives" is a weekly series that premiered on Blog About Town on October 23, 2005. Last week's installment is here.

Photo: David Marc Fischer

REV JEN TURNS TANTRIC! Here's pointy-eared Reverend Jen Miller and "Alex" experimenting with, yes, tantric sex!

Photo: David Marc Fischer

KNOW YOUR CHICKEN! Ladies and gentlemen...Cibo Matto!



Source

Note: The video ends abruptly.

WHERE WAS I? My location has been ascertained to my satisfaction! The winner in the first photo-free contest is David, who snags the winner's privilege as well as a bonus point for getting the correct answer before the twentieth question. Debbie, look out! Your lead has been cut in half!!

The current standings:

11 Debbie
9 David (including bonus point)
4 Gary
4 Scott
2 Dolph
1 Myron
1 Trapezia

COSMIC LOOKS. Here are the latest Astronomy Pictures of the Day. And Happy 11th Birthday to APOD--that's a lot of years to be running online! (Here's the very first Astronomy Picture of the Day.)
























Source

WHERE WAS I? The guessing is progressing here.

FRIDAY FASHION

"The view of the Hudson River -- with its industrial paraphernalia conveniently obscured by morning haze -- had the effect of transforming a penthouse loft on the West Side of Manhattan into a space that was restful, calm and almost transporting...."--Robin Givhan [I've heard that can happen!--ed.]

The Sartorialist

Go Fug Yourself

Special Guest RICK SANTORUM!

What To Wear This Very Second

BLOOMORHYTHMS. Atlanta INtown - IN The Loop invites you to celebrate Bloomsday in Atlanta!

In other news, Professor Hanlon O'Faolin warns of a Bloomsday Device!

Here is Ulysses for Dummies.

ERIK, WE HARDLY KNEW YE. Just when you thought Michael Lacey had finally hired an editor-in-chief for his depleted Village Voice...the new guy turned tail and decided to stay at his old job! Here's the Voice coverage of Erik Wemple's decision to stick with Washington City Paper. (Thanks, Gawker, for the lead.)

Wemple's written statement included this: "the paper's ownership and I have failed to come to terms in our many discussions about moving forward, particularly with respect to newsroom management."

And here's part of the Voice press release: "Erik's concerns are not unreasonable," said Michael Lacey, executive editor of Village Voice Media. "The Voice is an enormous and complex horse race. We asked Erik to mount several ponies mid-stride, and he was alarmed to find us still in several of those saddles."

(Recalling Wendi C. Thomas's change of mind regarding Baltimore's Sun, I wonder if this could be the start of a journo mini-trend.)

In other Voice-related news, Nick Sylvester's byline has risen from the ashes over at the Boston Phoenix.

Previous coverage here.

Photo: David Marc Fischer

WHERE WAS I? Huh? Wuh?? No pictures???

That's right! As per Gary's request, this is the first photo-free Where Was I. So...um...guess away. I recommend doing it 20 Questions style!

Oh...and if you happen to guess correctly within the first twenty guesses, you'll get a bonus point! Oh yes...life is good indeed.

Leave your guesses in the comments section.

HONDA ON THE ROOF

Way above my head, I see the strangest sight:
That Honda on the roof--it wasn't there last night!
It's painted a bright pink, with question marks in sight.
Whoever got it there was surely very bright.

What does it mean, this Honda on the roof,
Up there without an engine, not a single wheel?
Who would have picked so curious a place
To park a pink automobile?

A weakly built rooftop would not sustain the weight.
But when the car went up, the roof--it held up great!
Whatever you might say, this odd, outlandish car,
Got famous overnight not moving very far!

Pink Honda on the roof,
A most unlikely sight,
It might not mean a thing,
But then again it might....

A pink Honda on a roof--sounds crazy, no?

But in Plainview-Old Bethpage, you might say every school has a Honda on the roof, somehow staying in place without rolling off or plummeting into a classroom.

It isn't easy to park a Honda on a roof. So you may ask: Why park a Honda on a roof if it's so difficult?

You park a Honda on the roof because there's a space available.

And just how do you park a Honda on a roof?

That I can tell you in one word: chutzpah!

Photo: David Marc Fischer

DESIGN TO THE RIDICULOUS

design*sponge (see the pretty cakes!)

print & pattern

Love Made Visible

Oh Joy! (includes sugar sculpture!)

Worth1000 Picture of the Day (note chocolate fantasy!)

Gallery of the Absurd

Today's special guest: Peter Callesen (Thanks, Manhattan User's Guide!)

FREE SCREENING: Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man. The New York Observer and Lionsgate are offering passes to a screening of the documentary Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man.

Plus, there will be a giveaway of 10 Tower Records gift certificates!

Get a chance to attend the screening (Monday, June 19, at 8:00 pm at the Film Forum) by following the directions here.

WHACK-IT WEDNESDAY! Last week the whack came back with a classic hair hack!

WAITING WEEKLY. Another two-course meal this week: the sobering A Hundred's Not Enough, followed by the grammatically perplexing Spuds Are a Powerful Thing.

As usual, we encourage you to avail yourself of complimentary shots from your waitress.

OTSUKA AI: SAKURANBO. I've been informed that it just doesn't get any better than this! Still, there's a lot to be said for Joi Lansing....



Source

Hm. These colors make me feel like it's Easter in June!

DAVID'S DVD CORNER

The Greatest Game Ever Played
Twin Peaks writer Mark Frost adapted his own book for the screenplay of this fact-based golf story. It's family-friendly but PG, and perhaps a bit too stately for some young ones.

House of Strangers
I happened to see this often startling 1949 Italian-American drama at MOMA last night. (It's playing there again tomorrow night!) Starring Edward G. Robinson with Richard Conte and Susan Hayward in some highly suggestive scenes plus Luther Adler and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in supporting roles, this 1949 film could very well be godfather to The Godfather (in which Conte played Barzini).

The Passenger
Whether or not you saw this artsy puzzler (starring Jack Nicholson vintage 1975) during its recent revival or you plan to see it on June 29 as part of BAM's Michelangelo Antonioni festival, it's one of the very best films to watch on digital video, scrutinizing the famous ending to your heart's content.

A State of Mind
What if a modern nation modeled itself on the dystopia portrayed in George Orwell's 1984? I think I caught a glimpse of such a country thanks to this documentary about talented kids growing up in North Korea.

3:10 to Yuma
Glenn Ford and Van Heflin deliver outstanding performances in this thoughtful Western that I also happened to see at MOMA. When the opening credits rolled, the crowd applauded director Delmar Dawes; I soon understood why.

ALTMAN AILS. I was all set to tout Robert Altman's appearance at The Pioneer, which was scheduled for tonight, but it seems that the director ain't gonna show due to a flu bug. I hope he gets well soon!

So tonight's a good time to see Altman's latest, A Prairie Home Companion.

As for other movie highlights at the Pioneer: Psychopathia Sexualis continues its run while Carrie--a favorite here--wreaks her havoc (right) at 11:00 pm on Saturday, June 24. BAT has previously noticed the similarity between Paris Hilton and Brandon Davis and a couple in Carrie.

SAD VS. CUTE!

The Saddest Thing I Own

Cute Overload

WHERE WAS I? My location has been ascertained to my satisfaction! Scott, who recently acknowledged the wisdom of following Blog About Town's sage advice, is hot again, ending his dry spell and securing winner's privileges by tying Gary for third place with four wins.

The current standings:

11 Debbie
7 David
4 Gary
4 Scott
2 Dolph
1 Myron
1 Trapezia

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION CONTESTS CONTINUE! Washington, DC still doesn't have voting representation in Congress, but it does have a winner in Caption Contest #51 (court witness with hook for hand):

"Can you please identify which hand was mistakenly amputated?"

Congratulations to Hilary Phillips--now let's see what you can do to bring democracy to the nation's capital!

A glance at the list of winners to the right of Blog About Town's handy caption contest map indicates that a few weeks have passed since leader California had a winning caption. That situation could change soon, as Los Angeles has two candidates in Contest #53 (woman in bed with giant bug reading newspaper). But there's some stiff East Coast competition from Adam Stevenson of Salisbury, Maryland:

"Well, it's another thrilling night at the Samsas'."

My loser:

"So--can't tear yourself away from the paper?"

Over at Anti-Caption Contest #54 (loopy guy with watch talking with another guy crawling in desert), the winner is TG Gibbon with

"Mickey's pointing right at your withered foot! Like he can see it!"

My losers:

The Blair Watch Project

"I'm sure it's right at least twice a day!"

"Hey--it says my watch is a Rolex! Must be a mirage...."

"We'll be able to start walking in an hour--after the Viagra wears off. In the meantime, we might as well make the most of the situation, sexy!"

Caption Contest #55 is here. Anti-Caption Contest #55 is here.

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state:

11 California

6 New York (all New York City)
6 Pennsylvania

3 Massachusetts
3 New Jersey

2 Illinois
2 North Carolina
2 Texas
2 Utah

1 Arizona
1 Connecticut
1 Georgia
1 Maryland
1 Mississippi
1 Missouri
1 New Hampshire
1 New Mexico
1 Ohio
1 Oklahoma
1 Oregon
1 Rhode Island
1 Vermont
1 Washington, DC

Thanks to Emily Gordon of emdashes for her salute to the map!

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

POSTSECRET. Pssst! Here's the latest!

PUZZLE TIME! Activate the puzzle by running your cursor over it. Enjoy--it's easy to solve!



Previous Puzzle

More about 100 Tubas

Puzzle: flash-gear.com
Photo: David Ruderman

WHERE WAS I? I've added another visual clue here. Guess away!

TONIGHT ON DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. Kathy wants her baby back. Rose doesn't want to give up the baby. Edna regrets moving in with her son and his family. Nina realizes she should have chosen Jake instead of Andy, if only for her son's sake.

Tonight on "Desperate Housewives" is a weekly series that premiered on Blog About Town on October 23, 2005. Last week's installment is here.

Photo: David Marc Fischer

PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS. Director Bret Wood was pretty matter-of-fact introducing his movie Psychopathia Sexualis at a preview screening at the Two Boots Pioneer Theatre. Not everyone likes the movie, he readily admitted. Lo and behold, it turns out that New York Times reviewer Jeannette Catsoulis is part of the unimpressed crowd, as is Benjamin Strong, who dismissed it at The Village Voice. Those who do like the movie, Wood noted, tend to be those who like thinking about sexuality. Well, I'm one of those people--and I liked Psychopathia Sexualis. And I'm pretty sure I'd've liked it even if the swag at the screening hadn't included vibrators (courtesy of Babeland) and copies of the paperback tie-in!

Psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing (1840-1902) wrote the constantly evolving editions of Psychopathia Sexualis that inspired the movie. Consisting largely of case studies of patients perceived as sexually dysfunctional, the book is considered a key early text in modern sexual awareness, both from a medical and literary point of view.

Homosexuality...sadism...masochism...pedaresty...apathy...cannibalism...vampirism--they're readily found in Psychopathia Sexualis, communicated via Krafft-Ebing's quaint and quirky prose. Here's a mundane example:

Mrs. O., normally developed, healthy, menstruated regularly; aged thirty-five; fifteen years married. She never experienced libido, and never had any erotic excitment in sexual intercourse with her husband. She was not averse to coitus, and sometimes seemed to experience pleasure in it, but she never had a wish for repetitions of the act.

And here's one that's more lurid (but by no means the most lurid):

One of my patients, hereditarily tainted, a crank, married to an extremely handsome woman of very vivacious temperament, became impotent when he saw her beautiful, pure white skin and her elegant couture, but was quite potent with any ordinary wench, no matter how dirty. But it would happen that during a lonely walk with her in the country he would suddenly force her to have coitus in a meadow, or behind a shrub. The stronger she refused the more excited he became with perfect potency. The same would happen in places where there was a risk of being discovered in the act, for instance, in the railway train, in the lavatory of a restaurant. But at home in his own bed he was quite devoid of desire.

Captured on video in Georgia and definitely not to be considered a substitute for the book, the low-budget but resourceful Psychopathia Sexualis dramatizes some of Krafft-Ebing's stories with a kind of old-fashioned erotic flair. Amidst the velvet and the heavily atmospheric music, the characters pursue their desires and sometimes undergo treatments that come across as primitive, inhumane, and unnecessary even if well-intended. (One glaringly relevant example involves reprogramming homosexuality.) There is an affecting tale of lesbian attraction and outstanding shadow puppetry by Jason Hines in a tale involving, um, necrophilia.

Yes, this is not a movie for everyone--there is some gore and brutality involved. If you're curious, sample the video at the film's promotional website.

Photo: Terry Thomas

THREE BLIND ITEMS

What Tony-caliber actress headed west on Restaurant Row on a Sunday night? Come to think of it, what Tony-caliber actress didn't head west on Restaurant Row on a Sunday night?

What Tony-caliber comic had a night-time nosh diagonally across from Carnegie Hall? Come to think of it, what Tony-caliber comic hasn't had a night-time nosh diagonally across from Carnegie Hall?

What Tony-caliber play came to a halt due to cell phones ringing? Come to think of it, what Tony-caliber play didn't come to a halt due to cell phones ringing? (But in this case, the play resumed with a character complaining about how he hates being interrupted!)

WHERE WAS I? Here is a new visual clue...plus an invitation to think of this one as a "Battleship"-style challenge.

YOU TUBAS! Footage of 100 Tubas is finally on YouTube! Even though the quality is not very good, it vividly demonstrates that the event was just the kind of happening that The Other David et famille attend....



Source

In The New York Times (June 6, 2006), Jon Pareles wrote:

There were plenty of tubas but no oompah in Anthony Braxton's "Composition No. 19 for 100 Tubas," the biggest spectacle at this year's Bang on a Can Marathon of new music on Sunday at the World Financial Center. Carrying a drum major's baton, Mr. Braxton mustered his "100Tubatet" — playing tubas, sousaphones, Wagner tubas and double-belled euphoniums — on the center's plaza. It played glacially slow, sustained melodies, creating a low growl that was uncannily similar to the tone of airplanes and helicopters flying overhead. So close to ground zero, the sound was unmistakably ominous.

Over the next hour Mr. Braxton and three other conductors led groups of tubas to parts of the plaza, following an inscrutable choreography. Sometimes two groups would be near each other, but there was no way to hear the entire ensemble. The slow melodies continued; every so often, one of the groups would huff a few sharply accented notes or make jokey noises. Yet over all, the piece was somber: an arbitrary ceremony, luxuriating in tuba tone, somewhere between elegy and exorcism.

COSMIC LOOKS. Here are the latest Astronomy Pictures of the Day. Don't forget to click back--there's a great shot of a volcanic eruption!
























Source

WHERE WAS I? I've added a new clue here.

FRIDAY FASHION

The Sartorialist

Go Fug Yourself

Robin Givhan (note that there's a slideshow to the right of the article)

What To Wear This Very Second

THE SECRET PLACE. Jeremy P. Meyer of The Denver Post reports on a secret hiding place in a Colorado High School.

WHERE WAS I? We begin anew with a visual clue. Leave your guesses in the comments section.




















VISUAL CLUE ADDED JUNE 9




















VISUAL CLUE ADDED JUNE 10




















VISUAL CLUE ADDED JUNE 11




















Photos: David Marc Fischer

DESIGN TO THE RIDICULOUS

design*sponge

print & pattern

Love Made Visible

Oh Joy!

Worth1000 Picture of the Day

Gallery of the Absurd

WHY DOES ANN COULTER HAVE A NATIONAL PLATFORM? People are on to Ann Coulter. She has said, "My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building." In one of her columns, she wrote, "I think the government should be spying on all Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East and sending liberals to Guantanamo."

Here's Matt Lauer grilling Coulter on the Today show.



Source

Chris Durang weighs in here, with access to a transcript and backup video.

And here's Wonkette channeling footage of Coulter on Hannity & Colmes (plus a link to a partial transcript).

Coulter has been dropped by National Review Online and USA Today. Her column was also dropped by the Arizona Daily Star: "We've decided that syndicated columnist Ann Coulter has worn out her welcome. Many readers find her shrill, bombastic and mean-spirited. And those are the words used by readers who identified themselves as conservatives."

Yet Coulter is still a columnist for Universal Press Syndicate. She is still well-compensated for her speaking engagements. And Random House's Crown Forum still publishes her books.

Hasn't Coulter made enough out of her hateful schtick? As Durang writes, "Can we stop hearing about her, and seeing her on tv?" Isn't it time to find someone who can actually raise the level of discourse in this country? It shouldn't be very hard.

FREE MOVIE PASSES: WORDPLAY. The New York Observer, IFC Films, and The Weinstein Company are offering passes to a screening of the New York Times crossword puzzle documentary Wordplay. To qualify, you have to answer a trivia question. See this page for more details. If you have trouble answering the question, see Slate.

As some of you know, this post was delayed for several hours due to technical difficulties at Blogger.