See the whole map of NYC at 8-Bit NYC.

[via Waxy Links]

[via Snorgtees & The Daily What]

The Similarities Between Kevin Curtis and James Thrash are Almost Astounding

Pretty crazy shit:

“Four of the last eight games between New York and Philadelphia [have been] decided on the final play…”

[via Lisa Olson’s FanHouse & The700Level]

P.S. This game is a pretty big deal here in NYC…I’ve gotten by FAR the most flak I’ve ever gotten for wearing a Birds jersey since I’ve been living here.  Douchebags.

[Courtesy of Hulu]

Dear Matthew Broderick,

In 1986, you made a movie that has been the standing template for cool since the day it was released. It has inspired and given people the courage to rock and roll and live authentically, a principle we would now like to celebrate in a most festive fashion this Friday night.

At 7:00 pm in the middle of 6th Ave, we are recreating the parade scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as a part of the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. We’ve got a 28 ft float, over 1,000 volunteers, balloons, sound equipment, and a whole entire marching band. There are no corporate ties to the event and it’s mostly just a group of friends looking to cultivate massive amounts of positive energy and for everyone to have an epically good time.

Our mission is to get everyone on the streets of NYC dancing until we reach or surpass the approximate enjoyment level of the original scene. We’ve been working hard to get all the pieces in place to give us the best chances of accomplishing this, and would now like to invite you to help us make this happen!!

Your role, if you choose to accept it, is to take over the float for one lip synching rendition of Twist & Shout in front of the TV camera crews stationed at 10th St & 6th Ave. With your brilliant coup, the crowd will absolutely go wild and NYC will erupt into one of the greatest and most joyous celebrations in the history of celebration in general.

Please let us know if you’re up for it. 2 million people are anticipated to view the event and would outrageously enjoy seeing you.

Thanks so much and have a super excellent evening!
Mina Karimi & Kara Suhey

I’ll let Mr. Bloomberg’s press release handle this one, seeing as I am both tired and a plagiarist:

“For the next three Saturdays, August 9th, 16th and 23rd, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., vehicle traffic will be replaced along seven miles of City streets by New Yorkers and visitors taking leisurely strolls, going for a bike ride or taking part in organized activities such as aikido, salsa dancing, tai-chi, running, rollerblading and hopscotch. Summer Streets will be open from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park along Lafayette Street, 4th Avenue, Park Avenue and 72nd Street.”

Even though there’s an incredibly good chance that I sleep through the entire thing, I am definitely looking forward to it, if only to see what an NYC avenue looks like without cars. For more information, please check out the official Summer Streets website.

Broadway Boulevard

Broadway Sans Cars: A Beautiful Sight

Broadway Sans Cars: A Beautiful Sight

Not only does this one hit a little closer to home personally, since I live in Midtown, but it is also a permanent project, unlike the month-long Summer Streets. The picture above is an artist’s rendering of how “Broadway Boulevard” should look when the project is finished (courtesy of the DOT), although word is that it will look a little less “cartoony” upon completion (sorry for that one).

Considering there was no formal announcement of the $700,000 plan, the project has been able to fly under the radar with virtually no publicity, despite the fact that it will be “opened” in less than a week. Since I have still yet to even explain what this project even entails, here is an excerpt from a July 11th New York Times article that does just that:

“In a surprising reshaping of the urban landscape, the city is creating a public esplanade along a portion of one of its most prominent streets, Broadway in Midtown, setting aside the east side of the roadway for a bicycle lane and a pedestrian walkway with cafe tables, chairs, umbrellas and flower-filled planters.

The esplanade, which the city is calling Broadway Boulevard, will run from 42nd Street to Herald Square. Scheduled to open in mid-August, it will change that section of Broadway from a four-lane to a two-lane street.

“I’m envisioning it as a public park on the street,” said Barbara Randall, the executive director of the Fashion Center Business Improvement District, which is working with the city’s Department of Transportation to create the boulevard.

The work, which has begun without a formal public announcement, reflects Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s sweeping vision of reducing pollution and traffic congestion in New York, and particularly Manhattan, by increasing open space and encouraging bike riding and other alternatives to cars.”

This should be the hotness.  Since this project lacks an official New York City website, your options to click away from this blog are limited.  However, you can see what the Gothamist has to say about “Broadway Boulevard” here and/or you can press the down button on your keyboard to be virtually whisked away to Broadway right now and see the current progress of the project.  The picture below shows the progress of the construction at 39th Street as of this past Monday (August 4th), where, as you can see, pebbles are already being spread over what will probably be a seating area.

Cigarette pack tax hike of $1.25 takes effect in New York City

New Yorkers started paying the highest cigarette taxes in the nation Tuesday with the latest $1.25 spike per pack that officials expect to bring in $265 million a year. The average pack in New York City, which also taxes cigarettes, is now around $8.50.

Smokers will be paying $2.75 per pack in state taxes, a jump from the previous tax of $1.50. Before the new tax, the average price of a pack of cigarettes was $5.82 statewide, and about $8 a pack in New York City, which levies its own taxes, Daines said. The new retail price for a pack in the city could now soar past $10 depending on the store.

Man, do I miss Atlanta sometimes……….I mean, I’m going to stop smoking now because it’s too expensive.

On a lighter/less serious portrayal of cigarettes note, look at these insane pictures I found of old Parliament Light ads:

[via YouHeardThatNew]

Reviews of Kanye’s “Glow in the Dark Tour” have trickled out in the two weeks since it kicked off, and they have, almost unanimously, been nothing short of phenomenal (I say “almost” because Sacramentoans were upset over a little snafu on Kanye’s part…crybabies). Here are some snippets from the reviews:

1. The L.A. Times review:
   

   A show that carries [Kanye’s] braggadocio into the realm of myth itself, Glow in the Dark raises the bar for arena tours as no show has since U2’s 1992 Zoo TV breakthrough. It’s that innovative and galvanizing.

2. Entertainment Weekly review:
   

   Eschewing hip-hop’s buddy system, West is his stage’s sole visible human, and he’s become a riveting soliloquist. Crouching on one knee, broken up, during ”Hey Mama” — or pacing like a prizefighter during every other number — he gets you caught up in his journey to the center of the id and pulls off something rare: an intimate spectacle.

   UPDATE: So it seems as though Kanye may have disagreed with my assessment of Entertainment Weekly’s review of the tour; today he posted an entry on his blog entitled “FUCK ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY I’M SICK OF YALL SHIT!!!,” where he, um, criticized the magazine’s staff for their “B+” review of the tour:

   You know what, fuck you and the whole fucking staff!!! I know I shouldn’t dignify this with a comment, but the reviewer threw a jab at all the artists. I just wanna know when was the last time you enjoyed yourself. If you can’t have fun and lose yourself at this tour it’s a good chance you’re a very miserable person. I actually feel sorry for you guys. Your job forces you to not have fun anymore. Grab a drink, holla at some nice girls, and party bitch!! You don’t know shit about passion and art. You’ll never gain credibility at this rate. You’re fucking trash! I make art. You can’t rate this. I’m a real person. I’m not a pop star. I don’t care about anything but making great art. Never come 2 one of my shows ever again, you’re not invited and if you see me…BOW!! This is not pop, it’s pop art!

   So I guess we should forget about #2 on this list.

3. The Seattle Times review:
   

   It was a magnificent, thrilling, uplifting, sensory experience, unlike any other pop concert before it. West has rethought the whole idea of live performance, from the staging to the lighting to the overall message. He took the excited, involved, constantly moving young crowd on an out-of-this-world journey, to Planet Kanye and back.

Kanye and his Glow in the Dark Tour will be at Madison Square Garden on May 13th, and I will be there if I have to sell a teste to get a ticket.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Please let me know if you know anyone looking to trade tickets for teste(s).

]]> http://brandonblattner.com/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Articles+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fbrandonblattner.com%2F2008%2F05%2F02%2Freviews-in-for-kanyes-glow-in-the-dark-tour-probably-better-than-woodstock%2F&seed_title=Reviews+in+for+Kanye%26%238217%3Bs+Glow+in+the+Dark+Tour+%3A+Probably+Better+than+Woodstock/feed/ 1 http://brandonblattner.com/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Articles+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fbrandonblattner.com%2F2008%2F04%2F23%2Fand-im-famous%2F&seed_title=And+I%26%238217%3Bm+Famous http://brandonblattner.com/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Articles+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fbrandonblattner.com%2F2008%2F04%2F23%2Fand-im-famous%2F&seed_title=And+I%26%238217%3Bm+Famous#comments Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:02:46 +0000 Brandon http://brandonblattner.com/?p=192 The Apiary, the self-described "US Weekly of NYC Comedy:"

Check this shit out from the front page of The Apiary, the self-described “US Weekly of NYC Comedy:”

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