Attention Brooklyn Bargain Hunters! **UPDATE**

**UPDATE** I've just been informed by Kitty that we will only be holding the stoop sale tomorrow (Saturday). Looks like I'm free to get loaded tomorrow night then!

This weekend Kitty, myself and our prospective others, are throwing a stoop sale! This is no run of the mill, casserole dish and half-used candle sale either. Between our two households we will be gathering oodles of quality goodies, which we will then offer to you at rock bottom prices.

Our stoop sale will have literally hundreds of DVDs and CDs plus video games, toys, furniture, household items, clothing and much much more. Lots of the toys and discs have never even been open (they fell of a truck).

Weather permitting, you'll find the stoop, us and the goods on 5th street between 7th and 8th avenues (just off 8th) in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. The sale begins tomorrow at 11am and ends when we get bored, tired or run out of booze. We are probably going to make this a two day event with new items introduced on Sunday.*

Limited time offer - mention pop-o-matic and receive a cup of our secret stoop sale liquid concoction. The secret ingredient is whiskey and it's the only way to deal with the wack jobs who ask too many questions at stoop sales.

*I may bail on Sunday if I have too much tot drink Saturday night and can't make it off the couch.

Swept Away

If you live in NYC, you probably already know about this morning's crazy weather. If you don't consider a tornado descending on Brooklyn like a pack of overeating Japanese kids heading to Coney Island for the 4th of July hot dog eating contest crazy then you and I have nothing left to say.

If you live in the city and don't know about this morning's storm then please tell me what drugs you are on and share.

At my normal departure for work time the subway officials were urging people to stay home since most of the tunnels were flooded. I happily obliged and decided to work from home. So here I am at home playing Wii. I have to write a review of the new Mario Strikers game so yes, I'm really working.

Jenni B, since I know you don't like to read anything longer than a sentence, I'm including the following picture, which you have probably already scanned to before closing this page.

You can see here the train I take every day to work. Obviously, I won't be making it to the office today. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the branch in the photo is removed by tomorrow.

A Little Respect

This weekend Seth, Kitty and I took in the Erasure concert at McCarren Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and I can honestly say, it was one of the best shows I have seen in a long time.

The doors opened at 6 and the first of the two opening acts were supposed to start at 7 so we decided to head to the newly remodeled pool hall on 7th and Flatbush for a little pre-game warm-up. This was all of our first times at the pool hall so I can't say what it looked like before the renovations. To be honest, the decor didn't really impress me that much, it was comfortable and the bar had a bunch of over-sized booths, which I really liked. What did impress me was the food, we devoured a plate of wings and some of the best nachos I have ever eaten. Plus, the happy hour two-for-one special and surprisingly super-friendly service sealed the deal for me to return there soon.

After chowing down and throwing back, we decided to head over to the concert and grabed a cab on Flatbush. Once again, we were met with incredibly uncharacteristic friendly service. Our cabbie was so pleasant that he turned off the meter when drove he past our turn (which meant driving an extra couple of blocks - not a big deal where we were) and took us through Williamsburg to the park for free. That's basicly unheard of in this city, especially when you ask a cabbie to take you somewhere in Brooklyn.

McCarren Pool is by far my new favorite place to see a show. In case you have never been, as the name might tip you off, its a pool. An old outdoor, public, city pool to be exact. The pool itself is a giant sunken concrete pit with all the remnants of it's water-filled days, including spots of the original bottom paint job. We strolled around for a few minutes grabbed some beers and had a seat towards the deep end for what we assumed would be an hour or more wait before Erasure took the stage. A few sips later and Erasure was out and playing. We quickly hopped up and headed to the stage where we spent the rest of the evening in sweat-viewing distance of Andy Bell.

The show itself was amazing with Erasure singing everything we could have asked for and sounding incredible while doing it. It seemed like the only album they didn't sample was Abba-esque, which is just a collection of covers and technically not Erasure's own music. Since we were outside, there was great breeze blowing throughout the show and an incredible light show took place as the sun set. Since everything took place in this giant pool, we could buy a beer and even visit the port-o-potties while never missing what was happening on stage. All in all, it was a perfect evening!

Where The People Are

I've never been a big fan of crowds. I hate crowded bars, never go to see a movie on opening night (not that I go to the theater much at all), shop at odd hours to avoid the consuming masses and frequently walk in the street to get around the slow, sluggish cattle. At the same time, I like feeling as if I'm taking part in whats going on around me. Which is why living on a busy street allows me the best of both worlds - I can avoid crowds but keep an eye on what's happening down on the street.

Yesterday I enjoyed the annual 7th Avenue street fair that takes place every year in Park Slope. There were all sorts of vendors, hawking everything from cell phone accessories to spicy kielbasas. Occasionally a marching band would make its way through the crowd and there was even rock and or roll music coming from somewhere, which I think means there was a band performing. Unfortunately, I couldn't see the direction the music was coming from because the building next to my apartment blocks the view of 7th avenue to the south of my window. Yes that's right, I took in the street fair from the crowdless comfort of my apartment.

I know this makes me sound like a shut-in but the only way I would have ventured out the door and into that street fair was if I spotted a beer vendor from my window. As far as I know, strolling the streets with a beer in the hand is illegal, unless its in a bag, which Seth refers to as a wino's right. As far as I'm concerned, the winos can keep there bags and I'll remain crowdlessly comfortable drinking at home.

Brooklyn Bound

After yesterday's Verizon snafu, which still hasn't been corrected - I'm working from home this morning then running into Manhattan for a meeting then home again where we have Internet - I can finally tell you about my weekend. Friday is a little hazy but on Saturday, I joined Jen and Kitty for a Brooklyn expedition. Fellow Park Sloper, Kitty, and I met Jen on Smith Street in what I think is Boerum Hill. We then took a leisurely stroll through historic Brooklyn Heights on our way to the waterfront.


We walked along the waterfront and through the streets leading up to the Brooklyn Bridge.


Then explored the streets of DUMBO ...



.. and then made our way to the Manhattan Bridge.


Once we reached the Manhattan we decided it was time for a beverage and headed to Superfine for a quick drink.


We would have stayed a while at Superfine but it was time to head to our ultimate destination of the day - Trout in Boerum Hill (I think that's where the bar is located). Not that my friends and I ever need an excuse to drink but seeing as how it was May 5th or "Cinco de Mayo" as they call it south of the border, we figured it was the perfect excuse to drink. I really got into the spirit of the day by drinking Corona. At some point, Kelly and Seth joined us at Trout and we all proceeded to get pleasantly drunk.


After an undisclosed amount of time, we figured a change of scenery was in order and headed back to Kelly's place where Adam was entertaining people with accents. I never figured out if they were from London or New York. I'm going to assume that by this point in the night, the battery on my camera had died because there are no pictures to document the goings on. Chances are good that we all sat around sipping cordials and brandy and discussing travel, art and world events until Seth, Kitty and I decided it best to politely make our exit and return to Park Slope.

Please Stay in Manhattan

I lived in a cramped, moldy apartment in Manhattan for years. It was the only New York City I knew and where I intended to stay. Aside from a few drunken expeditions to Brooklyn, I knew nothing of this borough over the bridge. Unfortunately, like most New Yorkers who aren't wealthy Europeans, trust-fund kids, or living in the same apartment their grandmother grew up in, the lure of less rent and much more space eventually called to me and I packed up and crossed over the bridge to Brooklyn.

From the first day of my new New York City (Brooklyn is still part of NYC) life to today I've been saying I can't believe I didn't make that move sooner. As both my job and social life have remained in Manhattan, Brooklyn has become the peaceful escape, fortress of solitude, and calgon-filed bathtub that takes me away from the insanity of the city.

But now I'm finding more of my social life is moving to Brooklyn also. I have more friends in Brooklyn than Manhattan and I don't mean new friends that I've made here but established friends that happen to be living here. Unfortunately, they don't all live in Park Slope like I do. I've got Kitty here in my hood, which is great because we both love video games and the same pub, and one other friend farther up the road but everyone else is scattered across neighborhoods from Williamsburg to Cobble Hill. And this is where I've discovered the problem with Brooklyn - traveling within Brooklyn is a pain in the ass.

Getting a cab in Brooklyn is iffy so if I want to go to Williamsburg, I have to take the train into Manhattan and switch at Union Square. Sure I can walk to Cobble Hill but the 45 minute walk takes me through some 70's style projects and you never know which road may suddenly end at a canal. Last night, when traveling home via the F train from Monkey Daemon's pad in Boerum Hill, I made the mistake of getting on the wrong train and have no idea where I ended up but knew, judging from the subway station that I did not want to go to the street.

So for my own convenience, I implore my few remaining friends in Manhattan to stay there! Its so much easier traveling to and from Manhattan then it is around Brooklyn so just stay put. I'll come to you.