Day 691: The Downstairs Park

originally published November 21, 2013 On a day such as this, when the mercury has given up its climb and packed its full breadth of ooze down below -10 degrees, I feel I should find something to appreciate in this woefully frigid city. For the few months of the year that allow it, we are […]

Day 690: Cinema’s First Heavyweights

originally published November 20, 2013 Before Tarantino was planting cameras in car trunks and Scorsese was building coke-sniffing montages around classic Rolling Stones singles, someone had to figure out how to put it all together. And so begins the hunt for the first real cinematic visionary. As with any topic that expensive schools feel is […]

Day 689: Let Him Dangle

originally published November 19, 2013 To be honest, the foundation upon which Rainey Bethea’s adult life was built was never particularly sturdy. Orphaned at 17 and sent off to live the life of an impoverished black man in Depression-era Kentucky is not a good start. Not that this excuses his extensive dalliances on the dark […]

Day 688: The True North Strong And Split

originally published November 18, 2013 Every so often in Canadian history, a certain chunk of land decides they might want to pull a Peter Gabriel and leave the progressive Genesis of our nation, possibly to collaborate with Robert Fripp. Of course I’m talking about Quebec, the province that has twice sent its people to the […]

Day 687: The INDISPUTABLE Box O’ Juke – 80’s Edition

originally published November 17, 2013 I have, in the past, been accused of acute music snobbery, mostly by people whose names I never bothered to commit to memory. Yes, as an employee of Music World for the summer of 1993 I would regularly look down on customers who purchased music that I deemed to be […]

Day 686: Titanic’s Scrutinized Survivors

originally published November 16, 2013 101 years ago (give or take seven months) the world bore witness to one of the nastiest maritime disasters in history. Perhaps you’re familiar with the James Cameron mega-film event or the toxic schmaltz that Celine Dion sang for it. When that iceberg jabbed its elbow into the hull of […]

Day 685: Don’t Mess With The Grim Reaper

originally published November 15, 2013 As far back as he could remember, Gregory Scarpa always wanted to be a gangster. And why not? He was born in Italy, moved to New York as a child, and his brother Salvatore was already a card-carrying member of the Colombo crime family. (I assume all crime families make […]

Day 684: Ig-Nobly Speaking

originally published November 14, 2013 Every so often when perusing scientific news we come across a study that seems, to the layman observer, to be mildly superfluous. Do we need to know which phase of the menstrual cycle will bring in better tips for a lap dancer? Are horses so finicky with food that we […]

Day 683: A Sucker Born, And So On

originally published November 13, 2013 Greetings, fellow passengers aboard this swirling turntable among the stars, as we swivel along at a brisk and oft-terrifying 45rpm, propelling our lives up the charts of human history for a brief fireworks splash before plopping back into obscurity, into the 49-cent discount bin of faded immortality. It’s time to […]

Day 682: New York’s Island Of Lost Souls

originally published November 12, 2013 A quick test for non-New Yorkers: how many of New York’s islands can you name off the top of your head? Manhattan… Staten… Long… maybe Roosevelt… but don’t forget about Hart’s Island. Hart’s Island is a little-discussed but crucial slab of land in the city’s history. It’s also where’s you’ll […]