If Central Park is supposed to be closed to traffic in the evening, why do I always see at least 15 cars on the drives while I am there every night?
October 9, 2008
August 19, 2008
RCN Rates
RCN has raised their rates yet again, with only the most meager increases in service over the last year. I really like the HD channels that they added in the last year, but it’s not enough to justify the $24/month increase in charges that just appeared on my bill. RCN has just about the worst on-demand service I’ve seen. It’s very poor picture quality, not HD, the interface is dodgy, and the selections are few. I realized I’ve been suffering the poor value for far too long and decided to cancel my cable service.
I should have known that it would be a real pain to cancel; RCN’s customer service has declined significantly since I first signed on with them. I spent an hour on the phone to cancel. On the upside, my monthly bill is going to decrease more than $100. I was surprised that they made no effort either to retain me or to determine why I was cancelling the service. Perhaps they are focusing on the telecom side of the business?
Anyway, I’m going to see if I can live without the cable for a little while. I’m open to suggestions on other services (internet or traditional) that I could use to get my TV fix once in a while.
August 4, 2008
Kim’s Closing
The UWS loses its (only?) decent record store in September when’s Kim’s closes.
January 16, 2008
The Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel
Good news via Gothamist: the Oak Room is going to reopen. Those who have been there know it is one of those classic grand old New York spaces and an irreplaceable artifact from a another era. Hopefully the update will be respectful of the the room’s great past. Hopefully the new menu will be an improvement as well.
August 1, 2007
Central Park Fountain
The Central Park Resevoir Fountain was operational again as of yesterday. It shoots water 60 feet into the air, quite pretty to watch.
July 29, 2007
Ghost Bikes
I’ve seen a few of these “Ghost Bikes” around the city. They’re white bicycles placed at the site of fatal bicycle accidents. It looks like this new site will be putting something up on the phenomenon soon.
July 24, 2007
Ugly Outfits NYC
Ugly Outfits NYC is sort of like Overheard in NY in that it captures the some of the street theater I live for – spotting outrageously bad outfits.
April 14, 2007
April 11, 2007
GTA IV
GTA IV – which looks breathtakingly delicious – has got politicians in New York up in arms. The game very closely resembles (is) New York City. As a resident, I welcome the opportunity to indulge my criminal revenge fantasies on my virtual neighbors. Beats going to Rikers.
April 7, 2007
GANGSTER COMPUTER GOD WORLD-WIDE SECRET CONTAINMENT POLICY!!
WFMU informs us that Francis E. Dec, Esquire of 29 Maple Ave, Hempstead, New York has an active fan club even in death. Dec was create some legendary, completely insane rants that he sent out to seemingly randomly selected individuals.Dec’s rants were something special, awe-inspiring in their urgency, vulgarity, and madness. The site owner of the fan club felt it necessary to warn the unititated :
His rants, while hilarious, include frequent references to anti-Semitism, misogyny, anti-Americanism, anal sex, analingus, almost complete misanthropy and blatant racism – and that’s just naming a few things!
Many of the rants concern Dec’s being disbarred after having been convicted of forgery. Being deprived of his livelihood made Dec a very better man.
Later, the rants the fell into the hands of Boyd “Doc” Britton, a radio DJ, who performed dramatic readings of them. The renderings are so well-acted that I thought for many years they were the work of Dec himself. The rants, in text recorded form are lovingly preserved at the Francis E. Dec Fan Club. I wholeheartedly endorse their advice to listen to the recordings while reading the rants for an enhanced insanity experience.
For a light taste of Dec’s ravings, check out the Dectionary, where you can learn the meaning of some favorite Dec tropes, like GANGSTER COMPUTER GOD WORLDWIDE SECRET CONTAINMENT POLICY and the “MASTER-RACE†FRANKENSTEIN RADIO CONTROLS. For God’s sake, it’s YOUR ONLY HOPE FOR A FUTURE!