Crowded House

We thought New York city’s swimming pools were crowded. That, due to a) hot weather b) schools over all over c) multitude of NY population. Boy, were we wrong! British Daily Mail reported today on THE most crowded swimming pool in the world. Can you guess where it is? Hint: this country is hosting Olympic Games. Let’s hope that competitive swimmers will have more room to breathe:

If These Walls Could Talk

Aaah, the thrill of moving to New York City, the excitement, high hopes and… a dump of apartment that you share with two other newbies. Films are made of that, books are written, and urban legends made up. We remember the article in the Times about, literally, an elevated hole in the wall, where only a small mattress would fit, that somebody had put on Craigslist as a space for rent for 35 dollars (photo above, by Chang W. Lee). Or a story from a friend, about living in a Hobbit-size studio that was big enough to stretch your arms and legs, but nothing more. Or the one about all the tenants of the Lower East Side building going on rent strike, cause there was no heat or hot water for a week, in the middle of New York winter.

Haven’t had enough yet? Then head down to the Tenement Museum on Orchard street, to hear some more of the “only in New York” stories. They have an open-mic night on Wednesday there, which is led by professional storyteller H.R. Britton. Three master storytellers will share their anecdotes, then open up the floor for guests to share their own three-minute tales about the trials and tribulations of renting an apartment in the Big Apple. What better place for that, than the Tenement Museum? The night of stories begings at 6.30 PM

Let’s have a fight! (it’s actually good for you)

Yeah, folks, hope you were there – Union Square definitely was the place to be this sunny Saturday afternoon! As part of the global Pillow Fight event network, we had a chance to behold the Third Annual New York City Pillow Fight. About a thousand people showed up, armed to the teeth with soft cushions and clad in appropriately intrinsic costumes. Your humble correspondent attended, too, more as an innocent bystander than as a participant – and here’s what I saw:

The ferocious fight erupted almost with the first blow of a whistle, 3 pm sharp – and continued with unwinding energy at least for an hour, and then some:

Participants showed up armed and dangerous – observe this guy’s fearful imported weapon:

Pillows were not the only fashion statement for a day. Costumes mattered a lot:

Some folks sowed a level of multi-tasking that would make Napoleon run for his money:

…while others stunned the audience with guerrilla political activism:

(no, this Harvey Dent guy is NOT a Democrat..)

All in all, it was a lot of fun and a lot of feathers:

But when the pillow-fighting ceased, a more serious crowd showed up… and made me thinking: perhaps we should held a global Pillow Fight event on a neutral ground, instead of Bejing Olympics? Just a thought…

Boy, oh boy

We heard the news a few days ago. A Manhattan pub owner, even though (or maybe that’s exactly why) he’s Irish, had banned the song “Danny Boy” for the entire month of March. Which you may find surprising, given that St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner (March 17).Here are a few reasons: it’s depressing (we agree, especially after a few pints), it’s not usually sung in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day (we asked some Irish friends, they agree) , and its lyrics were written by an Englishman who never set foot on Irish soil (that’s true, too, although, to be fair, he wrote the lyrics for a different tune and had no idea the Irish are going to adopt it). According to Shaun Clancy, owner of Foley’s Pub and Restaurant, “Oh Danny Boy” was ranked among the 25 most depressing songs of all times. No wonder. Its lyrics include these lines: “The summer’s gone, and all the flowers are dying/ ‘Tis you, ’tis you must go and I must bide.”

Whew! Even the Muppets started crying while singing it:

Colbert Goes to the Planetarium

TGIF. It was a long week for us, too. That’s why we have some good entertainment for you today. Sit back, relax and enjoy!