One on 1

I am pleased to report that Budd Mishkin is finally doing some "One on 1" interviews that people who are under 65 can enjoy.

His latest interview was with the funny and charming John Hodgman, and this Monday at 8:30, he'll be interviewing Jonathan Lethem. I hope I remember to watch it!

In other news, NY1 has been reporting for several days now on the Bronx fire that left former New York Knicks star Dean "The Dream" Meminger in critical condition. Investigators suspect the fire may have been started by a crack pipe, and several pipes that appeared to have been used recently were found in Meminger's room. Meminger has spoken publicly about his long battle with drug abuse, according to a New York Daily News report.

If that name sounds familiar... well, you probably know that Meminger's son is NY1 reporter Dean Meminger Jr, who told the Daily News he hasn't spoken with investigators about the cause of the fire and is just concerned about his father's safety. New York Two sends its/my/our thoughts to the Meminger family.

Speaking of families, hope everyone has a nice, relaxing, stress-free day full of food and good company. New York Two out!

Black Friday countdown

Friday, November 27 is a day that will strike fear in the heart of every financial journalist who covers retail and consumers: Black Friday.

Mr. New York Two has to report to one store that is opening its doors at midnight; I personally think it's crazy, but I'm pretty sure there will be enough people already there to justify the coverage. Today, Tara Lynn Wagner had a fairly useful Money Matters report on how to negotiate Black Friday sales -- she covers what items are worth buying on Black Friday and which ones are worth waiting a week or two (in many cases, prices actually decline about a week or so after Black Friday sales), and she points out that many retailers carry their so-called "doorbuster" deals online.

All I'm sayin' is, if any fools trample my boyfriend to death, NY1 will have another murder to cover.

On a lighter note: remember when Pat hosted the "World Series of Pop Culture" on VH1? Of course you do. Well, now Pat has a daily trivia quiz on his Web site. This kind of trivia - lots of 80s and pop culture references - is what my brain is completely filled with, which is why I can't learn new things, so hopefully I'll be good at these questions.

And finally: NY1 got a mention on Letterman! Granted, he was making fun of them, but Pat and crew were very good natured about it, as you can see from the link to Pat's blog.

Roger Clark on Twitter

This is old news by now, but I've been meaning to post for some time that Roger Clark is now on Twitter. His Tweets are a mixture of business and pleasure, and so far I've learned that:

* He really likes Manitoba's in the East Village (as I've witnessed first hand for myself)
* he has reasonably decent taste in music
* He may or may not be dating someone but obviously had to be schooled in Direct Messaging after having Tweeted something a little too personal
* Some crazy lady tried to grab the mic out of his hand when he was taping a segment the other day
* At the NY1 Holiday Party, they show a blooper reel. I have to get an invite to this party - I need to see that footage!

That's all for now - busy with work today. Happy Friday!

Bloomie wins, but only just

So Bloomberg won, but it wasn't a landslide. NY1 reports that Bloomie won by what Pat called a surprisingly thin margin. Speaking of PK, he apparently had a long night, according to his Twitter feed. He Tweeted "must get some sleep" just eight hours ago and has already been in the anchor chair for a few hours. And he's already Tweeting like a madman. Do Canadians have more stamina?

Carter pretty much out

This will surprise no one, but NY1 spokesman Steve Paulus told the Daily News the station has no plans to bring Carter back. The Daily News also reports that Carter tried to name drop in a bid to get the judge to drop the wife-beating charges against him. Bad idea jeans, Dominic.

"That kind of behavior violates every principle of journalism and is not something we tolerate," Paulus told the Daily News.

Meanwhile, the Post is reporting that when Carter tried to fly out of town for a few days, an "overzealous flight attendant picked a fight" with him, so he voluntarily left the flight.

All in all, it's not a good time to be Dominic Carter. I guess the judge will decide whether this is all karma. For my money, it would be putting it mildly to say that I find his wife's court testimony unconvincing re: the mysterious day laborer who attacked her. This reminds me of Hiram Monserrate's girlfriend, and actually a whole host of other battered wives and girlfriends who change their stories after the fact. It's sad, but it happens all the time.

Halloween

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween! I was going to go as Zombie Kristen Shaughnessy, but I couldn't bear the thought of going anywhere near a costume shop on Halloween and I didn't think of it until the day before yesterday. Since I have red hair and a closet full of 60s-style dresses, I went as Joan Hollway instead.

NY1 had a report on Friday on how to do your makeup from Halloween. The MAC cosmetics guy had some good tips, but he also had the most atrocious exit-wound hairdo ever. Witness it here, and then weigh in: Is that a comb-over, or just extremely overzealous gel usage?

More on Carter domestic violence trial

The New York Post followed up its scoop yesterday about Dominic Carter's domestic abuse trial with this report from the court proceedings yesterday.

Among the findings:

* His wife's brother testified that Carter "brutalized" and beat his wife, Marilyn, for two decades
* Carter fathered two children with a woman who is not his wife. One of these children is named Dominic Jr. - and he also has a son named Dominic with Marilyn (!)
* Marilyn changed her story, telling the court that in the Oct. 22 assault, it was a day laborer who attacked her, and she claims she told the cops it was her husband because she was angry with him for having an affair
* Carter told reporters he "never laid a hand on my wife" and expects to be exonerated in court
* Carter "has gone on paid leave at least twice in previous years after alleged physical and verbal altercations with colleagues," according to the Post.

Also according to the Post, Carter has been put on an indefinite leave of absence from NY1. A verdict is expected next month.

Carter in ITP

Well, I was wrong when I predicted that Pat wouldn't mention the Dominic Carter saga in "In the Papers" this morning. I based my guess on the fact that the station wouldn't comment to NY1. Pat said that he "didn't want to get into details" but that he "did want to acknowledge" the Post story, which he mentioned very briefly (I think he uttered one sentence).

Stay tuned...

On a lighter note, Pat also mentioned his jealousy over a woman who won $5 million after buying her first lottery ticket. I have to concur. This gal, like me, never buys lotto tickets and bought one on a whim. We'll see if she recognizes the statistical rarity of this and steers clear from now on, or if she instead spends the rest of her life in a casino.

New York WHOA

First off, I did NOT mean to go nearly two months without blogging. The move/work trip/weddings and various other travels/etc really wiped me out, and I kind of stayed away from computers in general when not working for the last six weeks or so. I haven't even really watched that much NY1. But I'm getting back on the wagon as of today, and I think I might even try this next month.

So anyway, I HAD to come out of seclusion when I read the New York Post's report about Dominic Carter, who is scheduled to appear in court today after his wife accused him of punching, kicking and choking her in their suburban home. According to the Post, police records show that cops were called to the Carter home, in Rockland County, four times in the last year.

The article notes that Carter just published a memoir, "No Momma's Boy," in which he describes being physically and sexually abused by his schizophrenic mother, who tried to strangle him as an infant.

Post says NY1 isn't commenting, so I'm going to assume Pat is NOT bringing this up on "In the Papers" this morning.

Needless to say, I am pretty shocked. He's probably the best interviewer at the station and has always been a tough but fair journalist. It also goes without saying that I find domestic violence abhorrent. It will be interesting to hear both sides and see what the courts have to say. Stay tuned...

Happy Labor Day

Sorry again for the radio silence. Blogging consistently is hard!

Anyway, I've been reeeeally busy with finding a new apartment, which I'm happy to say has happened. NY2 will be relocating this operation to Brooklyn in a couple of weeks. As a result, my TV viewing time has suffered, but I got a great apartment out of the deal, so that's good news.

And with that, I'm back on hiatus until after Labor Day. Have a safe and happy holiday weekend. If Pat was right this morning, it's gonna be a beautiful weekend in the city.

Banff Squirrel is back!

If you are reading this, chances are you follow Pat Kiernan's Twitter feed, too. But in case you don't, check out this hilarious image, sent in by a fan, of the Banff squirrel "crashing" the Pat's Papers blog.

For the five of you who haven't seen it - the Banff Squirrel is the mischevous little scamp who leapt into the frame of a timed photo being taken by a couple on vacation at Banff National Park. It's my favorite viral image this year, and Pat has gotten a big kick out of it too, which I suspect is what lead to this tribute.

In other news, will somebody give poor Cheryl Wills a day off? I feel like every time I've turned on the TV in the last two weeks or so, she's been sitting in the anchor chair. I think she might officially be the hardest working anchor at NY1 - well, maybe next to Pat, who seems to be doing something Pat-related 24/7, between the Tweeting and the blogging and the news anchoring. Anyway, take a day off and put your feet up, Chezza.*

* This is what British people call people named "Cheryl." I'm not sure why.

Happy Friday

Yippee, it's the weekend. It's also pissing down rain.

Pat's away for like the third day in a row, and Kristin is holding down the fort. And making weird sartorial choices again. Today she's wearing that weird combination of a sweater that looks like bathrobe and that gong necklace thing that she's worn a few times in the last few weeks. I know that the anchors probably outfit themselves, but surely there is SOME stylist-type person on staff who can run down to H&M or something and get her a more attractive necklace. ANYWAY.

The news is pretty dull this morning, so I'm turning again to the commercials. There's one that's been running for awhile now that really bugs me. It's a commercial for the Edge Condominiums in Williamsburg. It's a retro-looking ad trying to ape 1940s/50s aesthetics and commercials, exhorting people to "buy an Edge Condominium... for your country!" in a nod to those old war bonds ads. It's got the drawings of the pinup girls, '40s-sounding music and even faux distress lines, to make it look like you're watching an old film strip.

"Sounds kind of cute," you might be thinking. "Why is she so annoyed by that?"

Because it basically panders to the type of stereotypical Williamsburg person that everyone thinks about when they think about that neighborhood - a trust-fund fueled, hipster douchewad that's only concerned with aesthetics and has gobs of money to throw at a place like this because they're independently wealthy.

Now, before I go any further, let me hasten to add that I personally know and like several people who live in Williamsburg. I know that not every person who lives there is a hipster d-bag.

But several people who live there do fit that description, and the people who made this ad are targeting that exact type of person and trying to up the d-bag quotient just that much higher. Even worse, a lot of developers who bought huge plots at the exact height of the market are now having problems selling, which means empty buildings, which have in many cases been taken over by squatters, which is not an ideal situation for anyone who lives in that neighborhood. Williamsburg does not need another high-end condo unit, anymore than the East Village needs another frat boy bar.

As annoying as it is though, I would STILL rather watch that commercial than the Carmel "Sex and the City" nonsense.

Kennedy and Vivian Lee

Ted Kennedy has died, and in an attempt to put a local spin on the story, NY1 sent Vivian Lee to Times Square well before the crack of dawn to get reactions from New Yorkers. Many of the interviewees clearly had not had their coffee yet, and offered up profound meditations along the lines of "he was... a Senator" and "he was part of the Kennedy dynasty."

One or two people managed to opine that he was a champion of the poor; kudos to these people for mustering a modicum of eloquence at godknowswhattimeo'clock. I suspect the quotes will get better as the day progresses and she can find more than three people to interview.

One thing I've been meaning to post about but keep forgetting to - I am kind of amused by NY1's obsessive coverage of the Staten Island Little League baseball team which has made it to the Little League World Championships. On the one hand, it's a cute story. On the other hand, we DO live in New York, where real news is happening all the time, and maybe they could pull the throttle back on the daily reporting. On the other other hand, it's this kind of obsessively local coverage that makes you feel like you're living in a small town when you watch NY1; it's a big part of its charm, I suppose.

Anyway, good luck, I guess. I've been to Staten Island like twice so I have nothing invested in it, but, you know, I'm always Thinking of the Children.

High Line Club

Happy Monday, everyone. I hope you all had nice weekends.

I had a lovely one, myself. My boyfriend and I decided to check out the High Line, the beautiful new elevated urban park that has been developed along former railroad tracks in the West Village/Meatpacking District area.

But as Pat noted in this morning's ITP, many people checking out the High Line have been unwittingly checking out nature of another sort. The new Standard hotel overlooks the park, and as a New York Post story highlighted in ITP noted, the hotel has floor to ceiling windows. And as Pat put it, "some guests don't bother with modesty." The full Post story has all the randy details of exhibitionist hotel guests who have had sex or, uh, entertained themselves in plain view of everyone in the park. And apparently the hotel has been encouraging this behavior - kinda surprising considering it's fairly posh and expensive. Still, considering that the Meatpacking District was once the home of tranny hookers and sex clubs, I guess it's not all that unusual. But it's pretty amusing. (We didn't see anything, but then we weren't looking!)

Also noted in IPT was another story (either in the Post or the Daily News, I forget which) that declared yesterday National Topless Day. New York State is the only state where it is entirely legal for women to go topless. This day originally started as a feminist protest in the 70s, but I'm not sure the original spirit of the event still remains. At any rate, Pat noted that some people were upset by the displays, while others, shockingly, were quite pleased with it.

I also caught ITP over the weekend. I don't usually watch it on the weekend, because that's when Kristin does it, but I watched on Saturday because Pat was doing it. Boy, am I glad I did. Pat highlighted a NY Times story about how Governor Patterson blamed some of his problems on racial bias in the media. I did post awhile back about how I was not sure why Patterson's approval ratings are so low, but I gotta admit, this one did not cross my mind as a possibility. I figured it was probably because of the MTA budget issues, the Kirsten Gillibrand fiasco and the insanity in Albany. Of all those things, only the Gillibrand thing can be blamed squarely on him; the budget stuff is certainly something that governors all over the country are facing.

Anyway, in the NY Times article, Patterson slammed various media figures, including NY1's own hard-hitting political journo Dominic Carter, who hosts The Road to City Hall.

The Gov said Mr. Carter “likes to ingratiate himself with the folks trying to beat up on elected officials from our community.”

Carter responded, “I almost don’t know what to say. The governor of the state of New York was calling me a modern-day Uncle Tom.”

Oooooh, snap! The gloves are off! I really hope we get to see a Patterson/Carter smackdown on "The Road to City Hall" soon.

Also this weekend, the Plaxico Burress story got a lot of coverage; I guess he'll be doing a couple years in prison. Don't worry, Plaxico - if Michael Vick can get another job, you can too. Also, you owe it to fans not to leave the game forever, because you have the most awesome name in pro sports. Doesn't it sound like a prescription drug? "Plaxico may cause dry mouth, constipation and nausea. Do not take Plaxico while nursing."

Have a good week, everybody.

Crime Stoppers complaint

Pat is FINALLY back from vacation! He told viewers this morning that he's happy to be back. I don't believe him for a second - who is ever psyched to come back from vacation? - but it's nice to have him back in the newsroom.

In other news, the heat must be making me grouchy, because for the second day in a row I am blogging about a serious complaint instead of my usual "What is Kristin wearing?" and "What's up with Whipple's eyebrows?" nonsense.

My complaint today is about a rather sensitive issue. Amanda Farinacci, who usually covers Staten Island, filed a report about a mugger who is at large in a neighborhood in Queens. My problem isn't with Amanda's report, but rather something they've been doing for awhile now at NY1 that really bothers me.

When they do that thing where they give a physical description of the suspect and then tell viewers to call Crime Stoppers if they see the person, they leave out the suspect's race. In fact, they give every other detail BUT race. Height, build, hair color, etc. But they don't tell you whether the guy is black, Latino, Middle Eastern, white with a deep tan, Italian, etc. And frequently they use those artist's sketches to represent the criminals, which does't really show you at all what race the person might be. (Today's report featured video footage, so it's a moot point in this particular case, but frequently they don't have that.)

At the HUGE risk of sounding like Andy Rooney, that's just preposterous. Look, racial profiling is real, it exists, it happens every single day, and it sucks. I can't even imagine how frustrating it must be to be stopped and frisked, when you're a hard working and law-abiding citizen, when you're just trying to go on about your daily business. So I understand why some ethnic groups might be sensitive to the issue; I really do.

But if there's a serial rapist in the neighborhood, I want to have at least a vaguely accurate picture of what he might look like. Doesn't that just seem like basic common sense?

Opine away in the comments, gentle readers...

Kafi giveth, and Kafi taketh away

So I may have complimented Kafi Drexel too soon, because the report she filed today actually infuriated me.

It was about the risks associated with the Gardasil vaccine, which, if administered in time, prevents the cancer-causing strains of the extremly common and potentially deadly Human Papilloma Virus.

In the report, she outlined the risks, which is fair enough - patients should know the risks. But she didn't counter this by providing data on how deadly cervical cancer is and how effective Gardasil is in preventing it. Also, she quoted some dingbat who said she would recommend it for women "in their early 20s."

This WRONG. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong! Why? Because the vaccine should be given BEFORE a woman becomes sexually active, and most women are sexually active by the time they hit their early 20s. HPV is EXTREMELY common, which is why it's so important to get the vaccine BEFORE becoming sexually active.

This kind of misinformation is potentially deadly. I really hope she sets the record straight very soon.

Kafi Drexel finally posts a useful report

Today, NY1's health and fitness reporter Kafi Drexel did something she rarely does, which is to say she filed a story that is actually useful.

Now, to be fair to Kafi, she files a story like every single DAY, which is very hard to do in broadcast when you're doing features, and she probably comes up with a lot of her stories herself, which is also impressive. As someone who generally needs to have stories assigned to me, I respect both her work ethic and her ability to drum up ideas all the time.

BUT. When you file that much, a lot of what you produce is fillah, not killah. And I feel like a lot of the time, she just shows up at really swanky gyms and exercise studios and does stories on whatever new dim-bulb exercise class the spoiled yuppies/biddies uptown are doing.

Today, however, she filed a genuinely useful story on how to pick out sunscreen, the difference between UVB and UVA rays, and how to apply it.

Granted, this information would have been more helpful at the BEGINNING of the summer, but the blame for that lies less with her than the government, which is announcing new labeling requirements for sunscreens that will come out this fall. I guess that was the news hook for this story. Again, that updated labeling information would have been more useful in, say, May than in October, but whatevs.

Maybe NOT a slow news week

Okay, SECONDS after I posted that, NY1 broadcast a segment that made my boyfriend and I laugh out loud, it was so unintentionally hilarious.

It was a Stephanie Simon report on musicians that make a kind of Indonesian folk percussion music with found objects. Now, I'm a drummer, and I actually think drumming with found objects is very cool, but these musicians were SO unbearably earnest, it was really hard not to make fun of them. They were doing the whole eyes-closed-and-swaying, white-man's-overbite dance while they were playing this music that was... perfectly pleasant, but not worth getting quite so worked up over.

To cap it off, Simon ended the segment by saying, "Re-use, Recycle, and Rock!"

OH, STEPHANIE.

Slow news week

First of all, Valerie D'elia's eyebrows: discuss.

Also, what is with EVERY lady anchor on NY1 wearing a pastel blazer with a camisole underneath today? Is that the new uniform?

I was overdosing on a backlog of DVR'd "What Not to Wear" repeats earlier today, I had the BEST idea for a show - what if Stacy and Clinton restyled all the lady anchors on NY1? Tell me that would not be fantastic! (Not to be too hard on the ladies; the men are not exactly giving Clooney a run for his money in the threads department either.)

Sorry for all the fashion-related critiques this week. It's been a bit of a slow news week. Plus, the gals are giving me fodder.

Tangled up in blue

The sky in New York was gray today, but it was ALL KINDS of blue in the NY1 newsroom today.

First, dig Kristin's getup. Then, co-anchor Roma Torre showed up in another blazing blue ensemble (I couldn't find a news report online from today that showed it, but take my word for it, it was blue).

What in God's name is behind this? Is it some sort of weird, silent protest on the part of Kristin and Roma? Are they trying to send some strange subliminal message? Or is it a game of one-upmanship, to see which can out-blue the other?

I'm trying to envision the thought process.

Kristin: "Nice try, Torre. I was here first."

Torre: "Amateur. I just wore this to show you how it's done."

Meow!

(It's probably not like that at all. But wouldn't it be fun if it were?)

What up, dawg

I'm baaaaack!

It took exactly 30 minutes and one hair-raising cab ride back home to completely erase the relaxed vibe I cultivated on vacation and to re-enter my usual teeth-grinding levels of anxiety. Seriously, after 10 years you'd think I'd be used to insane NYC taxi drivers, but this dude brought a whole new level of crazy.

Anyway, one story that NY1 started reporting on right before I left has reached a new development. The Brooklyn teen who threw a dog off a roof in Red Hook has been indicted. The dog, Oreo, lived but has suffered serious injuries and faces a long recovery time.

Now, the story itself is not funny, but the original report, which I'd meant to post before I left, is a shining example of one of the things I love most about NY1: their amazing vox pops, aka "man on the street" interviews. Watch until the halfway point for an interview with the suspect's brother. You can't script that kind of television.

Today's broadcast has been kind of boring. Kristin is filling in for Pat this week, who is apparently vacationing in Canada (though still Tweeting like a madman). The only news of real interest has been the ongoing story about the helicopter and plane that collided over the Hudson this weekend, killing everyone involved, including several Italian tourists.

Roger Clark is reporting the story this morning from Hoboken, giving pretty straightforward accounts about the difficulties the divers are facing in trying to remove the plane from the Hudson. As NY1 reader Heather noted, it would be great if planes could stop crashing into the Hudson. Kthxbye.

see you later

I'm out of here for a week - see you August 10th!

Reverend Ike

This morning's news broadcast had a report on the death of someone called Reverend Ike, who was the so-called "preacher of prosperity." I'm not really sure what that means; my guess is that he had some kind of "god wants you to be rich" message. He was one of the first people to become really famous as a TV preacher, so much so that Richard Pryor parodied him in the movie "Car Wash."

I wasn't too familiar with this dude before this morning's obituary aired on NY1, but as I was half-listening and brushing my teeth, an excerpt from a prior interview with Reverend Ike startled me. He was talking about his aggressive, confrontational preaching style, and he said, "I was the guy who came in your face." He may have said something after that to put it into context, but frankly I wasn't paying attention. I know, I'm 14 years old. But between that and the constant references to Puppetry of the Penis, NY1 has gone a little blue this week.

AP-enis

Pat's got a really interesting column on Mediaite today about the AP's new policy with regard to blogs, search engines, etc linking to its content. According to this New York Times article, the AP is now saying that "even minimal use of a news article online require(s) a licensing agreement with the news organization that produced it."

Pat thinks this is going a bit too far, and I agree. I am all for journalists getting paid for their work, and I dislike copyright violations as much as the next guy. (Yes, I pay for all my music.) But when a blog links to an article and cites the source, it drives traffic to the Web site that produced the article, thereby driving up site traffic and enabling the site to use those boosted traffic figures to sell more ads. It's free advertising, basically.

When I used to write for a web site that sounds like See En En, our editors were ALL over us to get our articles picked up on blogs, for that precise reason. So I'm not really sure quite what the head of the Associated Press is thinking on this one.

In other NY1 news this morning, the weather segments this week are being sponsored by a show/play/godknowshowtodescribeit called "Puppetry of the Penis" (which I'm told is about what it sounds like - fully naked men bending their members into funny shapes). But what makes their sponsorship hilarious is that the station announcer has to say, "New York One's Weather on the Ones was brought to you by Puppetry of the [BLEEP]."

It just reminds me of that King of the Hill episode where Peggy Hill, substitute teacher extraordinare, has to teach sex ed because the health teacher mysteriously becomes ill when that chapter comes up in the text book. So in order to prepare herself and overcome her mortification, she stands in front of the mirror practicing to say "penis" by going, "HA-pi-ness. Ha-PI-ness. PI-ness." Anyway, hats off to the Puppetry of the Penis people (or would that be socks off?). It's a pretty good gimmick.

More about the Naked Cowboy

In yesterday's In the Papers, Pat mentioned an article in the New York Post about the Naked Cowboy, who is running for mayor. (Can you tell this is my favorite NYC story happening right now?).

The Post piece is pretty good -- and revealing (yuk yuk yuk). We learn that the NC is a devotee of Nietsche and Tony Robbins (I'm guessing he also reads Ayn Rand), regularly runs 10 miles a day to maintain his physique, and claims to make a ton of money from various pursuits including busking and licensing deals and even a brand of protein supplements. But what he spends this money on is unclear (underwear, maybe?), given that he lives with his girlfriend, claims to be able to fit his belongings into four boxes and obviously doesn't spend much on regular clothes.

Another fascinating political story happening right now is about Bill de Blasio, who is running for Public Advocate as a democrat. Due to a clerical error (apparently de Blasio's lawyer didn't fill out his TPS report correctly), he has been dropped from the ballot. Why, exactly? Because of a typo. His cover sheet said he had 131 volumes of petitions (to get on the ballot); instead he had 132. He's fighting the decision; we'll see what happens.

Also mentioned in ITP yesterday was a story about the Bloomberg lawsuit -- two former female employees are suing Bloomberg LLP (the company, not the mayor, though he founded it, obvs) for sex discrimination. It has to do with maternity leave (I can't remember the details and can't be fussed to look them up, but it was something along those lines).

I have heard through my financial journalism homies that Bloomberg can be a tough place to work, but I had not previously heard about sex discrimination. Anybody who used to work there and might be reading this have any thoughts? I'm very curious - it'll be interesting to see how this story develops.

Taking the cupcake

Last week, NY1 had a story about how some bakeries in Brooklyn are defying the recession with brisk sales of cupcakes.

This got me to thinking - is it just me, or are cupcakes EVERYWHERE now? I don't understand this trend, and frankly, I don't much care for it. I have zero use for cupcakes. And yes, I am female. It's just that my sweet tooth has never been that prominent. I am one of those bitches who can have one small square of dark chocolate and be perfectly satisfied. (Before you go hatin', please be aware that I am deeply in love with cheese, potatoes, pasta, Mexican food, potato chips and all kinds of other fat-making foods, so I have my battles, too.) But yeah, I've always thought cupcakes were way too sickly sweet and a big fat waste of calories.

Also, maybe I'm wrong but they seem to be a big hit with the hipster set, and I'm also aware that making fun of hipsters is basically cliched at this point, but they really are irritating.

Finally, while I'm not opposed, per se, to the success of mom n' pop bakeries, I've seen a lot of cupcake-only ventures springing up (okay, by "a lot" I mean two, but that's just in my neighborhood) and I can't help but feel that it's just a fad and wonder about their long-term prospects for success. And from a purely selfish standpoint, I would rather see businesses that were useful to me (a couple of Citibank ATMs would be a start) instead of bakeries that sell something I have zero interest in eating.

But I'm not alone in my bizarre cupcake vitriol. This chick from the Village Voice agrees with me, at least...

Walter Cronkite

Most of my posts this week have been on the silly side, so I haven't gotten around to mentioning the death of Walter Cronkite. This is obviously a sad time for journalism, but it's prompted a lot of interesting reflection in various media about how journalism has changed and the state of journalism today.

One NY1 report noted that at its peak, the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite drew 20 million viewers a night. 20 million! That is more than all of the big three combined get nowadays.

Also in that above-linked report, NY1 interviewed NYU Professor Mitchell Stephens for his commentary on Cronkite's position in society when he was still the evening news anchor. Full disclosure: I worked with Stephens at NYU, where I am/was an adjunct professor (I haven't done it in awhile but hope to again). I was a TA for his class. He's a great professor and has done a lot of interesting work examining the history of news and the changes over time in how people get their news. So I was psyched to see him on NY1.

There was also a very interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about journalism in the Cronkite era vs today. The author argues that journalists like Cronkite and Ernie Pyle -- arguably the greatest wartime reporter who ever lived; if you haven't read his WWII reporting, do so at once -- would draw a line between covering a story and getting in the way of national security when they were covering wars. Today's journos, as evidenced by a Mike Wallace comment during a PBS interview, are so obsessed with staying objective and being removed from the situations they are covering that they would be willing to compromise national security, or so the writer argues. I'm not 100% sure that I agree -- I think the journos I know have more common sense than that -- but it's an interesting and provocative argument.

Anyway, RIP, Walter.

Naked Cowboy on the Road to City Hall

Oh. My. God.

The Naked Cowboy is ON NY1. Dominic Carter is interviewing him on "The Road to City Hall!"

Dominic, to NC: "This is the first time I've interviewed someone who's not wearing any clothes."

NC: "You're welcome."

Words utterly fail me.

Vote for Pat!

So the Huffington Post is running an online poll to determine who is the hottest male anchor in NYC. Our beloved Pat Kiernan is one of the contestants, and right now his ranking is... low. He's not even in the top five!

To be fair, that pic is not the best. But still, he deserves a higher ranking. Go over there right now and vote for Pat!

He's got some in-house competition, with NY1 transit reporter Bobby Cuza currently occupying the #5 spot. I wouldn't throw Cuza out of bed for breaking wind, but I have to say he's no Pat.

By the way, I learned this via Pat's Twitter feed. You probably already follow that, but if not, he's on @patkiernan.

Happy voting!

The Dan Eaton Band

I have been sitting on this scoop for some time.

Actually, credit for this scoop goes to NY1 reader Heather, who unearthed this little nugget: NY1's Dan Eaton, he of "Cooking at Home" fame, has a band! And guess what - they're abysmal!

They appear to be based in Rochester, NY. You can catch them at such upcoming appearances as the South Wedge Farmers Market show on 8/6 and the The Keg (German House) on 8/13. Their music features such lyrics as, "we are walking in a postcard, 360 degrees around, we're walking in a postcard, full of light and smells and sounds" or my personal favorite, "Death is colorblind."

According to his Myspace page, "Eaton’s songs have a rooted quality, sounding like classics the minute you hear them. People throw around REM and Tom Petty comparisons, but Eaton’s music is his own."

I cannot IMAGINE, based on listening to the Myspace page, who on earth would compare these guys to REM or Tom Petty. At the very, very best, they sound like your average suburban white-man-blues bar band. I don't think these guys would have been good enough to even win the NY1 Music Video Star contest. Stick to cooking, Dan!

Though as Heather pointed out, "I wonder if he opens his shows by saying 'I'm Dan Eaton and I'm glad you're heeeeeeeeeeeere."

In the Papers

Today's In The Papers was amusing for two reasons. First, I loved hearing Pat talk about the Dirty Projectors, which he mentioned when discussing a photo of the band that appeared in the New York Times. He just thought the photo was cool; I'm not sure he knows who the Dirty Projectors are, but it wouldn't surprise me. He's pretty pop culture savvy, though I'm guessing maybe not an indie rock guy.

The second amusing thing was Pat's reference to another New York Times story, which discussed a new study by scientists that claims that when used properly, the withdrawal method is almost as effective at preventing pregnancy as condoms. Pat seemed just as dumbfounded by this information as I was, so his delivery was pretty funny, as was his explanation of the withdrawal method, which he described as when a man exits "before the big finish." He does have a flair for describing awkard things in a way that's suitable for television...

Naked Cowboy as mayor?

This morning, NY1 reported that the Naked Cowboy is planning to run for mayor. If Marion Berry can get re-elected as Washington DC's mayor after being caught on camera smoking crack with a prostitute, then I guess stranger things have happened. Still, the Naked Cowboy is really annoying.

But it reminds me of the time that Sharpton was considering running for office (mayor/governor/president - I really don't remember which). My friend made a comment on the absurdity of it, and while I technically agreed, I did have to admit that it might be kind of fun to elect him, just to see what the hell he'd do every day. (We did not actually vote for him in the end.)

Too many Dicks... and not enough Franks

A funny postscript to my post last week about the Sotomayor hearings and how there aren't enough ladies on the court. I think the plight of women on the Supreme Court can best be described by Flight of the Concords: Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor.

Another thing I learned by watching NY1 this morning is that today was the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. Which reminded me of another funny thing - the Onion's Our Dumb Century story on the event: "Holy Shit, Man Lands on Fucking Moon." Sorry, couldn't find the link for that one.

And finally, on decidedly LESS funny news - Frank McCourt died today. You can watch Budd Mishkin's "One on 1" interview with him from several years back here.

Sotomayor

So it turns out that Annika in the anchor chair was a false alarm - Pat is indeed in this week. That said, I have to give props to Annika for her new 'do, which looks great on her.

I caught a few minutes of the Road to City Hall last night. The coverage focused pretty heavily on the Sotomayor confirmation hearings. NY1 has dutifully sent its crack political team to DC to cover the story, which is kind of interesting. I guess the fact that she's a NY native is the local angle they're pegging it to.

Anyway, the questions were, in my book, fairly yawn-inducing, with the Senators adhering faithfully to their party lines. Schumer fawned sycophantically and didn't ask any tough questions, while the Republican senators asked dumb idealogical questions that don't have much to do with whether she's qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. The Alabama Senator asked something like, "What is yer position on farh ahrms" (that would be fire arms, for those who don't speak redneck) and John Conyers of Texas (my home state, which I am lately at a loss to defend) repeatedly asked her about the "wise Latina" comment.

I'm so sick of this discussion. Am I the only one who doesn't think it's that controversial?

At any rate, I hope she sails through. We need some more vaginas on the court. This country is, what, 50% female, if not more? This is the kind of imbalance that is entirely commonplace in the highest levels of government, corporate boardrooms, etc. It's pretty damned ridiculous that in This Day and Age, after all this time, the country is still overwhelmingly run by men. If you ask me, the court could benefit from a wise vagina.

Okay, I promise I won't use that word in this post, or on this blog, again if I can help it.

I'm back, again.

Jesus, do I still have the right to call this a blog? Sorry to my regular readers (hi Mom, Heather, Beth, Alexia) for not posting for so long. I went to London for work for a few days, and then still didn’t have time to get a cable box for days after. I finally got a brand spanking new one, though. After the requisite trip to the Time Warner DMV (which was as much a pain in the ass as I’d expected – some woman was screaming at a poor customer service guy and had to be calmed down by security), I walked out with a shiny new box, several channels I didn’t have before and a $25 a month break on my bill, thanks to the nice lady at the DMV –er, TWC customer service window. Yay!

Anyway, I’m obviously behind, and a LOT has happened in my absence, so I’m going to do this in bullet form. And it’s still going to be overly long.

So let’s get to it:

• The mess in Albany finally got cleaned up! It’s about time, clownz. So apparently Espada has decided to be a Democrat again, and has been rewarded for his assy behavior with a promotion (taking over the Senate leadership position from Malcolm Smith.) What? Whatever. An edition of “In The Papers” noted the New York Post’s “Sleazy Does It” headline, which pretty much sums up the whole affair.

• We have a winner of the NY One music video star contest! It turned out to be the KO Chicks after all. Check out their awesomely low budget video (and irritatingly catchy tune) here:

• I know this is more than a week old by now, but if you haven’t seen it, you must check out the In the Papers from Friday, July 3, in which Pat gets a little risqué! Pat read a newspaper item about that poor teenage girl who heard her mother’s cries from her bedroom and then burst in to “help” her, only to find that the cries were actually sounds of a more, uh, amorous nature (the mom was hanging out with her boyfriend). Pat read from the story, in which the teenage girl claimed she thought her mom was being harmed by a “bad guy”, and then wryly noted,
“But he wasn’t a bad guy – it sounds like he was actually pretty good!”

• This is a true story: Weekend before last, my boyfriend and I decided to take a walk over the Brooklyn bridge back into Manhattan, since it was such a warm and beautiful night. But we decided to make a pit stop before setting out. We happened upon a Marriott Hotel in Downtown Brooklyn and decided to do it there. And that’s when we stumbled into some parallel Alice in Wonderland universe. First, there were the little people. Hundreds of them. Dwarves/little folks in the lobby. At the bar. Hanging around outside. EVERYWHERE. It was clear this was some kind of convention.

But that’s not all. There was also some low-rent beauty pageant going on, so there were also tons of tall, extremely thin women in extremely spangly evening gowns. Everywhere you looked, you either saw a very tall pageant contestant in full regalia or a dwarf/little person. Anyway, I’d have known about this convention if I’d watched “In the Papers,” in which Pat read from a New York Daily news story about how the Little People of America had decided to have their annual convention in New York City.

But in his report, Pat made the mistake of referring to the convention attendees as “midgets.” Obviously he did not watch Tara Lynn Wagner’s report about how one of the convention’s agenda items was a campaign to get the FCC to ban that word. Oops!

• And finally, Friday’s morning edition featured Roger Clark on a skateboard. Just when you think they can’t find new ways to humiliate him, they manage to find some new, ever more embarrassing thing for him to do.

This week is bound to be more tame – Annika Pergament in the anchor’s chair this morning, which means Pat’s on vacation. Boo!

ITP - RIP MJ

So it turns out that I am not stupid after all, and my cable box is actually quite dead. This is not a shock as it was four years old, but it does mean I have to make a trip to the Manhattan Time Warner Cable center, which is almost exactly like the DMV. Seriously, they give you a number and you have to wait for hours and then you deal with someone surly - EXACTLY the same. They should just combine the two entities and get it overwith.

Anyway, I HAD to watch today's In the Papers online, given what happened yesterday.

As Pat noted, on today's edition, “I don’t have to tell you what the lead story is on today’s papers," then started with an analysis of the New York Times, which devoted almost its entire front page to the man the New York Post once called "Wacko Jacko."

Pat commented -- as others have, and I agree -- that he feels sorry for Farrah Fawcett– “not in any way to suggest her cultural contribution was euqal to Michael Jackson’s", Pat said, but she did bravely battle cancer and was a pop culture icon in her own right, so it's a bit sad that her death is so overshadowed.

Pat aso mentioned a story about Mark Sanford – who has got to be secretly thanking Jacko for taking some of the media attention off him for a second. Pat didn’t mention it, but today’s Wall Street Journal has an interesting story online about how American voters can now pretty much deal with adultery in all but two circumstances: where the adulterer is a hypocrite (e.g., anyone who ran on a family values platform, like Sanford) or where the adulterer broke the law or abused their office (Spitzer).

There was also a story in the Times about the 35 year anniversary of the bar code. Which reminded me that when I lived on East 6th street, the super ghetto Met Foods supermarket across the street didn’t get scanners until about 2003.

Moving on to the Daily News, Pat noted that the paper's main story said Jackson "died as dramatically and mysteriously as he lived”. The News also had a story about his money problems, calling him a “millionaire who lived like a billionare.” And of course, there were mentions of the accusations of kiddie fiddling. The paper also included a special supplement section that covered both Jackson and Fawcett.

Finally, the Daily News is turning 90 – let’s all hope it goes on for another 90.

Moving on to the Journal, Pat pointed out that the journal front page didn’t give Jackson much coverage – which to me seems appropriate, frankly, given it's mainly a financial paper. I'd have been able to see the Journal's cover myself if the WSJ people bothered to deliver my (expensive) newspaper in a timely and consistent fashion. Grr. Anyway.

The Post cover simply said “Dead” – bit of a disappointment for them, given their famous "Wacko Jacko Backo" cover. I was secretly hoping for "Wacko Jacko Heart Attacko," but they chickened out. Anyway, the article pointed out that his heavy medicine use was blamed as a factor in his death. Another story said Google got so many searches that its security system assumed it was a DNS attack where hackers were tryig to crash google’ servers.

Elsewhere in the Post, the paper gets credit for publishing the first photos of Sanford’s Argentine lover, a news anchor whom the Postt described as a “raven-haired news babe.”

Finally, Pat confessed that he has a soft spot for Letterman before highlighting a Post story about how Letterman's Late Show is edging out Conan's Tonight Show in terms of ratings.

And that's a look at some of what's in today's In the Papers.

NY1 Video Star

So Monday, in the process of moving around some furniture, I somehow managed to completely dislodge the cables connecting my TV and cable box and have yet to figure out how to restore the connection. I have never felt quite so dumb. Needless to say, until I have time to actually deal with this, I will not have access to NY1. Thus, the rest of this week's blog posts will deal with the station's Web site, NY1.com.

As you all know, NY1 has been running a contest, "NY1 Video Star", the winner of which will be featured in a new station ID ad. What you may not know is that every submission they have received so far is online. And people, there is a wealth of entertainment there.

Many of the entries are charmingly low-budget, like the station itself. The majority appear to have been filmed in the contestants' apartment buildings, and for most of them, the phrase "production values" does not seem to apply.

Among the best low-budget entries so far is a submission by a girl group called ko chicks lares, who did as much as possible with a budget of what appears to be about $5. They even have costume changes and a backup dancer! (Plus they can actually sing, which helps).

I also LOVE the entry by Judy Berman - they've actually shown this one on TV; she's the batty old loon who's standing in the stairwell of her apartment building, strumming a ukelele and warbling off key. Not only can she not sing to save her life, she's wearing clothing that looks like she pulled it from a dumpster and has not even bothered to memorize the lyrics, instead referring repeatedly to sheets she's taped to the wall. In other words, it's delightful.

There's also one by a gentleman named Huck Demilo, who performs while wearing a bizarre butterfly mask. He looks like a psychopath, but his lyrics are fairly amusing.

These are the only ones I've had time to watch so far, but I'm sure there's lots of (comedy) gold in these vaults. Go check it out.

Pat's back

I'm back!

I was actually in New York all last week, but the magazine I work for was going to press. Plus, Pat was on vacation, and NY1 is way less fun on Pat-free weeks.

This morning, he's back, and we've already been treated to an enormously entertaining segment featuring Roger Clark - who is, I'm guessing, one of the tallest reporters at the station - in what Ripley's Believe it or Not has deemed the world's smallest car. It weighs 150 pounds - less than Roger and probably less than the other passenger in the car with him as well. It reminded me of that Simpsons (I believe it was "32 Stories About Springfield") when Nelson is making fun of the huge guy in the tiny car and the guy says, "This was the largest automobile I could afford", before publicly shaming Nelson and forcing him to march down the street with his pants around his ankles while the other residents of Springfield pointed and laughed.

One of the Entertainment Weekly guys also did a segment on the 20th anniversary of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, which is surely one of the best films ever made about New York and almost certainly one of the best films ever made about race. If you haven't seen it yet, go out and rent it right away.

And speaking of anniversaries, there have also been reports this morning about the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, widely considered to be the birth of the gay rights movement. Nearly 50 years later, and still no marriage equality. Let's hope we're getting there...

Finally, as Pat pointed out, it's been a week since he was last in the anchor's chair, and there's still no resolution in Albany. Whatta mess.

Sanity, reason adjourn for the season in Albany

I only caught the last 15 minutes of last night's Road to City Hall, which is too bad - the Albany mess is probably one of the biggest things they've ever covered. But the tiny bit I did see was fairly illuminating.

Dominic Carter did a good job (as usual) grilling Democratic turncoat and alleged girlfriend-stabber Hiram Monserrate, getting him to pretty much admit that the coup was planned in secret and that he made no mention of it to the Democratic majority leader, Malcom Smith. (PS - I didn't know his name either before all this broke.)

Normally I would have said that the Republicans could have Monserrate, except that this now tips state balance in their power. Ugh. The whole thing is such a farce, and so clearly a power grab. Whatta buncha dopes.

Anyway, this was followed by the NY1 Wiseguys, who actually discussed it in a rational manner. The Republican wiseguys said they understood the frustration of Senate Republicans but stopped short of endorsing their methods. And Josh Robin filed a report that revealed that the coup was plotted right across the street from the Governor's mansion.

Speaking of DP, virtually everyone on the program, Republican and Democrat alike, expressed the view that his prospects for a successful gubernatorial run are looking worse than ever. Poor ol' DP. He's about as unpopular now as Gordon Brown is in the UK.

Stay tuned; this story has miles to go.

Whoa

Whoa. Just, whoa. Apparently Pat Kiernan is just as stunned as I am about the insanity in Albany. Tonight's Road to City Hall ought to be very interesting.

In this morning's In the Papers, Pat took the New York Times to task for devoting so little coverage to the Republican coup in the Senate, saying he was "stunned" that the paper ran only one article and didn't run any sidebars on the players behind the scenes or any analysis whatsoever. I have to say I agree. Come on, Gray Lady, get it together! (That said, I felt I had a better understanding of what happened after reading the NYT's coverage than the Post's.)

Elsewhere on NY1 this morning, Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly offered his opinion of the job Conan O'Brien is doing as host of the Tonight show. (An aside - I LOVE the Entertainment Weekly guys. I'm never for eliminating journalism jobs, but really, why does NY1 keep Neil Rosen on the payroll when they have the awesomely acerbic and fairly astute commentators of Chris Nashuwaty, Dalton Ross and Owen Gleiberman?) Anyway, DR says that after a shaky debut, Conan is finding his groove. He perfectly described Leno's humor as "a little too broad for my taste" (amen, bro) and said he has high hopes for Conan's potential.

NY1 Theme Tune

Viewers of NY1 are undoubtedly aware that the station is running a contest right now to find the best new NY1 music video. They basically want people to submit videos of them singing a new version of one of those "You're Watching New York One" commercials that run all the time. You know the ones - one stars Dominic Chiani (or however you spell his name - Junior from the Sopranos); another stars some jazzy guy whose name I never catch; another features a local act called Nuttin' But Stringz (or as New York Two reader Beth H. calls them, "Bone Thugz n' Stringz").

Anwyay, I've been waiting with bated breath to see who is going to win. Today, I saw a commercial that highlighted some of the entrants so far. Sweet mother of Christ on a pogo stick, they are HORRIBLE. Truly, gutbustingly, earbleedingly, terrifyingly bad. If you are reading this and you have the faintest speck of musical talent, I urge you to enter this contest. Because you know that whoever wins, we're going to hear it eleventy billion times. Deadline is June 15. Get cracking, people!

Darryl Littlejohn's attorney

I will be SO happy when this Imette St Guillen case is over, if only so I won't have to look at Darryl Littlejohn's hideous defense attorney anymore. Apart from the fact that she is defending a remorseless, repeat-offender rapist, she is physically repellent. Seriously, lady, get something done about those growths on your face. I do wonder if I would feel differently if she were working for the right side of this case. But the defense they are trying to mount is totally ridiculous, and the evidence against Littlejohn is overwhelming. That said, I think NY1's coverage of the whole affair has been pretty thorough and balanced.

Speaking of courts, I have to head out to jury duty later, so this is probably my only post of the day. Wish me luck...

Dude, do I know you?

This weekend, a very good friend of mine was in a bar and spotted a man he was sure he knew. He told the guy in question that he looked very familiar, and then he started rattling off a list of names of people they might know in common. After suffering my friend for a couple of minutes, the guy explained to my friend that he probably looked familar to him because the guy is on TV. As a reporter. For New York One.

My friend, who was very embarrassed, apologized to the man -- who turned out to be Roger Clark -- and ended up chatting with him for a few minutes. Apparently RC was quite friendly. Just thought I'd pass on that amusing anecdote (with apologies to my friend, who shall remain nameless).

Last night's Road to City Hall was fairly interesting, at least the bit I caught. The Consultant's Corner seemed to take the view that there isn't much Governor Patterson can do to acquit himself in the eyes of NY state voters. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but has he really been that bad? I mean, at least he's not screwing hookers and paying for it by check and conveniently ignoring the fact that he's supposed to be prosecuting that type of thing. He inherited a red hot mess and seems to be wading through as best he can, in my view. But maybe I'm horribly misinformed and he's a walking train wreck. It sounds weird, but I kind of don't know what to think of him.

So here's another New York Two snap poll: Governor Patterson -- yay or nay?

Bloomin' Idiot

NY1 has been running a story all morning about Bloomberg throwing a hissy fit when a reporter from the New York Observer asked him whether the improving economy negated Bloomberg's decision to impose term limits. It was a completely fair question, and Bloomberg responded by snapping, "Can we get some serious questions, please?" in his trademark bitchy little whine. Well, Bloomie, I guess these are the kinds of questions you can expect to face when you manipulate the democratic process to suit your will. He had an earlier outburst at another press conference when he yelled at a disabled reporter whose tape recorder went off, saying "This is a little more serious than playing music." He later apologized, but still, it was a very douchey moment. I actually think he has done a good job, but he needs to exit gracefully. You served your term, now let somebody else do it! If he REALLY has such a massive ego that he thinks he is the only person who can do the job, he should volunteer to serve in the next administration in an economic advisory role. But nooooo, he has to be in charge. I'm pretty fed up with him. But enough of this tirade.

I watched quite a bit of NY1 yesterday but never got around to posting. Two things cracked me up. One was a segment by the "Cooking at Home" guy, Dan Eaton. First of all, is that REALLY his name? Secondly, I have never been able to actually follow his recipes, because I start laughing every time he says, "Hiiiiiiiii, I'm Dan Eaton and I'm glad you're heeeeeeeeeeeeere" at the start of the segment and then basically can't stop.

The other hilarious thing was Roma Torrey's report on Tony voters. She did a couple of revealing interviews with two voters who told us exactly how they plan to vote on key categories. These people didn't want to be identified -- fair enough -- but the station went to RIDICULOUS lengths to conceal their identities, even going so far as to use that voice distortion technique they normally reserve for situations like whistle blowers and mafia informants. It was just so WEIRD.

That's all for now. Bon weekend, y'all.

No Pat in "Night at the Museum"

Happy Friday, everyone.

So in today's ITP, Pat revealed that he had a small cameo in the sequel to "Night at the Museum," but it was sadly left on the cutting room floor because of a "camera malfunction". Suuuuure, Pat. J/K, of course - I'm sure he was just fine.

Elsewhere in ITP, we learned that NY1 reporter Stephanie Simon is getting married to the head of the stagehands' union. Good for her. Ages ago, when I posted a question about who the most attractive NY1 lady reporters were and a commenter said that lots of guys dug Amanda Farinacci, I replied that I could not figure out why, because she looked like a chick from Staten Island. I realized later that I was actually thinking of Stephanie, and not Amanda, when I wrote that. Well, I have to say, Stephanie has actually been looking quite foxy since she straightened her hair. If that's a style she's road-testing for the wedding, she should definitely stick with it. And of course, congratulations and all that.

Also in the segment, Pat referred to the Obama/EvilOverlordCheney debate about Guantanamo (what? me biased?) and actually mentioned a Washington Post article in the segment. He made reference to another WaPo story in the same segment. Is ITP broadening? Maybe now that he's doing Pat's Papers for the Web, the temptation to mention great stories not in NYC papers is becoming too strong. Unless there is some broader remit that was mentioned awhile ago and I didn't catch it.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a lovely Memorial Day weekend outdoors. And if you are stuck indoors for some reason, there's always NY1 to keep you entertained.

Swine flu and local news

NY1 is reporting the city's first swine flu death this morning - an assistant principal of a school in Queens. Last week NY1 aired an interview with his wife -- this was just after he'd been hospitalized -- in which she was critical of the city for not closing the school any sooner. Bloomberg said something defensive, along the lines of "we can't just go around closing schools willy nilly, children need to be educated, etc." Sounds like a weaker argument now in light of the death. This will be an interesting story to watch.

In other news, I was saddened and quite upset yesterday to read that the New York Times' City section will cease publishing from now on. They're going to wrap it up into another section, which will be less City-centric and will encompass more of the metro area and the suburbs. SCREW the suburbs. I want my City section! The reason I read that section, and the reason I obsessively watch NY1 (hence the theme of this seemingly unrelated diatribe) is because I crave LOCAL news. I obviously care about the world at large, but I have numerous outlets to choose from for national and world news. Also, I view this as a sad commentary on the state of newspaper publishing in general, but that's a rant for another time (and one I believe I've subjected you all to before, anyway). So yeah, the homogenization of news continues... soon USA Today will be the only paper Pat is able to refer to in In The Papers.

Most annoying reporter?

Here's a question for all six New York Two readers - who is the most annoying NY1 reporter? For me, it's a toss-up between entertainment reporter George Whipple (he of the revolting eyebrows) or parenting reporter Shelley Goldberg. It might be the latter, since I pretty much have to mute the TV during all of her segments.

Who else am I forgetting about?

In other news, I physically cringed with embarrassment for Dean Meminger, who filed a totally pointless report from Mexico City about how Mexicans aren't shaking hands with people they meet for fear of spreading/contracting swine flu. One man he interviewed said, "We've actually been doing it with our feet," to which Meminger exclaimed, "REALLY?!?!" The man sighed impatiently and with a look of disgust said, "It's a joke." OH DEAN. That story is clearly winding down. Come back to NYC and start filing from the Bronx again, will you?

I'm baaaack

Howdy folks.

I'm back from Paris (where I attempted to watch some local news despite the fact that I speak no French -- quelle surprise, I had no idea what they were talking about) and I'm filled with resolve to update more regularly again.

I've been working from home today, so I got to catch today's ITP on its first run. It was a pretty good edition. The highlight was Pat's discussion of a story about how John Wayne Bobbit doesn't hate his ex-wife Lorena, despite the fact that she "did some surgery" on him a few years ago, as Pat hilariously put it. He pointed out that the headline -- "No Hard Feelings" -- was probably the best in a NYC newspaper today. I think it was a Daily News story, though that does sound like a Post headline.

He lead the segment with a Daily News story that confirmed what I've always suspected -- the comparatively expensive Priority Mail option doesn't actually get your mail to its destination any faster than a garden variety. $0.42 first-class stamp. Pat pointed out that it's a remarkably simple story, but a good one.

In another paper - I didn't catch which one - he highlighted a story about an 8-year-old who drove Go-Karts that can achieve speeds of up to 60 mph. Pat wryly noted that there is zero chance you'll see his 7-year-old daughter doing that.

He also mentioned a WSJ story, cleverly titled "Big Bored," about how traders on the NYSE are now spending their work days sneaking off to watch movies and otherwise kill time now that trading volumes are down so dramatically.

Elsewhere in the WSJ, there was a story about how publishers are trying to launch their own versions of Kindle, to push their content and attempt to revive their dying newspapers. I have to say, I will be REALLY upset to see the day when this segment has to get re-named In the Blogs. I know this sounds patently idiotic, coming from a blogger, but I do not like reading many blogs, and I certainly don't like reading them for news. This blog is in NO way a news service, but you knew that.

Anyway, I think there are some amazing blogs out there, but the only good ones for news are written by professional journalists. The newsgathering processes for pro bloggers and pro journos should be exactly the same. And I still love my dead-tree newspapers, even though half the content is outdated by the time I get it. Do I sound like an old crank? Yes? Oh, to hell with you, then! (That was my old man/Walt Kowalski imitation.)

Other highlights from this morning: Poor Dean Meminger, who is covering the Swine Flu beat from Mexico City, filed a story mostly memorable for the shot of a man playing guitar to an empty church -- the guy's eyebrows made Frida Kahlo look like she had regular tweezes at Bliss or something. And the New Yorker of the Week segment focused on a woman who teaches math to poor New York City women who are trying to get work in construction jobs. The teacher does this for free and gets results, though her students are shockingly undereducated when they first enter her class. One woman reported that she could not read a tape measure before taking the class. And I thought I was bad at math!

It's going to be a beautiful weekend, according to NY1.

I was getting amused this morning at how news anchor Cheryl Wills was getting progressively more excited about each successive weather report. It went from "It's going to be lovely" to "It's going to be absolutely gorgeous" to "Break out the bikinis, woo!"

Other highlights included Roger Clark cuddling with kittens at an animal shelter, and Pat Kiernan uttering the phrase "Skinny Bitch" during ITP.

With that, there will be no updates for the next week, as I am off to Paris. I don't think there's a Neu York Un there.

See you next week!

Catholic overload

Once again, I apologize for the cobwebs up in here. I’ve been staring down some major deadlines for work, so I haven’t had much time to turn on the TV, let alone write about it.

But I will say that for the five or six times I managed to catch a few minutes of NY1 last week, it seemed like EVERY time I watched, it was all about the new Head Catholic Guy (or cardinal or archbishop or whatever) that has been appointed in New York.

I understand this story is important to the city’s Catholics, but for those of us who aren’t Catholic (which would be the majority of New Yorkers), it has no bearing whatsoever on our day to day lives. Personally, I could not be less religious – I don’t mind if other people are, as long as they’re not all murdery about it and don’t try to convert me – and I found myself getting irritated that NY1 was devoting so much airtime to this story. This morning, they were STILL going on about it. Aren’t there other, more important things to report on? It’s time to move on, guys!

Pat's Papers relaunch

I’m a bit late in blogging this, but time-starved Americans can now enjoy their own version of “In the Papers” -- the beloved NY1 feature in which Pat Kiernan highlights the major stories in the print NYC newspapers every day and which regular readers will know is the main reason I still subscribe to Time Warner Cable (‘cause you can’t get NY1 with other providers) – with the relaunch of “Pat’s Papers.”

Viewers around the country can now watch taped roundups of the national newspapers, which follow the exact same format as In The Papers and are taped during Pat’s downtime at the station. There’s a story about it in today’s New York Times, which also raises the aspect of how this allows Pat to build his brand.

I didn’t catch ITP today, as I left the house well before it came on and haven’t had a chance to catch the repeat online. So the best part of this morning’s broadcast, based on the 10 minutes I got to watch, was undoubtedly listening to Roma Torrey, one of NY1’s most conservative looking and professional sounding anchors, utter the phrase “80s glam metal” in her review of the new Broadway musical “Rock of Ages” (which looks god awful, by the way).

The Cyclone opens, but whither the rest of Coney Island?

This morning New York One had a story on the annual opening day of the Cyclone, that famously rickety deathtrap of a rollercoaster on Coney Island. The Cyclone is ancient, decrepit and falling apart, but is dearly beloved by zillions of devoted followers -- much like Coney Island itself. But, as the NY1 report noted, the rest of Coney Island's future hangs in the balance. The rest of Astroland has been shuttered, several boardwalk institutions like Ruby's are closing, and city officials want to turn CI into a "year-round destination" (read: clean and safe for children and yuppie families).

I can see why they would want to do this, really I can, but I'm one of those old, nostalgic die-hards who wants Coney Island to stay exactly how it is. I love my annual treks to CI for the free Siren Music Festival, the annual freakshow that is the Mermaid Day Parade, the extremely "colorful" locals (a journalistic euphemism if there ever was one - if you see it in an article, it usually means the person being described is batshit crazy) and of course, my beloved Nathan's Hot Dogs. To me, Coney Island without these things isn't Coney Island at all. Look, if I want to go to a nice beach, I'll hop on the LIRR and go to long beach, okay? So leave CI alone!

But I guess it wouldn't be the first time CI has changed. According to Ken Burns' documentary on New York City, it was once an extremely posh refuge for the rich. Let's at least hope it doesn't go back to that...

Newsflash: people are dumb. But also, have big hearts.

In today's ITP, Pat highlighted an article in today's NY Daily News in which reporters conducted man on the street interviews asking people, "What is the G20?" Pat called the results "depressing" and pointed to one woman's answer in particular -- "Is that the new Gatorade drink"? "No, that's the G2," Pat sighed, with an air of utter disgust.

He also pointed out an article in one of the papers discussing the international shit storm that was apparently launched when Michelle Obama had the audacity to give the Queen a hug. Apparently this is Not Done. Oh, give me a break. First of all, it's not as if the Queen recoiled in horror; the photo shown in the article Pat was reading indicated that the hug was pretty mutual. Secondly, the Queen's lavish lifestyle is taxpayer funded, so I think UK citizens ought to be able to manhandle the old broad whenever they want! (Okay, I don't actually think that. I just think people need to not be so prim and proper and just relax a little.)

On a separate note, viewers may remember a "NY1 for You" segment a few weeks ago in which the consumer's crusader, reporter Susan Juhn, interviewed a grief-stricken elderly man whose wife of 30 years died suddenly and he didn't have the money to bury her. Well, this week, Juhn reported that thanks to the kindness of NY1 viewers, donations poured in, and with the additional help of Legal Aid and an NYC law firm working pro bono, the man was able to raise enough money to finally lay his wife to rest. It was a total tear-jerker of a story and I won't lie, it made me a little farklempt.

So what else is happening on NY1 this week? Well, apparently both NYC baseball teams have new stadiums or something. Seriously, it seems to be ALL they can talk about. It's as if nothing else is happening elsewhere in the world. Also, the reports are by and large ridiculously flattering and gushy. But one reporter pointed out that when the excitement wears off, the sticker shock will set in. The price of taking a small family to a game at Yankee stadium and buying each a hot dog and a beverage? Something like $250. What's crazy is that people will probably show up in droves anyway.

Sham-whoa!

Okay, I have to apologize in advance for posting another item that isn't directly to do with NY1 but rather the commercials. BUT - this is too crazy not to mention.

A couple of posts ago, I blogged about the guy in the Slap Chop commercials and how I hate him because he looks like an overgrown fratboy with a crystal meth problem.

Well - I was right! He is indeed no good at all! Because apparently, the Sham Wow guy -- as he is commonly known, since he is also a pitchman for that product, which is some kind of highly absorbent towel -- was recently arrested for beating up a hooker.

Slap chop, indeed! I hope he never gets another TV pitching job again.

Onto NY1 news - Pat's back! And a better week was enjoyed by all...

MTA Meltdown

If you've been watching NY1 over the last few days (and of course you have), you'll no doubt have noticed the huge amount of coverage that the MTA's budget meltdown and proposed doomsday fare hikes have gotten. It was the lead story on The Call Tuesday night, the NY1 Wiseguys debated it on the Road to City Hall, and the main news broadccasts have referenced it every three minutes or so.

And while it SUCKS to suddenly have to pay 25% more for a subway ride - at the precise moment when people can ill afford to do so - I'm going to come out and say that I don't think the $2 per fare/$87 per unlimited monthly pass fares were sustainable.

People, you get A LOT when you buy a Metrocard. You get to travel all over the city, all night long, 24/7. You get to cover huge distances - you can go from the Bronx to Coney Island, from Harlem to the Airport, for $2. You get to take superfast express trains when you're traveling long distance, and if a train that you're on breaks down, you don't have to get off the train and take the bus, because they can just re-route you along the other track since we have the dual-track system. And on several subway lines, you get clean, shiny new trains.

In short, New Yorkers, you just don't know how good you've got it, even with the fare increases. How do I know this? Because I just spent two years living in London, which has a public transport system that is downright apalling by comparison. It's twice as expensive for shorter distances and even more for longer distances, since you get charged for how far you travel. There are no express trains and there's no dual track system, so if you're on a train that breaks down (which you are, frequently, if you live there), you have to wait for them to drag the train out of the station and then you have to just get off and find another way to get where you're going and the whole subway line's service gets suspended. Oh, and it CLOSES. Every night. No trains past 12:30 on weekend nights and even earlier on week nights. The trains are also much dirtier and smaller, which means they're way more crowded. I swear, the MTA could hike the fares up to $4 and it would still be a dream by comparison.

So that's my $0.20, though Curtis Sliwa would undoutedly disagree with me.

Noooooo!

I knew it was going to be a long week. First of all, hi, Weather? It's late March. You can stop being 30 degrees now.

But I really knew it was going to be a long week when I flipped on the TV Monday morning and saw Kristin Shaughnessy sitting in Pat's anchor chair. Not that there's anything wrong with The Shaughn; she's a fine broadcaster. But In the Papers is just not the same without PK. I know Pat has to go on vacation sometimes, but I always feel a little let down when I turn on the TV and he's not there. (Perhaps I should look into getting a life).

Also, when Pat's out, Kristin fills in for him, which means one fewer correspondent, which means Roger Clark has to pick up the slack on the serious stories. So no goofy antics.

See? Everything's more boring without Pat.

It sucks to B. Madoff

Today's installment of "In the Papers" is worth watching just to hear Pat's imitation of Ruth Madoff alone. But he also mentions a column in the New York Times by Clyde Haberman, which chronicles the saga of a poor fellow whose name is B. Madoff (no relation - the a in this Madoff is pronounced like "apple") and is listed as such in the New York City phone book. This guy apparently has not gotten a moment's peace since the whole Madoff saga came into public focus.

I have some sympathy for this guy. My work phone number just happens to be one digit removed from that of a US senator. (Apparently this is true for lots of people at my company, because the Senate's exchange is exactly the same as ours, except we are in area code 212, not 202.) This has led to lots of phone calls from cranks, including people who get mad at me when I tell them they've dialed the wrong number. I'm so used to it by now that when people call me looking for Senator Soandso, I immediately say in my most professional and polite voice, "I'm sorry, you've dialed a 212 area code. Senator Soanso's office is in area code 202." Some person I spoke to today found this very helpful - so helpful that he told me I had a pretty voice, and wanted to keep chatting.

So stay strong, B. Madoff. The non-Bernie one, that is.

Pat has a blog!

NY2 Post

Thanks to informed New York Two reader Beth H, who pointed out to me that PK actually has a blog! How did I not know this?! Anyway, you can check it out here:

http://www.patspapers.com/patsblog/

The current batch of posts includes a great interview with PK from the Village Voice; you can find that here:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2009/03/interview_ny1_m.php

And in said interview, PK mentions a time when he and that kooky Roger Clark did a duet of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” on air, which the VV had the good sense to link to as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIq52hf77nE

In said interview, you learn that Pat gets up at 3 AM (and I thought I had it rough getting up at 5!), that he frequently inserts very subtle jokes into his ITP segments (such as the time he noted, when reading a story about how men buy SUVs to compensate for anatomical shortcomings, that he drives a compact car) and that if the sometime game show host could host Match Game ’09 could pick his dream team, it would include Katie Couric, David Letterman, and Miss Teen South Carolina (you may remember her from the disastrous “some people out there in our nation don’t have maps” and “I personally believe that US Americans…” interview).

Speaking of Pat’s sidekick Roger Clark, what’s up with all the serious stories they’ve had him doing lately? Are they short-staffed or something? To give credit where it’s due, he’s actually done a decent job of them. Thing about RC is, he seems like an extremely affable and decent guy, but he’s not always the most professional and smooth correspondent that’s ever been on television.

This is generally okay when he’s doing the sillier bits and engaging in his goofy repartee with PK, but sometimes you just want him to, I don’t know, do better. Like maybe not say “It’s amazing, Pat, it’s amazing” a dozen times in a single segment or actually get through a sentence without saying “basically.” But the last couple of days, when he’s been assigned some serious stories, he’s actually risen to the occasion and looks like a real news anchor and not a goofily endearing fraternity brother who stumbled by accident into a news job. Well done, RC, well done.

Slap happy

Sorry for the radio silence. I've actually been watching NY1 for a couple of days now, and I have to say that for once, there hasn't been much to comment about. ITP has been pretty straightforward, Inside City Hall has been informative but a little sleepy (no NY1 Wiseguys), and even Roger Clark has been filing reports on serious stories and not getting run over by robots or mauled by adorable puppies at a local animal shelter.

So once again, I'm forced to write about the commercials. The one that's really been making my blood boil lately is for a device called the Slap Chop. It's basically a plastic, cylindrical thingy with blades; you put vegetables in it, put the cap on, and "slap" the cap to chop your vegetables. It sounds harmless enough, but the pitchman is the most irritating person on earth. He looks like some overgrown frat guy who took too many steroids and maybe laced them with a little crystal meth. He's wearing a wireless headset and practically shouting at you about the stupid Slap Chop while demonstrating it in the most irritating manner possible. Frankly, I'd like to slap(chop) him in the balls.

Okay, I'm hoping NY1 starts being kooky again, because I don't really want to write more about the commercials (though there are so many offenders... I haven't even mentioned Ridex yet).

In the Papers

Today's "In the Papers" (ITP from here on out) was EPIC.

I love this segment - and indeed, I love Pat - entirely because of his droll recitations of what's in all the major New York Papers each day. Often, Pat will play it completely straight, but every once in awhile he can't suppress his opinions, and it's hilarious.

Today what set him off the most was a story about a golfer who finished a tournament in his underwear because he had shot the ball into a muddy sand trap and had to retrieve it, thereby muddifying his clothes. So he stripped down to finish the game, saying that he had no other option. "But of COURSE he had an option!" Pat exclaimed, his voice rising a couple of octaves. "Ugh." I don't know why this offended our favorite upright Canadian anchor so much, but it cracked me up.

He also agreed with a story decrying British firm Willis' decision to re-name the Sears Tower, which it bought, to the "Willis Tower," dissing the new name with a disgusted-sounding "whatever."

He also went off on a photo of the octo-mom, Nadya Suleman, buying diapers. "I don't know if you've bought diapers lately, but that looks to me like a 20-pack!" he groused.

Much of the rest of it was all Madoff, all the time which is pretty much how ITP has been this whole week.

I just realized that, by blogging about In The Papers, I'm doing a roundup of a roundup. How meta!

Anyway, you can watch today's ITP here:

http://www.ny1.com/content/features/95497/in-the-papers-3-13-09/Default.aspx

Biz report - new tagline?

First of all, sorry for the radio silence last week. I was going to post about how I would not be posting because of my upcoming vacation, but then my computer exploded roughly two hours before I had to leave for the airport. My computer is fine (it did not literally explode), and my vacation was nice, for whatever that's worth.

But back to what Homer Simpson calls "stupid reality." This morning I got my first dose of NY1 in several days (they do not, unfortunately, have NY1 in Mexico). As I watched the Fortune Business Report, it made me realize that despite the increasingly grim, depressing and hopeless news that the anchors are dishing out, they still sign off every report with the perky tagline, "Have a great day!"

It strikes me as a little tone-deaf in These Economic Times. Perhaps they should update it. Maybe, "This is Milanee Kapadia with the Fortune Business Report. Remember, you still have your health", or, "I'm Annika Pergamet with the Fortune Business Report. Please don't kill yourself; it's only money!"

Any other suggestions?

It's all storm, all the time on NY1 this morning, with the station's poor correspondents sent to various parts of the city to stand outside and freeze half to death all morning for a story with little in the way of new developments beyond the school closings. Kristen Shaughnessy's in some hellhole in Queens, Roger Clark is in Brooklyn and Michael Scotto (who looks about 12 in that knit hat) is on the West side. 

Scotto must be pretty pissed that after a plum assignment in Tokyo, his first assignment upon his return is to cover this crappy story. (Quick aside- I thought his series in Tokyo, on how that city is handling environmental issues, was pretty interesting, and I'm duly impressed with NY1 for sending him over there and not slashing travel budgets in These Economic Times).

There have been a couple of humorous items this morning, including a hilarious story about Staten Island Chuck, the aggressive groundhog who bit a chunk out of Bloomberg's finger on Groundhog Day. Apparently there is talk that this was a political statement on the part of the groundhog, and some silly person has gone to the trouble of making T-shirts depicting Chuck in the iconic Che Guevara pose. 

There was also an amusing item from In The Papers, with PK referencing a Daily News story about dumb things that air travelers have tried to take on board. PK's favorite was the passenger who tried to get on a plane with a gasoline-powered chainsaw. 

Another funny thing I saw was actually a commercial - I can't believe I forgot to write about this in the last post. It's for a wedding venue called Grand Prospect Hall, which, judging by the commercial, looks like the kind of place where you'd have your wedding if you are the daughter of a Russian mobster. 

The bulk of the commercial consists of various images of the extremely garish and tacky rooms at the venue, accompanied by a cheesy string-based composition that gets increasingly urgent until it builds to a crescendo, at which time your television screen explodes into a veritable visual orgy of images and colors so over-the-top tacky they make Liberace look like a study in tasteful nuance. 

Just when you think the tackiness has reached a maximum, the commercial cuts to a shot of the owners, an older couple who are dressed in keeping with the establishment they own. The wife is wearing a spangly red sequined sweater and jacket twinset; in some Eastern European-sounding accent, she declares, "We make your dreams come true!" Well, I guess if your dreams are to get married in a room festooned with neon lights that change colors every so often, then yes, they probably do. 

Ironically, given the timing of this blog, I haven't had much time to actually watch TV lately, so I can't really comment on recent NY1 broadcasts today. So I'm gonna write about the commercials instead (I've had a couple of comments on this already).

I spent two years in London and just moved back last summer. I would have thought, in the time I was gone, that they might have gotten some new commercials, but no. They’ve carried right on showing the same old ads, from the idiotic Sleepy’s bitches jumping up and down on mattresses to the “Taxi? Taxi? TAX-AYYYYY!” asshole that made me swear never to take whatever car service they’re advertising.

The most irritating of all, however, is another car service commercial. It starts with an outside shot of four women having brunch at a sidewalk café; a caption reads, “New York women talk about Carmel,” or something like that.

Here’s the dialogue, which I can type from memory:

Cow #1: “He comes when I call.”
Cow #2: “He takes me shopping.”
Cow #3: “And you love to shop!”
Another cow: “He takes me to the theater.”
Different cow: “I love the theater.”
Different cow: “He takes me to the airport.”
Other cow: “Now that’s huge!”
Annoying cow: “Sometimes… he just takes me home at night.”
Most annoying cow: “Oooooooh, girl.”
Unidentified cow: “I always feel safe and comfortable when I’m with him.”

Obviously, they’re talking about a car service, and they are obviously trying to parallel Sex and the City and make it sound like they are talking about some dude. Which is excruciating. Can we please let that show die? It was mildly amusing for the first couple of seasons, but that’s IT. It went WAY downhill after that, and the movie was a giant steaming dog turd. It’s not that great, people. Let’s allllllll move on.

Who's the hottest NY1 anchor?

You know who else is obsessed with NY1? Paul Rudd, that’s who. (As if I needed another reason to love him). In this interview with Time Out New York, he explains that he named all his fantasy football teams after various NY1 anchors, including the Pat Kiernans, the Annika Pergamets, etc… Genius.

Speaking of that foxy Canadian PK, we all know that ladies love him (despite the fact that he looks a little bit like Dave Foley, the diminutive, impish anchor on News Radio) and that he is the flyest male anchor at the station. But who is the hottest lady anchor?

My friend used to have a huge crush on Annika, before she lost some weight and got a haircut. Kristen Shaughnessy (aka “The Shaughn” from here on out) is an attractive lady, albeit a tad mom-ish and in need of some serious help with her makeup.

My guess is that the best looking gal is probably one of the correspondents and not one of the anchors. Vivian Whateverherlastname is (Lee? I’m blanking) is pretty, but she’s about the only one who springs to mind that I would single out as being of above-average attractiveness. (This, to me, is part of NY1’s charm, by the way.)

Anybody care to weigh in on this one? Post away!

Oh my god, WHAT is that on Curtis Sliwa's forehead? I'm assuming it has something to do with Ash Wednesday, but it looks like the priest just sort of dipped his whole fist in ash and then mashed it on Sliwa's forehead. 

In other NY1 news - EXCELLENT vox pops this morning in a story on how the L train will soon be automated on weekends. The crew obviously just stopped at Bedford Ave; the people they interviewed looked like they were at a casting call for the next Harmony Korine movie. The first chick - we'll call her hipsterette #1 -- had pink hair and a lip piercing. She said something like, "uh, i dunoooooooo, having a train without a driver seems, like, really creeeeeepy." 

This was followed by hipsterette #2, who had a darker shade of pink hair and also sported a lip piercing. This comment was then followed by a dude with shaggy hair; he was definitely a hipster, but more of the Elephant 6 collective variety than the exit wound hairdo, electro pop variety. Anyway, it's been awhile since I have seen such a strictly representative sample of a neighborhood on any news broadcast, anywhere. 

Welcome to New York Two

Welcome to New York Two, a blog about all things New York One. I’d like to kick this off with a little Q&A:

Q: Why a blog on New York One?

A: People, I watch a LOT of New York One. I find myself constantly making comments out loud at the TV when I’m watching, so I figured it would be better to write them all down here instead of muttering alone in my apartment like a crazy person.

Q: Why call it New York Two? Couldn’t you think of a better name?

A: No, I could not. Suggestions are welcome.

Q: What do you plan to write about, exactly?

A: It will vary from day to day, but that’s the beauty of New York One –it offers so much rich terrain. Potential topics include: Why does Kristen Shaughnessy always look like she just lost a bar fight? Why does Adam Balkin look perpetually startled? Where did Roger Clarke come from, exactly? Where on earth do they find the people they use in their “man on the street” interviews? Why does the traffic lady always say “Alternate side parking rules, THEY are in effect” EVERY damned day instead of just saying “Alternate side parking rules are in effect” like a normal person? Why is Pat Kiernan so dreamy? Why has the network been running the same commercials for the last five years?

Stay tuned for more inane updates and ruminations on your favorite low-budget cable news channel. ‘Cause you definitely won’t get THAT on Fios.