Norah Jones in Brooklyn!

Really excited to see Norah Jones perform tomorrow night at St. Ann's Warehouse for a taping with SOUNDSTAGE in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn!

To walk or not to walk?!

Shamu in Coney Island!

Shamu spotted in a parking lot near the boardwalk in Coney Island on 1/1/10!

Polar Bear Celebration on Coney Island!

It's a dancehall celebration on the boardwalk in Coney Island after a nice dip in the Ocean to startoff the new year 1/1/10!

Polar Bear Crazy!

Polar Bear Crazy on the Coney Island Boardwalk on January 1st 2010!

Chinatown!

Recent closings of two well established businesses in Chinatown-NYC most notably Jan Lee's, Sinotique on 19 Mott Street & Mr. Tang's, a restaurant on the corner of Mott & Bayard Street has once again reminded us about the day in the life of a small business owner in NYC especially in the lower manhattan area. Probably, a more accurate coined phrase would be a "day in the death of a small business owner". It does not help that the 9-11 trials for the accused masterminds of the World Trade Center plot will be taking place across the street from Columbus Park in Chinatown with the locals fearing street closures, added armed security presence, & protestors will drive out foot traffic in C-Town. We've seen what the closing of Park Row has done to the community.
Sinotique is an asian inspired furniture-home accessories-jewelry dealer & importer that has been in the Chinatown family for decades. The Lee family has been a great supporter & advocate of the lower east chinese side of manhattan for years. Fortunately, the Lee's have re-invented themselves by moving their base to Brooklyn.
Mr. Tang's is a restaurant on the busy corner of Mott & Bayard which will be heavily missed. Some notables such as Russell Wong & Jackie Chan have been sighted as customers. Mr. Tang's has also been a host for photo & movie shoots. The most recent movie that I can remember being filmed there was "Year of the Fish". Then again , "Year of the Fish" was a cinderella tale based in New York's Chinatown so they were filming everywhere in C-Town!
Go support your local Chinatown! Chinese New year should be extraordinarily festive this season because it's the Year of the Tiger in 2010! Mark February 14, 2010 & the following weekend of Feb. 20 & 21st on the calendar to visit Chinatown-NYC! It's going to be a blast with the Chinese New Year Parade march through Mott Street & the impromptu Lion Dancing throughout the streets by the "organizations" & local Kung Fu Schools in the NYC area! Have some dim sum while you are there! See some dim sum suggestions below...
--Mr. C

Golden Bridge Restaurant
50 Bowery, New York, NY

Jing Fong
18 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY

Golden Unicorn
18 East Broadway
Manhattan, New York, NY

Dim Sum Go Go
5 East Broadway
(between Chatham Sq & St James Pl)
New York, NY

New York Jets!

Wow, Gang Green pulled off an unbelievable win today against the San Diego Chargers 17-14! It was an ugly, slow paced, defense oriented, & running game minded, classic New York Jet football game without the tutelage of Herman Edwards, thank you! It is the only way the Jets know how to play & it worked against a high powered offense like the Chargers. The decision to go for the 4th & 1/2 yard with a minute remaining in the 4th quarter sealed the deal for Gang Green. The NY Jets now have a hand on Cinderella's glass slipper! Let's see if they can put one slipper on against the Colt's!

Freedy Johnston at Vintage Vinyl records in New Jersey!

It's been a long time coming since I've seen Freedy Johnston perform live. The last time must of been in the early 1990's with a performance at CBGB's. He still looks the same & still cranking out the power pop - folk sad songs that hit's home. Freedy made an instore performance at Vintage Vinyl on 1/16/10 in Fords, NJ off of Route 1. See Freedy sing an oldy, 'This perfect World' & a newbie from his 2009 album "Rain on the City" called 'Lonely Penny'.

New Jersey Nets!

Woe is me...the Nets got slaughtered like a lamb last night against the Boston Celtics. I keep telling myself they have good players with lots of upside in them with horses like Devon Harris, Brook Lopez, Yi, Chris Douglas Roberts, & Courtney Lee, but I'm beginning to lose firepower defending them.

Yankees, maybe Rocco Baldelli?!

The Yankees are still in the hunt for a left fielder! We pretty much know a thumper type, high salary tenured left fielder is out of the question now, but what about taking the chance on Rocco Baldelli? He has power, great speed on the bases, & plays a savvy outfield, but his caveat is being injury prone in the past. Baldelli signed a $500K contract last season with the Red Sox so the Yanks can sign him with similiar numbers & still probably have enough to sign Jerry Hairston,Jr . With the platooning of Hairston, Baldelli, & Gardner, this trio would seem to make a decent 8th or 9th option in the lineup with speed all around. Maybe, the off season training & the reflection of times has made Rocco Baldelli into a more hardy player. I'm just trying to be optimistic here, kids! Personally, I hope Brett Gardner gets a chance to start in left field indefinitely until he shows signs of struggling at the plate. I think Brett Gardner's hard nose, get your uniform dirty, formula 1 - style of play would add another dimension to the Bronx that other teams would have to contend with.
Spring Training in little more than a month, folks!