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Top 5 Sports Stories

Happy Tuesday everyone, here’s my Top 5 for March 15, 2011 from Len Berman at ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* The NCAA basketball tournament begins tonight with two games.
* U-Conn, seeking its third straight title, is the #1 overall seed in the NCAA women’s tournament.
* A federal court hearing has been set for April 6th on the NFL players request to lift the owners’ lockout.
* Japan cancels all soccer games for the rest of the month for obvious reasons.
2. Post Season
Wow, remember when it meant something special to make the post season? Now 68 teams make the NCAA tournament, 32 more make the NIT, and if that’s not enough, 16 others get into the CBI whatever that is. That’s 116 colleges that can boast making the “second season.” You have to wonder if there are more teams than college graduates among them?
3 (continue reading…)

Libya The Arab League Should Conduct the NoFly Zone

Many in the international community are pushing President Obama to authorize war against the regime of Libyan dictator, Muammar el-Qaddafi. I think to undertake a third war in the Middle East would be downright foolish. We are now bogged down with 50,000 American soldiers apparently permanently stationed in Iraq and about 100,000 troops apparently stationed for an indefinite period of time in Afghanistan.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently warned that we should never again be dragged into “a big land war” in the Mideast or Africa (continue reading…)

Dazzling in NYC The Merrymakers Present Adventures in Anytown

Albert Einstein once said, “Dancers are the athletes of God.” As I watched a pair of performers rehearse in a downtown dance studio this past Friday, their enthusiasm nearly palpable and their perfectly coordinated bodies performing impressive acrobatic routines, I finally understood what he meant with that statement. In the process, I also figured out the true meaning behind the translation of dance Muse Terpsichore’s name: “Delight of Dancing.”
If you think I must have been privy to the exclusive rehearsals of some highbrow national ballet company, or even the local tryouts of an international acrobatic troupe, you’re wrong. Instead, what I witnessed first hand in Chelsea will be part of a wonderful upcoming show — produced and performed by Rachel Sattler and Elizabeth Burwell — playing this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 18, 19 and 20, at the Gene Frankel Theater on Lafayette Street, right here in NYC.
The Merrymakers Present: Adventures in Anytown is a dance show for anyone (continue reading…)

Dating in the Middle Ages Still Medieval But Maybe My Last Chance to Get It Right

“Are you seeing anyone?”
My absolute least favorite question and yet often the first one women ask each other whether running into each other during blizzards on Madison Avenue or sweating on bikes at spin classes. In fact, even if it’s not the first question, truthfully it’s the only one women from 40 on up want to ask and it’s a loaded one.
If you’re actually dating someone you get an “oh that’s so nice” response said with a forced smile. And if you’re not dating anyone, you end up in a boiler plate boring conversation about the lack of appropriate middle aged men in New York (continue reading…)

Top 5 Sports Stories

TGIF everyone, here’s my Top 5 for March 11, 2011 from Len Berman at ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* The NFL labor deadline is today at 5pm. Both sides took shots at each other yesterday. Way to engender sympathy from the fans, guys.
* The Heat win, the Heat win (continue reading…)

Donald Trump for President Nah

Four years ago, New York felt like the center of the next presidential election. The whole world thought the final match-up would be Hillary Clinton vs. Rudy Giuliani. New Yorker vs (continue reading…)

New York City Apartment Hell Pt 3

(Wherein we seem to not get the message. For Pt.1 click here, for Pt. 2 click here.)
Following that, every weekend, and many weeknights, were dedicated to schlepping all over our allotted neighborhoods, looking for that mystery apartment that had eluded us so far. I’d found our current apartment from Craigslist.com in about a day, so, I realized, with more effort and two people on the watch, our suitable enclosure would be sure to show up before too long.
But there was always something just a little bit wrong with each place we found, if not much, much more than just a little bit.
There was a nice two-bedroom in Bay Ridge, with lovely people who owned it (continue reading…)

Times Joins Bloombergs Battle Against Teachers

The “fair and balanced” New York Times ran a feature in the Metropolitan section this weekend on the impact of proposed teacher lay-offs and the “last in, first out” seniority system on a small high school for recent immigrants in the Bronx. Mayor Bloomberg is threatening to lay off over 4,6000 teachers because of state budget cuts and has launched a full-scale statewide campaign against the New York City teachers’ union. Bloomberg and former Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, now affiliated with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and something called Education Reform Now, blame the United Federation of Teachers and the seniority system for forcing the city to fire excellent new teachers and for most of the other problems plaguing New York City schools, schools that they were responsible for for over ten years.
One of the teachers featured in the article was my friend and former student Josue Barahona. Josue started teaching at the Academy for Language and Technology in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx last fall (continue reading…)

Underage Prostitution in New York City

Would you happen to know a teenage girl? Does she reside in New York City? African-American or Hispanic? Chances are she could be one of about 2,200 victims of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in New York City every year. I recently watched a film that made me take a closer look.
Very Young Girls (2007) documents the lives of underage prostitutes, as young as 12, residing in New York City. Looking for a “daddy” or someone to “love” them, these very young callgirls turned to pimps, who coerced them into this lifestyle, often referred to in the film as “the game.” Dependency on the pimps for approval and support — financial and emotional — led these troubled adolescent girls to develop emotional ties, making it hard to break away for good.
Some of the footage used in Very Young Girls came from pimps who recorded themselves in action, in hopes of landing a reality show. Talk about aspirations! Well, that (not so wise) move led both men to be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for commercial sexual exploitation of underage girls (continue reading…)

Top 5 Sports Stories

Happy Tuesday everyone, here’s my Top 5 for March 8, 2011 from Len Berman at ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* College basketball tournament week kicks off big time today with the start of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
* Texas Tech fires basketball coach Pat Knight after 3 seasons. He’s Bobby Knight’s son.
* The old backtrack (continue reading…)

Tonight in New York City A Celebration A Feast And a Reason to Tweet

Tonight, in New York City, Gay Men’s Health Crisis will celebrate with Savor; one of the top events of the year, but this year’s event is going to be one for the ages and reason for all of us to celebrate with them.
First, GMHC is celebrating thirty years of serving those in New York City who are living with HIV/AIDS; providing critical services and support to literally tens of thousands of New Yorkers over the decades. That is reason enough for all of us to pause on an early spring Monday and say thank you to this remarkable group.
Next, tonight’s event promises to be the best Savor ever and yes, there are still some tickets available should you be looking for a great night out.

read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com

Is Your Poodle a Wolf in Dogs Clothing

The idea that the family dog views you, your spouse and your children as a wolf pack ripe for conquest has come to dominate much of our thinking about dog behavior.
It’s a belief system popularized by The Dog Whisperer, a cable TV show starring Cesar Millan, a trainer who puts misbehaving canines firmly their place on a weekly basis. Invariably, the well-intentioned owners of these dogs have lost their status as alpha male (or female) in the pack. The alpha dogs attack mailmen, torment children, tear the house up, growl menacingly, bite passersby and generally make life miserable until Cesar compels the wayward tail-waggers to submit to their human overlords.
Alexandra Horowitz finds it all a little depressing.
“When you look at actual wolf behavior in the wild, the pack is a family unit (continue reading…)

Stage Door Good People

Good People is a sensitive exploration of class and memory. Set in South Boston, David Lindsay-Abaire captures the claustrophobic nature of working-class poverty with humor and quiet pathos. “Southies” like Margie (a perfect Frances McDormand) scrape by, trapped by circumstance and finite opportunity. This isn’t an America of better tomorrows; this is daily despair.
Jean (Becky Ann Baker), her caustic crony, and Dottie (Estelle Parsons), her wily landlady, share her hardscrabble existence (continue reading…)

Good People Brings Out The Best

Many of the famous American plays feature memorable characters who embody a sort of either suffering or loss that reflects the era in which they live. These roles have been portrayed on the big screen by some of the best actors of the past century, as they inhabit these characters so brilliantly and naturally that it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing them. These productions’ successes draw heavily from the performances of their stars as conflicted, flawed, and sympathetic protagonists striving to live up to the American Dream, who often come up just short.
David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People carries on that American theatrical tradition. Frances McDormand injects the right mix of dignity and desperation into the lead role of Margie, someone who’s just trying to survive with what she has during tough economic times in South Boston (continue reading…)

Stage Door Compulsion

Compulsion is aptly named.
A provocative drama, it’s based on Meyer Levin’s efforts to adapt The Diary of Anne Frank into a Broadway play. Levin engineered the Diary’s English publication, but what he longed for was the chance to dramatize Anne’s story. Stymied by Doubleday, her publisher, and Otto Frank, her father, Levin spent decades obsessed with Anne Frank and what he believed was the annihilation of her spirit (continue reading…)

Women at Work Historic Photos From the Museum of the City of New York

The first half of the 20th century was filled with changes for women in the United States, not the least of which was the right to vote, granted by a constitutional amendment in 1920.
The rise of manufacturing created factories and industries that provided new jobs for women, and the opportunity to gain financial independence and pursue jobs outside domestic confines.
The mobilization of troops in both of the World Wars opened up job prospects for women in fields formerly dominated by men. Women also served in record numbers in many roles in the United States military during World War II.
The Museum of the City of New York is committed to digitizing its photographic holdings and has put more than 52,000 historic images of the city online so far, with more to come in the near future (continue reading…)

Its Menopause Not Womenopause

I’ve been accused of not understanding what happens to women when they go through the change of life. It’s not that I don’t want to understand. It’s just that I’m too busy dodging pots and pans to give the matter my full attention.
That’s a joke, and probably not a very good one, but if we’re to come to an understanding about the issues of menopause, a sense of humor is absolutely essential.
So let’s first consider the fact that it’s called men-o-pause, and not women-o-pause.
Why is that? Because in the midst of the madness, men can only pause and wonder: what the hell is going on?
It’s a dramatic, turbulent time in the life of a woman, but it’s not as if I can’t relate to what’s going on (continue reading…)

Helen Yarmak Rock And Royal at the Crown Penthouse Terrace

The skyline of New York is a monument of a splendor that no pyramid or palaces will ever equal or approach.

-Ayn Rand
Helen Yarmak strides across the Royal Penthouse Terrace of the iconic Crown Building, her floor-length, jet mink trailing luxuriously behind her; panther-like against the backdrop of a granite sky. In a few hours, the jewel of Manhattan’s skyline will be illuminated and a regal glow will be cast over 57th Street, but for now all that glitters is the oversized “H” on the back of Helen’s coat. The effect is fittingly superhuman as she gestures across the expansive space – once home to Playboy Enterprises – and drawls, “Welcome. I am Helen Yarmak.”
“Your coat is wicked,” I confess (continue reading…)

The Day Prince Williams Pal Held My Husbands Hand and Other InFlight Shockers

As those of you who have read my previous blogs will already know, my Labrador Bailey and I are preparing to move to New York to finally be with my New Yorker husband.
I must admit I’ve been feeling a little worried about what might happen if, upon take off, Bailey discovers he suffers from turbulence terror like me. My questions is: will he have a friendly paw to hold?
For years I regularly flew to Australia for work without a second thought. Twenty-four hours in the air and it didn’t bother me one bit.I’d even been known to unbuckle my seat belt and walk (escorted by a friend of course) to the restroom. On one occasion I even did it after take off (continue reading…)

Villa Del Palmar Loreto Get Soaked in Mexico

Spring in Mexico offers many opportunities to get wet, though good luck focusing on the t-shirt contest after smoking all that meth. Enjoy real Mexican watersports without creeping out the college kids around you, at Villa Del Palmar Loreto.
Opening next month on Mexico’s pristine Islands of Loreto, VDP boasts 171 villas (luxed out with balconies and whirlpool tubs) situated along the sea of Cortez, an undiscovered paradise that sits at the base of the Sierra de la Giganta mountains and is home to the largest natural marine park in Mexico, though if they want to rival our Marines, they should probably start taking ‘roids.

read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com

Undercut Thy Neighbor

If there’s a news report soon about a formerly nice suburban neighborhood morphing into a home-selling battlefield, I may have to take a bit of the blame.
Last week I had the same introductory chat about the challenges of selling a home with owners living a few houses apart. There was no known connection between the couples (each was referred to me by a different person), but both their stories and their homes were practically identical. Each of the neighbors hoped to be in their new homes by summer, so they needed suggestions about how to jump to the head of the real estate line.
We discussed the long lag time between listing and selling times for homes in the region, and the great deal of inventory in their price range (continue reading…)

The Mysterious Disappearance of Hollywoods Trailblazing Women

It’s time once again for the Oscars, when millions of Americans plunk down in front of their televisions to watch Hollywood’s starlets and veteran actresses walk together down the reddest red carpet of them all. This Sunday evening, like so many years prior, our shared fascination with seeing female stars strut their glitziest and glammest looks will mean big ratings for the networks, not to mention box office bucks for the winning films. Our fervent interest in what Hollywood’s women are wearing, it seems, never goes out of fashion. But when it comes to the films they star in — specifically those with strong, pioneering female leads — our interest has waned (continue reading…)

Dont Make The Mistake of Missing Actor Michael Shannon in His Latest OffBwy Play or Sundance Shocker

As he ratchets up his star and skills, actor Michael Shannon is a man of many intensities. From his starring role as the indomitable G-man in Boardwalk Empire to the obsessive Curtis in the critically-favored Take Shelter, the former Kentuckian has made his adopted home of New York into a high-profile base for his commanding work in theater, film and television.
What a presence. with his piercing eyes, overwhelming head, tall blocky body (continue reading…)

Big Apple Bonanza 24M in Homeland Grants for NYPD Overtime

New York City plans to use an eye-popping $24.3 million this year in federal homeland security grants just for paying overtime to its police department, money that’s generally set aside by Congress to help states battle terrorist threats and prepare for disasters. The multimillion-dollar line item is buried in local budget documents amid other expenditures for drug enforcement, organized crime investigations, urban search and rescue, port protection and more.
Officials in New York have fiercely defended their right to hundreds of millions in readiness grants since the Sept. 11 attacks, loudly condemning both George Bush and Barack Obama when each tried to scale back the large sums it receives over other states for homeland security.
Last summer, Big Apple politicians blasted White House plans to trim back two major federal grant programs, accusing the Obama administration of “mind-bogglingly bad judgment” and arguing that New York City faces the gravest risk of new assaults. It seemed unlikely much would change once Long Island’s noisy Republican congressman, Peter King, took over this year as chair of the House Homeland Security Committee (continue reading…)