LaLaLiving

Hipster Bowling September 15, 2007

I just read that The Gutter, a new bowling ally, opens in Williamsburg tonight. It’s near McCarren Park at 200 N 14th St, between Wythe and Berry (718.387.3585).

There are some cool pics on The Gothamist.  Apparently they salvaged a bunch of material from a closed bowling alley in Ohio, so it looks authentically divey and retro.  It’s being opened by a few of the folks from Barcade, a bar I adore (well, really, who wouldn’t love a bar that allowed you to test your Centipede skills on a regular basis while drinking cheap beer??), so I have great hopes.

The best part is that it’s super cheap: only $4 for shoes, and $6 per game Monday-Thursday/$7 Friday-Sunday.  They’re open Monday-Thursday from 4:00 pm to 4:00 am, and Friday-Sunday noon to 4:00 am.

My, she was yar September 1, 2007

Somewhat dubiously, I agreed to go kayaking today in the Hudson River. A few guys in B’s office had gone and swore to its fun factor. I figured, if mister non-athlete Chuck could do it, so could I gosh darnit.

The kayaking services are provided free-of-charge by Downtown Boathouse, a volunteer-run, non-profit organization all about free public boat access on the Hudson. We went to the Pier 40 location, which is basically at Houston St. (there are also kayaking points at Pier 96/West 56th St., and at Riverside Park/72nd St.)

Since it was Labor Day weekend, things were fairly quiet (predictably, the masses had fled the city), and we walked (scooted?) right onto a kayak after signing the standard release form. You can paddle around to your heart’s content in a side boat docking area for twenty minutes (longer if it’s not crowded), avoiding the crazy boat traffic of the Hudson proper. They even have lockers to store your stuff while you get your kayak on.

I have to admit that it was super fun. The weather was perfect, and it was so pleasant to be away from the city streets for a bit (the airing out of the wet boo-tay afterwards was a bit awkward tho’…).

Life in the big city requires a bit of desperate grabbing at “outdoorsiness” sometimes. This fit the bill quite nicely.

Frost/Nixon May 25, 2007

We saw Frost/Nixon tonight.  Spectacular.  When I bought the tickets I knew it had been a smash in London, and the Broadway production was getting rave reviews, but I still had doubts as to how they were pulling off all this brilliance about nothing more than a series of interviews.  Would it just be two men on stage recreating hours of transcripts?

Well, a beautifully orchestrated plot, combined with an outstanding cast, blew us away.  The play even elicited sympathy for Nixon…quite an achievement, eh?

Spring March 27, 2007

What a fantastic spring day today.

After a too-quick lunch with dear friend Donna, I walked up through Central Park to the Met, where I saw the Barcelona exhibit. It was one of those glorious spring days where, after being deprived all winter, the entire city heads for the park to enjoy the sun.

The exhibit itself was great. I’m a huge fan of turn-of-the-century Barcelona architecture and art, and the Met show provided a very manageable history of the city’s artistic importance–filled with exquisite furniture, paintings, graphic art, and architectural models.

And if you’ve never visited the actual city of Barcelona, go go go! It is one of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever seen, with museums, music, and food to match its beauty.

The evening was spent at Bob & Eliza’s for dinner and a visit with their totally awesome twins, Jasper and Theo. Not that Bob & Eliza aren’t awesome too. It’s just that their kids are super awesome. What other three-year-olds do you know that will greet you with fresh guacamole they made from scratch, remind everyone to save food for the latecomers (namely Brian), and serenade you before going to bed?