Making it to Maplewood

Last night, I had the inimitable joy of saying, "I'm reporting for The New York Times." That phrase was followed by "The Local blog," of course, but still. It felt good. Here is my second contribution to The Local:

http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/maplewood-residents-to-town-were-watching-you/

I also had quite an adventure getting home from Maplewood after attending a very long township council meeting. I missed the 10:27 p.m. train back to Penn Station by only a few minutes, and then was forced to wait in the 33 degree weather for the 11:38 p.m. train. I was so cold that I ventured into an ATM vestibule at a bank and hid out there for 20 minutes or so, worrying that I would get arrested for loitering or whatnot and make the local Maplewood news, instead of writing it. Thank God for iPhone apps, which passed the frigid time.

When I boarded the gloriously heated train at 11:38, the NJ Transit worker taking tickets told me to transfer at Hoboken and take the PATH, instead of transferring at Newark and waiting for the connection, so I did that, then took 2 PATH trains (all the while followed by a charming young poetry enthusiast / pre-med student who didn't know where he was going and tried his 18-year-old best to flirt with me by asking questions like, "Do you read books?") to the World Trade Center, then gave up and hailed a cab, getting home to Brooklyn at 1:46 a.m.

I must love journalism.

Story on The New York Times blog

Check out my story on The New York Times blog "The Local." Click here or copy and paste:

http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/for-these-women-its-all-about-harmony/

Three years of barbershop singing in high school has definitely paid off.

JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound

Last weekend, my boyfriend's brother's band, JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, was in Brooklyn at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. They hail from Chicago and brought the Electric Soul Revue to NYC (read the Times' review of the event here). Here is a small taste of the amazing set. The pictures aren't that great but the band sounds awesome.

To see it bigger, click on this link: http://digitalstoragespace.com/10/finnegan/slideshows/0911JCBrooks/publish_to_web/

Vegetarian Ethics on the Bathroom Wall

Only in Park Slope. The brick wall in the bathroom at The Tea Lounge on Union Street features the following graffiti debate:

MEAT IS MURDER
(arrows pointing to above statement) a bit dramatic
So animals aren't slaughtered for food?
Yum
Murder tastes good
Dairy is still rape
Yo mama is merder
You can't murder an animal, you can kill it but not murder it, idiot.
Humans are animals
Your mom is an animal
rabbits = people
SPECIESISM

Can I really blog from my cell phone via text? Oh, technology!

Honoring the Dead, 150 Years Later

Last Saturday, mourners gathered on Staten Island to bury the remains of immigrants who had died over a century and a half ago. Their bones were discovered in 2000 during the construction of a courthouse; they had been left in unmarked mass graves in the mid 19th century.

Read my article on IrishCentral.com here (written with Eleanor Miller, fellow journalist and J-school student) and watch a video on the event below.

Snuggie Breakdown

Let's say that you've just gotten off the Q train at 7th Avenue in Park Slope and are about to trudge home after a long, grueling day. You remember, with dismay, that you are out of shampoo and must stop at the nearby Duane Reade.

While skulking through the aisles to locate the TRESemme, you come across an endcap display. It can't be, you say. These products are Not Sold in Stores. But lo and behold, before your very tired eyes, is a stack of Snuggies. Leopard print, zebra striped, and breast cancer awareness pink. And for $14.99, you even get the little booklight they show on the commercial.

You call your sister and ask her if you should shell out 15 bucks for a blanket with sleeves. You're well aware of the ridiculous nature of the Snuggie but feel that you must own one. You deserve it. How else will you stay warm while eating popcorn this winter???

At home, you rip open the package and don the absurd, static-ridden fleece. You settle into a chair. It's kind of nice.

Then you watch this YouTube video:



In the end, you conclude that feeling like a tool is worth the laugh you got, and you are still pretty warm and comfy. Plus, you can type without having to rearrange your blanket.