I finally went on the Wonder Wheel, after all these long years forty-two non-consecutive months living in Brooklyn.

Well, I sure wasn’t going to pop my WW cherry on the swinging cars. The fr to the elling no.

On our way up, my traveling companion wasn’t worried at all.

Neither was I. Much.

I’ve got to get on the Water Flume this summer.

(As I side note, I don’t know if there is a water ride in this great nation of ours that can compare to the soaking I got on the Governor’s Island ferry a few weeks ago - imagine all the water that collects on the upper deck of a ship during a powerful summer storm, and then imagine all of that water being dumped onto an unsuspecting couple on the lower deck in the span of about 20 seconds… but then, it took me about 10-15 minutes to see the humor in that. Most water rides have an instant-appreciation value to them.)

(But I digress.)

The Cyclone and the Astrotower. With the future of Astroland perennially in doubt, the Astrotower is something else I should get to. This year.

As we neared the top, the young one was having a perfectly good time. As for myself…

Holy Guacamole!

That’s it, folks!

I was supposed to do this a month ago, but I finally repotted the tomato plant into, well, a pot. I’ve ummm, been a little neglectful of that whole water thing, and it hasn’t had much room to spread out between the window and the blinds.

I’ll be shocked if this thing survives. Please wish it luck.

It had previously been announced that The Real World - you know, the MTV reality series about post-adolescent/pre-adult drama tweens whose sole responsibility is to act with as little reason or accountability as physically possible - would be filming in Downtown Brooklyn’s BellTell Lofts. Now, according to the Brooklyn Paper, MTV will be filming elsewhere in Brooklyn. Current speculation rests in Red Hook, which ought to set up lots of divatastic scenes in the borough’s new IKEA. But that got me to thinking… what is the perfect Brooklyn neighborhood for a season of The Real World?

The Real World: Brighton Beach
Wow, it would be just like filming the show in another country! OK, maybe the Ukraine wouldn’t be MTV’s first choice for an exotic, foreign locale, but believe you me, the young Russophones of Mother Borough know where all the trendy Europout parties are at. And the beach! Just imagine all of the debauchery that can be had at that beach! Drink up, tavarish!

The Real World: Borough Park
It may seem like a quiet, Orthodox Jewish neighborhood with an intense distrust of outsiders (such as Reform Jews), but once the MTV kids find where all the underground Hasidic raves are, they are so making The Real World: Miami look like the convent from The Sound Of Music.

The Real World: Bay Ridge
There are plenty of places to drink and be merry. I just hope MTV never catches the Sweatpants-Wearing Big Ten Fanboy from The Salty Dog on camera. It’s unlikely their ratings would ever recover.

The Real World: Greenpoint
Home of the nightclub Studio B, which seems to be the current titleholder for the New York club Most Loved By Its Patrons/Most Reviled By Its Neighbors. I suspect The Real World house will have much the same impact.

The Real World: Manhattan
But seriously, though, maybe they should just pack up and go to the part of town that tolerates this kind of shit?

From everyone’s favorite 18th Avenue N-Train station.

…I took it as a hint directed squarely at me.

But then, he isn’t from Staten Island like I originally thought. Oh no - the people across the street are in Vito Fossella’s New York 13th, as are the people one block down. But me? Turns out those of us on the odd-numbered side of this block are in the New York Eighth, a gerrymandered district stretching from Seagate to the Upper East Side, excluding Gravesend, running along several miles of largely unoccupied Brooklyn waterfront, and represented by a Manhattan Demorcrat instead of a Staten Island Republican.

Map of NY-08 (PDF - 2MB)
Map of NY-13 (PDF - 1.3MB)

Steve Harrison - Democrat for NY-13 (Because old habits die hard)

(updated with a second series at McCarren Park - 7/6/2008)

There are a lot of free summertime movie series to be found throughout Brooklyn. Some of them have already started, in fact (sorry - missed Shaft at Habana Outpost - you’re daaaamn right I did). They run from mainstream favorites to ecclectic classics.

Below is as complete of a listing as I could come up with for now. If you know of others, feel free to add them to the comments.

Tuesdays @ The McCarren Park Pool

July 8 - Wet Hot American Summer
July 15 - The Virgin Suicides
July 22 - Desparately Seeking Madonna Susan
August 5 - 28 Days Later
August 12 - Blue Velvet
August 19 - Velvet Goldmine
August 26 - Rushmore

Wednesdays at McCarren Park (added July 6)

July 9 - Pan Tadeusz (well, McCarren is on the border of a Polish neighborhood)
July 16 - Ice Age
July 23 - The Mambo Kings
July 30 - Blazing Saddles
August 6 - Rocky
August 13 - Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
August 20 - The Last of The Mohicans
August 27 - Back To The Future
September 3 - Grease

(via New York Shitty)

Thursdays @ Brooklyn Bridge Park

July 10 - Stand By Me
July 17 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
July 24 - Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of The Were-Rabbit
July 31 - Ace In The Hole
August 7 - Pleasantville
August 14 - Cabaret
August 21 - Being There
August 28 - The Shining

Thursdays @ The Narrows Botanical Gardens in Bay Ridge

July 10 - The Money Pit
August 14 - Wait Until Dark (um, that’s the idea behind outdoor movies)

Fridays @ The American Playground in Greenpoint

June 20 - Jason and the Argonauts
June 27 - Viva Maria
TBD - Others

(Special hat tip here to Bitch Cakes for making this group a little more Googleable)

Sundays @ Habana Outpost in Fort Greene

June 22 - Fame
June 29 - Jaws
July 6 - Saturday Night Fever*
July 13 - Scarface (the 1983 version… I think)
July 20 - Flash Gordon
July 27 - Animation Block Party**
August 3 - 48 Hrs.
August 10 - The Empire Strikes Back***
August 17 - Game of Death
August 24 - Pulp Fiction
August 31 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

* Required viewing. I don’t care if you’re a transplant or a born-n-bred.
** I’m not sure if they mean they’re a venue for the Animation Block Party on this date, or if they’re just giving props to the venueness of Rooftop Films and BAM Cinematek.
*** Yes, but is it the 1980 original? Or the 1997 bastardized version? Either way… I’ll let you know!

90-degrees = Awesome Day For A Two-Piece And Tie

I thumb my nose at your heat wave.

There are a number of art festivals in New York City, and for some reason, most of them seem to be on pretty much right now. A pity, really - I would have liked to have gone to all of these, but until I get my order back from the cloners…

Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival - In its 15th year, this looks like primarily a music and dance festival, judging by the presser and by last year’s photos. Youth film festival on Friday, June 6 at 7pm, main festival on Saturday, June 7, 11am-7pm. (via Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn)

Atlantic Avenue Artwalk - OK, the way this was explained to me last year by Donato Giancola, this was started a few years ago by an area artist who wanted to open up her studio to the public and banded together with a few other artists to make a shindig out of it. Well, this 5th year senior has become quite the shindig. There is a massive concentration of participating artists on Atlantic Avenue between Court Street and the Atlantic Terminal, though I found some of my favorite spots (including Giancola’s studio, and I think possibly the woodworking studio pictured above) in the same area off Pacific. Saturday and Sunday, June 7-8, 1pm-6pm. (via I Went To This Last Year And Want To See More)

Flatbush Artists Studio Tour - Probably the same concept as the Artwalk, this is the first ever Flatbush tour. It’s unfortunate they’re going head-to-head with the Artwalk, I would have liked to have gone to this one, too. Hopefully there are enough people that have had their fill of Artwalk over the years that they’re able to show Victorian Flatbush some love. Saturday and Sunday, June 7-8, 12pm-5pm. (via I Was Walking Around The Neighborhood A Couple Of Weeks Ago And Saw A Sign For It)

Art By The Ferry - St. George doesn’t exactly put Staten Island’s best foot forward, but this little art fest is making the most of it’s venues. I will personally attest to the coolness of the Everything Goes book cafe (run by actual Ganas!) and Karl’s Klipper, and I believe this is the inaugural event for Cynthia von Buhler’s new gallery as well. Too bad for me they’re doing this on the one Sunday a year I don’t go to Staten Island. Saturday and Sunday, June 14-15, and Saturday, June 21, 11am-6pm. (via The Prodigal Borough)

Here’s a couple of pictures to share from a recent walk up through Midwood.

This side street has a lovely, canopied, decompressed feel, but is not far from the Q-train.

There are a number of large homes here of relatively recent construction - I’m guessing between the ’50s and ’80s? They’re new enough to have a modern appearance, but not so new to embrace the current trends of front-facing air conditioning vents and front lawns paved over with concrete.

A shortcut to mushrooms.