NYCitizine

Bill Withers: The Movie!

You know his songs -- "Just The Two of Us", "Lean On Me", "Ain't No Sunshine"... Now, see the film! It's premiering in New York on January 26th as part of Brooklyn's Celebrate Brooklyn! Performing Arts Festival!

Check out this information from B-Side Entertainment:

Bill Withers Coming to NYC for Exclusive Live Q&A's at Special STILL BILL Screening Events

Next week, don't miss soul legend Bill Withers at special live STILL BILL screening events in New York City.

In addition to live appearances at STILL BILL's opening nights at New York's IFC Center, Bill Withers will be at the Park Slope Pavilion Theater in Brooklyn as part of the Celebrate Brooklyn! Performing Arts Festival special screening event on January 26th. Buy tickets now.

STILL BILL was filmed in part at Celebrate Brooklyn! during Hal Wilner's Bill Withers Project on August 9, 2008, and is an intimate portrait of soul legend Bill Withers, best known for his classics "Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean On Me," "Lovely Day," "Grandma's Hands," and "Just the Two of Us." Immediately following the film will be a post-screening discussion with Bill Withers and filmmakers Damani Baker and Alex Vlack, moderated by Jack Walsh, Director of Performing Arts, Executive Producer, Celebrate Brooklyn!. Visit StillBillTheMovie.com for more.

It's Video Day: The Jewish Film Festival and YouTube Wars!

Tonight (and, in one case, through the 28th), New York City honors the medium that moves us: film!

This afternoon at both the Jewish Musuem on the Upper West Side and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, is the kick-off of the 19th annual Jewish Film Festival. Featuring over two dozen films by filmmakers (including some Oscar-winners) from across the globe, the festival exhibits films exploring stories within a variety of themes and topics, including African-American history, Jewish history, World War Two, Russia, homosexuality, Israel, the Middle East, Poland, Romania and religion. Also included are a myriad of interesting and thought-provoking documentaries. This year's festival also features the New York premiere of a claymation film by Oscar-winning director Adam Elliot.

Tickets to the festival are $11 for the general public, but there are discounts for seniors, students and kids, and Film Society members.

If you're into film that are a little less high-brow and a little more slapstick, this is event happening at the Littlefield performance and art space in Brooklyn tonight going to be right up your alley: Littlefield's Redonkulous You Tube Wars Part 1. Because I truly can't describe it better than they can, here's the description of the event, straight from the organizer's mouth (so to speak):

Warfare for the modern age. It's simple folks, get a team of friends together or compete by yourself (teams count as one contestant). Contestants will go to war in a bracket style tournament consisting of single elimination rounds (think “March Madness” playoff bracket basketball). For each round, the 2 competitors will face-off by playing their 2 favorite youtube vids to wow the crowd. Win the crowd and move on to the next round. Video clips will be limited to 1 min so choose your starting point wisely! Remember, bring a playlist arsenal of outrageous videos cocked and ready for battle, you never know what your opponent will have streaming at you! Come early, be redonkulous and stay late. Prizes! Drink specials! Good times!

The party starts at 8pm, and is for those 21 and over, so that means drinks will be available. And guess what -- it's free! So bring your competitive spirit, and good luck!

(Image courtesy of LittlefieldNYC.com. Video from YouTube.com)

Joan Rivers! Live! In Person! Doing Stand-Up! And She's As Politically Incorrect As Ever...

If you only know Joan Rivers as a former contestant on "Celebrity Apprentice", from that Geico ad, or simply as an example of plastic surgery gone too far, this may be one of your last chances to get another impression of the (in)famous comedienne.

 

(Image from Wikipedia, courtesy of Underbelly Limited (Flickr))

The notoriously un-P.C., loudmouth version of your grandmother will be performing her stand-up routine tonight at the Laurie Beechman theater at the West Bank Cafe in Midtown. You can likely expect potty-mouth jokes about sex, race, religion, politics, etc. -- you know, all of those things you're not supposed to mention in polite company. Yes, she'll make you cringe, but you'll love watching her while she does it. And just try to stop the corners of your mouth from creeping into a smile.

The show starts at 8pm and will cost you $30 to get in, but it's for a good cause -- all the proceeds will go to the charity God's Love We Deliver, which delivers meals and nutritional counseling (and just overall feel-good support) to men, women, children and families dealing with a life-altering illness. So, really, having a good time will also help you knock off your New Year's Resolution to give to charity, all in one night! Talk about killing two birds with one stone...

Just a heads up -- there's also a $15 minimum, but you were probably going to order drinks or a snack anyway, right? Right.

Can't make it tonight? You're lucky -- there's one more show coming up on January 20th, but that's the last break you get, you hear me? So go!

Put Your Useless Trivia Knowledge to Work and WIN Something, for Pete's Sake...

Some people are smart. Other people are intelligent. And still other people are somewhere between, cursed with a brain that stores useless facts that are almost never called for. Tonight comes one of those rare occasions when those people get their chance to put their gift -- or curse, depending on the person -- to work and potentially be awarded for their "quirk".

Le Poisson Rouge in the Village is hosting a big live trivia show called "The Big Quiz Thing". This ain't your local bar's trivia night -- they've got multimedia questions, a dazzling stage show, and some serious prizes, including $200 in cash for the winner! Actually, they give prizes to everyone in the top five -- including $50 for the runner up -- concession prizes for those who don't place in the upper echelon of smarties, and even prizes for the folks who come up with funny answers when they can't think of the correct one. I'll bet your neighborhood bar's prize can't top that.

Cover is $10, but that's a pretty good deal considering you're almost guaranteed to win SOMETHING. Doors open at 7pm and the show begins at 7:30. It's first-come, first-served, so bring your smartest buddies and get there early!

Wanna go on a test run to see if your trivia knowledge can compete? Try out some of their questions below:

What is the brand-name for a special crossbred variety of brine shrimp, available at toy stores nationwide?

What's the only NBA team named for an extinct animal?

Put the following actresses in order according to the number of Woody Allen movies they starred in, from the most to the fewest: Mia Farrow, Diane Keaton, Louise Lasser?

Name the TV show: a chef, a florist, a typist.

You can find the answers in the "Test Your Wit" section of The Big Quiz Thing website by clicking here.

(Photo courtesy of Le Poisson Rouge)

For your final act of fun before Thursday night's big holiday season finale...and a rip-roarin' way to kick off 2010!

Didn't eat enough Gingerbread treats this holiday season? You can definitely get your fill tonight at The Bell House, which is hosting a Gingerbread House party!

They're calling it the Ginger Brew Ha-Ha Extravaganza (click here for the Facebook page)!

The highlights: a Gingerbread House Construction Contest, live bands (Old Books, Kabona Zombies, Capita Clip) and a DJ, asian-inspired hotdogs by Brooklyn hipster hit Asia Dog, a late-night dessert bar featuring tasty treats from Raspberry Bakeshop, and, in case you didn't get your chance this season, you can take pictures with Bad Santa all night long!

It's free to get in, and you're encouraged to wear your ugliest holiday sweater or your prettiest party dress to get you in the holiday mood. The party starts at 6:30 and goes late into the night -- don't miss it!

If you DO miss it, though, you won't want to miss this: an Early Bird Derby Day Party on Saturday night!

Yeah, the Kentucky Derby may be months away, but that doesn't mean you can't have Mint Juleps and do some horse betting now! There'll be live music, bullwhip and rope tricks, sandwich appetizers, a hat contest, racetrack games and prizes, and free Mint Juleps for the first 100 people who show up!

(This party is for adults only, FYI, as the Wasabassco Burlesque gals will be on hand, providing a evocative display of their hee-haws...)

Tickets are $10, and the bash starts at 9pm. Want a ticket? Buy it here. Giddy-up, y'all!

(Pictures courtesy of The Bell House)

Start 2010 anew by smashing all your bad memories into itty, bitty little pieces!

Broke up with your boyfriend of X-years, but still haven't found the heart (or the time) to cut up his pictures, rip up his clothes and smash that video game he left behind into bits?

Well, today's your day to finally get your belated revenge! The co-organizers of New Year's Eve in Times Square are once again throwing their annual Good Riddance Day, the day on which you can go crazy and physically destroy all your bad memories! In public! Without fear that they'll throw you in a straight-jacket and cart you off to the nut house!

On hand will be a shredder and -- wait for it -- a sledgehammer to bash and banish those bad memories into oblivion. If you don't have anything to bring, don't worry -- there'll be a special stand for people to write their awful memories of 2009 down, and watch them be shredded to bits. The person with the most creative memory will win a $250 prize. And the first 100 people there get a special gift! (I hope it's a sledgehammer...)

The event only lasts an hour -- from 12pm to 1pm -- on the Broadway Plaza between 46th and 47th Streets. Happy Smashing!

(Photo from NYClovesNYC (Flickr/blog))

"C" is for "cookie", that's good enough for me...especially in the form of a Cookie Party!

Did you hear? Apparently, we might get a few flurries this weekend. Well, you know what goes well with flurries? Cookies! Seriously, why do you think Santa eats cookies and milk every December 25th? Nothing is more comforting after coming in from the cold than a nice, chewy, chocolate-chip cookie...with some warm milk...or, even better, spiced egg nog...  Mmmmmm...

The Bell House in Brooklyn knows this. That's why they're throwing The Cookie Takedown: The Ultimate Holiday Food Party this Sunday! If you can survive the Storm of the Century that every news station is trying to freak you out about (I work for one of them, so, yes, I'm guilty of the broadcast freak out attempt, too), you should hit this party up. They'll have cookies from over 30 master bakers, and, yes, egg nog, too (as well as beer, wine and other libations, though I think the egg nog will taste best with cookies). Plus, the egg nog is free for the first hour! Think of it as their holiday gift, just for you.

Speaking of the hour, it starts at 6:30pm. Tickets are $10, which you can buy here. For delicious cookies, free holiday spirits, music and general awesomeness, that's an unbeatable deal. So, hide the scale for a night, put on the sweat pants, and go to The Bell House for some holiday spirit in the form of tasty baked goodness! You've got two weeks until that New Year's Weight-loss Diet Resolution goes into effect anyway, so you'd better live it up while you can.

(Photo courtesy of Geek Philosopher)

Are you an unhappy New Yorker? (Or New Jerseyian? Or Connecticut...ian?) A new study says, if you live here, you are...

Think you're a happy go-lucky person? Well, if you live in the tri-state area, apparently, you could be happier.   

A couple of economists -- Andrew J. Oswald of the University of Warwick in England and Stephen Wu of Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. -- recently completed a study (that you can read here) that found, out of all 50 states AND the District of Columbia, New Yorkers are the most unhappy of them all! Next to them are people from Connecticut, and only slightly happier than them are people from New Jersey.

The study says sunnier states = happier people. So, topping the list of the happiest folks are the residents of Louisiana (although part of the survey was done before Katrina), Hawaii (Well, duh, though, with as much as stuff costs out there even in these tough economic times, I'm a little skeptical), and Florida (Tiger Woods is NOT counted among them...).

Really? I find that hard to believe. There are a plethora of nice, friendly, smiley people here! (Okay, maybe not smiley, but we're not all crying as we walk down the street here.) And if NYC was that terrible of a place to live, why are there so many songs about this city? "New York, New York" from "On The Town", the famous song of the same name sung by New Yorker crooners like Tony Bennett and New Jerseyian Frank Sinatra, "New York State of Mind" by the native himself, Billy Joel, and, of course, the newest anthem: "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, also natives.

And, actually, if you look at the list, the states with the largest and most populated cities are actually the ones that are "unhappy". I think it has much less to do with sunshine and flowers than it does with inner-city poverty, over-populated schools and neighborhoods, clean streets, efficient public services, etc....

What do you think? Where does your state rank on the list? Are you an unhappy resident? Does the study have any validity? Let's hear your thoughts!

See pics of the hot new dreidel game, Spinagogue, at Major League Dreidel's Brooklyn party!

Tonight is the Major League Dreidel tournament at the Knitting Factory in Manhattan, but Tuesday night, professionals and amateurs alike gave the dreidel a spin at Williamsburg's Full Circle Bar.

With the Hanukkah-themed rock metal musical stylings of Gods of Fire playing in the background, I (one of the amatuers) got a chance to spin under the alias "Gelty Pleasure", and even made it to the Semi-Finals (where I promptly lost to pro-spinner "Spindiana Jones")!

"Good Morning America" was there taping the whole event, so tune in Saturday morning (or find the story on their website) and keep a look out for the girl in the green dress with the white headband (or, if it makes it easier, just look for the only Black woman at the event)!

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PICTURES OF MLD GAME NIGHT AT FULL CIRCLE BAR!

Miss Tuesday night's party? No worries. You can get your chance to witness the exhiliarating whirl of the dreidel for an MLD Game Night Thursday night at Fontana's Bar on the lower east side.

For a truly Judaic experience, stop by Katz's Deli beforehand for some amazing latkes, featured earlier this week on CBS-2 TV (check out the video on the right side of the page)! They're delicious!

The Health Care Debate Gets Melodic

Depending on what side of the Health Care Debate you're on, you might want to check out this event happening at The Bell House in Brooklyn tomorrow night.  

It's called Brooklyn Sings For Health Care Reform. The show will feature nearly a dozen singers and some surprise guests, all performing to help raise money for Campaign For A National Health Plan (CNHPUSA) and support their effort to put out more radio, tv, and print adds to promote the single-payer health care plan. The money will also go towards renting spaces for informative town hall style meetings, and recruiting people to help secure a public option in the Senate's health care bill.

The show starts at 7:30, and tickets are $12 if you buy online or $15 at the door.

(Photo courtesy of Geek Philosopher)