Monday, August 30, 2010

Double-secret probation

What's that? You think summer's almost over? Well, nothing's over until WE decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor??

HELL NO! Now let's get in Dorfman's brother's car, pick up Fawn Leibowitz and head out to see Otis Day and the Knights! The Avon is showing Animal House this Thursday night at 9:00!!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Brain teasers for while I'm away

Since I'm sure you'll miss me while I'm away next week, here are some brain teasers!

1) Two CVS's (CVSes?) are about to open in our fair city, and I've noticed something strange about their signage: the word "pharmacy" is covered up.




Why is that? It's obviously some legal thing, but what exactly? Why does "pharmacy" have to be obscured, but "CVS" is OK? Is it to prevent Vicodin addicts from lining up outside before the store is even open?

2) Why are the waterwalls at the train station dry? To save money? They were one of the few pleasant aesthetic touches at an otherwise drab and unwelcoming facility.


3) Why is there a replica Mississippi River-style steamboat docked off of Canal Street?




4) Why did we get FOUR phone books the other day? Who still uses phone books?


5) What the heck does this banner at Prospect Market mean?


What are "New Jersey prices"?? Do you get a free bottle of self-tanner with every purchase?


The first person to correctly answer each brain teaser wins a prize*! Extra points for cleverness!

*Prize may just be a hug.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

First look at "The Big C"

The first episode of Showtime's "The Big C," where Stamford stands in for Minneapolis, is now available online. You can watch it on YouTube or IMDb.

The only local spot I recognized was this one, when Cathy Jamison (played by Laura Linney) dines at Saltwater Grille, with Harbor Plaza in the background.


If Stamford Harbor is supposed to be one of Minnesota's 1000 lakes, shouldn't it be frozen year-round?

Here are a few views of Cathy's house on the show:




It looks like a nice little Shippan-type house, but I'm not sure where it is (and I'm not about to go stalking the nice people down there to find it).

As for the show itself, I didn't really care for it. Cathy is a high-strung, risk-averse cross between Ed Norton's character in Fight Club and Ben Stiller's character in Along Came Polly, and she's not particularly likable or sympathetic, even after you learn she has cancer. Her annoyance with her estranged husband seems forced, as if the writers felt the need to throw one more complication into her life, so they said "Let's have her kick her husband out for no reason!" Her relationship with her son is also oddly annoying. It's like they tried to take Weeds and replace a 40-something mom dealing pot in the suburbs with a 40-something mom dealing with cancer in the suburbs, but they forgot to make the characters interesting.

Anyway, that's just my take. Check out the show and see if you can spot any other hometown localities!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Primary Tuesday

If you're registered in either party, don't forget to vote in the primary today! I'm going to write myself in for every race. I'll be the best Senatovernorepresentattorneygeneral Connecticut has ever seen!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Greenwich = nightlife?

OK, we can never, ever complain that there's "nothing to do" in Stamford, because there's even less to do in Greenwich! The New York Post decided to fact-check Governor Rell's claim that Greenwich is "a wonderland of low-cost living and high-end nightlife." Low-cost living - in Greenwich? Um...

Anyway, here's what they found: Dullsville, Conn.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

$tamford, baby!

Do you like what I did there, replacing the S in Stamford with a dollar sign? I'm clever.

Well, there's a reason I did that: Stamford made the list of the least and most expensive cities in the U.S., but I won't reveal which category we're in!

OK, fine, we're among the most expensive. You're shocked, aren't you? Maybe we should change Stamford's nickname to "The City that Works Two Jobs Just to Afford to Live in a Decent Apartment."