Living as we do, in the age of the book trailer, it was only a matter of time before the form really took off and the worlds of literature and Hollywood collided. Well, boom, you guys. Boom! Today was the launch of Gary Shteyngart’s trailer for his upcoming memoir, Little Failure, and it features no less a Hollywoodliterary renaissance man than James Franco! But Franco isn’t the only celebrity appearing in support of Shteyngart. Let’s take a look at who else appears in what is probably the best book trailer we’ve ever seen, despite it containing one of the lamer Canada jokes we’ve ever heard. Because, seriously? A-boot? This country gave us Joni Mitchell! Show some respect. (more…)
Anyone who enjoys using their free time to look at fetuses in jars and taxidermied kittens in Victorian costumes—so, everyone?—can now save the cost of a Megabus trip to Philly’s Mutter Museum: Gowanus is getting its own “Museum of Morbid Anatomy,” an expansion of the long-running blog and library of the same name. It’ll be run by the blog’s proprietor, historian Joanna Ebenstein, and feature a lot of stuff at the “interstices of art and medicine, death and culture” as well as classes on subjects like “the history of the devil.” It sounds wonderful (and like an unexpectedly big week for taxidermy news).
The subways don’t look like this anymore, but there’s still some problems.
The Straphanger Campaigns recently released a list of the Top Ten Best and Worst MTA moments in 2013. We were instantly reminded of how pissed off we were when fares went up in March, and how much the after-effects of Hurricane Sandy still reverberate today. But also, we were reminded that it could all be much, much worse. (more…)
I don’t know…is there any point in writing about anything other than Beyoncé’s surprise album release last night? Is there anything else you want to do this weekend besides curl up with your nice warm laptop so you can watch all the new Bey videos and commit to heart each word she sings and each movement she makes, in an effort to be closer and closer to the most-beloved woman in the world? Maybe not! But I feel like I’d be remiss if I failed to point out some of the amazing things going on in Brooklyn this weekend, things that might prove the perfect respite for when you need to take a Beyoncé break, lest you overdose on her fierceness. Which, I don’t think you could overdose, I think it’d be more like reaching another plane of consciousness. But also, you need to go outside sometime, right? And when you’re ready to do that? Here’s where to go and what to do. (more…)
Listen, we’re the first to acknowledge that the “hybrid food” craze needs to die down a little. So does PBR’s ubiquity, for that matter. Still, via Grub Street, this so-called “Beerger” from Philadelphia’s PYT looks pretty incredible. Like, very incredible. (more…)
Long-anticipated Red Hook restaurant Grindhaus has finally opened, and Gothamist has photos showcasing some key dishes on the menu, which included veal heart tartare, and also the spot’s quaint farmhouse aesthetic, which includes a taxidermied horse’s head on the bar. Quaint, right? (more…)
The last thing you might expect to find near the Brooklyn Navy Yard along the BQE is a full-service spa and wet lounge. But the area is changing fast and Body by Brooklyn has been in the middle of it. Its 10,000 square foot facility has been in operation for over seven years, bearing witness to the revitalization of the Navy Yard, the arrival of CitiBike, and even an organic grocery store just next door.
Body by Brooklyn is probably most well-known for its night spa which will be back mid-January 2014 with a more polished feel. But these parties only partly capture what Body by Brooklyn is about. Located next to a CitiBike station in close proximity to Park Slope, Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights, the spa is structured as an all-day escape accessible to urbanites at all budgets. With its unique combination of amenities and services, Body by Brooklyn aims to encourage a holistic lifestyle of health and beauty for its guests. Its remedies are rooted in both ancient and modern know-how of water therapies for preventive care and health maintenance.
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