Birthday Nap

After a great day of celebrating your birthday, it's perfectly okay to take a nap on the long subway ride home.

Summer at the Guggenheim

A view of some museum goers on a recent Saturday night after the Guggenheim Museum closed for the evening.

The best day and time to visit the Guggenheim is Saturday night from 5:45PM to 7:45PM. The museum is open late (though not late enough in my opinion) and the admission fee is reduced from $22 for adults to the very reasonable "Pay What You Wish." If you're on a budget or traveling or otherwise aren't swimming in $22 bills, it's a great time to get uptown and experience a wonderful museum for a nickle or a dime or a dollar or whatever you think is appropriate. There's usually a line, but don't worry it moves quickly.

On a recent evening, I went to see the retrospective of the Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra. It was exceptionally well-curated and is a highly recommended photography show.

Saturday Smashup

I was replacing a lightbulb in my kitchen on Saturday morning and I heard a long, loud screeching of brakes out the window. I raced over to look out and there at the intersection of 55th Street and 6th Avenue was a fairly major accident judging from the condition of the car sitting in the middle of the street. Luckily, everyone seemed unhurt although the car appears totally demolished. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but someone was obviously speeding or ran a red light or something. This sort of thing will certainly screw up your Saturday afternoon.

The Age of Miracles

If I'm lucky I can usually find one or two books every summer that I really enjoy. This summer it's been "The Age of Miracles" by Karen Thompson Walker. I've been reading it in Central Park on the weekends and I am really enjoying it.

She gave a reading and book signing last week at Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side and even though I missed the reading, I arrived just in time to be the very last person to get their book signed. There's nothing better than a signed first edition hardcover of an author's first book.

Polka Dot Balls

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is having a massive resurgence in popularity this summer with a retrospective at the Whitney Museum which runs from July 12 through September 30th. There is also a collaboration with Louis Vuitton for clothes, handbags and mores that is being promoted with the entire storefront and outside walls on 57th and 5th.

Passing by the restaurant at the Whitney on Saturday night, I saw that it is decorated with these oversize and festive polka dot balls.

Hustler Highway

From time to time, I see this truck driving around midtown Manhattan. It's obviously just advertising for men to go to the Hustler club, but I can't help but think they are missing out on an enormous business opportunity here. A mobile strip club.

Here'e the idea. Pick the business guys up in the Hustler truck down on Wall Street after trading closes at set times (4:15PM, 4:30PM, 4:45PM etc.) and offer free shuttle service home to the Upper East Side, Greenwich, Westchester. Not so sure their housewives will appreciate seeing their husbands getting dropped off at home in this sort of truck, but they're probably going to go there anyway and it sure beats taking Metro West or the subway.

Are mobile strip clubs even legal?

More Minutes, Please

Today was one of the hottest days of the year and there seemed to be an abundance of homeless people staked out on 5th Avenue in the 50s.

File this one in the Liz Smith "Only in New York" category because here's something you don't see every day. In New York City, even the homeless people soliciting for money on 5th Avenue have cell phone plans. Who gives money to a homeless guy talking on a cell phone?

I didn't notice until later when I took a look at my photos from today that he gave me the finger for taking his picture. He didn't get off his call though. That made me laugh.