Billi Pod Says==Why I Love The Big Apple Despite The Weather!!

At 8:30am it was 15º, clear and bright. The wind chill factor brought the outdoor temperature down to 5º. Buuuuuurrrrrrrrrr!!

But here’s the deal==>despite the cold weather and its side-effects, this is why Billi Pod loves living in The Big Apple ... hold on now ... I know you are asking yourselves ... what in the f**k is he talking about ... well this is it my loyal and faithful readers ... read on ...

In the 10 days beginning yesterday Billi Pod has already scheduled the following entertainment events --

Tuesday-8:00==>THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Broadway)

Wednesday-3:00==>MY SCANDALOUS LIFE (Off-Broadway);

8:00==>THINNER THAN WATER (Off-Broadway).

Thursday-8:15==>THE BODY POLITIC (Off-Broadway)

Friday-2:00 (and yes that is the correct date and time)==>I’D RATHER BE RIGHT (Off-Broadway);

8:00==>ROSE (Off-Broadway)

Saturday-4:00 (and yes that is the correct time)==>PARAFFIN (Off-Broadway);

8:00==>NURSE (Off-Broadway)

Sunday - open at the moment, hopefully to see Justin and Ben’s new pad in Somalia

Monday-8:00==>BROADWAY BY THE YEAR 1921 @ Town Hall

Tuesday-8:00==>CURTIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA @ Carnegie Hall

Wednesday-2:30==>LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (Broadway);

7:30==>NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC @ Lincoln Center.

Thursday-8:00==>THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON (Broadway)

Yes, my loyal and faithful readers this means in 10 days: 3 Broadway shows; 8 Off-Broadway shows; and 2 classical music concerts, or 13 entertainment events and, hopefully, a trip out to Somalia

Now, I ask you ... honestly ... in the dead of Winter ... where else but in The Big Apple could this be possible?

And you know something else ... I also calculated my exposure to the elements going to and from my apartment to the subway and to and from the subway exits to the various entertainment venues ... and ... tada ... approximately 3.5 miles total.

I rest my case. Now it is up to you loyal and faithful readers because: I report - you decide!!

Billi Pod’s report card on THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST==>A<==a simply delightful performance by a stellar cast, led by Brian Bedford in the role of Lady Bracknell.

As one reviewer said: “you’re guaranteed the very highest level of high comedy, pushed to the furthest extents of wit and wonderment that Wilde’s play allows.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Today is an entertainment doubleheader for Billi Pod --

3:00==>MY SCANDALOUS LIFE - “Set in 1944, it tells the story of Lord Alfred Douglas, known as Bosie, who was Oscar Wilde’s longtime lover, a notorious love affair that rocked England.” (Off-Broadway - complimentary ticket)

8:00==>THINNER THAN WATER - According to the press blurb: “This comedy revolves around Martin who is debt ridden, gambling addicted, angry, and dying. Unfortunately his three estranged children could care less.” (Off-Broadway - discounted TDF ticket).

And this is supposed to be a “comedy"?????” Sounds like another “dark/comedy” to me. But ... if it has the usual results I have only myself to blame because I am the one who booked the show ... right?

Oh, and thank God, it is only 5 days until Yankee pitchers and catchers report to the spring training complex in Tampa.

Time to do some things and stuff, so ...

Musings from THE MIND OF BILLI POD (a memoir in progress):

“Your teenage son may look cute in those tights but do you really want him to become Tom Cruise’s bitch?”

GO GATORS AND GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Says==>Way To Go Scott!!

Good afternoon my loyal and faithful readers. It is another bright but cold day in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World.

Had a great dinner last night with Scott Reed at La Carbonara, an Italian restaurant in Chelsea.

I was in the mood for Italian and the food was excellent. Scott and I got caught up on things and stuff.

I am most happy to report that his 87yo Grandmother had a successful surgery yesterday and is now in the recovery process. Awesome!!

Scott has been deeply involved in booking celebrity talent for The Red Dress Show, the first show of the Mercedes Benz Fashion week, at Lincoln Center.

The event supports The Heart Truth foundation which raises awareness of heart disease in women.

It will be carried live online on CBS on Wednesday @ 7:00pm. This is the website to watch it:

http://www.cbsnews.com/2718-500502_162-482.html

WAY TO GO SCOTT!!

Billi Pod’s entertainment event for tonight is --

8:00==>THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST - “A revival of Oscar Wilde's comedic masterpiece about class, courtship, good old-fashioned name-dropping, epigrams, mistaken identity, cucumber sandwiches and English breakfast tea. (Broadway - Roundabout Theater Subscription Series).

This show has received very favorable reviews and I am looking forward to seeing it.

Speaking of reviews==>the major New York area theater critics broke with tradition and have been filing reviews of the much-delayed SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK. It is an unwritten rule that critics do not review previews, but in this instance the show has already had about 65 performances and the opening date has been reset to March 15th, so all of the major critics filed their reviews today and ... man ... every one of them eviscerated the show, and that is putting it mildly.

Yet, and a big yet ... in the past week’s grosses the show ranked #1, taking in $1,297,283 and beating out WICKED. Go figure!!

So on that dramatic note I will close with ...

Musings from THE MIND OF BILLI POD (a memoir in progress):

“Spacemen usually take up too much space even though they don’t mean to.”

GO GATORS AND GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod's Weekend Report

OMFG!! It is actually 43º out right now at noon in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World, which is excellent because today is Billi Pod’s usual errands and stuff day.

Oh yes, time to breakout the shorts and Tee-shirts and perhaps turn on the AC later in the day. Spring is here already and Winter is over. Hooray!!

Wait ... just checked the forecast on my iPhone and “they” are predicting snow and a low of 15º for tomorrow. F**K!! Oh well, I knew it was too good to be true.

In yesterday’s posting I said that I would probably catch the movie TRUE GRIT in the afternoon. Well, I should have checked my daily log because I already had an Off-Broadway show scheduled for the afternoon.

So, I will now give Billi Pod’s report card on --

2:00-WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS==>A<==very well written and performed comedy, first performed in 1909, about a London publishing mogul who will print whatever content he needs to sell his newspapers and “give the public what it wants.”

It is a little slow getting started but once it does it becomes very entertaining and although it was written back in 1909 the underlying (no pun intended) theme of news media pandering for increased circulation resonates even today.

Tonight I will meet up with John Scott Reed for dinner and a “catch-up” session. Scott is very very close to his 87yo Grandmother, who lives in Alabama, and she is undergoing major surgery today.

SCOTT==>Grandmother and her family will remain in my thoughts and prayers.

CONGRATULATIONS to The Green Bay Packers and MVP Aaron Rodgers for winning their 4th Super Bowl. Rodgers completed 24 of 39 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns.

I thought the game was very exciting but why or why do they have to go to endless commercials every time the ball changes hands, there is a time-out, or there is a momentary pause in the action? It has gotten way way out of hand.

Unfortunately, the whores who run the NFL have sold their souls to the Advertising Devil behind those almost uniformly boring commercials.

And, don’t get me started on the half-time show. Actually, in the name of fair and biased reporting I have to reveal that I didn’t watch ANY of the half-time show. Yep, the TV was on mute the whole time.

Christina Aguilera’s malfunction while singing The National Anthem was inexcusable and her rendition was, in my humble opinion, puke-inducingly bad.

How about this, my loyal and faithful readers==>A national movement called:

"Stop Butchering Our National Anthem At All Sporting Events - Sing It Like It's Written."

Think about it!

And on that positive note I will now post this and head out into balmy outdoors to begin my errands and stuff, but first ...

Musings from THE MIND OF BILLI POD (a memoir in progress):

“Many doctors prescribe Tampax for migraine headaches.”

GO GATORS AND GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Predicts==>Steelers Win 28-24!!

Good morning my loyal and faithful readers.

OK, let’s get the important stuff out of the way first, ie, The Super Bowl, which will finally get underway at 6:30pm and probably last until around midnight, so they can get in all of those super-expensive commercials.

This is Billi Pod’s Super Bowl prediction==>Steelers win 28-24.

Am I recommending that you bet the proverbial house on this prediction? No way Jose!!

I am happy to report that last night the rain had stopped when it was time for me to head downtown to The Village for my show. That said==>the sidewalks and especially the crosswalks were still slushy and sometimes icy, so Billi Pod was extra careful. So ...

Billi Pod’s report card on A PERFECT FUTURE==>C<==it just didn’t work for me. Everyone gets drunk, reveal long hidden secrets and betrayals, a marriage unravels, yelling and screaming, with no likable/believable characters.

Yes, once again the self-proclaimed “dark comedy” was much more dark than funny. You’d think I’d learn. Oh well ... maybe next time ...

I hope you caught last night’s Saturday Night Live, hosted by Dana Carvey because it was the best in a long time.

The opening scene was a “Wayne’s World” skit with Carvey and Mike Myers reprising their roles of Wayne and Garth. It was awesomely funny.

The Bieb also had a scene with The Church Lady. It seems like he is everywhere, doesn’t it?

This afternoon I think I will catch a movie, probably TRUE GRIT, starring Jeff Bridges in the Coen brothers remake of the John Wayne classic. It has been nominated for 10 Oscars.

And on that note I will close with the usual posting of the musings that came out of Billi Pod’s head on December 2, 2010, this one being sorta film related ...

Musings from THE MIND OF BILLI POD (a memoir in progress):

“A ‘snuff’ video is not a documentary about a tobacco product.”

GO GATORS AND GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Says==>HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANDY MULLON!!

When, oh when, will the weather get better? It has been lightly raining most of the day and the haze is so bad that from the 41st floor looking North you can only see a couple of blocks. Yuk!!

On the only good side==>it is above freezing so we won’t have to worry about more ice and, hopefully, the remaining ice will melt and go away.

And, yes, I do know that it is also majorly nasty in a good part of this country. I ask you a question ... can anyone remember a year when the Winter was any nastier everywhere? I sure as Hell can’t. And, my loyal and faithful readers, we have barely made it to the halfway point ... I shudder (no pun intended) to think what the future may hold weather-wise.

OK ... on to more positive things like==>A major shout-out to Sandy Mullon of Anna Maria, FL, who is celebrating another birthday. I actually just got off the phone with her and I am happy to report that she is doing and feeling well.

She has a lot on her plate at the moment with: teaching art history at State College of Florida in Sarasota, looking out after multiple dogs, cats and chickens, tending garden, and maintaining her ties to The Island Community on Anna Maria Island.

Hopefully she can arrange her many activities to work in a trip back up to The Big Apple, maybe in May.

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANDY!!!

The Bo Burnham concert last night was fabulous. He used every profanity and PC incorrectness known to man. I was by far the oldest person in attendance. No matter. Very very funny. Had a great time.

A slight downside to the event ... I thought the concert started at 7:00pm (it was on the ticket), so I left PHC around 6:15 and got to the theater at 6:30. There was a long long line in the freezing and windy cold. WTF!!! Well, long story short ... 7:00pm was the time the doors to the venue were to open, the concert wasn’t until 8:00. Actually they didn’t let us in until 7:15 and people were getting kinda pissed. Oh well ... guess it goes with the territory in The Big Apple.

It was rumored that The Bieb would be at the concert. Well, if he was he was 100% hidden from sight and Bo made no direct or indirect reference to him.

Speaking of The Bieb==>he was again on Letterman Friday night, this time he delivered the night's Top 10==>“Reasons it's fun to be Justin Bieber.” It was funny. When it is over I turned off the TV but I understand he later played drums with the band.

It is also rumored that he will make a “surprise" appearance tonight on SNL.

Tonight’s entertainment event --

8:00==>A PERFECT FUTURE - “This darkly comic and provocative play explores the question of whether people can be married and truly love each other when their political persuasions are diametrically opposed. (Off-Broadway - discounted TDF ticket)

Yepper, there are those two deadly words again in the press blurb ... dark and comic ... meaning, usually ... very very dark and not very funny. Hope this is not the case for this show.

Well, it is now 3:30pm and it is still very nasty out, so I think I will just close this posting out with what is perhaps one of the more provocative musings ...

Musings from THE MIND OF BILLI POD (a memoir in progress):

“I don’t care what your Mother’s new live-in ‘girlfriend’ says - you’re 12 years old and guys do not sit down to pee.”

GO GATORS AND GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Friday in The Big Apple.

Well, my loyal and faithful readers it is yet another bright but freezing day in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World. No snow. But, guess what - snow is in the forecast for tomorrow.

Boring, I know, but that’s what is going on up here, so ... let’s move on with ...

Billi Pod’s report card on ...

Last nite’s INTERVIEWING THE AUDIENCE==>an interesting concept. The performer selected 3 persons from the audience to be interviewed, 2 guys and 1 gal. I am not sure if they were “plants” or not. They seemed to me to be a bit too poised after having been randomly selected to answer rather intimate questions about their lives. Who knows? There was good interaction between the host and the interviewees.

Having said that, it is only 70 minutes long and is a worth-see if you are looking for something different.

Speaking of different --

Tonight @ 7:00pm I am seeing 20yo comedian/musician Bo Burnham perform at the Best Buy Theatre on Broadway.

Bo just won Comedy Central’s 2011 Standup Showdown.

I have seen him several times on Comedy Central and I think he is very funny and I love his style of humor. (full-price ticket).

Want to gave a big SHOUT-OUT to my Cardiologist, Dr. Fred Feuerbach, who is celebrating his birthday today. Thank you again, Fred, for your professional care and friendship over the past 10 years. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

And, yes, my loyal and faithful readers, Andy Pettitte did indeed announce his retirement and this is the reaction in the local papers”

“AIN’T THAT A PITCH! - Andy’s retirement puts Yanks in arms crisis” - New York Post

LEFT HOOK - Andy’s retirement staggers Yanks, leaves rotation in shambles” - The Daily News

After 16 Seasons, Goodbye to a Gamer” - New York Times

Oh the drama continues.

And, finally, in response to several emails and texts ... there is a legitimate reason Billi Pod hasn’t posted on this blog about the upcoming Super Bowl and that is ... tada ... he doesn’t give a flying f**k who wins.

Yep, that’s right, I really don’t care. I did have a brief discussion about this with The Bill, who really doesn’t care either, and we agreed that if we had to choose sides we would both pull for The Steelers, and I will, I guess.

Yes, I will stay in and watch the game and at half-time will grill a steak on my George Foreman grill to have with a baked potato, some grilled onions and a Fresca.

It is time to close this out with the now highly anticipated ...

Musings from THE MIND OF BILLI POD (a memoir in progress):

“Who would you rather have sex with: MacBeth or MacGruber?”

GO GATORS AND GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Says==>HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHI BENDECK!!

From the cold and frigid Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World, Billi Pod says ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KATHI BENDECK, my beautiful daughter who lives in Columbia, SC, with her husband Dr. John.

Kathi is the mother of my two grandsons: Alex Falletta aka Lex aka Army Guy, who lives in Elgin, SC, and Chris Falletta aka Topher, who lives in Gainesville, FL.

Billi Pod’s report card on last night’s DRIVING MISS DAISY==>a classic theater experience. It was terrific in all respects. The chemistry between James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave was amazing. Boyd Gaines as Daisy’s son holds his own too.

If you are theater-person==>you just gotta see this.

For tonight is ...

8:00==>INTERVIEWING THE AUDIENCE-“Based on a method originated by pioneering storyteller Spalding Gray, Zach Helm invites individual members of each evening's audience to be interviewed by him on stage.” (Off-Broadway - complimentary ticket).

Without a doubt this is gonna be a love-it or hate-it event.

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE YANKEE UNIVERSE==>Andy Pettitte will “officially” announce his retirement on Friday morning. This actually is not that much of a surprise. His left-arm will be missed in the rotation.

Will close out this brief report with ...

Musings from THE MIND OF BILLI POD (a memoir in progress):

“Correct pronunciation makes a tsunami understandable.”

GO GATORS AND GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Has Something Important to Report!!

First, my loyal and faithful readers, it is as nasty and yucky out as predicted and I know it has been this way for most of the Midwest and Northeast.

Looking out the windows of my apartment on the 41st floor of my building at 3:00pm it is so hazy with rain and stuff that I can barely see the building across the street. Barf!!

I am getting very tired of all of this.

So, let me add to this downer message by sharing with you loyal and faithful readers some epic information I received last night as I was in the subway station returning from my show downtown. What is it you are no doubt breathlessly asking? Well ... take a deep breath before you read any further ... OK ... ready ... here it is ...

MAY 21, 2011, will be JUDGMENT DAY!!

Yes, on that precise day, according to the pamphlet passed out by a screaming man in a prophet’s outfit, the Earth will be destroyed due to mankind’s sins and all Christian believers will ascend to heaven, thus ending man’s self-rule.

Wow!! And I know you are also wondering just what will happen, well, I can share that with you ...

“• There will be a LOUD noise as of a trumpet

• Fire will destroy structures, homes, and forests

• Virtually everything will be burned up, even the "elements" will be melted.

• There will be a tremendous earthquake

• The earth will reel too and fro

• Jesus will return to the Earth with all of His angels

• The righteous will be taken to heaven

• The unrepentant sinners will be destroyed

• The righteous who died previous to the second coming will be raised from the dead, they will then be transported into the air to meet Jesus.”

So, I guess you would be wise not to make any long term plans for May 22 and later.

Remember, I only report - you decide.

Now that you are enlightened and perhaps forewarned Billi Pod will give his report card on last night’s COMPULSION==>B<== very powerful drama but Mandy Patinkin’s nonstop shouting, screaming and crying got a bit tiresome toward the end.

The show uses puppets to depict various characters, including Ann Frank, and they were awesome. It is a worth-see.

Oh, and Liza with a “Z” was at the performance. I was seated in the front row and she and her security posse walked right in front of me. Honestly, I wouldn’t have noticed her had not the guy next to me poked me and said ... “Oh my God ... it’s Liza Minnelli.” I also saw her briefly when the show was over. She looked good.

Billi Pod’s entertainment event for what I know will be a nasty and icy night is ...

8:00==>DRIVING MISS DAISY starring James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave. "When Daisy, a widowed, 72-year-old Jewish woman living in mid-century Atlanta, is deemed too old to drive, her son, hires Hoke Coleburn, an African American man, to serve as her chauffeur." (Broadway - discounted TDF ticket).

I am really looking forward to seeing this show and it has gotten very favorable reviews and its theatre is only a short walk from my apartment.

Yes, I know that some of you loyal and faithful readers are probably thinking that it is in bad taste to end a prophetic posting about The End of the World with the usual Musings, but “someone else” will just have to be the Judge of that, so ...

Musings from THE MIND OF BILLI POD (a memoir in progress):

“Manly men make love manly-wise. Is that gay?”

GO GATORS AND GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

The Big Apple Is Icing Over

It was super-nasty this morning and it got progressively worse as the day wore on. And it continues. F**K!!

Because of the light snow and rain and freezing temperatures I decided to leave a bit early for my 12:45pm appointment for my annual exam/physical/sit-down with my Cardiologist, Dr. Fred Feuerbach, who is also a FaceBook friend.

When I left my building the wind was whirling and it was obvious that the sidewalk was beginning to ice over. Now my loyal and faithful readers I have to report that in the 1/2 block to the corner I witnessed 3 people slip and fall and I also almost did so myself once. Luckily no one appeared to be injured.

This is insane that I. My Dr.’s office is located on the far Eastside, about 3 1/2 long East/West blocks from the subway station and I had another block to walk to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, so ... gasp ... Billi Pod hailed a cab, something most of you know he hardly ever ever does. It cost $11.00, including tip.

I was a bit early but that was no problem. I was taken back and the session began with the EKG and the resulting ripping off hair from my chest. The nurses and Fred thought the cartoon was funny.

OK, now the results. When we were through I asked Fred to write down his evaluation in terms I could understand and handwriting that I could read. This is what he wrote, verbatim --

“Doing well. Stable from cardiovascular standpoint. Chronic A-fib - no symptoms. Slightly bradycardic - lowered Digoxin dose. Overall - great!”

OK, calm down ... bradycardic means a slower than normal heart rate ... and Fred is confident that lowering one of my meds will take care of it.

Bottom line - this almost 77 year old guy is doing fine heart-wise.

When I left his office I was elated and I was faced with the decision of cab vs. subway and ... it was a no-brainer ... Billi Pod was now enrobed in a cloak of invincibility, so, of course, it was ... tada ... subway.

Made it back to PHC without any broken bones, but I have to admit that it was a lot scarier than I thought it would be and if I had it to do over it would probably be cab.

It is about 4:30 and it is still nasty out and 27º.

My entertainment event for tonight is --

8:00==>COMPULSION-“Tells the story of an American Jew who is obsessed with bringing ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ to the stage. He becomes embroiled in a bitter battle over the right(s) to adapt the diary for the stage.” (Off-Broadway - discounted TDF ticket).

This is playing at The Public Theatre downtown, so I will have a couple of blocks to walk to and from the subway stations.

Let me close this out with ...

Musings from THE MIND OF BILLI POD (a memoir in progress):

“The Grim-Reaper really has no sense of humor so don’t expect him to laugh at your jokes.”

GO GATORS AND GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Second try on Eisenberg/Zukerberg link

Well, lets give the Eisenberg/Zukerberg bit another try, shall we ...

I think this one will work now. Just click on the Well, lets ....

Billi Pod