MKP-Hearts-NYC

A meme that feeds in to the post I was already planning for today? Wundebar!

But first...some neurosis. So, the Mtastics are throwing a holiday fondue party. Very exclusive. Very hush-hush. In addition to the freakout over the related cooking, cleaning and preparation, I have Playlist Anxiety. See, as the meme below will attest, my music collection comes out of a deep and abiding love for some very specific areas of interest. Pop, Broadway, Hugh Jackman, Angry Girls, and a history of Harlem book that came with a CD, just to name a few. And I've seen all too often what happens when N'SYNC comes over the speakers at dance party -- people will rock out to the Electric Slide, Mambo No. 5 and vintage disco, but throw a little boy band action at them...the floor empties. Like...immediately.

My music collection is not cool. Some people have an effortless gift of integrating classic, everyone-likes-them bands with totally unheardof indie groups that everyone feels like a better person for being in on. Their iTunes are a magical compilation of stuff that's too cool for school back in the day and today. Me, I listen to oldies, goodies, and total crap. And by myself, I'm ok with it. But when it's time to throw a playlist out there for general consumption, on a car trip or at a party... well.. Suddenly it's like there's something wrong with Savage Garden ten years later, or the deluxe editions of both volumes of the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. *sigh*

Fortunately both my roommates have better iPod shuffle skills than I do, or at least know how to either mask their nerdery (especially true of the anything-but-secret Hilary Duff fan), or play it off as ironic (the one who sang Desperado at kareoke). Believe me, if I knew how to be ironic about my love of the Boy from Oz soundtrack, my whole life might have gone differently.

Anyway...the meme.

1. Put your iPod on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
In Your Arms Tonight (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) I guess it's ok....

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Track 8, Unknown Artist, Harlem Speaks Siiiiigh. I tried it again and got "Another One Goes By" by The Walkmen

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Strong (Robbie Williams)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
The Luckiest (Ben Folds)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Half-Breed (Cher) Ummmmm

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
That Time (Regina Spektor) Hey remember that time when I found a human tooth...down on Delancy?

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Ol' Man River (Show boat)  Elderly Gentleman River...tired of livin', but scared o' dyin....ok, this one's pretty true

WHAT IS 2+2?
Track 20, Unknown Artist, Harlem Speaks Ok, there's a two in it...

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Class (Chicago)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Predatory Wasp (Sufjan Stevens) That bodes well.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY
Piazza, New York Catcher (Belle & Sebastian) LET'S GO METS! Hoo!

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
The Bitch of Living (Spring Awakening) Aw, man....

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Let's Call the Whole Thing Off  (Sarah Vaughan) haha...I think he's wrong all the time, apparently.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Another Pyramid (Aida)   ......

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Breathing (Lifehouse)  This would be perfect if I was marrying the 10th grader I cried over to this song...

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Da Le Yaleo (Santana) It's going to be a Latin-themed funeral...what?

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Singing in My Sleep (Semisonic) haaahahahaha

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Don't Wish Too Hard (Boy from Oz)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Sad Eyes (Josh Rouse) Aww

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"I want to Break Free" (Queen)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
The Cake I Had (Grey Gardens) So someone's going to poison me..but it'll be via cake. I can live with that. Or..not. You know what I mean.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Enter the Circus (Christina Aguilera) Am I subconsciously feeling some sort of PETA -related guilt?

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Around the World (Red Hot Chili Peppers) Rompin and astompin 'cuz I'm in my prime...

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Bug-a-Boo (Destiny's Child) You make me wanna throw my pager out the window. Tell MCI to cut the phone pole.

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Turpentine (Brandi Carlile) ....what?!

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Sparkle (Live)   Aaaaaaaaaaah!

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Never You Mind (Semisonic) None if this is really any of your business, actually...

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Let it Rock (Kid 606) Yeah, delicate flower that I was...

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Trying (Lifehouse) Ouch.

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Black Heart (Calexico) Way harsh...

An Original Ray's Pizza moves to New Jersey

There are so many pizza restaurants in Manhattan with Ray in their names that their abundance rivals the ubiquity of Starbucks: Ray’s Pizza, Ray’s Original Pizza, Famous Ray’s Pizza and World-Famous Original Ray’s Pizza.

But the story line of this Ray’s might be titled “From Broadway to the Boondocks, With Extra Cheese.”

In the late 1970s, when Joe Russo and his brother John left their hometown in southern Italy and landed in New York, they wanted to continue the family cooking tradition, which included a secret pizza recipe. So they opened Ray’s Real Pizza, named after an uncle who was a good cook, on Eighth Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets. Word spread quickly and soon the place was filled with a mix of the theater crowd, actors, musicians, sports figures, tourists and neighborhood regulars.

But then their rent got raised...

So the Russo brothers shut down their place, took time off and then scouted the metropolitan area for a new location with a more realistic real estate deal. In 2005, they took their recipes and their photos of bold-faced names and settled on Hazlet, which is about an hour and 10 minutes by car from Times Square and might be considered a pit stop on the way to the Jersey Shore.

“We were looking for a new challenge,” said Joe Russo, 53. “And we thought we would look for the worst possible place to open, with the least amount of business, and make it work.”

God, I love New York.


Also, apparently the water's different, and sometimes they used to lock people in the bathrooms in their haste to close up shop. Nice article. New York entrepreneurs are the most ridiculous people ever.

I'm feeling slightly less hysterical now that I know this isn't The Original Famous Ray's. Or even The Original Bagel Ray's.