Greenwood Cemetery

If you have spent any significant amount of time with me in Brooklyn you have probably heard me talking about how much I love Greenwood Cemetery.  It is one of my favorite places to go on a pleasant spring, summer, or autumn day in the borough of kings.  It's a lot like a beautiful park without all the other (living) people and noisy children.

In spite of all it has to offer, I continue to be amazed by the fact that most New Yorkers are seemingly oblivious even to its existence.  Just the other day I asked a girl out and mentioned Greenwood as a possible destination (which I do often, "Oh look, what a gorgeous veiw.  Oh look, now I'm kissing you, funny how that happens).  Her response?  Is that really a fun place?

Well, Alison, allow me to enlighten you.

Brooklyn's Greenwood Cemetery was founded in 1838 and quickly became THE place to be buried if/when you croaked in the good ole' U.S. of A.  Hundreds of thousands of vistors a year flocked to see the beautiful architecture and famous headstones, making Greenwood the 2nd most popular tourist destination in the entire country, behind Niagra Falls (which isn't even fully in the United States... suck it, Canada).  Several famous fellows call Greenwood their "permenant home."  Boss Tweed, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Leonard Bernstein can all be found there along with super famous composer (and familial ancestor) Louis Gottschalk.  Gottschalk even has his picture on the map of famous graves and a separate brochure all about him and his grave.  That's right, old Louis Moreau Gottschalk MacLean gets the same amount of cred as Basquiat and Leonard Bernstein (suck it, Canada).

Greenwood was such a popular place to be buried that if you had a nice enough grave, it could make you famous.  This was the case for young Charlotte Canda, who was killed on her 17th birthday in a carriage accident (suck it, Canada).  The tragic nature of her death coupled with the beauty Charlotte's mausoleum attracted, literally, thousands of visitors to the cemetary in the years immediately after her death.

Charlotte "don't call me Canada" Canda's Mausoleum

Visiting Greenwood wasn't just a trip to a cemetary, it was a day at the art gallery.

Don't like art?  First, what's wrong with you?  Second, that's okay!  Because Greenwood Cemetary is also a wildlife sanctuary.  The cemetery is particularly well known to birdwatchers.  Most famous of all are the several monk parakeets that nest in the central spire of the entrace to the cemetery.  Legend has it the tropical birds escaped a crate at JFK in the 1960s and eventually settled Greenwood.  True or not, it is hard to visit without seeing the lively bright green birds.

Don't like art or birds?  That's okay too, because Greenwood is also home to some fantastic views and history.  The battle of Brooklyn happened here and the highest points in all of the city supply amazing views of the city and harbor.

If all that wasn't enough, Greenwood hosts several events well worth checking out (if you can manage a ticket).  In the coming weeks Our Town is going to be performed there.  How many cemeteries do you know of that have a summer play series?

So yeah, next time you wake up to find yourself greeted by a particularly lovely New York City day, stop by Greenwood Cemetery.   It's a great place to get lost for a few hours and the bars near by are awesome.

In short, Greenwood Cemetery is fucking awesome, what's your excuse for not knowing about it?

Heavy Hitter Free HBO Programming

What does HBO do when their flagship shows (Entourage, True Blood, Curb Your Enthusiasm) are between seasons?  Apparently they have decided to rock.

HBO in Larry's absence has been Prettay, Prettay, Prettay good.

I cannot wait for Curb's new season to start but I don't really miss True Blood, Entourage, or Big Love very much and if considering how good HBO's shows have been lately I doubt many others miss them much either.

True Blood was disastrously bad this season.  Too many characters, too many story lines, and way too in love with its own persona.  I'm not exactly sure when Entourage jumped the shark, but even an above average season this past summer couldn't get me to care about this show again.

But enough of the negative.

HBO is pumping it out on all cylinders this fall.  Bored to Death, Eastbound and Down, Boardwalk Empire, and In Treatment have all been nothing short of awesome.

Hey, I walk by that tree sometimes!

It really isn't fair to even include Bored to Death in here.  It has been great but even if it wasn't, I'd still love it just for the thrill of seeing all of the local haunts featured on it (its filmed in and around my hood).  It has just the right mix of sarcasm and sincerity (with a pinch of whimsy).

"If at first you don't succeed, then maybe you just suck." -Kenny Powers

Eastbound and Down was hilarious this season (a clear improvement from season 1) and it is  posting a serious challenge to Ugly Americans for the title of most quotable show on TV.

I am officially committed to watching 2 of the 4 blocks of In Treatment for the rest of the season.  This show is incredibly addicting.  I am watching the "Sunil" and "Jessie" sessions.  I haven't seen any of the other sessions and I don't want to start because I strongly suspect I will become hooked on them as well.

I started watching In Treatment because I like Irrfan Kahn and was quickly roped into his story when I caught a segment while flipping channels.  The "Jessie" session, with actor Dane DeHaan, may be even better.

At first I scoffed at the "Jessie" story set up.  A young gay artist who feels alienated by his parents and lashes out by being promiscuous.  The whole thing felt cliche.  But as I watched it I was amazed by the depth of the story.  It is incredibly well written and this DeHaan kid has got some serious acting chops.  And the best part?  Each episode is only 30 minutes!

Then there is HBO next would be flagship Boardwalk Empire.  At first I thought I liked this show alright.  But then I missed a few episodes while traveling and let it slip to the wayside.  While I thought the writing was good and there were a good number of interesting characters it also suffered from having too much going on at once and didn't invest itself enough into one story line (common failings of hour long dramas with many characters).

But I caught a little bit of it while flipping around this past weekend and, dirt flabbit, it sucked me right back in again.  

Jimmy is a total badass and I wish the show was more centered on him, but the goings on with Lucky Luciano and conflict between Nucky and Michael Shannon's obsessed prohibition officer Van Alden are also engaging. The whole bit with the ill fated Pearl (Emily Meade) was exceptionally well written and acted.

Jimmy, just your classic brilliant, charismatic, tortured, killer... but with principles.

I'm almost pissed that HBO has been so on lately, it makes doing anything really productive really seem like not so much fun right now.  But if you can't beat them, drag as many as you can down with ya.  So I'm letting you all know, HBO (right now) is super Underrated.