Woman Assaulted in South Slope; Attacker's Photo Posted

Another woman was assaulted in the South Slope this weekend.

On Saturday, a woman walking from the 7th Ave subway stop was attacked and groped by this man, who then escaped in a Chevy van.

This is the sixth report of a sexual assault in the neighborhood.

Food Truck Rally in Grand Army Plaza

Some of the top food trucks from all over NYC are parked in Grand Army Plaza at the entrance of Prospect Park for a Food Truck Rally this afternoon.

If you don't mind waiting on long lines in this chilly weather, head on over - the festivities continue until 5pm today.

Connecticut-style lobster rolls from Red Hook Lobster Pound


Arnold Palmer slushie w/white peach juice from Kelvin Natural Slush Co.

New Spider-Man Movie Filming in Brooklyn?

There are signs posted on several streets in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn tonight warning car owners that they'll need to move their vehicles to make way for a film crew this weekend. The posting says the film is called "Fiona's Tale."

While I was reading one of these signs, a random man came up to me and said that the "word on the Internet" was that "Fiona's Tale" was not the real title -- it was a decoy title for the real movie filming this weekend: the new Spider-Man movie.

I don't generally take random dudes at their word, but I can't find any film by the title "Fiona's Tale" on IMDB.com. What I can find is a page about The Amazing Spider-Man, due out in 2012.

SO... the new Spider-Man movie (sans Tobey Maguire) may or may not be filming in Brooklyn this weekend.

Rape in Park Slope

A young woman was sexually assaulted yesterday morning by a man who entered her workplace in Park Slope and demanded money. When she told him she did not have any, he forced her into an office and assaulted her, then ran away.

For some reason, the only news organizations that I see having reported this crime are WCBS & NY1. There is also no indication of where in Park Slope this occurred.

This is a big neighborhood, so it would be helpful if the public was at least told the general vicinity of the crime (ie 5th Avenue in the South Slope, 7th Avenue in the North Slope, etc). Hopefully new details will be reported today and they will lead to an arrest.

Live the M Life Sweepstakes: Dream Vacations from MGM Resorts International

MGM Resorts International has launched a new sweepstakes offer called Live the M Life for a chance to win a memory of a lifetime -- one of 11 dream vacations at an MGM resort.



Enter now through March 28th for your chance to win!

MTA to Shut Down Manhattan-Bound Train Service from 15th St-Prospect Park for Four Months Beginning Jan. 10

As of January 10th, there will be NO MANHATTAN-BOUND F OR G TRAIN SERVICE FROM 15TH ST-PROSPECT PARK until May 2011. Were you aware of this? Neither was anyone I knew; a co-worker just happened to tell me after reading it in a blog post.

Just days after raising fare prices to an outrageous $104 for a monthly ticket, the MTA has effectively screwed the morning commute for an entire neighborhood for four months. It's bad enough that F and G riders endure disrupted service almost every single weekend of the year, but now we have no Monday-Friday service either?!?!?

Please flood the MTA website with angry emails about this. IT'S NOT RIGHT and someone should have to answer to the tax-paying residents of the South Slope and Windsor Terrace.

Farrell's Bar Sign is Casualty of Holiday Blizzard 2010

Farrell's Bar in Brooklyn is a New York City landmark. It is an old Irish pub popular with current/former members of the FDNY and NYPD, and at one time it served more Budweiser than any bar in the city. Farrell's was a men's only haunt until Shirley MacLaine broke the gender barrier in the 1970's. To this day, there is no table service, no food, no music, and in many ways walking into Farrell's is like taking a step back in time -- in a good way.

This week, part of Farrell's became a casualty of the great Holiday Blizzard of 2010. Here are a few photos of the South Slope and Windsor Terrace -- most importantly, the fall of a landmark: the Farrell's Bar sign.


Riley the Pup in Prospect Park


16th Street between Prospect Park West and 8th Ave (still unplowed as of 12pm 12/28)


Park Slope residents walking down and riding in sleds on Prospect Park West




Partially-buried fire hydrant in front of the Double Windsor bar


Farrell's sign on the ground after it was blown off the building by high winds


Neighborhood guys picking up the remains before bringing it inside

VIDEO: Holiday Entertaining Tips from Top Chef All-Star Richard Blais!

I'm a huge Top Chef fan, and am routing for Richard Blais in Top Chef All-Stars this season.

Recently, Richard took time to shoot a video for LG offering his top holiday entertaining tips, including a recipe for Egg Nog Gelato - YUM. Check it out...

Jay St Borough Hall... or Jay St MetroTech?

I'm not the most observant person in the world, but I'm fairly certain that the signs at the Jay Street subway stop in Brooklyn used to say "Jay Street-Borough Hall." Now they all say "Jay Street MetroTech."

Am I crazy? Other Brooklyn-ites, please weigh in...

Holiday Discount from Hallmark.com

As a thank you for stopping by their booth at BlogHer, the wonderful folks at Hallmark.com sent me a Christmas card and credit towards my holiday card shopping this year.

They also provided the discount code "Blogher30" for my readers. Use this code to receive 30% off your holiday card order on Hallmark.com.

Happy Shopping!

No F Train this Weekend - Shocker!

Once again, there was no F train service in most of Brooklyn all weekend due to "Track Maintenance." It's gotten to the point where I'd be shocked if there WAS F train service on the weekend, so I'm no longer fazed.

Movie Filming in Park Slope Today

Mr. Popper's Penguins, a movie starring Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino and Angela Lansbury, is filming in the South Slope/Windsor Terrace today.

There are No Parking signs up along parts of Prospect Park West, Windsor and Howard Streets to make room for trailers and equipment.

crew setting up on Howard St

Fire in Park Slope!

Channel 7 Eyewitness News is reporting that there's a fire in Park Slope on the corner of 5th Ave and 17th Street. That would explain all the helicoptors I've been hearing...

Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swift Dating... in Park Slope

Gossip/news sites are reporting that Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swift are dating. Kind of seems like a mismatch - he's pushing 30 and she's barely out of her teens, but whatev.

The real question is what were they doing in Park Slope? Maggie Gyllenhaal lives here, so introducing his sis to his new GF perhaps? I hope to spot them before it's all over -- I'm betting they stick it out through the holidays, then quietly end it in January.

A Look Back at Blog World

I'm back home in Brooklyn after a jam-packed trip to Las Vegas for Blog World. Each session was valuable for both bloggers & PR/Marketing pros. Highlight sessions from day two and three would have to be...
>> Stand Out from the Crowd: Investigative Journalism Tips for Bloggers, featuring Evan Hansen, Greg Ferenstein & Jay Rosen
>> Working w/Brands featuring Lori Falcon, Jessica Randazza, Beth Rosen & Adam Harris
>> The Business of Product Reviews, featuring Carleen Coulter
>> Social Media & Sports: Game On, featuring Matt Cerrone, Mike Germano & Greg Tedesco
>> Ethics & Social Media Marketing, featuring Jeremy Wright, Brandon Eley & Jay Baer

See you next year, Vegas!

BlogWorld -- Day 1

Greetings from Vegas!

I'm attending the Blog World & New Media Expo 2010, and have a few minutes to write before heading out to tonight's party at Aria.

Day 1 of BlogWorld was busy and exhausting. I got some great tips from the Art & Science of Social Media session (thanks @maggiefox) and the keynote chat between Brian Solis and producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice, etc) was highly entertaining. At one point, Burnett (who is British, btw, did you know that? I didn't); anyway, at one point he said "I'm a mental midget when it comes to social media, but I know it's important." He shared his insight on knowing what makes great content, how to connect with people and grow your audience.

More to come tomorrow -- hoping I don't lose big (again) in blackjack tonight.

Wordless Wednesday

Riley - Halloween 2009

Iron Chef Michael Symon Tells Us What's New on the Food Network Next Month

I could sit and watch the Food Network all day long. Between that and HGTV, I always have something interesting to watch.

Next month, the Food Network is introducing a brand new show, Food Feuds, hosted by Iron Chef Michael Symon. In this video, Chef Symon gives us a sneak peek at his new show, the new season of The Next Iron Chef and more... love him!

Mashable & 92Y Social Good Summit (#socialgood)

This afternoon, I had the pleasure of attending the Mashable & 92Y 2010 Social Good Summit.

I missed the first session, which featured guest speakers Howard Buffett, Geena Davis and Soledad O'Brien, but I did make it to the second. Doc Hendley's story was particularly interesting: a former bartender who founded the Wine to Water organization, which provides clean drinking water to impoverished regions all over the world, funded by the proceeds of the sale of wine. He had no experience in philanthropy or fundraising - he was just a regular guy who had a great idea on how to provide something that most of us take for granted - water that won't make you sick.

Actor Edward Norton spoke about Crowdrise, a social fundraising/volunteering organization he founded. Soon after his talk ended, a large number of people exited the event, and missed what turned out to be the most entertaining part of the day: Mashable founder Pete Cashmore interviewing Ted Turner.

I knew Ted Turner was a bit eccentric, but his comments were friggan priceless (and made a lot of sense, for the most part). If I didn't have HORRIBLE AT&T mobile service I would have tweeted everything he said as he spoke. Since I do have AT&T and it DOESN'T WORK IN MANHATTAN, I'm going from memory here, but some of the more memorable comments were:
"we don't need armed forces here"
"war is obsolete"
"I don't wanna bomb anybody. Do you wanna bomb anybody?"
"all you with your twitter, or twinkle, or whatever"
"print itself is going to fade away"
"I don't like media that talks about who's dating who"
"I was a scrapper. We scrapped"
"We sweated every payroll in our first seven years" (re the first years of CNN)
"I had a guy have a heart attack in my office. I've never seen anyone have a heart attack before. I said 'you don't look so good', he said 'I don't feel so good' and that was it. We called the ambulance, then I yelled for someone to find me a new chief finance officer."
"There are over seven billion people in the world. When I was born there were two billion, and that was only 70 yrs ago. Well... 72."

In all, a great event that made you think, laugh and feel inspired. If you're inspired to DO something, check out the UN's Millenium Goals and find a cause that inspires you: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/getinvolved.shtml


taken from the back of the auditoreum

National Weather Service Confirms that a Tornado hit Brooklyn

The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado hit Brooklyn, NY near Park Slope on Thursday evening.

Up on Prospect Park West, it just seemed like a brief, powerful thunderstorm passing through at approx 5pm. I saw a few trees down in Prospect Park later that night and the next day, but no major damage up here. Yesterday, I went down to 7th Ave and was shocked: trees uprooted, branches strewn across the sidestreets and sidewalks and several cars were completely destroyed.