Podcasts about Astor Place

Chris Wink, Philip Stanton, and Matthew Goldman created Blue Man Group in 1989 as a performance art piece and it has since grown to become a worldwide phenomenon. What started as a small show at the Astor Place Theater in New York City went on to tour worldwide three times and take up residency in Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando, and Boston. But all good things must come to an end, and the lights go out on their Astor Place run this February, making Blue Man Group one of the longest running off-Broadway shows. To date Blue Man Group has released five albums, received a Grammy nomination, performed on numerous TV shows, and appeared in many memorable commercials. In this conversation, Chris Wink and Philip Stanton share how they, along with Matt Goldman, came up with the idea for the Blue Man, who brings what to the table, and how Blue Man Group took shape and evolved over time. More about Blue Man Group's LegacySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blue Man Group will end its hometown run on February 2, after more than 30 years at Astor Place. Two of the show's founders Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton talk about the history and future of Blue Man and take your calls.

We're off for the Holidays, but we wanted to gift you something from behind the paywall! One of the most recommended stores in our DMs and emails. Named to Fortune's Best Companies to Work For, the 107 year old Rochester NY-based, family-owned Wegman's Food Market. For the rest of Season 4 of Groceries and the back catalog visit www.patreon.com/attitudesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Think before you drink. The FDA has recalled 28 beverages so far in 2024, The Daily Mail reported. All but four of the drinks were recalled because they had drugs, bacteria or harmful chemicals in them that the company didn't disclose. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, a Venezuelan migrant was shot dead and two others wounded in a drive-by shooting near a Randall's Island shelter — apparent payback for an earlier robbery, police said. This Starbucks location has finally run out of steam. After nearly 30 years facing The Cube, the notorious Starbucks outpost at 13-25 Astor Place — known for its decrepit public bathrooms, napping homeless folks and indoor panhandling — shuttered quietly Sunday evening. And in the American West, In the small forest community of Cohasset, Ron Ward watched as flames hundreds of feet high from California's deadly Park Fire approached his family ranch. The man arrested on suspicion of starting the blaze in Northern California by pushing a burning car into a gully made his first appearance in court Monday and was charged with felony arson of an inhabited structure or property.

This is the All Local afternoon update for July 29, 2024. 

Steven Rinella talks with Peter Stark, Ryan Callaghan, Brody Henderson, Randall Williams, Phil Taylor, and Corinne Schneider.  Topics discussed: Being an adventurer and then an adventure historian; Peter's many books; the beaver in the tile work of Astor Place; how young Washington was a screw up; how exasperated Steve gets listening to Attenborough, God bless him; dinosaurs in the snow; land back scenarios; mapping out old water ways; checking out narwhals with Inuit hunters; how far north can you go?; different ways to die; box jellies and black mambas; the lost Pacific Empire of Astor and Jefferson; young Washington; Tecumseh; and more.  Outro song by Jacob Perleoni Connect with Steve and MeatEater Steve on Instagram and Twitter MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to episode 600 of the Automotive Troublemaker. Today we dive into how GM seems to be fine after the UAW strike, how dealership values are staying strong, and how Wegmans is trying to change the way we shop for groceries.General Motors emerges from a costly six-week UAW strike, projecting strong profits for 2023. Despite increased labor costs, GM's strategic planning and stock buyback indicate a robust financial future.GM suffered a $1.1 billion hit due to the UAW strike but forecasts a $9.1B-$9.7B net income for 2023.The company plans a $10 billion share buyback and a 33% dividend increase, reflecting confidence in its financial health.The new contracts with UAW and Unifor are expected to raise GM's North American labor costs by $1.5 billion in 2024.GM's stock rose 8.9% in premarket trading, signaling investor optimism.“I am confident in our ability to continue generating significant free cash flow as we make the EV transition” stated CEO Mary Barra.Despite a dip in dealership values in 2023, the market remains robust, with dealership buy-sell activity and profits significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, as reported by Haig Partners.Blue sky values have decreased by 12% since 2022 but are still over double pre-pandemic levels and 2023 is on track to be the third most active year for dealership transactions, fueled by 385 transactions through the end of Q3.High demand persists for dealerships in fast growing regions with “pro-business climates”, with the report citing recent record sales in South Florida and pending sales that will set record-high values for their brands.Publicly traded dealer groups saw a 92% drop in domestic dealership acquisition spending in Q3, but overall spending remains high.Fixed operations continue to drive profits, with a 9% year-over-year increase in gross profit.The brand with the most interested buyers is Toyota.Wegmans has opened a novel hybrid supermarket/food hall in Manhattan, signifying a shift in the grocery industry towards multi-functional, community-oriented spaces.The new Astor Place store in NYC features a unique blend of grocery and food hall concepts, offering diverse food options, such as a sushi bar, bakery, fish market sourcing selections directly from Japan, and a pre-made salad area.This shift caters to consumer preferences for convenience, with supermarkets offering restaurant meals, meal kits, and ready-to-eat options.Consumers often prefer to eat out rather than cook on their shopping days, which has prompted a rise in demand for hot food options in supermarkets, according to Atul Sood, chief business officer at Kitchen United.Hosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle MountsierGet the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/ JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/ Read our most recent email at: https://www.asotu.com/media/push-back-email ASOTU Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/automotivestateoftheunion

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with Dave Harris, chief information officer as well as chief technology officer at Shake Shack about how technology can enable and enhance the guest experience. Harris has been with Shake Shack for four years and has led technology teams across companies in retail, hospitality and consumer packaged goods. Some companies include Virgin Atlantic, Avis, JetBlue, Yankee Candle and more.Shake Shake serves elevated versions of the classics using only the best ingredients, says Harris. He adds that they are known for great burgers, chicken, hotdogs, frozen custard, beer, wine and more. Core values that Shake Shack focuses on are elevated food, made with the best ingredients, gathering and enriching their neighborhoods, and delivering enlightened hospitality at every touch point, says Harris. The original Shake Shack opened in New York's Madison Square Park in early 2000. They have expanded to more than 400 locations across the United States and internationally. Harris talks about how Shake Shack will retrofit all locations with kiosks by the end of 2023. In 2017 they deployed their first kiosks in the Astor Place location and were able to use that data to develop the rollout program. Harris noted that about half of their locations currently have kiosks. He says that the kiosks are their highest profit margin channel and highest in check average check. Harris talks about investing in technology, he says from a guest perspective they have invested the most. He says they have invested significantly in digital products, they have custom IOS and Android mobile apps, a custom web ordering platform and the kiosk solution. Over the last two years Harris says that Shake Shack had to become more accessible, focus on multichannel delivery and make it easier for the Shack team. To hear Harris talk about the Shake Shack tech stack, including the tech that determines order wait time, plus find out what Harris' talking back question is for the guys and the details of the foodservice feud check out this episode of Hospitality Hangout.

Alex and Max put a bow on the 2023 Tacoma Film Festival. They celebrate all 200+ festival entries and detail the juror and audience winners. To concluded their coverage Alex interviews Giuseppe Malpasso, the director of Astor Place, The American Dream.Hosts: Alex MacAulay and Max FosbergProduced by: Max FosbergSupport the show

The All Local noon update for October 18th, 2023.

Quarter-Arsed History presents, the Astor Place Riot, a deadly riot that erupted on the streets of New York after a longstanding disagreement over who was the best Shakespearean actor of the time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more at TheCityLife.org --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/citylifeorg/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/citylifeorg/support

Kevin Landis's One Public: New York's Public Theater in the Era of Oskar Eustis (Methuen Drama, 2022) tells the story of the remarkable first 17 years (2005-2022) of Oskar Eustis's tenure as the Artistic Director of The Public, the theatre sometimes called America's de facto national theatre. But it is not a book about Eustis. Instead, it is a book about the hundreds of artists and administrators who, guided by Eustis's leadership, create extraordinary theatre at The Public's Astor Place headquarters, at the Delacorte in Central Park, and in touring productions around the city and across the country.  A central organizing principle in the book is the contradiction (and Eustis is not afraid of contradiction) between the theatre's left-wing, Marxian ambitions and the reality that it exists in a hyper-capitalist country with little public support for the arts. Is it possible to keep tickets affordable, salaries liveable, and the work on stage exciting? If The Public hasn't figured out how to do all three, it isn't for lack of trying, and One Public provides detailed case studies of a series of attempts live up to this theatre's inspiring, impossible, necessary ideals. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Kevin Landis's One Public: New York's Public Theater in the Era of Oskar Eustis (Methuen Drama, 2022) tells the story of the remarkable first 17 years (2005-2022) of Oskar Eustis's tenure as the Artistic Director of The Public, the theatre sometimes called America's de facto national theatre. But it is not a book about Eustis. Instead, it is a book about the hundreds of artists and administrators who, guided by Eustis's leadership, create extraordinary theatre at The Public's Astor Place headquarters, at the Delacorte in Central Park, and in touring productions around the city and across the country.  A central organizing principle in the book is the contradiction (and Eustis is not afraid of contradiction) between the theatre's left-wing, Marxian ambitions and the reality that it exists in a hyper-capitalist country with little public support for the arts. Is it possible to keep tickets affordable, salaries liveable, and the work on stage exciting? If The Public hasn't figured out how to do all three, it isn't for lack of trying, and One Public provides detailed case studies of a series of attempts live up to this theatre's inspiring, impossible, necessary ideals. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Kevin Landis's One Public: New York's Public Theater in the Era of Oskar Eustis (Methuen Drama, 2022) tells the story of the remarkable first 17 years (2005-2022) of Oskar Eustis's tenure as the Artistic Director of The Public, the theatre sometimes called America's de facto national theatre. But it is not a book about Eustis. Instead, it is a book about the hundreds of artists and administrators who, guided by Eustis's leadership, create extraordinary theatre at The Public's Astor Place headquarters, at the Delacorte in Central Park, and in touring productions around the city and across the country.  A central organizing principle in the book is the contradiction (and Eustis is not afraid of contradiction) between the theatre's left-wing, Marxian ambitions and the reality that it exists in a hyper-capitalist country with little public support for the arts. Is it possible to keep tickets affordable, salaries liveable, and the work on stage exciting? If The Public hasn't figured out how to do all three, it isn't for lack of trying, and One Public provides detailed case studies of a series of attempts live up to this theatre's inspiring, impossible, necessary ideals. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Kevin Landis's One Public: New York's Public Theater in the Era of Oskar Eustis (Methuen Drama, 2022) tells the story of the remarkable first 17 years (2005-2022) of Oskar Eustis's tenure as the Artistic Director of The Public, the theatre sometimes called America's de facto national theatre. But it is not a book about Eustis. Instead, it is a book about the hundreds of artists and administrators who, guided by Eustis's leadership, create extraordinary theatre at The Public's Astor Place headquarters, at the Delacorte in Central Park, and in touring productions around the city and across the country.  A central organizing principle in the book is the contradiction (and Eustis is not afraid of contradiction) between the theatre's left-wing, Marxian ambitions and the reality that it exists in a hyper-capitalist country with little public support for the arts. Is it possible to keep tickets affordable, salaries liveable, and the work on stage exciting? If The Public hasn't figured out how to do all three, it isn't for lack of trying, and One Public provides detailed case studies of a series of attempts live up to this theatre's inspiring, impossible, necessary ideals. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

Kevin Landis's One Public: New York's Public Theater in the Era of Oskar Eustis (Methuen Drama, 2022) tells the story of the remarkable first 17 years (2005-2022) of Oskar Eustis's tenure as the Artistic Director of The Public, the theatre sometimes called America's de facto national theatre. But it is not a book about Eustis. Instead, it is a book about the hundreds of artists and administrators who, guided by Eustis's leadership, create extraordinary theatre at The Public's Astor Place headquarters, at the Delacorte in Central Park, and in touring productions around the city and across the country.  A central organizing principle in the book is the contradiction (and Eustis is not afraid of contradiction) between the theatre's left-wing, Marxian ambitions and the reality that it exists in a hyper-capitalist country with little public support for the arts. Is it possible to keep tickets affordable, salaries liveable, and the work on stage exciting? If The Public hasn't figured out how to do all three, it isn't for lack of trying, and One Public provides detailed case studies of a series of attempts live up to this theatre's inspiring, impossible, necessary ideals. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

Kevin Landis's One Public: New York's Public Theater in the Era of Oskar Eustis (Methuen Drama, 2022) tells the story of the remarkable first 17 years (2005-2022) of Oskar Eustis's tenure as the Artistic Director of The Public, the theatre sometimes called America's de facto national theatre. But it is not a book about Eustis. Instead, it is a book about the hundreds of artists and administrators who, guided by Eustis's leadership, create extraordinary theatre at The Public's Astor Place headquarters, at the Delacorte in Central Park, and in touring productions around the city and across the country.  A central organizing principle in the book is the contradiction (and Eustis is not afraid of contradiction) between the theatre's left-wing, Marxian ambitions and the reality that it exists in a hyper-capitalist country with little public support for the arts. Is it possible to keep tickets affordable, salaries liveable, and the work on stage exciting? If The Public hasn't figured out how to do all three, it isn't for lack of trying, and One Public provides detailed case studies of a series of attempts live up to this theatre's inspiring, impossible, necessary ideals. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Yesterday on Bill Mick Live we talked about the Astor Place riots and the impact that the love of Shakespeare in America of the 19th Century had on the nation, and the events of May 10, 1849. After the show, I was thinking a bit more about things, and it occurred to me that there might be a related issue today. The New York times recently ran an article explaining the problems in primary schooling when it comes to the teaching of history. The article seems to indicate that history, and indeed most social studies, are being ignored in primary schools (1st-12th) in favor of the more technical subjects which are tested for assessments and entry into colleges. Having a 7th grader myself, I am not convinced that is true, but it did raise some questions in my mind about HOW we teach not just history, but the values and principles that guided those who came before us… --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plausibly-live/message

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://thecitylife.org/2023/05/09/astor-place-alamo-cube-will-be-restored-and-will-spin-again-this-summer/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/citylifeorg/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/citylifeorg/support

This might be the single best pitch ever thrown.Like, not hyperbole. That might be the single best pitch ever thrown.Since Shohei Ohtani is beyond describing with words, numbers, music, electromagnetic fields… let's let baseball sit for a moment and focus on the home front.The folks at Hell Gate have presented a field of 64 for NYC hot takes, and, yeah, okay… it's good to have this forum because this could be an entire day's worth of tweets.So, I'm just gonna go through their bracket, give you the winners, and provide all the correct analysis along the way to find out the champion take. My analysis in bold, winners in italics.BROOKLYN REGION(1) The best pizza in NYC can be found at Domino's. Domino's is underrated, but no. vs. (16) No one should live remotely close to Newtown Creek or the Gowanus Canal. Probably, and Willets Pod just touched on this.(8) Free concerts are a trap. You get what you pay for. vs. (9) Coney Island is a better beach than the Rockaways. If you'd said Brighton Beach, maybe. Coney Island is a lousy beach.(5) There are too many bars in NYC. No, there are too many bars in close proximity to each other. vs. (12) Jazz in bars should be banned. This is ludicrous. Don't go to jazz bars, then.(4) Public urination should not be against the law. Correct, especially given the public bathroom situation in this town. vs. (13) Chinese food ranking: Sunset Park > College Point > Flushing > Chinatown. How are you even quantifying this? Remarkably stupid to even try wading into it. Go away.(6) We should bring back speed dating. Okay? Isn't that just what apps are now, basically? vs. (11) The City MUST subsidize beer at BRIC events (should cost no more than $5). Oh please.(3) You should be able to park for free at metered spots on Saturdays, too, not just Sundays. If anything, you should have to pay on Sundays, too. vs. (14) To find the best Italian food, look for an elderly man whose political views are not for public consumption. This is a lazy take, but at least it's not completely wrong.(7) Prospect Park > Central Park. In some ways, at least, sure. vs. (10) Prospect Park is boring and I don't want to go to your birthday picnic there. That's a you problem.(2) Rats are fine. They're not, but this is a better take than its more obnoxious opponent. vs. (15) If well drinks cost more than $10 at a bar, vandalism should be legal there. Good lord, people, dive bar attendance is not a personality.REGIONALS: (4) Legalize public urination > (8) Free concets are a trap; (7) Prospect Park > (14) Old racists know good food. Winner: (4) Public urination should not be against the law.MANHATTAN REGION(1) The Astor Place cube sucks. Yeah. vs. (16) East River park was falling apart and it's fine to rebuild it. They should expand the park and close the FDR forever.(8) The Oculus is actually pretty cool. But it still sucks. vs. (9) Cars should be banned below 96th Street. Cars should be banned on the entire island.(5) The NYU student who hated studying abroad in Florence is right – studying abroad sucks. This is another you problem. vs. (12) The Empire State Building is ugly and the Chrysler Building should be more famous instead. The Empire State Building is maybe the most overrated place in the entire city.(4) All Broadway musicals are terrible. Ludicrous blanket statement. vs. (13) Gramercy Park should be municipalized. And all of the key holders should be egged on opening day.(6) The Elizabeth Street Garden should absolutely become housing. Eh… there are so few gardens, and turning that one into housing is not going to solve anything, really. vs. (11) It's fine to wear open-toed shoes out and about. Grow up! Why are you looking at everyone's feet, Quentin? Mind your business.(3) The new white CitiBike e-bikes are too heavy and bumpy and bad. They look ridiculous, too. vs. (14) Tammany Hall was good. I'm gonna do the whole Matt Damon “do you like apples” scene if this becomes an actual topic.(7) Everyone should shop at Whole Foods – it's cheaper! This is just weird? vs. (10) We must drain and pave over the East River. Pave, no. Turn into a miles-long wildlife preserve? Let's talk.(2) The Vessel is actually cool/good/beautiful. No it ain't. vs. (15) Food halls are overrated. It's not exciting on I-95 and it's not exciting in the city.REGIONALS: (13) Municipalize Gramercy Park > (9) Ban cars below 96th Street; (3) Disappointing CitiBikes > (10) Drain and pave the East River. Winner: (13) Municipalize Gramercy Park.QUEENS REGION(1) George Santos rules. Way funnier than the last fascist we sent to Washington. vs. (16) Kiss > Ramones > Simon and Garfunkel. Put Simon and Garfunkel according to your taste, but the order is Ramones > Kiss, and that's not up for debate.(8) Clubs and dive bars should have a separate bathroom for people who want to do drugs. Suck it up. Or snort it up. Whatever. vs. (9) Breezy Point should be seized through eminent domain and turned into a public beach. Obviously.(5) People who say there's good BBQ in NYC are lying to themselves. It's not as bad as people make it out to be, but it's also not GOOD BBQ. vs. v(12) Either the Whitestone Bridge or the Throggs-Neck must be torn down – we can't have both. Put trains on them.(4) Street cleaning should always be just once a week. Duh. vs. (13) There are too many firehouses. What drugs were you doing in that bathroom?(6) The NYC public school year should end in May, not the end of June. Then they'd start in August, which is worse. vs. (11) The subway should have a smoking car. Deranged, but in the new weed capital of the world…(3) The Mets are not uniquely cursed. Oh baby, how much time do you got? vs. (14) Douglaston is on Long Island, not in Queens. You can't just make shit up and call it a take.(7) The Queens/Nassau border doesn't exist. This is a way better version of the 14 seed, and spiritually accurate. vs. (10) People that throw bread for pigeons are assholes. Mind your business.(2) Actually, the street numbers make sense, you just want an excuse not to go to Queens. It's a little confusing in Astoria, for about 30 seconds. But keep not coming to Queens, you don't deserve it. vs. (15) Sunnyside Spider-Man > Forest Hills Spider-Man. This isn't even a hot take, it's just true. Unfortunate matchup.REGIONALS: (4) Die, alternate side parking! > (1) George Santos; (3) Mets > (7) Queens/Nassau border isn't real. Winner: (3) The Mets are not uniquely cursed.THE BRONX REGION(1) Bill de Blasio is the best mayor NYC has ever had. LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. vs. (16) Riverdale is not in the Bronx. Spiritually, again, understandable, but stop arguing with maps.(8) The New York City Council should be dissolved. I'd like to hear more? Useless organization for the most part. vs. (9) The ferries are the best way to get around the city. From a comfort standpoint, absolutely.(5) The Yankees should allow facial hair, but only full handlebar mustaches and failing that their players must be completely hairless. Are we talking full body wax, too? vs. (12) City outdoor pools should be open year-round. In some form or another… yes.(4) The city's health rules for restaurants are too strict (and racist…….) The famously strict New York City restaurant health codes??? vs. (13) We should have corporal punishment for a select few absentee landlords, just to keep them all in line. Embrace having to live in the places they neglect as “corporal punishment,” and let's roll.(6) Showtime subway dancers deserve more love and respect. A lot of them suck. Standards have dropped. But they're still out there putting on better shows than Jerry Seinfeld reading a list of complaints. vs. (11) Staten Island should be given independence (come what may). Here's my hot take: Staten Island is actually good.(3) We need to give firefighters more things to do. THEY. FIGHT. FIRES. vs. (14) Park conservancies should be abolished. NIMBYs dressed up as environmental advocates. 100% accurate take.(7) Just make Marble Hill part of the Bronx, this is stupid. Unlike some of the others, this one is a good take. They changed the course of the Spuyten Duyvil Creek between the tip of Manhattan and the Bronx, and it left Marble Hill, once part of Manhattan Island, as part of the mainland. If you redraw the river, redraw the map. vs. (10) New York City should not have any zoos. Quite possibly the worst take on the list.(2) Bagels have become too big. You've become too weak. vs. (15) All cars entering the city must have internal horns that are louder than their external horns. It's really not the horns that are the problem, but love the idea.REGIONALS: (5) Yankees must be either mustachioed or fully hairless > (9) Ferries; (7) Marble Hill should be part of the Bronx > (14) Abolish park conservancies. Winner: (7) Just make Marble Hill part of the Bronx, this is stupid.CITY CHAMPIONSHIP(13) Gramercy Park should be a public park > (3) The Mets are not uniquely cursed.The nature of the Mets' cursing may not be unique, but the way they go about living through it sure is. Way too many of these takes were simply awful, so here's the First Four Out, as I see it anyway…Brooklyn: (17) The Nathan's on the Coney Island boardwalk is better than the main Nathan's on Surf Avenue.Manhattan: (17) They should've built that stadium at Hudson Yards even though NYC didn't get the Olympics, at least everyone expects the Jets to suck.Queens: (17) LaGuardia > JFK and it isn't even really that close. MUCH LIKE KENNEDY AIRPORT.Bronx: (17) Orchard Beach is the best beach in the city.Staten Island (1): The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail should be extended over the Bayonne Bridge and to the St. George ferry terminal along Richmond Terrace.But the champion of all NYC takes? Every road in the city with multiple lanes for automobile traffic should be reduced to one lane, with the rest of the space given to bikes, light rail, green space… anything but cars. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit willetspen.substack.com/subscribe

Si es tu primera vez aquí. O si ya has estado, pero como si lo fuera. Te mando esta postal sonora de Nueva York desde Astor Place. A Strand, una de las librerías más famosas de Nueva York, se viene a comprar libros. Obviamente. Pero también a observar a quienes los compran. Ellos hacen de una actividad rutinaria un arte. No son clientes cualquiera de una librería cualquiera. Son los clientes de Strand. Un lugar que ha desbordado los límites de su propio local y se ha extendido hacia la calle, donde multitud de aficionados a los ejemplares de segunda mano se agolpan en las estanterías buscando alguna ganga. Venir a esta parte de la ciudad merece la pena sólo por perderte entre sus libros. Pero también por pasear por su vecina Astor Place, un popular lugar de encuentro para tomar algo o simplemente para observar a los skaters haciendo sus trucos por toda la plaza. Buscar libros usados es apasionante. Los mercadillos están repletos de ellos los fines de semana. Puedes encontrarte auténticos tesoros amontonados a un precio irrisorio que hoy podría tener un altísimo valor en el mercado. Se convierten en tesoros materiales a los que sentir apego. Porque de lo demás vamos soltando lastre. Pero los libros usados poseen una serie de elementos intangibles que se convierten en recurrentes: fantasear con quién ha sido su dueño, dónde vivía, pensar en qué momento de su vida lo leyó… Hay personas, igual tú eres una de ellas, que sienten verdadera pasión por eso. Es una manera de apropiarte de un trozo de la existencia de los demás. Aunque el juego se te puede ir de las manos. Depende de hasta dónde quieras llegar. Gracias por escucharme. Un abrazo desde Nueva York.

Thomas Balsley is a renowned designer whose New York City-based practice is best known for its fusion of landscape and urbanism in public parks, waterfronts, and plazas throughout the US and abroad. For over 35 years, Tom's work has reshaped social and cultural spaces with robust sustainable landscapes that teem with public life. In New York City alone, he has completed more than 100 parks and plazas, including the 2014 ASLA Honor Award-winning Hunter's Point South Waterfront Park and Gantry Plaza Park, across the East River from the UN; Riverside Park South; Chelsea Waterside Park; Peggy Rockefeller Plaza; Capitol Plaza; and the recently completed 51 Astor Place plaza, across from Cooper Union. In an unprecedented gesture, a small park on 57th Street was named Balsley Park in recognition of his design contributions to the city. Spacemaker Press devoted a monograph to Thomas Balsley Associates' work: “Thomas Balsley: The Urban Landscape.” In 2015, Mr. Balsley received ASLA's highest design honor, the Design Medal. ORO Editions has just released his firm's second monograph, “Thomas Balsley: Uncommon Ground,” with foreword by James Corner and an essay by Ian Volner.

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with Dave Harris, chief information officer as well as chief technology officer at Shake Shack about how technology can enable and enhance the guest experience. Harris has been with Shake Shack for four years and has led technology teams across companies in retail, hospitality and consumer packaged goods. Some companies include Virgin Atlantic, Avis, JetBlue, Yankee Candle and more.Shake Shake serves elevated versions of the classics using only the best ingredients, says Harris. He adds that they are known for great burgers, chicken, hotdogs, frozen custard, beer, wine and more. Core values that Shake Shack focuses on are elevated food, made with the best ingredients, gathering and enriching their neighborhoods, and delivering enlightened hospitality at every touch point, says Harris. The original Shake Shack opened in New York's Madison Square Park in early 2000. They have expanded to more than 400 locations across the United States and internationally. Harris talks about how Shake Shack will retrofit all locations with kiosks by the end of 2023. In 2017 they deployed their first kiosks in the Astor Place location and were able to use that data to develop the rollout program. Harris noted that about half of their locations currently have kiosks. He says that the kiosks are their highest profit margin channel and highest in check average check. Harris talks about investing in technology, he says from a guest perspective they have invested the most. He says they have invested significantly in digital products, they have custom IOS and Android mobile apps, a custom web ordering platform and the kiosk solution. Over the last two years Harris says that Shake Shack had to become more accessible, focus on multichannel delivery and make it easier for the Shack team. To hear Harris talk about the Shake Shack tech stack, including the tech that determines order wait time, plus find out what Harris' talking back question is for the guys and the details of the foodservice feud check out this episode of Hospitality Hangout.

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with Dave Harris, chief information officer as well as chief technology officer at Shake Shack about how technology can enable and enhance the guest experience. Harris has been with Shake Shack for four years and has led technology teams across companies in retail, hospitality and consumer packaged goods. Some companies include Virgin Atlantic, Avis, JetBlue, Yankee Candle and more.Shake Shake serves elevated versions of the classics using only the best ingredients, says Harris. He adds that they are known for great burgers, chicken, hotdogs, frozen custard, beer, wine and more. Core values that Shake Shack focuses on are elevated food, made with the best ingredients, gathering and enriching their neighborhoods, and delivering enlightened hospitality at every touch point, says Harris. The original Shake Shack opened in New York's Madison Square Park in early 2000. They have expanded to more than 400 locations across the United States and internationally. Harris talks about how Shake Shack will retrofit all locations with kiosks by the end of 2023. In 2017 they deployed their first kiosks in the Astor Place location and were able to use that data to develop the rollout program. Harris noted that about half of their locations currently have kiosks. He says that the kiosks are their highest profit margin channel and highest in check average check. Harris talks about investing in technology, he says from a guest perspective they have invested the most. He says they have invested significantly in digital products, they have custom IOS and Android mobile apps, a custom web ordering platform and the kiosk solution. Over the last two years Harris says that Shake Shack had to become more accessible, focus on multichannel delivery and make it easier for the Shack team. To hear Harris talk about the Shake Shack tech stack, including the tech that determines order wait time, plus find out what Harris' talking back question is for the guys and the details of the foodservice feud check out this episode of Hospitality Hangout.

Jennifer Lieberman comes by her writing and creativity honestly. She has been writing, organizing, and working toward a career in theater writing ever since she was a student in school. She has written her own one-person play as well as a book entitled “Year of the What” based on the play.   As Jennifer tells us about her life, she discusses living in New York City during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. She will discuss how her life changed after that day.   Jennifer clearly is a person who set goals for herself and then worked to achieve them. She is absolutely unstoppable. I think you will enjoy this interview and the creative personality of this wonderful person.   About the Guest: After years of pounding the pavement and knocking on doors with no success of breaking into the entertainment industry, Jennifer decided to take matters into her own hands and created the solo-show Year of the Slut. This show proved to be her break and the play went on to win the Audience Choice Award in New York City and is now the #1 Amazon Best Selling novel Year of the What? and was awarded the Gold Medal at the Global Book Awards 2022 for Coming of Age Books. Since deciding to make her own break Lieberman has appeared in over 30 international stage productions, has produced over 40 independent film and theatre productions and has helped over 100 creatives make their own break through her coaching and consulting work. She has penned a number of stage and screen plays and her short films have screened at the Festival de Cannes Court Métrage among other international festivals. She is currently gearing up to direct her first feature film.   Social Media Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamjenlieberman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamjenlieberman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamjenlieberman Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-lieberman-33b20426/       About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes Michael Hingson  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson  01:21 Hi, again, it's Michael Hingson, and you are listening to unstoppable mindset, the podcast where inclusion diversity in the unexpected me. And today, Jennifer Lieberman, our guest I think certainly has lots of unexpected things that she's going to tell us about. If you don't know, Jennifer, and you may or may not know who she is, I will just tell you that you want to talk about unexpected. She wrote her own one person play called The year of the slug, and we're gonna get into that I am sure, along with a lot of other things. So Jennifer, welcome to unstoppable mindset. How are you?   Jennifer Lieberman  02:00 I'm fabulous. Michael, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to chat with you today.   Michael Hingson  02:07 Well, we're really excited that you're here. And I know you do have lots of stories and you faced a lot of challenges. And it will be good to go through some of those. Why don't we start new sort of telling me a little bit about your early life and how you kind of progressed a little bit?   Jennifer Lieberman  02:21 Sure. So I started off as the competitive gymnast. And I was in competition. By the time I was five, and was training almost every day after school. By the time I was eight years old. I kind of had a natural aptitude for the sport. And that was my main focus for a really long time. And then I ended up coaching, I founded a high school team. And I think it's relevant because from a very early age, I had to have like a certain amount of discipline. And that discipline has really helped me with longevity in the creative world where it's It's a thankless business a lot of the time.   Michael Hingson  03:11 So where are you from originally?   Jennifer Lieberman  03:13 Oh, yes, I'm from. I was born in Toronto raised in Maple, Canada, just outside of Toronto. I went to York University in Toronto, I studied philosophy and English Lit. And when I graduated, I moved to New York City to pursue a career in theatre. I started writing at a young age, I was about eight years old when I started writing scripts. Originally, it started off as fan fiction for shows that I wanted to be on as a child. And then by the time I was 12, I my imagination evolved enough to create my own plots and characters and storylines that weren't borrowing from worlds that were previously created by other writers. So it was always something in me. But like I said, gymnastics was the main focus, you know, until halfway through high school when I had a career ending knee injury. But like, I still love the sport and love being in the gym. So coaching kind of allowed me to stay in the world that I was used to. And then in university is when I started taking acting classes, and I just kind of never looked back like I am in love with the creative process, whether it's writing performance, filmmaking, and I've developed a lot of skills over the years in order to stay working and stay in the game. Because especially as an actor, you don't have a lot of agency or control over when you get picked And what you get picked for.   Michael Hingson  05:02 So for you, philosophy ended up sort of being a means to an end, as opposed to being a career that you are going to go into in some way. Well,   Jennifer Lieberman  05:11 actually, I studied philosophy, it's interesting that you bring it up, but the Greeks are who invented theatre. That's where a theater was born in these Greek Dionysian festivals, and, you know, East Escalus. Like all of these writers wrote, theatrically, and that's kind of, you know, philosophy played on these stories, or at least in the earlier days, so it always felt connected to me. Philosophy, Greek philosophy, mythology, it was all kind of wrapped up in some sort of performance.   Michael Hingson  05:53 But you went through and got a degree in philosophy, and then you move to New York, is that because you wanted to go into Broadway? Oh, yeah. And   Jennifer Lieberman  06:01 also, like, my parents didn't consider a degree in theater a degree, you know. And I knew, I also knew that I was a writer. And then I wanted to tackle, you know, topics that were, you know, that would challenge people. And that would make people think and different points of view. So I thought, for the writing side of it, because it was never just to be an actor, it was always an actor who wrote projects. So the philosophy and the English Lit just seemed like a great jumping off point in order to develop my skills, grappling different difficult subject matters and structure and theatrical writing and all of that stuff.   Michael Hingson  06:49 Well, so you move to New York. And I guess something that none of us would know. Listening to you and talking with you here is your half African did that have a an impact on you and being able to break into this industry? Or?   Jennifer Lieberman  07:07 No, not at all, because I look, I look like a white girl, I'm my dad's side is Polish. My mother is tunisienne from Tunis. 10 is yeah, she immigrated to Canada with her parents and siblings, and she was the young girl. So so nobody has any inkling of my African roots, unless I actually mentioned it. So, um, so yeah, that's kind of something that's very unexpected, and people don't really place me in that category. Even though I really identify with my 10 ASEAN, heritage and culture, especially traditions, you know, family traditions, things like that my was very close to both of my 10 ASEAN grandparents, I they grew up five houses away from where I grew up, so I saw them almost every day. And that is just ingrained in who I am.   Michael Hingson  08:12 So does that make you essentially a bi racial person?   Jennifer Lieberman  08:16 Um, you know, it's funny, cuz my sense, it's, my family is North African. And like I said, like, my grandfather had dark skin, but my grandmother had light skin. I don't even know if I would be considered biracial. Because once again, like, by looking at me, you couldn't really tell I don't appear to be bipoc. So it's not something that really comes up. Actually. I don't even know what people would consider me to be honest.   Michael Hingson  08:49 A writer and an actress. Yes, so so it really didn't have much of an impact, which is, which is cool. Well, it shouldn't anyway, but it seemed relevant to ask the question. You know, so you, you move to New York. Tell us about that. Where did you go? What did you do in New York? And and what's your favorite bagel place? You know, all the important things?   Jennifer Lieberman  09:17 Yes. Um, so I basically after my last exam, I didn't even wait around for graduation. I wasn't there. On the day, they gave out diplomas because I really didn't care about a diploma. I felt like that was more an obligation I had to fulfill for my parents sake, and then I could start my life. So I showed up in New York and like I say, with a duffel bag and a dream and I was just like, I'm here and stumbled my way. I had rented an apartment sight unseen, which was not a great apartment and last in there very long. And I'm Just basically there was a newspaper back then called Backstage, it used to be a physical newspaper, now you can get an online subscription. And I just started looking in the newspaper that was specifically for the acting world and started circling different auditions I could show up at or submit to. And that's how it all began. And I was fortunate enough to get in with a couple of different theatre companies. And I was able to work with the same people. consistently over time, there were three different companies that I was working with consistently. So that helped me grow and develop as an artist. And one of the companies I ended up becoming a producer at 22. So I learned every aspect, from carpentry using power tools to help get the sets made to running the lighting and sound stage management, costuming, anything that was needed. You just kind of when you're an off off Broadway company without any real funding. You just scraped together whatever you can to make it happen. But also, pardon? Go ahead. Oh, but also those lessons have been invaluable for where I am now. Because, you know, not having the perfect sort of circumstances, or the amount of money we wish we had has never deterred me from making something happen.   Michael Hingson  11:37 So you wore many hats. And you obviously learned a lot as you went along. What was kind of the biggest challenge that you had back in those early days?   Jennifer Lieberman  11:47 Oh, well, I grew up in a really small town. My neighbors were trees. So getting used to the fast paced kind of hustle and bustle of New York City. It was a huge culture shock for me, I grew up in the middle of nowhere, and then move to the center of the world, with everything happening. And just as I was starting to get my footing in New York, 911 happened. And   Michael Hingson  12:18 where were you at the time,   Jennifer Lieberman  12:21 I was on my way to work. I was walking towards the subway at Astor Place, I was living in Alphabet City, and witnessed the first plane, fly into the World Trade Center and thought it was a fluke accident and got on the subway and continued with my day.   Michael Hingson  12:49 So for people who don't know where is Alphabet City, and what is   Jennifer Lieberman  12:52 Oh, yes, so Alphabet City is like the East most part of the East Village. So I was at Avenue D and 10th street. That's where I was living. I didn't last very long in that apartment. I moved in there. And on September 1, and I think by the 15th of September, I had packed everything up and went back to Canada for a while because I couldn't handle the reality of what happened. And I needed to go home. As   Michael Hingson  13:31 I went, he didn't last long either. You just   Jennifer Lieberman  13:35 got damnit, I'm going back to New York.   Michael Hingson  13:38 So you, you said you argued with people, as you were going on the subway and so on. Tell us about that if you want.   Jennifer Lieberman  13:46 I argued with people who were saying it was a terrorist attack. Because at that age, you know, the level of innocence being raised very sheltered in a small town in Canada. I was just like, This doesn't happen, like we're living in, you know, 2001 like, What do you mean? No, this is impossible that somebody hijacked a plane and flew it into a building in the United States. Like it's impossible. I just thought it was a freak accident and continued to work. And you know, there were arguments on the subway because some people saw it as we were all getting on the subway together. But then there were other people who had been on the subway for a while and are hearing it for the first time. So there was a panic. And then I got to two I was working at 34th and Park at a real estate company. That was my side hustle at the time. And I told my boss what happened. And he got really angry with me. And he said that it's not funny, like we don't joke about these things. And I was like, I'm not joke like, who wouldn't joke about these things? Like, turn on the radio. And he did. And that's when we heard about the second plane. And I just remember, like my soul leaving my body at the realization that it couldn't be an accident if there were two that happened in that short amount of time. Like, it was just literally, I felt my innocence Leave me. And yeah, I became a different person that day.   Michael Hingson  15:32 I think a lot of us did. One of my employees was on the PATH train paths stands for Port Authority, trans Hudson, it goes under the river. But he was on the PATH train coming in from Hoboken. They just pulled into the path station under tower Well, under the central part of the World Trade Center. Yep. At the fourth sub level when the second plane hit. And he told me later, the train just started shaking and so on in the pilot, the pilot, the conductor, and the engineer just said, don't leave the train. And they just literally turned around and went back. Right, in Hoboken, because I think they may have known that something was going on. But they didn't know, of course, about the second plane, because it was happening in real time. But nevertheless, they just turned around, went back to New Jersey. Yeah. Yeah, it was just Well, and, of course, who would have thought, right? Exactly. It's one of those things that it's really hard to imagine. And I can understand your reaction. And it did change all of us who were there. And as I've said to many people, and my wife has really pointed this out the problem for most people, certainly the people outside of the immediate area where this occurred that is outside New York City and so on, or further away, who just couldn't see what was happening. Your view, not yours, because you were there. But the view of people was only as large as your TV screen or your newspaper. And you couldn't have the same impact in your mind as all of us who were there at the time did. So you went back to Canada for a couple of months. And that's sort of understandable. You had a place to escape to as it were.   Jennifer Lieberman  17:33 Yeah. First I went to the Poconos. So I had a good friend Heather. She was initially my roommate. And then we, you know, we both ended up living in Alphabet City, actually. But she moved in with a boyfriend. And you know, no cell phones were working. As you know, all the cell towers were down because they were in the Trade Center. So we couldn't get I couldn't call my parents. I couldn't call anyone in Canada. But Heather and I somehow found each other on the street. And I guess it took two or three days for her dad to be able to drive to the city and get us because the city was closed. They weren't letting any vehicles in or out of the city. And I ended up going her dad picked us up. It was her boyfriend at the time. She and myself. And we went to their house in the Poconos for a few days. And then I got back to the city. And I don't know if planes were back up in the air yet, but I took the train home to Toronto, it was like a 12 hour train ride. And I just like packed up everything I had and just hopped on the train. Because I also felt like my dreams were so trite and insignificant compared to the weight of what happened. And I felt silly. I felt you know that everything that was so important to me the day before, was completely superfluous after that incident.   Michael Hingson  19:12 Yeah, what could you do? And it it makes perfect sense that you just left. You're fortunate to be able to do that. Some cell phones were working that day because I was able to call my wife in New Jersey. She couldn't call me. But I could call her interesting. And we were able to, to communicate learned later that day that the trains had started running from Penn Station in New York to Penn Station in Newark. So I was able to get a train later that evening, back to Newark, and then catch the train going from Newark out to Westfield, where we lived. So we got home at about seven that night. It was interesting being on the train, going from New York to New Jersey, people came up to me and said, You're really dirty. Were you downtown? And I said, Yeah, I was in Tower One. And it was interesting while we were going to the train station, from the apartment of a friend of my colleague, David's who I was with, although it wasn't the same as typical, still cars were moving, there was traffic. And it seemed like even only being a few miles away, it was already so significantly different than what we were experiencing downtown.   Jennifer Lieberman  20:40 Oh, yeah, the whole world stopped. If you were on the island of Manhattan, the whole world stopped, you know, and I ended up in New Jersey as well, actually. Because I was beneath 14th street and they didn't really want anybody coming back home if you were below 14th street because they didn't know. Like we talked about before we started recording, you know, gas leaks, fires under the city, things like that the fires could travel through the subway lines, you know, through the tunnels and stuff. So I ended up in New Jersey at a colleague's place for I guess, the first couple of nights. And yeah, it was it's It's surreal. It was just, that's the only word. You know, I can think   Michael Hingson  21:30 of was just how did you get to New Jersey?   Jennifer Lieberman  21:32 I believe I took a train from Penn Station.   Michael Hingson  21:35 Okay, so you were able to catch a train too, which was cool.   Jennifer Lieberman  21:39 Yeah, I was able to catch a train. Yeah, it was. I can't even   Michael Hingson  21:45 Well, let's, let's go back to you. So you moved back to Canada for a little while. Yeah.   Jennifer Lieberman  21:50 Canada. And you know, that didn't last? No, it didn't last because, you know, after I got over the initial shock of what actually happened. I was like, Yeah, you know, my dreams are important to me. And art is just as important as ever, especially during a crisis, having writers and having theater and having stories and people who are able to tell stories in compelling ways. And I basically did a, I did a one ad. And when all I went right back to what I was doing before, with an even stronger conviction than I had previously.   Michael Hingson  22:37 So what happened?   Jennifer Lieberman  22:40 So I continued with the theatre company that I was with, and I got into, like I said, couple other theatre companies I was performing off off Broadway pretty regularly. I was with a mime company called the American mime theatre, and trained and performed as a mime for a few years. And this company was quite special. It was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. And it was its own medium. It wasn't a copy of French pantomime. It was its own discipline. And that was actually coming. You know what, when we got to the one woman shows, but doing the mind training was the best foundation I could have asked for moving forward and doing one person shows where I was playing multiple characters and had to snap in and out of them very quickly. And being able to just snap into a physicality that made it very clear to the audience that I was somebody new, or somebody different as to the character who was previous. So yeah, I ended up producing a bunch of shows off Broadway got into film production. I was in New York for about six years and, and just try to learn as much as I could and craft as much as I could. I started working with a director named Jim craft offered rest in peace he passed a couple years ago during the pandemic, not from COVID. But he was a phenomenal writer and director he studied under Ilya Khazanah at the actor studio, and his play to patch it was a real tipping point in my artistic career. I had to play a mentally challenged girl who was raped and murdered. And once I was able to get through that, I realized like yeah, I really prove to myself like okay, this is where I belong. You know, I have the I have the chops. I have the stamina, I have the drive and you You know, that was like a big milestone, also, in terms of it was the most challenging role that I had ever come across. And I really had to rise to the occasion. And a lot of times in creative work, like until you were given the opportunity to rise to the occasion, you don't know what you're made of. So that was a huge milestone for me. And then, while I was working after I was working on capatch it, my grandma got sick, and I ended up back in Toronto for about a year and a half to help my mom, and my grandma got better and which was great. And then I decided to give la a try. One of the films that I had produced in New York was in a festival in LA and I went to the festival, the film won a couple of awards. And I was like, Okay, I'm gonna give Hollywood a shot now. And that's, that's what happened next.   Michael Hingson  26:01 Well, typically, people always want to get noticed and seen and so on. So what kind of was really your big break? And in terms of whether it be Broadway or wherever? And why do you consider it a big break?   Jennifer Lieberman  26:16 Okay, um, so I, when I was in LA, I had been there for about a year and this is where Europe the sled came into play. A friend suggested that I create a vehicle for myself that, you know, everybody comes from all over the world, to have their, you know, hat in the ring and give it a try to be a star in Hollywood. And very, very, very few people make it. And you have to kind of come up with a way to get noticed. So a friend of mine suggested, do a one woman show, showcase your writing, showcase your acting ability, and you can invite agents, you can invite directors, you can invite people that can hire you people that can represent you, and that will be a good vehicle. So I did what she said. And nobody from the industry really showed up, I kind of compare it to the movie lala land with Emma Stone where she does this one woman show and there's like one person in the audience, I had more than one person, because I had supportive friends from acting class and my mom came from Canada. But in terms of industry, nobody, nobody who could represent me or hired me show up showed up. However, I had so much fun creating the characters working on the show, and taking so this was like the next plateau in my career to patch it, where I played the mentally challenged girl was like the first kind of plateau of being like, okay, you know, you really have to rise to the occasion, doing an hour and a half on stage by yourself playing 10 characters was a whole different level of rising to the occasion. And I did it successfully expecting to fail. And not only that, so much of my time in LA up until that point, had been trying to get in the door, trying to get the job trying to get the audition. And none of that was actually doing what I went there to do, which was being creative, and performing. So I realized, like, okay, of course, I'm still going to submit to auditions. And I'm still going to try and get an agent and all of that. But in the meantime, I have the agency and the ability to create this piece and develop it and keep going with it. And I did and I did a few different workshops in LA and then I got invited to be in a festival in New York, I won the Audience Choice Award at the festival and then Doom like that was the next kind of plateau because now not only could I did I prove to myself, I could do a one woman show, but I proved that it could be recognized and successful. And that led to another one woman show in Australia. And then when I got back from Australia, because at this point in time, I had been a producer for hire for many, many years I had been producing since I was 22. And I had produced well over a dozen film and theatre projects at this point. And I was like huh, I I can help other actors who are frustrated spinning their wheels achieve what I achieved. And that's when I founded my company make your own break. So you know, nobody ever gave me a big break. I'd like them to if anyone has a big break waiting, I'll take it. But, um, but also realizing that I could do this for myself and I can do this for other actors and writers on a small scale was really exciting to me, because I love the creative process. And I love working with actors, and I love working with writers and storytelling, and I love helping I call it I love helping people dig for the gold that's inside of them, because everybody has a treasure buried inside. But a lot of times we're we're not put in situations that push ourselves to actually dig for it. Especially when we're in situations where other people are giving us opportunities, as opposed to us having to really dig down inside and figure out how do I create this opportunity for myself?   Michael Hingson  30:53 Well, and it's also true that oftentimes, we don't necessarily recognize the opportunities are right there for the taking.   Jennifer Lieberman  31:02 Exactly, exactly. And then so creating the one woman show set me on this whole trajectory of I'm just going to keep creating my own stuff. And I created a web series with a friend of mine from acting class, we wrote it together, we produced it together, we both starred in it. You know, it wasn't like commercially successful, like, there's dismal. You know, we did this almost 10 years ago, and there's like dismal YouTube views. It's very embarrassing, but it's also one of the things I'm the most proud of, I had the most fun working on it, I loved everything about it. And it's one of those projects where all the problems with it could have been solved if we had more money. And, to me, that's a success. Because, you know, we couldn't help the fact that we didn't have more money to make it. And the fact that you know, okay, fine, you know, the, the camera work wasn't fantastic, or the stats weren't fantastic, you know, but all the actors were fantastic. The directing was fantastic, the writing was fantastic, you know, so so I'm so super proud of that. And then Rebecca, my partner on that we made a short film together. And then I finally finally after decades of being a writer, because I started writing when I was eight, had the confidence to produce something that I had written on my own. And that was my short film leash. And that ended up screening at the short film corner at the Cannes Film Festival, which was like another huge milestone, I still couldn't get any agents or managers or anybody to take me on or represent me. But at this point, it's like, I got my film that I made that I wrote that, you know, that I produced that I was in to the biggest, most important film festival in the world. And I'm like, okay, that like, you know, even though the industry quote unquote, you know, hasn't recognized me yet. In terms of like, the agents and the managers and staff that's like, there must be something valid to my creativity. And then I made another short film, and it also got screened in the short film corner at the Cannes Film Festival on screen at the Cambridge Film Festival in the UK, and it just kind of, you know, so all these little bits of validation, they haven't turned into, you know, the career that I'm aspiring towards, but it's all encouragement. That helps me keep going.   Michael Hingson  33:57 You certainly are unstoppably optimistic.   Jennifer Lieberman  34:01 Well, the thing is, I don't even think it's that. I think it's just I don't have a choice. This is just who I am. It's what I do. I just keep creating, I can't help it. There was this movie years ago with Jeffrey rush called quills about the marquis decide, and how he was imprisoned because of his writing and how he was persecuted. And, you know, he kept writing no matter what he kept writing, he would write in blood on his bedsheets. And eventually he was just nude in a in a cell with nothing, because they needed to stop him from writing the depraved material that he was writing. And, you know, it was just I wouldn't say my my compulsion is that extreme. But yeah, I don't feel like this is something I chose. I feel like it chose me It's something inside of me. And I get very depressed when I'm not able to have a creative outlet. You know, it's almost survival, which I know sounds completely absurd, but any other creative who has the same conviction? I do, it makes complete sense to them.   Michael Hingson  35:23 Well, you wrote starred in and did everything regarding, of course, your, your one woman show your of the slot what happened to it? Because it did oh yeah appear and you had some awards with it and so on. So what happened?   Jennifer Lieberman  35:39 So, um, in the interim, so once we won the award in New York, some people, like lots of people, actually friends, colleagues, people that I didn't know, suggested that it would be a great Chiclet book, and that I should write the novel. So I did, I wrote, I wrote the novel and shopped it around for a couple years. But once again, I was so green, it didn't even occur to me, like, oh, you should hire an editor, and you should hire a proofreader. And you should get a whole team of people together before you start sending it to agents and, and, you know, publishing companies. So I gave up on it. Over a decade, I probably gave up on it about three times. You know, the first time, I was completely unprepared. The second time, I did hire an editor, and she just was the wrong fit. And it didn't resonate with her. So she was just very cruel in her feedback. And I couldn't look at it for another two years. And, and then finally, a friend of mine encouraged me to finish it and self publish it not to be successful, but just to get to the finish line, and not have one more project hanging over me that's unfinished. So with that state of mind, it was actually kind of a relief, because it's like, Oh, I'm not even trying to make this book successful. I'm just trying to get to the finish line. And then I did, and I, I self published Europe, the sled and it was censored. And for a good year, I tried my damnedest to get around the censorship issues with Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, in terms of advertising. It was allowed to be on Amazon, I was allowed to have a Facebook page, I was allowed to have an Instagram account, but it couldn't do any advertising, which means I couldn't break through my audience of peers. So if you weren't already my friend, I couldn't get the information to you. Which kind of made it dead in the water. A colleague of mine after a year suggested to change the title since that was the only barrier. And I was like, No, the title is what's you know, is why it was a success in the first place. That's what packed houses. Village Voice had no problem. Printing ads with the title timeout in New York had no problem none of the, you know, none of the entities that came to review the play had problems publishing the title. But I guess since it was published after the ME TOO movement, the climate had changed a little bit. And we weren't able to. Yeah, well, I just wasn't able to get it out there. So after a few months of hemming and hawing over the whole situation, because I had the title before I had the story. I'm just I was just pretty good at coming up with catchy titles. So I was really married to it and then finally revamped it, retitled it, rebranded it, relaunched it. And it's now a number one bestseller on Amazon. It recently won the gold medal at the Global Book Awards for Best Coming of Age book, it won a bronze medal at the independent publishing Awards for Best romance slash erotica ebook. And, yeah, it's won a couple more, but those are the most notable and it served me well to to retitle the book so,   Michael Hingson  39:30 and the title of the book is   Jennifer Lieberman  39:32 near of the what, so it rhymes with slut. But it's not as controversial. And it actually serves me because in the process of, of publishing this first one, I realized that it's a trilogy and Book Two is going to be year of the bitch and I'll have the same problems. So I'm just going to keep it under the year of the white umbrella. a lot.   Michael Hingson  40:01 I would I would submit, maybe not. I know there is, well, I suppose anything's possible. But my wife and I love to read a variety of books. And we've written or we've read a number of books by an author Barbara Nino. So she wrote the Stasi justice series. Have you ever read any of her books? I haven't been on familiar with her. So she's also written the bitches Ever After series published with that name, so maybe it won't be quite the same? Well,   Jennifer Lieberman  40:34 there's a big book out called the ethical slut, that? Well, you know, and they had no problems with censorship, either. But I think sometimes it can, it depends on who your publisher is and who you're connected to. But um, but anyway, I think the year of the web series serves me because as soon as someone opens the first page of the book, The subtitle is right there, right. Yeah,   Michael Hingson  41:00 so people should go look for year of the what? Yes. Well, I'm glad it has been really successful. And you have worn a lot of hats on, off off Broadway and Hollywood and so on. And now you're back in Canada, and so on. What do you like best of all those hats and all those jobs or opportunities.   Jennifer Lieberman  41:27 That's number one. That's always been my number one passion. That's why I started writing fan fiction when I was eight, is because I just wanted to be in these movies and shows that I watched, and I really enjoy writing, I actually really enjoy producing and helping bring projects to life, whether they're mine or somebody else's. But the there's something magical about performing and living and breathing in somebody else's skin and a different world that a writer created. And it's just incomparable. So   Michael Hingson  42:14 year of the well, we'll, we'll do the slot. What? Is it funny?   Jennifer Lieberman  42:21 It is yes. So what are the words that one was best rom com of 2021. So when I submitted it to book life through Publishers Weekly, one of the reviews was that it doesn't fit neatly into the romance genre. And it doesn't fit neatly into the erotica genre. And it doesn't fit into this genre and doesn't fit into that genre. They didn't even review the book, like didn't even give like a positive or negative review. All they did was list all the genres it didn't fit into. And, but it is quite humorous. Because it's about these dating misadventures, and coming of age and coming to terms with sexuality, being a young woman in New York City, and kind of having to reevaluate a lot of the stories or, you know, kind of expectations that were ingrained in the character. So it's not even about her being a slut. It's about her reevaluating what that word means to her, because she only planned to be with my one man. So anything more than that would put her in the slot category. But yeah, so it was her kind of, you know, reevaluating her perception of what is the slot? And, you know, how many partners is too many and all of that stuff? Because, also, in today's world, how realistic is it? For someone to be with just one partner for their whole life? I don't know. Especially like in Western society? I don't know.   Michael Hingson  44:14 Well, since you have been involved in writing something that's humorous and so on, have you at all been involved in comedy stand up comedy or any of those kinds of things?   Jennifer Lieberman  44:26 Yeah, I did do stand up comedy. I do it from time to time. I wouldn't call myself a stand up comedian. Because I don't love it enough to be hitting the clubs every single night trying to get on stage, which if you're trying to make a living as a stand up comedian, you have to be hitting the clubs every night. All of the legit stand up comedians, I know will hit 234 Different clubs at night to get up. And I'm not that committed to it. It's a nice muscle to flex, it's nice to know that I have the courage to get up and do it that I can make an audience laugh. But I'm no by no means a professional stand up. I got into it by accident, I responded to a casting notice looking for females who could be funny. And it was a promoter looking for more female comics to be on his shows. And he was willing to train and coach to coach women because he just felt like he wasn't getting enough women applying to be on his on his lineups. And he wasn't meeting enough women. This was this was a few years ago, this was like I think 2014 is when I started, it was just before Amy Schumer, like, had her breakout success and became a huge household name. Now, now when you go into the comedy scene, there are so many more women than then there was, you know, about eight years ago. So now, it's not the same climate. So his name? Matt Taylor, his name's Matt Taylor. So he kind of convinced me to give it a go and try five minutes. Because I was like, oh, no, like, That's too scary. I don't do that. But after doing two one woman shows where I was on stage by myself for over an hour, each one I was like, Okay, what's five minutes. And I did it. And when I was a hit, it was great. Nobody thought everybody thought I was quite seasoned. All the other comedians on the lineup thought that I had done it dozens of times before. And I, I did it pretty consistently for a couple of years. But once again, like I said, I just didn't love it enough. Like I'd rather I would run, I would run to a theater every night to do Shakespeare or Tennessee Williams, I wouldn't run to a theater every night to do stand up. So it's just not the type of creative that I am. But once again, nice to know that, that I can flex that muscle.   Michael Hingson  47:14 So how many books have you written so far? One novel,   Jennifer Lieberman  47:17 which we discussed, and then under Mike, my consulting business to make your own break business I've published to during the pandemic, I always intended to publish books, under the Make Your Own break umbrella, about low budget, film production, low, no budget is more accurate, no budget theatre production, how to develop a solo show. So all of those are still coming. But during the pandemic, I was asked to coach a few executives, to help them with their presentation skills and engaging their team. And I'm kind of like a nerd and I didn't feel qualified to coach these people. So I was like, Okay, I have to come up with a system before I feel confident enough to like go and actually, you know, do this and charge money. So I came up with these seven steps on how to master your virtual meeting. So that's one of the books make your own break, how to master your virtual meeting in seven simple steps. And then I also recorded my AUDIO BOOK during the initial lockdown, and I messed up a lot. And I had to I recorded the entire book and had to throw it in the garbage and start again from scratch. And then the same friend colleague who suggested I changed my title suggested that I write a how to book geared towards self published authors and indie authors on how they can record and publish their own audio books. So that's book number two how to record and publish your audio book in seven simple steps once again under the Make Your Own break umbrella. And yeah, so there are those two books and like I said, I I will be publishing more How To books under the Make Your Own break, but those will probably pertain more to film theater production and creative process.   Michael Hingson  49:23 And then the what? At pardon. And then more year of the what and then more   Jennifer Lieberman  49:28 year of the wet because that I've realized as a trilogy. You know, when women are young, if people want to attack us in our teens and 20s Regardless of what our personal lives are, people call us a sloth. Whether it's male or females, it's a woman it's a it's a word is weaponized against women. And then as we get older, more assertive, more confident, we're we're called a bitch. So I'm kind of going through the trajectory of words. are used as weapons against women, and how we can reframe them and own them, instead of being ashamed of them.   Michael Hingson  50:09 Then you can write the fourth book what bitch. But anyway, that's another story. Exactly. So did you publish an audiobook?   Jennifer Lieberman  50:18 I did, yes. This year of the what is available on Audible? Yes. So I did I, I was I finally recorded a successful version. And it was after that, that I decided that okay, yeah, maybe I can write the how to book on how to do this. And it's specifically encouraging self published authors. Because if you have enough conviction to write your story, you should be the one telling it.   Michael Hingson  50:47 It's interesting in the publishing world today, that and people will tell you, this agents and others will tell you this, that it isn't like it used to be, you have to do a lot of your own marketing, even if you get a publisher to take on your book and take that project. So the fact is doing an indie publishing project certainly uses a lot of the same rules, you still have to market it, you're gonna have to do it either way, you're still going to be doing a lot of the work, the publishing industry can help. But you still got to do a lot, if not most of the work.   Jennifer Lieberman  51:29 Yeah, and not just that, I don't know, if if you follow any celebrities, on on Twitter, or Instagram, but I believe nowadays, like I'm a, I'm a member of the Screen Actors Guild, that union in the US, and a lot of contracts now have social media obligations written into them, that you have to tweet that you have to post a certain amount to help promote the show. And a lot of decisions are based on how big of a following you have, there's actually, I'm not sure if you were a Game of Thrones fan, I was a big Game of Thrones fan. But one of the characters, it was between her and another actress and she had a bigger social media following. And that was the tipping point of how she got cast. So it you know, self promote, like that's what social media is, it's all self promotion. So it's not just the publishing world, it's the acting world, I think it's just become the norm of it doesn't matter what business you're in. It used to be that you needed a.com. In order to exist now you need a social media following in order to exist.   Michael Hingson  52:53 I know when we originally did fender Dogg, and Thomas Nelson put, picked it up and decided to publish it. Even then back in 2010, and 2011. One of the main questions was, how much will you be able to contribute to the marketing of the book? How much will you be able to help promote it? Now? We have a contract to do our next book, A Guide Dogs Guide to Being brave, unless the publisher decides once we're done to change the title. But still, it is all about how big of a following do you have? How much are you going to be able to contribute contribute to the book because you're probably not going to get some sort of big book tour or anything like that paid for by the publishing company, unless there's some compelling reason to do it. And it is all about what you can do. So publishing is changing, the landscape is changing. mainstream publishers are great, they do add a lot of value. But you do need to learn to sell and to market and be intelligent about it as an author, no matter how your book gets published.   Jennifer Lieberman  54:03 Yes. And, you know, it's a double edged sword, because it gives lots of opportunities to indie, indie authors, but it also, it's sad for me because it becomes a popularity contest. And it's not necessarily about how good your book is, or how good your work is. It's just if you, you know, have a buzz factor. And if you have a following or if you had, like some mishap in your life that went viral, then all of a sudden, you have this huge platform for all these opportunities, regardless of how talented or prepared you are for those opportunities. And you know, it like I said, it's a double edged sword. There are benefits to it. And there are, you know, there are detriments to it but also like I'm the type of artist. I'm gonna I'm willing to go outside of my integrity. So let the chips fall where they may.   Michael Hingson  55:05 Well, you have written both in the literary world, if you will. And in the theater world, which do you prefer? And why? Oh, that's a toughy. Because you're doing a lot with each one, aren't you?   Jennifer Lieberman  55:21 Yeah. And I'm still like, I'm, you know, and that's the thing, like I write plays, I write scripts for film, and I'm writing a TV pilot right now. And in the literary world, the benefit of writing in the literary world, is once the writing is finished, and when I mean writing, I mean, also the editing and the proofreading. Your job is done, like the project is complete. When you're writing theatrically, whether it's film or theatre, that's just step one, there's still a very, very, very long road ahead of you, you know, and trying to get into the right hands, trying to raise the money, trying to, you know, get the right team together, and the right actors, the right, you know, then you had, then there's the feat of filming it, and then the post production process, and then the distribution process. So there is something very satisfying when writing a book that's finished. But there's also something very exciting to me, you know, in the whole process of getting a project produced from you know, from step one to step 55.   Michael Hingson  56:45 So, as a writer in the theatrical world, you really can't just be a writer, and then you turn it over to someone, if you're going to make it successful, I gather, what you're saying is, you really have to be the driving force behind the whole project, not just the writing part.   Jennifer Lieberman  57:01 Well, at my level, because like I said, I don't have an agent, I don't, I'm trying to get things into other people's hands. So right now, I'm shopping around here of the what for theatrical opportunity, I went to the Cannes Film Festival to the market there, I've met with a certain number of people. And one of the questions was, how involved would you want to be in this project? And my answer is, however involved you would like, you know, because I'm not married to this project. Like I, I've been living with this for a decade, between writing it, workshopping it, and then the novel between the play and the novel, like, I'm ready to let this go. If somebody wants to write me a check. Go ahead, do what you will with it. You know, but then there are other pieces that are closer to my heart that I'm like, oh, no, like, this isn't for sale. We can partner on this and make this together. But this is, you know, staying under my under my wings, so to speak. But I have another I have a short piece, a short film, that a friend of mine is shooting in LA next month, and I'm not really gonna have any creative involvement in it.   Michael Hingson  58:26 Out of curiosity, when somebody asks you that question, is there sort of a general trend as to what do they want the answer to be? Or is it really something that varies? They they're not necessarily looking for you to be involved typically, or they'd like you to be involved typically, as a really an answer that makes more sense to most people than not,   Jennifer Lieberman  58:47 you know, it's interesting, because I've gotten both, I've gotten both opinions. You know, for, I guess the higher up people are on the food chain. They're very relieved to hear that I don't need to have any involvement in it at all, because they know how hard it is to get something made in the first place, let alone having all of these, you know, kind of stipulations. It's like, well, I can only get made, you know, she gets to approve the script and this and this and this and that, you know, so the less I think the less involvement I have, the easier it is for the producer because they have more freedom to negotiate. Right. But that's an instinct once again, I don't know, you know,   Michael Hingson  59:32 it probably does very well. How do you keep such a positive attitude and keep yourself to use the terminology of our podcast unstoppable as you get a lot of rejections as you face a lot of challenges. And as you said, you haven't had that huge break. But how do you keep yourself going?   Jennifer Lieberman  59:51 I love it. This is a love affair. This is a lifelong love affair for me. And I was on a podcast A few days ago, we had to write a creativity statement. And my creativity statement is that being a creative is like being in a one sided relationship, and you have to love it enough for both of you. Because the the industry isn't necessarily going to love you back. But if you love it enough, if you love the creative process enough, you're just gonna keep going.   Michael Hingson  1:00:22 I want you to extrapolate that to just anyone even outside the theatrical world. What would you tell somebody if they come up to you and say, How can I just keep myself going,   Jennifer Lieberman  1:00:35 find something that you love and do it as often as possible? It doesn't have to be your job, you don't have to make money at it. You just have to have something in your life that you really love and enjoy doing. You know, whether it's dancing, whether it's singing, you know, and that's the thing like, you don't have to be a superstar. I'm not a superstar. Maybe one day I will be universe. But I, I'm not going to stop what I do, because it just brings me so much joy. And I'm so happy and I do I get in a funk. I get in a funk when I'm not able to create. And, you know, for some people it might be hiking or kayaking or camping or connecting with nature. That's something that that I love to do. Also, that brings me joy. But yeah, I think a lot of us get so caught up. And also I would say close your screen. Go dark, go dark for a few days. Don't worry about what's going on on social media. Don't worry about the internet, like go outside and actually be in the real world connect with real people connect with nature. Be in your body. I find when I get in my head, too much I can spin out. But when you're in your body, you can you can feel your you can feel your essence. You   Michael Hingson  1:02:04 know, always good to step back.   Jennifer Lieberman  1:02:07 So that would be my advice.   Michael Hingson  1:02:10 It's always good to step back and look at yourself and just relax. And we don't do that often enough. We get too involved in that social media and everything else as you point out.   Jennifer Lieberman  1:02:22 Yeah, exactly. And it's proven like there are statistics, social media makes people depressed. People only put their Insta life best moments on social media. I'm sure someone will mention if they're going through a hard time or whatever. But that's not the majority of people. People will sift through their life find take a million photos of one of one scenario, find the best photo doctorate with with face tune filters and whatever and make their life look fabulous. And you know, everything's curated. I'm actually I wrote a poem about this. Would you mind I've never shared this publicly. Can I? Really?   Michael Hingson  1:03:09 Sure. Go ahead.   Jennifer Lieberman  1:03:11 Okay. It's called Black Sabbath. And basically, it's about going dark. Can we all just go dark for a day? Turn off the devices be still be silent and pray? No posts, no distractions? No waiting impatiently for strangers reactions. Can we all just go dark for a day? No selfie indulgence? No curated inspiration. No unsolicited motivation. Be present. Be awake. Meditate. Can we all just go dark for a day hold our loved ones dear if not in our arms in our consciousness spear. Make amends with our Maker, the true force of nature and submit to the power of our sublime creator. Can we all just go dark for a day, shut our screens, search our souls reclaim our minds that get hijacked every time we scroll. And finally take back our grip of the only thing we can control. That's it.   Michael Hingson  1:04:24 That's as powerful as it gets. And it is so true. Yeah. Yeah. It is absolutely so true. So what you've already alluded to it, what do you do when you're not writing and being creative? What do you like to do to relax? You said some of   Jennifer Lieberman  1:04:41 it. Yeah, I'm a yoga Holic. Like I said, I spent the first half of my life as a competitive gymnast. So I'm super active. I love physical activity. I don't work out in terms of like, I don't go to the gym and I don't do a certain amount of reps and I I'm on a treadmill for 20 minutes a day I do physical activities that I enjoy, so I enjoy yoga. I'm quite advanced at it with a gymnastics background so it's fun and acrobatic for me. I love hiking. I love connecting with nature whether it's stand up paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing, waterskiing, I love all of that stuff. Not much of a snow skier though I don't really love the cold, even though I'm Canadian.   Michael Hingson  1:05:30 How lucky you were you live in? You don't like to call it okay.   Jennifer Lieberman  1:05:34 Yeah, I don't. But basically anything active and outdoors. There's a treetop trekking course not far from where my parents are. And like, that's next on the list. I'm really excited to do that. What is that? Basically, they have these like, kind of obstacle courses up in the trees. So you're on harnesses, and you know, whether it's like platforms that you walk across, or ropes courses that you have to, you know, I don't know, I haven't been but it sounds fun.   Michael Hingson  1:06:12 Well, you have to let us know what it's like after you, you get to go clearly not wheelchair accessible. So I'm sure my wife's not gonna want to do it. But nevertheless, you got to let us know how it goes once you do it.   Jennifer Lieberman  1:06:27 Yes, I will. I will. It's very exciting. Oh, and I love live music. So like rock shows. That's my jam. I'm a rocker chick.   Michael Hingson  1:06:36 There you go. Well, I want to thank you for being here. And spending the last hour and a little bit more with us. This has been fun. Clearly, you keep yourself going you do move forward, you're not going to let things stop you, you are going to be unstoppable, as I said, using the parlance of the name of the podcast, but I want to thank you for being here and inspiring all of us and telling us your story. If people want to reach out to you and contact you and learn more about you find your books or anything else. How will they do that?   Jennifer Lieberman  1:07:10 Okay, so year of the what.com is the website for the book, but it'll link you to almost everything. Or you can go to make your own break.com. Both of those have links to all of the books and all the social media. And they also have contact pages that will come to my inbox directly. So that's the best way. If you want to find out more about me, and on social media, whether it's Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I am Jen Lieberman. So the at sign, and then I am Jen. J e n Lieberman L i E,B E R m a N.   Michael Hingson  1:08:00 Well, I hope people will reach out oh, I should ask you you written in your writing the How To books? Are you going to do anything like create any online courses or anything?   Jennifer Lieberman  1:08:10 You know, it's funny I was doing in person courses. I haven't gotten around to doing the online ones yet. But yes, that is also in the works. There's a laundry list. Bed. And like we talked about, I wear many hats. And I'm always more interested in the creative stuff. As opposed to the as opposed to the business side. So I you know, I always feel like, oh, there'll be time for the course there'll be time for that. And as it as it so happens, the more successful my creative career is, the more validity I have to teach these other courses. So it's all in good time.   Michael Hingson  1:08:49 Great. Well, again, thank you for being here with us people, please go visit your of the what.com or make your own break.com. And reach out to Jen, she would love to hear from you. And I would love to hear from you. I'd love to know what you thought about today, I would really appreciate you giving us a five star rating. Jennifer Lieberman needs a five star rating. So let's give her one you all. And I want to thank you all for for being here. Reach out to me, feel free to do so by emailing me at Michaelhi at accessibe.com Or go visit WWW dot Michael hingson.com/podcast. Or just go to Michael hingson.com and learn more about the things that I do. But either way, please help us give Jen rave reviews. And Jen one last time. Thank you very much for being here.   Jennifer Lieberman  1:09:48 Thank you so much, Michael. This was such a treat. I really appreciate you having me on.   Michael Hingson  1:09:53 Well, the fun and the honor was mine. So thank you you   1:09:59 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com. accessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

In der ersten Sonderfolge vom "63. Internationalen Filmfestival Thessaloniki" spricht Lucas über die folgenden Filme: The Orator (2011) Blackbird (2016) Tanna (2015) Last Lost (1996) Her Glacial Speed (2001) Creme 21 (2013) Behind This Soft Eclipse (2004) Astor Place (1997) Self-Examination Remote Control (2009) Singing in Oblivion (2021) Manufraktur (1985) The Exquisite Corpus (2015) Outer Space (1999) Train Again (2021) The Novelist's Film (2022) Empire of Light (2022) Reconstruction (1970) Concerned Citizen (2022) (Achtung: Durch das mobile Aufnahmegerät klingt die Folge ein wenig dumpfer als die meisten anderen.) Offizielle Festival-Seite: https://www.filmfestival.gr/en/ Lucas auf Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/Kinomensch/ Wir freuen uns sehr über jegliches Feedback via Mail, Kommentarfunktion oder Facebook und Twitter (@longtakede) und auch über jegliche andersartige Unterstützung, vielen Dank fürs Zuhören!

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://thecitylife.org/2022/09/14/joes-pub-announces-the-return-of-sandra-bernhard-and-upcoming-shows-with-bridget-everett-mashup-ting-free-outdoor-astor-place-shows-alysha-umphress-joan-as-police-woman-molly-lewis-the-blac/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/citylifeorg/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/citylifeorg/support

We hope you aren't listening to this weeks episode in a theatre! You are going to be hearing us say Macbeth quite a few times in this episode. Kate is going to tell us all about the Astor Riots from May 10, 1849. Riots that happened over competition of who could perform Macbeth the best. Are you team Macready or team Forrest? Plus you'll find out how it was possible to sneak a carcass into the theatre (well, how Andrew would have done it anyway)If you have a petty story and would like us to discuss it, please be sure and send it in anywhere below (email preferred). Also, we'd love it if you'd subscribe and give us a review. It helps us a ton!Support The Show: Buy Us a CoffeeLets Talk Petty! Teepublic Store: Buy Our MerchWorld Wide Web: www.letstalkpetty.comTwitter: pettytalkpodInstagram: letstalkpettypodFacebook: facebook.com/letstalkpettypodEmail: letstalkpettypod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On May 10, 1849, wealthy New Yorkers set out for a night at the Astor Place Opera House to enjoy English actor William Macready's performance in "Macbeth". A few streets away, however, fans of rival American actor Edwin Forrest were preparing to 'express their opinion' at the urging of inflammatory press pieces and Tammany Hall. Before the night was out, Astor Place would be the scene of chaos, rioting, and the deaths and injuries of dozens of New Yorkers, police, and soldiers. On this episode, we're discussing theater hooliganism, William Shakespeare, English vs. American acting styles, and how the New York State militia came to be firing cannons at unarmed American citizens in the middle of Manhattan. Sources: "Account of the terrific and fatal riot at the New-York Astor Place Opera House, on the night of May 10th, 1849; with the quarrels of Forrest and Macready, including all the causes which led to that awful tragedy! Wherein an infuriated mob was quelled by the public authorities and military, with its mournful termination in the sudden death or mutilation of more than fifty citizens, with full and authentic particulars" by H.M. Ranney, 1849 "Remembering New York City's Opera Riots", S. Simon (host), Weekend Edition, 2006 "When New York City Rioted Over Hamlet Being Too British", by B. G. Kellem for Smithsonian Magazine, 2017

This week Mattie gets the entire episode to talk about the Astor place riots. she hinted at this in a previous episode about Broadway, and neither of us were prepared for what she found. Rivalry, nationalism, gang violence, riots, and an acting rivalry that makes Will Smith and Chris Rock look tame. is that reference still timely? let's say yes. unless you are listening to this years in the future. then you might need to google some stuff about the 2022 Oscars. Twitter: @onthetestpod Facebook: Facebook.com/onthetestpod Insta: @onthetestpod onthetestpod.com theme song by https://www.fiverr.com/nilgunozer  

This is talk with James Shapiro of Columbia University on his recent book, ‘Shakespeare in a Divided America'. This conversation covers highlights of Shapiro's book on the influence of Shakespeare in American thought and on the minds of such American leaders as John Quincy Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, and Henry Cabot Lodge. The book also examines how Shakespeare appears in American history and how Shakespearean material weighs in on such matters as race, immigration, and gender. From the Astor Place riots in the 19th century to the hullabaloo over the portrayal of a Trump look alike at the Delacorte theatre, this book also shows how Shakespearean performance exposes a range of divisive conflicts in the American consciousness. This talk also cover Shapiro's prior work on Shakespeare's life, antisemitism in Shakespeare, and the question of Shakespearean authorship.00:00:00 - Intro00:02:47 - Overview of ‘Shakespeare in a Divided America'00:06:57 - John Quincy Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, and ‘Othello'00:11:08 - Why Shakespeare in America?00:13:56 - Astor Place Riots, Shakespeare competition, unruly behavior00:21:30 - Shakespeare in prison00:26:39 - Henry Cabot Lodge, ‘The Tempest', and immigration00:32:47 - Kiss Me Kate, post war American and marriage00:34:59 - LGBTQ and ‘Shakespeare in Love'00:38:39 - Joel Coen's ‘Macbeth', using film in pedagogy00:40:23 - Trump as Caesar at the Delacorte00:43:33 - James Shapiro's history as a Shakespearean, theatre goer00:46:22 - The transformation experience of theatre going00:48:30 - The Shakespearean authorship question and the Supreme Court00:54:58 - Following one's own path in Shakespeare studies00:56:58 - Future research, African-American Shylock, multicultural Shakespeare01:01:25 - Theatre in Ireland01:04:49 - Closing remarks

This summer, New York City's Astor Place hosted a bat mitzvah ceremony unlike any other: the Anti-Zionist Bat Mitzvah, an all-day musical extravaganza created by Morgan Bassichis and Ira Khonen Temple. The event started with tutoring sessions on Palestinian popular resistance and the weaponization of the Torah, and ended with a celebratory dance to “Hava Nagila” remixed as an anti-police anthem.In this episode of Unsettled, producer Ilana Levinson talks to Morgan and Ira about their collaboration, and the importance of joy in collective liberation.The Anti-Zionist Bat Mitzvah was first performed on July 4, 2021 on Rashid Johnson's Red Stage in Astor Place. The performance was commissioned by Creative Time and curated by Diya Vij. Performers: Morgan Bassichis, Ira Khonen Temple, Emma Alabaster, April Centrone, Zoë Aqua, and Pam Fleming. Tutors: Shirly Bahar, Brooke Lober, Izzy Mustafa, Tamar Ghabin, Dean Spade, Rabbi Miriam Grossman, and Ita Segev.This episode was produced by Ilana Levinson and edited by Emily Bell. Original music by Nat Rosensweig.Special thanks to Aleksei Wagner and Creative Time for performance recordings.

All new Rundown! The annual New York City Village Halloween Parade was able to march again this year after its disappointing cancellation due to the pandemic last year. Ruby Naylor and Trevor Johnson have the story. The lightpost mosaic sculptures along St. Marks Place and Astor Place have been iconic East Village landmarks for decades, but artist Jim Powers needs support to keep them around. Adelaide Miller has the story. In October, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he would be ending the city's controversial Gifted and Talented program for accelerated learning. But mayor-elect Eric Adams has said he would keep and expand the program, leaving G&T's future uncertain. Jack Peterson and Grace Symes have the story. The East Side Coastal Resiliency plan is now underway and the battle over the East River Park continues. Grace Wanebo has the story. Around the world today, the state of journalism continues to fight against repression. Rundown reporter, Izzy McMahon, has an exclusive interview with Finlay Muratova, whose father, Dmityry Muratova, was awarded the Nobel peace prize for his work as editor-in-chief of Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper, just last month. The NYC elections took place; Jack Peterson discusses the results. Hosted by Grace Wanebo.

Today we're exploring the Merchant's House Museum, a building frequently identified as the most haunted building in NYC. Right near Astor Place, the house was once a home of the Tredwell family, who lived in it from 1835 until 1933, when Gertrude Tredwell died. But did the Tredwells cease to inhabit the house, or are they still residents even after death? Join us as we explore the haunted history of this remarkable museum on this week's episode! Available wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to Subscribe, Rate, & Review on iTunes! Support the show by becoming a sponsor on our Patreon: www.Patreon.com/NYMysteryMachine Don't forget to follow us on all the socials: Instagram: @NYMysteryMachine Twitter: @NYMysteries Facebook: @NYMysteryMachine Thanks to our Sponsor: HUNT A KILLER Receive 20% off your first Hunt a Killer subscription box at www.HuntAKiller.com with the code NYMYSTERYMACHINE at checkout!

Have you ever felt so passionately about a celebrity that if anyone bad mouths them you get upset? Join the RB crew, sans Leo, as we discuss the worst case of fandom! Folks died for their favorite actor!!! Grab you're beers and have a listen!

Show Notes Episode 334: Undead On A Downtown Train Spooktacular 2021  This week Host Dave Bledsoe passes out on the subway platform at 2 AM only to wake up at home in his bed and not know how he got there. (This happens far more than he would like to admit) On the show this week Spooktacular 2021 rolls on down the steel rails with haunted subways and trains! (We mean actual ghosts, not the scary stuff that just happens on the train!) We start with the Ghost Trains of Astor Place in New York City and go around the country and around the world to visit haunted underground stops from Boston to Beijing! Then we head out into the country to tell you lurid tales of creepy stations, ghost trains and dead conductors waving their lanterns into the darkness to lure you closer! (Stay off the railroad tracks people!) Our Sponsor this week is The Creepy Guy at the End of the Car, is he jerking off or just jerking? We'll never tell. We open with Hey Arnold and close with Lee Enstone talking to all the Brooklyn Girls. Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/prelude-to-common-sense The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ www.whatthehellpodcast.com Give us your money on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music:https://youtu.be/N5jnAu4uUcM We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed The tragic truth behind the tale of the 'Black nun' who haunts Bank London Underground station https://www.mylondon.news/news/nostalgia/tragic-truth-behind-tale-black-21094722 The Haunting of Beijing's Metro Line 1 http://www.thatsmags.com/beijing/post/14866/tales-from-the-chinese-crypt-beijing-s-metro-haunting 12 Haunted Train Stations That Will Instantly Give You Cold Sweat https://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/haunted-stations/ Uncited Additional Reading  https://www.amny.com/transit/paranormal-experts-tell-tales-of-the-haunted-subway-1-11028781/ https://www.exp1.com/blog/untold-nyc-history-haunted-subways/ https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/massachusetts/boston/haunted-tunnel-boston/ https://wander-argentina.com/ghosts-of-the-buenos-aires-subway/ https://freetoursbyfoot.com/haunted-london-underground-stations/ https://secretldn.com/haunted-underground-stations/ https://scarystoriestoreadonthesubway.tumblr.com/ https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/spt-subway-haunted-ghost-stories-12023539 https://www.encoretickets.co.uk/articles/ghost-stories-london-underground/ http://www.thatsmags.com/beijing/post/14866/tales-from-the-chinese-crypt-beijing-s-metro-haunting https://www.qchron.com/qboro/stories/you-ain-t-afraid-of-no-ghost-we-ll-see-about-that/article_010ee09d-001f-5505-a643-147da790ecbf.html https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/haunted-church-hill-tunnel-history-va/ https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article234487957.html https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2012/01/11/the-tale-of-the-dead-body-train-at- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we begin with a news story about archaeologists finding evidence of clothing from 120,000 years ago.  We then get into the episode topic, wherein two actors, American Edwin Forrest and British William Macready, engaged in an absurd competition for stage supremacy. They each catered to a different class of audience, who supported their player in the arena of public opinion, finally culminating in a deadly riot in New York. music by V►LH►LL vlhll.bandcamp.com

Now that the country is opening back up again, many people are excited to see their loved ones, eat at restaurants, go to shows, and live their lives in a more pre-pandemic way. But as excited as we all are, sadly, many of our favorite places to visit no longer exist. They shut down during the COVID-19 recession and couldn't survive. So today I am absolutely thrilled to welcome back my guest to the show. While others weren't so lucky, today's guest is excited to give us an update. I'm Hilary Topper and you are listening to Hilary Topper on Air. Joining me today on this episode is Jeff Jaffe. He's the founder and owner of Pop International Galleries. They are an art gallery on the Bowery at the junction of Spring Street in New York City. Welcome to the show, Jeff. Jeff - Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be here, given what we've all gone through this last year and a half or so. Hilary - Gosh, it's been, it's been crazy. Um, well, I'm very happy to have you back on the show and I'm so glad that Pop International Galleries, which is one of my favorite in New York City, is still open and doing well. Can you remind our listeners about who you are and what Pop International Galleries is all about? Jeff - Sure, The Pop Gallery started back, believe it or not, it's hard to even comprehend back in 1997 when I sort of came to realize that there was a need for an art gallery to focus on specific things. And in those days it happened to be pop art, which was Andy Warhol and Keith Haring and big names, John Michel, Basquiat, and Roy Lichtenstein and so on and so forth. And we did really well with that. But as things began to progress, it dawned on me that Pop International really meant focusing on pop culture more than pop art per se, that pop art fits into the realm and genre of, uh, what we're sort of interested in, but there were more things too, we were missing out on. And so we began to focus on sports, photography and rock and roll photography, and, more recently, street art and graffiti, and, as a consequence of which, Pop International Galleries has become this sort of iconic little center for focusing on anything that has to do with pop art and popular culture. Hilary - So, as we were talking at the beginning of the show, I said that this year had been like no other, how was the gallery doing? And how did you fare during all of this? And how did you survive? Jeff - It's funny. I was just going to say before you said the word survive that we dived into survival mode. There were choices that had to be made. And then there were decisions that were made for us that we had no power to overcome or resist or embrace. We just had to sort of take them on. And as a consequence of which, we sort of began to look at what the virtual world was going to offer us. What technology was going to offer us and help us with, that goes past the questions of having conversations with landlords and dealing with those kinds of things. And we were fortunate enough to have a lovely landlord who was willing to help work things out and help us through so that we could really remain in business. And then the other thing is I made a very, very strong decision. Some people questioned me why, but I decided not to let a single staff person go. I was just sort of, of that mind where I felt a certain amount of responsibility. And so I took steps to enable remote working and remote selling, which was very difficult because selling art remotely is not something that we would ever have thought we would ever encounter. People like to come to an art gallery, they like to look at the art and smell it and touch it and look at the frame and we really had to come up with different sort of means and strategies to get people comfortable with the notion that they could buy a lot this way. Hilary - So during this pandemic, you told me that you developed even stronger client relationships. Can you talk about that a little bit? Jeff - Absolutely we, well, again, it sort of goes back to this notion of virtual business and sort of doing things with Zoom and Skype and all kinds of things. And what we discovered was that by actually picking up the telephone as opposed to sending emails, reaching out to people individually and touching base with people, especially regular collectors about us. And we have, we have a huge collectors base and I mean, people have been buying from us for 25 years. We have thousands of people that we've sold out to and we decided that one of the things that we would do is reach out to people individually. And so it began. And emails became phone calls, emails became texts, messages, and text messages, became phone calls. And then it sort of blossomed into this ongoing dialogue between our consultants and our collective base and which led into larger events using a Zoom to have virtual openings and that kind of thing, which had been very successful. Hilary - So, can you tell us, or, share with us some of the interesting artists that you represent in your gallery today and why you represent them? Jeff - Well, we represent roughly about 25 artists or so from around the world. And again, it goes back to what I said a little bit earlier in terms of representing art is certainly pop related, but it has much more to do with the notion of what popular culture is. And subsequently, we still do represent Andy Warhol and Keith Haring and John Michelle Buskey out and so on. But we've edged out into other realms, which focus on things. Like, for example, we did a very, very special event with the godfather of street art, Ron English. And Ron was thrilled at the concept of making a type of work that he had never made before, which is paintings on paper in the manner he had never made them before. And so running this book has become a very important aspect of the pop gallery. We represent a Danish artist whose name is Ola Olberg and Ola has taken the cartoon character Tintin, who many people know lots of American people don't know about Tintin, but put Tintin into different scenarios, sort of naughty sort of sexual scenarios, which is something that most people don't associate Tintin with. But the idea of Tintin and popular culture and cartoons and things, that many people and I grew up with Tintin comics. So, that's been truly successful. We represent an artist by the name of Tony Ray Negro, who did all the backstage passes for the grateful dead. When, you know, from the age of 20 back in the eighties and nineties and so on. So the whole concept of rock and roll and music fits perfectly into this notion of pop culture. And then of course we represent two other artists that really fit into this concept so beautifully that I couldn't have even imagined it. It was just a natural thing. We represent the art of Dr.Seuss, which besides all this sort of nonsense and drama that occurred with the audit Dr. Seuss recently, we represent the estate of. Dr. Seuss, which means all the illustration drawings and things that he made limited additions of and the estate represents and a very special what we call the secret audit Dr. Seuss, which has stuff that he made in his spare time or the midnight audit Dr. Seuss, along with what he called the unorthodox taxidermy, which are these really beautiful, funny sort of taxidermy heads, which are just hilarious. And then we represent Tom Everhart, who was the protégé, if you will, of Charles Schultz of Peanuts and Snoopy fame. Tom was a young guy who saw Schultz Sparky as a mentor. And they had a really wonderful father, son type relationship. They and Tom started to interpret all the Snoopy characters and Schulz gave him permission before he died to be the only artist in the world to be able to make art using Snoopy and peanuts characters without a license. He has a lifetime license. They had a show together in the loop a number of years ago. So again, this whole notion of popular culture and pop, all these, The Seuss, the Tintin, the Snoopy Eberhardt pieces that all fit in really, really well. And then of course we move into street art and graffiti. And I have some lovely stories to tell you about that when you're ready. Hilary - Tell us we'd love to hear. So the very first sort of graffiti street art experience happened with pop and about 12 years ago, actually I got a phone call from a collector, a good friend collector. They said Jeff, these two boys who live in Bushwick in Brooklyn, I've started to collect their art quite, quite seriously. And I think you should go and visit them in their studio. And I said, Mike, if you are sure that's what you suggest, I trust you and happy to do it. So Mike set up this little meeting and I drove out to Bushwick 12 years ago. Bushwick wasn't what it is today, 12 years ago or so. And I arrived in this sort of funny little loft odd building where these two guys lived and worked. They had a studio together. Their names were, Mike Buck, Michael Bucca and, Fernando Romero, their street names, graffiti names were 2ESAE and Ski. So Fernando is Ski and Mike is a 2esae and I arrived at this place sort of not expecting a whole lot, but it was kind of exciting. And the first thing of course was they had a big pile of donuts and coffee for me on the table. And on the other side, they had a big bottle of Hennessy. They had no clue who I was going to be, and they were wondering what I was going to choose. It was really hilarious. And I meant, I went for the coffee and donuts just for the record, but, I'd forgotten to mention that they went by the name of a group that painted and work together. They went by the name of UR New York. And I saw their work around, you know, they used to sell this stuff on the street for a hundred bucks. And here I had this opportunity and as I went through the space studio, whatever you'd like to call it, I knew instantly that they belonged in the gallery. So I pulled him aside and I said, Fernando, Mike, we're definitely going to do something, but there are a few things that we have to deal with first. And they said, yeah, sure. I mean, they were really, really excited. And I looked at them and I said, you know, the 37 indictments that you have against you and the five years probation that you're on. I mean, these guys were like, looking, how do you know? How do you know all this? I said, how do I know it? Mike told me, you know, Mike referred me to you. He told me all of this stuff, they said. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But how does Mike know? And I had to sort of at that moment in time, decide, should I say how Mike and I figured out what the heck? I said, well, I hate to break it to you but Mike is the undercover cop who arrested you guys. It was always the uniform guys who took you in, but Mike was undercover. So you never knew who he was. And he developed a relationship with your love, of art and started collecting your art. Hilary - That's so funny. That's a great story. Jeff - There's a documentary in there somewhere. I'm sure. Mike, I'm telling you, they went bananas. These two guys jumping up and down hooting and hollering. It was just hilarious. And I said, and based on what. In order for me to put you in the gallery, we have to get rid of those issues that we just discussed and the way we're going to do it is by doing community work and getting involved with children in need and homelessness and whatnot. My attorney is a former judge. Mike, the undercover cop eventually became a DA. We're going to write letters. We're going to do all kinds of things that are going to sort of help mitigate this. And so the first thing we did was a big project in Chelsea in that there's a public housing center in Chelsea, on the west side of New York City. And we arranged for the boys to do a big mural and to work with all the children, helping them draw and paint and do all that kind of stuff. Got a fair amount of press and coverage. And one thing led to another. And the boys started working with children everywhere working with charities and organizations that we were able to connect them with. They went overseas, they went to Australia to work with Aboriginal children. When they went to South Africa to work with children in need, they went to Israel to work with Palestinian and Israeli children to show them how we're all the same. They really did some beautiful things and, as a consequence of all of this, all of those charges and probations were dropped and they have gone on to become two of the most important artists that we represent here. And my relationship with them is incredible. I mean, we are talking about a father-son relationship, and we've sold hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of their art since then. Hilary - Two boys selling their art for 50 bucks on the street, wonderful story. That's awesome, that's awesome. Thank you for sharing those stories with me. So let's take this a step back. Someone walks into your gallery and they're looking to start a collection. How does that process work? Jeff - So the one thing about Pop International Galleries, which I believe was a game-changer and for many reasons, was that we decided to break down that whole barrier. You often walk into these galleries where someone's sitting behind a desk and you can barely see them. It's a high sort of desk and it's just white walls and maybe three pieces of art on the wall and nobody even talks to you. And then they look at you and they want to know what shoes you're wearing or what handbag you're carrying or how big the diamond is, or the watch on your hand. You know, that kind of stuff. We broke that completely. We have a much more open, friendly, inviting, environment. And as a consequence of which people absolutely love coming into the gallery. And so we focus on people who have never bought a piece of art before and on people who have big collections. And so we don't differentiate. We just help people find all that they love. We've always had a policy not to sell art on the basis of investment, when people say to me, well, if I buy this print, you know, it's 3,000 bucks, what's it going to be worth in 10 years? And I say, well, I have a really good stockbroker who has an office down the road. If you'd like, I could send you there, but we try not to. If you came to me with 5 million bucks and said, hey, could you help me invest in art? That might be a different story, but we break down all those barriers. Hilary - That's awesome. Let me ask you something. Do you have any exciting exhibits coming up that you want to share with us? Jeff - I do. Actually. There are a few things that we're working on. I'll just tell you about two that we had that sort of part of what this conversation was about. Where these virtual exhibitions, the first one we did was with Ron English and it was a big test for us to see if we could sell art while the gallery was shut down, or while we have contracted hours or while there were rules and regulations about social distancing and so on and so forth. So we did a test actually with two artists, Ron English, and McKenzie Papa, British artists who I'd been working with for many, many years. And they were amazing, absolutely amazing. They were RSVP events only. So you couldn't come to the Zoom call if you didn't get, if you didn't RSVP, couldn't join the thing. The idea was to show some videos, moderate with questions. My team here had questions for Oscar, the artists, and then, we opened up some of the questions to collectors and again, moderated things well enough so that it didn't get drawn out in long, sort of like into a sort of drawn out thing. And we sold a whole bunch of art. And so it opened up this idea for us. To do some more of them. And, we're now going to be working on a curated show of street art, that Ski from that team that I was just telling you about Fernando Romero is going to curate, that's going to be absolutely amazing, it's going to be a smash hit, no questions about it because he's going to, he has a lot of connections, obviously in the street art world and graffiti world. And he's going to bring in people who we've never represented, um, and curated in a way that will sort of open up art that had never been shown before in this manner. So we're very, very excited about that one. The other one that I'm working on is an Australian couple, the names are Gillie and Mark a husband and wife team who make art together. And, they're actually very well known in New York City for their outdoor monumental bronze works. And, before the pandemic, they did this beautiful, beautiful exhibition of women of valor. They had come to realize that women bronze, sculptures and statues of women, we're sadly lacking female sculptures, and monumental sculptures of women. There were less of them than there were men and they were going to change that. So they did this really beautiful collection of sculptures of some fantastic women, from Ruth Bader Ginsburg and so on and so forth, it was just really beautiful. And then they've done these large outdoor installations. People may have seen it up at Astor Place in Brooklyn, the big rhinos stacked on top of one another. Monumental pieces and part of what they do besides them tease and make fun of themselves. Gillie and Mark, Gillie is a bunny rabbit and Mark as a dog in their paintings and they sit on Vespas and bicycles and do all kinds of sweet, lovely things. We're going to do an event with them online and sort of tied in with the time zone with Australia. Those are two really great things that are coming up. Hilary- So cool. How could our listeners get in touch and actually sign up for any of these events? Jeff - Really easy. All you need to do is shoot us either an email, to, you could send it to me, jeff@popinternational.com or just art@popinternational.com. And just say, Hey, I heard the podcast, or you could, um, just call the gallery. And the number is (212) 533-4262. And we'll put you on the list and, and sort of begin to develop a relationship with you the way we have with our many, many thousands of collectors that we have over the years, we look so forward to it. Hilary - This was really informative and congratulations on your successes. I really appreciate you being on the show. I want to also thank our sponsors, the Russo law group, The Profit Express with Tim Healey, Pop international galleries. Thank you. Gold Benes LLP, and the Pegalis Law Group. And last but not least, I want to thank you our listeners for tuning in. If you want more information on this show or any other show you could visit our website at hillarytopperonair.com or you can find us on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, apple podcasts, even Amazon Alexa, where out there you'll find you can find us have a great week and we'll see you next time.

A Scottish Podcast About Scotland!This week we are talking about The Scottish Play. William Shakespeare's cursed historical epic tragedy. We discuss the real story of Macbeth, the circumstances surrounding Willy's writing of the play, the various adaptions through the years and  the curse that has plagued those who dare utter the name of The Scottish Play out loud. We also tell you the absolutely bananas story of the Astor Place Riot. So shut up and tune in! SláinteCONTACT: Instagram: thistledopodTwitter: @thistledopodFacebook: www.facebook.com/thistledopodEmail: thistledonicelypod@gmail.comwebsite & sources: https://www.thistledonicelypod.com/SOURCES:https://www.rsc.org.uk/macbeth/about-the-play/the-scottish-playhttps://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2018/oct/the-curse-and-superstition-of-shakespeare-s-macbeth.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astor_Place_Riothttps://shakespeareandbeyond.folger.edu/2017/05/09/astor-place-riot-macbeth-new-york/https://theoutline.com/post/8659/the-astor-place-opera-house-riot-of-1849-was-lithttps://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/macbeth/https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/top10facts/422119/10-facts-about-Macbethhttps://interestingliterature.com/2015/10/five-fascinating-facts-about-macbeth/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbethhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt2884018/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10095582/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265713/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3

#Policeoffthecuff Real crime Stories: The attackers, sometimes splitting into groups of two or more, started accosting passengers on a southbound No. 4 train, carrying out three attacks between the Union Square and Brooklyn Bridge stations, police said. In the first attack, around 4:20 a.m., police said three to five suspects approached a 44-year-old man, and slashed him on the left cheek. The attackers fled the subway car and the victim flagged down officers when the train reached the Union Square station. About five minutes later, as the train approached the Astor Place station, the men attacked again, slashing a 40-year-old man in the nose and punching a 41-year-old man who may have tried to intervene, Deputy Inspector Steven Hill said. The suspects then approached a 44-year-old passenger near the Brooklyn Bridge station, slashed him on the left cheek and took his wallet and cell phone, Hill said. About 30 minutes after the first wave of attacks, a 48-year-old man approached police officers at a subway station near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and said that he’d been slashed in the right eye while aboard a train near 59th Street—Columbus Circle station in Manhattan, Hill said. That man was listed in stable condition and was undergoing surgery, Hill said. The assaults happened amid growing concerns about crime on the city’s subways as ridership picks up from pandemic lows, though it’s still averaging about 40% below normal. The city says it’s assigning 500 more police officers to tackle subway crime, but the transit officials have been urging Mayor Bill de Blasio to do more. NYC Transit’s interim president, Sarah Feinberg, accused the Democratic mayor Friday of “negligence on the issue.” “Enough is enough. The mayor is risking New York’s recovery every time he lets these incidents go by without meaningful action,” Feinberg, whose agency doesn’t report to de Blasio, said in a statement. De Blasio spokesperson Bill Neidhardt accused the MTA of finger-pointing and urged it to “get with the program.” “We’re going to keep putting massive resources into this fight to keep our subways safe,” he said in a statement. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, underscored the increased police presence in the subway system and the quick work by officers to arrest the suspects in Friday’s attacks. “You have one of these incidents, it’s too much,” Shea said. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/otcpod1/support

On this day in 1849, a riot broke out at the Astor Place Opera House in New York. / On this day in 1919, a riot began when white sailors began attacking Black people in Charleston, South Carolina. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Host Aaron Odom (@TridentTheatre) and guest Jenni Reed discuss the culmination of one of the most bitter actor rivalries in American theatre history.   Trident Theatre Website

The year 2020 began with getting targeted by a literal Hit Man on Astor Place one freezing Sunday morning as I headed to my class at Yoga to the People. Now let’s take a look at the added layer of psychological warfare and hacking only a professional could pull off.

Over the past several months with Kate McLean’s guidance, East Village residents and stakeholders explored their surrounding environment strictly through their sense of smell by smell catching, smell hunting and free smelling. The aggregated data has been visualized as a colorful Smellmap of Astor Place on view during event hours. Join McLean for a smellwalk at 9 am and 11 am each day.

Kristy, Amber, and Scot talk about when New York City rioted over Shakespeare.  For more old timey crimey content, check out the Patreon and see what extras you can get for a few bucks a months! Or check out our Amazon Wishlist to buy us a book--making the episode topic YOUR CHOICE! Don't forget to follow the show FB, Insta, or Twitter. WE HAVE MERCH! https://www.redbubble.com/people/oldtimeycrimey/shop Other Shows: Short Story, Short Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3q2moJE65wLBf0zFjqhMhu?si=3zbTwhkIQnOYVqbd_TmZYQ Detectives by the Decade: https://linktr.ee/detectivesbythedecade Sources: Shakespeare and Beyond, Folger Library. https://shakespeareandbeyond.folger.edu/2017/05/09/astor-place-riot-macbeth-new-york/ James Cook. Shakespeare in American Life.  http://wayback.archive-it.org/2873/20151218215425/http://www.shakespeareinamericanlife.org/transcripts/cook3.cfm Robert McNamara. https://www.thoughtco.com/astor-place-riot-1773778 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Forrest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Norton_Sinclair NY Herald. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1849-05-08/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=1849&sort=date&rows=20&words=Edwin+Forrest&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=14&state=&date2=1850&proxtext=edwin+forrest&y=11&x=10&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 Betsy Golden Kellem. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-new-york-rivalry-over-shakespeare-boiled-over-deadly-melee-180964102/ https://allthatsinteresting.com/astor-place-riot https://theoutline.com/post/8659/the-astor-place-opera-house-riot-of-1849-was-lit?zd=1&zi=6cyjmvga https://www.thoughtco.com/astor-place-riot-1773778 Music: Music: Evil Plan by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3725-evil-plan License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  

Im Friseursalon "Astor Place" in Manhattan arbeiten 50 Friseure aus 40 Ländern. Promis wie Keith Haring und Andy Warhol zählten zu den Kunden. "Ein Stück Seele New Yorks" nennt es Fotograf Nicolaus Schmidt. Doch jetzt stand der Laden kurz vor dem Aus. Nicolaus Schmidt im Gespräch mit Eckhard Roelcke www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Fazit Hören bis: 19.01.2038 04:14 Direkter Link zur Audiodatei

OH SHIT IT'S SEASON FOUR! The newly re-christened Anhedonic Headphones Podcast (that's the name now) is back with a small batch of brand new, socially distant episodes to provide you with a brief respite from your own intrusive thoughts during the holidays and a pandemic winter. In the first episode of the new season, or 20th episode overall, Kevin welcomes illustrious guest and damn near lifelong friend Liz Johnson into the virtual building. Recording remotely from her home in Iowa, the episode was put together with the magic of Zencastr (#ad) and the two chop it up about problematic roles for Pierce Brosnan, someone they went to college with named Big Dumb Eric, the healing properties of Don Henley, how Zoom therapy hits but hits different, going to jazz clubs as a teenager, and reconnecting with friends you haven't spoken to in a long, long time. For additional information about the verbose and depressive music website Anhedonic Headphones, click here! Episode Musical Credits: Theme Music- "Flava In Ya Ear" (Instrumental); written by Osten Harvey Jr, Craig Mack, Roger Nichols, and Paul Williams. Bad Boy Records, 1994.  "Rollin," written by Adam Wiles, Nayvadius Wilburn, and Khalid Robinson; performed by DJ Calvin Harris, Future, and Khalid. Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, Sony Music, 2017. "My Back Pages," written by Bob Dylan; performed by Marshall Crenshaw. Bleecker Street - Greenwich Village in the 60s, Astor Place, 1999. "The Heart of The Matter," written by Mike Campbell, Don Henley, and J.D. Souther; performed by Don Henley. The End of The Innocence, Geffen, 1989. "Siren," written by Tori Amos and Patrick Doyle; performed by Tori Amos. Great Expectations, Atlantic, 1997. "Hit Hit Hit," written by Stasola, Carl Lionnet, and Jean Fernandes; performed by Oslo Telescopic. The Dominique Ø Project, Lithium, 2002. "Tyrone," written by Erykah Badu and Norman Hunt; performed by Erykah Badu. Live, Motown/Universal, 1997. "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons," written by Ivory Watson and William Best; performed by Nat King Cole. Unforgettable, Capitol, 1952.  "I Won't Be Your Yoko Ono," written and performed by Dar Williams. The Green World, Razor and Tie, 2000. "Mercy Street," written by Peter Gabriel; performed by Peter Gabriel with Elbow. And I'll Scratch Yours, Real World Records, 2013. "Sinnerman," traditional; performed by Nina Simone. Pastel Blues, Phillips Records, 1965.

19th-century actors were hardcore. In this episode, we explore how John Wilkes Booth may not have been the craziest person in his family, how a dispute over who was the better Macbeth ended with dozens of deaths, and how this one event was the Kevin Bacon of its time - almost everyone makes an appearance, from Davy Crockett to Charles Dickens

Today Bennett Fisher, playwright and Jesca Prudencio, director, join us to talk about the smashing successful run of Campo Maldito at San Francisco Fringe Festival. There are three more performances: 9/12 at 6 p.m., 9/18 at 10:30 p.m., 9/16 at 7 p.m., and 9/20 at 2:30 p.m. at the Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy Street in San Francisco. See http://www.peopleofinterest.org/ (trailer) & http://www.ubuntutheaterproject.com/  Bennett Fisher is company member of Campo Santo, an associate artist with the Cutting Ball Theater, and a co-founder of the San Francisco Theater Pub. His plays include Campo Maldito, Borealis, Pay Dirt, Hermes, Don't Be Evil, Devil of a Time, and Whoa is Me. Bennett was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is currently pursuing his MFA in playwriting at UC San Diego, class of 2016. Jesca Prudencio is a director, choreographer, and community based artist. She has worked on new plays, musicals, and dance theater works with companies including The Movement Theatre Company, Fresh Ground Pepper, Ingenue Theatre, and the Asian American Arts Alliance. Her site-specific dance pieces include We Walk, We Stop at the Astor Place intersection and Nothing Matters When We're Dancing in Washington Square Park. As a member of Ping Chong + Company, she has worked as a writer, director, and facilitator on a dozen interdisciplinary and documentary theater projects, and including co-writing and directing Listen To Me: voices of survivors of child sexual abuse and those who help them presented in the Bronx and Manhattan. She recently directed and choreographed a new musicalThe Firebird at NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Jesca has a BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.