Waiting to the last minute can pay off: It’s called rush tickets

by Jamie Rhein on

Although, it’s true that living the Girl Scout motto “Be Prepared” can pay off, flying through life by the seat of ones pants also has merit. Take yesterday, for example. Yesterday, I got the urge to see Avenue Q. The touring company is in town for a few days, and because I’ve been busy, getting tickets became shuffled to the background of my life. Then, about 3 p.m., I had to go. I must go, even if no one was going with me. I’d be nuts not to. At 4:45 p.m. I dashed into the CAPA ticket office to buy my ticket.

The guy behind the counter said, “Ya’ know. At 6:00, you can get a $25 ticket. There will be 20 rush tickets for sale.

At 5:30, after a trip to the library to pay off a fine for overdue books, there I was, first in line, at the Palace Theatre box office, By 6:10, I had two tickets. At that price, my husband agreed to go with me when I called to tell him about our good fortune. By 7:50 we were settled into our third- row orchestra seats on the right-hand side, much better and cheaper than the ones we would have had if I had planned ahead.

There are two morals of this story:

  1. If you get the urge to go to a performance, even if it’s last minute, don’t assume it’s too late–you might hit pay dirt.
  2. If you want to plan ahead, find out if there are rush tickets and how to get them.

Here is a link to tips on getting rush tickets for Broadway shows in New York City, and here’s a link to Talkin’ Broadway’s On the Boards that has ticket information including rush ticket policies and standing room only details. Standing room only is another last minute, cheaper ticket option. Here’s Avenue Q’s touring schedule. I highly recommend it, but it’s bawdy. Good natured, clever and terrific, but bawdy.

10 quotes from Kurt Vonnegut, on the first anniversary of his death

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the death of a favorite writer of mine, Kurt Vonnegut. Best known for his books Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, Cat’s Cradle, and many, many more, Vonnegut had a way of creating alternate realities, while at the same time saying something important about our own.

Here are ten of my favorite quotes from Vonnegut, some applicable to travel and some just applicable to life.

10. “We are here on Earth to fart around. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.”

9. [In a Baptismal speech, from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater]: “Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies– God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.”

8. “History is merely a list of surprises… It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again. Write that down.”

7. “Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.”

6. [When Vonnegut tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope] “Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know. The moral of the story is, is we’re here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don’t realize, or they don’t care, is we’re dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And, we’re not supposed to dance at all anymore.”

5. “Do you think Arabs are dumb? They gave us our numbers. Try doing long division with Roman numerals.”

4. “The highest treason in the USA is to say Americans are not loved, no matter where they are, no matter what they are doing there.”

3. [After Kilgore Trout tracks mud onto a nice carpet in Breakfast of Champions]: “It was Trout’s fantasy that somebody would be outraged by the footprints. This would give him the opportunity to reply grandly, “What is it that offends you so? I am simply using man’s first printing press. You are reading a bold and universal headline which says ,’I am here, I am here, I am here.'”

2. Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterwards.”

1. “I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.'”

Indonesian masseuses told to padlock pants

by Catherine Bodry on

Is Indonesia reverting to the era of chastity belts? The country recently implemented a policy requiring its female masseuses to wear padlocks on their trousers.

We all know that for some folks, visiting a massage parlor means they’re getting a whole lot more than a back rub. There are specific institutions that cater to these types of customers and I’m certain that those particular “massage therapists” didn’t put in 500 hours and get their massage licenses. Working out the kinks in your back isn’t their specialty.

So it seems to me that putting a padlock on the masseuses’ pants isn’t really solving the masseuse-as-prostitute problem, and, as the State Minister for Women’s Empowerment Meuthia Hatta pointed out, it makes the masseuse appear to be in the wrong, not the customer.

What do you think?

Catcher in the Rye inspired Holden Caufield tour of New York City

by Jamie Rhein on

The 10th most popular book in the United States is Catcher in the Rye. Way to go Holden! Although Holden roamed the streets of New York City at Christmas time in the early 1950s, you can take in what he did even in warmer weather. Holden Caufield’s version of NYC is certainly cheaper than the Sex in the City tour that Iva wrote about. That one costs $24,000.

Here’s my suggestion for a Holden Caufield inspired itinerary with costs included. I’m providing the adult rates. The itinerary is based on the places Holden went. Each are mentioned in the novel. I’ve thrown in the cost of a day MetroCard along with the subway and bus stops to make your gadabout easier. If you start early in the morning and don’t dawdle, you should be able to hit all stops–although this is if you only see highlights at the two museums. Each of them could take several hours. Take a copy of the novel with you so you can see what Holden saw and compare notes. There will be an essay afterwards.

Start here– Grand Central Station –free. Subways: # 4, 5, 6, 7, and S. From here walk to Rockefeller Center by heading to 5th Avenue and turning right. It’s a piece of cake.

Rockefeller Center –free, unless you go ice-skating. Ice-skating goes on through April 13th. For adults, $10–weekdays or $14–weekends. Skate rental, $8. Subways: F-D-B-Q. There are others that will get you close, but you’ll have to walk a little. Nearby is Radio City Music Hall where Holden saw the Rockettes. You’ll have to wait until their Christmas Spectacular Show to see them. Presale tickets are available.

To take the #1, which will get you to the American Museum of Natural History, the next tour stop, walk a few blocks to 50th and Broadway.

American Museum of Natural History –It can be free, however, there is a suggested admission of $15 for adults. You have to go through the line to pay what you want in order to get a ticket. Subway directions: Take B (weekdays only) or C to 81 Street or #1 to Broadway and West 79th Street.

Central Park Carousel -$2.00. The carousel and the Central Park Zoo trip fits between the two museum visits. The carousel reopens after the winter months in April. Although, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is directly across the park from the American Museum of Natural History, I’d go to the carousel and zoo for a change of pace and to enjoy some spring flowers. Here’s a link to a teeny tiny map so you can see what I’m talking about. You can take a bus M7 to Central Park South and enter the park at 6th Avenue. Grab a soft pretzel with a dollop of mustard. If you’re lucky you can find a knish. Oh, I love those things.

Central Park Zoo – $8.00 (for adults) To get to the zoo from the carousel, keep walking across the park towards Fifth Avenue. You’ll pass by the Dairy Barn along the way.

Metropolitan Museum of Art—free, except there is a suggested donation of $20 for adults. You can walk here from the zoo, if you like to walk several blocks, or walk to Madison Ave. and take the M1, M2, M3, or M4 up to 83rd Street. On Fridays and Saturdays, the museum is open until 9 PM so you’ll have time to not hurry so much–plus there’s music.

Here’s an article that can work as a cheat sheet to show you what Holden saw at these places. You won’t be able to take in the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. For that, come back during the winter holidays.

Admission costs if you pay the full amount at the museums—55 + MetroCard for unlimited day use–$7 = Total $ $62.

Coldplay ranked “Top band that help Britons get off to sleep”

by Iva Skoch on

“Oh, what’s Coldplay whining about now?” asked my friend David, when he heard Coldplay playing in my apartment a few years back. Ever since then I haven’t been able to listen to Coldplay. All I hear now is whining!

It appears that Coldplay brings entirely different sensations to Britons though. According to a Travelodge-conducted survey, the top bands/singers that help Britons get off to sleep in a hotel are:

  1. Coldplay
  2. James Blunt
  3. Snow Patrol
  4. Take That
  5. Norah Jones

I don’t really know much about the music business, I am guessing it is not really a compliment to be the band that puts people to sleep?

Thanks, Rory Boland, for the tip!

[via Lost Weekend]