This is really appropos of nothing, but to all you DC expats out there, they’re finally blowing up the crap out of the Wilson Bridge.

To all you non-DC people out there, the Wilson Bridge was one of the worst traffic bottlenecks/clusterf&*@s in an overcrowded, poorly planned metropolitan area rampant with both. In the few years we lived there, the Wilson Bridge’s demolition was a daily topic of conversation.

So, good night, Wilson Bridge:

When I was a kid we used to play strip poker - all of us piling on the clothes and jewelry (the girls) in case we lost hands! I play poker pretty regularly now but I’m not sure if I’d play in the recent tourney held by Paddy Power (a client of my previous employer). Here’s a video report (warning - NSFW).

And even more fun is this latest video of arcade action featuring household objects (mmmm…..cupcakes…) from PES. Check out the rest of the videos on the site - lots of good stop motion animation.

one of our readers wrote in with the following question —

“do you know of any loft type spaces that might be available for rent for a party with live music in early October?
gowanus/ carroll gardens/ red hook / boerum hill area?”

I suggested Frankies 457 (they have that barn out back). Anybody have any good suggestions?

We managed to unload a bunch of our stuff at our stoop sale, and then we happened across this couch across the street. Yet another great trash find. The cushions are all nasty and falling apart and for some reason it was originally upholstered in WOOL! (eek, it is so itchy). This couch also pulls out into a bed, although I have yet to figure out how it works exactly. I’m thinking that with a nice reupholstery job this could turn into a sweet new addition to our home. Which brings me to my question, has anybody had anything reupholstered in Brooklyn and has a recommendation on who to call? And, is this going to cost me a small fortune- I’m sure the answer to that is yes.

Shameless advert post — yes, we are having a stoop sale today from 11-4:00. 2nd place between Court and Smith (right by the subway). Oodles of comics, books, collectible toys, some video games, a few bits of furniture, more books, and some other random crap - all of which could be yours for the right price!

11a-4p
2nd Place between Court and Smith
Right around the corner from the Carroll St. stop on the F and G

P.S.: Our stoop sale partner-in-crime Dan “Dave Mirra” B, Esq. asked us to post that he’s selling his awesome bike that does rad tricks like bunny hops and wheelies and skids. Yours for a cool $100!

Anyway, stop by, chat, and pick up some of our junk if you got the inkling.

We have mice at the studio. It is an unfortunate and somewhat embarrassing fact - but it is the truth. They may be super powered mice from radiation exposure from the lot next door, or just plain old NYC mice that are moving through the various apts. in our building. If only they didn’t poop so much and eat our food I wouldn’t really care, and would be happy to have a mini-mascots, but alas they are nasty little creatures and they have to go.

Which brings us to our experiment. Yesterday we went down to Lowes and picked up a live mouse trap. We are going to begin a series of experiments to see what delicious bait gets them into the trap.

Day 1: Unbaited Trap
We followed the instructions on the package and left the trap unbaited. We saw squeakers run past the trap twice without blinking an eye. This morning when we came into the office nothing had been caught.

Day 2: Crushed Peanut M&Ms
I crushed 3 peanut M&Ms and left them in the trap. We’ll report back tomorrow to see if we had any luck.

Day 3-4: Snickers
UPDATE: Snickers attracted no attention. On to the next item.

- Day 5: BACON
Per a comment below, our next bait item is a piece of bacon. We couldn’t get our hands on some bacon grease, but perhaps the smell will be strong enough to lure him into the trap. He just scurried across the floor about ah hour ago (while the snickers was still inside), running right past the trap.

If you have any suggestions of successful mouse bait - let us know!

On a side note, I brought my cat Wiggum down to the office today so he could spread his cat mojo around, and maybe even earn his keep for once. While Wiggum is a real tough guy at home, terrorizing our other cat and generally lording over his domain, he isn’t taking the trip to the studio too well. He is hiding under a chair.

I know this should be posted to craigslist (and believe me it is) but I thought the fine readers of 423 smith might have a nice inside scoop. I’m new to the 423 smith family and looking for a studio apartment in the neighborhood, ideally along G or F line. Ah, to walk to work, what a dream.

I’d also be interested in a room/share situation, oh and if you happen to have a 2 bedroom I might be able to round up a roommate (another 423-er).

please email me at minnie@orangeyouglad.com
thanks!

The last call for area artists to join the 2006 Annual Gowanus Artists Studio Tour, AGAST Deadline is August 15th. You can download a registration form here from the agastbrooklyn.com site.

Participants open their studio doors for FREE to the public on Saturday and Sunday, October 21 and 22, 2006, 1:00 to 6:00 PM. Artists and fans of artists, or fans of open studios, or fans of the gowanus - mark your calendar.

I have to admit, i love these Pluots (aka dinosaur eggs). They are a hybrid mix of plums and apricots, and while I’ve always held a frightened fascination with engineered food, this delicious plum -apricot mixture is nothing but delightful. The flesh of the fruit is most like a plum, but the over-saturated taste of the plum is made more subtle by the addition of the apricot. What’s really weird about this fruit (and it’s sister the Aprium) is that they are both trademarked species of foods.

update/correction: As commented below by Chip from Cookthink - the Pluot is not genetically engineered but lovingly hand bred.

Which brings me to my other favorite food dilemma - what to do about the extinction of the banana. Bananas are easily one of my favorite foods. Would I prefer the banana to be saved by becoming genetically altered, or do I let it slip a way. A world without bananas…. hard to imagine.

Here are some banana articles:
BBC: Bananas could split for good
Popular Science: Can This Fruit Be Saved?
Snopes on the banana rumors

I was doing a little bit of browsing on Amazon and came across this book. Oh, no! Where are my pants? And other Disasters: Poems. Great title!