Monster Fun At Freestyle Jam at Nassau Colisseum

The kids, Eli and Leo, jumped up and down and roared, and so did the massive Monster Trucks we got to see over the weekend at Nassau Coliseum for the "Monster Jam Freestyle Mania." We all had a blast, me included. I'd put the whole thing down in the "good, clean fun" category. Nice seats, fair ticket price ($15 per kid + the onerous charges of course), started on time, matinee. Definitely kept everyone entertained. Plus, Flushing, Queen's Chinatown is on the way.

We got to see Sampson; Rap Attach, whose driver must have drawn the lucky straw at the drivers' pre-show meeting for the obligatory flip over; the Avenger; Grave Digger (every rally has to have a Grave Digger, the clear fan favorite); and Spider-Man.

In between the Monster Truck jumps and donuts, the Freestyle Jam showed off a truly amazing group of moto bikers, who did pirouettes and flips over a 50 foot-span jump; BMX bikers who also did flips and spins; and a trio of motorcyclists who did wheelie tricks.

Two very entertaining hours which I'd be happy to do again.

Me and Underdog: The Brilliance of Suzanne Muldowney

In the late 80s/early 90s a mysterious Underdog roamed the streets of New York. I would see this lady dressed in full on costume here and there and wonder, and I knew her from her appearances on the brilliant late night public access show Beyond Vaudeville, probably the craziest talk show ever to air. Were they putting us on? You just never knew...the host Frank Hope was so deadpan and so obviously enraptured by his guest, themselves an eccentric collection of semi-b list celebrities (Soupy Sales, Joe Franklin) and work-a-day oddballs. Underdog fit right in. (I bought a DVD best of Beyond Vaudeville and it's even better than I remembered. No rose colored glasses here). Later on I heard her on the Howard Stern show, but in recent years I've lost track of Underdog. A quick search shows that her legend lives on and she's still active, though, sadly, recovering from a serious cat bite. And when I found this old photo of me and Underdog (Suzanne Muldowney) taken at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade many years ago, I was reminded of how thrilled I was to meet her at the time. Scroll down below too for a youtube clip of Underdog's greatest hits as well as a clip from just last month.

Another Talented Satlof, Now Out of Retirement

The TV directing and producing credits of Ron Satlof - my uncle - run as long as your arm. Mentioning 70s and 80s classics like the A-Team, Battlestar Galactica, Hawaii Five-0, Perry Mason, Quincy ME, Charlie's Angels, The Dukes of Hazzard, McLoud, The Six Million Dollar Man and my favorite Get Christy Love barely scratch the surface of Ron's TV work, while in the film world it's hard to beat an Assistant Director credit on Mean Streets plus a cameo in the classic Scorcese film (as a bartender). Ron retired several years ago, to Florida, but he came out of retirement over the last couple of years to write, produce and direct the new film Misconceptions, a funny and poignant dramedy about a southern fundamentalist woman carrying a baby for a two gay men from Boston. I caught up with Ron at the opening of the film in New York City on Friday. The theater was packed and the crowd appreciative. Ron and his co-writer Ira Pearlstein stayed afterward to answer audience questions. It's playing in NYC at the Quad Theater through Thursday, so this is a chance to run on down and see the film on the big screen.

Vintage Shopping with Lykke Li

I caught Lykke Li at SXSW in 2008 when the young Swedish phenom was on the verge of breaking out this side of the pond. Although I arrived late and only caught the last song I knew she was one to keep an eye on. Since then she's collaborated with Bon Iver, recorded a hit song for the Twilight soundtrack and toured the world over. One of the things I love most about her is the way fashion infiltrates her image as a musician, she's kind of like the Ashley Olsen of indie-rock. I was super excited when I saw this Current TV Embedded segment on Lykke. They go vintage shopping in San Francisco, one of my favorite cities and they find some awesome stuff. I'm kind of thinking of planning a trip to San Fran just to hit up some of those thrift shops. Who's with me?