Improv Everywhere

...is a really great group to get involved with for a few reasons:

1- They pull hilarious large scale pranks all over NYC. Nothing scandalous or illegal is involved- it's more along the lines of "once I wondered what would happen if I did xy&z" or "once I did this weird thing for psych class in college to find out what the reaction would be," only the activities are way more fun than running screaming through The Met or staring someone down in the library.

2- The people involved are, in general, just the right brand of lunacy-meets-awesomeness, and even if you go alone (which I have been known to do), you are sure to make a friend or two.

3- It's all free!

I've been taking part in IE stunts for a couple years now, and have had the time of my life. From de-pantsing on the subway (which, after 6 or 7 years, is now at the scale of a national holiday) to freeze-framing in Grand Central to participating in a giant game of twister in a plaza downtown, the antics are always jovial, light-hearted, and loads of fun. As a mid-western parent might say, "Good, clean fun!" And it's not often that something this clean is actually this much fun, people. Let's face it- at this stage in our lives, "fun" is generally a little more scandalous than The Little Rascals.

Last night hundreds of people braved freezing rain to span the entire length of the Brooklyn Bridge, in the dark, for the purpose of "doing the wave" with flash photography. It was cold, it was wet, and it would have been miserable- except for the collective thought that when else would you EVER get the chance to hang out on the Brooklyn Bridge with hundreds of other people, taking pictures in the dark to create a giant light show for the guys filming from the Manhattan Bridge? There were literally so many people that came out in the crap weather- all of us completely unknowing what the event would be, going on blind faith that it would be rather awesome- so many people that, when standing in a close single file line on the bridge, we had to double loop a second line of folks because there wasn't room for everyone.

I don't know if I did a good idea of describing the ultimate fun-ness of Improv Everywhere, but if this sounds like your cup of tea, go here and sign up for their mailing list:

improveverywhere.com

I wanna take you to a FREE! gay bar

For anyone who knows and loves the easily stuck-in-your-head chorus to "Gay Bar," have I got a holiday treat for you! I just found out the always-crazed men of Electric 6 will be playing for FREE! yes, FREE! in (of all places) Southpaw in Park Slope this Wednesday, December 12. To the best of my knowledge, Southpaw is not a gay bar, nor am I gay, nor will Electric 6 be taking anyone to a gay bar at any point. However, "Danger, danger- High Voltage!" is more than my tagline on Myspace- it's a rocking good time, even if you're not a mosh-pit-loving, testosterone-driven, oversexed male. Which I am not. But I just can't stay away from these guys!

They usually play Bowery Ballroom for actual amounts of money so a free show by a rock band of this caliber is an event to be celebrated! I can never find any girls to go with me, actually, I can never find anyone at all to go with me since my bro & his nutty friends moved away. However, for those uneducated in the wonders of Electric 6, their lyrics are strangely catchy (I wanna be a dance commander!) and they give a new meaning to "rock out"- I have yet to witness another band with as many high-kicks per measure as E 6. You will see jumping. You will be jumping. You will love it!

Wed. December 12, 9:00 pm, people. Southpaw. Be there. I will.

At A Loss No More!

Yep, it's the holiday season, that magical time of year when every day is sponsored by the letter $. When every commercial, billboard, TV special, and email is encouraging you to SPEND SPEND SPEND, I would like to encourage you not to. Now, here's where I was at a loss- there seems to be a sad lack of freebies lately. But, have no fear! Compliments of one of my favorite people and her invaluable daily emailing, I have a list of deals & coupons that, amazingly, are still happening post- Black Friday (don't worry, I checked 'em all).

*Not all of them have to be used online- check out the printable versions for the retail stores!

Stila cosmetics warehouse sale:

http://www.stilacosmetics.com/special_vws_signup_2007.asp

BANANA REPUBLIC:

http://www.lifetakesvisa.com/pdf/BR_Offer.pdf

or online:
Use BRHOLIDAY for 20% off (no minimum) Expires 12/24/07
and stack with
CODE: MYRBRGIFT for an additional 15% off Expires 12/24/07
(Must use a VISA card for this one to work)
Total Savings of 35% off

Sephora.com
20% off (NEVER HAPPENS)
Use code: FF2007

PRINTABLE COUPONS!!!

Bath and Body works
http://f.e.bathandbodyworks.com/i/34/528207786/110507A_coup.html

Illuminations
http://www.illuminations.com/email/2007/1102/regular_1102_07.html

Lord and Taylor
http://www.lordandtaylor.com/common/coupons/lt_110807_coupon.pdf

Linens & Things
http://lnt.imageg.net/graphics/coupon/LNT_email_signup_9%2019%202007.pdf

CVS
http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/promotion?pid=6051&step_nbr=160

Yankee candle
http://www.yankeecandle.com/yc/html/retail/Email_HTML/registerForCouponsWebNEW.html

H&M
http://www.hmfriendsandfamily.com/

Sharper Image
http://www.sharperimagesavings.com/beyond/

Banana Republic
http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/info.do?cid=35127


Tomorrow- FREE Food, Friends & Family discounts!

Free Wine! a fitting first post

Because I'm currently hanging out with the kids here on the Upper West Side, I thought I would mention a couple local venues for free wine. Yes, the only thing better than wine is FREE wine!

If you're hungry and in the mood for some asian flavor, check out Silk Road Palace. Most chinese restaurants give you a free fortune cookie (always my favorite part of the meal), but SRP one-ups the competition by providing free plum wine with your food- which, incidentally, is also very affordable.

Read some reviews here.

Silk Road Palace

447 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024-5519
Phone: (212) 580-3465

I can tell you from personal experience that plum wine, while not the most high class beverage, will definitely get you pleasantly tipsy in no time.

While we're on the subject of free wine, I would like to give a shout-out to Little Shop of Crafts. Usually overrun with the underage set (watch out for toddlers wielding overloaded paint brushes), Little Shop kicks the kiddies out at 6:30 pm Wednesday through Friday so adults can embrace their inner artist and imbibe the complimentary wine. Little Shop has tons of ceramic, mosaic, and bead-related crafts, as well as paint-your-own dinnerware. The items are a little pricey, but as I already stated, this is about the FREE WINE, people. So cough it up for the holidays- give Mom a personalized gift she might actually use this year! And gift-makers remember- if you're not spending the money on yourself, it doesn't count.

Little Shop of Crafts
www.littleshopny.com
711 Amsterdam Ave (at 94th)
Phone: (212) 531-2723
*there's also an East side location, visit the website for details