Is Felicity Stalking Me?

So I was at the Fairway in Red Hook this morning, doing the food shopping thing, when I saw this woman who looked a whole lot like the actress Keri Russell. I was fairly certain it was her, but since my wife has drilled it in my head that I think everyone looks like someone famous, I doubted myself. Besides, what would the former star of a WB show be doing in the produce section of a Red Hook supermarket, anyway? But, being the reporter that I am, I took mental notes, specifically that she had a long-haired man and equally long-haired blond boy with her.

When I got home (after unpacking the perishables, of course — food safety first!) I went straight to google and typed in “Keri Russell Brooklyn.” Lo and behold, Keri Russell lives with her husband and little boy in a brownstone in Fort Greene. I then found a picture of the family walking in the Brooklyn snow this winter that confirmed I was right, as the man and the boy looked just like the duo I saw in Fairway.

Now on its own, that would make for a cute story. But things are about to get crazy strange …

As I washed dishes in my kitchen later that morning, I kept thinking about the little boy. He looked so … familiar. The boy had a very distinct, unmistakable look: extra long, almost girl-like blond hair with big blue eyes. Had I seen this boy before? Then it hit me: the vet.

I took my dog, Stella, to the vet last Monday. My wife had discovered a strange lump on her right ear that we wanted to get checked out immediately, so I walked her over to the vet without an appointment early that morning before work. To say I was in a bit of a frazzled state would be an understatement. While in the lobby waiting to see the doctor, a mom and her little boy sat down on the bench next to ours. I thought for a second the mom looked familiar, but quickly my mind raced elsewhere. The little boy approached Stella, the mom encouraging him to pet the dog. I chatted a little with the mom, mostly explaining how Stella has a one-track mind, and right now her mind was not on her son, but on the rabbits in the cage in front of us. The boy — all of two years old, I guessed — then stuck his finger in Stella’s ear. I politely told him he shouldn’t do that and the mom quickly swooped in and had a “teachable moment” with her son (sans beer) that fingers shouldn’t go inside dogs’ ears. The child stood out because 1) he had really long blond hair and 2) I couldn’t figure out his name, as it sounded like mom kept calling him “Riv,” and I wasn’t sure what that meant.

So … could I have been hanging out with Keri Russell at the vet and not even known it? The minute this thought crossed my mind I was back on the Internet. I pulled up another picture of Russell with her child, took a good look, and was convinced that was the same boy I saw at the vet on Monday. And if you don’t believe me … the boy’s name is “River.”

Or, “Riv” for short.

Editor’s Note (My Laziness)

Late last week, I was walking my dogs and noticed an open door on what looked like a boarded-up storefront on Henry Street between Atlantic and Pacific. Inside, men were hard at work. Wooden booths lined one wall and an old school-looking bar stretched the length of the other side wall. “Hmm,” I thought, “I wonder what this will end up being? A restaurant? A watering hole?”

If this were a few weeks back, I would have asked the men working inside for an answer, then raced back to my apartment, grabbed my camera, snapped a pic of the inside and raced back to my apartment to upload the pic and tell the tens (and, on good days, hundreds) of my blog’s daily readers what exactly was going on inside this soon-to-be occupied Cobble Hill spot.

Instead, I shrugged my shoulders and kept walking.

As many of you know, I am a journalist by trade. When I started this blog, I was an unemployed journalist who used this blog as a creative outlet. What started out as my random musings and observations morphed (if only slightly) into a source for occasional nabe news. It was fun and therapeutic all at once.

I am no longer unemployed, having gone back to work in early May. This, of course, is a good thing. However … it has been not-so-good for this blog.

The busier I am, the less I write. And the fact that I spend my days turning over stones at work leaves me fairly uninterested in turning over stones in my spare time; the fact that I spend my days researching, writing and letting my creative juices run wild leaves me too tired to do the same with this blog.

This is not a farewell note. In fact, the blog isn’t going anywhere, not even on a hiatus. However, I felt I owed you, the reader, an explanation for the lack of output of late. At some point, once I get in a groove with my new job and the dust settles, things (hopefully) will return back to a somewhat normal state. I love Brooklyn too much to ignore it.

Who knows? Maybe my next update will have to do with whatever it is they’re building on Henry Street …

Movies and Your Nabe: Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em? (The Poll)

Brooklyn has become a popular place to film movie scenes. Those of us in the Cobble Hill/Brooklyn Heights part of town have been graced (or tormented, depending on your point of view … more on that in a moment) by the presence of Sean Penn and Naomi Watts as they filmed scenes for “Fair Game” in April and, just this week, Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan and Kevin Smith as they filmed for their upcoming flick, “A Couple of Cops/Dicks.”

On one hand, it’s exciting to have a movie filmed in your nabe: You may have a chance encounter with a Hollywood star and your nabe will end up on the big screen. On the other hand, valuable parking spaces get eaten up by production crews and a zoo breaks out in your front yard.

So … movies being filmed in your nabe: what’s the verdict? Vote below:

Couple of (Dicks? Cops?) Starts Filming On Atlantic Avenue

Cops? Or Dicks?

Are they dicks? Or are they cops?

Either way, they’re underway.

The new Kevin Smith/Bruce Willis/Tracy Morgan project is filming on Atlantic Avenue between Court and Hicks today. The signs posted in the nabe said the film will be called “Couple of Cops.” However, a google search revealed it was originally to be called “A Couple of Dicks.” Then, today, I see someone from the crew wearing a shirt that says “Couple of Dicks.” Multiple personalities, anyone?

No superstar sightings when I walked my dogs around 8:30 this morning, just a Bruce Willis body double posing inside a car as the crew perfected the lighting for the scene.

Here are a “Couple of Pics”:

The crew prepares the lighting for a scene

A Bruce Willis look-alike is hiding behind that woman ... I swear!

Camped out on Atlantic Avenue

Music Video Monday (Jon … Roser?)

Jon Roser is far from a household name. Heck, I wouldn’t even classify him as a musician, let alone some sort of music video star. However, this song/video — a spoof on John Calipari, Derrick Rose and NCAA allegations currently swirling around the Memphis basketball program, set to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Dani California” — is pure genius and has a very good chance of going viral. So jump on the bandwagon now, kids.

Another Movie Filming in Brooklyn

The 4-1-1 on the M-O-V-I-E

Usually, when I see a couple of cops in front of my apartment on Atlantic Avenue, I cringe. That’s because, more often than not, those cops aren’t really “cops,” but meter maids … and they’re out to get my car!

However, on June 1st and 2nd, there will be “A Couple of Cops” on Atlantic Avenue that, like the meter maids, aren’t real cops … but for once, this won’t be a bad thing.

Atlantic Avenue: The soon-to-be scene of the scene(s)

You see, “A Couple of Cops” is the title of a movie starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan that’s being directed by Kevin Smith … and being filmed on Atlantic Avenue. (And, for the record, what is up with me and ellipses today … geesh!) The movie was originally going to be called “A Couple of Dicks,” but regardless of name, it sounds like a must see. (Especially if I can actually see my apartment in the finished product — can I collect royalties from that?)

I’m sure I will have more to say about this once filming gets underway. (And maybe some pics to share, too.)

Update (5/31): I woke up this morning to find a note posted under the “No Parking” sign pictured above. The note was from the Warner Brothers’ Locations Department, informing neighborhood residents that they will be filming for the movie from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2nd. (As the “No Parking” sign noted, Monday, June 1st, will be needed for prep work, meaning you still can’t park your car on the strip of Atlantic Avenue between Henry Court Street and Hicks Street that day, either.) The crew will be using the Vehicle Tow Unit of the NYPD, so if you find your car has been towed, now you know who to call. The letter went on to state that if you have any concerns regarding the movie’s filming, to call the Locations Department at (718) 349-4837.

Hipsters And Sports Don’t Mix

One of the major downsides to not having cable is that it puts a sports fan (like yours truly) in a serious bind. Besides the fact that I have to rely on that ancient form of communication known as radio to follow my Mets (although, for the record, I do love listening to Howie Rose and Wayne Hagin), I’m only catching the NBA Playoffs in bits and pieces.

Fortunately, I got to see LeBron’s shot live at a bar last Friday night. And with the Cavs’ game with the Magic going down to the wire once again on Tuesday, I knew I had to get up off the ol’ futon and duck into a neighborhood bar.

I live less than a block from a place called Floyd, NY. I like Floyd, primarily because they allow dogs. However, Floyd does have a bit of a hipster element. And, as I learned tonight (surprise, surprise), hipsters and sports don’t mix.

Would you want to watch a game with this dude?

Over the course of the game’s final two minutes and overtime, I heard two hipster dudes ponder how many minutes make up overtime and what exactly constitutes goaltending. I swear, I felt like I was watching the game with my wife … except my wife has breasts and doesn’t wear Vans. (Well, at least not since 1985. But I digress …)

As I sat quietly on a couch across the way, these hipsters didn’t seem to take to my presence: I think they felt threatened by the fact that my baseball cap was in no way, shape or form ironic. (Oh, and I was wearing a Polo sweatshirt. Double Whammy!)

Again, let me make myself clear: I am not a hipster “hater.” Yes, I do believe they’re often good for a few chuckles, but at the same time I realize that, for the most part, they’re harmless eccentrics. However, they should stay within their comfort zone. That means Indie Rock, bandannas and nut-hugging jeans.

Sports? Leave that to men (and women) who understand what goaltending is.

 

 

Music Video Monday (Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth)

On this Memorial Day, make sure to take some time to reminsce about any loved ones who served this country. And, of course, rock out to today’s video: Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth’s hip-hop classic, “The Reminisce Over You.”