Following Rabbits Blog

If I had to name my favorite thing about summertime in NYC it'd be outdoor films! It's that time of year again- to snag your film schedule and shake out your picnic blanket. There are a ton of great films on tap for this summer at various parks and rooftops around the city. Mark your calendars!

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum
FREE, doors open at 7:30p, films start at sunset on the flight deck of the Intrepid (space is limited!). Bring a blanket, snacks and drinks- NO alcohol permitted.
May 28 - Top Gun
June 19 - Field of Dreams
July 9 - Ghostbusters
July 23 - Goonies
August 6 - Raiders of the Lost Ark
August 20 - Rocky 

HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival
FREE, lawn opens at 5pm, films begin at dusk.
June 21 - Goldfinger
June 28 - Carousel
July 5 - The French Connection
July 12 - My Man Godfrey
July 19 - The China Syndrome
July 26 - Monty Python and the Holy Grail
August 2 - Rosemary's Baby
August 9 - The Goodbye Girl
August 16 - 12 Angry Men
August 23 - Bonnie and Clyde 

Central Park
Schedule will be announced soon! I'll keep you posted!

Rooftop Films
$10 online or at the door, films shown on various NYC rooftops. Featuring indie/underground films and shorts. Doors open at 8pm with live music, films start at 9pm. Always an afterparty at a nearby bar- free drinks with your film admission.
May 27 - Etienne!
May 28 - Dark Toons
May 29 - Home Movies
June 3 - Full Frame
June 4 - Dangerous Docs
June 5 - Fears and Fantasies
June 11 - Biker Fox 
June 12 - The Man Next Door
June 13 - Tiny Furniture
June 18 - New York Non-Fiction
June 19 - Lovers of Hate
June 20 - Sweet Mud 
Go here for the full rooftop films schedule, film summaries, and location details for each film. 

Movies With a View (at Brooklyn Bridge Park)
FREE, films start at sunset, at Pier 1 in Brooklyn. Brooklyn radio DJs spinning tunes at 6pm. 

July 8 - Annie Hall

July 15 -

It's that glorious time of year again! Fleet Week is upon us in New York City. There's a calendar of official events playing out by day, and the uniformed cuties will be swarming the streets by night. Most of us will be trapped in the office, but here are the highlights for the rest of the week:

Wednesday, 5/26
Parade of Sails
At 9am tomorrow, scope out a sunny spot on the bank of the Hudson to see the navy vessels coming up the Hudson and welcome all those sailors to the city! The official viewing area is the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Friday, 5/28
Broadway Showcase
At noon, head down to the Intrepid at Pier 86 for a glimpse at Broadway musicals- Promises Promises, American Idiot, Addam's Family, Million Dollar Quartet and Hair will be featured. 

Intrepid Movie Series Kick-Off
At 7:30pm, head over to Pier 86 with a blanket and your sweetheart (or a girlfriend to scope out the sailors with) and get comfy on the deck of the Intrepid to watch Top Gun.

Saturday, 5/29
Wicked
At noon over at Pier 86, there will be performances from the musical, Wicked. If you haven't seen it, this show is ahamaaazing... any piece of the show that they perform is bound to be fabulous. 

Tug of War
Stick around the Pier after Wicked to see the different military branches square off in a serious tug of war match.

Sunday, 5/30
Rockettes
At 2pm the Rockettes will be at the Pier showing off their dance skills and those smokin' legs! Hang out with the lovely ladies of Radio City and stick around for a Q&A.

Monday, 5/31
Memorial Day Ceremony
At 11am there will be a Memorial Day Ceremony including a wreath laying, the unfurling of a 100-ft American flag, and a military aircraft flyover.  

There are tours of the ships going on all week at the Pier, and tons of other events. Check out the entire calendar here. Anchors aweigh, ladies!

I just got back from spending four days down in Florida. I've never been to the panhandle before, and I have family who live there, so we rented a gorgeous beach house in the Villages of Crystal Beach in Destin. The house was 4 bedrooms, and we had 8 to 12 people sleeping there comfortably every night. The beach was within walking distance- gorgeous! Love the Gulf Coast... usually I'm a Sarasota/Lido Beach girl, but it was beautiful there. 

We flew into Pensacola on Friday afternoon and went to AJ's for a few beers. The sun was blazing, and the view of the harbor put me in vacation-mode. (They also had Shocktop on draft, which made me a super happy girl!)

Friday night we went out to dinner at McGuire's. People sign and hang dollar bills everywhere in this place! The portions were ridiculously huge, and the food was excellent. They also brew their own beer- I had the raspberry wheat- was really good. Was tempted to bring some home with me, but couldn't justify carrying it in my tiny duffel bag that I brought for luggage.

Saturday we hit the beach! Was such a perfect day... not too humid, barely a cloud in the sky, ocean wasn't too rough. Lots of sun, swimming, and a big picnic lunch! 

Saturday night we went to Baytowne Wharf for a BBQ dinner and dancing at the Village Door. Dinner was pretty good, and we had a really fun night dancing it up. At midnight, we requested that the band play Mustang Sally to wish my mum, Sally, a happy birthday. Ha! They called her up on stage and she dragged me with her.

Sunday we took a drive out to visit another of my cousins. Unfortunately, we got a flat tire on the way back. I think my uncle probably got a little peeved that I was taking photos and being silly... gotta document every bit of my adventures! Here's my cousin and me on the side of the highway waiting for him to change the tire:

Sunday night we all went to the beach to catch the sunset. It wound up raining, but the lighting and clouds were awesome looking.

^ my mum and me

Was SO good to catch up with a bunch of family I haven't seen in years! (And spending time at the beach, getting a tan, relaxing, and eating tons of good food wasn't so bad either...) Can't wait for them to come up to visit the Big Apple so I can show them the same hospitality and a fabulous time!

WATCH IT: Videos I peeped this week that you should too
My tweep @snappletop posted a 1903 version of Alice in Wonderland with a shout-out to yours truly this week. It's pretty great! The first Alice in Wonderland film ever made- and only about 10 minutes long. The dormouse and cheshire cat appearances are laughably great.

Evan sent me a really silly video of a dog dancing to a techno beat... super funny.
 

HEAR IT: Songs I downloaded this week
1. Magnolia by Apollo Sunshine 2. I Never Told You by Colbie Caillat 3. A Dream by Julian Velard 4. Love Again for the First Time by Julian Velard 5. Jimmy Dean & Steve McQueen by Julian Velard 6. Joni by Julian Velard

I also downloaded the entire Gregory Alan Isakov album, This Empty Northern Hemisphere. Hugo recommended I download it for my trip. I'm loooving it! Very mellow and dreamy, perfect for my plane ride and lounging on the beach this weekend. All of the music on this album is really beautiful... I especially love If I Go, I'm Goin and Light Year.

DO IT: Things to put on your calendar this week
Tonight Rooftop Films is showing a collection of romantic shorts, including "I'm Here", a new short by Spike Jonze. The films will be playing at The New Design High School; $10 online or at the door. The films start at 9p, but get there at 8p when the doors open to get a good spot and hear live music by Frances.

Every five years Greater New York takes over the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City, Queens. A suggested donation of $5 gets you into a showcase of over 65 artists-to-watch who live and work in NYC and have emerged onto the scene in the past 5 years. The exhibit opens Sunday and runs through October 18.

I haven't had an evening of bar hopping and walking the city streets in a long time. There's something to be said for aimlessly wandering around, exploring, laughing, drinking, getting late night eats and rolling into your apartment at sunrise. Last night I met up with Hugo at Mercury Lounge to check out Apollo Sunshine. (He even bought a paper ticket from someone outside so I could have one, since he knows I'm weird and love that kinda stuff!) Their sound was kind of all over the board... no two songs really sounded similar. They did play a few songs that I really liked. Check out Singing to the Earth, Breeze, and Magnolia.

After the show we stopped by Rockwood Music Hall and listened to Julian Velard play for a bit. I really like his music! I ended up downloading a bunch of his songs today. It was just him and a piano, which was great. I almost wish the songs I downloaded of his on iTunes were more raw, stripped down tracks. He's playing at Rockwood again on June 18 and 19- definitely check him out.

We left Rockwood and walked over to Kenny's Castaways on Bleecker Street. (Walking in we had a random sighting of Lewis Black chillin' at the bar with a lady-friend.) Hugo's friend, Chris Seleski, was playing there with another friend of his after hosting an acoustic open-mic event. It was after 1:30a by the time we got there, so it was quieting down. Chris took a break and called Hugo up to entertain the crowd for a bit. He played four or five songs for us, including his Journey/GaGa mashup, Mudsmilin' and Save the Last Dance for Me. Yay! (If you haven't heard his music yet, you're a bit behind, but I'll forgive you. Check out his FB fanpage and the posts I wrote about him here and here.)

When Chris finished his set and Kenny's was closing down, we walked over to Veselka for some food. I got blueberry pancakes and Hugo ordered pierogies with mushrooms and sauerkraut. (Here's where I raise a skeptical eyebrow at his plate and point at the three cups of condiments asking what the hell he had going on. The cups were applesauce, onions, and sour cream.) I can't tell you people enough times how bad I am about trying new things... but really, this was not something on my must-try list. He got me with "when was the last time you had sauerkraut?" To which my answer was obviously "never", so he convinced me to try a bite- with everything on it. And as much as I winced while chewing ("that's your 'like' face?! I don't want to see your 'dislike' face!") I did really like it. Honest. I must be more open minded about food and more willing to try stuff.

By the time we paid it was nearly 4am, and we walked up to Union Square to get a train back to Queens. I got home after 5am, with the sky brightening up and the birds already singing. I crashed out for an hour and a half before getting up for work. (o_O) Really fun night, though! I'm always happy to check out new places around the city and love getting turned onto new music. Work wasn't all that bad today, thankfully, and I leave at 4:30a tomorrow for a long weekend in Florida. Life. Is. Good.