Emergen-C to the rescue

As you may know, I toil away several of my days at Time Out New York. If you turn to approx. page six of that fine publication, you'll find a list of everyone who worked to make the issue a reality (called "the masthead" in publishing parlance), alongside three particular employees answering that week's "Staff question." And a few weeks ago…
A close-up of my response…
That was about two minutes of effort on my part. They e-mailed me the question, I had a half-finished glass of fizzy green stuff on my desk and a whole bunch of BQT events on my metaphorical plate. I did no research on the contents of Emergen-C, figuring nobody reads this nonsense anyway. Boom.

And lo, yesterday, I received a handsome gift bag, stuffed with four boxes of Emergen-C: tangerine, raspberry, lemon-lime, and—your favorite—"Blue." And a note from Lauren Castelluzzo of Hunter Public Relations, reading:

"Hi Noah,

"I recently came across the Time Out NY piece where you mentioned that you look forward to 'many a glass' of Emergen-C, and I thought you might like to try a variety of flavors!

"Also, just so you know, Emergen-C is naturally delicious. There are no artificial flavors or sweeteners. Each pack contains seven B vitamins, so there is no caffeine and more importantly,
no crash.

"Please feel free to contact me with any of your Vitamin C needs.

"Enjoy!
Lauren"

That last line is among the nicest things anyone has said to me in the past year.
I like Emergen-C, I really do; I'm drinking some tangerine right now (although I find it odd that it's a distinctive shade of sea green). I meant it when I said I figured that it would carry me through the spring, and a perusal of the ingredients list comfortingly indicates that Lauren is correct: This does not seem to be chock-full of the most evil substances known to man (the familiar catchall "natural flavors" seems to encompass much of the tangerine- or other-fruit-ness).

So I'm sorry, not only because I really should be aware what I put into my body without a publicist telling me, but also because these particular comments were for print, a medium I still consider sacrosanct when it comes to, you know, being factual. Then again, my sloppy journalism ended up scoring me four free boxes, so there's that.
But if I may, I think the official and rather impressive Emergen-C website should trumpet the non-artificialness more (hooray for Lauren, then, really doing her job). I mean, it's acid-smelling powder that somehow fills you with energy—you think they'd be constantly advising people that it won't fry your brain like flapjacks.

Yeah but, do I try some of the Blue flavor?

Picking Palin at the Fringe

As you're no doubt aware, every year, downtown NYC is overcome by a tidal wave of small-scale theater—some interesting, some unbearably incompetent, some perhaps a little brilliant. The New York International Fringe Festival stages several hundred shows each August, and I make a point of seeing at least one every year, and reviewing it for my day employer (and NYC Clash of the Trivia Champions sponsor), Time Out New York, whose coverage of the event is exhaustively comprehensive. (Emphasis on exhaustive, trust me.)

This year, I sampled something perfectly in tune with my political-horse-race interests, Picking Palin, a dramatization of the intimate inner-circle conferences that resulting in Sister Sarah's ascendance to über-irritant status. Read my review here—basically, it was okay, but I think you'd be much better off with this.

Concert recap: The Futureheads

Heads-up: I wrote another concert review for Time Out New York, this one dashed off very quickly (busy week, just needed to justify the free ticket). The Futureheads, currently my favorite, not-past-their prime punk-pop band, sort of an amalgamation of Devo, the Undertones and XTC. (I know, the best thing ever, right?)

While we're at it, here's the video for their new single, "Heartbeat Song," which has convincingly staked a claim on my cerebral matter these past weeks. The game-show theme helps.

The Buzzcocks vs. the terrorists: I was there

Perhaps you heard, but last night, the NYPD closed off (and partially evacuated) several streets near Union Square, after an eagle-eyed (read: paranoid) citizen noticed several gasoline canisters in the back of a car parked outside the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. I was inside that concert venue at the time, enjoy the triannual visit of my all-time favorite British punk band, the Buzzcocks. As was the "terrorist." Click here to read my scintillating review (and see photos) for Time Out New York.

Prizes: Time Out New York comes through!

Big news on the prize front: As many of you know, I am a duly-employed editor on the staff of Time Out New York, by far the single most useful magazine I've ever worked for (though I did once editor for a publication that printed a comprehensive guide to beer funneling). Over the years, I've intermittently discussed bringing TONY into the BQT sponsorship fold, and after a useful meeting this week, it looks like the magazine is on board on an intermittent basis. I labor for a noble cause!

TONY has its promo fingers in a whole bunch of pies, so this is a coup for us. And for our next show (April 5), we got a juicy piece of pie (this is sounding dirtier than necessary): Two passes to the movie (or movies) of your choice at any Clearview Cinemas location (three in Manhattan; check the website). I hear that Hurt Locker is quite the raucous adventure.

In the future, we're looking to score plenty more goodies, including TONY subscriptions. Meanwhile, keep reading the magazine—I get more than of few of my trivial ideas from its pages, so valuable insight is guaranteed.

To-NIGHT!

Yes, finally, it is nigh: The Big Quiz Thing's 200th Episode Spectacular. Read the nice semimention in last Friday's New York Post, the write-up in Time Out New York, and of course, the hyperventilating press release. And here's a roundup of some of the prizes you just might possibly maybe win.

So remember: WE ARE NOT AT CRASH MANSION TONIGHT! I have no idea what will be happening there, but it will not be the Big Quiz Thing, unless I need to sue the crap out of someone. We will be at (Le) Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street near Thompson. And it's 7PM, not 7:30. Tonight and tonight only. Excitement is in the offing, my friends.

BQT in TONY

Now it's official: This Monday's 200th Episode Spectacular is most definitely on, judging by this nice piece in the new issue of Time Out New York. Hurray for twisting arms. Click here, my friends…

MUST GET NEWS ON MICHAEL JACKSON!

Yes, big story. Ed McMahon's moving down the couch.

First, his absolute best song:

And below, I just wrote this up for Time Out New York's music blog, a sort of "memories of Michael Jackson" piece, but I might as well share here. MJ trivia to come at the next quiz or two, for sure…


For anyone born when I was—1975—Star Wars has the ingrained importance of a folk legend, and Michael Jackson strode like a titan within popular culture. He was easily the most important man on earth when I was at that formative age, and I wasn't even a fan (I preferred Hall and Oates).

Bowing to some kind of pressure, the administration of my elementary school herded us all into the auditorium one afternoon to screen the extended
"Thriller" video. (One girl's parents got upset; they were crazy Christians and the occult content offended their sensibilities.) Around the same time, my fourth-grade teacher gifted honor students with Michael Jackson posters (I gave mine to a dumb girl I had a crush on). I opted for Thriller as my monthly cassette tape purchase in early 1983, not because I really wanted it, but simply because I felt I needed it as a human being. I'm sure adults at the time had a different perspective, but I remember Michael Jackson uniting the culture in the way that the Beatles had earlier (I'm told), and in a way no one ever will again in our media-fractured society.

For the record: I later developed an appreciation for most of Thriller, became a fan of his Jackson 5 work and never believed for a second that he molested those kids.

UPDATE: We're jamming on the MJ for the next quiz: Monday, July 6, the audio round will now be "Maximum Michael Jackson." Plus more Bubbles-friendly trivia during the night. Sham-ON!

Pull ze strings!

Never let it be said that I don't take advantage of opportunities. This morning, I hyped Monday's BQT on The Volume, Time Out New York's music blog (upon which I toil away the days). Partly it was because the show wasn't listed in the magazine this week, and partly it was because I could. Just try and stop me.

I put it on the music blog (and not the film blog, or the food blog, or the forthcoming magazines-no-longer-exist blog), because this week, of course, it's "More '80s Music Video Mash-Ups." Read all about it here, and play the earlier edition of the game to get sharp for Monday.

Quizzing it, Shaolin-style

Definitely my favorite picture of, oh, the last few decades.

This is appearing in the forthcoming (out tomorrow) issues of Time Out New York, along with a little Staten Island–themed quiz I wrote. Click here to see my synergy in action.

(I've recently realized how my success (as it were) as a quizmaster is almost entirely dependent on the invention of Photoshop…)