A fashion board in which sometimes we'll remember to post spoiler warnings

[Jack Manfred]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I'd like to take a train across the country. That'd be fun, I think.

I'm not sure that there is a cross-country train anymore. I think you have to change trains in Chicago.

I think there are cross-country Canadian trains. I've heard those are worth taking.

[notcasesensitive]

Originally Posted by tmdiva

I'm familiar with Penn Station (and would agree that it is a basement-y dump). I did live in Hell's Kitchen for five years in the early 1990s. It's just been a while since I've been in the city, and even longer since I had to worry about getting there from Washington.

tm

PS Still no hotel recs? Orbitz is turning up a decent rate at the Paramount, in my old neighborhood.

I stayed in the smallest hotel room I've ever encountered in the Paramount. It was exactly the size of a double bed, plus one foot in each direction. It was so small (how small was it?) it was so small that we had to put the suitcase in the bathroom zipped up while we slept because the only space large enough to open it was on the bed. This was about 8 years ago, but I wouldn't recommend staying there unless you pay for or otherwise luck into some sort of upgrade from the standard room.

Royalton has some great rooms though. We have stayed in all the W's and that is where we always stay because of the Starwood thing (typically now in W Union Square, but spent lots of time in the others when we were doing business travel there). I assume you know the cost/reward on those, but let me know if you do not. Typically not budget (unless you have points to use!!). I've also stayed in The Parker Meridian and The Westin near Times Square in recent years. You might be able to get a deal on The Westin, which is quite comfortable and should come in at a lower price point than Parker Meridian or W's.

Alas, that is all the info this Starwood whore has to give out on NY hotels.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

Did you do the sin known as turkey bacon? The closest I've gotten to requesting a divorce was when Mrs. Finch bought a package of that crap. It tastes like my belt, without all the flavor.

Someone had the gall to ask for it at the Chocolate Cake and Bacon breakfast, but there was none available. 50 people or so were asked to bring 3 pounds of bacon, and not a one brought the abomination known as turkey bacon.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Jack Manfred

I'm not sure that there is a cross-country train anymore. I think you have to change trains in Chicago.

I think there are cross-country Canadian trains. I've heard those are worth taking.

My boyfriend's father is retiring at the end of the month as the administrator for a BIGLAW firm. His wife's retirement present was a ticket on the cross-country Canadian train from Toronto to Vancouver. I think he's really excited about it.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally Posted by Jack Manfred

I'm not sure that there is a cross-country train anymore. I think you have to change trains in Chicago.

I think there are cross-country Canadian trains. I've heard those are worth taking.

Pretty sure that's right. Also pretty sure that until you get to about Denver it's not really worth it. From all accounts the train from Denver to SF (actually, somewhere around Sacramento, with a bus for the rest) has some pretty spectacular scenery. I've driven more or less that route and can't imagine the reports are too far off.

In Canada, I'm not sure there's much to see east of Calgary, unless you like miles of wheat fields. Of course, some people prefer wheat to corn, so Manitoba and Saskatchewan have that on Kansas and eastern Colorado.

[tmdiva]

Originally Posted by Jack Manfred

As long as the board is not answering questions about New York City, I thought I'd ask some. I have relatives that will be visiting TCOTU in the fall. As I used to live in San Francisco, they asked me if I knew anything about Broadway shows. I appeal to the denizens of the board.

• Is there a comprehensive list of Broadway shows?
• Do Broadway shows have a "fall season" or do shows just open and close without regard for the seasons?
• What's the best way to buy discounted tickets?

Thanks in advance for your indifference.

Here's what my friend said (a classmate who now works for Actors' Equity and goes to Every. Single. Show.):

A good source is www.ibdb.com which has the current list plus as much history as they can find. It's run by the Broadway League, the organization of producers and theatre owners, so it looks pretty accurate. Playbill.com and Theatremania.com would also keep lists of the current shows running, but ibdb.com has the history, too. They also have their own discount pages, but the best place for finding discounts is www.broadwaybox.com, a web site that consolidates all of the discounts out there in one place. Those are usually in the 30-40% discount range. The TKTS booths have tickets as much as 50% off the day of the show (or the day before matinees at their South Street Seaport location). If you live in the area and qualify, the best discounts are by being a member of www.tdf.org.

There are official "seasons" for the Tony Awards; there is a cut-off date in late April or early May that they have to open before to be eligible for that season's Tony Awards in June. Anything after that is for the "next" season, so shows usually don't open near the Tonys in June since the other shows are getting all of the attention. Although HAIRSPRAY bucked the conventional wisdom and previewed in July and opened in August (and wasn't forgotten the next June, when it won the Tony Award), it is "normal" to wait until after the very slow time in September and the next "season" usually consists of shows opening in October-November.

But except for trying to time the Tony Awards and when the Producers think "their" audience will be in New York (is it a play for the locals or a fluffy musical for the tourists?) the shows can play whenever the theatre owners are willing to rent them a theatre (and the shows currently playing decide to close or get thrown out by the theatre owner for something new).

[1436]

Originally Posted by notcasesensitive

I'll go ahead and add that the data coverage in LA is fine and I never have problems getting on the internet or sending e-mails (although I'm annoyed that it keeps randomly signing me on to random wireless networks even though my settings are set for it to ask me and I always say no to all those random networks, which never seem to work well (or at all)). The phone service is what sucks. It drops calls on me infinitely more than Verizon ever did (really, I don't think I had one dropped call on Verizon in LA). It didn't help that I started with a defective SIM card, but I've also dropped calls or otherwise had the phone not work at random times (and with the phone showing I have coverage) since I've had the new SIM card.

That was a lot of parentheticals but I am not sorry.

I've heard that in crowded markets the 3G network drops calls very frequently. Sounded odd 'til it happened to me last week.

So, if you turn off 3G your calls get dropped less, but your data rates drop to the Edge network. In other words, you lose the reason you upgraded from the old iPhone.

I have no idea why Apple hasn't worked with ATT to fix this, but there it is.

[John Phoenix]

Originally Posted by tmdiva

So, what's the best way to get from Washington/MD side to NYC any more? I know the Chinatown bus is probably the cheapest, followed by Peter Pan. But what's the Best way, giving some weight to cost, but also considering convenience and comfort?

Also, I'm still looking for NYC hotel recommendations. Again, doesn't have to be the cheapest, but should give good bang for the buck. Plus be on the West Side no farther downtown than Hell's Kitchen.

TIA!

tm

Take the Acela from the BWI station. Not as cheap, but easy and quick.

If you want cheap, check out BoltBus. It's $20, and it includes WiFi. A friend of mine just took it and said good things.

Another option would be Southwest from BWI to LaGuardia.

[Fugee]

I know you all (especially the grasshopper) can't wait to hear who won Britan's Got Talent. Actually, the media covered this enough so that you probably already know.

Susan Boyle had been the front runner since her first audition but hit a rough patch with the press and the pressure. She sang the song from that audition again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2xiA...9FECE9&index=3

Shaheen Jafagholi has a great voice but I haven't liked his song choices since the first audition. I thought they were too old for him. But that didn't hurt him with the judges and public: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXDHE...9FECE9&index=1

There were 2 really amazing dance acts I loved from their first auditions: Diversity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJIz8...9FECE9&index=4 and Flawless http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY9I6...9FECE9&index=0

And finally, this pudgey Greek father/son parody of Michael Flatley still cracks me up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovgXS...9FECE9&index=7

And the winner was Diversity!

ETA: The two lads who host the show are hilarious. Much better than Jerry Springer was. We'll have to see about Nick Cannon.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Fugee

I know you all (especially the grasshopper) can't wait to hear who won Britan's Got Talent. Actually, the media covered this enough so that you probably already know.

Susan Boyle had been the front runner since her first audition but hit a rough patch with the press and the pressure. She sang the song from that audition again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2xiA...9FECE9&index=3

Shaheen Jafagholi has a great voice but I haven't liked his song choices since the first audition. I thought they were too old for him. But that didn't hurt him with the judges and public: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXDHE...9FECE9&index=1

There were 2 really amazing dance acts I loved from their first auditions: Diversity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJIz8...9FECE9&index=4 and Flawless http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY9I6...9FECE9&index=0

And finally, this pudgey Greek father/son parody of Michael Flatley still cracks me up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovgXS...9FECE9&index=7

And the winner was Diversity!

ETA: The two lads who host the show are hilarious. Much better than Jerry Springer was. We'll have to see about Nick Cannon.

I heard Susan snogged Piers too!!!


(or however you spell his name)

[ltl/fb]

I have old Alanis Morisette songs stuck in my head.

[greatwhitenorthchick]

Originally Posted by ltl/fb

I have old Alanis Morisette songs stuck in my head.

How ironic.

[ltl/fb]

Originally Posted by greatwhitenorthchick

how ironic.

no, it just sucks!!!!!

[greatwhitenorthchick]

Originally Posted by ltl/fb

no, it just sucks!!!!!

Like 10,000 spoons, when all you need is a knife.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by greatwhitenorthchick

Like 10,000 spoons, when all you need is a knife.

after all the fringster's been through, I bet she could make a knife out of a spoon.