What: A film! “The Pornography of the Bicycle”
Where: Chashama at 217 E. 42nd St.
When: March 22 at 7, 9 & 11 p.m.
How much: $6

An ordained reverend from Portland is traveling the country with a film about bike porn. Had no idea such a subculture existed? Neither did we. It seems like people on the West Coast are so in to bikes, the relationship borders on sexual. We called the film’s “curator,” the Rev. Phil, 31, for answers. The film screens this Saturday and Phil will be there, you know, to explain.

What’s up with your name, are you really a reverend?
I’m an ordained minister from the Church of Bicycle Jesus in Seattle. Bicycles for me are a lot about freedom. You can’t really ask for more than the ability to transport yourself. I do a bike church every Sunday in Portland. I try to [organize a game of] bicycle polo.

Is this a joke?
No! You tell me what church is. Then I’ll tell you how I define church. Some people say church is a place, but I say church is a people. Being in a park, and being able to ride bikes with my friends feels really great. You’ve got to do some more research about biking: It’s huge!

Does this have to do with God?
Regarding higher power, that’s all individual. No one’s going to be able to dictate for you what is and isn’t out there. Those are belief systems. And trying to tell people what to believe isn’t very bright. I believe in bicycles because I know they’re there.

Tell me about this upcoming film, “The Pornography of Bicycles.” How did it come about?
Last year, I asked a few friends if they would make me some bike porn. They told a couple of friends, and the next thing I know is, a whole lot of people were submitting. I got submissions from across the West Coast. It became much larger than I anticipated.

Read full "bike porn" interview here.
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It’s crunch time for Elon James White (pictured), the 29-year-old Brooklyn native who has come to be known in the NYC comedy scene as a leading promoter of the genre “Black-Alt” comedy. His three-day comedy festival, The Black Comedy Experiment opens tomorrow at The Tank, but White isn’t anxious in the meantime.

“You get a little bit nervous,” says White. “But upon walking on stage, it disappears immediately.”

The Black Comedy Experiment features 33 black comedians, including Saturday Night Live alum, Dean Edwards, and NBC's 30 Rock writer, Donald Glover. There will be different shows each night, including a gay show, a political show and an all-ladies show.

White wants the audience to experience a different side of black comedy. To do this, he's lined up performances that challenge what he believes people generally have come to expect from black comedic acts. For example, White shirks anything you might see on HBO’s Def Jam.

“There’s an expectation of what you’re supposed to be when you go on stage with a certain skin color. Hence, when you go against that idea, you are in effect, Black-Alt.”

Read full "Black Comedy Experiment" here.
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Some people are more prepared for the future than others. We received a press release on Friday from a group of people hoping to prepare NYC to become the future capital of the world, 100 years from now.

A quick scan of the press release and a look at the website would make even the least skeptical among us wary of a possible hoax. Fake press releases are, believe it or not, as common as the subway is smelly for altweekly editors. But this one was good enough, slightly convincing even, to encourage us to “look into it.”

The nebulous group that appears to be organizing online thus far is trying to rally international support to make the Central Park Reservoir the future headquarters of the world. Apparently, the location of this future HQ is a virtual point of contention, as others wish to focus efforts on making Tiananmen Square the choice locale...

Read full "Futurists" here.
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Tick, tick, tick…. That’s the sound that may lead police to the burglar who ransacked Lesley Stahl’s Upper West Side penthouse last Friday, and made off with, among other things, a Bulova watch commemorating the CBS reporter’s weekly series, 60 Minutes.

At 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 25, a burglar entered the apartment of the longtime 60 Minutes correspondent, located off Central Park West in the West 70s. In minutes, the thief snatched the Bulova, another diamond watch, a ruby and gold antique bracelet, a string of pearls and a diamond broach.

According to a police report filed with the 20th precinct, a woman identified as an employee of Stahl’s had cleaned the master bedroom earlier that morning. (Stahl was not home at the time of the burglary; her office told West Side Spirit that the reporter was traveling last week on assignment for the show.)  Later, Stahl’s husband, the journalist/novelist Aaron Latham, let two contractors into the bedroom and left them there.

Read full "Lesley Stahl burglary" here.
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People laughed in the dark last night at Magnet Theater. And no one was hurt (I think).

The dark improv show, 30,000 Kilohertz of Sound, is the brainchild of comedian Shawn Wickens. While suffering from insomnia, he listened to "Coast to Coast," the late-night, whacked-out AM radio show, where discussions about aliens and ghosts are regular fare, and an idea came to him. He would create a show where the random voices of radio hosts would inspire some improv comedy.

“I had insomnia, so somebody suggested self-hypnosis,” said Wickens. “So I was experimenting with that. I would leave the radio on as something to focus on to. I was in the euphoric state, listening to this weird show.

Last night, about 10 people waited for the show to begin. Mostly other folks from the improv community. Incense burned. Reggae music played. At 9:30 pm, right on time, a man appeared on the stage to warn us the lights were going off and we’d be listening several skits based on random talk radio. Someone cracked open a PBR can.

Strange radio crackling and beeping filled our ears.

For Full "Dark Comedy" click here.

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