Spring Date Series: Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

The two shiny new baseball stadiums are rejuvenating the ballpark experience for city dwellers. Our Date of the Week (DOW) is grabbing your hat and jerseys and heading out to the new Citifield for a Mets game. Leave behind your team prejudices in favor of having a fun night outdoors. After all, I always prefer Yanks over Mets, but I’m in a split team household and quite frankly I haven’t been to the new Yankee Stadium yet (and yes, that review will be coming next week).   This week, the Mets play at home from May 6 through May 13 against Philly, Pittsburgh and Atlanta and we recommend taking advantage of the long home stretch (I’ll be there May 6!). Hop on the 7 train out to Citifield, take a peek at the new stadium, and spend the evening yelling your head off and doing the wave (come on, you know you want to). About 1000% better than Shea Stadium, Citifield has an old, rustic baseball park aura, where I felt as though I was walking into a game from baseball’s past. Don’t skip out on exploring the stadium, especially the Jackie Robinson Rotunda.     

Of course, the new pricing scheme is that different quality games go for a different quality price. So, when the Mets play the Yanks (I mean, who DOESN’T want to go to that game?) even the ‘cheap’ seats could run up to $30 a ticket, and that’s if you can score them. However, this week the Mets play the Phillies (last year’s World Series Champs. Ack.), you can score $19 seats. Perhaps not the most glamorous seat in the house, don’t fret as the new stadium doesn’t really have a ‘bad’ seat. I was there in the 500 section on April 24th, and here’s the view from our seats:    

Going after work? Bring a couple of Red Bulls and bag o’chips to share for the ride out to Citifield. After all, you MUST get hot dogs once at the game. While there’s only one Shake Shack and Blue Smoke location, Nathan’s hot dogs and fries are available throughout the stadium, even from your seat! Hurrah! A word to the wise: ditch the uber long lines at Shake Shack and Blue Smoke for the real thing in back in Manhattan.   

Budget Breakdown: 

Approximate Ticket Cost: $35 total 

Subway Ride: $4 per person, roundtrip (but ‘free’ with a monthly Metrocard!) 

Bud or Bud Light Beer: $6 

Nathan’s Hot Dog: $4.75 

Nathan’s Fries (to share): $4.75 

Ice Cream in Helmet Cup (my personal favorite, also to share): $6 

Total Date cost: Under $100

Wolverine: There’s Just Something About a Prequel

…especially when that prequel features a jacked Hugh Jackman, super special effects, and deliciously villainous adversaries. I have always been  fascinated by prequels and their ability to bring a new dynamic to the screen through a different way of storytelling. While devotees already know how Logan ends up, it is great to see how Marvel makes all the pieces fit. The original X-Men film was my first superhero genre movie experience. I had no idea what X-Men was, but immediately fell in love with the at-the-time unknown Hugh Jackman and his gang of mutants just trying to exist in a closed-minded world.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine does not disappoint in keeping the X-Men franchise alive. A “new” villain in the form of Liev Schrieber (Victor/Sabretooth) brings a necessary freshness to the screen, and Jackman’s continued spot-on performance as the tortured, revenge-seeking Wolverine left me wanting more. While the plot perhaps isn’t the strongest storyline and there are some discrepancies between Wolverine and X-Men 2: X-Men United, I’m willing to overlook it because this movie is fun. The casting and scenery were spot-on and the sound and special effects are worth the ticket price.
Ryan Reynolds charms as the comedic (and uber buff, yum!) Wade Wilson/Deadpool, and a special shoutout goes to Lost-ies Dominic Monaghan and Kevin Durand for coming back into my life. Expect a few cameos and some X-Men faves. And to all of those downloaders of the leaked version, I feel sorry for you as this is a movie you need to see on the big screen.

Bottom Line:
Superpowers are cool and I wish I had some! There’s action for the guys, eye candy for the ladies. Sure, you could see this film and probably enjoy it without any X-Men knowledge, but since it’s one of my favorite superhero movies, go ahead and rent the original before you go. You’ll get the inside jokes and already have a stronger connection to the characters.

Gripes:
Not enough Ryan Reynolds or Taylor Kitsch for me!

Walking Advertisements

In the midst of groovin' along to the Four Seasons (that's right) on my iPod this morning, I came face to face with a man wearing a TV screen around his neck, displaying an advertisement. I was so intrigued that I stopped in my tracks and missed my favorite verse of Let's Hang On. What is this phenomenon? It's Ads on Feet, a very new wave of street advertising bringing walking advertisements to a whole new level.

Here's how it works: A company coordinates with Ads on Feet, whether for full or limited service. Staff is trained on wearing and using the tv's tethered to a heavy duty vest. Upload your video advertisements and you're good to go walk the streets! Okay, maybe it's a bit more complicated but that's the jist.

Let's be honest, no self-respecting New Yorker stops to collect flyers from the man on the corner shoving them in every face that walks by. Even less stop to talk to the people with clipboards, asking for your credit card numbers to purchase hair cuts, spa treatments, or make the charitable donation du jour. But I will admit that I was strangely drawn to the man with the TV screen. Is it my love of television that drew me in? The newness of this brilliant, yet seemingly obvious marketing tool? I haven't decided, but I do know that I'll be on the lookout for others and will probably even stop to find out what companies are participating. Ads on Feet, you got me.

What are your thoughts? Minority Report (in a bad way) or the next obvious step?