The Greene Space

The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space is New York Public Radio’s open gathering place. To enter is to embark on a soul-stirring journey to connect, to inspire, and to transform. All are welcome! var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-283599-52']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

[thegreenespace]

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

[wnyc]

NYC Taxi Drivers, a 2014 calendar

The cabdrivers pose with erotic novels, a unicorn mask and an energy drink to help bring out their inner sex appeal. The calendar is priced at $14.99 and can be purchased here. All proceeds will go to a local charity that serves over 30,000 immigrant and working individuals and families. (via PSFK)

Best. Gift. Ever.

-SR, S360

[thegreenespace]

Someone in The Greene Space office is totally getting this for our annual Secret Santa swap.

[thegreenespace]

Fred Newman of A Prairie Home Companion is back with us next Monday, producing the sounds of footsteps, creaky doors and more for our annual WNYC/WQXR reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. This year, stage and screen veteran Tony Roberts stars as Scrooge!

The show is sold out, but you can stream it live Monday at 7pm. Get your merry on with us while you bake your holiday cookies and wrap your presents, right here! 

[thegreenespace]

We're loving this new video from our friends, The Dirty Gems! The Queens band made it to the final round of our Battle of the Boroughs competition last year. Check 'em out!

Think you or a band you know has what it takes to compete? Deadline to enter is Dec. 31! Enter here. 

[wnyc]

Charles Barkley rode the NYC subway for the first time ever yesterday. This is great. Look at him barely fit in the turnstile!

-Jody, BL Show-

[npr]

Tupac Shakur on Life & Death

[thegreenespace]

"Do you see yourself as a role model?"

"No, I see myself as real."

[nprbooks]

YOU GUYS!! It’s ALIVE! The NPR Book Concierge is at your service — see what we’ve been working on the past few months, and more importantly, see our favorite books of 2013 in a fantastic new clickable searchable playable-with format. 

Want book club ideas that are also love stories? Funny cookbooks? Kids’ books for geeks? And of course, our own staff picks. Check it out!

(If you really, REALLY miss our lists, here’s why we decided to do something a little different this year)

[nprfreshair]

Several of NPR’s best books of 2013 were featured as interviews or reviews (By Maureen Corrigan) on Fresh Air. To name a few:

Scott Anderson, the author of Lawrence In Arabia

Jesmyn Ward, the author of Men We Reaped

Review of The Book of Ages

Chimamanda Adichie, the author of Americanah

John Bradshaw, the author of Cat Sense

A. Scott Berg, the author of Wilson

Allie Brosh, the author/artist of Hyperbole and a Half

Review of Someone

Review of The Goldfinch

Review of Miss Anne in Harlem

Review of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P

Review of The Infatuations

Review of The Lowland

[yahoonewsphotos]

Past and present: balloons of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade A storm bearing down on the East Coast with a messy mix of snow, rain and wind is threatening to ground giant balloon versions of Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The iconic characters that soar between the Manhattan skyscrapers every year may not lift off Thursday if sustained winds exceed 23 mph and gusts exceed 34 mph, according to city rules enacted after fierce winds in 1997 caused a Cat in the Hat balloon to topple a light pole and seriously injure a woman spectator. (AP)

(Archive photos via Getty Images) See more images of the parade and our other slideshows on Yahoo News!

[latimes]

It turns out some old balloons were kind of terrifying.

[flavorwire]

Those throwback balloons are actually horrifying.

[thegreenespace]

Yikes!!

[wnyc]

Did Norman Rockwell ruin Thanksgiving Turkey?

Chances are there will be a whole turkey on your Thanksgiving table - not unlike that iconic bird on a platter Norman Rockwell immortalized. But top chefs and turkey breeders say you’re doing it wrong, bro. 

http://wny.cc/1iMfZex

[thegreenespace]

The Villalobos Brothers of Manhattan, winners of our 2013 Battle of the Boroughs, collecting on one of the many awesome prizes in our citywide talent search - a professional photo shoot!

Want YOUR chance to be heard by industry leaders and win cool prizes? Enter your act by Dec. 31, 2013! All the details are here. Bring it!

[wnyc]

Tragically, Leonard Lopate cannot poach an egg. 

[thegreenespace]

Now he can - and so can we!

[thegreenespace]

We saw some great acts in Staten Island at last night's live auditions for our Battle of the Boroughs talent quest! 

If you missed out, there's still time to enter your submission online for a chance to be heard by industry insiders and win huge prizes - including a showcase at the famed Apollo Theater Amateur Night!

Next up? We're headed to the Bronx on Nov. 21! Sign up to reserve a spot for your act here. 

[momatalks]

From The New York Times today:

Artist and musician David Byrne recently wrote that the cultural life of New York City had been “usurped by the top 1 percent,” implying that our society’s emphasis on the bottom line has compromised our humanist sensibilities.

With soaring housing and health care costs, and a culture that seems more interested in financial stability than creative expression, has it become too expensive to pursue the arts in this country?

Check out the discussion here.

[alexandrabloom]

Good morning #NYC! Have a great Friday everyone! xoxoAB💋 (at Manhattan Mall)

[thegreenespace]

Our Battle of the Boroughs is back for a fifth season!

We're looking for the best of NYC's up-and-coming performers across all genres and representing all five boroughs. Be heard by industry leaders and win huge prizes! Check out our trailer, then sign up for live auditions or submit your entry online. Deadline is Dec. 8.

[wnyc]

Watch Moby perform “The Perfect Life” (with impromptu choir— and a baby!) live in the Soundcheck studio.

[wnyc]

"I always just try to focus on the work, not the impact of the work. I’m just trying to focus on the small things — take a good photograph, and tell a good story. I try to take individuals one at a time."

Brandon Stanton talking to Brian Lehrer about his photo project “Humans of New York.” Listen here.