It's back to school!

...aaaaaaaaaaaaaand Drag Race!

Ok, now that we've gotten that out of our systems, time for a weekend round-up and a look ahead to next week. Tuesday night we've got a double header of the Combined Pre-Primary candidates forum (34th/Mayoral) featuring Gerry Esposito and Tony Avella. It's the Combined!!
WG News and Arts and The Brooklyn Rail are sponsoring it (6 PM-9ish), which means you get to hang out with Ted Hamm and Genia Gould, two of my favorite indies, at The Boiler, perhaps the most unique art space in Williamsburg. Diana Reyna and Maritza Davila have been invited, but unless they confirmed over the weekend, I wouldn't expect them there (come on, ladies, surprise me. It's one week to go. Come on down!).

Follow that up with Moviehouse on India Street at (India Street and Kent Avenue in Greenpoint, 8:30 PM). See the documentary that shows how all those India Street murals got made. Chris Henderson expects a decent crowd, so get your butt there. Also, we will have a scavenger hunt for Rami Metal "Shop"'s beard. Winner gets some chalk.

Wednesday is lawyer-up day with the TGE-Bushwick Inlet Appellate Court hearing (45 Monroe Place Brooklyn between Clark St. and Pierpont St.) at 9:30 AM and the Broadway Triangle hearing at the City Planning Commission (likely at 10 AM) in Manhattan. Expect bigger crowds at the Triangle hearing. The issue about businesses in the triangle and eminent domain has been getting some attention in The Daily News, Gothamist, the Greenpoint Gazette (it's a series) and, of course, Courier Life. Afterwards, we can rehash all the arguments at the 1st Community Board 1 meeting of the school year, where Custom Wine Bar and the McCarren Market Move are on the docket. Did we mention it's the first day of school?

Then, Thursday, head on over to the McCarren Park Pool which is opening this season (5-8 PM) for a special one-time event, featuring The New York City Ballet, which will perform an adaptation of "NY Export: Opus Jazz" by choreographer Jerome Robbins.
Set to a rousing jazz score, the movements blend ballet, jazz, and ballroom dancing with Latin, African and American rhythms, to create a style that is powerfully expressive, sexy and contemporary. Directors Henry Joost and Jody Lee Lipes are filming the "ballet in sneakers" for premier as part of Channel 13's Great Performances/Dance in America series. This is the 1st of Robbins' works to be adapted for the screen since West Side Story. www.osanb.org • www.opusjazz.com

This past weekend, my friend Jason and I did a little sailing on the Long Island Sound, above, ("Is that all you got, New London?") and a little hiking in the backwoods of Western Connecticut with my friend Godfrey, which was blissfully politics free. I'll have a one-week out rundown of the races tomorrow. Until then, don't forget about those MDA kids which have... um... Jerry Lewis disease? Or is it Joe DiMaggio disease? Laaaaaaaaaaaady!