Just another fall weekend in New York.

Last night we gave Coney Island our own proper sendoff for the end of the season; Clams performed in Pinchbottom's installment of Burlesque at the Beach (and I sweated off about five pounds stage managing!), a truly ridiculous show in the best sense of the word, with the whole crew embodying the attractions in Pinchbottomland amusement park (Jo Boobs was the Parachute Drop, Scarlet Sinclair and GiGi La Femme were bumper cars, Peekaboo Pointe was the carousel, Clams was...fried clams, you get the idea), Jonny and Nasty's very funny response to the ongoing turmoil over the future of Coney's Astroland Park. They had a packed audience, and afterward everybody cleaned up as well as possible after the traditional wine bath and headed to the Boardwalk, grabbed some dogs at Nathan's, drank into the wee small hours out front of Cha-Cha's, in the cool breeze off the ocean...as always, well worth the hour and 1/2 on the train. As the City, local residents' groups and the interloping development company Thor Equities continue to fight over what will become of Coney next year, we headed off into the night not knowing whether this was the end of the season, or the end of Coney Island as we all know it. Now all we can do is wait and see.

And less than twelve hours later, we were packed in a bar at Times Square, with Jen's brother and every Ohio State University alumni in New York, the official site for OSU fans to watch the Buckeyes football game. Two more different excursions in one weekend, I can't really imagine. Watching the Buckeyes with beer, buffalo wings and our fellow rowdy Ohio expatriates is a nostalgic autumnal tradition for us. Unfortunately, this same Saturday, downtown we missed the 3rd Annual Deitch Art Parade in Soho, and the Howl Festival in the Village. Typical quandry in New York City in the fall; too damn much going on! And sometimes, you just want to watch some football, Midwestern style. Of course, seeing Columbus, Ohio on TV is always a reminder that the opposite problem is a hell of a lot worse.