WHASSUP: Hotter Than Hell Edition

Summer is fully junk-punching us this week. The AC is flowing as if it were free, sweat is pooling in the streets, and the subway is like the sauna at the NYSC in Chelsea. How are we supposed to beat the heat when the rivers and waterways are abominable and public pools are like swimming in tea cups of urine? Drink lots of fluids and have a good, old fashioned water fight in the park.

I suggest rounding out your evening with some entertainment—something that'll take your mind off your pit stained work clothes. You know the Loius CK bit about butt sweat?

Hit me up with your favorite way to beat the heat. Rmember to include your favorite events from the past week to win...well, nothing. 

So, WHASSUP this week you stinker Slopers? Here's WHASSUP:

Thursday, 7/10, Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas/Choc Quib Town/RVSB, Prospect Park Band Shell: Ever try to combine hip hop, rock, funk, and salsa? These fuckers do and it’s boner jamz all night long. FREE, 6pm doors

Friday, 7/11, The Kings of Karaoke, Union Hall: Do you like karaoke? If not, I’m barking up the wrong tree. I think it improves the human experience to throw back a few and sing ‘Summer Lovin’ with the first willing partner you can find. FREE, 12am

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[Throwback Thursday]: Record and Tape Center

Image via brooklynvegan.comIn the fall of 1991 I got my folks to buy me the “Hand on the Pump” single at the Record and Tape Center. The Cypress Hill song about drinking 40’s and smoking blunts while waving around sawed-off shotguns was my first tape with a Parental Advisory label. While they knew enough English to understand the curse words, my parents didn’t know nearly enough slang to understand how completely inappropriate that shit really was for an 11 year old.

Even in 1991, the record store looked old fashioned and weathered. Inside, it was under-lit and dusty. The tapes were kept inside shelves with sliding glass doors and a lock. You had to ask the guy to open it and grab the tape you wanted. I was hoping he wouldn’t tip off my parents about the song’s content. He didn’t give a shit.

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Cool or Not Cool: Walking Away From Cops Who Tell You To Wait

Photo credit: Enid Alvarez/New York Daily NewsThis just in from a FIPS reader:

I was walking my dog through the Nethermead [last night] after 9PM, when they have off leash dog hours, and as I made my way past the Audubon House and up to center drive I was stopped by 3 police officers and asked to wait. "For what?" I asked. "You're in an area that is closed."  "Okay so why do I have to stop and talk to you."  "Just wait ma'am."  With no explanation as to WHY they were making me stop I tried to proceed on my late night dog walk. That's when they put me in cuffs and demanded my id. Since I didn't have an id I was put in the back of a cop car and my dog was taken from me. They were going to take me to a precinct and give me 30 min to have my id delivered, put my dog in ASPCA and arrest me if no id could be produced within 30 min. I said "this is insane. I leave my house for dog walks in the park without an id all the time. My dog is too old to take away from me, you cant do this. It's absurd."  They eventually took my name and looked it up on a computer, wrote me a Summons and I was on my way. When they took the cuffs off I asked why they were doing this. They said to keep the park safe. I did not feel safe at all with these thugs patrolling the park and treating people like this. I hope that they change their tactics because they are completely out of line.

So, yeah, it sounds like a very unpleasant experience for this person, but can you really expect to just ignore cops when they ask you to wait and not have them do something? 

UPDATE: Lice Busters Coming to Percy's Space, NOT Sweet Melissa's

Well, this makes a whole lot more sense. As it turns out, Lice Busters is NOT moving into the ginormous space left by Sweet Melissa's, but rather they will take up residence in the every-so-slightly more discreet spot where Percy's/South Brooklyn Pizza storefront. Our initial source had told us that they were moving in "next to the pizza place across from PS321," which could only have meant the Sweet Melissa's, which is next to Pino's. Newer and apparently better informed sources have confirmed that it's actually the old Percy's space. There's a lotta lice going around Park Slope, but it did seem like a stretch that there would be enough business to cover the rumored $16,000/month asking rent for Sweet Melissa's.

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YOUR BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOOD DESERVES ITS OWN FLAG