These past few days, I've mentioned the returns of "Lost" and "The Amazing Race." Today I want to highlight a few new shows that I highly recommend.

"Everybody Hates Chris" (UPN - Thursdays at 8) : Chris Rock is the man. This show is hilarious. Hilarious! The coming of age of a young boy in Bed-Stuy, circa 1982. So good.

"Reunion" (FOX - Thursdays at 9) : Twenty years after their high school graduation, a friend is murdered at their reunion. Each episode in this flashback series is a year in the lives of the friends. It's certainly the most unique concept of the year.

"How I Met Your Mother" (CBS - Mondays at 8:30) : Neil Patrick Harris is back on TV. Doogie Howser has grown up. But besides him, it's a sweet and hilarious sitcom. I usually have a steadfast rule that I refuse to watch any show with a laugh track but I make an exception for this one.

"Extras" (HBO - Sundays at 10:30) : Ricky Gervais from "The Office" is back, this time as an extra in the movies whose goal is to land a line of dialogue. Great comic timing and uncomfortable situations that helped make "The Office" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" so popular.

So those are my recommendations and we'll see which stick around to make it to my year-end Top 10 TV Shows of the Year that I will publish in December.

It's also the final weekend of the year for baseball's regular season. The Mets are guaranteed of finishing at .500 and all they need is to win one more game to ensure a winning record. Although they fell apart in early September, they should be commended for their steady play these past two weeks. With Pedro, David Wright and Jose Reyes, they have a strong nucleus for next year.

Oh, by the way... my birthday is Wednesday.

Someone in the ABC promotions department should be fired. During the previews for last night's episode of "Lost", the deep-voiced announcer intoned, "The fate of all the castaways will be revealed." And then before last night's episode started, another preview was shown with the same promise that "The fate of all the castaways will be revealed." Well guess what? The fate of all the castaways was NOT revealed! Jack, Kate and Locke are exactly where we left them last week - down the hatch with the mysterious guy who we still don't know who he is or what he's doing there. And although we know that Mike, Sawyer and Jin survived the destruction of their raft, we don't know what's in store for them now that they've stumbled across... "the others." And what about Walt? What about Walt? I'm a big fan of "Lost" and I enjoyed last night's episode but they've got to stop teasing answers when all they raise are more questions!

And now a moment of schadenfreude to revel in the indictment of Tom DeLay.

Thou shalt not lie on your blog.

Thus learnt a lesson by Fernando Ferrer. For those who may have missed it, Ferrer is in hot water because of a pretty big lie perpetuated on his campaign blog. It said that he was a product of public schools, when in actuality, Ferrer attended private schools. Commence the backpedaling, the denial of responsibility and then the implication that blogs aren't even worth talking about. Yesterday, Ferrer asked why so much attention was being paid to blogs. He said the word 'blog' as if it was diseased and the very mention of it was a waste of his time. Standing right next to him at the time was Howard Dean - the man who helped raise the profiles of blogs in the first place. So to all of you bloggers reading this, don't lie about your educational background!

I also want to talk about last night's premiere of "The Amazing Race." In the past, there were 11 teams of two. This time there are 10 teams of four and each team is a family. Some teams are a husband, wife and their children; another is a man and his three son-in-laws; another is four sisters; etc. Usually they have the teams fly overseas to begin the race but this time, with 40 players as opposed to 22, they are saving money by having the teams complete the first few stages in the United States. I'm proud to say that the race began in Brooklyn, at the park right underneath the Brooklyn Bridge! From there they went to Soho, Washington's Crossing and finally Amish Country. The first team eliminated was a man, wife and their two small boys. Upon learning that they came in last place, the two boys looked absolutely crushed. These reality-competition shows are trying enough for adults but to put little children through the stress of it all? Maybe not such a good idea.

I think this is what I would look like if I were a Tim Burton animated character.

Tall? Check. Thin? Check. Short hair parted in the middle? Check. But for the record, I have not mistakenly married a corpse.

Thus was the premise of "Corpse Bride", a remarkable animated fantasy where the real world is dull and drab, and the underworld is alive and kicking. It's a gothic musical that makes you feel good about yourself. Oddly enough I have never seen Burton's other stop-motion animated film, "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I must rent that soon.

You might notice that I have added the phrase "If you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true," as the subtitle of this blog. I think it's the perfect campaign slogan. Who would dare vote against the actualization of their wildest dreams? Definetely a winning strategy. Forget "Vote for Pedro" and start printing those "Vote for Phil" t-shirts with this slogan on the back!

In the film "Napoleon Dynamite," Pedro Sanchez is about to give his speech at the school assembly for student body president. At a loss for words he says to his friend Napoleon, "I'll just go out there and tell them I have nothing to say."

That's about how I feel right now pertaining to this blog. I have nothing to say.

Oh I guess I could repeat what Pedro does eventually tell the students in his speech : "If you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true."

In my previous post on hurricanes, I forgot that O for Ophelia did receive significant press coverage. My apologies, Miss Ophelia, for forgetting about you.

So Hurricane Rita is heading towards Houston. Wait, isn't that where they sent many of the displaced people from New Orleans? The Houston Astrodome? Talk about having a bad month.

One of the best shows on television is back on the air. I'm talking about "Lost". It premiered on Wednesday and looks great. They're finally getting around to answering some of the mysteries such as, what is in the hatch.

And I finished reading "I Am Charlotte Simmons." It's now in paperback and is highly recommended!

Even though the Gulf Coast is still suffering the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina, here comes Hurricane Rita! It's another category 4. Hmm, could the severity of these hurricanes have anything to do with global warming?

Now the hurricanes are named in alphabetical order. But in less than a month we've gone from K (Katrina) to R (Rita). What happened to L, M, N, O, P and Q? Guess they weren't severe enough to warrant media coverage? On Caren's blog she listed the names of any future hurricanes for 2005 and the next one S will be Stan. My dad's name!

The final vote total for Fernando Ferrer in last week's primary : 40.15%

So he won the primary outright after all and there would not have been a runoff even if Anthony Weiner chose to stay in the race. Hopefully this will eliminate any "woulda, shoulda, coulda"s that Weiner may have been pondering. Although I'm sure the loss still hurts. You know who is hurting right now? Gifford Miller. I saw him today and he looked DEPRESSED. Others were trying to cheer him up but he could not mask the forlorn expression on his face. It's a rough business, politics is. These candidates put their entire lives into an enterprise where their fate is out of their hands. Once the voters render their decision, the rejection can sting. Although the losers speak gracious words in their concession speeches, the defeat can be personally crushing. I know how it feels and that was just for school elections!

So now the general election has begun and it is Bloomberg vs. Ferrer. I just read that Bloomberg received the endorsement of a group of African American celebrities including none other than former Met Mo Vaughn! I'm not sure if that will be a positive endorsement for the mayor. Considering Fat Mo's horrible play for the Amazings, the mayor may not want to flaunt that one too much.

Currently reading... Tom Wolfe's "I Am Charlotte Simmons." 150 pages left to go and I'm digging it!

I saw this random tidbit in the news...

Former Atlanta Braves pitcher Rick Camp was sentenced to federal prison for roughly three years for conspiring to steal more than $2 million from a mental health agency.

Camp, a lobbyist, pitched for the Braves from 1976-78 and from 1980-85. He was sentenced Thursday along with four others, including former state Rep. Robin Williams, who will serve 10 years.

The five were convicted of conspiring to siphon the money from the former Community Mental Health Center.

This was of interest to me because I remember a 19-inning baseball game that took place on July 4, 1985 between the Mets and the Braves. One of the reasons that the game went so long was because Rick Camp, a relief pitcher, hit a very unlikely home run to extend the game even longer. It was one of those sports moments that stay with you. Now Rick Camp will have more special moments... in jail.

But since the baseball season... or more accurately, the METS season... is a wash, it's a good thing that the fall TV shows are coming back. Last night was the premiere of "Survivor : Guatemala." Good stuff. Especially when Bobby Jon - crippled by cramps and dehydration with his eyes rolling back into his head - almost died on camera. "Bobby Jon? Bobby Jon? Stay with me Bobby Jon!" I almost thought a graphic was going to appear on the screen saying "We regret to announce the passing of Bobby Jon while filming the second day of Survivor." Fortunately, he lived. For now.

Ah shit. It's over. Anthony Weiner is conceding the race to Freddy Ferrer. To quote Charlie Brown yet again... "Good grief."

But I still had a fun few days campaigning for the guy. To see him rise in the polls from dead last to a close second was a thrill. On Monday I attended a campaign rally in Carroll Gardens. Then yesterday I helped his staff distribute flyers at the Park Slope subway stop. After that I stopped by Tuesday Night Trivia at the Baggott Inn where I did some more campaigning. And then after that it was off to the Primary Night Party at Table XII. Thanks to some of my friends from trivia for coming along. The party was a nervewracking affair as everyone's eyes were glued to the big screens showing the tallies on New York 1. I spoke with Anthony's parents and some of his staff members and I was even interviewed by the New York Sun for being Anthony's first intern! It didn't make today's paper but I am indebted to Britta (my new publicist) for setting up the interview. And according to Daryl, who was watching the ABC news, I was seen on camera! So that was exciting. Although Anthony gave a speech indicating that his campaign would proceed, I could tell from his body language that the odds did not look good.

So here we are, the next morning and he is conceding defeat. My guess is that he felt the odds were against him and that rather than fight an uncertain battle, he was motivated to promote Democratic unity, with the realization that it would put him in a better position for any future campaigns. Whatever his reasons were, he has nothing to be ashamed of. When this campaign started, Anthony had almost zero name recognition. Today, much of the electorate knows who he is and with 29% of the vote, many have a positive impression of him.

One last thought - I would have enjoyed listening to Christopher X. Brodeur give a concession speech last night.

It is 2 in the morning and I just got home from what has been an exhausting day. I will post more later when I have the energy to do so but I must report the results from the election. Keep in mind that the first-place candidate needs 40% of the vote in order to avoid a runoff.

Fernando Ferrer : 39.95%
Anthony Weiner : 28.82%
C. Virginia Fields : 15.92%
Gifford Miller : 10.19%
Christopher X. Brodeur : 3.77%
Arthur Piccolo : 1.36%

So it LOOKS like there will be a runoff between Ferrer and Weiner. Except they first have to now count all the paper ballots to ensure that Ferrer did indeed get less than 40%. That will take a week. With just another week after that until the runoff.

As Charlie Brown used to say, "I can't stand it. I just can't stand it."

It's primary election day in New York! Vote early and vote often. And when you do, be sure to vote for Anthony Weiner!

After you vote for Anthony Weiner for Mayor, you might be wondering about some of the other races. There are no primaries for City Comptroller (Bill Thompson is running unopposed) or Brooklyn Borough President (Marty Markowitz is running unopposed). There is a primary for Manhattan Borough President but since I don't live there, I can't offer an informed opinion on the candidates. However, there is a citywide primary for the office of Public Advocate. Incumbent Betsy Gotbaum is a very nice person and seems to be doing a decent job. However, she is dull and not very visible in her advocacy efforts. She is a better choice than Norman Siegel who acts more like a Public Adversary than a Public Advocate. However, some new blood might be warranted and I'm intrigued with the candidacy of Andrew Raseij. He has some good ideas about improving technology in NYC and installing wi-fi internet access all over the place. Since he's the only candidate to actually advance any ideas, it might be worthwhile to throw some votes his way and see what happens.

Stay tuned tomorrow when I report what happened on Primary Day... from my inside vantage point!

On the fourth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, I walked down to Shore Road in Bay Ridge. From there I stood on the 69th Street Pier and took this photograph of the lower Manhattan skyline. It still doesn't look right without the Twin Towers...



They also have a 9/11 Memorial on the Pier. It's called The Beacon Monument and here it is...


Some people left tributes at the base of the monument...


Also took a photograph of the Verrazano Bridge - the longest suspension bridge in the United States...


And no photo retrospective would be complete with the requisite shot of the Statue of Liberty...

THIS BLOG OFFICIALLY ENDORSES ANTHONY WEINER FOR MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY!

If you are a registered Democrat in New York City, I strongly encourage you to go to the polls on Tuesday, September 13 and cast your vote for Anthony Weiner.

I have known Anthony for several years, including the years that I interned for him while he was in the City Council. From there he has gone on to serve Brooklyn and Queens in the U.S. Congress. Anthony Weiner is intelligent, driven, well spoken and I believe he would perform at a very high standard as the Democrat's nominee for Mayor.

If you are uncertain as to who you will support, please heed this endorsement and vote for Anthony Weiner on Tuesday!

Today I'm going to the bris for my new baby cousin Reed!

Here is a picture of him...


And here's one with his dad!


How much I'll choose to witness the actual bris remains to be seen.

Last night - watched tennis until 12:30 A.M. Big wins for Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters. Tonight's main event? Andre Agassi vs. James Blake. Who to root for?

The calls for Michael Brown's head are growing louder and larger. Who is Michael Brown? The buffoon in charge of FEMA. The one who said he had "no idea" that there were people stranded in the New Orleans Convention Center, even though they'd been on TV for days. The one who said it was impossible to get federal assistance into the city, even though the press was moving in and out with ease. The one who only got this important job because of patronage. What did Mr. Brown do before FEMA? He was a judge for the International Arabian Horse Association. I suggest that Mr. Brown ride his horse out of town.

On Friday, this blog will officially endorse a candidate running in New York City's Democratic Primary for Mayor! Who will it be? As if you don't know... But, stay tuned!

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. From browsing though the blogosphere, it appears many people took the opportunity to get away from the city and go out of town. Caren was in Utah, Sarah was in San Francisco, The Anonymous Blogger was in Ohio... it's a good thing none of you were down in New Orleans! Although I hear there are great discount rates available for next year's Mardi Gras.

I know, I know, one should not joke about the terrible tragedy in New Orleans. But without laughing, the sadness and devastation can become unbearable. So I was thinking of the song in The Simpsons episode of "A Streetcar Named Marge" that goes like this : "New Orleans! Home of pirates, drunks and whores, New Orleans! Tacky overpriced souvenir stores. If you want to go to hell, you should make that trip to the Sodom and Gomorrah on the Mississipp, New Orleans!" That episode aired back in 1993 and I wonder if it will be pulled from syndication, much like the episode that aired in 1997 featuring the World Trade Center was since pulled from syndication.

But all joking aside, shame shame shame on the government for the inadequate response to the storm! And to show I'm nonpartisan, I blame all branches for poor planning and execution- Bush, Homeland Security, FEMA, the governor, the mayor... all must share the blame. Although rescue and recovery has improved over the weekend, there is no excuse for leaving those people to die for FIVE FULL DAYS! Shame.

VACATION IS OVER : AN OPEN LETTER FROM MICHAEL MOORE TO GEORGE W. BUSH

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,
Michael Moore

"You can do everything for other countries, but you can't do nothing for your own people. You can go overseas with the military, but you can't get them down here." This quote is from a man in New Orleans, expressing his frustration at America's "priorities."

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is so terrible... so horrible... that it seems insignificant to blog about any other subject. And I have no words to describe the tragedy itself. At least not today. Over the weekend I will gather perspective and comment on some of the aspects and implications of what is happening in the New Orleans area.

But in the darkness, there is always a ray of light and I'm happy to announce that there is a new member of the family! Congratulations to my cousin Russell and his wife Lisa, on the birth of their son Reed!