Just take a look at this amazing web site “Club freeTime.” It claims it is the only “source of free events, free things to do in New York City: your perfect guide to free Entertainment & free Culture in the City that never sleeps.”

The New York Times summed up the state of culture in New York City in its article about Club freeTime by stating that “New York is abuzz with so much culture that they’re giving it away.”

One small catch: membership is not free. But considering how many things you will find to do, you will probably save the cost of membership after just one activity.

Check it out and let me know where you went and how much fun you had.

In order to establish and develop new audiences for their special sound and also to create an active educational program for young performers, the ALJO left Lincoln Center in 2007. As a result the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance began. It is a non-profit organization which strives to achieve both goals of performing and educating to new audiences and new musicians.

It is the goal of the ALJA to further the knowledge and performance of this unique pan-American musical tradition. The ALJO performs in its home venue, New York City’s Symphony Space, and during the past year has also given performances at Lincoln Center, Boston Symphony Hall, Megaron Concert Hall in Athens, Greece and many others.

In February 2009 the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra won a Grammy Award for the album Song for Chico, recorded by Zoho Records. You can experience some of this unique music yourself this June 4-5, 2010 at Symphony Space in New York City. An outdoor concert will take place on June 12 in the plaza in front of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza.

We were thinking it’s a bit like the 2010 version of political correctness – instead of all of us being put in one correct category – there are possibly other real choices, but within each there is an acceptable way to think. Ultimately it seems like the Googlization of knowledge – this is what you should think about this topic – rather than providing information and letting people define themselves.

That said, it’s not like hosting a Kymaro party for your friends but it’s an amusing way to look at the world if you don’t take it too seriously.

First noticed by an alert T-shirt vendor, he informed the police at about 6:30 pm that there was a suspicious dark SUV Pathfinder releasing smoke from its rear. Its hazard lights were flashing and it was “just sitting there,” according to another vendor who has been selling his wares in Times Square for over twenty years, just across the street.

The imminent danger was neutralized by a white robotic police arm which crashed through the windows of the car and removed the explosive materials. The city’s busiest streets were closed down and pedestrians, cabs, busses and other forms of transportation came to an unexpected and inconvenient halt due to the emergency.

Nevertheless, nearby Broadway Theater “went on with their shows.” In some cases curtain time was a bit later than scheduled but in all cases the shows started.

Times Square is one of the most famous of American landmarks, and as such has been at times a target for rabble-rousers, and at other times for terrorist attacks. In March 2008 a biker threw an explosive device at a military recruiting center, causing a flash and smoke and a full-scale emergency response. No one was ever apprehended for this act.

Gunfights have occurred in the busy square and in the last month alone four shootings and over 50 arrests on this one-mile long stretch of Manhattan inspired the Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, to label the mayhem “wilding.”

Fritz Reid, the head of the union that represents the workers said that, “It’s going to affect quality of life directly, giving more harbor to rodents, lowering property values…These people are cleaning up our neighborhoods.”

According to Eyewitness news, city leaders say that the proposed cuts will lead to a revamped approach to battling the city’s rats by using a geographic coding system to locate the most troublesome areas.  “The agency will restructure the pest control lot cleaning program, while maintaining capacity to respond to situations needing immediate attention,” a health department spokesperson said [abc local].

So, is it time to pack up and leave the city to the pests?  Not a chance.  As experts attest, the only way to get rid of the rats is to get rid of the tons of garbage that New Yorkers throw out every day.  “Get rid of the smorgasbord that the rats can choose from every night, and you get rid of the rats.”  So says Joe “Dee” Dussich, founder and inventor of the newly EPA approved Mint-X garbage bag.  “If you were a rat, would you rather eat poison?  Or would you rather enjoy your choice of Chinese, Italian, French, or Spanish food that restaurants leave out?”  The answer is obvious to New York’s Norwegian rat.

If you’re worried about rats getting at your garbage, Joe Dee’s Mint-X garbage bag might help.  The EPA certified bag has been proven to be 100% effective at repelling rats and is already being used by many of New York City’s building managers.

So at least there is one option for you now that there are less city workers handling the explosion of rats.

This post is by a guest contributor Jeff Cannon.

More phone calls were made to 9-1-1 than even on the worst disaster in New York’s history, the attack on the World Trade Center of September 11th, 2001. According to the reports of several eye witnesses as told to the New York Daily News,

‘“Shingles were flying off. It looked like the ‘Wizard of Oz,’” said Angela Juno, 56, a school aide at Public School 277 who lost her roof and everything that was in the top floor of her home in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn.
‘Andrew Gottlieb, 27, of Marine Park, Brooklyn, moved his 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe to a safer spot after a small tree fell on it. He awoke to find it crushed by a second, larger tree. “What are the odds of this happening?” he asked.’

Electric service was also interrupted for many hours in many places, Staten Island being the worst-off. In some hardest hit areas there might not be restoration of power for some until the end of the week, according to a spokesman for Con Edison.

A combination of driving winds and intense rains left hundreds of thousands without power and created serious obstacles to traveling distances both short and long around the New York metropolitan area on Saturday. Earlier in the day, gusts of more than 60 miles per hour reportedly contributed to two deaths, fanned a severe fire that destroyed historic homes on the Jersey Shore and knocked buildings to the ground.

All around the New York area we’ve been hit by storms of near-Biblical proportions, leaving homes without electricity and, it’s believed, two dead as a result of a falling tree.
Good wishes to all our readers; let’s hope that the next few days brings us some calm.

Interestingly it seems its not the length of the Parade that matters most to people. The Macy’s Day Parade on Thanksgiving is actually just about 2 hours, making it a small hog of police resources, even though it is arguably the biggest parade event associated with New York.

So sometimes less is more!

Now, I recommend that you proceed with caution – don’t meet the given in any dark alleys – and make sure that Free really means free – but check this out

These are some treasures on offer for Free at Craigs List New York now:

• 6.5 ft artificial Christmas Tree in Briarwood (just in time!)
• 30 gallon fish tank with a red slide turtle in Staten Island (hi, is this turtle big enough for a meal?)
• 27″ GE Color TV (East Village)
• A cat (Canarsie)

Aside from that there are a lot of matresses and futons and some people claiming to have sports tickets.

Happy shopping this weekend!

Personally,  I would pay for unlimited access to the New York Times, either through my paper Subscription or online – I don’t think the quality of my life would be the same! I even think most people would pay to read it on their cell phones (iphones, blackberries) if they are avid readers.

The big question is how many other people feel the same way – and can put up the PayPal to prove it!

Would you pay? comment below!