There I was, calmly reading my New York Magazine, when I came across the story of him throwing a party at the McDonald’s on 34th and Tenth Ave — with hors d’oeuvre off the Dollar Menu.

The only worthwhile part of the NY Post — the gossip pages — has this interesting tidbit:

In what could be seen as a pre-emptory strike, Mets manager Bobby Valentine says that Major League baseball is “probably ready for an openly gay player.”</p>

Valentine makes the remark, seemingly out of the blue, in an upcoming interview with the June/July issue of Details magazine. “The players are a diverse enough group now that I think they could handle (a gay teammate),” he says.

While the manager’s statement is imminently sensible and unlikely to disturb any of his young players, it could roil some traditional Shea Stadium fans. (I can hear the chant of “switch hitter” already.)

More to the point, some may think that Valentine is getting in first, before one of his big guns is outed. There is a persistent rumor around town that one Mets star who spends a lot of time with pretty models in clubs is actually gay and has started to think about declaring his sexual orientation.

The rumor even goes so far as to say that the player and a still-closeted local TV personality recently purchased a house together in a ritzy New York suburb. (I’ve made a cursory check of the real estate rolls in that suburb and can’t find any documentation of the rumor. But even if it’s all nonsense, the story is out there and gaining momentum by the day.)

The other fascinating thing about Valentine’s statement to Details is that it shows how far he’s come in the big city. When Bobby came up to manage the Mets, he was, to be blunt, a bit of a redneck, a man perhaps more like a John Rocker than a crusader for gay rights. I think we all should be proud of him for taking such a principled and sensible stand. </blockquote>

We spent the afternoon walking around Williamsburg, going to a few galleries. The Stuart Hawkins show at Priska Juschka is grrreeat! The Thomas Lail show at Goliath is cool too. Schroeder Romero had an amusing neon piece in the back by Bill Rowe (who teaches at ASU, near my home town!), called “Who’s your daddy?”.

There appears to be a new Italian (Sardinian to be precise) wine bar called DOC at 7th and Wythe, open every day from 6-midnight or later. I expect to try it out soon.

Late in the afternoon we sat outside at Yabby, had coffee, and watched the pigeons.

Overheard while walking around the Lower East Side looking at galleries:

At least you’re unemployed here. I was unemployed in Hoboken!

The sign reads: Part Time Work, $8/hour. Must be articulate in describing things well. Good computer skills necessary.

Spotted on a rainy night in Soho:

Poor poodle. Where’s the owner?

Has anyone else noticed these on lamp posts around Chelsea?

I forgot to mention another artist we liked at the Scope Art show (see this): Paul Mullins from Lyons Wier Gallery.

Recommendation!

Go see The Sandman at Target Margin. David Herskovits and his merry team have done a great job with this Opera-meets-Downtown-Theatre work, with music by Tom Cabaniss. It’s in a cool little opera house-like theatre in the East Village. Check out the review in this week’s Time Out NY. I think it’s a better review than this one in the Village Voice.