First Annual Mister Rogers Madaket Triathlon

The inaugural staging of the Mister Rogers Madaket Triathlon went off without a hitch today. I finished with a new course record — heck, the only recorded course time, ever — of 1:26:19. It was a blustery 60 degrees, windy and full-on rainy when I sprinted down the dunes and into the bay. I’ve never…

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An Empty Crooked House

The Crooked House — Mr. and Mrs. Rogers’ summer cottage for nearly 50 years — sits empty next door. King Friday’s kingdom away from the Kingdom of Make Believe is sad, and quiet. With the steely gray skies overhead and crisp fall breeze blowing through the dune grass, so am I. I had hoped to…

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Eating, Drinking, And Napping

It’s late (or at least it feels late), and I’m bombed (well, maybe not bombed, but buzzed), otherwise I’d give you the moment-by-moment breakdown of the day. Except, well, all I really did was eat, drink (see above), nap, and lounge around on the beach. Which doesn’t make for much of a narrative. So suffice…

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The View From Madaket

The finish line for this time of year — Video Music Awards season, which happens to correspond with the end of summer — always seems like the end of show itself. But after seven VMAs, as many Grammys, and an increasing number of other awards show coverage, it’s become apparent that the true finish line…

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On Pop Stars Kissing

Yes, this is what I do for a living: post images of pop stars kissing. It’s well after five a.m. I’m eating pretzels, drinking Gatorade, listening to Damien Rice, and checking our work over at the MTV News. The city was waking up for the Friday before Labor Day as I stumbled home from our…

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Our Big Moment

The Video Music Awards Opening Act — MTV News’ Big Moment — starts in 26 minutes. In an hour and ten minutes, they’re going to throw to a poll we’re running on the fly. After that, I’ll start breathing. Our in time was 3 p.m. So I slept in ’til 9:30, then rolled around in…

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Suitably Buzzed

Clock’s ticking down to the VMAs, and as I’ve said more than once, I’m a little worried about my lack of worry. As you can probably gather from the deluge of hype, the VMAs are the make-or-break event of the year. A lot’s riding on it for the channel, the News department, and me. To…

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Runnin’ & Rockin’

I did a lot of runnin’ and a lot of rockin’ yesterday. Today, I’m paying for it. But it was worth the cost. I woke at 6, ate, stretched, and grabbed a cab. At 7:30, the gun went off for the the NYRRC 18-mile Marathon Tune Up: three laps of Central Park. I ran slow…

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Don’t Let Those Dream Planes Crash

I dreamt last night that America was under attack. As a fighter jet circled low overhead, I said to my suburban neighbor, ‘This is the part of the dream where the plane always crashes,’ and waited for it to go down. But it didn’t. Instead, the scene cut to a ‘West Side Story’-type neighborhood —…

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All About Jason Gallagher

That empty six pack of Stella? Yeah, that’s mine. Did I get a lot done in the studio? Nah, not really. But everyone else did. Tonight was all about Jason Gallagher. You, dear reader, may recall my seeing Jason and his band, Leroy Justice, perform a few weeks ago. And you, dear reader, may recall…

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