One of the amazing things about New York City is the incredible amount of art available for public consumption. At any hour of any day, you could take in more independent film, avant-garde paintings and performance art than most American cities offer throughout the entire calendar year. Sure, New York is home to heavy-hitters like the huge theater houses on Broadway, museums like MoMA & the Guggenheim and other cultural venues. But, there’s also a lot of lesser known — but talented — stuff (artists & venues) out there too. Take Terence Nance, for example. “Who the hell is he?” you might ask. Well, Terence Nance is a young, up-and-coming filmmaker in New York City. No worries. I’d never heard of him either until a couple of days ago when I saw his short film called “How Would You Feel?” It’s fun, smart and witty. Here, I found the trailer (running time: 50 seconds) on YouTube:

I’ve never met Terence Nance. And, I haven’t seen any of his other work yet. Doesn’t matter. He slowly becoming one of my favorite “best-kept secrets” in New York City. Keep an eye out for this guy. So, now it’s your turn. What about you? Do you have any favorite best-kept secret filmmakers, indie rock bands, writers, or actors? Feel free to use the comment section to plug their (or your) work. Introduce us to someone, something or some group that you find new and exciting.

BACKGROUND: In Act I, Flora makes a telephone call from Austin, TX to her friend Funky Brown Chick in New York City. From the conversation, we learn that Funky Brown Chick is perpetually single and Flora has a boyfriend named Juan. Act II begins midway through the telephone call.

Act II

FBC: Who’s Roger?
FLORA: Roger is just this guy. I met him last weekend; he seems nice. He knows the city really well and …
FBC: And?
FLORA: And, so, we exchanged cards. He emailed me to ask if I’d like to go to dinner at this really authentic Mexican restaurant that he mentioned when we met.
FBC: Just the two of you?
FLORA: I think so.
FBC: Is this a date?
FLORA: No. No. Definitely not. I have a boyfriend. Remember?!?! His name is Juan.
FBC: I know about Juan. But, does Roger?
FLORA: No.
FBC: You didn’t tell him?
FLORA: It hasn’t come up yet … I wasn’t sure how or when to mention it. That’s always the dilemna.
FBC: What do you mean?
FLORA: Well, when you meet someone new — and it’s clear that they want to get to know you better — I never know when to bring up the fact that I’m in a relationship.
FBC: That’s tricky. If you bring it up too early, the guy could always say, “Hey lady, I’m not coming on to you. I just said we should hang out sometime.” But, if you don’t mention it, you run the risk of leading someone on. And, nobody likes to be led on.
FLORA: Exactly. So, what’s the answer? When should I mention it?
FBC: I don’t know.
FLORA: Oooooh. You should write a post about that on your blog, and ask your readers what they think.
FBC: Hmmm … That’s a good idea. Maybe I will.

Act III

FBC: [sitting in front of computer, typing] “Assuming that it’s possible for men and women to be platonic friends, I ask you this: if you’re in a committed relationship (i.e. dating, living together, married, etc.), when should you tell tell a potential friend about your relationship? When should a girl tell her boy friend about her boyfriend?

READERS: [sitting in front of computer, typing] ______________*

* Please feel free to use the comment section to share your thoughts.

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Today’s FBC post on Nerve: Tell Me: Are You Hot Right Now?

Dear Bethonged Reader,

When I opened my email inbox last week, I must admit that I was a little surprised to receive your message. Don’t get me wrong. After all, I publish my email address because I actually *like* to hear from my readers. I don’t always respond to everything because I’m bad at keeping up with email, but I do indeed read everything. Actually, I’ve become quite accustomed to receiving all kinds of interesting things via email. Remember the guy who sent me a picture of his penis? Oh, and, don’t even get me started on the barrage of spam emails that offer me the latest and greatest news about breakthroughs in penis enlargement. But, I digress. This letter is not about that. This letter is about you. You and your thong:

You. Are. A. Very. Special. Person. I wish to highly commend you for your courageousness and your outstandingly perfect ass. It’s obvious that you work out. Good job son. I was so moved by your decision to pose (electronically) as a thong-model, that I am devoting the Manly Monday post for Monday, February 26th to your thong. Specifically, the snug little black one in the top photo.

Now, before I close this letter, I want be sure to say thank you for reading my blog. I can only assume that you sent the pictures in response to my “Should Men Wear Thongs” post. At the same time … Please know, when I typed “I want to see a guy in a thong”, I didn’t *really* expect anyone to send pictures. I’m just a goofball with a computer, a blog and two fingers that know how to type. It’s important that you not take everything I say on FUNKYBROWNCHICK.com literally.

All the best to you … and your collection of thongs.

Sincerely,

FUNKYBROWNCHICK

Below are my guesses for best actor, best actress, best director and best picture. Who do *you* think the winners will be? Use the comment section to place your votes before Sunday night. It might be kind of fun to see which one of us actually guesses correctly across all four categories:

BEST ACTOR

• Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
• Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)
• Peter O’Toole in “Venus” (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Film Council)
• Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
• Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)

BEST ACTRESS

• Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
• Helen Mirren in “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
• Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox)
• Kate Winslet in “Little Children” (New Line)

BEST DIRECTOR

• “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu
• “The Departed” (Warner Bros.) Martin Scorsese
• “Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.) Clint Eastwood
• “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Stephen Frears
• “United 93″ (Universal and StudioCanal) Paul Greengrass

BEST PICTURE

• Babel
• The Departed
• Letters from Iwo Jima
• Little Miss Sunshine
• The Queen

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Today’s FBC Post on Nerve: Is It True That Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid?

Hey, folks! As many of you know, I usually post updates about Dating Roadkill on Fridays. Tomorrow is Friday. But, there will be no Dating Roadkill post. Because season one ended on Monday night, and season two doesn’t begin until next month, I thought I’d give you guys the links to the archived podcasts in case you missed an episode or two. Click the “listen” link to listen online. If you’d prefer to subscribe to our show via iTunes (free), visit this link: itpc://www.blogtalkradio.com/feeds/datingroadkill:

01.01.07. WORST DATING STORIES EVER!! Series premiere. Callers share horror stories from the dating fields’ front lines. [listen]

01.08.07. BITCHES. MEN LOVE THEM. Guest: Sherry Argov, author of the New York Times Bestseller Why Men Marry Bitches. [ listen]

01.15.07. THIRD DATE RULE. Should you hold off on sex until the 3rd date? Guests: Sexpert Grant Stoddard and Cuddle Party founder REiD Mihalko. [listen]

01.22.07. BARTENDING BABES. What’s up with the dating scene now? Guest: Jason Kosmos, owner of the hot West Village bar Employees Only. [listen]

01.29.07. WHY DO WOMEN DATE ASSHOLES? Our featured guests, Tom & Larry, are assholes. You’ll never guess what they have to say about dating, marriage and manhood! [listen]

02.05.07. SO GAY, IT’S G-A-I-Y-E! Alternatives to Marriage executive director Nicky Grist talks about domestic partnership politics. Sexy gay men from Denver, Los Angeles, and NYC share dating stories. [listen]

02.12.07. A SURPRISE VALENTINE’S SHOW. Learn how to surprise your lover (or yourself) with great sex! Guests: sex columnist Rachel Kramer Bussel and author of “The Great Sex Secret” Kim Marshall. [listen]

02.19.07. THE BREAK UP TALK. What happens when a relationship ends? Season finale of Dating Roadkill. (Season Two begins next month). [listen]

QUICK! Don’t think about it. Use the comment section to guess what the object above is. Or, if you already *know* what it is, be creative and use the comment section to tell us what it COULD be if it wasn’t what it is. Got it? Okay. Here we go. QUESTION: The object in the image above is ______ .

* After you’ve placed your bets, click the image to find out.

Yummy! A totally interesting & amazing person got me the hook up and invited me to the private sample sale at Playboy about a week or so ago. Now, if you don’t live in New York, you might not know about the “sample sale” craze. But, basically, sample sales are semi-private events [although some are super public] that allow designers and fashion labels to dole out their excess merchandise at deep discounts. Wanna learn more about sample sales? A while back, New York magazine printed what they’ve called “a quick tipsheet on how to sneak into the most anticipated sales of the year.” Click here to check it out.

Okay, so, back to Playboy. I only spent a little bit of cash, but I totally loaded up on Playboy gear. I bought: 1 burgundy lacy skirt w/ PB logo; 2 designer PB bras; 3 t-shirts (white long-sleeve, pink racer back, and black w/ pink PB logo); 4 PB mini-towels; and 1 bodice thing with PB sparkles on the front. I love it. Love it, love it, love it!

It seems that very few people are indifferent to the Playboy brand. Me? I’m all over the place on this issue. Let’s start with the clothes. I love wearing Playboy gear. I think it’s sexy. Now, the magazine? That’s a different story. I’m not really a fan of explicit pornography. I do like male homoerotic contemporary art, but that’s a different story. Hmm … here’s a question for you: Is Hugh Hefner a sick old bastard who’s made millions by degrading women in Playboy? Or, is the Hef just a man doing his part to bring sexy back (or, at least, ensure that it never goes out of style)?

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Today’s FBC post at Nerve: Too Picky, Too Shallow or Too Closed-Minded?

In observance of the holiday, there will be no Manly Monday post today. Even manly men deserve a day off. (Pssst! Sexy international readers, please note that today is President’s Day in the US.) Hmmm … Instead of writing about Manly Men, I was going to write a whole post about how I’m feeling a little bit awkward during these first few days of “exposing” myself & writing for Nerve. Granted, I’ve been exposing myself — figuratively and literally — here at the FBC for nearly two years now. But, that’s different. I’m very comfortable here. Over there, I’m kind of the “new girl” . Anyway, so, I decided to post the “exposed” stuff over at Nerve instead of here at the FBC. To check it out, click here.

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Reminder: The season finale of Dating Roadkill airs live tonight at 10:00pm EST. We’ll return in a few weeks with season two.