Could the news get any worse today? Terry Schiavo dies. Gasoline and Home Heating Oil prices surge to record levels (did I call it? I called it.) And now, we find out that Diane Boisvert has closed her Vanderbilt Ave. gallery: “The gallery has closed its doors but it will remain online,” Diane says in a tersely worded statement on her website.

Diane opened the gallery in September 2002: “What charmed me most about the place was the storefront. It used to be an old antiques store, but I decided to use it as my studio and to open the doors to fellow artists and the public … I realized that this wonderful space had too much potential to keep it just to myself.”

She had dedicated the space to showcasing contemporary artists with “individual” and “intense” works: “People who move me and give me a punch in the heart, head and spirit.”

Vivian of Housebroken asked us to put the word out that Vanderbilt Ave. businesses will be doing their own First Saturday thing this weekend: “A lot of the businesses will be open until later and will offer special discounts.” Not sure of many specifics yet, but we know that Fermented Grapes will be doing a wine tasting from 4-7 pm with Daniel from Domaine Select Wine Estates, who “will pour some amazing wines from Italy and elsewhere. We will offer a 5% discount on wines from the tasting.” Do you have any other First Saturday updates or news? Let us know.

Oh. Did we mention that the Brooklyn Museum will also be open this Saturday night? Check out the schedule. Let’s see if Basquiat mania can push First Saturday over into another new attendance record.

REFERENCE: [Record 12,000 Crowd at First Saturday]

Reason #384: Every time we try to get “fancy” with a post, Microsoft Internet Explorer goes haywire (am I right?).


Reason #385: Customized alerts, like the one below:

Send in Your Menus! (And if you know someone who has a local restaurant, point them to this page.)

1. E-mail attachments (or website links) to whatsnew@dailyheights.com, or fax to this number.
2. If not obvious, indicate whether the restaurant is (a) located in Prospect Heights or (b) willing to deliver to Prospect Heights (neither is necessary, but this will determine where your menu gets posted). Restaurant owners: please note that including photos, reviews, etc. will increase the chances that we’ll do a write-up or at least take a closer look. People will be able to find your menu on the Bars and Restaurants page, which right now looks like it’s an absolute mess (almost time for sub-pages).

Thanks to Lizzie for the inspiration: “How about a section on take-out and delivery? It could work like the car service section, with comments from the peanut gallery. Perhaps someone out there even has a scanner, and you could post all the menus in the area, so that thereafter, not a one of us would have to sort through stacks of Sushi Tatsu menus screaming “I KNOW there’s a Biscuit menu in here somewhere!!!”

UPDATE: Menus found! Jon Keegan pointed out that this site has about 35 menus for restaurants in the North Flatbush area, including Geido, Biscuit and of course, Sushi Tatsu.

Just a friendly reminder to leave your windows and front doors wide open in observance of Outdoor Loudness Season (OLS), sometimes referred to as “Spring.” Please be sure to maintain minimum decibel levels, particularly when washing your car, or pulling up to the curb to pick up your friends.

Those living in apartments on 4th or higher floors may need to increase stereo volume to compensate for distance from the street. Rule of thumb: simply double the standard blasting volume to be sure you’re in the “safe zone.”

Is Your Friend/Relative/”Connection” At Home? No need to use your cell phone during Outdoor Loudness Season. Just be sure your to have the bass pumping, and your windows rolled down, BEFORE you double park on the opposite side of the street. If double parking is not available, block a fire hydrant. Please be sure to spend at least 5 minutes crossing the street, knocking on the door of your friend who is clearly not at home, and then walking, slowly, again, back, across, two, lanes, of, traffic (allow an extra 2 minutes if neighborhood babies are napping in bedrooms facing the street).

Musical selections are no longer mandatory for 2005 (ref. “Hey Ya/When I Move, You Move” alternate-side blasting regulations of 2004). However, playing prerecorded tapes of dancehall reggae deejays grunting and yelling at strategic intervals (i.e., “HUUNNNH!”) is widely encouraged.

The Jackson Five, though pioneers of Loud in at least one respect, are expressly forbidden for the duration of The Season. [IMAGE CONSULTANT: J5-Collector.com]