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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. All right, we've got about 12 minutes left in the show and here's how we're going to use them. We're going to share advice on rainy-day activities. You know I am asking this. This is the seventh consecutive weekend where we have rain in the forecast and already a reality. It's been raining this morning, so it's another rainy Friday here in the New York area. Here at the Brain Lehrer Show, we've talked earlier in the week with a meteorologist about this weather pattern seven weekends in a row. It was sometime in September, the last time we had a weekend without any rain.
How are you coping, folks? Help our other listeners figure out what to do when there is yet another rainy Saturday coming up. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. Let's brainstorm or share some rainy weekend activities. What are your plans for this weekend, assuming this weather persists? They say it may lift by tomorrow afternoon, so maybe most of the weekend it won't be rainy, though It's still supposed to be pretty gloomy. Have you picked up a new hobby or found a fun indoor activity for yourself and your family to pass the time over so many rainy weekends in a row? What have you been doing?
What are some pieces of advice you can give fellow listeners for what to do when it's raining again on your day off and your kids' days off? Speaking of families, this kind of weather can be especially difficult for those of you with young children to entertain. I don't have to tell you. Usually, you'd want to exhaust their energy at the playground maybe, things like that, but it's hard to resist plopping them in front of that three-hour stream of Spidey and his amazing friends, or whatever their character of choice happens to be this month, when it's raining cats and dogs outside.
You know that sort of activity will only lead to more pent-up energy, the kind that keeps them running around the house late at night or throwing a massive tantrum. Parents, what, besides screens, are you using to pass the time for your kids of whatever age? For everyone, what are you go-to rainy day activities for adults or for kids? To get the brainstorm started, here are some things that we found poking around. If you're looking for some exercise, you could go to a ninja gym. Maybe you've seen videos of people completing massive obstacle courses, featuring wall climbing, monkey bars, and zip lines indoors.
If you head over to Greenpoint, you can test your strength and endurance with a variety of parkour modules at Ferox Athletics, the largest ninja obstacle course on the East Coast, just to take one, not to give them a plug, but I know that's a big one at Greenpoint that people use, or maybe if you're feeling creative and looking for a more peaceful activity, you could make some jewelry at Brooklyn Charm. There's one in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn. They have piles and piles of unique charms to choose from. While you're there, you can sort them however you want, onto a necklace or a bracelet, I am told. Just a couple of indoor things that you can go out to and we invite you to share yours. What have you been doing on these rainy weekends that somebody else might do today or tomorrow? Now that here we are again, or what is something that just comes to mind even if you haven't been doing it yourself?
212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. Call or text. We'll take your calls right after this.
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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Yes, I just looked it up and confirmed that this is going to be the seventh consecutive rainy weekend in the New York City area. One headline from Channel 4, "Another picture-perfect fall week before a seventh rainy weekend for New York City area." Share your tips on what you do. Ted in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Ted.
Ted: Hi. I have a little bit additional take on this, if it's okay. We're all going through it again with what's going on in the Middle East. Not only is it raining, we're all inside, but we also have to deal with the pressures of the world melting. I'm a firm believer that comfort food is not just comforting to eat, but it's comfortable to make. Things, especially with kids that take a long time, a long format type of thing. You make dough to make bread, then it proofs and then you cook it, or you braise some meat or you braise something or whatever. Something that takes a while, lasagna. The idea is that it's an activity, it's therapeutic. You're not listening to the news, and in the end, there's a reward.
Brian Lehrer: Nice, Ted. Nice one. Long-form cooking. We're getting a lot on text message. One says, the Montclair Film Festival starts tonight. Jared in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Jared.
Jared: Hey, Brian. How you doing? I want to take this opportunity to let everybody know that right by the Barclay Center, there's an indoor vertical hydroponic farm called Farm.One, and it offers botanical tasting tours on the weekends, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Kids are more than welcome. It's amazing to see kids get in touch with actual flavor and natural growing things indoors.
Brian Lehrer: Nice one. A hydroponic farm near the Barclay Center. Jared, I'm going to leave it there so we can get enough people on in our time. Couple of people are saying IKEA, including take your kids to IKEA and then look at all the fun stuff. Someone else texts, "Museums. In particular, Museum of the City of New York is great for the whole family. Exhibitions include This is New York, 100 years of the city in art and pop culture. They are celebrating their centennial, I happen to know that the museum of the city of New York right now. Adrian in Westchester. You're on WNYC. Hi, Adrian, what you got?
Adrian: Hi. I live in Northern Westchester and we found the best thing to do is to get outside, make sure everyone has some rain boots and raincoats and enjoy while still--
Brian Lehrer: There you go. There's no, there's no bad weather, just bad clothing. Your brother told you.
Adrian: Exactly.
Brian Lehrer: Very nice. Another one on a text message, "How about ping pong? A place called PingPod has nine New York City locations, plus three in New Jersey. Book online to reserve a table, fun and affordable." Liz in Montclair, who has a three-year-old and a five-year-old. Hi, Liz.
Liz: Hi. I'm a long-time listener. Thanks for having me on. Similar to another caller, I purchased a pair of rain pants for my children, and it is one of the best things we ever bought. We can go to the playgrounds, no problem. They don't get soaking wet. We invite friends and go for a hike in the area. The kids splash in puddles and we make a whole day of it and it does all of us a lot of good.
Brian Lehrer: That is really good.
Liz: We embrace it.
Brian Lehrer: That's the second vote for, 'There's no bad weather, there's just bad clothing'. Another one on text message says, "Gowanus Open Studios. It's a blast. More than 300 artists show their work. New free shuttle bus on Saturday." Here's another one with a little kid, a two-year-old. Merlin in Brooklyn. You're on WNYC. Hi, Merlin.
Merlin: Hi, Brian. First time, long time. Nina and I are driving as we speak. I pulled over to The Met. He is a fan.
Brian Lehrer: To the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Merlin: That's it. Yes.
Brian Lehrer: Does your two-year-old have a favorite exhibit at The Met?
Merlin: He likes the Egyptian stuff and the sculptures, but he also enjoys the paintings, right, Nino?
Nino: Hi.
Brian Lehrer: Hi, Nino. Nino, you're famous. You're on the radio.
Nino: [unintelligible 00:08:37] going to be a stun tower.
Merlin: He says that he thinks there's going to be a stun tower.
Brian Lehrer: [laughs]. I hope so. Merlin, thank you very much. Nino, go for it. Kenny, in The Bronx, you're on WNYC. Hi, Kenny.
Kenny: Happy Friday, Brian. The Bronx and Queens continues to love you. Climate change is here to stay. We've got to adapt. My boyfriend, Sebastian and I, just celebrated our five years together. During the pandemic, you kept us and the bleak news and everything got us down. He doesn't like rain, I like rain, so we compromise. Indoors, we do Freestyle Fridays, Salsa Saturdays. Then I like to go outside, so we wrap ourselves and hang in our rain boots and ponchos, and we go in the garden in The Bronx Zoo and Wave Hill and Orchard Beach. No lines.
Brian Lehrer: Nice. Kenny, thank you. Guess we're going to do one more here, probably just one more. Betsy in Brooklyn. You're on WNYC. Hi, Betsy.
Betsy: Hi. It's an honor to be speaking with you. I am in the Broadway show, Kimberly Akimbo. We have shows all weekend. We are the winner of the best new musical, the Tony Award. Come support live theater and see a Broadway show. See Kimberly Akimbo.
Brian Lehrer: Yay. Good luck out there. At least there are some actors who get to work and without crossing a picket line. Betsy, thank you very much. There we will leave it. Thanks to everybody. By the way, about The Met, a texter reminds us that they recently opened a new play space for kids on the ground floor. Nino, tell your dad Merlin to take you to the play space on the ground floor.
Thanks to everybody for calling and sharing your tips. Maybe that'll help everybody get through the seventh, at least partially rainy, weekend in a row. That's the Brian Lehrer Show for today and this week, produced by Mary Croke, Lisa Allison, Amina Srna, Carl Boisrond, Esperanza Rosenbaum, and Zach Gottehrer-Cohen, who produces our Daily Politics podcast. Muskan Nagpal is our intern this term. We had Milton Ruiz and Matt Marando at the audio controls.
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