Spare Some Change?

President Obama's overall agenda is outlined on the new White House website.

Locally, the Nation and Air America present "Change for America? The Left and Obama", a discussion panel on how the progressive left can effectively work with the Obama administration. The discussion starts tomorrow night at 7:00 at NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel and Air America's Mark Green will be moderating the panel, which will feature:

William Greider, "An Economy for All" 

Patricia J. Williams, "Law & Justice, Again" 

Lawrence Korb, "Fighting Terrorism After Iraq"

Eli Pariser, "Moving On with a New Democratic President"

Always organizing and growing, Move On presents its top goals for 2009 as voted by its members. New organization Change NYC is looking to harness some of that energy for New Yorkers.

As I become aware of events and organizing going on here in NYC, I'll share it here on the blog.

Move On Inaugural Bash at Kafene

Tuesday night, my girlfriend and I attended Move On's Inaugural Bash at Kafene in Astoria. There was something wonderful about the energy in the room that night. The bar was packed wall to wall with Obama supporters who were buzzing with the energy of the day. We had themed champagne drinks (the Obamosa and the Michellini) as we watched CNN and a DJ played. It was fun.

That was the good. As for the less than good...

Kafene is way too "cozy" for a 60 person party. They were too packed. Between the crowding and the volume of the DJ, it was difficult to socialize with anyone who wasn't seated immediately beside or across from you at a table. The appetizers were tasty, but were both in short supply and difficult to reach with the mass of people crammed into the bar.

We chatted for a while, and looked forward to more Move On events in the neighborhood, but ultimately bailed on this one after an hour or so. I'm inclined to give Kafene a shot on a more normal occasion based on the experience and the raves of a couple of regulars we met at the party. According to the regulars, it has improved since Foodista wrote it up in April.

Crowds line up for Spidey & Obama team-up

This morning, I lined up in the cold outside Midtown Comics (200 West 40th St). I was one of many in that line, which at times stretched nearly a whole block.

While Wednesday is new comic day, this line had little to do with most new releases, and was instead centered on the release of Amazing Spider-Man #583, which features a back-up story where Spider-Man saves President-Elect Barack Obama from the Chameleon. In addition to the standard cover of the issue, Marvel Comics offered a limited edition variant cover with Spider-Man and Barack Obama.

As I waited outside the store, a man walked up and down the line selling hats, gloves, and earmuffs. Thankfully it looked like most of the crowd was well bundled up for the blisteringly cold weather. I chatted with some of the others waiting in line. They included Obama supporters who didn't frequent comic shops, Midtown regulars, and speculators hoping to cash in on a collectable item.

Son of Baldwin has his take on the scene, as does City Room. Jim Hanley's Universe (4 West 33rd St) liveblogged the crowds outside of their store this morning while Robot 6 and Newsarama have a look at how the book was selling across the country.

Many in the crowd noted that the lines were far and away larger than those on Free Comic Book Day, which made some of this feel like a missed opportunity. I feel like there should have been some kind of takeaway in my bag encouraging me to return to Midtown on a less insane day. There could have been more done to create repeat business from those who don't frequent the store.