There was a time three summers ago when my blog was in potential danger. It was being watched meticulously. I had signed a contract with a social media clause. One post too many and the whole thing could have been shut down- even worse than loosing my job. I knew my manager was reading it when he mentioned something he could have only known from a previous post, accompanied by a wink for emphasis. All summer he read my blog like it was his job, and indeed, it was.

By the end of the summer, he morphed from boss to friend, from monitor to actual reader. I’m still grateful he never shut me down, many a manager would have done so. Then again, there is probably no other authority figure in the world who owns the title of “Lord of Misrule” as his alter-ego. Charismatic, talented, inspiring, and he’ll instantly make you feel comfortable- even when you know he’s reading the blog you’re not supposed to be writing. See for yourself:

Name/prefered pseudonym: The Godfather [that’s one I haven’t heard before…]

Borough and neighborhood: Astoria, Queens

How are you a New York cliché? I get too wrapped up in local sports, I’m a musical theatre snob, I believe in the Miracle on 34th St.

They say no one who lives in New York is actually from New York. Where are you from? …um, New York? Well, really, Long Island, so everyone can just interchange their favorite New Jersey & Staten Island jokes and apply them here…

Bloomberg is banishing you from NYC. You have 24 hours before you have to pack up and leave for ever. How do you spend them? I gather up all my talented friends, who I think are at their very best when they’re all together, and produce the greatest show no one has ever seen – something we totally can do in 24 hours. In a twist at the 23 hr. 30 min. mark, I shave my beard and go into hiding in Brooklyn (no one will think I’m there) because there’s no way my fiance is leaving NYC!

Hot dogs or pizza? This is a tough call as the two greatest pizza places are on Long Island (Umberto’s in New Hyde Park and, its sister, Village Pizzeria) and I’m a big baseball guy so I have to have two dogs and a beer at CitiField or Yankee Stadium… I’ll go Pizza. Such tough questions!

So you live in NYC, but what’s one super-touristy thing you secretly love? I was in Times Square for the first time this past New Year’s which the late, great Dick Clark made me believe was the craziest place on Earth. Now, granted, I was nearly 20 stories above it all, but from 11:58pm, 2011 until 12:04am, 2012 was the most amazing experience. The energy emanating from the street couldn’t be matched… And, my opinion, walking through Midtown on St. Patrick’s Day is far crazier than walking through pre & post New Year’s Eve.

Ever had a run-in with a celebrity (A-D List)? It’s a tangent to my job. Last week I was in the same nook of a hallway as the cast of ‘Person of Interest‘ (do you not watch it? you should!).

You totally saw something weird on the subway or street today (you may not have registered it was weird because you are jaded), what did you see?  When the weather gets warmer, the N train just gets stranger.

What is your favorite fictionalized New York? How does it compare with reality? ‘When Harry Met Sally’. Now that I have written that answer, I have to go back and watch because I may have lived it!

Plug something! Be it something you are involved in, your significant other/roommate/cat is involved in, or just something you think is extra-special going on in NYC. I will always plug the fancy group I have produced [By The Mummers]– today we seem to be dormant, but that can change at the drop of the hat. My alter ego Lenny Burrows is trying to throw the first pitch at a AAA baseball game to promote the Sterling Renaissance Festival this summer. And if you find yourself a Disney fan, @DillosDiz.