HOTTEST NEW PLACE TO STUFF YOUR FACE
Tranqil Bar & Bistro, 36 Pine Street, Bing

Buttoned-up BU professors, hardcore politicos, high-powered attorneys, boozing barflys, pre-gaming B-Mets fans, and even the occasionally drag queen.  You’ll find them all stuffing their faces with fantastic food at Tranquil.  And let’s face it: we’re all crapping our pants a bit about the economy; so it’s good to have a place to let loose.  (Plus, they’re thriving even though half the Bingo population is stuffing cash in their mattresses.)

It’s not just the crowd that’s diverse; with Cajun night, Turkish Tuesdays, tapas specials, and an urban brunch worthy of the snootiest ladies who lunch, they’re working hard to expand the palettes of native Binghamtonians.

All that even though they’ve got a kitchen smaller than my closet and are settled in a neighborhood that’s got kind of an unsavory reputation.  But then again, maybe that’s half the fun.  Don’t tell anybody you got out alive; I want to be able to get my favorite table on a Friday night.

COOLEST TECH IMPROVEMENT–BINGO AREA
Bingo Wi-Fi

USE IT OR LOSE IT: That’s the name of the game when it comes to the Binghamton Wi-Fi.  Thank God, somebody decided to broadcast a message to the world that Bing isn’t stuck in the stone age (or at least the party-line age).

Now it’s time for us to get our asses in gear.

Binghamton’s got FREE wi-fi downtown.  Just flip on your IPhone, select “Binghamton Wireless”, and get surfing.  It’s never been easier to look at porn while sipping on a latte at Java Joe’s.

But Bing needs your help.  If you’re a business: ADVERTISE on the wi-fi splash page.  If you’ve got a lap top, make sure to USE the wi-fi so it’s easier to sell to advertisers.

Let’s all make it an 09 New Years Resolution to support Bingo Wi-Fi.  Otherwise, we’ll have to listen to that F#*&(@% annoying Mr. Moviefone every time we want to look up the show times at Regal.

SEXIEST PUBLIC PLACE IN BING
Chameleon Café, 112 Nanticoke Ave, End-eeeeee-cott

Honestly, if a couple of in-the-know friends hadn’t escorted me up the stairs and into the Chameleon Café in Endicott, I’d have thought that I walked into somebody’s remarkably well-decorated and softly lit private apartment by mistake.  That’s the vibe:

A hip bachelor’s shag-pad with a fully stocked bar stuck in the middle.

There’s comfy couches, intimately spaced barstools, and very cool mood music.  I’m not saying that there’s a place you can take a date that will absolutely GUARUNTEE that you’ll start making out in public and putting hands in inappropriate places, but the Chameleon is your best bet.

They DO serve food.  But I’ve only ever been there for drinks, because, well, who wants to eat right before you’re going to get it on anyway?  And when a restaurant’s web page requires you to click the “NEXT” button twice before you see the entire martini list, you know you’ve found a place worth visiting in person.

WEIRDEST KIND OF SPEIDIE YOU’VE EVER SEEN

People, I just need to voice a serious concern.  Since before I even moved here, I knew that there was one thing of fundamental importance to the character of Binghamton: the Spiedie.  Now that fundamental is under attack.

Yeah, sure, pirogis LOOK harmless.  First, we’re declared the Pirogi Capital of the World.  Then it happens again.  Next thing ya know, we’ll be celebrating Pirogi-Fest and exporting Pirogi Sauce.

It’s just not right, people.  Not natural.  Get it together.

And so in a mission to revitalize the Spiedie, I asked the BingPop readers to nominate the most unusual spiedie they’ve ever seen.

The winner:  Alligator.

We got reports of all kinds of spiedies.  Shrimp.  Ketchup.  But Susan from Bing told us about her secret family recipe for Alligator Spiedie.

*VOMIT*

Moving on…

MOST NEATO CHARITY EFFORT
Mission Soccer Ball

Ask me a year ago what I thought we’d need to fix the cluster-F in Iraq and I wouldn’t have said soccer balls.  Apparantly, that’s exactly what they need.

It’s what the soldiers use to befriend the kids on the Iraqi streets.

So in April, “Hockey Bob” and NewsChannel34 got together and collected HUNDREDS of deflated soccer balls at the Oakdale Mall to send them overseas to Iraqi kids.

I think a cool charity event deals with the needs of the moment—and there’s nothing that needs more dealing with than the craziness going on in the Middle East.

So kudos to Hockey Bob for seeing a problem in the world and fixing it—and ruining Christmas for all the American kids that wanted soccer balls this year but couldn’t get them because they were sold out.

MOST FASCINATING SOUTHERN TIER NEWS STORY
Benjamin Landry’s Tiny House in Bing

Sure, sure, plenty of stuff happened this year that was more important than some guy building a tiny house.

But those other kinds of stories can’t happen if we wipe ourselves out with global warming.  So how long till we all start taking our carbon footprint THIS seriously?

On September 28th, the P&S reported that Landry was building a 220 square foot house at the corner of Walnut and Seminary.  It was as big as a one-car garage.  He was building it himself (using a book he checked out of the Broome County Library).  And he was living out of his sleeping bag next to the house when he wasn’t pounding nails.

Wow.

He’s doing it to save money and save the planet.  Cute, right?  It’s got a kitchen and a bathroom and a bedroom and NOTHING ELSE.  Where does he put the pool table?

Murder? Assault? Gas-drilling?  Taxes?  Naked firefighters?  That stuff happens everywhere (well, OK, maybe not the naked firefighters).  But a shed-sized house?  Uniquely Bing.

BINGO BACHELORE/TTE YOU’D MOST LIKE TO GET WITH
Rich David and LA Scheider

Whenever a friend stops by from the city, this first thing they always tell me is how hot the people are in Bing.

Yeah, not so much.

But that’s not to say there’s not ANYBODY worth getting with.  I asked the reads who their choice would be.

For women? Time and again, the name came up:

Rich David.

He’s got style, charisma, a good PR job at BCC, two businesses to run, and a beautiful loft balcony overlooking Court Street right out of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita.  “Don’t cry for me, Broome County.”

If you’ve been living under the wreckage of the Ross Building, you might not know that David is now one of the owners of Flashbacks and Terra Cotta.  But anybody that’s looking for more than a single night of hot passion had better be prepared to be a political wife: Rumors swirling that David will run against Mayor Ryan in 09.

LA Scheider

Why do they call her LA?  You only THINK it’s because her name is Leigh Ann.  For LA, it’s all about the attitude.  Infectious laugh, trendy sunglasses, networking fiend: That’s LA Scheider.

It’s not clear whether her full-time job is handling communications for the County Executive or kicking ass at golf, because she goes after both with a fiendish energy.

If you’re looking to get with LA, they key is energy.  Don’t expect to spend a quiet Friday night on a candle-lit dinner.  Grab a red bull and be ready to hit 3 or 4 parties before you crash.

BIGGEST BING EYE-SOAR OF 08
The Ross Building Site

Thank God for the big white walls at the corner of State and Court blocking the site of the demolished Ross Building, because they totally make us forget the HUUUUUUGE gaping hole in the center of the city.

Let’s all pray that somebody buys this space soon and puts in an office building or a shopping mall or an adult bookshop.

Anything.