Fredrick.

As much as I try to appreciate the finer things in life, I can't get over my feelings of lethargy when it comes to museums. Sure, it's great to see Dali works up close, but I can only spend about an hour in any given museum before the headaches and exhaustion sink in.

Well, that is save for the Natural History Museum, where I would happily move in if they'd let me. This was one of the first places I made a point to visit in New York and, to this day, remains one of my favorites. Being a huge dinosaur fan, I was - and am continually - amazed by the towering skeletons and the evolutionary maps.

The hallways are filled with life, that creepy taxidermied sort of life. From the cheesy displays of wild animals, the hallways of birds, to the crystals and space exhibits, there's nary a thing in the entire building that isn't interesting.

How thrilled I was to walk down the street so very long ago and find a place that serves only rice pudding. Perhaps if someone could manage to make rice pudding hip, I wouldn't have to take shit for my love of 'old man desserts'.

Unfortunately rice pudding still isn't 'cool', but I'm alright with that as long as Rice to Riches continues to serve their specialty flavors in this spacey, hokey restaurant. Honestly, I prefer a less viscous pudding, but the variety of flavors makes up for the goopey consistency.

If you've spent any amount of time in Chinatown, you've probably had the disorientating feeling of passing the same store over and over again. Outside every shop is the same table of cheap souvenirs and 'I love New York' t-shirts. Kam Man is the cure for the Chinatown blues.

What I love about Kam Man, aside from the lovely roast ducks in the window, is the selection of exotic, cheap candy. From Muscat gummies to chocolate sesame cookies, this place has every kind of candy you'd ever be tempted to put in your mouth.

But the perks don't end there, the store is a one-stop asian supermarket. They've got everything you probably can't find somewhere else, just about. Downstairs is an emporium of ceramics and other kitchenwear. Kam Man is truly a store of discovery!

There's a way to measure a bands popularity in New York. While most toil away, unnoticed, in the smaller clubs of the Lower East Side or Brooklyn, the Bowery Presents venues tell a different story. Here they showcase the best of the best, selling out shows months in advance. No, once you land a gig at the Bowery Ballroom, you've got it set.

The venue is spacious, sporting bars both downstairs and up at the back of the concert space. The stage is huge and the security dudes are, well, characters. If you're worried the show you want to go to might get sold out, I'm afraid you have no better choice then to dish out the service charge fees on Ticketmaster. Sometimes they don't last until the box office opens.

Only in New York could such a place exist. In the heart of the Lower East Side, strewn in among a hundred other venues, lies one of New York's greatest treasures - Cake Shop.

While it seems innocent enough, upstairs is a quaint little counter housing colorful confections and serving drinks and the like, while in the back lies a humble little record store. The real magic lies down the stairs through the black door at the end of the counter.

In the basement, the narrow corridor that stretches out in front of you, is the best venue in the entire city. Despite the graffitied black walls, and though the tiny stage at the front, framed by asymmetrical columns, might be misleading - this space has consistently been the home to some of the very best shows in all of New York (and that includes Brooklyn).

Not only does Cake Shop book the best acts, both local and abroad, but the atmosphere offered feeds the energy of every show, offering an all out rock show even if only five people are in attendance. The space is intimate or cramped, depending on how you look at it, or depending on who you're standing next to.

One thing I can promise, though, is you'll rarely, if ever, walk away from a Cake Shop show disappointed.

How do you even begin to describe the Athens Ciné? I suppose the logical choice would be to focus on it's main attraction, which is the many movies it screens. In addition I guess you'd want to focus on the fact that the Ciné shows lots of independent movies and documentaries, and how it focuses mainly on movies worth seeing. But then you'd be missing out on the fact that the Ciné is also a cafe, and even further, a bar. Stranger still, Ciné also, occasionally, hosts live music and showcases artwork, gallery style, in its loby.

Little Kings is one of the most interesting places to see a show in Athens. While it spends a considerable amount of its time as your typical bar with rock trivia and games, but on those special night when they clear the floor and it turns into a venue, all rejoice.

Though the space is huge and beautiful, Little Kings has lived out the life of a specialty bar, only opening when it saw the occasion to do so, which recently changed with regular hours, which stretch late into the night.

Also, keep your eye on the bar for little cups of complimentary gummy bears, the perfect paring to a spicy Blenheim Ginger Ale (or the house special which combines the above mention ginger ale with Makers Mark).

I'd just like to start by saying that the Caledonia Lounge is way cool. The long, narrow space is entered through the parking lot side and punctuated at the end of the dark corridor with a stage that, even when empty, looks and smells of rock and roll.

This venue is often dwarfed by the mighty 40-Watt club that sits right behind it, but is much adored by local musicians and concert-goers. The sound might not be as great as it's neighbor, but the overhead is low and everything about it is fun, from the outside seating and trees, to the black interior of the venue itself.

While I appreciate, dearly, the sight of any record store, sometimes it's just better not to get too worked up over the thought of vinyl.

I visit Schoolkids' every time I visit Athens, but haven't once found anything worth springing for. It doesn't stop me from trying, and lord knows I still have faith. However, their selection of LP's is limited and overpriced, offering more CD's than anything (which always seem overpriced to me, no matter where I am).

I hate saying bad things about a music store, especially since I've heard Schoolkids has fallen on some hard times. While I don't think this store is awful, I just don't think it's exceptional.

If it's Athens Music, it's at Wuxtry. This small record store in downtown Athens is an iconic throwback to the glory days of the Elephant Six Collective. In fact, you'll most likely run into one of your favorite Athens artists if you hang out here long enough.

My first time in Wuxtry,Robert Schneider happened to be in with the master of his latest Apples in Stereo album, so I got to have a preview screening of a few songs. Aside from star spotting, Wuxtry is also a great place to pick up some rare records - I got a first pressing of T. Rex's 'The Slider' in near mint for $25. Score!

Though they might not have that coveted Neutral Milk Hotel album in the stacks, ask around and you might be surprised what you can find from the record-hoarding locals who hang out in the shop - just don't be surprised by their asking price.

Agora is a nifty little vintage shop with everything from unique second-hand clothes, retro memorabilia, to records and a selection of art and clothes from local artists.

This interesting shop is crammed full of countless trinkets and item's you'll probably want to look at, but one of the major flaws of Agora is the surplus of stuff leaves little room to move around. On a busy day you'll spend more time getting out of everyone's way than actually shopping.

So Clocked doesn't have the best food for its price range. Big Deal. Chances are you're going to end up there anyways, considering it's only a few doors down from Athens' 40 Watt Club.

With creative burgers and plenty of vegetarian options, Clocked wont leave you hungry, but it will leave you with a lighter wallet. It's a good enough place to get out of the heat, drink a Blenheim's Spicy Ginger Ale, and watch subtitled Sci-Fi B-Movies.

Surviving, though not physically, several moves due to fires and high rents, the 40 Watt has remained a staple, not just in Athens, but rather in American Music altogether.
Known for nurturing the careers of underground acts like REM and Pylon, and continues with the tradition hosting shows from Athens locals like Circulatory System, Elf Power, and of Montreal.

The venue has a large stage, a huge dance floor, and two bars.

A quick glance at Sound Fix's inventory doesn't yield much awe. There's a pretty decent selection of new vinyl and plenty of CD's. What the store lacks in content, it makes up with in the various events hosted in the Sound Fix lounge.

They host everything from monthly mix-tape swaps, in-house concerts, to like comedy and book releases. Where most record stores offer a stuffy, awkward atmosphere, Sound Fix offers a place of exposure and socialization.

The best thing about Academy Records in Williamsburg isn't the fact that they circulate a fresh heap of records to their stock every day, but rather the fact that they're priced so affordable that you'll find yourself shopping there every day.

The new additions are added to the stock at the front of the store, where they're picked through and those that remain get alphabetized and cataloged properly. The store is organized and bursting at the seams with quality records, both new and used.

By far the best record store in Williamsburg.

Dear Park Slope,

You're so mature.
Everyone admires your ability to be middle-aged and still, somehow, hip. We respect the fact that you're wealthy, yet opt not to live in Manhattan; preferring the quaint and quiet Prospect Park to Central park. It's impressive that you can manage to have a professional work life, raise children in some of the city's finest school districts, and still make it out for a late dinner or even a musical performance. Bravo.

Union Hall is a grown man's venue in a sea of shoddy basement clubs. So far removed from the beer soaked clubs of the lower east side, Union Hall offers more of a relaxed atmosphere, though if you took the neighbors word for it, you'd hear otherwise (their anti-stroller policy pissed off some of the more pretentious young mothers in the area).

Union Hall combines a sophisticated decor with some, typically, rowdy aspects, encouraging socializing without the hooting and hollering associated with getting shit-faced. Here you can drink a pint, play some bocce ball, or head downstairs to the cool venue and see everything from Brooklyn locals or travelers from Georgia or Wisconsin.

If you're not twenty-one, tough shit, you're not going to get into the venue. It doesn't matter how much you want to see Elf Power or Via Audio, they're not going to risk losing their liquor license to the pesky Community Board.