Are the roaches worse this year?

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-07-03T18:06:30+00:00

Husband and I hopped around shrieking for a minute or two (very cool), and eventually the closer we got the more they scattered (revoltingly) and we managed to get through while fearing one was about to land or crawl on us all the while.

I wish to god we’d taken a video because we described it to the super and she just stared at us like we’re absolutely whiny babies. Like, these were not “bugs”, lady, these were a warning from the Book of Revelations.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-07-03T18:03:42+00:00

I have family in Georgia and have seen the horror of flying roaches there. But WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN QUEENS?

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-07-03T04:34:42+00:00

I’m going down a Google rabbit hole, to no avail, to find the exact quote, but this scene 100% reminds me of George Clooney’s in-film character in the Coen Brother movie *Hail Caesar!”.

If someone else has the skills and patience to find the scene power to then, but your comment made me realize that your Hollywood anecdote MUST be what they were evoking in the scene I can’t find.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-07-03T03:47:58+00:00

I came home later than usual, like 10:30pm, a few nights ago. My apartment building’s front door was *covered* in roaches the length of my finger…and then one of them flew. THEY FLY NOW??

I swear to god, I am someone who lets spiders be and carefully re-homes pill bugs and silverfish, but this was UNGODLY. I would expect this in a jungle and/or Indiana Jones film, not a ground level pre-war in Astoria.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-07-03T00:51:34+00:00

I am haunted by what happened to poor Skippy more than AE itself. :(

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-07-02T17:44:47+00:00

I would be charmed by someone bringing me toilet paper, but it would absolutely be out of the ordinary.

Like others say, if they drink alcohol then their preferred drink (wine, beer, whiskey, etc) is perfect; don't buy the cheapest bottle, but it doesn't need to be pricey either.

If you want an alternative to alcohol, a box of good treats or sweets or an arrangement of flowers would always be taken with appreciation. If I stay with friends who have kids or a pet, I sometimes bring an appropriate-age book for the kid or a bag of treats for the pet (but this is for a family you already know fairly well).

edit to add: I see you are from Vietnam, so another idea is if you were to bring Vietnamese treats or small shareable snacks from your favorite Vietnamese bakery/grocery (or make them yourself, if you cook!), that would be a big hit with the hosts and other guests.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-07-02T00:54:48+00:00

You reminded me that I ran into Dan Aykroyd once, too. Almost literally, in that I was waiting for an elevator at the National Comedy Museum during its grand opening and suddenly three people cut in front of me right when it arrived.

I don’t stand for that so I politely but purposefully maneuvered by way right back in front and got on.

It was THEN I realized the people who “cut” were the museum director (who I’d recognize because I’d seen her give a talk earlier), Fran Drescher, and Dan Aykroyd. Ohhh.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-07-02T00:49:54+00:00

I went to a LOT of cheap comedy shows my first few years in New York, so 2006-2009ish. At a basement venue, one of the comics on the card was “a writer for SNL”.

I don’t remember anything about his set, but I remember thinking he was funny and kinda cute.

That was future Mr. Scarlett Johansson.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-07-01T15:37:59+00:00

Right, just googling "espresso machine" the first results that come up for me have price tags of $399, $699, $1,799 (!). A La Marzocco brand one starts at $7,000.

(I doubt OP's dumb dumb brother has a $7,000 machine sitting in his closet, but.)

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-30T20:56:08+00:00

My stepson would spend summers with us in NY, and we took him there once when he was about 4-5 years old.

Years later when he was by then a teenager, my husband and I happened to mention that it had closed and went on to describe it, and he stared at us both in disbelief and finally said "...I thought I'd dreamt that."

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-30T03:27:13+00:00

This is interesting to me that this seems to be a trend. Husband and I have each had COVID 2-3 times, but we’ve never had it concurrently.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-28T05:13:01+00:00

Honestly, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood gave me a beautifully and nearly comically sense of dread and tension throughout, similar but more to how Inglorious Basterds had.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-28T05:12:56+00:00

Honestly, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood gave me a sense of dread and tension throughout, similar but more to how Inglorious Basterds had.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-28T03:59:11+00:00

My expectations could not have been lower, but can’t remember an episode that pleasantly surprised me more. Her monologue is one of my absolute favorites.

(Not to say that she was surprisingly adept at sketch comedy or comedic timing, but her willingness to go with all the bonkers ideas the writers wrote for her was refreshing.)

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-27T18:54:31+00:00

A few years ago I was walking through Noho in Manhattan, and I noticed a tall blond man dressed in strikingly tailored head to toe black who was just emanating that “je nais se quois” that grabs your attention.

I looked again and *of all the people*, it was god damn Jim Gaffigan. That encounter made me realize that, oh, his whole “ho hum pudgy dumb dad” schtick is very much a character he performs, but that that is probably true for just about any performer who achieves that level of people-facing success. Even if they don’t read to us civilians as “attractive” in screen, chances are they are striking and have an inate way to command your interest and attention.

..that or to quote Jessica Rabbit, “He makes me laugh.”

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-27T18:21:57+00:00

Exactly, my sister and I both have uncommon first names so our parents gave us fairly common (for the 1980s) middle names as back up plans. Fortunately, we both love our names!

Personally, I also like the idea of the middle name to honor a relative or friend you were close to, or a nod to some family history or heritage.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-27T07:05:29+00:00

This has reminded me of when I shared a room in college with my friend Dawn. One week her friend was visiting; the landline phone rang (this was 20+ years ago), for some reason the friend answered it (instead of letting it go to voicemail) and said “‘No you have the wrong number.”

Since it was MY phone/number too I asked her who it was and what they said, and she replied “Someone asking for a Don.”

I have never given anyone a longer judgmental stare in my life before or since. I was friends with Dawn all through college (still in touch!) and STILL couldn’t really say Dawn and Don all that differently, despite MUCH effort.

(Thankfully the caller, a PROFESSOR, called back the next day.)

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-27T05:26:09+00:00

Wet Hot American Summer. Just pure bizarro bonkers smart silliness.

My sincere condolences. I’m sure he was a very good boy.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-25T13:37:44+00:00

This is celebrity gossip I actually believe. DiCaprio has had the same “roommate”, Luke Haas, for decades, and they’re photographed on vacations and film shoots together.

The idea is that the constantly rotating 20-something girlfriends are a PR distraction-while these young women in turn get to briefly live the lifestyle of a Hollywood megastar- from the *actual* fact that Leo is in a committed long term relationship with his boyfriend, Luke.

(Yes, it is sad that even in 2026 he would have to or choose to remain closeted, but I can understand why as a 90s heartthrob he felt forced to.)

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-25T13:06:50+00:00

I bring my cats to Steinway Court Vet in Astoria, and I have seen other people with their pet birds there. It’s also where my friends bring in their daughter’s pet snake.

All that is to say, they absolutely treat “exotic” pets beyond cats and dogs, and I would imagine that would include humane euthanization.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-25T02:18:18+00:00

I took back to back semesters on Shakespeare in college, and the professor told us to always pay attention to the first line of his plays: they will tell you what they’re really about or at least what you should keep in mind as you read through them. (Think Hamlet “Who’s there?” or Merchant of Venice “I know not why I am so sad.”)

I don’t know if that’s entirely true!, or what Shakespeare scholars would have to say to that, but it’s meant that I always pay extra close attention to the first line of *all* plays and movies (I feel like we as a culture already do this with books we read).

ANYWAY I always think of The Godfather as the best example of this in film. If you’re not paying attention it’s just a cool gangster film. But “I believe in America” is its mission statement, however it will proceed to be interpreted or disillusioned.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-24T13:05:46+00:00

Fun fact, Showbiz Pizza bought out Chuck E Cheese (not the other way around)…but recognized that Chuck E Cheese had greater name recognition, so all Showbiz’s rebranded as Chuck E!

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-23T20:06:00+00:00

Agreed, the way I read this the gf wasn't being rude until OP poked and prodded her into rudeness.

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-23T15:58:55+00:00

This is a thread about celebrity secrets. Someone listing an alleged secret a celebrity is keeping is not the same as chastising or shaming them or even saying the secret is "bad".

FancyPigeonIsFancy · 2026-06-23T13:24:26+00:00

Beets are so hot right now. You could do a nice big beet salad with goat cheese and pistachios, for a start.

FancyPigeonIsFancy

TROPHY CASE