Watering Holes: McSorley’s Old Ale House

15 East 7th Street, New York, New York 10003

(212) 474-9148

As historic bars go, McSorley’s Old Ale House stands alone. The New York City landmark is the oldest continuously-operating bar in America, and to this day serves only two drinks: lights and darks. Lights are light beers, darks are dark beers. Each is brewed by McSorley’s, on-site, and served in glass mugs.

McSorley's Old Ale House, New York City.

Sandwiched in between creaky wall boards, sawdust shavings, fading paintings, and assorted Americana, an institution which literally breathes historic presence operates, uninterrupted by the cats who make it their home. Customers often have to wait for a cat to leave a chair to sit down, and the chair remains subject to repossession by the cat at its discretion. McSorley’s is a bar frozen in history; it stands like a rock in a stream, looking on resolutely while “progress” flows violently past. Its tenacity is exemplary. So exemplary, in fact, women weren’t allowed in the bar until 1970. In a world of attention deficit disorder and on-demand television, the bar’s singularity of purpose is a simple comfort.

The bar at McSorley’s doesn’t have stools; it’s standing-room only. Small wooden tables and benches are scattered around, and an original poster requesting “Information leading to the arrest of the assassin of Abraham Lincoln” sits behind the bar. The kitchen serves very little which is hot, and generally serves very little at all, except paper plates piled high with Saltine crackers in plastic sleeves, cheese, onions, and mustard. When the main customers were neighborhood Irish policemen, bartenders used to set out free plates of onions and cheese each afternoon.

The Maher family operates McSorley’s now; it’s the third family to own the bar since its founding by old John McSorley in 1854, who kept the interest in the McSorley family before selling to Daniel O’Connell, an Irish policeman and patron who became the first non-McSorley to manage the concern.

McSorley's Old Ale House, New York City: No Girls Allowed.

Tom Reviews: Actors

Tom Sanfilippo is a 2006 graduate of the Miami University of Ohio and is currently a student at the Saint Louis University School of Law. Tom occasionally, and briefly, reviews film for this site; his work has appeared in such literary and film journals as TheFacebook.com.

These are the most overrated, overpaid, over billed, untalented actors in Hollywood today. How these guys keep getting work is a baffling enigma clouded in media mystique. To keep it pithy, I’m excluding the already well-established hacks who dare not pass themselves off as real actors; Paulie Shore, Tom Green, and Chris O’Donnell will not be ranked.

10. CUBA GOODING, JR: Since his worthy performance in Jerry McGuire, we’ve seen Cuba spiral down to star as the first brother to race sled dogs, provide the requisite politically-correct subplot in Pearl harbor (as required by California State Law), and manage to land a prestigious voiceover part in the tantalizingly brilliant 13th installment of the epic Land Before Time series. Next stop, Hacksville.

9. ASHTON KUTCHER: Had he stayed in the sophomoric but entertaining genre of the stoner comedy… I may have excluded him from this list, as Dude Where’s My Car is a guilty pleasure of mine. However, after his 47th romantic comedy flopping like Starr Jones off the high dive, I’m beginning to suspect this former teen idol’s career has about the same theatrical integrity as a Jenny Craig commercial.

8. BEN AFFLECK: Outside of a Kevin Smith picture, this guy is about as useless as the stairmaster in Oprah’s basement. His entire career has been one long, unmentionable snoozefest defined only by the occasional cinematic bowel movement… i.e., Gigli. However, Hollywoodland was more than decent. This single success was most likely the result of Adrianne Brody providing on-set acting lessons.

7. COLIN FARRELL: Too easy.

6. KEVIN COSTNER: I liked Field Of Dreams… everything else isn’t even good enough for the Sci-Fi channel.

5. VIN DIESEL: I wonder what it feels like to go to sleep every night knowing that what you do with your life is enjoyed by only the most uneducated people in this country.

4. BRAD PITT: The guy owes his entire career to the more-than-generous hype from US Weekly. Granted, he’s not the worst actor out there… but in terms of being overrated, Brad Pitt stands alone at the top. In 25 years he has not headlined one decent movie. His only worthy accomplishments were made in the co-star capacity. Seven, Snatch, Burn After Reading, and Fight Club were great… almost everything else was complete garbage, yet he remains the top actor in Hollywood? Am I the only person alive who realized that stupid Benjamin Button movie was a complete rip-off of Forrest Gump?

3. ORLANDO BLOOM: Unless you’re a 14 year old girl… you should know better. And he ruined Pirates of the Caribbean.

2. KEANU REEVES: Ok bear with me here… I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but compelling evidence exists that during the filming of Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Keanu discovered a deadly virus that could unleash a plague of biblical proportion upon the human race. Keanuthen entered into a secret agreement with the US government to ensure him a lifetime career in film by threatening to deploy his dastardly disease if they refused to comply. This is the only logical explanation possible as to how Keanu is continually billed as a professional actor.

1. NICHOLAS CAGE: The creme de la creme of bad acting. The absolute least talented, over paid, over billed actor… maybe in the history of film. OJ is more believable than this guy.

Tom Sanfilippo, film critic.