[Ozzy Osbourne] has turned over a new leaf, literally, by embracing a vegan diet for what the Prince of Darkness cites as health reasons. Reportedly, after his assistant showed him the vegan documentary Forks over Knives, Ozzy decided that it was time to cut meat, fish, dairy and anything else derived from animals out of his diet. Speaking on Sharon Osbourne's chat show, The Talk, the singer revealed that he his feeling the benefits:

"I feel OK actually, I feel better about myself, you know? I go on binges. That's the reason why I decided to cut out meat out and dairy because I've limited what I can have because when you're on the road and you're travelling, you grab buns and... burgers are everywhere... so now I've just narrowed the margin."

Ozzy's new lifestyle choice comes hot on the heels of the news that he and his Black Sabbath alumni, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward may begin rehearsals for a final reunion tour.... If Sabbath do hit the road again, Ozzy may find some camaraderie from his new dietary choice in band member Geezer Butler. The bassist is a longstanding vegan, and has appeared in advertising campaigns for P.E.T.A. [Ultimate-Guitar]

Look for Ozzy and Tony (and Bill Clinton) trying out the new vegan pie at Two Boots all this month.

Aziz Ansari (Ulysses) @ UCB Theatre, NYC (by Edwina Hay)

The Upright Citizens Brigade is exploring an opportunity to open an additional venue in the East Village and we can use your help. If you currently reside in the East Village and would be willing to support the effort please sign the petition linked below.

The Theatre is hoping to move into the Pioneer Theatre at Avenue A and 3rd Street, next to Two Boots Pizza. While we're still a long way from making this happen the first step is to see if we can get enough support from within the community. To continue offering the same brand of comedy at the same affordable prices we'll need to get a Beer/Wine license.

If you or anyone you know live within Community Board 3 (the area of NYC from the East River westward to 4th Avenue, and from 14th Street down to the Brooklyn Bridge) and support this effort please take a moment and sign the online petition, or stop by Two Boots this weekend and sign a live petition. If you do not live in the neighborhood, we appreciate your support but it will not be helpful to us for you to sign the petition.

Thank You and we appreciate your help and continued support,

Matt, Matt, Amy, Ian

UCB regular Aziz Ansari performs two shows at Comix this weekend (Friday and Saturday).

Leo Allen hosts Whiplash every Monday night at UCB's current location.

Catch Bill Hader and Seth Meyers from SNL at UCB Wednesday January 14th.

For more SNL, ASSSSCAT 3000 happens every Sunday night.

"Let's Have a Ball" describes itself as "Writers and Performers from the Emmy-award winning '30 Rock', 'The Colbert Report', 'Late Night w/Conan O'Brien', and the UCB Theatre come together to play for your entertainment in this Star-Studded, Long-Form Improvised Show."

Dave Hill will be telling stories on January 30th as part of "The Shits of Our Lives".

Dave Hill, A.C. Newman, Carl Arnheiter (elf) & Brett Gelman @ UCBNY (via)

"Exciting news for the East Village -- we've discovered that the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre has designs on the former Two Boots Pioneer Theater space at 155 East 3rd Street. Alex Sidtis, directing manager of the UCB's current location in Chelsea, revealed to [NY Magazine] that the troupe is hoping to open an East Village outpost, depending on whether it can secure a tavern wine license (the theater will plead its case at a January 12 meeting of Community Board 3's licensing committee). The location will mean more stage time for its performers...

Sidtis loves the fact that the 99-seat theater has a lobby, and says of the layout, "It's a little different [than that of the Chelsea location]. The shows will be more presentational and less theatrical in nature." Phil Hartman, who built the theater a decade ago and still owns the adjacent Two Boots pizza parlor and video store, tells us "I love the theater and I'm pleased to think that it would stay alive as a theater and not get gutted and turned into something else."..."
[NY Magazine]

The current NYC UCB Theatre is located at 307 W. 26th St. It's there that you can catch Leo Allen's weekly Whiplash show on Monday nights at 11pm...for free. This week (tonight) (11/5), Reggie Watts and Marc Maron will be two of his guests.

Leo Allen's Monday night spot used to be held by Aziz Ansari and the Human Giant crew doing a similar type of comedy show with the same types of guests. Don't miss Aziz when he does a much bigger type of show January 9th and 10th at Comix. All dates HERE.

The above photo was taken at the UCB Theatre in NYC, on December 18th.

an actual pizza box

The East Village rocker boys behind Bowery Electric, Jesse Malin and Johnny T, along with Kevin Cole (of Two Boots fame), have teamed up, all in the name of pizza. The rock 'n' roll trio is the force behind The Pizza Shop, located on Avenue A and 7th Street, which officially has its grand opening tonight [June 25, 2008]. The spot has been serving pizza since the 1960s, but the new owners decided to gussy up the space a bit......All the pizza boxes are limited edition prints. According to a press release we received: "Around 1500 of each box style is made and then never reproduced. The first one being a photo of The Clash from 1979 taken by world famous rock photographer Bob Gruen. Each box will have a different image created by well known and local artists featuring their particular style and medium and these boxes are free with a purchase of any pizza." As we mentioned earlier, tonight's the opening, so if you're in the hood, stop by for your very own signed Bob Gruen pizza box!" [PAPER]

Pizza Shop (an actual pizza place, not a club or bar) is right next door to Niagara, a bar that Jesse Malin also owns, and where you'll find the famous mural of The Clash's Joe Strummer on the outside wall.

P.S. for amazing vegan pizza check out Vinnies on Bedford.