First You Co-Opt Painting Like A Lunatic, Banging Junk And Generally Making A Mess From The Pre-School Set, Then You Teach It To Them

Some parents send their children to Montessori school. Others, the Blue Man Group:

Bright colors, fun music . . . blue heads? While those are all staples at Blue Man Group shows, only the first two will be common elements at the theater group’s preschool next door to its 434 Lafayette St. theater, the Blue Man Creativity Center Early Childhood Program. Gearing up for its first year of operation for 2-through-4-year-olds, the center pulls from the sights and sounds of the Blue Man Group, focusing on “sensory tactile experiences” that help children grow emotionally and creatively.

“We draw inspiration from the educational philosophies that children do some of their most important learning through play,” the center explains on its Web site, theblueschool.net.

With a logo that incorporates a splash of paint, an electrical plug and a DNA double helix and a Web site that includes everything from a white paper on tot conflict resolution to a link to the Blue Man Group’s online create-your-own-art game, the program looks to address the needs of the whole child by way of creative expression. According to the school’s philosophy, such expression is a means of exploring and understanding both one’s own emotions and those of others.

. . .

The Blue School expects to eventually run through the eighth grade.

Because Collapsing Bridges Are Inherently Funny

And here I thought those higher office rumors had all been unfounded*:

With a nod to Senator Schumer, Mayor Bloomberg is putting to rest that pesky gossip about a bid for national office: He says he does not want to be the nation’s next attorney general. “Despite any rumors you may have heard, I did not come to Washington as part of a stealth campaign to become the new attorney general,” Mayor Bloomberg quipped to an audience at the National Press Club that appeared well-versed in the rampant speculation about his aspirations for the White House.

. . .

[T]he mayor did poke a little fun at [Senator Schumer] over some “nasty comments” Mr. Schumer made about the condition of New York City’s bridges following the collapse of the Interstate 35W span in Minnesota earlier this month. Drawing laughter, Mr. Bloomberg recalled pointing out that three weeks earlier, Mr. Schumer’s wife, who was the city’s transportation commissioner, had pronounced the bridges in “great shape.”

After delivering a speech on poverty, the mayor issued his ritual denial of a presidential run. But he was spotted outside the National Press Building posing for photographs with supporters holding “Bloomberg ’08” signs.

*Is a MBA a good enough substitute for a law degree (not that you necessarily need one . . .)?

Start Packing

The “-packing” suffix trend is something that must be quickly and quietly eliminated:

Though other areas of the city offer one or a few of these services, Union Square is becoming a one-stop destination for those who consider themselves health-conscious, eco-friendly and deserving of the kind of spiritual and bodily nurturing that in the past was mainly the province of spa vacations. If the meatpacking district is where you go to party, Union Square is where you detoxify.

“We call it the wheatpacking district,” said Lisa Blau, who with Amanda Freeman founded VitalJuiceDaily.com, an e-mail newsletter devoted to healthy living that they publish from an office in the neighborhood.

What’s next? Downtown Brooklyn as the Courtpacking District? The neighborhoods served by the 6 line now comprise the Seatpacking District? Will the area the Brooklyn Gun Court is targeting become known as the Heatpacking District? Can 8th Street keep up its reputation as the city’s Feetpacking District?

Free Hiram!

This is New York, not L.A. — you shouldn’t have to suck up to Scientologists:

A Queens legislator — who insists a controversial detoxification program he’s promoting in lower Manhattan isn’t a front for Scientology — attended a celebrity-studded Los Angeles gala sponsored by the Church of Scientology.

City Councilman Hiram Monserrate said he paid his own way Saturday to the glitzy Hollywood event celebrating the 38th anniversary of the Church of Scientology Celebrity Center.

. . .

Monserrate had earlier sponsored a council proclamation honoring L. Ron Hubbard, who founded Scientology.

But Monserrate said his trip was strictly personal.

“I have some friends who are Scientologists and they invited me and I went,” he said.

Earlier: Sciento(xico)logy.

Governing’s A Bitch, Ain’t It?

Councilmembers continue the heavy lifting at City Hall:

One down. Two more to go. City lawmakers are now hoping to slap a symbolic ban on the words “bitch” and “ho.”

Councilwoman Darlene Mealy (D-Brooklyn) is calling for a halt on the use of the two sexist slurs, which are popular in rap lyrics.

“When these words are used, they injure all women,” Mealy told the Daily News.

Mealy’s resolution, introduced last week, comes after the Council unanimously approved a similar stance on the N-word in March.

The resolutions are not legally enforceable bans. Instead, they are designed to persuade the music industry and young people to take the insults out of their vocabulary.