Brionna Cosky
Home: Laurelton
Age: 9
Height: 4’5'’
Weight: 60 pounds
Camera 2 Studios  

Laurelton’s Brionna Cosky is not just a model.

A fourth grader, she left the gifted and talented program at P.S. 38 to concentrate on her writing skills at P.S. 176 in Cambria Heights, a  “school without boundaries.”

At three, Brionna was reciting Maya Angelou poems. Now, at the age of nine, she is a published poet herself – one of the  pieces she wrote for school ended up in an anthology of poetry for children.

        She dances, acts, and does gymnastics, and her mother Bridgette said she even wants to be president some day. But she’ll try modeling first.

Brionna  recently entered a city-wide contest at Kids ‘R Us and mom is presently  negotiating with the retailer about a modeling contract.

Brionna takes acting and modeling classes at Camera 2 Studios in Forest Hills, but her guiding force is PS 176's Ms. Katan, who pushes Cosky to broaden her literary horizons, and gives her more advanced poetry to read – sometimes a little too advanced. The womanly words of Maya Angelou can sound strange coming from the mouth of a fourth grader. But Cosky’s mother says, somehow, the young performer makes it work.

Hollywood In Astoria

There were no fans or recognizable stars visible on the corner of 30th Avenue in Astoria where NYU filmmaking students Paul Jarrett and Nick Huston were shooting their movie based on Anthony Baez, the man who in 1994 died of injuries sustained during his arrest by officers from 46th Precinct in the Bronx.

There were plenty of cameras and lights, including one that blew over in the wind and broke, interestingly enough.

The film, which will be a short, portrays the evening when officers allegedly grabbed Baez, put him in a choke hold, then placed him face down on the ground while other officers knelt on his back. An hour later, Baez died at a nearby hospital.

It should be interesting.

Viagra Comfort

The City is trying to ease the pain some smokers are feeling due to the new ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.  In addition to the free nicotine patches, the City could consider providing some Viagra.

Endorphins are the body’s own chemical answer to overworked muscles and well-worn nerves.  Physical activity, such as running, often produces high levels of endorphins, resulting in a ‘runners high.’  But for smoking bar hoppers stamping out the butt for good, the most likely natural activity to increase endorphins is sex. 

The goal for many beer guzzlers and martini sippers is to increase their bodies’ endorphin levels through physical activities with multiple partners.   With the smoke ban firmly in place citywide, providing Viagra to the nicotine- patched bar crowds could ease the physical pains of the cigarette withdrawal.

Would  increased Viagra distribution lead to increases in after-sex smoking?  Sorry, at presstime, spokesmen for the City's Department of Health were “at a meeting and out of town," for comment.

Ground Zero Confidential

Rescue and recovery workers at the World Trade Center site found a true menagerie of items within the rubble – some “ordinary” items, some unusual, and some downright bizarre.

But what amazed workers was the absence of  the large, bulk items one would have expected to survive the collapse of the Twin Towers.

There were memos dated Sept. 11 from Aon Insurance, blackened melted eyeglasses, photos in frames, pens, pencils, undamaged coffee mugs – even reusable paper clips, sources said.

Etched in blue ink on a beam recovered at the site was a bit of history. It read, “Monday, June 23, 1969. Earl Warren resigned. Judy Garland died."

Strangely, the crews did not recover one telephone, computer, fax, copy machine – or other electronic equipment. Sources said the crews found wiring, and tiny bits of plastic that "could have been some sort of office machine – but not one [even damaged] office machine."

The intense heat, they said,  melted phones and phone lines – and much of the equipment. What didn’t melt was turned to dust.

There were no doors, doorknobs or light fixtures lifted from the rubble, no large wall fixtures or art.

But dozens of stuffed animals survived the collapse, along with lottery tickets, a window “squeegee,” $15,000 in cash and coins, one lone orange, toilet tissue and dozens of muffins, bagels and sandwiches – wrapped in plastic.

Among the bizarre was a 1999 Acura, found four stories below street level with its lights on, keys in the ignition and running – with its radio on and tuned to “News 88,” the sources said.

Ironically, when crews reached the auto, a news anchor was reporting on progress of the recovery effort at Ground Zero.

LL Cool James

He’s known around the world for his cryptic but cool nickname, but now he wants to go back to the one he was born with in St. Albans.

LL Cool J, whose trademark name stands for “Ladies Love Cool James,” was born James Todd Smith.  He’s credited as “James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J” in his movie "Deliver Us From Eva," which recently opened to lukewarm reviews.

He’s been saying in recent appearances that he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed into being seen as just a rapper, so he would like to start using his real name.

One incident he noted in particular was a picture of him in the New York Post’s “Page Six,” in which he flashed a peace sign but was captioned as making an unidentified hip-hop hand signal.

So is LL dead?

No, the famous rapper-turned-actor said.  He’ll always use his nickname for his music ventures.

“Oh, I’ll be LL Cool J forever,” J (or is it L) said in a recent interview. Using James Todd Smith helps someone who might have a prejudice about rap and might think the movie was skewed in that direction.”

For more about the man, try his official website:  www.llcoolj.com.

A tip for LL: Go and register www.jamestoddsmith.com  in case you ever decide to go all-original with your name, because that address is still available.