Sammy Hagar: Van Halen Reunion a "Horror Fest"

Sammy Hagar, rock star even at a book signing.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar says the group's reunion in 2004 wasn't what he wanted or expected it to be.

"The Van Halen reunion was a disappointment for me," Hagar said Tuesday night at the Borders in Columbus Circle. "I was just hoping it was going to be great and everybody was going to be happy and a big love fest and just go at it again but it wasn't like that at all. It was the complete opposite. It was a horror fest."

Hagar, also known as the "Red Rocker," said even with all the ups and downs in his life, he has no regrets.

"The past is done and there's no reason to mess with that," Hagar said. "I'm in a really good place right now and very happy with my life."

He added, "I wouldn't want to mess with this moment either because I'm living the dream. This is more than anyone could ever hope or dream for. I just hope that I can keep doing this thing exactly the way it is now. I don't want to fix anything and I have no regrets."

He released his book, "Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock," yesterday, which chronicles his experiences from childhood to becoming a headlining rock star. Hagar says that even though some of the book gets graphic, he will allow his four children to read it.

"My sons are one thing... but my little daughters I'm nervous about it still," Hagar said. "I may make them read the Keith Richards book first and then they're going to say 'My pops is like the funny papers.'"

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Author Discusses Women on Wall Street

Nina Godiwalla spoke about her new book at Borders.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Author Nina Godiwalla worked on Wall Street and revealed last night what inspired her to write the book "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street," which gives insight to what it's like to be a female investment banker.

"I wrote the book because I want people to learn and see what my experience was like," Godiwalla said Wednesday night at the Columbus Circle Borders. "When you can look at it and see what someone else did, I think it just helps you with your own career."

She explained that she believes the environment in that industry would improve if they started embracing differences more instead of discouraging them.

"The area I worked in was, in my opinion, a little more on the homogeneous side," Godiwalla said. "I found it was a little more challenging to be different. I felt like the culture was more like, you need to assimilate to what we are as opposed to let's be open and we all have different ideas. The hardest part for me was not having a voice or my own opinion."

After all of her experiences on the exchange floor, both positive and negative, Godiwalla says she doesn't discourage anyone from taking a job on Wall Street.

"If anyone can do it better than I can, more power to them," Godiwalla said. "The reality is, I felt like I made so many mistakes. I look back at the experience and I find it almost embarrassing."

Godiwalla is currently the CEO of MindWorks, a company she founded to train business professionals in stress management and meditation. She said she's going to spend some time focused on her company before starting on her next book.

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Brooke Burke's Favorite Celeb: Mrs. Brady

Before signing her new book at Borders.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Brooke Burke, the co-host of "Dancing With the Stars," revealed last night that out of all the celebrities she has met during her career, Florence Henderson is the one who has inspired her the most.

"She's an amazing woman who is timeless and still sexy," Burke said. "She taught me an invaluable lesson. She said to me that you have to put yourself first in life. It's not just about the kids. She's really affected me."

Burke, who started out as a contestant -- and eventual winner -- in the seventh season of the dance-off show, said that it is one of the few places she has found that presents a chance to really get to know celebrities.

"'Dancing With the Stars' is interesting because that's an opportunity to see people without their entourage," Burke said. "You really see people for who they are on that show."

She also spoke about her new book, "The Naked Mom," at the Borders in Columbus Circle last night. She said she devoted all of her free time over the past year to writing it.

"I worked on it in a dressing room, in my car, at night, in the morning, every free moment I had," Burke said. "I wondered if I was telling too much or not telling enough, or if things were relevant or if anyone was going to care about this or if people are going to judge me. But I decided I'm just going to do it and I'm going to do it honestly. It was a crazy, therapeutic experience."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Financial Expert: 2011 is the Year For Change

Author Ryan Mack during a discussion in Columbus Circle.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER

Financial guru and author Ryan Mack says that even though this country is currently facing a bad economy, this is the year for everyone to take responsibility for their finances and make changes. 

"As far as I'm concerned, 2010 was the year that everybody was waiting on their ship to come in," Mack said during a discussion at the Borders in Columbus Circle last night. "But 2011 is the year we have got to swim out to it."

Mack released his new financial self-help book this month, "Living in the Village: Build Your Financial Future and Strengthen Your Community." He says it provides a road map on ways to have financial well being, but also strongly promotes activism.

"We provide the principles in the book," Mack said. "But a principle is only as good as the person who receives it and is able to implement it."

He adds, "I wrote this because I wanted to make sure that we all understand that we have a responsibility. I don't want to point the finger anymore. I'm tired of looking at other people and seeing what they're not doing. It's time to ask, 'what am I doing?'"

Greed is one of the problems Mack sites for the downward spiral of the economy, but says that if people work together to embrace change, there will be positive results. 

"If you mix greed with capitalism, then you've got some problems," Mack said. "But if you use love in a capitalistic system, you create jobs and a stronger economy."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Author Rachel Machacek Hopes to Turn New Book Into a Movie

Rachel Machacek reads an excerpt from her new book.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Author Rachel Machacek released her tome, "The Science of Single: One Woman's Grand Experiment in Modern Dating, Creating Chemistry, and Finding Love," this week and revealed last night that she is open to turning it into a movie.

"I have a friend in Los Angeles who is bugging me to turn this into a screen play," Machacek said last night at the Borders in Murray Hill. "I don't have any immediate plans, but I'd like to."

The book chronicles her dating experiences over a year and says she went on approximately 150 dates with around 60 different men during that time.

Machacek, 37, said her original idea for the book was to tell stories from dates where she implemented tips from romance self-help books, but her plans changed.

"I decided that was too boring," Machacek said. "Instead I decided to write about the science of the dating process" -- and this is where she got the title of her book.

Machacek lives in Washington D.C., a place she considers a "serious city," and says this doesn't make dating for an introvert easy. Because of this, she turned to technology, including online dating. She now says it's one of her preferred dating methods.

"It's the easiest way," Machacek said. "You just go online, click on people, put them in your shopping cart, you wink at them, or you hotlist them, or you flag them. It's just easy."


This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.