Call me a fashion nerd but I can not stop obssessing over the recent fashion spread in Harpers Bazaar of The Simpsons. Its killing me, killing me, very softly . . .
Check out Homer as Karl Lagerfield!
and the best one yet, the Simpson's take on the Viktor & Rolf fashion show, Genius!!!!!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Oh Harpers Bazaar, How Genuis Of You!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Walk it out!
So I know that this is already making the rounds but really I just wanted to do my good deed for the day and share it with the world.
Walk it out, Fosse
Friday, July 27, 2007
Four for Friday
Diplo the philanthropist
While some DJ's squander their time away boozing it up and macking on the ladies, Diplo apparently spends his teaching kids in the Australian Outback and juvenile justice centers to make music. And did you know he used to be a schoolteacher? As though I didn't adore you before, Diplo, now's it's completely out of control. (Don’t we make a cute couple? Wait, is he checking out my rack?)
McCarren Pool Historical Landmark
Last Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission granted the hipster haven known as McCarren Pool Historical Landmark status. What does this mean for the future of the spot? And more importantly, will pool goers now think twice before leaving their cans and bottles all over the ground and ruining movie night, which no longer allows people to bring in these items?
Thurston Moore turns 49
And on Wednesday, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore celebrated his 49th Birthday. More like Sonic Elderly! Just kidding. Sonic Youth remains one of my favorite bands. And speaking of McCarren Pool, they will perform "Daydream Nation" in its entirety there this Saturday night. It should be an amazing show.
Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem show at Randall’s Island in NYC on October 6
The robots got their tickets (Nice one, Yer). Did you?
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Mini-vacate in New Haven
J and I spent some time in his hometown of New Haven this past weekend and spent most of it roaming around downtown Yale and eating delicious foods (thanks to the stellar cooking of his Dad). Friday night was spent acquainting myself with his crew of mostly guys and drinking alot of cheap, cheap drinks, it was glorious!
Saturday we hit the trails and climbed up the Sleeping Giant Mountain to one of the most beautiful days I've seen in a while. The weather was cool and crisp and the view was amazing. We had lunch at this great noodle shop downtown, which reminded me so much of downtown Athens and all the great bars and cheap foods. J had this amazing fish ball noodle soup.
Sunday we took a scenic drive around town and then 45 mins out to Hartford where J's school is. It was nice to be in a car and the weather was so wonderful. We came back to his parent's house where his dad grilled up some lamb, pineapple, asparagus and potatoes. It was delicious and we had a mini wine tasting (mostly of Australian wines) paired with some lovely cheese. Both of his parents definitely know how to eat and drink! After dinner we sat down to watch all of the Flight of the Concords episodes. See A-bot's posting on this. This show is fabulous and we laughed our asses off!
I did catch a bit of art while I was downtown, there was an exhibit called 101 Dresses and this dress was in the show. Who would've known dunken donuts was fashionable?
Bootyoke
Every so often, I find myself at Piano's on a weeknight and each time I do, I'm usually baffled by what's going on there. Last Monday night was no exception.
After a belly-filling two hours of "dip tasting" for an upcoming magazine article, we ventured over to the LES to check out our friend Amy's guest spot at Smartass Trivia. When she was done the announcer informed us that "Bootyoke" was coming up next. We decided to stick around and give this curiously named affair a chance.
The regular Monday night karaoke crew, Karaoke Killed the Cat, (AKA Chris Goldteeth, Lord Easy and Matt Coats) host "Bootyoke." The idea came about to fill the missing niche of karaoke nights featuring aspiring singers crooning in hot pants or short shorts. This was the third installment of the annual event.
To call me an avid fan of karaoke would be a stretch. In fact, I usually avoid it at all cost. But somehow, it's a lot more interesting when performed by a guy wearing gold leggings that match his gold teeth. Four hours later, we were still in the middle of the dance floor, fists in the air, singing along at the top of our lungs.
Highlights included a powerful rendition of Whitesnake's "Here I go Again," complete with giant gong hits to emphasize the dramatic moments and a full-on crowd sing-along of Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boyz' "Get Low." You really haven't lived until you've screamed out "To the sweat drop down my balls/ To all these bitches crawl" with an entire bar full of people.
Sometimes, pictures speak louder than words. I snapped as many as I could until my camera battery died. Check out a few below by clicking the arrows on the right and left. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
You roll over when I want more
To top off my stellar weekend of fun in the sun to the soundtrack of my favorite musical artists, I set out for Central Park late Sunday afternoon to catch the multilingual and always fun Brazilian Girls at Summerstage.
When my friend told me he was going at 1:30 p.m., I thought he was being overtly cautious. Apparently, they stopped letting people in at 4:30 p.m. So when we rolled up close to 6 p.m. and heard "Lazy Lover" playing as we entered the park, it was clear we weren't getting in.
Disappointed, I opted to sit outside and listen because it was a nice day at least. I hadn't seen Brazilian Girls since the release of Talk To La Bomb and the new songs ("Jique," "Sweatshop" and "Sexy Asshole") sounded good, even from afar. My friend wasn't into it so she left, but soon after that, my luck changed for the better. I managed to snag a VIP. wristband and suddenly I was next to the stage watching Sabina strut across the stage in a skintight bodysuit -- with no visible underwear in sight!
I listened there for a bit, took some photos and eventually headed out into the crowd to find some friends to enjoy the last handful of songs with. The set ended with a larger than life performance of "Pussy" complete with an entire stage full of musicians while the crowd sang along to the classic jam.
Unfortunately, there was no encore but the show was great and everyone seemed content as they headed out. I don't care how many times this band plays for free in the city, it's always good times and I'm always happy when I go. Next time, I'll try to get there a little earlier though!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Where is Maya Mind?
After an eventful and social morning of flag-making and trench digging in Fort Greene Park, I rode the G train back to CG$ (the cutesy moniker I bestowed upon my hood, Carroll Gardens), threw on my white jumper and some big earrings, tossed a ridiculous amount of liquor into a water bottle, topped it off with a little ice and mixer and headed right back out the door. The destination: Coney Island for Village Voice's 7th Annual Siren Festival.
My friend and I touched down on Coney Island just in time to catch the end of Lavender Diamond over on the Stillwell Avenue stage. The LA based outfit's set was highlighted with beautiful, ethereal vocals and lovely melodies but the highlight of the performance was the banter between songs. Front woman Becky Stark lectured the crowd on the use of compost toilets vs. shitting in our water and asked us to believe that matter didn't exist and that Earth was the best "planet in the world."
Everyone around us nodded in agreement when we suggested that we'd like some of whatever she was on.
Afterwards, we made a bathroom stop, loaded up on beer and fought the crowd to secure a spot for M.I.A.'s set on the main stage. Before too long, Sri Lankan songbird Maya Arulpragasam burst onto stage.
She blew through most of Arular, including "Pull Up The People", "Bucky Done Gun", "Fire Fire", "Bingo", "10 Dollar" and, as her last song, "Galang" and played the few new tracks off the upcoming album that I'm familiar with such as "XR2", "Boyz" and "Bird Flu." She completely surprised us with a cover of the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind" that I didn't even recognize until my friend pointed out the lyrics 3/4th of the way through.
She also made a lot of jokes about her highly publicized visa woes.
I'm kicking myself for not grabbing tickets to her Studio B show this Wednesday. It should be amazing. At least I can find solace in the fact that Kala is on the way (one day before my birthday!) Rumor has it that she worked with Timbaland, Diplo (of course), Blaqstarr and Switch. Can't wait to hear it!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Harry's Pots
Just in case you've been dead, nerds across the country are lining up at various bookstores right now for the sale of the last Harry Potter book tonight at midnight. During my hour of, "when the hell am I getting off work" internet prowl, I came across this horrifying picture of Daniel Radcliffe. There are no words, except, No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and
MY EYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Check him out on the cover of Details, kinda scary!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Chromeo-no o!
Saw this on TV last night:
What does "Needy Girl have to do with peanut butter cups anyways?
Type rest of the post here
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Let's go to the beach, deer!
Last Saturday night, Yer coyly asked me if I wanted to go to the beach the next morning. It took a quarter of a millisecond for my mind to cancel everything I had planned and my mouth to blurt out "Yes!"
Thus began my first official New York weekend beach excursion.
The next morning turned out to be closer to noon but I was still game when I awoke and a car arrived outside my apartment promptly after.
After more than a handful of stops for supplies (read: booze), we finally arrived at our destination: Robert Moses State Park. We spent a few easy hours on the sand drinking white wine and margaritas while watching the waves wash ashore and recede. We buried Yer in the sand, we dipped into the icy Atlantic only to be assaulted by brutal waves and a lifeguard yelled at me for swimming out too far; all in all, a fantastic day.
On the way back to the car, we spotted a deer lazily munching on some grass while fellow weekend beach goers looked on or away. Neither seemed to care or be disturbed by the other's presence. It merited a photo from me because I've never seen a deer interacting so idly with people. Sadly, the animal didn't appear entirely healthy.
Note to self: Go back to the beach real soon and next time, bring a kite, a boogie board and deer food!
Diplo + iPhones = Good times
Have you wanted to check out Apple's swanky new iPhone but, like me, have you been too lazy to actually drag yourself down to the Apple store to do so? Shopping can be a bit drab. Wouldn't it be more fun if you could consume while one of your favorite DJ's laid down tune after killer tune?
Enter Apple's Midnight Mix, a series of appearances by some of today's hottest electronic acts in the retailer's Fifth Avenue Manhattan location. Past performers include Mark Ronson and François K. Spank Rock is slated to make an appearance in September.
Friday night, Diplo took the helm and treated a crowd that comfortably took up about half the space to two hours of signature Diplo madness.
As usual, he effortlessly kept his enthusiastic fans cheering and dancing with new and old jams (including my current favorite of his, "Work Is Never Over" -- aka the story of my life) while spanning an expansive amount of musical sub genres.
Although I didn't buy anything, not even FreeNYC's claim that drinking or dancing wouldn't take place there, I heard the registers ring throughout the night and those who weren't plunking down cash for coveted Apple goods were at least testing out the merchandise by documenting the evening on the iPhones on display. I bet the store employees entertained themselves heavily going through all those photos the next day.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Bike For Sale!
I'm selling my awesome cute bike, it's in great condition, hardly used, must pick up in Brooklyn, Grand stop off the L train! Let me know, price is negiotable :) Happy Friday!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Inner city pressure
Sometimes the New York rat race wears me out. Working hard just to scrape by can make anybody question his or her choices in life but as New York City's "#1 Barry White impersonator" serenaded me on my way home from the office tonight, it dawned on me; how could I live anywhere else?
All these thoughts of inner city pressure and Barry's sweet serenade reminded me of something I'd been meaning to bring up on this blog for a few weeks now: HBO's brilliant new series "Flight of the Conchords".
Two out of three robots agree "Flight of the Conchords" kicks ass. The third would probably concur but was out of the country for a hot minute and has yet to catch this new piece of televised brilliance.
Through song, comedy and great characters, the show allows New Yorkers to jovially commiserate with its realistic depictions of city apartments (sorry "Friends", sorry "Seinfeld"), thought-provoking plot lines (would you desert your friend if the both of you were being mugged?) and the struggle to make it here as an artist (coupled with the harsh reality of taking work holding up signs on city streets to make ends meet.)
The show airs Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m. and HBO is currently streaming the fourth episode in its entirety on their site.
In New York City, we dream big. My dream: to be serenaded by those two lewd, nude dudes, Bret and Jemaine. Anything could happen; it's New York City!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
A Moveable Feast
If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.
-Ernest Hemingway
I've returned from staying in Paris and I do have to say I was pretty sad to leave such a incredible city. In the end I managed to blend into the French culture. Taking the buses, the metro, getting lost on the RER, navigating the arrondisements and the plenty of tourists, finding the perfect baguette sandwich (tuna fish with herbs and chopped boiled egg on a crusty baguette, thank you Paul's sandwich shop!), drinking wine (Rose) for lunch and dinner, eating cheese at every meal, taking naps in beautifully sculpted parks, sailing toy wooden boats, visiting some of the most beautiful art work and historic houses in the world and even smelling a bit like the French in the end.
It was a wonderful experience and there were moments of, "I want to move to Paris!" and also moments of, "My French is horrendous!" and stomach cries of "I'm sick of bread and meat and I need to eat more greens!" But overall, the city is quite magical and serene and romantic and full of stories and history and life and the people were friendly and the architecture breathtaking and pastry shops divine!
On my trip I went to Versailles and visited the Petit Trianon, and went to Chateau Malmasion and visited Empress Josephine's country house, and I went to the champagne region and had too much champagne, I spent days in the Louvre and not enough time in the Musée D'Orsay and fell in love with the new Ethnographic museum, Musée Branly. I had wine at sunset along the Seine (sunset was 10pm), I took a boat cruise down the Seine, I had a picnic at the Ile de la Cité (where Notre Dame is) and walked by the Conciergerie, Marie Antoinette's dungeon and I sat in the bars Ernest Hemingway got drunk at and everything was oh so inspiring.
But its hard to say in a posting or when people ask me what Paris was really like. All I can say is you just have to go there. It's a city that lives in the past, that remembers so much of where and how it came to be while at the same time, it is a city that is fighting to be remembered hundreds of years from now . . .
Click here for more pictures :) I am happy to be back in brooklyn!
Monday, July 9, 2007
Mark Ronson...
...is a stone fox. 'Nuff said.
Can he DJ at McCarren Park Pool ("in romantic downtown Greenpoint" aka "the most toxic place to live in America") every Sunday, please?
Mark's new album, Version sees its stateside release today. He will be playing a sold out show at the Highline Ballroom with an afterparty at Love tomorrow night in support and appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on Thursday.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
T-t-tenderoni at S-s-studio B
Hot on the heels of their second release Fancy Footwork, P-Thugg and Dave 1 are hitting the road and spreading the Chromeo sound far and wide all over North America. Last night's stop: Brooklyn's one and only Studio B.
Rewind back to March when I said I'd never seen Studio B as packed as when we saw Diplo there. Now forget that. It doesn't even compare to the scene we encountered there last night.
Shortly after we got into the club, DJ duo Flosstradamus made their way behind the decks and not long after that Kid Sister took the stage. She warmed up the crowd nicely with cuts like "Damn Girl", "Pro Nails" and a slew of others and after a short intermission it was time for that band that's got their sound locked tight.
P and Dave played through much of the new album including the title track, "Tenderoni", "Bonafied Lovin' (Tough Guys)", "My Girl Is Calling Me (A Liar)" and "Momma's Boy." They also played a handful of tunes from the previous album such as "Rage!", "You're So Gangsta" and "Needy Girl".
The band was all smiles and noted that our show was better than the previous night at Hiro. The audience bounced happily, sang along and a few even joined the duo onstage (who didn't seem to mind one bit) for a little fancy footwork.
They were called back to stage for an encore with chants of "Chromeo - O OH!" (a la new album intro) and graced us with a cover of Journey's "Any Way You Want It" (of all things!) Two words: Bonafied awesome.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Questionable claim
Disclaimer: I am NOT a tree. For me to make assumptions about how trees feel and what they want out of life would be utterly preposterous.
That's not the case for you though, is it Six Flags? Really? Trees want to grow up to be giant wooden roller coasters? Wouldn't they actually prefer to grow up to be, I don't know, nice, tall trees?
At the risk of sounding dramatic, that's a little like me saying I want to grow up to be part of the Catacombs.
Give me a nice tall living tree over a large wooden atrocity outside my window any day!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Band together, stop the madness
Is there some kind of magnetic pull that draws herds of Mr. Softee trucks and causes them to line the street outside McCarren pool on Sundays? And has anyone besides me had it up to here with the maniacal tune those treats on wheels emit?
But weirdest of all, has anyone noticed that the chant only increases in volume the further away you get from the trucks, making it nearly impossible to use those trucks as a point of reference to find your friends or your way around the area and also to get the song out of your head.
If I hear that tune one more time, I may go postal on the ice cream man. And I have a feeling I'm not alone.
So I'm proposing a boycott. I'm not buying anything from that franchise until they stop the noise.
Lucky for me, and those who choose to support my cause, there is no deficit of alternates for acquiring sweet frozen treats in or our of McCarren pool. There's a quiet guy with a small cart that stands near the entrance selling "Coco and Cherry" flavored "Helados." And once inside, you can purchase ice cream sandwiches for a mere two bucks.
So please people, don't encourage Mr. Softee. Let's end this noise pollution once and for all. Do it for me. Do it for you, Do it for Mr. Mr. Softee driver. Do it for our collective sanity.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
New covert watering hole in the Burg
You know you've truly found a special place when you can purchase a beer for $3.50 in a giant styrofoam cup, leave with it and drink it in the park with your homeslice while pondering what passes for hipster fashion these days.
Last Saturday was all about some Williamsburg. First on the agenda was McCarren Park where the Dirty South Crunkballers wiped the park clean against teams from Rhode Island and Brooklyn. Then we hit up Capone's for some beer and, of course, free pizza. (Where were you, hot bar back? Olive juice!)
With our bellies full and a lingering hint of thirst, we proceeded to the usual haunts, Union Pool and Barcade (I'm still in tears over missing the Wiimbledon tournament there two Sundays ago.)
On our way from Union Pool to Barcade, we stumbled upon a brand new spot. We frequent that area fairly regularly, yet had zero inkling that anything was even going up. I have two theories on why that might be, the first being our usual state when we walk by there (inebriation) and the second being the nondescript outside façade of this new joint. In fact, I didn't see a name anywhere or a street number on the outside. All I can say for sure is that it was sandwiched between 462 and 466 Union Avenue.
One step inside revealed a cool, trendy spot full of attractive people, perhaps a little hoity-toity for the burg. The best part is the back patio a la Union Pool, a must for summer and for smokers.
Will this new spot complete the trifecta of weekend Union Avenue must-hit places? Will I ever find out its name? Watch this space for answers to these conundrums and so much more.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Coney Island is so money, honey
A couple weekends ago, Sondra and I rode the F train all the way to its bitter end in sunny and somewhat skanky Coney Island.
The plat du jour being served over there was the annual Mermaid Parade. Since Disney purchased Coney Island, this would seem to be the last time this event would take place here and throes of freaks and barely dressed geeks made the journey in tow to celebrate the end of this era.
We watched the parade and even managed to score a decent spot where we could see, quite a feat for two girls who stand barely above 5'2".
After the parade, as if by fate, we ran into some old UGA chums and took it to the next level. Two Astroland Cyclone rides, at least one pirate ship run and what now seems like 50 beers later, we were dancing on the boardwalk and having the time of our lives. (They have DJ's out there every Saturday.) This was easily the best day of the summer thus far. It was also only the second day of the summer. It's going to be quite a summer!
As usual, I had to take it one step further by hitting up a bar in Clinton Hill with two guys named Evan afterwards. How often can you say that? And to top it all off, as we exited the subway in Park Slope, some people had set up telescopes and were showing everyone the moon and Jupiter! Only in New York
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