Last night we showed up at Santo's Party House to the sight of an ambulance outside (apparently someone was carried out on a stretcher moments earlier) and only to be told that the Trouble and Bass party, featuring UK dubstep don Joker, was sold out.
Though major disappointment ensued, instead of going home, we opted to meet up with some friends and squeeze in a nightcap at B Side Bar, an East Village dive whose special consists of a shot of whiskey and a PBR for a mere 5$.
We settled into the very back room to consume our beverages and were surprised to see the walls lined with original screen prints from an artist named Brian Ewing. Most, if not all, of the posters were done to promote gigs for bands such as NERD, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Death Cab for Cutie. A lot of them were really cool and for a moment, we nearly forgot that we weren't brocking out to the sounds of the one like Joker during his first NYC appearance.
So if you find yourself on Avenue B, in the vicinity of 12th or 13th street, check them out and momentarily forget your troubles too. And if the artwork doesn't do it, there's always the special!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
You win some, you lose some
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Coming Full Circle
Nestled betwixt the culinary delights that are Taco Chulo and The Lodge on Grand Street in Williamsburg now lies a new bar called Full Circle.
Like most people living through these tough economic times, I try and do my share to help new businesses thrive. And true to my French roots, I am drawn to any drinking establishment that opens its doors within a quarter mile radius of where I live. So it wasn't bound to be long before I set foot in there. The experience turned out to be quite educational.
Last week, I learned about Brostep, this week, I learned about Brewskee-ball, the first ever competitive Skee-Ball League which calls Full Circle Bar its home in New York City.
Seriously y'all, Kickball is so 2000 and late. It's all about Brewskee-ball these days!
Full Circle boasts twice as many Skee-Ball lanes as nearby Hugs and four times as many as Redd's - that's right people, four Skee-Ball lanes. At $1 a pop (anyone remember the days when it cost a quarter for a game of Skee-Ball?) and combined with alcohol, this formula ensures much wealth for the owners.
Here's to many rolls to come, Full Circle!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Brooklyn Bowl: The Hella Late Lazy Review
By now, you've probably heard of a little spot called Brooklyn Bowl. It's just a small bowling alley that opened up in the Burg earlier this year, close to the waterfront. Except, it's not. The Gutter was. This is actually a bowling/live music venue/bar/restaurant mega-complex.
I first stepped foot inside The Bowl during CMJ when DFA threw a party there. The scene is somewhat bewildering. There's a dance floor and an enormous disco ball on one side and bowling lanes on the other.
I went back just the following week to check out Dam Funk and was completely perplexed by the fact that the giant screens behind the bowling lanes were simultaneously displaying a Fader ad (it was a Fader party) Dam Funk's performance from the stage AND a basketball game.
That's right kids, you can now catch your favorite band or DJ while bowling and watching sports. What is the world coming to? ADD much?
On a side note, all this month you can bowl for free Monday through Thursday from 6-7pm during The Bowl's "Very Happy Hour." So if you haven't checked it out yet, now's the time!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Pratt Presents Sustainable Fashion
This week in art openings includes an exciting exhibition curated by a colleague of mine and one of our fellows at the museum. "Ethics + Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion"opens at Pratt University this week as part of a series of shows by the school honoring Design and Sustainability. Objects in the show support the important themes of "Green Fashion" promoting "Reduce, Revalue and Rethink," and features the latest and most innovative in American fashion designers. Some of these top dogs include, Alabama Chanin, Bodkin, Loomstate, SUNO, and SANS. Head over to TreeHugger for coverage on Green Fashion and check out the exhibition opening on November 20.
Damn, That's my Jam: From Memory
Drum and bass is my first love and my long lost love all at once. When I heard this song on the Hospital Records podcast so many emotions came rushing back. And when I saw the video, it was all over.
Not only is this song amazing, but the message and the video will ignite your imagination and possibly prompt you to have your very own Office Space moment.
From the monsters of your childhood jumping around your boring work charts to the realization that you would rather be at home playing records and making music, it's all so very poignant. Also, it's nice to see that the old guys (Matrix) have still got it and the new guys (Mistabishi) are killing it.
Check out the video. You won't be disappointed!
DAMN THAT'S MY JAM (again)!!!
what? that's what i thought.
Type rest of the post here
Rebuilding Central Park
Recently, I attended a small soirée thrown by Agency Magma in their Tribeca location featuring local artists and professionals (alongside champagne and tasty Hendrick's Gin cocktails.)
On display in the Magma office were posters for a campaign called Rebuilding Central Park that my boyfriend had been doing illustrations for two weeks prior to the event.
Rebuilding Central Park is a fundraising effort to get trees replanted in Central Park to replace the hundreds which were lost or damaged over the Summer due to a Storm.
The campaign utilizes a very cool technology called QR Code. QR Codes are bar codes (like the one you see on the top of this page) which can be decoded with a QR Reader that you can download onto your mobile phone or wireless device.
Magma is encouraging people to donate their Facebook and Twitter statuses or their blogs to raise awareness for this cause (which is precisely what I'm doing now!)
So check out the site, raise some awareness of your own or if you're feeling generous, kick some funds over to Central Park. Let's use the world wide web for good and fix this tree situation! Thanks for the inspiration, Magma!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Dear Bento Box
On the lunch agenda: fried rice with leftover rotisserie chicken, with peas and zucchini, pickled cauliflower, cutout pickled radishes, yellow bear sriracha container and a panda bear hard boiled egg, apples and cherry tomatoes.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Another reason to love New York
Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic, but it was the only device I could whip out fast enough to catch the moment. Even the old cell came out after a prolonged fight with my tote. Note to self: get a new bag. Anyway, I'm leaving dinner the other night with my dude and I come across a marching band. Yep, a marching band. Granted we were near NYU but a marching band? Oh, and it gets better. As they draw closer and I see that they're just a bunch of rag tag musicians sans band uniform, I hear them exclaim IN UNISON, "Push it real good!" My jaw dropped as I fumbled for my phone. They were playing SALT N PEPA!? That's another reason for me to love new york. Here I am minding my own business wandering down a random street and I encounter a marching band playing Push It. Amazing.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Picture of the Day
This is so bad ass, it hurts. Praying Mantis Samurai helmet from the MET's latest exhibition on The Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156–1868
Monday, November 2, 2009
Too Late
I just found out that the season for camping Malouf's Mountain has just ended. Their season begins on April 15th and ends October 31st. It would've been fun to reserve Halloween weekend to tell ghost stories around a campfire. A client told me about her great experience there and I neglected to check it out.
Supposedly, for the average New Yorker (one who lacks storage for camp gear), Malouf's Mountain supplies everything you need for a quick weekend hike: tent, campsite, fire/cooking pit, firewood, even food and drink. There is no better way to put it than how it is explained on their site so for my first post as newest lazyrobot member, I'm wussing out and quoting (hehe):
"Upon arrival, the first thing you'll notice is the privacy of each site. You will find a stack of firewood and your fire pit for cooking. You will see your covered platform which is especially nice because you're not stuck in your tent if it rains. There is also a cover over your fire pit. You can bring your tent or rent one of ours. Then, there is our chow box - it has everything you will need for your stay, from pots and pans to a pad of paper and a deck of cards.
If you think that's nice, wait until you see the bathhouse - hot showers on one side, flush toilets on the other, and in the middle, sinks for cleaning up and sinks for dishes. There are also two dryers in case your gear gets wet. "
I can't wait to hit this camp up next year. Hopefully, coaxing my fellow lazy-bots won't take as long as me waiting to look up this site.