Saturday afternoon, en route to Red Hook, destined for a block party, I wandered by Schnäck. A mere 467 days ago, my friend Chris offered to take me out for dinner to celebrate my first night in my new CG$ apartment, a welcome diversion from the towers of boxes that haunted me there. His suggestion was Schnäck, a place that served greasy fare and infamous beer milkshakes.
Like you, “Beer milkshakes” doesn’t exactly conjure up a delicious idea in my mind. But, being a fan of both beer and milkshakes and the kind of girl that’s willing to try almost anything once, I was going to give it a shot.
The shakes were much easier on the taste buds than I could’ve imagined, at least the chocolate flavor. I had a sip of a vanilla one many months later and sadly, I can’t say the same for those.
But back to this past Saturday, as I walked past the familiar restaurant, something in the window caught my eye: a sign that read, "We are BYOB now...”
What? BYOB? If I bring my own beer, will you still blend it into a delicious milkshake for me, Schnäck?
This is the end of a glorious era for the CG$/Red Hook community. First Lido Bar was supposed to be closing down (a vicious rumor, thankfully) and now Schnäck no longer has a liquor license?
Fortunately, I did find a new haunt on this excursion across the BQE, a bar at the very end of Columbia called Moonshine. At Moonshine, you can purchase four PBR’s in a bucket at the stellar rate of $5 and eat free peanuts in the shell to your heart’s content, a perk obviously taken advantage of by many of the bar's patrons judging by the layer of discarded shells that cover the floor. Also, there's Waffle House menus hanging on the ceiling, which made me miss the ATL a little. It’s a charming local dive and I envision myself hiding out there many nights this upcoming fall and winter.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Block Party/ Schnäck
Ahh, yes . . . NY Fashion Week
Having some time off from Fashion Geek has given me some time to peruse the oodles of info and pictures on the net and so far these are the designers that stand out in the Spring/Summer 08' season. Karen Walker, (photo, left) created an off-beat look inspired by horse races and I would say, treasures found at a yard sale, Proenza Schouler (photo, right) was an obvious choice, they're like the mack daddies of New York design but for S/S 08,' created a mish-mosh of styles, from military to tribal. P.S. will emphasize legs in the warmer season with short bouncy skirts and long fitted torso tops.
Threeasfour, (photo, left) who graciously sent me a front row seat invitation but I opted out instead to go kayaking with my lovely BF Jake, was also a standout, presenting a simple monochrome collection using whites and asymmetrical proportions and lastly, Vena Cava produced a collection mixed with 1930s and 1970s influences showcasing long skirts with interesting prints. Anywhozzy, just an update! Check out my personal S/S 08' lookbook on style.com here!
One more time
During the humid, sweat-filled weekend, a thought entered my head and bounced around: this would be the ideal time for one last summer expedition to Coney Island.
As I skimmed through AMNY on my Monday commute to work this morning, my heart wept when I read these words:
“Astroland closed for the season -- and possibly forever -- Sunday.”
The fate of Astroland lies in the hands of the owner, landlord and developers and their ability to come to an agreement. But where are the freaks supposed to go now that the season has ended and the crowds have dispersed?
Well tonight, they’re heading to Avenue B where East Villager and LES hipsters can take in bizarre acts from the Coney Island Circus Sideshow while sampling pints of the newly launched Coney Island Lager for a mere three bucks each. So if you missed out on that one last memorable Coney Island experience, like me, here’s your chance to catch the freaks one more time.
On a completely unrelated topic, this Onion article is absolute, sheer brilliance. It hilariously exemplifies why I could never be a music critic.
VMAs and new Diplo mix
It’s 12:49 a.m. on Monday morning and I can’t get on Perez Hilton. That may seem odd because: a) since when do I care about what Perez has to say? And b) why is his site down? But it makes perfect sense if you watched the VMAs and caught Britney’s “comeback” performance.
Far be it for me to blog about Britney Spears but what happened? I’ve seen train wrecks. I’ve seen car accidents. But I’ve never seen anything quite so accidental, tragic and pathetic.
Did she also fire her stylist when she dumped her manager and last assistant? Who told her she was ready to go on national television in her underwear?
And, who convinced poor Brit that it was cool to take a Xanax, or whatever downer she decided to pop, before that performance? She paraded herself around with the enthusiasm and vigor of a nine hundred year old corpse.
Sorry babe, I think this is the end for you.
On a lighter note, if you think “Umbrella” is the jam, and evidently you do as Rihanna cleaned house tonight, check out this mix that Diplo did for Pitchfork, which I found on Discobelle last week. It also features his version of “Stronger” by Kanye West, another VMA heavyweight.
If you dig the idea of M.I.A. over Battles mixed with a little Orbital, White Stripes and Justice and topped off with Bart Simpson’s “Bartman,” this is the mix for you.
(Did anyone out there who reads this blog think that I could actually go one month without posting something about Diplo?)
On a closing note, I don’t watch a lot of MTV so I was somewhat shocked tonight to find out that Justice’s "D.A.N.C.E." was up for video of the year. Expectedly, it did not win (Rihanna did) but I’m still surprised that it was even nominated. Vive la France!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
The Sweetest Story, The Gates, Central Park
So, a few years ago I had one of the most amazing experience ever, working on The Gates Project with Jean Claude and Christo in Central Park. 9 other people and I spent a very long week from the crack of dawn till 5 putting up the gates, unveiling the gates and walking through them. I took vacation time, skipped school and got paid a measly $6/hour to work outdoors in Central Park in the middle of February, I must have been nuts. It was the most manual labor I've ever done in my life, in fact, I still have scars from that week, it was quite bloody, but at the same time there was this beautiful sense of belonging and contribution and I will never forget that experience. Anyway, I'm not here to reminiscence about how great it was to freeze in Central Park or to construct and lift over 100 gates, I'm here to tell the sweetest story ever. While we were all sweat freezing through the project, two of the members of my "Crew" met and fell in love and will be getting married next week! I got the invitation today and just thought I'd share with you and the world that wonderful things do happen!
Congratulations Mark and Amelie!
(see photo of them @ Burning Man, I wanna go!)
Monday, September 3, 2007
Battles and Deerhunter at the Seaport
Around 4 p.m. on Friday, Omar and I decided to bounce from work, catch the F train to the ACE and mosey on over to South Street Seaport for some hot Deerhunter/Battles action, the last of the free summer shows at that spot.
We were delayed by shenanigans on the orange line which left us stranded on a train, motionless for no less than 20 minutes, child screaming in my ear and all until we switched to the red line and mere minutes later, found ourselves at Fresh Salt, the coolest and only decent bar in that area. We ran into some old Atlanta cohorts of mine, Jay and Jaheem, and Omar's friend Amy.
After a few drinks, we made our way over to the seaport to catch the end of Deerhunter's set. They sounded excellent, much better than I remember when I resided in the ATL, veering somewhat into shoegazer territory.
Amy had a backstage pass from the Fourth of July Seaport show (New Pornographers, which I missed) and she said it should still be good for access. Then she threw out the two little words that sealed the deal for me: "Free Beer," evidently a perk for those who hold such a pass. She offered it up to a guy in the crew but he was disinterested in testing it out so I jumped on it.
It worked like a charm. Moments later, I found myself snapping pics of Bradford Cox and downing delicious, free Coors Lights. (They taste better when they're free, which is fortunate when they're Coors Light.)
I hung out for the remaining few Deerhunter numbers, snuck into the photographers pit and then wandered back out into the crowd to find Omar and report to the others that the tales were true: the pass worked and the beers were indeed flowing freely backstage. I tempted everyone else with it but inexplicably, no one wanted in on the action so Omar and I made our way back to the area and I situated myself backstage with him on the other side of the barricade where I could easily hand beers over and we could enjoy the show together.
Eventually, Battles took the stage. They sounded amazing and played a long and solid set. The crowd ate up every jam served up by the local math rockers.
Before Friday, I hadn’t jumped onto the Battles hype train along with the rest of the internet but I'm picking up Mirrored as soon as I can get my hands on it. You can’t go wrong with any project involving John Stanier (I was a huge Helmet fan back in the day too.)
Sadly, this was the last show of this concert series. It marks the end of the summer. But in true robot style, we ain't just letting the summer go out like that. The next few days were set aside for some tubing madness in the frosty rivers of Connecticut and after no less than six free beers, I found my way home only to awake at the ripe hour of 6:30 the next morning to catch the Jake Express to Farmington River.
Sound interesting? Check this space for the full details on those good times real soon.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
NY CARES DAY!!!!
Hey Everyone!
I've been volunteering with NY Cares for about a year and a half now and it's been a great way to combat the inner city pressure! Volunteering has truly been one of my saving graces. Suddenly, life feels a bit easier to manage and all those obstacles that have been stressing you out just simply roll off your back. So, join in this fierce, city fighting mentality and mark your calendars because, guess what y'all, it's New York Cares Day!
I'm gathering a group together to volunteer on the 20th of October to paint murals at New York public schools! The team is of course called, LazyRobots and you don't even have to be a NYCARES member to volunteer. To join this amazing team of not so lazy bots, register online here and click on the Register button. Then choose the Join A Team option and search under the team name, LazyRobots, fill out the rest of the form and you have officially signed up for NY Cares Day.
The goal is to get lots of our friends, families, neighbors, co-workers and maybe even arch-enemies together and spend the day beautifying New York schools. We are also collecting donations to go towards making NY Cares possible for everyone.
So, get off your lazy booties and get to registering. Do it, do it, do it, don't be afraid of a little paint and making a huge difference in people's lives :)
Ciao!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
A-bot's B-day
A's birthday started out Friday night at a variety of places including Royal Oak, where we pounded a few High Life Ponies and well whiskies (ugh!), trying to dance to the random crazy music that was playing there. The night, of course, ended at our favorite Williamsburg bar, Union Pool, where we left A to a group of boys as we stumbled our way homes to rest for the next day. Saturday started in the late afternoon with a day in the sun at MOMA's kid sister museum, P.S. 1 (P.S. stands for public school, the museum's past life). Warm-up, the Saturday Summer party that makes me so very happy was on the agenda for the day and it was A's first museum+dancing+beer+veggie burger experience.
The idea of the museum as a dancing venue is quite genius! It's practically a dream combination for me! Stocked with water bottles full of vodka tonics with some slices of cucumbers in them (to keep the, oh so, refreshing taste) we explored the museum galleries first, finding some very interesting and at times boring art pieces. Devoted to "contemporary and alternative" art, P.S.1 houses the type of art that will either push your button, have you look away in disgust or cause a heated discussion over 40oz beers at the neighboring playground. The latter is what we did after we polished our cucumber concoctions and met up with S-bot, who arrived later after nursing her hang-over from the tequila+whiskey affair we had the night before.
After spending some time on the dance floor, socializing with our buddies from UGA, Brian and Blair (also our future labor day buddies for tubing) we headed out to Harry's Water Taxi Beach for some pizza and hot dogs and of course the surreal view of the Manhattan skyline. The night was cool and for the first time all summer, I felt a need for a jacket. It was a perfect close to a long weekend of partying.
But did you think Sunday would be a day for reflection? Not really. Some of us got up early and had brunch at Teddy's Bar and Grill in the Willy-b and had a couple of bloodymary's to ease the early wake-up call.
We headed over, making our way through the August rain, to the infamous McCarren Pool Sunday Parties, settling down with a Brooklyn Lager in front of the dodge ball game. As we gawked at the hot hipster boys wearing no shirts, running around the court dodging the evil red rubber ball, a selection of roller skating-booty shaking music thumped in the background (Allison would have enjoyed that!).
I left the gang admiring their future husbands and headed over to Carrol Gardens for Landau Orchestra's (Jake's band) concert with Bjorkestra. Unfortunately, as I got there the show was cancelled, due to the pesky rain. Sunday ended for the gang at Barcade, one of our favorite bar+arcade, while I took an early night in.
We all met up again at Habana Outpost, an eco-eatery on Wednesday for some outdoor seating, cheap beer and mediocre food, all in honor of A-bot's actual birthday. The night was filled with people coming in and out, getting beers, waiting for food, laughter, plans for a weekend of tubing and overrall catching up. It was nice to get everyone together, yay! I do have to say, even though the food was not stellar (minus the catfish burrito) we will definitely be hitting up Fort Green for some Habana Outpost boozing very soon.
Happy Birthday A!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Jimmy Aaja!
When it rains, it pours and it’s been a torrential downpour at work this week. In the past four days, I put in a grueling 40 hours there. It’s a bleak existence amplified by my F train commute home to the sounds of Mogwai, (yes Jake, some people do still listen to Mogwai) The Radio Department and Johnny Cash’s “Hurt.”
But I did run across one thing this week on Discobelle that brought me a good amount of Joy: M.I.A.’s video for “Jimmy” off her new album Kala.
“Jimmy” is a cover of an 80’s Disco Hindi song (“Jimmy Jimmy Aaja”) from a Bollywood film called Disco Dancer. If you really want to, you can check out the original song here. M.I.A.’s version is pretty much a straight cover done in a different language. It’s extremely fun and catchy and I’ve busted a groove to it in my living room many times since acquiring the album. Can’t wait to hear all the club remixes of this jam!
By the way, M.I.A. is playing Terminal 5 on October 19 and Justice is playing the following night. I love New York! Tickets for both go on sale today at noon.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Oh Rooftop Party!
I'm stealing these from Erin, but funtimes were had by all this weekend at Zophia's rooftop throw-down.
