Saturday, July 31, 2010

Nevermind PS1, 5 Pointz Is Where The Party Is At

A sunny, cool (81° high) Saturday in NYC has to be spent outdoors, so I decided to check out MoMA's PS1 Warm Up.  PS1 is a school turned art gallery outdoor concert space in Long Island City.  As much as I hate paying for things, I figured the $15 admission fee would be worth live DJ sets, mind blowing architectural installations and inspiring artwork.  I was soooooo wrong.  I arrived around 2 pm when the doors opened and as I stepped inside the PS1 grounds, I immediately felt underwhelmed.  Hoping the children's playground landscape was just a facade, I wandered into the four story building to explore the galleries.
Holy crap did I feel empty, uninspired and sad by the repetitive theme of naked old ladies, obscene sexual photos and boring videos.  There were a few pieces I liked, such as the bold black quotes scattered across the halls, a Gay pride video installation, color-saturated nature photographs, a silkscreened mirror of a lady's face with a 'T' near her eye and Ishmael Randall Weeks' 3-D mountain range made from stacks of Architectural Digests.  The rest of the art felt like it was trying to be visually hip and did not stir me intellectually or emotionally.  It left me thinking 'What the hell?'
The vibe of PS1 was very 'scene' and dull.  No one was into to the slowmo dubstep spun by Babe Rainbow, instead everyone looked bored puffing on their cigarettes.  I could not take it and decided to leave at 3:30 while the place was starting to get crowded.  

Outside of PS1 (phew, relieved), I grabbed a $4 lamb gyro from the halal cart and headed across the street to explore a graffiti-covered building.  THIS WAS THE BEST DECISION EVER, as I was instantly inspired by the writers tagging the building, volume of graffiti and... get ready for this... my first B BOY BATTLE!
HOLY MOLY, I cannot believe our timing.  As we walked around the perimeter of the abandoned factory, now runned by 5 Pointz, we ended up in the back parking lot where a live B Boy battle was happening straight on the asphalt or "black top" with B boys from Switzerland, France and Belgium.  This thing was nuts.  Hip Hop was blaring in the background as everyone formed a circle around the breakers.  My $15 was TOTALLY worth it now.

I ended up staying at the event for two hours until the B boy winner was announced, it was B Boy Crazy from Switzerland (the guy in red bandana, shirt and shoes).  Below are photos of the awesome graffiti and videos I captured of the b boys.  Seriously this event was dope.
Click here for more videos

Friday, July 30, 2010

The Hills are Dead with the Sound of Fist Pumping

I will bet you a Jameson shot that tonight's premiere of Jersey Shore Season 2 had more viewers than the series finale of The Hills. Make that three shots. The Hills is officially dead, now that the Situation, Snooki and the crew is back taking over our televisions.

We love the Jersey Shore because in reality 20-somethings will act stupid, ridiculous, cheat, knock someone out, pull hair, get naked in hot tubs and miss their mommies. The JS cast is true to who they are (GTL), passionate (about partying) and when it comes down to it they are real friends that care about each other (not scripted--I'm talking about you Stacie the bartender).  Tonight's episode showed Sammi's struggle with loving her ex, JWoww and Snooki's sisterly love as they trek down to Miami, Ronnie's very single side and Angelina's attempt to fit in.

Haters can say that the JS cast don't deserve the fame and money they have received since doing the show, but the fact is they put EVERYTHING out there--balls-out, this is me, I will dance by myself if I want to, lift my shirt if I want to, punch a guy if I want to--this is pretty bold and raw stuff.  A part of JS's success is that America is tired of watching manicured, fame-hungry pseudo-celebrities with no personalities fill our screens (and get paid to do so).  Jersey Shore is messy, filthy and filled with more life (and less botox) than the entire existence of The Hills.

I am excited for this season in Miami and for Snooks to be Snooks!!

YESSSSS...Bebe tube dresses, Ed Hardy shirts, bling, hair gel & lots of black eyeliner
High School Drama, Plastic Surgery and Bad Acting, possibly the worst combination ever
Photo by MTV.com

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Harpoon Brewery Take 2

You can never get enough of a good thing--like BEER!  This weekend, thanks to a Noah and Hannah, I stopped at my old stomping (drinking) grounds Boston and revisited the good 'ole Harpoon Brewery.  Things have changed since a year ago when I last visited: 1) Harpoon is expanding (New Tanks. More Beer. = Happy People!) 2) The Saturday tours are very popular.  Arrive early to guarantee a ticket.  
However, somethings never change like the $5 fee for the tour & tasting (a total deal).  And, Tyler our wize (spelt with a 'z' for flair) tour guide is still here to answer ALL our questions.
While Tyler was pouring us unfiltered IPA, the rest of us either look very distracted (Couper), somewhat attentive (Reese) or very excited (Hannah).
But not as excited as me for the tasting! 100 Barrel series, Belgian Pale Ale are among the varieties they didn't have last year.  This time around I think they filled the tasting glasses a little fuller, so that people would not have as much time to try as many beers, so if you're interested in getting your bang for the five bucks, go straight for the Leviathan.

This Is What $100 Worth of Fried Chicken Looks Like

When someone tells you to attend a Momofuku Fried Chicken Dinner at 10pm on a Sunday, you go.  You don't ask questions like why 10 pm? Or, how much?  You just say yes and skip lunch on Sunday to be hungry for fried chicken at 10.  Well, Jason my dear foodie friend asked me to do just that.

The fried chicken dinner is two whole chickens fried in the Korean style and Southern style (I prefer the Korean) and comes with mushu-style wrappers and fresh vegetables.  We had 8 mouths to feed so we ordered pork belly buns, a tomato salad and zucchini on the side.  I also could not resist the lychee sochu slushie.  Yumm.  I think the highlight was having fried chicken from a platter not a bucket and dipping sauces like ginger scallion, jalapeno garlic oil, hoisin and bi bim bap instead of just ketchup.  Class...that's what the $100 will get you.

Thanks Jason for planning the dinner!  The chicken was delicious, but I think sometimes at late hours of the night, fried chicken will taste just as good no matter how you fry it.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

When Does The Icing End?

Pilot Handwriting, The Coolest Thing On the Web For Now

Digital advertising has been on a roll lately with Old Spice Man's hilarious twitter response videos and now, Pilot Handwriting--the most digitally savvy, brand-aligned interactive website I have ever seen.  Created by GREY Group SpainPilot Handwriting allows users to upload their very own handwritten typeface through a webcam and then send email messages in your handwriting.
Finally, a brand has created a website that is not just another user-generated content contest or an attempt to gain Facebook fans.  Pilot is absolute genius for recreating the personalization and sentiment of a handwritten note onto the computer.  It makes me all tingly inside just to think about it, not to mention the simplicity of the site design, easy-to-follow video demo and webcam functionality is just plain beautiful.  My only complaint about this site and possibly the reason why this site has not grown as big as Isaiah Mustafa is that you can only email one person at a time and the email message (sent as a jpeg) has a VERY UGLY PEN at the bottom.


I recommend that everyone check out PilotHandwriting.com and create your own typeface.  Then email me your best joke so I can steal your jokes and then judge you by your handwriting.  

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Happy Really Belated Birthday America

I WUV YOU SO MUCH USA.

Menhanata Magic

It's been a while since I have stepped into a bar or club and thought to myself, "WHAT the Hellll?" (my last what-the-hell moment was probably Oct '08 at London's ultra club Matter for Justice).  Well what-the-hell has happened again.  Last week, I stepped into a seemingly not-so-happenin' bar in the Lower East Side to discover a 30 person shirtless French Brass band called Texas Couscous (this is a whole 'nother story) jamming to rap music, bollywood dancers with gypsy skills like lifting wooden chairs with your teeth and an all-you-can-drink vodka ice cage.  Welcome to the magic of Menhanata, and the best night you will have in the LES.  My Bulgarian friend Alex was celebrating his birthday at Menhanata (quite fitting) and I think we can conclude his birthday was a success.  Considering I was sweating nuclear bombs and probably would not have been fazed if a grizzly bear ran through the room and mauled the DJ, Alex's birthday was a success.

I'm not sure if this is a common occurrence at Menhanata but I just wanted to warn/inform you.  Oh and the ice cage is $20 for two minutes, so be prepared to down 10+ vodka shots.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

OMG OLD SPICE MAN, I LOVE YOU

"I didn't say your name, but there were treasures inside."




NY Mag (OMG I LOVE YOU ALSO) wrote an article with more videos

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Old Spice Man Responds, Pure Genius

Because I am at work at 9:38pm and have not yet had dinner, I need some inspiration.  Give it to the Old Spice man to inspire.



Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Pool Party Lineup!


Outdoor Concert + FREE + Williamsburg Hipster Overdose = Best Day Ever!  I have attended Jelly Pool Parties the last two years and have seen MGMT, The Ting Tings and Girl Talk FO' FREE.  Seriously Summer doesn't get better than this.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Me & Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones

My good friend Greg Jones married his high school sweetheart Erin this weekend at the Riverview in Simsbury, Connecticut.  Greg and Erin's wedding was traditionally beautiful--the grand ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows and giant chandeliers, the sharply dressed wedding party in matching pink dresses and tuxes, the delicious prime rib and swordfish dinner--but at the same time the wedding was VERY unique to the (very unique) couple.  Erin surprised Greg with a 'World of Warcraft' Groom's cake (he wasn't quite happy that everyone now knows his secret obsession/hobby) and the couple instead of giving commemorative party favors donated the money to associations in memory of their grandparents that could not be there.

It was really sweet of Erin to want both families included in the wedding party (Greg has five sisters which explains the eight bridesmaids and not to mention their dog Mason was in the wedding).  The night went on with lots of dancing (the usual Usher, Gaga and Macarena).  Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Jones!  For more wedding photos, click here.

Boston University Buds, meeting Greg Freshman Year was special to say the least...