Laughing for Charity

November 3, 2011 By Elizabeth 1 Comment 
mac Laughing for CharityPhoto Credit: http://standupforcharity.com/pastshows.html#pics1

On Wednesday, October 26, some of the biggest names in comedy gathered at the Kaufman Center’s Merkin Concert Hall to raise money for The Joshua Morales Fund for Children with Transverse Myelitis.

Stand Up For Charity, a live celebrity stand up comedy show, attracts household names in comedy, politics, television, film and music to donate their time to raise money for selected charities around the country. Last Wednesday, the line-up was especially incredible; Jim Gaffigan
Todd Barry, Judah Friedlander, Jim Norton, Dave Attell and a special appearance by Macaulay Culkin .

The night started with a set by the host, of MTV’s soon to be premiering Guy Code, Andrew Schulz. His physical and very funny routine included jokes about what woman find fun; i.e taking jumping pictures and pictures of their feet in a circle (on the moon, that’s a space dolphin). Following the host was Todd Barry, who started off somewhat slow but picked up with some self-deprecating humor . Jim Norton followed with jokes about being a pervert and being unable to make small talk, erupting the room into laughter. Following Norton was Jim Gaffigan whose ode to Mcdonalds comedy routine had one pregnant audience member laughing so hard she almost went into labor.

After Gaffigan, a brief raffle was held by none other than the party monster himself, Macaulay Culkin. This was the highlight of the night for me. If you’ve seen my Macaulay Culkin nail post (amongst other Mac dedicated ones),  you already know.  Seriously, Macaulaywas the cutest thing on stage, first calling out Betty White’s name as the winner before proceeding with the actual names. Unfortunately, I did not win, but being 20 feet away from Mac was ( get ready for super, creepy, weirdness people) the real prize. Le Sigh.

Moving on from my creepy Mac obsession, the next comedian to take the stage was Judah Friedlander. To be honest, his rehearsed jokes fell flat however what Friedlander excels in is improv. Once he started interacting with the audience, the entire room was in hysterics.

The last comedian of the night was Dave Attell. You know how you know a comedian is extremely funny? When every other comedian is standing in the back of the room watching his set and laughing. Entering the stage super scruffy and kind of resembling a homeless hippie New Yorker, Attell took no prisoners as he made fun of everything and everyone. Witty, cynical and with a no holds barred attitude, he was definitely the highlight of the night.

For more information about the charity, how to donate, or to find out when the next Stand Up for Charity event is being held, click here.

———————————————————————————————————————————————–

Filed Under: City Events, Party/Event Tagged With:

The Creators Project and Life on Mars Revisited

November 2, 2011 By Sabrina Scott Leave a Comment

thecreatorsproject1 150x150 The Creators Project and Life on Mars RevisitedThe Creator’s Project took place in DUMBO, Brooklyn from October 15-16th. The exhibitions took place at various galleries in the area. A great deal of the work was technology based. For example, an electronic, computer generated foos ball table, a marionette that mimicked the viewer’s movements, various spinning spirals projected on walls, flashing cubes that one could move around on the wall…nothing that was entirely usual however somewhat colorful and entertaining.

Colorful and entertaining could describe what I felt would be the highlight of the project, the collaboration by David Bowie, Mick Rock and Barney Clay would, in my opinion be the best part of the day in DUMBO for me.

Mick Rock is a legendary rock photographer and filmmaker who shot David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Queen to name a few.  His work is phenomenal and I genuinely appreciate his work and his career. Barney Clay is a director who makes films, commercials and music videos. David Bowie is beyond any words that can accurately describe his genius presence and the fact that many years ago he was way ahead of his time.

With that said, I was very excited to see what is called, Life On Mars Revsabrina scott4 0041 150x150 The Creators Project and Life on Mars Revisitedisited.   After waiting in a short line with a few others to view the exhibit, we enter a four-walled cube of a room and sit on the floor. In the center is a laptop that presents the 360 degree projection on the walls.

The first moment of seeing Bowie in a sky blue suit and tie, red hair and turquoise eye shadow on a plain white backdrop is pure heaven.  For the first couple of minutes one could enjoy just watching his slender frame singing the lyrics, asking if there is life on Mars…completely mesmerized by the Bowie persona as an artist.

Suddenly, the next second in what appears to be a skipping video technical problem is not a technical error, but the projection shifts into another vision, another experience.

To techno deconstructive beats, well beyond the sweet sounds of Bowie into a mess of digital noise, we see the artist through what appears to be slithers of shattered glass into fragments of broken frames or mirrors or something and finally into this totally destroyed interpretation that is Life on Mars Revisited.

I am not one to hate another’s form of expression, because what it all comes down to is opinion, but this exhibit destroyed for me what could have been me mesmerized by David Bowie on the big screen.

The other participants of this experience left in silence so I could not get a sense of what the others were feeling or thinking. I could not learn from others something about what we just saw and heard, an explanation of what took place of sorts. The explanation of the exhibition said that Life on Mars Revisited is a conversion from analogue to digital; mangled and excreted through the cipher of fame, adulation, self-destruction, culminating in rebirth”.

Maybe I can sum up this section by describing what was seen as stencil graffiti on the side of a brick building not far from the exhibit.  It said, “The Future Sucked”. Enough said and oddly relevant.

————————————————————————————————————————

Filed Under: Party/Event Tagged With:

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All at Terminal 5

November 1, 2011 By Daniele 1 Comment

OFWGKTA post show 300x225 Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All at Terminal 5 Odd Future fans trying to get backstage

Wolf Gang, Golf Wang

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All—aka OFWGKTA, aka Odd Future—put on one of the craziest shows I’ve ever seen. On October 19th, 2011 at Terminal 5, while the wind and rain raged outside, OFWGKTA and a mob of fans raged within.

Tyler, the Creator and Hodgy Beats kicked off the show by rapping from the second floor VIP area, then stage diving into the crowd below. As the show continued, people moshed and crowd surfed, though the moshing took down a few would-be surfers. One crowd surfer fell into a mosh pit and I was sure he’d gotten trampled to death. If you’re worried, he’s probably okay, I didn’t see any dead bodies from the 2nd floor as I was waiting for the coat check to clear out after the show.

The mosh pit basically consisted of the entire first floor. Even if you weren’t moshing, you had to kick some ass and stomp on some toes if you wanted to stay towards the front. By the way, if you’re reading this, sorry to the person I accidentally elbowed in the head. That was my bad. Also to the guys smoking a joint behind me, thanks for the contact high and thanks for not accidentally burning me.

I have to say, the show was intense, but I’ve seen worse shit happen at a No Doubt concert. I heard more talk about getting into a fight than I saw actual fighting. For the most part, OFWGKTA fans are crazy, but in a fun way, not to the point of serious violence. Just like the music, it’s loud and offensive, but it’s all in good fun.

If you want to get a feel for what the show was like, check out this video of that epic stage diving:

——————————————————————————————————————-

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Music, Party/Event

How to Celebrate Bastille Day

July 14, 2011 By Elizabeth 5 Comments

happybastilleday How to Celebrate Bastille Day

bastilleaybanner How to Celebrate Bastille Day

Although I was lucky enough to be able to attend an early Bastille Day Festival in Brooklyn last Sunday, I’ve got some great ideas if you want to get into the spirit but don’t have any festivities going on where you live. If you can’t make it out to a French restaurant (which will surely have something going on) or would just rather do your own thing at home, here are some tips to make the day extra festive.

cookafrenchmeal How to Celebrate Bastille DayFood and France are synonymous, and nothing is going to put you in a French mood like cooking and eating a great French meal. Why don’t you grab some friends and make it a cooking party, and then enjoy the fruits of your labor. Some super yummy (but easy-ish) recipes include:

watchpetanque How to Celebrate Bastille DayPetanque originated in 1907 in the south of France and is currently played by over 17 million people in France. The game is a form of Boules, a collective game played with metal balls that resembles bocce. The point of the game is to get your metal balls closest to a small wooden ball or “piglet” as it is translated. Having witnesses Petanque last Sunday, let me tell you, Petanque players take this game very seriously. If you can find a Petanque tournament online, it will definitely put you in the French mood.

drinkchampagne How to Celebrate Bastille DayOf course, most of us know that “Champagne” is a sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region of France. But do you know what Lillet is? Lillet is a popular brand of the French Apertif wine, consisting of 85% Bordeaux wines and 15% macerated liqueurs. An Apertif is a wine that is usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite and as it turns out, both dry Champagne and Lillet are common Apertifs in France. I’m definitely a Champagne fan and nothing makes me feel more Fancy and/or French than a glass of bubbly Champagne. (Am I right?)

 

But hey, if all else fails, grab some good French Wine, some good French Cheese, and some good friends, and create your own French celebration! Because really, I know you’re just looking for a reason to have a party on a Thursday night.

Filed Under: Party/Event

Upstate Sheep

July 11, 2011 By Elizabeth Leave a Comment

distantsheep Upstate Sheep

sheepnoticeus Upstate Sheep

runningsheep Upstate Sheep

closesheep Upstate Sheep

I got food poisoning this weekend, and didn’t really have the strength to put up a proper post, so I leave you with super cute sheep that I encountered during my trip to the Catskills on July 4th weekend.

Filed Under: Party/Event

I Loved Hello Kitty First

January 31, 2011 By Elizabeth 13 Comments

hellokittybirthdaycake I Loved Hello Kitty First

I did, I loved Hello Kitty first. And yes, I know that’s a bold, presumptuous statement, and a little bit hipster-esque and snobby, but I don’t care, I stand by my words, I loved Hello Kitty first. You see, every since I was a wee little thing in the 80′s, I loved Hello Kitty, and every birthday, my mother and friends and family would get me hello kitty themed gifts. This was way before Hello Kitty was super popular, Keropi kind of out-shined her for a while in the 90′s, but she was still my favorite.  I’ve had Hello Kitty stickers, notebooks, pens, pencils, games, bags, clothes, stuffed animals, bento boxes, kitchen appliances (including toaster), balloons, themed parties, etc. Basically, a whole load of hello kitty shit. My favorite birthday memories growing up are def. the memories of waking up on the 24th and seeing a bag of Hello Kitty things next to my head on the pillow. Every year, my parents would get me something, even if it was just something small. This year, they changed it up and got me a giant white elephant. Knowing I was sad that they broke tradition, my boyfriend got me a little stuffed Hello Kitty, which was quite sweet. In addition to that, my family put a hello kitty candle on my cake, as evidenced by the picture above (thanks M.V. for the picture).

I thought this was a perfect time to bring up my Hello Kitty obsession since Sephora just rolled out with a whole Hello Kitty line. Like their Tarina Tarintino collaboration, the Hello Kitty line includes make-up, accessories and perfume for us adults, but with a touch of whimsy.  Some of my favorite products for sale, below.

perfume I Loved Hello Kitty First

Ok, admittedly I haven’t smelled this, but I love the little Hello Kitty glass bottle with atomizer.

mirror I Loved Hello Kitty FirstAnother cute item for your vanity

nailart I Loved Hello Kitty FirstI love nail art, even if I suck at doing my own nails. This is pretty cute close-up.

 

Just be cautious, I haven’t actually used the products or held the above mirror in my hand, it might be super crappy. However, it’s pretty cute to look at, and even though Hello Kitty is kind of played out and everywhere at this point, and I probably wouldn’t actually buy or use any of the products above,  it still holds a special kitty place in my heart.

Filed Under: Accessories, Opinion, Party/Event
Next Page »