Radical cartography was, well, radical

Today at Mellville House Bookstore in Dumbo. It was interesting to hear about visual maps from a more artistic and subversive perspective that I think about them every day. Also spotted, at least one Built By Wendy dress and not less than 10 men in specs with facial hair.

Rubber duckie, you’re the one

Tonight in the East River there is an unusual sort of race happening–a rubber duckie race from Brooklyn Bridge to the South Street Seaport to raise money for the New York branch of the Special Olympics. Organizers are aiming to have 25,000 racing ducks. Crazy! You can still donate and adopt one of the participating duckies (online adoption is closed, but you can still sign up by telephone). via Gothamist

Hop on over to Pier 1 at Brooklyn Bridge Park to have some nibbles provided by Rice and a cold drink (skip their cocktails and stick with beer or wine. my non-veggie friend can vouch for the fish tacos and I’ve been eyeing the Mexican corn on the cob. YUM).

Just a little faster

A big thanks to the kind folks at Recycle-A-Bicycle in Dumbo.

I stopped over with my beloved bike which has seen better days. The seat was falling off, the brakes were wonky, and back tire was flat, at the very least. The two women were very acommodating and actually seemed as thought they genuinely wanted to help (more like the exception than the rule in NYC).

They swapped out the remains of my old seat for a snazzy vintage Avocet women’s seat ($8), tightened the breaks a bit and put air in my back tire. I love that they use refurbished and salvaged parts. It’s like the vintage shopping of bike repair!

Total cost=$11.90 and it was done during my lunch break. Great neighborhood bike shop! Stop by if you’re biking through and go for a walk in the park while you wait for your tune up. On my ride home tonight, it felt like I was going just a little faster than usual.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Funniest movie I’ve seen in a long time. I liked it way more than “Knocked Up.” I kept getting distracted by the ridiculously fake tan on Mila Kunis. The female characters were much stronger and more complex than in the previous Apatow movies. The ex-girlfriend-as-evil-villain theme was carried a bit far (or maybe I just was hyper-sensitive to that since I saw it with my ex-boyfriend). Lots of laughs and full-frontal male nudity if you’re into that sort of thing (I thought it was a bit embarrassing, personally).

An aside: why is it so hard to see movies in NYC? We went to a 9:50 showing at the Union Square theater and ended up in the second row! How do you beat the crowds at new releases? Do I just have to get my act together and buy tickets online and show up 30 minutes early?

Random Social Connections

On the flight from JFK to Austin, my traveling buddy Hillary chatted up her seat mate, Mark, (or he chatted her up, not that it matters). They talked for the whole flight and by arrival in Austin had actually become friends. While in Austin for SXSW, we actually socialized with Mark. He’s interesting and fun and melded into our little social circle seamlessly. It’s yet to be seen if we will become friends in our day to day NYC lives, but I suspect we will. It’s pretty rare to meet someone so randomly but to actually have a true friend connection. This got me to thinking about how social connections happen in this internet age. Today people meet on dating websites and get married, but when’s the last time you made friends with someone you met at a coffee shop, bookstore, or museum? I just wonder how all of our technological advancements have really helped people interact in the off-line world. Have we lost our ability to interact face to face? Meeting Mark gave me a bit of hope that we’re not lost yet…

Dear Momofuku,

Dear Momofuku,

I am a vegetarian. Since birth. I am not uppity or all “don’t be cruel to animals” about it. My parents were just hippies, that’s all. I did not threaten to sue you/sue you/even consider suing you. I wait in line like the rest of the hungry minions. So why do you hate me? Please give me some noodle soup, darn it. And maybe a veggie steamed bun option? Thanks!

Love,

Me

“craft kills”

I attended the opening reception at the Museum of Arts and Design for their new exhibition, “Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting” on Wednesday.  Such a great name for a show, I think.  Despite the edginess of the title, there was a suprisingly large number of older women at the reception, and boy did they shove elbows to get to the cheese plate.  Grace took some great photos.

“The Sopranos” invade Graham Avenue area in Williamsburg

I was just walking on Graham Avenue in Williamsburg and saw a sign posted about filming in the area. “The Sopranos” will film on Frost and Graham between 5am and 10pm on the 29th. There will be no parking in the area as of 7pm on the 28th. Look out for ticketing NYPD! I was at the drycleaners, and the woman behind the counter seemed a bit peeved about not being able to park during the filming. This is not the first I’ve heard of Hollywood shooting in New York lately. If it warms up a bit, maybe I’ll go check out the scene.

the big 2-7

I was at a party recently and spoke about the optimism that I have for the upcoming year.  I’ll turn 27, which for some reason sounds a whole lot better than 26.  I was talking with a friend who completely shot down my reasons for being excited about 27.  He mentioned Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison.  I knew that a lot of great musicians passed away at the age of 27, but I had no idea there was a club.  Now there’s a play about it.  Only in New York…

Annie Leibovitz and the mob scene at the Brooklyn Museum

Today I went with friends to the grand, imposing institution that is the Brooklyn Museum to see the Ron Mueck exhibit. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I only knew that one of his pieces had been included in the Melancholie (link sends you to the German site, but you can view it in English) exhibit last spring in Berlin. The crowds were overwhelming, as it was the last day of the Annie Liebovitz retrospective. It was refreshing to see so many New Yorkers excited about art, and the Mueck works were amazing. There was a nice companion video that showed the process of producing the life-like sculptures. I was transfixed by Couple Spooning, among others. The description of the exhibit (I will paraphrase here), accurated explained that while we see art, we watch Ron Mueck’s pieces. I found myself waiting for the sculptures to breathe, or blink, or exhibit some sort of hint of life. Their faces were so expressive and the bodies dynamic and real. The exhibit closes February 4, so try to make it down there while you can!