From the street near PS260 on the way to Herald Square, the sun was just gleaming violently off the side of this gorgeous architecture:
From my stoop:
Well, soon-to-be former stoop. This is the view from the doorstep of an apartment I came thisclose to taking in Brooklyn, so close that I gave the landlord my deposit check:
And this was on the same block, I just loved the sign and shadow play:
But I ultimately did not take the apartment... because I found an even better one right here in the city! Just across town on 89th and Broadway, a beautiful little nook into which I'll move in a couple of weeks. Many photos to follow.
Later that weekend ("that" being last) I rode out to Brooklyn for my first day as a volunteer for 826NYC. It was a totally rad day. I got no pictures from the center, but I couldn't resist these two from the train.
Peeking out to the Statue of Liberty afar:
And this cute kid reading aloud to himself, completely absorbed in his book:
On Monday, I celebrated my day off by meeting up with Shannon at Central Park. EVERYBODY was there, and they all brought their dogs. This shot has everything in it: kids, landmarks, buildings, nature, a pedicab, even a painter.
We set up our blanket on a lush lawn and had some salami and cheese with a baguette.... Italian style!! I also brought Nutella. Dang, that stuff is good.
Then we played Skip-Bo, which I had never played before. It is not, contrary to popular (as in, my) belief, the same as Skip-It. But it was fun nevertheless. Actually, it was probably MORE fun than Skip-It, because it involved no exercise.
Then we kind of just laid around and rehashed some old Italy inside jokes.
Another only-in-New-York moment: this kid came into the park, set up a tightrope, and practiced in front of us for like two hours. Perhaps he's preparing to run away and join the circus?
Then we walked up to 75th and Broadway (right near my soon-to-be home!) and had gelato from Grom, which has a shop in both Venice and New York. Perfetto.
It was absolutely the perfect day out. Ah, beautiful spring, never leave my side!
I walked home from work a few days ago, on an evening when I got out of work early (read: 6:30pm), the weather was nice, and I had on some good shoes. The Empire State Building was just peeking out from behind some buildings.
The sun began to set and its glow paired nicely with the lights decorating these random trees and the yellow in ever-present taxi cabs.
That golden theme reached all the way to the Ritz Carlton, just below Central Park, and the fountain in front of it.
Now that we've gotten the requisite beauty of New York out of the way, let's get down to the real business. Last Wednesday was the AICE Awards, where commercial editors from around the country are honored for their craft. Maury and JJ were both nominated, and as there were 3 extra tickets, Princess, Ned and I got to attend the event with the editors and producers. My first awards show!
Of course, my favorite part of all of this business is having a reason to get all gussied up, and to see my coworkers in their finest threads. While we milled about the PS Empire Lounge, waiting to leave, Colin and I took some test photos.
Don'tcha know photo ops always provide ample opportunity for confusion. Luckily we got one decent boring photo out of the way...
... readily followed by a "Go PS!" photo.
And the usual crowded-elevator pic.
The event was held at the lovely Gotham Hall, where the editing community hob-knobbed.
GORGEOUS venue.
And equally gorgeous cocktails.
Princess and Robert naturally fell into bodyguard mode (or "Men In Black" mode, depending on your fanaticism with pop culture).
The Borgmans were happy to be in attendance, Ned as an assistant editor and Evann as assistant producer.
... while Sarra hid behind Ned's tall shoulder (not unlike that Empire State Building before).
We had our pre-dinner socializing/networking time.
As the theme of the night was "editors' magic," they had an actual magician performing sleight of hand tricks to an adoring audience. If by "adoring" you mean kind of bored, cynical New York editors.
"Poof!"
Soon enough it was time to get started with the show.
We had our own table and everything! PS represent!
I was just lovin' the lighting in this place.
We got an amazing three courses. This was a delicious beet salad. We also had roasted chicken (with stuffing beneath the skin) and raspberry cheesecake. Mmmmmm...
And what sponsored event would be complete without a goodie bag filled with stuff we usually get sent to our office anyway?
A Creativity magazine, an Avid hat, and a demo reel for one of the sponsoring VFX houses. Be still my advertising heart.
Soon the show started. Each category had three finalists, and each ad was played. As Maury's assistant, I was the one to send in his nominated spot. I was so nervous that there might be a glitch or some kind of problem on his digibeta or something and that we would all be humiliated and I would be fired. I'm only a little neurotic.
Even the AICE has a lifetime achievement award. This year it went to Billy Williams (not to be confused with Billy Dee Williams), who cut so many music videos back in the day - my favorite was Pat Benetar's "Love Is A Battlefield." He brought up his family for the thank-you speech.
Here's Maury's slate! And my name too! Best of New York!
His Fathead spot was good, but the award went to the editor of a Heineken spot; actually, I think that editor was an old college buddy of Maury's. Eh, next year. (oh, and there were no glitches. Whew!)
Also nominated was our own JJ Lask.
And he won!!! Unfortunately, JJ wasn't able to make it that night, so we made Ned, his assistant, go up and accept it on his behalf.
I think he was nervous. I would have been crapping my pants. Nonetheless, he gave a solid thank-you speech for JJ.
And now he knows what it feels like to win an editing award!
Also, Maury presented an award at the end of the night. PS260 was well-represented that night.
After the hubbub was over, Robert decided to take advantage of the top hats that were being used as floral centerpiece holders.
I mean, it goes so well with his outfit that how could he not?
And we capped off the evening the best way we know how: the traditional mussing of the Mitch hair.
You know, it's easy to lose perspective in this business. When you're at work at 3am for the third night in a row, it can seem like the worst job ever and you wonder why you do it. But that night, seeing all of the best work from around the country and all of the creativity that IS possible within advertising, I was reinspired and very proud to be part of a company that was twice honored with nominations. Yea PS!
Last week was fair Evann's birthday. She spent an entire two weeks leading up to the big day informing us that she always gets very excited for her birthday, but that every year she is disappointed. Therefore, on the special day, we filled PS 260 with giant mylar balloons and our boss sent out a mass email telling everyone to wish Evann a happy birthday every time we saw her that day.
For her "surprise" cake party, we ended up having a silly string fight.
Oh yeah, and Evann got to wear a tiara all day too.
Ugghhh, birthday hangover.
But at least Evann later told us it was her best birthday ever.
I walked to Evann's b-day fiesta with coworker Michael, who coughed and muttered, "TOURIST' when I took this photo on the way.
After birthday happy hour, I headed over to the Black Keys concert at loathed venue Terminal 5. I met up with Shannon and Mike, and all of their pals, as it was Mike's birthday and they surprised him with a mass concert-going experience.
They were already having a grand ole time, so I joined in.
We realized that Mike, who was super-psyched about the show, had first started listening to the Keys because of Shannon, who started listening to them because of Kerri, who started listening to them because of.... ME! We high-fived the six degrees of music love.
The show began and the Keys were awesome! I knew they would be, as last time I saw them they were equally impressive. It's pretty amazing how powerful this music can be made by just two guys. They create a good mix between rock and good old-fashioned blues.
I decided to break away from the group to get a closer look at the band who, only a few weeks ago, rendered me star-struck and speechless.
I love their combination of mountain man scruffy and lanky dorky.
I sufficiently rocked out in the front pit area then, when I got lonely, went back up to the 3rd floor to watch with the Shannon/Mike group (mostly on TV monitors).
Shannon and I decided we needed to thrash about and show our appreciation for the rockitude of the Keys. So thrash we did.
Soon we were getting everyone into it. This is all I miss about long hair - its swingability.
Whenever I go to live shows I end up becoming enamored of all the cool things the lighting technicians do, and their inevitable side effects on the crowd. Maybe that comes from my days learning lighting design as a theater major. Either way, this time was no different.
The whole fun crowd, and me with my ripped Black Keys poster:
Sunday I went to the Met museum for the Costume Institute's superhero exhibit. It celebrated the fashion and the iconography of superhero costumes, beginning with Superman. They had the actual costumes worn by Christopher Reeve (Superman!), Tobey Maguire (both good and evil from Spiderman 3), Michelle Pfeiffer (Catwoman), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Christian Bale (Batman) and even Robert Downey Jr. (Ironman), along with designer interpretations and the differences between each kind of hero (born, man-made, and mutant) and their respective costuming. It was sooooo cool. I wish I would have had the bravery to take some illegal photos, but there were guards everywhere.
ANYWAY. I did get some photos from the permanent collection.... this sculpture of Dante's Ugolino moves me. There is so much detail and tension in the muscles of Ugolino and his sons, from every angle, and so much anguish in his face. Beautiful.
I couldn't resist a couple of photos of this Rauschenberg. He died last week, and is probably my favorite artist of all time (well... beside Michaelangelo). He said of his combine "Bed" that he woke up wanting to paint, but had no money for materials... so he just threw together what he had around the house. Now THAT'S an artist. This one is called "Winter Pool."
I left feeling inspired. A good day at the museum will do that to ya.
Last night, looking at an apartment, I ended up in a little Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn... which I could hear for blocks away, as they were celebrating a Frank Sinatra Tribute Festival.
They had pans of lasagna and salad on the street.
... while blasting old hits like "Pennies From Heaven" and "Fly Me To The Moon." It made me smile and think of my Uncle Matt.
In other news... at work I'm assisting on a spot for JC Penney based on "The Breakfast Club." It was shot on a set built to match the original high school and in it, modern teenagers do all the iconic things that "TBC" is known for. As I loaded the dailies, I was struck by how much this one girl reminded me of myself as a 15-year-old. She's awkward, cute, and kind of spazzy - and even has the hair style I used to wear. So, as I sat around and checked my email for the 80th time today (it was a slow day), I decided to throw together a little tribute to this girl Christina - and to 15-year-old Jenna. You can view it here and see why I feel self-conscious dancing in the clubs.
On Saturday I battled an odd, unexplained illness in order to go look at apartments in fair Brooklyn. Afterward, I thought hey, I'm out here already and it's sunny out... might as well try to enjoy the second-to-last day of the Cherry Blossom Festival.
I arrived and was gloriously greeted by these neon-bright bushes along the lawn.
I rounded the curve towards the Cherry Promenade, excited to see the blooms that had thrilled me so in years past.
I walked beneath this beautiful lavender canopy.
Complete with happy bridal couple having photos.
Hey, good for them. But as I approached the Promenade, I shook my head in disbelief, not even recognizing the tree-lined expanse I had loved last year and the one before.
It was.... green.
Oh, the horror! Well, maybe not horror, but disappointment. Oh, the disappointment!
This is what I was used to seeing (from last year):
And even that was pre-full bloom. But this year I was just a little too late.
I was overcome with exhaustion from being sick and disappointment at not only missing the peak blossom season, but also having no one to share it with even if I'd gotten there on the perfect day. I sat myself down and watched dozens of happy couples and families pass by, enjoying the day.
On my way out I stopped at the Brooklyn Museum, where they were running a Murakami exhibit. I usually don't like his work, but this huge sculpture in the lobby was undeniably impressive.
And, on my way home, I stopped through a Union Square gallery to show my support for my friend and coworker Stephanie, whose photograph from her trip to Paris was chosen to be displayed at the Pen & Brush Juried Photography Exhibition. Congratulations Steph!
Then I went home and fell into a fevered sleep.
Today, as I made my way back to the office after a doctor visit, I passed my beloved tulip bed in Madison Square Park and instead found this guy. My hero!
I can't wait to see what he plants for me next. I thanked him for doing such an awesome job. (note the Yankees hat) Elsewhere along the park, people sat in the sunshine, soaking in a bright lunchtime moment.
... though every spot of sunshine has its homeless guy...
The Cherry Blossom tree at Madison Square Park had begun shedding its blooms, collecting on the fauna below not unlike the snow it gathers in February.
Who would want to leave this beautiful block?
But sometimes we outgrow our surroundings, so off apartment-hunting I went in Brooklyn. I saw two places: one a gorgeous apartment, big beautiful teal bedroom, but in a neighborhood I wouldn't want to come home late from work to. The second was in an amazing neighborhood one block from Prospect Park (the Central Park of Brooklyn) but the apartment itself, a sub-first floor space, was rather dungeon-y. And so the search continues. Luckily in the process I get to explore Brooklyn and its diverse beauties, from graffitti...
... to the park itself, and the glowing, sun-drenched leaves dangling from its trees.
Also this weekend I attended a couple of events from the PEN American Center's writer festival, which is like the New Yorker Festival but solely for writers. The first one I went to was called "Writing Out Loud: Growing Up A Writer" and featured Fatou Diome (a French/Senegalese writer) and another writer whose name I can't remember presently. I just love hearing writers talk about... well, writing, and the writing process, and what drives them and inspires them etc.
Then I also saw a conversation between Adam Gopnik and Catherine Millet, who wrote the memoir The Sexual Life of Catherine M. (and her translator).
She talked less about the process and more about her role in the French politics of the '70s, and its sexual revolution. A fascinating, funny, intelligent, poised woman. In other words, a good role model.
