Tavern on the Green

This place is a NYC institution, that I knew mostly due to it being referenced in SATC and other chick lit items featuring the city. I just never thought it accessible to the brethren that I belong to. Silly me, the garden has parties all the time, so long as you want to pay the very reasonable five dollar cover.

We went (we being Nate, Sabrina, Jenn and me, i.e. the gang) a couple of weeks ago to celebrate Peuvian Independence. Though I still struggle to figure out what made this party Peruvian themed beyond the pisco specials. No matter, the weather was beautiful, and we spent the evening watching the sky above us get progressively darker and the chinese lamps floating on the trees look progressively more magical.

Midsummer's Nigth Swing

It was raining, but still, Nate and I made it to at least a bit of the Lincoln Center's Midsummer's Night Salsa Dura night. The dance floor was closed, which was no issue for us, since you have to pay to go on it anyway.

So instead, we danced for free just beyond the roped off area.

Gay Pride Parade 2009

These pictures are very late, but last week was Gay Pride Week in New York City (and I believe also in the rest of the country), which culminated on the Gay Pride Parade, one of the most vibrant, festive parades in the city.

It was my first time going, and we waited for a long time to see Rob and Leonel on the Brazilian float, but alas, the parade is gigantic, lasting several hours, and our feet tired of leaning on the Christopher Park fence. So we left after two hours, before the Brazilian float came by. Though we still managed to dance, enjoy some nostalgic Michael Jackson (RIP), join in chants for equal marriage rights, and have an exciting time outside.

We were standing right across from the Stonewall Inn, which was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the riots. Great location.

A lot of the audience was also in costume.

Many floats had music and costumes. I didn't get god pictures of the Liza and Barbara impersonators, which is a shame.

This lovely pole dancer seemed out of place in the otherwise gay celebration, but she was just too random not to document.

Jazz Band in Washington Square Park

The things that make me love living in New York. We stopped at Washington Square Park to sit for a bit, just take a break from walking and errands, and end up seeing a jazz band playing outside. Great combination: park, sun, jazz music, and rested feet.

7th Avenue Gay Pride Parade

It's one of the strange things about living in Brooklyn, when you go grocery shopping one Saturday evening, and find that your street is closed off to cars because the Brooklyn Gay Pride Parade will be going right through it. So we bought our groceries, went back home, and sat at the window sill in the currently unoccupied next door apartment, which has views out to 7th Avenue. Then we watched the Parade go literally by our building's front door, full of dance music and people cheering.

This must be one of those, only in NYC moments.

DUMBO

Someday, when I have teenage children and I worry about being "uncool," I will remember last Friday night. We went to an event called the Brooklyn Invitational, in an unmarked space/warehouse in Dumbo, pretty close to under the bridge. The type that if you didn't know it was there, you might miss the door. Inside was a temporary gallery space, including an artist finger painting a piece. And on one of the ends, they set up a makeshift stage space, where we saw the excellent Kittens Ablaze (pictured above) and Motel Motel (which got a dance party going), among other less memorable bands. They also served 2$ PBRs and we hung out with a nice motley crowd. I think my brother had a good time, specially chatting with the Kittens Ablaze, who had been at South by Southwest this year. It felt very different, and like we were watching a couple of good bands before they made it big. Good times.

The above picture of us was taken by Seth Betchtold of http://marbleimaging.com

Prospect Park Memorial Day Picnic

I remember one Saturday afternoon last summer, when Nate and I were being lazy in Prospect Park, I had this feeling of social isolation. We were still new in town, and our social life was still lacking. I was looking wistfully at crowds of people our age having big picnics, and wondering how long it would be until I knew enough people to have a picnic of our own.

What a difference a year makes. This Memorial Day, Beth invited us to join her at a picnic in Prospect Park. Of course, since she lives on the other end of the park, we took the subway to meet up with her. We could have walked, but the subway was much faster. The Park is huge, after all.

It was a good turnout, about twelve people total. I had met about half the people in previous social occasions, so we felt right at home.
I find it curious when you get a group of young professionals in their mid to late 20's having a picnic; we are all just practical these days. We had vegan pasta salad, hummus, italian sausage, homemade brownies, cucumber dip, cheese and crackers, wine and beer. Also, besides the food, everyone brought blankets, plates, napkins, trash bags, and games. If this had been 7 years ago, we would have ended up with a couple of cheap six packs, and maybe some chips and salsa, but we would have definitely been laying on the grass with no cups.

Jesse brought a watermelon, which looked hilarious when he was carrying it in his messenger bag. He hacked slices with a machete, in which looked like the best way to release pent up stress.
We played Cranium, the Express Edition. I'd only played the old Cranium before, and this version was as fun as the old one, with some added fun activities such as team spelling, marionette charades, and a faster pace. It's about time we met fellow dorks who carry board games with them.
Here is Beth, our fearless organizer, without whom the afternoon would have been impossible Everyone wants these fun events to happen, it just takes a strong willed person to be decisive and pick the time and place. It's a field of dreams situation - "if you plan it, they will come". I often wish I could plan more social activities, but I end up stressing too much over silly logistics. I'll overcome it someday, probably when I have to plan my kids' birthday parties, and they depend on me.We also took a walk for a bit to the nearby pond. Next time, we should rent paddle boats; it looked like a nice activity. And I chatted with a kid as he fed ducks, but just for a bit, he was very methodical in his bread throwing technique, and I didn't want to throw off his concentration.

BKLYN Yard

It feels like the Gowanus area is becoming quite trendy. Just a couple of weeks ago I went there to watch the Lost Finale, and then last Saturday, Kevin invited me to go to BKLYN Yard along with some friends.

I have a soft spot for the Gowanus Canal. I know the general consensus is that it's polluted, and the area, currently full of warehouses and industrial activity, ripe for redevelopment. But I always feel like I am in a little piece of Holland whenever I walk by. The density lowers, the canal is lined with moss, and there's a certain quietness that is remarkable considering this area's proximity to busier parts of Brooklyn. From a very selfish standpoint, I want to Canal to remain as is. It feels like a safe haven, much like people see Prospect Park. I also realize that I like if because of the Netherlands connection, it's like a little piece of childhood right in front of me.

From what I'm gathering, BKLYN Yard is an open lot, along the water, that is undeveloped. This might be site related (flood zone, brownfield, etc), or simply that gentrification hasn't gotten to it yet. In any case, right next to the Carroll Bridge, this site opens up as if from nowhere, full of motley chairs and tables, and filled with people.

The event had Red Hook vendors selling food, along with a DJ keeping entertainment. The lines were ridiculous, and the only food choices fajitas and organic pizzas, so we saved our energy and only had PBRs. Curiously, the beer line was incredibly short. Apparently, similar events happen every summer weeend, so I am curious as to whether the crowd was the typical one, or if everyone was out because of Memorial Day weekend.

I'm glad Kevin called me up for this. He seems to be really good about knowing events going on through the city, specially the "cooler" variety. His friends got there much later than we did, so I fear that I might have been affecting his game for a bit there. Then again, it could also be his very peculiar sunglasses.


It seems that summer is finally here, though it thought its coming in spurts a few days at a time. It's pretty standard, I guess, I'm just glad that this weekend happened to coincide with the 80-degree weather.

9th Avenue International Food Festival

I've been to a few street festivals in the city by now, and sometimes I don't really get them. I mean, they have great food stands, curious things for shopping, and restaurants set up tables on the street to sell beer, but after a while, there isn't anything to do. It seems that all of them have the same vendors, repeated every weekend of the summer somewhere throughout the city. Then again, after typing the description of a festival, I think I've talked myself into liking them again, no sense in thinking so much about it, just enjoy a nice Saturday afternoon with food, trinkets and drinks.

Maybe I just need to embrace the fact that almost every weekend of the summer, a large street becomes pedestrian-only with a European-style open-air market. And as such, they aren't meant to be mind bogginl exiting, just a good healthy way to do some shopping, get food and spend time outdoors. Come to think of it, I had a lot more fun at this Festival since we were with friends, rather than just me and Nate.

It was also a good way to see the restaurant selection at Hell's Kitchen, an area that I don't frequent too much but seems to have an active lifestyle.

Another great element is the homemade and artisan products on sale. These soaps smelled good, and we almost bought some oatmeal soap (it's supposed to be very moisturizing), but ultimately I opted to wait and see if we could find a local brand at the Food Coop.

We bought crepes filled with nutella, strawberries and bananas. I introduced Nate to crepes with nutella at a similar festival in our neighborhood last year. Needless to say, he really liked them. I was glad, crepes rock, though I really should start looking for a Dutch panekoeken place in the city, I haven't had Dutch style crepes in a while.

Temi and Brian ate crepes as well.

For myself, I was excited to find a Peruvian food stand that had pork tamales. I was a bit disappointed with them; they just weren't spicy enough. No, that's not it, it's that the seasoning wasn't quite right. They were still savory though, and it's always good to have a tamal Peruvian style. In Texas, all I could find was Mexican tamales, and though many were quite tasty, they weren't the "right" type.

Duck Tours

Last Saturday my friend Temi came to visit, and she decided that she wanted to play tourist for a day and go the Duck Tour, also known as the Splash Tour. It's curious, Temi's family is from the Philly area, and as such, she comes to NYC with them rather frequently, to catch shows and the theater. But this time she was coming with the beau, and we were also meeting up with some friends of theirs who live on the Upper West Side, and we felt like having a fun activity to anchor the day.

The Duck Tours leave from Times Square, in the middle of all the action. The tour guide informed us that soon their departure location will change, as they are closing off Broadway to buses. I've been reading about the pedestrian reclaiming of Broadway and was very intrigued by this. I guess I have to read up on it more.

The bus took us through the main parts of Midtown. It was curious, we saw many of the great tourist sites, but we didn't see Central Park, the Museum Mile, or any of the Village/Downtown areas. I'm okay with this, this tour was about getting a brief Manhattan overview, and getting into the water, and as such, it was successful and fun.

Chrysler Building, the most majestic skyscraper in NYC

That's the Empire State Building. The fog covered up the spire, which makes it seem like it's truly disappearing into the sky. Breathtaking.

Gorgeous view of the city from the East River, at approximately the same place where US Airways 1549 landed some weeks ago.

Temi and Brian in the Boat

Ilana and Etan (sorry about the total phonetic butchering of your names)

Me and Nate enjoying the afternoon in the water

Lost Season Finale at the Bell House

For some time now, watching Lost has been this thing Nate and I do together, we usually see it online on Thursday, over a couple of beers, and then I geek out and go to the forums at TWOP and discuss all the logistical plot implications, specially the cause and effect of time travel (are they changing their own fate, or are they so intertwined in it that by actively choosing to interfere they inadvertently cause the very events they were trying to avoid? We will find out, I guess.) Point being that this was a private endeavor, not a social engagement.

But then it turns out that my new volleyball team has some fellow Losties. Enough, in fact, that we named our team "The Others" (they were the badasses, after all). And Kino suggested we go to a Lost Finale Watching Party in the Bell House, within walking distance of me.

This party went all out, Dharma cheese-puffs, Dharma Beer, leis for everyone, a Lost Cake. And for future reference, Dharma beer is stroooong.

We were delighted to see Previuosly on Lost, a local band whose mission is to recap previous Lost episodes through song. And they are a total musical powerhouse, the audience joined in a chorus of Waaaalt!!, and lyrics included gems such as Be my Constant, Sawyers snark, smoke monsters, and the like.

We then watched the two hour finalie on the big screen. It was distracting watching a show so intricate with so many people in standing room only, but the audience was engaged, and hooted and hollered at the exciting moments. My camera ran out of batteries early on the festivities, so I'm posting a link to Geekanerd Blog to capture more images of this awesome event.

Lincoln Center - Alice Tully Hall

I have no idea how I ended up on the New York Opera mailing list. Yet somehow I am, and they sent me information about the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall, and how the New York City Opera had a special discounted performance called Looking Forward, a "concert of vocal and orchestral music by great composers of the 20th century."

Great. It was one of those moments where I had to decide whether my long term cultural aspirations were more important than my giggly fits at operatic singing styles. I've never been one for the "classical" side of things, preferring an unbridled rock concert to the refined sophistication of the symphony. But I made a promise to myself when I moving to NYC that I would earnestly try to embrace the cultural opportunities the city had to offer - and this included ballet, opera and the symphony.

So, I bought the tickets, and managed to get box seats for the same base general admission discount price. I am fairly confident I will not be able to afford box seats again in a very long time, so this was pretty exciting.

Specially because, seriously, the building? It's awesome. I'd heard about it, and passed by the construction scaffolding before. But in all honesty, I wasn't familiar with the project and design details. Sometimes (often), I feel like I fail in keeping up with the architecture world. I don't know what that means about my career aspirations, and frankly, I don't care to find out. I still managed to get crazy with the pictures, so I guess I am in the right field.

For the sake of this blog I've dug up some online information on the building. Curbed - Diller Scofidio + Renfro Architectural Record The very confusing flash hyperactivity of the Diller Scofidio + Renfro official website


What I can say, the massing is exciting, and the glass facade feels modern and airy. It reminded me of a Jean Nouvelle building, and I mean that as the biggest compliment. The design includes some pretty amazing overhangs, details of warped wood panels, and a lobby cafe that was open to the public. I don't know why more theaters don't have a cafe in the lobby, it gives people a place to be before the performance, and also guarantees that the space will always have people, even if the show is not full.

The historic preservation controversies are interesting, as with many cultural institutions. I am still a child of my times, and believe that sustainable historic preservation practices need to allow for bold contemporary design, specially when given a landmark building opportunity. So it follows that I am delighted with the Alice Tully building, and I can't wait to see how the rest of Lincoln Center will shape up. Keeping my nerdy fingers crossed that I will still be in the city when they finish working on the main plaza.

The actual performance hall was incredibly underwhelming though. They didn't allow me to take my camera past the ticket check point, I had to drop off my baby at the coat check. I understand why they do that, but there was no way to convince them that I had no interest in taping the NY Opera perform, I wanted pictures of the wall panels. (They probably thought I was mental, going around taking pictures of spider brackets and silicon mullions. Heck, I think I'm mental for even writing that last sentence.) The problem is that in comparison to lobby's modern grandeur, the performance hall felt oddly small and unfinished. I'm sure it's got amaaaaazing acoustics, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were aboard a minimalist wooden Swedish space ship.

Here are some pictures.

The Pink House in Yonkers

It feels that since moving to New York, I don't go to as many house parties as I used to. I can't decide if this is because I am now older, and that was part of the college phase of my life, or if it directly relates to the smaller real state in NYC. More and more I think that because of people's small apartments here, they are less likely to have large get-togethers.

This weekend I went to a birthday barbecue party at a friend's house in Yonkers. Because it's outside of the city proper, and space is more available, their apartment was the entire first floor of a house, with a backyard included.

It was fun afternoon/evening, with grilled hot dogs, burgers, dip, micro-brew beer, caipirinhas, good conversation and dancing.

It made me miss the gatherings of Austin. This house was old, with hardwood floors, and the furniture had that "found" quality of creative artsy people. Sometimes I miss the sense the old wooden homes of Austin, specially in the campus and west Austin areas. And, most importantly, the house was pink - the entire exterior and outside light posts.

The crowd from yesterday reminded me of Austin as well, a laid back artsy vibe without the standoffish hipster pretension. Maybe that's how all "cool" people are at home when they can relax and let loose. Maybe if I went to more house parties, I would find more chill hippies. in NYC. Who knows. A part of me feels that I sound like my beloved US Weekly in a new section called "Hipsters, they are just like us" (they drink coffee!! they go thrift shopping!!! they work on their macs!!! just like me!!!). I don't know why I am going on a hipster rant, but I think it's because sometimes when I go to East Village or Williamsburg, it makes me nostalgic for the easygoing community I'd built in Austin. Maybe if I stay in the city long enough, I'll feel like I truly belong in the soup here as well. Then again, I feel perfectly at home in Park Slope though, so it might just be a neighborhood thing.

Or, more likely, I'm getting older.