So, Wakiya at Gramercy Park has been open for awhile (hello, remember Wintour's famous party for her new muse was thrown there weeks ago?), but last week was the official opening of Ian Schrager's new joint and his fans naturally obliged by not only coming, but playing along with his theme. Thanks to an insider that was there, we received this classic photo of Robert DeNiro, Nobu Matsuhisa (of Nobu), and Yugi Wakiya pouring tea into a smoking cauldron in a traditional tea ceremony. That IS certaintly NOT something you see everyday. Though Wakiya was Schrager's third choice, with the backing of Nobu, and DeNiro in as part of the funding team, we're certain he is not regretting his West coast pick. Other guests present included Jeremy Pivan, Molly Simms, and LL Cool J (who is of course a much better self-promoter than rapper).

Gossip Girl premieres tonight at 9:00 on CW as I'm sure you are all well aware of.  I, for one, am pretty excited about this.  I mean I think I'm just interested in seeing how they choose to portray the young adults growing up in our city.  I am also interested to see how Blake Lively does.  Anybody else a fan of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"?  Anyway, I know I'm just being a dumb girl right now but I honestly can't wait.  Last night was the premiere party at Tenjune which got more attention than Brad Pitt's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" did.  It's a sign that I'm not the only one ready for a change and some fresh faces.

We now know where we will be spending many of our afternoons this fall: 380 Broome St.  That is where the famous Papabubble is set to open (via their website).  For those of you that are unfamiliar with this candy from the gods, the store originally opened in Barcelona and has  spread to Tokyo and Amsterdam.  We had the opportunity to taste it in Barcelona last summer and excited would be an understatement in describing how we feel about these guys opening in Soho October 18th. 

Right now, the only place in NYC you can get the stuff is at Dean and Deluca, and it's a limited selection, therefore, we would have been happy to travel way above even 23rd street for this stuff, however, we are happy to know that we can stay downtown.  So, though everyone's been talking about this for quite sometime, we wonder if they know that the founders (Christopher King and Nigel Chouri) are actually Australian (from Melbourne), and that they routinely give away free samples…god we love what those Aussies are doing for our city.  Well let's hope that whoever they hired to open their New York branch will do as sweet of job as they have.

Senator Ernie Chambers of Nebraska has filed a lawsuit against God…and it's not because he loves the herb either (see below post). The action seeks a "permanent injunction ordering Defendant to cease certain harmful activities and the making of terroristic threats."

According to the lawsuit the "Defendant directly and proximately has caused, inter alia (among other things), fearsome floods, egregious earthquakes, horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornados, pestilential plagues, ferocious famines, devastating droughts, genocidal wars, birth defects and the like." Hey, if this guy has the time to go around suing just anybody, we can think of a couple people we'd like to add to his list.

Senator Chambers claims he just wants to make the point that the constitution allows a lawsuit to be filed for any reason., "This is a way to show that anyone can sue anyone including God. It's an object lesson too. It demonstrates that the mere filing of a lawsuit doesn't guarantee a win."

Last night, we finally got around to watching the Weeds episode from Monday night that featured Mary Kate Olsen's debut on the show, and it got us thinking about what our favorite doorman-turned-socialista Armin Armiri was up to. (Being as we just recently saw MK Olsen at Socialista). First, our two cents on her performance. We have tried not to spend too much of our brain power thinking of those two little tiny twins but have to give her props for recognizing and stating the obvious: "If you look at our career, 21 years ago to today, it was about entertaining a specific audience. It wasn't about acting. It was about pleasing other people and making kids smile.” So series creator Jenji Kohan decided to give MK a chance to do just that. "The truth is we're so protective of the show," Kohan said to Entertainment Weekly. "We don't stunt-cast. She earned that part. It's weird to say that she's trying to break into the business, because of her status, but she is and she should have her shot.” We will get 10 more shows to see if MK really can act. So far, she looks promising, but who wouldn't in a role where their character plays a hippie-Christian who gets lines like "god loves pot"?

But we digress. This post is really about Armin. Once in awhile, NY Mag runs a column called "The New York Diet". And it's not about how those skinny New York socialites fit into their jeans this fall. They pick random popular New Yorkers and document what they eat throughout the week. We are a little embarrassed to admit that this piece they do may be our most favorite part of the whole magazine. We have no idea why we care that Arden Wohl eats the cookie dough out of Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice-cream, or why we get excited that DJ Cassidy loves Cookie Crisp and Fruity Pebbles (both sooo good), but we just do. There is something about reading these people's diets that makes us happy, like they are our friends and if we ever run into them we'd have something personal to talk with them about. This is why we feel the need to showcase Armin (our favorite little Cuban's) diet.

Some highlights from the "Prince of the Night's" Diet:

-He starts off every morning at Panino Giusto, on Perry street across the street from his apartment, where he can get a cappuccino and toast in quiet.

-He gets his fresh squeezed juice at Exilir almost daily.

-He cleanses himself by drinking only green tea and juices all day, though not on the days where he plays basketball or swims at Chealsea Piers.

-He really likes the corn and small burgers at his own Socialista, and still likes to be a "bad boy" at Raoul's where he used to work and where he orders steak-frite, goat cheese, and chocolate cake on Sundays.

He finishes the interview by claiming it's really most important for him to not have a pretentious place. This is where we have to stop and laugh, because escorting above mentioned MK and her posse out of your doors on a Saturday night is anything but unpretentious. Just admit it Armin, you are all smoking the Weeds and drinking the Jesus Juice together, and you are just lovin' it!

You might have noticed the recent resurgence in Kettlebells over the past few years in a gym near you. But make no mistake, they aren't some new trick or gimmick. Kettlebells have in fact been around for decades and are used by the Russia's Sptetznaz (Special Forces) as standard fitness training devices. What's so neat about them is that they not only build strength (like traditional weights), but they also build core (think Pilates), balance, and cardio endurance. Best of all, you can get a full workout in under 45 minutes!

For more information, you can check out the following:

Kettlebell Exercises

Mike Mahler's Aggressive Strength

Athletes.com

Is this the new A Small World for NYC, or a an attempt to fill the gossip void left by the departure of socialiterank.com? Well either way, we know if there is rankings involved people are going to compete. Just for fun we searched for Tinsley Mortimer and Olivia Palermo to see where these dueling socialites rank up. Looks like Tinz has a healthy lead over her junior rival, with 167 more connections and a good deal more attention…

In any event the social method behind site seems pretty interesting. It aggregates the amount of times a person's name shows up on the web to determine their "attention %", and apparently they add people's names manually (not sure what the purpose of this is, but sounds like a ton of work!). So its basically like a pre-populated social-network, if that makes sense?

This is Beijing's new Olympic stadium.  And the artist Ai Weiwei wants nothing to do with it.  Specifically, he attacked the "disgusting" political conditions in the one party state of his and told the Guardian he will not be attending the opening ceremony next summer or be associated with either the government or the games.

Ai has a family history of persecution by the communist government, spending much of his childhood in the remote Xinjiang after his father, Ai Qin (one of China's greatest modern poets), was exiled.  His involvement with the Olympic project therefore, raised eyebrows from the start.  The opening ceremony will be on August 8th next year and Ai has accused those choreographing it (including Steven Spielberg) of failing to live up to their responsibility as artists.

"I don't like anyone who shamelessly abuses their profession, who makes no moral judgment.  It is mindless." Spielberg might drop out as well if China doesn't drop its opposition at the UN to an increased peacekeeping force for Darfur or their support for Sudan's regime.  Spielberg has said his overriding goal in accepting the position of "consultant" on the opening and closing ceremonies was "to give the world a taste of peace, friendship and understanding."  Sudan and Darfur issues aside, we are anxious to see what he comes up with.

Mark, we’ve been hearing a lot about your line after you event at Cellar Bar. I guess the first question I have is, how did you come up with the name, Ball and Buck?

When George Washington was rallying his troops during the American Revolution he told his troops to use the "buck and ball" method of loading their muskets in an effort to combine smaller efforts to contribute to a greater good. Ball and Buck took Washington’s innovation on the battlefield and made a revolutionary twist on the American tradition of shot gunning and created "Ball and Buck" and our logo, Roger, an American outdoorsman holding a shotgun.

What does the brand mean to you?

Ball and Buck is a brand representing the rugged side of preppy. We incorporate a strong foundation of American heritage (made in USA) with an environmentally friendly organic cotton to create a set of unique and traditional products that appeal to our customers.

How did you come up with this idea of the “pocket tee”?

Being from Atlanta, the pocket tee is a very popular choice in the college wardrobe as it is truly an original American tradition. Ball and Buck took this tradition another step by incorporating recycled fabrics and making unique and original pocket tee's out of those fabrics with100% certified organic cotton shirts. The Ball and Buck Pocket Tees give customers a way to express their individuality through understated style.

How do you balance school and building a business?

I do my best work when I am under a completely full schedule. In fact, I actually get better grades in class when I have multiple obligations in my life. For example, when I was starting Ball and Buck, I was consulting for three companies, overloading my class schedule, acting as the president of Greek Council and Invenio Group, writing a CD in my band, and still managed to achieve the highest GPA of my entire Babson career. I guess I was just meant to operate under pressure.

Wow. Do you have any advice for college students about juggling multiple activities? Looks like you’ve gotten it down to a science…

Recently you had an event at the Bryant Park Hotel. How did you think your event turned out?
It was an absolute dream to work with the Bryant Park Hotel and Red Carpet Events during Fashion Week 2009. Our runway show in their Cellar Bar was a great success and we really spread the word about Ball and Buck – we even got written up in Time Out New York!

How’d it feel to see your name in the press? Were you excited?

What types of clothes can we expect to see from Ball and Buck in the near future?
The Ball and Buck product line will always incorporate its Original Pocket Tee's but we are incorporating a new product line called Roger's Frontier. In this new line our design team considers the current trends in fashion and uses them to influence our Ball and Buck traditional style.

Where would you like to see the brand in 5 years?

In five years, Ball and Buck is going to be a force in the fashion industry bringing together unique style with environmentally and socially friendly manufacturing. We will have retail locations in Boston, New York, LA, as well as a large online store (presence).

We love them already. For more information, visit ballandbuck.com

[Pocket tees, totally cute.]

[Stutting. Love it!]

xoxoxo,

GofG

Even though the One Laptop One Child program has missed its initial target price of $100 for their laptop and the price is moving steadily north towards $200, we still love this program and its vision of trying to bring efficient and cost-effective laptops to children in developing countries.  These laptops also look awesome!  It kind of makes us a bit jealous…and wish we were Starvin Marvin for a second…we these things look a lot cooler than our laptops which we've spend 10 times as much on…

Yesterday was the 7th annual International pickle fest on the Lower East Side where New Yorkers lined up for blocks for free pickles and consumned over 50,000 of the things.  The area used to be the center of the pickle industry 100 years ago when immigrants dreamed of one day owning their own pickle carts.  Geez, people here REALLY love their pickles (insert obvious jokes). 

[photos from AMny]