Archive for April, 2008
Kevin Brings A Taste Of Nepal To The UES
Last week, I took a personal day. I shopped the boutiques on Third Ave., treated myself to no sugar-added Moose Tracks at Sedutto, and passed over my usual mani/pedi joint for Mimi’s Nail & Spa on First and 80th. There’s nothing so special about Mimi’s – from the outside, it looks like another run of the mill mani/pedi place where “spa” means “pedicures in green gelatinous goo accompanied by sub-par back rubs.” I went there because, after a horrible mani/pedi at Dashing Diva, I was weary of overpaying, but still wanted some novelty. And novelty I did get!
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Collective Consciousness
Tomorrow night, The Alzheimer’s Association, NYC Chapter Junior Committee is hosting their gala at TenJune with Honorary Chair Natalie Morales from the NBC Today Show. There will be a silent auction, cocktails, and hor d’ouvres and dancing. This is an amazing organization that is supporting a disease that 5.2 million people in the U.S. alone are dealing with. Tickets will not be available at the door so make sure you go HERE and buy yours before tomorrow night.
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My Afternoon With Fashion Designer Keith Lissner
[Getting fitted by Keith Lissner]
I have been fitted for dresses before, don’t get me wrong. Bridesmaids, prom, and the occasional dress that just needs a tweaking here and there. But, never has the actual designer of the dress I’m wearing PERSONALLY fit me for their creation. This is why, when Keith Lissner offered to for an event I will be attending, I felt like I was in a fairy tale. Keith’s gowns have draped everyone from Janet Jackson, to Charlize Theron, to New York socials like Paris Hilton and Leven Rambin…something I have to remember around him, a friend that is just as fantastic and beautiful as the clothes he creates. I knew, when he offered, that I was in for a treat, and was counting down the days until our fitting would take place. It turned out of course, to be everything you would imagine it would be.
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Interview With Band ‘Backwords’
[Brian Russ with "Backwords"]
It’s no secret anymore that Brooklyn is the new spot for emerging artists. Some have called it an invasion, but really, in the windows of the old factory buildings there is a new sort of production abuzz. Ironically enough, Backwords’ first album is titled Factory Angels, and is a tribute to the sweeping changes in American landscape and sound. Songwriter Brian Russ’s music is an emulation of his own experiences—from volunteering on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, to teaching computers in Crown Heights, to moonlighting as a musician. The band is headlining their first show at Southpaw this Thursday, 5/1. He speaks to GofG about Brooklyn, music’s pending revolution, and why the 60’s are a state of mind.
Why do you spell your name wrong?
Well our cosmic spiritual healer friend, Jenelle, once got a tattoo sewn on the center of her back. The tattoo simply said, “is” and it completely blew my mind. What an amazing word - “is.” Humans do so many great things. By the nature of our being we define the word “is.” So I thought, “words on a person’s back… Yes, that’s right - backwords!” Plus it reminded me of the way the Beatles misspelled their name on purpose.
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Gilty Pleasures
For the pretentious bargain shoppers among us (oxymoron?): If sample sales, Century 21 and Woodbury Common are too plebeian for you, get yourself a membership with Gilt Groupe. Gilt Groupe is an invite-only cache of rotating, 36-hour designer sales. Think of it as a glamorous incarnation of the “friends and family” shopping event. But don’t expect to find the big, commercialized guns – the Ralph Laurens and Calvin Kleins of this world – on the Gilt Groupe site. Instead, they have partnered with smaller brands that we have come to know and love.
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“Art” Is Anything Surrounded By Plexiglass
[Photo via cherryflava.com]
Wow. Hawking things to tourists in New York has always been something of a slam dunk, what with the streaming hordes of Midwestern wide-eyed visitors. But now, it’s like selling sand at the beach. The latest creative scam venture: Selling New York garbage back to New Yorkers (and its tourists) under the guise of commemorating history. Yay, hermetically sealed refuse that reminds me how hospitable our city is to vermin and disease! I’m already on the waiting list.
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If This Was The Bachelorette, This BIRTHDAY Party Would Get A Rose
Go HERE for more photos from this event by Alex Iravani.
When the fabulous Devorah Rose (editor in chief of Social Life Magazine) throws a birthday party, you don\’t miss it. Or at least, I never would. Last night was Devorah\’s birthday party at (now defunct) Jour et Nuit, which was a veritable treasure trove of beauties, socials, PR mavericks, models, writers, good food, good drinks and over the top entertainment. YES, there was entertainment!! What started as a Swan Lake performance quickly broke down to an all out throw down show down with barely there outfits on ladies bumping and grinding to Janet Jackson\’s Feedback. Ballet to hip hop - count me in! The place was hopping, people were mixing and flashbulbs were going off in every corner of the room. If you were there, you know what I mean. Seriously, Mariah Carey probably couldn\’t get as many cameras at her party!
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Farewell Jour Et Nuit…Hello ____?
As of yesterday Jour et Nuit has closed its doors. This favorite hotspot of GuestofaGuest was home to many Monday night Rockband parties. It was the brainchild of twin brothers Derek and Daniel Koch, who began their restaurateur tutelage at Le Bilbouquet.
According to the horse’s mouth, business was thriving and was not the reason for the closing, but rather a constricting and costly lease dispute with their landlord that has dragged on in the courts since JEN’s inception. More »
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How The Hamptons Magazine Knows Where It’s At
Go HERE for more photos from this event by Antwan Duncan.
Okay, we have to admit we used to judge Hamptons Magazine by its carriers. They were the accessory of the pinkest and greenest and grosgrained denizens of the country club where we worked last summer. Ugh, we thought. Muffy hits the links, or how to fire your horse groomer without upsetting the noble steed. So when opportunity arose to attend the mag’s June Green Issue bash, we were initially skeptical. What made us change our minds?
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Lights, Camera, BAM!
This past January you may have been bsuy with many not entirely horrible things. Maybe you were shoveling snow. Maybe you were making shrimp gumbo with turnips. Maybe you were plotting the hostile take over of all New York City debt collectors, Fight Club style. Whatever it was, it probably couldn’t compare to the Sundance Film Festival because there’s nothing like sneaking a warm flask of bourbon into a theater while standing ten feet away from Parker Posey during Q&A sessions with uber-serious documentary filmmakers. They use words like “solipsistic” and “resonant” when discussing their “craft” and throw free party schwag into the audience as payment for their rapt attention.
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