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"Does having a DNA connection automatically make you family? For me, the answer is no. The roles we play in each other’s lives are only as powerful as the trust and connection between us - the protection, safety, and caring we are willing to share."
Oprah (via thisdizzylifeofmine)
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This is the real value of money. All “money” is is a piece of paper. If I wanted to, I could give a value to wood, and buy things with wood.
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Fuerza Bruta: Look Up Review
This past weekend I had the pleasure of experiencing the off-Broadway hit Fuerza Bruta: Look Up. I had seen plenty of ads for it on the subway and thought it was definitely of interest to me, but never quite committed any time to going. Luckily, my brother bought me tickets to a showing of Fuerza Bruta for my birthday.
Right off the bat, I have to say this show probably isn’t for everyone. It is not your normal theatergoing experience. For one, you will have to stand the entire time because the spectators and performers share the stage. I enjoyed this because there are points in the show where you get to interact with the performers and take part in their seemingly random dances and confetti-fests. The performers themselves are very friendly and want to get you involved. The “running-man” of the show, John Hartzell, even took a photo on stage with my girlfriend, who attended the show with me.
Also, you will be forced to move from place to place on the stage for changes in the set. This can be very uncomfortable because the stage crew will pack you and your fellow audience members together like sardines. At times this can detract from the experience of the show. It can also be discouraging to shorter audience members if they end up behind someone very tall. However, if you are a real New Yorker, you spend half your life standing around, side by side, with people you don’t know during commutes on the train or bus. I wasn’t bothered too much by this aspect of Fuerza Bruta, but if you think you may be, you have been warned.
As for the actual show, I have to admit there is nothing spectacular about it. The show doesn’t have any dialogue, though I’m positive I saw the performers shouting to each other every once in a while. However, whatever they were saying was drowned out by the loud, electro music that set the tone for the entire performance. The show also doesn’t have spectacular choreography for the portions that involve dancing. The dancing, in fact, basically involves the performers dancing and you dancing along with them.
Half of the time you will be watching a man in a white suit run, get shot, and attempt to continue running, crashing through walls and barriers along the way. The other half of the time you will watch an overheard pool, home to the spectacle of four performers who will swim, smash and stare at their onlookers imperviously, knowing there is a secure barrier between their fun and your wonder.
If you are looking to go out for an hour, dance around, get pushed around, get wet and watch an unexplainable show all at the same time, then this show is for you. I enjoyed it because watchingFuerza Bruta felt like being in a club that was conceived by Dali but run by Duchamp. It is quite artistic, from the music to the set to the pool to the performers and to the way all of those things mesh together. At the same time, however, the show achieves nothing (though a quick flip through the program will reveal that that is exactly what’s at work). I align the show with club-going because I think the type of people who will enjoy the show most are younger individuals who like to dance and party and bask in the nothingness that is achieved by doing so.
Despite the fact thatFuerza Bruta seems to be a hodge-podge of disconnected acts, I found the visual spectacle of it all very interesting. Without giving away too much, I will let you know that many bungee cords are involved; moving strobe lights illuminate the stage; performers will be as close as next to you and as far as the ceiling; smoke and confetti will cover the stage (and possibly you); you will get wet, and it can vary depending on how much you interact with the show. For the record, my girlfriend and I were soaked and it was exhilarating. Like I said, this is not your normal theatergoing experience.
For students who are interested, a student discount is available forFuerza Bruta showings during the Student Rush. The Student Rush occurs two hours before each show time and makes $25 tickets available to college students on a first-come, first-serve basis (actual price is $79). Claim your student savings during the Student Rush! For more information about show times and Fuerza Bruta: Look Up, visit www.fuerzabrutanyc.com.
Photo Credit: http://www.donhall.blogspot.com
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The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing
—Oscar Widle
(I am posting this quote in an effort to combat my own cynicism!)
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Student Eats In East Village
The sole ambition of a college student with free time is to find something to do without accomplishing anything. Because after all, it takes a lot of effort to juggle going to classes, doing homework, participating in clubs/athletics and other extracurriculars, writing papers, reading assignments; the list goes on. With so much being accomplished on a weekly basis by students, when free time does roll around, sometimes you just want to turn off your brain and find something to do that requires no effort. When all of your free time escapades succeed or fail, hunger may beckon.
Whether you dorm or commute, there are reasons to covet a decent meal. Resident students know that no matter how good on-campus eateries may be, there’s always going to be a craving for a home-cooked meal or a dish from your favorite restaurant back home. Commuter students can relate because setting aside time to eat can be tough when you have to spend time traveling to and from school.
For students of New York City, I’ve outlined a few recommendations for when that free time rolls around:
- Pommes Frites – If you are ever in the mood for a simple snack, Pommes Frites is the place to go. They specialize in making delicious Belgian fries, cooked to a perfect crisp. They offer a generous variety of sauces (20+) and they are a must have with your order, especially if you’re looking for a change of pace from ketchup, mayo and mustard. Service is quick and they even offer samples of the sauces before you pick so take advantage.
Located at 123 2nd Ave between E. 7th Street and St. Marks Place
- Punjabi Deli – I have had my fair share of Indian food and can safely say that Punjabi Grocery and Deli is an excellent spot if you’re craving Indian food or looking to try it for the first time. Be forewarned: much of the food is pretty spicy. But it is one of the most inexpensive Indian food joints and they offer various vegetable Indian specialties over rice or roti, samosas and even chai tea. It’s a small establishment, but definitely worth trying once.
Located at 114 E. 1st Street between 1st Ave and Ave A
- Momofuku Noodle Bar – Momofuku is definitely a unique Asian fusion establishment. It is a popular spot for dinner so you should definitely expect a wait or arrive at opening. Their ramen noodles are delicious, though a bit pricy. You can enjoy a large dinner of two whole fried chickens (one southern fried, one Korean fried), however the chicken is by reservation only. If all else fails for you here, you may find solace in ordering the pork buns. They are so good you are going to want to place an order of pork buns to go after you’ve tried them.
Located at 171 1st Ave between 10th and 11th Streets
- Oaxaca – Oaxaca Taqueria comes to Manhattan after seeing success with its 3 Brooklyn storefronts. The restaurant is sleek and clean upon entering and they have plenty of interesting taco options from chicken, pork or fish to vegetarian selections like potatoes or beans. They also have great savings during taco happy hour featured on the coupon posted below. Definitely check them out if you’re looking for tasty, cheap tacos.
Located at 16 Extra Place off of E. 1st Street
Photo Credit: www.DeadOceans.com
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Beyonce: 4 Album Review
Beyoncé Knowles’ fourth studio release, aptly titled 4, hits shelves this week. Beyoncé has been hard at work since her last album release. Her productivity has been cited as “overwhelming” to Columbia, her record label. Beyoncé continues to be one of the most talented and hardest-working singers in the world. It is because of this fact that fans are sure to be pleased with her latest project.
The album opens with a beautiful number in ‘1+1’, a ballad that finds Beyoncé crooning in a way other artists simply can’t (and at times maybe in ways others don’t want to). What’s impressive, however, is the soulful feel that the track possesses. Beyoncé delivers real R&B, or what today’s popular radio stations have made old R&B. ‘I Care’ takes a turn towards showcasing Beyoncé’s vocal intensity while still being a meaningful song with old-school production value as the drums boom and the synth keys vibe.
The third song, ‘I Miss You’, changes the pace without changing how enjoyable the album is. The song feels sappy because of simplistic production and generic lyrics. Anyone could have performed this song and have made it decent, but as Beyoncé often does, she makes it her own. From here, we move into one of the singles of the album ‘Best Thing I Never Had.’ Though it has pop appeal, there’s more to this song than meets the ear. It’s radio-friendly, but still manages to contain a wealth of compositional appeal with unwavering piano play and significant lyrics.
At this point, 4 takes a hip-hop intermission with ‘Party’. Accompanied by Kanye West and Andre 3000, Beyoncé does nothing special, allowing doubled vocals to fill out the simple-but-effective ‘Ye produced beat. Keeping in line with the album’s old-school appeal, however, the beat samples Slick Rick’s ‘La Di Da Di’ and sounds more like a classic rap party jam than today’s club-centric rap music.
Next on the agenda is ‘Rather Die Young’, debatably Beyoncé’s finest moment on 4. It includes everything we expect from Beyoncé vocally and continues to back-track through musical generations compositionally, sounding very inspired by The Supremes, particularly during the chorus. Then there is ‘Start Over’, the first song that doesn’t possess the same classic influence as everything else on the album thus far. Beyoncé attempts to make-up for this with a high-volume performance.
The volume doesn’t turn down as 4 presents us with ‘Love On Top.’ This is a very fun song and once again very throwback R&B melodically. The album stays fun and light with ‘Countdown’, a track laden with brass horns, prominent percussion and even steel drums. Also very interesting is the “countdown” chorus that goes, “My baby is a 10/We dressing through the 9/He pick me up in 8/Make me feel so lucky 7/He kiss me in his 6/We be making love in 5/Still the one I do this 4/I’m trying to make a 3/From that 2/He still the 1.” The horns don’t disappear as the album continues with ‘End Of Time’. The song has a repetitive chorus and doesn’t stand out vocally, but it keeps the album balanced by maintaining the fun, fast-paced attitude that characterizes the middle of 4.
Beyoncé delivers a strong finale with ‘I Was Here.’ Though emotional in its own right, it lacks something that the rest of the ballads on 4 seem to own: uniqueness, classical influence and a bit of experimentation. ‘I Was Here’ is very by-the-book and though an excellent way to wrap things up, not quite a show-stopper.
Ironically enough, the show doesn’t stop with ‘I Was Here.’ For whatever reason, ‘Run The World (Girls)’, a song that would fit better with the up-tempo middle section of the album, appears as the final track on 4. If ‘Run The World’ needed to remain last, ‘I Was Here’ should have been moved to better serve the continuity of the album that way it could really go out with a bang.
Overall, fans of Beyoncé and fans of R&B will be very pleased and pleasantly surprised considering the fact that the singles used to promote the album don’t highlight the things that really make 4 an impressive body of work.
Photo Credit: © Copyright Columbia Records - 2011
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Advice for the Day
When a women tells you about her problems, it doesn’t mean she’s complaining…
It means she trusts you
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(Source: riswillspartyon)
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Do You Know Your Value?
“Is that Picasso?”
It is reported that a tourist approached Picasso at a Paris cafe to ask him to sketch her. Moments later Picasso handed her a drawing saying: “That will be 5,000 francs.” “It only took you 10 minutes.”, she said. “No, Picasso said, “It took me a lifetime.”
Your knowledge and experience communicate your value.
Value your knowledge. Be wise with your time and where you invest it.
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DVP in NYC
As we continue to enjoy the changing of the seasons in 2011 and welcome the warmer weather, one group of people will be embracing this change through dance. Dances For A Variable Population (or DVP) is a dancing company headed by choreographer Naomi Goldberg Haas. As the name implies, DVP is a group that knows no boundaries when it comes to the gender, race, or age of its members. Polished dancers and enthusiastic amateurs grace the stage together, led by Haas, orchestrating performances in contemporary dance.
This week, starting on Wednesday June 22nd and running until Saturday June 25th, DVP will be performing in the newly renovated Washington Square Park, located downtown in Greenwich Village at the base of 5th Avenue. The eastern side of the park had been closed since late 2007 because of a continuing restoration project, but was re-opened June 2nd of this year. The re-opening was delayed as the eastern end renovations were originally supposed to be finished by Fall 2010.
In any case, DVP welcomes the changes the park has undergone and will have this sentiment on full display throughout the week as they stage their performances on the re-opened eastern side of Washington Square Park. Each day’s performance will begin at 6:30 P.M. with a pre-show beginning at 6:00, occurring throughout the entire park. Any and all can come view their performance free of charge.
The free shows will consist of a dance ensemble performed to remixes of “In C”, the well-known Terry Riley composition of 1964. Those who are familiar with “In C” know how shocking it was when first composed, since the nature of the composition leaves much to chance, making any given performance of the piece different from every other. The composition’s improvisational nature should make DVP’s remixed interpretation and their accompanying dance arrangement distinctive, surprising, and an exciting performance to see in person.
Most unique about this performance, however, will be DVP themselves. Since DVP as a group does not restrict participation to pros, their corps of dancers is composed of New Yorkers from all walks of life. The group’s ethos is best articulated on Haas’ website, which states that DVP consists of everyone from “children who think dance is only on MTV, to persons with disabilities who think dance is denied them, to seniors who think dance is beyond them.” More information about Naomi Goldberg Haas, DVP and the events and classes that they organize can be found at www.naomigoldberghaas.com.
Photo Credit: David Kimelman
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Had to post this because I happened to wear pink today…
From GivesMeHope.com:
A few months ago, a boy at school came in with his hair dyed pink.
Everyone considered him a freak, and laughed at him. Turns out, his mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and he dyed his hair in support.
His sacrifice and love for his mother gives me hope.
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Simple Plan: Get Your Heart On! Album Review
The Canadian collective Simple Plan releases their fourth studio album today titled Get Your Heart On! This is their latest release since their self-titled album, Simple Plan, dropped in 2008. As expected, the band sticks to the blueprint that has made them successful—creating catchy pop-punk tunes for the masses. However, the album isn’t without its missteps.
From the onset, the album shows a lot of promise with a well-balanced opener in ‘You Suck At Love.’ It’s a smooth song with a lively chorus that establishes the fact that Simple Plan isn’t trying to break the mold with this album. But it shows that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing either.
The album keeps the fun-loving mood alive as it moves into ‘Can’t Keep My Hands Off You’, a song about a musician’s love for his guitar, no matter how much he (or she) may think they can keep away from it. The track features Rivers Cuomo of the legendary rock band Weezer. His presence on the track is not only fitting, being an inspiration to rock artists everywhere, but it’s enjoyable.
From here, the album is somewhat of a toss-up as far as what works and what doesn’t. Songs like ‘Jet Lag’, ‘Loser Of The Year’ and ‘Freaking Me Out’ keep the energy of the Get Your Heart On! up and represent Simple Plan for what they are: a band that wants to write catchy songs that keep the show rocking. But the album is brought down by its attempts to slow things down. ‘Astronaut’ is an interesting composition that is fine musically, but falls short lyrically and feels forced conceptually. ‘Anywhere Else But Here’ is another slow song that tries to play itself off as a rock anthem, but ends up sounding more like a boring ode to lengthy, road-trip car rides that you don’t want to be a part of anymore.
Luckily, the album doesn’t end there. ‘Last One Standing’ is the kind of song fans buy concert tickets for. It shines because of its simplicity and its high-energy, no frills necessary, coming-at-you feel. Songs like ‘Gone Too Soon’ and ‘This Song Saved My Life’ show what Simple Plan is made of when it comes to pop-punk ballads. If all of the slower songs on Get Your Heart On! sounded like these two, it would be a solid album. Unfortunately, they don’t, and this deters from the album’s overall feel because although it opens and closes strongly, every good track in the middle of the album is interrupted by songs that don’t work.
‘Summer Paradise’ is a curious song made in collaboration with K’naan, a well-known Canadian rapper. I had high hopes for this song going in, thinking that Simple Plan would be able to show a little diversity with this number. Though it isn’t a bad song, it doesn’t stand out the way I hoped it would.
Knowing that the band completed 70 songs to choose from for this release, it’s a little upsetting that everything doesn’t feel picture perfect on this album. Putting its few faults aside, there is enough classic Simple Plan on Get Your Heart On! to make it a worthwhile purchase.
Photo Credit: © Copyright Atlantic Records - 2011
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This mom has a point! What do you think?
Grumpy puss. Yes, that is what my husband just called me because I am getting on the boys about their attitude.
I get it. It’s summer vacation… school is over… party time, right?! WRONG! Kids forget something along the lines of 1 to 3 months worth of schooling over summer break. Primarily in the areas of Math and English. That means that MOST of the first QUARTER - not the first month, not the first week - the first quarter of the school year is spent playing catch up. So, a quarter of the school year is spent getting kids to remember what they already learned; another quarter is spent getting kids ready for standardized learning tests (I won’t even get into that here!). That’s half the school year right there.
BUT, with a little bit of effort, kids can actually not fall into that trap. Just a little bit of reading five days a week - I have found as little as ten minutes works wonders. The boys like Facebook (well the older boys do), and they text their friends… all I ask of them is that they use proper English. Math isn’t my strong suit, and I know that, but I try to get Addi and Hayden to do little things just to keep their minds sharp.
I want the boys to work to their potential. I am not demanding they graduate early or skip grades (which they could if they really tried). I just know of what my kids are capable, simple as that.
So, NO I am not a grumpy puss… I just think the older boys can do better than laying around watching cartoons or playing video games.
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COLLEGE PROBLEMS!!! Haven’t we all been there? Wait for it, I have a reblog that combats this post…haha
(Source: collegeproblems)
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The Family Curry Pot
A curry pot: It is an all-encompassing, all-powerful tool of sturdy construction and unlimited possibilities. Every home should have one, or certainly something similar to it. A curry pot can send out an aroma, a call that you can’t refuse to answer, triggering the senses with the scents it emits. A curry pot can be an alarm clock, clanging in dissonance with cooking utensils and waking you from an afternoon nap. A curry pot, with its cover, can be a shining beacon of culinary splendor, covering its contents from view until they are ready to be served. Among all of the traits a curry pot can possess, there is a fundamental difference with every curry pot in every household that contains one: a family’s curry pot is their own.
In my family, we have a large, silver curry pot. But for others, the color varies. It can be silver, but it can also be black and maybe white or red. Some are multicolored. There really is no standard, though silver and black are common. My family’s curry pot is very rotund, and though most look like this, some are shaped more like cones: wide at the top and decreasing in circumference as you work your way to the bottom. In my family, the curry pot that is cooked with is the same curry pot that is used to serve. But many people like to serve their food in a more ornate pot or dish. Simply looking at the characteristics, one can already see the variances that come into play from pot to pot.
There is also the matter of how the curry is made. This alone largely separates one curry pot from another. Scratch that; this separates one family from another because, over the course of several years, you will find that a given pot will carry a distinct smell with it from being used with certain ingredients, no matter how well you wash it. The essential elements for a good curry sauce are cumin and coriander powder, vegetable oil and some garlic and onion (though I’m sure even the basic elements of curry are disputable). From there, any number of vegetables, herbs, spices, powders and peppers can be used to make your curry its own. In my opinion, the quintessential idea of longing for a “home-cooked meal” after having spent an extended period of time away applies more to home-cooked curry than any other type of food because of the endlessness of tastes that a given curried dish can embed.
Ask any one person, whose mother or father makes curried dishes time and again, and they will very well tell you that no one’s curry is better than the curry that comes from their own home. I myself certainly feel that way about my mother’s curry. Coveting the curry of the household is as normal as a hug or a kiss: it shows devotion and care for the loved one who’s responsible for their delectable dishes.
Sometimes leeway can be allowed, but this usually only occurs within one’s extended family. For example, I would claim that my mother makes the best chicken curry there is, but my uncle has her beat when it comes to lamb curry. Under no circumstance do I feel that anyone’s lamb or chicken outside of theirs is better when curried. My opinion doesn’t simply stem from stubborn pride either; I have tried many other curried dishes and still stand by my family’s curried creations.
A family’s curry pot is very powerful. Its use creates a bond that is difficult to shake or impede. Growing up, my mother and father both made a note of instilling familial values within me and my brother, but thinking back on it all, I don’t know if that was always necessary. The curry pot and its creations certainly accomplished the same mission in an intangible way. The interesting part is I know this is happening the world over, day after day. Maybe not always with a curry pot, but knowing the unions that families share over their food is a beautiful thing everyone should be able to share.
Photo Credit: Erika@IvoryHut.com
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