March 2010
32 posts
trader joe's on the uws
After lots of rumors and years of construction, it as finally been confirmed that the intersection of 72nd and Broadway/Amsterdam will get a Trader Joe’s. I’m personally excited for two things: trying the much talked about frozen macarons and hopefully thinning out the crowd at Fairway and Zabar’s.
Racked cites that the arrival of the store could reinvigorate the quickly...
teaching 'the wire' →
Read this fascinating article about universities teaching entire courses devoted to the study of the great HBO drama The Wire. Examined across disciplines including sociology and media studies, study of the show is unlimited. I would go back to college to take one of these courses.
More music ideal for warm(ish), sunny weather.
...
I’ve been watching Lost on ABC.com since my DVR had a temper tantrum yesterday and decided not to record the ONE really important show of the week. Anyway, the (limited) interstitial advertisements on the site are mostly for other ABC programs or, weirdly, Red Lobster. One ad stood out to me, however.
About halfway through the episode there was a silent, but very pretty, ad for Asiana...
coffee craze
About a week ago the Times declared that coffee was finally having its moment in New York. Apparently we had moved on from sipping cup after cup in diners, bypassed the trendy and ubiquitous blue and white cups and even gotten over our Starbucks obsession. Coffee was going the way of beer, pickles, liquor and basically every other food trend.
Apparently in the last two years dozens of...
“I actually didn’t mind the MRI because I’m really into electronic...”
– Guy in my storytelling class. I don’t know which is weirder, his comment or the fact that I’ve had enough MRIs to understand what he’s talking about.
healthcare! →
go big red! →
Cornell University excels in a lot of sports: hockey, lacrosse, rowing, track, usually the prep school sports. Basketball? Not so much. The team rarely makes an appearance in the championship at all, let alone making it to the Sweet 16. I’ve never been able to root for my alma mater in March Madness—it’s thrilling!
One of my absolute favorite albums, especially in...
podcasts
Since the weather has finally broken and spring is here, I’m back to walking to and from work. And while I love walking down Columbus Avenue listening to Stevie Wonder and Voxtrot and Estelle, it’s also phenomenal time to listen to podcasts. If you’re looking for good (free) ones to subscribe to, these are my recommendations:
The Moth The Moth is a non-profit organization that...
More songs I love. If you don’t naturally...
classic simpsons quote
Lisa: Beware the Ides of March.
Homer: No.
weddings 2.0
Today, Slate featured a fantastic article on the absurdity of wedding websites. The title (‘Why I Hate Your Wedding Website’) sounds at first like the ramblings of a bitter and miserable single woman whose friends are all getting married. But it’s not. It’s a well thought out, spot on article about narcissism and the internet.
People that are now in their twenties have...
the art of the list →
I have always loved making lists (it’s half of why grocery shopping is my favorite errand). For those lucky enough to live in or visit DC there is an exhibit all about lists and listmaking featuring Picasso, Saarinen and others at the Fleischman Gallery through September. Put it on your to-do list.
I absolutely love her, and you should, too. Any...
things that should be illegal
-Riding bikes on sidewalks. New York isn’t ideal for bikes, the streets are too dangerous and congested and the sidewalks are too narrow and crowded. You want to ride a bike for transportation? Move to Europe. Otherwise, get a metro-card.
-Feeding pigeons. There is an old woman who pushes around a cart near my office on Broadway and 55th and just sprinkles birdseed on the corners. Then...
Lego my decaying building!
In a city as old, abused and crowded as New York, structures will inevitably suffer some wear and tear over the years (hell, my apartment was just remodeled and now there’s a leak in my ceiling). Artist Jan Vormann decided that the best way to fill in the cracks and holes of Manhattan is with brightly colored, adorable legos.
(note the above picture is from the Berlin and not from the...
Go to Helman! →
Time for some shameless promoting in the name of friendship. Enjoy the above blog, penned by Knopf marketing coordinator extraordinaire, lover of literature and fellow west sider, Lauren Helman. Read everything from book reviews (nondiscriminatory when it comes to publishers), to restaurant recommendations to general pop culture musings.
But don’t let it distract you too much from this...
carbonation without taxation
It looks like for the second year in a row the soda tax in New York State will fail in the Senate despite Bloomberg’s endorsement. Politicians cite that the tax on sugary carbonated beverages will reduce consumption and make for a healthier state (something tremendously important with health care reform on the horizon).
Grist wrote about a study on whether taxing unhealthy foods (like soda...
food rules!
I like to read that title as an exclamation that food is the best rather than another phrase for ‘how to eat’, but either way it’s great since it’s the title of Michael Pollan’s new ‘book’ (I say book in quotations because it’s more of a pamphlet, but, tomato-organic heirloom locally grown tomaaato). That’s right, Michael Pollan, the genius...
Just because.
“If You Really Love Me”...
signage. →
Click above for an amazing, multi-part article from Slate about signs. The specific piece above features my least favorite subway station in New York, 34th Street-Penn Station. Trying to get out at the correct exit (or just find an exit to the street at all and not end up at the LIRR ticketing counter or a Cinnabon) is near impossible, and that is mostly due to poor signage.
comedy central has issues
Just when I started to have faith in the network, Comedy Central canceled Michael and Michael Have Issues.
Since The State is long gone and Stella lasted all of about four seconds I had high high hopes for Michael and Michael making it. I needed a vehicle for Michael Ian Black that wasn’t talking about hair bands and ipods on VH1 or for Michael Showalter to be on something that...
talking in his sleep →
This hilarious blog charts the somniloquys of one man, thanks to his wife. Listening to this would be way more entertaining than falling asleep to Leno.
quelle horreur!
During my summer spent in Paris I went to Laduree at least once a week. Sometimes I just got a pot of tea, sometimes an amazing omelet (asparagus and gruyere? excuse me?), but ALWAYS a sampling of macarons. I tried every flavor, the best being rose, coffee and earl grey tea.
Macarons? No, not the balls of coconut and sugar heavily favored around Passover. Macarons are amazing, delicious,...
