Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

Fall Back

Don't forget!

Daylight-savings time comes to an end this Sunday, November 2nd at 2AM and we all get an extra hour of SLEEP!

Improv Everywhere

Remember when I talked about Improv Everywhere
Here is the video.

Banksy

KRL and I went to see the Banksy exhibit last night and it was even crazier than I expected. I had the pleasure of people watching for about 30 minutes, and the reactions were priceless. No one walked by this:

without asking if it was real.

"Simon, is it real? ... you won't believe it. It's a leopard coat!"

-90 yo woman to her hubby


The shop was set up like a pet shop. When asked, Banksy said he got the idea when he saw a Chihuahua with a diamond necklace and fur coat being walked by a homeless man. He said he couldn't let that imbalance go unrecognized. Check out the other images.

A rabbit applying her make-up. You could hear her filing her nails!

Mother Hen and her Chicken Nuggets eating BBQ sauce....

What you do see is that this dirty monkey is watching the Discovery Channel... crushed beer cans and a empty box of Marlboros litter the cage...

Check it out. Closing Halloween.

10 Trillion

Time has run out for our National Debt.

The National Debt Clock is a billboard -size running total to show the current United States public debt and each American family's share of it. It is installed on Sixth Ave near Times Square.

See how the number 1 is being stored in the $$ sign position.

How did it get this bad?

A NEW Hotel

Looking for a room in the Big Apple?

Well, thanks to artist Carsten Höller, you can get your own hotel room for two at the Guggenheim in New York this October 24, 2008–January 7, 2009.

This fully serviced hotel room is part of the show theanyspacewhatever. Guests will have full access to the exhibition at night - but be on full view to the public during the day. Guests will also have to pay for the privilege - the museum is charging a fee through the website of New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel- a surprisingly affordable (by New York standards) rate...

Quote Sundays

If you don't like what you are getting, change what you are doing.

-Anon

Robert Holmes

Today we celebrate/mourn the departure of a good pal. I'll miss you Hobbit.

xxx

Satunesday

"Bruises"
Chairlift

This electrolounge band has hit mainstream pop success with “Bruises,” which has lately been heard in iPod commercials. But, I caught them at the CMJ festival this week! Rock on!

Central Park Pumpkin Festival Week

Banksy's Pet Shop

British artist Banksy has opened his first official exhibition, "Pet store," in New York City.

Set inside a fake pet store, works such as a robotic monkey and fish-fingers swimming in a goldfish bowl aim to question the relationship between human beings and animals.

W 4th st and 7th Ave.
Closing Halloween.

**Thanks KRL

More... Beer

One of my favorite restaurants, Counter, in the East Village will host NYC's second annual Organic Beer Bash on October 25th.

From noon to 4 p.m., a $30 ticket gets you appetizers and unlimited samples of over 30 organic beers and ciders from around the world, ranging from Wolaver's Wit beer spiced apple purse to a drink called a Grizzly Beer (organic whiskey, lemonade and brown ale). A

ll proceeds go to benefit the Greenmarket and Food Systems Network NYC, so this weekend, your hangover will be for a noble cause!!

Vendy Awards, YUM!

For more information and where to find the winners, Calexico- visit Gothamist.

Where Does Our Food come from?

I have recently been called a hypocritical vegetarian - which in many respects, I am. But, I view the work hypocrite as such a negative term and do not like that.

I prefer to call myself a selective person, making changes that I know I can handle and in turn, get others thinking about their own ways. Not eating meat is one of those changes. I wear leather and I wear suede. I know there is no excuse for that, if I could afford to do differently, I would. (Christmas, anyone?)

On the heels of voting for Proposition 2, I wanted to readdress a post I wrote a while ago about what being a vegetarian means to me. Whatever you eat, no meat (or vegetable for that matter) tastes good when it was treated cruelly. Please make conscious choices.

Yes on Proposition 2

November 4, Californians should vote YES! on Prop 2 – the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act

Prop 2 will provide more humane treatment of millions of farm animals by phasing out their confinement in small crates and cages where they can barely move for virtually their entire lives. The law would take effect in 2015 and would require that calves raised for veal, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens are given enough space to turn around, lie down, and stretch their limbs. Similar laws have been passed in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and throughout the European Union’s 27 member countries.

It is a modest measure that stops cruel and inhumane treatment of animals, ending the practice of cramming farm animals into small cages.

This is not a debate about being a vegetarian, it is a debate about cruelty to animals, and who doesn't support that?

WARNING! This video has some graphic images.

DON'T FORGET!

Quote Sundays

Great people aren't those who are happy at times of convenience and content, but how they are in time of catastrophe and controversy.

- Martin Luther King, Jr, Civil Rights Activist

Satunesday

"Bullet and a Target"
Citizen Cope

He is playing a Solo Acoustic set at the Apollo tonight. Tickets are STILL available on Craigslist. GO!

Climate Change

Opening October 18, 2008, Climate Change, at the American Museum of Natural History.

This exhibition will explore the science, history, and impact of climate change, and illuminate ways in which individuals, communities and nations can reduce their carbon footprints.

"Evidence has been accumulating for some time that Earth is warming due to human activity," said Museum President Ellen V. Futter, "but we are only just beginning to come to terms with the breadth of the consequences of this phenomenon, and to learn what we can do to mitigate them. The fact is," Ms. Futter continued, "we do have options; but implementing solutions will require individual, national, and global action. Climate Change will examine both the consequences of global warming and possible solutions to this critical problem."

Climate Change does more than examine a complex and immediate problem—it lays the groundwork for potential solutions, from the personal to the national and global, and shows how these are within our grasp. What I love about the breadth of this exhibition is that it will empower and encourage museum visitors of all ages to help address the climate change problem. It will show how to reduce energy consumption in our daily lives, whether by buying energy-efficient appliances, growing food, switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, or choosing to walk or take public transportation.

The central part of the exhibition will explore the effects of climate change on the Earth's atmosphere, oceans, land, and polar ice sheets.



Scientists have documented a dramatic increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the past 150 years—especially CO₂, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation.

Come to the museum and explore the repercussions for today's world and future generations.

Brooklyn Veg Restaurant Week

YUM!

My favorite time of year is upon us, Brooklyn Vegetarian Week! It starts Sunday, October 19th and runs until the 25th.

Some of my favorite places are participating- Red Bamboo, . Check out more information on their website.

Favorite photos from the summer

Congratulations!

All you need is love.

Soy Joy and Gen Art

SOYJOY® and Gen Art are partnering together to promote eco-friendly, all-natural fashions. SOYJOY® is proud to support four up-and-coming fashion designers who understand that living an all-natural lifestyle starts with what you put in your body and ends with what you put on your body.

Using sustainable materials, organic, raw textiles and recycled vintage fabrics, these designers represent the forward-thinking conscience of the fashion industry. It’s an understanding that what women wear is as much statement of substance as it is of style.

The first designer, The Battalion, follows a simple line of logic: design edgy, avant-garde clothing that brings refinement and sophistication to an eco-friendly style. Specializing in comfort knits and jerseys, all organic fabrics are used, with an emphasis on bamboo, cotton blends and cruelty-free silk.
Popomomo, which stands for “post-post-modern-movement,” aims for simplicity with unexpected details to create unique pieces. Popomomo features an eco-friendly collection of contemporary shapes in sustainable fabrics.
Velvet Leaf uses 100% certified organic cotton and manufactures with certain factories that use low-wastage dyes, fair labor, and sustainable packaging. Velvet Leaf interprets sixties-bent clothing with a handcrafted and sophisticated feel.

Brigid Catiis makes Eco-Chic simple. Bringing fashion and eco-friendliness together, its designs are part of a solution, not continuing the problem. Brigid Catiis pieces are made from reconditioned and recycled vintage fabrics. Every produced item is one of a kind, with its own energy, inspiration and story, and inspired by creating clothing that is environmentally responsible and sustainable.

Tour de... Bronx?

Come out for New York's Largest Free Cycling Event,
The 14th Annual Tour de Bronx

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Free Event Sponsored by Transportation Alternatives and The Bronx Borough President, Adolfo Carrión, Jr.

Quote Sundays

I measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to his or her fellow human beings.

-Margaret Mead, Anthropologist

Satunesday

THEY'RE BACK!!!!!

Video Montage of the last time they played in Hampton, VA in 2002. I. Can't. Wait.
(hopefully we get tickets)

Cereal Bars

Remember a loooong time ago, I blogged about creating your own granola bar? Well, now it can be done with cereal.

[me] & goji is a unique combination of the healthiest whole grains, spelt, fruits, seeds and nuts of your own choosing, all mixed and put in a yummy cereal.

It's so easy- and as you go along adding different ingredients, [me] & goji lets you monitor the calories, fiber, sugar and other nutritional information in your cereal as you add each individual ingredient. Try it!

The Great Schlep

Endangered Species List for 2008

50% of all mammal species are in decline

25% of them are endangered

More than one-fifth of all reptiles are at risk of extinction

1,983 amphibian species are threatened or already extinct

All told, the 2008 Red List of Endangered Species, released today by the IUCN, paints a pretty bleak picture of the world's biodiversity.

According to its data, at least 38% of the world's discovered species are currently threatened with extinction.

The new Red List update took five years and 1,700 researchers to complete. It contains data on more than 45,000 species -- just a fraction of the estimated 1.64 million species on Earth, but still the best list and best total research available anywhere. Even with all of this research, only 25,000 of the Red List species are fully documented and at least 4,800 are still data-deficient.

Habitat loss remains the greatest factor putting so many species at risk of extinction, and with the current state of the world- it only seems that habitats will keep disappearing. What can you do? Continue to do you part in conservation, getting out the word about and sharing your passion about this planet with others. We are the generation that will make a difference first.

Check out a Times Article on this...

Match -O- Matic

This election is the most important in our lifetime.

With all the rhetoric and finger pointing, many people are not sure who to vote for. ABC news set up a fun quiz based ONLY on quotes to help you align yourself with your man, without the association of his name.

Your results might surprise you...

Netflix for Books

Do you like to read? What do you do with all of those unused and read books (the ones that you don't cherish and put in your library, of course?) Check out Novel Action, a membership based service that allows you to exchange your used books for new ones. Better yet, if you want to keep the books you bought go ahead, they're yours! Unless you'd like to exchange those for others!!

If you become a member by November 10th you get 5 books for free. Does it get any better!

Debate

Clinton vs. Bush in 1992 Debate

I'm not saying that I voted for him-- but I would just like to have someone with some charisma in this race.

Artichoke

Ok, so, I'm a little hesitant to blog about Bobo's and my favorite pizza place in the city (the line is already around the block) but I just found out that they started serving 32-ounce cups of Budweiser, the King of Beers! for $5.50. Perfect date.

Long before Oprah... there was my mamma

Quote Sundays

There is no fixed boundary to human creative potential. You must become unshakably convinced that nothing is impossible.

- Kazuo Inamori, Entrepreneur

Satunesday

"Kate" Ben Fold Five

Ben Folds has reunited with the Five for the first time since 1999. His new album, Way To Normal, is a more vulgar version of his old stuff. It appears to be a play by play of his life over these past 10 years; detailing break ups, make ups and a little pop culture. Woven into the middle of "Cologne", is the story of NASA astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak, who drove from Houston to Orlando to murder a romantic rival. Folds takes poetic license with some of the details, but still conveys the idea of romantic obsession and addiction.

Bobo and I saw them perform live on Wednesday night at Terminal 5, and he railed on his piano in just the way that I love. But Terminal 5 leaves a lot to be desired, if you're not on the floor, or not 7 feet tall, you have no view of the stage.

VOTE

Are you registered to vote?

Google has a new interactive feature you can use to find voter registration information for your neighborhood.

Get out there and vote, you have no excuse not to.
*Thanks kate!

Food and Mood

More than just fuel for the body
"Food is the most natural organic medicine around," says Alana Kessler, registered dietician and co-founder of Poshan Complementary Nutrition in New York City. "Food can be a powerful antidote for stress and the blues. That's why we reach for cookies or pasta when we're upset, anxious, or feel out of control."

Our favorite foods – if eaten in moderation, can help us improve our spirits. But, more significantly, feeding our bodies nutritional foods can also improve our health, adds Kessler, citing studies that have shown certain foods like turkey, whole grain breads and rice to fight off stress and irritability by boosting levels of serotonin in the body (thus having a calming, soothing effect.)

The notion that food is more than merely fuel is also driving popular well-being movements that take food philosophies to a whole new level. In her book Quantum Wellness, best-selling author and spiritual counselor Kathy Freston emphasizes that the mother of all pillars to well-being is conscious eating. Freston believes that you absorb the energy of whatever has gone into creating your food. As a result, "conscious eating" means you not only eat for health, but you consider where your food comes from, how the animals are treated and how the environment is affected by the foods you eat. Similarly, the Slow Food movement encourages people to eat foods that are natural, whole and sustainable as opposed to processed or convenience food. Through local events and initiatives, Slow Food spreads taste education to retrain the senses and rediscover the joys of eating.

Food also has the ability to connect community through ritual and tradition, particularly in times of celebration and hardship. "Eating links us with those who have prepared the food, which soothes our souls and lifts our spirits."

**Thanks to Dawn and Alexis Colantonio

The Seagull

I went to opening night of The Seagull last Thursday with AJK and KRL. It stars the brilliant Kristen Scott Thomas and Peter Sarsgaard.

Written in 1895 by Anton Chekhov, the play revolves around the romantic and artistic conflicts between four main characters: the leading lady Irina Arkadina, her son the experimental and tortured playwright, Konstantin Treplyov, the famous middlebrow story writer Trigorin and the young beauty, Nina.

I found the play to be both wildly amusing and extremely depressing at the same time. The characters are, as the Doctor says, neurotic. Kristen Scott Thomas, in all her dramatic roles (English Patient, Horse Whisperer) captures the comedy of the ego of a fading actress and the people who surround her.

"It was cast incredibly well and was hilarious, with dark, witty humor - translated perfectly from 1895 to 2008 with proof that some things never change." -- AJK

The show was a little long, and, as mentioned, depressing. But that's Chekhov- "he always sort of annoys - russian peasants, blah, blah." - Anon

Check it out, if only to see Sarsgaard and Scot--Thomas' Broadway debut!

NYT review...