This is brilliant. I wish I had thought of this, or knew in advance so I could participate.
I also wish I hadn’t had so many sangrias last night so I could go to this.
The Unemployment Olympics. I love it.
What borough, please? March 30, 2009
Saturday evening I had an appointment to meet with a man to discuss a potential writing gig. He emailed plans, saying exactly this:
“Choice Cafe- Grand and Lafayette. 5pm”
I was going to a play with a friend later that night, so I was planning on looking nice anyway, but I also wore heels – which I was not going to do except that I had this meeting. Then I went to Grand and Lafayette, in SoHo, which for those of you who don’t know, is a very well known area in downtown Manhattan. I get there and look around… there is no Choice Cafe. He texts me to say he is almost there, so I wait on the corner thinking I would recognize him and we can locate the cafe together. So I wait and I wait, then finally he calls me. I tell him I am at Grand and Lafayette and there is no Choice Cafe. He was very confused by this, because apparently he was IN Choice Cafe. We go back and forth for a moment, and then he says, rather incredulously:
“Oh, no, oh gosh, where are you? Are you in the city? Or in Brooklyn?”
ME: ”Yes, I am, at Grand and Lafayette.”
HIM: “Oh, but, we were supposed to meet in Brooklyn. Is there really a Grand and Lafayette in the city?”
Ummmm….seriously? I have been living here for a pretty long time, and in all my years I have never once gone to the wrong place because someone didn’t specify the borough. There is a rule – I know because I asked my friend and her roommate later on — if it’s not Manhattan, you really should mention that. Especially when the address is a very well known one in Manhattan.
At first he wasn’t even all that apologetic, and even suggested that because I went to Pratt (which has a Brooklyn campus) I must know Choice Cafe and that it was in Brooklyn. I also think he must have assumed I live in Brooklyn. I don’t. I also didn’t go to the Brooklyn campus of Pratt, I went to the Manhattan campus. Finally, he did apologize and we said, awkwardly, that we would reschedule, but I think we both knew that our relationship, having never gotten past emails, was doomed.
So, instead, I called the friend I was seeing later that night, and walked my high-heeled self through Chinatown to her place. A longer walk than one would hope is 4 1/4 ” heels. But eventually we got jalapeno and lime infused margaritas which took the edge off.
Lesson here, people: If it’s not Manhattan, SPECIFY.
AIPAD Review March 28, 2009
I hope that some of you are finding time to check out AIPAD this weekend. For a review on the show, visit NYArt Beat here.
Picture This: AIPAD 2009
The old and the new vie for attention at The Association of International Photography Art Dealers Show.
Image Courtesy Lori Nix and Miller Block Gallery
Azito Brings Us Japanese Contemporary Art March 27, 2009
A new friend, Rasa Tsuda, (I actually have only met her over email, but still we are friends supporting each others endeavors) has just opened an on-line gallery specializing in Japanese contemporary art. It is called Azito, and they are hoping to introduce a new audience to talented Japanese artists. The gallery does not focus on those we already know about – Murakami, Yayoi Kusama and On Kawara, for example, but instead on artists both established and emerging in Japan that have not gained the international fame (yet) of Murakami.
The artists they represent are, according to the website, “highly acclaimed in Japan for their sophisticated artwork.” Azito also represents a selection of promising emerging and young artists, and “makes the hottest contemporary Japanese art available to you — wherever you might be.”
The website is cute, fun, and very easy to use. Azito offers information on the artist and the piece, which is a nice addition and not something you see on all online galleries. And, they keep the shipping costs way down (the work is coming straight from Japan!). It looks like they will have an affordable inventory, but as they have just opened, they currently have only one artist up.
I am already hooked! I love this piece below by Kenji Yanobe. In fact, I love it so much, I am adding it to the list of This Weeks Picks, along with yesterdays picks from AIPAD.
Shipbuilding – Torayan Tribe, 2007
by Kenji Yanobe
size: H18.50 x W26.45 in (H470 x W672 mm.)
No Frame
Edition 50
Lithograph, color pencil (hand coloring)
Signed
Delivery Time: 2 weeks
No Frame
Edition 50
Lithograph, color pencil (hand coloring)
Signed
Delivery Time: 2 weeks
$1,182 (price of the work)
$75 (shipping to USA)
total $1,257
A selection of lithographs from the 2007 illustrated book, “TORAYAN’S GREAT ADVENTURE.” Hand-colored and signed by the artist, with edition number.
About “Torayan’s Great Adventure”
“One evening in the forest, the hero Torayan went out on a journey holding a tiny sun. Eventually he found a number of friends, and the tiny sun began to grow…”
The illustrated book, “Torayan’s Great Adventure”, was inspired by Yanobe Kenji’s visit to the Chernobyl disaster site in 1997, when he carried out the famous “Atom Suit” project. From the ruins of a nursery school, he found a doll and a sun. He has spent the last 10 years crafting the story and the illustrations.
Things To Do For Your Beloved Unemployed’s March 26, 2009
You all know I am on the job hunt of course, and every now and then I will fill you in on what’s been going on in that area of my life.
Well, the answer is, not much.
I look for work every day. I currently have about 25 jobs sitting in my drafts folder that I need to apply to. These consist of very few really great jobs, mostly they are either part time or temp gigs, or FT jobs that I don’t want. But, it makes me feel better to apply to them, and I am actually open to the idea of working gigs for a while. In fact, I am doing that now to some extent, and I don’t mind it at all.
I am exploring the idea of freelance writing more and more. I already have one gig (I love using that word) that keeps me in the arts, keeps my contacts fresh, and my voice heard. Plus I have used it for job applications that want writing samples, so it has been very useful and fun. But I still want to find a FT job, the right FT job.
I have to be honest and admit that I always feel a little better when I hear that other people have been laid off. I know that’s mean, and I don’t even exactly mean it, because I also feel really badly for the person, but it’s just that I don’t feel so alone when other people join my club. But then when those people go out and find new jobs after looking for only a few short weeks or a month, I feel crappy again. Really, really crappy. And happy for them, yeah yeah blah blah, congratulations…….
In the meantime, when I see things like this article in the NYTimes, I share it with all of you, because I know what it feels like to have lost your job, and this is a nice little list of things you can do for your beloved unemployed’s.
This Weeks Picks from AIPAD March 26, 2009
I attended the press preview of AIPAD yesterday. AIPAD is the Association of International Photography Dealers, and they are celebrating their 30th Anniversary. The fair has 73 galleries and is taking place at the Park Ave Armory at 67th Street.
As a former photo major and current photography buyer, I am always excited for this fair, only because there are no distractions – it’s all photo, or photo-based work. But as fairs get bigger and grander every year, with large-scale installations, performance pieces, and art work of every medium, this fair seems to be sort of stuck in a rut. It’s sort of boring.
There are great galleries there, though I was not impressed by the huge number of NY galleries and very small number of international galleries. Going to AIPAD is sort of like going to a museum that has the shop built in to the exhibition. There are the old masters, like Ansel Adams & Andre Kertesz that you can not afford ($400k +) and then there are the younger or newer artists that you can ($1,500). And they’re all right next to each other, in many cases, in the same booth on opposite walls.
Anyway, I have my faves, too many to list here. But here are some of the highlights, though I feel like I have seen most of these so many times already….
Nathan Harger
Untitled (Holding Patterns), Brooklyn, NY 2008
Digital C-Prints 25 Parts, Each 14 x 9.5″ ed 7
Abelardo Morell
Camera Obscura Image of Central Park Looking North, Autumn, 2008
Pigment ink print
Untitled (Sand Tracks), Miami, 2008
Digital C-Print 58 x 77″ ed 8
Below — Lori Nix
Botanical Garden :: 2007 :: c-print
Photography hits the Armory March 25, 2009
For all you photography lovers out there, AIPAD (Association of International Photography Art Dealers) opens tomorrow and runs through the weekend at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street. This fair features a wide swath of photography, from contemporary through the 19th Century, so while there is something for everyone to appreciate, it does take a bit of visual editing as you wander the aisles.
This show, the 29th edition, boasts 73 international, photography galleries and a number of special events, including two special exhibitions, panel discussions and a lecture. Saturday, March 28, offers enthusiasts a full day of panel discussions featuring leaders in the art world, including Malcolm Daniel, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Anne E. Havinga, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Grant B. Romer, George Eastman House; Charlotte Cotton, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Vince Aletti, critic and curator; and artists and filmmakers including Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Albert Maysles, and Bruce Davidson.
AIPAD will include thirteen new galleries, including New York dealers: Danziger Projects, Foley Gallery, Andrea Meislin, Sepia International, Janet Sirmon Fine Art, and Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery. I know most of these galleries and am excited to see them at the fair, along with several other standouts, like Robert Mann, Bonni Benrubi and Yancey Richardson. 
Show Information
AIPAD runs from Thursday, March 26 though Sunday, March 29, 2009 at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street in New York City.
Thursday, March 26 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday, March 27 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 28 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 29 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Admission:
$25 daily/ $10 student
$40 for the run-of-show (includes catalogue)
Image captions:
Top left: Julie Blackmon, Girl Across the Street, 2008.
Archival digital photograph. Courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery
Bottom right: André Kertész, New York (boy with ice cream), 1944
Gelatin-silver print, 8 x 10 in. Courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery
Velveeta aint got nothin’ on Mary’s March 25, 2009
** Update May 7th ** To Those of You Who Found This While Searching For Joshua Jackson and Diane Kruger…
Hi! This is not a celebrity blog, I just happened to see them a few times. However, since posting that news, this particular post has been inundated with fans searching images of the couple. I love that people are coming to my site, but it would be great if you stuck around a bit and checked out the blog! Leave a comment, look around. Ok, thanks, happy hunting!
- DomesticInNYC
Yesterday I was expecting to have a quiet, chill birthday with my hubby at home eating hot dogs and mac and cheese. I had chosen this meal, LOVE velveeta shells and cheese, and was happy to sit back and watch a movie with him. We had already had a nice dinner together on Saturday at Perbacco, and I truly would have been happy as a clam just to hang out at home. Though I will admit that at some point in the afternoon I started to feel a little down, but MNH called right as I was about to wallow in it, to say that he was on his way home!
MNH surprised me by taking the afternoon off and coming to pick me up for a little birthday outing! It was a beautiful day so it was perfect to head to the West Village (my favorite part of the city) for a stroll andcupcakes from Magnolia. They only had chocolate and vanilla cakes, but there was no line and who cares? For me, it’s mostly about the frosting anyway. We took the perfect little confections to the park across the street and sat in the sun licking frosting off our fingers. What a great birthday treat.
The only thing that could top that was a bubbly little cocktail, so we walked to Pastis and had drinks at the bar. My little champagne drink tasted like summer in a glass.
(Side note, Pacey from Dawson’s Creek walked in with his girlfriend, Diane Kruger – you may recall that I saw him a few weeks ago at Bubby’s. Seems Pacey and I are destined to meet).
From there we wandered through the West Village again, eventually landing at The Spotted Pig, where we
grabbed a lovely table tucked away in a corner and shared a plate of Gnudi, which has a ridiculous name but an unbelievable taste. The little puffs ofRicotta cheese are drizzled with a brown sugar/sage topping, and are delicious and very rich. In fact, as much as I love them, I couldn’t even finish my share, much to the delight of MNH.
This was merely our appetizer, mind you, we still had dinner to eat, and we were, after all, near Mary’s Fish Camp. When there is no wait atMary’s you pretty much have to eat there. And so we did, each ordering our own lobster roll which comes with crispy, salty shoestring fries. This is, in my opinion, the best lobster roll in the city. Actually, in most of Maine too. I know, that sounds absurd, how can that be?!, and all the Mainers out there want to kill me. But 
I stand by this grand statement, because MNH and I did a driving trip through Maine with the soul purpose of finding the best lobster roll, and we had many, many to sample. While there were some that were outstanding – there was only one that is better than Mary’s and it is at Waterman’s Beach. Anyway, MNH tried to convince me to cap the night off with a trip to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for Almond Paste ice cream, and then for a quick little taste of soup dumplings, but between all the food and drink we already had, I had to call it a night.
We did still have 2 perfect little cupcakes to eat for dessert, and a movie to watch at home.
What a nice birthday.
Birthday Blues March 24, 2009
Every year around my birthday (which is today, by the way), I get to feeling a little blue. This only started around the age of 26, when I think I had something of a quarter-life crisis. And it happened again this year, though this time it is more understandable — lost my job, economy is a mess, worried about money and, oh, yeah, I’m 32.
OMG, 32!?@!%#?*&!?@!
Seriously?!*@#!?!$$?!!@?@$&!?
The blues came in strong this year, hit me as soon as I woke up yesterday. And yesterday was Monday, so combine the Birthday Blues with the Monday Blues, and oh man, what a hopper. Yes, you still get the Monday blues even when you don’t have a full time job. But instead of dreading the week ahead of you with a terrible boss and awful colleagues, you get up and think “I have nowhere to go today, nothing to do, and no one cares”. Depressed yet?
So yesterday it took me a while to drag myself out of bed, and then I did the usual – made coffee, checked email, checked job listings, wrote a cover letter, followed up with someone about a job that may not even exist at this point. I read parts of the paper, searched out a bunch of stuff on-line, but mostly I heaved heavy sighs, sat on my couch and thought about Eeyore. From Winnie the Pooh. He was my favorite character, and for some reason I always think of him and his birthday. For those who don’t know about Eeyore, he was a blueish-grey donkey who was always down, always dismal. Here is a snippet from the story about his birthday:
“You seem so sad, Eeyore.”
“Sad? Why should I be sad? It’s my birthday. The happiest day of the year.”
“Your birthday?” said Pooh in great surprise.
“Of course it is. Can’t you see? Look at all the presents I’ve had.”
He waved a foot from side to side.
“Look at the birthday cake. Candles and pink sugar.”
Pooh looked – first to the right and then to the left.
“Presents?” said Pooh. “Birthday cake?” said Pooh. “Where?”
“Can’t you see them?”
“No,” said Pooh.
“Neither can I,” said Eeyore. “Joke,” he explained. “Ha Ha”
Yesterday this was how I was feeling, but today, not so much! Today I am just freaked out by my age, but I don’t feel badly. Not that anything has changed from yesterday, so I can’t say I get it – I can just say – hey everybody it’s my birthday – where’s my cupcake?! (*** BIG Hint to MNH, I like chocolate ones with lots of frosting…).
Last night MNH surprised me with early birthday presents from my favorite jewelry store, WINK, in SoHo. He is really cute – whenever he has a surprise for me he has to give it to me right away, he gets so excited to share it, even though it wasn’t my birthday last night. But then again, when a girl is down in the dumps a smart guy knows to hand over the goods early, right?
I got 2 pairs of earrings that I LOVE. He did a great job picking them out, and he didn’t even know this, but I have been wanting new gold earrings for a while. I can’t find a picture of the second pair, which are big, gold hoops made up of small little circles. They’re really thin and light. This pair on the right by Gorjana is heavier and sort of bohemian. I love the colors and the stones’ texture – some are clear and some are opaque. WINK is amazing – they have a really fun selection of jewelry, bags, even clothing and shoes now. It’s really small but there is so much great stuff you end up staying there forever. If only it were a bit cheaper I would probably be their best customer!
MNH and I sort of celebrated my birthday on Saturday night with a nice, romantic dinner in the East Village, and last night I got my gifts, so tonight we are going to eat mac and cheese and hot dogs (my choice) and watch a movie. For some reason I have no desire to go out dancing, though I did briefly consider it, or throw a party or anything. It will be the first year I just sort of chill and quietly let my birthday go by.
Maybe that’s a sign of old age. Or maybe it’s a sign a contentment. And maybe that depends on the day you ask me….
Les Moules Should Not Be Eaten In Public March 23, 2009
And we’re back from another weekend….
We were pretty busy this weekend, and a lot of it revolved around food, all of which was very good, though the dining experiences left something to be desired. **Warning – no one from my family should read this post – it might make you sick, it involves the word gag.
Friday night MNH and I went to a little French restaurant in LIC, called Cafe Henri. We both like it there, especially for brunch, and hadn’t been for dinner in a while, so thought we’d stop in. Things were going fine – we had a drink, the bread and olive oil were good. I was preparing 
to enjoy my Les Moules with saffron sauce by carefully de-shelling each mussel so that the shells would be out of the way and I would have a delicious bowl of sauce and mussels. Meanwhile, my husband was rapidly yet meticulously eating his Croque Madame, saving the piece with the fried egg on top for the last, delicious bite (if only he were so meticulous in other areas of his life…).
Suddenly, the man seated at the table next to us started making noises. His wife just kept on talking, talking, talking, and he kept on making noises, louder each time. Now, I know that most people wouldn’t enjoy this experience, but my family is known for our weak stomachs and quick gag reflexes (sorry, gross word). The slightest things make us this close to being sick. So, there simply was no way that I could have ignored what was happening and continued on with my dinner, somehow just not letting it bother me. I am not wired that way. I blame my mother, and her extreme dislike of oatmeal, because I’m pretty sure this all stems from that. I am wired in a way that requires MNH to spontaneously burst into song or whistle as we walk down the street to distract me whenever someone is doing something gross (the definition of gross is vague and wide reaching). He has become quite the talented whistler with all that practice!
Ok, so, there we are sitting at dinner, and I have barely touched mine because I had spent so much time de-shelling the little suckers. I tried to persevere, I tried to pretend it wasn’t that bad and actually I think I did very well, considering, but in the end my G-reflex kicked in. I can’t really write much about it, because it makes me sick even now to think about it, but let me make this picture very clear for you – he made GROSS sounds, and I was eating MUSSELS – got that visual? Disgusting. Awful. So, we rushed through the rest of the meal, paid, and left, with me in a pretty bad mood.
Luckily, there is a liquor store near the restaurant, so we stopped in and got me some wine to take home, where I tried to forget all about the dinner over a drink and Butterfield 8. I bet Elizabeth Taylor never had to deal with anything so vulgar….
