Double Feature Days

We've been watching some great old movies on recent lazy Saturdays. I highly recommend this wonderful activity.

If you want to laugh at and be thrilled by Judy Holliday (and Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy) try:


Born Yesterday


Adam's Rib

If you're in a more serious mood, immerse yourself in the intense and genius performances given by Burt Lancaster (and Jean Simmons) in:


Elmer Gantry


The Swimmer

Enjoy the show!

Calabrian Bomb

My amazing foodie friend Sarah Taylor wrote this piece for the LA Times Magazine about a dynamite looking Nancy Silverton recipe for Calabrian Bomb Spaghetti. I can't wait to try it! Anchovies, breadcrumbs, Tutto Calabria Crushed Hot Chili Peppers, oh my! Looking forward to the next Pantry installment for ever more inspiration...

image via LA Times Magazine

Altered Narratives on Culturehall

I am really excited to have curated the current feature on the website Culturehall - A Curated Online Resource for Contemporary Art. I love this site and I love these artists!


Joseph Burwell, Shea Colloseum


Nanna Debois Buhl, Looking for Donkeys


Charlene Liu, Laden


Aaron Gilbert, The New One

More Market

On the heels of my last post, I have to add that, tipped off by one Sarah Taylor after relaying the story of my Oseland run-in, I dug right into the most recent issue of Saveur, of which he is Editor-in-Chief. It's THE MARKET ISSUE and in the introduction Oseland talks about shopping at his local market, McCarren Park!!! Be still my heart! The issue, like many a Saveur issue, makes me want to travel the world to see the vast markets in Spain, Thailand, and Santa Fe (this last one, I actually might get to in the fall!), but also makes me appreciate what I have right here at home, reminding me, for instance, that the next special occasion calls for a trip to Savoy, a restaurant that sources most of their fare from the Union Square Greenmarket. As Oseland says to start the issue off, "Market going is a defining and universal experience." And after reading about all the different ways to go about this entirely same objective, there is something very true and comforting in that.

Lie to me*

Last weekend Greenpoint's Newtown Barge Terminal Playground played host to the Northside Festival - celebrating the "community of independent musicians, filmmakers and artists in the place where it thrives the most, shining a light on the sheer talent and creativity that Brooklyn cultivates." I'll take it - Especially when it means The Liars are playing in front of the Brooklyn sunset and Manhattan skyline.



We've played a lot of basketball here, but this is all a far cry from the wading pool, horseshoe pitches, and shuffle board courts that I just read occupied the park starting in 1942.



The silhouetted trees provided backdrop, as if someone had designed a set.





But lead singer Angus Andrews stole the show.



The night ended on a high note with a Levain Bakery cookie party and screening of Planet Earth (as told by @sadiemagazine and ReTold by @levainbakery).

*Do it.

J and B Went Nupts

Rob and Jess got married this weekend in true Brooklyn style (DIY, laid back, so much fun). The venue was a photo studio on the 8th floor of an industrial building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, with incredible roof access, which they transformed themselves. The food was a dizzying array of the local and fabulous, including pre-ceremony hummus and olives from Sahadi's, homemade sausage from G. Esposito and Sons, and pita from Damascus, followed by post-ceremony prosciutto and ricotta crostini from Salvatore Bklyn, dogs piled high with kimchi, kraut, and other deliciousness from Asia Dog (both vendors from The Brooklyn Flea, where Rob runs the show), dumplings from Eton AND tacos AND cupcakes. Their yummy cocktails fizzed all night in mason jars. And Jess designed and made her own dress! It was a perfect celebration of their relationship.


Hanging out before the ceremony.


Liz, Jeff, and Perry working the runway.


Very cute baby.


The bride walking down the aisle with her mom.


Vows said. (Beautiful bouquet, by the way.)


The Blackmans are married!!!!!


Prosciutto ricotta sammies made to order.


Gorgeous...


night...


...xoxo...

Wayne Reads

Wayne Koestenbaum reads with the sensitivity and understanding of a poet and the comfort and articulation of a studied actor. He is a precise writer and a more precise reader. He beams with kindness and generosity. I get lost in his readings, but I don’t lose the words or the narratives. The other night, he read at Renwick Gallery in the middle of a show named for a Gertrude Stein line from the 1914 poem Tender Buttons, the same sight slighter,. It was a great setting, with the quiet (slight) artwork surrounding him. Between poems, films screened, but I really just wanted to listen – poems from Best Selling Jewish Porn Films (Turtle Point Press, 2006) and new ones, not published yet, and Stein.

Woolly Pockets

Union Square is in bloom thanks to the amazing creation Woolly Pockets, in collaboration with the New York Restoration Project and NYC Grows Festival. I discovered Woolly Pockets, an innovative and ambitious LA-based company, through my good friend Alex and I was so thrilled to see that they would be making a grand appearance in NYC for Earth Day. Woolly Pockets are flexible, breathable, and modular gardening containers, that make green space possible where there is very little space at all including cities and schools. In Union Square they've installed a forty foot long living Woolly wall, their largest ever. It features 400 Wallys planted with edible plants and native species. It's up through today and I highly recommend a visit.

You say you want a revolution

Jamie Oliver, chef-activist and recent recipient of the TED Prize given exceptional individuals to grant their "One Wish to Change the World," has a new show about revolutionizing the way American families eat (frozen pizza and chicken nuggets) and the way schools feed (frozen pizza and chicken nuggets) our children. It's called Food Revolution and everyone should watch it. I know it is reality TV. But it's real. He is bringing major issues to the forefront on a major network. It's horrifying and it often feels that he is hardly scratching the surface, but it also feels like the beginning of what really could be a revolution. He has a list of Food Heroes on his site and I think he belongs right there with them.