a visual collective outlet of inspiration
worth a stop by… clic gallery 255 center street opening night for the publication of mourning diary translation by richard howard, october 19, 2010, RSVP is required. by dd
NY places
le bain NYC: the cesspool that it is
stopped by after dinner at the coveted le bain which mirrors the legendary lame-o 80’s le bain douche in paris with an added 2 feet by 2 feet cesspool that i can not believe anyone would dare to enter. over rated place unless you’re getting free drinks, and have the right people with you like pp and kl to make any place fun… but i guess that’s how everything is. i’d go to the boom boom room before this and lord knows how much i hate the boom boom room. by xy
Darjeeling limited: Waris Ahluwalia’s new tea room at the highline
waris’ the tea room located under the NYC highline is set up through October 17th and it will surely be fun to stop by at tea time. by dd
highly disputed 51 park: the ground zero mosque by soma architects
renderings of the park51 community center, aka ground zero mosque, as prepared by the architectural design consultants soma architects
who ever knew this is what those “evil-doers” were planning all along? as much as the “playground of the devil”, manhattan, is a non-religious city as a whole, and more than that, a godless city for that matter, i must say that if this center is to be designed properly, as some of the fabulous churches and synagogues in the city that are more than holly, then its a welcome site indeed. ironically i was sent this clip from CNN which is pertinent to this issue, and although we don’t dabble into politics on tomorrow started, this post is as much about urban planning and architecture as the lady gaga is about her music… not to mention that we cant resist but to oppose bigotry and malinformation of any kind and will find a way to do so.
from CNN: a synagogues reborn in beirut lebonan. by xy
jean-luc godard: film socialisme
very funny how lincoln center chose to place patti smith as the single image defining the godard film in their booklet. not that any one image could do the job, but given patti was almost irrelevant in the film, and perhaps a good lure is rather funny.
for those expecting to see a rock film, be advised….la porte etroite, renoir, palestine, jj martin, des choses comme ca, napoli, greece, andre gide, patti smith, cruise ship, opera, egypt, wind, balzac, barcelona, hitler, chris marker jab and meow meow… just a few of the things i took away on sept 29th.
115 years of cinema and the man dominating the second half of it, was at it again. godard’s latest film at the new york film festival at lincoln center was a must see. first off let me say how much i love lincoln center, it reminds me of why i love new york so much. just being there i felt vibrant and at ease, its the best of new york in one place. the film started on time, and the audience was a who’s who of film buffs. I ran into wes anderson after the film while getting a coffee in the lobby before going back in for the discussion panel. ironically i had just seen ‘the fantastic mr. fox” and i told him how disappointed i was that jarvis cocker had such a short role in that.
anyhow, back to film socialisme. as i had anticipated i was amazed, bored-to-tears and lost. to clarify, godard remains my hero but that doesn’t change this. after prenome carmen, in my opinion, you must be fluent in french in order to watch a JLG film. even then you best have read up on your literature, art history and philosophy to put that puzzle together. the audio is so dense and layered there is simply no way to do subtitles on the later godards. i was mad at myself for my lack of lingual stamina–if nothing, just to be able to see his films. so yes, it’s not for everyone and chances are it will not be released in cinemas. but as balzac said: you must never forget… who your real daddy is. by dd
momofuku: finally tried this gem of a joint
momofuku noodle bar
ok before you bitch pp, i know this isn’t a new joint. but i finally got to try the famous dishes at momofuku, a ‘kindda” korean based, casual restaurant in new york’s east village. the food was simply amazing and nothing you could have anywhere else. if you happen to like that you’ll be going back as i will.
we arrived around 9pm to a packed 40 minute wait, medium sized restaurant. the crowd remained and so did the wait on this thursday night until we left around 10:30-11. the place is quite simply done and super clean. almost too clean – tending to lean a bit on the prefab/suburban. the ikea bleach wood was taken to the n’th degree. i sort of missed a bit of that grit in such a special place. that said, in all of this suburban-ism, i appreciated the clean bathroom. nicely sealed on all 4 edges from any of those summer visitors that are bound to be somewhere near by, with a small stainless sink and a hand blower that actually worked. little details that went a long way.
a serious helena christensen and some handsome, young, happy actornow, onwards to the food (and we had plenty of it): i started by sharing an orion beer with my dashing companion. tried the soy marinated egg (6/10) then a chicken mole tamale (10/10) moved on to sliced raw sea scallop with yuzu kosjo, sauteed cilantro-yum!, and beets (10/10) and then some pork buns made like tacos with two thick slices of pork rolled into the flat bun (8/10). for main-course, i had the chilled spicy (and they mean spicy) noodles with sichuan sausage, spinich, and suger cashews and my date the ginger scallion noodles, the only vegetarian dish on the menu! a bottle of sparkling water was required to wash it all down. our total bill something under a $100. not bad. the place is highly recommended.
as an extra; for those who may care… lovely model helena christensen and some handsome young actor josh hartnett, were sitting next to us at the bar. they had practically the same dishes as us, spicy noodles, the scallop, and the sorts… so josh if you are reading this, just wanna say that i know you where copying my order ; ) by dd
stylist danny santiago: couvet lounge
unfortunately we can’t go tonight but looks like it could be fun. covet lounge. let us know how it goes. by kl
don’t forget to shave: no appointment necessary at the F.S.C. barber shop
men only. no dogs. no cats. no ‘boys’ with long hair.
was never a big fan of straight edge razors, i’ve actually had one for 12 years (and still have) but never dared even try it, that said, under a capable hand, and in such a manly atmosphere… why not! let’s give that a try.
F.S.C. barbershop:
barber services price list: $25 men’s trim, $40 men’s haircut, $40 straight razor shave, $75 shave and a haircut, $25 hangover treatment. 8 rivington street (between bowery & chrystie). hours of operation: monday to friday – 11:00 to 8:00pm, saturday – 11:00 to 7:00pm, sunday – 12:00 to 6:00pm. by dd
for sale
the most famous house in brooklyn is for sale! located at 70 willow street, it’s the place where truman capote wrote “breakfast at tiffany’s” in 1958. the infamous writer lived in this victorian house overlooking manhattan from 1955 to 1965. the yellow house with it’s spectacular 38 windows, 11 fireplaces, a fresco copied on the white house one and a gigantic garden as only the houses in the south have is on the market at sotheby’s for $18 millions. not exactly a brooklyn hipster house. truman capote rented the basement from broadway art director oliver smith who is remembered for the sets of “west side story”. in his book “house in the heights”, capote wrote that he made smith drink way too much in order to convince the art director to let him rent the basement. friend george plimpton, wrote that capote was waiting for smith to leave and organized fancy parties while acting as if the house was his. giving guests tours of the house, talking how he had it entirely redecorated.
he only left the house to move permanently to the plaza.
anybody? i’m interested in renting the basement by pp’
ACE hotel New york: munny exhibit this saturday may 15
looks like the event below (april 13) was rather timely and dead-on the pulse. but what’s all this fuss with the munny… how cute can cute get! this is gotta be great, especially given contributors like tobias wong are involved. this saturday may 15th from 9PM to 2AM at the ace hotel. more info here. by ppd
ryan mcginley – everybody knows…
on top of being nyc star last week with the most crowded opening ever, ryan mcginley released this beautiful book, published in association with the great dashwood books store on bond street to celebrate “everybody knows this is nowhere”.
haven’t seen it for real (as the exhibition, see photo…) but looks really nice. by pp’
new york fashion week 2010: no model will compare: d’aquisto, d’angelico and gibson vintage guitars
fashion week is around the corner, hipsters are getting ready, magazines, luxury brands and model agents are throwing their parties… and hell, we will probably dread to a few, but i strongly doubt if we’ll find anything this beautiful and tempting at any one place in new york this season…
let me tell you… 12 years ago i bought a hand made classical/acoustic guitar from the legendary rudy’s music on 48th street (NYC) built by a small unknown guitar maker from spain for a little over a 1000. this guitar has become my love ever since, and the soft warm sound and the cedar smell has been my sole source of inspiration in unsuccessfully mastering eric satie triads… fast-forward to last friday, a cold sunny new york day, when i was strolling past the window of a music store in soho (who ever knew there was one?) where i saw a vintage gretsch. i walked in… past the gretschs, and simply fell in love again. upstairs were 12-16 pieces of craftsmanship to die for. it was only then, that i realized that this was in fact the newly opened rudy’s music downtown… and of course… (i mean who else?) now all i need is enough practice to earn and more importantly deserve one, and a lot more money to ever afford one. here are just 3 of my new loves. all totally acoustic, and all beautifully crafted…
item # 1: the 1998 d’aquisto prototype – $140,000 +plus“james d’aquisto became an apprentice to acclaimed archtop builder john d’angelico when he was 17 and started making guitars under his own name when d’angelico died in 1964. in the opinion of many collectors, d’aquisto’s archtops were actually superior to d’angelico’s legendary instruments. the model above (avant garde) is considered one of d’aquisto’s finest achievements. he made this prototype in 1988 for vintage guitar dealer/collector hank risan who supplied the luthier with many ideas about its construction. risan sold the guitar to a private collector for $140,000. that said perhaps the most valuable d’aquisto is a one-of-a-kind advance model (not pictured) that was made for renowned vintage guitar collector, scott chinery. the estimated value of that guitar is $250,000, but, according to chinery collection curator, mike carey, it is not for sale”.
these are not electric guitars, but fully acoustic ones
item #2: gibson (1939) super-400C
you cant ever compare any two but here’s a more affordable masterpiece that still beckons a certain mastery. a beautifully crafted acoustic gem. (1939 gibson super 400C – S/N EA5384) “with original sunburst finish and spruce top, maple back/sides, 2 piece maple neck, ebony fingerboard and chrome hardware.”
item #3: gibson (1929) L-5 “snakehead”and yet another rare dream… closer in reach than the first, but still a handful of responsibilities. “…a 1929 Gibson L-5 “snakehead” in original vintage sunburst finish. the guitar had the fretboard professionally replaced years ago. a little bit of binding repair has been done on the body, but very minimal. otherwise in fantastic original condition! plays beautifully, and sounds gorgeous!”
so if you are here, for what ever reason, and if you care for such things, don’t miss the chance to visit rudy’s. conveniently located near cipriani downtown. please park all cheesy italian sports cars in the back. by dd
