Origami Holidays and High Line in the Snow

Our friend Talo Kawasaki created a shadow box Three Kings installation for a restaurant called El Quinto Pino (in Chelsea). A group of us attended the event featuring the beautiful exhibit. Food and bubbly was also provided, definitely try the mushroom croquette when you’re back!

The snowman above is made of three rose auditoriums (designed by our friend Uyen and folded by Talo).

Since it was snowing that day and the High Line was a block or two away, Linda and I braved the snow to see NYC’s winter wonderland! I never paid much attention to the benches but their colors sure stand out!

I found blue TANT (a type of origami paper, comes in mono color with plenty of variations) colored building! How awesome. 

For food afterwards, Linda and I visited yet another Westville and ordered these four market sides with blackened chicken and salmon. Brussel sprouts, fennel, butternut squash, and plantains.  Tried soy chai latte (thumbs up) at Whole Foods and liked it, even though I always go for the almond latte. If you are adventurous, you can get latte with the following types of milk at Whole Foods: regular cow milk, soy, almond, and rice.

Thanksgiving 2013 in Photos

2013 marks the first time my parents joins J’s family for Thanksgiving. We all had a good time.

My favorites were all back. In order: zucchini quiche, sweet potato with marshmallows, turkey (cranberry not pictured), and corn bread.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a pic of L’s deserts. She made tarts and pies and all kinds of goodies.

After dinner we didn’t do a lego set or music but had a juggling contest. Pretty impressive.

I didn’t do any black Friday shopping but did make the two following investments over the weekend: Crunchyroll Anime Account and Brooklyn Botanical Garden Membership. On crunchyroll I binged on the entire season of Madoka. When I went back to NY I had so much cabin fever that I joined a walking tour at the garden. It was a sunny and crisp day and no crowds. I highly recommend it. Below are some pics from the garden, featuring trees with interesting barks and a bonsai plant with autumn colors!

After spending a good amount of time in the cold outdoors, decided to call up my friend Wes and splurge on ice cream at Ample Hills. Sadly we ate all the ice cream before taking pics. Tip: they also have amazing coffee and hot chocolate if you don’t want ice cream in the winter (blasphemy!). Line isn’t as long as warmer weather times and of course there is plenty of seating. Our orders were:

salted crack caramel - this was a crowd favorite when we first went with origami group post cherry blossom festival at BBG in the spring

stout chocolate Guinness –  amazing dark chocolate with Guinness flavor. goes super well with caramel.

honey – this is so tasty, I don’t know why more places don’t have honey flavored ice cream?!

cookie au lait – coffee ice cream with cookies (think fancier oreo ice cream!). can’t go wrong with this.

Boston Philharmonic

Program included Wagner, Mozart, and Brahms. I don't go to classical concerts very often these days so it was nice to try it out. Wonderful venue and also at the suggestion of my friend Ying at MIT.

I guess I will count this as 'exploring music venues' part of the new year resolution. Another plus is that it's relatively close to restaurants. We tried indian food which was pretty good. 

I just remember it wasn't as easy to find reasonably priced food around Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. or maybe I should give it another try. 

Art and Inspirations at MoCCa Fest 2013

Before my first experience at Museum of Comic and Cartoon Arts Festival (MoCCa Fest) this past weekend, I did not know much about indie comics/illustration. After attending some panels and browsing through the art, I gained a better understanding about this world and managed to add many artists to my to-read list. This event is also associated with Society of Illustrators and took place at the Armory building on 25th and Lexington. http://www.societyillustrators.org/Mocca_Event.aspx?id=8605

Throughout the weekend there were panels on comics, art, animation, and history. I was surprised that the panels were held in a rather humble room in the lower level, given that the Indie Game convention I went to had such a huge number of rooms etc. The main attraction was the ground floor with publishers/artists/studios displaying their works. There were also author signings/personalization available.  I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of tables/booths on the first day and decided to take it easy. The museum had several collected works on display. One was called “Day Job” and features famous people in creative industry and what they had as on the side.

Memorable Panel Moments

Zippy
I arrived toward the end of this panel when Bill Griffith was showing some funny segments of the comic and themes like bowling, laundry, and how to become a daily syndicate. He also shared how he keeps up with the news and current trends to include in the comics.
http://www.zippythepinhead.com/pages/aabillgr.html

Business Sense
The panel shared several tips: Make deadlines. Learn to work with people (agents, publishers, referrals, assistants, interns, etc). Ask for legal consultation to protect work and negotiate favorable rates. Study the market and trends. Most of all, don’t work for free. Having been to several career events, these things are not that surprising to me. But it’s good to see no matter what industry you are in, consistent work and good inter-personal relationships are always important.

Animation and Storytelling
This was my favorite panel. The guests started out by sharing their experience switching from illustration to animation. While repetitive drawing is required, brining a character to life is worth the work. After viewing their animation clips, I noticed all of them possess a knack for storytelling and for translating stories into beautifully rendered animation. 

• Twins are Weird “Cee Cee’s Bedtime Story” made the entire audience laugh/cry. Go watch it! http://twinsareweird.com/shorts/
• Signe Baumane “Rocks in my Pockets” project was really moving and deals with the subject matter of depression. Need to look for it when it’s completed.
  http://www.rocksinmypocketsmovie.com/
• Bill Plympton http://www.plymptoons.com/
  I wanted to see more of the project with cowboys. The Simpsons couch gag was amazing too.

Loot

[art book] [freedom comic] [greeting card] and
Two little booklets from the Swag Table
the lawn and dirty diamonds

Food / Drinks

Shake Shack [link to custard calendar]

Saturday special is Salted caramel. I recommend pairing it with vanilla or chocolate. Thank God for B line for saving us from the burger line that almost reached the Flat Iron Building.

Gregory Coffee [link]
Great latte that comes with latte art in a real cup to stay. Also liked  seating and art on the wall. The lighting is really unfortunate though. Doesn’t make it easy for people to linger.

Spring Time in NY

Even though people always sing about autumn or Christmas time in NYC, every season is NYC is quite special. After a snow/wintry mix passed through the city this past week, the sky cleared up and we got spring temperatures for the weekend. It’s not surprising many people sought cure for their cabin fever by embracing a sunny spring afternoon outdoors. Leave behind those heavy winter coats and snow boots, bring out colorful wind breakers, and welcome spring to our city!

Hudson Pier 45

http://www.hudsonriverpark.org/explore-the-park/locations/pier-45
Pier 45 West Side (cross at Christopher)

I usually visit the Hudson River Parks in the summer for their outdoor concerts or movies. I’m glad I dropped by pier 45 today because the open space and sun light were divine. Nothing quite as fun as walking for miles in the sun. We may not have a beach on the west side, but we are proud of our walkaways and piers.

You can explore the entire collection of parks on their site. While lounging on the pier, I tried out the panorama function on my phone.

Coffee break

Le Pain Quotidien Chocolate bread with cherry jam and ricotta. Masala chai latte. I would recommend the chocolate bread again (seasonal special until April). I’ll probably stick to coffee/lattes next time instead of the chai. Note that the location I went to is steps away from the south end of High Line park. Look for a communal table inside, or get take out at the store. I also saw a booth of theirs outside but not sure if it’s the full menu or just coffees/pastries.

Apple Store West 14th

http://www.apple.com/retail/west14thstreet/

Apple fan or not, most people appreciate the aesthetics of Apple stores in Manhattan. From the iconic cube near Central Park, the fantastic sky light in SoHo, main concourse area in Grand Central Terminal, to this one within blocks of High Line. When you’re there, check out the view of busy streets/cafes from the 2nd and 3rd floor.

High Line

http://www.thehighline.org/

14th Street to 30th Street (check site for entrances) near 10th Ave.

Most people probably already know about this rail yard-turned-nature park. Everyone (locals and visitors) all came out from hibernation and gathered here to walk along the High Line. I found some flowers and berries poking out of snow (pictured).

IndieCadeEast 2013–Games and Creativity

While I’ve played my share of video games growing up, I didn’t know much about independent games or game development before I attended IndieCadeEast 2013. Thanks to Diana, we made our way to the Museum of Moving Image in Queens this past weekend to the first IndieCade on the east coast. After two and a half days of intense convention activities, I learned a thing or two about games, crowd energy, creative design, and play testing. Warning: this entry has a lot of media. Proceed with caution.

fancy logo. Link to Indiecade East site

just a shot of the museum entrance.

Five Memorable Convention Moments (more details after the jump)

1. Renga AI: "Your fourth harvester looks really useful now”
2. Game Design Workshop: Post-It Pirates playtest sessions
3. Hokra Play-by-Play Sports Commentary during Sports Friends Session
4. Super Shove Shove Ending Screen during CAPY keynote by Kris.
5. Three way tie for the three “Well-Played” sessions I attended. All the presenters gave engaging presentations and shed some light onto games that I had not otherwise known about.

---

1. Renga Rant

http://wallfour.co.uk/
When D. and I first lined up on Sat. night for this game in the main theater (bigger of the two theaters), we didn’t know what to expect. The volunteer who was handing out the laser pointers instructed every row to pass down the laser pointers (1 per 3 people only). Since we sat on the aisle, I decided to skip it and let my neighbor participate while we observed. Later on in the show, he was nice enough to let us try as well.

Game premise: Team space shooter
The Execution: 100-players (total strangers) + laser pointers (aka annoying red things) = crowd ecstasy and/or complete chaos.
The Twist: We are all dependent on each other to build a ship, fight off enemies, and survive!
Side effect: Continuous blabbering about how cool this game is and seeing “quads” and “radial” shapes every where.

The context for the AI comment "Your fourth harvester looks really useful now” came after we opted to built yet another harvester despite being blown to bits by enemies. The ship can build different parts after each round of attacks. A “launch” engine is said to be the primary goal because the ship needs to build four launch engines in order to go home. Then there are “silo” ship units to hold supplies and “harvesters” which are little ships that can grab supplies to bring back to the silos. Harvesters have no offense so they get destroyed easily during attack.

Grand Central Terminal Turned 100

As you may have heard, Grand Central Terminal turned 100 a week ago. If you missed the grand party on Feb 1 (no pun intended), you can still check out the design exhibit currently as well as other fun celebrations in the months to come. http://www.grandcentralterminal.com/centennial/

the real thing is a bit bigger than this…

More photos in the Shutterly Album here.

Other Fun Links:

100 Facts from Village Voice [article link]

Improv Freeze Video [youtube link]

Improv Light Show from Centennial [youtube link]

My Favorite GCT recommendations:

Upstairs:

Take a look at the exhibit and train related merchandise at MTA Museum Annex Store

Find a place to stand (without getting run over) and admire “the sky” and “the clock”

Buy some fancy Spanish ham at the Market (and try not to be shocked by the price, it’s totally worth it)

Chill out at the Apple Store (yes there is an Apple store in GCT…)

Downstairs:

Eat lunch at the Oyster Bar

Grab some gelato at Ciao Bella

Indulge in Magnolia Cupcakes

Nearby:

Catch a glimpse of Chrysler Building (who needs fancy lightning when you’re as iconic as the Chrysler Building, ahem, looking at you, ESB)

Visit the Lions and inside the NYPL Schwartzman Building

Walk around Bryant Park and check out all the events on their calendar (and juggle!)

Random fact:

It took me a while to visit GCT (it wasn’t part of the family outing to NY, unlike natural history museum and the xmas tree). In fact, it may have only occurred to me to visit after the movie Madagascar. Yes, the true New Yorker movie…

Self-Portraits: An All-Star Gathering at Figureworks

My friend Stephanie had always wanted to explore Brooklyn, and what better way to do so than a gallery tour? Armed with smartphone apps NY ArtBeat ($1.99, absolute essential app for art lovers, including galleries and openings around the NY area) and Art & Absinthe Guide to Brooklyn (free, with whimsical artwork and cocktail recipes), we roamed around Williamsburg on one cold January Sunday. Out of the 5 or so galleries we visited, I enjoyed The Self-Portraits exhibit at FigureWorks the most. The friendly owner Randall was kind to share stories of the artists and works with us.

Figureworks Gallery

168 North 6th Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Sat / Sun 1-6pm (also check schedule for 2nd Fridays in Brooklyn)
http://www.figureworks.com/
Self Portraits Exhibit runs through March 3, 2013
All Images courtesy of Figureworks [harris@figureworks.com], taken with my iphone 4S.

Elim Mak – heart illumination

This one immediately caught my eye because it reminded me of traditional Chinese watercolors. The silver lines of the fierce tiger profile and the soft brushstrokes create a fine contrast. The heart illustration (veins and all) is straight out of a science class but doesn’t seem out of place in this composition. Fun fact: she also does comic books! [artist link]

Howard Eisman – Portrait of a Renaissance Man

Steph and I were fascinated with this piece and Randall was able to help us piece the whole thing together. The artist uses this medium for his normal works. So it makes sense for his self-portrait to reflect his medium. While it looks like it could be translucent, the entire work is actually quite heavy. You have to look closer at the real thing (this photo doesn’t do justice) to see different aspects of life that he included inside the colorful collage. Some of his other works do not have the wooden backboard, so you can imagine an abstract form floating on the wall.
[artist link]

Fred Hatt – Self Portrait

Randall said that Fred (the artist) looks exactly like this self-portrait. At a meet-and-greet event, most gallery visitors were able to recognize him. I haven’t attended an event yet but you can view a photo of the artist on his website. In the gallery, there is a video of the creative process on display next to this portrait. Steph and I were both surprised to see how the artist worked his way through the picture, without actually outlining the face first. He went straight to the eyes with blue outlines, before the beard and mouths were even formed. [artist link]

Other Notes

There were many other self-portraits of different mediums and stories. I wonder if Randall will publish a catalogue of the different pieces along with their stories. The reason why I called the title of the show “all-stars” is because most of the artists had already had their own shows at FigureWorks. If you think about it, a gallery usually features one or two artists at a time. This show is actually a great way to meet 50 artists all at once and learn about their styles and stories.

This exhibit also made me ponder what my self-portrait would look like. Probably a mix of maps/city photos/music, a multimedia experience. When I wrote about my “welcome corner” [blog entry], Steph did say it was a way to reflect my personality. Maybe subconsciously I was already starting to make my own self-portrait.

What medium and materials would you use to make your self-portrait? If you need inspiration, check out the show at Figureworks.

2013 Resolution - Explore More Music Venues

One of the many things people take for granted in NYC is the opportunity to see live shows every single night. Besides signing up for Songkick and exploring new music from various podcasts [placeholder for podcast blog entry], I wanted to move beyond my regular music venues in 2013. To J.’s observation (and complaint), I default to Terminal 5 way too often. In fact, had I made my resolution: “don’t go to terminal 5 this year”, I would have already broken it. I already booked a show in March (at least it’s a new band). Feel free to suggest shows and/or venues. I don’t mean to replicate Nick’s adventures although I was certainly inspired by his 100 days 100 concerts.

If I count Winter Jazzfest [blog entry], I would have already been to six new venues in January. Instead of counting just numbers of venues attended, I will evaluate progress/success by the number of blog entries I write up by the end of 2013. I hope to find some new favorites along the way and maybe even introduce friends to new places.

To officially kick off the resolution, let’s start with Arlene’s Grocery.

Jan 21, 2013 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Bands:

Hani Zahra http://hanizahra.bandcamp.com/
The Wives http://the-wives.bandcamp.com/

On Tab:

Peak Organic Winter Sessions [more description here]

Comments:

I was overwhelmed by the crowd energy (including dancers in the front row) which I had not expected from a free show on a Monday night (p.s. Arlene’s has free Mondays!). I was standing rather close to the band (as you can tell from the photos above). The neighborhood around the venue offers plenty of good eats pre- and post- concert so I would highly recommend planning a show with food next time. There’s even an arcade bar nearby.

Question of the Night:

What does it take to be a successful band?
Is it the raw talent (skillful with instruments, haunting vocals) or crowd presence (totally owning the space, playing like you’re in MSG even if it’s a small venue like Arlene’s?) or interaction among the band members (cohesiveness, fun banter)? Does it take way too much time trying to connect with fans via social media? Does the immediacy of facebook wall postings and twitter take away from the mystery of a new/indie band?

Souvenir:

Hani Zahra EP for J. As the band mentioned… “we are not on itunes”. Note to self: check back in a year and see what happens. I just listened to the EP and have to say I’m happy I got it. Too bad it’s still really difficult to replicate a live show, just have to track them on Songkick for the next concert! On second listen… I really like “Tamed”.

Research for more music venues:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-live-music-venues-in-new-york-city/

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/best-live-music-venues-in-new-york-city

http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/hts-best-new-york-city-music-venues/

http://www.yelp.com/c/nyc/musicvenues

2013 NYC Winter Jazzfest

Catchy line spotted on the subway: shorter days mean longer nights. Interesting way of looking at it, since most people complain about the lack of sunlight and outdoor activities in the winter months (ski is all well and good, but not a city sport). The cure? Music!
While I was researching activities from my various sources (Time Out, Village Voice, The Skint, etc), I found out about the Winter Jazzfest. Later on I found on this festival has already been going on for 9 years. It’s grown to 6 venues and 70+ bands spanning two nights. The final tally for me was 1 evening, 5 venues, 2 bar drinks, 1 coffee break, 3 complete performances, and a hand full of partial performances.

Favorite Performance

Gregory Porter (at Le Poisson Rouge) http://www.gregoryporter.com/

Favorite Venue

Le Poisson Rouge: I was here most of the evening. Many friends recommended this venue and I finally checked it out. The fish tank at the entrance is still a bit weird for me but the performance space is excellent. The gallery room is a good place to take a break too.

---

Other Venues

The Bitter End: Small venue with giant mural with legends on the left and photos of music greats on the right.

Sullivan Hall: I didn’t note the surroundings but I was within 5 rows of the band.


Bowery Electric: This venue was a bit far from the action (the other 5 venues are within block of each other). I did like the “cave” nook they set up for the performer though.


Culture Project Theater: Not a bar obviously. Can come back to check out the performances.

Zinc Bar: This is the only venue I didn’t get to visit.

List of Performance I Saw (* ones I particularly liked)

• Pedrito Martinez
• The Big Picture featuring David Krakauer
• Ari Hoenig Group*
• 40Twenty feat. Vinnie Sperazza
• Tony Malaby Tuba Trio
• James Carter Organ Trio*
• Gregory Porter*
• Bugge 'n Friends with Erik Truffaz, Ilhan Ersahin, Joaquin 'Joe' Claussell

Tips for next year and beyond

• Wear comfortable shoes.
• Don’t wear huge jackets.
• Take drink breaks (this includes coffee, water, soda, etc)
• Be open to hear new things, but feel free to venue hop
• Sit and relax once in a while. This is of course only possible in Le Poisson Rouge (in the gallery room there are some benches and seating) and Culture Project (theater has seats).
• Bookmark venues in your map app so you can look them up quickly if you venue-hop. The official program (paper copy) also has a small map which is handy. Why wasn’t it on the website?
• Check official twitter page for updates.
• Support the bands and have a great time!

Reference

official site http://www.winterjazzfest.com/
online jazz radio thejazzbee.org
twitter http://twitter.com/WJF2013