This afternoon I was surprised to see that there is a Christmas tree in the "coffee hour" area of the Brooklyn Quaker Meeting that I attend. Apparently Brooklyn Meeting even holds a "Christmas Tree Festival" for our young people where Santa Claus makes an appearance! I find this all vaguely disconcerting and un-Quakerly. Historically, Quakers…
Category: New York
Registration for Frankie Manning 95 Festival is OPEN
I can hardly believe it, but lindy hop legend Frankie Manning will be turning 95 years old next May! I'm honored to be working with a bunch of cool folks who are organizing the Frankie Manning 95th Birthday Festival. From May 21st -May 25th, 2009 (Memorial Day Weekend) lindy hoppers, jazz musicians, tap dancers, friends…
Update on Baoguette: Spicy curried corn beef sandwich!
Barry, Rafi, Nick and I had the spicy curried corn beef sandwich from the new Vietnamese bahn mi place Baoguette on Lexington near 25th Street. Consensus verdict is that it's a tad too spicy and perhaps could benefit from more cucumbers or pickled veggies. The tart mango was a nice touch, but largely overpowered by…
Making virtual pancakes at Parson’s “Playtech” open house (video)
Rafi and I checked out the "Playtech" open house at Parsons The New School for Design this afternoon, which was a lot of fun. The CDT Lab at Parsons organized "Playtech" to enable young people to check out some of the cool interactive games being developed by their grad students. Here's me playing a silly…
Food Review: Baoguette pleases with pate-packed bahn mi in Murray Hill
My colleagues Rafi, Barry, Nick and I just had some tasty bahn mi from the new Baoguette sandwich shop at 61 Lexington near 25th Street. I'm happy to report that both their chicken and pulled pork variations were mighty tasty, heavy on the pate, full of fresh and pickled veggies, and nestled in a perfectly…
SAVE THE DATE: Global Kids annual benefit January 14 in NYC with Vincent Mai of ICTJ
I just got the official word that Global Kids 2009 Winter Benefit will be held in New York City on Wednesday, January 14 from 6-9PM. This is going to be a very special event where we will be honoring Vincent Mai, CEO of AEA Investors and Co-Founder of the International Center for Transitional Justice, who…
Local teen reporter Josetta Adams on WNYC/NPR (audio)
Give a listen to this insightful radio report by local teenager Josetta Adams, talking about her own frustrations, her East Flatbush neighborhood, and her love of rock music. An intimate portrait of what it’s like growing up as a black teen in the city. Broadcast on local NPR affiliate WNYC as part of their “Radio…
Jenny and I dancing to “Roll Em Pete”
Here's the lovely and talented Jenny Sowden and me dancing last night to Count Basie's "Roll Em Pete." This was at a social dance after a show by Emily Vartanian's dance theater group "General Mischief." Video courtesy of my buddy Will. Thanks, dude.
Final breaking performance today
The PMT Breakers did our final performance today for the Fall Showcase. I'm happy to report that everyone brought the fun and in-your-face spirit of b-boying to the stage. Thanks to Pavan for coming up with the overall vision for our piece, and then giving us the freedom to create our own personal moments throughout…
Awesome breaking performance last night!
Last night at PMT Studios, my breaking performance group and I were the opening act for the Fall Dance Showcase. It was a packed audience — including a good 15 or so of my friends, family and co-workers, which was super awesome. It's both great and nerve-wracking going first in the lineup because you don't…