Panhandler Party

Check out this great sketch from back in August of 2012, written and produced by self-proclaimed actor, comedian, and jackass, Gary Lee Mahmoud.  I'd say this is pretty akin to my usual morning commute... where are my headphones?

BDDW Designer Furniture in Soho

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Location: 5 Crosby Street, Manhattan

Website: www.bddw.com

A good friend of mine has a background (and bizarrely intense interest) in all things cabinetry and furniture-making.  He's currently an accountant and I keep trying to convince him to follow his true passion, but that's another story.  A few weeks ago he sent me a link to BDDW's website.  I'm an interior designer by profession, so I first became aware of BDDW's existence when their leather-wrapped Captian's Mirror made the rounds on all the über-trendy decorating publications.  As with any self-respecting designer furniture label their prices are absolutely ridiculous, but that can't keep the riffraff like me out!  For the record, I tend to try and avoid the fashion/decorating faddish side of design, but my friend was relentless so we took a detour one day from shopping at Bang and Olufsen (haha) and went in to poke around...

Paperman

Mid-century New York makes a great backdrop for this heartwarming new animated short from Disney.  Rendered in nostalgic black and white,  the director John Kahrs uses a unique technique that seamlessly blends hand drawn and computer generated animation.  The film debuted at the Annecy Animated Film Festival in June of 2012, and is nominated for Best Animated Short Film at this year's Academy Awards.  It was shown before Disney's "Wreck it Ralph" in select theaters, but in case you missed it give a watch to see what all the fuss is about.

Mindrelic - Manhattan in Motion

Check out this awesome NYC time-lapse video by Mindrelic.  I've always been amazed at time-lapse photography's ability to so perfectly capture the rhythm of the city.  For you tech junkies, he's got a bunch of detailed information on the equipment he used, filming locations, music, and more on the video's page.

Smalls Jazz Club

Photo by Google Places

Location: 183 West 10th Street, Manhattan
Website: www.smallsjazzclub.com
Price: $$

On a cold January night a few weeks ago, a few good friends of mine invited me to meet them at Smalls Jazz Club in the West Village to see the David Berkman Group featuring Tom Harrell.  I'm not exactly what you would call an avid Jazz enthusiast, though I do enjoy the genre and I have been to a couple of Jazz bars in the city before.  I paid my $20 cover and descended the dark staircase into the warm glow of this subterranean retreat.

Black Door

Image courtesy Black Door

Location: 127 West 26th Street, Manhattan
Website: www.blackdoornyc.com
Price: $$



Located on an otherwise desolate block in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, Black Door draws a happy hour crowd of well-dressed young professionals for after-work drinks.  With no TVs, no jukebox, and no food, this bar is ideal for a few good drinks and conversation with friends.  If you're looking for a rowdy place to slam some Milwaukee's Best, scarf down a burger, and throw a few bucks worth of Kid Rock into the jukebox while waiting for your train from Penn Station, this is not your bar.  However, if you're the type who likes to engage in conversation with interesting and diverse people while sipping well-mixed cocktails poured by dapper bartenders who know what they're doing, then you've come to the right place.

NYC Restaurant Week

Apiary NYC - Photo by ZagatBuzz

Website: www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek
Price: $$-$$$

The new year is here, the trees are on the curb, the holidays are officially over.  We here in New York have little to look forward to but trudging through two months of bitter cold, biting winds, and never knowing if that slushy black area in front of the curb is wet pavement or filthy ankle-deep ice water that will immediately pour over the top of our shoes and ruin our day.  But never fear, there is one small saving hope to help us through the season.  The winter installment of New York City's semi-annual Restaurant Week kicks off tomorrow, January 14th, hooray!