Heart-wrenching documentary: Dear Zachary

28 Mar

Netflix’ed last night: Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008), a deeply upsetting documentary about the failure of the justice system. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne explores the life and times of his childhood friend, Andrew Bagby, who was brutally murdered by an ex-girlfriend. When Kurt started the film it was to memorialize Andrew by talking to his friends and family—then the evil ex-gf reveals she’s pregnant with Andrew’s baby. His parents fight for custody … until the unthinkable happens.

See this—just not when you’re in the mood for a rom com.

Here’s the trailer.

Dig this new track from The Chemical Brothers

25 Mar

Soooo catchy! It’s called The Devil is in the Beats, from the upcoming movie Hanna starring Cate Blanchett.

LOVE those Chem Bros.

Hear music that’s not played out at RCRD LBL

23 Mar

Totally basic: On the RCRDLBL site you can hear new and emerging artists and download their MP3s. It’s completely free and legal. And there are some SICK remixes.

Because Chris Brown is a tool.

Jam on it.

Jadis Wine Bar on Rivington

22 Mar

Not sure how I’ve lived in NYC without knowing about this place but it’s fair to say my life is now a step closer to being complete.

Jadis is an affordable, spacious and unpretentious wine bar on the LES. Cavernous and comfy, it has small, intimate tables but also deep couches for bigger parties (a wine-bar rarity). Most bottles are under $29; go on Monday to save 30% on bottles over $30. Wines by the glass are half-price from 5pm to 7pm Tuesday through Saturday.

And the cheese, glorious cheese! We had manchego, camembert, brie goat and gruyere and oh, about an entire baguette. They do not skimp on portions. The food was plentiful enough for five people, but delicious enough that the two of us cleaned up. Oops.

Swedish House Mafia: Take One

14 Mar

Take One is a 45-minute documentary that follows house music DJs Swedish House Mafia over two years as they hit 250+ gigs in 15 countries. The guys—Steve Angello, Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso—are sometimes funny, other times obnoxious and even a little fat (sorry), BUT they produce awesome tracks and make crowds of thousands of people go ape shit crazy. And I dig that.

Check out the trailer.

Hear their most famous track, One.

More awesome live tracks here.

Secret Society of Women

11 Mar

Founded by Vivendi’s Sophia Kim and TV journalist Lisa Ling, Secret Society of Women is a free website for females to anonymously share their secrets, confessions and admissions with other women. You must create an account to read the boards but it’s an interesting—and sometimes depressingly enlightening—look at what other women are going through. Just when you thought you were totally alone…

Life in a Day

10 Mar

Life in a Day is the story of one single day on Earth: July 24, 2010. Thousands of people from 192 countries took video footage on that day and uploaded it to YouTube. The film’s director (Kevin Macdonald of Touching the Void) and producer Ridley Scott  had 80,000 clips from which to choose to create this 90-minute documentary about interconnectedness and life on our planet. See how the other half live … supposedly coming to theaters exactly one year later on July 24, 2011.

Privacy, Please

8 Mar

Just got back from the Bahamas where the highlight was a day trip we took away from bustling Nassau to a tiny private island in Exuma. It took about an hour via speedboat. We fed grapes to iguanas, pet sting rays and witnessed shark-wrestling (and then watched unsuspecting snorkelers float a few feet away from those same sharks)! The company Power Adventures also hosts private events on the tiny island: an all-inclusive wedding for 50 people is $15,000, including transportation. Pretty reasonable considering the location, scenery and amazing fresh food (and endless rum). And with a private guest house, the newlyweds—or anyone, really—can sleep over for $250 a night!

Corsino Cantina

4 Mar

I’m often underwhelmed by Italian restaurants and leave annoyed at having spent money on a mediocre meal. Not at Corsino. This spot is warm, welcoming and serves fantastic dishes—and is just far enough from the ewww Meatpacking District. Standouts include risotto croquettes, baked ricotta and heritage brisket meatballs. They also have about 15 crostinis, if that’s your thing. My go-to pasta is so damn simple and good: fusilli, lemon, scallions, chili & pecorino romano. Sit at the huge granite bar in the middle of the action—and don’t leave without ordering the affogatto.

Tip: This is a great pick for out-of-towners: vibrant scene, quality food, zero hype. And they take reservations.

Photos © Corsino

Artist Steve Keene

1 Mar

Meet Brooklyn artist Steve Keene. He paints all sorts of random images (and sometimes words) on wooden boards. Order through his website and he’ll send you a bunch of medium- to large-sized works for just $21. You literally have no idea what will come in the mail. Or, you can head to his studio on a Sunday afternoon to handpick what moves you in the moment. I also grabbed a steel necklace the last time I was there.

This guy will surprise you. And do you know how few surprises there are in life?

Steve Keenes in our apt.

This piece always gets compliments.

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