Merry Christmas from Gramercy

Best of 2007: Internet Stars

That's me on the corner, shaking hands with Michael Stipe and Patti Smith.

Last night there was a charity auction launch party at the Saatchi building. I saw it advertised a couple of days ago in the cafeteria, but the $50 suggested donation dissuaded me from going.

So leaving work last night there was a big swarm of paparazzi in our lobby. Tempted as I was to stick around to see the stars arrive, the thought of spending more time at work was just too much.

So as fate would have it, walking to the subway I pass by Michael Stipe (lead singer of R.E.M.) and Patti Smith (legendary singer). After letting them pass me by I knew I would regret not at least saying hi. So I did a 180 and headed back to the building. On the corner right outside Saatchi I make my attack. Tapping Mr. Stipe on the shoulder, I say hi, shake hands, and point them on their way to their party.

Cool. Confident. Comfortable. One of my best star sightings to date.

NOTE: This picture was taken just moments after our run in.

Yes indeed, it's Lou Reed

And his wife Laurie Anderson.

Thanks Johnsons!

Thankful for: Roommates who cook

George & Tony

My friend Jas had an extra ticket to The Learning Annex expo yesterday so he took me along for the ride. I got to listen to boxing superstar/entrepreneur George Foreman and to life coach/human giant Tony Robbins. Call me Mr. Motivated.

I love Photoshop.

More from the rooftop

Cool places for the week

This week I got to work on a project at a production studio in the Graybar Building. It had great views of the Chrysler Building.

As it turns out, our production company occupies the same space that was once the home of William Van Alen, the chief architect of the Chrysler Building. The studio we were in was once his study. This is his old fireplace. The room still has the original marble and cork floor.

And this is his old office. It looks straight out at the Chrysler Building.

Coincidentally, Hillary Clinton's office is on the same floor.

Oh, and somehow later in the week I ended up at Google.

The view today from work

Hewitt, New Jersey

Saatchi Sunset 11/02/07

111 Central Park North

Walking home Tuesday night I was greeted by an unusual new sight: lights and music coming from the penthouse of 111 Central Park North, our neighborhood's new luxury landmark. Curious to see know what was going on, I asked the lady standing in front of the red carpet at the entrance if I could go in. Despite her rejection, she was at least kind enough to tell me what I was missing.

So get this...Esquire magazine has rented out the 8.5 million dollar triplex penthouse for the month preceding the building's official opening. In the coming weeks we'll see various promotional events for the lifestyle magazine as well as the brands it promotes. (Think Versace, Westin, Pioneer, Kenneth Cole, Intel, Hugo Boss, etc.). Part of the proceeds go to national and local charities. I was happy to see Harlem Village Academies in the list. It's nice to know they have tried to involve the community somewhat. Maybe someday they'll involve the people most immediately affected by the new building--we the residents of 110th and 111th Streets.

I have very mixed feelings about 111 Central Park North. While I am sad that it is making the community more expensive and pushing the real Harlemites away, I can't deny feeling excited about having such a prominent building on my street. I mean after all, I am blogging about it.

Check out the official 111 Central Park North website here. See also the special Esquire site dedicated to the building here.

Here's a video about the penthouse project...

Oh, and one more thing. Jay-Z just shot his new video "Blue Magic" there too. Where was I that day!?

A history of lolcats

The History of LOLCats - Watch more free videos

Troll 2

In 1989 a group of Italian filmakers came to Porterville, Utah in hopes of making a horror movie. What they created instead is a camp classic that is being lauded two decades later as one of the best worst movies ever made.

The other day a bunch of us Harleman Hallers got together to watch this piece of Beehive State history. Check out this trailer for a new documentary about the unexpected rise to fame of Troll 2!!!

The Dyckman Farmhouse 10/27/07

A PSYCHIC VACUUMAn installation by Mike Nelson@ The Old Essex Street Market10/20/07

When Staph Strikes

In case you haven't heard, America is experiencing a dramatic increase in drug-resistant staph bacteria infections. The name for it is Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. (MRSA for short.)

The other day my friend Peter in China sent me an article from the New York Times that explains that these infections now kill more Americans annually than AIDS, emphysema or homicide. An estimated 19,000 lives were lost in 2005 alone.

From what I understand, a good portion of us all carry staph bacteria with us with no apparent consequence. For some, however, the bacteria infects the skin and wreaks havoc, usually in the form of pimples, boils, and abscesses. It's when the the bacteria (particularly MRSA) gets further into the system that the situation gets more complicated.

Many of you may remember my several skin problems last year. From March 2006 to January of this year, I had in various regions of my body three boils, one stye, and one abcess--the last of which had to be removed surgically.

After waking up to the seriousness of my problem (and some coercion from my sister), I eventually got myself onto an antibiotic treatment. From what I can tell, my system is now clean. (And, thankfully, I didn't have MRSA.) But with the latest wave of news, I've recently learned that having been put on an antibiotic in the past now puts me at higher risk for staph infection in the future.

Why am I sharing this? Well, as the Times suggests, staph isn't just my problem, it's everyone's problem. We all need to be aware of this danger and work together to keep it from becoming an even greater danger than it already is.

Here are some tips I stole from Gothamist:

-Avoid taking antibiotics unnecessarily

-When antibiotics are prescribed, take the full course

-Wash your hands throughout the day with soap and water or alcohol wipes

-Never share personal items, such as towels or razors

-Keep cuts and scrapes covered with a bandage until healed

Yes, my family is OK. Thanks for your concern.

As much of Southern California is up in flames, my parents are, fortunately, safe at home. The arrow shows my neighborhood. The fires are the red dots. One of them is relatively close, but for the time being the wind is blowing it in a different direction.