Mmmm. Pudding.

Tonight I bought those pre-packaged puddings at the grocery store.



I haven't bought 'em in years. But man, they're yummy.

It reminded me of when I was 14 and bicycling through Europe.

Yeah...when I was 14 I went with my mom, step-dad (Jerry), step-brother (Ben), and bestest friend (Andrea) to Europe and biked and camped for several weeks.

Andrea and I spent a lot of time:
- shopping
- flirting with boys (shocking!)
- eating pudding

The pudding part was super-silly, as we would take songs and change the lyrics so that they were all about pudding. You know, as we biked up the mountains of Switzerland. It was a nice distraction. Example - we changed If I only had the words to tell you (Billy Joel) to If I only had some chocolate pudding...

So. Hooray for pudding!

Happiness.

I feel like I do this naturally already, but now I'm gonna make a point of bloggin' good stuff daily.

Good stuff as in...stuff that has made me happy that day. (Not necessarily the most exciting stuff to read.)

In three days, Kevin is starting 100 Songs in 100 Days. He's gonna be very busy. Oh yeah...and I'm pretty damn busy myself. I'm super-excited for us, but know it will be a challenge at times for us to find time to just chill out together.

So when I get moody (it's entirely possible that within a 100-day time-frame I could indeed get moody), I'll just remind myself that life is actually very, very good.

I've been interviewed!

Hey...fellow photographer Todd interviewed me recently and you can now read it on his blog - TJ on Photography.

What are you waiting for? Check it out!

On location...

I'm on a shoot today with 10ton. They're working on a commercial and I'm taking stills. So fun!

I'm with Matt Semel, Jason Brignola, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin and others...

Interestingness

Here is a slideshow of my 50 most interesting photos, according to Flickr. :)

The Fabulous Stains

Me...tryin' to look like Diane Lane in Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains!

Check it out here!

Now if only I was a skunk.

I heart photography

Jill and I wandered the streets of New York City today taking photos. It's been a while since I took the time to do that. I mean...I pull my camera out every day. But today I kept it out for a couple hours. Fun!!

Here's Jill, lookin' all cute and sassy:


Here are a few taking advantage of my 50mm lens...






And here I am, in Chelsea Market. I managed to get out of there without getting a $14 lobster roll. Man, I could use a lobster roll about now.


I have been having a lot of fun over the past several days!!

Change in blog appearance...

I don't really care too much what my blog looks like (although if someone wanted to make it look AWESOME, I wouldn't complain).

I changed it because it was annoying that the largest photo I could fit was 400px wide and that size isn't an automatic option in Flickr.

So I chose this template and changed the settings slightly so I can now post 500px wide. YAY!

Summer Screen @ McCarren Park Pool

Last night I joined Losers (that's meant lovingly...you know, people from Loser's Lounge) Joe McGinty, Julian Maile, Joanna Choy, Julie Klausner, and friends at McCarren Park Pool for a screening of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains, from 1981. Starring Diane Lane. Written by Jonathan Demme and Nancy Dowd. Directed by Lou Adler.

Look! There's an inflatable screen!


And you can sneak food in. But not a 40oz. Julian ended up downing one before coming into the place because they wouldn't let him in with it. Ha! They also sell food - hot dogs, mini-burgers, mac&cheese, water, and soda. The screenings themselves are free. So cool!

There was also water in some areas of the pool...


While waiting for the movie to start, we got to see/hear live music from this band...the Cheatin' Hearts, I believe the called themselves. :)


The movie was great - sassy chicks, crazy hair, tender moments, shower sex, betrayal, forgiveness, boom shot, abrupt ending.


I wonder how many people in 1981 dressed like these characters for Halloween? I'm thinking of basing a self-portrait on it...it'd be super-fun.

Yeah. Movie was fun. Even more so in a pool. And even more than that watching it with a bunch of musicians.





After the movie we all went over to a cool little bar called Enid's for drink, conversation, and videogames.



I'm tellin' ya...so many fun things to do in NYC!

Just do it.

Hooray for snail mail!

Today I got a postcard from my friend Chris in Germany...what a great surprise!



Nice to get something other than bills... :)

Joe McGinty's Keyboard Karaoke @ The Lucky Cat

Just about every Monday night, Joe McGinty hosts Keyboard Karaoke at The Lucky Cat in Williamsburg.

I'm a big baby when it comes to traveling to Williamsburg. Getting there from my part of Park Slope is...not convenient. So although I'd always WANTED to go to Keyboard Karaoke, I hadn't actually done it. Till last night. At 10pm I took the trek to Wmsbrg and witnessed the fun!

So, you go in, have a few drinks, take a look at the list of hundreds of songs Joe is willing to accompany you on, pick one, get up, and...sing!



Yesterday I got an email from Eddy of Loser's Lounge saying he was gonna drop by, so...that was enough incentive to go! Not quite enough incentive to sing. But we kinda agreed that we would BOTH do it next time. There was a nice crowd there!

Here we are, not singing:


I highly recommend doin' this. It would also be a fun thing to do for a bday party...and it's free! Just tip Joe, cuz he deserves it!

Avi Vinocur & Jason Reischel @ Mo Pitkin's

Sunday night, after A Very Hoboken Picnic, Darny, Emily, Doug and I went to Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction to hear Avi Vinocur and Jason Reischel. And to eat some yummy food. And to drink beer.

We had to wait a few minutes in the lounge before goin' in, but we didn't mind. The light in there was fantastic. And we had cameras! ;)

Darny taking a photo of Emily:


Doug's photo of me and Darny:


Doug:


When we went in, Jason and Avi both said hi to us all... Here is how I know them:
- I took pics of Loser's Lounge for Joe McGinty.
- Michael Cerveris saw them and asked me to take pics at a benefit he was doing. - Lauren Molina was there and saw pics of the benefit and asked me to take pics at one of her shows.
- Jason Reischel was there and asked me to take pics at one of his shows. And Avi was at Jason's show...

I love networking!

Anyway, the show was great - very mellow singer/songwriter. Guitar. Harmonica. Vocals.

You can find them and hear a few songs on MySpace:
Avi Vinocur: http://www.myspace.com/avivinocur (listen to New York)
Jason Reischel: http://www.myspace.com/jasonreischel (listen to Every Time She Talks) (also...I think I took all the pics he put along with the songs) :)

Avi:


Jason & Avi:


Jason:

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Socks

So... Dave Wood (Flickr-known as d.rex) started something back in March. He got a pair of striped knee socks, took a self-portrait in them, and made all of Flickr (or... at least...lots of people in the 365 Days group) beg to be next!

It's the Sisterhood of the Traveling Socks (SOTTS). Each person takes a self-portrait with them and sends 'em on to the next lucky member! I'm # 26. Everyone is allowed to take lots of photos with them, but only one can be chosen to be put into the group pool.

This was Dave's original photo:


Yesterday, at A Very Hoboken Picnic, I got my friends to blow bubbles at my feet while I took some photos. I love the result, although it didn't end up exactly as I'd planned. What pictures do, really? the wind was blowing hard and the bubbles kept zooming by!

Here is one of my faves, and the one I am using for the group:


Here are a couple other photos I took with the socks...







To see other photos in the group, go here:
http://flickr.com/groups/sotts/pool/

A Very Hoboken Picnic

On Sunday, I got a group of people together to enjoy the beautiful weather and the view of the Manhattan skyline...from Hoboken!

Kevin works. He works a lot. So the picnic was a way to get him away from it for a couple hours without makin' him go too far. :) And a way for my friends to get to know him a bit.

I headed there first, spread out a big sheet, and took out Harry Potter. I only got about 7 pages in before Sam came along!

By the end, we had all these folks...

Me & Kevin:


Sam:


Lilly:


Darny & Emily:


and Doug:


As Doug arrived, so did a big cruise ship:


We talked and ate and ate and ate. Emily works at a bakery and brought the best cookies EVER. Yummy. And we had a million things from Trader Joe's. I'm obsessed with Trader Joe's. Cheese, crackers, chips, salsa, nuts, edamame, fruit, etc. Sam brought sandwiches - with jalapenos! He knows how I like to torture myself with that stuff. Doug brought popsicles and olives. Mmmmmm. :)

It was a fun time, with great people, gorgeous weather, and interesting conversation. Can we do it again? Now??

Tickets on sale! Midnight!

Midnight! (Actually 11:55pm. That's 5 minutes before you can pick up Harry Potter. Something to do while you wait. CALL! Get your tickets now! Please!)


Written by Jill, directed by Jill & Hil!

Featuring:
Mike Callaghan, Marielle Heller*, Tyler Hollinger*, Jennifer Saltzstein and Lillian Vince

DistantBoy and WriterGirl seem destined for a storybook ending, but only if he can win over her five-year-old alter ego.

Meanwhile, will the naughty MaleMuse get WriterGirl into downward dog?

And IS the Brooklyn Bridge really made of candy?

A new romantic comedy for anyone who’s ever said “I’ll know it’s love when I let him touch my iPod”.


The Linhart Theater @ 440 Studios
440 Lafayette Street
Wed 8/15 @ 9p
Sun 8/19 @ 4:30p
Thu 8/23 @ 4:45p
Fri 8/24 @ 9:45p
Sat 8/25 @ 2p



* This is an Equity Approved Showcase. These actors appear courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

Preparations...

Tonight I hung out in Hoboken.

Brian Lawlor came to Kevin's to do some preparations for 100 Songs in 100 Days.



Kevin and I each knew Brian before we knew each other. I worked with Brian on a play called Pot au Noir. I stage managed and he composed & performed the music. That was last fall. Here he is at the Chocolate Factory in Long Island City:


Looks like he'll be helping with some of the musical arrangements for for 100 Songs. So exciting!

The Fratellis

Last night Jill, Lil, Charlotte, and I went to see the Fratellis at Roseland.

I didn't know 'em really, but it was a blast! Even though I was one of the oldest people there. Oy. ;)

Here we are in the mirror-clad powder room.


Here's Jill, puttin' her face on:


Here I am, jumpin' around and havin' fun:


Some pretty pretty lights:


Oh, yeah...and here's the band. I liked the drummer. Or, at least, his arms.




It was a fun night. Hooray!