Social Cocktails

Mree Cover - Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap

2012-01-17T20:34:00.000-08:00

Wow

Anyone else cry during these Google Chrome ads?

2012-01-17T10:50:00.000-08:00

When the dad jumps in the crib I just about lose it.

Do This: SurfSET Fitness

2012-01-16T12:49:00.000-08:00

My sister and I took advantage of a day off to try the new SurfSET Fitness class over at Chelsea Piers. The SurfSET Classic looked easy enough for us beginners who have never ever been on a surf board. We showed up early to our class, the SurfSET classic described as:

New to SurfSET? Come check out this introduction to the "Core 6" exercise methods, SurfSET specialty moves and get acquainted with the RipSurferX and our extreme surf-style full body workout.

We showed up early and took the demo, thank god. You use a surfboard balanced on three balance balls tied together with some resistance and jump on. Learning how to "dive", " ride the waves", and some other things I can't remember because I was focused on keeping my balance.

It's fun. Really fun. You end up working up quite a sweat paddling out for the cardio and jumping up and down on this board all while keeping balance and not falling off (something some woman actually did right into Carly - quite funny) I am guaranteeing being extremely sore tomorrow but that's OK as I'm definitely going to book another class. Oh, and the instructors, as expected, are HOT and make it fun for everyone so don't feel intimidated if you've never jumped up on a board.

More info: http://www.surfsetfitness.com/

SurfSET Fitness Promo - The Rip Surfer X from SurfSET Fitness on Vimeo.

Glee: We are Young

2012-01-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

Try to not smile when watching this. Even if you hate Glee. Try.

I am SO excited for this

2012-01-10T13:13:00.000-08:00

I have read most of Chelsea Handler's books. My favorite being Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea so this show better not disappoint. Wednesday night at 8:30 on NBC. DO IT.

Watch This: Kristen Wiig and Paul Feig Times Talk

2012-01-08T18:48:00.000-08:00

I have such an enormous girl crush on Kristen Wiig. When my friend texted me saying he had extra tickets to the Times Talk at the NY Times Center where she and Bridesmaid director Paul Feig were speaking, I immediately said yes.

The two talked about the huge success of Bridesmaids and how the film was made including writing style, the editing process and what it takes to make a movie like that. Questions from the audience focused a lot on Wiig's hilariously popular characters on SNL.

The full video can be seen on the NY Times site here. Check it out. Heck they drink wine and play a drinking game where every time someone says "asshole" the red wine is sipped.

Photos via NY Times.

Go See This: My Week with Marilyn

2012-01-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

If only for the lead actor's adorable accent (and lips! OMG) - this movie is beautiful and Michelle Williams will 100% be nominated for an Oscar this year, heck I'd say she has a chance of winning it. Her Jen from Dawson Creek days are OVER. (P.S. out of that whole cast Michelle Williams sure has done the best---with Mrs. Tom Cruise of course following in a long distance 2nd place.)

If you're a Marilyn fan you'll be intrigued as this is another layer revealed of the actress. Who knew she was so shy and nervous about her capabilities when she was such a sexpot in public?

If you're like me and only know a small bit about Marilyn, prepare yourself to watch an ample amount of YouTube video of Miss Monroe and dig in to her Wikipedia and husband history.

Either way, go see it. Enjoy.

Go See This: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

2012-01-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

Darren Criss, yes from Glee, is currently in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Thanks to the lovely Daniel who waited outside in line to get Lauren and I tickets with him, I had the pleasure of going last night. Go see it. Run, don't walk as the tween girls who skipped out of the theater did before the curtain call to get in line for a potential Darren autograph.*

The music to this show is not amazing like Memphis (another show you should see by the way), but the entertainment factor is 10 going on 11. Hilarious, dancing is fantastic and you just smile throughout.

*Disclosure: The three of us waited for a bit outside hoping for a glimpse to appease our inner gleek, but no such luck. Boo.

Go Buy This: Cordies by quirky

2012-01-05T07:28:00.000-08:00

An early "you're welcome" to the organizationally challenged. As part of my New Year's goals, not resolutions, I want to become organized. This item, something that costs only $9.99 is doing the trick on my desk at work.

Goodbye wires hanging off desks and flying missing behind my monitors. Buy them here.

The Most Important Question of 2012: Who will be the next Ryan Gosling?

2012-01-03T12:25:00.000-08:00

2011 was Year of the Gosling. Try and argue against that.

He was in 3 movies that included him looking extremely attractive in all three. One of them made every woman in America swoon as he (shirtless) lifted Emma Stone in the Dirty Dancing lift scene we all dream of doing.
He had a protest to get him to be the Sexiest Man Alive after Bradley Cooper won it.
He stopped a fight and it was recorded on YouTube.
He had 80 million (not exact # but honestly there are tons) of memes devoted to this man.
HE. WAS. EVERYWHERE.

Still not sold, then look at this and be on with it.

And while I am one of Ryan's loyal supporters, I must say that 2012 is the year of someone new. A new man with rock hard abs will enter our world and take on the title of Man of the Year on the Internet.

My prediction goes to Tom Hardy. Mark it down. You heard it here first. Mr. Tom Hardy, aka BANE from the upcoming ridiculously awesome looking Batman movie, the other Spy in Spy vs. Spy, the hot guy with the accent from Inception will take our hearts with his swoon-worthy accent and...yea...I mean just look at him.

Who else do we think stands a chance against the legend that is Gosling? Or will Ryan continue on this year with another sweep?

Note: Please read this lightheartedly, I'm kidding around and hope you will to with this.

Goodbye 2011: Hello 2012

2012-01-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

A day late but 2011 was a good year. I did a recap list of all I did last year and figured why not do it again. Fun to look back on.

I ran my second Ragnar Relay and had an even crazier time than the first year.
I spent a lot of time at the beach.
I took more vacations. (Road trip to Lollapalooza in Chicago with Sarah, Las Vegas weekend with all of my college friends, Fort Lauderdale weekend with Carly)
I saw a lot of concerts. (Foster the People, Lana Del Rey Matisyahu, Sara Bareilles, Ray LaMontagne, City and Color, Fitz and the Tantrums and all of the many ridiculous show at Lollapalooza)
I saw just as many Broadway shows (Sister Act, American Idiot, Godspell, Traces, A Life in the Theater, Memphis)
I watched two friends get married: Bryan and Katherine.
I made a lot of new friends.
I drove halfway across the country with two puppies in a SUV.
I visited the south and by south I mean the real south of the Mason Dixon line for the first time...ever. (Minus Florida but that doesn't count as the south to me)
I hugged friends announcing their engagements.
I cried with excitement for friends announcing they were expecting!
I ate at a lot of great restaurants. (I shall call 2011 the year of the DESSERT thanks to Chantelle.)
I smiled and laughed a lot and an awesome year.

On to 2012 I hope to have just as good of a year if not better.

Happy New Year everyone!

Watch This: Senna

2011-12-27T13:23:00.001-08:00

When a friend told me to watch Senna, I was skeptical. A documentary about a famous race car driver doesn't usually fall into the "Types of movies Kristin watches on a regular basis" list...but I trust his judgement, loaded up Netflix and was captured.

The film is fantastic. Telling the story of Ayrton Senna who won the Formula 1 championship three times (I learned this is apparently a very big deal) all through cut film clips documenting his life and career. The film is funny and never slows down and introduces newbie race car folks to a world of not only dangers adventure, but politics, rivalry and passion for a sport that is very enclosed in its own world.

I should be a children's book author cc @MatthewKnell

2011-12-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

Matisyahu: Festival of Lights Tour-Night 1

2011-12-21T07:22:00.000-08:00

He sure knows how to celebrate the holidays. A great show per usual, Matisyahu, sans beard after announcing he is “No more Chassidic reggae superstar” at last night's Festival of Lights kickoff in Williamsburg. He played some of my favorites including King Without a Crown and One Day as well as the current one he's been remixing "Miracle."

Bonus note: You can't see it but I believe Matisyahu's newest baby is on stage with his wife, protected by those massive baby headphones. The little kid danced and smiled the entire time.

If you watch 4 videos this week, watch the ones that have made me cry laughing

2011-12-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

Shit Girls Say Part 1:

Shit Girls Say Part 2:

The Parody inspired by the two above, Shit Black Girls Say:

SNL, Michael Buble's "Duets":

What I Did on my Staycation...

2011-11-13T13:04:00.001-08:00

I've done recap posts for years as a bit of a reminder post for future years to look back. In no particular order because I made this list randomly, a review of the week off I just took...

Finally put up curtains in an apartment you've lived in for 3 years
60 minute massage and dinner with Chantelle
The MOMA Talk to Me exhibit
afternoon sushi lunch with wine and ice cream bonus...at 3:30pm...why not
runs in Central Park
Latin dance class I can never take because it's too early in the day
Godspell!
Fitz and the Tantrums at Terminal 5
Dinner at City Grit
Marathon Sunday party
Meatball Shop dinner and ice cream
The post office to handle passport stuff because for some dumb reason you can only do this between 10 and 4:30 during the week
multiple manicures and pedicures
Lunch at Google with Allie
Coffee with Lindsay in Tribeca
Afternoon lunch/wine at Barbuto
Breakfast at Cafe Cluny
I RODE THE BUS A LOT
Home visit with my parents
Metropolitan Museum of Art visit
Container Store. Container Store. Container Store.
Ladies who lunch cocktails and margaritas and mexican food with Jay and Doug.

It's been a pretty solid week off.

A show that moves you: Godspell review - @BwayGodspell

2011-11-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

WOW. That's the way to start this whole thing. I am still so blown away by Godspell last night and the emotions that came over me throughout the show. Godspell is dear to me because I performed it in high school at a summer camp. I was in the ensemble.

I remember being told the story of Godspell, the stories of the Gospel of Matthew told through lessons, fun music and a fun vibe of a small set of actors singing songs by the legendary Stephen Schwartz. The director at the time told us that the show was so great because it adapted over time and the ad-libs and references within the show could be updated as years go on. I love this because some shows do date themselves. As much as Rent is one of my favorite shows of all times, it's hard for some younger folks now to think of Alphabet City in Manhattan as something other than the place in the city with the awesome bars and lounges.

Anyway, when I heard that Ken Davenport was bringing back Godspell to Broadway, and doing it in such a new way, I knew I had to go. And then my lovely sister bought me tickets for my birthday and we went last night. These were our seats:

The Circle in the Square Theater is now my new favorite theater. There is not a bad seat in the house. The rows go back maybe 10/12 rows and everyone can feel part of the excitement. The stage was interactive, from water pools to trampolines the actors were constantly jumping around and talking/interacting with the audience on their side of the stage. We even got to join them on stage at the end of Act I for some wine. (Love it.)

I was so emotional throughout the show. The talent is unreal, the voices amazing. Hunter Parrish as Jesus is perfect. I had seen him in Spring Awakening (and his butt!) and really enjoyed him as someone else besides the son of a drug dealing suburban mom on Weeds. Wallace Smith won me over in American Idiot and again as he came down the stage opening the show with "Prepare Ye." He also made me cry during On the Willows, me and the entire audience. And for my nerdy self, getting him to reply to my tweet last night was over the moon.

It's just a FUN show. You'll laugh, dance, smile and cry and definitely want to listen to the music over and over. Tickets at Godspell.com

This is Beautiful

2011-10-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

Seatview on entertainment tickets: a problem that can be solved?

2011-10-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

That photo there is from the seating chart site for a Boxing match at Madison Square Garden. Pretty great huh? I know exactly where I'll be sitting should I decide to watch a bloody bloody boxing match. I'd pull up a similar one for a Knicks game but I don't know where they moved it. (or are they not posting it because of the STUPID DELAY?)

Anyway, I've always liked how MSG gives you a sense of where you're actually buying your tickets and what you can expect. In the age of transparency for the customer, it seems only natural that one would be able to see exactly what they're getting when purchasing something that costs likely between $70 and $200.

But it's not the case.

For many events, you're lucky to find an up to date seating chart that gives you an overhead sketching of where your seats are. They look like the one above. What can you learn from that? You know how many rows of people are in front of you and how close to the aisle you are if you have to pee. Kind of helpful but there's a lot missing.

We look at reviews and images of items we purchase on Amazon before clicking BUY and expect nothing less, yet when we buy a ticket for a Broadway show upwards of $120, we go in with little knowledge and a "hope" that an Orchestra ticket will be great just because it's Orchestra.

Ken Davenport wrote an interesting blog post about marketing in theater and what it would be like if they marketed to people how McDonalds does with the annual Monopoly game. His point compares how you can only get the game pieces if you buy a large fries---so people order the large fries. (#thisiswhyyourefat) He then poses the question about doing this within theater by, for example, telling the TKTS buyers ""Want a better view? Buy tickets in advance on Telecharge.com."

I think it's smart---but it's also disconnected because people just don't know. Seating charts are visible on one of the most major purchasing items. Airlines. You take a trip for 1 hours or 9, you know what seat you're in and can, for the most part, change it to your liking. Why not for entertainment events?

There is a fascinating answer on Quora to this question here. Some of the highlights as it relates to Broadway tickets specifically:

Make lesser quality seats appear more attractive to a potential consumer.---we bitch and moan about our coffee being too hot on Starbucks, yet I've never heard a real complaint about this!
Seating charts are proprietary. ---Can't this be challenged because you are purchasing something within the space? I'm not up to speed on the rules of this, but would love to know more.

It really comes down to one of the last points though. Someone tried to solve this and it of course got messy. At one point about ten years ago there became an active "anti-broker" effort by many venues and ticketing providers who somehow felt that they should copyright their seating charts to keep them from appearing on ticket broker websites. The broker sites such as ticketsnow then licensed recreations of those maps from third party providers. These recreations were simplified in order to save money, it was from these that many of the actual venues moved to a simplified seating chart format.

This is a problem. Why can MSG do the whole "seatview" feature when others are tricking the system to prevent questions from customers and sell seats that just aren't that great. We should know what we're purchasing and be able to have as much detail about it as we can. Agree? Disagree? Know more about this topic? I'm interested in learning the restrictions.

Go See This: Traces @traceusa

2011-10-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

There are some shows that are just different. Leaving you gasping at stunts, smiling and swooning all during a 90 minute performance. Traces is that show.

Located at the Union Square Theater (great theater, spacious, not packed in like some of the other Broadway address theaters) the show is a high impact, musical, acrobatic and energetic performance by 7 artists hailing from (mainly) Montreal with moves resembling Lincoln Center ballerinas, Cirque du Soleil performers and So You Think You Can Dance dancers.

From the website: Traces takes place in a make-shift shelter, an unknown catastrophe waiting outside the doors of tarp and gaffer tape. The seven characters constructed this clubhouse to live to the fullest what they believe could be their last moments, hoping to leave nothing unsaid or undone. In the face of this impending disaster they have determined that creation is the only antidote to destruction, and their brand of creation is the fleeting impulses and desires that extend through their bodies and unfurl onto stage - the story is told through music, song, dance, speech, illustration, and high-risk acrobatics. The characters use every mode of expression available to them, hoping to leave a lasting mark… to leave their traces as best they can.

The performers are brilliant. Extremely good looking (read: smoking hot), funny and charming within the first few moments of meeting them. You can't believe how they can move so effortlessly and they barely look like they're breaking a sweat. They jump through hoops. Literally. They climb up fireman poles and jump across the stage without nets or a wire. They fly and launch themselves using each other as a springboard all while moving along to the music that fits the show PERFECTLY. Heck, Radiohead's TalkShow Host was one of the performance numbers, and probably one of my favorites.

Do yourself a favor, go see Traces. Everyone will like it.

Watch this: Bill Cunningham New York

2011-09-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

I canceled my netflix DVD delivery option and chose to just keep the streaming portion. (Yea, stick it to you netflix)

Limited with options, I've been frustrated, but then I found Mad Men and I can say that the next few months will be focused on that.

Anyway, Bill Cunningham New York is also available on netflix streaming right now, and I'd encourage you to watch immediately. I missed it when it was in theaters and couldn't wait until I could watch it elsewhere.

Documenting the daily life of famed New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham as he bikes around town capturing the eccentric styles of New Yorkers. He photographs different styles, not the cookie cutter classics that make many of us blend in with the rest of the street. Think Anna Wintour + drag queens + former club kids + Parisian celebrities that just knock our style out of the park.

It also focuses on Bill's life as one of the last remaining tenants of Carnegie Hall, his minimal lifestyle of cheap breakfasts and coffees and his lack of care for "guest lists"

The movie makes you want to give this man a hug...and also completely change your wardrobe.

[Stop Motion Project] - Sara Bareilles Uncharted Cover

2011-09-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

Super creative. Love it.

Looks like people are trying out WSJ Social

2011-09-20T07:16:00.001-07:00

Hoseanna - I will sing your praises @HoseannaKnows

2011-09-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

I feel like the founders of Hoseanna were listening to my prayers. Or maybe they saw me one day running from work to CVS to pickup the 9 things I was missing in my apartment, 2 blazers from the dry cleaner, dropping off more stuff and then showing up to dinner sweating with my hair frizzed and demanding a glass of wine.

Either way, I'm glad I just read about this site and I want to tell all of my friends about it.

From the release: "Hoseanna (http://www.hoseanna.com) delivers women’s monthly 'must haves’ with the ease they want, on the schedule they need. Or the "Netflix of nuisance products." (Ironic on that tagline giving today's craziness.)

So think of things that us busy females always need, but never have time to buy...or want to buy...they're not a new pair of shoes. Tampons. Deodorant. Toothpaste. Even condoms (Her Pleasure---nicely done) You just go on and choose the brands/items you want, select an auto-ship frequency based on your schedule (I wonder how that works with the condoms) and go on with your busy life.

I'm seriously signing up right now. We'll see how it goes, but heck even if only some of my items come in on time I'll be happy.

If they can add in female prescriptions too then I think I'll just call it a day and say buhbye to ever visiting another drug store.

Brava.

Review: Spiderman, Turn off the Dark

2011-09-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

Photo via Broadway.com

Saw it last night. Seats were in the "Flying" sections which means that 1)no one can fall on you 2)Spider-Man literally jumps on a ledge 2 feet from your seats.

Here's my review.

Stunts: Unreal. Flying Spiderman and Green Goblin all over the theater. Literally, flying and jumping right before your eyes. You won't see that in Billy Elliot, that's for sure. This was probably the best part of the entire show.
Actors: Voices were unbelievable. Reeve Carney (Spiderman) and Jennifer Damiano (Mary Jane) will be Broadway big timers soon enough.
Set: Overproduced. I mean, was that treadmill in the middle of the stage needed to let the audience know they were "walking through town?" No.
Music: OK. I think. None really stuck to me, but it wasn't bad. And they had a ringtone go off that was U2's "Beautiful Day" so bravo on the inside jokery there. Very rock, power songs but there was no "Seasons of Love" that I was dying to go buy.
Story: This is where I'm confused. I don't know if there was one. I know the story of Spiderman. But they also added 3 other lines in there that kind of messed it all up.
Costumes: AMAZING. The other goblins looked unreal and amazing. They should win endless awards for this (did they?)

Overall: I won't be running back to see it again, but I think the experience in itself is worth seeing. It's different. It is more of a "visual show" than a Broadway musical. It's edgier and you feel like you're watching a mix of technology/3D visuals + Cirque du Soleil in one.