Sunday, June 19, 2011

EcstaticE 2.0

After some experimentation, this blog finally has a new look!  After 3 years, 5 months since my first post (quite short) of the same, somewhat bland, blue and green and white backgrounds, it has a fresh design, using Blogger's somewhat new template designer.  Links you haven't yet visited are in an easy-to-find Red, while ones you already have clicked on turn to Blue.  I chose blue instead of the default darker color to still allow you to be able to find a particular link in the future.  In addition, a more concise footer (eliminating the redundant comment info), instant feedback, and new share toolbar! Also started using a page break feature to help redirect traffic to the site when people use RSS/shared links - Subscribe to see for yourself!
Let me know what you think by commenting!  And take a look at the before/after comparison after the break to judge for yourself!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Instead of a Picnic on Governor's Island

Arghh forgot to take pictures of the two loverly couples!!!  [two pictures here] We were supposed to go to Governor's Island to have a picnic, but with the threat of a thunderstorm later in the day, we opted to stay in Manhattan instead. Well anyways, today got off to a pretty long train ride to 14 St.  My buddy J and I walked to Union Square before heading back to 7th Av to meet up with his girlfriend and his two other Columbia friends, G & D.  As we passed by the L train stop at 6th Av we coincidentally saw his gf emerging from the exit.  Greetings exchanged - this is E, this is JC!

Went to a really cozy but humble restaurant, Elephant & Castle (not the bar chain) in Greenwich Village to have brunch.  Apparently, D was able to tell from the restaurant's decor and age of the furniture that the venue has been open since 1976.  Or maybe because we all saw the menu, dated 1976 and with the pre-inflated prices on it, hanging by the entrance! :)  The menu wasn't too expensive for the food we received.  $11.50 for the "Canyonland Poached Eggs (two), with Balsamic Jus, Fresh Tarragon, Tomatoes, Avocado and Wild Mushrooms, and Toasted English Muffin."  I felt that the best part about the restaurant was the restaurant physically stretched from one street to the next because of the relatively awkward block geometry (windows on both sides!).  Also the antique cash register - it had rows of push-buttons with some going from 10 to 90!  All 4 of us treated J, with my total coming to $18 - not bad compared to Jean-Georges last year haha.

Afterwards, we walked back to Union Square to

Friday, June 3, 2011

Cooper Exploits New Building, Hopefully for Cash

Ever since the opening of the Cooper Union's New Academic Building, otherwise known as 41 Cooper Square, photographers and film crews have been all over the site.  Every so often, I see such people outside and inside the building, from small photo shoots for a new line of Tumi luggage on 3rd Ave earlier this Spring, to huge productions such as the one for Ugly Betty in 2009, which I covered here.  Most recently, I have also seen IBM film an ad with actors playing doctors and patients, with old IBM equipment placed as props around the building.  Hearsay indicates that just a few days ago the show "White Collar" also filmed there. But some of the most widely-seen shots of the building are probably in advertising.

Although most of the ad for Cadillac features a fake museum-like interior, the final 4 shots are of 41CS, in the following order: 1 shot facing North 3rd Ave of a couple exiting the (empty as of now) rental space on the southwestern corner of the building, 1 closeup head shot with the doors closing behind them, 1 of them staring back at the building's "skateboard ramp" aka emergency stairs with the car next to them, and 1 of them entering the car, now MAGICALLY parked on East 7th St, with a view of the Foundation Building in the background.
EV Grieve: Cooper Union fit for a Caddy  and the ad it's referring to Youtube: 2010 Cadillac CTS Gallery Arsenal FX

Bowery Boogie has a link to the Time Warner Cable ad, featuring Yes, Dear's Mike O'Malley on a tour bus passing southbound by Cooper Square on 3rd Ave.  As the blog points out, "Landmarks featured most prominently are the new Cooper Union academic building (spacecraft) and the Cooper Square Hotel (glass dildo)."
Bowery Boogie: Time Warner Cable on Cooper Square

With the shortest feature of 41CS, Samsung shows a slanted Eastern elevation of the building, which then cuts to a closeup of the lobby windows with fake TVs inserted in the lobby.
Youtube: Samsung Apps

And in a recent viewing of the indie film Win Win, Fiat had a pretty long commercial before the film to introduce itself to the US market.  A shot of the building from across the Square with the words "Derivative of Nothing," implying that the building and the car were originals.  I've got to admit, the ad was pretty catchy, confusing at times, but well-produced.

Post 205 (Dated Today)
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