Go Cocoa Loco! Chocolate & I New York Feb 8-14

Come celebrate all that is wonderful about chocolate with a week long exploration of the tawny delight at Chocolate & I New York. This series, taking place February 8-14, is designed to awaken the senses and enchant not only chocolate aficionados, but also offer new experiences and knowledge through quality events that exquisitely melt chocolate with food, design, and the arts. There are some incredible offerings throughout the week and a whole slew of FREE events & discussions that I have listed these below.

Chocolate & I New York
511 W. 25th Street (btwn 10th & 11th avenues)
All events are located here

Monday 2/8
4-6pm
Room4Chocolate: Find room to savor hot chocolate, enjoy locally made delicacies, peruse books on chocolate, food and art, all in a cozy environment.

4-7pm
Food for Art. Art for Thought:
A showcase of artists revolving around the relationship and characteristics society attributes to chocolate and the way it affects us on a personal level. Artists include Elim Chen, Ema, C&T, Jason Krugman, Michelle Mayer, Carolina Vallejo, Asli Sevinc & Charnan Lewis.

6-7pm
Sustainable Pleasure for the Palate & The Planet:
The Rainforest Alliance presents: Sustainable pleasures for the Palate, An Open Discussion On Responsibly Produced Goods.

Tuesday 2/9
4-6pm
Room4Chocolate: Find room to savor hot chocolate, enjoy locally made delicacies, peruse books on chocolate, food and art, all in a cozy environment.

4-7pm
Food for Art. Art for Thought:
A showcase of artists revolving around the relationship and characteristics society attributes to chocolate and the way it affects us on a personal level. Artists include Elim Chen, Ema, C&T, Jason Krugman, Michelle Mayer, Carolina Vallejo, Asli Sevinc & Charnan Lewis.

6-7pm
Eating Local & Seasonal (Discussion)
Slow Food NYC is dedicated to the enjoyment of local and seasonal food and to celebrating real food as a cornerstone of pleasure, culture, and community.

Wednesday 2/10
4-6pm
Room4Chocolate: Find room to savor hot chocolate, enjoy locally made delicacies, peruse books on chocolate, food and art, all in a cozy environment.

4-7pm
Food for Art. Art for Thought:
A showcase of artists revolving around the relationship and characteristics society attributes to chocolate and the way it affects us on a personal level. Artists include Elim Chen, Ema, C&T, Jason Krugman, Michelle Mayer, Carolina Vallejo, Asli Sevinc & Charnan Lewis.

6-7pm
Fair Trade Practices in Cacao Production (Discussion):
Annie Novak is founder and director of Growing Chefs, field-to-fork food education program will host this discussion.

Thursday 2/11
4-6pm
Room4Chocolate: Find room to savor hot chocolate, enjoy locally made delicacies, peruse books on chocolate, food and art, all in a cozy environment.

4-7pm
Food for Art. Art for Thought:
A showcase of artists revolving around the relationship and characteristics society attributes to chocolate and the way it affects us on a personal level. Artists include Elim Chen, Ema, C&T, Jason Krugman, Michelle Mayer, Carolina Vallejo, Asli Sevinc & Charnan Lewis.

6-7pm
The Importance of Pollination (Discussion):
Bees Without Borders is the brainchild of Andrew Coté, former high school dropout and vagabond turned Fulbright Scholar and professor. He was born into a beekeeping family in Connecticut and is (at least) the 4th generation to carry on this ancient skill.

7-11pm
Food for Art. Art for Thought (Artists Discussion + Opening)
A showcase of artists revolving around the relationship and characteristics society attributes to chocolate and the way it affects us on a personal level. Artists include Elim Chen, Ema, C&T, Jason Krugman, Michelle Mayer, Carolina Vallejo, Asli Sevinc & Charnan Lewis.

Friday 2/12
4-6pm
Room4Chocolate: Find room to savor hot chocolate, enjoy locally made delicacies, peruse books on chocolate, food and art, all in a cozy environment.

4-7pm
Food for Art. Art for Thought:
A showcase of artists revolving around the relationship and characteristics society attributes to chocolate and the way it affects us on a personal level. Artists include Elim Chen, Ema, C&T, Jason Krugman, Michelle Mayer, Carolina Vallejo, Asli Sevinc & Charnan Lewis.

6-7pm
The New Farmer Development Project (Discussion):
The New Farmer Development Project (NFDP) identifies, educates, and supports immigrants with agricultural experience to become local producers and establish small farms in their region.

Saturday 2/13

2-11pm
Food for Art. Art for Thought:
A showcase of artists revolving around the relationship and characteristics society attributes to chocolate and the way it affects us on a personal level. Artists include Elim Chen, Ema, C&T, Jason Krugman, Michelle Mayer, Carolina Vallejo, Asli Sevinc & Charnan Lewis.

2-6pm
Room4Chocolate: Find room to savor hot chocolate, enjoy locally made delicacies, peruse books on chocolate, food and art, all in a cozy environment.


Sunday 2/14
2-9pm
Food for Art. Art for Thought:
A showcase of artists revolving around the relationship and characteristics society attributes to chocolate and the way it affects us on a personal level. Artists include Elim Chen, Ema, C&T, Jason Krugman, Michelle Mayer, Carolina Vallejo, Asli Sevinc & Charnan Lewis.

2-5pm
Room4Chocolate: Find room to savor hot chocolate, enjoy locally made delicacies, peruse books on chocolate, food and art, all in a cozy environment.

I like it when you call me Beard Poppa!...The Beard Ball is Tonight 2/4!

Ladies who love the beard listen up! The folks behind Bulid-A-Beard.com are throwing the first annual Beard Ball in honor of facial hair tonight February 4th at Matchless in Greenpoint.

The Beard Ball is a place to show off your beards! But if you have a mustache, mutton chops, goatee, or any form of DIY artistic facial hair creations - you are welcomed to attend! In addition, if you are simply an admirer of facial hair - please come to stroke the egos and beards of those in attendance. The event will also feature music by 3 bearded bands, Transatlantic FM, Julius C, & Quiet Loudly. Tickets are only $5, and all money goes to support RightRides.org, an awesome group that gives late night rides home to "women, LGBTQ and gender nonconforming individuals." Plus there's tons of great drink specials & a raffle to look forward too. Woo Hoo!

Beard Ball
Thursday, February 4th 8pm
Bar Matchless
557 Manhattan Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11222
Located on the corner of Manhattan Ave. and Driggs Ave. in Greenpoint, Brooklyn near McCarren Park.
Cost: $5 Donation to RightRides.org

Glazed & Confused-How to Make Your Manicure Last

Ladies, for an easy and low-cost way to feel more fabulous in a snap, treat yourself to a manicure from your local salon. Here in NYC there is an abundance of options for great nails on almost every corner. For me, I have my no-fuss/affordable shop in Murray Hill, Romie's ($8/manicure) and for nights that I want something hot and extra special I hit up my girls at Valley.
The biggest problem I have with manis/pedis is the fact that they don't last very long before the paint chips and considering the time & money spent in the salon, I want my color to stay. Recently I found a way around this issue by just slapping on some clear Top Coat daily on your pretty digits. It's affordable, ranging between $1-$4 a bottle and it can prevent chips and help lengthen the time between appointments from 1-3 weeks.
Top Coat can not only help increase the life of your manicure, but I also learned that in addition to stopping runs in your stockings, this clear polish can also help keep your buttons from unraveling. Place a drop on the thread in the center of the button to help keep it in place. This tip thanks to the always adorable, Johnny Cupcakes. Now go out there and get your nails did and remember the Top Coat! xoxo

Attention Cheapskates! Info on Ice Skating in New York City!

Ice skating is probably one of the coolest (literally) and most fun things one can do in the City. It's a great way to get out and enjoy this cold weather and NYC is one of the best places to go ice skating. Sometimes this sport can get a little expensive so I've listed all the spots in the city priced lowest to highest. Get out there and have fun!
xoxo

1. The Polar Rink at the Natural History Museum
W. 79th Street at Columbus Avenue
Cost: Adults $10, Students $9, Kids $8
Skates: Included in cost
Perks: 17 Ft. Tall Polar Bear

2. Riverbank Ice Skating Rink
679 Riverside Drive
Located on the Hudson River at 145th Street
Cost: Adults $5, Kids $3
Skates: $5
Perks: Covered Ice Rink

3. Wollman Rink at Prospect Park
95 Prospect Park W
Brooklyn, NY
Cost: Adults $5, Kids $3
Skates: $6.50
Perks: Half off Fridays!
50% off paid regular admission every Friday.
Excludes holiday weekends

4. Lasker Skating Rink
Central Park at 110th St./Lenox Ave Entrance
Cost: Adults: $6.25 Kids: $3.50
Skates: $5.50
Perks: Amazing views of the Park

5. The Pond at Bryant Park
40th and 42nd Streets and 5th and 6th Avenues.
Cost: Free
Skates: $12
Perks: Not at crowded as Rockefellar Center, Central location

6. Seaport Ice
Pier 17
South Street and Fulton Street in lower Manhattan
Cost: $5
Skates: $7
Perks: 8000 sq. ft Rink

7. Abe Star Rink
Coney Island Boardwalk and West 19th Street
Brooklyn, NY
Cost: $8
Skates: $5
Perks: Only Open Weekends

8. Wollman Rink in Central Park
Central Park East between 62nd and 63rd Streets
Cost: Mon-Thurs Adults: $10 Kids: $5.25
Weekends: Adults: $14 Kids: $5.50
Skates: $6
Perks: Amazing views of Central Park

9. The Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers
Pier 61
23rd St. & the Hudson River
Cost: $13
Skate Rental: $7.50
Perks: Open Year Round

10. The Rink at Rockefellar Center
5th Ave. between 49th and 50th streets
Cost: 1.10-2.28 (mon-thu) $12
1.10-2.28 (fri-sun) $16
3.1-4.19 (mon-thu) $10
3.1-4.19 (fri-sun) $16
Skates: $8
Perks: Rockefellar Xmas Tree

*Please note these prices do not include lockers, bag cost, etc, check the individual website for hours and complete details.

It's NIME Time! Tuesday, 12/15, 8pm

NIME: New Interfaces for Musical Expression
Creating new performance tools for digital music.

It's that time again for the eighth annual NIME concert, where performers play a series of newly designed electronic instruments that aim to keep the “live” in the live performance of digital music.

This year's NIME concert will feature such innovations as a musically enhanced sewing machine, sonified floor tiles, performative knitting needles, turntablism for live instrumentalists, electronically controlled cartoon antics, novel realizations of the rock guitar, and a host of other exciting approaches to the creation of music.

When: Tuesday, December 15, 2009
8pm-11pm (Doors 7pm)
Where: Southpaw
125 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
(1/2/3 Train to Bergen)
Cost: $7 (Free for NYU ID holders)

The Screen Mile: ITP Big Screens 2009, Tonight 12/4

What can you do with 6 million pixels? Why...make amazing visual and interactive art of course.

To see some of the amazing work of my peers on 120 feet of video screens, come to the IAC Building tonight for Big Screens! These are the students' final project presentations and will seriously blow your mind. Here's a review of the 2008 event and a taste of what you will see this year.

Friday, December 4, 2009
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

RSVP: itp.rsvp@nyu.edu
COST: FREE!
IAC Building,
555 W. 18th St.
New York, NY

See you there!

Snap, Crackle, Swap! Score Pop up Swap is Tomorrow 11/21!

This is definitely a Recessionista's dream, I am so in.

Are ugly sweaters crowding your closet and out of date CDs taking up too much shelf space? Instead of getting snubbed by Beacon's Closet, bring your old stuff to SCORE! Pop up Swap where you can drink bloody marys and trade it for someone else's. After all, one man's trash, is another man's treasure. This all-day exchange is being presented by Bust, Flavorpill, Yelp , GirlieGirl Army & MeanRed at 3rd Ward and includes a fashion section curated by Nylon senior editor Nisha Gopalan, a music section curated by Showpaper, DVDs and media finds curated by the Desk Set, and housewares and miscellany curated by Natalie Kamei.

Plus all proceeds go to food rescue organization City Harvest!

SCORE! Pop-up Swap
When: November 21st
1pm-7pm1 (donations accepted up until 5pm)
Where: 3rd Ward // 195 Morgan Ave @ Stagg
Cost: $3 entry, cheap bloody marys & mimosas until 5pm
& Complimentary Colt 45 from 1-2pm
RSVP: Here

Presented by Bust, Flavorpill, Yelp, GirlieGirl Army & MeanRed

Swap Categories

• Clothing & Accessories (Guys, Gals, Kids) - curated by Nisha Gopalan (senior editor, Nylon Magazine)
• Music - curated by Showpaper
• Art Supplies - curated by Lowbrow Society For The Arts
• Books DVDs / Media - curated by The Desk Set
• Housewares & Miscellany - curated by Natalie Kamei

See you there!

Flick Tease!! Free Screening of I Remember Andrea, Nov. 19

Andrea Wachner really did not want to go to her ten-year high school reunion. So she hired a Stripper named Cricket to go instead.. Sounds like the beginnings of a hilarious short film/documentary. "I Remember Andrea" has it's East Coast premiere tomorrow night at Cantor Film Center and admission is FREE!

When: Thursday, November 19th
6pm
Where:Cantor Film Center
36 E. 8th St.
(between B'way and University)

Check out the trailer here and the Facebook Invite to RSVP.
Please note, the film is only 40 minutes long.

Totally Flaming-Play With Fire Video & Interactive Art Festival, Today!

Brace yourself for an explosion of visuals and video art at the Play With Fire art festival that opens today.

Celebrating the breadth and depth of video possibilities through art. A plethora of live video editors, electronic and interactive artists, video and installation artists who use the moving image outside the "box" will be showing their work.

Date: Saturday, November 7th - Saturday, November 21st
Time: Saturday 4:00pm - 8:00pm & Sunday 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: 1717 Troutman St., Brooklyn NY
Floor 2
Take the L Train to Jefferson
Cost: Free

For two weeks and in two different locations the festival hosts an array of projects. Projects include, Katja Loher's video planets, a 3⁄4 ton 'ice-stallation' by Raphael DiLuzio, a demonstration by Berlin based Modul8 software representative and performer, Ilan Katin and a night of performance featuring video artist and collaborator, Alison Childs, the Spanish AV (Audio/Video) perfomer, *Rafaël*."

Plus the show boasts works by two of my favorite ITP alum, Gabe Barcia-Colombo & Jeremy Rotsztain!

This weekend is the opening reception, but the festival also includes live performances, demos, workshops and panel discussions over the next two weeks. Full schedule and info can be found here.

It's A Walk Off! Zoolander Halloween Party & Derelict Fashion Show, 10/29

Get your Halloween celebrations on early tomorrow night 10/29, with a fashionable fete of Mugatu proportions at the Zoolander Halloween Party. Come dressed to impress and strut your stuff as your favorite Zoolander character. Plus they'll be handing out Orange Mocha Frappuchino cocktails while you sit practicing your best Blue Steel. And yes...there will be a walk-off!

Where: The Arsenal 153 Roebling Street, Fourth floor, Studio 4B, Brooklyn

Subway: Bedford L Train

When: Thursday, October 29 at 7:00 pm
Zoolander Screening 7pm, Derelict Fashion Show 9pm

Cost: $5 at the door or FREE entrance with a clothing donation to Housing Works

RSVP Here.

Ghoul's Gold- Score of Doom Halloween Swap, Saturday, October 24th

Haven't gotten your Halloween costume sorted yet? Well you're in luck because the Score of Doom is tomorrow! If you haven't R.S.V.P.'d yet, do it now! http://bit.ly/a3roK IT'S THE BEST HALLOWEEN TREAT!

Trophy Bar is hosting the latest spookified “Score!” swap. Bring your old zombie makeup, Bob Ross wigs, Mr. T chains etc, and score some new threads for Hallow’s eve. Exchange outfits with your friends, get new ideas from professional “costume consultants”, drink creepy-themed drinks, and dance to good tunes. Because why spend money on slutty cop outfits when you can spend it on alcohol instead? Hello, it’s a no-brainer. Mmmmmm BRAIIIINS.

Where: Trophy Bar, 351 Broadway (Brooklyn)
When: Saturday, October 24th, 2pm-6pm
Cost: $5 entry, RSVP Required, 21+
donations accepted up until 5:30pm

SOUNDS OF DOOM In the spirit of scoring awesome stuff for free, SCORE OF DOOM is giving away a FREE Halloween MegaMix of Doom, by SCORE! resident DJ Shakeyface. Give it a listen while you're applying your werewolf makeup. Download now… it disappears on Halloween! http://www.scoredatscore.com/music/shakeymix_of_doom.mp3

COSTUMES OF DOOM Costume Consultants will be available at the Score of Doom!, but get inspired now! Here are some of your best costumes ever: Zombie Tina Turner, Chinese Takeout Container (with Fortune Cookie Giveaways), A Treasure Troll, Bacon-eating Robot, and the classic "Undead Ballerina - Extra Bloody." Also, lots of vampires. Take a gander at what people are bringing to the swap at http://www.scoredatscore.com/2009/10/what-are-you-bringing-to-score-of-doom/

COCKTAILS OF DOOM They're squeezing buckets of blood oranges for the O-Positive Mimosas. Mimosas, Bloody Marys, and Micheladas, aka hellfire beer, served up by the Trophy drink masters for $5 a pop.

How does Score Of Doom work you ask?

Step 1: RSVP

Step 2: Rummage through your closet for anything that fits in the following categories:

- Full costumes

- Costume pieces (wigs, props, spandex? oooh, spandex!)

- Make-up

Step 3: Bring your old costumes to Trophy Bar.

Step 4: Grab a “Cocktail of Doom” (drink specials include Bloody Mary’s and Blood Orange Mimosas)

Step 6: Drink, dance, find a new costume, get a make-up tutorial, and if you still don’t know what to “be”… talk to our professional costume consultants. Score!

Celebrate the Guggenheim's 50th Birthday with FREE Admission- October 21, 2009

To celebrate the 50th birthday of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's Frank Lloyd Wright–designed building, the museum will extend free admission to the public on Wednesday, October 21st from 10am to 5:45 pm. Throughout the day, visitors will enjoy special celebration activities, access to current exhibits, free Guggenheim Cookies (at 3:00pm while supplies last), Green Bag Giveaway for the first 50 people and a free raffle for all museum visitors with goodies from the museum store.

When: Wednesday, October 21st; 10am-5:45 pm
Where: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue (at 89th Street)
New York, NY 10128-0173
Here's the breakdown of all the fun stuff that will be happening tomorrow:

* Birthday Photo Booth - Take your picture sitting astride giant "5-O" sculptured numbers - part of the 50th Anniversary logo photo booth. Upload your pictures onto to the museum's flickr group. flickr.com/groups/free day/

* Anniversary Eye Tours - Interactive tours with museum educators will be offered in five languages and for partially sighted, blind, and deaf audiences.

* Art, Architecture, and Innovation: Celebrating the Guggenheim Museum - This 27-min. documentary explores the history of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum and chronicles the building's conception, construction, and critical reception.

* Family Friendly Activities - From 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, family friendly interactive activities will take place throughout the museum. Family Architecture Guides will also be distributed to children ages 12 and under.

* Story Circle - From 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM (on the hour) there will be readings of picture books including I'd Like the Goo-Gen-Heim by A.C. Hollingsworth.

* Live Twitter Tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building - From 4:30 to 5:30 PM, the Guggenheim Twitter team, museum visitors, and followers around the world will have the chance post observations during a live-Tweet conversation. Include #GUGG50 in your tweets, and visit twitter.com/Guggenheim to follow the Guggenheim on Twitter.

* The Deutsche Bank Series at the Guggenheim Anish Kapoor: Memory - Be the first to see -a major site-specific sculpture installation that weighs 24 tons by leading international artist Anish Kapoor. On view through March 28, 2010

* Harry Winston Jewels Inspired by the Guggenheim - For one-day only Guggenheim-inspired diamond jewelry will be on display in the Guggenheim
Store.

In addition to all the celebratory fun the following exhibitions will be on view for FREE:
* Kandinsky September 18, 2009-January 13, 2010

* Gabriele Münter and Vasily Kandinsky, 1902-14: A Life in Photographs September 18, 2009-January 13, 2010

* Paired, Gold: Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Roni Horn October 2, 2009-January 6, 2010

* Intervals: Kitty Kraus October 9, 2009-January 6, 2010

More details about the event are located here: guggenheim.org/50

If you miss this event remember that the Guggenheim is by pay-what-you-wish donation every Saturday evening from 5:45pm (the museum closes at 7:45pm)!