posted by maggie on Apr 30
New York is a place that veers back and forth between being a city with its fingers on the pulse of world culture and being that very same pulse. There are many ways to mark work that makes a deep impression, such as art criticism, reviews, and other ways of drawing attention through critical means. There are also ways of presenting raves and beefs, such as blogging, postings on social networking sites, or by artists quoting other artists in their work. The last draws on the great jazz tradition of signifying, which was the beginning of contemporary remixing and sampling.
Perhaps one of the most genuine means of drawing attention to a work that is significant, however, is to start something that is built to show the work itself. When curators and gallery owners begin from this impulse, then the greatest works of culture in the world have a chance to see the light of day, and the bar is suddenly raised for everyone. It is to this impulse that the Wooster Collective owes its birth, and it seems to be one of the rare organizations that has been able to withstand the test of time and remain delightfully and gracefully unorganized.
Visitors to the city, staying in a local New York cheap hotel looking for signs of life would do well to see what might be happening here. Their 11 Spring Street project in 2006 is still a stunning contribution to the world of art at large. The group’s work, centered on bringing attention to ephemeral art in general and street art in particular, has a particular force and weight here.
In this city, at this point in history, when the art market has decided almost unilaterally to forego innovation in favor of playing to the market itself, these kinds of focuses are invaluable. It also points out the fact that there is a great undercurrent of spontaneous artistic activity spawned by those great artists who are flying under the wire. It’s a marvelous time to fly.
posted by maggie on Apr 23
It may seem like an obvious statement when I say that your home should reflect your personal style. Anyone who has ever decorated, or not decorated, their home would probably respond pretty quickly that their home does reflect them and their personality. However, I would be willing to bet that most of us — though there are definitely some exceptions — get a little too caught up in decorating to please others rather than making our homes comfortable for ourselves. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with wanting your house to look nice when you have guests over, but perhaps we have our priorities a little backwards.
One of the ways that we can really express ourselves is with paint. How often to do we hold off on painting a room a certain because we don’t know how it will look or if it will be too much, even if we really like it? If that is just your personality that’s fine, but don’t be afraid to step outside the box and try new things. Growing up I had a friend whose mother loved color. She loved it so much that she painted the living room bright yellow with black baseboards and the bathroom fire engine red. While it is not a color combination I would put in my house, it was fun and festive and more importantly reflected who she was.
Window treatments are another fun and easy way to express your personality. Whether you are trying to decide between the perfect next day blinds or shades or you simply want to play up the mini blinds you already have, the choices are limitless. Most home decor stores have many styles of curtains and valences to choose from, while those of you who are really creative can make your own unique look.
Whatever your design style, the important thing is that is reflects you. After all you are the one who has to live with it day in and day out and you should be feel comfortable and be able to relax in your home.
posted by maggie on Apr 21
While choosing the perfect tire and wheel combination for your car or truck might seem like a complicated process, it is actually easier and typically more fun and exciting than what you might think. Of course there is also that standard population of car tire enthusiast who relish the idea of getting new tires, rims, wheels and any other accessory that can add to the uniqueness and appearance of their personal vehicle. This might sound a bit odd to those people who have never put much thought into their own tires or the purchase of them, though the numbers of tire enthusiasts continues to increase as more people become aware of the diverse selection of tires and wheels that exists out there and the overall affects they can have not only on your vehicle’s appearance but also its performance level .
In addition to the specific brand, style and size of a tire or wheel there are some great combination purchase packages that are available. This is extremely popular for consumers who know exactly what they want and are able to find it as a combination, however it also works well for people who are unsure of what they should buy. Wheel and tire packages are put together to offer the right tires with the right wheels and they can save a lot of time and energy for people who don’t know that much about tire purchasing.
There are also a number of tire styles out there and some of them are better suited to particular vehicles than others. Falken tires are generally considered to be of high performance quality and many people enjoy the way these look. The tread is sometimes unique to the brand people have reported the tires actually affect the feel of their ride. As with other aspects of life where band names count, this is also true for tires and wheels. If you want to be hip and cool, or sophisticated and dignified , there is a tire and wheel brand and combination that will be perfect for your vehicle.
posted by maggie on Apr 19
Working on cars sometimes means working through a kind of history of the automobile. At least, sometimes that’s where the path might take you. Those who’ve been working on cars for years already have a pretty good sense of how time enters into the picture. Innovations come out every year, and only a few of these ever make any kind of lasting imprint on how the rest of the industry does things. But there are some innovations, like fuel injection to replace the carburetor , that make so much sense that no manufacturer could avoid adopting it into their own machines.
It’s enormously rewarding work, and even something as simple as working on a minivan can reveal a past and a present. It might be hard to imagine that a plymouth voyager repair manual can be a history book, but it’s that as much as anything else.
Once you start getting into the work of maintaining your own vehicle, you’ll start to become aware of the history of your car. Just as the Plymouth Voyager is now a brand owned by Chrysler , there are reasons for the parts being where they are. Everything in a car has its own logic, and the parts can fit together just like the events in a history book fit together. That’s all to say, it can’t be understood in one reading, but it takes working inside of it to get the whole picture, and even then, there’s always more than meets the eye.
This is all a very good picture for those who like to see things fit together, and one of the joys of doing your own auto repair is that you get to find the connections yourself. There’s no doubt the manuals make perfect sense all on their own, and have a way of explaining things simply, but it takes applying that to the hands on the gears to get the full effect. It’s like watching history until you decide to enter into it, and then the world becomes more colorful.
posted by maggie on Apr 13
Currently, the are almost 60 Off-Broadway plays being performed in New York City. Most of the plays you’ve never heard of and some you have. These Off-Broadway musicals, play or revues are performed outside of the Broadway theatre district and are more of an intimate affair because they have less than 100 seats, but Off-Broadway shows are what keeps theatre alive and well in New York. Plus, some Off-Broadway shows have had subsequent runs on Broadway and they may feature well known playwrights, actors and the ticket price is considerably less expensive than attending a real Broadway show.
Many Off-Broadway venues are located throughout the city, so thay are very convenient to attend if you’re staying at any of the great hotels , plus the venues have many restaurants around them for you to have either dinner or lunch before or after the show, and no matter where the location, you’ll not only end-up enjoying a great performance, you’ll be able to see parts of New York City you would’ve missed otherwise.
Some of the current Off-Broadway shows are: two by A.R. Gurney the ‘Black Tie’, a comedy performed at Dramaat 59E59′s and ‘The Grand Manner’ a drama performed at Mitzi E. Newhoust Theater, you might remember Gurney for ‘The Dinning Room’; ‘Family Week’ by Beth Henley, this is a dark comedy performed at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, it takes place one year after the main characters death of her son at a recovery center in the desert, and her mother, daughter and sister arrive to participate in ‘family week’. Henley is known for her hit play ‘The Miss Firecracker Contest’, starring Holly Hunter in the 1989 film version; ‘Ideal’ by Ayn Rand, a comedy, believe it or not, performed at 59E59′s theater C. This play is about the world’s most famous actress who has been accused of murder and 6 of her devoted fans are challenged to stand by their idol in her time of greatest need. ‘Ideal’ will close in July, so you better catch this one fast. Another play, one you’ll recognize, which is closing in June and needs to be seen soon, is ‘Our Town’ by Thornton Wilder and is being performed at Barrow Street Theater.
Off-Broadway shows may vary in quality and in performances, but you never know if you’ll be watching the next Broadway hit.