Choose Miranda July’s “It Chooses You”

joebasile — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:03:38 +0000

I was lucky enough last night to see the illustrious Miranda July at Symphony Space for a reading and performance of her new book It Chooses You.

I have always admired the honesty, earnestness, and creativity that goes into her work. This book is non-fiction and is essentially a journal of her experience answering Pennysaver ads in LA. She treats the people she writes about with respect and kindness, and, in the process, reveals how extraordinary they are.

If you’ve seen the film, The Future, you will see how the she integrated the project into the script of the film. Check it out.

The Neos Honor The Moth & Rightfully So!

joebasile — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:30:58 +0000

Tonight the Neo-Futurists honor The Moth at their Annual Benefit. I’m soooo looking forward to this. Don’t know who they are? I recently was introduced to them too.

The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. It is a celebration of both the raconteur, who breathes fire into true tales of ordinary life, and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it.

The organization is AWESOME. I’ve been spending the past week listening to stories on their website and I’ve truly enjoyed every one I’ve listened to. They are true gem and a never-ending source of inspiration and entertainment. The world is a better place because of The Moth! Check it out for yourself. So good…

This is how you say genius: Prisencolinensinainciusol

joebasile — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:50:18 +0000

Love this on so many levels…

Some storytelling advice from Ira

joebasile — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:59:21 +0000

I’m a huge fan of Ira Glass and I recently stumbled upon this video via a friends post on Facebook. It’s a great reminder to all storytellers out there to keep the creative juices flowing and to stay in the game. I’ve watched it a handful of times myself. The video below is the first part of a four part series discussing some storytelling 101 guidelines and concepts. Both are great reminders to storytellers out there new and old. Love Ira.

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Got devotion? These guys do.

joebasile — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 22:25:03 +0000

I came across this video this weekend along with many others as I waited for Hurricane Irene to pass. It’s a documentary short that’s part of a project called The Devotion Project, “a series of short documentary films celebrating LGBT couples of all stripes.”

I thought this was really beautifully done. Looking forward to seeing more like it…

Biography Bookstore You Are Missed

joebasile — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:03:19 +0000

Recently, I visited the new BookMarc store on Bleecker Street. Owned by Marc Jacobs, Bookmarc replaced Biography Bookshop which has since moved down the street and is now called BookBook. Biography Bookshop had been on the corner of Bleecker and West 11th Street for 24 years and it’s sad to see it go. As the number of independent bookshops continue to dwindle, it was one of the few places you could take some time to browse and not be inundated by gift items and stationary. I can’t say the same for Bookmarc.

Bookmarc on Bleecker Street

The shift in how we purchase books is surely to blame. I imagine we’ll continue to see more independent bookshops shops close in the future. Marc Jacobs has the empire and luxury of taking over the space and not worry about revenue from it. What’s the future of the independent book shop?

Among the selected collection of art books, there are plenty of bags, lipstick pens, and half naked postcards of the owner throughout the store. It’s ridiculous to say, but they did have some nice pens there. Here are a few things that I spotted.

Bag for all your books or pens?

Naked Postcard of Marc Jacobs to use as a bookmarc?

Art books at Bookmarc

Very useful mini colored pencils set at Bookmarc to draw flowers with

The very essential lipstick pens at Bookmarc

Mini Pie, Are You The New Cupcake?

joebasile — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 02:44:21 +0000

I was excited to read Pie to Cupcake: Time’s Up in the NY Times this past Wednesday. First of all, the picture of the pecan pie from Diner in Brooklyn that appears in this article is incredible. I hope that I can take food shots like this one day. I seriously want to dive in that pie.

Lately, pie has been making quite the comeback in restaurants and self proclaimed pie shops. Some thought the macaroon would be the new cupcake but the pie has since grown in popularity. Yes, cupcakes are good but they are intensely sweet and pies have a lot more nuance to them. I think one of the reasons cupcakes are so popular in NYC is because they’re so portable and there’s the whole nostalgia factor – they bring us back to childhood birthday parties. Pie does something different. It warms our stomachs and our hearts a bit more. And there’s nothing like a warm slice with a scoop of cold ice cream on top.

The NY Times article mentioned one of my favorite new places to grab some pie (and some tasty chicken too): Hill Country Chicken. There were no pictures of their pies in the article and I just happened to take these last week so the timing is perfect to share. For a $3 pie cup you can’t go wrong. However, I feel that whenever you order a small pie cup you get more crust than pie, so if that bothers you Hill Country Chicken also serves it by the slice AND a la mode!

They have a variety of different pies every day so be sure to check with them beforehand if you have your heart set on either apple cheddar, double cherry, banana cream, coconut cream, bourbon pecan, créme brulee, salted margarita, peach blackberry, whisky buttermilk, or lemon meringue.

Are you running yet?

Pumpkin Pie at Hill Country Chicken

City Bakery Hot Chocolate I Heart You

joebasile — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 01:01:56 +0000

Once you’ve had a cup of City Bakery’s hot chocolate it’s hard to ever have a cup of Swiss Miss again. The rich, thick, and creamy taste is incredibly satisfying without feeling over indulgent. I’ve had some good hot chocolate throughout the city but the homemade marshmallow (for an additional 75 cents) makes the trip worthwhile. My suggestion: get the marshmallow on the side and cut it up so that the marshmallow gets completely melted in the hot chocolate resulting in a melted gooey cloud of deliciousness (and it will leave more room for the hot chocolate itself). Yes, it was $5.50, but it’s a good treat to have every now and again. I will have to fight the urge to make this a daily habit. So good…

City Bakery Hot Chocolate

City Bakery Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow

Jimmy Choo and Uggs…

joebasile — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:01:19 +0000

…make a lethal combination.

Jimmy Choo Uggs

This Is What A Chocolate Egg Cream Should Look Like

joebasile — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 02:36:47 +0000

Chocolate Egg Cream

I am most definitely a chocolate egg cream connoisseur. One of my favorite places to grab one is at the 3-Star Diner on 86th and Columbus on the Upper West Side. How do you know you’ve been served a good one? Straw test. Put your straw in the middle of the glass, if it stays in the middle that means the milk and seltzer have been frothed to perfection. If it falls? You might have to whip it as fast as you can to salvage what you’ve been served. A nice head of foam is always key.

For an extra treat, have it with some grilled cheese. The savory and sweet combined is ABSOLUTELY deliciouso! And it would cost about $5.

This coffee shop/diner is completely old school. It reminds me of NYC back in the 80′s. I wouldn’t change a thing about this place. Let’s go.

3 Star Coffee Shop