66 DEGREES IN NYC, IN DEC? WHAAT?
NYC, how can this be?!
15 12 2008Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: NYC, warm, weather, winter
Categories : NYC
Reasons to be excited
12 11 2008Oh hey, I’m alive, don’t worry. I’ve just been swamped with papers (which is always the case, I know). Since I’ve finished four out of five at this point, I’m feeling pretty good. That is, I’m really excited to finish the last of the bunch so that I can actually relax and spend my time outside of the library. Aside from being distracted by these papers, of course, I’m looking forward to several other things:
- This Thursday, 11/13, the Gallatin Journal of Global Affairs will be holding its delayed launch party for the 2008 edition in which my paper (“From Combined to Green Propaganda: BP’s Decade-Long Greenwashing Cycle”) is published. I originally wrote the research paper for my Propaganda course last fall. I volunteered to do a 5-minute reading of it at the event, which will probably be small and intimate (true Gallatin-style). Any NYU student can come so if you’re interested in free “global” food and drinks, and my nervous tongue-tied reading, definitely come (715 Broadway, Rm. 522, 7 pm)!
- On an equally (if not more) dorky note, I can’t wait to register for spring semester courses. My top choices? New Media Research Studio, Finance for Social Theorists, Law & Society, and Biology & Society. It would be fair at this point to conclude that I like society and all things social. If you were my mom (and yes, my mom does read my blog), this would be the point at which you ask me what I plan to do with my life…to which I would respond with a deeply-frustrated sigh and again bring up the possibility of law school to assuage her (and my) anxiety.
Since I actually abandoned this post halfway through and have now returned to it whilst in the middle of writing said fifth paper, I will make this last point short.
I AM EXCITED THAT BARACK OBAMA IS NOW PRESIDENT-ELECT.
notice "flagboy" who eventually got arrested. pic from Max's iPhone.
A little delayed, but there we go. It’s old news but it’s amazing news. Max and I spent Election Day (that is to say, Election Night) celebrating with the huge crowds in Union Square and in the East Village. Everyone was ecstatic, high-fiving, cheering, and simultaneously shouting variations of “Obama,” “No More Bush,” “Yes We Can (Si Se Puede),” and “Yes We Did.” There was one guy who kept trying to start a “The Red is Dead” chant, which signified to me the bipartisanship/divisiveness which Obama denounces. What immediately ran through my head was the following: “We have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and always will be, the United States of America.” So in the unifying spirit of Obama’s victory and an unbelievable Election Day, I started cheering “USA,” and people joined in (that is, after the guy with the bullhorn helped).
Max's again.
And the fact that Obama’s victory was largely attributed to his engagement with and mobilization of people on the internet is unprecedented. Change.gov allows people to send in their stories and reactions to the election, submit their ideas on what the next administration should do, and also apply for a job. Seriously. This website, along with the fact that my.barackobama.com is going to “live on” (thanks Mike for the link) makes me excited about the ways in which the people will interact and communicate with the next President of the United States. There has been much talk about digital “fireside chats.” TechPresident is also a website tracking the presidential campaign/administration’s relationship with the internet (Barack + internet = BFF, IMO). Bottom line: A new and connected kind of presidential administration? Yes, please. I will work for your new media team anyday, Barack!
Badass.
I have to return to my paper now but expect a post soon about the possible deterioration of intellectual life in college and why I think that is bull.
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: social media, NYC, Barack Obama, college, internet, gallatin journal of global affairs, paper, courses, change.gov, election day, union square, presidential administration, techpresident, my.barackobama.com, LinkedIn
Categories : NYC, News/Culture, social media
Seven Years
11 09 2008Since my blog is largely about New York City, I thought it was important that I write something on the seven-year anniversary of September 11th. I’m not sure what else I could share except the vivid memory of where I was at the moment it happened. New Jersey. 8th grade Social Studies. Class had just started and the principal came on the loudspeaker to announce that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center. Initially, I thought it was some sort of cruel joke – because, planes crashing into building didn’t make sense, right? Right? The teacher turned the TV on to the news and the rest of my memories of the day was just that – news. And the same haunting images flashing on the screen for the next couple days. And the people falling. I remember crying that night while sitting with my dad.
Anyway, I’m running late for class and don’t have time to proofread what I just spewed onto the (web)page, agh. Where were you on that morning?
Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: 2001, 9/11, attack, memories, New York City, NYC, September 11
Categories : NYC
Digital Memories & Minimalism
2 09 2008Classes start tomorrow, meaning tonight is my first school night in four months. And in which case, I’m exactly where I should be – the last one awake, sitting in front of the computer and occasionally lurking Facebook, putting off sleep by watching the latest episode of Weeds with my earphones in. Though tonight I’m significantly less tired and I also (thankfully) don’t have any reading or writing to plow through yet.
After cramming an entire summer of traipsing-around-NYC-like-a-tourist-and-partying-like-it’s-1999* into these past eight days, I’ve reached the final stages of unpacking. And I cannot believe how much stuff I’ve accumulated in the two-and-a-half years I’ve been in college. I blame this pack rat habit on my sentimental tendency to bestow meaning upon (and subsequently save) everythingg. I mean, today I found the pack of cigarettes that I legally bought when I turned eighteen and never smoked; 2007 birthday cards still in their envelopes; and several cute, heart-shaped notes from my mother reminding me that she loves me.
Maria, Emily, and I (roommates!) last year. My wall = so many pictures! Too many to keep up with/update.
Since this packing and moving process is now routine – regularly transitioning between dorm, home, and apartment every year – it has become impractical and unnecessary to hold onto everything. So I’ve decided to take a page from Max’s book and attempt some form of minimalism. I need less stuff. Because it’s too tiring to physically take my entire past with me and because it’s entirely possible to remain sentimental/nostalgic by looking through old Facebook photos and commenting on old friends’ walls. And by reading old blog posts. Yup, the internet is my digital anti(-hoarding)drug. That, and I can access my memories on any web device without having to strap a crate of pictures/mementos to my back.
*Oh, and speaking of summer of 1999…[click that link by the asterisk.]
Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: 1999, class, college, digital, internet, memories, minimalism, NYC, pack rat, pictures, school, sentimental, steal my sunshine
Categories : Everyday/Life, social media
Nina & Max Do NYC
29 08 2008Max and I spent the past couple days venturing through the various NYC boroughs and exploring their tourist attractions (though in a laid-back, New Yorker way, of course). Among our sightseeing activities: we roamed South Street Seaport, walked both ways across the Brooklyn Bridge, sat by the East River at the Williamsburg Reclamation Site, rode the Staten Island Ferry, drank coffee in Battery Park, and ate Nathan’s hot dogs at Coney Island. So if that list doesn’t justify my lack of recent posts, I don’t know what will – except maybe the fact that I didn’t want to see my photo project bumped down from the top two posts?
And now for a series of touristy pictures, courtesy of Max and his iPhone:
view of the BK Bridge from South Street Seaport
We were standing on the pier by the Ice Cream Factory, looking at the BK Bridge waterfall.
As I was typing this post, I realized that the majority of these locations offer amazing views of Manhattan. That is, they’re known for their phenomenal panoramic views of the NYC expanse. I absolutely love the views because they provide a slightly-outside-of-NYC perspective through which I can appreciate both the huge size of the population and the small sized of the actual island. Maybe that’s why some of these places are so popular? What does it mean to overlook/watch the city and its bright lights and skyscrapers from a distance?
View from the Reclamation Site on N.9th & Kent - one of my fave places in Williamsburg
On the Staten Island Ferry, my hair sexily blowing in the wind, ha.
My first time at a real beach this summer - took long enough.
Pretty picture...too bad the island is pretty grimey.
Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: Battery Park, boroughs, Brooklyn Bridge, Coney Island, East River, Manhattan, Nathan's, New York City, NYC, Reclamation Site, skyline, South Street Seaport, Staten Island ferry, view
Categories : Everyday/Life, NYC
New York, I Love You (New York, je’taime)
26 07 2008Before you quietly start singing LCD Soundsystem to yourself (“New York, I love you, but you’re bringing me downn”), here’s a little disclaimer: this blog post has nothing to do with that song, nor does it have anything to do with the ridiculous reality TV show called “I Love New York.” Rather, I’m talking about the upcoming (early 2009) New York, I Love You film. From the producers of last year’s Paris, je’taime, this new movie has the same structure and theme – it is another anthology of short films about romance and love. Instead of being set in eighteen of Paris’s arrondissements/districts, however, the narratives will take place in New York City’s five boroughs.
I remember how excited I had been to see Paris, je’taime at the very beginning of last summer. And though not all eighteen short films were amazing, there were several phenomenal stories and actors. I actually walked past Rufus Sewell on Broadway and Prince St. about a month ago. He was featured in Wes Craven’s short in Paris, je’taime about an engaged couple that visits Oscar Wilde’s grave. The character’s fiancé struggles with his lacking sense of humor and nonexistent spontaneity. Oh, but then Oscar Wilde’s ghost gives him some advice.
Natalie Portman, who played a young actress with a blind boyfriend in Paris, je’taime, plays a Hasidic woman named Rifka in New York, I Love You. This time around, she has also taken on a much bigger role as actor/writer/director/producer. Apparently, this movie will mark both her and Scarlett Johansson’s debut as directors. That’s pretty respectable and badass, ladies.
click for more pictures from NY Daily News
Other actors to get excited about include James Caan, Kevin Bacon, Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen, Ethan Hawke, Shia LeBeouf, Rachel Bilson, and Christina Ricci. According to the Wikipedia entry, Blake Lively is also supposed to make an appearance as the mysterious character called, “a girlfriend.” Seems like a primarily young cast. I’ve always considered NYC to be a place for young people (then again, my opinion is definitely shaped by the fact that my city life consists of college students during the school year and hip young Williamsburg residents in the summer).
Either way, I’d say New York, I Love You has me even more starry-eyed in anticipation than Paris, je’taime did last year. Maybe because the stories are set so close to home, in and about the places I frequent, in the city I love the most. It’s New York City romanticism, squared.
Here’s the memorable Paris, je’taime short starring Natalie Portman – y’know, to get you feeling a bit romantic yourself:
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Tags: Blake Lively, I Love You, je'taime, love, Natalie Portman, New York, NYC, Paris, romance, Rufus Sewell, Scarlett Johansson, young
Categories : NYC, News/Culture
Hipsterizing Craigslist
22 07 2008Josh brought this ridiculous Craigslist rant/rave to my attention today because this picture of us was, for reasons entirely unknown, displayed as a random example of “modern day hipsters.” My understanding of the word “hipster” itself is so fuzzy and vague that my opinion of the whole concept is that I may or may not hang out with hipsters and that I may or may not be one myself. I have very little investment in the idea, so it baffles me how some people (like the person who posted our picture) can ardently define hipsters as the new social order against whom everyone else is simply a Douchebag, while others can insist that hipsters are the evil spawn of the Ray-Ban-wearing, Parliament-smoking, tattoo-covered Devil.
My favorite (and least comprehensible) sentence of the entire Craigslist post?
“In a sense, the hipsters have won as they have successfully ‘hipsterized’ modern day sensibilities.”
Well you know me – leading the modern day battle of sensibilities with my unbeatable hipsterizing skillz.
Apparently I have a hipster...face?
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Tags: Craigslist, hipster, hipsterizing, Lit, Nickydigital, nightlife, NYC, party
Categories : Everyday/Life, NYC, News/Culture
Blog Log
16 07 2008“Blog Log” ( or “Web Log Log” ) may be a bit redundant for a title but I wanted to use this entry to post some ever-so-slight-but-pretty-significant developments with this little project of mine. As some of you may or may not have noticed, I finally bought the ninanyc.com domain for this blog. Aside from sounding more legit and facilitating access to site metrics/views, it quite simply makes the url much easier to type (now imagine if I had bought my full name as the domain).
In the past week or so, the number of daily views to this site has steadily increased. A spike in views mysteriously began about an hour ago and prompted me to write this blog post (thank goodness, because I was becoming overwhelmed by half-hearted ideas for posts and paralyzing self-doubt about my “ability” to blog or write well). Anyway, I’m not sure whether to attribute my new readers to my Twitter, my listing on The College Blog Network, or to any of my friends with successful blogs, but I am genuinely glad that my own blog has gotten over 1000 views since it began less than a month ago. With that said, if you are reading this right now, thank you (and please come again)!
This is my happy face.
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: blog, happy, metrics, ninanyc, NYC, Twitter, views
Categories : social media
Suspended
15 07 2008Who needs real suspenders when they’re printed on your shirt? I took these pictures today at the office. Expect an actual written post (that isn’t just pictures of me, I promise) soon.
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Tags: Barack Obama, Hug Me Pillow, Mr. T., NYC, post-its, pushpins, suspenders, Undercurrent
Categories : Everyday/Life
