“When I first became homeless, I use to pray that I die for 6 months…that was back in ’87” Jerry,52, may be homeless but his mind isnt. I met Jerry in Tribeca. Our conversation is inspiring to say the least. The street lights are on a timer. They come on and off every 2 minutes. Jerry’s face begins to appear at the :35 second mark. He shares his story, a new year’s resolution, tips if you become homelsss, this favorite Bible passage and strongly suggests that everyone “diversify their finances”.
What is Jem?
After walking by Jem a number of times, I had to satisfy my curiosity. When I walked, I saw aisles and aisles of colorful fabric from the ceiling to the ground. I loved the environment. Jem is not your typical fabric store. Jem is owned and operated by a brother-sister team, Michelle Zahabian, who is 24 years old, and her brother David. Their father was the owner of Fabric Warehouse across the street. After his passing a year ago, Michelle and her brother opened JEM, continuing their family tradition and a downtown staple. Located at 355 Broadway in NYC.
When I asked Michelle to describe their first year and half in business, she said it has been ” a lot of mini-miracles along the way”. Support NYC small business.
Larry Wright: Talent, Drumsticks, Concrete & Buckets@West 4th Street Subway Station
IF you ride the NYC subways, with delays comes entertainment.The West 4th station has the best bucket-drummer in NYC – Larry Wright. And yesterday, I along with 75 other people waiting on the uptown and downtown orange line were well entertained..as will you. People cheered from platform to platform. The 5 minute delay was definitely worth it. Gotta Love NYC!
Toure on Upcoming Projects , Storytelling, His Story, Multicultural America & Book Recommendations
While checking my email at the Soho Apple Store, I ran into long time friend and very talented writer, Toure. Referred to as “a one-man media conglomerate” by The Daily Beast’s editor Tina Brown, the pop culture commentator has his hands in various media works, from penning articles for Rolling Stone, where the scribe has been a long-time contributing editor, to contributing to MSNBC and hosting the Fuse’s Hip Hop Shop. His TL is not short of tell-it-like-it is commentary. Touré is expecting the release of his fourth book, Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? on September 13. These days Toure is Fuse’s pop culture and music insider Touré, takes on double hosting duties with two of the networks hottest shows, “Hip Hop Shop” and “On The Record with Fuse.”
In addition, Touré is the author of Never Drank the Kool-Aid, a collection of published articles, Soul City, a novel, and The Portable Promised Land, a collection of short stories. He is also a Contributing Editor at Rolling Stone, formerly a host and correspondent at BET and was CNN’s first Pop Culture Correspondent. He has appeared on the “Today Show,” “the Paula Zahn show,” “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren,” “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch,” “Topic A with Tina Brown,” “Anderson Cooper 360°,” “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” “Dateline NBC,” “Nightline,” and many others.
PARK HERE: Free NYC Indoor Pop Up Park @Mulberry Street
Welcome to the sunny and 73-degree world of Park Here, an indoor alternative to Central Park in January & February, where you’ll relax on the grass during the day, and dine with a movie night on the lawn. It’s open and free now. Let’s take a walk in the park and meet the owner/curator behind the Openhouse’s 5,000 sq ft Park Here, where the grass is fake but the warmth and people’s response is real. The trees are plastic foliage stapled to wooden trunks. The sunlight emanates from light boxes designed to treat seasonal affective disorder. The birds chirp through a sound system. In addition, there is yoga sessions daily along with movie and dinner parties at night. The park occupies the Openhouse Gallery through the end of January (maybe longer) and is open to the public every day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit their site http://www.openhousegallery.org/ Look out for five-course picnic baskets by the likes of Daniel Boulud, The Little Owl, The Fat Radish and Nobu. Also, fireworks. Read more: http://www.urbandaddy.com/nyc/leisure/12319/Park_Here_An_Indoor_Park_in_the_Dead_of_Winter_New_York_City_NYC_Destination#ixzz1BPbzRR8M
The Story of O: A NYC Street Artrepreneur
While taking a stroll through Soho, I met Mr. O. In 1986, after being fired from Busch Gardens Amusement Park as a Portrait Artist – “I was an elf”, he had a dream that he “was drowning in an ocean of faces”. O followed his dream…
Omar Dubois: Writer, Thinker on GOD MC, NY Currency, Editorial, Brits & The Gift
As im walking out of SOHO Grand, I bumped into Omar for an unscripted conversation. Omar is a writer, music curator, brand guru and all-round creative entrepreneur. Ghana, Brazil, Bahamas, London and living in NYC. Omar got his start as Music Editor at TRACE Magazine and went on to write for publications that include Interview, Dazed & Confused, The Fader and The Financial Times’ How To Spend It. And then moving on to consult for several record labels (Capitol, Interscope, Star Trak, etc.) and brands that include Diesel, LVMH and Sony Pictures Classics, Omar’s back to his first love – writing. He’s presently working on “GOD MC” – a monograph on musician/cultural icon Jay-Z.
Efrain & Isabella Oliva: Father, Daughter, World Cup @ ALIFE
I met up with Efrain and his daughter while they were watching the world cup at ALIFE. He loves San Fransisco. She loves NYC. His favorite team is Ivory Coast. Her favorite team is Brazil. Isabella shares with us her favorite books and what she wants to be when she grows up…and Isabella says the Brazil is going to win the World Cup
Maurice Caple: NYC Downtown Socialite on Nightlife, New Yorkers & Facebook
I was walking along Houston and spotted Maurice having lunch with a beautiful German friend. Meet Boxer turned Designer turned NYC Downtown Socialite. We discuss the NYC social scene in this economy. Who is winning bars, clubs or promoters? NYC today? Tourist in NYC? “Facebook me” ?
Cookies & Cream: Brooklyn Entrepreneurs, Revamped Truck, Apparel & Designer Toys
Cookies -n- Cream is an independent culture brand based out of New York City. The Cookies n Cream brand is one that encompasses two creative outlets — one is clothing and the other is designer toys. They purchased a van and Cookie & Creamed it out. New York City lifestyle/culture on wheels.
