March 30, 2009

DotD: Death by stairs


DotD: Death by stairs
Originally uploaded by degreeszero
Image credit: my roomie Mr. Libasci

March 27, 2009

You better dance this weekend

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cross intimacy its blitz i created disco partie traumatic pop up

  • DVNO - Cross - Justice (utube)
  • Flux - Intimacy - Bloc Party (utube)
  • Heads Will Roll - It's Blitz! - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
  • My Life Would Suck W/o You - All I Ever Wanted - Kelly Clarkson (utube)
  • Acceptable in the 80's - I Created Disco - Calvin Harris (utube)
  • I'm not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you (80Kidz Remix) - Partie Traumatic - Black Kids (utube)
  • A Cause Des Garcons - Pop Up - Yelle (utube)

March 25, 2009

Hard-to-find song from the WtWTA trailer

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Have y'all seen the brand spanking new Where The Wild Things Are trailer yet?!

Did you notice that friggin' kick-ass song that's playing in the background??? Well, it's a special live version of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up".  Luckily I just happened to come across this rare mp3 and now I'm sharing it with the world!  Y'all are welcome :)

Wake Up (White Sessions version) by Arcade Fire

March 24, 2009

It's all the same fucking day, man.

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"I don't understand why half the world is still crying, man, when the other half of the world is still crying too, man, I cant get it together. If you got a cat for one day, man I mean, if you, say, say, if you want a cat for 365 days, right you ain't got him for 365 days, you got him for one day, man.

Well I tell you that one day man, better be your life, man. Because, you know, you can say, oh man, you can cry about the other 364, man, but you're gonna lose that one day, man, and that's all you've got. you gotta call that love, man. That's what it is, man.

If you got it today you don't want it tomorrow, man, cause you don't need it, cause as a matter of fact, as we discovered in the train, tomorrow never happens, man.

It's all the same fucking day, man."

- Janis Joplin, "Ball & Chain"

March 20, 2009

Reblog: HRO "Use Alt Rout"

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Image and video hosting by TinyPic

I saw the sign this morning on my way to Pless Hall at NYU and then saw it blogged on HRO. Lmao.

If you're in the city go see it for yourself on broadway & W 4th st -ish.  The sign also says "Houston & Broadway Construction" & "Expect Heavy Delays".

P.S. While you're down there stop by Pless Hall on Wash Sq E & Wash Place (?) and spy on Nic Cage & cutie Jay Baruchel (whom I walked past this morning) filming the new Disney film "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (or something like that).  They've completely taken over the lobby of the Steinhardt building.  It's tops.

It's all I can do. [Free Music & Art]

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E-D-S-F

and listen to music

♫-

Little Boots "New in town" (Fred FAlke Vocal remix)

March 19, 2009

Kings on NBC. I'm already obsessed.

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This week premiered the new show Kings on NBC.  A couple friends had mentioned it to me so I looked it up on Hulu.com and just finished watching the hour and a half pilot.  I'm totally obsessed already.  This show is a welcome addition to my weekly distractions.

Check out the clip above of my favorite scene from the episode.  The King reveals to the Prince that he knows about his deviant night activities...so good.

Check out the whole episode on Hulu.

March 17, 2009

Periodic Table of Typefaces [Typography lovers STAY CALM]

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Periodic_Table_of_Typefaces_large

 

[Periodic Table of Typefaces (full-res JPG) by Squidspot via Gizmodo]

Fireworks, Recession-style

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Read more about WHY? they do this at Giz.

But really who cares why.  It's friggin' sweet.

Happy St. Patrick's Day '09!

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St-Paddys-Day-2009

Finally a day when my bright green jeans make sense.

Be safe kiddies.

March 16, 2009

Famous Faces & New York Places: Ryan Gosling in Union Square

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Looking at these photos made me realize that I totally spotted Ryan Gosling in the Union Square Walgreens like a week or so ago.  Hot.

More...

DotD: Shark Attack

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DotD: Shark Attack
Originally uploaded by degreeszero
[Creative credit: v.libasci]

March 15, 2009

Death of the day

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Death of the day
Originally uploaded by degreeszero
[Drawing credit: my roomie v.libasci]

March 11, 2009

Waiting to the last minute is the best policy

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Today I completed my NatSci midterm in under 30 minutes.  I either did pretty well or absolutely terrible.  Either way, I'm happy to be done.

March 09, 2009

RWKs loves changing his wallpaper

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Night Street - Roppongi
Originally uploaded by cocoip
My newest desktop wallpaper find. It was taken at some kick-ass street clock thing in Roppongi, Japan. I need to go.

Holy cow that's alotta Orangina!

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Orangina!
Originally uploaded by degreeszero
Who knew they made Orangina this big? Not me. I'm not complaining or anything, I think the two bottles I already bought can attest to that.

file this under "pleasantly surprised at the supermarket"

March 05, 2009

Invalidate Prop 8 & Support the Freedom to Marry

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Did y'all know that today the California Supreme Court is hearing arguments for why the discriminatory proposition 8 should be invalidated?! Yah me neither (lies). It's kind of a big deal. Equality California (EQCA) is streaming a live feed of the arguments being made while National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is liveblogging it! I'm not sure but the hearing might already be over. I know, major fail that I didn't get on top of this before, but I had two midterms today! So cut me some slack. Either way check out NCLR's & EQCA's blogs to get all educated about what's going down. For instance y'all could read about Let California Ring's "I Do" campaign which encourages people to share with friends and community members their reasons for why they DO support the Freedom to Marry. Below is a video of Wanda Sykes, comedian & out lesbian, giving her reasons.




Take a look at all the links I posted above and inform y'allself on what's happening and how y'all can help.

Oh and did y'all see that awesome Oscar speech? Or hear that Sean Penn is pushing to instate a Harvey Milk Day in California? Man, if it weren't for midterms I would totally be out there too fighting the good fight. I'm totally oppressed by school! Thank god for grassroots sticking it to the man.

paz y amor

March 04, 2009

Relaunch Party Weekend (End of Feb to beginning of March)

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As most of you should have realized by this point, my friends and I celebrated the relaunching of my blog this past weekend.  Celebrations started Friday night and kept going strong all the way to Monday morning.  Ironically I wasn't able to release the new format on-time (March 1st) because of all the celebrations.  Typical me.

Now lets talk about the good stuff, the parties.  Friday night was a dual celebration in Williamsburg, BK.  The 7 other NYU poblanos and I hit up some asian fusion cuisine at the Red Bowl, chosen for its fair prices and close proximity to Manhattan (only one stop into BK off the L).  This was the compromise to get everyone to willingly leave the island.  Although the original reason for the dinner was so that Renee could introduce us all to her new boyfriend, I quickly usurped the situation to celebrate the conception and release of Rich White Kids.  Long story short, 3 hours, 3 courses, plenty of rounds of drinks ($4 beer, $7-$9 cocktails), and one free bottle of Sake from the manager later Rich White Kids was already a success as the whitest kids I know (plus Raqy) tipsily sauntered through the streets of W-burg to promptly make their return to Manhattan (we wanted to go out in BK, but we had no clue where to go).

Los 8 poblanos split up and went their separate ways.  Some of us "relaxed" a bit before going out, while others packed it up early for the night (I know, like what's that all about).  Ultimately half of us went home, a quarter went to Harlem, and one went to Hell's Kitchen (guess who).  The night doesn't end there, but you'll need to invite me out to coffee to get the rest of this story ;)

Saturday started late for me, and by late I mean having brunch at 4 in the afternoon.  A special friend & I had brunch at the Mocca Espresso Lounge near city hall in the financial district.  I was pleasantly surprised with the place.  The decor was a nice black, red, & green coffee house mix which complemented the excellent menu options & fantastic coffee bar.  As you may already know, I am a pretty big coffee snob - a properly made shot of espresso totally gets me hot.  Mocca made for a great brunch, and the company wasn't too shabby either :).

After a nice afternoon shower and nap it was time to get dressed and keep the celebrations going at the NYU Violet Ball.  The Violet Ball is the annual school-wide dance held on campus.  This year it was in the Atrium of the infamous (on Craigslist) Bobst Library.  The space was gorgeous with a ceiling 12 stories tall, small tables, and excellent decorations.  The free food, beer/wine bar, live music, and pretty kick-ass DJ made for a great party as well.  And I think most surprising was the huge turnout.  There were definitely more people at the Ball this time than when I went two years ago.  The crowd just to get into the place was nuts.  NYU security was all over our asses (thanks a lot TBNYU!, lol).  Of course the best part wasn't the music or free food but rather the company.  Kristy, Christina, and Stephanie (btw I think that's the name of Woody Allen's next movie) come very highly recommended.  You'd be hard pressed to find a hotter group of jiving young ladies, plus they survived Madrid with me.  Two words, bad ass.  We tore it up till they kicked us out, and then we went home.

But wait, it doesn't stop there.  Now it's time for the Grand Finale of the Relaunch weekend.  My sister came in from L.A. to the city last week because of Market week (fashion week).  She was here with her boss running around like a crazy woman and doing fabulous things.  I got to see her a couple times, we had dinner one night which was super cute, and then Sunday they were doing the photo shoot of the upcoming fall line for her companies clothing line, Parker Blue.  It was a very low-key shoot and she invited me over to hang out and watch.  I had a lot of fun meeting my sister's coworkers and the other people at the shoot.  I was surprised to see Christian Siriano there, the winner of Project Runway, who's boyfriend was the photographer.  I didn't get to talk to him too much (he was a bit aloof) but he seemed nice and my sis says that he's a great guy (she apparently hangs out with him, who knew).  My favorite part about meeting him was the realization that he actually talks in real life like he did on the tv show.  He legit answered the phone "Hi Tranny".  I about died when I heard that (and I immediately thought about Andrew).  Oh and btw, Christian is totally just as tiny as everyone says he is, but very cute.  His bf, not so cute.  Look him up, Brad Walsh.  He's ok but I feel like Christian should and could totally do better.

After a few hours of sitting around watching the photo shoot it was finally over.  The shoot was fun and all but if it had been for Brian keeping my company I probably would've passed out from boredom at some point.  Still though, I'm really glad I went.  Afterward all the people from the shoot, including Brian & I, went out to dinner to La Esquina in SoHo.  Apart from a couple issues that we had with the host and seating (pretentious much?), the food was absolutely FABULOUS and decently priced.  The ambiance of the restaurant is really great as well.  Feels very much like a rustic Mexican bar with a chic twist.  The cherry on top of it all was our waitress, Christina.  We were seated in a pretty slow section, all 9 of us, and so she came and hung out for awhile chatting about life, love, and everything.  We found out that she was born in Mexico City, grew up in Miami, and moved to New York to pursue her dream of being a Jazz singer.  She's gorgeous, young, and a sweetheart.  Plus she felt the need to give us all a free shot, and then totally came to my rescue when the host/bouncer wouldn't let my friend come and sit with us for drinks.  They wouldn't even let him into the restaurant.  I immediately went to Christina and within a couple minutes my friend was having a drink with all of us at the table.  I will specifically request to be seated in her section the next time I go to La Esquina, and you should too.

Anyways to wrap this all up.  We eventually left La Esquina and walked a couple blocks to Goldbar in Soho.  I had never been to nor heard of this place before that moment, but apparently one of the girls was friends with the bouncer so we all went.  The place was small but exquisitely decorated with paintings of royalty and gold skulls all over the walls.  We got a table and some drinks.  I really like the space, the crowd was one I haven't really partied with before - a little posh, a little trendy, a little hipster, mostly straight.  The music was good and so we danced and had a great time.  Definitely the high of the night was when Mariah Carey walked in.  Thats right, we saw Mariah Carey come into the club and sit in a table in the corner.  The place is small so it wasn't hard to spot her.  She was very low key just sitting with a couple of friends.  Unfortunately Nick Cannon was nowhere to be found.  Spotting her was such a great end to the night.

We left the club/bar at around 3:30am and discovered a wonderful white world.  It had been snowing for hours and was continuing to snow.  Drunkenly we got into a snowball fight and then finally made the trek through the snowbanks back home.

To sum it all up.  Relaunch weekend was no doubt a great success.

PS: Sorry it took me so long to post this considering the relaunch happened over a week ago.  I've been super busy with midterms and such lately PLUS this post took me forever to write.  Hope it's not too long.

March 02, 2009

Rich White Kids: Indiscriminate Blogging

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Well guys it may be a day late but I finally got the new format up and running. (Thanks for keeping me honest, Renee & Brett!) 

Give a warm welcome to Rich White Kids or RWK (ar-du-kay) an indiscriminate blog about everything this blog has always been about...and more.  Other than the look and name not too much else is changing around here.  The URL is still the same (http://blog.jjubela.com) and so is the writer (me).  Essentially this relaunch is all about my new mindset, not as a jetsetter, but as a twenty-something New Yorker living on his/her own.  I will continue to post up here all the random stuff I find interesting from the real world and around the web.  Ideally I am going to try and put more focus on music, sharing the obscure mp3s & bands that I come across.  One of my goals is to start putting up weekly playlists of great dance jams to use for your own parties on the weekends, so keep an eye out for DJ RWK who'll be showing up more often.

And once I get all recovered from my fantastic hangover I have some great stories from the relaunch party and more of the past weekend to tell. Stay tuned.