American Graffiti (New York Style)

We can't resist graffiti -- as evidenced by Valerie's jacket! Examples are ubiquitous and wide ranging and the good ones are almost always surprising. Some are just tags of someone's street name in big puffy letters, which sometimes seem a little self-indulgent. When it's well executed, the rebelliousness of the act can easily outweigh the self-referential factor. Others, like this one featuring a pair of pachyderms, tickle your brain and stroke your social consciousness.

In some countries -- obviously those with no sense of humor -- grafitti is still a punishable crime. Of course, in in the Big Apple, graffiti often makes the perfect backdrop for a spontaneous photo op. The other night on our way home from the Rubin Museum, we passed a parking lot with a collection of black and white graffiti and of very colorful pieces and, well, we just couldn't help ourselves.

In repressive environments, grafitti can be considered to be vandalism or defacement. Perhaps only bad graffiti should be called criminal, right?  Whoever is responsible for these pieces had to have access to a cherry picker or tall step ladder.

Evidence of writings or drawings scratched or spray-painted on a wall or other public space dates back to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.

Sometimes, when the moon is full, you can even match the graffiti to your outfit!

We're not exactly sure of the sentiment conveyed by this "No Future Cost" piece.

We know, we know - using graffiti as a backdrop for style or attitude is not exactly an original idea. But wasn't it Picasso who said something like "if you're going to copy, copy from the best"?

Stay tuned for more images from The Big City.

Count Your Blessings - Prayer Beads

Since Friday evenings are free at the Rubin Museum on West 17th Street and since Jean was obsessed with seeing the prayer beads exhibit, we decided to check it out. Wanting to research whether wearing her large yellow faux amber prayer beads as a necklace was a no-no, Jean was greatly relieved to learn that so doing was in fact an imperial habit. Here's a closeup of her beads from the Columbus Avenue Flea Market.  (Valerie's huge white ceramic beads, made by Peter Lane, a wonderful potter, caused her no such worry.  If she and Peter had talked about it, they might have laughingly called these the I Don't Have a Prayer beads.)

In China, prayer beads transcended Buddhist context to incorporate Daoist and even mundane aspects of use. During the Ming period (1368-1644), they were treated as aesthetic objects, emphasizing elegance over religious symbolism. The Qing period (1644-1912) saw development of secular "court beads", delineating certain materials for exclusive use in the royal beads which were worn by the emperor as a necklace.

Just before we entered the show, we met Mahfood (we didn't ask him to spell his name, so we're hoping we got this right).  Mahfood is an aspiring blogger and style icon-in-the-making who also happens to work at the museum. Check the hair!

Back to the show: Prayer beads were made in a wide variety of materials, some of which enhanced or multiplied the value of the prayer. These beautiful beads fashioned from Lithocarpus seeds were made in China in the 20th century.

One of our favorites was this set made from snake spine and conch shell with a metal counter (for tracking how many prayers the user clocked in a session).  It reminded Jean of childhood talismans from her dad.

Jean's snake rattles, probably from two different specimens, were handed down from her dad and are over 85 years old. Her dad grew up on a wheat farm in Washington state back in the 1920s in the days of horse-drawn combines. Rattlers weren't killed for sport but rather only when they curled up in farm equipment or barns and menaced people or horses. Quite a far cry from 21st century Manhattan, yes?


These 18th century Japanese walnut, ivory and fiber prayer beads look quite skull-like.

Speaking of skulls, these Tibetan 18th or 19th century prayer beads are made from bones from human craniums.  We had to do a little research on this, since Americans usually think of shrunken heads or cannibalism or some form of violence when confronted with human heads as ornaments.  In fact, we learned that Tibetan monks had 'sky burials', leaving bodies to be recycled (shall we say) by local vultures.  The use of bits of skulls for prayer beads served to underscore the evanescence of life.

These Korean 20th century beads are made of wood carved as skulls.

We have to show you this entire display case to give you an idea of the size of the next two sets of prayer beads.   That's one set of beads all along the bottom of the case, and another set at the extreme right.

This 19th century set of Japanese prayer beads is punctuated by five Buddhist saints, each encased in an elegant plum sized brass bead.

These 20th century Japanese beads, probably made of zelkova, a dense wood that is difficult to carve, were labeled penance prayer beads.  The wall text explained that differently arranged and numbered prayer beads have different purposes. Pacification, increase, power and 'wrathful practices' were among the different purposes named, and the text indicated that practitioners of Buddhism would be able to identify which beads were for which purposes.  Materials used also help identify these purposes.  For some additional reading on this click here.

These undated Tibetan beads are made of conch shell.

Fossilized shells can be found in the landlocked Himalayas, which were under water millions of years ago.  The conch has important symbolism in Buddhism, so it is not surprising they were used in prayer beads.  Conch shells might have been brought to Tibet from India, but in any case were not readily available, like wood or seeds, and were held in high esteem.  The close up below shows that the conch beads were very dense, unlike most of the conch shells one might find on beaches.  These would have had to come from large old conch shells.

This set of prayer beads is said to be early 19th century Tibetan.  Primarily of ivory, it also has some coral and silver.  The largest bead is referred to as the 'guru' bead, and marks the beginning or end of the recitation, so the meditator can keep track of the prayer cycle.

These beads are also Tibetan, but only date to the 1970s.

To untutored eyes (ours, for example), these look old, given their patina, and the care that was taken to embed bits of shell and turquoise embedded all around their centers.

At the end of the exhibition, we stopped into K2 Serai, the lounge on the Museum's first floor which features interesting cocktails, an eclectic menu, and on Friday nights, a crowd, a DJ and a film on the lower level. That evening, Johnny Belinda was the movie selection. Here's our barista muddling fresh basil for Valerie's drink. We were captivated, thinking in the relative darkness that she was using a fresh carrot. How organic! Turned out she was using a painted wooden pestle. The flavor was marvelous.

The finished products - in bell jars.  LOL!

Bell jars -- with salt rims!

We lassoed a willing employee to take a picture of us together, and had to ask her for a second shot to make sure she got the hats in.  Notice -ahem - that our hats match our beads!

The tables encircle the atrium, so there is a nice sense of space, as well as a view of the exhibition.  As we looked down, we noticed that the very largest set of beads had been hung in the center of the atrium.  The museum was open till 10pm, and we wound up closing the place down.

Walking east on 17th Street to the subway, we passed a wonderful store called Beads of Paradise with a window chock full of prayer beads, incense burners, Buddha figures and assorted statuary. Note the skull beads just to the left of the golden statue.

Here's another shot of the colorful window display. (Luckily for our personal bottom lines, the store was closed for the night!)

Inspired by what she'd seen, Jean fashioned her own skull prayer beads from the wonderful erasers purchased in the museum store. Now, if she can just find a drill and silk cord!

What We're Wearing:

Jean is wearing a Missoni top, Issey Miyake dress, Urban Outfitters turban, flea market prayer beads, vintage bakelite bracelets and rings, Issey Miyake Pleats Please drawstring backpack and DIY customized Dansko platform clogs.

Valerie is wearing a vintage Schiaparelli hat, plastic earrings from the flea market, Peter Lane Clay beads, unlabeled bolero jacket, bustier by H&M, felt bracelet from Etsy, pants by APOC (Issey Miyake), sandals by Blowfish.

Monochrome and Polychrome in New York

To wear, or not to wear? (Color, that is.) That is the question in New York. A little bit of both in today's post.

The woman below was going strictly monochrome the day we ran into her in Brooklyn. We loved her dreads!

The Shy Photographer strikes again. Here, white pony tail, black sunglasses, white shirt, black pants.

Norma was dressed in black and white, but added to the palette with a transitional cream color and soft shades of gray and two-toned shoes. Love that way glam turban, which she wrapped herself.

Stark black shirt and glasses, stark white hair, and just a pinch of red seasoning. Deborah has just returned from four years of teaching at a university in Afganistan.

An all-over melange of black, white and a touch of red at the top of her head and at her feet.

No detail is overlooked. Notice the multiple targets on her fingers and toes, and even, you might say, on her shoes!

And our closing shot in a series of photos working from black and white to vivid color --  a woman in a veritable rainbow of hues. Although it's hard to tell, she has several little gumball ponytail holders of different colors in her hair. To accent her turquoise dress with pink lightning bolts, she added two scarves, multi-colored belt and red glasses.  Her purple shoes complement her multi-colored bicycle's pink seat and wheel rims.  And - a woman after Jean's heart - she brought along her Barbie, in color-coordinated frock, of course!

Employee of the Month AND Stolen Moment

Here we are at the end of another escapade in the city that never sleeps, in the 14th Street subway station to be precise.  What experiences could have left us looking a tad smug, you might ask.

Let's begin at the beginning, shall we? On July 25th, we went to the Citizen's Brigade Theater for a taping of comedienne Catie Lazarus' show "Employee of the Month", in which Catie asks her guests to talk about their work and how they got to where they are.  (Some of the answers are surprising and refreshingly frank.)  For the price of admission, we were treated to four interviews: first with actress and comedienne Janeane Garofalo, then New Yorker writer Emily Nussbaum, followed by Stacy London, host of What Not to Wear, and endig with star of The View, Joy Behar - not to mention an opening monologue by Catie Lazarus and musical interludes by the band (pictured below).

What, you may ask, was the price of admission?  Does $5 each strike you as fair and reasonable?  Yes, $5 each!  How could we resist?  We stood in a long line outside the theater (ahem - Valerie stood in a long line outside the theater, and on one foot, no less) but managed to score front row seats. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as it later turned out), our seats were at the far left of the stage, right next to the door through which all of the guests entered and exited.

Lazarus videotapes these encounters and downloads them to the web. To see a bit of the show we attended, click on this Vimeo link: http://vimeo.com/71660617 If you look really carefully, you can just barely glimpse us (OMG!) in the far left of the frame in several of the shots in this vimeo of the final bows of the the guests.

Except when Catie stood for her hilarious, self-effacing monologue, she mostly sat at her "desk" with her back to us, facing her guests, and simultaneously obscuring them. We had to be grateful at certain points during each interview when Catie sat back in her seat, and we could get an occasional view of the guests.

The first guest was Janeane Garofalo, whom Catie quizzed among other things about growing up in Rochester, New York and about her experience with Botox injections. After getting over the shock of the question, Janeane admitted that the anti-wrinkle injections did work for the furrow between her brows. Unfortunately, because she had to run to another gig, unlike the other three guests, Janeane didn't stick around for the curtain call.

Next up was New Yorker writer Emily Nussbaum, who was asked about her previous gig as a movie reviewer at another publication.

Much to Jean's delight, Lazarus' interviewing style is much like her own conversational style -- interrupting people mid-thought, blurting out what she thinks are bons mots while the speaker is still talking, and helping them finish sentences they are perfectly capable of finishing on their own.  (Valerie, for her part, felt sympathy and empathy for the perplexed but polite guests.)  The best line of the evening was Catie's question asking something about what percentage of New Yorker writers wear tweed with and without irony.

Showing off her newly purchased, presumably expensive handbag to the audience, What Not to Wear star Stacy London admitted, in reviewing her own fashion choices early in the series, that she was not "camera ready". In talking about making the leap from Vogue editorial staffer to on-air personality, Stacy did own up to her own fashion faux pas, admitting that it was a "difficult" transition going from behind the scenes to out in front.

After bemoaning the fact that she had no boyfriend, Catie asked Stacy for a little fashion advice. On cue, Catie's long-suffering assistant entered the stage wearing Catie's mother's fur jacket and skirt and the comedienne's own faux fur animal-eared (animal-headed?) hat. Although Catie vigorously defended the hat, Stacy ventured that perhaps the hat might be one reason for her host's date-less situation.

In a hilarious strip-tease, the assistant peeled away the first layer to display Catie's grandmother's robe, sealing the deal and to Stacy's way of thinking, confirming that such wardrobe choices were a "clue" to solving Catie's dating quandary and would most certainly be a first-date turn off.

Seemingly knowing no shame, like one of those Russian dolls within a doll, the assistant proceeded to further disrobe to reveal Catie's red bikini.

We were definitely positioned for the "money shot" - complete with porn socks! The assistant's barely visible flesh-colored Spanx became the next point of heated discussion with Stacy strongly defending the use of "shape wear" to smooth out any woman's silhouette.

Stacy's new handbag is visible in this shot. Can you name the designer?

Final guest Joy Behar revealed another degree of separation from first guest Janeane Garofalo, saying she had taught high school English in Rochester, but admitting that Janeane was not one of her students. Joy talked about her stint on The View and her future, planning to work rather than retire.

Joy's revelation that she in fact is not Jewish was followed by her comment that she is perceived to be, even winning an award from   Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America.

Our moment in the spotlight took place when Joy interrupted Catie to point right at us and say she was just fascinated by those two stylish "women in the first row wearing hats that look like flying saucers"!! She then made us stand up so the other members of the audience could see us. Valerie gamely did so, despite the fact that she was recovering from her recent foot surgery and was wearing a protective and most unstylish bootie.

During the finale, each of the three guests was individually escorted back to the stage by Catie's assistant, wearing a very fetching black teddy.  Each guest took a final bow and received her very own framed Employee of the Month photo. Members of the audience were invited on stage to briefly chat with Catie and her guests before being chased out of the theater so techs could clear the stage and break down the set to prepare for the next show hosted by another actor.

Just like Creedence Clearwater Revival's Willy and The Poor Boys, we found ourselves "Down on the corner, out in the street" with the band as members of the audience asked to take pictures of us.

When they asked to pose with us for photos, we were able to impose on them to take one with our camera.  Now, FINALLY, after all these years, we can say We're with the band.

The theater was just one block west of FIT and a short walk to amusingly misnomered hotspot Cafeteria, one of our faves in that part of town. We started at an outdoor table to discuss the evening's events, compare notes and make a stab at solving the problems of the world before getting on the subway. Below, we pose for photos just before it started to drizzle and we had to move indoors. Foodie Alert: their crispy battered green beans are terrific as are their salmon BLTs!

But what about the cocktails? Divine! (Long-time fans will recall that we brought the Forest City Fashionista to Cafeteria after one of the vintage shows, and that we celebrated there last year with one of the other senior models after appearing in Marla Wynn's fashion show at the Fab Over Fifty event at the Metropolitan Pavilion.)

We thought we'd scored a real coup finding a great show, AND at such a great price, but we were later disappointed to discover we're really not that cool after all, as this show has been managing quite well without us for a very long time! Employee of the Month has podcasts of previous shows, and quite a list of high profile guests.  To see the list of podcasts and photos of guests previously put under the microscope, click here. (Also, they asked for our email address so they could alert us to monthly Employee shows, but we weren't alerted to the August show. Hmmmmm.....)

In the 14th Street subway station, we ran into quadruple threat Steff Reed: singer, songwriter, producer and music educator. Check him out at http://WhoIsSteffReed.com. Jean and Steff were gang-signing approval of Valerie's bootie.  (Note the Andy Warhol Marilyn print sock and her Warhol soup can shoe!)

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!


Imagine our surprise to see our image on photographer Mindy Tucker's Stolen Moment of the Week series and this incredibly complimentary notation:

Check here soon for the interviews with Emily Nussbaum, Stacy London, Joy Behar, and Janeane Garofalo from this taping of Employee of the Month, hosted by Catie Lazarus. More photos, including one of two audience members who are some of the most stylish New Yorkers I've ever seen at a comedy show, are here.

Click here or go to: http://withreservation.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Employee-of-the-Month-Emily-Nussbaum-Catie-Lazarus-Stacy-London-Joy-Behar-Janeane-Garofalo/G00005Dxd4QfBkgY/I0000MZUFg8IYAx8

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mindy-tucker/stolen-moment-of-the-week_23_b_3665551.html

Who: 
Emily Nussbaum, Catie Lazarus, Stacy London, Joy Behar, Janeane Garofalo
Where: 
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, 307 W 26th St New York, NY
When: 
July 25, 2013
What:

Employee of the Month - Emily Nussbaum, Catie Lazarus, Stacy London, Joy Behar, Janeane Garofalo

Bonus: To listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 Willy and the Poor Boys, from the album of the same name, click here  or go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJAjOlp4Tas