The Ox & Jay-Z

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!

Year of the Ox

We had our big family dinner for Chinese New Year on Saturday at SUteiShi. There were 30 of us at 4 tables and we had a ton of delicious food. On the menu for each table was edamame, kani salad, pork and vegetable gyoza, fried oysters, chicken and scallion skewers, salmon teriyaki, and vegetable udon. There was a huge platter of sashimi, a sushi platter with lots of ikura and uni, vegetarian sushi and rolls, and a selection of special rolls including the Pearl, Spider, and Sakura rolls which are some of my favorites!

On Sunday, Chinese New Year's Eve, I had another dinner at home with my mom, aunt, and David.  We had our traditional dishes like chicken, roast pork and pork with crispy skin, rice vermicelli, sweet and sour chicken from Red Hot, vegetables, and of course rice.  We usually eat at the dining room table and use the nice bowls and chopsticks.

The same Sunday evening, David and I were planning to go to Lucali, an amazing pizza place in Carrol Gardens, with Chris, Sarah, Warren, and Bronwen.  Lucali is Chris's favorite / number one pick for pizza in the city.  We had to pass and as my luck would have it, it was the night Jay-Z decided he also wanted Lucali pizza!  The ironic part is that the 4 of them were only sort of excited that they were eating in close quarters with Mr. Carter himself (Sarah even said she wished Beyonce was there instead), while I am a huge fan of his and would have been going crazy!  I was so upset to find out that I missed him but it's good to know that he also appreciates the wonder that is Lucali and hopefully I'll have the chance to see him there sometime!

LomoWalls & LOVE

During a walk around downtown Manhattan with my aunt, we went to the MoMA Design Store on Spring Street.  They have a lomography display with four large 'walls' made up of a mosaic of lomographic shots.  These are the 'LomoWalls.'  There is also a variety of cameras, lenses, accessories, and books for sale.  I had my Fisheye No.2 and managed to take two or three photos before the guard looked at me and I put the camera back in my bag.  After we were done looking around the store and were about to leave, I decided I wanted another few shots of the LomoWalls.  I took the Fisheye out as I walked to the display but there were no other people around like before, and the guard saw the camera and said I wasn't allowed to take photos.  I really wish I had it prepared to shoot in my hands so I could snap a quick one of him walking towards me, that would have been perfect!  I should have been following the lomography 'golden rules.'

LomoWalls are on display at three different MoMA locations around New York until February 4th.  I'd like to check out the LomoWalls in Midtown if I get a chance.  A LomoWall is created from a flood of authentic, colorful, crazy, dazzling analog snapshots.  Lomography enthusiasts from around the world - Lomographers, as they are known - shoot the photos using analog Lomographic cameras.  The LomoWalls on display around New York were built from approximately 16,300 individual Lomographs.  These photos were chosen from many submissions around the world.  Once I improve my lomography skills, I'd like to submit my photos and possibly have one on exhibit!

There's a new Lomography Gallery Store opening on January 26 on W. 8th Street.  This is New York City's first Lomography store and features a 35,000- image LomoWall, 7 special edition Diana F+ cameras, over 50 types of film and lots of other fun stuff.  I'm sure I'll love it!  The LomoWall runs throughout the store, including the staircase where the viewer is surrounded by 360-degrees of lomographs!  I definitely need to check it out soon.  I've decided I want to have a collection of cameras and the next cameras on my list are the Oktomat and the SuperSampler.  The Oktomat splits the photo into 8 (2x4) parts and the SuperSampler divides it into 4 long rectangles and has a ripcord pull for a trigger!  They both seem so cool and so much fun, I can't wait to use them!

Down the block is LOVE, a club on Macdougal Street that I went to with David and Rich last Saturday to see Hugmode, Pink Skull, and Romanthony.  Hugmode is our friend Mike, Pink Skull is a electronic duo with the Savant Guard, and Romanthony is the voice on Daft Punk's "One More Time."  There was music, dancing, and all that good stuff.

LOVE has a cavernous feel with stone walls and red lights in the main bar area.  There's a big waterfall and you can see through it into a small side room with weird curvy couches and more red lights.  As you walk to the back, there's an all- black room with a few couches, and then the dance area!  There was another very small bar but with two bartenders and it never got as crowded as the front bar.  The DJ booth was long and open onto the dance floor, and they had green lasers, two disco ball halves, black lights and other colorful and crazy lights.

I had my Fisheye No.2 then too and I took photos of myself, David, and Rich as well as the all the lights.  I tried a few long exposure shots with the lights and I hope it comes out well.  I haven't finished that roll yet but I'm excited to see it.  I'm going to put all my negatives onto CDs so I'll finally have my lomography on the computer and include it in blogs!

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MoMA Design Store, SoHo  [ 81 Spring Street ]

MoMA Design Store  [ 44 W. 53rd Street ]

MoMA Design and Book Store  [ 11 W. 53rd Street ]

Lomography Gallery Store  [ 41 W. 8th Street ]

LOVE  [ 179 Macdougal Street ]

Music [08]

Most of the new music I've been listening to this year has been discovered with the help of my boyfriend David. Also known as DJ Orion, he spins vinyl records at bars in Brooklyn and Manhattan including monthly gigs at Bar4 (Park Slope) and Arrow Bar (East Village). I think he has pretty great taste in music and I owe a lot of my recent music interests to him! Check out his blog [ The Get Go ] for all the music and parties! I really enjoy live music but I never actually make it out to as many shows as I would like. But thanks to David, we went to a bunch of great shows this past year! There will also be a concert blog with some photos from the shows. 2008 was definitely a very enjoyable year of music!

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CUT COPY [ IN GHOST COLOURS ]

Cut Copy is one of David's favorite groups and has become one of mine as well! In Ghost Colours is the Australian group's second album. I went to two shows this past year, the first in March at Studio B in Greenpoint and the second in September at Webster Hall. Both shows were lots of fun but the Webster Hall show was extra super fun! David and I were with a few friends and we all danced the entire time. We unknowingly hung out with Shandi from America's Next Top Model and I was especially excited when they played my favorite song, "Strangers in the Wind." It was really fun and definitely my favorite concert of the year! I can't wait until they come back to NY!

Favorite songs: Strangers in the Wind, Far Away, So Haunted

HOT CHIP [ MADE IN THE DARK ]

Made in the Dark is the British group's third album. I had only started listening to Hot Chip's music the year before but I've definitely become a fan. Their single, Ready for the Floor, quickly became popular and still gets people out on the dance floor at DJ Orion parties. David and I went to their October show at Terminal 5. It was cool to see them perform live because they really made sure it didn't sound exactly like the album. At some points though it seemed like they were trying too hard to make it different and for some of my favorites I sort of wish they kept it closer to the original version. It was a great show though and I enjoyed it very much!

Favorite Songs: Ready for the Floor, Hold On, One Pure Thought

SANTOGOLD [ SELF-TITLED ]

Santi White of Philly, a.k.a. Santogold's first album seems to be well-received in the music world. She's been compared to M.I.A., particularly on the track "Creator" because a lot of their production is done by the same people including Diplo. "Creator" is one of my favorite Santogold songs but David prefers "L.E.S. Artistes." I like a lot of the remixes too, especially the Switch Remix of "Shove It." I just got "Top Ranking" (A Diplo Dub) from David for Christmas. It's mostly Santogold remixes with some other artists mixed in. I like it overall but there are a few tracks that seem sort of random. I'm definitely curious about what we'll be seeing next from Santogold in the future! I think a collaboration with M.I.A. would be pretty sweet!

Favorite Songs: Creator, Lights Out, L.E.S. Artistes

HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR [ SELF-TITLED ]

This "musical project" is the creation of New York based DJ Andrew Butler and includes Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons. With a mix of disco/house/dance-punk, Hercules and Love Affair's self-titled album has also been well-received and has made it onto several Top 40 lists and has even been on the Chanel website and featured in two of their fashion shows. Antony Hegarty's vocals on their first single, "Blind" has a strange and unfamiliar yet interesting tone which I love, making it one of my favorites. "Raise Me Up" has a funky beat and is great for the dance floors, as is the "Hercules Theme" with its catchy melody of horns. "Hercules Theme" was also on my Urban Outfitters Essential Summer Mix which is where I first heard it. They seem like a fun group to see live and I would like to go to a show one day!

Favorite Songs: Blind, Raise Me Up, Hercules Theme

MGMT [ ORACULAR SPECTACULAR ]

Oracular Spectacular was actually released in 2007 but its popularity didn't become widespread until 2008 when I first heard their music as well. MGMT, previously known as 'The Management,' was created by the Brooklyn-based duo while the two attended Wesleyan University. It would be pretty cool if Allie knew them back then! They toured and opened for groups such as Of Montreal before becoming household names and making it onto many Best of 2008 lists. "Time to Pretend" was on the finale of 'Gossip Girl' and there have been many remixes of their songs, including a Jim Jones mix of "Electric Feel."

Favorite Songs: Kids, Electric Feel, Time to Pretend

KANYE WEST [ 808'S & HEARTBREAK ]

Kanye West's third album, 808's & Heartbreak, has received a mix of praise and critique. I'm in the former group and personally enjoy the majority of his new songs. I've heard people say this album is too 'emo,' while others claim it's one of the most progressive hip-hop albums since Outkast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below." I don't think I would go that far, but I really love the strong bass and beats in "Amazing" and Ry and I agree that Lil Wayne is pretty great on "See You in my Nightmare." The first single was "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless" is currently on radio playlists.  David has a really good "Love Lockdown" remix on vinyl that I personally like better than the original version!

Favorite Songs: Amazing, See You In My Nightmare, Heartless, Love Lockdown

More Songs on iPod rotation this year:

"Gronlandic Edit" Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

"Breaking It Up" Lykee Li, Youth Novels

"Live Your Life" T.I. ft. Rihanna, Paper Trail

"Dangerous" Kardinal Offishall ft. Akon, Not 4 Sale

"In the Morning" Junior Boys, So This Is Goodbye

"Move" (Cut Copy Remix) CSS, Donkey

"Cheap and Cheerful" The Kills, Midnight Bloom

"Baggy Bottom Boys" Jokers of the Scene, Fool's Gold

"Cross the Dancefloor" Treasure Fingers, Fool's Gold

"Day 'n' Nite" Kid Cudi, Fool's Gold