Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Joyful Dancing

This guy (genius, in my mind), went around the world and did a little happy dance everywhere he went. The video is like joy in a bottle:



See the outtakes here:



Learn more at his website.
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posted by Adriana at 9:08 AM 0 comments

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Playing The Building

During my recent trip to New York, Emily and I visited an art installation called Playing the Building by former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and Creative Time. It is located in the Battery Maritime Building in lower Manhattan, next door to the Staten Island Ferry. It has a rich history that you can read about here. It's a gorgeous building that has stood empty for quite some time. As you can see, the exterior has undergone renovation. The interior will get an overhaul once the installation is done at the end of August.


Here's a view of the building from the water.


Because of the condition of the building, you have to sign a waiver before entering. I really enjoyed getting a chance to see the interior in this way. We live in a world where new=good. But this space was beautifully decrepit. I was taken with the details of its decay.


The installation itself originated in Stockholm before making its way to New York. A small, antique church organ is connected via wires, tubes, and other engineering voodoo to various parts of the building. In front of the organ, painted on the floor, is this invitation:


When you press one of the keys it might rattle the radiator. Another blows air past a heating pipe creating an ersatz flute. A third raps on a metal column. It's strange to describe because it is so deceptively simple. When you play the organ, you are literally playing the building. I was raised on a steady diet of Talking Heads music, so I already had great respect for David Byrne. My hat's off to him for coming up with something so clever and wonderful.


The space itself is a masterpiece. Having the lower portion painted in white provided a wonderful juxtaposition of clean openness with neglect and decay.


The weather was beautiful the day that Emily and I visited. The early afternoon light poured through the massive skylight, making stunning patterns on the floor and walls.

At that hour on a Friday, we didn't have to wait long to try the organ for ourselves. Here's virtuoso, Emily:


No matter what words I use, they will be inadquate to describe the experience. If you are in New York, I urge you to check it out yourself (Fri, Sat, Sun. 12-6pm). Short of that, you can check out this movie. Thanks to Emily for her camera work:

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posted by Adriana at 5:51 PM 0 comments

Visit to the Big Apple

In the middle of June, I went for a long weekend to New York City. As always, the city provided something entertaining to see:


The actual reason for the trip was to attend the wedding of Jenny and David. Jenny and I are friends from nursing school. I got to see other classmates at the wedding. It was a lovely garden ceremony. In this photo, Jenny's sister is reading a piece of poetry. What I love about it is the look David and Jenny are exchanging. You can tell they really *get* each other. Isn't that what marriage is about?


The reception was great fun, with lots of dancing. Everyone agreed that Jenny was the World's Most Entertaining Bride.

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posted by Adriana at 5:36 PM 0 comments

Recent Celebrations

Lately we've had occasion to celebrate a few things. First, my paternal grandmother paid us a visit all the way from Mexico City. It was a lovely, rare opportunity for us to all be together. See the family resemblance?


That same day, we celebrated Carmen's birthday, with one of her daughters, Fabienne.


Both Daddy and Benjamin will exploit any opportunity for goofiness.


Most recently, my Mom celebrated her (censored)th birthday.


Normally, we get some deeply sinful gourmet confection from Epicure. This year, I decided to resurrect a favorite from my childhood: chocolate cake with chocolate sour cream icing. You have to take my word for it that sour cream and chocolate are an excellent combination. As per usual, Paul made the coffee . . .


. . . Mom blew out the candles . . .


. . . and Benjamin ate cake and enjoyed his freshly shorn head. I keep telling him to enjoy his hair while he still can as he will almost certainly fall victim to male pattern baldness. He doesn't listen.

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posted by Adriana at 4:15 PM 0 comments

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Hopeline Video

I've been a big fan of PostSecret for years, and even got to see Frank speak at a Border's in NYC once. He's a staunch supporter of the Hopeline. If it's good enough for Frank, it's good enough for me. Watch this to learn more:

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posted by Adriana at 1:30 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Collegiate Shag Video

Way back in the day (ok, 2005), I went to the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs, NY. It's like an all-you-can-dance, morning-till-night smorgasbord of dance, music, dance, contact improv, storytelling, dance, singing, and more dance. I can't emphasize enough how wicked cool it is and that you should go. Seriously. While I was there, I got a chance to hear the dulcet tones of Reggie's Red Hot Feetwarmers. I liked them so much, I bought a CD on the spot. They are your one-stop shop for old-timey goodness. Anyway, they were doing their thing in the hallway when the very talented John Druzba and Caitlin Rober-Looker took to the floor and tore it up but good. I've had this video under my hat for some time but it wasn't until I made a little movie for my friend Jenny after her wedding (Hi, Jenny!!) that I mastered the iMovie skills necessary to bring this little gem to you, the public. So, here you have it:

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posted by Adriana at 5:31 PM 0 comments



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Adriatic Bear by Adriana Arcia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.