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7/20/2012 New Wanderlust: Park Slope

Now that I am officially out of school and have been given the majority of my days to squander at my leisure, I have been increasingly voyaging into Brooklyn, namely Park Slope. I will admit that I was, at first, a little skeptical of our neighboring borough and its endless rows of grand but understated brownstones. Why were they all content to be the same size? Where was that virile drive for power and dominance that charged the heart of William Van Alen causing him to send the Chrysler Tower thrusting into the sky?
I soon found that this sort of understated elegance permeates the majority of Park Slope. Everything is a little closer to the ground, it’s a little more woody, rustic, and organic. People walk slower, their sunglasses are a little less mirrored. The main prediciment this environment causes for your average tourist is that it becomes hard to find the key destinations. There are no major commercial intersections marked with clusters of screaming fluorescents to direct you to the thrills of a blob of Justin Bieber-shaped wax or a plastic tube of $10/lb. M&Ms. So people get lost in Park Slope, wandering aimlessly around, walking around in circles, poking their heads in random boutiques and organic food markets, searching for the excitement. Luckily, for you fortunate readers, veni, vidi, vici, and I’m willing to share the spoils.

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7/20/2012 WORD TO THE WISE: Spiderman, The Stone-Garfield Edition

Officially, the new Spiderman film also has a new name-- "The Amazing Spider-Man"-- separating it from its predecessors. Personally, though, I anticipate it being remembered as the Andrew Garfield Spiderman. The plot and aesthetics of this version differ in no discernible way-- it is only the actors' unique interpretations of their characters that make it a film worthy of a trip to the local cineplex.

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7/19/2012 If You Like, Then You'd Like: Bon Iver and Ben Howard


A year or two ago Bon Iver was still the stuff of small clubs and All Songs Considered, skirting mainstream music and shunned by Billboard charts. But after two Grammys and months of buzz you now have no excuse to be ignorant of Justin Vernon’s singular crooning on Skinny Love (I mean, Pitchfork gave their self-titled second album the No. 1 spot on their Best of 2011 list. Come on! Not that it stopped the confused American masses). That’s why the indie folk outfit is the If in this resurrection of If You Like, Then You Like (as a bonus, my money’s on Ed Sheeran for a similar rise to stardom, just saying). The Then this time around is the much smaller and equally talented Ben Howard, English singer-songwriter who’s only just begun to sell out American rooms. His May show at the Bowery was incredible—don’t think twice the next time he’s in town. So there you have it: If you like Bon Iver, then you’d like Ben Howard.

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7/19/2012 Wanderlust: Sea Bright, NJ//Where Not to Spend Your Summer

Hello New Yorkers and fellow exiles! I've been revising some thoughts I put down this spring about going back to my high school job, and decided that giving it to you might make me leave it alone for once and for all. Longer than usual, but I think you'll like it (it's about you, after all. Sort of, anyway. It might mostly be about me. But I'll leave that open to debate).

Read me ramble under the cut:

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7/15/2012 ONLY IN NEW YORK: ROCKAWAY EDITION



 

1. ROCKAWAY TACOS
2. THE MOSAIC WHALE
3. BOARDWALK

A WANDERLUST SIDE NOTE:
Rockaway Beach is a truly unique experience. It is, first of all, very strange to me that you can access it for only $2.25 by subway. It feels somewhat surreal, like that children's television show where a bunch of terrible children are launched into space on a rogue school bus.

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7/15/2012 ONLY IN NEW YORK




1. RICKSHAW DUMPLINGS, MANHATTAN SKYLINE
2. S. AMERICAN CULTURE PARADE
3. ASSORTED SWEETS, CHINATOWN, BAY RIDGE

7/14/2012 WORD TO THE WISE: ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

I am sorry to say that I have recently been relatively disappointed in film. It started when I went to see Magic Mike in theaters-- a film which does not possess even the smallest fetal skeleton of plot or character development. And continued with a slow night spent in my dorm room watching a bizarre Netflix biopic.

So, relatively resigned to bad movies in general, back on my Netflix account, I began Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. My first thought was "well, if it's got nothing else, it's got the beautiful Kate Winslet." At the time it felt like a superficial throw-away, but, in retrospect, I realize that a lovely, talented actress is nothing at which to scoff.

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