Archive for July, 2010
Dating In The City
Posted on 22. Jul, 2010 by Karri Wells.
From what I hear New York is a great place for singles. I wouldn’t know. I always seem to go against the grain when it comes to these things. When I lived back in Iowa I was dating, while most of my friends were married or engaged. Then, I moved to New York – now I’m the one in a relationship, while most of my friends are dating and single. Funny how that happens.
I enjoy hearing about the dating escapades of singles in the city. My friends have some pretty great stories – some are funny, others outrageous and several very sweet. Some of the dates turn into relationships while others remain memorable anecdotes. It’s no wonder that Sex & The City was so popular.
A friend recently told me about this guy Brian, who just moved from Wisconsin to New York. Brian is taking this online dating thing to a whole new level, he is crowd sourcing dates. His goal is to go on 30 dates in 30 days with 30 different women. (This has all the makings for a blockbuster romantic comedy). He is getting set up on these dates via his website, Dating Brian. If you or someone you know might be interested drop him a line. After each date, both Brian and his gal each give a recap of what they did and how they thought the date went. So far Brian has been on two dates – and I’m already hooked. I can’t wait to see what happens on the next 28. He seems like a really nice guy, and I’m hoping that this experiment goes well for him. Follow Brian’s 30 day quest
What has been your most interesting dating experience? What is the craziest thing you ever did to get a date?
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Amanda Palmer Does Radiohead Ukulele Style
Posted on 21. Jul, 2010 by Karri Wells.
Amanda Palmer has released an EP of Radiohead covers. The entire album is a stripped down take on these songs – basically just her and a ukulele.
Here is the tracklist:
- Fake Plastic Trees
- High and Dry
- No Surprises
- Idioteque
- Creep (Hungover at soundcheck in Berlin)
- Exit Music (For a Film)
- Creep (Live in Prague) – Only available as a digital bonus track)
Stream Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Hits Of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele
You can purchase the digital album for as little as $.84. I suggest pitching in a little more, as Ms. Palmer doesn’t get a dime if you pay the minimum, and let’s be honest, you can all afford an extra dollar or two.
You can learn more about this project over at her blog – amandapalmer.net.
After you listen to this, check out another interesting take on Radiohead – Jaydiohead and Jaydiohead: The Encore all created by Max Tannone. Tannone has done some pretty sweet Radiohead/Jay-Z mash-ups. Download them both for free over at jaydiohead.com
What are your favorite mash-up/remixes/covers?
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Country To City One Year Later
Posted on 15. Jul, 2010 by Karri Wells.
Today is my official one year anniversary with New York. A year ago I remember sitting on the porch swing at my old house going through a total Jessie Spano mess of emotions. I was so excited, I was so scared – and no I wasn’t on caffeine pills. I was looking forward to what this new adventure would bring, but also really anxious about leaving my friends, family, job and the friendly fields of Iowa. I’d never made such a drastic change before, and had no idea if I was going to sink or swim.
This has been a year of growth, an emotional puberty of sorts. I realized that a lot of the things I was scared about turned out to not be that scary at all. I’ve made some great friends, found a job I love, and for the first time ever have gained a sense of direction (I can now distinguish North from South, go me). I never thought I could be this comfortable here. I have a new tolerance for risk, and am no longer so freaked out by change.
In honor of my NewYorkVersary I thought I’d make a list of the things I love about NYC.
Things I Love About New York
Talking to Strangers
I’ve had some pretty interesting conversations with strangers. One night I was riding the subway home and a friendly Italian man started talking to me. As I stood to get off the train he handed me a brick of Parmigiano Reggiano and told me that he ‘really wanted me to have it’, like giving a stranger cheese was the most normal thing in the world.
Food!
The food here is amazing. If you want it you can find it, and it will probably be the best you’ve had.
Great Free Events
I can’t believe how many great free events there are around the city. I’ve seen some pretty amazing shows without paying a dime. This weekend I’m headed down to Coney Island to check out the 10th Annual Siren Music Festival.
Easy To Get Around
I no longer own a car, and to be honest I don’t really miss it. I enjoy walking around the city – it’s amazing that you can walk a few miles and not realize how far you’ve gone. I received a bike for my birthday, and that quickly has become my favorite mode of transportation (Thanks again Brian!). Plus, you can get almost anywhere you need to go for only $2.25 on the MTA day or night.
Culture
The culture here will never cease to impress me. In my neighborhood alone I can walk through areas that are heavily Latino, Polish and Italian all within a few blocks. The city is truly a melting pot.
Check out some of my favorite photos from the past year
Thank you again to my friends and family who’ve supported me this past year. I love you guys so much and I wouldn’t be here without you. I mean that literally – you are the ones who got my crap across the country, made me feel better when I was homesick, and let’s be honest mom and dad, if you hadn’t conceived me I REALLY wouldn’t be here. Ewww gross. . . . . anyway. . . .
What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? How did it go?
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Kittens Inspired By Mel Gibson
Posted on 15. Jul, 2010 by Karri Wells.
Quotes from Mel Gibson’s foul mouthed rant have inspired a new internet meme. What a filthy mouth he has! This, from a man who made a movie about Jesus.
Here are a few of my favorites – First, The 20 Worst Mel Gibson Rant Quotes (Presented By Kittens)
Or, if you are having trouble making an important decision – ask the Mel Gibson Magic 8-Ball, created by my friends Luke and Apiram at Lazer1033.com for the Morning Moose- very nice work guys! Turn up the volume, well, unless you are at work.
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Backyard Brunch Sessions – Nicole Atkins with Special Guests The Spinning Leaves
Posted on 09. Jul, 2010 by Karri Wells.
My neighbor David Chaitt has been doing a series of Backyard Brunch Sessions this summer. He basically works out a menu with the performing band, they cook it together in his home, he invites a bunch of friends over, feeds everyone, and then the band does an acoustic set in his backyard. His production partners west egg productions and nyctaper capture everything. For the first episode of the series, Nicole Atkins and The Spinning Leaves performed. Nicole has an absolutely incredible voice, it was pretty awesome to see her perform in such an intimate venue.
Check out the video below for a recap and hear Nicole perform ‘Cry Cry Cry’. If you can’t see it click here
You can download audio from the set over at nyctaper. If you like what you hear, go buy her album Neptune City.
I’m looking forward to what David has in store for the rest of the summer! It sounds like he has some surprises up his sleeve!
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Why I Am No Longer A Designer
Posted on 09. Jul, 2010 by Karri Wells.
I knew I wanted to be a graphic designer from the moment my high school art department got an iMac. Those bulbous brightly colored computers mesmerized me. I soon found myself spending every free moment in the design lab learning my way around Photoshop and the other, now archaic, programs installed on the machine. I took all of our schools courses in Commercial Art where we kicked it old school, mocking up layouts with non-repro blue pencils and non-digital clip art. I adored my art teacher, Mr. Kling, an incredibly charismatic man with the most contagious laugh. He fed my budding passion for design and encouraged my efforts. He even let me help out with the high school website, which made me feel extra fancy and important.
Senior year came, I remember sitting in the guidance counselor’s office discussing ‘my future’. What college did I want to attend? What did I want to major in? The decision was simple – I wanted to be graphic designer. The next fall, I enrolled in Drake University‘s graphic design program. Freshman year I took what they called our ‘core’ classes – everything from drawing to sculpture. These classes were meant to develop our skills in composition, color and proportion. I loved these classes – while my friends were off taking more bookish subjects like accounting and biology, I was in the studio elbow deep in charcoal and slicing my fingers with X-Acto knives.
At some point I decided to add an Advertising major. I thought it would make me more ‘marketable’. So at the end of five, yes five, wonderful years, I graduated with a double major in Graphic Design and Advertising. I was ready to kick the world’s ass and design the crap out of anything that came my way.
Then reality sank in. Something they never tell you in school is that in the real world, you are no longer creating things that YOU like. You are designing for your clients. So if your client wants you to make a six foot banner full of low-resolution .jpegs and they prefer that you use Comic Sans because they want it to look ‘fun’, you have to find a way to make it work. As a designer there is a fine balance between satisfying your client, and creating work that your are proud to claim as your own. Just because YOU think that you’ve come up with the best idea ever, it doesn’t mean that your client will agree, and you must find middle ground. I spent five years deciphering vague feedback like, ‘let’s make this pop’, ‘the colors aren’t right’, ‘i like it, but it’s not quite there’, and bevy of other lines I’m sure you’ve heard from other annoyed designers or read on Clients From Hell.
I was finally burnt out – I just couldn’t do it anymore. I’d lost my passion. It had been drained out of me. I stopped looking at my projects as fun puzzles with multiple solutions and as client feedback as exciting challenges to work towards a mutually satisfying end product. Instead, I halfheartedly completed projects using the input of my clients and at the end of day wasn’t proud of what I was producing. That’s when I knew that it was time for a change.
I’ve always been a pretty social person, so when the social web started to evolve I naturally became an active participant. The more I dabbled, the more I fell in love with where this field was going and I wanted to be a part of it. So about a year ago, I transitioned careers from a graphic designer to a community manager. Don’t get me wrong, I miss design – I love the creative outlet that it provides me – I crave that, I need that. However, now it’s something that I can do on my own time, and it’s become fun again. I still enjoy reading passive aggressive exchanges between clients and designers, lost cat poster email thread, but now it doesn’t hit so close to home, and I can actually laugh instead of cry.
Are you a designer? What is your biggest frustration with your job? What’s your favorite part?