Tag: Upper East Side

Loveship, Hateship, Kristen Wiigship

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Last week I had the great pleasure of seeing one of my most looked-up-to individuals at a movie screening/talk at the 92nd Street Y. As a part of the Reel Pieces series, my friend and I were able to preview the drama Loveship, Hateship (based off of Alice Munro’s short story “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage”) and sit in on a discussion that Columbia Film Professor Annette Insdorf held with the film’s director, Liza Johnson and the star of the movie, Kristen Wiig.

Realtalk, I’m not much of a film expert (although I also finally watched Dallas Buyer’s Club and Nebraska this weekend — A+ to both!); this event had me at “Kristen Wiig will be there.” Poor blessed Annette Insdorf tried her best to ask Ms. Johnson questions that wouldn’t bore the audience to sleep and stay on topic of the film, but 90% of the discussion and questions were geared toward Kristen. And mostly about her work in comedy, which is NOT the genre of this movie AT ALL. Tell us about working for SNL. (Hard, but good.) What can we use from improv in our daily lives? (Yes, and to everything.) Where did the character Dooneese come from? (3am sleep deprivation) Who was your favorite person to write with on SNL? (Wouldn’t answer) Who was your favorite person to act with on SNL? (Wouldn’t answer) Will you be doing dramas from here on out now? (We’ll see! But of course, no.)

IMDB currently has Loveship, Hateship rated at a 6.1/10 while Rotten Tomatoes gives a less enthusiastic 44%. It definitely is a solemn, and at times awkward (shocker, it’s Wiig) film to watch. But as we watched it with an audience of, what I can only assume were Bridesmaids-heads, whenever Wiig gave but an inch of something very, very small that could in the slightest way be taken as funny, the audience took a mile and LOLed.

Although I’m a fan of some of Kristen’s other recent dramatic feats (i.e. Friends with Kids, Girl Most Likely), this was a little too depressing for me and overall kind of unimpressive. But, some say my taste in movies is awful (I hate The Wizard of Oz!), so you should check out Loveship, Hateship for yourself! Here’s the trailer:

OR. Just watch this thirteen times instead:

OR both, if you have nothing better to do with your time, a la me.

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An Upper East Goodbye

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I did my last walk-around the neighb today. This week has been consumed with getting my life together, so I wanted to experience, for the last time as a resident, some of the things that made me love calling the UES home. Close access to the park, a killer bagelry right around the corner and inexpensive matinees at the local movie theatre all all things I’ll miss. Not pictured favorites: the 92nd St. Y, Museum Mile, The Astor House, and weirdly and boringly enough, the corner Duane Reade.

UES - Third Ave Ale HouseUES - Unique BoutiqueUES - LoewsUES - Manny'sUES - The District95th St.

Goodbye, Yellow Brick Apartment

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Hi hi hi! Happy Monday from an insane person. Why insane, you ask? Well, some part of my brain thought it was an excellent idea to schedule my first improv performance, my first Winter Ball, my second move to the Heights all within three days of each other. Also in the mix: working my regular (crazy) work hours, wrapping up all the loose ends that I don’t want to take with me to my new (old) apartment and attempting to maintain some sort of overarching normalcy. In other words, it’s going to be quite the week.

In a ways, I’m sad to leave my current apartment. It was my baby…my baby that got way out of hand and unmanageable and unnecessarily inconvenient and at times infested with bugs…but my baby, nonetheless. Moving in to a situation that may fit my lifestyle better is a change I’m welcoming, but I’d be lying if I said there weren’t going to be aspects I’m going to miss about my Upper East Side abode. It boasted the largest bedroom I’ll likely ever have (complete with chandelier and fireplace), built-in storage, a dishwasher, and we had the world’s sweetest landlord. These are all things I’ll look back on with fond memories. The cockroaches from the 2nd Ave. construction and stress-inducing commute to my job on the West side, good riddance.

UES Room 6UES Room 7UES Room 1UES Room 5UES Room 2UES Room 4

A Photo Shoot in Carl Schurz Park

Mandy3 Comments

Since I’m going to moving neighborhoods in the near future, I’m trying to get my fill of exploring the Upper East Side in the next few weeks. On a recent day off, I stumbled upon Carl Schurz Park along the East River in Yorkville. It was a very cold yet peaceful afternoon, and I was pleased with some of the shots I was able to get. Not that I know the first thing about photography, but I’m having fun getting to know my camera…and of course still tweaking some in my free version of Photoshop. :) Any UES joints I should add to my list of things to check out/potentially review? Let me know!Carl Schurz ParkEast Park 1Carl Schurz Park 4Carl Schurz Park 3 Carl Schurz Park2East Park 2

Dough Loco

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Last week, a friend told me about a new-ish donut shop that opened up a few streets over from my apartment. It was allegedly getting rave reviews, and was known for its huge, doughy pastries PLUS it serves the smoothest coffee this side of the Hudson: Blue Bottle. He didn’t have to say much more to convince me to check it out on my day off.

Dough Loco is located in a small hole-in-the-wall hipster shop on Park and 97th. I went in the early afternoon on a Thursday and it was dead — literally zero customers inside — which should have been awesome… except they didn’t have wi-fi and the guy behind the counter was giving off some awkward vibes, so I decided to indulge in my fit of gluttony in Central Park.

The donuts I decided to try were the Maple Miso, per all of awesome the Yelp reviews I read, and the Raspberry Sriracha because HELLO, RASPBERRY SRIRACHA?!?! Also, the Yelp reviews were all “they’re SO big — there’s no way any normal sized person could eat more than one — really even an entire donut!” Needless to say I ate both, fulfilling my need to constantly affirm my impending obesity. They were big, doughy, just the right amount of sweet, and ever so satisfying. The Maple Miso was fine — really just tasted like a regular sweet donut to me. The Raspberry Sriracha, as the name obviously suggests, is where it’s AT. The Yelp reviews also foiled me into thinking it was going to be heavy on the raspberry flavor and light on the spiciness of the hot sauce — not the case. I got a fun little kick with each bite, and wouldn’t hesitate to call it the best donut I’ve ever tasted. [Disclaimer: I’m not a donut enthusiast, so keep it in your pants, Doughnut Plant obsessives.] Regardless, Dough Loco is a great, trendy addition to the UES/East Harlem hoods, and I’ll definitely be back.

Dough Loco Collage

 

NYJL Golden Tree

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Even though my schedules still all crazy and doesn’t look like it will regulate until the new year) IT’S FRIDAY and man does that feel good.

So yesterday, I spent my morning volunteering at a NYJL event called Golden Tree:  a premiere holiday shopping event hosted at the League’s headquarters on the UES. It’s three floors of boutique vendors, most of whom typically exclusively sell merchandise online. If you have shopping left to do, and are looking for a unique gift for someone special, this may be your place! If you haven’t already ordered your ticket, you can still buy it at the door. The shopping continues all day (and night!) today until 10pm and tomorrow (Saturday 12/7) until 5pm. Proceeds from the event support the League’s charitable activities. Further info here. Shopping AND supporting a great cause – could there BE anything more festive?!