I apologize as I totally dropped the ball. Only writing about pancakes for the month of February is shameful, unless of course I was a food critic blogger.

What’s going on this week in NYC? Tons of cool stuff!

Friday Feb. 26th

Wonderland: A Tim Burton Ball - dress up in your favorite character and learn to dance!

Dumbo Art Center: Pop Up Art Sale - Help support them and some wonderfully talent artists while also adding something to your wall. Art prices start at $50 a pop.

On Saturday 27th

The Music Hall of Williamsburg is screening UNPROTECTED, a series of 2 minute films by members of The FilmShop. For more information click here

Bike Buddy & Bike Tweetup in Brooklyn.

On Sunday Feb 28th

NYC Food Crawl Presents:  The February Pork Bun Crawl, Manhattan

Don’t forget to stop by City Bakery for the last day of the Hot Chocolate Festival! Sunday is their FINALE!!!!

Tis the Season for giving, wanting and buying. Although this  year may be exceptionally hard for many people who are out of work or who live in other countries and are fighting every day to just stay alive.

So I thought I would put this space to good use today and share with you 3 things that you can do to empower women. Authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Half The Sky argue that the key to economic progress in the world lies in unleashing women’s potential.

Want to know what you can do besides nod your head and say “that’s horrible”?

Make girls smarter. Many pregnant women living in poverty don’t get enough iodine, so their fetuses’ brains do not develop properly. Their children routinely lose ten to 15 IQ points—particularly the girls, for reasons not fully understood. The solution: Iodize salt, at the cost of a couple of pennies per person per year. To contribute, go to Helen Keller International (HKI.org).

Support a woman’s business. With a microloan of $50, a woman can start a business, producing income she can use to feed her children and send them to school. To make a loan, go to Mercy Corps (MercyCorps.org) or BRAC (BRACUSA.org), two groups helping women around the world.

Keep a girl in school. A girl who gets an education will have fewer children, earn more money, and be able to help her younger siblings. One excellent support program operates in Cambodia, where uneducated girls are at great risk of being trafficked into brothels. For $10 a month, you can keep a girl in school through American Assistance for Cambodia (CambodiaSchools.com), or for $13,000, you can build an entire school that will revolutionize life in a village forever.

For more information visit Half The Sky Movement

Today, for the first time since I’ve been working in DUMBO, I took advantage of my lunch hour to really explore. Normally I gravitate to the park and let my mind wonder while admiring the view of Manhattan.  So this post is dedicated to my favorite places (so far) in my temporary work neighborhood. 

If you only have a lunch hour to spare or if you are an out-of-towner, here is my quick hour tour of a few of my favorite places in DUMBO. 

If you’re a music lover check out  Halcyon, I loved loved loved the design of the space and enjoyed the sounds being spun while I perused the diverse collection of vinyl.  On the surface Halcyon appears to be your typical DJ-centric record store but if you dig deeper you will find it’s actually a “multifaceted entity, engaging along the way in an array of artistic projects, organic collaborations and business initiatives that have touched upon the fields of hospitality/nightlife, retail, event production, promotion, interior design, music & arts programming, digital publishing & media sales, product development, e-commerce, community building, charitable fund raising, and more.”  How else can a record store survive these days? Props to Halcyon!

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you  mixed together a clothing boutique, a furniture  store and Mediterranean cuisine? I would recommend you checking out Baco Living.  Now please note, that I did NOT eat here, I merely walked in and fell in love with it’s decor. This place is exactly how I would design my apartment, you know if I had money. Please note that the Yelp  reviews were mixed ranging from “snotty owners” to “over-priced” to “my favorite place in town”.  

So you’ve spent 10 minutes in a record store, 20 minutes sampling a platter of Grape Leaves and you’re pockets are now almost empty. What are you going to do with the rest of your time? Of course you can pop into all the wonderful galleries in DUMBO, but if this is your lunch hour, I would suggest you save that for for First Thursdays, when the galleries are open late (and you can sip on free wine). So where was I? Oh yes, 20 minutes to spare.

It’s time for dessert!

Take a walk to either Jacques Torres Chocolate or Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (both located on Water St) and sample one of their fine ice cream flavors. Then you can contribute to the debate as which place has the superior ice cream. My favorite is the Chocolate Chocolate Chip from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.  If you actually have the $3.50 in your pocket have a scoop, your tummy with thank you and you will be helping to support the local economy. 

Oh look at the time, it’s time to get back to work or catch that Water Taxi back to Manhattan. Hope you enjoyed my super-mini lunch time/tourist friendly tour of DUMBO. If you come back be sure to hit up some of the local restaurants, my only suggestion is SUPERFINE but that’s cause it’s the only place I tried for dinner. It was simply Superfine. 

And of course my opinion is the only one that counts on here (haha).

*If you are an out-of-towner, make sure you follow your tour book down to the waterfront. You’ll take a million pictures and probably end up in the background of at least one wedding photo. 

I’m on a bus coming back from Philly from DIY DAYS, thanks to the BOLT BUS for it’s FREE WiFI!

DIY DAYS is a FREE day of talks and networking centered on how to fund, create, distribute and sustain your creative work. Organized by LANCE WEILER (THE LAST BROADCAST and HEAD TRAUMA), a team of 20 volunteers (including myself) and a few sponsors (POP TENT, BRANDYWINE, UofArts, Filmmaker Mag, Dive, IndieFlilx). The conference aims to answer the question; as filmmakers, game-makers or musicians how do we sustain ourselves in these hard economic times?

The conference had two rooms going at a time each with a great line-up of speakers, panels and round table discussions. Some of the speakers included: 

Scott Kirsner (Friends, Fans and Followers), Dan Goldman (Shooting War), Lance Weiler (Head Trauma, The Last Broadcast). Michael Monello (co-founder of Campfire Media & Blair Witch Project producer), Brian Clark (GMD Studios) Esther B. Robinson (ArtHome), Ana Domb (MIT) Arin Crumley (Four Eyed Monsters), Scott Macaulay (Producer Gummo, Raising Victor Vargas, editor Filmmaker Mag), Don Argott (Rock School), Eugene Martin (Diary of a City Priest) Alex Johnson (WBP Labs), Anita Ondine (STM) Brian McTear (record producer Miner Street Studios), Mark Schoneveld (the Poverty Jetset) and Geoff DiMasi (founder of P’unk Avenue). 

I spent the better half of the day managing the AV of the Black Box Theater which started off with a great discussion on the evolution of storytelling by Lance Weiler and Chuck Wendig who talked about developing stories that travel from screen to devices using HEAD TRAUMA as an example. What interested me most about their conversation is how they used technology to engage their audience by creating a real-world game which allowed audience to be part of the film in a really unique way. I really do LOVE interactive cinematic experiences. It also proves an excellent way to promote and market your film especially when you are DOING IT YOURSELF. 

The afternoon continued on with a visually entertaining presentation by Scott Beiben (Lost Film Fest) on SCEINTIST ARE THE NEW ROCKSTARS and then  NOAH HARLAN (2.1 Films & Two Bulls) who gave a good run down of WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW to BULID A GOOD APP. Followed by a panel discussion on collaboration.  

(Stay-tuned for Part 2 ) Need to take a nap. The motion of the bus and the rain drops falling on the window are making me sleepy.

Interested in the role technology is playing in the arts?  If you answer is YES please keep reading. 

Arts, Culture and Technology Meetup group is putting on an event July 23rd 6pm at Roger Smith Hotel (501 Lexington) that is focus on Mobile Technology and the Arts.  The event with cover everything from interactive mobile design theory, to iPhone apps, to Twitter/SMS interactive initiatives, and more.

The list of presenters is as follows:

1. Koven Smith - Senior Analyst for Enterprise Content Management for the Metropolitan Museum of Art 
Koven will be giving a brief talk based on his recent paper, “The Future of Mobile Interpretation.”

2. Peter Nofelt - Co-founder of Perk Mobile, a New York based mobile consulting and development firm that focuses primarily on Blackberry, Android and iPhone development. Peter also organized last year’s MobileCampNYC3 event hosted by Microsoft. He will be speaking about the options available for people/arts orgs/companies entering the mobile space.

3. Jeffrey Inscho - Media and Public Relations Coordinator at the Mattress Factory Art Museum 
Jeffrey will be talking about the museum’s MFSCREENtxt project and how they are using insight from this initiative in designing an iPhone app.

4. Untravel Media - Michael Epstein, founder and creative director of Untravel Media will be talking about documentary storytelling on mobile devices. Some of the concepts can be found in his recent paper “Moving Story.”

5. Sonali Sridhar - Sonali is an artist whose work explores wireless devices in urban spaces. She uses mobile technology and hardware to “create objects that carry a narrative in them.” Some of her previous works have used GPS modules, Bluetooth, and mobile hacking techniques. You can read more about her work here: http://sonalisridhar….

Additional details: 
- Doors open at 7pm, presentations will begin promptly at 7:30pm 
- Each speaker will give an 8 minute presentation followed by 2 minutes for Q&A 
- There will be a networking session after the presentations 
- There will be a CASH bar. Please bring cash.

Great event coming up Saturday August 1st in Philadelphia that aims to focus on self-distribution, filmmaking and networking. Details below:

ABOUT
DIY DAYS - fund :: create :: distribute :: sustain 
How do we sustain ourselves as storytellers in this day of shifting distribution systems? How do we monetize our work and get the word? Presented by the WorkBook Project - DIY DAYS aims to answer these questions with a day of panels, roundtable discussions and workshops: A look at how to fund, create, and distribute and sustain.

TARGET AUDIENCE
Anyone wanting to make creative work - film, music, games, art. Self-Identified Independent storyteller, Creatives and Tech-philes.

THE EVENT
The day flows through a mix of both structured and free form activities to encourage open discussion and the opportunity to break into groups and get everyone talking to each other. Pack a lunch and network offline with fellow creatives.

Proposed Discussion Topics
- New Forms of Storytelling
- New models of Finance, Production and Distribution
- Audience Building & The Audience Becoming Collaborators
- War Stories: “What’s The Real Deal?”
- Self-Sustaining: what to know when trying to make a living from your art
- Case Studies
- Think Tanks
- Workshops

Open Discussion Topics
- What are you working on? What are you looking for?
- How do you consume your media?
- What needs to change in order for you to sustain?

SUGGESTIONS, SPEAKERS AND VOLUNTEERS
If you have a suggestion of something you’d like to hear discussed or a speaker that you think should take part, or if you’re interested in volunteering please email us at work [@] workbookproject dot com with the subject “DIY DAYS”

REGISTER HERE

I don’t think I have yet to fully profess my love, respect and admiration for the one and only Mr. Steven Spielberg on here.  Growing up I watched and studied his work, re-created scenes from his films and often fantasized about growing up a Spielberg instead of a Burgay (no offense Mom and Dad, I still love you). He is probably responsible for millions of young filmmakers around the world! He is also responsible for my fear of sharks. 

 And on that note, I thought I would share something with you that you can only find in NY. A SCREENING OF JAWS ON THE INTREPID.

When: Friday, July 17th

Time: 8:30PM, Doors Open at 7:30PM
(Open to the public for FREE)
Location: Intrepid’s Flight Deck

Thanks to the good people at Gothamist I found out about the Bushwick Book Club. I have never been part of a book club before, but I was once present during a book club discussion at my apartment.  Although that book club turned into a Gossip Club after a 5 minute discussion of the book!

If I were to join a book club, I would join one that takes the book and turns it into a singer-song writer series! This is my type of book club! Tonight’s book club features Miranda July’s No One Belongs Here More Than You read on for more details: 

BOOK CLUB: Meet me, you, and everyone we know at the Bushwick Book Club event for Miranda July’s No One Belongs Here More Than You. The monthly Brooklyn meet-up joins together the talents of local singer-songwriters to create music inspired by that month’s book selection, and July’s July short-story pick is sure to be rich musical material. Franz Nicolay, Corn Mo, Emilyn Brodsky are just a few of the performers debuting all-new songs tonight and July-themed refreshments will be on hand, so grab a cup of Dark Shape Punch and settle down for literary reflection you can dance to.

8 p.m. // Goodbye Blue Monday [1087 Broadway, Brooklyn] // Free

While we are on the subject of Miranda July (who am I big fan of) check out her new “Eleven Heavenly Things” at the Venice Biennale.  Which consists of eleven outdoor sculptures that she made for you to pose with — pedestals to stand on, tablets with holes for body parts, and free-standing headdresses.

This morning as I was thinking about going out and getting The Times to read while I sit in the park,  I came across this website of the NY TIMES, which is telling bite-size stories of some very unique NYers. As someone who LOVES documentaries, characters and meeting interesting people, I thought this was a brilliant idea! Stories range from a “Mature Actress” to a “Treasure Hunter” to a “Sneaker Connoisseur” to well any type of character you can dream up! The Design of the site and the style of the storytelling is just perfect!  

Check out New York Times  One in 8 Million - New York Characters in Sound and Image.

I came across this video from TED Conference (2005) of Richard St. John who gave a a short presentation of his 7 years of researching SUCCESS. I thought I would share it with you all. 

I’ll also add one of my favorite quotes (which I repeat to myself all the time). 

“PUT BLINDERS ONTO THOSE THINGS THAT CONSPIRE TO HOLD YOU BACK, ESPECIALLY THE ONES IN YOUR OWN HEAD” - MERYL STREEP