Real coffee

The latest obsession in my constantly-obsessed life is Joe The Art of Coffee. It's my new hangout. Not only is the coffee actually drinkable, but the aesthetic of the place is so calming. Loves it!

Posted by Sebastian / July 25, 2008 /
 

Pre-fix

As I mentioned back in January, the rampant misspelling of prix fixe kills me. The newest restaurant in Chelsea, the cleverly named Ate Ave, has fallen victim to the troubling trend. Yesterday they had this sign out on the 8th Avenue sidewalk. Not only did they get the French wrong, but an apostrophe, too. But in that typical selective usage of grammar that seems to plague signs, they got "mimosas" correct.

Posted by Sebastian / April 28, 2008 /
 

Real Housewives of New York

I have such severe ADD that I can't really watch TV very long without becoming completely distracted (I haven't seen a movie since 2005, if you can believe it!), but the Real Housewives of New York is keeping my attention. It's truly trash television, and I'm transfixed by it. The women are completely vapid but I can't take miss a second of the show (Real Housewives of Orange County was much better, but this is still TV crack).

Everyone watching the show seems to be in agreement: Alex and Simon are a freak show couple. Who brings her husband to girls' night? And what respectable woman says things like, "Jill is a great person to know. She can introduce to even better people." As Bethenny mused, "I think Alex overcompensates for insecurity by being pretentious."

Posted by Sebastian / TV / April 17, 2008 /
 

Poets gala

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the annual Poetry & The Creative Mind gala at Lincoln Center. It's always one of the best cultural events of the year, with celebs like Jonathan Demme, Meryl Streep, and Katie Couric reading their favorite poems in support of the Academy of American Poets. This year's best reader was certainly jazz singer Dianna Reeves, while the best poem was also the simplest one, E.E. Cummings' "Maggie and Milly and Molly and May," read by Katie Couric (whose 51-year-old skin looked great!):

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea

Posted by Sebastian / April 2, 2008 /
 

"Pre fix" / Lips

I've had the good fortune of roughly 14 years of French classes, and I've learned astoundingly little. But I do know enough vocabulary to get me around a restaurant menu. And I definitely know the different between à la carte and prix fixe.

Most New York restaurants don't seem to know what the hell prix fixe is, spelling it out on street-side blackboards as a "pre-fix" or "prefix" menu.

This morning at brunch at the crazy Lips restaurant in the West Village, I spotted this postcard offering up a "prefixe" dinner. At least it's halfway right, unlike the variations above. Speaking of Lips, the place was hilarious. Although I live nearby, I'd never seen nor heard about this alleged institution of drag dining. After two hours of laughing my butt off today, I'm ready to go back next weekend. (Fair warning: The food at Lips is pretty ho-hum -- especially compared to my fav eat-and-drag place, Zelda's in Toronto -- but the host at Lips was much funnier.)

Posted by Sebastian / January 20, 2008 /
 

Thank god!

Anyone who lives in New York knows that dogs run the show in this town. So it made me immensely happy to see this sign this morning at my local CVS!

Posted by Sebastian / January 17, 2008 /
 

There goes the neighborhood

For months we've been wondering what would go in at the corner of 21st and Eighth, in the space formerly home to that awful restaurant whose name I can no longer remember. My friend Donny, who lives on the block, joked to a neighbor that it would be Chelsea's first Taco Bell (gasp).

This week it was revealed that the gays and yuppies of Chelsea would get a Qdoba, only the third outlet of the Denver chain here in NYC. I definitely gasped when I walked by this week as the signs were being plastered up in the windows. We've all come to grips with a Starbucks on every other block of Eighth Avenue, but now chain restaurants? Oh my...

This morning I walked by, on my way to a non-chain place, and three middle-aged women were milling about looking up at the place.

"It's a chain, and it's terrible," one howled to the others before walking off in a huff.

Posted by Sebastian / January 6, 2008 /
 

2008 is here.

Oh my god, we're getting old.

Posted by Sebastian / January 1, 2008 /
 

New restos

I recently tried out three different restaurants for the first time, and I've quickly fallen in love with each of them!

Over the past month, I've twice been to Markt, the delish Belgian joint that moved out of the Meatpacking District to make way for the new Apple Store. The frites are incredible, and the decor so rustic-perfect. If you insist on getting me a present this holiday season, I'll take a gift certificate here!

Last night I checked out TBar Steak & Lounge on the (gasp) Upper East Side, with my friend Eric, and it was to-die-for. Compared to Markt, it's decidedly more upscale -- all the women seemed to have a touch of plastic in their faces. But the fries, cooked in peanut oil, were out of this world!

Lolita's in Vancouver is my other new fav. It's a known and accepted fact, along the lines of the-earth-revolves-around-the-sun, that the Gay Village has a dearth of fine dining. Lolita's is a great addition, tucked away beyond the main bustle of Davie, between Jervis and Broughton. The salmon quesadillas are tasty, and so is the beef. And the wine, Burrowing Owl from Kelowna, is heavenly!

Posted by Sebastian / Vancouver / December 22, 2007 /
 

Race to Deliver

My friends Donny, Sean, and I ran the Race to Deliver the other day in Central Park. Here we are, looking devilish after the race (hence the mess of a hairdo).

Posted by Sebastian / November 29, 2007 /
 

Things I Love: Kimpton Hotels

I live for Kimpton Hotels. I would cheerfully live in one if I could. The hotels are all so cozy and the staff over-the-top accommodating. When traveling and staying in hotels, Kimpton is always my first choice (well, unless I'm in SF and someone else is paying -- then it's the Mandarin!).

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the relaunch party of Kimpton's recently renovated Hotel Muse on 46th Street near Times Square. The old industrial space-turned hotel is fabulous, with some of the biggest rooms I've seen in a New York boutique hotel. The balcony rooms have to-die-for views of Manhattan -- and for the prices they command, they should. If only I didn't already have a New York apartment, I'd live here (well, if I could afford to).

Posted by Sebastian / Things I Love / October 26, 2007 /
 

Singapore seats

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for an international lie-flat first class seat, and last night I got to check out one of the best. Here I am in Singapore's 35-inch-wide seat, er, love seat, at the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards (hosted by Alan Cumming and Debra Messing) at the Cooper-Hewitt in New York. These seats are sick! You can really fit two people in them. I hung around for a bit of the after-party, because the mag assured celeb sightings: the only people I saw were LL Cool J and Liam Neeson. Of course as soon as I left, Kim Cattrall showed up. Wire Image Pics

Posted by Sebastian / Aviation / October 11, 2007 /
 

Brooke Astor is dead at 105

There's no doubt that Brooke Astor, whose last years were marred by stunning accusations of elder abuse and punctuated by the transfer of guardianship to JP Morgan Chase and Annette de la Renta, was one of the most witty souls that ever graced the streets of New York. Her lengthy obituary is an interesting read. It notes that "Although aristocratic in upbringing, style and social milieu, she never sought to be the arbiter of society that the Astor name might have entitled her to be. She never wanted to rule over a world that she was among the first to recognize was no more."

It continued "Mrs. Astor was a widow for 48 years. Though she had a number of suitors, she did not want to marry again. 'I just don’t want anyone tugging at my sleeve at 10 o’clock telling me it’s time to go home,' she once told her friend Marietta Tree. 'I want to go at my own speed, and it’s a lot faster than theirs.'"

The Washington Post obit mentioned, "In the early 1990s, she helped start a furniture bank to give chairs, tables and other goods to thousands of formerly homeless families. 'How can you build a new life if you have nothing to sit on?' she said."

"Power, for me, is the ability to do good things for others," she once told Harper's Bazaar magazine. "I have the means to do it, thanks to Vincent's money, and the act of giving makes me powerful inside. I would tell anyone, if you have enough money for three meals a day and you're not too busy, you ought to do something for others."

Posted by Sebastian / Lives Lived / August 13, 2006 /
 

Old/rich/white gay vs young/poor/black gay in the West Village?

My friend John passed along an excellent piece that ran in this weekend's Los Angeles Times about the mounting battle between West Village residents and the sometimes hell-raising teens who frequent the Christopher Street Pier at night and on weekends. They come to the West Village from throughout the city's boroughs and from New Jersey to let their hair down in space where it's safe to be gay. But Village residents say they don't necessarily feel safe with the kids there. And like so many battles in gentrifying urban America, this one seems to be another battle of money and privilege with blatant racism thrown in for good measure.

One side of the battle: "Jay Jeffries, 65, is white and gay. He has lived for 40 years in the West Village, where he participated in the first gay rights marches. From his second-floor window, he watches the roller-skating boys with boomboxes pressed to their ears and the fistfighting girls wearing do-rags and jerseys. He has never felt so out of place. Residents like Jeffries say they want the gays of the hip-hop generation to take their rowdiness elsewhere. They have demanded stricter curfews at the pier. They have lobbied to close a train stop on weekends to make it more difficult for people from New Jersey to travel to the West Village, and to ban loitering in their neighborhood. They have suggested that park patrol officers — who police the pier — carry guns."

The other side: "Bob Kohler, 80, a gay rights advocate who has lived in the West Village for 60 years, said the discrimination young people face in the West Village is no different from decades ago when gays could not hold hands in public. He said his neighbors simply 'don't want black faces on Christopher Street.'"

"Do we crucify people because they're a nuisance? Do we go up to them and say, 'You don't belong here for being young and loud, and being people of color."

"It's life," he said. "It changes, and we have to change with it."

Posted by Sebastian / May 22, 2007 /
 

At Buddha Bar

Last night I did something most unusual for me: I went to Buddha Bar in the uber-trendy Meatpacking District. Let's get a few things straight before anyone things I frequent the area's notoriously expansive and expensive bars: I live steps away, and the booze was free. It was the opening night of David Bowie's new High Line Festival, and I was OK with slumming it for the cause. That said, most of the bars of the Meatpacking District are such a turnoff. We all remarked that it feels more LA than NYC, and the glitz and obnoxiousness of many of the district's patrons can get a little tiring...fast!

With my friends Tim and Brett...Brett looking like a super dweeb!

My girls!

Posted by Sebastian / NYC / May 10, 2007 /
 

Poets Gala

Last night I attended Poetry and the Creative Mind at Lincoln Center, the excellent annual benefit for the Academy of American Poets. Last year's event was great, but this year was even better thanks to a truly stellar reading by Lauren Bacall -- who didn't look a day under 120 -- of Dorothy Parker's "Just A Little One," a hilarious satire on romance. Though she broke the rules of the American poet-only event by reading what is more like a short story, her delivery was truly amazing. I left in awe of her.

Well, I don't know Fred – what are you going to have?
Then I guess I’ll have a highball, too; please, just a little one.
Is it really real Scotch?
Well that will be a new experience for me.
You ought to see the Scotch I’ve got home in my cupboard.
At least it was in the cupboard this
morning – it’s probably eaten its way out by now.

Glen Close and Ethan Hawke were among the other celebrity readers, but Patrick Wilson (right) definitely was the most jaw-dropping eye candy of the night.

Posted by Sebastian / April 12, 2007 /
 

Headlines and Headliners

Last night I attended the annual benefit for the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, held at ABC Studios in Times Square. As always, it was an excellent event, and was especially fun this year since I happened to run into my college journalism professor, below, and my classmate Chagmion, who's a reporter/anchor at CBS News on Logo. Also in attendance at the event were Meredith Viera, Thomas Roberts, John Amaechi, Martina Navratilova, and a blogger overdose with Kenneth in the 212 and Andy Towle there, too (just kidding guys - love you!). Kenneth and I wandered over to Vlada in the rain with John -- really nice guy, with the biggest hands you've ever seen!

And of course I had to take a vanity shot with two of my hottest friends, Dan and Cyd.

Posted by Sebastian / March 16, 2007 /
 

Furry hat boys

What were you doing on Sunday, when temperatures dipped well into the teens in Manhattan? I've got you beat. I joined two friends in running a 4-miler in Central Park. As this post-race photo from our friend Patrick shows, at least two of us were well-prepared for the 14-degree run with our silly, furry hats. Although my time was not great (8:19 pace), I took comfort in the fact that I did not throw up this time.

Posted by Sebastian / February 7, 2007 /
 

Signs (or stars) of the season

I love these cool stars hanging in the atrium of the Time Warner Center in Manhattan! The neatest thing is that they change color every minute or so.

Posted by Sebastian / NYC / December 28, 2006 /

Canada comes to NYC

The other day I stopped by Celsius, A Canadian Lounge in Bryant Park for a cocktail and fondue with friends. The Canadian Tourism Commission takes over portions of the midtown park for two months so New Yorkers can enjoy a taste of the Great White North in the middle of Manhattan. One of the cooler features – besides the bar that is rather reminiscent of an igloo – is the photo kiosk where one can snap a photo with a backdrop of Ottawa (my selection), Banff, Vancouver, Montreal, or any number of Canadian hot spots.

Posted by Sebastian / NYC / December 20, 2006 /

Gay Football Auction

I've written about the Ali Forney Center many times in my blog, and now I'm pleased to provide you with a reason to finally support it: Everyone and their mother is sure to be at a bachelor auction sponsored by the New York Gay Football League next Wednesday at Splash in Chelsea where proceeds will benefit the Center.

The Ali Forney Center provides services and shelter for homeless gay teens in New York City. There isn't really a better cause that I can think of, so join me and my gay footballing friends there. Learn more about who Ali Forney was, and what the Center works so hard to accomplish, in this AMAZING New York Times article.

In that article, the director of the center said, "I think it's shameful that these kids are out there alone and in danger, in a city where gay men have so much money." It's time to put that money to good use; don't worry -- I promise you'll have a blast while you're lightening your wallet.

RELATED:
Fine causes - homelessness

Posted by Sebastian / Sports / November 3, 2006 /
 

I love running!

Just kidding. Today I ran the Poland Springs Marathon Kickoff 5-miler in Central Park with a couple friends and we kicked some serious you-know-what, despite running on little sleep and the after-effects of 2 a.m. tequila slammers in the Meatpacking District...despite it all, we all beat our personal bests on the course by about four minutes. Even if I did throw up feel awful on the finish line.

Central Park looked amazing in the colors of autumn. After the race I snapped this shot near Fifth Avenue. It almost looks like a summer day -- but it was 42 degrees.

Posted by Sebastian / October 29, 2006 /
 

Brooke Astor's fate

The long-running public drama over the care of New York society doyenne Brooke Astor has reached another milestone. Astor's son Anthony has been ordered to return $1.3 million that a court ordered he took improperly from his mother's accounts, and cede decision-making control over his 104-year-old mother's life to her friend Annette de la Renta, pictured here, herself no slouch on the New York society scene. (BTW, we know Annette looks more fabulous than this photo would indicate.)

Earlier this summer, Astor's son had been accused of "failing to fill her prescriptions, stripping her apartment of artwork, reducing her staff, confining her dogs, and generally darkening her final years." Another report claimed that, "Astor had been reduced to sleeping in a ragged gown on the filthy, smelly, urine-soaked couch and was subsisting on pureed peas and oatmeal."

Meanwhile, Astor's daughter-in law Charlene earlier this year dismissed the allegations against her husband, noting "Not everyone has a Park Avenue apartment, not everyone has eight servants." The most salacious part of this whole ordeal is Charlene. She was the rector's wife in Northeast Harbor, Maine, where the Astors have summered for years. Reports allege that she made herself very visible to the Astors, walking by their summer home daily. She ultimately left her rector-husband and married Astor's son.

New York Daily News: Battle of the New York Blue Bloods

Posted by Sebastian / October 14, 2006 /
 

Where did fall go?

It snowed today in Buffalo, one month earlier than usual. I was in disbelief when my poor friend Jay camera-phoned me a picture of his shiny new BMW buried in snow--just two weeks after we had cruised around in it, enjoying Buffalo on one of those warm, sunny days that are so incredible there. Meanwhile, 300 miles away in lower Manhattan, where it was 35 degrees warmer, I snapped this shot on a rooftop on Canal Street...then went for ice cream. In shorts.

Posted by Sebastian / October 12, 2006 /
 

One Ocean View

I’m a sucker for trashy television, and ABC’s new reality program, "One Ocean View," surely fits the bill. The show’s about a group of Manhattanites thrown together for weekends in Fire Island (the straight part of the island) and is cheap knock-off of "The Real World." Recently my friends and I had a chance to catch up with the cast as they cut a swath through the Hudson Hotel Cafeteria, celebrating the end of shooting. I thought they all seemed a little shallow at first glance, but decided to hold out true judgment until I could actually watch the show. Last night I caught it, and my first impressions were right. That being said, my TiVo is set.

Below my friend man-handles castmember Mary.



And here friends Paul (in green) and Dave (seated in black) get to know K.J., Usman, and John.

Posted by Sebastian / August 8, 2006 /
 

Jocks

Here is proof that I hit the batting cages at the sprawling Chelsea Piers yesterday afternoon with a few friends. We're all still in work clothes because it was a spontaneous outing, but I've discovered my new workout. I loved it there!

Posted by Sebastian / July 14, 2006 /
 

New York Pride

The rain stopped yesterday morning just in time for half a million people to celebrate the annual pride parade in New York. (When I text-messaged my friend Chris, worried that the rain wouldn't let up, he wrote back, "Don't worry. God loves the gays.") Leading the pack of queens was Michael Bloomberg and Hillary Clinton herself. To her right is Chris Quinn, the openly lesbian speaker of the New York City Council, and Andrew Cuomo.

The parade was longer than ever--5 hours. It was a wee bit long. Below are a couple shots from it, including me and my award-winning t-shirt, and a shot of supporters of Sean Patrick Maloney, the openly gay candidate for New York Attorney General. I spotted Sean on Saturday as we were both running the 5-mile Pride Run in Central Park. But he walloped me: his time was 39:03, mine was 42:21.



Elsewhere: Toronto | San Francisco

Posted by Sebastian / June 26, 2006 /
 

Performer attacked in NYC hate crime

We don't often hear about anti-gay hate crimes in the news, but everyone's talking about this weekend's attack on singer Kevin Aviance in Manhattan's East Village. Four men, ages 16 to 22, have been arrested in the assault, which is being prosecuted as a hate crime. The men allegedly attacked Aviance, screaming, "We're going to kill you, faggot!...We're going to get you, faggot," while throwing various objects at him and ultimately breaking his jaw.

Coverage: New York Times | Reuters | CNN

Posted by Sebastian / June 12, 2006 /
 

Puerto Rican Day Parade

I have been looking forward to going to the Puerto Rican Day Parade, held today on Fifth Avenue in New York, and was not let down by the colorful spectacle.

It's parade season in NYC and this one is second only to gay pride (two weeks away) in terms of energy level and crowd size.

The music booming along the route was fabulous! The midriff coverage could have been better, but it was a warm day. But the best bit of fabulousness was seeing Jennifer Lopez as the parade's grand marshal, surrounded by swarms of police and bodyguards. When I saw her car drive past me this afternoon, I literally screamed with excitement and called everyone I know.

Posted by Sebastian / June 11, 2006 /
 

Golden Trailer Awards

Last night my friend Chris and I went to the Golden Trailer Awards, a show that claims to be the Oscars of movie previews. We went for the open bar, and a possible glimpse at celebs. We got the former but certainly not the latter. The crowd was pure, stereotypical LA: within a few minutes we'd been approached by a man asking us who we were and what our connection to the film industry was. We told the truth (no one; no connection, we came for the booze) and the man quickly moved along to mingle with others.

A few minutes later a film producer came by and pushed herself into our conversation. By then we'd gotten a little smarter and decided to say that we had a real movie connection: Chris acted in a little-known Singaporean film (or was it a documentary about gay Orthodox Jews?). It sounded safe, she bought it, and we kept her attention for a while. The conversation finally progressed beyond 'who are you and why are you here?' Needless to say it was a pretty shallow crowd so we promptly bolted to Fatty Crab for pork bellies and fatty duck (I did not do the ordering, thank you very much).

Posted by Sebastian / Arts / June 2, 2006 /
 

Today my life changes

Apple's new flagship store opens tonight on Fifth Avenue, and being the biggest Mac booster on the planet, I can't wait to check it out! I think the open-24/7 store's glass entry is stunning, but perhaps I'm a bit biased: my brother, who works on Apple stores around the world, was one of the engineers who figured out how to make the glass cube work. Apple is predicting they'll do $40 million a year in store sales at their new location, and based on the line at the store already, that looks like an easy goal.

The New York Sun is calling the new space a "triumph of urban design...that carries into the realms of architecture the clean, minimalist perfection that graces Apple's desktops, laptops, and iPods. Just as these physical implements of leisure and creativity conceal all manner of hidden complexities, so the commercial core of the new flag shipexists entirely below grade. Indeed, the cube is nothing more than a grand entrance: You descend into the predictably clean and minimalist retail space either through a glass walled elevator or a staircase that spirals downward along glass steps cantilevered along the elevator shaft."

• BusinessWeek: Apple's new store is pure glass
• NYT: Apple, a Success at Stores, Bets Big on Fifth Avenue

Posted by Sebastian / Technology / May 19, 2006 /
 

Open bar?

I am not usually one to pass up free tickets to anything, let alone all-access VIP tickets, so over the weekend my friend Chris and I checked out the Gen Art Film Festival here in New York. The festival had some questionable films, but the real entertainment was at their nightly open-bar afterparties, held at various clubs around Manhattan.

We checked out the party at Happy Valley (27th and Fifth), where, above the bar, is a pair of women's legs - spread just so as to make a touch of irony out of the club's name. The legs run the length of the room and when Chris and I, sober, looked up and noticed them, we knew we were in the wrong place. But no matter, it was an open bar, so we persisted.

The film festival clearly takes the term "open bar" loosely- vodka and Stella Artois, that's it. And they had the gall to run out by the time we sidled up to the bar for our third drink! Another bit of false advertising: they claimed the parties would be "celeb-studded" but we were the only stars we saw there.

Posted by Sebastian / April 12, 2006 /
 

Overheard in New York

Last night, hopping on the subway at 23rd Street, I had my own Overheard in New York moment: Grumpy old man gets on the train, surveys the crowd and says, "Look at all these ugly faces! These are the ugliest fu$%ing faces God ever breathed life into."

Posted by Sebastian / April 11, 2006 /
 

Poor New York, Part Deux

My last post on "Poor Gay New York" elicited a few emails, most of which sounded curiously like Joyce Purnick's column in yesterday's New York Times. In her piece, Purnick says that even after years in New York, and years of writing about the city, "I still haven't figured out how or why New York City works."

"New York thrives on imagination and reinvention. Ever-changing, it is more an idea than a place, a fantasy that has developed the veneer of reality because we New Yorkers believe in the fairy tale. The ultimate urban myth."

"New York City is, of course, a jigsaw of ethnic and racial enclaves, of the rich, the poor and the in-between, of the struggling immigrant and the billionaire businessman and the diligent striver. We occupy our own worlds and know that other worlds live next door but few of us drop by."

"The city always was, and still is, mostly about money. Its economic, political and journalistic establishments demand a semblance of stability and restore it when imbalance threatens the bottom line. Then the politicians have to respond."

Posted by Sebastian / April 11, 2006 /
 

Busy-ness

My friend John recently told me that while he is dismayed that I am no longer able to update this site daily, he takes it as a good sign. "If you were blogging every day, in New York, I'd be worried." My new time filler is constant running and biking along the Hudson River, shown here on Sunday. During warm and sunny weekends, it's the perfect place to go get a sunburn, and during the after-work hours, there is no better place to be to relax and take in the dense aesthetic of the city--from a slight distance--against the backdrop of a setting sun.

Posted by Sebastian / April 11, 2006 /
 

Poor New York

Last night I ate frog legs with a friend (I am not even joking). That’s not the point of my story – I just had to insert that to prove to those of you who know me well that I am becoming more adventurous. Afterwards, we were enjoying some delish chocolate cake at Billy’s and talking about life in New York. I said something along the lines of “Life in New York is easy.” My friend Chris said something simple that struck me – “The bad thing about New York is that you need a lot of money.”

It reminded me instantly of an article I read in the New York Times almost three years ago about the lives of homeless gay youth in New York. "I think it's shameful that these kids are out there alone and in danger, in a city where gay men have so much money," the head of a GLBT youth homeless shelter was quoted as saying. When that article first ran, during a weekend when a whole slew of my friends and I were enjoying Gay Pride in NYC, I forwarded it to a few dozen gay friends in New York, the vast majority of whom are not hurting. In my blog I commented that, “One of the more shameful realities of the gay homeless issue is that no one replied or even mentioned the article to me.”

And in another instance that reminded me of that incredible article, just the other day I was approached by a leader of another shelter for GLBT youth in New York who was soliciting donations. But she wasn’t looking for money. She was looking for just $2 MetroCards. She explained that those homeless teens who won’t go to a shelter and who instead try to take refuge in the subways often do so by jumping the turnstiles. Empowering them with something as easy as subway fare means that they can get into stations and out of the elements without facing fines or arrests for turnstile jumping. It's amazing how something as seemingly minor as a one-ride MetroCard can truly help someone out.

Posted by Sebastian / April 6, 2006 /
 

An evening of poetry

Last night at Poetry & the Creative Mind, the annual benefit of the Academy of American Poets, I had the pleasure of getting up close and personal with Gloria Vanderbilt – a.k.a. mother of my future ex-husband, Anderson Cooper. She truly is timeless; she doesn’t look a day over 120. Her face was so tight and so lifted it was like she was blinking with her lips. Clearly she’s 'gone to Arizona,' as they say, once or twice, or maybe three or four times.

The event featured ten well-known figures--including Wynton Marsalis, Mike Wallace, and Alan Alda--reading their most beloved poems. Meryl Streep was a show-stopper, not because of her rapturous selections, but because she fell on stage as she was being introduced. She caught the lip of her chair just as she went to be seated, and it was all downhill from there.

Posted by Sebastian / April 5, 2006 /
 

First light

I took this shot very early the other morning as the sun was coming up on Manhattan. Even I'll admit this isn't the most interesting of photos, but I love a couple things in it: the street lamps still lit up and the tangled outline of trees forming a mini canopy all the way up the sidewalk.



Posted by Sebastian / February 19, 2006 /
 

The storm

My first winter storm hit New York last night and it was a doozy. The streets were deserted save for a few taxis, and there was an unusual calm about the place. Here are a couple shots courtesy of my friend David.



I snapped this view of Columbus Circle, looking east from the Time Warner Center, one of my favorite buildings.



Posted by Sebastian / February 12, 2006 /
 

A New York Night

This is a very cool view of Manhattan snapped by my friend David.



Posted by Sebastian / February 2, 2006 /
 

Work for a stallion in New York

Thanks to my friend John who just sent over the gay boy's dream job: production assistant for Anderson Cooper.

Posted by Sebastian / February 1, 2006 /
 

My move to New York

About a year ago, I wrote an Op-Ed in which I essentially said I couldn't imagine wanting to move to New York City. And now I find myself writing a blog entry from a Manhattan cafe, just days after making the move to America's biggest city.

I thought I would write some long-winded entry about all the emotions behind this unexpected move -- as I've done after other past relocations -- but the truth is this wasn't an emotional move. It was probably the most level-headed decision I've made lately. I have been afforded a job opportunity in New York that really changes the trajectory of my career in a positive way. So the day I left Boston, a city I love, I wasn't sad. Instead, I felt glad for the chance to have lived in such a great city, and for being given a chance to live in another.



Posted by Sebastian / January 31, 2006 /
 

Overheard in New York

I haven't overheard any hilarious conversations on the street or on the subway just yet, but an addictive archive of submissions exists over at Overheard in New York.

There's even a book that has been created from the site's hilarious entries.

Posted by Sebastian / January 30, 2006 /
 

Hello New York!

Many of you know by now that I have moved to New York City. For those of you who didn't know: I've moved to New York City. More on this later...



Posted by Sebastian / January 29, 2006 /
 

Boston vs. San Francisco vs. New York  

A few months ago I upset a few people in Boston by suggesting in an article I wrote that Boston is an overly insecure place when compared to San Francisco and New York, the three cities I consider America's finest. People are always comparing Boston to New York, and they're often moving there, too, but the relentless contrasts and comparisons are tiresome.

A piece in Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle suggests that though competition is fierce in the top duo of American cities (they omit Boston), there is really no need for comparisons: "Perhaps the best thing about these two cities is that just when you think you've defined them, they turn around and surprise you. What I think I now realize is this: It's not about constantly comparing. It's about finding what makes your heart soar right where you are." 

Posted by Sebastian / May 24, 2005 /

Enough About the Art -- Let's Talk About that Price Tag

Just how much did Christo's Central Park Gates cost? He says $21 million, but the New York Times isn't so sure. "Just because you've spent a lot of time and money on something doesn't mean it's very good," said Greg Allen, a New York art collector quoted in today's story.

Posted by: Sebastian / March 5, 2005



New York

Just here for the day -- and what a beautiful one it is! I love New York, but I always joke the most gratifying thing about going there is landing back in Boston (which itself is reminiscent of the old quote, "I have just returned from Boston. It is the only thing to do if you find yourself there").

Like every blogger, I feel compelled to post a picture of New York's most talked-about attraction this year, Christo's Gates in Central Park. (Thank you David Wilson for the hot photo!)

A well-connected source in the New York art world encourages those in Boston who are unable to make it to Manhattan for the installation, which is being called the most important one of the 21st century (so far), to head to The Somerville Gates, an alternative project.

Posted by: Sebastian / Feb. 16, 2005



Hamptons Estate Sells for $45 Million

Pharmaceutical distributor Stewart Rarh paid $45 million for a new pad in Wainscott, his second home in the Hamptons. It's the highest price ever paid for a home in New York, and according to one real estate agent, "It's a sickness...I guess people just don't know what to do with their money."



Posted by: Sebastian / Dec. 31, 2004



You Paid How Much For That Haircut?

In today's New York Times SundayStyles section is an article about the soaring price of celebrity-stylist haircuts in Manhattan.

The article reads, "Mr. Pita defended his $800 price tag, a new high for the city, and a fee that is the equivalent of twice the annual income of the average citizen of Bangladesh."

Posted by Sebastian / Nov. 21, 2004



More on New York Pride

"I think it's shameful that these kids are out there alone and in danger, in a city where gay men have so much money," he says.

This is from the New York Times and an incredible piece they ran yesterday, "For Young Gays on the Streets, Survival Comes Before Pride."   

"There is no official count of those who are homeless and gay in New York, but Carl Siciliano, who runs the city's largest shelter for gay young adults, puts their numbers in the thousands. Most national studies estimate that as many as half of all homeless youth are lesbian or gay, many of them tossed out by parents who scorn homosexuality for a variety of reasons."

I forwarded this article to about 40 gay friends, and purposely targeted wealthy New York ones.  One of the more shameful realities of the gay homeless issue is that no one replied or even mentioned the article to me. 

Posted by Sebastian / June 29, 2004



New York - NLGJA and Gay Pride

NLGJA generally puts on an awesome conference, but this year was not as hot as the two previous conventions I've attended.  Still, it was great to see good friends and hear John Roberts tell hundreds of journalists that "Everybody's a little bit homosexual."

I inadvertently bought a date with Chip Arndt of Amazing Race fame, after trying to up the prices in NLGJA's silent auction to benefit NLGJA's student journalism project, of  which I took part in Philadelphia during college.  Oh well.  There are worse people to pay money for.

In a SoHo loft, PlanetOut threw a rockin' party as usual, and afterward, Ed, Matt and I headed to Persian night (Beirut Britney belly dancing and all!) at a funky bar in Manhattan.

Gay Pride was also this weekend, and my first time at New York's.  At the parade, you couldn't always tell whether it was a gay pride parade or a anti-Bush rally (see picture below).  Had a fantastic time with my NYC friends, including Derek, Joe, Javi, Alvaro, and Jason at Hell on Gansevoort Street (we shared couches in the back with Tom Dolby, whose new book "The Trouble Boy" is making a splash).  All this excitement before going to deliver cannolis and cookies to Alison and Mesah, splayed out watching Lifetime movies at 1 a.m. in their Chelsea apartment. 

When I boarded the Shuttle tonight, the flight attendant asked me if I was coming from Mardi Gras.  After all, I had the requisite beads around my neck -- but I was also wearing a business suit, so it was quite an ensemble.  Is it possible to drink too much on the Shuttle?  Thirty-two minutes in the air isn't much time, but thanks to Sunday night Laguardia departure delays, an extra on the ground sure was. 

 

Posted by Sebastian / June 27, 2004

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