Tag Archives: nyc

Cereal Selection and Therapy

If you’re the kind of person who spends endless hours in the cereal aisle because you just can’t seem to decide which cereal to get, then the handy flowchart from “What Should I Eat? Cereal Edition”  is just the handy  guide you need!

Even cereal mascots need therapy sometimes…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj2twApbapU]

So which cereal do you like?  Favorite Cereal Mascot?

My tea for the moment: I’m trying out STASH’s Mangosteen Green Tea.  According to the box, It’s a green tea that “blends naturally sweet and slightly citrus mangosteen  fruit with juicy pear flavor.”  Mangosteen which is referred to as the “Queen of Fruits” in Asia also has a touch of Matcha which is speical green tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony.

Bookmark and Share

5 Things you should NOT DO at 3 am!

1. Bouncing any kind of object off the wall in a hallway that is near one’s sleeping abode! For your information I am may be living in a box but that does not mean I don’t deserve my own wall peace!  So if that is some sick way of brainstorming your life in the middle of the night, then guess what none of us care! So please do us all a favor and go rattle your own walls and doors.

2. LOL’ing or Laughing-Out-Loud is usually encouraged. However, if at 3am you have a sudden urge to laugh near rooms where people sleep then try LIL’ing! As in Laughing-In-Loud. Unless your laugh is going to contribute in me sleeping more, I would say keep it all In!

3. Shutting your door loudly as If you are being chased by a monster is not okay. Plus if you really are, then don’t you want to be discreet about it so the monster wouldn’t know where you are?

4. Speaking in a foreign language loudly is still loud! Just because I can’t understand you doesn’t mean I can’t hear you!  Next time, try your inside voice and gestures and by that I don’t mean inside gestures, just simple hand gestures.  It’s the most peaceful way to communicate in the middle of the night.

5. Music is good, but Opera singing at 3am is not!  Also not cool is when you decide to hear songs on repeat for hours.  Okay I liked it the first 5 times but seriously even my nightmares are annoyed.

Hopefully this will NOT  be an ongoing list!  Please feel free to add to this list. 🙂

My tea for the moment: I finally found the box for STASH organic premium white tea at the store again! Yay! This is one of my favorites and they’ve been out of this for a while. I think I might have to drink more than one cup though, it’s sooo…brrrrr… cold tonight.

Bookmark and Share

Greg Wise Reads Persuasion by Jane Austen

Well hello there, I thought i should share this great find as we all continue to recover from a very exciting Halloween weekend and face the real world.  So are you ready for a rather seductive coffee or tea break? Yes you say? Hmm…good, now all you have to do for a “more seductive break” is sit back and relax and watch the “The Carte Noire Readers” read your favorite literary love scene oh la la la.  Hopefully you got your own cube and a good set of headphones at work.  Are you ready? They will only begin if you’re sitting comfortably. Okay here it is, the suave Greg Wise reading a scene from Jane’s Austen’s Persuasion.

Speaking of Jane Austen, have you guys checked out this book trailer of the mashup Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters yet? It’s funny! 🙂

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jZVE5uF24Q]

Still need more laughs? Then check out Austenbook, a Facebook newsfeed for Pride and Prejudice.

Hope you enjoy it, Happy Monday!

My tea for the moment: I’m trying out STASH’s premium Mango Passionfruit caffeine free herbal tea.  Hmm…it has a very citric taste to it, so if you like that, then try it out.

Bookmark and Share

PHANTOM LOVE NEVER DIES!

14832_197731714895_128086614895_4063287_3097452_nYes my friends that’s what we all said when we said goodbye to Phantom of the Opera. At least I did when I left Majestic theatre that fine night over a weekend. I was so sure I wasn’t coming back to NYC (sniff sniff) but hey who knew I would be back! And now, Phantom will return as well! Yes you heard it right, he’s a coming back.  So if you ever thought hey I wonder what happened to that Phantom dude? Or that gal Christine? Or Raoul?  Well guess what your dream will finally come true.

Earlier this month, Andrew Lloyd Webber did a press launch at Her Majesty’s Theatre for “Love Never Dies” the highly anticipated sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, the longest running Broadway show in history.  The new musical story will take place ten years after the end of The Phantom of the Opera at Coney Island in Brooklyn! Yes that’s what happened to him, he immigrated to USA! Woo hoo.  By the way do you know that about hundred years ago Coney Island was like the 8th wonder of the world? Yeah seriously! Kind of hard to believe after my last visit over the summer but hey that’s what it was according to Andrew Webber.

Okay are you guys ready?  Here’s the video of the press launch.  It starts out with an introductory film that summarizes the success of the Phantom and later Webber talks about the sequel and introduces “The Coney Island Waltz” – Quite lovely!  Ooh and the best part comes around 11:41 when Ramin Karimloo performs “Till I Hear You Sing” – Karimloo will play the Phantom and Sierra Boggess (originated the role of Ariel in The Little Mermaid on Broadway 2007-May 2009) will be the new Christine Daae.  Ramin Karimloo is also currently performing the Phantom in the London production.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewqcvu7j90U]

“Love Never Dies” will premiere in London at the Adelphi Theatre on Tuesday March 9, 2010 (previews from February 20) and New York on Thursday November 11, 2010! Overall thoughts?  Are you excited?  Will you fly to London to check it out or wait till it comes to NYC?

And if by any chance you can’t or haven’t watched any theatrical performances of The Phantom Of The Opera yet, I highly recommend you run, walk, or drive  to your nearest library or get it online and specifically check out the original cast of Webber’s production that started in 1986 with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman.  And after that you may check out the 2004 film adaptation staring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.

My tea for the moment: TAZO Lotus Decaffeinated Green Tea with subtle essence of lotus blossoms. Sounds good doesn’t it? hehe  Actually it is especially since I enjoy flower flavors.

Phantom Links
Love Never Dies – Official Website
Love Never Dies – Blog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Never_Dies_(musical)

The Phantom Of The Opera – Official Website

http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com

Bookmark and Share

Good Things To Avoid While Packed Up Like Sardines In A Train!

9d50854b-948f-466b-a4b0-b7fd6da2c0d9If your daily commute involves some kind of trains, especially NYC subway trains (like me), then you know how crazy the traffic can be at times or most of the time, when we’re all packed like sardines!  Space is not an option and if someone doesn’t smell good, or is having a private uncomfortable conversation next to you or if a crazy is having a fit then tough! You just have to deal with it.

It’s all good to an extent but there is something we can do, yes you are right! We can make a list, so after careful observation, I have decided to make a list of things that certain people could do to prevent one from disgusting the other!

Good things to avoid while packed up like Sardines in a train!

  • Shower –  You may think it’s cool not to shower for a week but seriously the rest of your fellow commuters don’t!  And if for some really good reason you can’t then please think of investing in a good smelling product, like a cologne or a perfume! Think free trials in the cosmetic areas. Heck you can even use lotion or rub purell all over yourself!
  • Wash your jacket – This one is usually huge during winter months.  Just smell your jacket once before you leave, just once please.  If you are in denial, please wear that smelly jacket and lock yourself up in a very small confined space like a closet or a box for a few minutes. If you don’t die then you’re good and so will be your fellow commuters.
  • Nose picking – oh so not acceptable and yet I have seen so many men and women do this! You may think no one saw you secretly pick your nose and wiping it but let me to tell you a secret, we may all pretend we can’t see you but we really can! Here’s a “How To Stop Picking Your Nose,” link that might help you out.
  • Extremely loud conversations – Normal conversations are good but extremely loud ones when we are all packed up like sardines is not.  We really don’t need to know how much you like turtle necks or the fact that your chest is a forest! No, some of us just don’t want to know.  Calling and sharing your miserable story with five people in a row is also not good.  The first two times was hardly bearable but to cry and moan about it in the same exact fashion with no variety is annoying!

This is an ongoing list and I will have some more “annoying train habits” in the future, until then please feel free to add-on and share your observations.

My tea for the moment:  TAPAL Lemon Green Tea.  There is nothing like the taste of freshly squeezed lemons! Ok seriously, I don’t taste the fresh lemons but it is does have a nice refreshing green tea taste with a hint of lemon so give it a try.
Bookmark and Share

V: The Final Battle and Aliens

V the final battleDoes anyone remember V: The Final Battle? Well some of you might be too young to know of it but basically it was this TV miniseries that aired in 1984. It was all about the “Visitors” (aliens) trying to take over the world.  I think I watched it a few years later but all I remember is that we were hooked!  It had spaceships, ooh a big mothership, aliens, reptiles, rats, rebels, lots of action, and drama! The title track was so good.  Oh and if you’re interested in checking out a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund, he was in it too! I think “A Nightmare on Elm Street” came out the same year but after V: The Final Battle and we never felt the same about sleeping and dreaming again.  Whatever you do don’t fall asleep! Yikes!

So recently I decided to check out some of the old clips of V: The Final Battle again and I just couldn’t help but laugh a little, okay maybe a lot! ☺ For starters, the graphics now seem goofy and some of the scenes that might have creeped me out back then now just appear real funny.  For those of you who are familiar, I’m thinking especially of that alien baby scene and ooh that one scene where evil Diana gulps down a rat! Oh yes, she does!  I was so amazed and shocked as a kid. No seriously gulping down a rat without choking is an art my friend. I have to tell you though that for back then this was no laughing matter, well unless you just liked to laugh at creepy stuff and you were messed up like that but otherwise this series was a huge hit.

Here is a clip for V: The Final Battle that kind of sums up the series.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQpenFUBtMg]

This is the only good quality clip- Just putting it up so you guys can check out the rat scene at 2:04 and you can see see Robert Englund at 0.34
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M77HfZu24bw&NR=1]

Intro and Summary and the baby birthing scene around 3:09!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX1j_NjlumE&NR=1

And I don’t know if you guys know but they’re now doing a re-make of V: The Final Battle.  This one is called “V” and it will premiere on November 9, 2009 on ABC.  The trailer looks interesting and graphics are neat but we’ll have to see if it’s as good as 80s hit version in terms of acting and storytelling. Oooh and it has Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell ) from “Lost” in it as well! Whoa are you thinking what I’m thinking? Did she really say goodbye to us forever in that deep hole? (Trying my best to avoid spoilers here) Of course this doesn’t mean she won’t be in “Lost” anymore because the fans know that really anything can happen in that show.  They sure do love to mess up with our minds and answer our questions with more questions!

Here’s the preview for the new version titled “V” –  This time the backdrop is NYC (woo hoo) as opposed to Los Angeles.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQoSCEMzJYE]

On another note, but still speaking of aliens I got an email yesterday that read “UFO seen in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon!” Apparently this was all over the net.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiLZ9DXfEaA&feature=related]

Wonderful, aliens are now shopping for some land in the middle east as well!  I wonder if they checked out the world and the palm tree set up in Dubai?   That’s some prime property with plenty of water and sand for their alien needs.  By the way I see two of them! 🙂

So what do you guys think? Will you check out the new “V” TV series?

My tea for the moment:  Tapal Jasmine Green Tea.  Hmm…I wonder if the aliens drink tea? Maybe something like Human green tea? uggh

Bookmark and Share

I WANT YOU TO KILL ME!

zombie-3flipIf you’re one of the cool people who were secretly following the pattern on my calendar and hoping for a blog post on Tuesday and Friday, I really apologize! I had four papers along with two presentations due this week and after lots of overnighters my brain became all mushy and I looked like that zombie dude from my previous post.  However, after a day rest, I am back with an awesome zombie question that a friend asked me and now I will ask you!

So here’s the deal friends, what if you and I are together in the zombie world, when I suddenly get bit by a zombie and we both know that I will eventually turn and come after you! So to protect you, I ask you, I WANT YOU TO KILL ME at once! What will you do? Will you kill me before I turn? Say NO and let me bite your head off? Or say YES and finish me off!?

I’m hoping for some fun answers and discussions so don’t be a party pooper and respond!

My original response to my friend was that it doesn’t matter – If I ask you to kill me, I know you will say no, and then we would argue and waste so much time over it that I would turn into a zombie in the process and will eventually come after you! Perhaps the lesson here is that we should all wear a helmet in zombie land to protect our heads from getting chomped off? 🙂

Or we could all take the following quiz to determine the time it would take us to turn into a zombie and go from there!

The Zombie Bite Calculator

My tea for the moment: Egyptian Chamomile from Harney & Sons, one of my favorite brands.  I went for this particular one because the zombie #2 face above reminded me of all the evil dead in the movie Mummy which then made me look at the word “Egyptian” and go ahhh with all these connections I must drink this! Try it, it doesn’t taste like zombies at all but rather has this fine scent of green apples. 🙂

YES! Print Is ALIVE!

Ah friends! And especially the ones that love to smell their books!  According to my news feed from “The Village Voice” on Facebook,  It’s alive, it’s alive!  Print is not a zombie yet! Thank you FB and TVV for making my day 🙂 Great cover, you are truly awesome!

10234_93017199976_24966174976_610453_5887897_n

And now, let’s have a moment of Hallelujah!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnHksDFHTQI]

Ok so I’m too happy to read the actual article 🙂 However, if you want, you can check  it out here.

Oh and my e-book friends, don’t be sad 🙁 you can smell your books too,  you just need to get this!

My tea for the moment:  White Peony, a very light white tea that is perfect to go with a light mood.  If you want to find out more about the white teas, then here are some useful sites:

OMG It’s JASNA!

Jane Austen booksA couple of weeks ago my friend and I went to check out the Brooklyn Book Fair and guess what we saw? Yes, it was JASNA! Who? No Not Jasna the person! Wait, there’s a real person named Jasna? Wow that’s cool.  I think I’m going to name my first child or cat which ever comes first that ☺ But no, I meant JASNA as in The Jane Austen Society of North America!? Yes, hello!? Ah I cannot describe our happiness when we saw those fine ladies telling us all about the membership. We listened rather carefully until she mentioned the specific dues and then we got a little distracted. Ahhh Imagine the delight and shock had Mr. Darcy appeared from behind that table! We would certainly have fainted with joy ☺  But of course, the only thing we can afford at this point is the free sign up for the email list!  To show our love we quickly signed up as a potential JASNA member. I must say I signed that list in my not so very best writing, however the lovely lady in charge of the list told me that I had really nice hand writing.  Well, I did get an award in 5th grade for best writing you know.  Speaking of which, I just want to do a shout out to Mrs. Pace, my 5th grade teacher who taught us how to refine our cursive in fountain pen! You knew you were all grown up when you could write beautifully in ink. Mrs. Pace, I will never forget your pearl necklace, your black Cadillac and your thousands of cats.  I was a little scared of you but I’m not sure why, you sound really cool and I think you were a very special teacher indeed!

On another note, I’m currently reading “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” It’s a fun read so far. I love Austen and I love Zombies so it’s all quite awesome.

My tea for the moment:  I think Earl Grey either from Bigelow or Twining would be the perfect choice for such an occasion! Please raise your cup for JASNA! and oh yes Zombies!

A Small Plate Of Miracle

chef-clip-artYou know something really interesting happened to me the other day. I came home hungry as usual and as I was about to think about eating, this lady that I have never talked to but lives on my floor brought me a dish of chicken Biryani! How many times does that happen in life? That you’re hungry and someone knocks on your door and hands you a free plate of food! It’s a miracle people! I mean it’s different if you know them but for it to come from a complete stranger, that’s crazy! I know what you’re thinking, be careful. Yeah I know, what if they drug me or something? Don’t worry, I ignored her husband’s dinner invitation for a special holiday during our elevator travel few days ago. As my cousin and I discussed, they could totally drug me and make my body disappear and no one will ever know! Ah then for many years everyone will wonder as to what happened to my body. By the way just so you know, this was a South Asian rice dish that I just love! I particularly love the Sindhi Biryani that my mom makes, it’s just yummy! There are many different kinds but this one is from province of Sindh in Pakistan. I don’t have my mom’s recipe but you can look at the image and get an idea of the recipe at this link http://www.ehow.com/how_4547771_cook-delicious-pakistani-food.html

My tea for the momentTapal Danedar black tea, my family’s favorite!  It’s a very popular brand of Pakistan. Try it with some milk and sugar like the Pakistani way.  If you have never heard of this brand,  you can check out a couple of their interesting ads here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3fDSB-my2U, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qXS7eYbuX8