Society of the Bartleby: I prefer ...

via the Twitters

I would like to start society making this a real thing, 

and be able to redeem of these tickets PER DAY!

Maybe a: Society of the Bartleby *

Our motto? I would prefer not to.

There's already swag.

*Bartleby, The Scrivener: Herman Melville

"Hot Town, Summer in the City"

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting burnt and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

Cool town, evening in the city
Dressed so fine and looking so pretty
Cool cat, looking for a kitty
Gonna look in every corner of the city
Till I'm wheezing at the bus stop
Running up the stairs, gonna meet you on the rooftop

...

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city.

~ Summer in the City by the Lovin Spoonful

I am so grateful that I have friends that have connections and are willing to share their good fortune with me. I have often mentioned Christine on this blog, and once again, her goodness has allowed me to share in a very special evening.

As a Special Events director, Christine deals with lots of events planners, caterers, and vendors. One of those caterers has recently entered into a partnership with a swanky venue group and invited Christine to a cocktail party in the City. Christine in turn, found out if she could bring guests. (Thank you Christine. You know I need a buddy to schmooze. Left on my own, I will a) not go and/or b) lurk about on the periphery. I have, at parties, been confused with the caterers, because I'm in the kitchen hiding out or helping.)

It was a perfect, late June evening, with no humidity, with the temperatures hovering in the low '80s, when Christine, Amelia, and I met at GCT and decided to walk over to the party. Held at the Skylight West space, we checked in, received our complimentary flip-flops (for those ladies whose high heels were high torture), and headed up to see the 6th floor indoor event space --a lovely, cool, all white, multi-purpose party space. Beautiful, truly, but please--we were there to enjoy a NYC summer night on the rooftop. Instead of heading up in the elevators, we took the stairs up.

This was the view framed out the 6th story staircase window, which only meant that the view from the roof had to be equally as fabulous.

There's that New Yorker hotel again, framed by another iconic New York landmark, the Empire State Building.

The views from the rooftop were amazing. The Empire State Building and the hotel were to the east. To the north, was a 10-15 floor converted warehouse building, with amazing floor-ceiling windows with loft apartments/business spaces. To the south, there was a straight view clear down the canyons of 10th Avenue with the Statue of Liberty perfectly framed in the harbor. In the foreground was the curve of the High Line Park, where you could see people out walking in the summer light. To the west was the Hudson River, a view of New Jersey, and the perfect summer sun in twilight and dusk. The sunset? Ah, the sunset was magical.

The view on the roof was equally as amazing. For this party, it was set up with club tables, lounge couches, bars, a cabana, tables and chairs. The large rooftop signs were set up for projections, but not used at this event. The steel girders under the billboard frame out a shallow water feature and serve as additional surfaces on which to place food and drinks.

Great Performances knows how to showcase their food. There was a salad bar, with a corn salsa, black bean salad, plantain chips, a jicama/papaya salad, corn breads, and pan con queso. The grill bar (above right) had mini hibachis with beef, chicken, veggies, shrimp, and chorizo with a variety of toppings. There was a vodka infusion bar where I watched the girls try whiskeys and vodkas infused with fruits like pineapple and blackberries or veggies like cucumber.

My favorite was the combo regular bar and the Jerk Bar. All jokes about Jerks aside, it was nice to see the vintage touches of blue glass for the seltzer bottles. (They were retro-vintage local. The seltzer company is a Brooklyn-based one. P.S., I really want one for my house - my handbag wasn't big enough to walk off with one). You had to make sure to specify whether you wanted your drinks spiked or not. (Thanks for asking Mr. Soda Jerks. I appreciate it.) On the other side of the Jerk Bar, you could get a chocolate cherry milkshake - which was SO yummy and just the right size.

I loved all the little touches: the Soda Jerk caps, the etched vases telling you what the stations were, the lanterns, the party lights reflecting the colors of the evening, the pillows on the floors, and the magnolias floating the in water. The DJ was also super super fabulous. I wish she had burned her set list for the evening so I could add it to my library.

It was a night for the pretty people (so I don't know why I was there), who were posing and posturing all over the place while they networked. Mother Nature has a funny sense of humor though, as she would sent brisk breezes to make skirts do some flying away. There was a pair of full moons over the City. At least I only saw a pair of moons. I think there might have been more. (Ladies, wear underwear with more coverage, and, more importantly, wear age appropriate skirts and fabrics!)

I didn't need dessert after that shake, but that didn't stop GP from passing out specialty cocktails and fabulous frozen desserts. Here Amelia reacts to the S'more Dessert Cocktail and Christine shows off the party trick to the frozen popcorn ball treat. Luckily no one caught me "smoking" on film!

As the sun set and the party wound down, the views remained fabulous. Sadly, it was a "school night" and we all had to work the next day or we would have stayed longer. We said farewell and thank you to our hosts and headed out into the evening. One last special touch greeted us outside - a Great Performances ice cream truck, dispensing mini cones of mocha-flavored treats. Just the right final impression to a wonderful event.

As previously mentioned, June was a crazy month for me, socially. This evening in the City with my girls was a perfect way to end the month on a high note. It's REALLY going to be hard for the rest of the summer to measure up.

Thanks again Christine!

Lifelines

Feeling pensive. Glad I have my lifelines.

Busy Bee

It's either feast or famine with Auntie's social calendar. Part of that is due to her work schedule and part of that is due to the normal cycle of the performing arts world. In the last week or so, she's been busy just about every night -- what with one thing or another. The rest of the month is getting booked in just as fast, and one suspects that December will be a dazzling array of busy-ness.

Last night Auntie was at a work-related function at the New York Historical Society, a beautiful little gem of a museum on the Upper West Side near the Park. The function celebrated a worthwhile charity's 150th Anniversary, and Auntie needed to go and "represent." A cocktail party was held in a large portrait gallery and she spent most of the time looking at paintings from the Hudson River School of Artists and catching up with former colleague from the Big J. The event then adjourned into a recital hall where there were presentations of a scene from Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, a discussion of fashion from the 1850s, and a mini-recital by a soprano that works at the library where Auntie also works. It's a very small musical/non-profit world in the Big Apple. (Now that Auntie knows where the museum is, it's on the list of places to visit again this summer. Museum + a/c + heat and humidty = good times.)

Last Thursday night, thanks to another work-related contact, Auntie got to attend her first New York Philharmonic concert. She can't remember the last time she went to the symphony and actually was an audience member, without having to worry about running around to do something work-related! It was a nice change. Auntie took a colleague to keep her company, and they both got to relax a bit out of the office. The evening was a program of all-American music and was part of the Leonard Bernstein celebrations going on around the City this year.

This was the first time that Auntie's associate was able to hear Copland's Appalachian Spring in this full orchestration. Both were moved by Philharmonic’s interpretation, especially the “Simple Gifts” passages. You know you've heard the tune, but until the music swells up from a full world-renowned orchestra, you don't know what you are missing. It literally can bring you to tears.

The second piece was a work by Elliott Carter, who is six weeks shy of his 100th birthday. While Auntie is not a fan of some 'modern' classical music, and this piece didn't do much for her, Mr. Carter’s appearance on-stage after his Rewakings was completely inspiring. The audience gave him a standing ovation, some for the music, and some for just walking out on stage under his own power. One can only hope to be as spry and acute when one reaches his advanced age.

Auntie particularly enjoyed the second half of the concert. The Bernstein Jeremiah was new to her; the movement, Profanation, resonated especially. The program notes explain that Mr. Bernstein intended the movement to express “… a general sense of … destruction and chaos. …” Being that the building where Auntie works and Lincoln Center in general, are in a constant state of construction, with drilling and hammering an extremely audible part of daily activities, the movement struck a chord with her. Auntie's colleague and she both agreed, however, that their favorite work of the evening was Christopher Rouse’s Rapture, which had its New York premiere. It was a remarkable piece that that must be heard again to understand all the nuances. Be sure to listen to the rebroadcast of the concert on WQXR 96.3 FM on Thursday, November 13 at 9:00 p.m. in order to do so.

This was a wonderful evening of music, with appearances by TWO living American composers. What a treat indeed!

Auntie just LOVES free cultural activities and loves New York!

Next on the immediate calendar ... aside from work, work, and, oh work, Auntie has visits from Krippy, Auntie's Mum and her friend, Friends of the Library events, and Auntie's second annual Holiday Boutique --and that's just next week!! Whew! Is it vacation time yet?