Shred Fest NYC!

Shred Fest

Fight Identity Theft at Shred Fest NYC!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

11 convenient locations Citywide

Start collecting those personal documents you no longer need—but that identity thieves love to steal from your trash—and shred them, for free, at the City’s first-ever Shred Fest!

Fifty paper shredders will be given away free, donated by Staples.

Fight back against identity theft: Just Shred It!

(Thanks Mel!)

Dinner in the Sky

Dinner in the Sky

Ever feel like going up for dinner?

Dinner in the Sky will hoist you and 21 guests 150 feet into the air for a gourmet meal with a view that can’t be beat. Even better, they deliver!

Belgium-based Dinner in the Sky can come to your location (as long as there is 500 square meters of flat ground) to serve lunch, cocktails, dinner or a meeting in the sky. They can even provide a second crane with a platform at the same height as the table. Why you ask? For the musical entertainment of course!

Each seat at the table has a four-point harness to hold you in place – the view straight down explains why.

Dinner in the Sky

Don\'t look down

(Via)

Not Made in China: Fortune Cookies

Japanese Fortune Cookie

Japanese Fortune Cookie

According to an article in the NY Times today, it turns out that fortune cookies—the desert treat popularly served in Chinese restaurants—are actually of Japanese origin.

Japanese bakers have been making omikuji senbei (“written fortune crackers”), in Kyoto for generations. Fortune cracker making was brought to the west coast of this country by early Japanese immigrants. After these Japanese families were removed to the internment camps during WWII, it was Chinese families that took over the production of the cookies.

After the war, returning American servicemen were served fortune cookies in California. Upon arriving home, they asked their local Chinese restaurants why they didn’t serve the fortune cookies.

Still popular in Kyoto, Japan, the “written fortune crackers” are similar in shape, but differ in taste. They are bigger and browner, and not as sweet, being flavored with miso and sesame instead of butter and vanilla.

One bakery, Sohonke Hogyokudo, has used the same 23 fortunes for decades. (Wonton Foods, the American cookie maker has over 10,000 fortunes in its database.) Hogyokudo’s fortunes tend to be more poetic in theme than prophetic.

But a cookie opened in another local Kyoto shop contained the advice, “To ward off lower back pain or joint problems, undertake some at-home measures like yoga.”

Cirque Le Masque: Carnivale

Happy New Year everybody!

I spent New Year’s Eve watching my wife Michelle Dortignac perform in an amazing show called Cirque Le Masque: Carnivale.

Cirque Le Masque performed six shows over three days at the beautiful Patchougue Theatre, on Long Island. The late show on New Year’s Eve featured a New Year’s party at midnight (during the intermission) replete with Champagne toast and hors d’oeuvres for the whole audience! Nice way to ring in the new year!

Michelle performed a fabulous duo trapeze act with fellow aerialist Kristen Olness; and she also choreographed and performed in a triple silk act along with Kristen Olness and Hilary Sweeney. Michelle, Kristen and Hilary were brought together for this show by Laura Witwer and Angela Jones of ImaginAerial.

All of the performances in this show were STUNNING!

I took a few pictures from the wings on stage-left during the early show, and then more pictures from the balcony during the late show. You can see a mix of my pictures of the Cirque Le Masque show after this:
…read more →

The Baby Janes: Holiday Kisses

The Baby Janes in Holiday Kisses!

WOW!

The Baby Janes rocked the house at La Mama for the past two weekends!

This aerial, singing, dancing, musical holiday celebration was put together by Kristen Olness, and starred The Baby Janes: Kristen Olness, Michelle Dortignac, Angela Jones and Laura Witwer, with special guest Terry Beeman. Sara Moore was the eccentric hostess in her character, Pearl Claus.

SEE LOTS OF PICTURES from the closing night performance on Sunday, after this… …read more →