The Vernacularist

US Open

at Nadal v.  Ferrer.  Amazing seats!

Why isn't this lit up?

It's the empire state bldg.  I have to figure this out....

Muse concert

At MSG...and it rocked. I forgot how Queen/Pink Floyd/Yes this band sounds in their latest album.  I had a blast with Ross and Haley.  I've been waiting to hear Muse for 2 years.  I almost went last year but I missed the show because of crazy Treo scheduling difficulties.  That sucked.  But I rebounded for this year's concert and it was very worth it.  I needed a big release like this.  I've been listening to Muse's albums for 2 years and really felt very connected to the music.  Big beats, great melodies...a mix between Faith No More and Radiohead.  Jeez, have I compared them to enough great bands or what? 

Muse puts on an excellent show. I was disappointed with the crowd, though.  Few new the lyrics to the songs, and if they did, no one seemed to really move to the music.  I think that's a problem with MSG. It's so big that even a good show can seem impersonal and separate.  Well...I felt up close and personal to the show.  I'll upload more pics as soon as my freakin Treo starts bluetoothing again. I'm on my 4th Treo in a year. I am not impressed.

Siren music fest

At Coney Island. Beautiful day, right next to the CycloneTo play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime® Player. Note: During the download

Another birthday come and gone

I turned 31 this past week. An un-unique age, but I had a great 3 days of events to celebrate. I had drinks with some Stern friends at Ace Bar.  The theme was a Skee Ball tournament, however very little skee ball was played.  The night turned into more of a reunion of Stern friends and everyone wanted to talk and see how summer internships were turning out.  After all the hype and pressure and urgency during the school year, everyone is curious about how its turned out for people.  Did you make the right choice?  Would you work there full-time?  Do you think you will get an offer?  About 90% of people are happy and 10% are miserable.  I think those are great odds. 

On Friday, I went to dinner with Chaela at Tao in East Midtown.  I had never eaten there, and it was delicious.  We had some lobster dumplings, and shared some sushi.  It was very fresh sushi that I highly recommend. 

On Saturday, I had a great dinner with 10 friends at Freemans.  I had already prearranged an eclectic menu and had been looking forward to ravaging it.  And it was fantastic! Wild boar terrine, fennel watermelon salad,  trout with sage and thyme, rum braised ribs, sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes with basil, bananas foster.  I highly recommend this restaurant.  If you want to have a bigger party (6 or more) you should try and reserve the Wine Room in the back.  It is a private room that is surrounded in wine.  It's cozy but still part of the restaurant.  Also, my friends who attending were from all different times in my life -- high school, college, business school -- so it was very special to put them in a room together.  Not surprisingly, they got along famously.

Our night ended at Motor City, a dive-ish bar in the Lower East Side.  Nothing so special about it except the drinks aren't over priced.

Great birthday weekend.  It's good to be 31.  Like I said on my 30th birthday...my twenties were great and my thirties can only be better.

Free Paris

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Cannes Festival review

The festival was terrific. Here are the pics of me and my classmates at Cannes. It was a week of beautiful weather, long lines for movies and great evenings out with new and old friends. We had some great discussions with executives at Variety, Nielsen, Sony Classics Pictures, and The Weinstein Company who talked about the growing pains of the film business during this digital revolution.  Film is really the laggard within the media and entertainment industry because the traditional distribution system through theaters is so ingrained in the industry.  No one, except maybe the consumer (and 2929 Entertainment), wants it any other way. Variety was our sponsor, and they were absolutely amazing at helping us navigate the festival. 

Although we never got to a formal red carpet premier -- tickets were impossible to get -- we all got to see several movies in the Grand Lumiere theater.  I expected a little more gradieur from the theater, but walking up the red carpet steps was fun still. 

Talk about luxury, there were over a hundred yachts in the bay (this pic is just a sliver of the bay).  Everywhere you looked, you could see ginormous boats.  We all wanted to jump into the ocean with a plastic bag protecting our black tie dress and swim out to a yacht and just see what happened.  Of course, we never did it.

We partied at M1nt most nights. DJ that played hip hop and house. Pool, mansion, tents & couches, and signiture drink all included. One night, Harvey Weinstein even showed up with his entourage and held court in the tent next to us. Every night, people were there to unwind and party after long days of movies and sun.

A highlight was working the door for the Variety party. It was fun to see what people tried to do to get into the party. Everyone had a story or a business card.  Of course, we had staff from Variety to determine whose case warranted appeal.

Unfortunately, we had to wait in long lines for all the movies.  Our badges let us into films but buyers badges and press badges had preference over our badges for many of the screenings.  This meant we had to arrive 1-1.5 hours ahead of schedule to get at the front of the line. Hey, beggars can't be choosers and it was totally worth it. 

The movies were everything between great and awful. Here are my picks and pans:

• Sicko, (Dir. Michael Moore):  A great exposition on the failures of the American health system for those who are insured -- not those uninsured, which usually gets the screen time.  Absolutely, Michael Moore is not a journalist.  But he is a great story teller who has something important to say.  See the film, regardless of your feelings about Moore.
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Dir. Julian Schnabel):  A beautiful film from the bestselling book by and about Jean-Dominique Bauby. Besides the powerful story behind Bauby's rare illness, Schnabel shoots this film with an oversaturation to the colors that's breathtaking.
• A Mighty Heart (Dir. Michael Winterbottom): Angelina Jolie plays Marianne Pearl during the tragic story of the death of her husband, Daniel Pearl. I've never seen Angelina become someone else like she did in this role.  Marianne Pearl is a very distinct character -- in style, tone and voice -- and Angelina hits it very well  On the other hand, the editing of the film seemed choppy.   It's as if the Director needed to have certain scenes in the film, regardless of the rhythm.

Pans:

• Ulzhan: TOO LONG.  It's a Kazakh film about a man who lost his family and goes on a cleansing journey.  He finds a female companion along the way to help guide his journey to the mountains.  It was well shot, but the plot takes forever to get you nowhere emotionally.
• U2 3D:  This 3D film of U2's live show is really just a teaser for their live shows.  It makes you want to see the band play life, and a 3D film isn't a good enough substitute to shake it off. I really thought the Director didn't use the 3D effect enough to make the movie special.

Cannes-a-go-go

I'm also at the Cannes Film Festival until May 24.  It's the final event for a class I took on the Craft and Commerce of Cinema.  26 of us from Stern are taking in all the sites, sounds and films in the beautiful south of France.  It's a massive event with easily 20 venues to see films each day.  I saw the world premier of U2 3D, a film of U2 concerts in 3D.  It's about an hour in length and makes you really want to see the band live, if you haven't already.  In fact, U2 performed 2 songs (Vertigo and Where the Streets Have No Name) live on the steps of the Palais (the famous red carpet of Cannes). It was a great performance and a fun movie...not a must see though.

Because of the industry panels we are required to go to, I haven't seen many movies yet.  But that will change today. I will miss the new Cohen brothers film, No Country for Old Men. But Caramel, My Bluberry Nights and Paranoid Park are high on my list to see today and tomorrow.

Last night I worked the reception desk for the Variety party.  Variety is hosting us here, so we were all thrilled to help them and get a taste for the industry parties.  We had a great time, but maning the registration table was exhausting.  Everyone wants to get in and few are on the list.  So it ends up being a judgement call on entry.  It was fun to see Harvey Weinstein, Malcolm McDowell, Peter Bart, Peter Gruber and other notables among the guests.  McDowell could not have been more fun and friendly. Just what you would expect from a guy with his career (Clockwork Orange, Caligula, Entourage, etc).

More reviews and updates soon....   

First year of B-School...Done

I finally finished my first year of business school two weeks ago.  Everything has been a blur from Japan in March until today. In sum, my first year of school was fantastic.  I finally put a language and conceptual framework to many of the professional experiences and best practices I've learned over my 7 years in working since college. Some of my favorite classes were things like Finance and Negotiation, things that I've had little exposure to but loved to formally learn.  I've decided to specialize in Marketing and Finance because they are such a cohesive combination to get the full breadth of business education.  I've already picked my classes for next semester.  It's going to be jammed with more quantitative classess in Finance and Statistics...hold on to your seats for that wild ride into Excel goodness.

Fall Classes will (hopefully) be: Decision Models, Competitive Strategies in Marketing, Competitive Strategies in Entertainment and Media Companies, Entrepreneurial Selling, Valuation, Customer Relationship Management.

Overused words in B-School: synergy, leverage, strategic, value (I'm guilty of this last one)

I start my Unilever internship on June 4.  It's going to be a tremendous eyeopening experience into major marketing. More lists to come...

Tokyo observations

Now that I have been here 3 days, it's time for some obeservations:

• it is the cleanest city I have ever seen.  For 12 million people, this place is immaculate.  I have seen any litter AT ALL.  Maybe an occasional cigarette butt, but that's it. 
• Ramen noodle shops are the best lunch.  Why aren't there more of these in New York?  It's fast, easy to cook, and salty goodness with veggies, noodles and whatever else you want.  This is a no brainer.
• Men's casual fashion is all about 80's punk and 90's alternative rock culture.  I haven't seen so many plaid shirts and tight black jeans for a long time. Men's business fashion is pretty dapper too.  These guys wear suits that are black and fitted.  I don't think I've seen more than 5 or 6 suits that weren't black.
• Random people are quite courteous and helpful when I have no idea where I am or where the f-ing right subway station is.  Man, this city is a little unforgiving when it comes to finding the correct entrance for the right subway line.  But it is soooo easy to get around by subway.
• Breakfast ain't big in Asia.  Just a reminder if you forgot. Japan is no different, although the fast food joints can hook you up.
• Kareoke is big, but I haven't found a spot with a good selection.  I'm sure I haven't been going to the right places, but most of the evening activities have been planned already, so I haven't been able to choose myself. I still want to try Big Echo, but I'm not sure if there will be time.
• Toilet seats.  This place really likes their toilet seats.  Warmers. Different types of water sprays (bidet, other).

More to come later....