“Being inexhaustible, life and nature are a constant stimulus for a creative mind.” ~ Hans Hofmann, German-American abstract expressionist painter
A partially collapsed crane in midtown, a building in Chelsea that lost its facade to the wicked wind, and a flooded Battery Park City. All bridges, tunnels, schools, city parks, and most businesses closed. Public transit completely halted. The city that never sleeps was brought to stillness by a powerful gal named Sandy.
Phin and I spent the day hunkered down. He snoozed for most of it and I got a lot of solid work done. I put together and sent my personal e-newsletter as well as the one for Compass Yoga. I prepped for an interview I have next week for a dream contract role with an innovative and inspiring education-based nonprofit, and applied for some additional contract work. I worked on plans to raise money for my nonprofit clients as well as Compass Yoga. I wrote, read, talked to friends, cooked good food, and got in a home yoga practice. By all accounts it was a good, good day in my little abode.
In all my activity, the roaring winds outside never let me forget that I am just a small piece of a greater pie, that there are forces beyond my control and prediction that can and will impact me in significant ways. The best we can do is roll with nature, respect her strength and heed her warnings. There are things in this world for which we can only prepare, and cannot fight.
Nature keeps us on our toes. It checks our egos. And it lets us know that we are all in this wild experience together, for better or worse, so we might as well give our best and take care of one another.
This morning I am happily unplugging from my devices and taking a field trip up to City Island, a tiny fishing village in the Bronx.
Did your face just crinkle in confusion? You read that right – a small bucolic fishing village is nestled into the shoreline of the Bronx. I’ve been fascinated by its existence for several years and I finally blocked out the time for a visit. My friend, Moya, is joining me for the adventure.
I’ll be taking pictures and noting points of interest that we find during our day of meandering. Tomorrow you’ll have the full scoop. Get out there and enjoy your Sunday!
“Each detail in a city should reflect that human beings are sacred.” ~ Enrique Penalosa
If I say “city”, what’s the first word that comes to your mind?
Skyscrapers? Concrete? Traffic? Crowded? Busy?
What if the answers were more like “Parks”, “Community”, “Opportunity”, or dare I suggest “Ease”?
Why is this second set of answers so funny? Why can’t we have cities that are beacons of a peaceful, productive, and harmonious way of life? I’m not convinced of the impossibility of this wish. I think in a city we can have the very best of the natural world and the human made world. I believe that the two can co-exist.
How?
It is up to us to make it so. We have to choose it and choose leaders who believe in it. City life is becoming the American way of life, the global way of life. Over 50% of the world’s people live in cities and to make this trend tenable, we must transform city living into healthy, happy, and sustainable living for all people who choose it. The answer is in the details – the green space, housing, transportation, etc. – and those details should honor our creativity, ingenuity, and generosity.
Event details: Date – Monday, August 20th Time – 6:30pm – 8:30pm Location – The Breslin at the Ace Hotel, 20 West 29th Street, New York, NY Cost – $5 to cover the cost of the amazing space at the Ace Hotel Everyone is welcome – women and men who are performers and fans of performers!
My friend, Amanda, introduced me to G.L.O.C. during their Bridesmaids screening event last year. Since then I’ve been receiving their e-newsletter. Recently, they mentioned they were looking for more resources to help their members. I reached out to the hilarious Glennis McCarthy, Founder of G.L.O.C., and we immediately bonded over our desire to support performers and the need for attention on smart humor in the world of comedy.
We are hoping this class is just the start of a wonderful series of events to support performers and anyone with even the slightest hint of interest in performance. RSVP through the Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/206787669450646/
Here is a brief description of the event. Hope to see you there!
Showing Up and Tapping In: The Keys to Your Success as a Performer
If Woody Allen is right and 80% of success is showing up, then the other 20% is how you show up. And not just at an audition, a rehearsal, or a performance, but how you show up in life. Your lucky break isn’t somewhere down the road; it’s right now because opportunity is everywhere.
One interaction can change the entire course of your life and that interaction almost always happens at an unexpected time and in an unexpected place. So how do you prepare so that you can recognize that moment when it arrives and make the most of it? How can you prepare to be lucky?
As a performer you have to refresh your content and your performance constantly. Meditation helps you tap into your imagination at will and with ease in a deep, consistent way to discover new ideas. By learning to quiet the mind, you give your greatest ideas the chance to rise to the top. Meditation gives you a way forward.
This event will provide a sample class geared toward performers who want to enhance their creativity. It will include a few basic standing postures that can be done in your everyday clothes. The breathing and meditation techniques will all be practiced seated. You will also receive the sequence of postures and techniques after the class so that you can continue to practice on your own. You will find that these tools and techniques will help you identify hidden opportunities to advance your craft, make connections with people who can help grow your career, and develop a system to make sure you are continually in the best shape possible – physically, mentally, and emotionally.
“If you don’t have a reason for your heart to keep beating, it won’t.” ~ Dr. Oz
In 2000, I developed a mild obsession with a show called Hopkins 24/7, a show that went behind-the-scenes at Johns Hopkins to show the lives of medical residents. Since then, dramatized versions of hospital shows have all fallen short. Real-life was so much more riveting.
Yesterday I read a feature piece in the Times about a new 8-part series on ABC called NY Med. (Incidentally, Hopkins 24/7 was also an ABC show and created by the same producer.)NY Med goes inside New York’s best hospitals to show real-life situations as they unfold from a wide variety of angles, including the perspective of Dr. Oz, who is a cardiothoracic surgeon at New York-Presbyterian, among many other roles. (He is also a Penn alum which is one of my alma maters so I have to give him a special shout-out.)
If you have even a mild interest in our healthcare system, this show is an incredible eye-opener. It is thoughtful, thorough, emotional, and professional. In other words, it’s a rare example of network reality television done right in every way that leaves us with more questions than answers and more hope than despair. The first episode ends with one of the doctors singing a a gorgeous version of Let It Be in the hospital’s chapel. I was crying.
Check out the show’s website – http://nymedshow.com. The remaining 7 parts of the series will air on ABC on Tuesdays at 10pm Eastern.
This is me meditating in the middle of Times Square to celebrate the 2012 Summer Solstice
For the fifth year in a row, I celebrated the Summer Solstice in Times Square on my yoga mat. 14,000 yogis flocked to the center of the Great White Way yesterday thanks to the event put together by the Times Square Alliance to demonstrate the possibility of mind over madness. A lot of people have asked me how on Earth I can find peace at this kind of event. To me the most profound peace is found not in a quiet corner of the world, but in the midst of life. Once we can find peace in every day living, regardless of circumstances and surroundings, then that peace will always be ours.
Last year, I took the class that Douglass Stewart, a senior teacher at ISHTA Yoga and YogaWorks, taught. It was transformative in many ways. I began taking his classes at ISHTA as a result of that Times Square class and I am now half way through my 300-hour advanced teacher training at ISHTA. Beginning this Friday, I will assist Douglass’s Tuesday evening and Friday afternoon classes. (I hope you’ll join us!)
Yesterday I also made it a point to take Douglass’s Solstice class this year and as I made my way downtown, I thought about how much has changed in this past year. I found a deep confidence to pursue a life of my own design. My yoga and meditation practice were a big part of the fuel that drove all of this change. In the last few days, I’ve felt lighter, brighter, and more alive for having made the Leap into working for myself. There is a true and palpable peace that we find once we live the lives we are meant to live. It really is true that we can be free if we want to be.
Douglass spoke extensively about energy – especially appropriate given the intense heat that Mother Nature poured down over New York City yesterday. “Energy goes where it is most needed; where it can do the most good,” he said. Heat is energy and it transforms everything it touches. It burns away what is unnecessary. It shines what is left behind in its wake. I felt that mid-afternoon heat of the solstice touch down on me, helping me to let go of everything that no longer serves me. My own energy now has a new direction and it is doing much more good in the world now that it is directed toward work I love.
It wasn’t very hard at all for me to find peace yesterday in the middle of Times Square. I just rolled out my mat and went exactly where Douglass led us – inside our own centers. The mind can do much more than block out madness; it can actually use the energy of the madness around us to evolve, and ultimately, to blossom. Happy Summer!
Some of the community members of Hartley House who will benefit from the proceeds of the yoga class on June 7th
On June 7th, I’ll be partnering with Hartley House to bring more yoga to the Hell’s Kitchen community. I’ll be teaching an open level class – all ages and levels are welcome. I would love to have you join me. Here are the details:
Location: Hartley House Address: 413 West 46th Street, New York, NY 10036 Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm Suggested donation: $1 – proceeds benefit the Hartley House After School and Summer Camp Programs
I hope to see you there!
About Hartley House:
Hartley House has served those who live and work in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen since 1897. Its mission is to respond energetically and creatively to the ever-evolving needs of its neighbors regardless of their age, income, race, gender or sexual orientation. The programs include educational, creative, recreational, civic and social services. Their size enables us to be both flexible and personalized, and we are always alert to ways in which our programs and services can support or complement one another. Hartley House not only reaches out to neighbors of all backgrounds and ages, but also fosters ongoing connections with them as they pass from one phase of life into another. The well-being of each growing, changing person enriches the entire community. Every neighborhood is a complex web of connections among families, friends, neighbors, businesses and organizations. Strengthening these connections is their mission.
Yesterday Mom and I saw the Shuttle Enterprise move into her new home by way of the air space outside my apartment. She was a beautiful sight!
After snapping some photos, I wanted to learn more about the plans for her new home on the Intrepid. Over on the Intrepid website for the Shuttle, they’ve cataloged information about the Shuttle’s past, present, and future, complete with futuristic renderings of what they expect the new exhibit to look like later this summer.
If the final frontier gets your heart pumping, head on over and have a look at the site. Though the federal shuttle program has come to an unfortunate end, I’m hopeful that creative exhibits like this will inspire private funders to take up the cause to continue to go where none of us have gone before, to inspire us to seek out new boundaries.
I’ve enjoyed the last two contests that I’ve run on this blog in recent weeks – the first was for a free 12-week subscription to the digital version of the New York Times (congrats, Trish!) and the second was for a copy of the book Lessons from the Monk I Married by Katherine Jenkins, one of my writerly friends. Those were so much fun that I’ve been hunting around for a third way to share the wealth!
The site Underground Eats has just launched to a small, invite-only audience and I have an invite to give away. I’d like to give it to you! Underground Eats is “the go-to site for exclusive Alternative Dining Experiences.” At the moment, they are only in New York City but they are hoping to expand to other cities shortly so I’m not going to limit this contest to New York City-area residents only. I just want to be clear that at the moment the only experiences available for purchase on the site are in New York City. The experiences are truly exclusive, unique, and can only be purchased through the site.
So what exactly does ‘Alternative Dining Experience’ mean? Here’s a little sampling of what’s on offer at this very moment:
The Truck Stops Here: 5-Course Food Truck + Beer Dinner – $40
No need to keep checking Twitter and chasing food trucks all over the city. For one night only – all your favorite food trucks, under one roof.
Edible presents The Drive-In Dinner at Brooklyn Brewery, hosting the Morris Truck, Bongo Brothers Cuban Food Truck, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Feed Your Hole and Coolhaus for a sit-down, five-course dinner with beer pairings.
Each course comes from a different food truck and is paired with the perfect Brooklyn Brewery beer – even dessert.
A Dinner of Titanic Proportions: 100 Years in the Making – $300
Bon vivants, all aboard.
Culinary provocateurs Jonny Cigar of The Noble Rot, Hell’s Kitchen’s Rob McCue and Adam Banks of Bravo’s Chef Roblé & Co., cordially welcome you to an evening of culinary history and decadence.
Heed the call, First Class and VIP passengers: no expense will be spared in this indulgent tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s last supper. You will dine amongst an intimate clique of black-tied guests, on a seven-course menu, based on the original, but updated and reinterpreted from carte du jour of April 14, 1912. The galley is keeping the menu top secret for now (but we’ll send you a sneak peak closer to the event).
Drinks will pour, hijinks and other under-wraps surprises are rumored to ensue…and the band will play on.
The Ultimate Foodie Fantasy Camp: The New York Culinary Experience – $1395
You buy their cookbooks, eat at their restaurants, watch their cooking shows.
Now, imagine a whole weekend cooking side-by-side with your favorite star chefs, such as David Bouley, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Dan Kluger? Pinch yourself, now.
Hosted by The International Culinary Center and New York magazine, The New York Culinary Experience is foodie fantasy camp. Learn how to make pasta sauces with A Voce’s Missy Robbins, Tuscan-style seafood with Cesare Casella, and chocolate desserts with celebrity pâtissier Jacques Torres. All classes are completely interactive, and you’ll get to enjoy every dish you prepare.
You’ll even have the chance to get up close and personal with the likes of Jacques Pépin and Bill Telepan at daily Q&A sessions.
The Michelin star count alone will drive your friends mad with envy.
So how do you enter to win an invite to the site? Like this post, leave a comment, or contact me through Twitter or Facebook. I’ll leave this contest open all weekend and then announce the winner Monday morning. Happy eating and good luck!
Here’s my perfect Sunday morning: Waking up in a sunny room to coffee, CBS Sunday Morning, The New York Times, and Phineas.
The New York Times has been a big part of my life since I was a child. My dad relished the Sunday version. I remember him reading it cover to cover. We weren’t allowed to touch it until he was done with it and he was the only one allowed to touch the crossword puzzle, which he did in pen (as opposed to pencil.) Now you understand the yardstick I’m up against when it comes to measuring my own abilities.
How I Grew to Treasure The Times
One summer Sunday I remember seeing the travel section of The Times Magazine. I called every 1-800 number and ordered a catalog to the far-flung corners of the world that I hoped to visit someday and they started piling up in our mailbox in droves. It felt like Christmas. I kept them stashed away under my bed and I’d look at them every day, dreaming of the days when I’d get to travel. I think I was about 8.
And that sealed the deal for me. The Times and I were partners for life. It gave me the chance to dream of what life would, could, and should be when I grow up. I’ve been an avid reader of it all of my adult life. It is the #1 news source I go to.
Getting on the Inside
A few years after my travel catalog spree, my fascination with the organization behind the paper caused me to read Gay Talese’s The Kingdom and the Power. 5 times. (My mother always stressed that I was a “special” child.) I never dreamed of working there, but I did want to know what life was like on the inside of that hallowed institution.
At SXSW 2011, I went to see the documentary Page One and had the chance to meet David Carr, one of my journalism idols. (I highly recommend the film; it’s incredibly well done!) At the end of the documentary, I had an excellent sense of why they decided to change their policy and begin charging for their online subscriptions. The level of in-depth reporting they do around the world requires a good deal of funding. I’ve benefited from it for so many years and I decided in that moment that once the new pricing went into effect, I would become a subscriber.
Win a Digital Subscription to The Times
And now I want all of you to have that chance, too! As a subscriber, I have the opportunity to give away a free 12 week digital subscription to The Times to someone who doesn’t yet have a subscription and I want to offer it up to the readers of this blog who constantly support me and my endeavors. Just leave me a comment on this post and I’ll select a winner at random on Monday evening, letting you know who the winner is on Tuesday.
Christa Avampato 