Tomorrow night, we are gonna know who is going to be the 2010 Oscar winners.
Any guess which film is going to be kissed by the golden statutes tomorrow night? Oscar parties all over the city tomorrow. I’m thinking about attending one. Food, cocktails and excitement. This year again, I had the privilege to receive DVD screeners for award considerations. I really liked some of them. Last year, my guess was right. This year? We will see.
Finally, this winter’s NY Fashion Week is over now.
During the week, I went to the Women’s Mafia / Stella Zotis show at Bryant Park Hotel, featuring Stella Zotis and Alisha Trimble’s new designs. The place was packed with many fashionistas, but I could spot some Runway Project designers…
Stella is one of the designers from Runway Project Season 5, showing her new edgy leather couture look during this fashion week. I’m gonna meet her in person sometime soon again, introduced by a mutual friend. Looking forward to it. It’s always exciting to meet talented NY designers and artists.
Sometimes, I need to get out of the city for some fresh air. So I made a little excursion to find some cold fresh air to fill my lung and to find inspirations for my projects. Beach sand and snow and me standing tall on the shore.
I was invited to a big award ceremony for the NYC best apps contest at the IAC building on 11th Avenue. About $20,000 cash prizes were given out to NYC app developers and the special award ceremony cocktail party was hosted by Mayor Bloomberg.
This was a finale of the competition that is “a joint initiative of New York City Economic Development Corporation and the New York City Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications.” Contestants were encouraged to “develop innovative software applications that utilize New York City data available on the NYC.gov Data Mine at www.nyc.gov/data.” According to their official website, “the goal of the Competition is twofold: (1) to stimulate the development of applications that improve access to information and government transparency, making it easier and more fun to visit, live and work in the City; and (2) encourage innovation and the creation of new intellectual property with commercial potential by individuals, startups and small businesses and organizations.”
I think this is one of the smartest things New York City has done in terms of utilizing Information Technology and the city’s talents. Finding and developing great mobile applications for the city would be a cost effective and useful way to serve the city, assisting people to get access to the information and the services of the city. I know that this contest award is not going to be the end of this initiative. So NYC and Mayor Bloomberg, Go for it! Please, lead us to the right direction where we need better services and information from the city.
To find more about the winning apps, go to the Official Website: www.nycbigapps.com
(Thanks for the invitation, Dawn!^^)
Yesterday, I was invited to the NATAS (National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences) as a judge for the New York Emmy Award. Yesterday’s category was ‘Interactivity’ (Advanced Media).
I sat down with other advanced media experts, going through a dozen Emmy Award candidates, leading entertainment/media programs with interactive and cutting edge features. We rendered our judgment based on the criteria of Content, Creativity and Execution. Some of the shows were good and some of them were disappointing.
Watching and reviewing all those Emmy Award entries, I kept thinking ‘where is the real innovative media experience?’ and ‘when can I see the real kick-ass program coming out?’ Those questions were inevitable because some of the programs were just a replica or a minor extension of the already existing online/on-demand experience. There might be restrictions on true innovation, in terms of technology, the market acceptability, the cost and the execution.
But as a judge for the Emmy Award, I really want to see a really advanced interactive experience for viewers like me who thinks that most current programs available do not come up to my high expectations. If you are like me, what do you want to see or experience in this digital media world? Is it gonna be advanced TV? Advanced online experience? Or is it gonna be kick-ass mobile? Let me know.
Sunday, the 11th, was the last day to visit the Governor’s Island this year and ironically my first day to visit this secluded sanctuary. It was the perfect day to take the ferry to the island because of the warm weather and rather hasty breeze. Walking along a path going through the island and enjoying the scenery and the nature, many local gatherers, couples, families, and bikers also joined my journey. But the place still gave me a lot space among those fellow strollers. Time goes by really fast. I expect to see this charming land faster than I could realize. See ya next year, GI!
Today’s New York street and stores were filled with fashionable New Yorkers in honor of NY Fashion’s Night Out.
A lot of boutique stores, department stores and other fashion shops were open until 11PM, serving lots of cocktails, DJ music, designers and models, along with raffles, gifts and lots of discounts (the sweetest of them all) for shoppers.
I browsed through some of the fun venues and met some interesting people and outfits(!). It’s so much fun to hang out with lots of fashionable New Yorkers and check out their unique styles. I just wish everyday would be like this, full of music, good looking people and, most of all, all the big discounts everywhere. I also wish I have more green stuff in my pocket to experience all of these to the full. Sigh… downside of living in this expensive city.
The winners of tonight’s raffles might be all the DJs who would probably have had a lot of love calls from all over the city.
Check out the website to get more hints on what might have happened tonight. -> http://www.fashionsnightout.com/
It’s 09.09.09. Sounds like a big special day. What’s happening? Well, let’s see…
My choice was to attend a finance management seminar in the early evening and then go to The Burning Plain screening on Broadway in Time Square.
If you were at the screening, you would probably have had a chance to experience the lives of women who were wronged by their fate, sins, flaws and limitations. Women who are scarred by their family and jaded by life’s settings are looking for salvation through relationships and family. If you get to see this movie, notice the actresses’ memorable performances and their true revealings. The two (if not all three) actresses playing main characters, Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger, give us a gift to taste personal performances, hinting their own emotional scars they have probably experienced from their own lives in the name of human relationships. Revealing their bare bodies might not be as controversial as revealing human inner scars. Am I the only one who felt that way?
The Emmy Awards season has arrived. You should check out the website to find out which ones are nominated for the awards. I haven’t decided yet whether to attend the Emmy Gala. If I do, I will update some stories.
(CLICK THIS TEXT) Here is the video link for the PGA event I helped organized. If you want to listen to what the nation’s top policy experts say regarding Obama’s media and technology policy, check this out. It would be a good thing to follow up with, since tomorrow’s Obama’s inauguration day.
