New York Dreamer

Have you ever had a delusional thought that your music playlist on your iPod or any digital players you have is actually you? Strangely Spooky… Huh?

One day I was hanging out at my friend’s spacious rooftop, enjoying cool beer, a ping-pong table, a cool hammock, and cool breeze, and cool buddies.

At that perfect moment, it did strike me that something was missing. That was music. So I proudly took out my iPhone and started bragging about having some music in my latest digital gadget. What a big mistake.

Since my always cool friend had an iPod dock station ready on the rooftop, we were soon able to enjoy our music moments, electronic, rock and jazziiii. It was a random play from my playlist and it was just perfect spring moments…until when… All of sudden from that dock station I hear some words about Ken and Barby (intentionally spelled incorrectly). No offense to the song, but I had no idea how the song ended up in my playlist (a typical denial).

My always cood friend gave me this sudden look and said “I can’t believe you have that song!!” Badly blushed, my upper head area was spinning pretty fast in an effort to find a perfect excuse to escape from being a ’so uncool friend.’

“Oh, I didn’t know that it was there.” “Oh, actually, it’s not mine.” “It’s randomly shuffled, so it’s not my fault.” Blur, Blur, Blur. I think I used up all these excuses within 5 seconds right away. Sounds very convincing, right?

After brief awkward silence and drifting away from the topic a little bit, My always cool friend said again the magic sentence “I can’t believe that you have that song.” This time, he even shook his head.

After the long brooding months of deliberation, this is my final declaration. “I blame shuffles. Damn shuffles!”

So nowadays I directly go to the Pandora App on my iPhone and carefully choose artists. And play shuffle, keeping my fingers crossed. So far, I’m pretty happy with my newly found identity.

Have you ever felt that “YOUR PLAYLIST =(equals) YOU”? And have you ever made desperate efforts to reestablish your true identity and regain your self-claimed innate coolness? If so, then say something to me, so that I know I’m not alone in this world.

I’m a big fan of Downtown. As my friend Hunter claims, “I don’t go above 14″ (oh, btw, it’s not about his age preference). One day, the same friend changed his position when he moved further down, the new catch phrase was “I don’t go above “Houston.” We jokingly said to him, “What!? Then, next year, r u gonna say you don’t go above Canal?” If you are not from New York and wanna know what I’m talking about, see the NYC map and try to locate these key words. You are gonna see what I am talking about.

Frankly, I’ve always felt that there are too many tourists and office buildings uptown spitting out too many white collars like lawyers and bankers into the street during the lunch time like “March of the Penguins.” Believe it or not, I was one of the penguins searching for food sharply around 12:00. ^^

So Downtown has always been my turf. But don’t get me wrong. There are many beautiful spaces I like in uptown and Uptown has its own unique mature attitude I enjoy. Especially, I like Bryant Park and Central Park vicinities.

Love. Love. Love to walk around…

(Photos, Copyright 2009-2010 by Unjoo Na)

It’s Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary. Since yesterday, you can play this 30-year-old everlasting game on Google. Simply click “Insert Coin” button. It’s a nostalgia fun, with lots of “pyong pyong” sound. Seeing hungry Pac-Man eating things in the maze alley, without being eaten, makes me smile. A big smile.

If you want to find real machines with these nostalgic-classic games in the city, try to visit the best hot dog place in the East Village, on Saint Marks between 1st and A. The place is called “Crif Dogs,” with a big “Eat Me” sausage sign dangling outside the half-basement space. Bring your real coins when you visit. There is no “Insert Coin” sign to click, but real machines with real coin slots. Hope that they didn’t do anything to these machines while I was not visiting.

I Love my neighborhood! Especially ‘my love’ downtown is hip and cool, always fun to walk around, filled with lots of vibrant energy. I sometimes bump into famous people. I sometimes spot beautiful spots. It’s my little sanctuary, guaranteeing my freedom, anonymity, and occasionally my vision to the clear sky… I’ll keep posting more pictures of the city. Hope you’d enjoy the scenery as I do.

(Photos. Copyrighted 2010 by Unjoo Na)

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.

(Photos: Copyrighted 2010 by Unjoo Na)

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.

(Photos. Copyrighted by Unjoo Na)

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.

It was a divine day.

(Photos. Copyrighted 2010 by Unjoo Na)

February 4th, 2010.

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!^^)

(Photos. Copyrighted 2010 by Unjoo Na)

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!

(Photos. Copyright 2009 by Unjoo Na)