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	<title>Observer &#187; Moby</title>
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		<title>Observer &#187; Moby</title>
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		<title>Moby&#039;s Dicks</title>

		<comments>http://observer.com/2011/09/mobys-dicks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:00:53 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2011/09/mobys-dicks/</link>
			<dc:creator>Drew Grant</dc:creator>
				
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.observer.com/?p=183663</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_183672" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 195px"><a href="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/122142663.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-183672" title="Let Moby direct your sex life." src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/122142663.jpg?w=197&h=300" alt="" width="185" height="282" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Let Moby direct your sex life.</p></div></p>
<p>Hey, he didn't name his LES beverage shop Teany for nothing:  hipster vegan and technically active musician recently spoke to Bizarre magazine about his next entrepreneurial endeavor: <a href="http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/62674063.html#ixzz1XqTSlH7Q">pornography</a>. Of course. Why not.</p>
<p><!--more--></p>
<blockquote><p>"I've never understood why porn made for men often stars studly guys  with enormous, you know? Surely that’s intimidating to most guys  watching? My porn flick would exclusively feature men with  normal-to-titchy-sized penises in order to make viewers feel better."</p></blockquote>
<p>It makes sense that Moby would want to make porn the least intimidating for men as humanely possible, since absolutely nobody in the world is intimidated by Moby. He is the world's least aggressive human being, but at least he knows his niche. He uses words like "titchy-sized," which we hope to God is not a reference to a micro-penis. And hey, maybe what the world needs are more porn films featuring nice-looking women engaged in mediocre love-making sessions with average-sized phalli.</p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_183672" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 195px"><a href="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/122142663.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-183672" title="Let Moby direct your sex life." src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/122142663.jpg?w=197&h=300" alt="" width="185" height="282" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Let Moby direct your sex life.</p></div></p>
<p>Hey, he didn't name his LES beverage shop Teany for nothing:  hipster vegan and technically active musician recently spoke to Bizarre magazine about his next entrepreneurial endeavor: <a href="http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/62674063.html#ixzz1XqTSlH7Q">pornography</a>. Of course. Why not.</p>
<p><!--more--></p>
<blockquote><p>"I've never understood why porn made for men often stars studly guys  with enormous, you know? Surely that’s intimidating to most guys  watching? My porn flick would exclusively feature men with  normal-to-titchy-sized penises in order to make viewers feel better."</p></blockquote>
<p>It makes sense that Moby would want to make porn the least intimidating for men as humanely possible, since absolutely nobody in the world is intimidated by Moby. He is the world's least aggressive human being, but at least he knows his niche. He uses words like "titchy-sized," which we hope to God is not a reference to a micro-penis. And hey, maybe what the world needs are more porn films featuring nice-looking women engaged in mediocre love-making sessions with average-sized phalli.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<media:content url="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/122142663.jpg?w=98" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Let Moby direct your sex life.</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">jhanasobserver</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">Let Moby direct your sex life.</media:title>
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		<item>
				
		<title>Electric Zoo Gives Randall’s Island a Positive Charge</title>

		<comments>http://observer.com/2011/08/electric-zoo-2011/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:30:35 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2011/08/electric-zoo-2011/</link>
			<dc:creator>Andrew Wood</dc:creator>
				
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.observer.com/?p=177373</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_177408" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-5484.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-177408    " title="Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-5484.jpg?w=300&h=199" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</p></div></p>
<p>On a recent Sunday, <em>The Observer</em> stood on a vacant lot neighboring the East River. While wistfully  admiring Manhattan’s picturesque Eastern skyline, we soaked in the  park’s halcyon beauty. Turning back to face the body of the Randall’s  Island, we tried to visualize this site swarming with thousands of  sweaty, painted, and dust-covered beings.</p>
<p>The next time <em>The Observer</em> will be here the scene will be much different. In less than one month,  this site will be filled with a crowd—twice the size of a packed-house  at Madison Square Garden—moshing to the most celebrated deejays in house  and electronic music.<!--more--></p>
<p>On  Labor Day weekend, Randall’s Island will host the third annual <a href="http://www.madeevent.com/ElectricZoo/" target="_blank">Electric  Zoo music festival</a>, an event that shares an unconventional history with  the island. Unlike other music festivals whose tenancy lasts only as  long as festival weekend, Electric Zoo and the island’s management have  developed a unique symbiosis over the past decade; a relationship that  extends beyond Labor Day and into the renovation of the island itself.</p>
<p>“We’ve spent all year working on making Electric Zoo 2011 even better than the last two,” <strong>Mike Bindra</strong> and <strong>Laura De Palma</strong>, Executive Producers of Made Event (the festival’s sponsoring organization), told <em>The Observer</em> in an email.</p>
<p>The  three-day festival is expected to draw one hundred-thousand people, and  will showcase over one hundred world-renowned deejays, a collection of  themed art installations, multiple popular food vendors, and a ceremony  spotlighting a new public art exhibition on the island entitled <em>FLOW</em>.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_177416" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-51731.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-177416 " title="Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-51731.jpg?w=300&h=199" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</p></div></p>
<p>Five years ago, Mr. Bindra and Ms. Palma teamed with <strong>Aimee Boden</strong>,  the Executive Director of the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation  (RISF), to collaboratively develop the island as a public space. Drawing  on inspiration from the festival, Ms. Boden conceptualized <a href="http://www.flow11.org/" target="_blank">FLOW</a>,  a seasonal, outdoor art exhibit which consists of five large-scale  installations throughout the lower-half of Randall’s Island. The  exhibition's title “evolved from both dance music and from artistic  expression,” Ms. Boden told <em>The Observer</em> in an interview at the Foundation’s midtown offices.</p>
<p>Having no artistic expertise, she enlisted the help of <strong>Sergio Bessa</strong>,  the Director of Programs at the Bronx Museum of Art. With the support  of Made Event and the Rockefeller NYC Cultural Innovation Fund, RISF and  the Bronx Museum launched <em>FLOW</em>.  Made Event donated over $42,000 to the project in 2010, and this year  they will dedicate $2.00 from every festival ticket sold to the  exhibition.</p>
<p>The artists for <em>FLOW</em> were  selected from a pool in the Bronx Museum of Art’s Artists in Motion  program (AIM). <a href="http://www.bronxmuseum.org/aim.html" target="_blank">AIM</a> is a highly competitive, biannual program that  consists of twelve workshops designed to prepare emerging artists for  the art market. “It is the most successful program the museum has ever  implemented,” Mr. Bessa told <em>The Observer</em> in a phone call.</p>
<p>“This  is just the beginning,” Mr. Bessa eagerly informed us. He added  that Randall’s Island has <a href="http://www.observer.com/2011/culture/vindicated-frieze-coming-new-york" target="_blank">recently signed a contract</a> to host the esteemed <a href="http://www.observer.com/2011/culture/british-are-coming-maybe-anatomy-art-world-rumor" target="_blank">Frieze International Art Fair’s first exhibition</a> in the States.</p>
<p>“Made Event has a big stake in this,” Mr. Bessa told <em>The Observer</em>,  and Ms. Boden agrees. “[Mr. Bindra and Ms. De Palma] go beyond just  looking for a venue to slap down an event,” she told us. “They have an  appreciation for the Randall’s Island environment.”</p>
<p>With  the support of their venue and city, Electric Zoo 2009 exploded out of  the woodwork. More than forty-thousand people traversed the East River  and Hell Gate rapids for the two-day festival. And Made Event never  looked back. In 2010, Randall’s Island shook under the feet of  fifty-thousand indefatigable bodies dancing to Benny Benassi, Kaskade,  and others.</p>
<p>“Music  and art have always been a part of New York City life and bringing  those two elements together within a city park is a natural fit,” Mr.  Bindra and Ms. Palma wrote to <em>The Observer</em>.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_177415" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-9775.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-177415 " title="Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-9775.jpg?w=300&h=199" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</p></div></p>
<p>According to DJ Magazine, the festival’s line-up for 2011 boasts seven of the world’s top ten deejays. The festival’s headliners—<strong>Armin Van Buuren</strong>, <strong>David Guetta</strong>, and <strong>Tijs “Tiësto” Verwest</strong>—currently hold the top three spots on the magazine’s esteemed international rankings.</p>
<p>With this in mind, <em>The Observer</em> called-up native-New York deejay and Zoo veteran, <strong>Richard “Moby” Hall</strong>,  to get his thoughts on the festival. Mr. Hall is currently on-tour in  Europe, but we were able to reach him in his hotel room before he went  live in the Spanish nightlife hotbed, Ibiza.</p>
<p>Mr.  Hall confessed that despite being born only two miles from Randall’s  Island, he never even knew it existed until he was invited to play the  Lollapalooza Music Festival there in 1995. He recalled being struck by  the island’s antiquated infrastructure. “I thought it was the place  where the Legion of Doom would’ve been housed,” he half-joked.</p>
<p>Mr.  Hall played Electric Zoo in 2010. “I was really surprised how big  Electric Zoo was last year,” the festival-hardened deejay recalled. Yet  despite its size, he was shocked that hardly anyone in the music  business was aware it was happening. “It was literally an underground  festival for fifty-thousand people, a mile away from New York City.”</p>
<p>He  feels that it is the production value that distinguishes this event  from the rest. “Electric Zoo offers this huge, over-the-top festival,”  he asserted, and then added, “In many ways the festival isn’t even about  the deejays, it’s about the production.”</p>
<p>“It’s kind of like the Wizard of Oz in that way. I’m just the small man behind the curtain,” the famed disc jockey concluded.</p>
<p><em>The Observer</em> spoke with <strong>Victor Calderone</strong>, another wizard of the Electric Zoo festival.<!--nextpage--></p>
<p>Mr. Calderone, who was the deejay-du-jour for both <strong>Madonna</strong> and <strong>Sting</strong>,  has taken his electronic stylings all over the world, but he gets  particular pleasure performing in his home city. “I didn’t feel like I  was on Randall’s Island or even in New York,” he said about last year’s  Zoo.</p>
<p>“I have not heard better sounds at a festival,” the Brooklyn-born deejay and three-time Zoo vet, told <em>The Observer</em>.  “It’s just an explosion of energy that you don’t have playing a small  after-hours club room” the once resident-deejay at the Roxy continued.</p>
<p>Mr.  Calderone told us that location is what makes Randall’s Island an  excellent venue. “I can’t think of any other locations in New York that  work the way Electric Zoo works on Randall’s Island,” the nightlife  legend mused, paused, and then added: “There are so many components that  make sense.”</p>
<p><div id="attachment_177420" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-9070.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-177420  " title="Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-9070.jpg?w=300&h=199" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</p></div></p>
<p>One  such component is that Randall’s Island lies in the East River and  connects the boroughs of Manhattan, The Bronx, and Queens. “Location and  venue are a big part of any festival’s character, so the two are never  mutually-exclusive,” Mr. Bindra and Ms. Palma told us, admitting that  they’ve had their eye on the island as a prospective venue for their  festival for the last decade. “All the improvements they’ve made to the  park over the years just made it a no-brainer for us,” the duo wrote.  “It was just a question of timing and all the pieces falling into place  to finally realize it.”</p>
<p>Despite  its auspicious location, the island has a grim history. Since the 19th  Century, it has sustained—among other shady establishments—a burial  ground for the poor, a psychiatric hospital, and a reform school for  juvenile delinquents. Although founded in 1992, RISF finished developing  the island earlier this summer. Unveiled with a ceremony on July 1st,  the island now has over sixty “state-of-the-art” playing fields, a  driving range, a tennis center, the Icahn Track and Field stadium, a  redesigned waterfront, gardens, and pedestrian pathways. Ms. Boden also  pointed out that the construction restored nine acres of wetlands.</p>
<p>“We  want to get people who are not there just to play on the fields to come  over and use the island in a new way,” Ms. Boden told <em>The Observer</em>.</p>
<p>And  Mr. Bindra and Ms. Palma agree. “New York City’s parks are such a  valuable resource without which Electric Zoo could not exist in its  current form,” the sponsors concluded. “Our goal is to not only support  the island as it grows, but to be a part of its growth and improvement.”</p>
<p>As we made for the footbridge back to Manhattan, <em>The Observer</em> glanced back over our shoulder. After surveying the rehabilitated  island, the image of the space alive with thousands of flowing bodies  suddenly didn’t seem too far-fetched.</p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_177408" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-5484.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-177408    " title="Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-5484.jpg?w=300&h=199" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</p></div></p>
<p>On a recent Sunday, <em>The Observer</em> stood on a vacant lot neighboring the East River. While wistfully  admiring Manhattan’s picturesque Eastern skyline, we soaked in the  park’s halcyon beauty. Turning back to face the body of the Randall’s  Island, we tried to visualize this site swarming with thousands of  sweaty, painted, and dust-covered beings.</p>
<p>The next time <em>The Observer</em> will be here the scene will be much different. In less than one month,  this site will be filled with a crowd—twice the size of a packed-house  at Madison Square Garden—moshing to the most celebrated deejays in house  and electronic music.<!--more--></p>
<p>On  Labor Day weekend, Randall’s Island will host the third annual <a href="http://www.madeevent.com/ElectricZoo/" target="_blank">Electric  Zoo music festival</a>, an event that shares an unconventional history with  the island. Unlike other music festivals whose tenancy lasts only as  long as festival weekend, Electric Zoo and the island’s management have  developed a unique symbiosis over the past decade; a relationship that  extends beyond Labor Day and into the renovation of the island itself.</p>
<p>“We’ve spent all year working on making Electric Zoo 2011 even better than the last two,” <strong>Mike Bindra</strong> and <strong>Laura De Palma</strong>, Executive Producers of Made Event (the festival’s sponsoring organization), told <em>The Observer</em> in an email.</p>
<p>The  three-day festival is expected to draw one hundred-thousand people, and  will showcase over one hundred world-renowned deejays, a collection of  themed art installations, multiple popular food vendors, and a ceremony  spotlighting a new public art exhibition on the island entitled <em>FLOW</em>.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_177416" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-51731.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-177416 " title="Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-51731.jpg?w=300&h=199" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</p></div></p>
<p>Five years ago, Mr. Bindra and Ms. Palma teamed with <strong>Aimee Boden</strong>,  the Executive Director of the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation  (RISF), to collaboratively develop the island as a public space. Drawing  on inspiration from the festival, Ms. Boden conceptualized <a href="http://www.flow11.org/" target="_blank">FLOW</a>,  a seasonal, outdoor art exhibit which consists of five large-scale  installations throughout the lower-half of Randall’s Island. The  exhibition's title “evolved from both dance music and from artistic  expression,” Ms. Boden told <em>The Observer</em> in an interview at the Foundation’s midtown offices.</p>
<p>Having no artistic expertise, she enlisted the help of <strong>Sergio Bessa</strong>,  the Director of Programs at the Bronx Museum of Art. With the support  of Made Event and the Rockefeller NYC Cultural Innovation Fund, RISF and  the Bronx Museum launched <em>FLOW</em>.  Made Event donated over $42,000 to the project in 2010, and this year  they will dedicate $2.00 from every festival ticket sold to the  exhibition.</p>
<p>The artists for <em>FLOW</em> were  selected from a pool in the Bronx Museum of Art’s Artists in Motion  program (AIM). <a href="http://www.bronxmuseum.org/aim.html" target="_blank">AIM</a> is a highly competitive, biannual program that  consists of twelve workshops designed to prepare emerging artists for  the art market. “It is the most successful program the museum has ever  implemented,” Mr. Bessa told <em>The Observer</em> in a phone call.</p>
<p>“This  is just the beginning,” Mr. Bessa eagerly informed us. He added  that Randall’s Island has <a href="http://www.observer.com/2011/culture/vindicated-frieze-coming-new-york" target="_blank">recently signed a contract</a> to host the esteemed <a href="http://www.observer.com/2011/culture/british-are-coming-maybe-anatomy-art-world-rumor" target="_blank">Frieze International Art Fair’s first exhibition</a> in the States.</p>
<p>“Made Event has a big stake in this,” Mr. Bessa told <em>The Observer</em>,  and Ms. Boden agrees. “[Mr. Bindra and Ms. De Palma] go beyond just  looking for a venue to slap down an event,” she told us. “They have an  appreciation for the Randall’s Island environment.”</p>
<p>With  the support of their venue and city, Electric Zoo 2009 exploded out of  the woodwork. More than forty-thousand people traversed the East River  and Hell Gate rapids for the two-day festival. And Made Event never  looked back. In 2010, Randall’s Island shook under the feet of  fifty-thousand indefatigable bodies dancing to Benny Benassi, Kaskade,  and others.</p>
<p>“Music  and art have always been a part of New York City life and bringing  those two elements together within a city park is a natural fit,” Mr.  Bindra and Ms. Palma wrote to <em>The Observer</em>.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_177415" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-9775.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-177415 " title="Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-9775.jpg?w=300&h=199" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</p></div></p>
<p>According to DJ Magazine, the festival’s line-up for 2011 boasts seven of the world’s top ten deejays. The festival’s headliners—<strong>Armin Van Buuren</strong>, <strong>David Guetta</strong>, and <strong>Tijs “Tiësto” Verwest</strong>—currently hold the top three spots on the magazine’s esteemed international rankings.</p>
<p>With this in mind, <em>The Observer</em> called-up native-New York deejay and Zoo veteran, <strong>Richard “Moby” Hall</strong>,  to get his thoughts on the festival. Mr. Hall is currently on-tour in  Europe, but we were able to reach him in his hotel room before he went  live in the Spanish nightlife hotbed, Ibiza.</p>
<p>Mr.  Hall confessed that despite being born only two miles from Randall’s  Island, he never even knew it existed until he was invited to play the  Lollapalooza Music Festival there in 1995. He recalled being struck by  the island’s antiquated infrastructure. “I thought it was the place  where the Legion of Doom would’ve been housed,” he half-joked.</p>
<p>Mr.  Hall played Electric Zoo in 2010. “I was really surprised how big  Electric Zoo was last year,” the festival-hardened deejay recalled. Yet  despite its size, he was shocked that hardly anyone in the music  business was aware it was happening. “It was literally an underground  festival for fifty-thousand people, a mile away from New York City.”</p>
<p>He  feels that it is the production value that distinguishes this event  from the rest. “Electric Zoo offers this huge, over-the-top festival,”  he asserted, and then added, “In many ways the festival isn’t even about  the deejays, it’s about the production.”</p>
<p>“It’s kind of like the Wizard of Oz in that way. I’m just the small man behind the curtain,” the famed disc jockey concluded.</p>
<p><em>The Observer</em> spoke with <strong>Victor Calderone</strong>, another wizard of the Electric Zoo festival.<!--nextpage--></p>
<p>Mr. Calderone, who was the deejay-du-jour for both <strong>Madonna</strong> and <strong>Sting</strong>,  has taken his electronic stylings all over the world, but he gets  particular pleasure performing in his home city. “I didn’t feel like I  was on Randall’s Island or even in New York,” he said about last year’s  Zoo.</p>
<p>“I have not heard better sounds at a festival,” the Brooklyn-born deejay and three-time Zoo vet, told <em>The Observer</em>.  “It’s just an explosion of energy that you don’t have playing a small  after-hours club room” the once resident-deejay at the Roxy continued.</p>
<p>Mr.  Calderone told us that location is what makes Randall’s Island an  excellent venue. “I can’t think of any other locations in New York that  work the way Electric Zoo works on Randall’s Island,” the nightlife  legend mused, paused, and then added: “There are so many components that  make sense.”</p>
<p><div id="attachment_177420" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-9070.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-177420  " title="Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/ez2010-bsk_crowd-9070.jpg?w=300&h=199" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</p></div></p>
<p>One  such component is that Randall’s Island lies in the East River and  connects the boroughs of Manhattan, The Bronx, and Queens. “Location and  venue are a big part of any festival’s character, so the two are never  mutually-exclusive,” Mr. Bindra and Ms. Palma told us, admitting that  they’ve had their eye on the island as a prospective venue for their  festival for the last decade. “All the improvements they’ve made to the  park over the years just made it a no-brainer for us,” the duo wrote.  “It was just a question of timing and all the pieces falling into place  to finally realize it.”</p>
<p>Despite  its auspicious location, the island has a grim history. Since the 19th  Century, it has sustained—among other shady establishments—a burial  ground for the poor, a psychiatric hospital, and a reform school for  juvenile delinquents. Although founded in 1992, RISF finished developing  the island earlier this summer. Unveiled with a ceremony on July 1st,  the island now has over sixty “state-of-the-art” playing fields, a  driving range, a tennis center, the Icahn Track and Field stadium, a  redesigned waterfront, gardens, and pedestrian pathways. Ms. Boden also  pointed out that the construction restored nine acres of wetlands.</p>
<p>“We  want to get people who are not there just to play on the fields to come  over and use the island in a new way,” Ms. Boden told <em>The Observer</em>.</p>
<p>And  Mr. Bindra and Ms. Palma agree. “New York City’s parks are such a  valuable resource without which Electric Zoo could not exist in its  current form,” the sponsors concluded. “Our goal is to not only support  the island as it grows, but to be a part of its growth and improvement.”</p>
<p>As we made for the footbridge back to Manhattan, <em>The Observer</em> glanced back over our shoulder. After surveying the rehabilitated  island, the image of the space alive with thousands of flowing bodies  suddenly didn’t seem too far-fetched.</p>
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			<media:title type="html">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Electric Zoo 2010. (Bennett Sell-Kline/ElectricZooFestival.com)</media:title>
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		<title>Moby&#8217;s Big Real Estate &#8216;Play&#8217;</title>

		<comments>http://observer.com/2010/10/mobys-big-real-estate-play/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:39:57 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2010/10/mobys-big-real-estate-play/</link>
			<dc:creator>Matt Chaban</dc:creator>
				
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.observer.com/2010/10/mobys-big-real-estate-play/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/moby_smiles.jpg?w=249&h=300" />The <em>Post </em><a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/realestate/residential/moby_digs_iCcuJrvxXBkVcgLgKEdgyJ">dropped by</a> Moby's apartment recently, where he showed the tab around his 1,200-square-foot loft in a former Civil War prison. The eletronica king moved in back in 1996, according to city records, when the area was just a no-man's-land north of Little Italy, yet to be rebranded by bohos and brokers as Nolita.&nbsp;</p>
<p>He paid a now jaw-dropping $150,000 for the condo. "The irony is that originally I moved here because it was so cheap, and now it's arguably the most rapidly gentrified part of New York City," Moby told the <em>Post</em>. Given the area's average sales price, his apartment would probably sell for at least 15 times what the beats-master paid for it, if not more considering the roof terrace and celebrity cach&eacute;.</p>
<p>That he hasn't already cashed in is somewhat surprising, given this downtown dean's penchant for property. He has bought and sold a number of apartments across the city over the years, including <a href="/2008/real-estate/what-gas-texas-mogul-streams-4-3-m-moby-and-pals-stuy-square-spread">a Stuyvesant Square spread</a> and <a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2007/08/20/central_park_west_1_moby_shills_for_his_penthouse.php">a sprawling duplex</a> <a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/06/15/mobys_old_upper_west_side_castle_is_a_royal_pain.php">at the El Dorado</a>. (Moby uptown? <a href="/2007/here-he-now-going-upper-west-side-moby-musician-has-moved">The horror</a>!)</p>
<p>This spread no doubt holds a sentimental value beyond money, as Moby has produced many of his albums here, including 1999's <em>Play</em>, still the bestselling dance album of all time. He has just finished work on his latest: "It's all made with old drum machines and old synthesizers, so it has kind of a broken-down quality to it." Kind of like the apartment, which was fitted out by the artist's architect friend <a href="http://www.durriedesignbuild.com/about/">Nick Durrie</a> with wood beams and skylights.</p>
<p>Moby said he misses the days when he could walk out his door and bump into the Beastie Boys or Iggy Pop on the street, though it was only a few years ago that he stopped living wild style. Until Moby gave up drinking for David Lynch-style transcendental meditation, he used to hang at the Village's still notorious Mars Bar, where he frequently invited everyone there back to his apartment. He would find people smoking crack in the bathroom, and, at least once, when Moby was looking for a pancake fix, he discovered his skillet had been used to cook up some Special K.</p>
<p>"Back when I drank, I didn't have the best judgment in the world," Moby said.</p>
<p><strong><a href="mailto:mchaban@observer.com">mchaban [at] observer.com</a> </strong>|<strong> <a href="http://twitter.com/MC_NYO">@mc_nyo</a></strong></p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/moby_smiles.jpg?w=249&h=300" />The <em>Post </em><a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/realestate/residential/moby_digs_iCcuJrvxXBkVcgLgKEdgyJ">dropped by</a> Moby's apartment recently, where he showed the tab around his 1,200-square-foot loft in a former Civil War prison. The eletronica king moved in back in 1996, according to city records, when the area was just a no-man's-land north of Little Italy, yet to be rebranded by bohos and brokers as Nolita.&nbsp;</p>
<p>He paid a now jaw-dropping $150,000 for the condo. "The irony is that originally I moved here because it was so cheap, and now it's arguably the most rapidly gentrified part of New York City," Moby told the <em>Post</em>. Given the area's average sales price, his apartment would probably sell for at least 15 times what the beats-master paid for it, if not more considering the roof terrace and celebrity cach&eacute;.</p>
<p>That he hasn't already cashed in is somewhat surprising, given this downtown dean's penchant for property. He has bought and sold a number of apartments across the city over the years, including <a href="/2008/real-estate/what-gas-texas-mogul-streams-4-3-m-moby-and-pals-stuy-square-spread">a Stuyvesant Square spread</a> and <a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2007/08/20/central_park_west_1_moby_shills_for_his_penthouse.php">a sprawling duplex</a> <a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/06/15/mobys_old_upper_west_side_castle_is_a_royal_pain.php">at the El Dorado</a>. (Moby uptown? <a href="/2007/here-he-now-going-upper-west-side-moby-musician-has-moved">The horror</a>!)</p>
<p>This spread no doubt holds a sentimental value beyond money, as Moby has produced many of his albums here, including 1999's <em>Play</em>, still the bestselling dance album of all time. He has just finished work on his latest: "It's all made with old drum machines and old synthesizers, so it has kind of a broken-down quality to it." Kind of like the apartment, which was fitted out by the artist's architect friend <a href="http://www.durriedesignbuild.com/about/">Nick Durrie</a> with wood beams and skylights.</p>
<p>Moby said he misses the days when he could walk out his door and bump into the Beastie Boys or Iggy Pop on the street, though it was only a few years ago that he stopped living wild style. Until Moby gave up drinking for David Lynch-style transcendental meditation, he used to hang at the Village's still notorious Mars Bar, where he frequently invited everyone there back to his apartment. He would find people smoking crack in the bathroom, and, at least once, when Moby was looking for a pancake fix, he discovered his skillet had been used to cook up some Special K.</p>
<p>"Back when I drank, I didn't have the best judgment in the world," Moby said.</p>
<p><strong><a href="mailto:mchaban@observer.com">mchaban [at] observer.com</a> </strong>|<strong> <a href="http://twitter.com/MC_NYO">@mc_nyo</a></strong></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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			<media:title type="html">jhanasobserver</media:title>
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		<title>Why Georgina Bloomberg Stays Out of Politics, and Fabiola Beracasa and Moby&#8217;s Best Dog Stories, at the Humane Society Gala</title>

		<comments>http://observer.com/2010/09/why-georgina-bloomberg-stays-out-of-politics-and-fabiola-beracasa-and-mobys-best-dog-stories-at-the-humane-society-gala/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:30:39 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2010/09/why-georgina-bloomberg-stays-out-of-politics-and-fabiola-beracasa-and-mobys-best-dog-stories-at-the-humane-society-gala/</link>
			<dc:creator>Alexandria Symonds</dc:creator>
				
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.observer.com/2010/09/why-georgina-bloomberg-stays-out-of-politics-and-fabiola-beracasa-and-mobys-best-dog-stories-at-the-humane-society-gala/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/georginabloombergamanda-hearstbethostroskysterndylanlauren.jpg?w=300&h=199" />The Humane Society is not a hypocritical organization -- and so the cuisine served at its benefit gala Wednesday night was, fittingly, vegan. (Munching on seitan chops, <em>The Observer</em> barely missed the meat and cream.) The event packed 525 animal lovers, including <strong>Topper Mortimer</strong>, <strong>Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia</strong>, <strong>Hunt Slonem</strong>, <strong>Sharon Bush</strong>, and co-chairs <strong>Amanda Hearst</strong> and <strong>Anne Hearst McInerney</strong>, into the Pierre's Grand Ballroom and raised over over one million dollars to stop the operation of puppy mills.</p>
<p>When we happened upon the Mayor's youngest daughter, 27-year-old <strong>Georgina Bloomberg</strong>, we congratulated her on another formidable equestrian season -- Ms. Bloomberg took home $30,000 last month after winning the Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix in Kentucky. Did she have any time to follow the midterm elections between horse shows?</p>
<p>"I follow it as much as I have to, but I tend to stay out of politics as much as I possibly can," Ms. Bloomberg said. "I think as a politician's daughter, I have more of a sensitive side to it, and I sympathize a little bit more with them as people, not politicians. And it's hard to kind of watch that and see the negative ads, and things like that -- I don't just see the politicians, I see their families, and I see the way it affects their kids or their wives." Sounds reasonable to us!</p>
<p>In the spirit of the cause, multiple notables came prepped with their best doggie tales. American Ballet Theater principal <strong>Marcelo Gomes</strong>, who took the stage later in the evening with his dachshund, Lua, told us a slightly harrowing one: "I once pulled on my dog's tail really, really hard, and it broke. Well, it fractured," he said, which didn't seem much in keeping with the night's program. How long ago did this happen? "I was very, very young. I didn't know my strength at that moment. But it healed, thank God, and we're all very happy," Mr. Gomes said. "I was crying for about, like, a month or so." Thank goodness he's channeling his strength more productively these days.</p>
<p>Socialite and <em>Interview</em> magazine contributor <strong>Fabiola Beracasa</strong> currently owns three "death-row" dogs, whom she rescued from being euthanized at the eleventh hour. She promised to tell us a lighthearted anecdote about one in particular, Savannah, but it started out on a rather sobering note: "His temperament is, he's just the nicest dog in the world. And he had been shot in the mouth," she explained, then insisted, "This is a funny story!" And it was, eventually! Apparently Savannah needed to have a metal fixture put into his jaw for a few months to stabilize it while it healed. "So I'm walking down the street with my dog Savannah, who looks like Lady Gaga, because he's got this thing, right?" Ms. Beracasa continued.</p>
<p>"And I run into <strong>Terry Richardson</strong>, who I know... and he's like, 'Do you mind if I take a picture of your crazy Lady Gaga dog?' and I said sure. And then I'm flipping through French <em>Vogue</em> a few months later, and there's my crazy Lady Gaga dog, in French <em>Vogue</em>!" Ms. Beracasa laughed. "I told you it was worth it. So I run into Terry and I'm like, 'So listen. I've been trying to get into French <em>Vogue</em> my whole life!'"</p>
<p>French <em>Vogue</em>, listen up: it must be noted that Ms. Beracasa looked stunning in a knockout silver-spangled Valentino minidress with a bolero blazer covering her shoulders. "It's like a really strapless dress, and I believe in only showing one body part at once, at a time, you know?" Ms. Beracasa said. "A long sleeve, a short skirt, or vice versa. You know who taught me that? <strong>Margherita Missoni</strong>'s a really good friend of mine, and her grandmother told her that." (Margherita's grandmother is <strong>Rosita Missoni</strong>, who co-founded the eponymous clothing line in the 1950s with her husband, <strong>Vittorio</strong>. We'd take her sartorial advice, too.)</p>
<p>The musician and committed animal-rights activist <strong>Moby</strong>, who emceed the event, insisted he had the best dog story of all. "When I was about ten years old, I was walking by my town dump in Darien, Connecticut... And I heard a little mew. And I looked in a box and in this box were five dead kittens who were about ten days old, and one barely-alive kitten," Moby explained. "So I picked up this barely-alive kitten, eyes closed, just mewing, and I ran home. My mom and I took it to the vet, and the vet said, 'Look, don't get attached to this cat, because he's very young, he's very sick, he won't survive.' And so we took him home, prepared for the cat to die. And our dachshund, George, became the mother to the cat and nursed the cat back to health... Where literally like, the cat would pee and poo all over itself, George would clean it up."</p>
<p>"So George became the cat's mom, and the cat lived to be 19 years old," he finished triumphantly. <em>Awww</em>.</p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/georginabloombergamanda-hearstbethostroskysterndylanlauren.jpg?w=300&h=199" />The Humane Society is not a hypocritical organization -- and so the cuisine served at its benefit gala Wednesday night was, fittingly, vegan. (Munching on seitan chops, <em>The Observer</em> barely missed the meat and cream.) The event packed 525 animal lovers, including <strong>Topper Mortimer</strong>, <strong>Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia</strong>, <strong>Hunt Slonem</strong>, <strong>Sharon Bush</strong>, and co-chairs <strong>Amanda Hearst</strong> and <strong>Anne Hearst McInerney</strong>, into the Pierre's Grand Ballroom and raised over over one million dollars to stop the operation of puppy mills.</p>
<p>When we happened upon the Mayor's youngest daughter, 27-year-old <strong>Georgina Bloomberg</strong>, we congratulated her on another formidable equestrian season -- Ms. Bloomberg took home $30,000 last month after winning the Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix in Kentucky. Did she have any time to follow the midterm elections between horse shows?</p>
<p>"I follow it as much as I have to, but I tend to stay out of politics as much as I possibly can," Ms. Bloomberg said. "I think as a politician's daughter, I have more of a sensitive side to it, and I sympathize a little bit more with them as people, not politicians. And it's hard to kind of watch that and see the negative ads, and things like that -- I don't just see the politicians, I see their families, and I see the way it affects their kids or their wives." Sounds reasonable to us!</p>
<p>In the spirit of the cause, multiple notables came prepped with their best doggie tales. American Ballet Theater principal <strong>Marcelo Gomes</strong>, who took the stage later in the evening with his dachshund, Lua, told us a slightly harrowing one: "I once pulled on my dog's tail really, really hard, and it broke. Well, it fractured," he said, which didn't seem much in keeping with the night's program. How long ago did this happen? "I was very, very young. I didn't know my strength at that moment. But it healed, thank God, and we're all very happy," Mr. Gomes said. "I was crying for about, like, a month or so." Thank goodness he's channeling his strength more productively these days.</p>
<p>Socialite and <em>Interview</em> magazine contributor <strong>Fabiola Beracasa</strong> currently owns three "death-row" dogs, whom she rescued from being euthanized at the eleventh hour. She promised to tell us a lighthearted anecdote about one in particular, Savannah, but it started out on a rather sobering note: "His temperament is, he's just the nicest dog in the world. And he had been shot in the mouth," she explained, then insisted, "This is a funny story!" And it was, eventually! Apparently Savannah needed to have a metal fixture put into his jaw for a few months to stabilize it while it healed. "So I'm walking down the street with my dog Savannah, who looks like Lady Gaga, because he's got this thing, right?" Ms. Beracasa continued.</p>
<p>"And I run into <strong>Terry Richardson</strong>, who I know... and he's like, 'Do you mind if I take a picture of your crazy Lady Gaga dog?' and I said sure. And then I'm flipping through French <em>Vogue</em> a few months later, and there's my crazy Lady Gaga dog, in French <em>Vogue</em>!" Ms. Beracasa laughed. "I told you it was worth it. So I run into Terry and I'm like, 'So listen. I've been trying to get into French <em>Vogue</em> my whole life!'"</p>
<p>French <em>Vogue</em>, listen up: it must be noted that Ms. Beracasa looked stunning in a knockout silver-spangled Valentino minidress with a bolero blazer covering her shoulders. "It's like a really strapless dress, and I believe in only showing one body part at once, at a time, you know?" Ms. Beracasa said. "A long sleeve, a short skirt, or vice versa. You know who taught me that? <strong>Margherita Missoni</strong>'s a really good friend of mine, and her grandmother told her that." (Margherita's grandmother is <strong>Rosita Missoni</strong>, who co-founded the eponymous clothing line in the 1950s with her husband, <strong>Vittorio</strong>. We'd take her sartorial advice, too.)</p>
<p>The musician and committed animal-rights activist <strong>Moby</strong>, who emceed the event, insisted he had the best dog story of all. "When I was about ten years old, I was walking by my town dump in Darien, Connecticut... And I heard a little mew. And I looked in a box and in this box were five dead kittens who were about ten days old, and one barely-alive kitten," Moby explained. "So I picked up this barely-alive kitten, eyes closed, just mewing, and I ran home. My mom and I took it to the vet, and the vet said, 'Look, don't get attached to this cat, because he's very young, he's very sick, he won't survive.' And so we took him home, prepared for the cat to die. And our dachshund, George, became the mother to the cat and nursed the cat back to health... Where literally like, the cat would pee and poo all over itself, George would clean it up."</p>
<p>"So George became the cat's mom, and the cat lived to be 19 years old," he finished triumphantly. <em>Awww</em>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Sloane Crosley: Princess of Power, or at Least Publishing Parties</title>

		<comments>http://observer.com/2010/06/sloane-crosley-princess-of-power-or-at-least-publishing-parties/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:10:40 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2010/06/sloane-crosley-princess-of-power-or-at-least-publishing-parties/</link>
			<dc:creator>Molly Fischer</dc:creator>
				
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.observer.com/2010/06/sloane-crosley-princess-of-power-or-at-least-publishing-parties/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/sloane-crosley_1.jpg?w=192&h=300" />Sloane Crosley celebrated her second book--<em>How Did You Get This Number</em>, from Riverhead--with a party last night at the Spotted Pig.</p>
<p>She wore a fetching strapless dress, carried a flashdrive of music from a friend (which she threatened to use as a switchblade, or maybe a Taser), and urged guests to try the deviled eggs distributed throughout the room (like Easter eggs, sort of, she said).</p>
<p>When Moby arrived, he greeted her like an old pal. David Schwimmer also put in an appearance: He was overheard outside the party saying that he had only come to retrieve his girlfriend, which he swiftly did. He wore a hat pulled low, presumably to shield partygoers from the glare of his celebrity.</p>
<p>In general, though, the boldfaced names skewed more internet-famous than <em>I Love the Nineties</em>. Lockhart Steele (Curbed), Alex Balk (The Awl), and Jessica Coen (Jezebel) all came. As <em>The Observer</em> caught up with Crosley, ur-Gawker Elizabeth Spiers sat across the room, threatening to share embarrassing stories.</p>
<p>"Is this a free book party?" asked Steele, prompting a half-serious dispute with Coen over the ethics of getting friends' stuff for free. Shouldn't you be willing to support their efforts, Coen wanted to know? Steele said he just wanted a copy with Crosley's signature and her number. Crosley liked this idea: for the last book, she'd drawn cakes when giving autographs, but the recipients tended to think the pictures were little houses or something.</p>
<p>Drawing is not among her talents, but throwing parties is no problem. The <a href="/2010/daily-transom/sloane-crosley-continues-two-front-conquest-publishing-world" target="_blank">Vintage/Anchor publicist </a>assessed the gathering with a practiced eye.</p>
<p>"I underplayed the ratio a little," she said, explaining the bustling-but-not-oppressive crowd on the restaurant's second floor. If it had been someone else's party, she'd have invited 30 percent more people than she expected to actually come. This, she noted, was the same factor by which one should overstate Bookscan figures.</p>
<p>How did it feel to be promoting her sophomore collection?</p>
<p>"You don't take lots of pictures of the second baby," said Crosley.</p>
<p>But she swore she did not mean this in a negative way! She wasn't jaded or anything.&nbsp; Besides, there are advantages to having a bestselling debut (<em>I Was Told There'd Be Cake</em>) under one's belt. <em>The Times</em>, which had "ignored" her first book, paired this one with Emily Gould's for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/books/review/Russo-t.html?ref=review" target="_blank">a review in last Sunday's paper</a>. And while <a href="http://www.theawl.com/2010/06/sloane-crosley-and-emily-gould-so-much-in-common" target="_blank">others objected</a> to the pairing, Crosley claimed not to mind--it wasn't like the paper had panned one and loved the other, after all.</p>
<p>Her only reservation was the large, glinting cuff bracelet she wore to the photo shoot.</p>
<p>"I look like I'm She-Ra, Princess of Power," Crosley said.</p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/sloane-crosley_1.jpg?w=192&h=300" />Sloane Crosley celebrated her second book--<em>How Did You Get This Number</em>, from Riverhead--with a party last night at the Spotted Pig.</p>
<p>She wore a fetching strapless dress, carried a flashdrive of music from a friend (which she threatened to use as a switchblade, or maybe a Taser), and urged guests to try the deviled eggs distributed throughout the room (like Easter eggs, sort of, she said).</p>
<p>When Moby arrived, he greeted her like an old pal. David Schwimmer also put in an appearance: He was overheard outside the party saying that he had only come to retrieve his girlfriend, which he swiftly did. He wore a hat pulled low, presumably to shield partygoers from the glare of his celebrity.</p>
<p>In general, though, the boldfaced names skewed more internet-famous than <em>I Love the Nineties</em>. Lockhart Steele (Curbed), Alex Balk (The Awl), and Jessica Coen (Jezebel) all came. As <em>The Observer</em> caught up with Crosley, ur-Gawker Elizabeth Spiers sat across the room, threatening to share embarrassing stories.</p>
<p>"Is this a free book party?" asked Steele, prompting a half-serious dispute with Coen over the ethics of getting friends' stuff for free. Shouldn't you be willing to support their efforts, Coen wanted to know? Steele said he just wanted a copy with Crosley's signature and her number. Crosley liked this idea: for the last book, she'd drawn cakes when giving autographs, but the recipients tended to think the pictures were little houses or something.</p>
<p>Drawing is not among her talents, but throwing parties is no problem. The <a href="/2010/daily-transom/sloane-crosley-continues-two-front-conquest-publishing-world" target="_blank">Vintage/Anchor publicist </a>assessed the gathering with a practiced eye.</p>
<p>"I underplayed the ratio a little," she said, explaining the bustling-but-not-oppressive crowd on the restaurant's second floor. If it had been someone else's party, she'd have invited 30 percent more people than she expected to actually come. This, she noted, was the same factor by which one should overstate Bookscan figures.</p>
<p>How did it feel to be promoting her sophomore collection?</p>
<p>"You don't take lots of pictures of the second baby," said Crosley.</p>
<p>But she swore she did not mean this in a negative way! She wasn't jaded or anything.&nbsp; Besides, there are advantages to having a bestselling debut (<em>I Was Told There'd Be Cake</em>) under one's belt. <em>The Times</em>, which had "ignored" her first book, paired this one with Emily Gould's for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/books/review/Russo-t.html?ref=review" target="_blank">a review in last Sunday's paper</a>. And while <a href="http://www.theawl.com/2010/06/sloane-crosley-and-emily-gould-so-much-in-common" target="_blank">others objected</a> to the pairing, Crosley claimed not to mind--it wasn't like the paper had panned one and loved the other, after all.</p>
<p>Her only reservation was the large, glinting cuff bracelet she wore to the photo shoot.</p>
<p>"I look like I'm She-Ra, Princess of Power," Crosley said.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Moby Wants to Go  Back to the Melody</title>

		<comments>http://observer.com/2009/12/moby-wants-to-go-back-to-the-melody/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:08:18 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2009/12/moby-wants-to-go-back-to-the-melody/</link>
			<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.observer.com/2009/12/moby-wants-to-go-back-to-the-melody/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/moby-1-getty.jpg?w=300&h=200" />For a while there, it seemed as though every time you turned on a Toyota commercial or ate vegan food downtown, you couldn&rsquo;t help but hear an atmospheric synthesizer and processed vocals telling you &ldquo;we rock the party&rdquo; or whatever. This was thanks to Moby. Love him or hate him, the bespectacled, very bald musician made techno mainstream. And then he went from being unlikely superstar, gallivanting in videos with Gwen Stefani and her ilk, to favored pet of Upper East Side socialites.</p>
<p class="TEXT">It was kind of confusing. What was this unassuming electronic specialist doing running around to parties with models and fashion designers attached to his arm? Surely it wasn&rsquo;t just because they dug his 1999 breakthrough, <em>Play</em> (which sold 10 million copies, making it the best-selling electronic album of all time)? No, Moby represented something to them: Someone famous, accessible but untacky. He was a novelty.</p>
<p class="TEXT">&ldquo;I had all of these strange opportunities,&rdquo; Moby told <em>The Observer </em>in his home recording studio on the border of Little Italy recently, &ldquo;to date glamorous people that I would have never been able to date before; to go to fantastic celebrity parties that I&rsquo;d never been invited to before.&rdquo; He removed his thick plastic glasses and sat at his kitchen table, binge-drinking tea, his signature beverage (the Lower East Side vegan restaurant he founded, Teany, was destroyed by fire last June). &ldquo;I felt like a kid in a candy store, grabbing everything I could.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="TEXT">With his new album, <em>Wait for Me</em>, Moby asserts definitively that those days are over. The huge bombast of <em>Play</em> has faded out, leaving dark, slow, quiet music in its wake. If there&rsquo;s a pop song to be found on the album, it&rsquo;s buried underneath layers of melancholy. Moby recorded all of it in his private studio, and it is his way of bowing out of the celebrity world.</p>
<p class="TEXT">&ldquo;I was making a record at home for other people to listen to at home,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p class="TEXT">Inside the apartment, reminders of his supernova flash of stardom are everywhere: Gold and platinum records hung on the wall; a mantel was lined with MTV Video Music awards; stacks of old Casio synthesizers and analog drum machines lay across the floor. Moby himself was wearing wrinkled cargo pants and a white T-shirt. He&rsquo;s not tall, and not too short; his shiny head contains friendly eyes that smile at you, even though his mouth never once curls up into a grin. He doesn&rsquo;t look like a rock star.</p>
<p class="TEXT">&ldquo;People assume that somehow fame and wealth will keep mortality at bay,&rdquo; he said, scooting over to the sink to pour another cup of tea. &ldquo;I often think of Nirvana. If Nirvana had remained a small, underground punk rock band, Kurt Cobain would still be alive. And he&rsquo;d probably be living in Seattle, getting kind of fat and balding, be relatively happy and producing records for other people.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="TEXT">But Kurt Cobain was shooting heroin long before he was famous, <em>The Observer</em> reminded Moby.</p>
<p class="TEXT">Still! &ldquo;The more fame I had, the less happiness I had,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;For me, there had to be that conscious moving away from the institutions of fame.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="TEXT">It took a while. The artist&rsquo;s last two albums, 2005&rsquo;s <em>Hotel</em> and 2008&rsquo;s <em>Last Night</em>, were filled with club-ready dreck. Moby was going through the motions and didn&rsquo;t seem to have any reservations about his new role as Page Six fodder.</p>
<p class="TEXT">&ldquo;I wanted to make records that would sustain the life I was living,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p class="TEXT">It was David Lynch, of all people, that inspired Moby to rethink his new life as celebrity candy. That&rsquo;s right: The eccentric, pompadour-sporting director of <em>Eraserhead</em> is responsible for stirring this musician to record one of the most depressing albums of the decad,e in a bold attempt to drop out of the fame game. In October 2007, Moby heard Mr. Lynch speak about the creative process at the British Academy for Film and Television Arts. Mr. Lynch&rsquo;s earnest presentation prompted an epiphany, Moby said: Ditch the models for the keyboards and get back to making music. So don&rsquo;t expect to see him at any red-carpet events any time soon, bucko.</p>
<p class="TEXT">&ldquo;I&rsquo;m 44 years old. If I&rsquo;m trying to be a pop star, that&rsquo;s just tragic,&rdquo; Moby said, and he almost smiled. <em>Almost</em>.</p>
<p class="TAGLINE-BylineEmail"><em>mmiller@observer.com</em></p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/moby-1-getty.jpg?w=300&h=200" />For a while there, it seemed as though every time you turned on a Toyota commercial or ate vegan food downtown, you couldn&rsquo;t help but hear an atmospheric synthesizer and processed vocals telling you &ldquo;we rock the party&rdquo; or whatever. This was thanks to Moby. Love him or hate him, the bespectacled, very bald musician made techno mainstream. And then he went from being unlikely superstar, gallivanting in videos with Gwen Stefani and her ilk, to favored pet of Upper East Side socialites.</p>
<p class="TEXT">It was kind of confusing. What was this unassuming electronic specialist doing running around to parties with models and fashion designers attached to his arm? Surely it wasn&rsquo;t just because they dug his 1999 breakthrough, <em>Play</em> (which sold 10 million copies, making it the best-selling electronic album of all time)? No, Moby represented something to them: Someone famous, accessible but untacky. He was a novelty.</p>
<p class="TEXT">&ldquo;I had all of these strange opportunities,&rdquo; Moby told <em>The Observer </em>in his home recording studio on the border of Little Italy recently, &ldquo;to date glamorous people that I would have never been able to date before; to go to fantastic celebrity parties that I&rsquo;d never been invited to before.&rdquo; He removed his thick plastic glasses and sat at his kitchen table, binge-drinking tea, his signature beverage (the Lower East Side vegan restaurant he founded, Teany, was destroyed by fire last June). &ldquo;I felt like a kid in a candy store, grabbing everything I could.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="TEXT">With his new album, <em>Wait for Me</em>, Moby asserts definitively that those days are over. The huge bombast of <em>Play</em> has faded out, leaving dark, slow, quiet music in its wake. If there&rsquo;s a pop song to be found on the album, it&rsquo;s buried underneath layers of melancholy. Moby recorded all of it in his private studio, and it is his way of bowing out of the celebrity world.</p>
<p class="TEXT">&ldquo;I was making a record at home for other people to listen to at home,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p class="TEXT">Inside the apartment, reminders of his supernova flash of stardom are everywhere: Gold and platinum records hung on the wall; a mantel was lined with MTV Video Music awards; stacks of old Casio synthesizers and analog drum machines lay across the floor. Moby himself was wearing wrinkled cargo pants and a white T-shirt. He&rsquo;s not tall, and not too short; his shiny head contains friendly eyes that smile at you, even though his mouth never once curls up into a grin. He doesn&rsquo;t look like a rock star.</p>
<p class="TEXT">&ldquo;People assume that somehow fame and wealth will keep mortality at bay,&rdquo; he said, scooting over to the sink to pour another cup of tea. &ldquo;I often think of Nirvana. If Nirvana had remained a small, underground punk rock band, Kurt Cobain would still be alive. And he&rsquo;d probably be living in Seattle, getting kind of fat and balding, be relatively happy and producing records for other people.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="TEXT">But Kurt Cobain was shooting heroin long before he was famous, <em>The Observer</em> reminded Moby.</p>
<p class="TEXT">Still! &ldquo;The more fame I had, the less happiness I had,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;For me, there had to be that conscious moving away from the institutions of fame.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="TEXT">It took a while. The artist&rsquo;s last two albums, 2005&rsquo;s <em>Hotel</em> and 2008&rsquo;s <em>Last Night</em>, were filled with club-ready dreck. Moby was going through the motions and didn&rsquo;t seem to have any reservations about his new role as Page Six fodder.</p>
<p class="TEXT">&ldquo;I wanted to make records that would sustain the life I was living,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p class="TEXT">It was David Lynch, of all people, that inspired Moby to rethink his new life as celebrity candy. That&rsquo;s right: The eccentric, pompadour-sporting director of <em>Eraserhead</em> is responsible for stirring this musician to record one of the most depressing albums of the decad,e in a bold attempt to drop out of the fame game. In October 2007, Moby heard Mr. Lynch speak about the creative process at the British Academy for Film and Television Arts. Mr. Lynch&rsquo;s earnest presentation prompted an epiphany, Moby said: Ditch the models for the keyboards and get back to making music. So don&rsquo;t expect to see him at any red-carpet events any time soon, bucko.</p>
<p class="TEXT">&ldquo;I&rsquo;m 44 years old. If I&rsquo;m trying to be a pop star, that&rsquo;s just tragic,&rdquo; Moby said, and he almost smiled. <em>Almost</em>.</p>
<p class="TAGLINE-BylineEmail"><em>mmiller@observer.com</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>See Where Celebs Shop, Eat, Etc. Thanks To Google</title>

		<comments>http://observer.com/2009/07/see-where-celebs-shop-eat-etc-thanks-to-google/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:01:49 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2009/07/see-where-celebs-shop-eat-etc-thanks-to-google/</link>
			<dc:creator>Gillian Reagan</dc:creator>
				
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		<description><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/dian-von-f_0.jpg?w=300&h=199" />Want to see a map that tells you exactly where Diane von Furstenberg likes to shop (Moss, for home pieces) and pick up flowers (Miho Kosuda Ltd)? Or where Danny Meyer goes for some Japanese (Yakitori Torys)? Or where Moby goes antique shopping (Billy's Antiques) and claims to grab a beer (Mars Bar ... really?)?</p>
<p>Today, Google has launched <a href="http://www.google.com/help/maps/favoriteplaces/">Favorite Places</a>, a Google Maps feature that allows you to find celebrities' favorite spots, whether via the Web or your phone. Chefs like Danny Meyer and Masaharu Morimoto name their favorite spots to grab a bite; designers Cynthia Rowley and Isaac Mizrahi give up their most treasured boutiques. Little icons dot the maps and users can click on them for more information, while related photos of the locations line the bottom of the screen. Google users with a log-in can also make their own maps of their favorite spots with the <a href="http://maps.google.com">My Maps</a> feature to share with the rest of the Internet.</p>
<p>Google's new Favorite Places feature seems to be part of a recent trend in New York to blend technology, celebrities and sightseeing&mdash;like the Central Park Conservancy's <a href="http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageNavigator/homepage_audio">celebrity-guided park tours</a> by cell phone, or the <a href="http://www.newyorkinthemovies.com/">various</a> <a href="http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/multimedia/?sl=google_map">maps</a> noting film locations. Google's Favorite Places was made in partnership with NYC &amp; Company, the city's marketing and tourism organization, so some of the sites are "sponsored" by the group. It's kind of like an extension of their <a href="http://www.nycgo.com/?event=view.jatlhome">"Ask the Locals" section on NYCGo.com</a>.</p>
<p>But the maps aren't just available in New York&mdash;there are Favorite Places features for cities from San Francisco to Boston and overseas in London, Tokyo, Madrid, Paris and beyond. Folks like cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Al Gore offer insights into their hometowns, too.</p>
<p>In the release, Google mentioned that local businesses can register more information, photos, and videos for free using the <a href="http://www.google.com/local/add/">Google Maps Local Business Center</a>, as part of their <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/local-business-center-dashboard-opens.html">Local Business Center dashboard.</a> Hmm, looks a bit like a <a href="http://www.citysearch.com/">CitySearch</a>/<a href="http://www.yelp.com">Yelp</a> mashup!</p>
<p>As far as Moby's love of Mars Bar, we think he's just trying to scare the tourists away by leading them to a less desirable location. But here's his excuse, according to a statement: "[T]he last remaining dive bar in the lower east side. [O]k, there are actually a  bunch of dive bars in the lower east side, but mars bar has been around forever  and it's eternally awful and fantastic." Fantastically awful, at least!</p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/dian-von-f_0.jpg?w=300&h=199" />Want to see a map that tells you exactly where Diane von Furstenberg likes to shop (Moss, for home pieces) and pick up flowers (Miho Kosuda Ltd)? Or where Danny Meyer goes for some Japanese (Yakitori Torys)? Or where Moby goes antique shopping (Billy's Antiques) and claims to grab a beer (Mars Bar ... really?)?</p>
<p>Today, Google has launched <a href="http://www.google.com/help/maps/favoriteplaces/">Favorite Places</a>, a Google Maps feature that allows you to find celebrities' favorite spots, whether via the Web or your phone. Chefs like Danny Meyer and Masaharu Morimoto name their favorite spots to grab a bite; designers Cynthia Rowley and Isaac Mizrahi give up their most treasured boutiques. Little icons dot the maps and users can click on them for more information, while related photos of the locations line the bottom of the screen. Google users with a log-in can also make their own maps of their favorite spots with the <a href="http://maps.google.com">My Maps</a> feature to share with the rest of the Internet.</p>
<p>Google's new Favorite Places feature seems to be part of a recent trend in New York to blend technology, celebrities and sightseeing&mdash;like the Central Park Conservancy's <a href="http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageNavigator/homepage_audio">celebrity-guided park tours</a> by cell phone, or the <a href="http://www.newyorkinthemovies.com/">various</a> <a href="http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/seinfeld/multimedia/?sl=google_map">maps</a> noting film locations. Google's Favorite Places was made in partnership with NYC &amp; Company, the city's marketing and tourism organization, so some of the sites are "sponsored" by the group. It's kind of like an extension of their <a href="http://www.nycgo.com/?event=view.jatlhome">"Ask the Locals" section on NYCGo.com</a>.</p>
<p>But the maps aren't just available in New York&mdash;there are Favorite Places features for cities from San Francisco to Boston and overseas in London, Tokyo, Madrid, Paris and beyond. Folks like cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Al Gore offer insights into their hometowns, too.</p>
<p>In the release, Google mentioned that local businesses can register more information, photos, and videos for free using the <a href="http://www.google.com/local/add/">Google Maps Local Business Center</a>, as part of their <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/local-business-center-dashboard-opens.html">Local Business Center dashboard.</a> Hmm, looks a bit like a <a href="http://www.citysearch.com/">CitySearch</a>/<a href="http://www.yelp.com">Yelp</a> mashup!</p>
<p>As far as Moby's love of Mars Bar, we think he's just trying to scare the tourists away by leading them to a less desirable location. But here's his excuse, according to a statement: "[T]he last remaining dive bar in the lower east side. [O]k, there are actually a  bunch of dive bars in the lower east side, but mars bar has been around forever  and it's eternally awful and fantastic." Fantastically awful, at least!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Ohmmm! Even Lazy Moby Turns Out For Star-Studded Transcendental Meditation Benefit</title>

		<comments>http://observer.com/2009/04/ohmmm-even-lazy-moby-turns-out-for-starstudded-transcendental-meditation-benefit/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2009/04/ohmmm-even-lazy-moby-turns-out-for-starstudded-transcendental-meditation-benefit/</link>
			<dc:creator>Joe Pompeo</dc:creator>
				
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		<description><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/tm.jpg?w=300&h=199" /><strong>David Lynch</strong> likes to swim in &ldquo;an ocean of consciousness,&rdquo; which he was describing to a sold-out crowd at Radio City Music Hall on the evening of Saturday, April 4.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It is an ocean of infinite intelligence. Creativity. Happiness known as bliss. Infinite universal love. Energy. Dynamic peace,&rdquo; mused the 63-year-old filmmaker, dressed in a black suit and a yellow tie that was brighter than his signature silver pompadour, at the beginning of a star-studded concert he had organized at the famed venue. &ldquo;When a human being, any human being, dives within and experiences this ocean, swims in this ocean, life gets better and better and better.&rdquo;</p>
<p><em>Ohmmm</em>!</p>
<p>He was referring to Transcendental Meditation, also known as <a href="http://www.tm.org/">TM</a>, the trademarked meditation technique developed in the 1960s by Indian spiritual guru <strong>Maharishi Mahesh Yogi</strong>, and which Mr. Lynch, himself a meditator of 35 years, plans to teach to 1 million "at-risk youth" via his namesake foundation. The concert was a benefit for this initiative.</p>
<p>His co-host for the evening was <strong>Laura Dern</strong>, one of Mr. Lynch&rsquo;s favorite actresses, whose head-to-toe black ensemble accentuated her shiny blonde locks and bright red lipstick.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pure bliss to be on a film with you because it&rsquo;s boundary-less,&rdquo; said Ms. Dern (we&rsquo;re noticing a &ldquo;bliss&rdquo; theme here!), standing next to Mr. Lynch at stage right, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;m just curious if the boundary-less-ness that you bring to all of us comes from your connection to meditation.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You better believe it!&rdquo; he replied.</p>
<p>If <strong>Tom Cruise</strong> is the celebrity face of Scientology, and <strong>Madonna</strong> is the celebrity face of Kabbalah, Mr. Lynch has become that for TM, which has a less cultish, although not entirely uncontroversial, reputation. And as was evidenced by Saturday&rsquo;s concert--the highlight of which was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/arts/music/06mcca.html?ref=arts">a rare performance by surviving Beatles</a> <strong>Sir Paul McCartney</strong> and <strong>Ringo Starr</strong>--he is but one on a long list of bold-faced names that use or endorse the practice. <strong>Jennifer Aniston</strong>, <strong>Yoko Ono</strong>, <strong>John McEnroe</strong>, <strong>Martin Scorsese</strong>, <strong>Kyle MacLachlin</strong>, <strong>Michael J. Fox</strong>, <strong>Matthew Broderick</strong> and <strong>Jason Bateman</strong>, though not necessarily all meditators themselves, were among the attendees.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been meditating for 37 years,&rdquo; said <strong>Jerry Seinfeld</strong>, who made a surprise appearance midway through the concert, before launching into a series of jokes about bathroom stalls and taxis.</p>
<p>Soon afterward, fellow comedian and 38-year TM practitioner <strong>Howard Stern</strong> took the stage.</p>
<p>&ldquo;<strong>Mike Love</strong> of the legendary Beach Boys saw me backstage and he said to me, &lsquo;Howard, you prove that you do not have to be a pussy to meditate!&rsquo;&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>Other TM-ers to perform included <strong>Angelo Badalamente</strong> (to The Daily Transom&rsquo;s utter excitement, he opened the concert with a flawless recital of the <em>Twin Peaks</em> theme song), <strong>Ben Harper</strong> (did you know he was married to Ms. Dern?), <strong>Donovan</strong>, <strong>Moby</strong>, <strong>Betty Lavette</strong>, <strong>Sheryl Crow</strong> and <strong>Eddie Vedder</strong>, who was looking very 1992 with his unbuttoned flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, blue jeans, wavy shoulder-length hair and scruffy goatee. Hip Hop mogul and philanthropist <strong>Russell Simmons</strong> addressed the audience via a taped video message, but he had appeared in person the previous afternoon at a pre-concert press conference in Radio City&rsquo;s lobby.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I operate most days from my meditation,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It gives me the ability to function in a world that is full of stress.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The concept of TM as a celebrity cause isn&rsquo;t entirely new. In fact, The Beatles were largely responsible for importing TM to the West after studying under the Maharishi in 1968 at his ashram in Rishikesh, India. The technique involves repeating a mantra with one&rsquo;s eyes closed twice a day for 20 minutes.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was a great gift the Maharishi gave to us,&rdquo; said Mr. McCartney, standing next to Mr. Starr at the press conference, and looking quite hip for his age. &ldquo;It came at a time when we were looking for something to stabilize us toward the end of the crazy &lsquo;60s. And it is a lifelong gift. It&rsquo;s something you can call on at any time.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Of course, to describe TM as a &ldquo;gift&rdquo; in 2009 is somewhat misleading; it costs $2,000 for an adult, or $1,000 for a full-time student, to learn the technique&mdash;not exactly the most recession-friendly investment&mdash;hence the need to raise so much money so the kids can learn it for free. (The pricey Radio City benefit generated an estimated $3 million, according to The David Lynch Foundation.)</p>
<p>Perhaps that's why critics have accused the TM crowd of being a bit cultish. Even Moby, a more recent TM convert, couldn&rsquo;t resist making a wisecrack about it.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Growing up, anything associated with TM and hippies scared the shit out of me,&rdquo; he joked. &ldquo;I thought it involved ritual animal sacrifice and moving to some country and renouncing wealth and materialism and eating bugs.&rdquo;</p>
<p>But in the end, TM&rsquo;s &ldquo;simplicity&rdquo; won him over.</p>
<p>&ldquo;One of the things that makes TM so effective is that you don&rsquo;t really have to do all that much,&rdquo; he said,&nbsp; &ldquo;and as a profoundly lazy person, I appreciate that.&rdquo;</p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/tm.jpg?w=300&h=199" /><strong>David Lynch</strong> likes to swim in &ldquo;an ocean of consciousness,&rdquo; which he was describing to a sold-out crowd at Radio City Music Hall on the evening of Saturday, April 4.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It is an ocean of infinite intelligence. Creativity. Happiness known as bliss. Infinite universal love. Energy. Dynamic peace,&rdquo; mused the 63-year-old filmmaker, dressed in a black suit and a yellow tie that was brighter than his signature silver pompadour, at the beginning of a star-studded concert he had organized at the famed venue. &ldquo;When a human being, any human being, dives within and experiences this ocean, swims in this ocean, life gets better and better and better.&rdquo;</p>
<p><em>Ohmmm</em>!</p>
<p>He was referring to Transcendental Meditation, also known as <a href="http://www.tm.org/">TM</a>, the trademarked meditation technique developed in the 1960s by Indian spiritual guru <strong>Maharishi Mahesh Yogi</strong>, and which Mr. Lynch, himself a meditator of 35 years, plans to teach to 1 million "at-risk youth" via his namesake foundation. The concert was a benefit for this initiative.</p>
<p>His co-host for the evening was <strong>Laura Dern</strong>, one of Mr. Lynch&rsquo;s favorite actresses, whose head-to-toe black ensemble accentuated her shiny blonde locks and bright red lipstick.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pure bliss to be on a film with you because it&rsquo;s boundary-less,&rdquo; said Ms. Dern (we&rsquo;re noticing a &ldquo;bliss&rdquo; theme here!), standing next to Mr. Lynch at stage right, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;m just curious if the boundary-less-ness that you bring to all of us comes from your connection to meditation.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You better believe it!&rdquo; he replied.</p>
<p>If <strong>Tom Cruise</strong> is the celebrity face of Scientology, and <strong>Madonna</strong> is the celebrity face of Kabbalah, Mr. Lynch has become that for TM, which has a less cultish, although not entirely uncontroversial, reputation. And as was evidenced by Saturday&rsquo;s concert--the highlight of which was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/arts/music/06mcca.html?ref=arts">a rare performance by surviving Beatles</a> <strong>Sir Paul McCartney</strong> and <strong>Ringo Starr</strong>--he is but one on a long list of bold-faced names that use or endorse the practice. <strong>Jennifer Aniston</strong>, <strong>Yoko Ono</strong>, <strong>John McEnroe</strong>, <strong>Martin Scorsese</strong>, <strong>Kyle MacLachlin</strong>, <strong>Michael J. Fox</strong>, <strong>Matthew Broderick</strong> and <strong>Jason Bateman</strong>, though not necessarily all meditators themselves, were among the attendees.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been meditating for 37 years,&rdquo; said <strong>Jerry Seinfeld</strong>, who made a surprise appearance midway through the concert, before launching into a series of jokes about bathroom stalls and taxis.</p>
<p>Soon afterward, fellow comedian and 38-year TM practitioner <strong>Howard Stern</strong> took the stage.</p>
<p>&ldquo;<strong>Mike Love</strong> of the legendary Beach Boys saw me backstage and he said to me, &lsquo;Howard, you prove that you do not have to be a pussy to meditate!&rsquo;&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>Other TM-ers to perform included <strong>Angelo Badalamente</strong> (to The Daily Transom&rsquo;s utter excitement, he opened the concert with a flawless recital of the <em>Twin Peaks</em> theme song), <strong>Ben Harper</strong> (did you know he was married to Ms. Dern?), <strong>Donovan</strong>, <strong>Moby</strong>, <strong>Betty Lavette</strong>, <strong>Sheryl Crow</strong> and <strong>Eddie Vedder</strong>, who was looking very 1992 with his unbuttoned flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, blue jeans, wavy shoulder-length hair and scruffy goatee. Hip Hop mogul and philanthropist <strong>Russell Simmons</strong> addressed the audience via a taped video message, but he had appeared in person the previous afternoon at a pre-concert press conference in Radio City&rsquo;s lobby.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I operate most days from my meditation,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It gives me the ability to function in a world that is full of stress.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The concept of TM as a celebrity cause isn&rsquo;t entirely new. In fact, The Beatles were largely responsible for importing TM to the West after studying under the Maharishi in 1968 at his ashram in Rishikesh, India. The technique involves repeating a mantra with one&rsquo;s eyes closed twice a day for 20 minutes.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was a great gift the Maharishi gave to us,&rdquo; said Mr. McCartney, standing next to Mr. Starr at the press conference, and looking quite hip for his age. &ldquo;It came at a time when we were looking for something to stabilize us toward the end of the crazy &lsquo;60s. And it is a lifelong gift. It&rsquo;s something you can call on at any time.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Of course, to describe TM as a &ldquo;gift&rdquo; in 2009 is somewhat misleading; it costs $2,000 for an adult, or $1,000 for a full-time student, to learn the technique&mdash;not exactly the most recession-friendly investment&mdash;hence the need to raise so much money so the kids can learn it for free. (The pricey Radio City benefit generated an estimated $3 million, according to The David Lynch Foundation.)</p>
<p>Perhaps that's why critics have accused the TM crowd of being a bit cultish. Even Moby, a more recent TM convert, couldn&rsquo;t resist making a wisecrack about it.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Growing up, anything associated with TM and hippies scared the shit out of me,&rdquo; he joked. &ldquo;I thought it involved ritual animal sacrifice and moving to some country and renouncing wealth and materialism and eating bugs.&rdquo;</p>
<p>But in the end, TM&rsquo;s &ldquo;simplicity&rdquo; won him over.</p>
<p>&ldquo;One of the things that makes TM so effective is that you don&rsquo;t really have to do all that much,&rdquo; he said,&nbsp; &ldquo;and as a profoundly lazy person, I appreciate that.&rdquo;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Moby Eats Meat in Suck</title>

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		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:40:23 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2008/12/moby-eats-meat-in-isucki/</link>
			<dc:creator>John S.W. MacDonald</dc:creator>
				
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		<description><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/moby1.jpg?w=195&h=300" /><em>Suck</em> sounds like one of those films that end up being more fun to gossip about than to watch. But since the thing isn’t coming out till next fall, we’ve got a good while to revel in the absurdity. To backtrack a bit: The flick, written and directed by Rob Stefaniuk, is a chronicle of vampirism in the music business—the literal kind—and features a massive list of musical cameos. The luminaries include Burning Brides’ Dimitri Coats, Alice Cooper, Rush’s Alex Lifeson, Moby, Iggy Pop, Carole Pope and Henry Rollins. Malcolm McDowell (he of <em>Clockwork Orange</em>) also shows up as a vampire hunter. </p>
<p>While plot points are scarce, according to the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/dec/19/iggy-pop-moby-alice-cooper"><em>Guardian</em></a> (via <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/iggy-pop-moby-star-vampire-movie">Spin.com</a>), the flick focuses on a band known as the Winners who are “torn between bloodsucking music execs and actual bloodsuckers.” There’s also a subplot involving the Secretaries of Steak—a meat-lovin’ punk outfit fronted by none other than animal-rights activist and vegan extraordinaire, Moby. So what does Mr. Robert Melville Hall think about playing a carnivore named Beef with a &quot;USDA approved&quot; tatto on his neck whose fans get off by pelting him with meat (foam rubber on set) and blood (raspberry syrup)? “I’m making a specialty of playing douche bags,” Moby tells <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/12/18/moby-sucks-it-up-alongside-iggy-pop-alice-cooper-in-vampire-flick/">Rollingstone.com</a>. “I could spend the rest of my career perfecting the douche bag. It’s the journey not the destination.” </p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/moby1.jpg?w=195&h=300" /><em>Suck</em> sounds like one of those films that end up being more fun to gossip about than to watch. But since the thing isn’t coming out till next fall, we’ve got a good while to revel in the absurdity. To backtrack a bit: The flick, written and directed by Rob Stefaniuk, is a chronicle of vampirism in the music business—the literal kind—and features a massive list of musical cameos. The luminaries include Burning Brides’ Dimitri Coats, Alice Cooper, Rush’s Alex Lifeson, Moby, Iggy Pop, Carole Pope and Henry Rollins. Malcolm McDowell (he of <em>Clockwork Orange</em>) also shows up as a vampire hunter. </p>
<p>While plot points are scarce, according to the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/dec/19/iggy-pop-moby-alice-cooper"><em>Guardian</em></a> (via <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/iggy-pop-moby-star-vampire-movie">Spin.com</a>), the flick focuses on a band known as the Winners who are “torn between bloodsucking music execs and actual bloodsuckers.” There’s also a subplot involving the Secretaries of Steak—a meat-lovin’ punk outfit fronted by none other than animal-rights activist and vegan extraordinaire, Moby. So what does Mr. Robert Melville Hall think about playing a carnivore named Beef with a &quot;USDA approved&quot; tatto on his neck whose fans get off by pelting him with meat (foam rubber on set) and blood (raspberry syrup)? “I’m making a specialty of playing douche bags,” Moby tells <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/12/18/moby-sucks-it-up-alongside-iggy-pop-alice-cooper-in-vampire-flick/">Rollingstone.com</a>. “I could spend the rest of my career perfecting the douche bag. It’s the journey not the destination.” </p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Moby&#8217;s Veganism Explained! Singer and Socialite Pet Admits Childhood Fear of Meat Loaf</title>

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		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:12:28 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2008/12/mobys-veganism-explained-singer-and-socialite-pet-admits-childhood-fear-of-meat-loaf/</link>
			<dc:creator>Caroline Bankoff</dc:creator>
				
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		<description><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/transommoby.jpg?w=300&h=200" />On Monday, Dec. 15, the Transom ventured out to Varick Street’s Chung King studios, where <strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Tim Harrington</span></strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt">—the bearded, antic frontman of art rock band Les Savy Fav—had gathered a group of his friends to film a spoof of </span><strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Michael Jackson</span></strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt">’s 1985 “We Are the World” extravaganza for his series <em>Beardo</em>, which airs on Pitchfork.tv, the video arm of tastemaking music Web site Pitchfork.com.
<p class="text">In the hopes that the session would act as something of a mixer for his mostly unacquainted pals, Mr. Harrington had helpfully distributed name tags to the assemblage of musicians, comedians and “people from the neighborhood.” </p>
<p class="text">Name firmly affixed to our lapel, the Transom introduced ourselves to musician and club owner <strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Andrew W.K.</span></strong>, who lamented the lack of student presence at his Santos Party House, located across the street from N.Y.U.’s Lafayette dorm. Apparently, the residents generally walk right by the dance hall’s usually crowded door. “We really want to involve that enthusiastic, excited portion of New York,” he said. “Where do they go—Bleecker   Street or whatever?” </p>
<p class="text">The New Pornographers’ A. C. Newman was wary of the tape recorder. “Don’t make me sound like I am,” he said. O.K., sir!</p>
<p class="text">Eventually, a group including musician Moby and <em>Saturday Night Live</em>’s <strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Fred Armisen </span></strong>was corralled into a recording space to film the video (sample lyric: “We’re giving cash to all the trust fund kids this year”). Mr. Harrington acted as conductor, stomping like Mick Jagger.</p>
<p class="text">Out in the hall afterward, conversation turned to the relative difficulty of becoming the most famous person to emerge from one’s hometown.</p>
<p class="text">Battles guitarist Ian Williams first suggested that <strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Johnny Weissmuller</span></strong>, the swimmer and 1930s Tarzan, was his most serious competition before remembering that he also had <strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Charles Bronson</span></strong> to contend with. </p>
<p class="text">When pressed to name our hometown’s most prominent son, the Transom could only cite the members of various jam bands, which prompted much teasing.</p>
<p class="text"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt">“I come from the land of jam bands, and I am pleased to say I never got into jam bands,” said Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff. “</span><strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Phish</span></strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt"> and </span><strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">the Dead</span></strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt"> and all that stuff. </span><strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Dave Matthews Band!</span></strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt">”</span></p>
<p class="text">Did Moby have such discerning taste as a child?</p>
<p class="text">“I wish I could say yes,” he said. “But I liked everything when I was growing up. If someone was putting it on the radio when I was 9 years old, that meant it was good. Though there’s some music that scared me when I was little because it seemed too grown-up. Like<strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'"> Meat Loaf</span></strong>—“Paradise by the Dashboard Light”—because I knew there was something weird and wrong going on there. You know, the <strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Phil Rizzuto </span></strong>part. Literally, from the time I was 8 or 7 until I became a punk rocker, I liked everything. I was utterly indiscriminate.”<em>­</em></p>
<p class="text"><em>cbankoff@observer.com </em></p>
<p>  </span></p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/transommoby.jpg?w=300&h=200" />On Monday, Dec. 15, the Transom ventured out to Varick Street’s Chung King studios, where <strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Tim Harrington</span></strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt">—the bearded, antic frontman of art rock band Les Savy Fav—had gathered a group of his friends to film a spoof of </span><strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Michael Jackson</span></strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt">’s 1985 “We Are the World” extravaganza for his series <em>Beardo</em>, which airs on Pitchfork.tv, the video arm of tastemaking music Web site Pitchfork.com.
<p class="text">In the hopes that the session would act as something of a mixer for his mostly unacquainted pals, Mr. Harrington had helpfully distributed name tags to the assemblage of musicians, comedians and “people from the neighborhood.” </p>
<p class="text">Name firmly affixed to our lapel, the Transom introduced ourselves to musician and club owner <strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Andrew W.K.</span></strong>, who lamented the lack of student presence at his Santos Party House, located across the street from N.Y.U.’s Lafayette dorm. Apparently, the residents generally walk right by the dance hall’s usually crowded door. “We really want to involve that enthusiastic, excited portion of New York,” he said. “Where do they go—Bleecker   Street or whatever?” </p>
<p class="text">The New Pornographers’ A. C. Newman was wary of the tape recorder. “Don’t make me sound like I am,” he said. O.K., sir!</p>
<p class="text">Eventually, a group including musician Moby and <em>Saturday Night Live</em>’s <strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Fred Armisen </span></strong>was corralled into a recording space to film the video (sample lyric: “We’re giving cash to all the trust fund kids this year”). Mr. Harrington acted as conductor, stomping like Mick Jagger.</p>
<p class="text">Out in the hall afterward, conversation turned to the relative difficulty of becoming the most famous person to emerge from one’s hometown.</p>
<p class="text">Battles guitarist Ian Williams first suggested that <strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Johnny Weissmuller</span></strong>, the swimmer and 1930s Tarzan, was his most serious competition before remembering that he also had <strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Charles Bronson</span></strong> to contend with. </p>
<p class="text">When pressed to name our hometown’s most prominent son, the Transom could only cite the members of various jam bands, which prompted much teasing.</p>
<p class="text"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt">“I come from the land of jam bands, and I am pleased to say I never got into jam bands,” said Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff. “</span><strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Phish</span></strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt"> and </span><strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">the Dead</span></strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt"> and all that stuff. </span><strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Dave Matthews Band!</span></strong><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt">”</span></p>
<p class="text">Did Moby have such discerning taste as a child?</p>
<p class="text">“I wish I could say yes,” he said. “But I liked everything when I was growing up. If someone was putting it on the radio when I was 9 years old, that meant it was good. Though there’s some music that scared me when I was little because it seemed too grown-up. Like<strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'"> Meat Loaf</span></strong>—“Paradise by the Dashboard Light”—because I knew there was something weird and wrong going on there. You know, the <strong><span style="font-family: 'Exchange Text Bold'">Phil Rizzuto </span></strong>part. Literally, from the time I was 8 or 7 until I became a punk rocker, I liked everything. I was utterly indiscriminate.”<em>­</em></p>
<p class="text"><em>cbankoff@observer.com </em></p>
<p>  </span></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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