Good Morning and Hello, Friday!

This has been a jam-packed week filled with new discoveries and experiences including the potential for new friendships.

On Sunday, while at the MET’s rooftop exhibition, Joe S. and I serendipitously ran into a wonderful French woman who appears to be a kindred spirit when it comes to art and urban exploration (see #1 below).

After running into each other in several galleries throughout the museum and after following each other on Instagram, I realized just how much I have missed these kinds of random social interactions. It’s what has always made NYC so extraordinary.

Based on this recent experience, it looks like friendship circles are about to expand exponentially!!

And with that, scroll down for this week’s Top 10.

1. Follow MaryinNYC on Instagram. Her posts on art and landmarked NYC buildings are fantastic.

How she only has 500 followers is beyond me! The quality of her posts is exceptional (both aesthetically and for the detailed and well-researched background info she provides).

My chat with Maryline was brief but long enough to discover….

• She gets to many more galleries and museums than I do (and I can’t say that about too many people!)
• She’s a scientist hence her well-researched Instagram commentary. (She’s a senior researcher in medicine.)
• Our paths have crossed on numerous occasions in my neighborhood (although she lives all the way up in the Bronx). I am hopeful we will run into each other again on one of our art jaunts.

2. Madonna at 62 – owning her age (finally!). this is the best I’ve seen her look in years!

• Spotted at dinner at Craig’s this past Monday in West Hollywood. (Source: Just Jared)
• LOVE her in glasses! And her hair! Fabulous!

3. NATELAND has wheedled its way into my heart. Why? because it’s the best silly diversion I’ve come across.

Nate frequently describes his podcast as being like the band that played as the Titanic sank. I really appreciate their humor. Being stupidly entertaining (and yet, informative) is no easy task. Kudos to Nate, Brian and Aaron for brightening up my days.

Each weekly episode is based on a theme. Inventions was especially fun.

For example, this 1939 bike for the family that allows mom to keep sewing!

4. “NFT” now stands for “Nothing Fvcking there” (vs. “Non-Fungible Token”)

Brooklyn-artist, Fridge, has mounted a billboard atop 281 Lafayette Street in Soho, as a critique of the recent NFT frenzy. When you scan the QR code, the actual piece of art is completely blank. Up thru the end of April.

“I’m fascinated by the amount of attention NFTs are receiving at the moment. The billboard is my way to inspire someone that if you stop doing nothing, you can achieve anything, even if you’re selling nothing.”

FRIDGE, NYC-Based Artist (Source: Hypebeast)

5. Bitcoin ATMs are booming. Coin Cloud’s will be up five-fold by the end of 2021 (from 2,000 to 10,000)

• Currently there are 14,000 Bitcoin ATMs throughout the world.
• Las Vegas is home to 170 Bitcoin machines
• Coin Cloud is gearing up to place ATMs not just into casinos, but also grocery stores, coffee houses, etc. (Source: News 3LV)

6. Amazon’s palm-scanning payment system is coming to Whole Foods

Can’t wait for this to get to my Whole Foods.

• It’s been in test mode at Amazon Go stores in Seattle since last September. (Source: CNBC)
• Now being tested at a Whole Foods in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
• Amazon One, as it’s called, allows shoppers to pay for items by placing their palm over a scanning device. The first time shoppers use the kiosk, they have to insert a credit card to link it with their palm print. But after that, shoppers can pay simply by holding their hand over the kiosk.
• Amazon is planning to sell the palm-scanning technology to other companies, e.g., retailers, stadiums, and office buildings.
• Thousands of people have signed up to use it at Amazon stores.
• I’m also expecting people to be less freaked out by palm scanning than by facial recognition.

7. Levain cookies now available in the frozen food section of Whole Foods

GREAT small business success story. (Source: Forbes)

• Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald founded Levain on the UWS of Manhattan in 1995. They initially baked the huge cookies to sustain themselves during triathlon training.
• They expect to sell 15 million cookies this year from their bakeries (not including the Whole Foods products).
• Levain’s online sales grew 400% in 2020.
• The frozen cookie line met its 12-month sales projection in under three months.
• Since launching, the line added distribution in 11 more chains, including Gelson’s on the West Coast.
• Levain’s grocery-ready line has been in development for three years—fueled by funding from private equity firm Stripes, which became Levain’s first-ever investor in 2018.

I’ve only had Levain cookies once – when they opened their NOHO store last March (pics below). So good!! Fortunately, I checked on the calorie count. At 600 calories per cookie, I made sure to not make them a habit. 🤷‍♀️

8. White Castle celebrates 100 years with a fabulous TELFAR collaboration

The restaurant chain partnered with award-winning fashion line TELFAR to produce new employee uniforms and a limited-edition collection of t-shirts and beanies. (Source: White Castle PR)

• TELFAR and White Castle first connected in 2015 when TELFAR’s founder and longtime White Castle fan Telfar Clemens asked White Castle to sponsor his fashion show during New York Fashion Week. White Castle not only sponsored the show but also hosted the after-party at its Times Square restaurant. The two brands partnered again in 2017. Since then, TELFAR has designed and produced three more sets of White Castle team member uniforms, including the 100^th birthday version.
• The new uniform collection includes a T-shirt, polo shirt, apron, visor, and durag. It’s the first time White Castle has offered the durag hair accessory and might be the first time any restaurant has done so.
• The collection is captured in an intimate portrait series of White Castle team members in Queens, shot by art photographer Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.

9. Best new discovery on UWS: El Mitote Mexican Restaurant. Great food, great staff and great vibe!

• El Mitote showcases the food of Guadalajara, the hometown of founder, Cristina Castaneda.
• I LOVED everything about our lunch. We had the guacamole, the avocado salsa (chockablock with cilantro and serrano peppers), the camaron chipotle shrimp tacos (served on lettuce if requested), and the tres leche cake. And they serve Topo Chico sparkling water.

Thank you Laetitia and Gonzalo and Maria for putting this gem on my radar. I will be back for mezcal cocktails as soon as one of my UWS friends invites me!!!

10. Newest Sport of the pandemic: Competitive Litter Collecting

I stumbled into litter collecting early in the pandemic, out of necessity because my neighborhood was going to hell in a handbasket with garbage galore piling up. It’s good to see community clean-ups catching on around the country.

Pittsburgh’s Litter League (Source: wesaFM)

• Greg Manley is the man behind Pittsburgh’s newest sport — competitive trash removal. It’s a joint project of Allegheny Cleanways and Friends of the Riverfront, and it’s called Litter League.
• He got into it right after the lockdown began last year, recruiting neighbors for Monday-night community cleanups.
• The 2021 Litter League season kicked off yesterday (Earth Day) and will continue through June 21, the summer solstice.
• Squads will report weekly on their collections by posting photos of what they’ve gleaned from sidewalks, roadsides and wooded areas. Teams can scour wherever they wish, either individually or as a group. Allegheny Cleanways will also provide maps of local litter hotspots.

Missoula Grassroots Clean-up (Source:NBC Montana)

Hikers started a new grassroots group called “Woods Not Waste” to haul huge pieces of garbage (e.g., refrigerators, couches, beds) out of protected lands around Missoula.

“Last year we went up the back side of Pattee Canyon, there’s a two mile stretch there. We got about 3,600 pounds of trash out of there, everything from washers to bedroom sets.We got 17 tires out of the side of the road. It’s one thing to find things on the side of the road, but it’s another when you go 20 miles back on a hike and find a refrigerator.”

Luke Jovin, Woods Not Waste

Volunteers Pitch In To Clean Up Brooklyn’s Prospect Park (Source: NY Post)

• After vandals totally trashed Brooklyn’s Prospect Park this week, the Prospect Park Alliance tweeted photos of the mess. Dozens of volunteers pitched in and within a few hours the garbage was mostly cleared out.

LES/Rivington Street Clean Up: transforming the neighborhood one trash bag at a time

• The pandemic has been messy and everyone’s been hit hard. But I can vouch for the fact that if neighbors dedicate just a few minutes per day to picking up litter on their block, they will witness a neighborhood transformation, almost overnight.
• One of the things I’ve learned from living in a sketchy neighborhood is that when you leave litter unattended, it sends the message that you don’t care. And then, sooner than later, you’ll find more litter coming your way. You have to nip it in the bud if you want a livable neighborhood.
• There are now three of us doing litter pickup and sidewalk hose-downs on my block: the small hotel owner across the street (who gets full credit for starting this clean-up movement), the clean up guy from Freeman’s restaurant and me!
• Not only is our block sparkly clean most days, it’s a testament to how much of a difference a single person can make.
• And I might add, not only do things look better but I have found this lowly chore enormously gratifying. Even the homeless guys are impressed and have started to help out. And when random neighbors stop to thank me, it’s a pretty amazing feeling.

And on that note, my friends, it’s a wrap.

I’ve got a fabulous few days ahead of me. Checking out some Chelsea galleries today (Friday) – especially looking forward to seeing the newly reopened DIA space. Also having dinner at Zero Bond – super excited about that (it’s a private, private membership club with a great restaurant).

And next week I am having dinner with the one and only Jamie D. who I have not spent any time with – in person – for over a year!! Cannot wait!! 💕💕💕