Eideh Shoma Mobarak!!
(translation: Happy New Year!!)
This week is the official first day of spring. While the weather warms up and flowers start to bloom, the Persian community celebrates a new year or "Norooz". This holiday dates back thousands of years to the Persian Empire and many families, including mine, still celebrate it today. Even though Iran is the only country that recognizes the calendar (it's technically 1391 this year), I think it's cool how the new year corresponds with the first day of spring. It has a sense of "rebirth" and starting fresh with the cycle of seasons.
Traditions include, doing some massive spring cleaning, taking time to visit family and friends, lots of food and parties, spending time outside, and putting together the traditional Norooz table setting "sofreh."
I grew up with a sofreh that was detailed and colorful, so trying to replicate that was a challenge. I live in a typical Manhattan studio where my kitchen, dining room, living room, and bedroom are all in one closet-size space, so I wanted to put together something.
Here is my sofreh "haft-seen" on the corner of my kitchen counter. Each item symbolizes (7 of them begin with an 's') something for the new year.
There is supposed to be real goldfish (symbolizing life), but I was a little lazy and opted for goldfish crackers.
Colored eggs symbolizing fertility.
Hyacinth flowers, the standard flower in the sofreh.
"Sabzeh" symbolizing rebirth (I used wheat grass)
Being in the spring mood, I wanted to celebrate by going outside and really experience spring. It's been absolutely beautiful out the past few days and I had to take advantage.
Performers on a lovely day in the park.
First signs of spring in the park. The picnics are starting.
The tree that I see outside my apartment window. I love watching this tree change every season.
I also have a yearly tradition of cleaning out my closet as a part of spring cleaning and donating clothes that are still in good shape that I no longer wear to Goodwill. I really dug through this year and found shirts that I haven't worn since the first couple years of college!!! (aka, a long time ago)
The bag of clothes I donated.
Can't wait to see what the new season brings! I actually have no major events set in the next few months, guess that just means that I'm in for a lot of surprises!
Last night was the series premier of Fashion Star on NBC. Among the thousand reality shows I regularly watch, I just had to fit this one in (thank God, The Bachelor is finally over!).
When I first heard about the show, I thought 'This better not be a copy of Project Runway,' because I'm already a huge fan of Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. Some other "fashion designer" shows have been a disappointment to me, because they were trying to replicate that concept. I'm glad that there were some major differences between the two shows:
Project Runway focused on a runway/couture look, which is great in an artistic way, but Fashion Star took a commercial/ready-to-wear approach, which appeals to a bigger audience
Project Runway has one adviser (TIM GUNN!) and three judges/guest judge, where Fashion Star has three advisers and three retail buyers
Project Runway has only one winner per episode, Fashion Star can have multiple winners
Project Runway has one final winner that funds their first collection, Fashion Star has each winning design PER EPISODE chosen by one of the buyers, H&M, Saks, or Macys, and can be purchased the next day!
After seeing the first episode, I was very confused by the format of the show. They started right away with two designers showing their work and getting critiqued. Did they really just jump in...with no intro? As the show progressed they fit in bios of some of the contestants, showed more designer's work and sped through some of the other designers to save time. I hate that they skipped through some things. In a first episode, I'd like to get to know everyone that's on the show.
There were some great designs on the show, which makes me want to watch more to see what else some of the designers have up their sleeves. Top favorites where a 2-in-1 mini-skirt that had a zipper to change the look and a cerulean blue shift dress with a partial open back.
My worst list was definitely the woman who decided to just show a collar/neck tie combo that went with outfits that she did not design. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT ON THE FIRST CHALLENGE? It was a horrible first impression, and although she was the bottom two, she didn't get eliminated. The guy, who did lose, at least put out constructive leather jackets. He was, however, very disrespectful to the judges by saying that women do not know mens' design. Ouch!
Overall, the designs that made it to Saks, H&M, and Macys are great, but they sold out online so quickly. I also realized that this 'buy the next day' concept is a great idea, but I think NBC failed to realize that most of their audience will be disappointed, because either an item can sell out in a minute or items can be overpriced. I know Saks is well...Saks, but seeing a skirt go for $350 versus a H&M dress for $20, I'm gonna be discouraged from buying any of their merchandise.
Regardless, I'm hooked. Can't wait til next week!!
Last night I went to see Grouplove and Young the Giant at Terminal 5. Four months ago, I initially got tickets because of YTG, but I've recently grown into Grouplove through some of their commercial and tv show exposure.
I got to the venue a half hour early, only to find out that they allowed people in, which was nice because it was cold outside. Unfortunately, everyone had to head straight to the freezing rooftop to form a line until the "official" doors opened. Once I got in, I rushed to the front of the stage, without considering the balcony area. I figured that I was so close that I could get a good view of the front of the stage and get some decent shots with my phone (I called Terminal 5 ahead of time, and they do not allow professional cameras). While the stage was setting up, I looked around and thought 'I'm pretty sure most of the people here are half my age!' I'll explain in a bit why this was really obvious.
First up was Grouplove. You may recognize their first single "Tongue Tied" in the iPod Touch commercial that aired before Christmas:
Now you know why I felt so old there?
Anyway, Grouplove is one of those bands that brings so much energy to the stage which is why I love going to shows. One unique quality I noticed was that even though there is a clear lead singer, just about all five members had a lead vocal in each of their songs. I've also never seen a band that had so much interaction with each other on the stage. You usually see musicians just stick to their spots and maybe move around in their general area where their guitar cords let them, but the Grouplove members were literally on top of each other...even the drummer.
Up next was Young the Giant. I first saw the group while I was volunteering for CMJ 2010, and they were my highlight for the entire festival. Especially since I went the "randomly pick the bands" approach that whole week (CMJ has about 900 bands playing at various venues throughout the city for five days). Seeing them this time was a little different, they definitely have evolved over the past year and a half. Other than performing songs from their debut album, YTG premiered some new material that they have been working on. I already can't wait til their new album is out!
Favorite moment of the night:
Young the Giant briefly mentioned their MTV Unplugged performance where they did a cover of The Gorillaz "Empire Ants", where I'm pretty sure I've watched the video about 100 times. Next thing I know, a string quartet appears and I got to hear it live.
One last thought:
Grouplove - Instragram
Terminal 5 has great balcony sections, where you'll have more wiggle room, and can still get a great view of the stage. I was down on the ground level, but I think I'll try the balcony area next time, instead of getting squashed by teenagers.
This weekend, I had the opportunity to see Iranian rock group, Hypernova, for the third time. I first heard of the group a couple years ago through a Iranian-American site, and at first was a little skeptical. 'A rock group from Iran, and singing in English?' I used to think that combination was a little odd, but this group proved me wrong.
Hypernova, originally from Tehran, Iran, were a part of the underground music scene until they had a chance to come to the United States, the land of opportunity! I immediately purchased their first album, Through the Chaos, and right away noticed a subtle Persian influence on their dark rock sound...no wonder I liked it.
Seeing them this time was the first time after they released their live EP, Exit Strategy, at the end of the summer, so I got to hear some more of their new material other than a sample of it from their July show (last time I saw them). Honestly, I still prefer their older material, but this group has so much potential in their career. All four musicians are incredibly talented, and I can't wait to see what's next for them!
Can't finish a post without some photography :)
This was actually taken last July at their show at Bowery Ballroom. One of my favorite concert shots ever.
Another favorite from their July show.
An Instagram pic from this weekend at Mercury Lounge.
Here's the video of their first single "Fairy Tales" from 2010.
