on the shore of the ultimate sea

new york magazine advertising spread, originally uploaded by nparish.

Over the last month or so I helped compile a list of the most memorable New York-styled ads for New York Magazine, and, at long last, here it is. We polled a whole host of past and present NYC ad luminaries to determine a big list of spots that had grabbed the city’s attention, then narrowed them down with a poll to find out which rated highest.

New York’s 40th Anniversary issue is fat, well worth the $4.95. Head over to NY Mag’s site for a legible version of my thing, but don’t forget to pick up the magazine–there’s a ton of good stuff inside.

Next week is Advertising Week in New York, the week many in the industry gather for a celebration of selling things. It’s not all parades with mascots down Fifth Avenue (though I can’t find any info this year about the “Procession of the Great Icons”); there’s some jibber-jabber too, and an unhealthy amount of socializing.

I’m going to be moderating a panel Tuesday, talking with three very intelligent guys about the potentiality for big ideas on Facebook and other social media. If you’d like to come by, it’s free, all you have to do is RSVP. (Oops–I just looked, and it says it’s sold out on the Advertising Week site. Contact me if you’re interested in coming, or just show up early.)

Anyway, we’re going to be (hopefully!) talking about interesting stuff, including a pretty conceptual look at what some future hypothetical Facebook marketing efforts might look like. I’m joined by some great creatives/forward-looking digital guys, so expect some cool ideas to pop out.

The Facebook Spark Series: Spark The Big Idea

How do good ideas spread? What does it take to get people to share branded content or offers with their friends? Top creative thinkers discuss innovative work and the methods to developing big ideas worth sharing in today’s social media world.

Moderated by Nick Parish, Associate Editor, Creativity

Panelists:
Rei Inamoto, Co-Chief Creative Officer, AKQA
Richard Ting, VP & ECD, Mobile and Emerging Platforms Group, R/GA
Rick Webb, Co-Founder and COO, The Barbarian Group

Tuesday, September 23
9:00 AM to 09:45 AM
The Times Center
242 West 41st Street
New York, NY

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone for coming to what turned out to be an interesting session. Audio is here, and video may or may not be coming soon. Ad Week saw fit to dispatch a reporter, who summarized the event quite well.

Big thanks to all attendees, presenters and organizers for helping make yesterday’s Interesting New York conference happen. It was time well spent; I particularly enjoyed hearing about database basics from Noah Brier, fan fiction from Amber Finlay (and special guest Bud Melman of that old school advertising drama), Charles Rosen talking about the Democratic Party and the upcoming presidential election’s role as a point-of-no-return, Colin Nagy talking techno, Dallas Penn extolling the virtues of quarter water in a sarcastic fantastic exploration of the Bodega Food Pyramid and James Cooper delivering his presentation on ping pong’s beneficence while volleying.

If you’re looking for information regarding my Kombucha presentation, thanks, I’m flattered. It’s here.

Interesting New York

Next Saturday, the 13th, I’m going to be giving a quick talk on the history and preparation of kombucha, a fermented drink quickly becoming popular with the health-conscious Whole Foods crowd. While I don’t really count myself among them, I’ve been making the stuff for just over two years now and have the process pretty much down. If you’re a serious fan, you should really make it yourself–sixteen ounces costs $4 or $5 but produced at home it’s about the same per gallon.

Here’s all the info, if you’re interested in learning everything you ever wanted to know about kombucha. Tickets are only $35, and include 8 hours with a raft of exciting speakers. I’ll update this post with more details (like when, specifically I’ll be talking, and bar plans afterwards) when they arise. Eventually I’ll probably get an outline of the talk and any audiovisual stuff up here too. But first, to tinker with Keynote for a few hours and see if anything presentable comes out.

Date: Saturday, September 13, 2008
Time: 10:00AM to 6:00PM.
Venue: The Katie Murphy Amphitheater at FIT
Address: 7th Avenue at 27th Street (Building D), New York City, 10001-5992

UPDATE: I’m the last speaker, so I should be on about 5:30, but it’ll probably be after that as these things tend to go long. But come earlier than me anyway, cause there’s a load of good stuff all day. Afterparty’s at Black Door.

Move D Looks Up, originally uploaded by nparish.

Here’s Move D, from his appearance earlier in the summer at Brooklyn’s best techno party on the Gowanus at The Yard. Read more about it in my Earplug review. But don’t take my word for it’s dopeness–listen to the set at the Sunday Best downloads page.

Going Yard, originally uploaded by nparish.

A small group of us stopped by The Yard Sunday for the Sunday Best series and caught King Britt (seen here concentrating) at the party’s second week. The lineup is stellar: Stefan Goldmann, Trusme, Bambaataa, Rick Wilhite & Jerome Derradji, Riton, Kevin Saunderson, Move D, the Wurst guys, Tejada, Pilooski, Joakim, Metro Area. Phew. And that’s only leaving one or two weeks off.

It looks like all Sundays are going to be $8, in which case I’ll be there every weekend I’m in town–the spot, on the banks of the murky Gowanus (which Luis describes as a “disgusting trickle”) is perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon. Cross your fingers it stays off Euro-tourist radar, at least for this year.

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Artifact, Jan. 7

My first foray into New York Magazine’s “Artifact” comes as Harlem loses one of it’s own chroniclers. St. Clair Bourne, a documentary filmmaker known for his portrayal of black American life died late last year, but not before he sent this hopeful email to colleagues and friends telling them not to worry.

Many thanks to Kurt Thometz, my neighbor, who runs the most excellent Jumel Terrace Books, a must-see if you have any interest in African American scholarship, Harlem history or just a friendly chat and a genuine book-buying experience. Stop in if you’re uptown and, even if you don’t buy anything, I’ll guarantee you’ll learn something.

Like the tagline says, “Findings from the streets, files, and hard drives of New York.” If you’ve got something that you thing should be seen, or ‘found,’ send it over.