Introducing Landlordrocknyc: Inspired by the tightest rental market in NY history…

In NYC, where the apartment is king and the trophy apartment the ultimate brass ring, people do (and have done)  anything imaginable (and some things we never want to imagine) in a bid  to secure their fractional bit of the New York dream.

This is a town where our apartments are always characters in the story of our lives. And where the landlord/tenant dance is as crazy and complex as the city itself.  It’s a town where co-op boards routinely reject the rich and the famous, an exercise in covert power and prejudice that is uniquely New York.

Landlordrock NYC admits to being pro-tenant but will strive for objectivity and settle for irony.

The Diva and The King: Elvis and Streisand Sing Love Me Tender

Saying goodbye to Joan: Louis C.K.

“I feel very lucky that I knew Joan Rivers and I feel very sad that she’s gone. She was a great comedian and a wonderful person. I never saw someone attack a stage with so much energy. She was a controlled lightning bolt. She was a prolific and unpredictable, joyful joke writer. She loved comedy. She loved the audience. She was a great actress and should have done that more. She loved living and working. She was kind. She was real. She was brave. She was funny and you just wanted to be around her. I looked up to her. I learned from her. I loved her. I liked her. And I already miss her very much. It really f—ing sucks that she had to die all of a sudden.”–Louis C.K.

 

 

Emmy Red Carpet: The Best, The Worst And A Mad Men Fashion Surprise

Lillian Russell

Word is, Lena Dumham is writing an HBO series based on 82 year old Betty Halbreich, Bergdorf’s legendary personal shopper. Obviously, Halbreich did not select this Prada number for Dunham, easily the worst dressed woman at the Emmy’s–maybe ever. Best dressed honors in the bombshell division go to Sofia Vergara in Vera Wang.  And the “Why Miss Jones You’re Beautiful” award goes to Elisabeth Moss, who in one of the rare and inexplicable fashion mis-steps on Mad Men is usually dressed like Lady Bird Johnson, wowed last night with a new blonde do and attitude. Christina Hendricks in Cristian Sirano was a little too Lillian Russel for modern life.

The Iphone 5s Gold Rush At Apple: Right Now They’re Aint Any I

Gold is both the color of money and the color that glitters most in the rented Mac Mansions of Jersey housewives. You know who they are.

Now, gold is the color of the most coveted new I-phone. They’re sold out and impossible to get in most places. Which is a recipe for consumer desire on a global scale engineered by Apple  on purpose or not. With its brushed gold aluminum finish, the I-phone 5s ushers us into the age of the device as jewelry. Conspicuous communication, indeed.  Wonder if  a gold laptop and tablet are  already in the pipeline?

A smart piece from The Atlantic on the topic:

The Psychology of the Gold iPhone

Rebecca Greenfield 17,481 Views Sep 20, 2013

“The psychology of iPhone buying is such that people will want the gold iPhone and Apple knows that, which is why it’s no surprise that the iPhone’s newest color is already in short supply after less than a day of sales. “I want the gold one and everyone wants the gold one,” the eighth person in line at New York’s Fifth Avenue store told ABC News Friday morning. Unlike the other colors, the shipping date for the blingiest iPhone has already been pushed to October in the U.S.. And, gold is so popular in China, Apple has reportedly increased production of the models to meet demand. “I don’t care what’s inside the device,” Lian Jiyu, who was waiting in line at a Beijing Apple store, told The Wall Street Journal‘s Ian Sherr. “Chinese people like gold.”

The gold iPhone has the same exact insides as the space grey and white models. It doesn’t have any additional gold-related functions, nor is it not overwhelmingly better looking than the other two colors. Some people “adore” the look and it’s certainly not as “tacky” as tech pundits anticipated, but in general, it looks just like the other two. Yet, there’s a clearly more excitement about the gold one than other two.

That’s because the desire goes beyond aesthetics. When going into the Apple store this first day of sales, consumers want to pick a phone that will make them unique, Sheena Iyengar, author of the best selling book The Art Of Choosing, explained in this Business Insider video. “You think white will be less frequently chosen,” she said back when Apple had increased the color palate to include white. “I must be different.” So, when going into the Apple store this morning, people figure that the least conventional choice — gold — will also prove less popular. So, they pick that.

Of course, it sounds pretty ridiculous, there are only three color choices for a phone that millions of people will buy: Even if you pick the least popular color, you will look exactly like lots of other people. That’s partly the power of consumer psychology. “Color is one of the most visually distinctive – and personal – things about a new iPhone, which makes it one of the most important choices you’ll have to make,” wrote, in all seriousness, iMore’s Rene Ritchie.

But there’s another force at play: “Shownership,” a phenomenon described by Jenna Wortham over at Bits blog. “I want people to know that this is a new phone,” an aspiring owner of an iPhone 5C, which comes in a rainbow of colors, told her. The gold plumage signals the latest technology, whereas the other colors look nearly identical to last year’s model. “Apple isn’t just about ownership — it’s about shownership, and inspiring desire and jealousy in those around you that you’ve got the latest device,” writes Wortham.”-The Atlantic

National Cheeseburger Day ; The Elvis American Diner

Yesterday was National Cheeseburger Day  and Google rewarded my search for pics of Elvis enjoying a big one with news that  Presley culture has i nspired a chain of international diners. Here’s their spiel. Look for one rocking your town if you live in Eastern Europe or the Middle East. The rest of us have to settle for Five Guys.

http://www.elvisamericandiner.com/index.html

ELVIS American Diner (EAD) is a dynamic restaurant chain, implemented in Eastern Europe and in the Middle East. We boast a unique restaurant concept featuring upscale food court dining experience in a designed and sleek environment under the legendary thematic of Elvis Presley®. The model of Elvis Presley® legacy is presented through the decor, artwork, food and music providing an overall “feel” of oldies American culture.

Furthermore, EAD INTERNATIONAL owns officially and exclusively an operating license for the exploitation of restaurants under the trademark of EAD ELVIS American Diner™, this license has been conceded by EPE – Elvis Presley Enterprise.

EAD International

First Restaurant Established in 1974. The flag restaurant has opened in 2009 in the State Concert Hall near the main avenue of Tbilisi; 3 food stations in Georgia’s new amusement park “Mtatsminda Park”; Next restaurant to be opened in 2011 in new shopping mall “Up Town Tbilisi”; “Elvis American Diner” is in the process of designing the “Elvis City” drive-through restaurant; Due to the popularity of EAD, local media has taken an increased interest in Elvis’ work on TV, radio and the internet.

Vision & Values

The ‘Duck Dynasty’ Driver: Tod’s Camo Chic

J. P. Tod’s suede driving moc  is so down home and comfy looking with  a Duck Dynasty vibe  that makes it  look like inexpensive army surplus instead of a $445 Italian import. Kinda like the Robertsons themselves, who don’t look like money but have it.

The Devil Made Me Read It: Lauren Weisberger Still Can’t Write

Lauren Weisberger

Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep–The Devil Wears Prada

Lauren Weisberger’s  The Devil Wears Prada,  was a terrible book with a terrific title. The sequel, Revenge Wears Prada, The Devil Returns, is a terrible book with an equally hideous title. Consider
the obstacles our narcissistic, entitled heroine Andy Sachs  must face: her mother in-law hates her; her then fiancee didn’t cop to running into an old girl friend (though nothing happened between them) and obsesses over it for half of the story;  and horrors–Ellias-Clark buys her four-year old Wedding magazine start-up for millions. (At a time when every magazine and newspaper in the world is struggling.) In comparison, 50 Shades Of Grey is War and Peace.

Anthony Weiner Tones It Down Below The Belt

Anthony Weiner stopped wearing his blazing trousers when the Syndey Leathers story broke. Since then he’s been Brooks Bro appropriate below the waist.  Even before the sexting scandal erupted, his duds were not well received: (Via NY Observer)

“Though Weiner’s spokeswoman, Barbara Morgan, told us at the time that “Anthony wants to lead the fashion capital of the world, so it’s no surprise that he would make fashion-forward trouser choices,” the candidate’s color choices may have been working against him. The Telegraph reported that men who wear red pants are the subject of “public distrust.” As Esquire put it: “The color red draws attention, and red pants, therefore, draw attention to your below-the-belt areas. And considering the man’s track record of inviting attention to that region, we think it’s best that he not do that.” New York called them “gay pants,” and to the Daily News, Weiner’s style was simply “bold-colored braggadocio.”

Clooney Was A Nerd; Larry David Was A Hunk

Helen Mirren at 20

Larry David at 20

George Clooney at 15

Betty White at 20

I don’t remember the movie, but I remember the cheesy line delivered in a Hungarian accent: “I was not always as you see me now. Once, I was young and beautiful.”  Yes, they were. Except for Clooney.

Hello Kitty: NYC Shuts Subway To Rescue Two Kittens

Feel-good stories about the NYC Subway are rare and this one is as good as it gets. The fortunate felines, newly named August and Arthur,  are currently in a Brooklyn shelter and will be put up for adoption.

Via NY Daily News:

“Two kittens that shut down a New York City subway line for more than an hour have been found and rescued from the tracks.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokeswoman Julie Glave says the kittens were discovered Thursday evening under the third rail of an above-ground express track in Brooklyn.

Glave says MTA workers and police officers removed the kittens in crates.

Earlier Thursday transit officials cut power to the B and Q lines in Brooklyn for more than an hour after reports the kittens were on the loose in the subway system.

Transit workers were dispatched onto the tracks to try to corral the kittens. And the kittens’ owner even tried using food to try to coax them out.”–NY Daily News