Out & About NYC Magazine was founded to offer the arts and lifestyle enthusiast a fresh new look at New York City. We will showcase the established and the emerging, the traditional and the trendy. And we will do it with élan, and panache with a dash of fun.

4/21/16 (REPOST) O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Donna Summer- Love To Love You Baby and MacArthur Park

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Donna Summer, a five-time Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. Summer has reportedly sold over 140 million records, making her one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time. She hols the distinction as the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach No. 1 on the United States Billboard album chart and four number-one singles in the United States within a 12-month period.

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Love to Love You Baby is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer released in 1975. It became one of the first ever disco hits to also be released in an extended form. The final recording lasted over sixteen minutes, and contained the sexiest “simulated” orgasms ever found on vinyl. According to the BBC, the song contained 23 “orgasms”. In an interview in 1976, Summer responded to a number of questions that she claimed she’d been asked about the process of recording the song: “Everyone’s asking, ‘Were you alone in the studio?’ Yes, I was alone in the studio. ‘Did you touch yourself?’ Yes, well, actually I had my hand on my knee. ‘Did you fantasize on anything?’ Yes, on my handsome boyfriend Peter.

Love To Love You Baby-Soul Train (1976)

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MacArthur Park is a song which Jimmy Webb originally wrote and composed as part of an intended cantata. Webb initially brought the entire cantata to The Association, but the group rejected it. Among the best-known covers are Donna Summer’s disco arrangement from 1978. In the autumn of 1978 Donna Summer released a multi-million selling vinyl single disco version of MacArthur Park. This reached number one on the American pop music sales charts for three weeks during 1978, and it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Summer was also nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Female at the American Music Awards.

MacArthur Park- Live (1978)

4/21/16 O&A NYC AUTOMOBILE: BMW Vision Next 100 – Interior Exterior and Drive

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The augmented-reality display will also project hidden hazards into your field of view. BMW’s example is a cyclist obscured by a truck. An image of the cyclist is projected onto your windscreen, making the truck magically semi-transparent.

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If even that is all too difficult, or you have other things to do, switch to ‘ease mode’. The steering quadrant folds away and the chairs swivel around so you can kick back and get on with life.

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Now, this shape-shifting business – or ‘alive geometry’ as van Hooydonk calls it. The armadillo-scales triangles on the dash let the car warn you, almost subliminally, of upcoming hazards by opening to reveal their red flipsides.

The external bodywork wears more of the same triangular motif. The wheels are faired in, so when the front ones turn to steer, the bodywork stretches to accommodate them. At the back of the car, the profile lengthens with speed, cutting aero drag.

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At the front, the kidney grille is present and correct, but van Hooydonk points out it isn’t needed as an air intake – a clue that there’s no straight-six behind there. Instead they have re-purposed the grille as a porthole for all the sensors the car needs to drive autonomously

4/20/16 O&A NYC WITH WaleStylez Fashion: Reebok Ventilator Supreme X Cam’ron Purple Haze

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.

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Reebok and Cam’ron are on a roll to celebrate 4/20 with the release of the Reebok Ventilator Supreme x Cam’ron Purple Haze. Cam’s classic Purple Haze album was the inspiration for the sneaker features an ultimate purple nubuck upper with a lenticular heel wrap and a white and teal midsole. Cam’s iconic pink fur picture is also emblazoned on the footbed. Release date is April 20, 2016 at a retail price of $125. He will make a personal appearance today at the Jimmy Jazz in Harlem 4pm.   Continue reading

4/19/16 O&A NYC SONG OF THE DAY WITH WaleStylez: Busta Rhymes – Pass The Courvoisier Part II ft. P. Diddy, Pharrell

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.
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Pass the Courvoisier, Part II  by Busta Rhymes features rapper P. Diddy, and R&B singer Pharrell. The video, inspired by Harlem Nights and Rush Hour 2, featured cameos from Mr. T, Spliff Star, Mo’Nique, Kym Whitley and Jamie Foxx.
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4/19/16 O&A NYC INSPIRATIONAL TUESDAY: Facing Evil With Maya Angelou

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In this second of two programs celebrating the life and work of the late Maya Angelou, Bill Moyers revisits a 1988 documentary in which he and Angelou attended a conference on “Facing Evil,” held in the Hill Country of central Texas. Evil was a topic about which Angelou, the victim of childhood rape and virulent racism, had a lot to say. Continue reading

4/18/16 O&A NYC WITH WaleStylez Dragon Ball Z And Bathing Ape Collection

By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.

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A Bathing Ape and the Dragon Ball franchise have unveiled the full range of their collaborative collection, which looks to be the biggest co-branded release between the two thus far. The collection features graphics of Baby Milo alongside BAPE-ified Dragon Ball mainstays such as Kid Goku, Piccolo and Master Roshi, printed on a range of T-shirts, sweaters, hoodies and tote bags. Continue reading

4/18/16 O&A SONG OF THE DAY: Blackstreet – No Diggity ft. Dr. Dre, Queen Pen

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No Diggity – Blackstreet Album: Another Level Year: 1996 Teddy Riley produced this Dr. Dre-featured hit that landed the group Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals Grammy in ’96. Continue reading

4/17/16 O&A NYC DANCE: Janet Eilber Discusses Appalachian Spring

By Walter Rutledge

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During a recent interview with Martha Graham Dance Company Artistic Director Janet Eilber we discussed the collaboration between Martha Graham   and Isamu Noguchi on Appalachian Spring. AppalachianSpring1

Graham and Noguchi worked together over 20 sets for Graham over the course of three decades, including those for her series based on Greek myths; Cave of the Heart (1946), Errand into the Maze (1947), Night Journey (1947), Clytemnestra (1958), Alcestis (1960), Phaedra (1962), Circe (1963), and Cartege of Eagles (1966) Noguchi also designed the set for her biblical and religious themes, including Herodiade (1944), Judith (1950), Seraphic Dialogue (1955), and Embattled Garden (1958). Probably the most recognizable collaboration is for her movement manifesto on Americana Appalachian Spring (1944). 

Janet Eilber discusses Appalachian Spring

(Repost) April 1, 2014- Martha Graham: Appalachian Spring and Rite of Spring:

At first glance the Isamu Noguchi set, with its sparse flat look established the boundaries of the performance space. The “house” structure with the downstage “porch” set on a diagonal stops short of center stage. The flat fence placed downstage left, and the preacher’s pedestal set upstage on an angle from the fence completed the set design.

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These configurations of objects create the converging lines; the lines that produce the classic perspective used by artists to direct the eye in paintings. Noguchi’s house mimics Brunelleschi’s drawing of perspective almost exactly. This is not an accident, but a conscience decision by Noguchi and Graham to subtly frame the choreography.

Most of the primary action takes place within the converging lines. Very little group choreography is designed behind the fence and nothing is set stage right of the house. Without obvious overkill Graham was able to effectively direct the viewer’s eye the primary movement conversion.

The close proximity of the downstage porch and fence to the audience builds closeness/empathy for the characters (especially the husband and wife). When these characters look out past the audience we can see the splendor of the open prairie on their faces. And we see it in the glorious “Technicolor” of our individual imaginations.

The universality of the experience extends beyond the American Prairie. This is the story of new beginnings, the optimism of youth, and the promise/hope for the future. Graham’s technical prowess creates a clear and unfettered moving picture, combine this with her ability to convey the humanistic elements of her characters and it becomes apparent why the public has endeared Appalachian Spring for over 70 years.