unique

All girls night out yesterday. All 8 of us managed to meet at the same time at the same place, too bad we didn’t pick another place. We went to Elisabeth, a restaurant on Elisabeth street in Soho, that on the outside looks like a really cool place. Even going in, through the restaurant to the back yard, I felt impressed. Black, leather, silver and red velvet. Sound like a bad pornmovie? Well it wasn’t. It was cool and right, and I was this close to stealing one of the lamps by the front door. It was black with a scull for a foot. Really nice!

Now to the bad thing: the food and the service. I know that pretty much says it all, doesn’t it? The food wasn’t that mindblowingly overpriced but the size of the portions sure implicated that this was a 5 star place. Tiny, pretentious portions that wasn’t as good as they should have been when not making you full. If it’s small then it should at least be great.

Another really bad thing was the service. The staff didn’t know what they were doing which resulted in 1 bottlet of wine dissapearing when we all went out for a cigarette. Being a non- smoker, I usually always stay at the table watching everyones bags, but this time I didn’t and the staff removed the bottle without even owning up to it when we confronted them. Nothing complimentary or even an apology. Extremely unproffesional so we didn’t tip them. Right or wrong, we didn’t care.

So I’m not going to recommend this place for anything. Well maybe the nice interior and the cozy back yard. So if you go there you’ll do best in just staying at the bar, drinking yourself full, because the food or the service sure won’t satisfy you.

I cannot go past this day without celebrating the magnificant King of Pop on his 50th birhtday. Michael Jackson turns 50. Can you believe that? No that he at all looks his age.

You might think that he’s going to throw the biggest party in history but he chose the comlete opposite; cartoons and cake with his children. The King hasn’t been in the musicspotlight for a couple of years and he explains that by saying that he puts the “growing up years” of his children before his music. He says that he still composes and loves to create music, but that’s about it for now. Jackson wants to give his children things he didn’t have when growing up, being a part of Jackson 5. He is teaching them how to read, write, and ride their bikes.

Iv’e alwaysed like Michael Jackson and was on his side during the childabuse/sexual harrasment scandal. There has always been a small corner of my mind that have thought that he is weird. Straight out weird! The way he grew up probably affected him being the way he is and I don’t blame him, I don’t even hold it against him. I just hope that he works things out and maybe come back to the spotlight he deserves, not that we’ll ever forget him.

I think that Jackson spending his birthday with his children shows that he has straighten some stuff out and has his priorities worked out. I think it’s great that he is spending a lot of time with his kids and that he’s actively tring to gice them a normal life. Good for them and good for him. We’ll always remember him for his greatness on stage but I think that he’s doing the right thing in staying away for awhile. 

Confession: I’ve been so busy with school lately that I haven’t been able to follow all the stuff that’s been going on with the Presidential election, coming up in November. Yesterday, however, I managed to turn on the TV and hit CNN and the Democratic National Convention, just as former president Bill Clinton was about to give his speech to support Barack Obama. I’m glad I didn’t miss that one because, in my book, it was a very good speech.

Clinton said that he wanted the people who supported his wife, to support Obama. He addressed Obama as the President of this country and said that he talked from experience when he said that he thinks that Obama “is ready to lead America”.

A lot of people will listen to Clinton and respect his opinion about Obama. As a president who did very well as commander in cheif, he’s got peoples trust. He obviously knows what he’s talking about as he has been in the same position as Obama, he even mentioned the critique he got from the Republican Party when he ran for president, which was that he was too young to lead the country. Clinton was two years younger that Obama is know. Something to think about!

So we know Clinton gets people on his side because he’s got their trust. What he also is an expert on is speaking. He is an excellent public speaker and can probably make us believe anything he says just because he says it. I remember one great line from the speach yesterday that was very powerful:
“…America should focus on the power of setting an example, not being the example of power…” (referring to Bush and all his wars). A great line which really makes you think. I think I’ll just leave you with that.

I do want to mention the critique the Clinton family have gotten in the last couple of days. People are saying that the only reason why the Clintons are supporting Obama is because of self-interests, it’s not genuine.
What do you think?

When I find people I like who are doing stuff I find smart, I like to talk about them and make other people aware of the matter. Well, it just so happens that I’ve found out about this great guy who’s trying to make NYC’s garbage and trash more beautiful. He is distributing painted, colorful garbagebags for people to use as their normal trashbags, and when they’re eventually thrown out on the street, waiting to get picked up, the trash is pretty, or prettier.

The pictures I’ve seen of the bag are pink polka dots, yellow stripes, and smaller purple ones. I couldn’t unfortunately find any pics of them to put on the blog (I will as soon as I find one) but for now you’ll just have to imagine the streets of New York as being colorful and bright, and I’ll definately do what I can to see that this gets spread aroung the entire city as only neighborhoods like Chelsea, Greenwich Village, and Lower East Side have gotten these so far.

What do you think about this idea? Would you buy pretty bags instead of black, boring ones? Let me know!  

That’s what I did today, I finally got my NAP at Yelo, and what a nap it was. Amazing indeed, but I’ll start telling you about the place.

Yelo isn’t your regular spa as the concentrate on sleep and relaxation. They have special, private booths for you to sleep in which each hold a zero gravity chair. The lobby is very nicely decorated with bright yet calming colors and a polite staff that receives you. As you sit down to wait for your turn so are surrounded by a number of different product such as the Smiley- kit (lotions and products to make you feel good) as well as special, relaxing tea. A very nice touch I must say. The great thing was that they sell unknown, fun products that I really wanted to buy. The also sell a mouth spray called Sprayology which can even help you take away your hang over. Not bad, huh?

The sleep itself was very relaxing and actually worked. The session started with a 1 minute shoulder-neck-ear massage and then turned into the power nap. Before the nap I was asked what kind of sound I wanted to be surrounded with and I chose rain dropps. A very nice touch I though. The turned the lights off and left me to fall asleep and it didn’t take long before I had fallen asleep. I was gone within a couple of minutes which was very nice as I actually didn’t think I would fall asleep in that short time. But I did and it was amazing. When they woke me up I was both totally out of it and relaxed at the same time. Truly a great thing if you need a quick fix.

So, the sleeping thing didn’t happen today. Something came up so I’ll do it tomorrow. No biggie, I’m just looking forward to it. Hope I don’t sleep all that well tonight so it’ll be an even better NAP. Keep your fingers crossed, will ya?

I’d like to talk about another thing now though. I’ve spent some time on Youtube this weekend and as I’ve looked around I’ve found that Swedish comedians are very popular in the rest of the world. This came as a bit of a surprise to me as I didn’t think the rest of the world could appreciate our sense of humor. It pleases me to learn this as I truly believe that we have fostered some of the funniest guys ever. 
Just look at these Youtube videos and you’ll, for sure, understand what I’m talking about:

This are videos on one of our most popular guys now, Bjorn Gustavsson. He’s young, he’s pretty, and he’s so funny. Don’t you think? I just wished there were more subtitled videos that I could show you from this comedy show called Parlamentet (the Parliment). Just google it youselves and be prepared to laugh your asses off. That’s how funny this show is!

Remeber the post about Yelo, the sleep/reflexology comapny? Well they contacted me a couple of days ago and thanked me for writing about them and offered me a free sleep och discount on another treatment. Isn’t that nice? As someone who has never been there or is all that fimiliar with the treatment, it’s really nice of them to offer me a NAP so I then can report back on the blog what I actually thought and if it was like I thought it would be. That is what I call serious investigation.

The people on Yelo certainly know how to win over a future customer as they will give it to me for free. That meens that I’ll go in with an already positive feeling and will probably be more receptive for even more positive experiences. That’s what I call good maketing, and I’d like to think that I know a thing or two about that.

Anyway I’ll get back to you on how the visit actually went. Are they as great as they say they are and is the idea as good as you might think it is? Well, that only remains to be seen. Will probably go there as soon as tomorrow to check it out. Who knows, I might fall asleep and never wake up again. Doesn’t bother me as long as it’s a good sleep, which I think it’s going to be!

Did you guys know that we have a mall in Manhattan? I didn’t, not until yesterday. How can I have missed that? If there’s one person who knows how to shop it’s me, so you’d think I knew all the places to go. This just shows how much I have to learn, still.

The Mall is located on 33rd street and 6th Avenue, right on Herald Square and is huge. They are unfortunately remaking the lower floors right now but there were still plenty of shops to visit: VS, Express, Body Shop, and Charlotte Russe. They also had a shoestore (without a name) in wich everything was for sale. You could buy a pair of shoes for just $6. Not bad for this city I must say. I, myself left with 2 pairs of shoes from David Z and Rainbow and a tunic from Strawberry Jam. Great stuff. As you can see on the picture above, the Mall is huge. Some of the stores alone are 150,000 square feet. That’s not too bad considering the real estate prices in NY these days. JCPenney is one of those stores and opened their first store in this mall. This was spring of 2007, and as a result of this many other, smaller stores have had to close in order to make room for them.

“Life’s a bitch and then you die” as my friend always said. Great expression which can be applied pretty much everywhere. I use it all the time. 

Does this not look wonderful or what? What would you say if I told you that there is now a place where you can go and get a great, relaxing power nap for 30 minutes which is going to fell like you’ve gotten 8 hours worth of sleep? Pretty great, huh?

Imaging being in you apartment on a sunday afternoon. You’ve been partying for the last couple of night, staying up til 4 am, drinking and dancing. Not an impossible situation as that could very well be me. Can’t tell you how many sundays I’ve spent in bed, just trying to catch up on lost sleep, but guess what! That can’t be done. A human being can’t actually catch up on lost sleep. Once you’ve “lost” is, you’ve lost it. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just recharge yor batteries somewhere to get a good start on your upcoming week? I’d kill for a place like that. And now we can all make this come true.

Yelo is a new concept of wellness that is based on sleep, reflexology, and massage. It’s a time efficient, relaxation that pocuses on mental and physical rejuvenation. The YeloNaps are proven to increase alertness and productivity, which is something the people in NY really are looking for. And God knows we need it.

Reflexology is aparently some kind of massage that restores balance and promotes a general sense of wellness through the application of gentle but deep pressure to specific reflex areas on the feet, hands and ears. Gimme, please!

The YeloNap is a sleep therapy system that takes place in private sleep cabins. When the nap begins, the zero-gravity YeloChair reclines to elevate your legs above your heart. This will slow down your pulse and encourage full relaxation within minutes. At wake-up time, the LED lights will simulate a sunrise for a gentle and natural awakening.

YeloNaps are available from a 20-minute minimum to a 40-minute maximum. You can choose the timing that suits you best within these two limits. Taking a nap for less than 20 minutes won’t provide you with enough rest, while a nap of more than 40 minutes will encourage a deep sleep, from which you might emerge feeling groggy.

I only have one thing to say about this: Genious. Who ever came up with this is a true genious. And to put the first Yelo Center in the busiest city in the world can’t be other than good for business. You can find the Yelo Center in Midtown Manhattan, 315 West 57th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues.

To prove that I’m not the only one to find this to be a good idea, I will give you some coments from the press:

Chicago Tribune
Napping at work without the guilt

“Yelo, the company that provides this full-sensory sleep experience, opened in bustling Midtown Manhattan last year, after founder and former marketing executive Nicolas Ronco saw firsthand the effects of too much work and too little sleep.”

Vogue
Can I buy some sleep?

“…it won’t be long before going for a nap is as common as going for a cappuccino. Lucky Manhattanites have been enjoying the benefits of sleep pods for some months. Yelo on West 57th Street is a walk-in clinic wholly dedicated to giving you a good rest.”

New York Times - Style Magazine
Suite Dreams

“Somewhere betweens a power nap and a disco nap lies Yelo. The new spot on West 57th Street is getting New Yorkers to take a load off - in the purely holistic sense.”

Isn’t it nice to see a good girl go bad and then turn good again? Of course it’s a lot of fun then they actually turn bad with the scandals and everything that goes with it. But deep down in my heart I always hope that it’s just a phase, or I at least did for Britney. I’m on her side and always have been. I really don’t think that she entirely to blame for everything that has happened to her. Growing up the way she did, being famous and start putting a lot of preasure on her self at such a young age can really screw you up. Put the world’s excpecations on top of that and you get a good, sweet girl turing bad. I of course understand that going from innocent to dirty was a part of her publicists plans all along. It’s all so though out and planned, but to what cost? Sure she made tuns of money, sure she became the biggest star in the world, sure she was loved and watched by everyone. Was it worth it? If you ask her she might not think so.

I totally understand that she had meltdown after meltdown when her fame started to faint as well as her responsibilities grew (having kids and all) without having a good foundation or a network of people to support her. Her family obviously are as screwed up as she was. As a mother, you don’t sell your dotter’s story to some magazine. That’s just plain wrong.

After having these meltdowns and batteling Federline in court (which allegedly cost her $750,000) she seems to be on the right track again. She’s working out with a personal trainer everyday and she is rethining her entire diet. She sticking to a 1200 calorie diet which includes fresh fish, chicken and rice. No sugar what so ever, no even fruit. I’m not so sure I agree with the last thing but I think she’s being so strong turning her lift around, taking control of herself again. Way to go Britney. And if she can do it, so can I, right? One can always get in better shape.

Britney’s new body…