NuHotel in Brooklyn: Hip, Stylish, and Chic!; Travel Review by Francesca Maxime

Brooklyn, NY--

NU Hotel is just that: a new style of hotel not typically found in Brooklyn. It’s one of a handful of new fun, urban, hip hotels that have opened up in the City over the last couple of years. NU Hotel pleases its guests in many ways, starting with its stylish, hip and modern décor.
I checked my car into the parking lot next door (no valet) and entered what I thought was the building. It turns out there’s an adjacent condominium complex that towers over Smith street, while NU Hotel next door is just four stories high. But I soon found my way into the lobby and was greeted by a cheerful desk attendant, on that rainy summer evening.
The lobby is understated, contemporary chic. With dark woods, ceramics, and natural fibers, the wrap-around windows give a nice peek in – and out – of the lobby/lounge area.
NU Hotel is located right in the middle of downtown Brooklyn, with funky shops and yummy restaurants and night spots at every turn. Right over the Brooklyn Bridge (you can walk to it, and, walk across), it’s a nice change for those needing to visit Wall Street, and who would rather enjoy the view of Manhattan’s skyline, than be staying in a part of it. Still, it’s only a half-hour to the airports, so that alone may prompt business travelers to consider crossing the bridge for their stay.
The hotel has 93 bedrooms and several suites. The NU Urban Suites have an amazing feature that probably no other hotel in New York or its environs boasts: hammocks! That’s right: eleven-foot-long hand-woven hammocks from Nicaragua. They’re a playful addition to the bright white, wood, and cork in the rooms… inviting a nap, or simply some time out for daydreaming. NU Friends Suites are a great value too: with bunk beds stashed into one wing of the room, it’s easy to pile a family of some college friends in the same space, without feeling overcrowded.
As an eco-friendly hotel, there are lots of windows, cork floors, and recycled teak furnishings. The bedding in NU Hotel is even organic, with stone and glass bathrooms and showers complementing the rest of the fixtures. A treat upon entering the bathroom (for me anyhow!) was the big slate chalkboard and piece of white chalk. I “customized” my room with my own little positive saying. Whimsical and fun, I felt like I was back in fourth grade.
Another feature of the NU Urban Suite - which may make you coming back for more - is the sunken king-sized bed, which both invites and envelops you. Tucked away in a corner around the bend from the room’s entry (and hammock!) you feel as though you are in your own private little world of calm.
NU Hotel is kind of like living in a loft for a couple of days. With quotes from Spike Lee and Henry Miller adorning the walls as you exit the elevator, you almost feel as though you’re a part of some kind of artists “commune” or co-op – but with your own room and privacy!
If you’re in the mood to listen to some music, satellite music systems will fill the air with your song-du-jour. Free Wi-Fi access lets you roam the wild internet without foraging too hard. Large 32-inch flat-screen televisions allow you to take whatever octopus of contraptions you may have brought along to plug in any which way you like: a “jack pack” welcomes all kinds of audio, video, and computer cables.
If you’re hungry, head to the NU Bar in the morning, where a free continental breakfast awaits. At night, the area turns into a gathering space for guests and locals who want to enjoy some light tapas like White Bean Hummus with Pita Crisps or Sliced Artisanal Salami, and a cocktail.
Perhaps most impressive about the NU Hotel is the size of its proprietary gym (not shared with the adjacent condominiums). Quite large with modern, new amenities including treadmills, ellipticals, and weights, it’s easy to see why it wouldn’t be too hard to squeeze in a workout, even if your stay is just for a day or two.
Housekeeping was efficient and quiet, but Smith Street can get a little loud. I’d recommend requesting a room away from the main drag if you want complete silence.

With rates around $200- a night, NU Hotel may be the new kid on the block, but it’s not getting bullied around. It’s fitting in nicely with the old and the new Brooklyn, servicing locals and visitors alike.

NuHotel
85 Smith Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
www.nuhotelbrooklyn.com
718 852 8585

Francesca Maxime: the new Mets pitcher?!, new blog post by Francesca Maxime

Francesca Maxime: the new Mets pitcher?!

So...

In High School I played tennis and field hockey. I never tried softball. Never once. I was always too afraid of that hard ball coming towards me and the big black eye I might get if I failed to crack bat to ball.

However, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I agreed, when The NET/Currents asked me to throw out the first pitch for the Brooklyn Cyclones game at Keyspan Park on Coney Island. I had no glove, no ball, no coach, no training: basically, I had no idea what I was doing.

About a month ago, I lucked out: I was scheduled to throw, along with Marky Ramone of the band the Ramones. But, it poured cats and dogs, and we got washed out. And so, last night was my "make up."

I'd elicited some tips from friends over the past several weeks: 3 finger grip, coil and unwind aroud the shoulder, step into the throw, even cheat the mound. I even logged onto a pitching website and watched MLB big timers throw the ball again and again, in hopes of absorbing some of their skill somehow.

But it wasn't until last night around a half hour before the game was to start, that I got handed a nice new ball and gingerly walked up to one of the guys in the red shirts and asked them if they could help me throw a couple. Bobby agreed. He walked me over to the batting cage, and started about half the distance of what I'd be asked to throw. He said I wasn't bad. Asked me to aim a little higher. Then Jake stepped in and said he liked the extra step and hop I was putting into my thrust: it generated more power. Then Bobby told me to inch back... and inch back more... and before I knew it, I was throwing pitches from the batting cage mound. And pretty decent ones!!

When it was time for the real thing, I didn't even hear my name being called. I tossed off my sunglasses (Dolce and Gabbanas-thanks Alexa of Cyclones Marketing for catching them) and ran onto the field.

I felt all these eyes on me: so this is the pressure, I suppose, of what it's like to be a pro athlete. To perform under pressure, for a living.

So I loosened up a bit, took a deep breath, coiled and released, and watched the ball come two inches away from Bobby's glove.

Oyyy... I was a little disappointed. I wanted to hear the slap of that catch. And yet, it really wasn't a bad throw overall. Not for how much I'd practiced, and not for how little I knew about the game.

After it was over, there was some applause and then some young'ins took to the mound. And did better than me (no surprise there).

But from what I've been told, the Mets could use a good pitcher right about now. So maybe I'll ask them to take me to training camp in the spring.

LinkedIn or LockedOut, a Rant by Francesca Maxime

LinkedIn or LockedOut, by Francesca Maxime June 9, 2009

So instead of writing this blog post, I should really be getting back to work. But I can't get over the nagging feeling I get every single time I get on LinkedIn. Why?

I love Facebook. I'm having fun flirting with Twitter. I enjoy regular old Email. I've even started this Blog. An RSS feed is no longer foreign to me. And Yes, I get WIRED magazine.

So when LinkedIn first came around, I joined up-perhaps three or four years ago? For awhile I only had a handful of "contacts" (not friends mind you - contacts) because, frankly, I was too busy Anchoring the nightly news for ABC in Pensacola to "network" online. But as I grew into my job, and people found me online, etc., I accepted contacts here and there, and recently, after having been laid off, was told I should "beef up" my LinkedIn profile, because it was the first thing people saw when they Googled me. He was right.

So, I finished up the sections that were blank. And then I did another thing my friend recommended: I asked people to "recommend" me. Basically, it's like asking for references from the LinkedIn contacts you have in your circle. (Mine are up to 101 right now. On FB I'm at about 2100, and it's only been a year... And Tweeting for three months? I'm batting around a 300). I've even Bing'ed in the last couple of days. Have you? Yea, exactly...

In any case, so I send out an all-call for recommendations and get a dozen back. Great! No worries! Fabu! Thank you! And then, I try to reach out to a few people I know, but don't really know (you know, FB'ers, what I mean), and send them a message inquiring about something.

Well you might as well slap me in the face with a frying pan, or unleash the guillotine. Because LinkedIn doesn't work that way. And it obviously doesn't want to. And that's obviously perfectly fine with many of its users. But not really with me. It's kind of like Match.com for online dating. You send a "wink" and then you either get nothing back (which is fine), or, you get back one of those "I'm not really into you" messages, which is worse. LinkedIn's kind of says something like: "Several people whom you've contacted say they don't know you. You should only invite people you know to connect with you on LinkedIn."

Ok...... soo...... I guess I'm missing the point. If I went to a cocktail party and knew everyone there, why would I go to that party? Sure, I can enjoy their company one on one, can chat about things we already share in common or know. But isn't what makes the party fun, the fact that you get to meet new people and sometimes you don't know who they are or what they'll do? Getting "introduced" through a LinkedIn connection doesn't work with the facility one has in real, live situations where you're seated at a table with your friend, and the friend introduces you to person across the table and says "Ginger, this is Francesca. Francesca, this is Ginger. We used to work together at blah blah blah..." and so on and so forth, add a few cocktails and you're off and running.

See, I like to keep things loose. To me, LinkedIn is more like wearing a corset and girdle everyday to work. (Yea, women did that in the 40's, even when their "work" was most often vacuuming and cooking at home). It's not comfortable. It's unnecessary. And it's really not the way things are moving: towards connection, versus isolation. Toward sharing, versus major privacy protection (I leave that to my Symantec/Norton Security whatever thingamajig). Nor is wearing the equivalent of sweatpants everyday and being sloppy FB'ers or Twitterers acceptable, no. I'm not advocating that. I'm just advocating that LinkedIn chill out.

Sure people say it's about "business" networking, versus "social" networking. Whatever. To me, it's pretty much all the same. Why? Because smart people are always thinking about their careers and the world, no matter if they're at an official trade show seminar, or at the after-party happy hour. Whether they're on LinkedIn, or Twitter, or Facebook, or even Myspace.

All I'm sayin' is, if you don't wanna "connect" with me on LinkedIn, don't. I can take the heat. Not everyone's gonna love ya. And if you don't like me and wanna stay away on Facebook, feel free to do that too. And if you wanna follow me on Twitter, or not, be my guest. I enjoy all of your posts and the folks I follow.

But as for LinkedIn? I'm thinking they might as well call it LockedOut. This is one party that even if I were Michelle Obama, I don't think I'd feel that great about attending, no matter how swell I looked.

-Francesca Maxime
June 9, 3:22pm
fmaxime@post.harvard.edu H-R 1993-1994

Lady Gaga Show/Review Boston's House of Blues 5/4/09, by Francesca Maxime

Lady Gaga Show/Review Boston's House of Blues 5/4/09, by Francesca Maxime

Move over, Star Trek. Forget about Wolverine. She's other-planet chemical gases ice cold cool. Lady GaGa''s truly the future of Pop music.

From her Jetson-like costumes, to her new song "Future Man" (where she sings to an illuminated clear acrylic mannequin), to her robotic/erotic dance moves, Lady GaGa is on warp speed to becoming the next and best blonde Pop Diva, alongside veterans Gwen, Madonna, Fergie, Xtina, and Britney.

There's not much I knew about the first-time Grammy nominee (for best dance song "Let's Dance.)" But there's not much you need to know, either, other than 1) her voice evokes Judy Garland and her offspring Liza Minelli 2) She can bang out self-created tunes on the piano with two hands, and, one foot 3) Every single track on her album makes you want to move - in a good, non-squirmy way, and 4) She's got a great butt.

The 23 year-old started the set with some of her best known tunes, emerging from what appeared to be a cluster of rocks but ended up turning into dancing Bobby-Brown-like-"My-Prerogative"-days- clad male dancers. Themes of money, fame, the paparazzi, also bore heavily on her various tunes... as she thanked Boston so much for having her, and was impressed by the House of Blues' crowd's ability to sing along to GaGa songs. Gaga stayed away from the political - no Malawian kids here - except for one comment: support for legalizing gay marriage. (So I guess she and Miss California are best friends? Notsomuch...).

GaGa, BTW, is Italian, and frankly, as a half-breed myself, its easy to see then why she so easily wants to connect fame, the paparazzi, the music, the show-woman-ship, and the experience of lurching into the future with all her fans. She's inclusive. She really sang to the audience, and with the audience. Magnetic in her silver suit, no-one could take their eyes off her.

During an acoustic version of Poker Face where she solo'd at the piano, she belted out tunes high and low, singing the chorus over and over, in different pitches, ramping up and down the keyboard with strong chords. Alas, when she walked away, we thought, perhaps, that might have been it. But not one to disappoint, she re-emerged for one last costume change and encore and gave everyone what they wanted most: as she said, "You want me to shut up and play Poker Face." And, as they say, the crowd went wild.

I haven't really felt this excited about an artist since Alycia Keys. GaGa, for all her crazy antics and boldness, her fashion-extremes and platinum hair-bows, is still a little innocent, perhaps: still, a little naive. If nothing else, she's thoroughly enjoying her initial moment in the spotlight-blinding sun and all. And if we're lucky, she'll shuttle back and forth between that starry galaxy far away she obviously so adores, and keep coming back to earth to share shows with us, she knows we love.