On Tuesday, November 17th New Yorkers For Children and Joba Chamberlain of the New York Yankees hosted "Wrap to Rap" holiday gift wrapping event to provide gifts for young children in foster care in New York City. The event at the Club Terrace at Madison Square Garden was presented by Delta Airlines and featured music by DJ D-Nice and a special performance from Kerry Butler and Constantine Maroulis of Broadway's Rock of Ages. Guests in attendance were Allison Aston, Susan Magazine, Alina Cho, Alison Harmelin, Abby Labius, Alexandra Diaz, Amy McFarland, Gail Grimmett, Marisa Noel Brown and Zac Posen.

ARTWALK NY held a beautiful and successful cocktail party and silent/live auction Tuesday, November 17th,  combining two of my very favorite things: art and food. Three of my favorite things if you don't technically consider cocktails a food group. I do but for the sake of argument I guess we can say that they had three of my favorite things.

Skylight Studios (275 Hudson St, NYC, 10013, 212.367.3730) was buzzing with excitement as the art world came together and took part in the 15th annual auction which honored Pat Steir. Guests also participated in the five million dollar legacy that helps provide support to the 37,000 homeless, including 16,000 children, who sleep in emergency shelters. Proceeds from the auction went to the Coalition for the Homeless, which is the nation's oldest advocacy and direct service organization helping homeless men, women and ...

Where was I when I first heard Harry Connick Jr.? That's a hard one. If I had to take a guess, and let me remind you that it's only a guess, I'd have to say it was November 26, 1992, which was a Thursday. I was about seven years old and I had just gotten out of school for the day. I was at my girlfriend Bliss' house playing fashion show, and after I screamed at Bliss and told her that she would never make it in this industry, which was true she never did, her mother, who adores Harry almost as much as I do, played Stardust, off the album 25, as I walked down our makeshift runway.  I almost fainted.

I had never heard such beauty. I couldn't get enough. When I went home that night I ...

Rubin Museum of Art, NYC
Billy Corgan + Morgan Stebbins
November 14, 2009

Musician and Poet Billy Corgan, best known for his Smashing Pumpkins fame and his collected poetry in Blinking With Fists, took the hot seat at the Rubin Museum of Art along side the Jungian Analyst, Morgan Stebbins.

This therapy session with an audience begins with, what Carl Jung called, “Hot Lava”: To look at the unknown parts of ourselves; to understand yourself through that exploration; and to live it.



Billy Corgan
Photo: Marie Havens

Quickly describing the mandala put in front of him, Mr. Corgan, who (shockingly, considering his boyish looks) is now 42, explained that he is a Pisces with a Virgo rising. so he cannot help but seek the truth. And, despite the personal nature of the conversation, he remained open and charmingly funny.

Having to overcome abuse growing up and battling depression most of his life, ...

Party-goers were in for some unexpected treats at Saks Fifth Avenue on Tuesday evening. Upon entry, each guest was given an ID bracelet - except that this was no ordinary wristband. "These were made especially for the event," a gracious lady at the door assured us, as she adjusted the black leather LV keepsakes to our wrists.



Maggie Gyllenhaal and Daniel Lalonde

So, which revelers will be adding this accessory to their collection? "It's slightly S&M, but I like it," scribe Douglas Marshall offered. Indeed, it fits in well with the current hard-edged 80s aesthetic. Snap this baby on, alongside a sharp mini-dress and a pair of ankle boots, and consider yourself set for the evening.

Once properly LV-ID'd, guests were wisked to Saks's third floor. Designer mainstays, such as Oscar de la Renta and Dolce & Gabbana were supplanted by a virtual Vuitton wonderland - a jardin ...

Soma Girls- World Premiere
Directed by Nandini Sikand and Alexia Prichard

Sixteen Blades of Grass
Directed by Sweta Vohra

Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival
Nov 11-15, 2009

The two short documentary films screened together Soma Girls, and Sixteen Blades of Grass have similar themes of education and confidence building in India.

Soma Girls follows the lives of young daughters of sex workers in Kolkata. This affecting, yet short film is about Soma Home, the group home where they live. The girls… lovingly feisty and playful… are taught what they could never learn in a brothel. It’s also the story of inspired people making a difference in the lives of compromised children…people simply raising the confidence in others.



The New Light Center, run by Urmi Basu, provides shelter and health care in a nurturing environment to these girls, one where they begin to learn and make a better way of life. The girls learn English, while their ...