Live Long & Prosper
I am not sure why, but this weekend I found myself lounging at home and watching Star Trek (and, of course the Oscars). Maybe there was a Star Trek marathon, maybe there is always one on, but I caught two episodes and and a movie. I am far from a Trekkie, but I realized then and there that this show is a liberal's wet dream.
Space: The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship, Enterprise. Its 5 year mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before!
The concept of a team of very diverse and idealistic individuals coming together and surrendering themselves to discover and understand new people in alternate worlds is the epitome of the liberal dream. Hmmm ... open-mindedness! Especially relevant these days. I think this vision is the reason the franchise has been so strong and enduring. In that vein, I channel my inner Spock and invite you to live long and prosper!
The Future
My Day
App
Star Trek provides a vision of the future. We all like to look to the future. If we knew the future, we could plan accordingly. Well, this app My Day provides a glimpse into your future. You can easily upload birthdays, holidays, and your own special days into this handy and attractive calendar. Going forward, you can simply scroll through these important days and see what lays ahead on the horizon. Sure, we have many birthdays in our calendar, as well as on Facebook (love those reminders), but I find this glimpse into the future more intuitive, useful, and engaging. Now you will know the exact # of days until your Mother's birthday, your Anniversary, or the day your 4 kids leave for camp (just saying). Greatness lays ahead, here's to looking forward to the future.
Beam Me Up Scotty
Goldbely - Shop America's Top Food Makers
App, Website
In Star Trek the ability to teleport people and things from one place to another is genius and effortless. Wouldn't it be amazing if you could teleport yourself to some of the greatest food purveyors in the country. Actually, wouldn't it be better if you could teleport the best food right to your door instead of you getting off your A**! Well, with Goldbely you can! They have curated a collection of some of the finest foods in the United States like The King Rex Cake from Gambino's in New Orleans, T-Rex Cookies from Minneapolis, MN, or NY's very own Milk Bar's Crack Pie .... the list goes on an on! Goldbely takes pride in being explorers of food (sounds like someone else I know)! This site will make your mouth water, and I must thank fellow Louper Adam C. for introducing me to it and singlehandedly destroying my svelte figure! It's a no brainer to send presents from here now that you have advance warning from My Day. So, have fun and teleport goodies (candied Bacon anyone?) to those who need them.
Captain, Please come to the Holodeck
Jump Into the Light
355 Bowery New York, NY 10003
Little did we all know then that we wouldn't have to wait until the 24th Century to have many of the technologies first introduced in Star Trek! One of those inventions is Virtual Reality (aka the Holodeck), which is only now getting its day in the light. This past weekend, I visited Jump Into the Light, which is a temporary space in the East Village dedicated to the Virtual Reality experience. There, they have the latest VR products including the Oculus Rift, the HTC VIVE, and the Samsung VR Gear. Sure, you can demo these products at various other retail locations, but this place truly allows you to compare and contrast. There, you have a variety of immersive experiences, like being on Safari with the animals in Africa, killing zombies, and walking the plank (not going to lie, it was pretty scary). At the end of the day, the most experiential, immersive technology was provided by the HTC VIVE. This gear allows you to move within your space, which feels the most realistic. Online reviews suggest that developers prefer this system to the Oculus Rift, and therefore are developing more games (sorry Oculus/Facebook). I am contemplating purchasing this system as I am thoroughly intrigued by where this is all headed. The reality (not virtual) is you need the system which costs $799 (headset, hand controls, & motion sensors) plus a high end gaming computer (or laptop) that has at least a 1060 graphics card (preferably 1070) and 16Gbs RAM. Therefore, in the meantime I'll have to get my Virtual Reality fix at Jump Into The Light!
The Sports
Golf & Body NYC
883 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10001
Herald Square
In Star Trek many of the sports were played in the Holodeck. It seems the Holodeck was the primary source of entertainment when confined on the Starship USS Enterprise. New York can be confining like this, and thus finding recreation is important, especially golf. Golf & Body has come to fill this void in the concrete jungle. Its focus is on preparing the mind and body to play your best golf. They have a holistic approach to working out and attempt to fix any injuries or limitations that limit your ability to play like Jordan Speith. At Golf and Body, they have golf professionals on staff who assist you in finding your optimal swing. In this 25,000 square foot facility, they have a gym, a therapy room, a restaurant, as well as 7 golf simulators. These simulators not only allow you to play golf at some of the world's best courses, but they also analyze your swing. This way you will be ready to hit the real links when the weather improves and benefit from your high handicap (especially if your a gambler, Loupers, you know if I'm talking about you)!
The MIssion
Mission Chinese
171 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002
Lower East Side
In Star Trek the missions consist of visiting strange new places and meeting strange new people (hmmm, the Loupe). One of my favorite strange but delicious spot is Danny Bowien’s appropriately named Mission Chinese, which serves up spicy hot Sichuan cuisine with crazy concoctions. Straight out of San Francisco with a vibe that is eclectic, alternative, and innovative, Bowien knows how to surprise. The music is typically rap and certainly the decor and the fare aren't your typical Chinese! Oh, and order the Beggar's Duck (24 hrs in advance) and get your insta/snap chats ready!
May you live long and prosper! Get out of your comfort zone and consider My Day, Goldbelly, Jump Into the Light, Golf & Body, and Mission Chinese Found!