barring all political, social and environmental strife that china is going through - and i know people A LOT smarter than me will be discussing these points for a long time - the opening ceremonies of the 2008 beijing olympic games were truly a wonder to behold! it really was a masterful presentation of history, accomplishment and might.

even though i thought the athens 2004 ceremonies were spectacular, these were undoubtedly the best opening ceremonies ever. yes, it’s hard to a greek to say that, but the truth is the truth. now i’ll just wait till the dvd comes out on out on blu-ray to see them in HD, that way i’ll be able to view with better clarity the fireworks cgi.

this is 2008…does anyone believe they can get away with stuff like that? between that and the skiing ostrich on youtube…it’s hard to trust our own eyes these days. regardless of all that, the synchronized mass within ‘the bird’s nest’ was visually very cool! so, in case you didn’t get a chance to see them in their entirety, or just wanna see the fake pyrotechnics one more time, go to http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=0808_hd_oc_au_en198

so where do you start when you’re buds with two other creative powerhouses?

actually, the beginnings go back 12 years ago when myself, danny armyn and vincent higgins all worked at young and rubicam. right away we clicked and have have remained friends since. my other 2 close friends, were gina cruz and christer manning. christer is a partner at foundry9 and gina is now my wife (go figure…you do keep good friends close). vincent is a partner at bluefuse design corp with jason grotrian and danny is a partner at cult360 along with jeff rothstein and joe jelic.

where it goes from there is a very creative space indeed. besides the fact we live & work in the new york city vicinity where art and creativity are at every step down the street, getting us in a room together is creative overdrive.

ok..that was just a shameless plug for our friends…but if you really want to see a great art show, go see the prefab homes show at MOMA.

our favorite new place is called sweet revenge and it’s located 2 blocks away from our office on what i consider one of the most authentic manhattan streets still around: carmine street. the actual address is 62 carmine street and what we really love about the place is the ambience and sensibility that the owner, marloe, brings to the place.

we walk up and down carmine street a half dozen times a day and frequent all the bars, restaurants, bookstores and shops that line this beautifully preserved street. carmine street still retains its old new york charm. this 3 block long stretch of manhattan is simply magic for us and sweet revenge is literally the icing on the cake. it’s been open less than two weeks but already it’s getting to be our favorite little watering hole. this intimate little spot (4 tables and maybe 10 barstools) make it the perfect place for a light bite or dessert - or an amazing pour of guinness stout. it also ensures that you quickly become acquainted with the people sitting around you. when we were there last, it was full of marloe’s pretty friends and it was only a couple of minutes before we were all chatting it up.

since it only has a beer and wine license the selection is small, but marloe has made a great job of choosing the perfect range of drinks to complement her unique dessert and appetizer dishes. the decor is right out of old-world europe. white tiles, small glowing orbs for lighting and beautiful woodwork complement one of the coolest high tech machines i’ve ever seen. it’s called ‘the surger’ and it’s made by guinness to ensure a perfect pour of stout every time.

when i first ordered a guinness at sweet revenge, i was a bit taken aback (and a little bummed) when marloe pulled out a can and poured it into a pint glass. but then she went on to explain that the surger had been developed by guinness to always ensure the perfect pour. she then placed the glass on the circular plate of the surger and turned it on. the hight speed vibrating device literally made the stout look as it it had been poured from a fresh tap by the best bartender in dublin - and tasted just as good. you really gotta see it to believe it. best of all…that guinness went great with the fresh olive cake that marloe presented to us. i’m ready to try the jamaican curry next…

no kiddin’ - you gotta go, and tell them you heard it here first.