I attend quite a few conferences and absolutely HATE carrying around booklets or paper handouts to find out whats going on.

It’s 2010 and I was so pleased about the Internet Week NY App which kept me up to date with everything going on with the conference.

I was so excited and then throughly disappointed at THE NEXT HOPE conference lat July.

You would figure an app designed for a HACKER conference would be slick and chock full of information-it turned out to be poorly designed and altthogh having it installed on my hacked Iphone_ I found myself missing some very interesting panels because  I had to thumb through numerous pages in the conference booklet to find out what was going on-(true story)

Fortunately you can download such interesting discussions as:

A Primer on Neuroscience, Bat Echolocation, and Hacker Bio-inspiration and Hacking Terrorist Networks Logically and Emotionally from Hattorrents.com Thanx guys!

So next week I am heading to Ad:Tech NY and decided to try out the app-

The Free Ad:Tech NY Iphone app does everything it promises-

helps you make the most out of the conference and expo. It features conference sessions by date and track, a list of exhibitors and sponsors, and the ability to select and save your favorites, plus a live Twitter feed. Selecting any listing allows you to view details about the session, speaker, exhibitor, or sponsor.

Download it for free from the app store

Last week I attended a private screening of the HBO Documentary -

SCHMATTA: Rags to Riches to Rags

Ever wonder where the fabric and samples come from for fashion shows?

“schmatta” is the yiddish word for “rag”-

I previously screened this doc with Melissa Davis of TheFatAppleNyc.com and she thought it would be great to screen this in the company of fellow writers, bloggers, fashionistas and tastemakers for the kick off of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.

The event was held at Wix Lounge-

Wix Lounge: A free work & event space for creatives in NYC, sponsored byWix.com, an online Flash website publishing platform.

and produced by

The Fat Apple : Created by Melissa Davis, began as a site covering  Fashion generally and Plus-Size fashion specifically, Lifestyle and Technology from the perspective of a plus size woman. Currently, The Fat Apple encompasses 3 brands, TheFatAppleNYC.com, TodayInShoes.com andGalleryDates.com. New York and the Big Apple is Bigger than you thought!

Special Thanks to the sponsors of this event-

Thank you Jennifer Sohan from Devi-excellent Indian Cuisine!

Everyone raved about the cauliflower treats-I wouldnt know becaue they disappeared so quickly!-

check them out at http://www.devinyc.com/

Location:
8 East 18th Street (between 5th Ave. & Broadway)
New York, NY 10003
Reservations: (212) 691-1300 or make a reservation at www.OpenTable.com

Yummy Snacks

“The Garment Center is the heart and soul of Midtown Manhattan and the backbone of the fashion industry. This HBO feature documentary, produced by Blowback productions, explores the rise and fall of New York’s fabled schmatta (rag) trade as a microcosm for the economic shocks that have changed our lives. Director Marc Levin’s documentary will get you thinking about why your H&M dress is $10″

DIRECTED BY | Marc Levin
PRODUCED BY | Daphne Pinkerson, Marc Levin
EDITOR/CO-PRODUCER | Richard Lowe
LINE PRODUCER | Kara Rozansky
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER | Karl Hollandt
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER (HBO) | Sheila Nevins
SUPERVISING PRODUCER (HBO) | Nancy Abraham
FIELD PRODUCER | Donovan Leitch
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY | Daniel Levin
ASSISTANT EDITOR | Chris Walker
ORIGINAL MUSIC BY | John Zorn

Yesterday I launched a new side project:

www.pocketsquaremafia.com

Essentially it celebrates the handkerchief, pocketsquare and haberdashery

“for the Made or Mad Man”

follow it on twitter @pocketSQmafia let me know what you think-

and if you happen to be wearing a pocketsquare-submit a pic-

Cigar Films-Episode 9-John Starks Legends Cigar
This episode was shot on location at :
Madison Cigar Lounge- Harlem NYC

This event features:

* NBA Legend/ NY Knick John Starks

* Santos Ramano

* Tony McFadden of Madison Cigar Lounge
* E. Zarzuela Cigars

www.ezarzuelacigars.com

Last weekend I attended The Next Hope (Hackers on Planet Earth) conference, held at the Hotel Pennsylvania in NYC. It is held every 2 years and this is the 4th time I attended since 1998.

This is the badge-

this is the schematic for the badge designed by Travis Goodspeed-

“These badges are active RFID tags which beacon the position of each attendee a few times a second, so that the god damned devil army of lies–by which I mean the Next HOPE badge committee–can track each attendee around the Hotel Pennsylvania.”

There were alot of other cool things to check out such as this USB Typewriter setup and a working EASY button

Here are some topics to some of the talks I attended-

• Circuitbending
• Keeping Your Job While Being a Hacker
• Examining Costs, Benefits, and Economics in Malware and Carding Markets
• Arse Elektronika: Sex, Tech, and the Future of Screw-It-Yourself
• How Hacking is Both the Death and Future of Traditional and Interactive Publishing, Journalism, and the Media
• Reach Out And Touch Face: A Rant About Failing
• Sita Sings the Blues: A Free Culture Success Story

A keynote was scheduled to be given by Julian Assange of Wikileaks , he did not show for obvious reasons, but his partner Jacob Appelbaum and developer of TOR gave a great talk,cover past, present and future developments of the project and showed the much talked about a videotape showing a U.S. Army Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff. for more information check out CollateralMurder.com

I got to ride a Segway (video on that later) and got put on to Etherape!-is a packet sniffer/network traffic monitoring tool, developed for Unix (thank you AngelXIII!)

I met threat analyst and journalist, known as a former grey hat hacker, Adrian Lamo  (we now follow each other on foursquare)

He also informed the authorities of the identity of a US Army Intelligence Specialist who is alleged to be the source of the July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike video leak to Wikileaks.

Which shows guts and balls and I am in his corner no matter what his reputation may now be in the hacker community.

I also enjoyed 2 greats talk and got a pic with Johannes Grenzfurthner

(No-I do not work for @cafebustelo)

He is the founder of monochrom, an internationally acting art and theory group.

I shot an interview with a teacher from The Hacktory, a Philidelphia-based group that promotes the use of technolog in the arts.

(look for that video to be posted soon)

Overall, it was a good time of learning and unlearning.

Note: Most of the videos of the talks can be downloaded at Hattorents.com

Dissolving sugar cube in glass of Absinthe

@Teledboi-Dope DJ’s with DOPE Technology

me and @thefatapplenyc

Me and Rameet-Developer of a cool Augmented Reality Vodka Iphone App

This mixtape features Agua Negro by VICELOUNGE-
Tai Allen, Yours Truly  & DeVasha Lloyd’s hubby Craig Knight

thanks Mike Ashley for the love!

Life and Soul Mixtape 2

All the things – Jua

Back n Forth (Remix) – Mycah Chevalier

Without You – Mika ft Mic El

Great2Me – Green Tea

Magic – Darien

So Smooth (Extended Version – Wadz 12^th Note Mix) – Ashanti Munir

Agua Negro (Tension) – Vicelounge

My Love – Jimmie Reign

Nobody (DOA Mix) – St Jaimz

My Magazine – JP (Produced by Herb Middleton)

97 – Dam Good Soul ft Elisha LaVerne

Certified Organic (Remix) – Adina Nyree

Take Me Away (#2 Old School French Mix) – Gemma Genezzano

Love on You (Soul Mix) – Montalfish (Colleen Max Fisher & Christian Montalbano)

Love Lost (Remix) – Juliette Leon

Bonus Dance Mix

Take Me Away (#2 Old School French Mix) – Gemma Genezzano

Artists Websites

Thanks to all the artists for allowing me to showcase their music.  Please visit the following sites and buy some music

Jua http://www.juasmusic.com/

Mycah Chevalier http://www.mycah.net/

Mika http://www.mikamuseic.com/

Mic El http://www.myspace.com/mic_el

Green Tea www.diaryofindependentartistgreentea.blogspot.com

Darien http://darienonline.wordpress.com/

Ashanti Munir http://www.myspace.com/grooveallegianceusa

Vicelounge http://vicelounge.com/

Jimmie Reign http://www.myspace.com/jimmiereign1

St Jaimz http://www.myspace.com/saintjaimzmuzic

Herb Middleton http://nuvyberecords.com/

Dam Good Soul http://www.damgoodsoul.net/

Adina Nyree www.adinanyree.com

Gemma Genezzano http://www.gemmagenazzano.com/

Montalfish http://www.myspace.com/Montalfish

Juliette Leon http://www.myspace.com/julietteleon

LISTEN

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Click HERE to download

Episodes 6 &7- Cigar Inn 12/12/2009 NYC-ended up editing so much footage into 2 episodes to end 2009.

Cigarfilms Episode 6: Cigar Inn Miami Cigars & Don Pepin –

Shot on location at Cigar Inn Lounge NYC on December 12, 2009.

This event features discussions with:

• Don Pepin Garcia, Jaime Garcia of  El Rey De Los Habanos Cigars
• Nestor Miranda of The Miami Cigar & Company
• Edde Ortega & Erik Espinosa of United Tobacco Inc

Cigarfilms Episode 7: Cigar Inn Miami Cigars & Don Pepin –

Shot on location at Cigar Inn Lounge NYC on December 12, 2009.
This episode features discussions with:

• Eddie Ortega of United Tobacco Inc.,
• Ray Dawson, Creator of the Nocturnal Peacock Cigar
• Gus Fahik Owner of the Cigar Inn
• Nestor Miranda of The Miami Cigar

This show is dedicated to Avelino Lara ( March 20, 1921-October 27, 2009)

Check out more episodes at cigarfilms.com

Last week I appeared as a guest along with Carmen Dixon on the Kevin Ross Show.

here it is in cased you missed the live stream on BlogTalkRadio

Original Air Date: 10/21/2009 10:00 PM EST

TOPIC: Louisiana Justice Of The Peace Keith Bardwell refused to marry an interacial couple and still believes that despite violating the constitution, this offensive decision is a good one. Boss Ross is not having it! Plus, some people in the blogosphere you need to know!

Click  to listen or download 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.