Legendary Giveback

Our favorite soft drink of the South, Cheerwine, announced yesterday that they will be partnering with the Avett Brothers to present the Legendary Giveback concert, an evening that will raise awareness and funds for a number of nonprofit organizations this fall. The two southern icons are teaming up for one night, in one town in the Southeast, to bring their fans together and raise awareness of the causes in need.  We can’t wait to hear more details when they are released later this summer!

We Love Us Some Brooklyn!

Yes, we know it’s white-hot, but we still can’t help and grin like maniacs when we’re flying in Chile on Lan Airlines, perusing their in-flight magazine and notice the headline: Hot Shopping in Brooklyn. Yes! Coverage on the DeKalb Market which is a community of salvaged shipping containers where you can buy everything from homemade goods to sweet mini cupcakes. Want to learn to garden? You can do that here, as well. It’s smart, it’s cool, it’s Brooklyn.

Get Your Blankets Ready!

What is better than a movie in the park? Grab your loved ones and a blanket because Bryant Park just released this summers movie schedule. Check it out here.

Lowline is Highbrow

A duo of urban planners has launched a campaign to build an underground park beneath Manhattan’s Lower East side in an abandoned trolley terminal. Using technology they invented, the masterminds behind the Delancey Underground will transmit sunlight into the cavernous space to allow vegetation to grow. The plans also include innovative architectural elements used to create a space that mirrors the result of what was achieved by the immensely popular High Line park on Manhattan’s west side.

RIP MCA

Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys passed away last week, and we’re all pretty sad. He was a brilliant musician, an innovator, a campaigner for social justice and the best kind of rebel.  The Beastie Boys were New York icons, a living embodiment of the restless, hard-charging creative mania that is the pulse of this city, but who never took themselves too seriously. Yauch was an inspiration to us all, showcasing that if you worked tirelessly, had fun, created with everything you had and weren’t bound by convention, you could do things your way and get great results. That’s something that we try to do every day.

RIP MCA, 1964-2012

Please and Thank You

Clearly, we’re very interested in what’s happening in hotels these days to set themselves apart. First, we posted about a hotel with an animal psychic in Portland. Now, we’re reading about a hotel in London that offers dinner etiquette lessons for children. Called “Petite Etiquette,” London’s Kensington Hotel is providing free four-hour long classes targeted at children between five and ten years old, teaching kids a variety of easy to learn tricks. Manners expert Jean Broke-Smith is the instructor and she offers guidance on manners including posture, how to hold a knife and fork properly, and the importance of “please” and “thank you.”

Who Doesn’t Love a Rooftop Bar?

We are big fans of indulging in a cocktail on the roof of a tall building here at The Thomas Collective, and this new rooftop bar, pool and lounge, called La Piscine, is right up our alley. Guests can enjoy Latin food with a French flare and take a dip in the refreshing pool. On a hot summer day, we are there.

Wake Up All Over The World!

If the sound of your alarm clock is something you dread every time you close your eyes for the night, think of the lucky Swedish folk who now have an app to put the fun back into waking up! ANYWAKE, an app created by Lufthansa, allows the user to virtually wake up anywhere in the world. As the alarm, it selects a random city and plays the street sounds of that city, all for your aural pleasure.  As an added bonus you can score Lufthansa discounts by guessing the chosen city correctly. Currently this app is only available to Swedish customers.

New App to Help You Drink (Water) Responsibly

In 2008, WeTap was created in an effort to help the world limit its consumption on bottled water and thus, reduce waste going to landfills and ocean dump sites. The brainchild of activist Evelyn Wendel, WeTap helps users locate and review public water fountains. In its inception, the app was only available in L.A., but is now spreading throughout the U.S. and worldwide. So grab a canteen, check the app and bottoms up!

Hotel Pops Up in the Forest

Ever dream of sleeping mid air among the tree tops? Now you can thanks to Time Circus. This group of Belgian artists created the AirHotel, a collection of nine unique circus-themed pods settled in the woodlands of Norfolk. Guests will not only enjoy a floating room in the middle of the wilderness, but was also be entertained by circus acts like the Strongest Granny in the Entire World.