Monthly Archives: February 2011

From left to right: Queen, Sabrina, Ashley (above), Alexandra, Jerrica

Hey, readers, welcome to blog posts by “The Independent Palette.” If you like food, film and music, we’re the ones who can tell you what’s out there in New York City in the independent genre. Here’s a little bit about each of us:

Queen: I enjoy politics, reading, listening to music, discussing philosophy and watching any film starring Johnny Depp. I am currently looking for a job or any other way to make money. I will begin to write another short film, shortly. I love Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Bill Maher If anyone is planning on going to Ireland or Scotland… can I come? I am not a fan of Ben Roethlisberger or Michael Vick. My favorite quarterback is Peyton Manning and my favorite baseball team is the New York Yankees.

Sabrina: I like discussing anything from film to vendor food, and indulging in all that in between too. So it’s awesome that I get to write for edit the Arts & Style section of The Ticker. I also critique theatre on a regular basis for tdf.org on their “plog” (play-blog). And I’m a concert junkie with a wide variety of music favorites. I love to travel too and my first stop was India, then Bangladesh, and I’m still looking to book the next one. Until then, I look forward to my posts in “Writing Culture: Food, Film and Beyond.”

Alexandra: I do not typically follow independent films or fashion so I look forward to keeping this blog this semester. My major is journalism and creative writing and I want to be the next Katie Couric or Barbara Walters. I am the features editor of the Ticker, Baruch’s independent student-run newspaper. The type of articles I like writing the most are profiles on people. I am looking forward to adding food, film, and other art related subjects to the list of things I know about and I think keeping this blog would help me achieve that.

Ashley: I am very passionate about food and cooking; it has always been a constant highlight in my life. In my opinion, the best thing about living in New York is that there are always new food places to try that are just around the corner or a few train stops away. I plan on creating my own food blog this spring. After I graduate Baruch College, I want to attend culinary school in the city.

Jerrica: I am an advocate for individuality and anything artistic, so I am very excited on this blog about culture. I love art and its forms, especially the art of fashion. I have my own fashion blog, which is just a blog for fun, of photographs I find inspiring, beautiful, and a little talk on fashion itself. However, I am also a huge fan of film and music, two art forms that this blog will focus on. I am looking forward to see what the Indie film genre has to offer.

Hailing from the two “forgotten” boroughs of Staten Island and Queens, we are a group of five Journalism students and we know our strengths and weaknesses. While we may have all failed math at least once, we make up for it with a passion and flair for writing. Our blogs will focus on the things we live to love: music, film, art and food.

David Ospino, the only male in a group of highly-caffeinated girls, is also the oldest member of our group, a graduating senior, a writer for the Ticker, and the only Mets fan in our group. He hopes to increase his knowledge of new social media by throwing himself into the world of blogging.

Diana Coats, a Junior with interests ranging from music and movies to sports of all kinds, is also hoping to get more involved with the blogging world. She follows the New York Times culture blogs, including the ArtsBeat, which we will all be taking example from for our own.

Kari Pulizzano, also a Junior and Journalism major doesn’t have much experience with blogs, but puts her passion for music to good use by writing for a small local paper covering the Staten Island music scene and hopes to channel that energy into blogging about local music.

Teresa Roca, a sophomore, is the most quiet and petite member of our group, but don’t let that fool you. While the other girls are talking about music and movies, she talks about following and covering sports for the Bleacher Report. “I feel like blogging is a big part of being a journalist, and I’m really interested in sports and I’ve been writing for the Bleacher Report, so taking this class will definitely improve my writing.”

Izabella Zaydenberg is a sophomore and the only member of our group who seems to know exactly what she wants to do with her writing; cover fashion. She currently interns for designer Christian Siriano and is looking to improve her blogging skills for her intership and future career. She follows blogs like Stylecaster and Refiner29.

We may seem sort of mismatched, but we make up one awesome group of writers with a real passion for what we do, and we’re looking forward to sharing that with all of you.

We are a diverse group that hails from all corners of the world. Our families can be traced back to Guyana, China, Taiwan, Jamaica, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Scotland, Barbados, Dominica, and Puerto Rico. Some of us may cross paths in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, but we are strangers just becoming friends and fellow bloggers in this vast, limitless online world.

From left: Alan, Ashley, Sherese, Ying, Gerard

Most of us are normal— majoring in Journalism that is—except for Alan, who is majoring in mathematics. Alan plans on becoming an actuary, a profession he calls the “most boring job in the world outside of accounting.” It’s strange why he chooses to enter this profession then, but he is convinced that becoming one has its perks. In the face of dwindling Social Security benefits, he can create solid retirement plans. His minors, economics and business writing, are outlets that he believes will transform him into a well-rounded individual. His interests include sports, music, politics, traveling, and technology.

Gerard, a technology buff who enjoys spending most of his time on Internet forums discussing current technology, likes working out whenever he isn’t drying out his eyes on his computer screen (though lately, he’s been slacking off). He loves strumming tunes on his much beloved guitar.

Sherese has the heart of an artist. Like Gerard, she enjoys music immensely; her favorite genres are Soul and Rock music from the 60s and 70s. Her major, an ad-hoc creatively dubbed “Words and Music: From Songwriting to Journalism,” combines music and journalism. Her interests include poetry, psychology, and African Diaspora studies. She is an avid blogger who writes frequently on her two blogs, Reese’s Ear Candy and Arts and Culture with Miss Frank.

Ashley is new to blogging, but knows just how important it is as an aspiring journalist today. She is a Marketing Representative at Four Seasons Sunrooms, which allows her to meet new people and socialize at work-related events such as hockey games and concerts as well as comedy and fashion shows. She is a foodie; she loves eating and she loves scouring the boroughs for new restaurants to enjoy. Her interests include writing, reading, and listening to music. She recently started longboarding only as a hobby, but she’s hoping to master a few tricks so that she can skate in the Broadway Bomb.

Ying enjoys reading, writing, and listening to music. Besides majoring in Journalism, she is planning to declare her ad-hoc major in Anthropology and History, with a focus on East Asia. During the Fall 2010 semester, she studied abroad in Nanjing, China. She traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi’an, and Yangzhou during her three-and-a-half month stay. Beijing was oddly similar to New York City and Shanghai? Well, it was fast-paced to the point of frenzy— almost like a Beijing on steroids. She loves traveling and hopes to travel more— she wants to see more of the world and write about her experiences. She hopes to one day write for National Geographic.

So who are we exactly? There are really no words that can describe us as a whole. We are as diverse in our perspectives and experiences, as we are in our heritages. Together, we make Mirage.