Hasta La Ideas

Last month’s event at City Winery’s NYC location on Varick Street was SRO. So too is this weekend’s repeat in northern California, when a second group of patrons will get the chance to pair half a dozen wines with half a dozen Spike Lee movies.

From a report in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:

“Spike’s films are so powerful that they have a terroir,” said City Winery founder Michael Dorf…

“In He Got Game, there’s an emotional scene about generational change and the father-son dynamic,” Dorf said, “so we went for generational change in a winemaking family” and selected Catena’s Malbec.

The movies and wines selected for the Sunday March 29 event may be a little different than those sipped in Manhattan. Dorf has been a long-time fan of Lee, dating all the way back to when he launched The Knitting Factory in the mid-1980s.

Lee will discuss each movie highlighted, and bring along for further enjoyment his personal DJ. The events are designed to help promote the filmmaker’s latest offering, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus.

HBO and Vice are expanding their partnership in a deal that will span the next four years. HBO is labeling this its “most expansive programming deal ever,” so please prepare for your life to be changed forever.

The deal includes a Vice daily newscast, featuring five half-hour shows a week, for 48 weeks per year; a bump in the weekly Vice documentary show, from 14 episodes to 35; and 32 Vice specials, which are described as “in-depth examinations of pressing topics.”

Shane Smith, Vice’s founder and CEO, was unsurprisingly dramatic about the announcement.

“This deal, simply put, allows Vice the freedom to go after any story, anywhere we find it – and to do so with complete independence,” said Smith, in a statement. “Over the the last few years, our relationship with HBO has morphed from a great business partnership into a transformative brand-builder. This groundbreaking deal will create a new voice in news.”

Like we said, prepare yourself.

Midwest Living is proud of its regional roots, and the magazine seeks to showcase all that is great about living in the Midwest, from its dining and travel options to its homes and gardens.

The best way for potential freelancers to get an in with a magazine is generally through the FOB. Midwest Living provides another option, a particularly interesting one for those who have harbored dreams of being a secret shopper:

Prospective freelancers would be wise to get their foot in the door by being a story scout, a role that can be compared to mystery shopper. Scouts are assigned to check out a place, usually incognito, and asked to submit a written report and corresponding photographs for a potential story. “Whether it’s a hotel, a restaurant or an event, we want someone to go out there and be part of it and come back and let us know that ‘Yes, this is a good thing.’ That is really where the bulk of our freelancing is,” said [travel editor Amanda] Glazebrook.

For more, read: How To Pitch: Midwest Living

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