vip in the city

Guinness and Belvedere

This is my 100th post. Shall I continue?

In 2004, Regis Philbin, who began his television career in th 1960s, was named the Guinness World Record holder for “Most Hours on Camera.” In honor of that title, Live with Regis and Kelly began running segments related to Guinness World Record title holders. Last year, serial record holder Suresh Joachim planted himself in the WABC lobby, and set a new Guinness record for “The Longest TV Watching Marathon” (69 hours, 48 minutes). This week, Reege and Kelly spotlight various attempts to set world records involving cartwheels, pirouettes, tango spins and cutting apples with a sword.

The “Most Apples Cut in the Air by a Sword in One Minute” record, currently held by Kenneth Lee of West Orange, New Jersey, seems oddly specific to me. It stands at 21 apples.

This morning, on Columbus Avenue, Don Claps from Brighton, Colorado, attempted to defend his Guinness World Record for “Most Cartwheels in One Hour” (currently, a dizzying 1,076. Personally, I don’t think I would ever want to attempt that many cartwheels over my entire lifetime, much less one every 3.35 seconds over an hour. But to each his own.) Ashton Kutcher and the Barenaked Ladies also dropped by.

From the Live with Regis and Kelly site:

Guidelines for Most Cartwheels in One Hour

1. Each cartwheel must involve both hands on the floor with legs straight and feet pointed directly upwards once in the air.
2. Each participant must be individually and independently watched and timed with a second person counting the cartwheels armed with a clicking device.
3. Breaks are at the cartwheelers’ discretion but the clock does not stop.
4. Suitably qualified gymnastics instructors and judges must be on hand to evaluate each cartwheel for technical correctness.
5. An experienced timekeeper should be present throughout the attempt.

[Edited to add:  Claps shattered his previous mark by turning 1,293(!) Guinness-approved cartwheels that hour.]

Later that night, M(LF) and I met at our old Monday night haunt, Cielo. for the Belvedere Beautiful Life fashion show, hosted by former Ford model, Parsons grad and Project Runway alumnus, Zulema [Griffin].

For the first two hours, M filled me in on her recent whirlwind of events – moving out, moving on – over Belvedere vodka drinks and passed hors d’oeuvres. It warmed my heart to see my friend so happy and excited. No stranger to the grand gesture, M was inspired that evening to surprise her friend with an impromptu morning rendezvous at a posh hotel. My initial response to the wildly romantic idea was, “That sounds amazing, but… won’t that conflict with class?” — which goes a long way towards explaining why nobody is inviting me out for impromptu morning rendezvous at a posh hotel. M just laughed and ruefully shook her head in response. In any case, would I consider bailing out of the fashion show to tag along as she set this plan into motion? You betcha.

We left Cielo without seeing a single outfit down the runway. But no matter: we were out in the cause of love. Unfortunately, as we soon discovered, M’s cause would have been far easier to take up had it not been peak tourist season in New York City, and Fashion Week to boot.

We overcame the initial awkwardness of sauntering into a hotel lobby, with no apparent luggage, to inquire about the availability of rooms — reminding ourselves that this was New York City and that of all the requests that hotel desks get over the course of any given day, this one would hardly even warrant a raised brow.

But there was no room at the inn. Not at the SoHo House…

… not at The Gansevoort…

…or at The Maritime.

What’s a girl to do? Well, in this case, the answer is apparently: get on the cellphone and book a room — sorry: a suite! — at The Pierre. Ah, M!

Back in my own decidedly less posh surroundings, I got a call from CS, who was just finishing up her evening nearby. Would I be up for meeting at our regular place for a nightcap? Yes, indeed.

So not quite the same, but I guess I got my impromptu rendezvous after all. Heh.

New friends: Bouncer Ray (who carded me for the second time in as many weeks) and Bartender John (who comped CS’s drink.)

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