Naomi Reiter

Real Housewives of New York City Alums Challenge Parenting Status Quo

Don't even pretend you don't have guilty pleasures. We all do--it's cool. One of mine is the Real Housewives franchise. It's decadent, if not naughty, and so it surprises me that Real Housewives of New York City (RHNYC) alums and hubbies Alex McCord and Australian-born Simon van Kempen--married nine years--have been selected in the midst of a deal-killing recession to write a book about parenting.

The duo has been panned on RHNYC for their laissez-faire parenting style and want viewers to know that editing has a lot to do with that perception. 

"People tend to think that what they see on the show is the whole story. It isn't," says McCord, a Washington, D.C. native raised in Texas, Kansas and the Virgin Islands, who has been a New Yorker since 1996. "Children this young change their behavior in a nanosecond, and you can't blame the producers for wanting to include the most dramatic moments." 

Good TV

"Cute kids behaving beautifully doesn't make must-see TV as much as three-year-old François shouting in Ramona's face at 10 p.m. does, which happened at the end of one night in 2007 at a party we did not want to take him to, two hours after we were supposed to leave," she says.

Recession May Mean Better Service in NYC

It was on a trip to Tuscany years ago that I developed my addiction to buffalo mozzarella. That's why my PIC (Partner In Crime) and I began our meal at Little Italy's Da Nico last week with an order of caprese. Really, we just wanted to dine alfresco on the first warm night of spring, and the siren's song of Da Nico's patio beckoned.

In New York, the endless stream of customers for even the shabbiest of venues means that, unless you're shelling out an obnoxious amount of money for dinner, you should just be happy if you get what your ordered--never mind service with a smile. So we grinned at the night sky as we sipped velvety Chianti and kissed the pillow-soft cheese, dreaming of being surrounded by Italian vineyards and ancient stone.

Enter Benny.

iPod Seeder Offers Affordable Ambience

Forget the Milkman

It used to be that working stiffs were nervous about the milkman sowing his seeds of love. These days—at least in NYC—it's Johnny iPodseed (a.k.a. Alex Mynatt) who is spreading the love. But it's not bored housewives he's catering to, but upscale boutiques, salons, restaurants and nightlife venues.

With Seldom Seen Music NYC, Mynatt is using his nearly 20 years in the music scene to offer affordable playlists to businesses that have a stake in creating cutting-edge ambience to their clientele. And it's not just House or Trip hop. Sample songs on the Seldom Seen Web site include tracks from James Brown and Buena Vista Social Club, as well as Fela Kuti and Gary Davis. "Business owners don't have time to search for music," says Mynatt. "Much less load playlists."

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Mynatt does channel the milkman in one respect: much like the milk bottle exchange program that brought the milkman door-to-door, Mynatt brings fully-loaded iPod nanos—filled with hours of relevant music—to his clients. When they want a change, he brings another loaded nano and exchanges it for the last one he left. No piles of scratched CDs, no waste.

For more information, call (646) 217-2608 or ping.