THE INTERWEBS?Atlantic Cities spotted a cool organization called Phototrails, which aims to use Big Data (a.k.a. thousands of Instagram photos) to create graphics and collages that reveal trends and patterns about how people use social media and, at a more basic level, how they behave. Instagram Cities, they say, can spotlight cultural differences and tell stories about the way we live. The image above was compiled using 23,581 images shot during Hurricane Sandy, and as a whole, the color and composition over time lays bare who was in the blackout and who wasn't, as well as other facets of the overall experience. [Atlantic Cities; official]
PROSPECT HEIGHTS?Just in time for the 4th, you must be keen to know more about the hidden (and not-so-hidden) NYC spots in which the Revolutionary War played out. Luckily, our friends over at Brooklyn Brainery have just the course for you. For $10, join historian Sean O'Brien tomorrow to learn about the Stamp Act riots in lower Manhattan, the Battle of Brooklyn, Kips Bay and Harlem Heights, and George Washington's inauguration. Spots are still available, and the class runs from 8:30-10 p.m. at the Brainery's Prospect Heights location. [CurbedWire Inbox; official]
UPPER EAST SIDE?Residents at the Upper East Side's Extell conversion Carlton House better be shopaholics, because along with their pricey pads comes an extra-fashionable amenity. Barneys has joined forces with the Carlton so that tenants of the 68 units can enjoy some deals at the luxe department store, including lunch and dinner delivery from its restaurant Fred's, delivery of in-store purchases, access to personal stylists and the penthouse suite for private shopping and special events, bespoke tailoring services, in-home custom suit services and invitations to exclusive parties, sometimes with designers. Seems like if you could afford an apartment there (which range from $3.15 to $65 million), a custom-tailored suit might just seem like a drop in the bucket. [CurbedWire Inbox; previously]
WILLIAMSBURG?Our favorite pie-in-the-sky project, +Pool, is holding a fundraiser tonight to try to boost their Kickstarter campaign. The funds go towards meeting the $250,000 goal they've set to build a prototype pool, which would test out their brilliant-if-as-yet-untested concept of a floating East River pool that filters the water around it to make it swimmable. They've got $90K left to go and nine days in which to earn it. [CurbedWire Inbox; previously]