Nicole DiGiose

Lisa

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

A feature article I wrote in September 2010 on a journalist I attended SUNY Purchase College with.

Junior journalism major Lisa Eadicicco always had an interest in writing. Her adoration for making stories from the written word stems from her childhood.

“In third grade I’d love when we had to write stories with our vocabulary words for the week,” she said as she flipped her long hair behind her shoulder. “I took a creative writing class in my senior year of high school and I absolutely loved it. It was so much fun,” she said. “We wrote fiction, screen writing, bits of everything.”

She said her interest in music has also been a big inspiration for her writing.

“I played the drums in a band in junior high and I played the guitar as a freshman in high school,” she said with a smile, eyes squinted beneath brown bangs. “I was into magazines like Spin, Rolling Stone, Alternative Press.  I’d love to write for them,” she said. “Now that I’m really into journalism, I’d write for any publication.”

Eadicicco said when she first got into journalism, she wasn’t sure what to expect, but decided to major in it because she liked to write. “In journalism, it’s all about the hard facts and to me that’s interesting,” she said.

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Mikey

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

A feature article I wrote in September 2010 on a musician I attended SUNY Purchase College with.

Singer-songwriter, Mikey Ballou, a junior composition major from Westchester, looks up in thought. His bleached blonde hair dangles over his eyebrows.

“Flexibility is important,” he says. “The music conservatory here offers more flexibility than most programs in other colleges. I don’t want to be limited to playing one instrument. I want to be in the studio and I want to record every instrument.”

He shakes his head and the hair over his eyes moves to one side. “I can network here. It’s nice to be in an environment where there aren’t 800 other musicians. Competition isn’t magnified as much.”

Ballou says he was exposed to music since he was a baby. He gives credit to his father, a professional musician, who he says he got his ears from. He considers himself independent from his father but it wasn’t always that way.

“My dad forced music on me ever since I was a kid and it sucked for the first few years. I wasn’t interested.” Read More

The History of Pimm’s No.1 Cup

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

 An article I wrote for Chilled Magazine. I just finished and submitted it today. If anyone has any feedback or information, please leave a comment!

Pimm’s No. 1 Cup was invented by James Pimm, the owner of a London oyster bar, in the early 1840s. The thirst-quenching drink is based on gin with a mixture of herbs and fruit extracts. The original recipe included quinine because of its medicinal qualities. Pimm originally served his brew as a digestive aid in a small tankard called the No.1 cup, hence the name, “Pimm’s No. 1 Cup.” The drink was a big hit, so Pimm expanded his business to sell it by the bottle to other taverns.

Pimm built a chain of restaurants in many locations, including The Old Bailey and other places that businessmen would likely come across. By 1859, Pimm’s No. 1 Cup was on sale outside of his restaurants. Years later, Pimm sold his tonic drink business because the rights to it ended up with the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Horatio David Davies. It was Davies who made the drink fashionable, particularly amongst the military, because of his connection with London Society.

It was after the Second World War that Pimm’s expanded their range. They began using a number of different spirits as bases for cups. Pimm’s No. 2 Cup was scotch-based while No. 3 used brandy, No. 4 rum, No. 5 rye and No. 6 vodka. The vodka cup and brandy cup are the only ones still in production out of the sequels. The original No. 1 Cup is still very popular. It is often thought of as the number two English drink (tea being the first). The gin-based beverage is downed by the gallon in England during the summer months, especially during sporting events like the tennis tournament, Wimbledon Fortnight and the rowing event, Henley Royal Regatta. The first Pimm’s bar opened at the 1971 Wimbledon tournament, where over 80,000 pints of Pimm’s and lemonade continue to be sold each year. Read More

35 Things I’m Inspired By

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

I can go on and on, but below are some things that come to mind when thinking about who and what I’m inspired by. I wrote this list in no particular order. I’ve read some other lists and it really says a lot about who you are. Definitely give it a try.

1. Travel writers/journalists

2. Listening to the memories of elderly people

3. People who love animals

4. Documentaries about animals, nature, science, or history

5. Runners

6. Paintings

7. Knitting

8. Open mic poetry readings

9. Musicians who write and perform their music

10. The sun rising or setting over the ocean

11. Finding shapes in the clouds

12. People who find the light in tough situations

13. Cleverness

14. Those who give just because they want to Read More

The Nico Blues Heat Up The Vibe Lounge

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

An article I wrote for SpotonLI.com.

The Nico Blues, an alternative rock band from New Jersey, heated up The Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre Friday night. They pulled in a crowd of a variety of ages.

The band is made up of Eric Goldberg and Evan Campbell, both vocalists, guitarists, and bassists, Reed Adler, guitarist and bassist, Skylar Adler, drummer and recording engineer, and Dan Goldberg, guitarist. The guys rotate instruments depending on which song they play. The band was founded in 2009, but they have been sharing and writing music with each other for years. Growing up in the same neighborhood, the five of them were friends by the time they were six and seven years old.

The Nico Blues played six of their songs Friday night, opening with “Mugshot In Princeton,” which is on their upcoming EP, followed by “Living Proof,” which the band considers to be their most successful song. The video for “Living Proof” was picked up by MTVU. The audience rocked their bodies and tossed their heads to the intense harmony, wearing stickers on their clothing the band handed out before the show. Read More

Break of Dawn

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

Dawn slipped her fingers between Carlo’s. They squinted their eyes from the sunlight as they walked out of the dorm building.

“I’m just gonna head to class from here,” Carlo said, taking his hand from Dawn’s.

Dawn grabbed her cellphone out of her back pocket and slid her thumb across the screen. “You have 15 minutes. Come to The Cup with me.” She crossed her arms and frowned.

“I want to read over my notes.”

“You can come to The Cup with me. I’ll test you.”

“Nah, just go.” Carlo pointed his hand with the notebook to The Cup, the coffee shop across the field.

“Hug me first.” Dawn closed her eyes and held her arms open.

Carlo wrapped his arms around Dawn’s shoulders and kissed her blonde head. “Bye Dawn,” he said before letting her go.

“Text me when you’re out,” Dawn said as Carlo walked away.

*

The bell on the door jingled as Dawn entered The Cup. She stopped as soon as she stepped in. The counter’s line ended near the entrance. She scanned the couches and tables in the dining area for someone she knew.

“Looks like everybody had the same idea.”

Dawn smiled and turned around when she heard his voice.

“Andriel!” She hugged him. “You’re out of class early. Usually I don’t see you here for another 20 minutes.”

“Yeah. Professor showed up late, turned on some movie made in the ’80s about the culture of Guatemala and was on his iPad. He obviously didn’t want to be there today so why should I?”

Dawn shrugged. “Nobody cares about anything anymore.”

“Nope.”

The line moved up and Andriel puffed his chest out and purposefully walked into Dawn. “Excuse me, miss,” he said in a deep voice.

She grinned and pushed him away. “You’re such a creep.”

Andriel rubbed one of his big hands through Dawn’s hair, pulling it in front of her face.

“Cut it out!” She laughed and parted her hair. Read More

10 Random Things About Me

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

1. I can lick my elbow. I’m abnormally flexible, or as many call it, “double jointed.”

2. My favorite feeling is a rush of excitement mixed with a hint of fear. This comes from things like skydiving, a crazy, super fast, loopy roller coaster, or the beginning of a race when you first begin to run. It happens when you kiss someone you’re into for the first time (maybe even the first few times), or when you’re up at bat and your team has two outs and the bases are loaded. I discovered my adoration for this feeling when I was a child, when my brothers, cousins, friends, and I would play manhunt. I got a natural high from that feeling of darting to “base” when someone on the opposite team saw me/was chasing me. Gotta love it!

3. As a child, my favorite book was Upchuck and the Rotten Willy by Bill Wallace. For a complete animal lover, there’s nothing like getting into the mind of one of them. I began writing and drawing at a very young age, and my finished products were always stories about animals (especially dogs and wolves) or pictures of them (again, mainly dogs or wolves).

4. As an early teenager, I had an obsession with astrology. Scorpios rule. Just throwing it out there.

5. For a long time, my favorite color was lime green. Now, though I hate to admit it since I’m  known to be all into green, I’m pretty sure it morphed into turquoise. Maybe. Read More

My Life: Things Done and Things to Be Done

Posted on by Nicole DiGiose

Last updated on 9/12/2015.

Skydiving

Parasailing

Bungee jumping

Dog sledding

White water rafting

Go for a ride in a hot air balloon

Kayaking

Camping

Hiking

Race in a 5k

Travel to Europe

Travel to Australia

Go on an African safari

Go on an Alaskan cruise

Visit California

Raise an animal from its first few weeks of life and form a lifelong bond with him/her

Train a dog and love him because he’s a part of my family

Ride a horse

Pet a wolf

Grow my own plants

Make honor roll

Graduate college

Keep a diary and commit to it for years

Have my work published

Read my work in front of an audience Read More