The deadline has past and we have WINNERS! In honor of the DVD release of the second season of Gossip Girl, we had asked you to confide in us - tell us how the spirit of the glamorous characters on Gossip Girl have helped you maintain your fabulosity. And you did. And we here at New York Cool, say thank you.

Leighton Meester as Blair
Photo Credit: Giovanni Rufino / The CW© 2009

Our first prize winner (one tee shirt and two tickets to the Gossip Girl Screen Tour) is James Johnson:

Gossip Girl spelled backwards is Keep Hope.
(If you are illiterate.)

Written by James Johnson

One of the biggest problems of the down turned economy is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to think of oneself as a victim. It seem like I cant turn on the TV or open a newspaper without hearing about the latest moon-faced optimist who has managed to turn life’s lemons into lemonade. What about those of us who were given lemonade and have managed to turn it into lemons?

I am an upper middle class, college educated white male who can’t seem to do anything with his life. Where’s my story on CNN? Who do I turn to for a sympathetic ear? Our President? He would probably tell me to “believe in myself” which, if he ever met me, he would realize how stupid that is. Should I read an inspirational book? Please. That would involve going to the book store and I don’t have that kind of energy.

I have done what any sane, grounded, well educated person in my situation would do. I have made the cast of Gossip Girl my imaginary friends, and boy, are they sympathetic.

“Ugg, “I might say as I stroll down the aisle of The Food Emporium, “I can’t believe I am in a situation where I have to buy generic cereal. Me!!!”

“Don’t worry,” I imagine sympathetic Serina saying to me, “Tough times call for tough measures.”

“I know,” I might say, “It seems like there is less and less catering work and I simply must cut corners.”

“You could get a better job.” Level headed Dan might suggest.

“SHUT UP DAN!” tempestuous Blair would yell, causing some of the other shoppers to stare. “He needs real suggestions that could lead to real advancement in his life. You should start your own clothing line! There’s big money in that!”

“I do wear clothes almost every day” I muse.

“This is perfect,” Serina would say with a reassuring wink. “I’ll call my mom and she’ll introduce you to all the people you need to know.”

“And I’ll call my dad and get all the financing you need,” Chuck would offer.

“Thanks guys, you all are the best” I say as I put down the Americas Choice Corn flakes and pick up the brand name Kellogg’s.

So while some might not feel sorry for a person with every advantage in the world squandering his life, my friends do. My real friends. They tell me to keep hope that through no action of my own, something in my life will change for the better.

---

Our second place winner and the winner of a Gossip Girl tee shirt is Elizabeth Kuzmenka.

Elizabeth Kuzmenka

Gossip Girl has changed my life because when my "friend-boy" said he loved me yet did nothing to show it. I said, " Well Chuck Bass didn't say he loved Blair but at least he brought her flowers and seduced her [away] from her boyfriend Nate." He stared at me and said, "Chuck Bass isn't real." I told him, "He's more real than you'll ever be." And that was the end of my "friend-boy". Facebook status of the day on his profile was "Bass my Ass." Too bad;my best friends commented saying, "That's right. It bit you on the ass."

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Our third prize winner and the winner of a Gossip Girl tee shirt is Craiglist Furniture:

Good morning, Upper East-Siders - or those that wish you were. You see, while I'm an aspiring Blair Waldorf (with an attitude to match), I've got more of a Jenny Humphrey budget to work with. That means using creativity to feel pampered and powerful in the City. My ideal afternoon involves a free makeover at Soho Bloomingdales (with maybe a Dior mascara or Chanel lip gloss purchase to appease the counter), followed by cheap and stimulating massage from one of Chinatown's finest. Follow it up with a scrub at Sabon - the cutest place in the Village to scrub up with luxury soaps - and I'm fresh, flexible and flawless for under $50. I think little J would approve - and the Constance elite never need to know! Xoxo

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..

And here is a great Honorable Mention from Daren Bernstein:

Chuck U. -- Or, How the Spirit of the Gossip Girl Gang Saved My Life.
(Warning: Grab a box of tissues before reading)

My life has been greatly enriched by the spirit of the Gossip Girl gang. Like this one time, someone tried to blackmail me by threatening to expose the sins of my billionaire uncle so they could get enough money to open their own fashion line. But, I learned how to deal with such problems from the school of Chuck. I decided to just get back into my limo and have the driver take me home to my Central park West apartment mansion, then fly in female escorts from around the world to calm me down. And that is when I realized that I have no billionaire uncle, and that I am also so neck-deep in debt that I don't have the money to pay anyone off. Problem solved! So I guess what I really learned is that my life is pretty easy. (And it was a good thing too because I don't have the money for a limo, driver, mansion or world-class hookers.) So thank you, Gossip Girl!

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And here is a another great Honorable Mention from Darcy Brislin: :

Recession: Gossip Girl Style

-bone dry cappuccino (less substance, less money)

-stay at your parents hotel instead of paying rent

-date older, employed people who can afford to take you out
(then blackmail said older person so that you don’t turn them in for corrupting a minor)

-sell your threesome overdose video as a snuff film or a porn flick à la Paris Hilton.

-have little J copy all the latest designer duds you want. Then sell last season’s stuff on ebay

-design a gossip girl iphone app and copyright it

-“slum it” in a loft in Williamsburg

-opt for a taxi instead of private limo

-trick your rich friends and family into a ponzi scheme and steal all their money

-camp out in your foreclosed mansion until you get physically removed

-cater for a seder

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August 16, 2009

Where It All Started:
Announcing the New York Cool Gossip Girl Essay Contest

 

It is time for another New York Cool Essay Contest. In honor of the upcoming August 18, 2009 release of the Gossip Girl Second SeasonDVD, we are giving away three Gossip Girl tee shirts to the winners of our Gossip Girl Essay Contest. And in an exciting new development, the first prize winner will be awarded two tickets to the Gossip Girl Screen Tour sponsored by On Location Tours (see below for more information about the tour).

Here is how it works: Write a paragraph about how the spirit of Blair, Serena, Jenny, Vanessa, Nate, Chuck and Dan have helped you overcome life's little tragedies. Be specific. When you are treated with disrespect like dear Serena, do you buy a new purse or get a wax? When threatened with the loss of prestige like our glam heroine Blair, do you flee to Bora Bora or just get a spray tan at Bliss Spa?

We are all atwitter awaiting your response. Please send your submissions to wendy@newyorkcool.com by midnight August 19th. The winners will be announced on August 20 th in honor of the Second Season DVD release.

We will publish both the winning paragraphs and the "Honorable Mentions." And if you want, you can send us a photo of yourself attired as your favorite Gossip Girl character which we will publish with your paragraph. (The photos are just for fun and will have no effect on whether or not you win a tee shirt).

So harness your muse and let your words fly.

Click here for more information about the Second Season DVD.

 

Experience a Day in the Life of Manhattan’s Elite on the Tour of Gossip Girl Sites

Hello Upper East Siders and Gossip Girl Fans! Enter the playground of the privileged prep school teens on a brand new tour of Gossip Girl Sites, courtesy of On Location Tours.

Live a day in the life of Serena, Blair, Chuck, Dan, Vanessa, and Nate on this three hour guided bus tour that goes to more than 30 locations that were used in filming the hit TV series. Find out behind the scenes information and little known facts about the cast and crew of Gossip Girl from local New York City actors and actresses who are the guides on this exciting tour.

* Visit the New York Palace Hotel, home to the Bass and Van der Woodson families where so many of the scenes from Gossip Girl take place.
* Be "spotted" by that most ubiquitous blogger at the Constance Billard School for Girls/St. Jude School for Boys.
* See the lavish Fifth Avenue building that Blair Waldorf calls home.
* Shop at Henri Bendel where Blair and Serena shop.
* Get a glimpse of Eleanor Waldorf’s shop in the meatpacking district
* Go past the restaurant where Dan and Serena have their second date.

The tour costs $40 per person and runs on Fridays and Sundays at noon. Tours depart from in front of the Palace Hotel. Private tours are available at any time. Advance purchase is required, as tours usually sell out. Tickets can be purchased online at www.screentours.com or by calling Zerve at (212) 209-3370

On Location Tours, Inc. is the world leader in TV and Movie tours. Based in New York City, On Location Tours also operates tours of Sex and the City Hotspots, Sopranos Sites, New York TV and Movie Sites, Washington DC TV and Movie Sites, and Central Park Movie Sites. The company was founded in 1999, by Georgette Blau, a 1996 graduate of Skidmore College.