When assessing your monthly expenses, it’s not auspicious if one of the big line items is your ice-cream budget. For Diana Hardeman, though, a persistent pint habit pointed toward opportunity.

A 2009 grad of NYU’s Stern School of Business, Hardeman was living in Alphabet City and contemplating her next move when the idea of selling ice cream struck.

“A lot of my peers came out [of school] with jobs, and I didn’t know exactly what it was I wanted,” says the 27-year-old. “And then I bought an ice-cream maker.”

With no culinary training or food-business experience, her qualifications didn’t extend far beyond a love for the end product. But she bought a $50 Cuisinart and began experimenting with her roommate and a friend. The first batch was Hardeman’s favorite, peanut butter. The results?

Some people call the bathroom their “second office,” but in the workplace, New Yorkers seem to do everything besides their business once they enter the porcelain palace.

Judging by the goings-on, the office bathroom is more akin to one’s private living room than a public library. Colleagues yap on their cellphones, brush their teeth, even take naps in there. Why? Similar to how you might have claimed a certain stapler or a specific corner of the break room fridge as “yours,” you’ve also subconsciously claimed the bathroom, too.

“In environmental psych terms, the office bathroom is perceived as a ‘secondary territory’ — regular users see it as theirs even though it’s public,” explains Steve Schiavo, professor of psychology at Wellesley College. “No visitor would do those behaviors there.”

A cursory search of OverheardInNewYork.com reveals the scope of intimate conversations going on in office bathrooms: a Park Avenue Plaza trader making deals via cellphone while on the toilet, two NoHo women discussing the possibility that one of them may be dating a pee fetishist.

Mark, 21, recalls hitting the bathroom at his Long Island workplace only to hear a co-worker having a heated cellphone conversation — in Russian, no less — while locked in a stall.

“I sat outside in the break room for about 15 minutes, hearing him babble on and on,” he says.

Flagrant phone calls aren’t the only transgression. Others treat the office bathroom as if it were their personal grooming quarters. Like Tanveer, a 27-year-old programming manager who used to bring his electric razor to work to shave in the morning.

“Sometimes I brushed and flossed my teeth, too,” he adds, “but I think a lot of people do that.”

And that’s not even to mention the technological goings-on. In an AOL poll, 61 percent of New York e-mail users said they’ve checked their e-mail from the bathroom.

“It’s the only place I use the video capabilities of my iPhone,” says Joe, a 30-something tech worker.

Most frequently watched? “Seasons 1 through 6 of ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force.’ It’s the only location where this entertainment seems appropriate,” he explains.

David, 40, who works in sales, enjoys more intellectual pursuits, reading NYTimes.com and playing Sudoku on his iPhone.

Still others prefer to catch up with their friends via social networking sites or text messaging.

Some, however, use the work commode as a means of escape. When her morning grande latte starts to fade, Mitch, 25, occasionally nods off in her marketing office’s single-occupancy bathroom. Settling herself on a nest of seat covers blanketing the toilet, she rests her face on her knees, carefully avoiding telltale zippers or buttons, lest it be obvious that her face was just pressed against a pair of Theory pants. While she typically just grabs a few-minute “super power nap,” sometimes she’ll snooze for as long as 15 minutes.

“My biggest fear is that I’ll fall into a deep sleep — deep enough to not be woken up by repeated knocks,” she says of her biweekly habit.

Joe, the tech worker, notes that the bathroom is the only spot in the building without security cameras, making it “your only option” for an escape.

Unless, of course, you’ve got a boss like the Kentucky insurance agent charged last month with spying on employees through a camera hidden in the bathroom’s smoke detector. Lewis Maltby of the National Workrights Institute has tracked a number of such cases, and notes that while some bosses have been sanctioned, in other cases courts have upheld their right to spy in the stalls.

Business etiquette consultant Jacqueline Whitmore says it’s not surprising to find a range of unbusinesslike behaviors in the office loo, given that “we’re spending more time at work than ever. The lines between personal business and work business are getting skewed,” she says.

In that vein, behaviors like brushing your teeth, doing your hair, text messaging — things that are brief and won’t disturb others — are all acceptable, she says. Things best saved for home: shaving, eating food and talking on your cellphone.

As for in-person conversations, while small talk with someone at the adjacent sink is fine, save longer discussions for happy hour. And if your boss launches into a full-blown conversation while you’re sitting in adjacent stalls, you have every right to deflect the exchange.

“You can say, ‘Hold that thought, and we can talk about that when we get back to our desks,’” Whitmore suggests. “You need to recognize there are other people in there.”

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/jobs/can_do_spirit_Hy0oMhOBjs6A6PyKjXNLsI

You probably played the “slug bug” game when you were a kid — punching the poor soul who happened to be within arm’s reach as a Volkswagen rolled by — and the nostalgia certainly isn’t lost on the German automaker, whose “Punch Dub” commercial aired in the third quarter of the Super Bowl with the dreamy vocal harmonies of indie folk-rock band Grizzly Bear’s ‘Two Weeks’ wafting in the background.

Based in Brooklyn, Grizzly Bear came onto the scene in the early ’00s playing alongside as varied acts as fellow indie group The Dirty Projectors, alt-rock legends Radiohead, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. ‘Two Weeks’ is the second track off the group’s hugely popular third album, ‘Veckatimest,’ released in May 2009 and named after a tiny island on Cape Cod. It’s also the first single off the record.

And while the band has been largely popular with music critics (’Two Weeks’ ranked as no. 162 in Pitchfork Media’s Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s, and ‘Veckatimest’ was voted Stereogum’s 2nd best album of 2009) and mainstream media as a whole (the VW ad, of course, and also an episode of the CBS sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother’), they’ve still retained many of their original rabid fans — one so much than he made a very cool CGI video homage to ‘Two Weeks.’ Check it out alongside the VW commercial below.

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.

Listen to Indie Rock Radio

http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/02/07/volkswagen-super-bowl-commerical-song/

This year, Electronic Arts (commonly known as EA Games) joins the big dogs of the auto and alcoholic beverage industries by making its Super Bowl ad debut, showcasing its new HD action-adventure video game ‘Dante’s Inferno.’ The placement seems like a natural fit — what better venue than the Super Bowl to reach the 18 to 34-year-old male demographic, and just two days before the game hits shelves? But it wasn’t the easiest deal to broker.

The game, inspired by the first part of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem ‘The Divine Comedy,’ is full of demons and violence, and the commercial was first rejected by CBS. Originally, the last few seconds of the ad would flash the words “Go to Hell,” but were changed to the slightly milder “Hell Awaits” tagline. Similarly, the soundtrack for the spot — Bill Withers‘ smooth R&B hit ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ — acts in stark contrast to the CGI monsters spewing flames and the hero swinging a scythe through an army of attackers.

‘Sunshine,’ off the 1971 album ‘Just As I Am,’ won Withers a Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1972, and ‘Rolling Stone’ ranked it No. 280 in its 2004 list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Other artists flocked to the song, too; it was covered by dozens of prominent musicians, including Michael Jackson, The Police, Marvin Gaye and John Mayer. The hit was also included in soundtracks for movies like ‘Notting Hill,’ ‘Old School‘ and ‘Munich.’

Some bloggers have noted that the music doesn’t quite match with the game’s grisly premise. But if the aim of the song choice was (just as it was for the altered tagline) to placate the potentially riled up religious masses, this wasn’t a Hail Mary pass from EA — it was a touchdown.

Listen to R&B and Soul Radio

http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/02/07/dantes-inferno-hell-awaits-super-bowl-commercial-song/

Sure, you recycle. You use those fluorescent lightbulbs that’ll last till next decade. You bring your own reusable grocery bag to the supermarket. Hell, you might even compost. But with its new “Green Police” ads, German automaker Audi is trying to send the message that when it comes to making environmentally friendlier car purchases (an oxymoron, some might say), you may want to scope out the new Audi A3 TDI, which won Green Car Journal’s 2010 Green Car of the Year award for its use of clean diesel technology.

Audi’s PSA-spoofing Green Police commercials revolve around spouting eco-friendly tips to the masses, but one ad that’s set to air during the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XLIV showcases something else entirely: the classic 1979 Cheap Trick song ‘Dream Police’ lyrically remade into ‘Green Police.’

Formed in Rockford, Illinois (the state even dubbed April 1 “Cheap Trick Day” as of 2007), Cheap Trick became widely known for its power rock songs with classic pop melodies — check them out on AOL’s Classic Hard Rock station. ‘Dream Police,’ the band’s all too karaoke-able lead track off the album of the same title, cracked the Billboard Top 30, and the album went platinum only a few months after its release. Watch both the Green Police remake and the original music video after the jump. The band’s hairdos may have gone out of style, but the music clearly lives on.

Listen to Classic Hard Rock Radio

Really, Pepsi Cola must have thought they’d nailed the musical selection in their new “One People” commercial to introduce their 2010 Pepsi Refresh Project. After all, who better to communicate the “we are all interconnected” message than the trans-cultural group Black Eyed Peas? Will.I.Am (African-American), Apl.de.Ap (African-American and FIlipino), Taboo (Native American and Mexican) and frontwoman Fergie (Caucasian) are more than just a musical mashup of hip-hop and pop — they also collectively represent the ethnic melting pot of the modern-day American.

The song, ‘One Tribe,’ is a track off their 2009 album ‘The E.N.D.’ (short for Energy Never Dies), which earned the group an Album of the Year nomination and Best Pop Vocal Album win at the 52nd Grammys — largely due to the phenomenally radio-friendly singles ‘Boom Boom Pow’ and ‘I Gotta Feeling.’ (If you happen to have been living under a rock since, oh, say 2003, tune into AOL Radio’s Top Pop station to listen to Black Eyed Peas.)

But this particular ad may be short of a home run: it seems like TBWA\Chiat\Da, the agency who created this Pepsi spot, took more than just inspiration from Japanese band SOUR’s wildly popular music video for ‘Hibi No Neiro,’ which won YouTube’s Japan Video Awards in 2009. The split-screen format is distinctive — and practically mirrored in both ads.

One people? One mind, to be sure.

Listen to Top Pop Radio

http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/02/06/pepsi-one-people-commercial-song/

The Fender edition HTC Magic T-Mobile MyTouch 3G phone boasts some serious covet-worthy features for audiophiles: a 16GB microSD card to house thousands of songs and videos, a 3.5mm headset jack for headphones, and a newly enhanced music player, just to name a few. So who better to hawk the rock ‘n’ roll-heavy smartphone than three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-r (and the only guy to ever achieve such a feat, in fact) Eric Clapton?

As he fiddles with the 3G’s touchscreen, Clapton’s ‘I’ve Got a Rock ‘N’ Roll Heart’ (off his 1983 album ‘Money and Cigarettes’) plays in the background, its jaunty, toe-tapping melody synced in time as Clapton pages down the phone’s screen. The song was popular in the States, peaking at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 the year it was released, but oddly didn’t find as much success in Clapton’s native UK.

Dig the song? Buy the limited phone — ‘I’ve Got a Rock ‘N’ Roll Heart’ is one of the preloaded Clapton classics. Or go the recession route and check out the track below, or listen to it on AOL’s Adult Rock station.

Listen to Adult Rock Radio

http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/01/27/fender-t-mobile-mytouch-3g-song/

The auto industry spent the larger part of 2009 skidding towards financial catastrophe, so it’s no wonder that Chrysler Group LLC is determined to comfort the masses (or at least those with 40K to burn on a shiny new sedan) with their new 2010 ad campaign, ‘Coming Home.’ So what song did the Chrysler Group turn to to trumpet its return from bankruptcy? Australian rock band the The Temper Trap’s ‘Sweet Disposition.’

The song, fresh off the group’s debut album, ‘Conditions,’ became a hit overseas in places like the UK and Australia, but has only recently started gaining traction in the States, ranking on the Billboard rock charts at No. 45, being featured in a Rhapsody commercial, and getting several plays in the Golden Globe-nominated romantic comedy ‘(500) Days of Summer.’ It’s an upbeat song from a relative newcomer, and maybe that’s the idea that New Chrysler is trying to capitalize upon: the commercial features a driver traveling in a series of vehicles through time, starting off in a ’30s Chrysler Airflow and finally pulling his shiny black 2010 Chrysler 300 sedan into the driveway. For once, maybe the veteran car brand is trying to be the new kid on the block.

Can’t make The Temper Trap’s North American tour? Get your fix through Chrysler’s ad below, or listen to their performance of the tune on Spinner’s Interface.

Insatiable sweet tooth? Avowed carnivore? Meet some foodies who have memorialized their love with food tattoos.

Pig Butcher’s Guide

“For the pig piece, I have always been a big fan of a certain quote from the Simpsons:

Homer: Are you saying you’re never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

“With the tat I wanted to pay homage to the Homer quote, but also express that food itself is ‘magical,’ bringing people together like nothing else. Plus I wanted it to look cool!”

– Marc C.
Durham, North Carolina

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcwcarroll/2085554452/

Maine Lobster

“The short and obvious answer is that I have the tat because I was born there, but really it’s much more. My father is a chef, and I grew up at his side working in restaurants wherever his career took our family: Maine, Virginia, New York, among others. My first job in a kitchen began at the age of 6 at my father’s restaurant, Stripes, in Norfolk, Virginia, where, standing atop a milk crate, I was given a paper bag of live softshell crabs and told to ‘cut off the face and rip out the lungs.’ Since then I have barely left the kitchen. I continued to work in restaurants, eventually went to culinary school, after which I spent the next eight years cooking in New York City. Easily bored, I left it all behind and am now working on an organic sheep farm in the mountains of Italy’s west coast.

“I moved the star (capital) from Augusta to Portland — the city of my birth. I was born three months early, and had a tough time making it through the first few months, having to have open heart surgery at two weeks old. This tattoo serves as a reminder of the fortune I have to be around, and my affinity for the ocean and its contents which were my first foray into the world of the kitchen.”

– Michael Marcelli
Florence, Italy (via Brooklyn, New York)

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/themover/2492263123/

Cookie and Milk

“What’s the significance? Ha, nothing! It’s adorable. It’s part of a sleeve of pastries with faces that are all just…cute! The milk and cookie sit in amongst toast and jelly, flan, and a cupcake with glasses. They’re all surrounded by sprinkles. It makes me smile to see them — what other reason do I need?”

– Sarah Goldstone
Selma, California

I Heart Pizza

“I really love pizza, and always have. It’s kind of a comfort food thing; everyone has one that they love, and pizza’s mine. I’ve always eaten so much of it that it’s something people know me for. It’s part of who I am, as silly as that may seem! I’ve always been one to poke fun at myself, so a tattoo dedicated to my passion for pizza seemed natural.

“The ‘za nickname is just something my friends and I jokingly use. And the design is clearly inspired by that ‘I Heart N.Y.’ logo, which I love.”

– Dave
Boston, Massachusetts

Photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eocenean/2243471514

(Knuckle) Sandwich

“I was in New Orleans a little drunk and wandered into the tattoo shop, and I started talking to the guys who ran it — and then I saw his ’sandwich’ tattoo. I just thought it was hysterical that the dude had a tattoo that dumb! But it was definitely funny.”

– Erica Simone
New York City
www.ericasimone.com

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericasimone/808588229

Evil Chili Pepper

“The idea behind it is that I grow my own vegetables and my stepson Dylan thinks all vegetables are evil! … I still have one more sitting to go, just to finish off the sea of hellish tomato soup on my wrist and a little bit of tidying up. The main veggies I have are a King Edward potato, brussels sprout, carrot, chili, and a leek. The background consists of cabbage leaves and peas.”

– Andy Hussey
Ipswich, Suffolk
UK

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnah/2441371868

Good vs. Evil Cupcakes

“The reason I got the good versus evil cupcake tattoos is because I thought it was a really cute and fun take on a very basic idea! Plus, I think we’re all a little of both, so I wanted to represent that in a really creative and cute way! I got these tattoos a couple of years ago and still love them as much today as the day I got them. I’m in pastry school now so it has even more significance.”

– Cuppy
Seattle, Washington

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24606676@N03/2328737899/

“I Love Butter”

“I am a real fan of traditional tattoos, and being a baker and basic food obsessive, I LOVE butter — so I came up with the idea of a ‘mom’ tattoo declaring my love. My husband is more of an artist than I, so he and the tattoo artist came up with the design and surprised me for my birthday. I love that they came up with the wooden spoon (instead of an arrow) and sweet pea blossoms (instead of traditional roses), because they are both very me: wooden spoon as such a Southern culinary iconic symbol and sweet peas are my favorite flowers.”

– Kim Hammer
Raleigh, North Carolina
www.bittycakes.com

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82796297@N00/3322339319/

Chicago-Style Hot Dog

“I am the artist of these tattoos. I don’t know much about the decisions that led my clients to get food tattoos, [but] mostly I’m just grateful for the challenge they provide. Realistic food is notoriously difficult to render in this medium; glossiness, translucency, and accurate color being so important in retaining the visual appeal.

“I know that the woman with the hot dog tattoo was moving away and wanted a tribute to her hometown, so she got the traditional Chicago-style toppings — note the absence of ketchup.”

– Esther Garcia
Chicago, Illinois
www.butterfatstudios.com

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/butterfat/3395716345

Bacon and Eggs, Cherry Pie

“The egg-and-bacon skillet, and the cherry pie are part of a diner-themed sleeve — cheeseburger, strawberry shake, and cup of coffee are coming soon.”

– Esther Garcia
Chicago, Illinois
www.butterfatstudios.com

Bacon Love

“I am the photographer and I shot [this photo] for an event I covered for Cupcakes Take the Cake, one of the places where I work. The owner of the tat is Matt of Robicelli’s Gourmet in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. … Matt is a great guy and that he’s a big bacon lover! I’m a vegetarian, so I can’t comment.”

– Stacie Joy
New York, New York

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cupcakestacie/3475250468/

Count Chocula

“My main hobby for the last 10 years or so has been collecting vintage cereal boxes, mainly monster ones. Since I was a kid, the Count has always been my favorite, so I felt he deserved a place on my arm.”

- John G.
Fort Lee, New Jersey

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21909072@N05/2879079140/

Eggplant and Olives

“My wife makes the best eggplant parmigiana in the world, one of my favorite dishes ever. My eldest daughter, Olivia, is represented by the olives, and Nina (’Nina Bean’) gets props from the beans in the bottom of the piece. … Oh, and I call all my girls Grady, as do they call me — much easier than using proper names.”

– Marc C.
Durham, North Carolina

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcwcarroll/3815095636

Soybeans and Peanut Snacks

“The soybeans and peanut snacks are on the ankles of a Japanese colleague. In Japan these are snacks you would eat while drinking, so the actual theme here is beer.”

– Esther Garcia
Chicago, Illinois
www.butterfatstudios.com

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/butterfat/3500224472

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/tips/16-crazy-food-tattoos/

Want to know the produce in season when you’re grocery shopping, or which fast food menu item is healthiest? New healthy food iPhone apps are making eating well easier than ever. Here’s a roundup of the best healthy eating iPhone applications so you can eat for your health, even when you’re on the go.

Grocery Gadget Shopping List

Why it’s cool: Say you wrote a grocery list, but left it at home in your rush on the way to work. Or perhaps your husband is already out, but doesn’t know which ingredients you’re lacking to make dinner. With this app, both these scenarios are

solved. Grocery Gadget Shopping List allows you to write a list on the Web browser and automatically sync up with your iPhone, so there’s less chance of accidentally leaving your list on the coffee table. Similarly, if you add a list on your iPhone, it automatically shows up on your husband’s iPhone, too (provided he also has the app). Bonus: This is one more way he can never “forget” to pick up tampons for you at the store.
Price: $2.99
Compatible with: iPhone, iPod Touch

Get more info here >>