This nearly didn't happen. The line was miles long (some people waited hours and still didn't get in) but I went by myself and was able to just roll in. Luckily I observed one of my top rules: travel light, travel far.

FULL REPORT

( many pictures and videos from this increditastic day!!! )

*about Tanabata festival

Last weekend felt very minimal. My life has been feeling very minimal since I got back from vacation. I guess part of it is post-vacation brokeness, but I think the other part is clicking myself back into a routine. Oh and dealing with dreadful allergies



Last weekend, I went to see Guy Maddin's Brand Upon The Brain with Laurie Anderson as narrator. It was very good. I walked out of there at 9PM happy but a bit sleepy. I tried to go to a party at KCDC afterwards, but as I did one circle around the room, didn't recognize anyone, and didn't want the Colt 45 and Red Bull that was on offer, I just went home and to bed. On Sunday, labrujah and I went to (the very impressive) Union Docs for the screening of The Pervert's Guide to Cinema. We didn't make it all the way through. As I previously resolved, I am just going to buy it. I will say it is much better (and basically renders irrelevant) the Zizek! documentary, but I would advise against trying to watch it all in one sitting. Slavoj is one of my favorite people and I couldn't hack it...Anyway from there we did Sopranos night (so much drama!)and then I ambled home.

Yesterday, my tough but tender tiny Latina dental hygienist of the last four years told me she wanted to introduce me to her son. She told me I seemed like I well put-together young lady. The kind of girl her son needed so that he could get his act together. I told her I didn't think I could hack it. I hope I'm not being too picky.

*

In other news, this is oddly compelling:

Last night I flew solo to the Lily Allen/ Yo Yo party. Yo Yo is a popular party in London that they are trying to get going over here. It has potential, but they should move it to Brooklyn. The club (Love on MacDougal) was cool, but Brooklyn is where the party people are. So anyway last night was all drunken baddancing by Kate Moss babydaddy in an inappropriate three-piece suit, me randomly dancing with his supermodel girlfriend, Lily Allen "djing" every single totally recognizably dancehall hit of the past 20 years, me finally getting to dance even if only for a little bit. In situations where I go to dance parties alone I always circle the club once to see if there is anyone I know and if that proves fruitless I walk around once again looking for the circle of dancing black girls. They are always there without fail, as we tend to be the best dancers and the ones boys seem to the least interested in dancing with **shakes fist at sky**

Anyway, here are some pics (unedited, sorry, and NO there was no Mark Ronson and that was not the point):





( so britishy in here )

Lots of stuff. First of all, why do so many of my male friends who clearly have serious girlfriends feel the need to be so flirtatious with me? Hrmph. It's not even fun anymore it's just baffling.

So now here are some pictures with full color commentary on the scrollover, aight?





( A LOT of pictures )




here is video of Dragons of Zynth doing track War Lover last night

In other news, some potentially awesome stuff is possibly afoot. I spent the weekend bro-ing with a lot of aforementioned male friends who (when they weren't annoying me with the fact that they weren't hot single men) were scheming and plotting and whispering and bringing me into the fold. While I am excited, I also have a valid fear that I am doomed to become the (non-evil) Condoleeza Rice of the indie rock scene, which is to say I fear that I will become a smart hardworking member of the elite forces. but remain (alas) painfully and glaringly single.

I've been reading this book "Be Honest, You're Not That Into Him Either." It is good, but it has made it abundantly clear that I am fresh out of places to look for men. I am getting more and more keen on the idea of becoming a rich old cat lady.

Last night I dragged AV Phibes out to a party full of strangers to celebrate a stranger's 40th birthday and then over to Third Ward to see BARR and boyfriend scout for claudelemonde because I want her to date Brendan Fowler from BARR but I had to make sure he wasn't short. He was very tall, but alas he has been girlfriended. Anyway he was cute and nice and the show was great and very fun and it was HIS birthday too! I had to scurry out after their set because I was too old for what was happening there. We went over to Enid's where I proceeded to talk to a bunch of men/goobers I wasn't into and then ingest a mouthful of pepper spray.

Anyone who wants to be with me needs to have a strong constitution and a good sense of humor.

Anyway here are some more pictures of BARR Birthday Bonanza.



( Read more... )

What a weekend! I'm exhausted and hungover. This was a surprise superspecial weekend. Here are some bullet highlights.

Saturday
* went to my first bar mitzvah which was actually a b'nai mitviot which is a bar mitzvah but for twins.
* worked for awesome new neighbor at said event
* went to chelsea lighthouse for the first time. the room was gorgeous

Sunday
* went to friend's birthday party at the official NYC Green Bay Packer bar, Kettle of Fish
* finally met Shane from Vice and gushed about how much I love VBS
* met Cindy from Libertine (genius clothing label)
* got chatted up by a young African ER doctor (who was trying to hide the fact that he had a girlfriend, shame!)
* hung out and picked the brains of the head designers of Marc Jacobs (capricornia i met your friend bobby but i didn't realize in time to mention it to him. i was talking to emily mostly
* went to Sway and hung out and danced with a group of people that included frikkin Mike Meyers!
* ended up leaving Sway and discovering someone else's keys in my bag on way to Max Fish. it turns out they are the keys of hot-max-fish-bartender-I-have-a-crush-on there. he comes racing in from sway after an hour of fruitless key-searching and hugs me and kisses me and gives me an IOU for future free imbibing.
* discussed possibility of creating creative think tank with some friends. i have a file stuffed full of ideas but i never fathomed that anyone would ever just be like "hey, let's all sit down and bat around ideas." even though it was late night party drunken talk, i'm excited. i will do what i can to try to make it pan out.

Pictures to come.

In other news, I've decided to tear the house down and rebuild. In April I am going on a diet to try and lose 15-20 pounds and then build muscle back up from there. I've never done a proper diet so this is gonna be interesting. I'm gonna shop around for the least drastic thing which will probably just be disciplined calorie counting. I already have the gym routine down (5 days a week) and I've taken it upon myself to get to the pool at least two times a week since I can't stand those cardio machines and I am really enjoying going into the water. My swim teacher told me that I have the potential to be a really great swimmer. I know pretty much anyone with arms has this potential, but for some reason the fact that he took the time to pull me aside and tell me personally was a good motivator. I'll keep you posted as to the progress. UPDATE (3/20/07) I think I changed my mind. I don't believe in diets. I don't believe I'd succeed at one. :(

I got a frantic email from nuggetology worried because I hadn't blogged in three days. OK here's the bloggery.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chomp Change



uberdionysus has been posting about Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma. Upon reading the blog post, I went and read Pollan's NY Times magazine article on food. Really interesting stuff on the connections between public policy, farming, industry, ecology, the grocery store, and what goes in our mouths. He raises so many personal, political, ethical, and moral questions about something which we ALL do: EAT.

The article blew my mind. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the piece:

Of course it’s also a lot easier to slap a health claim on a box of sugary cereal than on a potato or carrot, with the perverse result that the most healthful foods in the supermarket sit there quietly in the produce section, silent as stroke victims...
( Read more... )

"Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food."

Lots to chew on (pun intended), and Pollan gives great suggestions at the beginning and end of the article about ways that we can be better eaters. Though Pollan is a professor at my alma-mater (AKA the unrealistic idealistic center of the world), I still think (hope!) I can find a way to follow his advice while maintaining my fervently anti-hippy stance.

I'm now listening to the NPR interview he did last year.

In other news, my two cultural events last week were:

1) a few minutes at Sherry Weaver storytelling (I left because Mike Daisey cancelled and because it was the coldest day I'd ever experienced and I wanted to get back to Brooklyn despite the fact that Demetri Martin happened to be upstairs at that venue cutely dining alone). However I did stay around long enough to hear Sherry tell The Best Story Ever. I'll tell it you if we ever meet.

2) Matthew Rodriguez opening at Riviera Gallery (on yet another cold night). Alas, his stuff turned out to be very unsatisfying.











It was a subpar week for cultural events, I'll admit but I will blame a bit of that on the cold. This week is already shaping up better. I got a text last night from the fabulousverbavolant to come join her at The Pipettes show at Luna Lounge. I changed out of my gym clothes, showered and raced over there on my bike. Pictures coming soon!

On Saturday, Sarah invited me to go to dinner and a show with her and her lovely parents who were up from Nashville. We had a great dinner at Prune and then headed up to Broadway to see Jersey Boys(cultural event#2).





( a few more words and images )


...and we all know singing and dancing makes EVERYTHING better.

This week's goal = get into more singing and dancing situations than last week.

My glasses are gone! This is not a complaint. Just an exclamation of a disappointing fact.

Besides the misplacement (or theft) of my spectacles, I am good.
UPDATE: Glasses Found!

I've had a lot of fun in the last few days. Here are pictures (edited with Picassa!). Slide over for captions.

( WARNING: A LOT MORE PICS )








( a whole bunch more )

I only got one cultural event in last week. So damned cold. Instead I went to the gym way too damn much.

For my one cultural event last week, I went to Sherry Weaver's Storytelling Series in thr back room of Biscuit BBQ in Park Slope...at least I think it was Park Slope, I'm not 100% certain what that area is considered.

Any ways here are some pictures. I didn't love it, but it wasn't bad either (though trudging all the way out there in the snow to sit in that chilly room did add to the pressure). The stories ranged from intolerable to just OK, except for this guy Daniel Reinisch who told a fun story with just the right mix of poignancy, self-reflection, and self-deprecating Jewish humor. I'm planning to go to the next event where I will see the fantastic Mike Daisey, who I blogged about a few weeks back.

Anyway here are some pics from the other night. Thanks to Sarah for inviting me!







Sorry the pictures are blurry, my hands were shivering.

Last week, my requisite two cultural events were:

1) going over to the MoMA and standing in the freezing cold to see the Doug Aitken Sleepwalkers film exhibit

2) going to see Pony Pants at Cake Shop.

Here are pictures. No commentary













BTW, can anyone recommend a good free or cheap photo editing program? I don't have one anymore and I should clean my photos before I post them.

"The creative personality does not seek to shock or entertain the rich, but to destroy them."

I am reading Ian Bone's book Bash The Rich: True Life Confessions of an Anarchist in the UK. It was part of the magnificent pile of books Christina gave me on Monday and though it is a little overstuffed with confusing Britishisms I am enjoying it. Ian Bone was once named "the most dangerous man in Britain", good times.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- -- - -- -- - -- -- - -- - - -- -

Last night I went to the Madsteez opening. It was just OK. To be honest I was weirded out to be in a room full of people my age group and not run into anyone I knew or even recognized. Slightly unnerved, I left and met up with Sarah who it turns out wanted to check out the show. So I walked her back over there and we each grabbed a cup of Coke Zero, peoplewatched, art-oggled, and talked. The experience was much more pleasant than the first time, which goes to show that things are always better when you're with a friend.

Tonight I am going to Thor/miraclejackson's launch party for his new graphic novel.

Oh, and apologize for not getting in anything cultural last week. I've got some things doing on Friday and Saturday so I'll make up for it a bit. I'm glad I set the weekly quota (two cultural events a week) even though it is a pain to go out and do stuff in the cold.

Friday I went to the overpacked show at Cinders with my buddy Evelyn, and then to a gallery clled Parker's Box and then to Korean food, and then out with betchka and claudelemonde and several other folks. Saturday I did not much and foolishly forgot about slyseeker's birthday and then today my lovely Sarah came to church with me and then on to brunch. Sarah is fantastic. Lest anyone think I am an utterly unappreciative sod, I just want to say that I know that the friends I have and the friends I make really are some of the most ace people ever; just brilliant and beautiful and full of fire.

I am deep in the midst of sorting my life out. If I think of it as giving birth would it be more pleasant? Here are some snaps.


( you'd love me if you knew me, honest )

Before I forget, for one of my cultural events this week, I was invited by the always wonderful, Sumana, to see Mike Daisey's show Invincible Summer at the Under The Radar festival at The Public Theater.

I'd seen Mike do a short monologue in the summer of 2005 at The Harlem Shakes' really great Pianos residency, but it was a rowdy night in a hot and sweaty nightclub. Not the right place to get into a riveting monologue. SO I was really glad to get the chance to see him again. Invincible Summer weaves together the stories of Mike Daisey's young career, his move to NYC, changes in his family, and the history of the MTA. He is a great story teller who mixes humor and gutwrenching prose to spin his yarns.

This show was a real treat and I highly recommend it and anything else Mike Daisey does!

Can't talk long. I should be busy cleaning out my life. I decided I am going to sit on any Big Decisions for a bit, but I'm keeping my eyes and ears wide open.

So here was the weekend. Friday, I met up with daigor0, verbavolant, and sadotter for drinks at Lit. verbavolant and I are body twins (same height, same weight) and she has challenged me to an arm wrestle. We've not set a date, but I'll keep you posted. In the mean time I'm pumping iron, eating my vitamins, and saying my prayers. After drinks, daigor0 and I went by EVR with me so I could greet the Ronson. I got called obsessed with fame, I don't agree. Afterwards we got burgers, dogs, tots, beer, and a shake. Saturday, I hung out at Tunde and Alianna's show at Tonic w/ uberdionysus & co. Pictures at his blog. Sunday I went to Dragons of Zynth and Earl Greyhound at Glasslands. OK, look at pics. Whew!





( a hunting we will go )

I'm trying to angle to get some one to pay my way to SXSW, otherwise I'm not going. Stay tuned on that.

Goude show was great. The guy is weird, but he has a great eye and a wild imagination. The book has been added to my Amazon wishlist.



So I told my parents I'm planning to move to London, so that makes it pretty serious. I have begun to solicit advice from friends and family. I might be going to school.

daigor0 is here this weekend! There are many fun shows this weekend. I think Amy Winehouse is around this weekend (she has a show at Joe's Pub on Tuesday), so I'm hoping I can find her and get disgustingly drunk with her. Best of all, I found a new young socialite to be in love with (no, I'm not telling you who just yet). I am trying to soak up as much of this crazy city as I can before I go. I know I'll miss it.

HASTED HUNT is pleased to announce the international gallery debut of Jean-Paul Goude, So Far So Goude. The exhibition consists of photographs and drawings by M. Goude, and it opens on January 4, 2007 and runs through February 17, 2007. There will a reception for the artist on Thursday, January 11th from 6 to 8 PM.

Jean-Paul Goude, best known as the man who "created" Grace Jones, has been one of the greatest contemporary imaginations and seminal taste makers since the 1970's. The Hasted Hunt exhibition is being produced in conjunction with his book So Far So Goude (Assouline 2005) which chronicles his artistic journey not only as a photographer but also as major creative force in the US and Europe.