I went to see my buddy Mike's (seriously one of the nicest people I've ever met) band, After The Fall at their NYC record release show yesterday with Thieves & Assassins, Sister Kisser, etc. Their second full length, Eradication, just came out on my buddy RJ's label, Mightier Than Sword. It's good stuff, go pick it up!

PS; if it wasn't for my wifey Sam, I would never get to eat home-cooked meals. So thankful for awesome friends :)

Let's talk about one of my favorite gems today, the pearl (doesn't this oyster look like a vagina?! Sorry, I can't help it!!). This was a really great article in WWD Beauty, about how amazing this "creature" is. The pearl "is created when something enters the shell of a mollusk, typically a parasite, worm, piece of food, or sand. The animal protects itself from the irritant by creating a lustrous nacre-rich casing around it. After about eight years, the layers of nacre create a solid pearl." If the pearl isn't a perfect metaphor for life, I don't know what is; taking the bad and turning it into this beautiful thing. I've always loved pearls, but now that I know the organics of it, I think I love it even more.

I went to see Bad Religion yesterday. The show was the first of their three nights here in NYC to celebrate their 30th anniversary. It was their "80's" night, which they played songs off How Could Hell Be Any Worse up to No Control. Needless to say, it was amazing.

Fun fact: Bad Religion was the first "real" show I ever went to, in 2000 when I was 13. Not bad, eh? haha.

At first, I was really deterred from picking up Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, just because of it's dumb title and artwork ("chick-lit" comes to mind), but this novel turned out to be a perfect example of "never judge a book by it's cover" - literally. I finished reading it on the train this morning and really loved it. Yes, it's a bit slow-paced, but that all just adds to the lucidity of the quiet, dreamlike horror. Emotions are subtle, yet you're aware of them the entire time. I don't want to give anything away, but it's an interesting perspective on sci-fi without being too nerdy. I want to go see the film now, mostly because Carey Mulligan (my #1 girlcrush) is in it, but also to see how this story gets interpreted. I kind of want to go see it alone, because it just feels like that's what you should do. I've never gone to the movies alone before, so we'll see what happens.

I went to see Jimmy Eat World tonight with a couple of friends, and even met up with my friend Frank whom I haven't seen since high school (and has since been on a couple episodes of MTV's True Life, lol). I've liked this band for a really long time but for some reason, I ALWAYS miss out on tickets when they come around (oh, how I wish I was at that Clarity tour), so I MADE SURE I got tickets as soon as they went on sale this time. Unfortunately, it was at the venue I dislike most in NYC: Terminal 5. However, my new stategy is to just stay in the balcony area so I don't have to deal with the chumps in the pit area (who can very easily ruin the entire show experience). JEW were everything I expected them to be... they sounded amazing and Jim was as awkward in real life as he seems, but it was quite charming haha. It was a great show, with a good mix of old and new material. Also, this band unfortunately always reminds me of boys that broke my heart haha. I would always get mixtapes with JEW songs on them from old boyfriends, and it was a favorite  of a boy I really liked in the recent past. That's the fantastical thing about music, it will remind you of the best of times, and the worst of times. 

Intense disco ball action during "Hear You Me."

View from the 3rd floor balcony.

I went to the Yoshimoto Nara exhibit, Nobody's Fool, at the Asia Society with Heather today. I've always loved and admired Nara's work because he is very influenced but music, specifically punk rock, and draws cute but angsty, lonely little girls (I can relate) and animals. It was really cool to see an exhibit like this in America.

 "White Ghost" installation on Park ave, outside of the Asia Society.

Photography wasn't allowed but I managed to sneak this one in.

Then I went to eat yummy Polish food with Steve and Cecelia in Greenpoint!