the best party game ever

Dan had the idea of building a photobooth for his grand party, so Friday night, after a trip to the Whitney, Brett and I headed back to his house to assist in the construction. Or rather, and despite our museum fatigue, Brett hit the ground running, being incredibly helpful and creative, while I kind of hung around, taking photos, generally getting in the way, running to the drugstore for push pins (to hang the drapery) then agreeing wholeheartedly with the plan to head to Black Mountain for dinner and drinks at 11pm.

The party itself went with a bang - lots of drink and good friends and dancing and squabbles over playlists (Christy Claire was rather put out that hers got turned off when Outkast came on), but you know there is the smallest chance I might have been getting my drunk on at the party - there was rather more of the booze and rather less of the food for me that day - so my memory gets a little hazy some time around midnight...

Luckily the photobooth, apart from being a great party game, is also a fabulous aide-memoire for those drunken occasions, so it was with amusement and trepidation we looked through the photos this (very hungover) evening...

http://danestabrook.com/photobooth

Dan, me & Cece

I'd like to plead the triple-vodka-and-cranberry defence to (hopefully) explain why half the shots I'm in I seem to be either trying to bite someone, or licking their neck.

Ahh parties. Open bars without having eaten anything. New York. <3

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull...

...or whatever it's called, is a pile of shite.

However, three hours of solid air conditioning courtesy of the movie theatre was worth the $12 ticket price alone. Goddamn this 40 degree New York heatwave.

The frozen margs we then got at El Cantinero were pretty fucking great too.

i just need to have a geek out moment

I just want to say, I was childishly psyched when the Christmas special of Dr Who took place, in parts, in Chiswick (a.k.a. home)



I also kind of loved the Torchwood series finale - up until the giant monster appeared, when it became a bit ludicrous. And even though a lot of the characters are reaaaaaally quite irritating, the very very end, with the Tardis noise... sob.

And while we're geeking out, did I ever mention that when I was in NY I found first editions of both the first Sandman book, Preludes and Nocturnes, and the first Love and Rockets books in one of my favourite little bookstores that's right near City Bakery, and whose name I can *never* remember (I think it's called Skyline books) and was overjoyed (and spent money I didn't really have on them)? Then back at Dan's, his old stack of Love & Rockets became my second favourite form of procrastination (after watching Full House reruns, of course...)

high culture, low culture

Spend the day running around - over to J&R [camera sale!], down to Abercrombie at Southstreet Seaport for my sister [I spend max. 2 mins walking through the store repeatedly thinking I fucking *hate* this shop then have to leave] and to Pier 17 where the view down the East River of the Brooklyn Bridge and beyond makes everything feel strangely fake.

Then it's back to Brooklyn, rest up for a few minutes, meet up with Dan then head up to the Met for some overdue culture. I've barely been to the Met - just one time on an MB organised trip that was ruuuuubbbbish - so I'm pysched to finally see it. The place is immense. We check out the mummies and the two exhibits and some photos and then spend a while trying to find a picture I want to see: "It's a number 5. It goes with that William Carlos Williams poem." "Okay. Who's it by?" "Ummmmm..." Figuring it's gonna be in the Modern Art section we head there and slowly but surely locate the painting I was talking about:*

By now we're both being old people and our feet are killing so we head home. I get in, text Lauren to see if she wants to get dinner in the 'hood instead of Union Sq - but apparently the party we're meant to be going to [that, truthfully, I was considering bailing out of 'cause I'm knackered] will have food. I sit down for five minutes, sugar up on Nerds, then have to head back out again to go meet Lauren.

We head to Shallon's book party just off Union Sq. We're like the first people there. We have the open bar and the snacks alllll to ourselves. Awesome. We hover by the chips-n-dip after pouring generous vodka-Frescas for ourselves until people we know turn up. Rob Hitt, Sarah H, Alex Sarti, other Crush Mgmt peeps... We're hanging out by the cupcake table - cupcakes with letters on them that, originally, spelled out 'Congratulations on the book Shallon'. Only after a fair few drinks...




All the free alcohol means things descend even further...



...until some of us decide to split. Lauren, Sarah, Sarti and I leave and, for lack of decision of what else to do, head to Beauty Bar where Omri is spinning. While there I also run into Jenny, the Lula photo ed., who I haven't yet seen in NY, which is pretty cool. We take a seat and argue about what to do next... Annex... Guns 'N Roses afterparty ["It's in midtown? Ewww."]... no decision seems to be reached but we head out anyway, waiting while Lauren runs into KFC to use their bathroom. There's a rat out front of the restaurant, just hanging out. It's kinda gross.

Standing outside the KFC, we all realise we're tired and a wee bit drunk perhaps, so - more old people antics - decide to head home. Lauren and I wait for the L and as it pulls in I notice Andrew and Alex Littl'an, and LaRue already on the train so we jump in their car and say hi. I entrust Lauren to them at Lorimer and stumble to the G to get back to Carroll Gardens...


*the painting is by Charles Demuth
**I stole most of these photos from Lauren

Misshapes!

Misshapes. Leaving home without a jacket and regretting it the minute I stepped out from the subway. Fly-posting Don Hills with Littlans and Horrors posters the minute I got in there. Noticing how much Don Hills has changed and smartened up. The Hammerhead shark wandering round. Ben Littlan bringing me up a large vodka-cranberry from their supply in the basement VIP room. Just heading down there myself a couple minutes later, running into Jackie who's holding a glass of straight vodka for me - which goes straight in the pint glass Ben has given me. Waiting upstairs for the IS and talking to some adorable [young] LA hipsters. And talking about Cory Kennedy, of all things. And them buying me a drink. Spending most of the evening downstairs in the basement, but the order of things is a little hazy as I haven't really been drinking for the past six or so months and suddenly there's free alcohol just *there*. Talking with Jenny Penny who was wearing the most awesome Jackie-O-on-assassination-day costume. Someone trying to introduce me and Hot Scott and him saying "Whataya doing, she's an old Misshapes regular!" Lame, but it totally made my evening and made me feel like I was actually back in NY. Talking to Rhys "Spider" Horror - a sweetheart. Not a fan of the NME tour.

People digging Littl'ans set. Ronnie being as crazy as ever. Running into Quinn and giving her a smiley face necklace that Dan and I had created earlier and a glowstick. Raverrrr. Heading back to the basement. Talking to Karen and being introduced to Brian Battjer. Knocking a beer bottle to the floor. Oops. Wishing Geordon a happy belated. The Horrors set totally tripping people out. The strobe lighting tripping *me* out.

Eventually deciding to peace out. Heading to the pub round the corner to use their bathrooms as Don Hill's' were blocked up - as ever. Grabbing a cab with Quinn to 1st. Some dude on 1st hollering "Yeah girl, red pants. Work it!" at me. Getting the L. Waiting for the G. Freezing my ass off getting home. Falling into bed.

Snakes On A...

So the Cobra boys were back in town, for one night only. They're currently on the MTV $2 Bill Tour, with 30 Seconds To Mars [haha], Head Automatica & Men, Women & Children [who had their gear stolen in Detroit - check their myspace page for how to help 'em out] and are touring, like, all autumn. Boo Cobra and MTV.

A pass was procured for me so I could go see Alex and Ry, my old homies [fact: Alex Suarez is the first NY kid I ever spoke to, at Trash @ Rififi in May 2005. He's one of the raddest people around]. I met Sarah H from work [have I mentioned before that I work a couple blocks from where Lauren & Sarah work? And how awesome that is?] and we headed over to W'burg, where Lauren and Alex were "napping". Once everyone was ready we headed into the city and up to Roseland, miraculously meeting up with Ryland and Kristen on the L.

We caught the very end of MW&C's set, went up to the reserved staged seating area [I heart passes] and met up with Joe-Nightmare of You and Gurj, and half watched Pink Spiders [loud. stripes]. Then Cobra Starship came on. For like the first song I sat there with a stupid grin on my face - after being used to watching Alex & Ryland play a couple of feet from me in places like Cake Shop or the Delancey [in their other band, Ivy League, who I've mentioned more than a few times on here] it was so awesome seeing them up there on a huge stage. Gabe was jumping around like all good frontmen, Ry and Alex were totally rocking out. For their last song they did Snakes On A Plane, and Gabe got some girl to come up on stage and do the rap, which was pretty funny - although not as funny as Lauren jumping up and turning to us when she saw the girl, saying "Ohmigod that girl mystalks me!"

After their set we kinda wandered around, headed up to the green room, back downstairs. Lauren and Alex and Sarah disappeared to the tour bus for a bit. I chatted to some intern from Warners, Head Automatica came on and played a horrendously loud set, accompanied by loud frat-boy yelling from the guys at the table next to us - who Gurj summed up best by yelling "Spring Break! Yeaaahhhh!". Ugh. After H.A.'s set I went and joined them in the tourbus, dashing through the pouring rain [the weather was terrible - I had like three comedians making some "must be like home" "guess you get this all the time" "so this is London weather" riffs that night].

Alex Sarti dragged most of the band out to do a meet-and-greet signing thingy so we all cotched on the bus with its overly-effective aircon, nibbling at the band's apple-cranberry pie [Sorry guys. Hadn't eaten all day] and admiring the rubber snakes adorning the bus. Walked back through Roseland towards the end of the 30STM set, to see Jared Leto jumping around on stage, wearing all black, shouting "Father Kill Me!" - hi-LAR-ious - to the merch area, where we were crushed by hordes of teenage girls and Suarez handed me a CD.

Back on the bus, still pissing with rain, trying to decide for far too long what to do. Lower East Side was most frequently mentioned, but the weather and general tiredness seemed to prevent anyone from even moving. Eventually about midnight we headed round the corner to a 24-hr diner - where we were almost kicked out straight away: "Table for 15 I think - oh FUCK!" In the middle of asking for a table, Sarti spied the World Series results. The poor Mets fan wasn't impressed. We got seated in the back, in the corner, and were given our food pretty fast...

In the end, no one ended up doing anything. Bus call was 5am and the Cobra boys went back to the bus to try and sleep, and everyone else was tired and cold and soaking and just headed en masse to the subway, and home.

And *that*, children, is what they call rock 'n roll...

for my beloved city, on 9/11