Dreams really do come true

November 22nd, 2009 marks the opening of the MoMA's Tim Burton retrospective (finally!). The show will include over 700 of the morbidly marvelous artist's drawings, paintings, puppets, and other specimens from his career, as well as a film series to accompany the exhibition. Come hell or high water, you better believe I'll get myself in there on opening night.

(Early drawing for "Edward Scissorhands," courtesy of the NYT)

Martha Martha Martha

She's still got it: here's the recipe for Martha Stewart's strawberry cupcakes I made for my mom's birthday a few weeks ago. Perfect for summer if you discount the bikini factor.

Celebrate Brooklyn

Art-rock guru David Byrne played a free show to open the 31st annual Celebrate Brooklyn concert series in the Prospect Park bandshell last night. Not even the post-finals exodus of beer-toting Park Slope teens could fill the place the way this guy did - everyone from my high school math teacher to a Croc-footed baby to a dreadlocked, blazer-wearing Axl Rose wannabe was rocking out to Byrne's back-to-the-futuristic tunes. He played lots of new stuff, and this old fave:

Talkin' 'bout my generation

It's things like this that make me proud of my peers, a generation that started high school days before 9/11 and graduated college in the thick of an economic shitstorm: NY Mag's article about the class of 2009 paints us in the positive light we've been waiting for, straight from a poll of this year's graduates.

"If you can't change your circumstances, fix your thinking!  Graduates tended to interpret in a positive light what to earlier generations seem like worst-case scenarios ... Rather than rage against the machine, they prefer to hack their own futures."

Holla at my homeboys and girls who see the light - this is a time for change and rehashing of old notions, rather than a governmentally sanctioned mass freakout.  Let's think outside the box the way we do best, go forth into this mad mad mad mad world, and give 'em hell.

Gratuitous comedian porn

Thanks, Dan Park.  I needed that.

Movin' on up

Found my future home sweet home (and first NYC apartment) yesterday and have been on a decor-spiration binge ever since.  I wouldn't mind a room that looked like this:

Polka Perry

Ukrainian polka band Los Colorados covers Katy Perry's "Hot 'n Cold" in a hilarious feat of musical aptitude.  Laugh your ass off, then admire their talent:

The boys of summer

The Postelles are playing Santos Party House (Andrew W.K.'s, well, party space, for lack of a better word) tonight.  The fifties-influenced power-pop wunderkinds (produced by The Strokes' Albert Hammond, Jr.) are blowing up fast - they'll be at All Points West this summer - so check 'em out now for just $10.

Get mugged

New user-generated search site nycmugged.com allows users to enter an address, zip code, shop or neighborhood to pull up a list of coffee shops in and around the area, rated according to features such as quality, atmosphere, wi-fi, service etc.  Java-jolted user reviews and submissions suggest the possibility of caffeine-centric networking, cause for a true coffee hound, meeting for a cup of joe has everything to do with the beverage itself.

Panamania

My dearest faithful readers, I have returned after a short and sweaty stint in Central America which provided the perfect antidote to my post-graduation unemployment anxiety.  The island of Bocas del Toro felt somewhat like a college town itself (maybe because of the size, maybe because of the amount of alcohol consumed).  

The place is virtually teeming with travelers from all walks of life and ends of the earth - we made friends from Israel, the U.K., and obviously America.  I snorkled and watched dolphins off the coast of Isla Bastimentos (a fifteen-minute boat ride from Bocas), played with starfish, developed a sixth sense for seeking out air-conditioned locales, slept in many a hammock, got eaten alive by mosquitos, danced the night away on a floating dock, had the wackiest mani-pedi of my life for a grand total of $8, and cooked dinner for the former owner of famous L.A. restaurant The Factory (not only did Larry help convince Colin Powell to endorse Obama, he also spent a night in jail with Martin Luther King, Jr.  Seriously.  We made him pasta). 

But by far the recommendation of highest order goes to the hostel where we laid our bags, relaxed, and allowed the stress of the past few months to peel away faster than our rapidly burning skin.  I would go back to Bocas just for Mondo Taitu.  The evidence that this sentiment is shared by all who spend the night is in the walls plastered with scrawled declarations of love and inspiration, in the family dinners that occur five nights a week in the common area, and in the sense of community that encourages backpackers who are "just passing through" to stay for weeks, months and even years on end.  

So now I'm back to reality, back to New York's bustling brew of culture and noise, but my perspective is slightly altered.  Maybe I'm just passing through, or maybe I'm here to stay.