I started off with weekend brunch at Little Skillet, a tiny little window serving incredible fried chicken and fresh waffles — just steps away from 330 Ritch in SoMA.

Then booked tickets to go see the Boredoms play in New York! Yippee!

Thurston Moore

Sonic Youth proved that they could still rock out on Monday night (see photo of Thurston Moore above, from sfdavidz).

I can’t wait for Sunn O))) to slowly drone me away in a live setting. And speaking of Sunn O))), I was reminded of their homage to Southern Lord’s mainstay group, Earth when I came across a new word: Ouroboros.

According to Wikipedia, an ouroboros is “an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail and forming a circle.” I’d heard about this symbol in a few different ways, from Jung to Norse mythology — apparently even Plato found it significant.

Ouroboros

Earth produced a song called “Ouroboros Is Broken” on the slowly unfolding album, Extra-Capsular Extraction. Find it and listen closely for the tail…

NYC street art

Then hopped to NYC where I avoided the post-Tgiving shoppers in favor of roaming back to the old haunts, exploring Brooklyn life and catching up with personal visits. Met up with Geeti, Dana, Tara, and Brooke (ever-prankish Mawrtyrs) as well as entrepreneurial Mike, DIS design co-hort Justin, and Microcosm/Goosehound kids David Last, Ezekiel Honig and Morgan Packard. Oh my! Also discovered Chrysanthemum Flower Summer Tea at the Wild Lily Tea Room around the corner from Mandi‘s gallery in Chelsea, va-va-voomed with the the fabulous Valdet over at Barney’s and missed another This Or That (boohoo).

Pocket Pet EP

I’ve been loving the new stuff by Pocket Pet, David Last’s side project with Segeke. “Shaky Hands” from the WeSendIt EP is especially conducive to serious dancefloor convulsions and ass-jiggling.

You can preview the track at Goosehound’s website, www.goosehound.com. Then run and buy it!!

• Jimmy Carter says yes.
• Green fingernails need you…
• The humpty dance rocks eggs. But few other things, mind you, like tubs of vasoline.
• Waking up in a pickle barrel house with leaves falling on the skylight over your head… then bonking your head on the curved roof.
• Russian Pig Olympics!
• Moments most missed: licking the back of a postage stamp right before mailing a letter to a friend.
• They were wrong – learning math did NOT matter!
• Check out Amadou and Miriam – cute blind couple from Mali, produced by Manu Chao
• There IS such a thing as cat scratch fever.
• Happypot cookies that you freeze, not bake.
• Vintage shopping in Chelsea is the perfect antidote to rainy Sunday afternoons in NYC. And a cuppa coffee at Push Cafe.

Feels good to be back in NYC.

For this Fashion Week 2006, his two fashion lines will be presented: the street-chic Apollo Braun line and the haute-couture Doron Braunshtein line. Promoted by party monster Toshi (toshifilm.com). Oh, and did I mention you can also party all night with the open bar…?

Get your tix now.

Friday, February 10th, 2006
10 pm
The Puck Building, Grand Ballroom floor
295 Lafayette Street

Never Felt Before! The extraordinary textiles of Claudy Jongstra
September 9-October 19
Opening night: Thursday, September 8, 2005 7-9 PM

Moss
152 Greene Street @ Houston Street
New York, NY

For those of you who have never experienced Moss in NYC, be sure to stop by on your next jaunt to Soho. The mecca shares the block with other renowned design outlets, but none come close to the selection, quality, and presentation carefully produced each season by Moss’s designerati team.

Moss’s next event is the debut solo exhibition of textile designer Claudy Jongstra. This Dutch-born fabric maven has constructed felts that include not only wool from her own flock of rare Drenthe Heath sheep, but also organza, rag linen, cashmere, and alpaca.

Her impressive cliente ranges from haute couturiers Christian Lacroix and John Galliano to industrial designers Hella Jongerius, Ettore Sottsass, and Jasper Morrison. She has also collaborated with architects Steven Holl and Will Bruder to create acoustic-enhancing materials for residential projects.

Jongstra will celebrate the the US launch of her first publication, Matter and Meaning, on the exhibition’s opening night. To be added to the guestlist, simply drop an email to: rsvp@mossonline.com.

I was rocked, quite literally, yesterday at work. The building in which I work experienced a great explosion around 10 am; it shook the entire building and sent flames and smoke rolling through the Ralph Lauren store on the ground floor.

I was working at the top of the building on the 35th floor of 1 Montgomery Place when I felt the massive jolt whicih shook the tower from underground. One of my co-workers working directly across the street saw a woman blasted from one side of the street to the sidewalk on the other side — the explosion lifted up the concrete from underground. We were instructed to evacuate, but since the elevators were full of smoke, we rushed down what felt like the never-ending flight of steps. I could smell the smoke and heard the wail of sirens and ambulances down the street. The entire area was shut down and taped off by the police.

The whole experience felt surreal and took us all by total surprise. I was reminded yet again that one never knows what will happen in the next moment.

Another day, and life is remarkably different: quiet and blissful. Went to the DWR sample sale in SoMA with a new friend, then off to Boogaloo’s for brunch. Dinner tonight with some close friends — yay. NYC is on my mind, can’t wait to get back there in September. For those living there: mark your calendars for my friend Mandi Baumgartner’s gallery opening on 24th Street in Chelsea… he’s celebrating 25 years of pioneering the contemporary art scene in NYC. I am sad to miss this party, so you must go and enjoy it for me! It is sure to be a smash. Press release following:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

25 Years: Selected Solo Exhibitions, 1979 – 2004
(Part Two of Two)
Exhibition Dates: Sept 9 – Oct 12, 2005
Opening: Sept 9, 6 – 8 pm

On the occasion of its 25-year anniversary, Baumgartner Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of select artists whom Baumgartner has championed over the past quarter-century.

Part Two of “25 Years: Selected Solo Exhibitions (1979 – 2004)” features signature pieces by Lydia Dona, Jonathan Lasker, Fabian Marcaccio, Matthew McCaslin, Joan Mitchell, Malcolm Morley, Catherine Murphy, Stephan Mueller, Bruce Nauman, Thomas Nozkowski, David Reed, Tim Rollins, David Seidner, Andres Serrano, Ophrah Shemesh, Pat Steir, Tony Tasset, Danielle Webb, and Martin Wong. Taken collectively, the works on display form a self-portrait of the gallery–a testament to the consistency of Baumgartner’s vision beyond the fleeting styles, movements, and intellectual fads of the past 25 years.

Baumgartner Gallery was one of the first contemporary galleries to have a space in the Meat Market District on 15th Street. It opened with Brazilian artist Fernanda Gomes and closed in 2002 with an exhibition titled “Large Scale,” featuring work by Malcolm Morley, Cady Noland, Tim Rollins & K.O.S., Ugo Rondinone, and Danielle Webb.

It took two years to find an appropriate space in Chelsea at 522 West 24th Street. The new gallery was designed by architect Craig Shillitto of Weeve Projects. The inaugural exhibition was given to John Cage and George Quasha. Today Baumgartner represents such artists as Rainer Ganahl, Marcia Hafif, Danielle Webb, Dana Carlson, and Fernanda Gomes. It still organizes group exhibitions that include both established and emerging artists from around the globe and dedicates its program to contemporary art.