happy halloween! i was riveting (i hope.)

so, there you have it: i was rosie the riveter for halloween after i opted to scrap being a flapper for the second year in a row. [i do love my purple fringe-all-over dapper flapper dress, though.] i spent the night dancing around like a maniac with dear friends and the only casualty of the evening was my blackberry which went swimming around 3am but luckily my pal justin fished it out of the NASTY puddle it had landed in and it miraculously survived the submersion. dear blackberry: thank you for making waterproof phones, even if they're supposedly not waterproof. that thing rang COMPLETELY UNDERWATER and it lit up so we could find it. for that, i am grateful.

november's kicking off to a ridiculously busy start: in addition to the piles of transcripts/interviews i have to sift through, my mom's putting the finishing touches on building her dream house up in maine and we just took on a HUMONGOUS account at work so i'll be here 8-6 all week, pretty much. i'm taking a break to post these photos/muse for a bit to give my brain time to energize and look at stuff that isn't drafts/articles/google analytics/research research research. i promise i miss and love all of you and i'm sorry for being so absent lately. october was insanity; november will be better by default, i'm sure, but dressing up as a feminist icon was a nice way to end my month.

so is anyone else counting down to thanksgiving? because stuffing, mashed potatoes and apple pie would make me ridiculously happy right now...

xx h

ps: i've got some major reviews coming up. judy jetson hair, i'm comin' for you.

long time no see! also: boston phoenix, WTF. regards, hil.

hey guys.

my my my, i've been a busy girl. between day job work, TPB work, enjoying the brief heat wave here in boston and riding my bike all over this city to catch up with friends new and old, i'm getting very little sleep and i'm spending very little time at home. this past weekend consisted of running around like a crazy person trying to cover Boston Band Crush's ONE NIGHT BAND [which was an incredible success], the McAlister Drive show over at the 'Dise and Jeremy's last night drumming it up with the Sea Monsters on Sunday. I'm back at my desk. I have iced coffee in my system, even if it's getting a little brisk out. life is good.

fast-forward to today, when little miss jessietron sent me the link for the Phoenix's new lifestyle piece: "A Girl's Guide to Boston Boys." this post royally pissed me off on many levels and as much as i've respected the phoenix in the past for its music coverage and photojournalism and other stuff [and hey, i have some friends over at phoenix media, ok?], nina maclaughlin's article in the Welcome Back '09 issue made me want to write to her directly and ask her to never ever write an op/ed ever again. my issues with it:

1) The Boston Phoenix is one of the OLDEST alternative weeklies in the country [second only to the village voice, i believe, or hell, it may even be older], it has an established readership and it still gets picked up even though it's a free paper with midweek circulation. what's the most important part of that last sentence? ALTERNATIVE. WEEKLY. The Boston Phoenix is NOT the Improper Bostonian [aka the glossy which boasts quips on cavity-inducing $15 cocktails and socialite photo spreads to keep the beacon hill set happy] and it's NOT the Boston Herald [aka the daily owned by Rupert Murdoch known for its blue collar/conservative slant.] it's picked up, predominantly, by readers in cambridge, somerville, allston, jamaica plain and charlestown, which host some of the most well-known [and liberal] academic institutions in the metro-Boston area as well as the most creative and innovative nightlife/restaurants/venues/museums/etc etc. i think it's incredibly short-sighted of maclaughlin, and the lifestyles editor at the phoenix who allowed this to even hit the web, to make sarcastic [and, um, entirely unoriginal] cracks at THE PAPER'S KEY DEMOGRAPHIC. Boston Phoenix, these "arrogant, competitive, and highly self-centered" men of cambridge/"members of the famed creative class" of JP who are most likely to be seen at the cemetery [wtf?]/"(aspiring) rock stars" of allston are THE ONES PICKING UP YOUR PAPERS. the yah brahs/frat boys/finance dudes of downtown/beacon hill/kenmore are hardly the gentlemen who'll be picking up the latest issue by the T on a wednesday morning. in fact, it's these assholes who are most likely to use your classified pages to wipe puke off their face after a particularly rowdy night at the liquor store/on lansdowne street. i think that this article had the potential to poke fun and crack jokes in a good-natured way: i mean, come on, we're all capable of making fun of our idiosyncracies as bostonians and we're all very aware of how we tend to distinguish ourselves by neighborhood. with that said, maclaughlin's angle on this puff piece was poorly written [line edits, anyone?] and dripping with disdain from someone clearly suffering from a case of hipster/harvard envy.

2) at the risk of sounding repetitive, this piece was COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY UNORIGINAL. oh my god! hipsters in allston with ...tattoos?! girls wearing lily pulitzer in back bay?! backwards red sox hats in... WAIT DON'T TELL ME... kenmore square?! OHMYGAHDTHATISSOHILARIOUS. you write for The Boston Phoenix. i'm sure you had ample time to pitch an idea and see it through to fruition. that should've given you PUH-LENTY of time to think of a new spin to put on this idea. also: ashmont. dorchester. SOMERVILLE. even southie [which tends to host these frat boys who're just like "the pals of your best friend's older bro."]. how about you do your research, learn how to use the subway beyond the red and green line, and get to know the city you're covering? if you're going to write off half your audience, you may as well include the neighborhoods where yes, the Phoenix is distributed and where you can find exceptions to every single "type" you defined in your piece. maybe it'll even give your story a little color and keep it from looking like the half-assed column of some Carrie Bradshaw wannabe majoring in Communications at BU.

aaaaand i'm spent. rant done. editorial staff of the boston phoenix: i expect more from you as the supposed authorities on arts & entertainment coverage in my fair city, and i never thought an alternative weekly would be so snottily exclusive. and, frankly, a little more uneducated about the city in which it resides than it should be.

in other news, teaparty boston? yeah, we won't tell you who to date based on what neighborhood you're scouring for boyfriends in, but we WILL tell you how arts & entertainment actually is in Boston and with direct quotes from the people who are making exciting things happen here. we won't be poking fun at them. OR their tattoos.

hil's social calendar.

i'm just a social lil' butterfly this weekend, aren't i?

friday:

+it was too gorgeous out to go to the gym.  i met up with los for a lovely lunch at crema cafe in harvard square and i had quite possibly the most delicious grilled chicken/cotija/avocado sandwich of my life.  we walked over to utrecht, where i picked up a few canvases and some more paint, because i have presents to make for a couple of boys.  we moseyed back to my place and i got my first sunburn of the season in the process, and then we spent the rest of the afternoon drinkin' beers and listening to lykke li with every single window in my apartment open.   love. ly.

+my mom came down for a visit to drop off my bike (!!!) and we had a nice dinner at the independent.  i just got a cheeseburger, nothin' fancy.  and of course the deviled eggs.  ohhhh the deviled eggs.

+i met up with james in coolidge corner last night and we went to the brookline booksmith, which is something i've been meaning to do for AGES.  a leisurely stroll through the bookshelves made me realize a few things: 1) i have entirely too many books in a stack on my bedside table that i've been meaning to read for ages, including infinite jest [still haven't started gah], crime and punishment, and el coronel no tiene quien le escriba [no one writes to the colonel 2) i have entirely too many books that i want to add to that list, including more stuff by chabon, brautigan and bukowski 3) i cannot be stopped around used books that have anything to do with picasso.  while poking through the booksmith's used section, i stumbled upon portrait of picasso as a young man by NORMAN MAILER.  i love norman mailer. i love picasso.  i had NO IDEA that this book existed until last night. so good.  other used books i've procured regarding pablo picasso are picasso's war by russel martin, picasso on art: a selection of views, edited by dore ashton, and life with picasso, which is a memoir written by francoise gilot, one of picasso's companions and the mother of his two youngest children.  here's a shot of my growing collection.

anyways, after the brookline booksmith, james and i moseyed up beacon street for beers at the publick house, only to shy away from the place because it was PAAACKED.  for a laugh, we continued on a beer at mary ann's, the infamous BC watering hole where my father and his best friend in college got into a massive fight that resulted in 23 paddy wagons hauling up outside the cleveland circle dive.  not much has changed: the place was chock full of BC underclassmen who probably got in with their older brother/sister's expired license so we booked it outta there fast.  eventually, we wound up meeting up with marcy and we settled for beers at the road house before calling it a night.  low key and pretty great evening out, if i do say so myself.

saturday:

+caught up on some reno 911 episodes while scarfing down a delicious breakfast of tomate frito, manchego and french bread.

+going to work on my fitness as soon as i finish this post.

+and, finally, getting all gussied up for the double-header i have in store tonight: wine riot takes place tonight, and after my very first wine tasting, i'm heading back over to my neck of the woods, where mcalister drive is headlining a show at precinct.  my smokin' date tonight is the one and only jessie and we've been counting down to this all week.  no pressure. haha.

sunday:

+brunch with los, jessie and maya at deep ellum

+BIKE RIIIIDES!

+and, duh, the sea monsters at precinct. 

i'm not even gonna touch on what's going down monday because iiiii am too excited.

Lake Street Dive: ¡LISTEN TO THEM! ¡NOW!

[first of all: sorry for the grumpy post yesterday.  had to get it out. today's perfect springtimeyness made me feel infinitely better.]

ANYWAYS: I'M REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE I FOUND A NEW BAND I LOVE!

the sea monsters brought down the house at lizard lounge thursday night, but before their excellent, intimate performance in the famously carpeted basement of one of cambridge's favorite venues, lake street dive had every jaw in the packed house hitting the floor.   due to the sardine can-like seating conditions, my friend james and i were left standing next to one of the pillars and thus could only really see the bass player and the drummer, and as a result this review may be a little biased due to our proximity to lake street dive's rhythm section... but honestly, bridget kearney is one of THE MOST talented musicians i've seen. EVER.  it's not just the fact that the woman trounced the art of playing the upright bass, which in no easy feat.  kearney made that instrument an extension of her body and her energy was INSATIABLE.  the bass lines to each and every one of LSD's (lsd, haha) songs pulsed, swung, and drove the gorgeous, velvet voice of rachael price and the uplifting presence of mike olson, who plays trumpet and guitar.  mike calabrese's drumming was absolutely exceptional, and like i said, i'm probably biased towards his performance as well as kearney's due to the fact that we were so close to them and completely enthralled with their playing.  together, they're unshakeable, and we surely would have been dancing our asses off had we not been shoulder-to-shoulder with a group of our new favorite strangers.

lake street dive's next show in the area will be at toad in porter square on may 10th.  you better believe i'll be there, and you should be, too!  just give 'em a listen on itunes, or check out lake street dive's the panhandling song below.

anyways, last night was lovely, and i was lucky enough to spend time with my very best friends in the whole world who i haven't seen in months.  brittany and whitey are home for easter, and we beat the rain in my living room with drinks, hookah and candlelight in the company of los, marcy, davis and potter.  sometimes you just need to get back to your roots for a little bit to ground yourself, you know?

the happy list, march 23rd edition.

1.  apparently my alma mater got a mention on tonight's episode of gossip girl.  i didn't see it because i was too busy enjoying the company of los and claudia while scarfing a delectable bowl of mac n' cheez at redbones.  (it's actually "mac n' cheez" on the menu.  love.)

2.  tomorrow night, i'm going to see "i love you man" with marcy, jessie and potentially los. we're having a mexican feast at on the border beforehand.  guacamole and the glorious pairing of paul rudd and jason segel? good GOD yes.

3.  so that this list doesn't primarily consist of food, therefore negating the fact that i am a fatty-fatty-no-friends: one of my best friends from granada, nico, is celebrating his birthday on the 17th of april, and i may fly out to chicago for the festivities.  chicago is one of my all-time favorite places to be, and i'm eagerly anticipating the opportunity to score a party dress for the occasion and buy one of my favorite fellas a round of man's ruin to ring in his 23rd at probably the coolest speak easy in existence. 

4.  despite splinter making an appearance in my kitchen yesterday afternoon, my weekend was glorious and included surprise visits from dear friends heading up from providence, two great shows (the rex complex at toad and, as always, the sea monsters at precinct), ignoring the alarm clock each morning and hosting impromptu burrito/makeshift screwdriver (read: rubinoff and orange fanta cocktails) parties until 4 am.  oh, the life i lead.

5.  there are still tickets available for the cold war kids' show at the wilbur on april 2nd, so i'm trying to figure out if it'd be ok to go and then head to los' birthday shindig immediately after.  asdjfadfs SO HARD why does one of my favorite bands have to play a show on my best friend's birthdaaay?!?!

it's been a long day and tomorrow i have to get up and do grown-up things (pay bills, deposit cheques, go to the gym, straighten out dental insurance, etc...)