shar likies

plymouth-penzance-st. ives

saltram house, look familiar?

ms. dashwood (emma thompson) had to let go fomr staff here

i tried to get t to play the pianoforte

library where margaret hid

where edward (hugh grant) helped ms. dashwood with her shawl

when in devon. cream teas!

shar didn't make the black friars distillary tour, but i did have me a g & t

chapel street, penzance: the red one of on the right was where anne, emily and charlotte bronte's mom and aunt lived.
st. ives
barbara hepworth sculpture garden
tate st. ives dome

best pre-concert listening: stars sesh at wfuv. musical gems. fist-a-cuffs = feist. wfuv pop quiz. nuff said.

the walkmen at o2 academy islington

must band in islington: walkmen at o2 academy islington. shar's admired the walkmen from afar, unlike other bands i heart so much it hurts. npr reminded me of their greatness posting their sxsw set and their new song "stranded". the walkmen are lumped in the schmorgesborg of ny bands and often gets lost in that grouping, but they produce ahmazing tunes, so i got my butt down to my local venue for the live experience.

shar was quite taken by the live instrumentation highlighted by the upright piano. the walkmen compose tracks that i wanna waltz to, as well as bop and shuffle along with. boy, oh boy, does hamilton have a set of pipes on him. he sure can hold a key. sure there was a big reunion of a certain brit band across town at the forum, but the walkmen made me forget that this was going on.

zadie smith's changing my mind

must read: zadie smith's "changing my mind". shar pulled a rory today and ate alone in the canteen with only the aforementioned book as company. shar didn't attend an ivy league school, but i'm sure a few people sitting next to her had.

anyhoot, i dug into zadie's (she's an ivy leaguer)collection of essays and was reminded what a gifted writer she is. i already knew she was a whiz at fiction, but was really fascinated with her range of non-fiction pieces, from literary to cub reporting. i only just started the copy i borrowed from the library, but i might have to purchase a copy of my own for keeps. you should give it a whirl.

aye, scotland!

5 days in scotland. one wedding. old friends. new friends. road trip with me brotha. wish shar had more time to explore the highlands, isles and distilleries, but this will hold me for the next trip back.

alana, patty, crazy palmer, me, angelina

edinburgh, athens of the north
seated for our fringe fest show
just one of many pics of edinburgh castle

glasgow school of art..yuko took better pics on her trip

glencoe backlite

yup, that's me eating haggis in fort augustus. shar likes it!

urquhart castle. ran into bridesmaid kris here.
yup, these dudes just chill on the side of the road

alas nessie alluded me, but i had a great view from our guest house.

foyer's falls: stayed next to this on our last night in scotland.

made my brother drive this narrow road

whiskey in the morning at the oban distillery.

lovely port of oban

jersey boys

best belated musical: jersey boys. shar been meaning to see this musical and funny that she watched it abroad. my brother's in town so we hit the west end for this 2006 tony winning musical. it was just what i was expecting. hit after hit. it had me up dancing by the end of it. i love me some frankie valli. didn't know all the drama behind the group and just made me love them more. kinda bummed i missed him live last year in celebrate brooklyn.

first listen: s.carey's all we grow

perfect soundtrack for the grey and wet london morning. wish i was in my flat listening to this on vinyl. will get mine come 24 august. you can preorder here.

first listen: ra ra riot

shar's psyched for this new goodness. going to see the r3 gang at end of the road. will compare to ny gigs. will be missing my ra ra super fan saki though.

nylon log #10: half way

three months down, three more to go.

thanks andy, ayano (w/ caes) and angela for the most welcomed snail mail. what homesickness?
barclays cycle hire. yeah still boycotting you for atlantic yards and shutting down freddy's.

just found out nick hornby lives in my neighboring hood.

little venice

sk8

satsang in the emslie horniman's pleasance = yoga + picnic goodness

riding through camden on a sunny weekend is like riding on the brooklyn bridge - dodging tourists