It’s who you know, not what you know
Currently listening to Mumford & Sons. Fantastic album recommended by my dad - my music guru.
My life has been insane, hectic, crazy, nonstop, busy, overwhelming, stressful and the list continues and I'm enjoying every second of it.
Last week I was down in DC with Avon announcing our global partnership with Vital Voices. For more information check out: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/avon/42564/
I had a pretty relaxing weekend. I saw An Education and Crazy Heart. I loved An Education and am obsessed with Peter Sarsgaard and liked Crazy Heart but it was a bit too slow for me. Sunday night I was invited to see MGMT at Mercury Lounge for their first performance of their new album (coming out in April), Congratulations! Although they can sell out large venues worldwide, Mercury Lounge was the perfect, intimate setting. I was impressed.
Last night my mom and I went to the secret Rufus Wainwright show at Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel. Amazing room, and amazing show filled with tons of celebs. Mom and I even made it on Huffington Post (as well as many other sites you can see us behind Susan Sarandon and crew)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/16/rufus-wainwright-serenade_n_501419.html#s74303
I promise to be better about writing again! Just been so busy enjoying my new york life! Heading to Austin on Thursday for SXSW....
Organized Chaos
Currently listening to Beach House's most recent album-Teen Dream. I've been listening to it on repeat a lot lately, and can't wait to see them this spring/summer.
It has been too long since I've updated my blog simply because I haven't had a moment to relax, reflect and write! So after a very hectic day, I decided tonight is the time to do it.
I've been back in NYC for just over a month now. I definitely feel like I made the right decision in coming back from Israel. I love it there so much and I love my friends there but as a place to visit, not a place to live. So, here I am back in New York. Immediately jumped back into my regular life of organized chaos. I am always on top of things, but things are always chaotic and stressful and crazy--and I missed that while in Israel.
Since I've been back so much has gone on. My parents and I put together a cd release party for my dad's new album, The Tools of Ignorance which will be available on itunes in the next few weeks and I will post more information about it. The party was a huge success and we received amazing feedback about it--it was a lot of work but really well worth it. I saw Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver) play music to two silent films by Charlie Chaplin. Wasn't incredible but definitely interesting, and cool concept. Sat 4th row at Radio City to see The Swell Season-incredible. Went to a Haiti benefit with a handful of great comedians & musicians, again, including Justin Vernon.
I received an e-mail a few days after my return about having 25 of my photos exhibited at the Aish Center. I had less than one week to edit/print/enlarge/frame all of my photos from Tel Aviv, write a bio, build a website (thanks KKees) and invite people. The photos are on display through March and can be seen here: http://www.aishcenter.com/mirrored-grace
I've been doing a bunch of work for Artists 4 Israel, check it out if you haven't already: www.artists4israel.org and am helping to plan an incredible trip to Israel for artists to help rebuild the town of Sderot (after bombings) and do art therapy with children in Kiryat Gat. I'm also putting together an indie music benefit. More details about that to come.
Just became the NYC Event Partner at Media Leaders (http://medialeaders.tv) and just announced our next networking event on March 9th @ W Hotel (Union Square) - Olives Lounge and you can RSVP here: http://medialeaders.tv/nyc-march9/#rsvp
That's just a handful of the things going on in my life. Keeping busy. Spending time with friends & family. Filling my life with a ton of music shows/festivals (SXSW in March and Jazzfest in April). Next is changing my eating habits and getting back into yoga!
Follow me on twitter: www.twitter.com/harper122
More updates to come!
2010!
Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2010! Time flies so fast! Wishing you a happy and healthy new year filled with lots of fun times! Spend it with the people you love and care about. So with that said, I've had a really fun past few days with people that in just a few months I consider such close friends and I care so much about. It's hard to believe that I'm leaving in just under two weeks but I feel really good about my decision to do so. I love it here so much and it's an amazing city filled with so much good energy, food, culture, people, nightlife etc... but it's time for me to go back to NYC.
Recap of the past few days. Wednesday I went to my first Israeli wedding. Lauren's cousins beautiful amazing wedding. 500+ people, amazing food, lots of dancing and such a great experience. I am so glad I was given the opportunity to join the family and be there as it's so different from an American wedding. So many more people, short ceremony, incredible food and dancing galore. I really enjoyed it and met some great Israelis.
Thursday was New Years Eve. Interesting and strange to be outside of NYC on NYE especially because I'm so used to people planning so far in advance and it being such a big production. Honestly, it was nice to not have to deal with that, overly dress up and it be just another night out. So I went to dinner with Yael who is here for a few weeks and then had a group of friends over here for some drinks. It was a fun time and a good starting point knowing everyone had different destinations for the evening. A group of us went to Herlinger and rang in the new year there. Yesterday was a pretty lazy day, took a nice walk and then went to dinner at Amanda's moms house. Delicious food. I am going to miss the freshness of the food here so so so much. Paul and I went to Maoz for a drink and then headed home. It was an absolutely gorgeous day today, 75 degrees. Went to brunch with Becky and Dafna at Brasserie. It reminded me a lot of Balthazar. Good food, cool French Bistro ambiance and overly priced. Then met up with Amanda, Rachel & Paul at the beach which was so nice and relaxing. I love living in a city with a beach and it being January and so many people were there today.
I am enjoying every second of my time here and taking in every moment. Life's too short to sit around and wait for something to happen, and so I will continue to be nonstop and enjoy my time here before I head back to NYC!
Maybe I’m missing snow?
Currently listening to Wilco, Wilco, Wilco.
I woke up this morning, checked weather.com, hour by hour and it said rain all day. I got super excited. Not because I like rain (although I know israel is majorly in need of a water supply) but because I love wearing duck boots AND was going to be able to wear my new MOMA umbrella (http://bit.ly/7jMrfI) Maybe there's also a part of me that misses the snow in NYC...I know I know I'm crazy.
Anyway, let's see, what's been going on. Sunday I took a drive with Dan and his friend from a nirthright trip and her mom to Jerusalem. I went over to 0fir's and spent the afternoon with him. He's in school there, working at the Ramat Gan Zoo as a tour guide and also a clown at the childrens hospital. Very creative and fun person. His roommate came home who is a music freak--a bit harder/heavier music than me but still always fun to interact with music nuts. We went to the shuk (market) and they bought four bags of groceries for 17nis (approx $4) so fresh and yummy. It's amazing. Ofir and I then met Yael, and went to dinner and had a wonderful time with lots of laughs.
Monday night Miri and I went to dinner with her friend Michal at this japanese place on Basel. It was good, not great. (get excited for my new blog launching soon--food related!) Yesterday met up with Lulu who is in Israel for the next two weeks and went to dinner with her and her parents. Had never met them before and after 5 minutes of being with them, it made so much sense why Lauren is Lauren. Amazing how much people rub off their parents. I know I do. We had a delicious and fun meal at Pua in Yaffo. We all walked out so stuffed, it started to pour, so we came home.
And now today, it's pouring and tonight I'm going to Lulu's cousins wedding--hope the rain stops for that!
Flip Flops in December
Currently listening to Empire State of Mind by JayZ and Alicia Keys. I'm not a big fan of JayZ but I think I just love how New York inspired this song is.
Yesterday in Tel Aviv there was the Rothschild Street Party and perfect weather--probably 80 degrees. It was a few blocks long of different DJs, musicians, street artists and lots of people dancing, drinking and having fun. Friday's in Tel Aviv are especially fun because it's everyones day off, enjoying the city, a bit more dressed to impress and preparing for Shabbat. Miri and I met a few of her friends and spent some time at the street party, then walked to Neve Tzedek which is the most expensive and trendy neighborhoods in Tel Aviv. It's adorable with so many great shops, bars, restaurants and well dressed people. Ended up running into Maya and we went for lunch together. Then met up with Rachel and friends and went to a birthday party and jumped around places in Florentin (neighborhood that is very Park Slope-ish with a community vibe to it). After many fun hours, I napped and went to Herlinger--the new bar my friend opened. All in all a very fun Christmas day/night for a Jew in Israel.
Otherwise this week was filled with seeing different friends and eating yummy food and such. Laura left Israel and went back to Montreal which is sad because we saw so much of each other but now we'll meet in the states. I made a new friend, Rachel, who's fantastic. And that's that.
As usual, today, did a whole lot of nothing and am heading to dinner with Becky and her mom & sister who are in Israel for a few days.
Fascination
Currently listening to Neko Case. Her album came out earlier this year and everyone raved about it and for some reason I never got my hands on it and never listened to it, and now it's all I can listen to. She's so talented. So different from her music with New Pornographers.
It's been a week since I last wrote. Things have been a been hectic--all in good ways. What have I done since I last wrote? Yesterday I saw A Serious Man. Originally was just going with Avigail until we ran into Becky and she joined us. Funny thing is, there's assigned seating at the movie theaters here so Becky couldn't sit with us. I guess it's a smart concept-sort of. Anyway, the movie was entertaining. Nothing special, and a bit slow for me. I've never seen any of the Cohen Brothers movies (I know I know, what's wrong with me?) but everyone that saw A Serious Man seemed to agree that this was the worst.
Earlier in the week I made a delicious crustless spinach quiche that was so simple--I'm so excited to make it again with broccoli. Thursday I completed my photography class--I'm really glad I took the class. Met some great new friends and learned some stuff about photography. Our teacher told us at the beginning of the course that this class was going to make us critique our photos that we had taken in the past and dislike them more. So the truth. I've gone thru many of my photos and wondered why I took them a certain way, but it's all about practice. After Thursday's class, I met up with Dafna and Becky at a local bar. After about an hour of being there, they turned off the music, told everyone to be quiet and a group of guys put napkins on their heads (as yarmulkes) and lit the candles for Chanukah and the entire bar sang the prayers. It was so special and something that would ONLY happen in Israel.
There have been advertisements all over the city for the Gogol Bordello show in Tel Aviv, so Becky and I decided to get tickets and check it out last night. Woah. Never again. So not my type of music and as much as I'd like to say I atleast appreciated that style of music--it really did NOTHING for either of us. We ended up leaving early.
I just received a slip in the mail saying I had a package from FedEx. I then got a message on facebook and a message on LinkedIn letting me know about it. I find that so strange that they never even called me but they found me on LinkedIn and facebook...is that really what the world is turning to?
See the Light
On the fourth night of Chanukah...
I saw Where the Wild Things Are. Cute movie, really well done and of course fantastic soundtrack made by Karen O from YeahYeahYeahs. One of my favorites. Go see it and don't think of comparing it to the book--although I think they did a great job at bringing the book to life.
Shabbat was wonderfully relaxing on Saturday and then went to Becky & Shlomi's and we made potato latkes. We had fun making them and eating them while cooking (and of course listening to good music) but they definitely did not have my mom/Aunt Taras touch to them. After lighting the candles at their apartment, Becky and I headed to The Ozen Bar to see Efrat Gosh. She reminded me of Regina Spektor/Bird and the Bee--I enjoyed some songs a lot, they had a lot of energy and others were really weak. Haven't spent time listening to the album but it's definitely inconsistent.
I'm super sleepy and not feeling 100% so I'm heading to bed, will write more soon!
Chag Samaech
Currently listening to Rufus Wainwright, such a magical wonderful voice.
Chag Samaech! Happy Chanukah! חנוכה שמח
It still shocks me that it's mid December and it's the holidays and I've been away for 2 1/2 months. Time FLIES! Last night Maya had some friends over to celebrate the first night of Chanukah. It was about 12 of us, most of her friends from ulpan (hebrew class) and some really nice people from all over: the US, Greece, Germany, London etc... Delicious food, music, hookah, conversation, candle lighting. Maya informed everyone that she had a book that had 2 pages for every birthday and explained yur personality and everything based on your astrological sign. Everyone took turns reading about their birthday. A lot of accurate information, and some not so much. After several hours and completely full from the meal, a few of her friends that I had just met and I went to the bar, Maoz. Love that place, and hate that it gets overly crowded but last night was totally bearable. Met up with Laura and went to another bar that again, is always crowded so we decided to check out what it was--nothing special. It was a really nice night.
Thursday was such a fun-filled packed day. My photography class had a field trip to Jaffa where we took pictures of the sunset, view of Tel Aviv from Jaffa and learned how to use light to create weird and creative effects. Check out the pictures below and obviously more posted on facebook. It was a great class. Some really fun people in my class. i went to dinner at Noa with two people from my class. One Israeli and the other from Australia--really nice and interesting people. Had delicious sweet potato ravioli--the sweet potato in Israel is d-lish. I met up with Amanda, Chen, Anna and some other friends of theirs at a wine bar on Nachalat Binyamin. We had a really good time and laughed and met an awesome girl from New Zealand who is in the process of converting to Judaism for her Israeli husband. After a while, I met up with Jerusalem Maya to see Funknstein. A 70s-ish funk band that hadn't played in 2 years and people were super excited to see. The show was insanely sold out and was packed with dancing and singing fans. It was a wonderful show. So much energy. After the show, met up with Becky and her wonderful friends and called it a night. It was a really fun, long day/night.
Woke up yesterday morning brainstorming some ideas of a new blog that I am creating--should be fun. More details to come. Enjoy your weekend!
it came out good, not amazing.
Listening to Crosby, Stills & Nash. I don't think I've spent time on my own listening to them without my dad. They're so great. Such a great live show at the theater at MSG a few years back.
Wednesday evening and I just made my first eggplant parmigiana--time consuming meal and it came out good, not amazing. I think I took it out of the oven too soon because I was so hungry and antsy. Whatever, first time making it--many more to come!
Last night made dinner for Amanda and I and then met up with some friends at Rothschild 12, an awesome new bar in Tel Aviv. They have live music every night and the waitresses all walk around with side bags, so you can identify them--kinda cheesy but I guess they have change in there. Anyway, people came and went and the music was great and we had a great time.
I have my computer back, which means I feel whole again. I was having a hard time without it--just proves how technology has truly taken over our lives.
Gotta go get ready to go see Rockfour with my roommate, our first night out together since I moved in.
2009 – Year In Music
What a year in music! Below are my top 10 songs and albums of 2009. Many of the albums were released at the beginning of the year, and yet, I am constantly playing them because I just can't get enough. Click here for my list from 2008. Bon Iver was my #1 album of 2008, and this year he released a fantastic EP and played on Dark Was The Night (every song on the 32 track compilation is really amazing and unique!)
I saw more live music in 2009 than any year of my life and went to SXSW in Austin, Jazzfest in New Orleans, Lollapalooza in Chicago, and Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Now, living in Tel Aviv, there's tons of music and shows to see but it requires a lot more digging than in NYC--especially with the language barrier. It hasn't stopped me though and I'm very thankful for my friends that translate for me! In the past two weeks, I've seen two great Israeli shows--Asaf Avidan & the Mojos (recently signed to Sony, male vocalist sounds like Janis Joplin) and Geva Alon (they couldn't find my name on the list when I arrived at the venue, and they took me backstage and into his dressing room while he was getting ready to log onto the computer and show my confirmation e-mail. Pretty cool).
Anyway, if you haven't heard these albums and songs, I highly recommend you check them out. Hope you've all had a great year in music and would love any other recommendations you may have. Thanks to all of you that turned me onto new music this year--keep it coming!
I hope everyone has a happy and healthy holiday and new year!
(In no particular order)
Top 10 Albums of 2009
Dark Was The Night Compilation
Bon Iver - Bloodbank
Volcano Choir - Unmap
YeahYeahYeahs - It's Blitz!
Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimist
Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
Peter Bjorn and John – Living Thing
Wilco - Wilco (the album)
Devendra Banhart - What Will We Be
Top 10 Songs of 2009
Temazcal - Monsters of Folk
Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear
Bloodbank - Bon Iver
Seeplymouth - Volcano Choir
Heads Will Roll- YeahYeahYeahs
Relaxation - Geva Alon
Heavy Cross- The Gossip
Fitz and the Dizzyspells - Andrew Bird
You Never Know - Wilco
Service Bell - Grizzly Bear & Feist