One of my favorite artists Jonathan Horowitz has teamed up with Art Production Fund's WOW (Works on Whatever) and created cheeky pillow cases with names of iconic couples. You can view them in the window display at the Calvin Klein Collection store on 60th at Madison and buy them here. Also, while you're on a Horowitz kick, be sure to check out his solo show "And/Or" at P.S. 1 which is on view through Sept. 14.

Last night the recession was nowhere to be seen at the lavish opening party for West Side Story. It felt like old-time Broadway -- just like the classical musical being feted at Pier 60 on the Hudson. I couldn't walk ten steps without running into a roast beef carving station and after guests like Harvey Weinstein, Georgina Chapman, Rachel Dratch, Kathleen Turner and Vanessa Williams filled up, the cast and their families and friends took to the dance floor salsa style. It was very "The Dance at the Gym"-esque and I waited for someone to cry out "Mambo!"

Although Maria played by the Argentinian import Josefina Scaglione, is the star of the show, the "it girl" of the night was Karen Olivo who got rave reviews for her fiery portrayal of Anita. Olivo looked gorgeous in a long gold Grecian number, and her signature long black hair was down and flowing. Sometimes I don't agree with the choices Broadway actresses make for their opening night dresses. It's really a time for them to shine, and Olivo definitely did. She hung out with her former In the Heights castmates including Lin-Manuel Miranda who translated parts of the book for West Side Story into Spanish for an updated twist on the well-known script.

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Ericka Toure Aviance has been on the drag and nightlife scene since 1999—a graduate of the Tisch School of Integrated Dance (ballet and modern), she's also a member of the House of Aviance, a sisterhood of creative people who pump a DIY, "avant-garde, couture look."

You work in nightlife, what does that mean for a drag queen?
Right now I'm mainly a hostess, which is—to put it down sharply—I get paid to dress up, show up, drink and mingle. On occasion I also put on shows: I dance, and lypsynch and sing. I've been on tour all over the U.S. with Jonny McGovern, the Gay Pimp. I've done backup for him in Virginia, Ohio, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, and Honalulu, where we performed in front of animals by the city zoo.

Lately I've been working with music, I'll be coming out this summer with a single entitled "My Pumps."

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1. Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue) launches a special series dedicated to the Chelsea Hotel from April 9 to 12. All the films are about, filmed at, or created by residents of the iconic hotel.

2. We received a press release about the launch of PUMPSmag.com (as in "shoes") that says they're "dedicated to all aspects of the exotic dancing industry." We think they mean "almost all aspects" but will inquire if they'll feature go-go boys as well as girls.

3. Cool video of machines that almost fall down.

4. Two new Jane's Addiction tracks produced by Trent Reznor are available free here.

5. Go here and click on "gallery" to practice your graffiti tag.

6. Portfolio Magazine reports that efforts to place Nirvana's music in TV shows, movies etc. haven't worked and that Primary Music, who paid $50 million for the rights in 2006, has only recouped $2 million.

d.b.a. Williamsburg, the Brooklyn outpost of the East Village brew palace, has been open since the new year, but unfortunately our first visit wasn't until last weekend. The upside to a later review? The food menu, often a secondary addition at new bars, is up and running, and while it currently consists solely of a New Orleans-style muffuletta sandwich ($8) topped with a spicy olive salad, it's hearty and perfect for sharing. The beer menu was, expectedly, more diverse: There are over 60 bottles on the menu, and 16 on tap, including a light Guldenberg Abbey ($7) and a bitter Victory Hop Wallop ($6) ideal for I.P.A. drinkers. Hot spiced cider, Irish coffees, and d.b.a. coffee egg creams (all $7) will remain on the menu for a few more weeks. Like their East Village sibling, they also have a lengthy whiskey menu, featuring 30 singles malts and 22 bourbons with more to come. But unlike its counterpart, where we once witnessed a cat batting a live mouse around while the bartenders cheered, the space is open, modern, and airy, with concrete floors and fresh daisies in vases around the room. Their outdoor patio is already open for the summer, too. If times are tough, stop by Monday nights for "Liquids of Interest," when owner Ray Deter offers free tastings of new whiskeys, tequilas, and beers, and sample away.

d.b.a Willamsburg
113 N. Seventh St.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
(718) 218-6006

Image from Ultraclay

There are those who say L.A. is a cultural wasteland, a glorified suburb, a cesspool of bad architecture. And then, thankfully, there are those who dedicate life and craft towards dispelling these untruths. The visionary Annenbergs fall into the latter category. I was invited to preview the Annenberg Foundation’s Space for Photography, a brand new space showcasing some of the city’s most iconic photographers and celebrating a “new cultural direction for L.A.”

The admission-free gallery is a beacon in cutting-edge technology and architecture. Every detail from the springy floor made of recycled tractor tires, the ceiling molded into a massive aperture and the gunmetal grey color palette is an homage to the Camera (capital C).

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At last night's party at OpenHouse Gallery celebrating Brian Atwood and Tony Duran's Role Play Rene, a book of photographs featuring Rene Russo modeling Atwood's Spring '09 footwear line, DJ Donna D'Cruz was cranking out the tunes like she was still in Paris! Sure, neither Tony or Rene were in attendance, but co-hosts Byrdie Bell and Atwood were there; so was the book's stylist Kithe Brewster; gorgeous reality hotties Kelly Killoren Bensimon and Olivia Palermo; designers Erin Fetherston and Elise Overland; and Katie Lee Joel and Lauren Santo Domingo. As the soiree came to the end, a little group of three friends lingered outside to chat and hug and kiss goodbye. When two turned to walk north, the other turned south, she said to me, "I am sooo going the other way!" A New York girlie-girl minute!

Behold my absolute favorite shoe from the TOMS Fall 2009 collection. Its called the Cordones and its inspired by heroic Argentine writers from the mid-19th century. The shoes are crafted from leather and coated canvas and can be worn with or without laces. Sorry ladies, this is a men's exclusive. Find it this August at specialty stores or tomsshoes.com. Retails for $78.

In celebration of the new Broadway revival of West Side Story opening on Broadway tonight, directed by the legendary Arthur Laurents, who wrote the original book for the musical, Vanity Fair put together quite the WSS-tribute spread. Shot by Mark Seliger, the photo story recreates stills from the 1961 film with Jennifer Lopez as Anita, Rodrigo Santoro as Bernardo, Chris Evans as Riff, Camilla Belle, who makes a beautiful Maria, and Ben Barnes is her lover Tony. The casting is amazing! Is there a new movie remake on the way as well? It's a real West Side Story renaissance!

Pictured from vanityfair.com is a scene from the "Prologue" of West Side Story with Chris Evans as Riff, the leader of the Jets and Rodrigo Santoro as Bernardo the leader of the Sharks.

Taking The Stage, MTV’s newest reality show loosely based on the much beloved ‘80s series, Fame, is the first "reality musical drama." The show follows the lives of five talented seniors at the prestigious Cincinnati School For Creative and Performing Arts. Throughout the 10-episode series, the students try to find a balance between their love lives, friendships and demanding rehearsals, all the while trying to score a coveted record deal or get into the-much-dreamed-of Juilliard. Every episode features song and dance routines written and choreographed by the cast themselves. Singer Nick Lachey, himself a SCPA alum, takes another crack at reality television but this time behind the scenes as the co-creator and executive producer for the show.

So tell me about the show.
Basically it’s kind of a reality show version of Fame. Someone just described it to me as American Idol meets America’s Best Dance Crew meets you know The Hills or something. To me, if you remember the show Fame -- we’re really just trying to capture some of the phenomenon. It’s a performing arts school. But these are real kids with real lives and real stakes and real experiences, so it’s a pretty fun show to do and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

You’re from Cincinnati and attended SCPA. What was your experience like there?
When I look back over the course of this business for me, I know that I wouldn’t be here, doing what I’m doing and afforded all of these opportunities if I hadn’t gone to that school. It was the huge reason I felt confident enough to come out here to L.A. and try this, so I know that the experience for me was very meaningful and it’s kind of my way of trying to give back to the school as well and to ensure that other kids behind me have the opportunity to have the same experience. I went to school there and thought it was the perfect kind of landscape for a show like this –- it’s very different from a show like Laguna Beach in that this is an incredibly eclectic student body, with black and white and rich and poor and gay and straight. It’s very urban, a very gritty school and a very unique setting that I thought a lot of people would appreciate.

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1. Bernie Madoff Twitters: "First night in the slammer! :( Cell is kinda small. Gotta get some sweet posters or something." (via Jean's Blog)

2. The New York Times's "The Moment" blog analyzes Britney Spears' new scent Midnight Fantasy: "If Chanel No. 5 were a Jolly Rancher flavor, this would be it."

3. Sperm plushies

4. A woman's plan to trap her ex-boyfriend by allowing police to search a computer for "illegal images" backfired when the police discovered shots of the woman having sex with her dog. (via The Smoking Gun)

5. Hipster Runoff's Carles is hosting his "first-ever" party during the WMC in Miami on March 25, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., on the Gansevoort South roof-top.

6. Monday's "leak" of the four American Idol finalist's names turned out to be false when Alexis Grace was booted last night.

My friend Ione Skye showed 16 new oil paintings in L.A. at the Hall Courtyard Brasserie at Palihouse Holloway in an open-air gallery with guests like husband Ben Lee, Rose Byrne, Rufus Sewell, brother Donovan Leitch and Kirsty Hume, Aimee Mann and Tatiana von Furstenberg. Palihouse Holloway is West Hollywood's hippest hotel and a hangout for artists, musicians, actors, writers and fashionable folk. "The common inspiration in the images I want to paint is to have a sensual, lush feeling," Skye tells me. "Or I paint a fantasy I want to live in."

David Levine is not your normal director. Although he has staged a number of straight plays off- and off-off-Broadway, lately he is more of a theater conceptualist, a provocateur. His 2007 Bauerntheater (“farmer’s theater”) had method actor David Barlow fly out to Germany in order to play a potato farmer with no modern equipment, working 10 hours a day for a month on four acres of farmland outside Berlin. The idea was to explore what it meant to be an actor in a real workingman’s role. Here he takes an unfinished play by a French philosopher, Simone Weil, about a 17th-Century conspiracy to overthrow the Venetian government, and uses it as a starting point for an ostensible seminar about American theater. Playwright/novelist Gordon Dahlquist has provided contemporary-referenced discussion topics. I spoke with Levine.

Hi David. So is the audience number going to be limited?
There’s only 30 seats a night, eight performers and 30 audience members -- a total of 38.

Will we know who are the actors and who are other members of the audience?
Eventually. The only set piece is a table and all are around it.

Will you be in it?
Yes, along with four actors and three dramaturges. But we’re all performers.

Will the audience be expected to participate, to say something?
It’s totally fine not to say anything. That’s also a performance. There’s no pressure to speak. No one will be singled out or embarrassed.

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WHO: Kyle Christian Petersen
AGE: 19
OCCUPATION: Fashion stylist
HOMETOWN: Flagstaff, Arizona
SHOT: At BOXeight Studios, Los Angeles
FAVORITE L.A. HANG SPOT: Anywhere that I can be with my friends. Whether we are dancing at Tigerheat or eating at Yogurtland, hanging out with them is my favorite.

WHO: Mitch Karratti
AGE: Painstakingly anticipating the big "two-one."
OCCUPATION: Currently, I work for a post production studio. This provisional job pays the bills until I attain the glamorous lifestyle of a starving journalist.
HOMETOWN: Santa Clarita, the most northern point of Los Angeles
SHOT: At BOXeight Studios, Los Angeles
FAVORITE L.A. HANG SPOT: The true beauty of this city can only be appreciated to its full potential by taking a few steps back and elevating yourself a couple hundred feet. For this reason, my favorite place to be is on rural mountains of The Hollywood Hills. Gazing across the flickering lights, I can't help but find a twisted sort of serenity in the controlled chaos below.

WHO: Stephen O'Malley
AGE: Really, really, really pushing 40
OCCUPATION: Lost artist, decoupage master, senior creative manager in Beverly Hills... working for the "man."
HOMETOWN: Detroit and its surrounding burbs
SHOT: At BOXeight Studios, Los Angeles
FAVORITE L.A. HANG SPOT: I'm a homebody so there's not much to say... for a cheap way to get drunk I frequent the Eagle (rarely do I pay cover.. .not my style). I likey-likey the Pho Cafe in Echo Park for Vietnamese food. It's also "up-close-and-personal" people watching. The Goodwill on South Broadway in downtown L.A. is the mothership of thrift. And to be super cheesy and old man eccentric I love weekend afternoons tending my garden.

Is naming a restaurant Fat Hippo a good idea or a bad idea? Other restaurants with cute animal names -- like Spotted Pig and Fatty Crab -- have done well. But there's something about Fat Hippo that invites fat jokes, such as my self-deprecating friend who claimed the name described her "spot-on" (not true) when we made plans to check it out. Ten Vong's whimsical, comfort food menu looked heavy -- would we feel like fat hippos after dinner? Maybe so, considering his "trailer park chicken," with its crunchy, bronzed buttermilk crust, smoky collard greens and corn bread ($15). There's also nothing dietary about burger fondue ($12), six skewered, golf ball-size sliders to be dipped in gooey cheese sauce, sprinkled with bacon bits and wolfed down with savory French fries. The only dish that didn't make us gain an ounce was steak and eggs ($15), the hanger steak too tough, the eggs on toast overdone. We left most of it behind. The hot and sour sautéed calamari ($6), with ginger, chilies, garlic, lime and crushed peanuts, was much more worth the calories. The white-hued, Lower East Side space is small and sleek and doesn't look anything like a ferocious African mammal. What's appealing about Fat Hippo, more than its questionable name, is that the prices won't eat you alive.

71 Clinton St.
(212) 228-0994
www.fathipponyc.com

Photo from nymag.com

I'm still goo-goo gaga for Lady GaGa, and now I've added BoA, the 22-year-old South Korean dance sensation to my dance playlist. BoA, which stands for "Beat of Angel," is huge in Asia, especially Japan where she has released 11 # 1 albums. Her self-titled US debut is out this month. The best songs are "Eat You Up," "Energetic" and "Hypnotic Dancefloor." Oh, and BTW: I've changed my name to BoP -- Beat of Peter.

Last night, W Hotels in New York hosted whistling sensations Peter Bjorn and John at their Lexington Avenue location as part of their W Wonderlust Live show series. Since May of 2008, W Hotels, Sony BMG and Mastercard have been offering their chi-chi guests semi-intimate concert experiences for the not-so-semi-expensive price tag of $549. To get folks prepared for another agitated-pop album from Peter Bjorn and John (Living Things is out on March 31st), a few lucky members of the media (yours truly included) were invited to enjoy a vamped and energy-laden performance from these sweet and humble Swedes. For 30 minutes, Peter sweated and jumped, Bjorn played his bass at every height level, John swayed in cadence to each beat of the drums and the crowd bobbed their heads along with Parker Posey, The Tings Tings and Julia Stiles. But people got downright giddy when Au Revoir Simone's Heather D'Angleo joined the boys to sing their party trick, "Young Folks."

Before they took on a ballroom outfitted in a concert ensemble, I talked with bassist Bjorn Yttling on his 10 year anniversary with the band, the first two albums that everyone somehow missed and going corporate:

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Tokidoki has brought its quirky collectibles to Spring Street. A wee 250-square-feet in size, the outpost stocks an impressive range of accessories and apparel by the Japanese-inspired lifestyle brand. From the bags, blankets and hats to the soccer balls, mousepads and skate decks, Tokidoki products celebrate the art and iconic characters created by Italian artist Simone Legno. Founded in 2005 with business partners Pooneh Mohajer and Ivan Arnold, the brand has amassed legions of devotees since then.

We're new to the Tokidoki game, however. Browsing the vinyl toys and colorful print backpacks, we couldn’t help wondering, ‘Why is that cute little cow figure (above) packing heat? Why did hundreds of people line up here on opening day?' Sensing bemusement, the store manager offered a crash course in Tokidoki subculture… The brand’s characters are invented with distinctive qualities and detailed backstories (with real life lessons typically tied in there somewhere). Mozzarella, for instance, is the leader of The Moofia, a gang assembled to extort milk from the lunchboxes of schoolyard bullies. She is loving and kind to good kids, but ruthless and feared by those who harass the innocent. Mozzarella rocks a tommy gun and comes with a 2.5' smiling bullet companion. You get the idea.

Each season new products, prints and brand collabs featuring the Tokidoki families are introduced, often in limited capacity. The new capsule store serves as a one-stop-shop for the many different Tokidoki lines and is the first of its kind here in the States. Though unlikely to become a Tokidoki die-hard, we really did love the design concepts and store energy. After taking it all in, we hit the streets of Soho with a pep in our step and cute Moofia keychain in hand.

Tokidoki
176 Spring St.
(212) 334-6021
www.tokidoki.it

Photos by Rebecca Prusinowski

My favorite menswear designer (I can't help but buy tons of his jackets, recession or not.) Michael Bastian just scored his third CFDA nomination for the Menswear Designer of the Year Award. Bastian is super handsome and his preppy riffs on bespoke-style men's clothes are killer-chic. Bastian better win! Now that Obama is president, I'm going to launch a campaign on Facebook for my fave designer to win that CFDA trophy on June 15th.

1. Steve Lewis reports that Peter Gatien has been fired by the owners of Toronto club Circa because he was "up to the same old shit." Feel free to interpret that any way you like.

2. www.notatsxsw.com

3. Four kids in Spain shot these incredible images of the earth from outer space using a $75 camera and a balloon.

4. Miami art collective Friends With You (featured in PAPER's December 2008 issue) launched a clothing line with Kidrobot. It will be soon be available here.

5. The New York Dolls' fourth album, Cause I Sez So, is coming out on May 5. It was produced by Todd Rundgren, who also produced their first.

6. Shoe designers Heelarious have a new line of high-heeled cowboy boots for infants up to six-months-old.

Talk about attention to detail: the five-member design team behind Cheap Monday personally sanded, washed, bleached and blasted the 250 pairs of jeans in their latest project: The Customized Jean Tour. The jeans are displayed in Cheap Monday's first ever pop-up store in New York on Lafayette Street. This is only the latest stop in a multi-city tour which began in Stockholm then traveled to Copenhagen then Berlin and has now landed in New York. The exhibit will continue for the next two weeks, but starting yesterday, you can buy the hand worn, beautifully worked, limited edition jeans for the ridiculously low price of $70.

Valentino has been synonymous with glamour forever! Think Jackie O.'s wedding dress, Elizabeth Taylor's many wedding dresses and Nancy Reagan's ball gowns. There were guests from the Reagan era in attendance -- like Texas socialite Lynn Wyatt, Carolina Herrera and Blythe Danner -- as well up-to-the-moment glamourpusses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Claire Danes, Anne Hathaway, Coco Rocha and Selita Ebanks. All were at the MoMA for the premiere of Matt Tyrnauer's documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor (sponsored by Gilt Groupe and Quintessentially), which follows Valentino and longtime business partner Giancarlo Giammetti for two years as they confront the final act of a nearly 50-year-long career. The struggle of art versus commerce is the theme, but ultimately the story is about love. "Love is what is felt for Valentino's vision of a beautifully-gowned lady," to quote Gwyneth.

It takes a lot of wattage to outshine Jane Fonda, but watching her new Broadway play 33 Variations, I couldn't keep my eyes off of her co-starColin Hanks. Sexy in an affable way -- much like his father, Tom, I immediately cast the Orange County star opposite me in the romantic comedy version of my life. I imagined dinners with Tom and Rita, meeting up at the Eugene O'Neill stage door after his show, laughing at Jane's stories over drinks at Angus McIndoe -- you know, the usual non-psychotic-in-no-need-of medication-type thoughts.

Hormones aside, I enjoyed the play written by director Moises Kaufman as well, and thought the less than optimistic reviews were a little harsh. I was leary of the subject matter at first. Fonda plays Kathryn Brandt, a musicologist obsessed with Beethoven's 33 variations of one mediocre waltz. Doesn't sound like an exciting two and a half hours, but in addition to the obscure music history, we watch as Brandt is forced to deal with her terminal illness and the relationship she has with her daughter (Samantha Mathis). Hanks plays a nurse who falls for Mathis when she takes her mother in for an appointment. It ended up being very entertaining and there were quite a few laughs.

If you love the two-time Oscar winner and Barbarella actress Jane Fonda, Beethoven (there's also an onstage pianist playing his music) or Colin Hanks with his shirt off (I love all three!), then you should give 33 Variations a chance -- despite its lackluster reviews.

Here's Colin looking dapper at the opening night party for 33 Variations. Photo courtesy of Broadwayworld.com

If you love oversized, arty coffee table books or are simply a fan of the figurative giant Lucien Freud, Rizzoli's "Lucian Freud on Paper" is a must-have. The book, in keeping with Rizzoli standards, is beautifully printed and bound. Between the covers is a chronicle of Freud's works on paper from childhood drawings to recent etchings with mother's scrapbook-like dedication spanning eight decades. It's really interesting to flip through the pages and discover how his style has evolved over the years while always turning up the hyper-human intensity he's so famous for. The master influencer, now 84-years-old, has inspired many art students to pick up figure painting when it was unpopular and Kate Moss to disrobe while pregnant. This book, even for its sheer volume and quality, is worth every penny at $85.

In a recent email exchange with my friend, the gorgeous Suzanne Diaz, I learned that has started a clothing line with Max Barbaria called, rather appropriately, Max & Suzanne. I place emphasis on the appropriateness of the label's name as it has more to do with the laid back, timeless, relaxed chic that is indicative of both Max' and Suzanne's personal style then it does with the obvious. The entire brand is derived from the notion of the perfect men's dress shirt and, from that starting point, has expanded to fitted shirts for women, bibbed shirt dresses and unisex shirts all keeping with "the aesthetic of the original idea," Diaz tells me. All pieces are designed to create classic staples for any fashion conscious wardrobe. I am obsessed with Max & Suzanne's lookbook, which was shot by Alex Perweiler and features downtown's freshest it-girl, Tracey Antonopoulos (who recently did a spread with The Virgins for New York Magazine) and Padraic Dowd. To place and order and see the rest of the collection, check out www.theblackbuoy.com.

Happy online shopping, kiddos!!

XxPJC

"This is the time, and this is the record of the time," Laurie Anderson intones like a mantra at the start of her first big album, all the way back in 1984. As much an unsettling warning as it is a simple statement of mundane fact, it is a guide for all of her work: we don't just pass time, we record it by telling stories. And as she reminded us last Thursday at the Guggenheim, there's no one better at storytelling -- at recording the facts, and unsettling us -- than Anderson.

To be sure, her stories are less facts than artifacts, her performance a fanciful postmodern wonder cabinet of personal history and imagination. Like an angel in a dream, the spiky-haired postmodern icon appeared on stage in a cloud of fog and lights on the stage of the museum's downstairs auditorium. Once behind a bank of synthesizers that emitted her trademark unearthly music, Anderson unearthed some older stories and spun new ones, all vaguely hinging around issues of time. The performance, titled "Transitory Life: Some Stories," was occasioned by the museum's current exhibition on American artists contemplating Asia, The Third Mind, and the topic, she explained, has been filtered through her own adventures (and sometimes misadventures) with Buddhism. After sharing the details of a wacky upstate retreat, she guides us forward with a tale from medieval China. An exasperated emperor is interrogating a visiting lama. After a serious of cryptic replies, he finally asks, "Who are you?" The response: "I don't know."

As ever, her stories turn in circles, colored with confusion and an embrace of incompleteness, in love with the mundane. As birds of prey hover above him, her dog is introduced to a new set of fears from the sky (dangers from above is a decades-long theme), and though the story didn't need a direct allusion to New Yorkers after September 11, at least not before this audience, she offered it anyway. Recounting a stint working at the McDonald's near her house in Chinatown, she marvels at its delicious abundance of choices. "It was the first time in my life / that I could give people / exactly what they asked for," she said in that breathy, amazed voice. The audience, laughing always on cue, ate it all up.

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1. A British consumer group estimates that airlines lost 40 million bags in 2007 and one million of those have never been found. (via MSNBC)

2. DJ AM is suing Learjet for $20 million in damages related to last year's plane crash in South Carolina.

3. Hotel Chatter thinks Hilton's newest brand, Denizen Hotels, looks like a "trippy" hotel "on drugs."

4. Check out these cool "sketches" of NYC that artist Jorge Colombo made using an iPhone and an app called Brushes.

5. The Guggenheim Museum (1071 Fifth Avenue) celebrates their 50th anniversary with an exhibition of the building's architect Frank Lloyd Wright. On view from May 15 to April 23.

6. Norwegian heavy metal bassist Varg Vikernes is being released from prison after serving 16 years for the murder of the guitarist from Mayhem. Go here to read more on this strange tale.

I'm Amy Davis and I have been drawing since I was 3. At 12, I became a total nihilist after I won the Newsday art contest with my winged unicorn. I have shown at a buncha galleries and rad venues like Colette in Paris, Deitch Projects in NYC and The Mayor Gallery in London. I have designed four artist edition bags for LeSportsac and worked for Hard Candy, Urban Decay and Nine West. My new column Couture Voyeur is a tweaked version of my past PAPER column, Style Fiends, but instead of various hipsters styled out in très très delish avant fashion, it's just ONE hipster in a couple of different and yummy looks. I am ready to rock the funky beats fashion-wise with my blog, and create a whole slew of cool ass characters that you'll love, love to hate or just hate.

Meet Peyton...

"Hey, Peyton here, and I just went to the most amazing show... c.neeon. I fell compleatly (pun intended) in love with this dress... Oh so stoic and Euro. Like me... Not! OK, after treating myself to the frock, I went out and did what every good shop-a-holic would do and bought these retro '90s leather boots by Loius Vuitton, a yellow and white diamond pave ring by Bottega Veneta and a silk skull scarf by Lucien Pellat-Finet (I have waaaay too many by Mr. McQueen). Europa is a blast but I'm jetlagged and miss the good ol' U.S. of A. Next stop L.A. and then the New York lightz! I'm getting sick of imbus brats.

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Dan Safer’s Witness Relocation dance/theater company is totally wild; unruly, uncivilized, whatever “wild on stage” means to you. Plus, they are very funny. They like to surprise the audience and make them laugh. Their recent The Blue Bird at CSV was like going to a party where everyone was crazy drunk and did what they wanted. Of course, it’s all thought-out and synchronized, and that’s the beauty of it. Obviously, a lot of the troupe’s zaniness and sense of humor comes from its leader. For Haggadah, Safer is re-creating a Passover seder, itself a re-creation of the Jews' exodus from Egypt. I spoke with Safer.

Hi Dan. What exactly does “Haggadah” mean?
Haggadah is the name of the book that they use during the Passover holiday. The whole story from The Ten Commandments, you know, the movie with Charlton Heston as Moses, the slaves escape from Egypt, the 10 plagues, Cecil B. DeMille’s epic. Parts of the book are read at the seder.

Why did you decide to do a show about this?
Whenever I’ve been at a seder, they’re incredibly boring; but the story is really amazing. So our play was to take this amazing story and present it in an exciting way.

How are you going to do it?
Well, we have the audience sitting at a 50-foot long table, and the show goes on on top of the table and around the audience. It has dance numbers and loud rock songs.

Give me an example or two.
It’s full of sex, violence, blood, avenging angels, slavery, plagues...

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It's a Lanvin! It's a YSL! No -- it's Coach! Say hello to the Addison Spectator bag, and it's the only bag I plan on sporting this Spring. Crafted from supple embossed leather, lined with sorbet-colored silk and tricked out with white leather piping and gold hardware, this piece will effortlessly carry you from day to night. The Addison goes way beyond fashion to offer functional details like multiple compartments for books, lip gloss and lap tops, magnetic snaps and zip top enclosures. In a sea of black hobo bags and leather totes, this stylish stunner makes a singular statement. It's also available in black and red. Available at Coach stores for $698.

It goes without saying that GBH knows how to arrange solid shows; following Friday night’s GBH-hosted DJ set at Webster Hall featuring Calvin Harris, electronica goddess Peaches spun up a storm Saturday at the Tribeca Grand. Sans MySpace announcement, this special appearance was largely “last minute,” approaching secret show territory.

The lobby-turned-exclusive-club teemed with people. The otherwise pristine entryway to one of New York’s premier hotels became a claustrophobic trial. Despite this, fans and friends embraced the scene, drinking and dancing till dawn, arms in the air and smiles perpetually plastered across their fun-loving faces. Guys and girls gathered everywhere, consuming the space. Even the coat check and restroom ques inspired socializing. Some were content to recline –- even neck -– on the couches or hang by the bar, but diehard dancers Rocky-fought their way to the front.

Peaches jumped on the turntables after So Me (!!!) and Alex English, around roughly 2 a.m. The Berlin-based diva, with a half-shaven head and dressed in a getup the likes of which we’ve never seen before and words cannot adequately delineate, spun everything from up-and-coming Thunderheist to classic Daft Punk. Grooving beside her in the “booth” were the evening’s VIPs, which included JD Samson and, to our amazement, the Aussie pop star Sia. Donning an oversized neon pink top and sporting her signature blonde bob, this Zero 7 sweetheart busted more moves than maybe anyone. And, as the evening wound down, Bjork herself was spotted at the bar.

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I wear my sunglasses at night, indeed. Carrera, the popular sunglasses brand from the '80s, celebrated the launch of their Carrera Vintage Sunglasses line on Friday night at the Lower East Side's Angel Orensanz Foundation. Legendary Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry performed a set for a room full of VIPS including Taylor Momsen, Agyness Deyn, Richie Rich, Tyson Beckford, Peaches, Daisy Lowe, Patricia Field just to name a few. Topping things off, DJs Jesse Marco, Mia Moretti and Miss Guy spun all night!

1. According to various UK media reports, Michael Jackson was "off his face" and "lurching around the lobby" of The Lanesborough Hotel last week, used an "imposter" at his press conference and is "having his body stuffed with plastic by Dr. Death."

2. All the Virgin Megastores in the US will be closed by June. "They were arrogant. They thought they knew everything," an American record label rep told Billboard. "But I grew to love them."

3. Here's Lynn Yaeger's guide to the worlds greatest flea markets.

4. Volcom is releasing a limited edition Pearl Jam T-shirt and 7" single of live versions of "Even Flow" and "Porch."
Both are available here.

5. New Miami club The Electric Pickle (2826 North Miami Avenue) opens on Wednesday, March 18.

6. A $549 W Hotel/MasterCard Wonderlust package includes two tickets to a private Peter Bjorn and John concert tomorrow night, VIP gift bag, late check out plus one night stay. Call (212) 726-9592.

For camera shy celebrities approaching the longest red carpet in New York City, they must have felt like Marie Antoinette going to the gallows. But for the spotlight-friendly, it was simply divine. Some of the moments defined by screaming, pushing and scrabbling over chairs and ladders by the photographers and videographers were: the arrival of Mary Kate Olsen; Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson; and Kanye West with Amber Rose. Yves Saint Laurent (the sponsor of the event)'s creative director Stefano Pilato along with Claudia Schiffer paused, smiled and posed when I mentioned that I was from PAPERMAG. Nice!

Friday the 13th means different things to different people. Some folks opt to shack up, content to wait it out till the sun comes up on Saturday. Others hike in hot pink heels along New York City streets, testing their luck. Wikipedia claims that, when the 13th lands on a Friday, “Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed.” Imagine if dance fans succumbed to these crippling, irrational limitations? Where would that leave Dumfries-based DJ Calvin Harris?

Fortunately, superstition didn’t stop the stampede of Harris supporters from making their way to Webster Hall. Harris jumped the puddle; you better believe his admirers are gonna shake their rumps till the first bird chirps. And that’s precisely how the evening unfolded, spilled salt and black cats be damned.

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The Lower East Side was a jungle of people and traffic that spilled right into Tropical 128 on Saturday night, where Patrick McMullan photog Billy Farrell was celebrating his 29th birthday. Those in attendance included Wireimage's Kevin Mazur, Jamie McCarthy, Dimitrios Kambouris, PMC's Chance Yeh, Liam McMullan, Clint Spaulding and Nick Hunt; Getty's Astrid Starwitz; Vogue's Hannah Thomson; and yours truly...