Last night before the madness that was PAPER's Beautiful People Party I stopped by Half Gallery to say hello to my Trini friend Che Lovelace. Che is an artist, surfer and an all-around awesome guy from Trinadad and Tobago, and I was thrilled to see his very first solo show in New York. His paintings looked great and it's always a treat to have him here. The night before Studio Museum in Harlem's Thelma Golden sat down with Che at 192 Books in Chelsea and talked about his new monograph which unfortunately I missed. Che also runs a free community movie house called StudioFilmClub in Port of Spain with his friend artist Peter Doig. If you ever go to Trinidad -- and you should because it's so beautiful and fun there -- you have to put this on your "things to do" list.

Since I'm talking about my friends' art shows I should also mention the fabulous photo installation at Mars Bar by my friend Rosalie Knox. At the opening on Sunday night, we raised hell with the hardcore regulars of this gnarly legendary watering hole, pre-Sex and the City-style. Hello, New York is officially back! I mean, when was the last time you hung out at Mars Bar? 2002? Actually I was just there on New Year's till 5 a.m. doing Jagger bombs! It's kind of really great to have an art show at the diviest bar in Manhattan -- makes you feel like you're going back to your roots.

Half Gallery, 208 Forsyth St., www.halfgallery.com
Mars Bar, 25 1st Ave., Through May 2.

Hollywood had it coming. Last night, H. Wood celebrated its new party "Diamond Dogs" for a glittery night of rock and roll disco with the swaggering intent of sticking it to the man (or in this case, the rich kids). In the words of resident DJ Kelly Cole, he and fellow host Bryan Rabin wanted to create a night for the alienated and disenfranchised, bringing back old-school values of partying and togetherness as opposed to the might of a good publicist and a credit card. Don’t be fooled, however, by the altruistic message: the crowd was still packed full of well-heeled hipsters and hot babes, though I did observe a higher ratio of resplendent drag queens. If you are craving a night with no techno, no reserved seating, and go-go dancers galore, come get down at Diamond Dogs, every Thursday at H.Wood.

P.S: Wear sequins!

Some perfumes are meant to smell pleasant and good and beautiful. They’re easy to wear, they evoke something nice, and often smell of flowers or forests or fruit. Then there are other perfumes that, frankly, aren’t so easy. These perfumes convey an aesthetic of standoffishness and sometimes alienation, more thought-piece than accessory. Cool in their own right but not entirely suitable for a subway ride.

But, dear PAPERMAG readers, there is a third way. The artist, Sacre Nobi, famous for his multi-sensory sculptures, has created a perfume house that caters to just this sort of fragrance. S-ex, one of three scents currently produced by S-Perfume, is the epitome of such a fragrance. It is an exquisite and rare perfume that somehow manages to capture the essence of the avant-garde while still remaining both wearable and breathtakingly beautiful.

Slightly sweet, somewhat kinky, and entirely elegant, S-ex is the creation of bad-boy perfumeur Christophe Laudamiel. It’s spiked with a heavy dose of what he calls “spirit of life.” Hm. Isabella Rossellini recently said, “sperm are cheap, eggs are precious.” To put it bluntly, Laudamiel pulls off the remarkable feat of being both cheap and precious. Couple this with a strong underpinning of dry, taught leather and a subtle, synthetic accord of rubber or plastic, and you have a full-on evocation of kink. Layers of animalic musk, crystalline in clarity and unlike any other I’ve encountered before, underlay and pass through the development of S-ex. And then comes the salt -- strange, you might think, but smooth and restrained and powerful. It’s the smell of dried sweat on skin, a slightly malodorous representation of that remarkably sexy part of body odor. Luca Turin, who gives it his highest mark of five stars, calls it “space leather.” Space leather be damned -- this is ozonic S&M.

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1. Tomorrow, April 11, Union is releasing the first of several items celebrating their 20th anniversary. Their iconic "Frontman" tee shirt will be available in two new variations online and at the NYC (176 Spring St.) and LA (110 South La Brea ) stores. Happy Birthday! (hat tip to Leo)

2. Graph of the day: Metallica Albums vs Hair Length.

3. Remember our item on PETA's campaign to re-name "fish" to "sea kittens? According to the Pet Shop Boys' website, the band received a letter from the animal rights organization requesting that they change their name to the "Rescue Shelter Boys." They declined.

4. The Hard Rock amusement park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which was built at a cost of over $400 million, and only lasted 9 months before it was purchased in bankruptcy, will now be known as the Freestyle Music Park. We wonder if the new owners know what "freestyle music" is?

5. Despite a rise in consumer fatigue over celebrity-branded products, we announce the arrival of Kanye West energy drink and Rihanna cologne.

6. Hungarian MC Marcus May released an album called Babel that features 33 guest vocalist in 33 languages.

7. The New York Times discovers a cool Bushwick store/cafe/venue called Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway) opened by the former proprietor of Scrapbar on Macdougal Street. BTW: Scrapbar was on the site of The Gaslight Café, a Dylan hangout in the '60s.

Poco, across the street from Mama’s on Avenue B, features a lengthy Spanish wine list, lots of Cavas, and a drink list that means well, but needs some help. All cocktails are $10, and though there were some standouts, like a champagne hibiscus flower cocktail that the bartenders were giving out for free, and a coconut mojito, which sounded iffy but was light and slightly fizzy, the list stumbles with cosmos and apple martinis. It’s unwise to sell a drink containing apple Pucker, when Mama’s, steps away, sells a slew of vodkas infused with fresh fruits for almost half the price. Chef Abe Lopez, who won widely hated Food Network show Chopped (with a dessert made from beer, frozen pie crust, caramel candy and dates), has created a Spanish small plates menu, which, like the cocktails, needlessly includes has-beens like macaroni and cheese and sliders. Per the bartender’s suggestion, we tried the sautéed spinach, made with golden grapes, capers and pine nuts, which was very good. Both menus showed potential, and despite Poco’s diminutive name, their weeknight specials are pretty generous: They recently featured a tasting of 20 “tea infused” cocktails for $25, and the bartender assured us that a similar event was in the works.

Poco
33 Avenue B
(212) 228-4461

Photo from evgrieve.com

I met Mr. Mickey in Bombay/Mumbai (after the opening of my old friend Vikram Chatwal's Dream Hotel, in Cochin/Kochi -- more blogs on that later) for hardcore shoppy, shoppy (keyword: overbuy) and a dinner party at my hotel, the Four Seasons in the Worli 'hood. My 18th-floor IMAX-like view overlooked a sprawling slum town. It was so Danny Boyle. We ate in the glassed-in, sleek private room of hip eatery San Qi. Lakmé Fashion Week recently wrapped and the group was Bombay's style elite. I nibbled pan-Asian dim-sum avec the divine beauty Bandana Tewari (the Sally Singer of Vogue India) and her hot husband Ravi Krishnan, Mr. M and IMG's Fashion Week Guru/power player Fern Mallis, who gave me the 411 on where to score her amazing brightly colored thread bangles (Colaba Market). Mr. Mickey and Ravi had just judged the Miss India pageant. The next morning, three Indian boys in their early teens recognized Mr. Mickey from the pageant on TV and begged to pose for cell phone snapshots with him, one by one. Mr. Mickey is not only famous in NYC, he's big in Bombay. Too too tandoori!

PAPER's annual Beautiful People Party, this year graciously sponsored by H&M, and held at The Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel, was definitely the most spectacular, namely because cover girl Katy Perry was on hand for a sweaty, intimate and raucous set, which included a cover of Outfield's "Your Love," "Hot 'N Cold," "Waking Up in Vegas" and "I Kissed a Girl." Over thousands lined up outside waiting to get in, and the lucky few inside (including Kat DeLuna, Melanie Fiona, Zoe Lister-Jones, Kid Cudi, Matt Creed, Lady Sovereign, Debbie Harry, Lydia Hearst et. al.) were able to dance the night away, fueled by Red Bull Cola, to the tunes of DJ Cassidy, and of course, the imitable Ms. Perry, who sported some glittery heart-shaped sunglasses while flailing around onstage with a blow-up cherry chapstick.

When we heard that the pièce de résistance at Tonda was a $30,000 slow-rotating 1,000-degree wood-burning pizza oven, we were sure that such extravagance would be a bad omen for the space which recently housed the ill-fated, over-ambitious gastro-pub EU. But upon visiting the restaurant, much warmer both literally (thanks to the aforementioned oven) and aesthetically than its previous tenant, there is every reason to believe that Tonda will succeed. For their latest venture, the folks behind Bread and the Mercer Kitchen shipped in Michele Sceral, a “Maestro Pizzaiolo” from Naples, who employs bona fide “Pizzaioli Napoletani” practices -- that is, using specific, regional flours and tomatoes. The result is a wide selection of reasonably priced ($10-15) thin-crust personal pizzas that are some of the finest we’ve tasted of late. From the staid (brocolli rabe with spicy sausage) to the slightly less staid (roasted egg, speck, asparagus, mozzarella and fresh tomato), all pizzas were truly sumptuous; the temperature perfect, the cheese gooey but not too gooey, the slices of meat thin and spicy, the tomato sauce savory. The small plates, a selection of traditional Neapolitan “street food,” were also impressive, especially wood oven cooked eggplant pie ($7) and the fried polenta ($5.50). If you have it in you at the end of the meal, try if you can to make room for dessert, especially the Nutella-filled calzone, which pretty much tastes as sinful as it sounds.

Tonda
235 E. 4th St.
(212) 254-2900
www.tondapzza.com

As we mentioned last week, the ever-cool and tall Thurston Moore curated the Sessions at Santa's this past Tuesday night. And, Oh My God, it was the most ear-piercing Session yet!!! The first "band" was Noise Nomads, a one-man drum solo freak-out -- so loud! The all-hell-breaking trio called Fat Worm of Error played next and they were so fucking loud too. And Thurston sat down and laid his guitar across his lap Jeff Healy-style then he turned off his iPhone and started thrashing it with a metal rod with his sidekicks Okkyung Lee on cello and Ikue Mori on Mac laptop making stomach-churning unearthly frequencies. In the end, Thurston's trio out-noised the other two previous bands. It was like a dare -- dare to care about the noise that's going to make your ears bleed. But it was still really, really great!

1. Did you catch La Roux last week at Studio B? The UK electro duo of Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid only visited a few cities (they're in San Francisco tonight) but their Quicksand EP is out and the album's coming soon. Check out the single "In For the Kill" here.

2. Matt Gross, The New York Times' Frugal Traveler, found this cool "couch surfing" website. "Participate in creating a better world, one couch at a time."

3. Here are some really bad excuses for being late. For example: "I feel like I'm in everyone's way if I show up on time."

4. Black Dice's new album, Repo, came out this week and they're having a release party on Saturday, April 11, at Market Hotel (1142 Myrtle Avenue, Bushwick).

5. The Associated Press is cracking down on unauthorized use of their content and they even threatened one of their own affiliates for posting a video from the A.P.'s official YouTube page. (via Tech Crunch)

6. Tracy Westmoreland, owner of the now shuttered Hell's Kitchen dive bar Siberia, is opening a new spot called Manhattans in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (769 Washington Ave.). (via NYP)

If you got a sneak peak of their Greenpoint home last year, it's obvious the partners behind hayden-harnett have good taste beyond their line of killer handbags. So it's no surprise that their new store on Elizabeth Street is charming, well-designed and a major transformation from the dusty wine shop before it. Spotless white walls and several succulent plants give the 450-foot space a fresh feel, while a couple vintage pieces brings a dash of retro cool. It's a perfect reflection of the brand itself.

The boutique carries hayden-harnett's bags, small leather goods, spring/summer apparel and -- as of this season -- swim and footwear. The sandals and wedges are major summer fun (check the throwback Iskia Link wedges above), though there are leather boots and flats still around for the icky "transitional" weather we've been experiencing of late. The new swimwear line is totally spot-on because skanky string bikinis are so over, ladies. Try the subtle sexy look of hayden-harnett's Daphne Pin-up Tank or the Clio Ruffled Maillot one-pieces instead.

The store's assortment of bags deserves an entire write-up in and of itself. Rest assured the brand's signature studded hobos, satchels, totes and clutches are still going strong, with smashing new shades like blueberry, moonbeam, steel and eucaylptus now in the mix. There are also some eye-catching prints in an excuslive line from famed French textile artist Paule Marrot.

Just when you think it's safe to approach the cash register after whittling your booty to a bag or three, think again! The counter area is teeming with jewelry, homegoods and fragrances we love. Letterpress stationery by Yee-Haw Industries, reversible headbands by Dot-Iris and the sublime scents of D.S. & Durga are among our faves.

hayden-harnett
253 Elizabeth St.
(212) 334-2247
www.haydenharnett.com

Photos by Rebecca Prusinowski

During a recent performance of the Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls, a very tall, dark-haired dancer caught my eye. He looked to be over well-over six-feet-tall but moved with such grace and accuracy. Being tall myself, I sometimes have a hard time walking with grace, let alone performing a pas de bourrée. None of the headshots in the Playbill seemed to match this tall, dark, and handsome gangster but after some investigative reporting on Facebook, I found out that my mystery man was Barrett Martin and he was a recent replacement for injured cast member, James Harkness.

Although he was missing in the Playbill, Martin's been a fixture on Broadway for several years, and made his debut in 2003 alongside past PAPER Beautiful Person, Matt Cavenaugh in the ill-fated Urban Cowboy, and starred in Young Frankenstein in 2007 and the amazing Encores production of Follies. He even met his girlfriend of two years, Broadway actress Megan Sikora, in the national tour of Wicked. Originally from Chicago, he tells me how he ended up in New York after a few stops, his desire to dance with Britney Spears and what he plans to do when the injured cast member is back on his feet.

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Soulful tenor Adam Joseph has the vocal grace of a hummingbird. He's also a songwriter, music producer, recording engineer and DJ. Originally from Cincinnati, he studied at the Berklee School of Music before breaking into the New York scene in 2004 -- now he performs and DJs regularly at NYC hotspots, including his Saturday night residency at Chelsea bar XES.

So, you are a multi-talented musician, do you work for yourself?
Yes, my production company is Elegant Children Productions, while my record label, Jah Records released my first album, and the Faggotty Attention maxi-single. I've been singing since I was a kid, I went to a performing arts high school, studied classical voice for eight years, but I always loved to sing R & B, and Jazz, so for that I'm more self-taught.

"Faggotty Attention" -- this song came out two years ago and caused quite a stir! It was a departure for you, right?
That was the first clubby type of music that I'd ever done -- my previous stuff was all R&B or neo soul. It was my first really gay-oriented track. I've also made videos from my singles "Flow With My Soul" and "You're Mine," co-directed by Aaron Cobbett and George Lyter.

And then you found an audience?
It was a shocker type song, people could go on YouTube and laugh at it. It was Jonny McGovern's idea, originally -- he was joking that I should do a song about seducing a straight boy and give him my "faggotty attention."

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Even if Rob Dyrdek doesn’t behave like a grown up, he has some pretty grown-up responsibilities. Formerly of MTV’s Rob and Big, Dyrdek has returned to the world of reality (television) with the new show, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, which takes place inside his office (the aforementioned Fantasy Factory) equipped with a skate park, foam pit and his adorable bulldogs Meaty and Beefy. Dyrdek also ventures out of the office to fight sharks, break land and speed records, and ride the world’s largest skateboard. Catch his fantasies Sundays at 9 p.m. on MTV and check out his upcoming film, Street Dreams, in theaters this summer.

So what are you up to today?
Get my entire existence as a human being on schedule. Because yesterday I chose to ignore my life. And now it’s twice as hard to deal with the following day. I have to take about 20 phone conferences, and make about five major decisions. And get this puppy that smells like urine cleaned. Beefy has 10 times the pedigree than Meaty [his other dog].

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1. RCRD LBL, one of our co-websites in the Buzzeteria network, shares our love for Awesome New Republic and they've posted two versions of the song "Birthday" here. One features Gossip Girl Leighton Meester on vocals. Don't forget, they're performing at Mercury Lounge on April 15.

2. There are lots of clever recycling ideas -- including the Book Bookshelf by Richard Jennions -- entered in Inhabitat's Spring Design Competition. Vote for your favorite here before Friday, April 10, at midnight.

3. How to grow 100 pounds of potatoes in four square feet.

4. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are on Saturday Night Live this Saturday, April 11.

5. Somebody discovered an ATM card skimmer at a Chase branch in the East Village. Gizmodo is on the case.

6. The world's largest international ballet competition takes place April 17 to 22 at the Skirball Performing Arts Center. (130 W. 56th St.)

It was a scene-and-a-half at Dover Street Market last night as Barbies and Kens as interpreted by Gareth Pugh, Roksanda Ilincic, and Danielle Scutt were unveiled to the public. It was a mash up of East End types, big-deal editors, super-bloggers, and young up-and-comers in the biz. Guests were treated to pink champagne and mini cupcakes with edible glitter toppings while they perused the racks of Barbie-infused items. The party became filled to brim quicker than two shakes of a lamb's tail, to the point that people waiting outside were only allowed in if people left, so one in for every one out quickly became the mantra at the door. Aside from all the Barbie and Ken mania, we chatted with Mandi Lennard, London's ultimate fashion publicist, who sported new pink locks dyed for the launch. Colin McDowell, one of the most respected fashion commentators of the day, described her to me once as having "such an eye," in terms of the clients she chooses to represent, and his words couldn't be truer. In chatting with Mandi, we found out that she has a blog on the site of major French boutique Colette. The blog is young and new, but is sure to spread like wildfire since what goes on in Mandi's head is so damn interesting. Be sure to support her and check it out!

Last night, The Cinema Society and Links of London hosted a screening of The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema. The film, set in early-'80s-era Pittsburgh, and based on a Michael Chabon novel, is a coming of age story starring Jon Foster, Mena Suvari, Sienna Miller and Peter Sarsgaard as a "lusty no good hoodlum." Back to Sienna for a second. Born in New York but raised in London, she is not only naturally gorgeous, but clever and savvy enough to give us phtogs the "red carpet treatment" with her dress choice! Stars, here's a suggestion: More red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet and less black!

Chic DJ/singer/songwriter Olivia Maxwell has put West Virginia on radioland's map with The O Show, which has a cult-like following of music maniacs and indie hipsters. Maxwell (the daughter of filmmaker Ron Maxwell) spins the old with the new (like NYC band Koko Dozo) on 89.7 WSHC. "I am in my little box of zen," Maxwell tells me. "I dance, I rock and I swing knowing that I am not alone, but sharing these melodic beats with the town and all those listeners online. It's almost better than DJing in a nightclub because it feels more personal and so intense! There's nothing more powerful feeling than broadcasting over the global airwaves to all!"

The New Museum unveiled its much anticipated age-specific group show "The Generational: Younger Than Jesus" to the press today (it opens to the public tomorrow :) ). It's a sprawler: five floors, 50 artists all under the age of 33 from 25 countries. Though the exhibit's common thread is a bit banal, the show is interesting and unpredictable in both its weaknesses and strengths. Many of the artists (the youngest are 23) have contributed multiple pieces and the ones with the loudest and the biggest installations (i.e. Ryan Trecartin & Liu Chuang) kind of steal the thunder from the less imposing ones. But thanks to the curators, who did a good job spacing out the pieces, you want to pay attention to the quiet kids too. The show has the brashness you'd expect from this age group but it's not immature, and the youthful energy is potent without the gangbustery attitude that's become all too familiar at the Whitney Biennial in recent years.

New Museum, 235 Bowery, Through June 14, www.newmuseum.org

Quickly, I'm going to see the one and only Terry Reid at The Studio at Webster Hall tonight. He maybe the greatest rock 'n' roller you never heard of. He was too cool to join Led Zeppelin and his songs have been covered by such luminaries as Cheap Trick, Rob Zombie, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Jack White. This is a rare opportunity. If you love rock, you should totally be there -- no buts and ifs.

The Studio at Webster Hall, 125 E. 11th St., 8 p.m., $15

Big hair, heavy makeup and '80s monster ballads are aplenty in the energetic new Broadway musical Rock of Ages, which debuted off-Broadway last year. The musical stars Constantine Maroulis, the American Idol fallout who, after his Broadway debut in The Wedding Singer in 2006, has been much more prolific on stage than in the recording studio. Despite the lack of original songs and the sappy and predictable story, Rock of Ages is actually really fun, embracing its corniness with a humble hilarity. And it does have some pretty entertaining renditions of '80s tunes like "Wanted Dead or Alive" and "Hit Me with Your Best Shot". The middle-aged woman from Long Island sitting next to me was living for it!

One of the best parts of the show was Amy Spanger's performance as the female lead Sherrie, a midwestern girl trying to make it as an actress in Los Angeles. She's a new edition to the Rock of Ages Broadway cast and was featured in PAPER when she played Holly in The Wedding Singer (another ode to the '80s on Broadway). Since then she divorced her husband of four years Michael C. Hall and he married his Dexter co-star Jennifer Carpenter this past December. Hall might feel a bit of remorse if he saw Amy working it in an array of leather skirts, ripped T-shirts and thigh-high boots, but somehow I think he'll be left off the list for the opening night party.

Here is a photo of Maroulis and Spanger making a love connection in Rock of Ages. Photo credit: Joan Marcus

Christopher Durang, arguably America’s sharpest satirical playwright, is back with another of his timely comedies. This one revolves around a young woman who is worried that her new husband, whom she married when drunk, is actually a terrorist. She’s also not sure about her butterfly-collecting dad, who might be mixed up in some shadow government. And she doesn’t find much solace in her mom, who “enjoys going to the theater.” Directed by Nicholas Marti, the cast of this black comedy features seven fine actors, with Laura Benanti (Gypsy Rose Lee in the most recent Broadway production of Gypsy) playing the impetuous young woman. I spoke with two-time Obie Award winner, Kristine Nielsen, who has appeared in three Durang plays, and has a wonderful sense of humor herself.

Hi Kristine. I love the title.
Yes, it is catchy, and it sort of sums up the play. I’m one of the people who loves them.

You’re Luella, the mom.
I play the typical mother in a Durang play, who sort of experiences her family as the play unfolds.

So what’s your mother-daughter relationship like?
She comes to me for advice after she’s gotten married, after a one-night stand. My advice to her is just go to the theater. How wonderful the theater is, theater is life. I think that theater is based on life, and that life trumps theater.

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There was a picket line outside of our local deli Silo this afternoon, it wasn't the food that they were protesting. About 50 "people who can't read print," took to 32nd Street in order to protest the Author's Guild whose offices happen to be located above the deli. Apparently the Author's Guild is pressuring the Amazon Kindle 2 -- which offers automatic text-to-speech conversion -- to change the access to the device so that blind people would have to pay more for books or require a special registration to prove disability. We guess that the authors are afraid that Kindle sales might erode their profits from traditional "books-on-tape." You can read more from the protestor's perspective here. We'd also be happy to hear from the Author's Guild.

Having checked out his recently refurbished SoHo store last Friday, we thought it'd be fun to check in with John Varvatos himself. Here's what the award-winning menswear designer has to say about his stores and those famous rock star campaigns...

Your re-designed SoHo boutique looks great, though it differs greatly from your Bowery shop. Do you approach each store design differently?
Absolutely. With each of my eight stores, I consider the environment they're in and respect and build upon the intrinsic characteristics of that neighborhood.

What store design elements do you consider integral to the brand?
We use a combination of dark luxurious woods, heavy steel fixtures and framed rock 'n' roll photography to achieve a look and feeling of elegant masculinity. The patina on the wood and steel fixtures compliment finishes on the leather jackets and shoes.

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1. Is this your luggage?

2. Tired of using bed sheets for curtains? Head over to The Bell House (149 7th St.) in Gowanus tonight (April 7, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) for their free "Home and Garden Renovation for Hipsters."

3. The Tate Modern is repeating itself. The London museum plans to re-create their 1971 exhibit of works by American conceptual artist Robert Morris during their "Long Weekend" May 22 to 25. The original exhibit invited public participation but was forced to close after only four days when visitors "ran riot, screaming, injuring themselves."

4. Musicians who died at the age of 27.

5. Jack White's latest incarnation, The Dead Weather, will be playing the Bowery Ballroom on April 14 and tickets go on sale tomorrow, April 8. The band includes White, Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age), Jack Lawrence (Raconteurs) and Alison Mosshert (The Kills).

6. Try to save 911 for real emergencies. Operator: 911 hello. Boy: I need some help. Operator: What's the matter? Boy: I need help with my math. I have to do it. Listen to the whole conversation here.

WHO: Philip Burns
AGE: 23
OCCUPATION: Professional hustla
HOMETOWN: Savannah, GA
SHOT IN: Savannah, GA
FAVORITE SAVANNAH HANG SPOT: The Jinx is my favorite place to hang out. It's a small punk rock bar/venue in the heart of Savannah.

WHO: Taylor Christian Elliott
AGE: 18
OCCUPATION: Musician, tattoo artist
HOMETOWN: Savannah, GA
SHOT IN: Savannah, GA
FAVORITE SAVANNAH HANG SPOT: It can be anywhere really, as long as I got my friends to hang out with. If I had to choose one place though it would probably have to be a restaurant called Ken and Candis BBQ in Savannah. A bunch of my friends work there and the food is always really, really good.

WHO: Michael Taylor Cribbs
AGE: 21
OCCUPATION: Illustrator, conceptual artist
HOMETOWN: Franklin, TN
SHOT IN: Bluffton, SC
FAVORITE BLUFTON HANG SPOT: I'm not the club- or bar-going type. I love going to the park to throw the frisbee or getting some Japanese food from Sarku with my best friend. I love me some Caribbean Iceberg from Coffee Beanery whenever I’m in Franklin, TN since there's none around where I live (in Bluffton) now.

At the Corey Helford Gallery on Saturday night, body heat was in full force. The gallery was filled with celebrities, artists and the weekend art crowd as they came out to support award-winning photographer Chris Anthony’s Venice, a solo exhibition of his new works.

Anthony’s palette of dreary greys and icy blues created the illusion of an arctic climate for his first major outdoor project. His photographs taken on only dismally overcast days rendered Venice Beach almost unrecognizable to this L.A. native and avid surfer.

According to the artist, “Venice is a metaphor for a sinking city, deserving of nature’s wrath, leaving its citizens to tread water and explore new ways to sustain life on aquatic earth.”

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Some are drawn to Africa for the culture, some for the natural beauty, but for Kassia Meador, it was the waves. The 26-year old Roxy pro-surfer just wrapped on a two-week-long trek across the beaches of Morocco where she got to experience the North African country's majestic sea scape first hand. I caught up with her as soon as she landed to to talk surf, sun and style.

Morocco! That’s the last place I'd think for surfing...
True, when most people think of Morocco they think of camels, deserts and snake charmers in the markets of Marrakech. But what most people don't know is that Morocco is home to some of the best right hand point breaks in the world. There is literally one world class point break after another.

How does it compare to the beaches of California?
We have some amazing beaches and point breaks in California. But if I were to compare Morocco to California it would be like apples to oranges. Both places have great surf but the California coast is more varied with rights, lefts, reef, sand and cobble stone whereas Morocco is primarily perfect right hand points.

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When I say Friday night was the scene to end all scenes, I kid you not. I’ve been through similar muck before: sandwiched between multiple sweaty strangers, pummeled to the ground by groupies, kept lingering in line while police officers made sense of a “situation.” But nothing prepared me for the ridiculousness that was Webster Hall on April 3rd.

News spread like wildfire via Twitter and text that the Toronto-based MSTRKRFT men, Jesse Keeler and Alex Puodziukas (AKA Al-P), were stuck in Chicago after a MySpace secret show and might not make it to New York. Talk about hype puncture. Fortunately, promoter and DJ Alex English assuaged our outrage with a succinct Facebook status update, confirming they would fly into Philly and drive up from there.

A friend at Webster Hall who was there for the earlier show by The Presets called me conveying the mayhem: “The block is barricaded. The fire department’s here. Cops are everywhere. It looks like they’re kicking people out. This is legit. This crowd is insane.” It didn’t help that a trusted publicist relayed to me that the Italy-based Bloody Beetroots would also arrive after the scheduled set time; “Think 3 AM. Then maybe MSTRKRFT will go on afterwards at, like, 4.”

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1. L.A. artist Liz Glynn (plus lots of volunteers) is building Rome in a day. In a performance piece for the New Museum's upcoming show "The Generational: Younger Than Jesus," Glynn will recreate ancient Rome as it looked from 753 BC to AD 410. Construction starts tonight at 6:30 p.m. and ends in 24 hours. Tempus fugit.

2. The Pet Shop Boys 10th album Yes is coming out on April 21. The British duo is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and so are we! Maybe they'd like to perform at our big bash in September?

3. R.I.P. Tony D. The New Jersey hip-hop artist/producer was killed in an automobile accident over the weekend. He produced numerous tracks for the Poor Righteous Teachers, The Outsidaz, Young Zee, King Sun and Pace Won.

4. Cool LEGO movie theater with a working projector.

5. The BBC reports that Internet traffic in Sweden fell by one third after they enacted a new anti-piracy law.

6. Livin' in the USA -- from a different perspective.

I loved the Young Friends of Save Venice benefit dance this year at the Bowery Hotel and not only because it was hosted by such chic friends as Olivia Chantecaille, Luigi Tadini, Antony Todd and honorary chair Susan Shin, but also because I got to slap on my own version of a mask: oversize Ksubi white Wayfarer-style shades. It was hard to spot my friends in dark sunglasses, but I did see Anisha Lakhani, Alexandra Lind Rose, Maggie Katz, Lesley Schulhof, Valerie Boster, Francesca Bodini, Martin Dawson, Lydia Fenet, William Heath, Ed Amorosi, Mag Goossens, Adelina Wong Etteleson, Lil Phillips and Timo Weiland, among others. I showed up with my brother Topper and his wife Tinsley. Thank Josephine Solimene of style.com for the snazzy photo. Josephine always makes me look good.

Charlotte Ronson's I Heart Ronson line for JCPenney debuted with a lavish bang at the sumptuous Bar Marmont in Hollywood on Friday night. The bar, usually a gloomily gothic affair, was transformed into a pink confectionary treat, with jars of candy and rows of dresses everywhere. It was a girly girl’s dream, much like the collection itself. Ronson is known for making beautiful, feminine clothes that are both wearable and sexy, and this line does not disappoint. The pieces are rife with an ethereal flounciness that makes you want to drop everything and go run through a field of daisies or something. Flattering, simple and cute, minus the exorbitant price tag. What more is there in life?

Celebrities seemed to agree, as fashion-loving stars like Nicole Richie, Rashida Jones and Anna Paquin came by to support and grab a goodie or two. It was quite the family affair, as Charlotte's twin sister Samantha took to the turntables and later, bro Mark led a raucous performance with Daniel Merriweather and friends. Amid all the adulation, I had the chance to pull CharRo aside to ask her a few (extremely important!) questions.

Did anything about L.A inspire this collection?
Yeah, of course! People usually think I’m from L.A rather than New York. I love the beach, the blond, the sunny weather. L.A represents everything that is fun and chic.

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On Saturday night, Mary Boone Gallery hosted an opening celebration for its latest exhibit "KKK," featuring the works of Jeff Koons, Mike Kelley and Terence Koh, curated by Javier Peres. Since Koh's piece was an extra-lengthy "urinal," the photo op of the evening was all the merry man standing with their backs to the camera, "relieving" themselves. But the really scandalous behavior took place at the after-party held at famed gay bar The Eagle. Dancers, socialites, art patrons and guests came prepared to enjoy the leather daddy gay bar atmosphere to the max!