NaNoWriMo Victory!

I've kept it quiet for some and talked endlessly about it with others, but this month I was a proud participant in National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for short. I've been cheered on all month by my housemate Lauren, friend and neighbor Keight (both past NaNoWriMo winners) and pen-pal Rob (a participant this time), my co-workers Lyndsey, Alisa, and Jerimiah, and was given the courage to push on by my family in the last stretches while my parents bragged to my grandmother, "Eleanor's writing a novel." Yes, it is true. I did it and it's done. The novel has no title. I don't know the genre. I hope it is literary fiction, but it may just be chick-lit. In any event, it is over 50,000 words long (51,156 to be exact) and it exists. It centers around a young, American 20-something named Hannah who moves to Paris after college to prove she's not sublimating her dreams and all that follows. Will it ever see the light of day after this month? I have no idea, but it's done! I think it's an experience ever writer, even those like me who don't usually write fiction, should go through. It imposed a creative discipline on me and showed me that I can get up at 7 a.m. to write. It made me look for all the possible opportunities in the day to write, and I got to create a whole reality based on, but not exactly like, the one I live in and the things I have experienced. I can't wait to do it again, but I think I only have one novel in me and this was it.

Blitzen Trapper, yay! Iron and Wine, snore.

On a freezing cold Monday I walked half-way across Manhattan to see Blitzen Trapper and Iron and Wine play at the cavernous Terminal Five. I had not heard of Blitzen Trapper before, though they hail from Portland, Oregon, a city close to my heart. For anyone who loves classic rock from the 1970's, murder ballads and American roots music, they are a compelling new band. They were opening for Iron and Wine, who, while he certainly writes novelistic lyrics, is not that interesting. I honestly don't see what the big deal is, and besides, it turned into a big, sickening swoon fest for the couples in the audience. To read what else I have to say and to see Crissy Lush's photos, check out my review here on Venuszine.com!

I Love Mondo!

My new favorite thing to do the first and third Friday of every month is go to Mondo at Don Hill's. Admittedly, Don Hill's is a lame bar, but Mondo is an awesome indie rock dance party where they play the best, most danceable songs. They play all the songs I secretly wish I could dance to when I listen to them on my iPod on my morning commute. They also recently played at First Saturday and I loved it (as evidenced by the totally dorky photo here that Dominick took). Dominick shot their set at the Brooklyn Museum and also shot the party last week at Mondo and they are some of the best night life photo's I've ever seen, but of course, I'm biased.

New Favorite Blog

R. bookmarked a his favorite blog for me and I really appreciate it! Bikesnob NYC! So hilarious! So much writing, how does this guy have time to make all his charts and graphs that comment on the state of the world, or at least the state of cycling, all through bike-related nerdiness. I especially like the post about Velibs in Paris and the Great Hipster Silk Route.

Uh Huh Her at Irving Plaza

The other week Dominick and I went to see Uh Uh Her at Irving Plaza. I personally do not like the name (though I do like the PJ Harvey album they are named for), but the crowd there was really into them and their shiny outfits. They didn't seem to be phased by the radio-ready quality of the set either. You can read my review here and see more of Dominick's super slick pictures.