This week, I was completely open to the Universe. And it kept giving me cookies. Everything was so spectacular I can’t even begin to count all my blessings. Everything made my day, but the one event that made my Nightlife was that I saw divinity in the form of Pharrell and VERBAL at The BAPE Live Show “Aftermath” behind M1NT’s closed doors (“Kanye’s afterparty” to common folk). Aight, y’all know Pharrell, but I have to introduce emcee VERBAL. He was in Hong Kong with the Teriyaki Boyz, but I worship and adore him as the emcee from m-flo, this kickass hip-hop outfit that has been collaborating with all the biggest names in Japan’s music scene, from Eldergods like Ryuichi Sakamoto and Towa Tei to pop divas Crystal Kay and Amuro to sluts like Kumi Koda.
Anyway, I dig VERBAL’s bilingual rhymes. He’s Korean-Japanese and went to the same international school in Kobe as my Indian friend Neelam. What’s extra-hot about him is that he’s got a bachelor’s degree in theology from Boston U. My Japanese friends attacked him and we monopolized chatting time for a while. I took a picture with him but I’m not putting it on Facebook until I get the production team downstairs to Photoshop me. Damn, I look freakin OLD in that photo. The lens lies.
Kanye, N.E.R.D., Nigo, DJ Muro, Takagi Kan, Vanness, Juno Mak, Josie Ho, I saw them all, up close and personal. Well I didn’t see Josie, but I see that Ho at all those other shitty clubs all the time anyway. And of course 24 Herbs was there, so were the Alive Not Dead people (Terrence, you were DRUNK). The night was luminous and Nightlife was starstruck.
I don’t know why Ankie Belke was also on the list as a major celeb. If she wants to be Hong Kong’s Top Model, she needs to turn that last name into just one letter. Just like Lisa S. Now she’s marrying Daniel Wu. And look where Maggie Q has gone - HollyfreakinWood. So Ankie B, you need to initialize before you etherealize.
Anyway, it was open bar at M1NT that night, and as usual, open bar means hot mess. As veterans, we ditched the watered-down drinks and grabbed the cosmopolitans. They usually don’t water down drinks in martini glasses unless they really want to anger the alcoholics. I haven’t had cosmos since they aired the last episode of Sex and the City.
Speaking of which, I was at the Lane Crawford last Wednesday as the Olsen Twins were in town launching their Elizabeth and James 08 line. I practically missed them when they came out because of their astounding height. I only saw their body guards towering above the sea of groupies. Full house. I’ll get to Sex and the City in a second.
There were a lot of children there. Maybe it’s because it was the Olsen Twins, I don’t know. Is Lane Crawford sending out invitations to high schools now? And somehow, Gossip Girl was the topic of conversation, and my friend from Lane Craw editorial asked what’s Gossip Girl? My friend replied, “It’s like Sex in the City for teenagers.” And my friend’s little sister, who also happened to be my former fashion intern (BEST minion EVER) was like, “What’s Sex in the City?” I’m like, “Uh, Carrie Bradshaw? Miranda? Samantha? That annoying one who married the Jewish guy?” and my precocious former intern had NO idea what on earth I was talking about. Double-you tea eff! I’m not even alluding to classical mythology, I’m talking characters from pop culture who are but a decade from the past. Boy do I feel fuckin OLD. Quelle belle époque!