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 We're excited about Femme Totale not just because one of our writers is involved *wink* but also because it's the first time we've heard of an event combining juggling, burlesque, pole dancing, and live music in what's sure to be a single night of insanity. These are some top-notch performers by any measure and we can't wait to see the show!

 Add to all that a drag queen host (something missing from far too many burlesque shows) an awesome DJ, and a great bar, and the ingredients are there. We just hope we can handle it when the clothes come off!

  My wife doesn't always like to stay up late and party like I sometimes do, so when she went out of town this week I took advantage of the situation and hung out with some friends at the TriBeCa Grand. I never dreamed the night would end up this way though.

Helle Mardahl looking relaxed just a few days before her first NYC show opens up

 It's not often that you meet someone who says she gave up her successful career to become an artist because she was sick of working so hard for so little money. But that's how Helle Mardahl came to be an artist. In fact, she told me, "I believe in destiny and destiny told me to calm down a bit."

 I met Mardahl recently at LaViolaBank Gallery, where she was preparing for her upcoming show, The Largest Possible Audience. She was white-washing a canvas in preparation for a projection, which seemed more like a Zen exercise than work. We discussed her art and her previous career in fashion and I noticed that she certainly had the energy, passion and vigor of someone in fashion, but at the same time I also noticed an air of relaxation and even contentment about her. The satisfaction she seems to have found in developing the complex and intricate works she was putting up might have surprised her a few years ago, but her drive and determination didn't mean she had the manic furvor I've seen in so many fashion designers.

 Despite the complexity of her works, she explained her ideas and inspiration in very simple terms. People's obsession with the royal family, which inspired her last show, and people's desire for attention which inspired this show, are so simple that you don't have to be a 'tellectual to understand what she's talking about.

Surprisingly, the effects of alcohol on chicktellectuals may be the same as the effects of alcohol on the general population. Sadly for this note, no independent proof is available to confirm that the subject is, in fact a chicktellectual; however circumstantial evidence exists, as chicktellectuals tend to travel in packs. Clearly, more research is needed.

My Life With the Chicktellectuals

January 9th, 2009. Webster Hall, New York City.

It was roughly 1am (technically the morning of January 10th). I was sitting around the table shared by my favorite party girls, Six Six Sick. Tiffany and I were chatting when we watched a total stranger walk up to our table, grab our carafe of cranberry juice, turn around so as not to be seen and take a swig right from the carafe.