The Beehive: Jazzin' up Boston

The Beehive is a new restaurant, bar, and performance venue that has just opened on Tremont Street in the Boston Center for the Arts complex. So excited! 6,500 square feet divided into several dining areas, two bars, and an outdoor terrace and Mediterranean-influenced food by chef Adam Halberg (you may remember him from Via Matta).

The Beehive offers live music seven nights a week, early on Sunday through Tuesday, and late--until 2 a.m.--the other nights. The Berklee College of Music is involved as well. Wednesdays will feature a Berklee faculty jam. Tuesdays will offer Berklee Emerging Artist showcases. R&B, Afrobeat, Latin jazz, bossa nova, and blues...

Check it out for yourself: beehiveboston.com

Museum of Fine Arts Summer Party

If you're in Boston on Saturday, June 16th, you must come to the MFA Museum Council's fourth annual summer party. It's a black-tie event and guaranteed to be so much fun. Support young artists in the silent art auction. The theme this year is influenced by the painting Bacchus and Ariadne situated in the museum's Koch Gallery. DJ Deja--one of Boston's finest DJs!--will be there to inspire party-goers to dance. The menu, catered by the museum's own restaurant, Bravo, will create delicious Greek finger foods and desserts. Open bar. Best of all? The proceeds from the tickets go towards the building of the new wing. mfa.org/master/sub.asp?key=1854&subkey=2426

Larry Poons: Lyrical Abstraction this Weekend

From tomorrow until Sunday you can see Larry Poons' paintings at the New England Conservatory in Jordan Hall. You can also meet him this Saturday at 2 PM.

This may not be the first time you've encountered his work. His paintings are exhibited at the Tate Gallery, London, Whitney Museum of Art, NY, Guggenheim Museum, NY and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

newenglandconservatory.edu/reunion/

Antonio Puleo: Contemporary Los Angeles Artist from Watertown

Birds & Beasts (Heaven & Hell), 2006
Oil, acrylic, fabric, paper, enamel and dye on linen
66 x 82 inches

Antonio Puleo, one of the hot stars of contemporary art lives in Los Angeles. Antonio grew up in Watertown and received his BFA from Mass College of Art, Boston. He moved to California where he did his MFA at UCLA in painting and drawing. I've always loved Antonio's work and it would be great to see more of him in Boston. If any of you are going to the Los Angeles area you should definitely stop in to see a group show that features Antonio. The show, curated by Brad Eberhard, is called Time Machine and is up from May 16th - June 16th at High Energy Constructs. The painting above is from his recent solo show with Cherry and Martin gallery, Los Angeles (cherryandmartin.com/artistDetail.php?id=7). Press articles on Antonio include ArtLtd., ArtReview, Nylon, the New Yorker, LA Weekly and Las Vegas Weekly.

Dear Economist Column: Great Advice for Boston

I would like to share with Boston a great Financial Times column, Dear Economist, written by Tim Harford. You can read this column along with his other writings here: timharford.com. I have been following Dear Economist for years and like his candor and humor all from an economist's point of view. Here is one that you will enjoy!:

Dear Economist,Will having more money make me happier?-- Karl Johnston, Glasgow

I have been asked the secret of happiness before, but your question is rather specific. To answer it we need to turn to economist Andrew Oswald.He has worked with numerous collaborators to calculate a “happiness equation”, based on analysing thousands of people’s responses to questions about their contentment. His conclusion is that, assuming nothing else changes, more money makes them happier. He backs it up with a piece of work studying what happens to people who unexpectedly win lotteries - they, too, become happier.
This is what economists expect; not because we believe that people value money for its own sake, but because money can buy all kind of things, and if none of them brought you any pleasure you’d have to be an exceptionally incompetent shopper.So the simple answer to your question is yes, more money will make you happier. But be careful - simply pursuing money will not, if your relationships, health or job security suffer. Oswald shows that these are vastly more important than money. Getting married produces £70,000-a-year’s worth of joy, although given the cost of weddings these days that’s not much of a bargain. Staying healthy and employed are more important still, worth tens of thousands of pounds a month.Envy plays a sinister role. Oswald shows that happiness increases with higher income, but it falls with higher expectations. The higher the income of your peer group the more depressed you tend to be. This is not good news for you: since you ask smart questions and read the Financial Times, you must expect a lot out of life. Oswald suggests that you are likely to be disappointed.

Goethe Institut

If you are looking for an interesting and exciting cultural event in Boston one night then you should head over to the Goethe Institut on Beacon Street (goethe.de/ins/us/bos/enindex.htm). Last Thursday I attended the beautiful duo violin-piano concert of Ariadne Daskalakis and Miri Yampolsky. You don't have to speak German either. The institute sponsors innovative discussions, concerts and parties. Come see what the young Berlin fashion designers are doing next Wednesday, May 23rd.

Angelato: Most Delicious Cold Boston Treat

If you are craving the most delicious gelato in Boston and are simultaneously looking for something lighter than Ben & Jerrys or Haagen Daz, then head to Angelato Gelateria (angelatofoods.com/) in Belmont, fifteen minutes from Boston. You will be thankful for the short drive! Ice cream is my favorite treat and I have searched the globe for the finest flavors and brands. Many times ice cream can be too heavy, too chunky, or without much taste at all. Angelato gelato is a perfect combination of lightness and smooth flavor. There are many flavors to choose from. My favorites are Mint Oreo and Mocha Crunch. A simple delight!