lower east side love.

Now the only reason why most females would know about the 

Lower East Side is because
'Dan Humphy' from 'Gossip Girl' was from there.

(guilty)

Mind you, that show highlights the industrial loft chic character of the neighbourhood quite well.

The Lower East Side started off as one of the first spots

immigrants would actually live when moving to New York, 

similar to many other initially undesirable neighbourhoods,

Lower East Side has been gentrified to a melting pot of
hipsters, foodies, coffee connoisseurs and all those charming subcultures

The one thing that's never changed is the heavy influence of art in the area,
this little nook of Manhattan is more than just a diamond in the rough.

The Ludlow is a 184-room hotel in the Lower East Side of Manhattan
that does a pretty darn good job of encapsulating this area's charisma into a home away from home.

 

 

 

Squished between a plethora of family own stores, graffiti street art and 5-Star Yelp bars,
The Ludlow may just be the perfect stay for the urban hipster when visiting the Big Apple.

Plus, the bathroom only was all i needed to be convinced.

- - - 

'The Ludlow' @ Manhanttan

a not so gross worm.

I never thought I'd say this in a million years.

But yes, this worm actually ain't that gross.

Glowworms (aka Arachnocampa luminosa)
engulf the entirety of the Waitomo Glowworn Caves in New Zealand.

The organic and larva-like things illuminate these otherwise 

pitch black caves.  They emit light as a chemical reaction under 

the same process of bio luminescent microorgamisms (in Australia)
or reactive jellyfish (in British Columbia).

These worms choose to stay in these caves in their larval state.
They spin silk nests and hang long strings of mucus beads (gross)
from the ceiling. Since the cave has no wind, they're not worried
about getting all tangled up in their neighbor's business. On top of that
these are also sticky strings of mucus-y death as it traps prey.

The glowworms on the ceiling are the brightest,
which also means that they are the most hungry.
The light is used to attract curious prey.

Of course, humans are not on their
"to-eat" list and when human interference happens,
they just tend to retract and hide in their nest.
(thank goodness)

... they're super cool and now have redeeming aesthetic qualities

but that doesn't mean I'll be playing with these anytime soon.

(I would probably lose my mind if one
of these things dropped into my boat... or on my face)

- - -
 

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves @ New Zealand.