Never underestimate a book about high school romance with vampires in it.

That’s the lesson I learned after reading Stephenie Meyer’s novel ‘Twilight,’ which is about, well, a high school romance with a vampire. I went on vacation recently with some college pals, and for poolside reading, one of my friends had gotten us each a copy of the wildly popular teen book (which is still the #5 book on Amazon right now, and the first in the Twilight Saga series). I was skeptical, especially since I hate when books try to grab your attention with a shiny “Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture!” sticker on the cover, but I obliged. It’s not ‘War & Peace,’ nor would I say it’s not what I expected from a book about vampire teen romance, but it was a great read – entertaining, fun and perfect for summer. It’s very easy to see the Twilight series as the next step for kids who recently outgrew the Harry Potter books.

And about that major motion picture…I totally can’t wait. After the huge Entertainment Weekly cover story on the film a few weeks ago, plus all the Comi-Con buzz, I’m…well…THIRSTY for more JUICY details (many, many puns intended). You can watch the trailer here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTiaKvXqOtQ]

The fourth and final installment of the Twilight Saga comes out Saturday. Anyone camping out at a local bookstore?

I saw the Swedish darling Jens Lekman on Saturday night at Webster Hall (sorry I don’t have any pictures…my camera is officially dunzo), and there’s something so refreshingly sincere about his music, voice and stage presence. I think my friend said it best when he noted that there’s nothing ironic about Jens Lekman. No shtick, no gimmick, no costumes or I Did This To Win A Bet mustache. Just an adorable man singing about things like his hairdresser. And he sings about these things beautifully, without being too precious or hysterical.

Though his set was short, Jens played all my favorites: “A Postcard to Nina,” “Black Cab,” “The Opposite of Hallelujah” and “A Sweet Summer’s Night on Hammer Hill.” He also played a few encores and managed to engage the crowd in a massive whistle-along during one tune, which earned him lots of bonus points in my heart.

Oh, Jens Lekman. How can you be so charming and endearing? It seems almost physically impossible…

As we’ve already told you, cool things have been filmed around our office in the past and even cooler things are being filmed around our homes right now, but is there anything cooler than ‘30 Rock’?

Of course not. Nothing is cooler or funnier or more awesome than ‘30 Rock’ and, yes, I do have a (slightly unhealthy) obsession with anything Tina Fey does, so I was pretty excited to spend my lunch outside today with Maggie, hoping to snap a picture of the comedy genius or any of the show’s other stars. Unfortunately, it didn’t really seem like any of the actors were around, but their trailers were! I got as close as I could without seeming like a stalker, so I’ve highlighted important details in the photos (a little Perez Hilton-eque?) for your benefit.

Jack Donaghy’s trailer (aka where Alec Baldwin hangs out and enjoys being really funny)

CC’s trailer (looks like the lights are on…do you think Edie Falco was in there??)

Judging by all the wires and equipment the crew was lugging in there, I’m guessing most of the filming will take place in the courthouse.

We didn’t see any trailer for Liz Lemon, which was a little disappointing. I guess I’ll have to slip Tina this note another time:

Also, Maggie desperately needs to tell Mr. Baldwin that her father is ready to be his stand in. Can you tell the difference between the two of them? I can’t.

Yup, tomorrow is February 14th, which is Palentine’s Day! Woohoo! Palentine’s Day is all about celebrating the fact that lots of people love you every day of the year. It’s also about cupcakes, stars and paper planes. So give a high five to your amigos tomorrow, pals!

http://www.bemypalentine.com/

I’m a huge fan of those terrible and cheesy home makeover shows – you know, the ones that claim to do over a person’s kitchen in 24 hours for only $1234.56. Can’t get enough of them. I never really believed a real room transformation could actually happen so quickly, but it’s only been a little over two weeks since we started construction on our office, and the changes are remarkable. It’s all very entertaining, too, and unlike home makeover shows, it’s all commercial free.

Remember that old conference room I told you about and the two new offices? Here’s how they were looking about a week ago:

And today, we’ve moved some people in there already! Michael, Diana, Carrie and Nick Loss-Eaton are enjoying that delicious new office smell, as their old offices become a thing of the past.

(Diana and Michael: taking care of business)

Construction is already well underway on the three new offices where the two, shared spaces once were.

Oh, and let’s not forget those paint cans at the top of this post! The Suite 16 is getting even sweeter with a fresh coat of paint. Nick Baily is clearly very excited about the new color on his walls (although he might still be smiling about something else):

(Alternate post title: Dude Where’s My Conference Room?)

There are some big changes going on at Shore Fire, and I mean that in the most literal sense. Over the next few weeks we’ll be renovating our offices here in Brooklyn – knocking down a few walls, putting up a few walls, painting, etc – and giving you an inside look (pun absolutely intended) at all the action here on the blog.

Yesterday marked the official start of it all, with changes to the conference room happening so quickly that I didn’t even have time to take a proper “Before” picture. (You can get a pretty good idea of what it looked like here.) Here’s what it looks like now:

As any faithful Suite 16 reader already knows, I’m a huge Elephant 6 fan. So you can imagine how excited I was to see The Apples in Stereo (finally!) at the Housing Works Used Book Café on Friday night.

Housing Works, if you’re not already familiar with their mission, is an organization committed to providing a variety of support services to homeless people suffering from AIDS and HIV. Their used book café in SoHo helps fund the project, and occasionally hosts special events and concerts. I was happy to find out that guitar maker (and Shore Fire client) First Act sponsors these great shows, and they even donated a custom painted Steve Keene guitar that was raffled off Friday night.

In terms of the band and the show itself though, things started being awesome right away and only got better. I met Apples’ lead singer Robert Schneider (you may remember him from his appearance on The Colbert Report) before the show, which scored pretty high on the No Way! scale. Robert was amazingly sweet and remarkably tolerant of my excitement and giggling.

Not that I really expected anything less from them, but The Apples certainly knew how to put on a great show and have fun doing it, and the audience seemed to be made up of other diehard fans like me who just couldn’t get enough of their power pop genius. They played all my favorites from their newest record, “New Magnetic Wonder,” and made my wildest dreams come true when they closed their set with ‘Ruby,’ my favorite song from their entire catalogue. I’m told that I was singing along so loudly at the end that people around me had trouble actually hearing the band. (Apologies.)

I would have been a very happy camper if the night had ended there, but I stuck around for a little bit after the show to chat with a few other giddy fans and got the chance to flag down bassist Eric Allen and guitarist John Hill and thank them for a great night (and snap a few pictures!).

Me and John Hill!!!

Eric Allen = super nice