Leave it to Jane

I can't believe I remember the words to these songs, it's been twelve years after all. Leave it to Jane has the silliest (and most wonderful) lyrics. Observe:

Wait 'til Tomorrow:
So many boys I see come making love to me
Some young some older
Some shy some bolder
They yearn they've often said
For me to rest my head
Upon their shoulder
Ah well perhaps I may, but not today

So wait, wait wait, till tomorrow
And should it chance that tomorrow
My love's no stronger
Then just wait a little longer
Please oh please do not worry
You know there's really no hurry
So cheer up you'll hear from me tomorrow, maybe

...

The Siren's Song:

Now long years have passed away
Sirens are a myth they say
But you will find them nonetheless
Singing today in modern dress
Just the same they set their snare
Sweetly smiling false and fair
Turn a deaf ear when they are near
Or upon the reef, you'll come to grief

[Come to us...]

Cleopatterer:

I'd be like Cleopatterer if I could have my way
Each man she met she went and kissed
And she'd dozens on her waiting list
I wish that I had been there
Beside the pyramid
For a girl today don't get the scope that Cleopatterer did!

...

The Crickets Are Calling:

The crickets are calling you must obey
There is naught gained by waiting
So what's the use of hesitating
Danger defying have done with delay
That's what they are trying to say

...

The crickets are calling enjoy today
Never mind what comes after
For youth was made for love and laughter
Time's always flying be glad while you may
That's what they are trying to say

Opening Act Two:

I don't want to make a fuss
Still it's pretty hard on us
Watching from a distant seat
While they rush you off your feet
Oh my goodness it's a shame
That we can't get in the game
I'd have bucked that line with joy
If I'd only been a boy!

If she'd only been a boy
If she'd only been a boy!
If she'd only been a boy!

Oh gee a girl sure plucked a lemon
In being born so weak and feminine
She's no use she's no excuse
For living that I can see
She can never be a quarterback
Wearing corsets to support her back
All that stuff is mighty tough for girls like me

[Repeat with Old Atwater]

Sir Galahad:

The days of chivalry are dead
Of which in stories we have read
When knights were bold and acted kinda scrappy
When guys would take a lot of pains
And fight all day to please the Janes
And if their dame was tickled they was happy
But now the men are mild and meak
They seem to have a yellow streak
They never wait for other gents to flatten them
They think they've done a darn fine thing
If they just buy the girl a ring
Of imitation diamonds and platinum!

It makes me sort of sad
To read about Sir Galahad
And all the knights of that romantic day
To amuse a girl and charm her
They would get into their armor
And jump into the fray
They called her Lady Love
They used to wear her little glove
And everything that she said went
For them was the days when a lady was a lady and a gent was a perfect gent

Shit's going down

Obama Curbs Secrecy of Classified Documents
He's keeping on his word on this one, that's damn sure. No more secrets!

And this scares the crap out of me:
Iran Reportedly Seeking Uranium From Kazakhstan



New Airport Scanners Described As 'Intrusive'
These are the machines they have already in Europe. The screenings at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam are among the most, for lack of a better word at the moment, intense in the EU. The United States specifically told Amsterdam NOT to use these machines on any planes bound for the US, as it would be too intrusive. What's with these bloody Americans and their privacy. Europe's doing it, did anyone almost blow up a plane over a European city on Christmas Day? No? Hm, look at that. Obviously there's more to it than just the machines that the system did not work, but really, stupid move, not letting outbound flights to the US from Amsterdam use this technology when they use it for every other outbound flight.

World Under Water

This freaks me out:
Rising Temperatures, Disappearing Coastlines


Head for the hills!

Advice for Women

The Tudors Game

The Tudors has a video game out now. First thought: really? And one of those hidden objects games, too. Ugh.


Does this mean the new season will be starting soon? No, no it doesn't. It does not air until April 2010. What a tease.

Get back to where you once belonged

I'll go by my first name or Ms. v. Last name too hard to pronounce for most anyway.


Shannon will be tickled pink. And Sarah. And Luce. And Andy. And Joe, Mickey, Barry, and Penny, all of them. This is such the right decision to make.

The Return of Green Tea Ice Cream

No more limited special edition, Green Tea is a full fledged flavor now! I was so excited, I bought two. Contemplated nearly grabbing another, but it's an actual flavor now! I don't have to horde!



How I didn't discover that little Asian grocer on 7th ave sooner is beyond me. Mochi! Matcha aisu! It's I'm-going-to-pretend-I'm-in-Japan heaven!


Now, if only Häagen-Dazs would come out with a Pumpkin flavor...

Banks Before Citizens!

Wall Street Banks Getting Swine Flu Vaccine Before Many High-Risk Groups

While thousands of at-risk Americans wait, some big Wall Street banks have already secured the hard-to-find H1N1 vaccine for their employees.

NBC reports this morning that employees at the New York Stock Exchange, bankers at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and employees at the Federal Reserve have all received swine flu vaccine doses to administer to their employees.

In particular, NBC reports that Goldman Sachs has received 200 doses of the vaccine -- the same amount as Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Wall Street banks, like many other companies, put in requests for the vaccine but seem to have had something of a leg up on securing doses.

Dr. Nancy Schnyderman, NBC's chief medical editor, chimed in on this seeming disparity:

"I think they probably played by the rules, there are corporations all over the country who put in there dibs...But, what a sore eye for Wall Street. Wouldn't have been lovely if they had said, look we put it in our dibs, we played by the rules, but we're going to donate our 200 doses."

Some corporations seem to be getting the doses before doctors and hospitals. Here's more from Schnyderman:

"If we know that the distribution is the weak part of this entire thing, why not put doctor's offices and hospitals at the top of the line, and say to corporate America, no matter who you are, you're you're going to have to go through clinics and hospitals like everyone else."

The SEIU has released a statement on the matter, and has started a campaign to get the big banks to donate their doses. From its release: "There's no excuse for this. Pregnant women have been waiting in line for hours to get that shot. Community hospitals across the country have been turning patients away while they wait to receive their vaccinations. But Citi and Goldman Sachs have already received 1,400 doses between them."

Maine, You Disappoint

Gay Marriage Repealed in Maine

Ugh. One baby step forward and two giant steps back. Maine, you're on notice.

All you need to know about Chris Christie

Chris Christie Rips Off Monty Python

Highlights:

...
Chris Christie, the Republican candidate for Governor of New Jersey in Tuesday's knife-edge gubernatorial election, has been called out as a copyright thief. The 47-year-old lawyer, who was controversially appointed by George W. Bush as a U.S. Attorney in 2001 on Karl Rove's recommendation after being a top Bush fund-raiser in the 2000 election, has created an election commercial that steals copyright-protected material from British comedy troupe Monty Python -- without permission or credit.
...
But neither Christie -- a lawyer for 22 years -- nor anyone in his campaign bothered to seek any permission for using the copyrighted material in his election spot.

Alerted to the theft of their copyright, members of Monty Python are most unhappy. Michael Palin, who appears in the clip pirated for the advert, is especially displeased that his likeness is being used by the Republican candidate without permission.

"I'm surprised that a former U.S. Attorney isn't aware of his copyright infringement when he uses our material without permission. He's clearly made a terrible mistake. It was the endorsement of Sarah Palin he was after -- not that of Michael Palin."

Monty Python's Terry Jones says that the troupe is strongly considering suing the Republican for his copyright infringement:

"It is totally outrageous that a former US Attorney knows so little about the law that he thinks he can rip off people. On the other hand -- another of Bush's legal appointees was Alberto Gonzales and he didn't seem to know much about the law either...," Jones said.

Christopher Walken + Lady Gaga

When I Fall in Love

AHA! I knew it wasn't Marilyn. It couldn't be. It's Sandra Dee!

No offense to Marilyn, but that recording sounded too much like a radio songstress than the breathy vocals we are used to.

It is funny though, that the people that be deemed "When I Fall in Love" to have been sung by Marilyn so much so that it is on her "Very Best Of" album. False! It is not her.

"Marilyn"

Sandra Dee:

Art Love

I picked up my pencil and sketchbook today. I drew and drew. I want to draw more tomorrow. I think I will.

Art Heartbreak

There isn't enough time to do all that I want to do in this life. In other words: I haven't had time to pick up a brush or a pencil in months. Which is devastatingly depressing. I want my art supplies back. I want to have the smell of turpentine overcome me, the scent of oils filling my nostrils, paint caking on my fingers, need to wash several times with that orange scrub in order to fully rinse off. I want to draw the random figures I see when I stare in a carpet long enough. I want to doodle scenes from life, capture moments in time. Pine pine, yearn yearn. My time is instead spent creating digitally. Which has its ups. But it has its downs. And one of those downs is that I can't hold or smell or touch what it is I am creating. So I'm knitting again. Because at least those materials are on this side of the country and I can feel and see what it is I am making.

I want to run away with nothing but a sketchbook and a case of pencils. I'll move to Paris and draw pedestrians. Sell my drawings for pennies. I would be happy.

I want to live in a world in which it is okay not to make money, to do nothing but art all day long, to cook delicious foods from one's own garden, and be completely and utterly content.


I'm not 25 today. Why do I feel like I'm having a quarter-life crisis?

Monty Trek

I know I saw this years ago, somehow, somewhere, shown to me by someone, but it shall never get old and will never fail to put a smile on my face:

Engine Heart

Oh, were it to stop
My tick tock, tick tock clock
Oh, were it to stop
Beat beat beat
Beat beat beat
Sleep sleep sleep
Sleep

RAGGMOPP

S'wonderful!



M! I say M-O! M-O-P! M-O-P-P! Mop! M-O-P-P mop mop mop mop!

You're the Greatest #1 (Mirah @ the Bowery)

Mmmmm, Mirah. Unbelievably adorable is she. Norfolk & Western kicked off the evening, great sound, didn't see a Victrola, the band members played every instrument switching amongst themselves, some even played two at once (trumpet + piano!). Mirah chimed in for their last number, cute as a button of course. She sang a lot of songs from (a)spera, recognized a couple from my brief listen-through before the show. I wish I'd jotted down which songs she played, I listened to her so much before and after the concert I'm sure I'm mixing up what was really on her setlist. She played most of (a)spera, and a bunch of songs from C'mon Miracle ("You've Gone Away Enough," "Exactly Where We're From") and Advisory Committee ("Mount St Helens," "Light the Match," and "The Garden"). "Light the Match" was wonderfully burlesque-ish, red lit stage, what a performer she is! She encored with a song (that I cannot remember either) that melded into "The Garden," much to my delight. She was sublime, acknowledged the audience, cute and bubbly, modest "thanks," and had Norfolk & Western join her towards the end of her set as well. Marvelous performances. Her voice is spectacular. Exudes such warmth.

Mason Jennings @ MHoW

If there was an over-arching theme to tonight's concert I would say stand-up-for-your-rights-angry-love. Love mostly. Even the songs protesting the war and the previous president were really about love. And the angry ones had love within them too. He encored with "Ballad for my One True Love," cracked on the same note twice, laughed at himself, v cute. No "Nothing," nor "I Love You and Buddha Too," but "Big Sur," "Your New Man," and "Duluth" made up for it. His new songs were great, went over really well with the crowd, opened with "Pittsburgh" and "The Field" (accompanied by a shout from the audience: 'that's the best song ever!'). Closed with "Blood of Man" before the encore. A wonderfully cathartic evening.

Sometimes I remember

I had a weird dream last night. Something about a great white shark living under my bed, but I had another great white shark (or some other such massive carnivorous fish) that I could use to protect me, but I used it like a hand puppet. Then I think I managed to lock the Bad Great White downstairs, and we were just careful about opening doors, but then suddenly we couldn't find Mayana and I didn't care that I couldn't find Max and Mo (hmm), but then she came running over, totally safe. But the shark was still out there, hidden, waiting. And then my alarm went off.

Waters of Mars

Lindsay Duncan on the new Dr Who special? Hell yeah! I'm pumped for November.

The Waters of Mars Wiki

Gimme more of that cowbell

That is all.

Ideas!

Finally settled on what to do for identity/branding track. And what font to focus on for the poster assignment. It was like a light switched on each time. The first as I was walking back from having walked Anna to the subway. Windsor! Of course! No contest! (creator: Eleisha Pechey). The design track assignment idea hit me as I was conversing with Adam in the lovely night air. I had had too many ideas owing to all the choices given, and then it hit me. A Dutch restaurant. Of course! I just got that Dutch cookbook from Sabine and Arjan, plus the one I had, menu ideas already by the dozens. And the theme of this restaurant? Red Light district meets the Old Master painters. Picture it: a burlesque pinup instead of Vermeer's milkmaid as mural for the wall. Goodness, the logo ideas are just springing from this!

Come Together (The Beatles Entry)

The Beatles remasters have so much more depth, one could swim through those chords.

I'm sure it would sound better if my right and left speaker could connect, but Mr. Mickey nibbled through the wire and there you have it. I also have a sneaky suspicion the actual CDs sound better than the compressed mp3 files I scooped up. Still worlds better than the earlier versions. If I were to buy any CD it would probably be Abbey Road. Just the flow from song to song gets me going, everything fits so perfectly together, chords continue on, lyrics reference those of the other songs, it's a Beatles opera if there ever were one. Or I'd buy the White Album. I love them all, so hard to choose just one, but too expensive to buy the whole batch.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was my first album, bought around the same time as Magical Mystery Tour, maybe even the same time, most likely at the music store on Montague Street at the suggestion of Lucy. I did not have the good fortune to be raised on The Beatles like so many of my friends, in fact my parents were vehemently anti-Beatles owing to their popularity (mother) and not being The Rolling Stones (father). Carpools and birthday parties were how I came in contact, I think I was first given a tape cassette by Lucy (for the life of me I can't remember what was on it - would be interesting to find out actually). Songs from Past Masters and With the Beatles were always on the radio in Oregon, and certainly made it onto my favorite mix tape of oldies. I burned Please Please Me from a CD at the library (amongst many many others) which I would listen to on my cd player while walking to/from the bus stop to go to school/downtown. The White Album got me up in the morning dancing around my room to Bungalow Bill.

Anyway. Today is homework day with the Beatles. They make for excellent study buddies.

New Amsterdam Village

NY400 week, celebrating Amsterdam-New York relations since 1609. Amongst the festivities was New Amsterdam, set up near the Battery, a mini-Amsterdam of sorts with fake row-houses, lots of orange, stroopwafels, herring, patat, tulips, wooden shoes, and cheese. They even erected a windmill.

"This was the Dutch bling-bling of the 17th century."

I've Mirah on the mind

"Words Cannot Describe"

True Blood: Louisiana Queen

Evan Rachel Wood - A Lesbian Vampire?

What can 'True Blood' fans expect during the episode? "I certainly have a steamy scene with someone that I don't think you'd really expect. So it will be a little fun."

I'm just going to put my prediction out there: Tara. Obviously it won't be Sookie. Sam's slept with enough gals already, Bill: no, Eric: no, Pam: no, (none of those are surprising enough). Eggs would be unexpected, as would be Lafayette. Tara's mom even more unexpected. Jason? Naah. A little too picture perfect, bro & sis both doing vamps. Jessica would be hot, awesome, AND unexpected. Crossing my fingers for that one. I want to say it's a female, just because of the whole "lesbian vampire" thing, but Wood also said this:

"She's not necessarily a lesbian. Her human partner is a girl, but I'm pretty sure she goes both ways [laughs]. I think vampires are like that in general," Wood told E! News.

Revealing too much with that laugh? Or nothing at all?

In any case, we shall see come Sunday.



Red on Red

RIP Teddy Kennedy

Cuckoo for Healthcare!

Barney Frank rocks my socks. Why can't the rest of the Democratic Congress heed his example in calling these people out on their idiocy? Go, Barney, go!



Is it not a testament to Obama's administration being the exact opposite of Hitler's (and Bush's) that these people are even allowed to show a picture of Obama as Hitler at a town hall meeting? Anytime, anytime someone would stand up in protest against Bush in any respect in any location they were immediately silenced, not allowed to ask questions, and escorted out of the room and out of reach of the cameras. Redunkulous. Absolutely.

Don't worry about tomorrow he-eee-ey

[Nostalgia entry. Ignore!]

See Creed play!



This song, like other songs, transports me back in time to specific feelings, people, visuals, and smells. This one brings me back to the house on N Main, the odd moldy old house smell there, the cool temperature inside my tahiti and aqua ice painted bedroom, Amy's burritos, silkscreening ink, the boy with the voice, Lauren in the kitchen with produce fresh from the farm, and three little orange kittens. I did not visit that house when I was back for commencement. I kind of wanted to. Just for a whiff of the past.

Ballad for my One True Love

Hot damn. The weekend in October that I've been looking forward to just got even MORE fantastic. Mason Jennings will be playing on the 9th, and darn straight I'm going to see him again. Then Mirah. Then Placebo. Mirah and Mason are more than enough for me, but we'll see. AND he'll have a new album come September, 'Blood of Man,' excited! I'm really happy he's coming back to NY, for I knew he'd be playing in Portland but also knew I would not be around to catch that show, so yay!

His music gives me chills. It makes me move and groove, makes me cry, makes me happy and smile the day away. Oh, his chords, his strumming, it's all too delicious not to get goosebumps when I listen.


(This gives me the giggles) Mason on I love you and Buddha Too:
"It's also in the key of Bb, which I found out there's a black hole super deep in space that's hitting the earth with a Bb at all times but it's really really low so you can't hear it but it's really loud so a lot of the songs that open up your heart chakra I found out later are often Bb...I looked back through all these different songs throughout history and there are so many love songs written in Bb and I just think is that a coincidence? I don't think so."

Black hole hums B flat

Too funny not to post, but also too tragic

New Rule: Smart President ≠ Smart Country

Highlights (yeah yeah, nearly the entire article):

...and no I can't show you an original copy of my birth certificate because Woody Harrelson spilled bong water on it...

At a recent town-hall meeting in South Carolina, a man stood up and told his Congressman to "keep your government hands off my Medicare," which is kind of like driving cross country to protest highways.

I'm the bad guy for saying it's a stupid country, yet polls show that a majority of Americans cannot name a single branch of government, or explain what the Bill of Rights is. 24% could not name the country America fought in the Revolutionary War. More than two-thirds of Americans don't know what's in Roe v. Wade. Two-thirds don't know what the Food and Drug Administration does. Some of this stuff you should be able to pick up simply by being alive. You know, like the way the Slumdog kid knew about cricket.

Not here. Nearly half of Americans don't know that states have two senators and more than half can't name their congressman. And among Republican governors, only 30% got their wife's name right on the first try.

Sarah Palin says she would never apologize for America. Even though a Gallup poll says 18% of Americans think the sun revolves around the earth. No, they're not stupid. They're interplanetary mavericks. A third of Republicans believe Obama is not a citizen, and a third of Democrats believe that George Bush had prior knowledge of the 9/11 attacks, which is an absurd sentence because it contains the words "Bush" and "knowledge."...

And I haven't even brought up America's religious beliefs. But here's one fun fact you can take away: did you know only about half of Americans are aware that Judaism is an older religion than Christianity? That's right, half of America looks at books called the Old Testament and the New Testament and cannot figure out which one came first.

And these are the idiots we want to weigh in on the minutia of health care policy? Please, this country is like a college chick after two Long Island Iced Teas: we can be talked into anything, like wars, and we can be talked out of anything, like health care. We should forget town halls, and replace them with study halls...

Until we admit there are things we don't know, we can't even start asking the questions to find out. Until we admit that America can make a mistake, we can't stop the next one. A smart guy named Chesterton once said: "My country, right or wrong is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying... It is like saying 'My mother, drunk or sober.'" To which most Americans would respond: "Are you calling my mother a drunk?"

-Bill Maher

Many things happened on Tuesday...

But most important of all, Bill Clinton is the dog's bollocks. Of course Clinton would be the one to speak with Kim Jong Il and bring back the damsels safe and sound.

Clinton, 2 journalists on way to US from NKorea


Laura Ling Offers "Deepest Gratitude" To Clinton, Team For Release From North Korea

Watch:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Another reason Clinton's the cat's pyjamas:

Racism, Lou Dobbs, Birthers, Stupidity.

Obama Haters Becoming Increasingly Racial in Their Rhetoric

Newsflash: You don't have to not be white to have a hatred for white people. (You also don't have to not be American to dislike America/ns).


Apparently, it's not "dead": Dobbs finds "new developments" to report about Obama birth certificate "controversy" on CNN

Weenie weenie weenie. Me me me. I'm a victim. Boo-hoo. Only "Papa Bear" defends me!

Why don't you watch your own bloody show, Dobbs? Then you'll know that the birthers' bullshit was debunked while you were out.


Colbert Vs. Crazy: Stephen Takes On 'Birther' Movement

Yes Orly Taitz, the Obama administration IS the equivalent of Hitler's or Stalin's. Obviously. I mean he is the one that preemptively attacked and invaded other countries, bolstered hatred of Moslems in America, and sent innocent civilians to Guantanamo because they looked like a terrorist. That was absolutely Obama. Redunkulous.

Newsflash: If the parents of the US Presidents had to be born in the United States in order for the person in question to be deemed eligible to be the president, we'd have never been able to have presidents to begin with. Hello, nation of immigrants?

Last Supper

Last night Sabine, Arjan, and I went to The Farm on Adderley for a final dinner out before they fly back to Amsterdam by way of London. The food was good as always, Sabine and I again ordered the same dish: filet mignon with a red pepper toast sauce and carola potatoes. Mmm. So good. What makes this restaurant the better choice of the street (IMO) is most definitely the food, specifically the rotating, seasonal menu and its general lack of greasiness. The atmosphere is nice, too, all that brick and candlelight. The wine was meh, that might have been because it was the wrong bottle for what Sabine & I ordered, but I hope it went nicely with Arjan's fowl. No room for their desserts, but we figured we would later, so pints of ice cream were picked up and then consumed while watching Little Britain.

I'll be sorry to see them leave, it's been a real delight to have them here. Sabine is such a sweetheart.

Don't piss off the crows

Too tired to write a full entry, but this is neat:

The Crow Paradox

You have a light on your butt!

Save the firefly, don't flash the neighbors. Silly firefly, you should be outside!

Coney Island: Really Fun. REALLY OPEN.

Wait a minute here. Wait just a gosh darn minute. Coney Island = OPEN? (omg omg omg!) And the Cyclone, too?? Hot damn!

And then: are you fucking shitting me? These concerts are FREE??! Pissed I missed Creedence Clearwater and Gladys Knight. But, there's Frankie Valli, Connie Francis, frackin' Blondie, Pat Benatar, and the Donnas! Holy shit man, holy shit.

Unexpected Sunshine!

Omg, omg, gorgonzola mashed potatoes, omg! And black angus ribeye. And delicious shallot and red wine sauce. Yum-diddly-um! And Washington Merlot (forgot to write down the name! blast!)

What an absolutely delightful day I had! Love art. Saw so much art today. Walked so much today. Conversed so much today. And with such wonderful company! Sabine and Arjan are a delight, Sabine is darling as always, and Arjan is very nice. It's such a pleasure to have them stay here.

Started off with a nice breakfast together, then off to MoMA for so many hours and so many floors, and so many ideas bobbing around in my head and chock full o'inspiration. Oppenheim, de Kooning, Picasso, Flavin, Miro, Oldenburg, Giacometti, Dali, Mondrian, Matisse, de Chirico, Magritte, Duchamp, Boccioni, van Gogh, Goldin, Walker, etc. etc. etc. I don't think I've ever had such an appreciation for "modern art" as I did today. It's about bloody time! I always knew this time would come, just like the time when I overcame my museum boredom at Pratt and it was like a light turned on. Maybe it was because the last time I was at MoMA I was bitter, distracted, had a migraine, and wasn't allowed to photograph the Manets. The first time I went was with Eric and Jeff, and I definitely enjoyed it then. I don't know. Maybe this time I couldn't help but recognize nearly every name I looked at, nearly every room had at least one work of art I had studied in my art history classes, and just knowing that I knew what the hell I was looking at and knew something about it before I even had to read the bloody info card was a heady feeling indeed. It feels delicious. (And I found a Cindy Sherman poster on sale, score!)

Off to picnic lunch in Central Park, crazy crazy animals. I don't know what was up, but that squirrel and that little bird were NOT afraid of us, and kept coming back time after time. Nutters!

Then a walk downtown, Broadway was blocked for pedestrians, which was super sweet, chairs set up and live music playing. Off to Chelsea, a rest in a playground, my "type" at seventeen sitting on the bench next to me (Arjan, "do you want to go back?" kidder!), wander round for galleries, more Flavin, interesting video installation (wide open space, many films at once, on the same topic, from different cameras and spaced at different times, showing different frames of thought).

Ambled through the High Line, what a treat! I wish they would carry that to the actual streets of the city! Mother and child asleep, a diaper on the child's head. Cobble stones below peaking through the asphalt. No rain (unlike weather predicted), blue skies, rays of sunshine streaming between distant clouds across the Hudson.

A meander to find Gay St. It was a lot less gay than I recall. I don't know why, but I remembered cobble stones. Cobble stones there were none. Houses not as cute in the daylight. Poo-poo! But I found it, my navigation skills at least are good.

Busy restaurants, adorable inns, a party of elderly ladies at Lips. Meander, meander, and finally the Cornelia Street Cafe, getting there just in time to snag the last available table. Bottle of wine, conversation, steaks all around. Deelish. And, to top off the wonderful day, a group of men singing 'Duke of Earl' on Bleecker. Priceless!

Birth Certificate, Shmirth Shertificate

'Birther' Debate Never Ends
I want to be able to say that I can't believe congress is actually putting forth a bill about this whole birth certificate brouhaha. I want to say I can't believe that some military wing-nut was allowed to leave his post just because they do not believe Obama to be of "natural birth." I really want to, but after the last 8 years it really isn't so hard to believe anymore. Revolting, to be sure, idiotic, no doubt, but I can't say I'm not surprised.

So I tweet about this and some bloody asswipe of a kid keeps bombarding me (and a number of others all tweeting against Lou Dobbs) with the same bloody link. A link to an article of stupendously biased proportions. I don't even know if I want to link to it, but I do like to know what the enemy's thinking, so here it is not hyperlinked: http://bit.ly/4uUBoT

Lou Dobbs can suck it. "Mr. Independent" my ass. He's catering to the "whacko ring" now (to use the words of Chris Matthews, who still plays very good hardball). (audio clip here) Goodness. What a bunch of sorry saps, bitter about Obama being president, trying to hang onto whatever they can to bring him down and invalidate his presidency. I don't know what all this "if Obama would only put an end to this by producing a birth certificate" crap is all about, either. The birth certificate was already proven real and shown in June, people! 

Here's the bloody birth certificate THEY'RE looking for:

And a hip hip for Rachel Maddow! Rachel Maddow Discusses 'Birthers' with Washington Independent's Dave Weigel

Bridget Jones 3: Milkin' It

So this story came out a few days ago, but apparently there's a third Bridget Jones film being made. The second was enough, thanks. Honestly, the first alone was perfect. But obviously there was the other book, so a second film made some sense (based also upon Jane Austen, but 'Persuasion' rather than 'Pride & Prejudice'). This new one's supposed to be about Bridget having a baby. I don't believe there was a Jane Austen about that, let alone a Helen Fielding. I don't see how this movie could have any plot, they've already done everything to keep Darcy and Bridget apart in the first two. So what now, Darcy will be impotent and "Bridge" will go to Daniel Cleaver for some idiotic reason? Colin Firth said he wasn't even interested in reprising the role. And as far as I'm concerned, a Mark Darcy without Colin Firth is no Darcy at all. Not the case for Fitzwilliam Darcy. I much prefer that Darcy to be not so boyish, more mysterious. No offense to Mr. Firth, believe you me, I absolutely adore the BBC P&P w/Ehle and Firth, I own it, I re-watch the 5th episode the most to take in the loveliness that is Firth. But a BJ3 sans Firth would be inconceivable.

Snippet of Interview with Colin Firth:

Would you do a "Bridget Jones 3"?
In the abstract, it's unthinkable. I don't really plan in the long term about anything. I can't think where a sequel could go. I think this time one would have to think of it as a sequel, unless Helen wrote another book. The only way which I could possibly imagine it being interesting is that if it showed us in a state of advanced decrepitude really - a heavily deteriorated Mark Darcy. I think we're on the way. And Daniel Cleaver and Bridget really puncturing the fairy tale completely might be a way to take it. But I've been ready to move on to other things for quite a while now, actually. I'll be quite content to live my life without another one.

So I knew that 'Candyman' was based on 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,' but apparently the music video is, too.

Priceless:

And much more demure:

Music (yay!)

And to add to the ever-expanding list of shows I'd like to see, Mirah is playing in October as well, and the night before Placebo to boot. That weekend shall be awesome! Talk about a harken to the past, and specifically one individual that got me into these bands in the first place. Too bad she's out in San Fran.

So this All Points West line-up looks aMAZing. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ting Tings, MGMT, Beastie Boys, Echo and the Bunnymen (Coldplay, Tool, Black Keys, etc. etc.), even bloody Janeane Garofolo.

Except it costs more than I'd like to spend. And even more money spent because surely they'll have overpriced meager portions of crappy food for sale. And no outside food or drinks. And you can't leave once you enter. And you have to label your eye contact solution. And all that stuff is too much bullshit to deal with for 12 hours. 

I still want to go, though. For the music.

To Do II

1. Write on objects with random materials

2. Print out "found" type photos AND SO

3. Ink! (Buy it!)

4. Book Cover

5. Magazine layout & typespec

Back West

Everyone's gettin' hitched.

All these kids from high school keep getting different last names on facebook, posting wedding photos, announcing engagements, sending wedding e-vites, and makin' babies.

It's specifically the Oregon bunch, too. Sure, a couple here and there from Oberlin (not that I can think of any specific couple at the moment*), but every time I log onto facebook, someone else from high school is tying the knot or poppin' out a little person.

I should be used to this, considering one of my good friends got married when we were still 18 and popped out a baby boy at 20, and goodness knows I have this innate biological urge to do the same, but it still shocks me to see people my age wearing a big white dress and giving vows. Shocked because the years are passing so fast, and it is nearly starting to be that time.

Honestly though, I think I'm more shocked at the boys my age getting hitched then I am the girls. Little girls daydream of big white flowery weddings, of walking down the aisle with their fathers, of big frou-frou dresses and lipstick (for me, it's all about the merry widow, don't need more than a courthouse to wear one either). But not these boys, all I've encountered (with one or two exceptions) are commitment-phobes that have a deadline in their head to the relationship. I declare shenanigans!

The boys in Oregon seem less flighty. Maybe it's because Oregon brings out the parenting instinct. I don't know how it does it, but it does. It's one of those places you want to raise babies in. All that nature, clean air, good schools, little houses, no sales tax, happy little homes with happy little lawns, happy little fences, and happy little trees. Not that I'm ready to raise babies, nor that I want to wait as long as my parents did, I'm just sayin' Oregon = settling down. Or maybe it's just the severe lack of it in New York City that makes Oregon stand out in such contrast. Not that there aren't an incredible amount of young couples with baby bjorns in my neighborhood that look just a couple years older than I. I don't know where I'm going with this anymore. The only point I wanted to make is that all these kids from my high school in Oregon (and NOT New York) are settling down with college sweethearts and the like, and it surprises me but also warms my heart.




*UPDATE: M&E. duh.

Not down the drain, silly spider!

Save the spider, flash the neighbors.

Torchwood Revisited

Obviously could not contain myself. Finished 'Children of the Earth.' Glad I paused when I did, between the third and fourth episodes, feels almost like a before and after. Shit hit the fan in the fourth, and couldn't stop myself, had to know what happened etc.

***SPOILERS***

Ugh. Can't say it wasn't good. Tragic, absolutely, but still good. Gwen got a little weepy at the end there with Jack, irked me a bit considering he'd offed his own grandson. But she's preggers, can't help the tears.

I found myself detesting Jack Harkness. But then I remembered my whole Snape Debate, and how I'll defend Snape to the bitter end. It was for the greater good, however the difference here is that Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him, and Stephen certainly did not ask his "Uncle" Jack to do the same. Yet similarly it was for the greater good. The lives of three million children certainly seem to outweigh the life of one. And it was afterall the greatest sacrifice he could have done. You think he wanted to kill his only grandchild? He did what he had to. Same with Frobisher. Killing his own family seemed to be a much better option than letting them be used as happy chemical highs for the 456 (what a bunch of kidheads!). As Bridget Spears said about Frobisher while visiting Lois Habiba in her cell, "he was a good man, because when the history of this is written...I think they'll forget how very good he was. I want you to remember him like that. If ever you think of John Frobisher just remember that it wasn't his fault." This could, obviously, be applied to Jack Harkness as well. But holy shit that scene with Frobisher's family is tragic.

You know what, poor Jack. Poor bloody Jack. First his lover dies, then he kills his own blood to save the world at the expense of losing his daughter's love and trust forever, and goes off again into the unknown totally alone.

He'll probably make an appearance in Doctor Who. I'd be shocked if he didn't.

Hate the bloody PM though, what a douche. Dumbass. Dipshit. You name it, Brian Green is it. If he'd only let Torchwood do their thing from the beginning instead of getting their death warrants, half the shit wouldn't have had to go down (but then there'd have been no mini-series, and where's the fun in that). I don't know how they would do more Torchwood after this. Gwen is the only one around from the original cast. Sure, she said she'd offer Lois a job, but everyone else is bloody well dead and buried or lost in space. I know people are asking for more, but I just don't see how it can continue. Which is also tragic.

Torchwood

Savor it slowly, or gobble it all up? It is so delectable. I finished the third episode, waiting for the fifth to become available before I watch the fourth. The 456 (have not seen them, don't know if one does or not, shh!) seem to be an elephantesque crab, and reminiscent of Independence Day aliens (scene in Area 51 using Dr. Data to speak etc.).

In any case, I am enjoying the new episodes tremendously.


Badass. A pregnant Gwen whoops some butt, Ianto comes out of his shell, and Harkness bares (nearly) all.

Ugly World

I don't know if it's just because I was watching CNN at the doc's today, or if I got more absorbed than normal in my news-reading, but a whole lot of ugly happened today. Uuuuuuh-guh-leeee.

Protests muted in Iran, earthquakes, more bombs, "cyber war," blatant racism. Baah humbug!

C'mon world, lighten up! Peel off your hatred robes and hug! Wipe off that scowl! (Also, the last I checked, this wasn't pre-1954).

Pool Boots Kids Who Might "Change the Complexion"
Blogger the Field Negro on the topic



But apparently the Vox Pop statue story is getting more news-worthy. (?) CNN is apparently covering it now. Although CNN covers anything. Not that a decapitated statue doesn't warrant an official FBI investigation or anything....

Protect Coney Island!

Puke. This makes me sick. The idea of giant hotels built upon historic buildings is revolting. Revolting! Let's revolt! 

photographie

Done: dumb blonde pin-up.

Next: yukata photoshoot.

When: not today.

Back to logo designing! 

Whoopsydunkle!

Sondre Lerche in September, and Placebo in October! Woot!

And apparently Placebo tonight, too. (Too late! Had class in any case...even if it did let out early I didn't find out till just now...how could I have missed that!). 

Did listen to Placebo recently, actually (recently = last few months). Before that it'd been ages. Apparently there are new albums to be listened to (which is a prerequisite of course to seeing them again). Would be fun. Makes me think of Allie and Eliot. Maybe I'll dress up all punky-goth like I did the last time I saw them when I was 16. (ha.) Where are my fishnets and MAC red lipstick? In Oregon, of course. With the mini skirts. Of course.

Red, White, and Blue Dog

Our house is pretty much the only one on the block sans flag. (Father said, "too bad you don't have a Dutch flag to wave. Better yet, why not British?"). White wine, mango sorbet, and summer breezes were enjoyed on the front porch in the afternoon. Haven't had alcohol so early in the day since...I don't even know, fourth year? Then last minute packing for overnight in Mount Vernon.

Daughter to mother conversation inside train station as they walked toward the stairs to platform:
"Why can't we stay inside?"
"What difference does it make?"
"This girl I know fell on the tracks here."
"She what?"
"Well, she jumped. And it wasn't here, it was on that side [points to opposite platform]."
....

Coffee then Q-S-2-1-car w/story rounds (Gregor the ankylosaurus and Sandra the pterodactyl) and limericks (...). Everything green! Fresher air! No sirens! No honking! Stars! Twas splendid. A crowd of people, some familiar, and some not. Delicious edibles (delectable tomatoes), white sheets on the grass displaying images of what looked like lifeforms under a microscope. MJ in pixels. Life stories shared. Cookies ingested. Music played and Hide and Go Seek. A Twilight Zone marathon. Awoke to poor thirsty Blue Dog. Breakfast. Caffeine, please! Exquisite Corpse. My camera unused and left behind.

Les Papillons

Learn your butterflies:

Don't trust those, they're different for a reason. [You should know by now!] Bad butterflies.

The good butterflies are good. Splendid, beautiful, marvelous, and s'wonderful. Stick to those, even if they cannot yet be found.

Palin: it's a trick!

This one pretty much sums up my fears:
Palin: Really Retreating Or Just Reloading?

Excerpts:

With what appeared to be a smile of delight, she began explaining why she would not "go with the flow" and complete her term in office. It would be the easy way out to serve as a "lame duck," she said, and she was not that sort of person. She wasn't a quitter. And so, she said, she had decided to ... quit....

This leaves two paths ahead for Palin, who will leave office in three weeks.

Choice One: She can go home to Wasilla and try to remake the life she had there before politics (or at least statewide and national politics) blew it up. This might have the much-to-be-desired effect of removing her from the late-night comedians' hit list, the incessant tabloid chatter and the endless round of recriminations with John McCain's 2008 campaign team. Just this week, Palin had won the dubious distinction of being named "Sitting Duck" of the year by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

Choice Two: She can stop worrying about the intricacies of the Alaska budget and the internal squabblings of the Legislature in Juneau and concentrate on putting together a campaign for 2012. After all, she is one of the three Republicans mentioned most often as her party's preferred candidates for Next Time (along with Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, who both ran in 2008). Among Republican primary voters, she had the highest personal approval rating of any 2012 Republican prospect in a recent Pew Research Center poll, and it was over 70 percent....

What is so pressing? She needs time to build a staff that is loyal to her alone, as we can see from the endless replays of the internal wars of the McCain-Palin campaign in 2008 in Vanity Fair and Politico this past week. She must show she can raise tens of millions of dollars before the primaries, and hundreds of millions after that. And most desperately, she has to develop a more resilient media sensibility that can turn both fawning and savaging attention to her purpose.

Assuming the soon-to-be-former governor wants all this, and has prepared herself for the sacrifices ahead, she is making a hard-headed decision to reach for the brass ring and to do it now.

Palin Resignation

Sarah Palin Resigning As Alaska Governor

Excerpts:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made a surprise announcement Friday that she is resigning from office at the end of the month. Palin offered little explanation about why she plans to step down, raising speculation that she will focus on a run for the White House in the 2012 race....

"Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional Lame Duck status in this particular climate would just be another dose of politics as usual, something I campaigned against and will always oppose," Palin said in a statement released by her office....

Palin was first elected in 2006 on a populist platform. But her popularity has waned as she waged in partisan politics following her return from the presidential campaign. Her term would have ended in 2010.

Palin said she planned to make a "positive change outside government," without elaborating. She also expressed frustration with her current role as governor.

"I cannot stand here as your governor and allow the millions of dollars and all that time go to waste just so I can hold the title of governor," Palin said.

Later, on Twitter, she promised supporters more details: "We'll soon attach info on decision to not seek re-election ... this is in Alaska's best interest, my family's happy ... it is good. Stay tuned"

Palin's decision even took Parnell by surprise. He said he was told on Wednesday evening, and was not aware that any presidential ambitions were behind the move.

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Okay. This video is infinitely more hilarious.




It is fairly obvious that Tiny Tim used this as a reference.

60 seconds got together and they decided to become a minute OR scaredy cat

Imagination can be stronger than reality. Ideas of possibilities run amok until reason and rationality kick in.

Don't pick that fruit: it isn't ripe yet. It looks better than it tastes.

ça ne fait rien

Cassiopeia

As I was walking home in the wee hours this morning, I noticed quite a few stars out. Turned around, trying to pinpoint a location, and managed to make out Cassiopeia. Yeah, yeah, big whoop, Cassiopeia. Only, I haven't seen this particular constellation since Oregon, from my window or the balcony, and it just made me smile to see it. Oh, some planet too. Probably Jupiter. You can always bloody see Jupiter. Although apparently Venus, Neptune, and Mars are visible now as well. Whatever the planet, it was directly across from Cassiopeia, and looked slightly doubled, which would make sense since Jupiter's basically on top of Neptune right now. Not that I consult astronomy charts or anything.

Thunderstorms!

I thoroughly enjoyed that sudden thunderstorm: two seconds tops between the thunder and lightning, sun still shining, trees a-whirling furiously. Not to mention the CONSTANT lightning. I'm pretty sure I was in the eye of it. The sky is gorgeous right now. All pink and pillowy. Wish I could get onto the roof somehow for a better photo.

It is a little bit much though, this incessant rain for the last two-three weeks, with about 10 thunderstorms in between. My neighbor commented that I must have taken Oregon with me. Only, we get maybe 5 thunderstorms a year out there (though they are fantastical, especially with the wide open skies), and never really a downpour. It's all baby rain out there.

Rolls off the tongue

Atlatl is fun to say.
ɑːtˈlɑːtɫ̩

aht-laht-l

/ˈɑtˌlɑt l/

Though the narrator pronounces it thusly (which rolls much more nicely):
Aht-uhl-lah-tuhl.

I'm not watching a documentary on prehistoric times. No siree, not in the least.

Crop Circles Explained!

Wallabies: Hopping through the Poppies (and hopped up on them, too!)

Excerpt:

Wallabies are getting stoned on poppies and are making their own crop circles as they lose all sense of balance and direction.

The extraordinary scenes are being played out in officially-operated poppy fields in Tasmania, the large island state south of the Australian continent and which is the world's largest producer of legally-grown opium for the pharmaceutical market.

Tasmania's Attorney-General, Lara Giddings, said the wallabies were getting so stoned after hopping into the poppy fields and chewing the heads of plants that they ended up hopping around in circles.

'While doing this, they squash the poppies and create circles in the fields.'

She reported the bizarre scenes to a State's Budget Estimates hearing.

'They get as high as a kite and go around in circles and then they crash, ' she said.

'We see crop circles in the poppy industry from wallabies that are high.'

Mr Rick Rockliff, a manager of one of the fields said the problem extended beyond wallabies - wildlife and livestock which ate the poppies were also known to 'act weird', including deer and sheep.

Something about "hopping through the poppies" brings me back to this:

Tiptoe through the window
By the window, that is where I'll be
Come tiptoe through the tulips with me

Oh, tiptoe from the garden
By the garden of the willow tree
And tiptoe through the tulips with me

Knee deep in flowers we'll stray
We'll keep the showers away
And if I kiss you in the garden, in the moonlight
Will you pardon me?
And tiptoe through the tulips with me

I kinda wish this shmuck on the right would let Tiny Tim have one bloody frame to himself though.

Over Ibuprofen? Seriously?

http://tinyurl.com/ltezqq

Excerpts:

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a school's strip search of an Arizona teenage girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen was illegal.

In an 8-1 ruling, the justices said school officials violated the law with their search of Savana Redding in the rural eastern Arizona town of Safford.

Redding, who now attends college, was 13 when officials at Safford Middle School ordered her to remove her clothes and shake out her underwear because they were looking for pills — the equivalent of two Advils. The district bans prescription and over-the-counter drugs and the school was acting on a tip from another student.

"What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear," Justice David Souter wrote in the majority opinion. "We think that the combination of these deficiencies was fatal to finding the search reasonable."

In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas found the search legal and said the court previously had given school officials "considerable leeway" under the Fourth Amendment in school settings.

Officials had searched the girl's backpack and found nothing, Thomas said. "It was eminently reasonable to conclude the backpack was empty because Redding was secreting the pills in a place should thought no one would look," Thomas said.

Thomas warned that the majority's decision could backfire. "Redding would not have been the first person to conceal pills in her undergarments," he said. "Nor will she be the last after today's decision, which announces the safest place to secrete contraband in school."

Way to go Clarence, schools should, by all rights, be allowed to do whatever they so wish to their students, even if it includes peaking in their underwear for a headache pill. Clarence, of course, rightly upset as his own secret hiding place of various contraband could be discovered with the announcement of the ruling in the young hoodlum's favor.

Forever in a Day

This is heavy shit.

Next!

ça fait 8 ans...

J'ai redécouvert le 'garçon morbide.'

(Mon dieu! Comme il est maigre! C'est triste, ça!)

Logo Designs

Take one small object and one large object that relate to one another (or come from one another). Flip their sizes. Make a logo. 

i.e.  windmill in a bulb

Ice cream: cow head on a cone

Dog brush: brush looks like a dog

a few ideas in my sketchbook:

apple juice (apple glass, really)

sun glasses (glasses made of suns)

wheat beer (beer with a wheat straw)

beer wheat (wheat with beer bottle grains)

Some not very creative, and don't really switch big and small. I didn't really spend much more than a subway ride scribbling on a lose piece of paper with these. I'm leaning towards the sun glasses or beer wheat. Nikki's doing the cow cream. I LOVE it. 

Excessive Rain

Now, I know that I've been missing Oregon something fierce, but that did not mean that I wanted its weather to follow me to Brooklyn (why couldn't it have been the volcanos?). A little drizzle every now and then sure, gets me nostalgic, but this is just unending ridiculousness here! Maybe patches of sun every now and then, but for the last two weeks it's been nothing but thunderstorms here, torrents of rain there, and at least three of those thunderstorms happened in a row at 3 in the bloody morning. Not that I mind. I love thunderstorms. And I love rain. I just love the sunshine, too. 

Rainy Distractedness

The pianos distracted me. The pianos! Playing concertos! Yes, I expected jazz, but was no less entertained. The jazz came after. 

Then the rain! Torrents and torrents, and my umbrella could do no good to shield it. Ducked inside for a drink (one beer please, "you're beautiful," no margarita - thanks for the offer, and now I've somewhere else to be). 

The rain came again, I said enough is enough, and so off to Angelika. It was packed. I got cake. The familiar white font on black back danced across the screen, Groucho Marx singing "Hello I Must Be Going" playing in our ears. I don't care what the reviews bloody well say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching the new Woody Allen. Yes, okay, I'm a sucker for Henry Cavill, but truthfully that had absolutely nothing to do with said enjoyment (well...but as eye candy only). I found his character highly fictitious. Gorgeous, romantic, British men don't live in New York wooing girls off their feet with their genuine honesty, persistence, and truthful talk of love at first sight. That's for fairytales, folks, and Jane Austen (and apparently Woody Allen). All in all the movie was laugh out loud funny, dripping with sarcasm, an eau de Allen, and sweet & heartwarming no matter Boris' tirade at the beginning about it not being a feel good movie. I left feeling good, and there you have it.  

Poetry Reading + Jazz = Happiness

jazz in the cafe, and jazz in the streets, six grand pianos are hard to beat!

Off to the Cornelia Street Cafe!

Solo Bar

Going local can yield very good things, and excellent times to be had. The "new" bar on Cortelyou is, as I felt before, a pretty good venue. The pink brick building pulls you in with musical beats you can hear from a blocks away, luring you towards its happy sounds, and once inside you're greeted with a throng of people dancing - dancing on the floor and dancing in the seats. Goodness gracious, there's just something about "What'd I Say" that gets me goin', want to shake and shimmy down, twistin' the night away.  

Anywho, I say "new" because back in the day it used to be a sketchy sports bar that would be open all hours of the day, and whenever I'd walk by I'd just see these sad lonely middle-aged men with dirty shirts hangin' around (at least that's what my memory is of the place at age 14). Not the case now, and that's how I felt months ago when it first reopened too. I'm pretty sure the saxophonist played at the last gig I saw there, made me nostalgic to see him suckin' on a reed (where's my clarinet at?!). 

Ran into Jacob, who incidentally was the singer of the band ("Jake G and Friends", which last night sounded like "Jake G and the Solos"), Bree from Bushwick, Cameron from Philly, Matt (or Mark?), and fellow Portlandian, Joshua. I just wanted to jot those names down lest I forget, like I did my phone last night. 

Religulous Giggles

"It's like the lotto, you can't get saved if you don't play!"

-Maher

Maher asks (re: historical "evidence" of Jesus in the bible from "eye witnesses" decades later):

"Would that stand up in a laboratory as absolute fool-proof evidence that something happened?"

"You are setting up a standard for proof that I think it would really be an almost impossible standard to meet."

-Dr. Francis Collins

Head of Human Genome Research Project

"They're not happy."

"They're called gay!"

(Guess which one was Maher).

"Hollywood loves something it's never seen before: a virgin."

-Maher

you move too fast

Slow down, caterpillar!

(stop, look, and listen!)

summertime II

So the rest of the summer is formulating itself. Numerous (countless) trips are in the works or at least to be planned shortly. Oregon, Chicago, DC, Amsterdam, France, maybe even Germany (not in that order per se). Not to mention my Dutch "cousin" visiting in July (the daughter of my "uncle," who is really just one of my father's best friends from childhood that masquerade under the guise of "uncle such-and-so" i.e. Roland, Robert, Adrian, Satinder, etc.). V excited to see her, we always get along well, and it's an opportunity to play tour guide while I show her and her beau the city. Too bad Mandana isn't around, I think it would be ridiculous if we all got together and chatted Dads (though really, I have only to go to Holland to accomplish that). Anywho, this summer is quickly becoming full, which is just lovely.

Hungrypants

Hunger McHungrypants went to the kitchen.

Sleepy McSleepypants went to the zoo.

(Smelly McSmellypants went to the park,

and Scaredy McScaredypants slept in the dark.)

Now Scratchy McScratchypants couldn't stop itchin'

And told us all that we would be bitchin'

If we'd been a buffet for a thousand mosquitos

And didn't have lotion to stop all the kvetchin'

Nothing

Make yourself at home, 'cause I'm going out
Across the street to get us some water
'cause this water's brown, and I'm so embarrassed
To have you here but I want you around

Usually I'd sing, or play you my guitar
But I know it won't get very far with you
'cause you like music that makes you move
And mine has a groove, but it's nothing I can prove

Please know what I mean
When I say, nothing

When I say, nothing

When I say, nothing

When I say

Things that I buy and things that I think
Haven't made this a better place to be
Drugs that I try and drinks that I drink
Haven't made this a better place to be

It's still just a room with the drums in the middle
A couch along the wall that works as my bed
I still have a phone that rings all day
I still have things I wish I woulda said

Please know what I mean
When I say, nothing

When I say, nothing

When I say, nothing
When I say

This whole thing's been hard on me
It breaks my heart, do you know what that means

My new place seems strange to me
It breaks my heart, do you know what that means
It means nothing

So make yourself at home, 'cause I'm going out
Across the street to get us some water
'cause this water's brown, and I'm so embarrassed
To have you here but I want you around

Usually I'd sing, or play you my guitar
But I know it won't get very far with you
'cause you like music that makes you move
And mine has a groove, but it's nothing I can prove

Please know what I mean
When I say, nothing

When I say, nothing

When I say, nothing

When I say

This whole thing's been hard on me
It breaks my heart, do you know what that means

My new place seems strange to me
It breaks my heart, do you know what that means
It means nothing

week so far

Most recently: I need to work on not being such a bloody open book and prattling on about myself. And not speaking before thinking. If I thought just a second more before I said some of the things I said I wouldn't be worrying about it now.

This week: introductions aside, the classes are great. Etta's wonderful as always, and a bunch of the students from the previous course are in both my classes, which of course makes it a lot nicer. In Etta's class there were five of us, all in a corner, and she greeted us with a beaming smile. As Mary, Anna, and I walked with her from the paper place with handfuls of binders, an Oberlin sweatshirt approached us from across the street and Etta and I smiled heartily. She told me of the days before they built what is now the con, when there once was a building much more like Peters, with winding stairs, turrets, organs, and during the holidays they'd line the winding staircase and sing christmas carols, that it gave her chills. It sounds magical. 

summertime

I'm still debating what to do with my summer. Half of it is full, and half of it is empty (this ain't no glass, I'm not being pessimistic). Not that the second half is even empty, just when compared to my busy busy schedule for June and July it's vacant. My first class of the summer term starts today, I never like the first days, mostly because I hate those silly introductions we have to do: 

Hi, I'm Hilary, I'm a freelance web designer here to finish a certificate in digital/graphic design. I went to college in Ohio. I grew up in Brooklyn and Oregon, and am what could be called bi-coastal. You might not always recognize me because I don't always wear glasses and I dye my hair when it suits my fancy.

Classes end sometime mid-July, and then what? I was thinking Oregon for the rest of the summer, but not if people I've been wanting to see will no longer be there and people I'd like to see would be here. Oregon might just have to wait. Maybe, maybe, maybe I won't yearn for it soon.

never said this before

Not to be redundant or anything, but I'm still craving those Oregon skies. Looking at the small sliver of sky I can see through my window in Brooklyn shortens my breath and tightens my chest. I close my eyes and imagine I'm looking out over our balcony in Oregon and I just relax and loosen up as the image dances across my eyelids. I need an expanse of sky. I know! The beach. Perfect. Nothing beats the smell of salt and sand and the sight of unending distance.

Claustrophobia

I never realized how obstructed the sky is in Brooklyn until now. It's perfectly sunny outside, the sky is a clear blue, but now that all the trees have blossomed and popped out with greenery there's hardly any sunshine coming in the windows. Obviously leafy trees are not a problem, and maybe it was always this dark, but I did not notice until now after having spent the last few days in wide open spaces with unobstructed skies. I feel almost claustrophobic here now, and I LOVE cramped spaces, but now I yearn for wide open fields and miles of sky, which you just can't get here. Yearn! Pine! But shall not mope. This just means I need to spend more time in the middle of a field in Prospect Park is all. 

Oregonian

I did not have enough time in Oregon this trip. Before I left I knew I didn't want to leave, and now that I'm back I miss it. So clean, so friendly, so calm, green, easy-going, littered with parks, dotted with mountains, unending starry skies, oh! Maybe the weather there was too perfect. Maybe it's because I didn't even get more than 15 mins in Powells. Maybe Klio tickled my heart. Maybe, maybe, maybes. All I know is, New York feels just so damned cramped. No space, no privacy, no possibility to get lost in the wilderness (those man-made parks do not count, there's no woods), no easy-going, anything-goes, happy-go-lucky attitude. I always did say I have a love-hate relationship with New York. I just need to fall in love with it again, because right now I'm cheating on it with Oregon.

カレーライス

Humid out. Warm and humid. Almost hot. Muggy and damp. Brings me back to Tokyo in summer, the heat and humidity, and karee raisu (カレーライス) for lunch. Mmmm. Maybe it's because I just watched "Curry and Vampire," maybe I'm just hungry, maybe it's the weather, maybe I yearn for Japan, or maybe it's all of the above. In any case, I'm craving this Japanese twist on an Indian classic.