This is hands down my favorite picture of Kurt Cobain. I feel like it could easily be a picture of me.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
never to be seen again, always to be seen again
I just finished reading this article, 11 Extinct Animals That Have Been Photographed Alive which I found to be incredibly lovely and sad
There is a store across from Alderwood Mall called H-Mart- that I visited recently. I was having dinner with my friend Kendra, who told me she had found a place to buy whole pheasant as a treat for her kitten Nagi. What she described sounded so wonderful that we adventured there that same night.
H-Mart is an "Asian Food" Grocery store that evolved into an enclosed mini-mall (would this just be a small mall?) There is a bank, a food court, a jewelry store, an event hall, a bank, etc although it is unclear to me if all these smaller stores are under the same ownership. We were there around 9:30 right when everything was closing and the proprietor did not seem pleased with our giggling exploration
The grocery store was the largest segment of the H-Mart whole by far. I was struck by A) how beautiful and bright the product packaging was and B) the incredible product variation.
For example SALT:
I was struck by how dreary the United States must seem in comparison to, if this store is an accurate sampling, someone from Japan who is visiting
CANDY:
Of course to my sheltered sensibilities the most amazing part was the meat and fish section which was huge and was where one could buy whole birds, freeze dried whole minnows, exotic mollusks etc. and most impressively an entire giant octopus for (we think) $40
I desperately wanted to buy this, but I could not figure out how that transaction would pan out once I was home. Most likely I would disect it and turn its limbs to art and then a cat snack
Lets get real
I am facinated by the idea of reality tv, but I am AMAZED at the juggernaut (I wanted to go with Leviathan, but that doesn't seem quite right does it?) it has become. I was just overwhelmed (and inspired!) by this website that organizes open casting calls for "reality tv show." It seems that reality tv participant may in fact be a viable option for a carrer path in the future if not now. Enjoy the appropriately named: http://orwellproject.com/
***
I read any article about a program called "Freedom" that disables the internet from your computer for a certian lenght of time of your choosing from five mins up to eight hours. How delicious. Her article is extremely great, self-reflective, funny and interesting my favorite line being: "I have found exactly how hungry -- and temporarily starved -- I've become for all the instant information I'm so used to having at my fingertips." Bingo
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2009/04/01/freedom_traister/
***
I feel like I am about to go on the best blind date of my life. I have que'ed up a bunch of DVDs and documentaries by Earl Morris who I have never even heard of before Monday but now I am kind of in total love with and I am so nervous his 12 part interview series wont live up to my expectations! After all Roger Ebert has said, "After twenty years of reviewing films, I haven't found another filmmaker who intrigues me more...Errol Morris is like a magician, and as great a filmmaker as Hitchcock or Fellini"
http://errolmorris.com/
***
I read any article about a program called "Freedom" that disables the internet from your computer for a certian lenght of time of your choosing from five mins up to eight hours. How delicious. Her article is extremely great, self-reflective, funny and interesting my favorite line being: "I have found exactly how hungry -- and temporarily starved -- I've become for all the instant information I'm so used to having at my fingertips." Bingo
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2009/04/01/freedom_traister/
***
I feel like I am about to go on the best blind date of my life. I have que'ed up a bunch of DVDs and documentaries by Earl Morris who I have never even heard of before Monday but now I am kind of in total love with and I am so nervous his 12 part interview series wont live up to my expectations! After all Roger Ebert has said, "After twenty years of reviewing films, I haven't found another filmmaker who intrigues me more...Errol Morris is like a magician, and as great a filmmaker as Hitchcock or Fellini"
http://errolmorris.com/
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
This Elvis Perkins Album is so good it makes my face hurt a Blog in two parts
Here are some old blogs that have been siting as drafts waiting to be finished but will probably never be finished:
March 18th, 2009
Over the weekend I watched for the first time in a long-ish time Reality Bites. I love that movie so much. When it first came out I looked up to the characters as these marvolus role models of what "life" was "really like" then when I was the same age as them, I took comfort at chacters who really were just like me, scraping by, confused, dislliusioned etc. Now, as adult-ish it is funny because I realize how much that movie makes fun of those small chacters just as now I would.
I am savagely unplesant today but unapologieticly so. Perhaps it is because I am just now coming to terms with the fact I will never be a hand model. I am greatful however (as you should be) that I don't have the psychic abilities of say Drew Barrymore in "firestarter" or any number of the X-(wo)men because i would be incierating nice folks left and right
After my friend Brian’s Birthday on Saturday Night, perhaps early Sunday morning I was very hungry and stopped by the gas station near my house to pick up something. When I walked in, the store clerk (a large man with a large beard and a thick accent) greeted me “oH oh! Hello beautiful lady! You are a very beautiful lady” I thanked him and went about my business. While reviewing the options in the frozen burrito department some one tapped me on the shoulder, I spun around frightened. It was the clerk. He handed me a Snickers Bar and kissed my cheek, then wrapped his arms around me exclaiming “Hello Hello pretty lady! It’s is my birthday!” and asked me if I would like a beer. While I share excitement for birthdays all around, I am not a fan of anyone touching me; well basically ever. I pushed him off of me, wished him many happy returns and left
This is one of the best story I have ever heard http://jezebel.com/5162000/weta-workshop-designs-mermaid-tail-prosthetic-for-amputee
Footnote: Cheezy Rice! The spelling in this blog is appalling!
March 18th, 2009
Over the weekend I watched for the first time in a long-ish time Reality Bites. I love that movie so much. When it first came out I looked up to the characters as these marvolus role models of what "life" was "really like" then when I was the same age as them, I took comfort at chacters who really were just like me, scraping by, confused, dislliusioned etc. Now, as adult-ish it is funny because I realize how much that movie makes fun of those small chacters just as now I would.
I am savagely unplesant today but unapologieticly so. Perhaps it is because I am just now coming to terms with the fact I will never be a hand model. I am greatful however (as you should be) that I don't have the psychic abilities of say Drew Barrymore in "firestarter" or any number of the X-(wo)men because i would be incierating nice folks left and right
March 21st 2009
I realized on my next birthday I will be 27. UNfathomable.
I have had a wonderful kind of day today. Have you been to The Ave lately? It's kind of awesome now. There are all kinds of wonderful stores, including a GoodWill (and if by chance you are reading this Tamar, I DID go to Crossroads but it wasn't nearly as fun this time!) and no one asked me for change, and only one or two people I passed had tattoos on their faces (neither of which I mind, but have been listed as draw backs in popular alternative publications) BUT anyway I have been saying this forever but no one will believe me!
And sorry independent record stores, I really tried to buy this record which I am listening to right now (Ash Wednesday by Elvis Perkins) at you, but I couldn't find it (although I did very much enjoy listening to your employees debating Rhianna vs. Non-Abba Swedish Pop, but alas there was no jar to tip them for this service)
On the bus today a man of questionable domicile began to hiss at the woman sitting across from him. It was clear that his sense of what was "real" in relationship to everyone elses notion had melted in a serious. As I watched the hissing and eventual swearing and menacing glances I wondered if he knew he was "crazy" in the traditional sense and I feel like the answer is no. This makes me wonder: How far could we all be from this "norm", after all we have no reality measuring stick with which we can compare our coordinates
February 28th 2009
http://io9.com/5162582/several-mysterious-human-placentas-found-in-illinois-sewer-system If that isn’t the first line of a short short story I am afraid I don’t know what is.After my friend Brian’s Birthday on Saturday Night, perhaps early Sunday morning I was very hungry and stopped by the gas station near my house to pick up something. When I walked in, the store clerk (a large man with a large beard and a thick accent) greeted me “oH oh! Hello beautiful lady! You are a very beautiful lady” I thanked him and went about my business. While reviewing the options in the frozen burrito department some one tapped me on the shoulder, I spun around frightened. It was the clerk. He handed me a Snickers Bar and kissed my cheek, then wrapped his arms around me exclaiming “Hello Hello pretty lady! It’s is my birthday!” and asked me if I would like a beer. While I share excitement for birthdays all around, I am not a fan of anyone touching me; well basically ever. I pushed him off of me, wished him many happy returns and left
This is one of the best story I have ever heard http://jezebel.com/5162000/weta-workshop-designs-mermaid-tail-prosthetic-for-amputee
Footnote: Cheezy Rice! The spelling in this blog is appalling!
Monday, March 2, 2009
I thought this was going to be the best invention ever
BUT IT JUST MAKES ME FURIOUS!! I hate these guys now!!
..
THat is not a sandwich!! THat is nothing.
..
THat is not a sandwich!! THat is nothing.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Octopus Doin'-It
The light switch in my bathroom is starting to falter and the other day my shower was plunged into blackness. Naturally I assumed it was someone arrived to kill me and the first thing that popped into my head was “Oh great the last song I am going to hear is this stupid SOS song by pop starlet now best known as a battered woman and when the police investigate the crime scene, one will have to reach over my hacked up body to turn off the shower radio tuned into generic, female-centric pop station. My secret would be out.
Am I the only person who thinks Anna Wintour’s wig is really bad? I feel like we should expect more. . .
It’s finally happened. After literally years of fighting instinct I have started avoiding social events because I am uncomfortable walking around areas of Seattle at night alone. I don’t know if it is because of the recession or simply because I am getting older or what but the heart of downtown, even areas that were once “ok” like the Nordstrom corridor, have become increasingly creepy. I feel like that goat in Jurassic Park.
After seeing the Audyre Sessions Last Sunday night (who were great by the way) I went to get cash out of the ATM and I got this message
Hey, thanks. Now even computers feel free to help me out only when they feel like it.
In other news, Aleistar the cat is (hopefully) in the height of his angst-ridden adolescence and has taken to spending long periods of time starring out the window like a teenage girl.
OH and let me tell you something else. I went to Octopus Week at the Aquarium on Sunday. It was fantastic if not packed (the highlight being able to use the MEMBER entrance and the MEMBER line as I am officially now a card carrying member of the Seattle Aquarium Society). Octopus week serves as a small example of what I love about aquariums. Each year the Aquarium raises a male octopus specifically to make him with their female Octopus on February 14th. They decorate the outside of the tank with hearts and flowers, play romantic music and in an unexpectedly kinky twist, they invite members of the public to come watch. Then on February 15th (and I saw this part!) they release the make Octopus into The Puget Sound (that’s the body of water I’m thinking of, right?) and escort him to an inviting rock pile under the aquarium where a veritable colony of jilted cephalopod lovers has sprung. How fantastic and. The ceremonial Octopus release is great two. They roll him down a long boardwalk in a decorated bucket past throngs of his adoring fans, down a gangplank and then . . . they just dump the bucket into the water SPLOOSH.
I think I am against Twitter, although I am not 100% sure yet.
And what is tumblr? Do I need one of those?
I tried two new foods in the last week, which is something I don’t get to say very often:
Bibimbap
And greek yougart with honey
And I am pleased to say I was simply delighted by both!
Am I the only person who thinks Anna Wintour’s wig is really bad? I feel like we should expect more. . .
It’s finally happened. After literally years of fighting instinct I have started avoiding social events because I am uncomfortable walking around areas of Seattle at night alone. I don’t know if it is because of the recession or simply because I am getting older or what but the heart of downtown, even areas that were once “ok” like the Nordstrom corridor, have become increasingly creepy. I feel like that goat in Jurassic Park.
After seeing the Audyre Sessions Last Sunday night (who were great by the way) I went to get cash out of the ATM and I got this message
Hey, thanks. Now even computers feel free to help me out only when they feel like it.
In other news, Aleistar the cat is (hopefully) in the height of his angst-ridden adolescence and has taken to spending long periods of time starring out the window like a teenage girl.
OH and let me tell you something else. I went to Octopus Week at the Aquarium on Sunday. It was fantastic if not packed (the highlight being able to use the MEMBER entrance and the MEMBER line as I am officially now a card carrying member of the Seattle Aquarium Society). Octopus week serves as a small example of what I love about aquariums. Each year the Aquarium raises a male octopus specifically to make him with their female Octopus on February 14th. They decorate the outside of the tank with hearts and flowers, play romantic music and in an unexpectedly kinky twist, they invite members of the public to come watch. Then on February 15th (and I saw this part!) they release the make Octopus into The Puget Sound (that’s the body of water I’m thinking of, right?) and escort him to an inviting rock pile under the aquarium where a veritable colony of jilted cephalopod lovers has sprung. How fantastic and. The ceremonial Octopus release is great two. They roll him down a long boardwalk in a decorated bucket past throngs of his adoring fans, down a gangplank and then . . . they just dump the bucket into the water SPLOOSH.
I think I am against Twitter, although I am not 100% sure yet.
And what is tumblr? Do I need one of those?
I tried two new foods in the last week, which is something I don’t get to say very often:
Bibimbap
And greek yougart with honey
And I am pleased to say I was simply delighted by both!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
25 things I wrote for facebook
Once, you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things. At the end, you choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.
(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)
1. My patron is St. Patrick, who is also the patron saint of snakes and beers
2. I have reoccuring dreams of tidal waves
3. Like XXXtina, Heather and half of the Beatles, I am also left-handed
4. Pine trees are my least favorite tree
5. I’ve never cheated at a board game
6. I have been a vegitarian for 10 years, but the first thing I would eat if I stopped is Fried Chicken
7. I kiss my cat on the lips
8. I DO judge people by their musical choices
9. My idea of a perfect first date is going to Aquarium and the record store and then delicious food
10. I may pretend like I have elevated tastes, but the only thing I like to watch on TV is the trashiest trash
11. I’m a science fair champion (more than once)
12. I can knit, but only variations on square things (scarves, table runners, potholders, coasters etc)
13. I know all the dance moves to The Brady Bunch Family Song "Keep On!"
14. The most expensive article of clothing I own is my Doc Martin MONSTER Boots. the second most expensive article of clothing I own was only about $35 (My converse)
15. Sandwiches are my favorite food
16. I wrote and directed a full length play for children
17. Writing Blogs makes me feel less lonely
18. I don’t wear make-up because because I feel it gives girls an unfair advantage over boys in terms of being good looking
19. I am very impatient,but that’s only because I get so excited
20. One of my life goals is to walk across hot coals (and to climb out the top of a stalled elevator)
21. I was almost an anthropologist
22. I have no tolerance for rudeness
23. My ears are pierced eight times
24. I feel like I grasp the magic of both objects and spaces
25. Like Keith Richards, I understand that while the rock is important, of equal importance is the roll
(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)
1. My patron is St. Patrick, who is also the patron saint of snakes and beers
2. I have reoccuring dreams of tidal waves
3. Like XXXtina, Heather and half of the Beatles, I am also left-handed
4. Pine trees are my least favorite tree
5. I’ve never cheated at a board game
6. I have been a vegitarian for 10 years, but the first thing I would eat if I stopped is Fried Chicken
7. I kiss my cat on the lips
8. I DO judge people by their musical choices
9. My idea of a perfect first date is going to Aquarium and the record store and then delicious food
10. I may pretend like I have elevated tastes, but the only thing I like to watch on TV is the trashiest trash
11. I’m a science fair champion (more than once)
12. I can knit, but only variations on square things (scarves, table runners, potholders, coasters etc)
13. I know all the dance moves to The Brady Bunch Family Song "Keep On!"
14. The most expensive article of clothing I own is my Doc Martin MONSTER Boots. the second most expensive article of clothing I own was only about $35 (My converse)
15. Sandwiches are my favorite food
16. I wrote and directed a full length play for children
17. Writing Blogs makes me feel less lonely
18. I don’t wear make-up because because I feel it gives girls an unfair advantage over boys in terms of being good looking
19. I am very impatient,but that’s only because I get so excited
20. One of my life goals is to walk across hot coals (and to climb out the top of a stalled elevator)
21. I was almost an anthropologist
22. I have no tolerance for rudeness
23. My ears are pierced eight times
24. I feel like I grasp the magic of both objects and spaces
25. Like Keith Richards, I understand that while the rock is important, of equal importance is the roll
Monday, January 26, 2009
Dear Marlin Fishermen (and women)
Fuck you.
I am going to start caring big fucking hooks around with me so that if I ever meet you I can hook your face.
I am not 100% positive this is true,by the way. I went to the website but I am not sure. Also, if anyone wants to buy me that tee shirt that would be pretty awesome!
I am going to start caring big fucking hooks around with me so that if I ever meet you I can hook your face.
I am not 100% positive this is true,by the way. I went to the website but I am not sure. Also, if anyone wants to buy me that tee shirt that would be pretty awesome!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Sweet Dreams
Do you, like me wonder how calendar stores stay in business February through November? Does this curiosity then lead you to wonder how inflated the cost of calendars must be?
If you are a nerd like me you will probably like this movie, it is a little long but a delight the entire time.
If you are a nerd like me you will probably like this movie, it is a little long but a delight the entire time.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Ann Coulter is acting like a C word
C is for Crazy!
I try to stay apolitical (as a good anarchist) and so I title this without any liberal bias- that being said have you seen this video of Ann Coulter on the Today Show? I mean just watch a little of it:
(full disclaimer: while not passing political judgement I am 100% team today show and had Ann Curry been conducting the interview I would wager that Ms Coulter would have to have her jaw wired shut again. Also for the record I have strong opinions about Ann Coulter politically that I will not disclose but feel free to contact me offline if you are really interested)
SERIOUSLY, are you Five years old Ann? Or worse 14? You are behaving like a rejected highschool student who when backed into a corner only talk louder, clinging and repeating a half-truth. She may be a genius in some regard because I can't stop watching this (in the same way that I can't stop picking at a scab) embarrassment for her washes over me.
I read an interesting article about a woman who's PMS is so severe that her husband of 17 years left her, citing that very fact as the singular reason for his departure. The woman claimed ignorance that anything was out of the ordinary with her until the very moment he left her, received treatment and six months later they are reunited and happier than ever. This story reads almost like a fortune cookie "An action you perceive as normalcy in actuality is devastating for everyone around you"
Unlike this woman I am very conscious of my own inability to contain my gloom, projecting a virtual little black rain cloud of despair. Guess what - I am unapologetic.
Speaking of being emo: This is a real website and I could not be more disappointed that I am only finding it now and NOT ten years ago when I was 16.
This makes my heart soar
I try to stay apolitical (as a good anarchist) and so I title this without any liberal bias- that being said have you seen this video of Ann Coulter on the Today Show? I mean just watch a little of it:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
(full disclaimer: while not passing political judgement I am 100% team today show and had Ann Curry been conducting the interview I would wager that Ms Coulter would have to have her jaw wired shut again. Also for the record I have strong opinions about Ann Coulter politically that I will not disclose but feel free to contact me offline if you are really interested)
SERIOUSLY, are you Five years old Ann? Or worse 14? You are behaving like a rejected highschool student who when backed into a corner only talk louder, clinging and repeating a half-truth. She may be a genius in some regard because I can't stop watching this (in the same way that I can't stop picking at a scab) embarrassment for her washes over me.
I read an interesting article about a woman who's PMS is so severe that her husband of 17 years left her, citing that very fact as the singular reason for his departure. The woman claimed ignorance that anything was out of the ordinary with her until the very moment he left her, received treatment and six months later they are reunited and happier than ever. This story reads almost like a fortune cookie "An action you perceive as normalcy in actuality is devastating for everyone around you"
Unlike this woman I am very conscious of my own inability to contain my gloom, projecting a virtual little black rain cloud of despair. Guess what - I am unapologetic.
Speaking of being emo: This is a real website and I could not be more disappointed that I am only finding it now and NOT ten years ago when I was 16.
This makes my heart soar
Monday, December 1, 2008
Does anyone ever even really read these except to delete the old answers to put in their new ones?
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being at the Ocean
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Selfishness
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Rudeness
What is your greatest extravagance?
Coffee
What is your current state of mind?
Frustrated
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
On what occasion do you lie?
very rarely
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
My chin, and my hair
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Tie! Smart and Kindness
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Same
Which living person do you most admire?
Maybe none
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Swear words
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Aleistar CoCo Tunahead
When and where were you happiest?
You know when that was
Which talent would you most like to have?
Be good at playing instruments
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
To have more patients, be more stable
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
Maybe a little bird
Where would you like to live?
New York City
What is your most treasured possession?
My copy of on the road
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
What is your most marked characteristic?
My sass
Who are your favorite writers?
David Foster Wallace, Jack Kerouac
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Dora Spenlow
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Who are your heroes in real life?
People who are true to themselves
What is your greatest regret?
I've had a few, but then again too few to mention
How would you like to die?
A long time from now
What is your motto?
Don't Dream It, Be It
Being at the Ocean
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Selfishness
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Rudeness
What is your greatest extravagance?
Coffee
What is your current state of mind?
Frustrated
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
On what occasion do you lie?
very rarely
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
My chin, and my hair
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Tie! Smart and Kindness
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Same
Which living person do you most admire?
Maybe none
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Swear words
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Aleistar CoCo Tunahead
When and where were you happiest?
You know when that was
Which talent would you most like to have?
Be good at playing instruments
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
To have more patients, be more stable
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
Maybe a little bird
Where would you like to live?
New York City
What is your most treasured possession?
My copy of on the road
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
What is your most marked characteristic?
My sass
Who are your favorite writers?
David Foster Wallace, Jack Kerouac
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Dora Spenlow
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Who are your heroes in real life?
People who are true to themselves
What is your greatest regret?
I've had a few, but then again too few to mention
How would you like to die?
A long time from now
What is your motto?
Don't Dream It, Be It
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I want to bite it's head off
If this was my cat it would be tragic because it would be like Lennie in Of Mice and Men except instead of petting it too hard it would be from kissing it too many times on its adorable face.
Alesitar is obvs the best, handsomest cat in the whole world hands (paws) down with the best looking face and best everything. But this is a pretty close second
Speaking of -- LOOK AT THAT CHICKEN HEAD!
Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!
Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!
Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!
Monday, November 24, 2008
For reals yo, you are lucky to be reading this blog right now as I put my life and the life of my little cat in serious jepoardy (NOT the teen edition). Long story short I started hardboiling some eggs for lunch today and forgot, slept through the night with the stove top on and woke up to a ruined pot filled with charred egg and no water as it all evaporated. It is funny to me because I am so careful I always triple check everything (iron unplugged, space heater off, etc) but last night I faild in my basic ability as an adult.
I understand I have a flare for the dramatic- but sometimes I wonder if a lot of interesting things happen to me or I only impose interest upon otherwise pedestrian.
My downstairs neighbor only listens to classic rock radio and pracitices on electric guitar all day, meaning A) my life is currently soundtracked by pink floyd and B) my floor vibrates along with the guitar solos.
the New Yorker Fiction Podcast (the most recent one) was Shirly Jackson's The Lottery. Do you remember this story? I am sure you read it in high school or at least pretended to read it. As they discussed in the New Yorker Podcast, how everyone has to read it! And the reason for this was so lovely as "it's taught at at time in our lives where we are just waking up to the oddity of things and the terror that is everyday life" (slight paraphrase) as the reader A M Homes pointed out. But what I also forgot was how good the story was, how perfectly Jackson captures the feeling of a slightly nervous group of aquantiences, the slow build of horror to the last line which is perfect. And 1948!
PS if you need to kill 20 minutes and you are nerdy like me about stop motion animation check out this site!
I understand I have a flare for the dramatic- but sometimes I wonder if a lot of interesting things happen to me or I only impose interest upon otherwise pedestrian.
My downstairs neighbor only listens to classic rock radio and pracitices on electric guitar all day, meaning A) my life is currently soundtracked by pink floyd and B) my floor vibrates along with the guitar solos.
the New Yorker Fiction Podcast (the most recent one) was Shirly Jackson's The Lottery. Do you remember this story? I am sure you read it in high school or at least pretended to read it. As they discussed in the New Yorker Podcast, how everyone has to read it! And the reason for this was so lovely as "it's taught at at time in our lives where we are just waking up to the oddity of things and the terror that is everyday life" (slight paraphrase) as the reader A M Homes pointed out. But what I also forgot was how good the story was, how perfectly Jackson captures the feeling of a slightly nervous group of aquantiences, the slow build of horror to the last line which is perfect. And 1948!
PS if you need to kill 20 minutes and you are nerdy like me about stop motion animation check out this site!
Friday, November 21, 2008
THe Wreslter!
2008 was the year of my favs director PTAnderson . . .
BUT 2009 will be the year of my other favs director Darren Aronofsky
BUT 2009 will be the year of my other favs director Darren Aronofsky
Superbed
NOT to be confused with a Superfight (SUPERFIGHT!)
But I have a lifetime dream of laziness finally established: A room of bed or a bedroom containing one Superbed:
You can see my cat and my computer for a little scale. The picture honestly doesn't do the Superbed justice. It is one full sized bed (my old bed) now with a new queen sized bed next to it, the two beds morphed into one Superbed that takes over my entire bedroom. Best bed ever. To give you some perspective, the bed is about seven feet long and ten feet across. IN other words, we could shoot a Prince music video in my room now. The only bummer is that it is almost impossible to walk around my bedroom anymore and that my sheets don't match (as sheet sizes only go up to King and not Super. So I may A) buy a good used parachute for a comforter or B sew my sheets together into a crazy giant patchwork.
Hey new subject: Who is sick of Twilight? I know this is old news but watching that boy vampire (whatever his name is) shout to underage girls "WHy do you love me? Tell me why?" on the Today Show was a little much.
Monday, November 10, 2008
"People seem to be getting dumber and dumber. I mean we have all this amazing technology and yet computers have turned into basically four figure wank machines. The Internet was supposed to set us free, democratize us, but all it’s really given us is Howard Dean’s aborted candidacy and 24-hour a day access to kiddie porn, you know. And people don’t write anymore, they blog; instead of talking, they text; no punctuation, no grammar. LOL this and LMFAO that. You know it just seems to me that it’s just a bunch of stupid people psuedo-communicating with a bunch of other stupid people in a proto-language that resembles more what cavemen used to speak than the king’s English" - Californication
IN the last two weeks I have watched all of Season One and all the existing episodes of Season Two of Californication. THis may be the best show on TV or at least (big distinction) my favorite show on TV. I love it, in all it's filthy glory. (And it is very dirty- so full disclaimer it is not for everyone) David Duchovny is SO good, he is unbelieveably good as the key character. Complicaticed, despicable, likeable and entirely effortless. It really feels like this is David Duchovny in real life, like he is saying the things he would really say in such a situation.
Plus, lets not kid ourselves, I love anything about alchololic writers and the struggle for meaning. And this may be my favorite part of the show, David Duchovny's struggle for meaning in a world completely superficial. And he rejects it, and then he indulges in it, then hates himself for it, then rejects it then indulges again. This is such a human movement and an arc of character I relate to more and more as I get older.
IN the last two weeks I have watched all of Season One and all the existing episodes of Season Two of Californication. THis may be the best show on TV or at least (big distinction) my favorite show on TV. I love it, in all it's filthy glory. (And it is very dirty- so full disclaimer it is not for everyone) David Duchovny is SO good, he is unbelieveably good as the key character. Complicaticed, despicable, likeable and entirely effortless. It really feels like this is David Duchovny in real life, like he is saying the things he would really say in such a situation.
Plus, lets not kid ourselves, I love anything about alchololic writers and the struggle for meaning. And this may be my favorite part of the show, David Duchovny's struggle for meaning in a world completely superficial. And he rejects it, and then he indulges in it, then hates himself for it, then rejects it then indulges again. This is such a human movement and an arc of character I relate to more and more as I get older.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
"there is this existential loneliness in the real world. I don't know what you're thinking or what it's like inside you and you don't know what it's like inside me. In fiction I think we can leap over that wall itself in a certain way. . .There's a kind of Ah-ha! Somebody at least for a moment feels about something or sees something the way that I do. It doesn't happen all the time. It's these brief flashes or flames, but I get that sometimes. I feel unalone -- intellectually, emotionally, spiritually. I feel human and unalone and that I'm in a deep, significant conversation with another consciousness in fiction and poetry in a way that I don't with other art." --D.F.W
With increacing frequence I google interviews with David Foster Wallace when I can't sleep (please see footnote one). I find safety in the way his words move (outside of their purpose for furthering the plot) elegantly falling in line. I found this article on Salon where he talks about Infinite Jest and answers a lot of the questions I have had about the book. It is nice because so much that is published about DFW is lurid details aboout his death, his affairs with horrible Elizabeth Wurtzel etc etc and even exploring how unhappy he was in his life, how lonely and miserable and painful he had become.
I love reading him talk passionately. Honestly I love reading anyone articulate passionately. As a society we have become ashamed I think of open adulation, of taking pure and sincere delight in things.
If you are interested in an effortless work of genious read this: Little Expressionless Animals
Footnote one: This is a new development since his death, for some reason I find it tremendously comforting
With increacing frequence I google interviews with David Foster Wallace when I can't sleep (please see footnote one). I find safety in the way his words move (outside of their purpose for furthering the plot) elegantly falling in line. I found this article on Salon where he talks about Infinite Jest and answers a lot of the questions I have had about the book. It is nice because so much that is published about DFW is lurid details aboout his death, his affairs with horrible Elizabeth Wurtzel etc etc and even exploring how unhappy he was in his life, how lonely and miserable and painful he had become.
I love reading him talk passionately. Honestly I love reading anyone articulate passionately. As a society we have become ashamed I think of open adulation, of taking pure and sincere delight in things.
If you are interested in an effortless work of genious read this: Little Expressionless Animals
Footnote one: This is a new development since his death, for some reason I find it tremendously comforting
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Shadow 86
As much as I appreciate and enjoy quiet singer song writers/math rock/shoegazing beats it is nice every once in awhile to have one's face melted by rock. Mike McCready's Jimmy Hendrix tribute band Shadow '86 (at the Showbox on Tuesday night at the "Get Out and Vote Party)" fulfilled all my teen-age boy desires- their set dirty vibrating and incredibly loud.
Let me say, I have seen Pearl Jam several times and I am a little ashamed to admit how much I underestimated McCready's - my attitude being like "whatever, Pearl Jam is good, Eddie Vedder is handsome and that is the end of the story" BUT he is an UNBELIEVEABLE guitar player! It is very rare, but every once in awhile a band sort of assaults me with a wave of rock creating a tickly desire like when you fight or have sex and after Shadow '86 brief set (only five songs including Voodoo Child, Little Wing, All Along the Watch Tower and a spot on rendition of the Star Spangled Banner) I had a strong urge to do both. At times Mike McCready slung his guitar and played it behind his back blind and I fully expected the band to smash their instruments (he didn't, it just felt like he did). I was reminded what how rock is suppose to function..
Pearl Jam is a band unabashed about sharing their influences (I can't see an artist from the late Seventies without running into Eddie Vedder performing a few songs) and it was exciting to watch someone finally enjoy what they were doing so much and take their audience with them.
On the flip side I guess Tom Morello played last night, but Im sorry to say I didn't stick around. One: It was already to late at night for this old lady and two his Bob Dylan-eqsue sincerity, while admirable, makes me bored. He is a really great song writer, his songs are good blah blah blah. . . but when he talks, I always feel like he is talking down to me and I really couldn't stand the idea any more celebrities urging me to vote.
PS Dropping some cocktail fodder Shadow 86 is made up of members of McCready's 1986 band Shadow. Mike also performs with a UFO tribute band called "Flight to Mars"
Let me say, I have seen Pearl Jam several times and I am a little ashamed to admit how much I underestimated McCready's - my attitude being like "whatever, Pearl Jam is good, Eddie Vedder is handsome and that is the end of the story" BUT he is an UNBELIEVEABLE guitar player! It is very rare, but every once in awhile a band sort of assaults me with a wave of rock creating a tickly desire like when you fight or have sex and after Shadow '86 brief set (only five songs including Voodoo Child, Little Wing, All Along the Watch Tower and a spot on rendition of the Star Spangled Banner) I had a strong urge to do both. At times Mike McCready slung his guitar and played it behind his back blind and I fully expected the band to smash their instruments (he didn't, it just felt like he did). I was reminded what how rock is suppose to function..
Pearl Jam is a band unabashed about sharing their influences (I can't see an artist from the late Seventies without running into Eddie Vedder performing a few songs) and it was exciting to watch someone finally enjoy what they were doing so much and take their audience with them.
On the flip side I guess Tom Morello played last night, but Im sorry to say I didn't stick around. One: It was already to late at night for this old lady and two his Bob Dylan-eqsue sincerity, while admirable, makes me bored. He is a really great song writer, his songs are good blah blah blah. . . but when he talks, I always feel like he is talking down to me and I really couldn't stand the idea any more celebrities urging me to vote.
PS Dropping some cocktail fodder Shadow 86 is made up of members of McCready's 1986 band Shadow. Mike also performs with a UFO tribute band called "Flight to Mars"
The Boom Heard Around the I-5 Corridor
It is tough for me to get pulled away from Halloween festivities for any reason, even for my one true love of Rock which I hope helps you understand how pumped I was to see The Sonics reunion show on Friday night. Also, because it was Halloween you will forgive me for being late to the rock show- meaning I missed all of opening band and Tacoma treasure Girl Trouble (except for the last few notes of My Hometown which was being pumped into the ladies rest room over the house PA and sounded great) BUT despite this minor set back the show was everything it should have been, silly, fun and packed with aging alternative fans dancing like. . . well drunk aging alternative fans.
If you don't know about The Sonics, think of them like this- If The Pixies are the "Founders of Alternative" and The Velvet Underground are "The Grandfathers of Alternative," then The Sonics would be like your slightly crazed Great Great Uncle who you only got to meet once when you were really young and then he died and you always kind of regretted being a punky kid and not hanging with him when you had the chance. Only in this scenario the cool Great Uncle/The Sonics weren't dead, He/They were actually just in hiding out in the basement of Bob's Java Jive in Tacoma with his younger German girlfriend- you know the one with the bangs- and popped up out of no where declaring they were playing a one time reunion show at the Paramount on Halloween.
The Sonics sounded great, despite the fact that they have to be in their late sixties- just loud and fuzzy and everything a rock show should be. They were introduced by garage rock superfan Steven Van Zandt who brought such a sense of novelty to the proceedings that even The Sonics wondered aloud about, pointing out twice that hey -"That's the guy from The Sopranos" when he joined them on guitar during Have Love Will Travel.
The worst part of this show was having to explain a million times that I was not going to see the defunct basketball team on Friday night but the True Sonics, who have remained loyal to the North West and hopefully are what the term Sonic will be remember for in regard to Seattle
If you don't know about The Sonics, think of them like this- If The Pixies are the "Founders of Alternative" and The Velvet Underground are "The Grandfathers of Alternative," then The Sonics would be like your slightly crazed Great Great Uncle who you only got to meet once when you were really young and then he died and you always kind of regretted being a punky kid and not hanging with him when you had the chance. Only in this scenario the cool Great Uncle/The Sonics weren't dead, He/They were actually just in hiding out in the basement of Bob's Java Jive in Tacoma with his younger German girlfriend- you know the one with the bangs- and popped up out of no where declaring they were playing a one time reunion show at the Paramount on Halloween.
The Sonics sounded great, despite the fact that they have to be in their late sixties- just loud and fuzzy and everything a rock show should be. They were introduced by garage rock superfan Steven Van Zandt who brought such a sense of novelty to the proceedings that even The Sonics wondered aloud about, pointing out twice that hey -"That's the guy from The Sopranos" when he joined them on guitar during Have Love Will Travel.
The worst part of this show was having to explain a million times that I was not going to see the defunct basketball team on Friday night but the True Sonics, who have remained loyal to the North West and hopefully are what the term Sonic will be remember for in regard to Seattle
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