Knittin' Knerds

We will attempt to do this next time we're together (thanks, Hal.) Or at least make some coasters. Seriously! I, just wanna knit and purl all day, and crochet e-ver-y night. The real weavers in my life are Aunt Helene (currently working on the cable-knit sweater from Inis Mor for me), Ms. Cynthia, who I have a lovely skinny red scarf that I wear all the time from (and a lovely memory of knitting in Vegas while her mom played bingo in the background,) Jessa Metcalf Goldstein who caught my eye while knitting a navy-and-gray scarf for her then-boyfriend Jacob, Nona, who crocheted probably a hundred of wonderfully-colored blankets for friends, family, and neighbors (she had so many she kept the yarn and the finished products in clean garbage bins in her basement,) Ms. Svea Wentzler who crocheted a perfect black cap that I comandeered senior year MoHo and unfortunately has lost since then (I don't think I'll ever find another as-perfect winter cap,) and Ms. Ashley Ann Mellott, who knit me a heavy scarf that's like a blanket for x-mas '07 and that I'm so, so happy and warm to wear. These ladies are like ancient Greeks!

Glitter and Doom

I'm in love with this man/his music.  Live concert from Atlanta here via NPR, from last summer's tour.  He called the tour "Glitter and Doom" and the lower part of the US, where he was, "PEHDTSCKJMBA"  It's an acronym for all the cities he went through.

Tom Waits' voice sounds to me like it could jump out of a speaker and attack you, or sneak up on you from behind your barstool and yell in your ear.  Then you hear songs like "Jersey Girl" (which Bruce Springsteen covered later on) and it's like: marry me. Write songs with shalalala for me forever.

And his press conference for "Glitter and Doom." Watch 'til the end.

Bobbie Burns

My dad always quotes one of his quatrains, and I have it on a coffee mug from him that I love:

My love is like a red, red rose
that's newly sprung in June.
My love is like a melody,
that's sweetly sung in tune.

Great article from The Independent on his stoic Scottishness. Gotta love.

There's Hope!

"The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer [Updike] suffered from psoriasis and had connected it to his abilities as a writer. In Self Consciousness, he links his "skin's embarrassing overproduction" to his creativity.^[6]"

via Parade

Apparently 2008 was a "particularly exciting year for people living with psoriasis."  Who knew?

RIP John Updike (1932-2009)

It's kind of bizarre that John Updike wont be producing new fiction anymore.  I always loved his writing in that it was gritty, unafraid. The Rabbit series is read in most middle schools here in the states and his other works in the New Yorker (short stories, essays) et. al. on a consistent basis. I remember reading Rabbit, Run in 5th grade with Mrs. Tianello and being blown away by the frank portrayal of an unhappy couple: he was a faded high school basketball star (sad, sad bar scenes) and she was slightly "higher-class" with a drinking problem. He wrote with a chilling, subtle realism while at the same time getting to the heart of the important universal themes (sex, sexism, the plight of the common man) in a frank, sometimes brash manner. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winner, and is an inspiration (though I never warmed to the portrayal of  the wife in Rabbit, Run.)

Here's an interview he did about the Rabbit series in '95, in two parts, and an obit. from the Washington Post.

"passive-aggressive (and just plain aggressive) notes"

love this blog, kind of like found or best of craigslist in a way. & who hasn't left a few of these in their lifetime thus far.  i got one from trash while living with her in chicago about eating some of her left-over pizza and left an equally aggressive apology note (if you could've called it that) in response. in the end all was resolved, but i kind of wish i still had those particular bitchy missives.  i keep every letter i ever receive as it's a joy and revealing to look back on 'em every once in a great while.

Cinci. Love

three sheets 2 the wind - dedicated to craftmanship and quality screen-printing on always handmade textiles.  so proud. grazi, hal.

Ol' Blokus

"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"

As a young girl 
Louis Vuitton 
With your mother 
On a sandy lawn 

As a sophomore 
With reggaeton 
And the linens 
You're sitting on 

Is your bed made? 
Is your sweater on? 
Do you want to 
Like you know I do 

But this feels so unnatural 
Peter Gabriel too 

Can you stay up 
To see the dawn 
In the colors 
Of Benetton? 

Is your bed made 
Is your sweater on 
Do you want to 
Like you know I do 

But this feels so unnatural 
Peter Gabriel too 

Is your bed made 
Is your sweater on 
Do you want to 
Like you know I do

: "Sweet Jane" by Cowboy Junkies.

uggggggggggggggg.

BRATZ!!!

we've always known those little things are pure evil. my sis-in-law wouldn't let her niece play with these which is kind of funnypeculiar but understandable in a way. who knew she was saving little kaitlin from unrealistic headsize perception!

prettyummy

http://www.lucias.com/

excited for sunday roast/dinner.

um. whoa. hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

i miss j.

brown chicken browwwn cowww.

1875 you say?

j has the best t-shirt collection ever.

For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice.
- T.S. Eliot 

neologasm.

neologasm JANUARY 17

1344 up, 2843 down

the pleasurable feeling from having coined a new word. Combination of neologism and orgasm.

Her neologasm was so intense she determined to submit a new word every day to the Urban Dictionary.

via UrbanDictionary

hey, we're going to go after him in a while, right?

enjoy!

food porn.

Coconut Milk Cake

egg custard steamed bun from jun-bo

i swear, this place made me want to host a wedding.  isn't there a need for a really well-meaning, thoroughly hipster-appealing wedding planner that could plan cool, scrappy weddings like a traditional catholic ceremony followed by a beautiful, comfortable, and joyful reception at a glorious place like jun-bo?  i mean, i know there's more work to a fantasy like that than just the end product, but i'd love to do that for a happy hipster couple and the dim-sum there was very, very yumyum - perfect for tasting and trying.  i'd even love to plan out the menu - the couple could feed each other mango pudding, which supposedly tastes like skittles.  like a happy childhood!

Concerts for you, for me.

Great Shows, Great Job 

Date                          Artist                                                                 Venue
Tonight                    Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!    Pantages
Sun, Feb. 8              Lykke Li                                                             Varsity
Mon, March 28      Lady Gaga                                                          Fine Line
Mon, April 6           The Ting Tings                                                  Varsity
Sun, April 12           Mates of State/Black Kids                              Varsity

Just found out:

: 2-hour "Inside the Actor's Studio" at 8 EST on Monday, Jan. 26th with Conan O'Brien. Who's with me?

Thank You, Trashley.

"I can live alone, if self-respect and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure, born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld; or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give [...] the passions may rage furiously, like true heathens, as they are, and the desire may imagine all sorts of vain things: but judgment shall still have the last word in every argument, and the casting vote in every decision. Strong wind, earthquake-shock, and fire may pass by; but I shall follow the guiding of that still small voice which interprets the dictates of conscience."

-Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

the conquest of mexico by horned toads

for some reason i can see eliza staging this. just watched this film, the holy mountain (1973) directed by alejandro jodorosky and it crazy! all wrapped up in tarot and jesus and sex and the hall of sinners and who all knows. john and i just about lost it during this scene, but it's adorable. i think the film's also re-made from a german one from the 20s, which accounts for ze german lyrics in the background.

ahmet ertegun

love this picture. ahmet ertegun started atlantic and discovered artists like, you know, ray charles, aretha franklin, and led zeppelin. good god! pipe and i watched 'tom down and the language of music' a couple of times to get cameos of him - dowd was his brilliant, genius sound engineer. so much young talent, and they floated the start of the company with a small loan from a dentist. gotta love.



so after a long talk with mumsy last night, i'm off to drink coffee and look for [another] job. i work at the restaurant, and just got a funny little money-maker at "the tattoo removal shop" (and, weird, smearing clear goo on other people's semi-permanent mistakes is most likely not the final ticket but do those patients usually have stories.) here's to luck and someone hopefully being perceptive and receptive to my resumes in this town.

i've got the two big(ger) things done in that my financial aid packet is done/turned-in/outta my hands/kaput and my 401k has been rolled over, so now it's onto more and more adult, responsible stuff that actually makes me feel pretty good to have locked down when it's all said and done.

great card by alex ostrowski

pink in the night, sailor's delight.

always always awesome :: the pop song

title track, 'pieces of the ppl we love' by the rapture

points off for bad grammar and a bit of a dull lag in the middle. points on for being continuously and consistently attractive attractive attractive.

down by the water: the sultry, angry 90s.

link to more pj harvey. can't stop.

this is love - love her li ih ih ihps

uh huh her

!!!

What's your warm, living ideal of perfect beauty?

love this.

>SECOND RUNWAY

Event Info:
Event Category: 89.3 The Current Presents:
Price: $12
* contact the Venue listed below for ticketing information
Dates and Times: Saturday, February 7; 6:30 PM Doors / 7 PM Show / All Ages
Artist/Group: Second Runway
Venue: Goodwill Main Office
Address: 553 Fairview Ave. North
City: Saint Paul
State: MN
Zip Code: 55104
Country: United States
Telephone:
DESCRIPTION
Reuse goes to a new level when Minnesota fashion designers repurpose items found in Goodwill stores to create new outfits
The runway show will feature local models of all shapes and sizes so fashions will be for anyone and everyone
Enjoy music, food and local personalities
Designs will be auctioned off following the event to raise funds to support Goodwill/Easter Seals' mission

The Rat by The Walkmen

Postin' It

Jamie explained her new blog by saying "there's just some poems that I write that I really want people to read." Take that, Moleskin.

First Post of 2009

I saw this last night and just really, really needed to get it out there. If there was ever an example of just going for it regardless of the perceived thoughtful merit and coming up with something fascinating, fun, a mirror into times past, here it is. Imagine the someone who recorded this on a VHS back one day: