It's gonna be a good year.

The Walkmen. Filmed in one continuous shot on August 14, 2009 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. (Thanks Laura for the link!)

A dishonest man lives here

Been watching the Mad Men these days. For those of you familiar with the first season, here is a list of "hobo" signs as referenced in episode 8, "The Hobo Code".

(Dishonest Man is third from the right, bottom row)

Ode to Chris Eigeman: Part One

Oh Chris Eigeman, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

No one can pull off delightfully self-hating, uppercrusty, quasi-bourgeois, sincerely sarcastic yet slightly feigned outrage like you. I will be posting some of my favorite quotes from your oeuvre, starting with The Last Days of Disco. 

The Last Days of Disco-Des McGrath

1. "Group social life has its place, but at a certain point other biological factors come into play. Our bodies weren't really designed for group social life. A certain amount of pairing off was always part of the original plan."

2. "You know that Shakespearean admonition: "To thine own self be true"? It's premised on the idea that "thine own self" is something pretty good, being true to which is commendable. But what if "thine own self"is not so good? What if it's pretty bad? Would it be better, in that case, *not* to be true to thine own self?...See that's my situation.

Wow! Lobster Clobster

There are some many things right with this kid that I don't know where to begin.

Jeepers Creepers, Where'd You Get Those Peepers?

I know I have a penchant for puppies, but I'm changing gears tonight and entering The Realm of Cute Little People (yes, it's an actual realm).

I would like to introduce the world to lovely little Sibel the Glo-Worm. She clearly doesn't miss a minute of the world! I can't wait to visit her someday and her mom and dad, Sita and Tim in DC. My lovely friend Ann-Marie is holding her in the third photo. Too cute.

Wherever you go, there you are.

A suitcase city! This is so amazing. I can't read Swedish I'm afraid, so I'm not sure if the blogger is also the artist. But I believe it is--the blog is run by Fideli Sundqvist.

I expect to see Beetlejuice lurking around one of the corners! (Does that ruin it for you :)? I'm sorry, but I do love that movie and I love the model they make in the movie. And I love cute little Alec Baldwin in the movie. Yep, I said it. Isn't it weird to think he grew up to be Jack Donaghy? )

Link is courtesy of the lovely Camilla Engman's blog.

Grumpy Old Men

Aw, actually they don't look all that grumpy to me. Just pensive maybe.
My friend Leslie is babysitting these two cuties for a couple months and I couldn't resist sharing this photo she sent around. What a dynamic duo! Every time I see a picture of these guys I crack up. They just seem to me like they have an opinion on the matter, you know?

It's autumn. And thoughts turn to nesting. Or is it jesting?

My dude and I decided we would be super geeks and together form a little book club to read Infinite Jest (members: me and him). It's my favorite novel, and he's never read it, and I've never read it with someone else, so I think it's going to be pretty fun.

Just to whet the appetite I thought I'd flip the book pages, open to a random page, and type whatever sentence my eyes happen to fall on. I like to do this with books as a way to tell one's fortune for the day. Am I the only one who does this? It's also a great party icebreaker.

Ok here goes!!!

My fortune: Ok wait, false start, this sentence was really crap...

MY FORTUNE!!!: "I commit no illegal or degrading acts. But I will, if forced, beg."

Whoa. That was pretty intense, no? I think we all know what that means!

Just kidding I don't really know. But I am all the more excited to start reading this book again.

Him?

I love this chick's style. Kind of like if the Newsies were ladies, too.

And then I remembered where I saw her before! Really, Irina? She does look a lot like Kate in that photo. I guess the dude's got a type.

Hello my friend, hello.

Alright. A bout of illness is as good a time as any to regroup, refocus, begin anew, etc, etc. Here are some of the things that have been occupying my time as of late.

Reading:

Watching:

Listening to:
(Above: White Denim)

(Above: Neon Indian)

I feel like I've been really out of the loop lately and for some reason all of these entertainments are helping me come back to life. More later...

Happy Friday of the Long Weekend Variety!

"New Amsterdam it's become much too much..."

I've been absolutely glued to my seat for this 8-disc documentary on New York that I recently Netflixed (directed by Ric Burns). I'm only on Episode 1 which tells of NY's founding by the Dutch, its beginnings as a commercial melting pot, its gruesome history with slavery, the crucial battles that took here during the Revolutionary War and the city's near complete destruction, its rebuilding/reinvention by a young Alexander Hamilton and his bargaining with Thomas Jefferson to relinquish NY as a "federal capitol" in exchange for "beaucoup capital" to relieve the city's war debts...anyways I could go on and on.

I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who, like me, has aspirations of filling in woeful gaps of historical knowlege, but doesn't really know where to begin. It's really a great start! :)

Hold on to summer! Hold on tight!

Borrowed vacation image from this lovely blog    http://camillaengman.blogspot.com. 

Don't you wish you could talk to dogs so you knew what they were thinking?

A good and decent man

Ted Kennedy’s Eulogy for Robert Kennedy
"My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."

Simple and elegant words that I think can be applied to all the Kennedy brothers, but maybe most of all you, Ted. RIP

James Ensor

I became intrigued with James Ensor after reading a blurb about him in New York magazine. The MOMA is now showing a retrospective of Ensor--an avant-garde Belgian painter from the late 1800's. His paintings are amazing! Such vivid colors and wild subject matter. The above painting is titled Skeletons Fighting Over a Pickled Herring (1891).

Blackblack Black Black

I've been checking out this adorable band, Blackblack recently--en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackblack

"Diva Dompe started the band in 2004 with her sister Lola and boyfriend Alex Greenwald, who performed as his alter-ego "Clark Schädelkopf" in the context of the band. Schädelkopf means "skullhead" in German. The Dompe sisters are both daughters of Bauhaus drummer Kevin Haskins. They have channeled their fantastical and sci-fi leanings into their shows. Prepping for past gigs included dressing as if they were starring in the Ice Capades, crafting massive Native American headresses, and making vats of theatrical blood in the Dompe family kitchen for a Carrie-themed summertime barbecue at The Echo in Echo Park."

They sing simple songs about feeling lazy and depressed. What's not to like?

This band is not to be confused with Black Black chewing gum from Japan, which I also want to see in person. According to Wiki, the gum includes such unusual ingredients as grape sugar, oolong tea extract, ginkgo extract, chrysanthemum flower extract, coloring agents (cacao, gardenia) and caffeine. "The packaging contains some strangely phrased English on the label that reads, "HI-TECHNICAL * EXCELLENT TASTE AND FLAVOR". Some sticks also say "YES, CHEWING!"

I, for one, like my gum highly technical.

Speaking of men who can wear a suit...

(and who are also aging quite well) Wayne Coyne is no slouch either. I've been listening to a few new Flaming Lips songs and I'm really into them. I would love to see them if they weren't playing at that little cesspool they call Penn's Landing.

I am not Jesus, though I have the same initials.

Those are lyrics from one of my favorite Pulp songs "Dishes". Okay, so I don't have the same initials, BUT my parents were named Joseph and Mary.
I had wanted to post this entry on the eve of my 34th birthday, but had had some trouble. I 'd been humming it all week long especially the line, A man told me to beware of 33. He said, "it was not an easy time for me". I guess it won't be quite as poignant tonight as I am no longer 33 (yes, the age Jesus was when he died).
That Jarvis Cocker--such a wordsmith. And so foxy to boot. I posted the whole song after some photos of Mr. Cocker at his finest. That man can wear a suit.


Dishes-Pulp
I am not Jesus though I have the same initials -
I am the man who stays home and does the dishes.
And how was your day?
Is that woman still trying to do your head in?
A man told me to beware of 33.
He said, "It was not an easy time for me" but I'll get through

Even though I've got no miracles to show you.

I'd like to make this water wine
but it's impossible.
I've got to get these dishes dry.
Ah...

I'll read a story if it helps you sleep at night.
I've got some matches if you ever need a light.
Oh I am just a man
but I am doing what I can to help you.

I'd like to make this water wine
but it's impossible.
I've got to get these dishes dry.
Ah...

And I, I'm not worried that I will never touch the stars
'cos stars belong up in heaven
And the earth is where we are.
Oh yeah.

And aren't you happy just to be alive? Anything's possible.
You've got no cross to bear tonight. Ah.
No not tonight, Ah.
No not tonight, Ah.
I am not Jesus though I have the
same initials.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Fox)

I love these handmade brooches from a chica in Spain! See her website here: http://depeapashop.blogspot.com/

Peeg!

Oh my god. This makes me miss Wink!!! Why did we never dress him up like this. I know--animal dignity, blah blah blah...

(photos courtesy of cuteoverload.com)

Festival!

Gabe and James and I are goin to see Dungen tomorrow night! YAW! It's about time I saw some Swedish rawk. I'm listening to them as I post this. When I listen to this band, I imagine playing the drums. And I rock it. Hard.

"Love Is...

If you grew up in the seventies, you probably remember these little glasses (based on a comic strip I guess). We had a couple at our beach house and they were my absolute favorite. It's so nice when you are little to have special things that you only use at the place you're visiting (like the beach, or your grandparents' house).