I often post photos of Beth and Kathleen on my blog, but I've never had the pleasure of posting photos of my mum. <3 She is the reason for my being and is the source of all my creativity. She has taught me and pushed me in amazing new directions...

I took this photo of my mom this last weekend. She wanted some pretty photos taken of her around the house with all of her beautiful flowers and trees to give away to some special family members. (She's a fantastic and talented gardener.) I was happy to help her with this project, and I especially loved editing all of the photos. I'll try to post those at a later time. 

Mom, I'm sure you'll see this since you read my blog every now and then. When you do, just know that I love you!

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I feel like I should start doing something with this here journal that's more than just my empty rambling whining. So I thought that since I've had so much time lately to read on the train, and my musical library is ever-expanding (Thanks, Pandora Radio), I might start doing a weekly "Here's what I'm reading/watching/listening to this week" and talk about it a little. So, I guess I'll start today! (Though expect me to update again on Sunday. XD)

What I'm reading:

The Lie That Tells a Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction

John Dufresne

So, as I've been on a real "I need to get back into my writing" thing lately, I decided to pick up and read John Dufresne's The Lie That Tells a Truth again. I read back in my sophomore year in college, when I thought that reading about writing was really cool, and awesome, and very bohemian of me. (How long ago that seems, and how silly I was. Ah, halcyon days.)

Dufresne's writing on writing really struck me when I read it the first time. I picked up it originally because the title is really cool, but once I sat down and got to reading, he does a really great job talking about how writing has changed his life, and how it's really a deep part of who he is, and (if you feel you're a writer) how it's deeply part of you too. He also gives really great practice writing exercises to get you into the frame of mind, though sometimes they feel too close to that horrible horrible Writing Fiction class I took at Framingham with Drunky McDrinksalot.

What I'm watching:

Lost

Dirt

Ugh. I cannot even tell you how EXCITED I am about the season finale of Lost tonight. Lost has been fabulous this season. Coming from a very mediocre third season, season four was a really great way to start the final events of the show (Only two more seasons until the end!). The flash forwards of the Oceanic Six (Those who actually get off the island and back home, for those of you who don't watch the show) combined with the action of the island really work to close the story from both ends towards the middle.

And I have this love/hate relationship with Courtney Cox right now. I loved the first season of Dirt. I thought it was brilliant, and funny, and I loved the characters. This season isn't too bad, but I feel like they're pushing it too hard. They killed off a main character at the end of the first season, and seven episodes in, they killed off another main character in the second season. This is a show about a tabloid, not a murder-mystery, guys! But overall, I love Courtney as the hard-assed editor. Not to mention she's hot as fuck. ;)

Dangerous Muse

Oh Em Gee. I love these boys. I discovered Dangerous Muse through Pandora Radio while listening to artists similar to Utada Hikaru (I don't see the connection). They do this really fabulous almost-80's-electro-pop music, and I fell in love at first listen. If you have the chance, take a listen to their song "The Rejection." Here's a YouTube link: Dangerous Muse - The Rejection

Definitely a band to watch out for!



Okay, so there was my first attempt at commenting on popular culture. Maybe I'll get a whole slew of people to start listening to Dangerous Muse. <3

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SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY!
5.22.08

SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY 5.22.08

Spinning yarn on the studio's new spinning wheel.

(The shirt I'm wearing is a shirt I bought from Loyalty and Blood on Sunday morning at the Brooklyn Flea Market. It's a cool shirt full of crazy/"evil" drawings like upside down crosses and anarchy signs and finger parts and decapitated unicorns. Haha. It's boss.)

Currently downloading Free Kitten's new album.
I've heard a few tracks. They're awesome of course.

c

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Old lady with Brian May hair and a baby-pink, sequinned sweatshirt having a groove in the Deli department to 'Blame it on the boogie'.  She *may* have clocked me stifling a snigger.  Oops.

Came out the door and almost walked into Lady Penelope, 30 years on - massive sunglasses, blonde bob with a very, very expensive blow dry and masses of frosted pink lipstick, bearing absolutely no resemblance to where her actual lips might be.

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, originally uploaded by doorgeschakeld.

Went to a park with a good friend of mine to escape from the exam-stress. Doing fine!

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If you're riding on the B61 heading toward Long Island City (like I was last night when I was going to Williamsburg), you'll go through an area where there is nothing but Hasidic Jews everywhere. (Does that sound racist and/or horrible? I don't mean for it to be.) It's kinda bizarre.

And being inside the bus with non-Hasidic Jewish people... It's kinda like being on a safari or something. It's like I'm in  a tour bus "safe" from the "wildlife".

(Did THAT sound racist and/or horrible? I mean for this to come off in the most un-racist/un-horrible way.)

(Oh, Wikipedia just told me this: "The largest groups in Israel today are Ger, Chabad, Belz, Satmar, Breslov, Vizhnitz, Seret-Vizhnitz, Nadvorna, and Toldos Aharon. In the United States the largest are Lubavitch, Satmar and Bobov, all centered in Brooklyn, New York, and Skver in Rockland County, New York."

Case closed.

In other news...
I've probably showed you this photo before, but let's have another look, shall we?

me and mom

(That's my mother and me at my high school graduation.)

Today when I was at this bodega waiting for my egg and cheese on a roll, I looked over and saw these packs of nuts:

Uncle Jesse's Nuts

There are just so many things I have to say about this that I am not going to comment.

Oh, man, I just felt an overwhelming wave of nostalgia. =/
Here are some photos from a couple years ago or so (PRE-etsy):

trumpet

P6040003

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FridayDecember2320052

P4130006

7806(2) 004

KTRU7

Okay.
I'll stop now.

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Laurel's in town this week and we've already gotten together to screen print some shirts and make some more buttons. Look!

chest of drawers (black/sky blue)

chest of drawers (green/red)

theatre buttons

We had a lot of fun with that last night. I'm so glad to finally get one of my screen printing ideas out there. I need to get some more supplies to make more screens so I can have more than one design at a time. And I don't want to get rid of this design until I see how it's received. I guess. And I really love it. (Isn't that sort of the kiss of death?)

Laurel and I are going out again tonight to Arizona's for some great food and, my favorite, Guinness draught. Yumm. And then the Boston Legal finale is on tonight. OMG. (Then, finally, my small amount of TV shows will be done until next season. I hate how TV dictates my nightly schedule. Oh well, I love the shows.)

Last night when Laurel was holding the screen and I was running the ink over it, Mom kept saying "don't run it over too many times" and how all her screen printing stuff was coming back to her -- she used to co-own a screen printing shop but I think she dealt more with paperwork and less with the hands-on stuff. It was funny. *shrug*

Work is not busy. I'm sitting here, pretending to work, and people aren't really caring.

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There's not much pissing me off at the moment, apart from my dreadful skin, but the fruit bowl has been replenished so I'm sure it's only a temporary set-back.

What's boiling my kettle

1. Eurovision.  Do you know how much I love Eurovision?  When we were little we weren't allowed to watch telly on Saturdays, until Sabbath was over (after it had got dark).  This meant that every single year until we left home, me and my sister would wait, poised, counting down the seconds until we could dive at the telly and switch it on.  Unfortunately, due to the time of year, this meant that we missed all the acts, but still, we stayed glued to the screen, watching the scores come in and at least we got to watch the winner do their song again at the end.  It was a very special moment when I was able to watch the whole thing.  Terry Wogan sober!  A half time show!  Incredible.  Revision's going to be put on hold on Saturday and I'm glittering up my house in preparation.
2. Giles Coren.   *sigh*

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One of my old high school friends (my ex-girlfriend actually... let's not revisit that) asked me to go to see Islands with her, and she asked me to get the tickets. Because she is lazy. But anyway, I was immediately like "oh, great, I've hardly been to any shows this year." But then I realized that I really don't want to go. I'm just not going to pick up the tickets. I don't like music people anymore. I don't want to look around at people in their silly "ironic" hats and turquoise skinny pants, and be judged by them, and (admittedly) judge them. And wonder what they listen to and what they think of what I listen to, and how many other people listen to it, and wonder what catty comment they'll make to their ever-so-distant friend about what they saw of me through their chunky lenses, and oh god. I just feel so... anomic... with that whole thing now. Who do you know "in the scene"? I don't want to anymore.

Also... I just thought to myself "I think I need new pants". I actually kind of need new... a lot of things. But I just never want to buy anything again. First of all, the act of buying has never been one I've favoured. And second of all, I am increasingly frustrated by the fact that you can't seem to wear anything without making some sort of "statement" or another. Like... I guess you wear clothes to be "cool", but if you don't buy into that, people assume you're trying to be "cool" anyway, by intentionally not participating in that. I think I'm just going to wear my bathrobe. But actually, my main source of clothes has been tourist shirts my parents buy me when they go on vacation, and I think that's fairly safe from statement-making besides saying "my parents go places and don't take me".

This seems so angsty, but actually it's just because it's midnight and I feel funky.

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Well, there WAS a phrase I kept repeating in my head as I was waking up this morning, but I forgot most of it---well, I forgot the first part of it.

The second part of it was:
"...and the security is pharmaceutical."

HOW am I gonna get all this new collection work stuff done before June 1st?
Not sure.

I'm also nervous about having somebody help me because I think that others might think that doing C.Lit isn't actual work and that it's fun all the time. So, when the reality sets in that packing orders and washing screens isn't too entertaining, I'm afraid my helper will get bored.

Oh, wail.

Listen:

03-i can-japan

I think I'll go make myself a pair of shorts...

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