I Have A New Shirt

I like the buttons and the piping. I don't like that it's sleeveless and a bit too sheer. But I cut off the tags so I guess I will wear it on the days I feel like going to the circus. Also, it is from Forever21 so it cost $12.80 and my guilt at buying mass-produced unethical fast fashion. I'm trying to wear all my clothes at least one more time before I pack them away or give them to Goodwill. Look how empty my room is. Also, I always pout in photo-booth, it's a bit awkward.

A Random Collection

the balloon of the mind 

HANDS, do what you're bid;
Bring the balloon of the mind
That bellies and drags in the wind
Into its narrow shed.

William Butler Yeats, The Wild Swans At Coole, 1919.

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Today on my run, a peahen ran out of the woods and started running in front of me. Thinking it would get out of my way, I continued at the same pace. The peahen kept looking behind her shoulder at me, scared, and tried to run faster, but kept stumbling. I tried to shoo her from the path and back into the woods, but she kept going around like the electric bunny on a grey hound track. So I ended up running through the woods instead of the running path, and let the peahen have her way.

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    I've decided that I really want this haircut. I can't remember the source (poor form).

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This snake vertebrae necklace, so people think I'm a witch

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And this puppet. I love foxes.

Eating, Reading, Listening

This month is one of packing up my little Indiana existence, slowly and with care, because I will be back here next year. So it is bye for now but see you soon, Midwest of nowhere. I have been eating my cupboards bare... partly because I hate to waste food, mainly because in a final-papers induced haze I spilt coffee all over my laptop, so am now, once again, in debt to Apple. And have lost all of my photos and "to be watched post-semester" television series. On the bright side, stirfried edamame beans sprinkled with salt and chipotle powder is a surprisingly tasty meal. 

I am way behind, because I only discovered Mazzy Star this past year. But I LOVE it.* And I've realized there is a GENRE for the music I like. Paisley Underground. Tada! Read more >here<. I've genred myself. Nice. 

Semi-relevant reading, in preparation for my next adventure, is Amos Oz's a Tale of Love and Darkness. I'm only a few chapters in, but it's pretty wonderful so far. 

*Full disclosure, this obsession began after seeing a photo of Hope Sandoval and swooning a little. 

It's not only me

One of my weird hobbies is to religiously (ha) follow mormon blogs. I have no idea why they intrigue me so much. It started when I saw a video a photographer had shot of a mormon wedding, where the couple had never kissed before their wedding kiss. They actually bumped noses, because they didn't know how to kiss. It was fascinating. Since then, I have been compelled to follow them. Partly because I love thinking about blogging communities and sub-cultures, but also, to be frank, because they're so aesthetically appealing. TODAY I FOUND OUT IT WAS A THING. A real thing. Other people are wierdly obsessed with mormon blogs too. There are articles written about it. I'm kind of miffed. I thought it was my own personal creepy hobby.

"They have bangs like Zooey Deschanel and closets full of cool vintage dresses. Their houses look like Anthropologie catalogs. Their kids look like Baby Gap models. Their husbands look like young graphic designers, all cute lumberjack shirts and square-framed glasses. They spend their days doing fun craft projects (vintage-y owl throw pillow! Recycled button earrings! Hand-stamped linen napkins!). They spend their weekends throwing big, whimsical dinner parties for their friends, all of whom have equally adorable kids and husbands."

http://www.salon.com/2011/01/15/feminist_obsessed_with_mormon_blogs/

P.S. if you want to see the Mormon blog extrodinaire, I suggest googling "Rockstar Diaries."
Edit: If I seem critical of these blogs, I am not. I'm only slightly perplexed at myself for loving them so much. 

I was so lucky to get to see my mum and dad again this weekend, this time in San Diego. Perhaps not the best idea to take four five days off the week before finals, but I'll take hanging out with my parents over writing papers any day.

I can't describe how nice it was to be by the ocean again. Beaches are different here, but it was enough to smell salt air and hear waves, even if those waves were "lapping" more than crashing.

Just your average beachside hotel. No big deal. (Marilyn Monroe stayed here)

Pretty much decided this would be my apartment if I lived in San Diego. Sans American flag.

Look at these little jerks. Roses are the peacocks of the flower world, I think.

 After nine months, I have found where good food in America is: California! 

 After spending $40 getting into the zoo, I actually was more excited to see these baby ducklings swimming in a puddle. 

They're Just Kids

"we gathered our colored pencils and sheets of paper and drew like wild feral children into the night until, exhausted, we fell into bed."

I couldn't find the original source of these photos (poor form) 

I finally got around to reading Patti Smith's Just Kids, which details her winding relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. I love the way she describes herself, him, their love and friendship. It seems as though it is a completely honest rendition of a tall, romanticized tale. Finishing made me feel quite empty - And I was really jealous that I will never get the chance to move to NYC in the 1960s and love a boy with beads around his neck who creates fantasy worlds within the Chelsea Hotel, and talk to Jim Morrison on a fire escape and have Allen Ginsberg buy me a drink. The first time I heard Patti Smith was not until I was twenty-two, but I've never stopped listening to her since. I love her music but I am a little bit scared of her too.

Clever People I Know

"In one of the most engaging, seemingly simple but quietly resonant and loaded covers on any local album in recent years, comes this delightful collection by Anthonie Tonnon (aka Tono) and the flexible line-up of the Finance Company..."

Full review here

I am so lucky to have such talented and creative friends. I loved this cover in all its glorious simplicity at first sight, and loved even more hearing about the process behind it. I'm glad the sentiment is widely shared. (And the album is awesome too!).

Voyeurs and Narcissists

Original work from THIS blog

Ethnography Question #1: Who is the audience?

Cuties in Chicago

I got to spend the last three days in Chicago with my cute mum and dad. Every time my mum saw something she liked, she made my dad take a photo of it. This included the first three Walgreens we walked past, until I explained to her that they were on every street corner of America, and were not, actually, cultural icons. Parents are pretty awesome, I reckon. 

 

Spring has well and truly arrived. These tulips are practically rioting.

I Found Keke - You Can Too

I just stumbled across this blog and I love it. I can't wait to make the crunchy wild rice salad. Plus, its based in my home hemisphere. Looking at all the amazing photos by Kirra Jameson - the blog author - makes me think of the boxes of ceramics and teacups and owl-shaped salt and pepper shakers that are snugly wrapped up in my parents' basement, from the days when I didn't live out of one suitcase. I am having separation anxiety, obviously. 

The three photos below are from the blog Keke, @ youfoundkeke.com