I love me some Peaches, especially when she is dressed up like a neon clitoris.
Peaches “Mommy Complex” (Dir: Antuong Nguyen for MOOP JAW) from Moop Jaw on Vimeo.
h/t Cookie
Category Archives: Culture Club
HHG
In the perpetually swelling and inspiring nerd universe there is a demigod named Neil Gaiman. The man wields words like swords and has birthed some of the most important cultural texts (Coraline, The Sandman, Fragile Things, et al.). The meringue on this bespectacled nerd pie is that he once graced the stage of The Colbert Report. Trust me when I say this man walks hallowed ground.
Anyway, he once said something truly inspiring worth sharing on this dawn of a new decade:
May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t to forget make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.
I cannot muster the energy for resolutions, for a variety of reasons which are not interesting enough to share, but His Holy Gaiman definitely inspires me to muster the will to surprise myself this year. Here’s to you, here’s to the continued expansion of the nerd universe, and here’s to surprises.
Proud
This video makes me inordinately proud*:
Totally unrelated note, and not intended to harsh anyone’s mellow, but who is visiting me from [redacted]? Whoever you are – I don’t know what you are looking for, but multiple visits on several pages a day probably won’t unearth it. Shoot me an email if you have something to ask.
*Inordinately proud because I’m not from Seattle, I’m not a rapper, and I don’t remember a Sir-Mix-A-Lot video being shot. But, the video is gorgeous, I do love Seattle, and I love the hip-hop coming from this town. I even made a little doc about it a few quarters ago.
Boner List
It’s cold, sucky, and generally unpleasant. Here are things that are the antithesis of all that nonsense.
1. Y: The Last Man.
A plague kills off every man on the planet, except for one schwing-worthy Yorick Brown. This may appeal to every comic-reading, feminist-identifying, or generally rad girl you know. Or anyone else, really. It’s also in TPB volumes now, so you don’t have to worry about paper-cuts, or ruining your bookshelf alignment, or whatever excuse you weirdos have for not buying single-issue comics.
2. Amanda Blank, I Love You (2009)
Especially this track:
3. Asa’s 8:36 photo project.
He’s one of the raddest people I barely know. No, seriously, when I have had the chance to watch him in action it’s pretty amazing how he can hold a crowd with his wit; plus he seems really genuine and nice. AND he is a great photographer. Flattery aside, his photo project feeds my insatiable curiosity about what people do when I’m not around. Plus, he lives in my neighborhood, which means I get to point at a photo and yell “dude, I was JUST there” and not feel alone.
4. MOTHEREFFIN’ NACHOS.
No words necessary. Just bask in the crunchy, salty, spicy goodness contained within a plate of this badassness.
5. Alie and Georgia booze videos
Yeah, I don’t drink anymore, but Georgia is one of my favorite bloggers. She’s wicked smart, and pretty too. Sales pitch aside, their video project seems to be on the verge of blowing up. Go watch it now and say you knew about them before they got all kinds of press.
Le cinéma
This summer has been all about movies: old ones, new ones, theater ones, laying on the couch ones. Here are some of my favorites, which I hereby recommend to you:
1. When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts dir. Spike Lee
The documentary clocks in at four hours, but it’s worth every minute spent watching it. As we creep towards the four year anniversary of the collective heartache and failure of governmental structures that encompass Hurricane Katrina, this may be a good moment to reflect upon those events. Even if you don’t like Spike Lee, watch this. For serious.
2. Humpday dir. Lynn Shelton
I watched this primarily because the director is from Seattle, the film was shot in Seattle, and the central plot device is an amateur porn festival in Seattle. The good news for non-Seattleites is that you really don’t need to care about our fair Emerald City to find the film interesting and engaging.
3. Joy Division dir. Grant Gee
I watched Control earlier this summer. While I dug the cinematography and Samantha Morton as Deborah Curtis, I couldn’t really connect with the story (based on Deborah Curtis’ book “Touching from a Distance”). After seeking out the documentary by Gee, I was immediately more satisfied with the result. If you are a fan of the band, I highly recommend checking this out.
4. Irreversible dir. Gaspar Noé
I can’t remember the last time I was sat through a scene of a movie twisted into myself and hands covering my face, my physical and mental processes melding into one. While the scene made me nauseaus and uncomfortable, it was rewarding nonetheless. Don’t get me wrong – there are problems with the movie (especially with the very literal camera movements signposting changing chronology) – but it made me think afterwards, which is a rewarding experience as a film lover.
5. (500) Days of Summer dir. Mark Webb
I heart me some Zooey Deschanel. And ever since watching Brick earlier this summer, I’ve shrugged off my misgivings about Joseph Gordon-Levitt being a dweeby pre-teen from the terrible television show “3rd Rock from the Sun.” Actor approval coupled with a good soundtrack and a refreshing take on gender behavior in romance sold me. Overall it was solid, though maybe not awesome.
So what have you been watching? Give me some good suggestions.
MiniAir
I’m in the midst of CrazyChaosPanicTIme. You know, that time in a semester where everything is a flurry of chaos and stress eating and lots of writing, intersperced with bouts of hysteric laughing and Sir-Mix-A-Lot dance offs. Well my 100 page group paper is due on Friday, so hopefully things will calm down in a few. I promise to go into minute details that will make you cry after I get a little space from this very intense group process and project, but in the meantime, go wander this way and download some new music by Miniature Airlines (aka Successless aka Dylan). I was happy to lend some photos for the album artwork (which turned out lovely, of course) and the music provided a great writing soundtrack today. So, go on, what are you waiting for?
Sverige
I’m off to spend the weekend in Göteborg, Sweden. To celebrate the great country to the north and what some (*ahem*Timm*ahem*) may call my first foray into REAL SCANDINAVIA AND NOT THE FAUX-EUROPEAN VERSION, I present to you First Aid Kit, a super cute Swedish band (on The Knife’s Rabid Records label for the music nerds out there), covering Fleet Foxes “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song.” Let this song warm your feet, spoon you to sleep, and gently stroke your hair.
(h/t to Carrie Brownstein and her radtacular NPR blog)
LOLing is the best medicine
From the highly underrated Clerks: The Animated Series. It brings the funny and is the next best thing to a Kevin Smith opening weekend, which I will be missing for the first time since Dogma.
Because the night belongs to lovers.
If I admitted that I shed tears while Patti Smith sang “Because the Night” a capella, would you make fun of me?
Despite the vastness of Benaroya Hall and the heaviness of her poetry and the sadness buried with Robert Mapplethorpe, a smile crept on my face each time she mumbled an apology for fumbling a line as she nervously fussed with her hair. This was intimacy intensified, so strong that it pulled me down from my nosebleed balcony seat into her lap. I felt like it was okay to reach out and touch her wild mane. Her voice scratched with the richest texture which snapped my heartstrings.
It was a beautiful night.