Bing and Bowie

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas and I have a great deal of work to finish. Instead of decorating and baking cookies like I would like, I am consuming way too many store bought cookies, and listening to Christmas music while I work.

This was and is my favorite Christmas song. I remember watching it when I was a little girl, and loving every moment of it. Not much has changed. I love Bing's cardigan and Bowie's hair cut.

living in

Design Sponge's Living In series has to be one of my favorite things. I was delighted to see their latest installment - Marie Antoinette.


I believe I have the most important part of the Marie Antoinette aesthetic:


Other favorite living in - Parent Trap

Good stormy weather music.

Pretty

Robert Smith

Sometimes I forget that The Cure exists. Then when I remember it is wonderful.

They always make me think of a couple things:
1. My adolescence in New Orleans. (That is a lot of things.)
2. Kids smoking clove cigarettes at The Neutral Ground.
3. Seeing The Cure in concert at The Saenger.
4. I used to know someone who saw Robert Smith upchuck.


In other news, I got my hair did today. My stylist thinks it is good that I stopped washing my hair with shampoo. You should go to Sparrow.

On one final note, how great would it have been to walk past this?

One of my favorite writers, Neil Gaiman, had a flash wedding with Amanda Palmer from The Dresden Dolls. Jackson Square is my favorite place in the world.

How do you write?

With a monstah on my lap, doy.

Minding the Past.

This is the season for creative nonfiction, which in all honesty, intimidates me a tad. It has always been my plan to write on my parents' storied pasts (because there are just so many stories to not to), but lately I have been tasked with the job of doing this with my own life.

In looking back through all the pictures I have taken just from the past six years or so, and thinking to all those waterlogged photo albums stinking of mold waiting back at home, there is just so much to sift through. According to Flickr, I have 12,923 items on my account. Which in of itself is not a horrible thing.

What is horrible, is thinking of myself as a character - the protagonist - it's enough to make you puke in your soup. I have a mental shelf filled with heroes and role-models aplenty. Fictional and real, they embody certain characteristics I would like to have for myself, but alas, not there or near that.

I am listening to various folk artists as self-assigned homework. They tend to put the ugly parts of themselves with pretty melodies. I think it is all a matter of doing the same with language. Both serve as the sugary reprieve from bitter medicines/ truths.

Luckily, I'm just a bit player in this story:


One final note - get a load of my kin. I could not be prouder.

Peer Pressure

My inspiring, delightful teacher made a rousing speech in class the other day. It was on the four components he believes one needs to become a successful writer. (And I would contend that one would also need these attributes to be a successful human being.)

One of these elements on his list struck me as curious. To paraphrase, it was a matter of selecting a solid, decent, and motivated group of people to call your friends. Selecting makes the whole process sound like making groceries, but I have found over the years, that pruning certain people out of your life as a necessary part of maturation and growth. You want friends that bring the best out of you and vice versa. (I am sure that I have been pruned, in addition to being the pruner.)
As of right now, I have a righteous group of friends - two of them I have already mentioned on this here blog. I met Robin when I was fifteen in Australia on a YFU exchange program. And I met Lauren through the Craigslist gods when looking for a roommate.

First off, it is extremely difficult to find non-cheesecake images of Super Heroines. With that said, my friends are indeed Super Heroes. Seriously, these two are both over 5'10'' and look like they could take on any neerdowell that comes their way. So, I'll just go with this Frank Quitely New X-Men panel that illustrates how cool I think they are.

Which leads me to what I did yesterday. I ran 9.3 miles, 15 kilometers in the Hot Chocolate Race. I did not keep up with my training schedule before the run. It was freezing cold yesterday. And I ranged over a million and two reasons to ditch the race. But, Lauren and Robin, the super heroes that they are, were all ready to go. So I ran the race. All because I felt pressured by their example. Today, I feel sore and achy and like I was dropped onto concrete. Not at all like a Super Hero. But, I also feel accomplished and really glad I did not blow it off. If I hadn't run, I am sure I would feel like a guilty pile right now. Now to go walk like an old lady.

This is Sookie Rae.

Last thoughts. New thoughts. Thoughts to live by.

Both of their sentiments are beautiful and affirming. Start your weekend off right with some pretty ideas.

Cosmos

I was first introduced to Carl Sagan through a little movie called "Contact". Megan and I were obsessed with this movie growing up and quote it often.

Fate brought me back to Carl Sagan when Evan and I stumbled upon his incredible documentary series about the Cosmos on Netflix Watch Instantly. It is so inspiring and satisfying. You feel edutained. It is like Epcot. But, it seriously goes into everything. I think teachers of every subject could show an episode to their classes. I want to read all his books now, and maybe in my second life crisis, I'll pursue a career in science. I wonder if SETI is hiring?

Or maybe I can Mary Roach it.

I love space.

Eye of the Tiger

Today I ran the furthest I have ever run. Ten miles in fact. It was the Soldier Field 10 mile race that went from Soldier Field to 53rd in the south side. You could not have asked for a more beautiful day. It was sunny and breezy. Megan and I were running partners. Raisa, Lauren, and Robin kept pace with a faster crowd.
I was really nervous going into it because I did not have the chance to train as much as I would have liked. Megan and I, however, kept a brisk pace for our under five feet legs and ended up finishing it in less than two hours. And considering we had to make a pit stop at the Leprecans, I think we maintained a good pace. Megan and I ran onto Soldier Field through the entrance the football players enter through. (The very same field the Super Bowl winning Saints have played on.) We high fived on the jumbotron while crossing the finish line. I think after today I would like to train for a half marathon. What is two and a half more miles? I would like to do it here and here.


After the race we all went to Bagel on Damen for sandwiches and had a victorious picnic in the park. We all got medals. A special thanks to Robin for picking up our race packets and feeding us pasta the night before.

I wish I could move like him.

Seriously, how does one grow up to become this guy? How do you raise a Francis Farewell Starlite? Do you just play him a lot of Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and Peter Gabriel performances and then send him to school in New York City with a backpack full of tap shoes and dreams?

Music Video - "Darling, It's Alright" - Francis and the Lights from Francis and the Lights on Vimeo.

The Top (Music Video) from Francis and the Lights on Vimeo.

Ladies that Brunch

Breakfast at Lula Cafe. Nom nom nom.

Sweet Summer Style

We just went through most of season 2 of "True Blood." I resisted it for a good while and the snippets I did catch weren't that appealing. But, I so wanted to like it. If for anything, because I loved Alan Ball's "Six Feet Under" so, so much.

Plus it is a show about vampires. In Louisiana! Who am I to deny it? We rented the first season and it was addicting. I love Sookie Stackhouse. I must concede that she is a much better role model for the ladies than some vampire obsessed heroines. Her character has boatloads of southern moxie. She uses good manners like armor and sticks to her own moral code. With quotes like this, "You might be a vampire, but you will respect me and treat me like the lady I am," she makes me want to speak more southernly.

Don't get me wrong, Buffy Summers is hands down, the best hero around. And "True Blood" is quick to drop the chosen one's name on a regular basis, making it all the more endearing.

The show is pretty darn over the top sexy. But, if you take it like a comedy it is corny in a good way. I also like how Alan Ball tackles big subjects like God and mortality. They have 2,000 year old vampires, so why not?

I want to incorporate more Sookie fashion into my life.

Movin'

I think this is my tenth move in less than ten years. You think I would have learned to acquire less possessions in my quasi-nomadic existence. But, no. I have so much stuff. Most of the stuff are books, comics, and photo albums. I come from a family of collectors. And it is hard to resist those collecting impulses.

I'll have to wait until I am settled in one place for a good, long while before I can collect anything heavy. I hereby solemnly swear that for the rest of my graduate career to fully take advantage of the CPL in lieu of buying books. They are just too heavy to keep moving.

I am purging a lot of my stuff and making Goodwill boxes. It feels good and bad all at once. Good to lighten my heavy load. Bad because I wasted money on objects that I don't need nor want anymore. I am breaking the bad habit of impulsive buying and getting a lot more choosy. It mostly feels good.


I really like this Apartment Therapy checklist and am going to the hardware store to get some spackling paste.

Dark Dark Dark

Hurricane Oil

Katrina of Oil Spills

I mean Oil Rivers.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

My sister and I can't stop listening to this song. It is so beautiful.



Him:
I'll follow you into the park,
Through the jungle through the dark,
Girl I never loved one like you.

Her:
Moats and boats and waterfalls,
Alley-ways and pay phone calls,
I've been everywhere with you.

I love their love.

Time Travel

Oh, Arizona. I did not know what I was missing.

The siblings and I surprised my mom with a trip to Tucson, Arizona for her 60th birthday back in January. My mom, sister and I just went on the trip two weeks ago. We chose Tucson because our cousin Stephanie is living there with her daughter and husband. You may remember her from Real World New Orleans. She was their boss.


We stayed at La Paloma Resort. It had a weekend at Bernie's vibe that made the whole trip feel even more like a vacation. I made it a priority to have a Pina Colada every day by the pool with my mom and sis. I wore this swimsuit in green and I think it helped in my little cousin's decision to let me play Ariel when we played little Mermaid.

We ate some of Tucson's famed Sonoran hot dogs at El Guero Canelo. It was intense.

The next morning while we were getting ready in the hotel room, the travel channel had a special on Sonoran hotdogs. Our place lost to their competitor BK in a taste challenge. But, I think we were still winners.

The landscape was gorgeous. I felt like I was in a Western movie the entire time and at any moment Clint Eastwood would come sauntering up. The mountains turn pink when the sun sets! They have a ban on street lights at night so the stars are super shiny. We also got to see hummingbirds and owls flying around. Plus all the cacti - they are so pretty. I could see myself living in the west at some point in my life. I can't wait to go back and do some major hiking and exploring. As my boyfriend put it, the Southwest is majestic.

The highlight of the trip was getting to spend time with my cousins and mom. My little cousin will some day compete in the Olympics for gymnastics. I am calling it.

Stephanie and her husband have a lovely group of friends and some of them are from Louisiana. They had a giant crawfish boil while we were there and it was so delicious. My little cousin Robert the third, who is now married and a Marine, totally ate crawfish for four straight hours. It was also majestic.

Warming Up.

I have lots that I should talk about like my visit to Arizona and the comic book convention I went to last weekend. But today, I just want to post music I am recently obsessed with. I oftentimes listen to the same song over and over when I write a particular story. I think it drives my sister and boyfriend bonkers, but I really can't help myself.

Visiting writer Aleksandar Hemon came to my class the other night and he said he does the same thing. He said writing made him deaf. True that.

I hope you enjoy these videos. I find it strange when people say there are no good movies, no good music, and no good television shows anymore. It is the opposite for me. I can't keep up with all the goodness.

Slow Poster

School is revving up and winding down all in one wheeling motion leaving me a bit dizzy. Thankfully, I had a sun-soaked trip down south replete with Bayou St. John strolls and many a walk through my much loved New Orleans parks Audubon Park uptown and City Park near my mom's home.

I can't bear to be inside too long when the sun is out. Even watching the boy do yard work was a sunny treat.

Doesn't he look like the cover of a Harlequin Romance novel? I helped by taking the machete to one or two banana plants.

Trips home are non-stop family, friend, food, and puppy time. I got a lot of great pictures and memories and almost no work done. But, I did get to see Dave Eggers speak at the Tennessee Williams Festival, which I'll count toward the furthering of my education goals. He has an inspiring and edifying way about him. He was so open and kind to everyone he spoke to and gave a wonderful talk on his approach to writing and education. Plus he looks a lot like David Boreanaz.

I am breaking one of his rules on writing, however, by having the internet. I can't quit you interwub.