my friends are awesome
Wednesday, apr. 5, 2006 | 0 comments
A couple great hunks of news: Adrienne’s Tracey Snelling piece, her first for Spark, airs TONIGHT and we are of course having much pizza and champagne. Also scheduled for tonight (pre-Adrienne screening): the opening of Keith’s BFA show, “bitmaps,” at the CCA South Gallery in Oakland (through April 8th, check it!). Meanwhile Alanna’s new book, The Unofficial Guide to Photoshop CS2, hit stores yesterday. And I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about this, but Paul has officially made his big radio debut! I LINK YOU ALL, my petal treasure friends!!
cats, thriller, and the rock
Monday, apr. 3, 2006 | 0 comments
Much like prom, the big theme for last week was “Bait and Switch.” All week, I kept thinking I was going to be doing one thing but then suddenly I’d find myself doing something totally, crazily different. Like Sunday, Marco and I thought we going to see Sunny’s band Knife and Fork play at Du Nord, but instead we found ourselves dancing to Thriller at Beauty Bar (which isn’t usually my favorite spot in SF, but actually turned out to be fun, despite all the farts) along with Marco’s surprise Japanese cousin Yuji — who, after consuming his very first Jager shot (USA!), for some reason wound up walking home wearing one of Marco’s shoes.
And then Monday, when Yuji discovered he’d read his plane ticket wrong and had to leave a day earlier than planned, I wound up semi-reluctantly (rain, cold) using his pre-purchased ticket to accompany Marco on a very long visit to Alcatraz, which was so weird and also disappointing (specifically, I kept trying to get Marco to pose for photos in a cell, with also his shirt off, but he kept smiling and nodding and yet leaving his shirt on???).
Then Tuesday, Kristin was all, do you want to go for a non-weekend discount-rate night at Dr. Wilkinson’s Spa and Motel in Calistoga? And even though I am not the hugest fan of mud baths (ever since I made the mistake of musing, while lying in a mud bath maybe eleven years ago, “hey I bet some sorts of people get a sexual satifaction from shitting here”), I went anyway! But I sort of inexplidiotically forgot my bathing suit, so we spent our first hour in town looking for a place to buy a new one. When all we found were hideous, eighty-dollar suits, I wound up with a twelve-dollar XXL “disposable” suit from a slightly-more-upscale spa up the street. I must say, the suit made me look mildly nuts; if a showercap could be a swimsuit, this is what it would be. It was made out of a sort of paper tablecloth type of material, and its primary structural elements were tight elastic cinchings at the legs, waist, and around the armpits. Everywhere else the suit BALLOONed out, and alternately carried huge pockets of air (getting in the pool) or water (getting out).
There was a small pack of teenagers in the pool when we first went down (in addition to the mud bath and spa, there were three pools: warm, hot, and hotter), and for a slice of a second I felt bashful, like maybe they would think I was a goon for wearing this disposable paper tablecloth swimsuit? But then I realized that I’m now so old that they’d think I was a goon no matter what I was wearing. And there’s something so delicious about that, the very particular “letting go” sensation that comes with arriving at an age that pretty much can’t be awesome in the teen sense, and so is totally absolved of having to know what words like “two in the pink, one in the stink” or “myspace” mean. It’s very freeing, this knowledge that nobody gives one fudgey chigger about what you know or say. It’s a cozy feeling, but titillating too, like (I IMAGINE) peeing in an already pee-warm pool, or … shitting in a mud bath.
Then on Saturday Marco and I were all set to go see Adam do a fundraising event for Encinal High School in Alameda, but unfortunately we didn’t pay close enough attention to the fine print and wound up going directly to Encinal High (the recipient of the funds to be raised) when really the event was all the way across town at Kofman Auditorium. So we roll up at Encinal, and it looked grim: there were maybe six cars parked in the lot, which seemed like a bad sign considering the show was supposed to start just ten minutes hence. And yet, the school’s marquee read “Mythbusters.” But, ominously, it also read “Cats.” Confused, we pulled up next to a man who was unloading off-brand concessions sodas from his car and asked him where the Mythbusters show was playing, and the guy visibly deflated, like, “there goes a third of tonight’s Cats audience,” but he nicely directed us to the correct venue. As we were pulling out of the sparcely attended parking lot, we saw an actual Cat — with the makeup and the ears and the tail and the ruffian clothing — getting out of her parents’ minivan, and we both squealed, “Look! A Cats!“ But anyway, we drove as fast as we could, but by the time we got to the right place (we did get lost once), Adam’s show had already started, and there was zero parking to be found. After driving and driving and driving and still not finding a spot, one of said, “Should we just go see Cats?” And that’s exactly what we did.
a (roman) link and a plea
Wednesday, mar. 15, 2006 | 0 comments
Hi, I got interviewed by the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero! I have no idea what it says (which suits my head-in-sand style quite nicely), but don’t those drawings look nice?
- – - – - – - And now the plea: Do you happen to know of any cute, gift-y neighborhood shops that might be interested in selling my Sleep book. If you’re familiar with San Francisco, I’m thinking of stores along the lines of Therapy (both the furniture store and the clothing-centered version next door) or CandyStore (oops, not much at the CandyStore site, so here’s the Yelp POV). You know, the kind of store with like scarves and wallets and rings and wrist-cuffs and messenger bags and local-designer shirts and doodads, the place you go whenever you have to buy a last-minute panic gift for a good friend. Like Urban Outfitters, but small and independantly owned. Do you know of anything like that? Especially (but not necessarily) if the shop is located on the West Coast, as in, somewhere I could maybibly visit and unfurl my tapdance in person? Please LET ME KNOW (warning: you might just run afoul of my spam filter, but don’t worry…I’ll be regularly checking my chum bucket for wayward email). Thanks, thanks, thanks everybody! You are my knights in shining armor and also white satin, coming to my emotional rescue! In Ann Arbor: In Baltimore: In Bethlehem, PA: In Berkeley: In Boston: In Boulder: In Brooklyn: In Calgary: In Colorado Springs: In Claremount, CA: In Eugene: In Long Beach: In Los Angeles: In Madison: In Minneapolis: In New York: In Oakland: In Philadelphia: In Portland, OR: In St. Louis: In San Diego: In San Francisco: In Santa Barbara: In Seattle: In Toronto: In Yachats, OR, Population 636:/p>
your suggestions so far…
(just in case you were looking for suggestions on your own cute-shop road trip)
The Peaceable Kingdom, “cool jewelry, stationery, and gift books” (thanks Lucinda!)
Acme Mercantile at 111 West Liberty (thanks Lucinda!)
Atomic Books, “an independent book/comic store” (thanks Eugenia)
The Moravian Bookshop on Main Street (thanks Laura!)
Banana Factory on Third Street (thanks Laura!)
Popmart in historic downtown (thanks Laura!)
Cherry Pie at 1603 Solano (thanks Adrienne!)
Violet at 1747 Solano (thanks Adrienne!)
Pluto in Jamaica Plain and also Davis Square, Somerville (thanks Lauren!)
Bliss at 1643 Pearl Street (thanks Colin!)
Paper Doll at 1141 Pearl Street (thanks Colin!)
Cog and Pearl, “handmade and recycled gift-y stuff, jewelry, and NEATO BOOKS” (thanks Jocelyn!)
Rare Device at 453 7th Avenue (thanks other Richard!)
Scaredy Cat on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope (thanks Colin!)
“http://www.where.ca/calgary/guide_listing~listing_id~2408.htm target=”_yay”>Reid’s on 17th Avenue SW (thanks Richard!)
Purr also on 17th Avenue (thanks Richard!)
Terra Verde at 208 N Tejon Street (thanks Amy!)
Raku at 224 Yale Ave (thanks Lisa!)
Letterhead Fine Papers and Gifts, “adorable and hip stationary store” (thanks, Leah!)
Freudian Slip, “fabulous cute underwear” with “cute cards and books, as well as high-end nightwear” (thanks Leah!)
Modern on 207 E. 5th Street, “mix of jewelry, hip cool furniture, cocktail shakers, placemats and doodads” (thanks, Leah!)
Toto’s Revenge (thanks other Andrew!)
Iguana Import Gallery, “more than just imports” (thanks other Andrew!)
Ooga Booga in Chinatown (thanks Melissa!)
Plastica on West Third, maybe? (thanks Evany!)
Pop Deluxe, “fun, kitschy stuff with a sense of humor” (thanks Kristi!)
A Room of One’s Own, a “feminist book store” (thanks Kristi!)
Patina, “cool stuff and lots of books” (thanks Kristi!)
Exit9 on Avenue A (thanks Paul, and congrats on the NPR interview!)
Alphabets on Avenue A, Greenwich, and Broadway (thanks Paul, and congrats on the NPR interview!)
Tah-Poozie on Seventh Ave (thanks Paul, and congrats on the NPR interview!)
Mxyplyzyk on Greenwich (thanks Paul, and congrats on the NPR interview!)
Mod World on First Ave (thanks Paul, and congrats on the NPR interview!)
Kate’s Paperie “kind of a chain, but still independently owned I think” (thanks Kelly!)
Maison d’Etre on College (thanks Rachel!)
Scout on College (thanks Rachel!)
Surprise on Piedmont (thanks Rachel!)
Porchlight on San Pablo (thanks Rachel!)
Dollybird on San Pablo (thanks Marco! And Michael!)
Heartfelt on College (thanks Anh-Minh!)
Black Cat, “adorable, independent, socially/environmentally conscious” (thanks Karen!)
Lemons & Limes, “cool
stationery, jewelry, fun gifts, furnishings, and the odd book” (thanks other Karen!)
Town Home, “contemporary housewares, gifts, books” (thanks other Karen!)
Greg’s at 3707 South East Hawthorne (thanks Noah!)
Pheonix Rising at 6331 Delmar (thanks Stephanie!)
The Grove at Juniper and 30th (thanks Christina!)
Gables Stationary Store on Geary (thanks Inger!)
Wishbone on Irving (thanks Mike! and Martine! and Kari!)
Molte Cose on Polk (thanks Rachel!)
Doe on Haight (thanks Adrienne!)
Ooma on Grant in North Beach, “super cute clothing” and “unique gift items” (thanks Jennie!)
Heartfelt on Cortland in Bernal Heights (thanks Jennie!)
University Art on Spear Street downtown, with “addictive gifty books, and other such fun stuff” (thanks Jennie!)
OTSU, oh, right OTSU! The vegan gifty store on 16th! (thanks Mariko!)
Nest on Fillmore (thanks Evany!)
Arch at Missouri and 17th, an “art/drafting supply store that carries all sorts of neat gift items” (thanks Anh-Minh!)
Mingle Shop on Union, “mostly local designers/artists” (thanks Anh-Minh!)
Happy Trails on Haight (thanks Anh-Minh!)
Dandelion at 55 Potrero Avenue (thanks Julia!)
Egg + Urban Mercantile on Cole, “an eclectic array of housewares and gift items” (thanks Heather! And Alanna, and congratulations on the new book!)
Studio at 1718A Polk Street, between Clay & Washington (thanks Alanna, and congratulations on the new book!)
Giant Robot on Shrader (thanks Kari!)
Imagine at 11 W Canon Perdido Street (thanks Alison!)
Babes in Toyland, sex things and other bedroom accessories (thanks Andrew!)
Schmancy, “fun little gifts, like these too cute sewdorky donuts” (thanks, other Leah!)
FireWorks at 210 1ST Ave S (thanks Colin!)
Red Pegasus on College Street (thanks Tara! and Christine!)
Propaganda, “lots of cheeky bits n’ bobs, cool retro vibe” (thanks Christine!)
Raindogs at 162 Beach Street (thanks Colin!)
And on the web:
Spoonsisters (thanks Julia!)
note to self: take egg off speed dial
Thursday, mar. 9, 2006 | 0 comments
Yesterday my very favorite Paul made his debut in the pages of the New York Times with a story entitled “Take Egg off Speed Dial,” which covers the art and feasibilities of cooking eggs with cellphones, an iron, a dishwasher, and even a drip coffee maker. The story looks even better on paper, as I immediately confirmed by running out and buying the tangible version of the paper for point-at-able posterity. A triumphant event on like seventeen different levels! Such, such good news.
Yesterday I also went to go see Alice Shaw’s slide show at the SF Arts Commission Gallery. Her photos always feature a funny/odd combination of elements — my favorite this time around were the two candid portraits of people caught wearing tees featuring life-size portraits of other (famous) people, with the tee-face coming off as an equal party in pose — and this, her latest show, had me laughing out loud at least six different times (or more…only my date Jill knows for sure). I’m a huge fan of both Alice and her photography, and if you’re ever in near proximity to either, I heartily recommend you rearrange your schedule accordingly.
Also good yesterday: Pride and Prejudice (total crying jags? two. additional notables? wow on that “thousand-year-old property gone to seed” scenery), cookies bought from Citizen Cake, pizza, and the company of Caroleen, Adrienne, Liz, and the aforementioned Jill. We also had yet another screening of Marco‘s new Trapped in the Closet DVD. (He and I accidentally got trapped watching the first five Trappeds one day on MTV and then we went on to spend the next few weeks singing along to all of life’s mundanities — “We’re out of half-and-half!” “You sipped it up? Now feel my wrath!” etc. So I bought the DVD as my Valentine’s Day present to him. And when he unwrapped it, he couldn’t help himself, he just said, with a blank face, “Why did you buy this?” Since then, he’s tried to explain away his underwhelmed response by saying the accent was on the “why” and the “buy” not the “this,” which of course makes no difference, which in turn is why I love him so.) Each time we force someone to watch this “hip hopera,” it’s met with a different response. Last night, it received an awesome stunned silence, which was an altogether different take than all the laughing, yelling, screaming, and carrying on that that went down when Stephen, Jessica, Sandra, Brian, Marco, and I first saw it (our experience pretty much exactly mirroring Pamie and friends’ shared laugh meltdown “moment just after the last word in Chapter Nine”). And there were a lot fewer giggles and puzzled objections than Kristin (giggles) and Pat (objections) gave out when I forced them watch it. And less horrified cackling than Shree produced when I made her watch it. In any case, I can safely report that, after four viewings in two weeks, the ten-second loop of moisture-drop beats doesn’t quite hold up. Still I say to you what Pam said to me, back when I was down in LA in February. I asked her, all innocent, “Can you explain this whole insane Closet thing, what the hell?” And she said to me, with the complete conviction of a true, true heart: “Do yourself a favor: just go out and buy yourself the DVD. Immediately. Move!” And that’s exactly what I did.
Not so good yesterday: the fizzle-nale of Project Runway, snore.
But, all in all, yay March 8, 2006!