went up to Philadelphia this weekend for another Smithie-reunion. this was with a different group from my usual, but one of my favorites. i stayed with GS in her beautiful colonial house in the suburbs, just 20min. outside the city. her mother said i could stay with them, if i ever moved back into the city. i had a particularly difficult week in DC, and was so tempted to give up and move into their cozy home. as soon as the bus landed in philadelphia, it felt friendlier. i know that i can’t expect to have DC to be home right away, but i guess i was hoping for an easier transition into this new city, and new life.
anyways, a rundown of the weekend with RB, GS, and AHH ” smithies-in-philly-style”:
Tattooed Mom’s – favorite new bar on south street. dum-dums on the table, solid drink specials, pierogies, and funly decorated. bartender was an ass, though.
The Expressive Hand – paint your own pottery. i have an adorable hippo and a small transformer robot being fired in the kiln as i write this.
Shooting Range – yeah, we went from painting our own pottery to giggling while we attempt to shoot the male target in the balls. oh smith lesbians, how i love thee. never shot a gun before, definitely need more practice, but i think i like it….
Woody’s – right across from my favorite martini bar, Bump. strong drinks, euro techno neon 80s videos everywhere, and men with 8-packs swinging from side to side in brightly colored spandex boyshorts.
this was just what i needed to rejuvenate my spirit and make me trust in humanity again. seriously. while it is tempting to just pack up and move into philadelphia already, the city gave me a good enough break to give this city of DC an honest chance. i’m going to help paint a community mural, sign up for capoeira classes, and start riding a bike around. i’m going to learn to like this place! at least for the remainder of my lease. and then maybe move back to philadelphia.
this title definitely caught my eye while skimming through the stacks and mounds of books at the bookstore. how many times have i been lulled to an event b/c there’s free food? how many times have i eaten crap food that’s totally bad for me, but tastes so good, just because it’s free? too many times. the hoarding behavior i developed in college has transferred over to my real life now that i’m even more poor as an intern living in the city who has to pay rent and buy groceries, and sometimes lives in the dark b/c lightbulbs are an extra expense.
any collection of witty, real-life short stories, and the david sedaris comparisons start. i love Mr. DS. along with eddie izzard, there is no one who understands the frustration of learning french better. when i first began reading I was Told There’d Be Cake, i thought about David Sedaris and Me Speak Pretty One Day. but crosley has a way of being insecure and curious about life events and scenarios that is easily relatable, and totally charming.
on suddenly being asked, out of nowhere, to be part of the bridal party of a high school best friend she hadn’t seen or spoken to since high school,
So I agreed because, barring exorbitant plane fare or typhus, you can’t not agree. Not only is it a social slap in the face and a personal kick in the feelings, it also puts a silent price tag on the friendship, no matter how faded that friendship is. If the average bridesmaid’s dress costs $250 and the average bridesmaid’s shoes cost $125, and you refuse to participate, that’s like saying you wouldn’t pay $375 to maintain that friendship. It’s like saying if deranged pirate terrorists kidnapped the bride and demanded $375 and a few hours of your time in exchange for her life, you’d hand them the musket yourself. (more…)
i hadn’t heard of barbara bosworth, and googling her name didn’t come up with many results. i’m not big on nature photography, but decided to go and be enlightened. not just seeing a slideshow of the photographs to be exhibited, but to hear their stories directly from the artist made a huge difference. bosworth’s photographs of yellowstone national park, a meadow in the spring time, or an oregon forest became more than just landscape shots. she talked about lofty themes in her photographs: circle of life, impact of humans on the earth, sustainability, the wonder and capabilities of nature. i’ve always thought about the artist process, if when they are making their art, whether it be painting, photography or writing, do they have an awareness of the symbolic themes they are creating? sometimes symbolism is on purpose, but what about when to the artist, the sundown really is just a sun going down, and not the impending cycle or end of light and a life or lack of hope. so while it almost seemed ridiculous that bosworth speak of the symbolism of life and death in very blatant symbolic ways of a fallen tree, or a new flowering bud, perhaps it was the setting of the auditorium, and the grandness of the photographs, i didn’t mind the obviousness, and lack of mystery at all.
it was almost dreamy to just sit and listen as she described to take on projects of a meadow, or of the moving stars, or of people hunting. what made her art stand out from just a normal shot of a forest was her method in the creating and developing process. she uses multiple large-format negatives in a single print, which sometimes result in lines that chop up the image, but other times they are seamless. her photographs have a majestic, but also quiet, and dreamy quality to them, sometimes looking like paintings, or completely timeless. my favorite was her “National Champions” series – where she sought out the largest and most famous of trees. her “birding” series of people holding birds and releasing them is also beautiful. i’m glad i went, i walked out of the dark auditorium in kind of a haze of admiration and awe. as someone who is not a big outdoorsy person, this lecture and exhibit was a reminder of how grand and resplendent nature can be. i’m always struck by artists who create alternate realities that are magnificent and surreal b/c nature seems so common place, that i almost forget that the world outside my door is not ordinary, but amazing and awe-inspiring in itself already. the exhibit is up until November 11th.
it’s easy to watch the National Geographic documentary about Shaun Ellis and say this is a crazy man who thinks he’s a wolf. in a way, he’s adopted their mannerisms, and eaten their food (lots of raw meat and organs) to become a wolf, but he’s taken notes of his experiences and applying them to a practical use. one of the major projects he worked out was figuring out how to find a living balance between wolves and farmers. to stop farmers from killing wolves who threaten their livestock, and to also stop wolves from eating the livestock, he figured out that by mimicking different howls from other wolf packs, making it seem like the farmland was rival wolf territory kept the wolves at bay. a technological solution that didn’t involve barbed fences, metal traps, leaving poison on the ground, and one that was more efficient. some scientists could have figured out something similar with their observations, but would it have been as effective if they couldn’t pick up on the distinct tones, ranges and calls of the howls, and noticed that different packs have different howls?
Ellis doesn’t spend all his time with the wolves, he returns to human civilization to speak with other scientists, experts, get food, etc every once in awhile. and once he went into a pub, and met Helen Jeffs. they fell in love, and while Helen could moved in with Shaun into his trailer, she’s taken her commitment to him a step further – deciding and attempting to join in the wolf pack, as well. Animal Planet has a new series chronicling her move: Living with the Wolfman. the dangers of this don’t need to be written, she doesn’t have as long of an experience with wolves, and one wrong move could have her killed. what an extraordinary, and almost selfless move to be with the one you love. she could be dismissed to be just as crazy as he is- the wolf man now has a girlfriend, the wolf couple, and maybe one day they will have wolf babies. but in reading their story, it’s hard to not see the love b/w people, b/w wolves, and b/w people & wolves. maybe it’s just the hopeless romantic, and animal lover in me.
it’s interesting to read a research study being directly applied into state policy. though i talk about drinking a lot, i’ve never drank enough to become drunk drunk, the interest in alcohol is because i want to be a bartender and mix. seriously! it’s a good thing i’m not a heavy drinker, and putting this in writing may be bad luck, but if i were to fall into any category, i think it’d be the re-bonding, and border dependent,maybe also the community and de-stresser… what most of the comments reiterate is that people can fit into many of the types in a drinking progression/binge or at different times. i find mrs. b of bedfordshire’s remarks interesting: “This type of stereotyping known as ‘behavioural segmentation’ is all the rage in government nowadays. They seem to have missed the ‘I drink because I enjoy wine and being a bit drunk is enjoyable’ segment – the starting point appears to be that all drinking is a problem. What a miserable, preachy, interfering bunch” i wonder what other examples of “behavioral segmentation” she is referring to -any ideas? also, know of anyone who falls into one of these 9 groups?
i’ve been a huge sam mason fan ever since i discovered these Dinner with the Band podcasts, and was super excited when SL considered my suggestion of Tailor for dessert. check out the DWTB videos where sam creates tasty and interesting combination foods like miso butterscotch halibut, olive cobbler and avocado margaritas for indie musicians (matt and kim, tokyo police club, pela, el-p) who then play in his brooklyn apt – it’s hipsters rocking their craft and making me wish i didn’t have an office job. everyone expected this place to be fancy schmancy and super tasty. it was fancy and tasty, but the menu threw a lot of people off – scallops with red papaya, maple-poached snails, bell pepper cake, and beet parfait.
to assuage the skepticism, i kept telling everyone that sam mason is a rockstar who used to be the pastry chef at WD-50 where wylie dufresne deconstructs food with science (molecular gastronomy) – coffee-flavored gnocchi, coconut milk in a gel, grapefruit molasses. dufresne been on top chef a couple of times and i saw this interview with him on epicurious, and while i can’t necessarily tell the difference or appreciate ‘fine cuisine’, WD is doing really cool stuff. pastry chef sam mason took rockstar mixologist eben freeman (also of WD-50 methodology) to open Tailor.
been reading up on the new restaurant for awhile, so when we cabbed it there and were kind of lost, i immediately recognized the entrance and excited pulled open the large wooden door. i was all flustered b/c i had to buy ‘proper’ clubbing shoes and was running around manhattan at 9PM looking for a store that was still open. and another reason we were in such a rush to make our 10PM reservation was if we didn’t show on time, they’d charge $25/head – so for our party that’d be $250 on my already-beyond-capable-spending-limit credit card. we all got there on time, and were made to wait downstairs at the bar for 45 minutes. i kept waiting for sam mason or eben freeman to walk by – of course it didn’t happen, but if it did, i’d be able to forgive everything that happened after. we ordered 4 desserts – manchego cheesecake on graham cracker ice cream, mango ravioli with cilantro and coconut, strawberries with celery ice cream, and chocolate with sesame ice cream & mole. i tried to order their solid cocktails – you get an 3 for $12: cuba libre, gin fizz and white russian. i knew getting that would have put everyone’s skepticism and gripes to rest when they saw how cool it was. unfortunately they ran out for the night. LAME. (more…)
it’s now even more expensive to apply for american residency and citizenship. i’ve touched upon this in previous posts (like here) but the HPV vaccine is getting even more convoluted and controversial almost everyday. not only has it been reported that it’s one of the most painful shots one can get and some girls are even fainting from it, but its very campaign geared towards young women of a “sexually active” age brings into question race, gender class, abstinence-only sex education, and preventative medicine.
it’s amazing and almost astounding that we now have vaccines that can prevent cancer, its like the medicine of the future. this HPV vaccine needs to be made accessible, and its great health insurance companies are now covering the costs, but requiring it brings about a whole new level of control over girls and women’s bodies. even though guys are just carriers, why aren’t they required to get vaccinated? and have we got into the habit of using pharmaceuticals to cure ailments that might have been caused b/c we’ve been taking other pharmaceuticals? it’s definitely a stretch to say that HPV and cervical cancer are caused by drugs, but conspiracy theory time: what if the government’s new requirement of the HPV vaccine is because they are in bed with the pharmaceutical companies, and the vaccine itself has a fairly strong and positive message, which makes it easier to market? it’s more obvious to see why doctors are pushing this so hard, but the prospect of the government & the pharmaceutical industry in bed together is not an earth-shattering notion. i definitely believe that gardasil is an amazing piece of medicine & scientific research, but who it’s made compulsory for – young girls many of whom cannot cannot afford it because they do not have health insurance, and now many of the young girls trying to immigrate into the country are being forced to pay even more and jump through additional hoops – is what worries me.
min. outside the city. her mother said i could stay with them, if i ever moved back into the city. i had a particularly difficult week in DC, and was so tempted to give up and move into their cozy home. as soon as the bus landed in philadelphia, it felt friendlier. i know that i can’t expect to have DC to be home right away, but i guess i was hoping for an easier transition into this new city, and new life. 
