Goodsh*t: Coralie Bickford-Smith

OH. MY. GAWD. Jane Austen? Check. Oscar Wilde? Check. Louisa May Alcott? Check. All swaddled in colorful linen bounded pattern? Check. Christmas present to myself? Check. Why I didn't see this much earlier? Slap on the wrist. Penguin has done it again.

PS
Here's a sweet little interview with the designer Coralie Bickford-Smith. Oh she's good, really really good. Also the first set is on amazon, but for whatever reason Madame Bovary and Crime and Punishment are not available yet. Not sure if the 2nd set has been released.

PPS
I hope you are all enjoying the holidays and what-not! See you in 2010!

Holy Sh*t: Shameless Attempt in Re-Gaining Readership with Nudity...

What? I know I can regain you all with my feminine wiles and I am desperate as I have been so busy I haven't blogged in a very long time, so I thought I would tempt you all with a flash of my goods. (These are just my internet boobs. My real ones are much bigger.)

Goodsh*t: Nu Shooz

Goodsh*t: Getting to Do What We Do Best...

My dear friend Alexa who made the move to Berlin from NYC, shot a story about German coal-burning plants that has put a lot of small towns in Germany in peril and in protest. This is her first assignment shot for the Wall Street Journal. WELL DONE.

PS
Read her blog here it rules: Alexa's photo blog.

Good Sh*t: Opinions, Everyone's Got'em!

I like the internet and I love expressing my opinions, but I don't take things too seriously because a lot of banter and jokes and what-not can be severely misinterpreted by a mere click of the mouse! I prefer "IRL" (in real life) as they say. My twitter, my yelp, my blog are just little tidbits of things that cross my mind and I don't post anything for anyone but myself unless otherwise noted. I say more power to you (and thank you of course!) if you actually enjoy reading what I post and you understand my sense of humor! But why waste energy on posting something nasty because you don't like my yelp reviews, my blog etc? To "FUCK YOU" who wasted at least 10 minutes of their precious time reading some of my yelp reviews, then posting some kind of nasty here at 12:13am from NYC area, if you're going to insult me, AT LEAST get your grammar AND terminology correct! I don't fancy myself much as a garden tool, but hey, opinions, everyone's got'em!

Kisses!

PS
I think I will move the blog soon to a better interface so I can have larger viewing formats, if you are having a hard time reading the pics, just click on them for a better view!

Holy Sh*t! Everything Has Fangs!

Vampire - Edvard Munch

Saturn Devouring One of His Sons - Francisco de Goya

Cannibals Preparing Their Victims - Francisco de Goya

Even me. I been drinkin' the kool-aid, I will admit it, but I am not about to about waste anyone's time on that, I think we all know how it ends. (Shhh, I am not done with book 4 yet!). Anyway, Halloween certainly is around the corner and nothing turns my crank like some good old (REALLY OLD) macabre paintings and the like. Enjoy! (Especially Goya, considered the last of the Old Masters, he gives me nightmares!)

PS Both Munch and Goya were both avid printmakers, kinda like someone else I know!

PPS I am off to the Brimfield Antique Show tomorrow to dig for vintage fabrics, dresses etc for work! Personally, I hope I find a kitchen table for myself!

Goodsh*t: Marblization!

I am obsessed with marbling after visiting my local Key Foods in Williamsburg. My check-out girlie had all her nails done in, yep, you guessed it! Did you ever make your own marblized paper? It's the bomb and did you know there are even patents on certain designs? Freaks! I foresee some tremendous inspriation from this technique.

HOT SH*T!: Another DAMN Birthday!

My workmates knocked it outta the park again this year for some office celebrations! A Gluten-Free Babycakes party with nail polishing to boot (I got every color in the rainbow! But shhh don't tell! The blues are my favorites!)! And since I am furthering into my 30's it's only appropriate to receive Prozac!

PS
All this kicky-assiness and my birthday isn't until Sunday. AWESOME.

Goodsh*t:Pyrrha

It's RARE that I find jewelry I really like. RARE. And with my birthday on the horizon, I have been on the hunt for something to put around my neck with my initials. Oh pyrrha. Oh pyrrha. Seriously, I love the rawness that each piece takes on and I love that each design has it's own meaning.

I really like the gold, (can I borrow $700) but I think I might opt for the last one, I am a Leo after all...

Goodsh*t: All the Kool Kids Are Doing It...

You want want to dance? Check out ArtCrime (a la Theory Events) this Saturday, my girl Mel will be droppin her Spanish and dancin' on your face! DJs 100dbs and DJ Scallwag will be manning the decks along with DJ Balagan hitting up your earbuds with some Brazilian beats! Eye candy will be provided by NYC's finest and also a kickass team of Madrid street artists Trabajos en la Calle. I really want to go but I got a baby shower to host. I really want my pants on a wall someday too.

Holy Sh*t!: Guest Post!

My dear friend Deb over at Your Destiny is Stone Golden trusted me to guest post for her while she is away! ENJOY!

Feathered Hair and Sequin Glove

Rest In Peace

Goodsh*t: Prints & Paul

Paul. Watch out Steve.

Ikat

African Wax Print

Bandhani

Before there was Steve, there was Paul. And before there were either of them people were doing some important shit, designing beautiful fabrics. (I got full-on exposure about age 10. My dad always had Paul Simon's Graceland blasting on countless trips to our cabin in Ruidoso, New Mexico. It has been forever in my top 10 albums of all time. Serious stuff.) And given the background and recent trip to South Africa and recent job change into the world of print and pattern design, needless to say it's becoming my theme music. Anyway...

Current trends in the P&P world are very very ethnic, so much so, I am thinking about taking weaving lessons and booking my next trip to Central Asia. (One director has got me carving potatoes to make stamps for a floral print for girls! NICE!) I just want to share a few of the prints I am recreating:

Ikat - is a style of weaving that uses a resist dying process similar to tie-dying on either the warp or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design. This is probably one of my favorites to re-create, they hail from South America, South-East Asia. I might just need to get that loom. But seriously, no budget for that, so I have been painting with watercolors and dragging those paintings into photoshop and slapping a filter on!

Bandhani - Bandhani is a dye/tying process. Grains are tied to the cloth and then the cloth is dyed, usually in black, green red and yellow. The part where the grain is tied remains white. Bandhani originated from Gujarat, India and various colors and patterns represent imparts of new life. We have a serious budget and I can't actually tie all the fabric myself, so I have been using white-out pens to achieve a similar feel, now if only my darn printers can get it right!

Wax Print - Similar to batik, wax printing is resist dying with a wax pattern covering the fabric. Always multicolored with intricate designs, some versions also include African proverbs. I have not made any designs with wax, but I do a lot of things using Elmer's glue. It's a faster approach and you get similar result. But I dunno, I think i am going to try my own wax designs, I wonder if that will infringe on the fire codes here? I keep picturing lighting candlesticks and dripping the wax all over.

And so that was your lesson of the day.

PS
I HIGHLY advise you click on the links. My descriptions are a little shotty! Busy day today!

Goodsh*t: Burnet Durn-it Cancha Learn-it?

Attawaytogo!

I think this photo was from 1990. Look how AWESOME my hair is.
From L to R: Holly Ray, Me, Lauren Taylor (Burch)

If you were good you got merits. If you were really good you got lots of merits. If you were a spazz with your merits like me, you blew them all at the merit store. Yes, it was like real money. And you could rent little woodland creatures too. This merit is actually from the 60's or 70's I believe. Some how this made it to NYC with me. The more recent ones are plastic and clearly I have no more of those.

The Quail Cabin '89
From L t0 R: Lanie Mckinnon, Carter McMahon, Kelly Pugh, Kristin Queen, Caroline Whiteside, Jeanne Connor, Lauren Taylor (Burch), Me, Gibbs Colgin (Miller), Mary Connor

I went to school to pass the time so I could go to Camp Longhorn every summer for 10 years. So much fun and secrets you'd think I joined a cult.

OH! And some famous CLH alumni: Blake Mycoskie the founder of TOM's!

PS
My hair got SOOO blond from the sun my first year, my parents didn't even recognize me when they came to pick me up!

PPS
The cult actually continues in old age, they have alumni camp, which I find extremely tempting, but too lazy to actually book the flight all the way to Texas!

Goodsh*t: Bicycle Regime

The Royal Me © 2009

I have been riding up to 20+ miles every week, even early in the mornings for about half an hour! SAY WAHT! I can't even believe it myself. So what I am sure you're all really wondering is, what gets me going (aside from my badass steed) especially at 6 am on a weekday? The ULTIMATE HARD ROCK BIKE SESH playlist:

1. Bang Your Head - Quiet Riot
2. Rock You Like a Hurricane - Scorpions
3. We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister
4. Round & Round - Ratt
5. Seperate Ways - Journey (What? you thought STEVE wouldn't be apart of my workout?!)
6. Cum On Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot
7. Electric Avenue - Eddie Grant (What? yea, so what, it doesn't go, but it keeps me from yelling at pedestrians. Calms me right down. Seriously, ya'll need to wake up, I nearly clip your head everyday. Think of me as a car, ok? I will run you over.)
8. Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford
9. Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leopard
10. Don't Stop Believin' - Journey (If you hear these lyrics at about 6:57 am around McCarren Park being shouted, it's me.)

(Or really, you could just buy The Wrestler soundtrack.)

Get Outta My Way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS
I should really list the mister's, as we are on opposite ends of the music spectrum. Did someone say The Poni-tails? We often ride together, the playlists keep us sane, as he rides like a cabbie and I ride like an angry grammy. It helps us focus and channel our true cyclist personas.

Goodsh*t: "It's Tradition!"

Ada Limon and I have a tradition, 3rd year in the running: Urban Booze Cruise starting at noon on the weekend of Memorial Day here in beautiful sunny Williamsburg. Summer is here, can you feel it?!

PS MAJOR NEWS!!!
Miss Ada has a poem "Crush" published into tomorrow's New Yorker! Congrats my dear! Massive!

PPS Ada's Poem!

Goodsh*t: Bow Intensive

The Royal Me © 2009

I like bows. I like stippling. It's little out of hand. I notice a lot of people write some really clever sh*t on their blogs or post-it notes or whatever. I don't got nothing clever today, just bows.

Goodsh*t: First Crush

Steve. Perry.

PS
Got that shirt in my hometown, at the American Council for the Blind. Hands down, best 2nd hand shop ever. I think basically because all the shit I want is so out of style in the minds of my old community that they wouldn't even think twice about my Journey 1986 Tour baseball heather grey shirt with royal blue quarter sleeves for a $1.82.

PPS
Don't stop believing.

PPPS
Oh fine, it was the Oh Sherrie song, you know that part where he's singing and then he's all woo'ing Sherrie on the steps?