antony and the johnsons

so his look is owed to boy george. but his voice is so dreamy and androgynous--notes of my girl nina simone--meloncholy, somber, other-worldly. i had completely forgotten how much I loved his 2005 Album I Am A Bird Now until I heard Terry Gross mention him on Fresh Air. (I had a horrible incident in 2007 where I "transferred" all of the music on my ibook to an external hard drive and subsequently lost all of it. about 50gigs of it--i forget what I even had). His latest album The Crying Light was released January 19--I plan to get it asap.

one little monkey jumpin' on the bed

it's so adorable.
found on fortysixth at grace

inauguration

*stolen from lib

so i realize i'm late but...i'm not the only one who was happy.



damnit they're a handsome couple.

winter inversion

*photo from Salt Lake Magazine

"Currently, Utah has the worst air quality in the country, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency map"

I would say the winter inversion that is bogging SLC yet again is one of the biggest downfalls of living in Utah. The opposing hot and cold air pressure traps all of the pollution from the city and all of the pollution blown in from LA gets trapped in the valley bowl with no where to go. For this reason Utah has ranked #1 for worst air quality in the nation. This weeks red days have seemed particularly grueling, I've never seen so many people walking and jogging with dust masks in the 4 winters I've been here.

one Tuesday article about it here

(cough cough)

the article

"For the first time in 12 years, the Netherlands' canals froze this month, bringing the Dutch, who like their tulips in neat rows, a heady mix of pandemonium and euphoria."

my post a few days ago was about the Dutch catching a "skating fever" read this article if you're as smitten as I am.

Abbey Goes Design Scouting seemed to be.

one more reason to move to Amsterdam

skating in front of the Rjiks Museum

Social status of ice skating
In the Netherlands, ice skating was considered proper for all classes of people to participate in, as shown in many pictures by the Old Masters. James II of England came to the Netherlands in exile, and he fell for the sport. *Wikipedia.

I heard on Public Radio International's program The World that the Netherlands have fallen into "skating fever." This winter is the coldest the country has seen since '97 and the canals, ponds, and lakes have nearly frozen solid and the ice is notably smooth. Most people own their skating equipment even though the opportunity to do so is far and few between. One woman interviewed painted the most beautiful picture of everyone being let out of work early to gather, make bon fires, bring food, sing, and whistle (impeccably i might add). She claimed "it's so Dutch"--to gather as a community, to find a reason to all come out and enjoy it together.

sigh

it's true. my experience tells me that it is so Dutch. everyone was so friendly and kind, stopping without your asking just to see if you need directions or are able to find what you would like to do.
i heart it.

fresh steps

image via fortysixth at grace


i feel hopeful.
i graduated with my BA this year...right before everything fell apart. crazy economy, terrible job market--you know all about it. i honestly feel that i'm really in the best situation i could be in for the hit (no kids, no house, etc.) but i also have been feeling terribly stunted. a good 6 month funk of job application after job application (over 30) with only 2 interviews, both of which i was turned down from. living in an apartment that resembles and over-sized closet, working the same job. things, although certainly not bad, were not interesting either. but a storm of change has been brewing and good things have come my way.

1. New apartment is getting painted and cleaned for me and the sweet boy to move into!
it's pretty darling. the building is a certified historic in downtown Salt Lake City. The integrity of the building so well kept, all original flooring etc. and so so charming. the view of The Cathedral of the Madeline can't be beat either. I also bought the most amazing antique dresser for under $200 at the most amazing consignment shop. I totally see this apt as a new ongoing, exciting, crafty project to keep me busy and entertained. I've been brewing with ideas.

2. I have blogged earlier about joining the Transfusion Hype Cast. It's been so good to get back into dancing. To make it sweeter I was just hired on the Utah Valley University dance faculty. It was very last minute, so things have been stressful but it's such an amazing opportunity! Adjunct Professor certainly won't look bad on any future applications. I figure if i can't get a grown-up, salaried job I should be building my resume and continuing to work toward...something. So luckily--luckily this came to me. I still need to make a syllabus etc. but I look forward to this incredible door that's been opened leading only to new exciting possibilities. I'm also starting my Modern dance class at the University of Utah next week and I continue choreographing and teaching for The Contemporary Movement as well. At around age 18 I thought the universe in its own way was telling me to go in a new direction, so i did, dance was removed from the scene. And it was good. I loved my major, I've worked in interesting college jobs, etc. But in a wonderfully unexpected way, dancing has really come back into my life. (my parents couldn't be more thrilled after paying my dance tuition for so many years).

3. Inauguration day is coming. I (with everyone else) have so much hope for Obama. I don't expect him to fix everything and I don't envy his job. But it's so nice to feel like I can get behind the leaders of our country, that values are shared, and that change can begin to take place.

Fric De Mentol

these two beautiful journals by Fric de Mentol (Portugal) are in my "shopping cart" right now.


I'm smitten with his style
I've found a million other treasures on DaWanda

nitcrikker

party dress

i love love their tiny feet

and again...


degas inspired

benny

millie

top five reads 2008

in no particular order these are the best five books i've read in 2008. i feel i have some validity in my choices as i graduated with a BA in English Literature this year and have read copious amounts of published goods that were and were not required of me. i also realize that i have previously published blogs on two of these works as i obviously found them noteworthy at the time. I feel bad trying to recommend books that i love because nothing I could ever say would portend what lies between the covers of these books. sigh.

Housekeeping Marilynne Robinson
beautiful, hushed, strange--a story of transience and loneliness and unique bonds. it will quietly and painlessly begin to break your heart. i have a previous post dedicated to this novel you can link to here

Querelle Jean Genet
2008 manifested to me my love of the queer, the bizarre, the strange--that is strongly the binding quality to my favorite works of literature. the English translation of Querelle (originally French) is easily one of (if not) the best translations I've ever read. the lyrical beauty of the work remains wonderfully in tact which only begs me to learn french so that i may read it in its original version to see what (if much) was lost. Querelle is super thick, rich, compelling, and dark. The filthy world of sailors and brothels lends itself to one of the queerest (here i meant "strangest" until I realized that it fully embodies both meanings of the word) things I've ever read. It's difficult, but worth getting through.

East of Eden John Steinbeck
again i've blogged on this book which you can read here
Steinbeck's description abilities blow my mind. East of Eden has absolutely some of the best character development of any novel I've come across. Cathy is by far my favorite character of the novel, followed by Lee and Sam Hamilton. For being such a lengthy text there's no lull in plot-- it's full, rich, complex and complete. near perfection. 2009 looks to be a promising year for Steinbeck and i to further our relationship as i've already received some of his under-read works as Christmas gifts. i've been enchanted with him to say the least.

Nightwood Djuna Barnes
wow. nightwood. a cult classic of both Modernist and lesbian fiction. okay, so that's not a great intro. One of the most bizarre things I've ever come across, Nightwood is only a mere 180 pages--don't be fooled--its extremely difficult and intricate. The style is carnivalesque and baroque, filled densely, densely with metaphor. It's easy enough to get through if you listen to as though it were poetry (T.S. Elliot initially targeted the book to such an audience) but to try and untangle the passages and monologues would require some serious re-reading, and patience. The language is insane, the syntax perfect. The elevated nature of the language could put the book off to people as pretentious but I beg to differ on this one, it's bizarre enough that the ostentation is compelling rather than obnoxious. I think the preface says it more perfectly than i ever could "Nightwood is demanding. You can slide into it, because the prose has a narcotic quality, but you can't slide over it. The language is not about conveying information; it is about conveying meaning. There is much more to this book than its story, which is slight, or even in its characters, who are magnificent tricks of the light. This is not the solid nineteenth-century world or narrative, it is the shifting, slipping relative world..." It takes time, no word skimming, but I'm willing to stab at it again, and again, and again.

Blood Meridian: Or the evening of redness in the west Cormac McCarthy
McCarthy embodies the American tradition of queerness. Certainly not an easy read, Blood Meridian sucked me into its dark world. The text is a series of extreme fast forwards and lengthy descriptive pauses. The bare-bones writing style of McCarthy leaves nothing out, but adds nothing extra. Every word, every punctuation mark is there because its absolutely necessary-its extremely admirable, but you must be super attentive during reading or you're bound to miss something, or many things. The dark carnival of parallels and meridians is bloody and gorey if you've got the stomach for it, but easily Judge Holden is one of the most strange and wonderful characters i've ever had the pleasure to meet. Blood Meridian is the next McCarthy book set to debut on the big screen following the success of No Country for Old Men and All the Pretty Horses. My boyfriend is writing his honors thesis on this Blood Meridian so I am and have become intimate with the text, it's good, it really is..

5 other note-worthy reads of 2008
Lolita Vladimir Nabokov- I read this book for the 3rd time this year. I can never say anything to do it justice as it is so rare and heartbreaking to find something so beautiful. in my top 3 of all time.

Franny and Zooey J.D. Salinger- i just found out Salinger is still alive but a total recluse, making Thomas Pynchon look like a tabloid whore. F&Z is a book of 2 short stories, adorable and quirky, about the Glass family that are much akin to the Tenenbaum children.

the Fountainhead Ayn Rand- My second go on this novel. Rand's philosophy didn't change my life as it did when i was younger but the book is undeniably well done. not to mention that rape has never looked so good.

Sula Toni Morrison- I really like Morrison, I don't love love Morrison, but i still consider myself a feminist... ha ... Sula is super compelling with a uniquely inverted value system, where shame, loneliness, and debasement are embraced and celebrated. i do really want to read a Mercy that was just released.

Venus in Furs Leopold von Sacher-Masoch- the original story from which the ideology Masochism is derived. I would say it's cliche and awesome, almost campy, but it's the original so i'm not sure it can parody itself? it's definitely also intellectual with inverted christianity all over the place lending itself to Dante.

5 to-reads for 2009
No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith
The Executioners Song
A Mercy
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