Feels Like We Only Going Backwards
April 15, 2013 at 2:28 pm | Posted in music, pop culture | Leave a commentTags: australia, elephant, feels like we only go backwards, perth rock band, psychodelic rock band, tama impala
I cannot stop listening to the song “Feels like we only go backwards” by Tame Impala, a psychedelic-rock band out of Perth, Australia. I literally have it on repeat. The lead singer’s voice reminisces John Lennon as he almost hauntingly says the lyrics in sort of a musical round. If you like it, and you can’t not like it, also give a listen to “Elephant.” My dear sweet love of a friend Mike Meece sent me the song link and we instantly freaked out about it together. I’m pretty sure you’ll have the same reaction.
At last I am alive – An afternoon with dirt under my nails.
April 10, 2013 at 1:38 pm | Posted in dirt, gardening, spring, vegetable | Leave a commentTags: backyard gardening, carrots, city gardening, collards, gardening in dc, organic, peas, rainbow swiss chard, raised bed gardening, spinach, spring garden 2013, urban garden
This winter was just too long, too grey, and too cold. Some people love autumn and the changing leaves, but it’s not for me. I’m a Spring-time girl. I love watching new buds grow on trees, waiting with anticipation for the tulips to bloom, and most lovingly planting the first seeds of my spring garden.
Well here I am in DC and it’s skipped spring all together actually and is feeling a bit like summer as the temperature is 90 degrees. But I’m not complaining. I gathered my bucket full of gardening supplies and headed out to the old raised bed that we hammered together many years ago. Since then we’ve moved it to a sunnier spot and it’s beginning to fall apart, which is fine as it’s only adding history and experience to my joys of digging in my messy city backyard.
As expected, I planted a bunch of greens including collards, some carrots, rainbow swiss chard (which I cannot get enough of), and peas of course. This summer I’m keeping it simple because the plan, which has been in motion since last summer, is to completely landscape the backyard so it’s actually a place we want to hang out. The hill will be terraced with a nice spot of grass for Jack to play in at the base. I’ll have two raised beds made of stone (yay!), and we’ll have a brand new wooden fence as well. All of a whopping price tag too. Eeps. We are just waiting on the District of Columbia to approve all of the permits — for the love of god…! But yes, I’m perfectly calm about that.
So here I am, feeling alive again, and more like myself. I’m breathing deeper and soaking up the rays of the sun. I feel relaxed and just happy to be in this very moment. I live for this time of year and want to meditate life through the feeling of euphoria I get when the weather is like this. Oh sun, you powerful one.
From the Archives:
Vegetable gardening lessons I’ve learned.
Spring Garden and a secretly pregnant me…! (circ. 2011)
Eyes to the Soul — An Art Installation with Marina Abramovic and Ulay
April 9, 2013 at 7:40 am | Posted in contemporary art, One of the most amazing things I've ever seen, outsider art, what will they think of next? | Leave a commentTags: art installation, constant eye contact art, eye contact, eyes window to the soul, gobi desert, great wall of china, marina abramovic, moma, Ulay, yellow sea
Ok, so I know this video is going around the blogosphere, but I had to post it for my friends who haven’t seen it.
First, I’m a sucker for interactive art installations. I’m always surprised how my mind and heart twist when faced with an unexpected emotional piece of work. In this particular installation, artist Marina Abramovic
So the video shows Abramovic taking a deep breathe and peering back at person after person. She generally has a blank look on her face—until the moment when she takes another deep breathe, looks up and her former lover from many moons ago was sitting across the table from her, silently staring back into her eyes. I was instantly brought to tears watching her face change, her eyes turned red and then welled up with tears. Her former lover, an artist as well, named Ulay and she spent years together in the 1970-80’s. Eventually their relationship reached it’s end and Abramovic had a dream of how they should part ways. The two went to opposite ends of the Great Wall of China: Ulay starting at the Gobi Desert, and Abramovic at the Yellow Sea. Each walked 2500km meeting each other at the half way mark. There, they embraced one last time and went on their way. It was at the art opening that they saw each other for the first time since that goodbye. I can’t imagine how many million emotions she must have felt seeing those eyes she used to look into every day, only now they were older, and held unknown stories from his own life apart from her.
Via A Cup of Jo, via Swiss Miss.
Spring at Last — Catching Up on Our Vitamin D
April 8, 2013 at 12:02 pm | Posted in DC, life, Washington | Leave a commentTags: family picnic rock creek park, go-cart, one year old in wagon, picnic, radio flyer wagon, red and white picnic blanket, washington dc
I’ve mentioned it before that I’m trying to be more spontaneous with our afternoons with Jack. I am the worst creature of habit and I’m trying to break free. Finally we’ve had a burst of warmth and it’s supposed to reach the 80’s this week. Yesterday afternoon, as soon as Jack awoke from his nap, we went for a picnic in Rock Creek Park. We are SO pale that I just laid in the sun without a drop of SPF. Daryle brought the Radio Flyer wagon so Jack could go-cart down the hill. Seriously, dad’s are the best for introducing a little recklessness in children. If it wasn’t for Daryle, Jack and I would have just sat and played in the grass. The two of them had the best time rolling down the hill again and again. We’ll be coming back to this park for as long as the weather lasts. It’s really the perfect spot to be; with wide open space, Jack is free to go where he pleases, collecting twigs and bladed of grass. I’ll be the mere spectator, but tomorrow I’ll be sure to bring the SPF (because Dad, I know you read this!).
Feeling Springy + in Need of Retail Therapy
April 4, 2013 at 8:52 am | Posted in design | Leave a commentTags: color block, cropped pants, floral, gingham cropped pant, sexy and comfortable clothing, shiny yellow, spring fitted capri, tuxedo capri
It seems like there’s been a shift from girly dresses and skirts to refined but sexy fitted capris. I’m loving the new look. While I do love the ease of wearing a dress — you just put it on and there’s your whole outfit; it’s more convenient for me to rock the cropped pants as I divide my time in front of my Mac to chasing Jack around. I’ve also been seeing a lot of mix and match patterns of a printed shirt and a different print on the pants. Love! ASOS has a new feature where you can “buy the look” since those ladies always seem to have the perfect ensemble.
Here’s a few of my favorites: 1. yellow capri; 2. pink color block; 3. the nineties called yellow floral; 4. gingham-style (yes, i’m a nerd); 5. tuxedo stripe
Beautiful Children Smoking — A Photographic Series
April 2, 2013 at 1:11 pm | Posted in artist, contemporary art, photography | Leave a commentTags: cigarette, Frieke Janssens, Ingid Deuss gallery, mad men era, photographs children smoking, portraits of children smoking, vintage looking photos of children
Smoking Kids.
I too was part terrified and part intrigued at first glance of these glamorous looking youngsters in a pondering state, holding a lit cigarette. It immediately reminded me of Maria Marshall’s infamous video of her own child puffing away on a cigarette in an endless loop. But the photographer of these images, Frieke Janssens drew her inspiration from a far more upsetting scenario — a YouTube video that had gone viral of a tubby Indonesian boy with a 40-a-day smoking habit (see video here). The child became a tourist attraction in his country until Child Protective Services found out about it.
Janssens, a Belgium based artist wanted to explore how her audience would react if smoking were removed from its adult context. So here she staged these young and innocent faces, but dressed them in costume from a bygone era which our society often references giddily with smoke filled rooms in cinema scenes of the roaring twenties or the ‘Mad Men’ days. There’s a sense of nostalgia despite the horrifying idea that children could be puffing on a cancer stick as they are pictured above.
Well, cigarettes were actually not allowed in Janssens’ photo shoots of her subjects (ages 4-9 years old). They held a candle or incense as a prop, and a cigarette was later inserted in post-production (phew). But the interesting quandary here is the massive ban on smoking that is sweeping across the globe versus the constant glorification of smoking in movies and television. I’ll admit, it’s sexy to me too, though I’m not a smoker. What do you think: Are we making smoking a forbidden act by promoting it in our everything-vintage-is-cool culture? Or is it really just a thing of the past?
Here’s a slideshow of more smoking children from Janssens’ show at Ingid Deuss gallery.
See other S+D posts:
Javier Bardem smoking hot.
Kurt Cobain’s daughter Frances Bean puffing beautifully..
Robyn Twomey’s medical marijuana portraits.
Sunshine+Design 