We are living in a material world...

I do not have five hundred dollars to spend on an area rug...

I do not have three hundred and fifty dollars to spend on an area rug...

But, oh! Would that I did.
World Market, you are such a tease.

Walk Walk, Fashion Baby

So, the 18th St Fashion Show...

About 5 years ago, I was wondering around downtown KCMO, before it became the Power and Light District.  It was a weekend and, being the curious pedestrian that I was, I walked up and down the hilly city blocks.  I looked into shop windows, some closed and some open, peered at industrial facilities-turned-living spaces and wondered,  "Where are all the people?"  Then I stumbled onto 18th Street and, lo and behold! There was fashion. It was the annual 18th Street Fashion show, and that year the theme was "Chocolate Summer".  So many pieces in rich creams and satin browns; some even broadened the theme to include other candied colors.  I was still very new to the city, and finding this show put me at ease. "Okay," I thought, "there is something going on here."

In the years since then, I've fogotten about the show or missed it from being out of town. Not this year.  This year the 18th Street Fashion Show celebrates it's 10th anniversary, and my homie is one of the sponsors, so best believe I'll be there.  This year's theme is "A Decadent Summer". Don't mind if I do.

**and i LOVE that the show is at dusk. how deliciously eerie.

Made up words

Scene: In Urban Outfitters. T, friend and HomeBoy looking around.

**

Friend:  

I like UO, but sometimes it's hit or miss.

T: 

(picks up cluch with tiny bow) Hit.

Friend: 

 (picks up faded, floral thing) Miss.

T:  

It's cool for inspiration, but they try too hard.  Then again, I've never been a fan of buying new things that look used.  It's...it's faux-thentic.

Friend: 

Yeah, and it's overpriced. (chuckles) I like that, "faux-thentic."

T:  

If I see something in UO that I like, I always want to cross check with my grandma, my mom and aunts to make sure they don't already have the very thing I'm looking at.

Friend: 

Good idea. (picking up some pattern covered thing) I wish they had more of their furniture in-store.  I really like the whole Anthro, UO aesthetic.

T: 

They are very similar.

Friend: 

 They're owned by the same people.

T:  

Really? I didn't know that - explains a lot.  It's like the Banana, GAP, Old Navy trifecta.

Friend:  

Exactly. UO is a step down from Anthropologie.  It's like the GAP.

T: 

 Well, I wish they would get a move on that Old Navy version because this is still too much.

Speaking of Spoken Word

 I picked up Seventh Octave a couple weeks ago because I missed Saul Williams and our only copy of SLAM is on VHS.  So I skimmed and read, first silently and then aloud.  Then, when I went to the bird feeders blog, she’d posted this great performance by Rives, and it was like sweet confirmation from the universe that I should speak to spoken word.  So, I will.  I’m circling back around to the oral tradition of poetry.  In the beginning, it was what pulled me in – I loved it, and I couldn’t wait to write something to share with anyone who would listen to me.  Then, a lot of people started listening, and def poetry jam happened and open mics and poetry slams were as frequent and far as the eye could see.  It was competitive and inauthentic, and I wanted no more parts of it, so I silenced myself.  I wanted to get stronger on the page; that’s where I focused.


In recent years, I’ve been to only a few events (as a spectator).  I’ve listened to various poets and writers belittle spoken poetry, like it’s fake – their very western sensibilities making light of words that fly up from mouths.  Is it because they cannot hold these words in their hands?  Is it because they cannot follow them? I don’t know.  What I do know is that when oral poetry is successful, when the likes of a Rives or Saul Williams or Talaam Acey or Suheir Hammad recites a poem, it is otherworldly.  What the written word does not give you is that third experience/interpretation – that thing in between the words and spaces and breaths and pauses and the clever use of a homonym and various forms of wordplay.  I am not diminishing the importance or impact of the written word, but it is, essentially, only two dimensions.  When oral poetry is done well, there is more than the transmission and reception of common communication.  The speaker and audience commune – you’re in a relationship from the opening line to the closing phrase.  And it is beautiful.

Back "On Top"

 I’d given up reviewing ANTM because my interest was waning 

and the show has been on forever, but I am still watching.  

And last week was just full of good stuff, like:

Tyra’s ensembles.  She looked so very chic in her puffy-shouldered black, and let’s not even get me started on that gorgeous gray single-buttoned cat suit?  Emphasis on the suit; it was one piece but the top was a blazer. Shut up!  Someone is glad to have her body back.  PS, Tyra, thanks for toning the hair and make-up way down.

 No Miss J?  Who could ever replace Miss J?  It can’t be done!  These were my thoughts, but lo and behold!  André Leon Talley.  Honey, it’s a wrap. I may actually learn something from this cycle, especially the way he likes to throw French and fashion terms about all willy-nilly.  Alasia had better be glad he’s there, or she wouldn’t be.  I sense Nigel is feeling some kind of way though; he’s not the big man on the catwalk anymore.

Raina.  Her picture – swoon.  

Not touching her eyebrows during the makeovers was a stroke of genius on Tyra’s part.

Ren.  This has happened before, and I’m just as aggravated.  She bemoans being a part of the competition, but when in the bottom two she let someone else go home.  Gabrielle really wanted to be there, but you didn’t speak up. Boo on you.

 

 Jessica.  Stunning. once she learns what she’s doing, that one will be a major threat.

 Simone. I’m not going to sleep on her either.

 Krista. Body and bone structure are amazing. Still waiting for you to impress.

 Alasia.  She is beautiful, but she’s still a child, 

and right now that is overpowering my perception of her.

 Angelea.  How are you so hard-edged in person and so soft and feminine in photos?

A Touch of Madness

It started out innocently enough. Last week while on the phone with my mom and one of my sisters, the subject turned to movies. I told them how excited I was about Alice in Wonderland and joked that I even considered making a "mad hat" just for the occasion. After all, one can't have so many favorites in one project and not commemorate. (Those favorites being Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, Anne Hathaway, Helena B-Carter and the tale of Alice, of course.) We all got a good laugh out of it, and then the topic of conversation changed again. I thought no more of it until the next day.

At work I looked around my desk at all the random doo-dads and trinkets. I knew why they were there - to add a bit of whimsy to my space, some fun and silliness. "Ha!" I thought to myself, "Could you imagine putting those things on a hat? How curious." I came home, and while taking off my jewelry, I noticed more little things on my dresser: various pins and buttons, a pocket-watch that still needs a chain, a fuzzy lapel pin that looks a lot like a Tribble.

"Well, I do seem to have the materials, if I were so inclined..."

Thursday night found me with all manner of delicious nonsense spread out across my coffee table.

"But you love that hat," HomeBoy said.

"None of the changes will be permanent," I assured him, "I'm only using hat pins and tape."

I had forgotten how much fun arts and crafts can be. Fixing and fastening, arranging, rearranging, positioning just so... I really did enjoy myself. And, in true childlike fashion, I couldn't wait to show it - "Look what I made!"

The silliest part may be that I'm not at all embarrassed. At no point did I feel like I was too old to do such a thing. To be honest, I am quite relieved to find I am capable of such nonsense.

Speaking of Oscar Nominees

(this awards season fixation will be over on Monday, so indulge me until then will you?)

I am so excited about the trajectory of animated features, and I look forward to a large-scale return to 2D animation. Don't get me wrong, the magic that CGI can create is, well, magical, but there is a beauty in the quality of hand drawn cartoons that I've only come to appreciate lately. Disney did it with The Princess and the Frog, and now Irish underdog, Tomm Moore, has popped up and landed in the category for best animated feature film with The Secret of Kells. There's an article in the Times about the feature and it's director. More importantly, there are stills. People! These beautiful, vibrant stills will take your breath. Add to the amazing art this story that Moore tries to keep as close to the history as possible, and you can't help but hope that this is the tipping point for animation. I know I do.

Here's the official U.S. trailer:



And the promotional trailer:

Suh-WEET!

It’s really cool working as a creative professional, I just have to say. I feel fortunate to be in a place where creative enrichment opportunities are not only encouraged but provided. This week, the artist, Will Cotton, came to give a lecture. I hadn’t heard of this artist before the email announcement that he was stopping by, but am I ever glad I went! He works in confection landscapes, but don’t let the saccharine subject matter fool you – dude is serious.

His work is so amazing! In the course of one hour, he explained his inspiration and motivation and his journey from the first “ah-ha!” moment with a Candyland game board to manipulating atmosphere and painting royal portraits several years later. All with his work being connected by a single thread – a licorice string, if you will. In addition to superior technical ability, his realist style and use of color blow my mind, and his work ethic is ridiculous. He builds the candy landscapes before he paints them. He talked about the meaning behind his work – our world of desire, indulgence and guilt; there's so much more to it than a gumdrop forest or a lollipop lane.

And because these words do the work so little justice:






Better yet, skip dessert, and just go to his website.




I have never seriously considered having a portrait painted until now.

About Face

Dear Break-outs,

This is how it works. I vow to wear virtually no make-up and not to pick. In exchange, you happen very seldom – only a few pimples at a time – and in a singular area on my face. I let you run your course, using only a mild astringent, and then you leave me be. WTF, Breakouts? This was not part of the deal.

Aggravated & Self-Conscious,
Teresa
**

Dear Teresa,

You don’t own me.
I do what I want.
(RHASBERRY!)

That’s “Miss Break-outs” to You,
Miss Break-outs
**

Dear Break-outs,

Do I really have to get reinforcements?
Because I will. Don’t make me do it.

Teresa
**

Dear Teresa,

Empty threats. You can’t just up a change the skin regiment all willy-nilly! That’s not even your style – gimme a break! What’chew gone do now, punk? Bust a move!

B
**

Dear B,

Please leave sooner than later. Uncle.

Teresa
**

T,

I’ll think about it. (Chump.)