26 February 2012
SUNDAY 5
Remember Austin Kleon? He has a new book out, Steal Like An Artist. Here are 25 quotes about STEALING that didn't make the book.
I like this interview with Joan Didion.
Two of my favourite things: fantastic writing + a passion for food can be found in this blog.
True Love, by Sharon Olds.
Guess who's having a retrospective @ MoMA. I can barely stand the waiting!
I like this interview with Joan Didion.
Two of my favourite things: fantastic writing + a passion for food can be found in this blog.
True Love, by Sharon Olds.
Guess who's having a retrospective @ MoMA. I can barely stand the waiting!
VOL. 1 BROOKLYN
. . . is one of my favourite literary blogs. I get all sorts of good ideas while trolling through their archives. They have a series called Sunday Stories which I really like, and today's short story, Your Secret Reminder, by Wlliam Clifford, is poignant, for many reasons, the most personal one being that losing my mind to dementia or Alzheimer's or any other insidious invasion is one of my secret fears. We're talking about my BIGGEST muscle, people! UGH.
And so it that I introduce you to Vol. 1 Brooklyn.
ENJOY!
25 February 2012
studio de la O in SITU
A collector just sent me this picture of her new bedroom with my panting over her desk. THANK YOU, McCaff!
TALKING TEDS
I remember the first time I hear about the TED Conference. A friend from college who works at a super cool tech venture capital/ incubating firm, had just returned from Long Beach where he and his boss sat for about four days listening to brilliant minds present 18 minute talks on all kinds of subjects. I was Kermit with envy after hearing him recount snippets of some of the lectures he had heard. Then someone had the, of course, brilliant idea of releasing the talks online and now we have TED Talks. I have learned more from watching TED Talks than I have from my ten years of higher education combined! Not sure what that says about my education, but I'll leave that for another post . . . "-))))
My favourite TED Talk is one of their most popular ones, Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity. She is compelling on her point of the importance of simply showing up, getting on with the daily grind so to speak, for the creative process. Not as glamorous as writing Sex, Lies + Video in six weeks, thereby launching a spectacular career as a screenwriter, director + producer, but fundamental + essential nonetheless.
My other favourite is a talk by Matthieu Ricard on happiness. A former biochemist turned happy Buddhist monk, his talk is thoughtful, layered, nuanced and straight to the heart of the matter.
. . . from his talk~ " The whole point of that is not, sort of, to make, like, a circus thing of showing exceptional beings who can jump, or whatever. It’s more to say that mind training matters. That this is not just a luxury.This is not a supplementary vitamin for the soul; this is something that’s going to determine the quality of every instant of our lives. We are ready to spend 15 years achieving education. We love to do jogging, fitness. We do all kinds of things to remain beautiful. Yet we spend surprisingly little time taking care of what matters most: the way our mind functions.” ~ Matthieu Ricard
Check these out too:: Philippe Starck + Brene Brown.
ENJOY!
24 February 2012
23 February 2012
WHO IS EDWARD GOREY?
You probably wouldn't identify this as a Gorey drawing right off the bat unless you were really familiar with his work, but I see his quirky sense of humour in every line. Gorey used to collect fur coats and wear them with Converse sneakers to the ballet in NYC. This is just one of many fascinating tidbits on this beloved cult figure. You can read more about it here.
22 February 2012
COOKING WITH FIRE
Yep, I'm all fired up after my first cooking class. Learned some new shortcuts, some nifty tricks of the trade, and some new recipes with Robin. Cedars + Junior GOBBLED up their dinners last night, lots of roasted vegetables with interesting flavours like sumac + cinnamon, Chinese Five Spice marinade for the chicken, pomegranate seeds in the salads. It's pretty exciting to make everyone so happy so easily!
My ever pragmatic mother kicked me out of the kitchen when I was a child every time I asked to help (she was a great cook of classic Cuban foods), reasoning that if I didn't know how to cook (or type) I would have to get serious, get professional, and take care of myself rather than relying on marriage + a man to make my way through the jungle. I only started dealing with this inadequacy about a decade ago, bouts of focus interspersed here + there over the years. Now that I have a family to feed and the luxury of time on my hands, I am diving in and LOVING it. That right brain is REVVED UP!
21 February 2012
JOHN + CAROLYN
Every now + then I find myself thinking of John + Carolyn, wondering, What If, wondering about Lauren's twin, about Carolyn's mother + John's sister. Why? Not sure, other than what these two stood for as archetypes for so many things that interested me at the turn of the century.
I know, I know . . . RANDOM.
20 February 2012
HARUKI MURAKAMI: In SEARCH of this ELUSIVE WRITER
This doc is 51 minutes long so, you know, you probably have to SCHEDULE it into your calendar, but if you love Murakami, it is a MUST WATCH! He's pretty much considered to be one of the world's greatest living writers. I concurrrrrrrrr.
19 February 2012
SUNDAY 5
This subject is endlessly fascinating to me.
Try this recipe. It's really simple. You'll never want another . . . "-))))
We went to the Clippers + Spurs game yesterday. WTF, Chris Paul!? I'd much rather focus on this anyway seeing that we have tickets to the Clippers + Knicks in New York at the end of the season!
Oh how I adore Someone Like Her.
Check out the Girls Girls Girls here.
NOW READING (8) :: FLAVORS, by Donna Hay
18 February 2012
WHO IS AGNES MARTIN BARLEY?
I've been a fan of Agnes' beautiful, minimal art since I met her a few years ago in NYC and am thrilled that now this Monochrome Structure is coming to live with us in Ojai. Ooooo La La . . . . Check her out!
The text for the left brain reads:
“I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am.”
And for the right brain:
“I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feat. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be.”
“I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am.”
And for the right brain:
“I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feat. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be.”
Guess I am dominant RIGHT, with generous doses of LEFT.
WHERE WAS I?!
Where was I (oh yeah . . . falling madly in love with the most awesome human being on the planet) when French Elle put Tara Lynn on its April 2011 cover and then devoted 20 pages on the inside to plus-size models?
STUNNING woman. LOVE the French . . ."-)))))
17 February 2012
WHO IS MANDY WRIGHT?
Since moving to Ojai, I have become active. SUPER ACTIVE. Years of inconsistency, indifference, and awesome genes allowed me to sit back and do little other than walk the dogs. But then I met Cedars, the King of Physical Prowess. So here I am, a year later, loving Pilates, craving our arduous hikes above the gorgeous Ojai Valley, developing my yoga practice, hip hop dancing with my 17 year old instructor (!!!), riding my fancy, new bike along the Pacific Ocean in Manhattan Beach, lifting weights at the gym (while listening to Kanye, Bruno, Adele, Madonna . . . all the ONE NAME supa stars). WTF! Who am I?!
Mandy is my Pilates instructor in Ojai. I love going to her beautiful studio and grinding all my tiny muscles into full body ALERT! I have never done anything like Pilates, nor have I had these kinds of results. It's hard work and requires INTENSE focus. I feel strong, lithe, lean and flexible.
THANK YOU, Cedars!
THANK YOU, Mandy!
16 February 2012
THE TIGER'S WIFE, by Tea Obreht
This was one of the most MAGICAL, beautifully written novels I have read in a long time, and it was all done by a 24 year old woman writing in her SECOND language. Come on! Check out Tea Obreht and fall in love immediately.
"During the months that followed he busied himself doing what he could for her, establishing order on a miniature but ferocious level. They had a housekeeper who prepared the meals and cleaned the house – but is was Darisa who carried the breakfast ray up to his sister’s room, Darisa who helped her pick out the ribbons for her hair, Darisa who fetched her frocks and stockings and then stood guard outside her door while she got dressed so he could be there to hear her if she felt dizzy and called for him. Darisa laced her shoes, posted her letters, carried her things, held her hand when they took walks in the park; he sat in on her piano lessons, scowling like a fish, interfering if the teachers grew too stern; he arranged baskets of fruit and glasses of wine and wedges of cheese for her so she could paint still lifes; he kept an endless circulation of books and travel journals on her nightstand so they could read together at bedtime. For her part, Magdalena indulged him. He was a great help to her, and she realized very quickly that by looking after her he was learning to look after himself. His efforts invariably earned him the first lines in Magdalena’s letter: Dearest Papa, you should see how our Darisa takes care of me.
He was eight years old when he first witnessed one of her attacks. He had crept into her room to tell her about a bad dream. He found her twisted up in the covers, her body taut with spasms, her neck and shoulders drenched with sweat and something white and sticky. Looking at her, he suddenly felt ambushed, stifled by the soundless arrival of something else that eased into the room with him when he opened the door. He left her there. Without putting on his coat, without putting on his shoes, he left the house and ran down the street in his nightshirt, his bare feet slapping on the pavement, all the way to the doctor’s house halfway across town. All around him, he felt only absence, as wide and heavy as a ship. The absence of people on the street, the absence of certainty that Magdalena would be alive when he got home. He cried only a little, and afterward, in the doctor’s carriage, he didn’t cry at all."
pgs 243-244
15 February 2012
JEFFREY ZASLOW, RIP
UGH! Damn dark, winding roads covered with snow . . . .
Read about Jeffrey here. I feel sad that his voice has been silenced, but enormous GRATITUDE for the love he expressed.
14 February 2012
13 February 2012
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