All Hail Dior (pictures from NY Mag)

Dear America: a 5 year old dresses better than you do

Kate Moss's daughter dresses better than I do. Well, all french children dress better than I do, so I guess I shouldn't have much to say.

Critics

There are a lot of harsh critics out there. A lot. What I don't understand is how they could have so many problems with To Kill a Mockingbird and none with Atonement and other works from the last decade. I understand the role that they play, but I wish they weren't so lofty and rancorous about it. Sure, review a book, but let's remember, critics don't usually make very good writers...they come from their Harvard's and their Brown's...which you think would give them some good back stories, but they end up being just as righteous as the people they often criticize. Perhaps even more so.

GRE Problem

I find it strange that it is Education majors who consistently score the lowest on the GRE test. From my reasoning, it is Education majors who educate our children, decide how they should be educated, and probably are the same ones who make up these exams and exam questions. However, by their own assessment or by the assessment, educators are the "dumbest" out of every group. They have failed according to these exams so why are they allowed to educate other people? Why are these assessment tests the standard for our society and education when educators themselves fail on these tests?

Reminder, watch this movie

Too brazen

I feel ashamed for name dropping yesterday. I have deleted the post. I never know how to go about this blog...I am hesitant to write about my feelings or give too much information about myself, yet I want people to read it and to express myself freely. I feel that the information age has infiltrated our personal lives way too much -and we welcome it! It's like when Putin ran to the KGB. We are so intent on providing all of this information about ourselves that it kind of scares me. I think we are going to see some of the retributions later on. I don't know when and I don't know how, but I don't think it's very healthy. It encourage people to be egocentric, self congratulatory, and dependent. It also demotes personal achievement. Look what I did, look at me, look at how much better I am than you. Are we that self conscious?We are so eager to embrace mediocrity. Let us embrace our ordinary lives and celebrate them on the internet! At the same time, it is also encouraging. People are constantly traveling and on their way some where else. They are celebrating their ambitions. They are going somewhere, whether it be home or a new country or another school or a job. People are constantly moving, but are they? When they' re posting constantly on Facebook or Twitter? Are we stationary? On a larger level, Facebook has completely transcended Big Brother. People are so eager to give up information about themselves.

I am guilty of the same crime. Why should people read this blog or read this diatribe? I am just a curmudgeon who is self righteous and lofty.

At the same time, Facebook, blogs, and other social networking websites have made communication much more convenient. It's so nice to be able to talk to your friend whose halfway around the world. You can see what they are doing and what they are interested in without being there. It has also protected people from personal injury. You don't have to talk to that person you like in class. You can do it through Facebook, where you are less likely to embarrass yourself.

I realized how dependent I was on Facebook when I went back to China and realized that I couldn't contact any of my friends. A lot of families in China are just getting computers and its so interesting to see almost instantaneously how people are growing further and further apart. People used to live together and now they live further apart and can speak on the computer. Sometimes, even if they live next door they'll call or use IM instead of walking over. It's so fascinating to be able to observe this in my lifetime. I hope that in the future, people will have the same relationships that I've enjoyed, but I don't think they will.

So we'll see how this goes.

This has been a mess of a post. Sorry

Sometimes, when I read NY magazine I want to cry, like now.

http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/62665/

Read Reasons to Love New York in the latest issue of New York Magazine

Yay

Today is the most productive I have been in six months. I began and pretty much finished a short story in one day. It might be a little cheesy, but we'll see. I'll read over it again tomorrow.

In other news, I want this:

Peter Pilotto

Mary Katrantzou

Uhm you guys, I started a CHURCH

The JINGJING Ministries for Jail Is Not Glamorous Jesus Is Necessary Gentleman (Girls)

http://jingjingministries.org/default.aspx

Thanks Greg for sending this to me. Because everybody wants a church named after them.

reminder, go here *NY times

Frugal Fashion

Robert Wright for The New York TimesThe Brooklyn Flea.

With all the money you’ve saved so far, you can certainly afford to go shopping. Theweekend flea markets in Hell’s Kitchen (39th Street between Ninth and 10th Avenues; 212-243-5343), Chelsea (112 West 25th Street; 212-243-5343) and Brooklyn (81 Front Street; www.brooklynflea.com) are excellent places to find bargains. At the Chelsea one 10 years ago, I bought a signed, numbered silkscreen by the Kwakiutl artist Calvin Hunt, possibly the best $20 I ever spent.

For clothing, head first to the thrift-store corridor on West 17th Street —Housing Works (No. 143), Angel Street (No. 118), 17@17 (No. 17) — then downtown to the East Village and Nolita, where consignment stores like Ina (www.inanyc.com) and Tokio 7 (64 East Seventh Street; 212-353-8443) dot the fashion landscape. If you want unworn clothes, check out The Market NYC (268 Mulberry Street; www.themarketnyc.com) for garments and accessories by young designers, and for slightly more established designers, there’s Inven.tory (237 Lafayette Street; 212-226-5292), which functions as a kind of permanent sample sale.

God I want these shoes

Rodarte

picture by Tavi

Is it just me

or is fiction/nonfiction being diluted more and more by the increasing number of memoirs? Instead of writing fiction, a lot of writers have now turned towards memoirs. It's like they can't think of anything so they lean on a more accessible form. It's a lot easier to access our memory then to create something from our experiences and dreams.

There are a lot of great writers out there. There were two great writers from my creative writing class....two out of twenty people is a huge amount and there are dozens of creative writing courses! There must be a bunch of other great writers out there. I hope that my generation will be able to prove just how unworthy the last ten years of literature has been. Well, its not that I want to prove that other writers are unworthy, its just that I am really excited by the amount of talent that I have seen and hope to be a part of.

This diatribe was a result of The New York Times the 10 best books of 2009. Not that there were many memoirs on the list, but would these books be on the list from ten, twenty years ago? The biography of Raymond Carver is probably good. I don't know. Raymond Carver is awesome. If it's a lifetime of alcoholism, financial turmoil, and family discord that I have to look forward to, maybe its not so bad if I can call myself a Carver, a Hemingway, a Bradstreet, a Capote and pretty much every other writer.

Weather patterns are really scaring me

It's snowing in Southeast Texas and its 65 degrees in Connecticut. WHOA.

I miss Paris

Watch Phoenix sing on a Parisian tour bus because things like this happen all the time in Paris.

The take away shows: http://www.blogotheque.net/Phoenix,5176

I Love THE MOTH

I Love The Moth. If you have itunes, sign up for the podcast right now or watch it on youtube or visit their website themoth.org.

I just watched this youtube video and this woman is amazing. She reminds me of my friend Janice. Everyone tells these incredible stories. I wish that I could be an incredible story teller.

"I'm Every Woman...." Moth StorySLAM "Hair"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjzD15uDJYQ&NR=1

Austin

Places I plan to go when I land in Austin, Texas:

1. Salt Lick - all you can eat platter

2. Cream Vintage

3. Torchy's Tacos

4. Heritage Boot

5. Barton Springs Pool -natural spring pool 68 degrees year round

NPR Plug

I recently started listening to This American Life after a four year cessation (except for a brief stint in Paris). It feels like I am coming home. The feeling is like when a parent stays up with you when you're sick. There is something so comforting about each segment, about each story that it resonates with me long after the hour.

It's so strange to me because when I go to China or visit Texas, my former life feels like a ghost, like something I can only see and not feel or touch or taste or smell. When I go home, wherever that may be, I feel like I can only be an observer to this other life, but when I listen to This American Life, even though these stories aren't mine, I feel as if I am a part of them and vice versa. As if this life is real, even if I take a back seat. Isn't it strange that something so real feels like fiction, and something that is fiction to me feels like it is real?

I realized today that I am like an abusive boyfriend. I have a very bad and quick temper and I treat people like shit and then I realize it and try to make up for it by being really nice. By the time I am angry again, I have already forgotten the way I acted before, and it all happens again. Sometimes I wonder if I will end up in the car one day, yelling and cussing for someone to get back in the fucking car and slamming my breaks with a cigarette sticking out of my mouth, smelling like stale beer.

If you are in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago or Detroit you should check out The Moth for real stories (told without notes or reference materials).

The Trial by Franz Kafka

Is crazy absurdist. Reminds me of all those 20th century Russian novels about the secret police. I don't understand the ending...it makes sense that he was accidentally killed, but none of the other stuff is consistent with the rest of the book. Who was Fraulin Burstner?

Christmas Shopping

If I had a house, I'd buy this.

It's only $26. Shopping for presents today was not fun. Everything I want to buy is in New York and I'm too cheap to pay for shipping. Connecticut stores essentially have nothing

Russians

What there is an unfinished Nabokov novel? It's called The Original of Laura.

My Movie Schedule

I watched three films this week: Synecdoche, NY and two films by Wong Kar Wai, Chunking Express and In the Mood for Love. I liked Synecdoche, NY enough, but I loved Chunking Express and In the Mood for Love.

Synecdoche, NY was a little too jumbled for me. I thought Charlie Kauffman, who wrote and directed the film, took Shakespeare's words (All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players) a little too literally. What I didn't understand is why some ideas were driven so forcefully (we get it, Caden's life falls apart after Adele and Olive leaves and maybe even a little before but it really becomes tragic after they leave and everything he does afterwards is really to fill their void, hence he marries Claire and they conceive another child, but it doesn't work and the play he writes becomes his life until he and the play are intrinsic with one another, defining and defined by each other.), but why are some of the details left so open ended and abstract? Why does Hazel live in a burning house? What does Olive mean to the entire film? Where does his homosexuality come from? Overall, I thought that it was a meaningful film.

Chunking Express and In the Mood for Love were amazing. I won't overwhelm you with a bunch of non-descriptive extolments, but I will tell you that when I watch these two films, I want to weep. I want to weep with sadness, beauty, appreciation, and love. Appreciation that works like these exist in the world and that such beauty, pain, and love can be captured. His video montages make me uncomfortable, but happy at the same time -it is such a strange and wonderful feeling. I want to be like each of his characters - strong and courageous. I am going to watch 2046 next week.

When Greg gets the time I really want him to download some Andy Warhol films for me. I feel so dumb and wasteful for watching these films now, at the age of 23. So behind everyone else, but my growth and rebellions have always come a little later than the rest of my peers.

Great Film

I just watched Chunking Express and it was beautiful. I wish that I saw this when I was younger and then maybe I wouldn't be so dumb.

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

A colleague recently brought my attention to a collection of epistles between Rainer Maria Rilke and a young student named Franz Kappus. In these letters, Rilke gives advice to the young poet Kappus, but it is truly Rilke who shines. I really want to read it.

Here is a forward from the collection:

All of us who labor in the arts know that it can be a lonely existence. We often find ourselves living a life of solitary dreams, disconnected from others, and driven by a vision that no one else seems to value or share. On some days, this can be overwhelming. We then thirst for a single voice of understanding that will reach into our solitary lives and reassure us that the path we have chosen is worthy, and that the rewards it offers are worth the loneliness it entails.

That voice is Rainer Maria Rilke.

by Kent Nerburn

While I don't completely agree with Nerburn, I believe that he has most of it right. We don't choose to write, it chooses us.

My thoughts about The Grapes of Wrath

Oh it's a dust bowl.

No water or life,

The earth like dried skin

On a crocodile back.

Die Riesen Kommen

So there is this giant puppet show going throughout the streets of Germany, but that's not even the cool, strange part. If you watch the video from Berlin, I think the truly strange and amazing phenomenon is the number of people who use the Segway. http://www.arte.tv/royaldeluxe/

Halloween!

Greg and I are going as Woody Allen and Annie Hall. I might go as Soon-Yi, but I don't really like her so we'll see.

Tonight though we are going as a Geisha and Civil War dude. I am going as a Geisha because I have a kimono and since I never get to wear it, I'll wear it on Halloween. Greg is going as a Civil War dude because he has his dad's jacket from the Citadel, but since he doesn't have high pants he's going to wear swim trunks and go as half Civil War guy and half dude.

Boots

I really want these boots. I was going to buy them in China but I couldn't find them in my size so I come back to America and they are $365. Oh Macy's or somebody, please come out with some knockoffs.

Amanuensis

I need an editor, BADLY. If anyone wants to edit some short stories and read 10 million drafts, let me know.

My boyfriend is going to be mad at me

I think my boyfriend is going to be really mad at me because I just cut my bangs and I am not going to lie, its a little crooked. I'm also a little blind in my left eye because a little hair got into it.

In other news, I have posted twice today and I can do so because I am a loser and do not have a job.

In New York news, if you are near 47th and something, you should go listen to Brad Gooch read an excerpt from his biography of Flannery O'Connor.

Observations from South Korea (mostly from the airport)

South Koreans are really rich. They were buying things like crazy. I've never seen so many people at a duty free line. In fact, I have never seen a line at a duty free store. In addition to the usual stores like Hermez, Armani, Coach, Cartier, there were two Salvatore Ferragamos, two Guccis, two Chanels, and maybe two Burberrys. In addition, there were actually people in those stores, buying things.

Second observation, newlyweds wear matching clothes. I was a little confused by the first couple I saw...I was like they must enjoy matching, but by the second and third couple I realized that they were newlyweds and probably on their way to their honeymoon. They wore matching polo's, matching sweat shirts, matching hats...really, it was cute.

Lastly, Korean Air flight attendants are dolls. Not only do they look like dolls, they act like dolls. They were wonderfully put together with these chiffon scarfs and ribbon hair ties and so sweet. They smiled and whispered and nodded their heads, really the best service I've ever had.

Isn't this beautiful?

Kung Ming, Southwest China

I'm BACK

Everyone should watch this collaboration between Kanye West and Spike Jonze (We Were Once a Fairytale). The end is a bit grotesque, but the doppelganger rabbit/rat puppet thing is one of the coolest thematic scenes I have ever seen. Spike Jonze is one of the few directors who can translate literary themes into films. I don't think Wes Anderson does it as seamlessly and subtly as Jonze.

I really want to watch some Michelangelo Antonioni films.

In other news, I am back in the United States, currently in Manchester, CT. Being gone, I feel as if I know what I need to do to do what it is that I want to do, but being back I know that I am too much of a coward and a lazy bastard to actually do it.

Bill Cunningham is nuts

Road Trip Round Up

Let's begin with Miami

1. Miami was a strange strange place. South Beach was that odd place where vacationers met locals in the most dilapidated environment...which begs the question...how can any place, next to the ocean and especially a conglomerate such as Miami be in such a broken down condition? Has the economy hit Miami that much? 

Greg had only been to Miami once when he was a teenager. On his first visit, he remembered leggy models one after the other and hordes of Aston Martins and Lamborghinis competing for their attention. Such is no more. The Delano, easily the most famous hotel on South Beach only had one Lamborghini on display. Coveted on the front lawn, it was more of a symbol for past glories rather than an abundance of wealth. For a place with so much money passing through, the hotels looked cheap and broken. The Ritz Carleton was no ritz and while the Delano had that cool art deco thing going, the people inside looked tired and worn out. However, that didn't keep the ladies from showing up. In one tight dress after another, they sauntered by wearing last years D&G looking for a sugar daddy. In a fitting display of capitalism, a long table of men slouched on their high chairs facing the entrance of the hotel. It was like a table of pageant judges waiting to choose you from a line up. 

The girls in Miami were beautiful. They wore long dresses and short mini skirts. 

Rewind

On our last night in New York City, we found out that Washington Square Park had finally reopened after an entire year of renovations. So we took out our cameras and said goodbye in what we thought to be the most befitting tribute to our favorite city; we took its photograph.

Racism in Washington DC

For the visually inclined, watch this slideshow on NY Mag: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/07/obama_racism.html

Express to Chungking

I need to remind myself that I really want to see this movie: Chunking Express

Hello Connecticut!

Greg and I have now moved to Manchester, Connecticut. We lived in West Hartford and East Hartford last summer (2008) in a woman's house and now we have our own room in a real apartment. By we, I mean Greg. 

I like the Goodwill stores here...more expensive than Texas, but less expensive than New York. I bought some beautiful short boots and finally, after an entire year of searching, a pair of harem/jodhpur pants for $5. To anyone with a grandmother out there, if they still have their large hipped, high wasted, tight ankled pants- please let me know and I will work my way through McDonalds to buy them from you or if you are nice, you can send them to me for free (I will pay shipping of course). 

The people in Connecticut are also very nice. They say "excuse-me" at the grocery store. 

Trip Update 2

I have a serious nose, throat, and head problem. I can't breath, my right nostril is constantly leaking, and I think I am allergic to Florida what with their wide range of deadly floras and insects.

In addition, I purchased plane tickets to China today by way of Seoul, Korea for a fairly discounted price...yay bad economy! 

It is 3:53 am, not 12:33 am as it states underneath this post

Trip Update

Places we've been so far:

1. Williamsburg was surprisingly beautiful and relaxing. I had initially thought that it would be boring, which it might be if you are looking to constantly walk around and do things, but if you just want to take some relaxing strolls, it is nice to walk around the historical area and even the town itself. We were only able to stop for the evening and I really left wishing that we could have spent more time there for a bike ride.

Points of interest:

A. There are several award winning BBQ restaurants in Williamsburg. 

B. Don't buy chocolate there...at least not the organic market...they were tooth achingly sweet and they don't really know what a truffle is. 

Caution: Lots and lots of cops throughout Virginia and if you drive above 80 mph, it is considered reckless driving and you will have to show up for court. We know this through first hand experience.

2. South of the Border (Dillon, SC) is this huge rest stop/ road-side attraction that Greg and his family used to visit when he was a kid.  You can't miss the signs when you drive down I-95. I don't know if it was a reflection of the recession, but much of the area was abandoned and boarded up. The candy in the gas station looked like it was from twenty years ago. I liked the place.

3. "A Man Named Pearl" (Bishopville, SC). We stopped by the botanical gardens of this man named Pearl. I saw a documentary about him one night on HGTV when I was visiting my parents down in Texas and could not sleep. He began working on his garden while he still had a full time job. He would work on the former corn field until one in the morning and turned it into this Edward Scissorhands garden. If you visit him, he'll stop what he's doing and explain what he's working on. I don't think he was too happy with us because we didn't buy a DVD, but it was $20 and we didn't have the money. 

4. Charleston, SC was amazing. Again, I was wonderfully surprised. Greg and I had no knowledge of Charleston's geography or climate...swampy, cool and hot and very humid. It is what we imagine Louisiana to be like. We stayed with Greg's best friend, aptly named Greg and he was able to show us around. Charleston has GREAT food. Affordable, delicious, delicate, decadent, and definitely hearty. I never thought a piece of grilled fish could be so hearty and meaty. Every meal was great. 

I loved visiting the plantations and I wish that I had the time and the money to visit more of them. We first stopped at Magnolia Plantation on Ashley Road (I wonder if this has anything to do with Gone With The Wind). It took about an entire morning to view the place. The entrance had this swamp with all these crazy moses and red tide...it looked like we were stepping into a movie and Greg and I were both kind of scared. It cost $15 for admissions and then a promotion of $10 for two tours...we chose the house tour and the slave cabin tour. The house was not the original house...it was the third version, but it was beautiful with wonderful wood furniture. It included pictures of the former owner's other house which made Versailles look simple. The tour of the slave chambers was dishartening, but necessary for me. Greg was very hesitant and you'll know why if you go...slavery to some people in the South simply promotes the idea of white supremacy and to this day there are some people who have no remorse or any understanding about what happened and why it was wrong. It was important for me to see such a relevant and painful aspect of American history. 

We also kind of visited the Middleton Plantation, which looked much more glamorous than the Magnolia Plantation, but we felt that the latter had more character. We did not tour the Middleton Plantation because it cost $25 and because of that, we were not able to have lunch there. However, my professor highly recommends the She Crab Soup and the Key Lime Pie.

We were also able to visit the beach there (Folly Beach) which was great and my personal favorite. Not too hot and not too cold, the beach also had waves, which was much more fun than Miami or the Keys. The beaches are too cold in California, too cold in NY and NJ, too hot in Miami, but perfect in SC. 

Points of interest:

1. Folly Beach

2. Middleton Plantation

3. Magnolia Plantation

4. Food in downtown Charleston

5. Carriage ride in downtown Charleston (we did not have enough time to take this tour)

5. St. Augustine, FL is a huge tourist trap and a terrible introduction to Florida. Castillo De San Marcos and Chapel of Our Lady of La Leche was nice to see, but that only takes at the most two hours. According to Greg, St. Augustine is Florida's hippie land and all the lesbians go to Flaggler University (the castle, which is now the school is beautiful and probably the most gigantic university building I have ever seen). It was interesting to see the strange symbiosis between hick land and hippie land, but they had a lot of attitude...unnecessary and off putting. The girls were also very tall everyone was unhealthily tanned. There is this really amazing vintage diving store off of the main road with some hippies who can tell you where to eat and hang out...they had old diving suites(which looked more like nuclear testing suites)...I had really wanted to buy them but alas no money means no diving suites.

We stayed in St. Augustine beach, which is where the residents actually live so that was nice. The people were much nicer there.

Points of Interest: 

A. Publix- supposedly THE grocery store in Florida. It was pretty nice

B. Castillo De San Marcos

C. Chapel of Our Lady of La Leche

D. Fountain of Youth- if you must, but it comes out of a pipe and as you probably know, it is no fountain of youth.

Caution:

A. Lots of cops

B. Lots of extraordinarily tanned people

C. Larger vehicles

We knew we were in Florida when all the cars around us became SUV's and trucks. The billboards were also a lot more interesting: advertisements urged you to have vasectomies and prevent abortions.

6. Miami.

South beach is a shit hole

Road Trip

We leave for our road trip tomorrow.

An Education

I went to school for four years and while I learned a lot about chemistry, mechanics of solids, math, and design, there were a lot of things that I did not learn about. As I leave the halls of formal institutions, I set out to learn as much as I can about people, their habits, and how they live. I seek a new form of education as I travel in and around America.