Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Not if, but when.

I came across this iTunes meme that's basically a middle school quiz with the standard cheese questions like "Describe your personality?" You put iTunes on shuffle and your answer is whatever song title appears when you press Next. Totally inane time-waster but it's music-related, so of course I'm all about it.

I get to a question "What song will you dance to at your wedding?" I hit Next, and got TV On the Radio's "Ambulance." Honestly, one of my all time favorite romantic songs. My first thought was, "Oh Hell yeah, I would totally play it at my wedding." And my second thought was, "Hmm, that could even be first-dance worthy." Then suddenly that stupid quiz became an unexpected revelation. What initially felt like a happy coincidence became a shocking affirmation. Holy shit. I'm going to get married one day. It hadn't even occurred to me before, never seemed like a possibility until now. Yet I'm utterly completely single. Is that weird?

TV on the Radio performing "Ambulance" at the Doug Fir in Portland.


I will be your accident
if you will be my ambulance.
And I will be your screech and crash
if you will be my crutch and cast.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The Scientific Process

I haven't watched this Postal Service video since I started working in a cleanroom. It's kind of ridiculous how accurately it portrays my life in the lab right now. Full of heartache and robotic arms.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Album of the year?

I am officially recommending MGMT's album "Oracular Spectacular," released last January on Columbia Records. These guys were all over the place this year and I only recently caught on to them.

Here's the video for "Kids"



I think the album lives up to the hype. I'll admit that they're not exactly blazing any trails. They sound like a lot of other happy, dancy, indie bands. But they're consistently fun and totally satisfying.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Everything fell magically into place.


My friends Ingrid and Marcie collaborated on this piece and asked me to model for them. It was such a great experience. I'm so honored to be part of something so beautiful. It inspires me in so many ways.






"The Queen of Birds"
copyright Marcella Kligman
collaboration with Ingrid Honore

Friday, December 5, 2008

What haunts me this week

I can watch this over and over.



In order of appearance: Paul America, Edie Sedgwick, Richard Rheem, Ingrid Superstar, Lou Reed with a Coke, Jane Holzer, Billy Name, Mary Woronov, Freddy Herko, Ann Buchanan, Susan Bottomly, Nico, Dennis Hopper.

It's a trailer for "13 Most Beautiful... Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests," which is out on DVD.

The music is by Dean & Britta, who I love love love.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Making babies

One of my favorite web comics is Natalie Dee:




She's married to Drew, who does Toothpaste for Dinner:



Together they also do Married to the Sea. Hilarious.



Natalie and Drew had a baby last month. I read about her horrendous pregnancy and am completely traumatized. The kid and mom are doing fine now but they had to go through some seriously scary medical stuff. It's amazing that she has such a good sense of humor about it, which seems like it would be hard, you know, almost dying and all.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Day-dreams and dream jobs

One of my dream jobs is a comedy writer. I realize it's probably more stressful and less glamorous than I think. I just love the idea of working with smart, funny people everyday, making each other laugh in round-table brainstorming sessions.

Honestly, I'd settle for a guy with great sense of humor.

Speaking of, this Gap ad makes me want to move to NYC and stalk the male cast of SNL.



I got a crush on Seth Meyers (of Weekend Update and in black and blue stripes, above). In my fantasy we meet randomly in a coffee shop or dimly lit pub. And he'll love that I'm a shy scientist. And I'll knit him sweaters that fit him fabulously. And we'll move into some cute Manhattan apartment and get a dog. And we'll invite his friends over for wine-tasting and party games. Pictionary. On those huge paper easels. Just like the movies.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Broken hearts and wind-up toys

I started getting into the band Psapp (I pronounce it like "sap"). They're a boy/girl duo from London whose music is described as "toytronic" - electronic music with quirky toy instrument sounds. And they throw stuffed animals at their audience.

I watch this video and can't help but think of my ex. It's nerdy, cute, and weird, with circuit components that come to life. Watching this transports me to our old apartment, his collection of resistors and capacitors meticulously organized in tiny drawers next to my jar of knitting needles and the wind-up toys we bought each other.

Psapp's "Hi" from the 2006 album The Only Thing I Ever Wanted



My favorite part is when the screws unscrew themselves and walk away.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

This song won't get out of my head

The Raconteurs "Old Enough" from the 2008 album Consolers of the Lonely



I don't know why but the bassist in the video cracks me up.

I played this song on my Oct 20th show.

He's the guy who invented Dilbert.

I loved this article by Scott Adams, Inspiration and Passion and Whatnot.

People often ask me where I got my inspiration for one thing or another. Or what possessed me to do something. Or why I have a passion for a particular project. The assumption behind those questions, I think, is that if one could find out where such causes originate, it would be possible to pick a promising field of endeavor then activate the inspiration to spark higher levels of achievement

But it doesn't work that way. In my experience, I do the project I can't stop myself from doing. Passion is the thing you can't control, by definition. It's the same with inspiration. At any given time there are dozens of projects that I think make sense, but sooner or later one bubbles to the top on its own, logic ignored, and takes over my schedule.


I like what he says about passion, that it's some uncontrollable urge, not something you can will onto yourself.

I often wonder if I'll ever have a passion for something. I have many interests, but there's no one thing I'm drawn to. Have I not found it? Or has it not found me?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Top ten lists

On Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project, she urges everyone to write their own personal commandments. The idea is to come up with simple rules to live by, daily reminders or resolutions to help you feel better about yourself. I'm working on my own list, which includes some inspired by here, such as "be true to myself" and "act as I want to feel."

Through her I came across the daily commandments of Pope John XXIII and liked it so much I printed it out and taped it next to my bedroom mirror.

I'm not religious at all but for some reason they really resonated with me.

“Daily Decalogue” of Pope John XXIII
  1. Only for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once.
  2. Only for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behavior; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself.
  3. Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.
  4. Only for today, I will adapt to circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes.
  5. Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.
  6. Only for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.
  7. Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and if my feelings are hurt, I will make sure that no one notices.
  8. Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision.
  9. Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good Providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world.
  10. Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for twelve hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life.
I think my favorites are #6 and #8

Monday, November 17, 2008

blogger worship


My friend Say in Portland just introduced me to Gala Darling's blog, iCiNG. As far as I can tell, this girl makes her living (a) writing about fashion and cupcakes, and (b) being adorable.

Last year, Gala posted an eight-day program for a DIY wardrobe makeover, which begins with clearing out your closet. I really, really want to do this. Yet another exercise in post-breakup self-improvement. If I look good, I feel good. It's all about confidence, right?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I looked up the word "geek" today

geek |gēk| - noun informal
1 an unfashionable or socially inept person.
• [with adj. ] a person with an eccentric devotion to a particular interest : a computer geek.


I just love that phrase "eccentric devotion." It reminds me of all my ex-boyfriends.