Snapshot: Listening, Watching, Reading, Wearing, Wanting
+ Kat
Listening: Lil Wayne, a bunch of random stuff off downloads or YouTube (dude's middle name is "random," I swear); Boris, Pink; GZA, Liquid Swords; Depeche Mode, Some Great Reward; some tape I found with a lot of old industrial music on it like Pigface, Skinny Puppy, Die Warsaw, etc.
Watching: I am embarking upon Season 2 of "Weeds" and pretty much think Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin is the master of the universe right now
Reading: Rob Sheffield, Love is a Mix Tape; Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (oddly one of my favorite books ever, I sort of can amble within it for days)
Wearing: Just a pair of those trouser wide-legged jeans from Rogan's line for target and a white racerback tank -- je suis en vacances.
Wanting: To destroy my email so that no one can reach me ever again. And a pony.
+ Liz
Listening: Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War); Liz Phair, Whip Smart
Watching: There is only The Dark Knight.
Reading: a book about surfing
Wearing: that dress I was coveting a couple weeks back
Wanting: an almond butter crinkle and fresh-pressed apple juice from Nature Mart. (If I ran a daycare center, I would serve this as post-naptime snack every afternoon.)
+ Laura Jane
Listening: Covers of Norwegian Wood
Watching: The Christian the Lion reunion video (see below)
Reading: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, which is a very special book; the Kate Moss Vogue, which sucks moderately less than most issues of Vogue because it's Kate-related, and I guess the Karen Elson as Grace Coddington spread is pretty cool too. But then you come across a sentence like, "For chubby knees like mine, the best treatment is liposuction," and you just want to chuck your Vogue issue out the window and go set off a Molotov Cocktail at the Conde Nast building. Or I do, at least.
Wearing: I've devoted a lot of my life to mulling over whether I am a Yankees fan or a Mets fan, but now that I've found my all-time favorite t-shirt and it happens to be a Mets shirt: GO METS!
Wanting: For the New York Mets to win the World Series this year. GO METS!
Killer Mets shirt:
Christian the Lion! (this made me cry a little):
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Accessories (And Q&A): Nashelle
When I first saw the jewelry of Nashelle, I had that rare feeling of being mesmerized by the grace, simplicity and beauty of the design. There's a lovely quality of serenity to the designs from Nashelle, a line based out of Bend, Oregon -- they echo the shapes and motifs of nature and are a bit Art Nouveau in feeling and are so elegantly done that each piece is like a little piece of art. It's a line for people looking for something personal and organic in feeling -- for those looking for genuine emotion and meaning rather than flash or trendiness in their fashion. Plus, Nashelle is totally fair trade and uses recycled metals and recycled 14k gold, kicking in an eco-friendly angle to their operation.
Nashelle designer Heather Beeson was also kind enough to answer a few questions for us about her background and inspirations behind such lovely work.
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Bits and Pieces: sales galore, secret special code reminders, shows + other random awesome
+ I'm bummed to be missing it, but Gang Gang Dance are playing Bowery Ballroom this Saturday, 7/26. The last time I saw them, it was at some tiny room in "East Williamsburg" and I had to stand behind an art world asshole in a stinky fur coat. I wish I had this opportunity to supplant that memory with a better one, but whatever -- you shouldn't miss the shamanic goodness. (Kat)
+ One of my favorite fair trade labels, Edun, is having a 30% off summer sale at their website -- a great opportunity to stock up on eco-friendly cotton tees and consciously manufactured frocks with a dark, romantic rock 'n roll edge. (Kat)
+ Continuing on the eco-friendly tip, one of our favorite boutiques, Beklina, continues their summer sale at beklina.com. 20-50% off selected lines and styles...hoo-yay! And don't forget, we also have a deal going with them: nogoodforme readers can get 35% off regular-priced stuff (details here) (Kat)
+ Regent's Secret is having a few online sales worth checking out: there's one for Orion London happening at the moment, and an upcoming one on super-girly, romantically-inspired Chelsea Flowers. Regent's has especially great deals, so do sign up and become a member (for free) -- you never know what will come up! (Kat)
+ One of my favorite NYC stores, Oak, is having a sample sale! It starts this Friday at the Bond Street shop, is cash only and will no doubt have some amazing deals. You know it's going to be a crazy scene, so get there early! (Kat)
+ Like every other store in this patch of the United States, Queen Bee is having an end-of-summer sale -- 50% off all summer dresses, tops, pants and skirts from girly labels such as Diane Von Furstenberg, Milly, Only Hearts and much, much more. (Kat)
+ How much do I love Lyell? So much so that everything they have a sample sale, I feel the need to announce it to the whole world so that all can join in with my love and admiration for their beautifully-cut, vintage-inspired elegant designs. So yes, they are having a sample sale this weekend, 7/26 - 7/28, 12 - 7pm, at 173 Elizabeth Street in NYC. It's cash only, so hit up that ATM because you're guaranteed to come away with something gorgeous and adorable. (Kat)
+ Just to remind y'all, NOGOODFORME has two more reader deals going right now: readers can get 10% off at eco-fashion discount e-boutique youdeserve.com with a special code (details here) AND we also have a code for readers at super-cute, super-quirky e-shop Lulus.com for 15% off (deets here). These are all awesome people to deal with, so do support your indie boutiques when you have a yen for retail therapy...(Kat)
+ The lineup for L.A.'s Fuck Yeah Fest V was just announced, and it's kinda awesome. Of course I'm psyched for Glass Candy, Mika Miko, Two Gallants, No Age, Dan Deacon, and my beloved & scary MONOTONIX - but, OMG, Polvo??? The closest I ever got to seeing Polvo was standing next to Ash Bowie for five minutes at a Royal Trux show in 1998, which was pretty much mind-blowing in and of itself. It's time now for everyone to listen to "Enemy Insects" and give me psychic high-fives. (Liz)
+ There's a new Devendra Banhart video and it's for my favorite song off his last record ("Carmencita"), but sadly I'm never going to see it. I started watching it yesterday, and a few seconds into it Natalie Portman started lip-synching, and I had to shut down my MacBook and then set it on fire and then throw it out the window. I don't even dislike Natalie Portman all that much, but I just can't bear to live the rest of my life envisioning a lip-synching Queen Amidala every time I hear my third- or fourth-favorite Devendra Banhart song. So totally don't click on the embed pasted below. Go to Naturalismo and download the mp3: Your life will be about 80 times better for it. (Liz)
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Reader Discount: 10% Off at youdeserve.com
Youdeserve.com is an eco-fashion site, but it's no ordinary one -- it makes sustainable fashion for women, men and home available at a discount at prices 30-70% lower than normal retail value. The possible loot ranges goods from eco-designers such as Same Underneath, Grace & Cello and Del Forte. Readers of nogoodforme can get an additional 10% off their order at youdeserve.com with the code "nogoodforme" till 8/20/08 -- just in time to stock up for fall. Hoo-yay! (They also offer free shipping on orders over $150, no code needed.) Some of our favorites are below; be sure to act fast on items you like, because once your size is gone, it's sayonara for good!
Del Forte Calla jean in light wash:
Same Underneath cashmere hooded dress:
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Random Picture Entry: Erykah Badu
According to my Netflix queue, I've had Dave Chappelle's Block Party at home for 29 days now. That's mostly so I can turn on the "Jesus Walks" marching band scene whenever I want to get insanely excited about life, but I've also rewatched Erykah Badu's performance a whole bunch of times. For some reason I missed the Erykah Badu boat when it first sailed into town, probably because my college-attending self was far more preoccupied with stuff like pretending to love Girls Against Boys. But Block Party's sold me hard on Erykah Badu, and I'm not ashamed to admit I was first reeled in by how staggeringly great she looks in the movie. She's got that huge-ass wig and mustard-and-gold-ish plaid blazer, both ripped off fast so she's left with some really hot distressed jeans, a sleeveless black tee with CORONER written in big block letters across the chest, and a pair of crazy white fingerless gloves going halfway up her forearms. And then she stage-dives and crowd-surfs! Oh my god! It's a dirty shame you can't watch her scenes - or the aforementioned Kanye bit - anywhere online, but that's just all the more incentive to go out and get your hands on Block Party RIGHT NOW if you haven't seen it already.
And I just bought Erykah's latest record (New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)) from Amazon's mp3 store and so far it's purrrfect - here's a few blogs where you can download mp3s:
+ "Me" at Sixeyes
+ "The Healer" & "Soldier" at Passion of the Weiss
+ "Twinkle" at Fluxblog
+ "The Cell" at indiemuse.com
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Thrift Scores with Laura Jane: Goodwill, 07.20.08
The Gods of Thrifting have been shining especially bright upon me these final weeks of July 2008. And for the record, in case you're struggling to conjure up the proper mental image of how The Gods of Thrifting should look, I'm picturing Daria Morgendorffer (I beg you to click that link), John Waters, Bay Garnett and Troy Dyer, all standing in a row.
This past Sunday, I hit up the St. Clair Avenue Goodwill with the enchanting Sarah of Modern Guilt (who also scored big), where we found out that it was HALF-OFF DAY! Half-off day at Goodwill? HALF-OFF DAY AT GOODWILL? It sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Well, apparently, it was the exact perfect amount of good enough to be true. Because it was true. I swear to the Gods of Thrifting.
1. This is a little girls' pyjama top that looks dangerously like Marc by Marc. However, it is way cooler than anything Marc by Marc, for one because it just is and for two because it isn't, and that's just how these things go, daddy-o. As you can see, this top looks chic(-ish) with jeans, and I think it might work tucked into a high-waisted pencil skirt if I wanted to wear something halfway office-appropriate. But luckily for me, offices do not play a major role in my life, as I don't have a "real job", and never will. So who knows and who cares?
2. My main prerogative in life is to never hold down any job that wouldn't deem my new grey Raffi sweatshirt acceptable workwear. The downside of wearing this sweatshirt is that every single person with whom you cross paths feels obligated to make a joke about how your clothing is functioning as promotional material for the popular children's entertainer Raffi Cavoukian. But, if these people knew anything about anything, they'd know that Raffi is actually an extremely common name in Armenia. It's as if I were wearing a sweatshirt that said, say, "Bill" across the front and everybody assumed I was endorsing, say, Buffalo Bill Cody. That's nonsense. This sweatshirt rules.
I'm just going to assume that the Raffi who wore it before me was a sexy pre-teen with vampiric eyebrows and a strong jaw who listened to Minor Threat and drank a lot of Slush Puppies.
This is the most utterly baffling item of clothing I have encountered in my time on this planet; I am honored to be its (her?) new owner. This jacket speaks for its own damn self. There is simply no way that whatever clever little quips I could come up with to describe my feelings towards this coat would do it proper justice. Both aesthetically and conceptually, It is as iconic and hard-hitting as Jasper Johns' American Flag, or perhaps even the actual American Flag.
Some things you should know about this coat:
1) The puppies embroidered on the front pockets are made out of corduroy.
2) The buttons are diamonds.
3) The tail-like attachment you see hanging down the back of my coat is a stuffed bow-tie attached to a long piece of felt which, as far as I can tell, lacks any discernible function other than forcing the coat's owner to come across as a giant doofus, and most likely hit strangers in the face with whenever she (I) pivot(s).
Also, if you have any ideas as to what animal's fur the print of the trim is attempting to represent, please let me know.
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We're Obsessed: Boris, Magical Keanu Reeves, Total Design: The Lighter Edition
BORIS!!!
I had heard a few Boris albums before I caught the experimental Japanese trio live for the first time at Pitchfork this past weekend. Their records are really kind of eccentric -- they release A LOT of stuff and it runs the gamut from sludge-doom metal to more straightforward punk to just plain weird. But you should never pass up an opportunity to see Boris live because they are straight up awesome: their girl guitarist, Wata, plays in pretty much the calmest way possible but can wail like you would not believe and drummer Atsuo is a maniac who loves his gong. They were my second favorite act at P4K this year after Public Enemy and probably would have been the first if not for their truncated set. I totally kicked myself for not getting tickets to their Empty Bottle show this past Sunday. Don't be like me and wait too long to experience them live. You'll lose your hearing and your internal organs may rearrange themselves after the aural onslaught, but it will be SO WORTH IT! (Kat)
Boris at Pitchfork 2008:
YouTubing funny videos of Keanu Reeves from the 80s/early 90s
One time last year I ran into Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter (otherwise known as Bill & Ted) at the MOCA's Takashi Murakami exhibition and then Keanu asked me out and now we're gloriously immersed in secret marital bliss. Guess which 13 words of the previous sentence form a lie. But seriously: If there's one thing I'm sick of, it's trying to convince everyone I know that Keanu Reeves is awesome. Not ironically awesome, just straight-up awesome. I don't know if these wacky little clips help or hurt my cause, but at least they're good for giggling like a schoolgirl/big weirdo - especially the last 10 seconds of that Coke ad. (Liz)
Keanu in I Love You to Death, probably one of my top five favorites of all his roles. Is it weird that I find him exceptionally hot here? That hair!
Teenage Keanu in a Coke commercial:
Keanu and Alex Winter on MTV's The Big Picture around the time the second Bill & Ted came out. BTW, my pal and I are trying to make "Dude, I totally possessed my dad!" the hot non sequitur of the moment. Are you with us?
Obtaining the World's Sickest Lighter Collection
I get it. Smoking sucks and is bad for you. I was manipulated by evil cigarette corporations when I was young and impressionable into believing that smoking cigarettes would make me cool like James Dean, Keith Richards, and some other losers who smoke. It sucks. I smell bad and am going to die. But there also some really excellent positives to being a cigarette smoker, such as: You're less bored than you would be if you didn't smoke; you always end up meeting people you like at bars or on cigarette breaks (statistically, smokers are precisely 92% cooler than non-smokers); smoking alleviates stress, even though it only really alleviates the stress that it causes, but still. And the most important reason why smoking is cool is that it gives you reason to waste money on buying awesome novelty lighters!
Here are the best lighters I've got going right now:
1. Red & turquoise Ronsons: Ronson lighters are the cutest lighters available on the market right now, and probably ever. I have more brand loyalty to these lighters than I have to any brand of cigarette. Something about me is that I buy the same lighters over and over again. The thing about lighters is that people always steal them by accident, which is fine- I totally do the same thing. I could really care less if somebody pockets my blue Bic or whatever, but when scatterbrains lift my aqua Ronsons, I flip, bro. This is probably the twelfth aqua Ronson I've ever had.
2. Shar-pei
3. Canada Pride
4. Sexy jazz singer: This is from a whole little collection of lighters they sell at my corner store, each lighter dedicated to a different member of an imaginary jazz combo. I had the saxophonist before, but lost him.
5. HOT DOG: This was given to me as a gift the other day; I nearly started crying. You push up the hot dog bun and the flame comes out the top of the hot dog! That's freaking amazing. I was sitting outside of a bar the other night and some dude tried to light my cigarette for me and I was like "Ew! Don't you dare touch your crappy boring flame to my cigarette!" because I was so pumped to use my hot dog lighter.
6. AC/DC: Well, it's an AC/DC lighter. If you don't think that's cool, you're weird. For some reason these gem-encrusted lighters are really popular in Toronto. You can buy them at almost any convenience store in the whole city. Once I saw one with Michael Richards of Seinfeld on it, which makes no sense.
7. Pilot: Pilot lighters are the best lighters in the world. The only time I ever go to Pilot gas stations is when I'm on the Greyhound bus from Toronto to New York, and I always make sure to stock up on like fifteen of these. The flame is approximately five inches long, so you have to warn people about it, or they will burn their eyelashes off and hate you. Pilot lighters are cool, yes, but not worth ruining friendships over.
8. YES, IT'S TRUE. LAURA JANE NOW OWNS A PAUL MCCARTNEY LIGHTER. THE UNIVERSE IS IN PERFECT BALANCE. (Laura)
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A few random notes and observations on Pitchfork 2008
+ When did the basketball jersey become part of the dude hipster uniform over the last few years? For reals, I spotted it on all sorts of peeps. I have also concluded that the female end of things has come to a standstill at the moment, until probably the skinny jean has become supplanted and we have to reckon with a new dominant silhouette or something -- although the ladies looked good, the dudes were more interesting and eccentric to observe.
+ In the age of global climate crisis, you have to pack for all weather scenarios for a summer rock festival. This means bringing Wellies, shorts, sunscreen, an umbrella, sometimes a jacket and basically everything else you can cram into a bag (only to have it dug through at the search lines when you enter each day.) My pewter ballet flats pretty much died at Pitchfork -- R.I.P. to my favorite pair of shoes!
+ Public Enemy were amazing and pretty much the highlight of Pitchfork. How many crazy moments did their replaying of It Takes a Nation of Millions have? From Flavor Flav totally missing opener "Bring the Noise" to Chuck D upbraiding him twice for it to playing "Terminator X to the Edge of Panic" for the first time in years Flav playing drums and then telling people "You are your own best friend" -- it was crazy, but they were by far the most vital act at the festival with an energy and urgency that is so rare and awesome. I nearly lost my shit so many times because it was just so exciting, fun, outrageous, political and fierce in a way most music never is. Chuck D = AWESOME. I also realized how cool it must be to have your security detail be a dance team as well.
Public Enemy doing a Flav-less "Bring the Noise" at Pitchfork 2008:
+ Jarvis Cocker is pretty much the most stylish man on the planet. Seriously, that man looks so good and can work a crowd like no one's business. I was just in total crush for most of his set and almost decided to skip No Age because I couldn't get enough of his dandy nerd look and his fantastic songs. He doesn't tour in the U.S. much, so it was a real treat to see him. Total awesome.
(picture from You Ain't No Picasso)
+ Other musical awesome: Boris, the Hold Steady (although not my thing, they put on a good show and their fans are into it), Les Savy Fav. Snoozers and disappointments: Vampire Weekend, the Dirty Projectors, M. Ward. (Of course, M. Ward was playing against Ghostface Killah and Raekwon on the other stage -- you just can't win against the Wu-Tang.)
+ Craziest hairstyle I saw: a dude who French-braided his mohawk. I couldn't even concentrate on HEALTH because I was so busy staring at it!
+ Oh, and even though I had a good time and found the festival to be generally well-run and all that, it must be said: WHY THE LACK OF FEMALE PERFORMERS, PITCHFORK? Seriously lacking in that department, dudes. (Call us if you need ideas or something.)
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Eco-Fashion: Vegan Queen
Peeps who care for the provenance of their sartorial goods are getting luckier and luckier as the field of eco-friendly design grows and flourishes. Vegan and other strands of green design used to be mired in either a blandly hippie style or this sort of unisex urban utilitarian thing that made everyone look like they listened to electronica and ate at fusion restaurants. (Not that there is anything wrong with those things, but you know what I mean.) Glamourinas who want to be green but not give up their yen for old-school luxury are in luck when it comes to ethically produced goods now that Vegan Queen are on the scene, however -- the line fulfills that preppy-girly kick and manages to be totally vegan at the same time.
The eco-friendliness credentials of Vegan Queen are pretty high: absolutely no animal products are used, and neither is any toxic, gross PVC. The bags use vegetal leather, which is made from specially harvested rubber trees, and the company's shipping and packing policies reflect a commitment to minimizing the environmental impact upon the earth. Design-wise, Vegan Queen is unabashedly fancy, with detailing, shapes and lines that evoke European and British luxury. (The bags would not look out of place next to lines like Burberry or even Louis Vuitton.) I had the pleasure of taking a good, detailed look at a few of the items, and the details -- from the zipper pulls to the crest logo -- are meticulously wrought and rich with monied association. (I also heard that the stylists from "Gossip Girl" pulled some of the bags for the upcoming season -- knowing how costume designers and wardrobe departments work, who knows if they'll make it in, but keep your eyes peeled!) The materials of the bags, clutches and wallets are high-quality and extremely durable -- the wallet-clutch is especially great to handle and is kind of unbelievably awesome. It's pricey stuff, but those who truly invest in their accessories and use their handbags for years will appreciate a truly eco-friendly, animal-loving option that is of the highest quality and truly eco-luxurious.
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nogoodforme superlatives: TV characters we most relate to
Buffy, c'est moi
Let me make it clear that I do not relate to Buffy because I am blonde and have special Slayer skills and fight vampires when I'm not blogging. I clearly am neither of those things. I related to the Buffster because of the following reasons:
1. She was petite and constantly underestimated because of it.
2. She had a penchant for stylish yet affordable boots.
3. She was a former cheerleader.
4. She had a thing for dudes with a dark side.
5. She had a stuffed pig named Mr. Gordo and I had a stuffed dog named Bocker.
6. She never met a quip she didn't like.
7. She was burdened with great responsibility and sometimes felt kind of isolated because of it.
8. Ever since she used the phrase "a world of no" in the Spike flashback episode (probably my third or fourth favorite episode ever), I haven't been able to stop with it since.
9. She hates driving.
I just realized my part of this entry will make no sense unless you are somehow a Buffyphile. Which is okay -- to start from the beginning of my Buffy journey would just be too intense and would probably make your RSS reader explode. Buffy rules for so many reasons -- the feminist reasons, the awesome action reasons, the epic romance reasons, the high school alienation reasons, the fantastically witty dialogue reasons -- but the show itself is a meta-lesson for never judging a book by its cover. Who knew that a blonde Valley girl could develop such reserves of character, fortitude and a genuine reckoning with power and leadership? Who knows what's hiding in your stylish and affordable boots? (Kat)
Laura Jane Faulds: the Chandler Bing of every group of six she's ever been in
A few weeks ago, I invented a really cool game called "Decide what zodiac signs the Friends characters would be." It was really fun, but sadly, it's the kind of game you can only play once. And you poor unfortunate souls out there can't even play it all, because I already figured out the definitive list, and it goes like this:
Joey Tribbiani: Leo
Phoebe Buffay: Aquarius
Monica Geller: (the world's most obvious) Capricorn
Rachel Green: Taurus
Ross Geller: Libra
Chandler Bing: Cancer
Once I figured out that Chandler Bing was a Cancer (as am I), all the puzzle pieces of my life came together in an instant: Chandler Bing is me. Or maybe: I am Chandler Bing.
My realization that Chandler Bing is a Cancer could potentially be dispelled by some Friends episode out there that explicitly states when Chandler Bing's birthday falls and therefore proves that he isn't a Cancer at all, but if this happens to be the case, all it really reflects is a major error in judgment on behalf of the Friends writing team.
Chandler Bing and Laura Jane Faulds: in the vernacular of the man himself, what don't we have in common? For one thing, we're totally not even the tiniest bit sarcastic at all. For another: nothing ever works out for us! It's a tough life, always getting stuck being the Comic Relief. We're both well-liked, often loved, even, but nobody really wants to be us. In fact, they're actively happy that they aren't! They can tell how insanely difficult it is to be a moody, volatile Cancerian class clown, and are grateful that the burden has been placed upon us and not them. They float through their easy little Earth sign lives, laughing at our jokes, but never really getting it. Chandler Bing is so misunderstood.
(Also: we're both self-deprecating.)
Something I really love about Chandler Bing is how he hates dogs; personally, I love dogs, but I GET IT. I always have some unpopular opinion about something that people absolutely live to pick on me for. One that comes to mind is a severe loathing of tomatoes, which people love to tell me I actually like, but look: they're gross, I'm sorry, I hate them. I also wear a lot more vests than the average person, and the parallels between Chandler's quitting smoking against his will and the hellish experience I anticipate having when the time comes for me to toss out my Benson & Hedges are just too damned striking for comfort.
The upside of being A Chandler, however, is that in the end, his story wraps up more sweetly than anyone's. It was a difficult journey, but in the end: Chandler Bing wins big. This gives me hope. Some Chandler Bing psychoanalysis: I think that from Chandler's perspective, Monica Geller is the girl of his dreams because she is the only human being on the planet more neurotic than he, which gives him a sense of purpose, value and serenity. Chandler & Monica's romance is heart-stabbingly beautiful; I actually cried at the moment when he proposed to her. I pray that one day, like Chandler, I will quit my job as a data processor to pursue my lifelong dream of working for an advertising firm and marry an obsessive-compulsive chef with a lovable older sibling. And if not, whatever. At least I have my funny bone to fall back on.
I'm really glad there are total losers in the world who spend their time doing things like compiling "Best of Chandler Bing" videos which they post to Youtube:
Liz Barker & Liz Lemon: Basically the same person
Actually, nevermind. I haven't even started this post yet and already I'm bored with trying to explain how I'm so much like Tina Fey on 30 Rock. (Although I will tell you that, if I weren't super-cheap, I'd totally buy all the hot dogs.) So instead of Liz-apalooza, I give you this little round-up of my most personally relatable characters from all the greatest shows in the history of television (excepting Taxi, The Love Boat, and Little House, each excluded here for various philosophical reasons).
Freaks and Geeks: Lindsay Weir. (Duh.)
My So-Called Life: Angela Chase. (Duh squared.)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington.
Six Feet Under: Federico, the conscientious & terminally cranky family man. Or maybe I'm the wacky hippie aunt who lives in Topanga Canyon and hangs out with Susie Bright. (These be the wild contradictions that dwell within my soul.)
Arrested Development: Michael Bluth. Incompetence exasperates me!
Weeds: More than most things in life, I want to be Gangsta Nancy Botwin a la Weeds S3, but probably I'm more like Celia's husband (post-firing but pre-softail-accident).
Veronica Mars: N/A, or maybe Mac. (Nerd alert!)
Rags to Riches: The overaccessorized, boy-crazy blonde one who loves Elvis too much.
Entourage: Val Kilmer as the pot-dealing sherpa.
The Office: Kelly Kapoor! I love you, Kelly Kapoor! And I love your blog too! Let's be blog friends! Fashion show at lunch!
Kelly Kapoor's Greatest Hits:
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To Go: New Filmmakers screening, 7/22 @ Anthology Film Archives, NYC
This falls under the category of shameless self-promotion, but whatever, man -- this is a blog, for Christ's sake, and if I can't be all excited here, where can I be then? Anyway, a short film I directed is screening on July 22 at NYC's Anthology Film Archives, one of the city's well-storied independent and avant-garde theatres. (And one of the few remaining ones, I might add.) It's screening with other films in a short film program that leads into a feature presentation of Rona Marks' Strange Girls, which sounds really, really cool. My little movie is called Sleepwalker and it's written by Bo Bishop and directed by me and it's about, um, a sleepwalker and there are long conversations and lots of eerie suburbia happening. I won't be in town for this screening (insert sad face here) so if you go, wave hi to the screen for me 'cause I'm still excited for the opportunity to screen my work! Check out more info here; the whole evening's only $5! Hoo-yay!
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Imaginary Shopping Spree: Cuteness from kidsmodern.com, Michal Negrin jewelry
Home Decor for Tots, kidsmodern.com
I was going to write something about how I wish I had a kid or knew someone with a kid so I could give them an Eames plywood elephant or a molecule-shaped chaise, but that would be a big lie: mostly, I want it all for myself. I wish I could come home after a long day and spend my evening riding on my Tipi bird or watching LOST episodes from the comfort of my foam Play+Soft divan. I'd never be lonely again if I could hang out with my Eames plywood elephant in lieu of "people"- he could even play on the see-saw with me! Most importantly: I would be such a way better writer if I could set up shop inside my Ndbele Playhouse (walls plastered with Beatles pin-ups, of course), my little nook illuminated only by a Sehwan pillow light. Ew, the last thing in the world I want is a kid: they'd just get all my nice furniture sticky with spilled apple juice and God knows what else. (Laura)
Michal Negrin jewelry, Wish Upon a Starfish
Lately I'm really into hearts and flowers. Actually, I'm always really into hearts and flowers, but sometimes I stupidly get preoccupied with way less important things like Adrien Grenier sightings, the Raconteurs and/or Hot Chip, Red Vines + Diet Coke, and trying to find an immediately attainable nail polish that'll match the manicure I got last week. Apart from gazing adoringly at the doorside red- and pink-flowering plant I recently brought back to glorious life, I think the best way to prevent any future distraction would be to decorate myself with a piece of Michal Negrin's jewelry. Wish Upon a Starfish has got hundreds of the Israeli designer's crystal-encrusted necklaces, bracelets, and rings - and elephant figurines, and crucifixes - but these be the very unsubtly romantic baubles I desire most. (Liz)
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Thrift Scores with Laura Jane: Value Village, 07.18.08
Few things in this operatic escapade we call life are as straight-up awesome as having a killer thrift-shopping experience. It's impossible to predict precisely when a class-A Thrift Score Day is going to hit you; sometimes, all I want is to immerse myself in rack-scouring for hours on end, yet come up entirely empty-handed. On other occasions, I dip into a Sally Ann or Goodwill to kill a couple minutes and exit hours later, exhausted, red-eyed and reeking of mothballs, weighed down by two giant sacks of crap in either hand.
Thrift Scores with Laura Jane is a brand-spanking new feature dedicated to sharing the results of my positive thrift scoring adventures with the world. Yesterday ended up being one of the "Thrift Scorriest" days of my entire life; check the goods!
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Yum: nogoodforme's recipe for the Best Popsicles Ever
In an effort to become the Bill Cosby of fashion blogs, we're venturing into new territory here on nogoodforme.com: popsicle-making! What you're longingly staring at in the above photo is a coconut milk-basil-lime creation we're going to call Tom Yum Pops, and probably they're the most divine frozen-treat-on-a-stick you'll ever slurp in your whole lovely life. An invention of our fabulous new recipe developer Hallie Faben, they're also super-easy to make (just four ingredients, and voila! - instant popsicle magic). Ever since first tasting them last week I've dreamed about the Tom Yum Pops many a time, and the dream is always happy and oh so coconut-milky-sweet.
All Pudding-Pops-related joking aside, what we're really trying to do here is show up Iron Chef Morimoto's fancy wasabi popsicle recipe that New York ran a few weeks back. Oh, and this post also marks the debut of our recipe column, which we're hoping to run near-weekly. My ambition is to make our recipe posts entertaining-themed (not just what to eat, but what to wear, what to listen to, which marine-life-adorned dishes to serve dessert on), but for this one we're gonna keep it kinda simple. So without further adieu, the recipe. And should you have any questions for our chef, just shoot Hallie a nice little email. Enjoy!
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Snapshot: Listening, Watching, Reading, Wearing, Wanting
+ Kat
Listening: Bjork, Debut (mostly for "The Anchor Song," which may just be one of my favorite songs of all time); Neil Young, Mirrorball; Flying Saucer Attack, Distance; Calla, Scavengers; lots of Boris
Watching: Maxed Out, that really kinda scary documentary about debt and the credit card industry; episodes of "Weeds"; the assembly edit of my non-thesis film again and again and again...kind of like a recurring, looping nightmare!
Reading: I re-read Francesca Lia Block's Echo after doing our interview with her; Slouching Towards Bethlehem and Miami by my literary obsession Joan Didion, plus these Paris Review interviews with her; and The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling by James Hillman. I also finished Mary McCarthy's The Company She Keeps and the verdict is awesome. It's very different from The Group, which LJ wrote about so eloquently, but it is equally astonishing in its own way and perhaps even a bit more satisfying since it revolves around a central character, the cynical bohemian intellectual Margaret Sargent. McCarthy is so smart and bitter and dark and yet jaunty at the same time. Read it!
Wearing: I'm either wearing Old Navy racerback tanks with my old Earl jeans or the brightest, hippie-est dresses in my wardrobe. There is no compromise.
Wanting: Can someone please remind me that next time I book a flight I should never get one that leaves early in the morning? Why do I do this to myself? Argh!
P.S. - This weekend I'll be at Pitchfork Music Festival, so if you find me, say hello!
+ Liz
Listening: The Raconteurs; Notorious B.I.G.; Catcall; Fleet Foxes; Suede; Modest Mouse, Good News for People Who Love Bad News; lots of songs from the soundtrack to Valley Girl, which I saw at Hollywood Forever Cemetery last Sunday and it was truly dazzling (of course).
Watching: The Wackness, which compelled me to re-watch Igby Goes Down (that whole angsty/lost boy in New York City thing, I guess). I feel like I'm the only person in the world who really likes Igby Goes Down. Also, I heart Kieran Culkin with all my love, and I find Jeff Goldblum and Amanda Peet to make an irksomely attractive pair.
Reading: that Wired cover story on Julia Allison, the new Vogue and Elle. And I'm rereading bits and pieces of Drugs Are Nice by Lisa Crystal Carver. And I'm still not through with Up Through the Water by Darcey Steinke.
Wearing: The most Snapshot-worthy thing I'm wearing right now is Acquarella's non-toxic, water-based nail polish in "Mahalo" (i.e., blue), which I acquired via a manicure at an EcoStiletto party on Tuesday. I love! And it maybe kinda goes with the blue satin dress I keep wearing all the time (which is from a Bad Place but not the Worst Place).
Wanting: for it to be 10 o'clock tonight so I can be watching The Dark Knight already! Hot damn!
+ Laura Jane
Listening: Harry Nilsson, Pandemonium Shadow Show, Skidoo, and The Point; the Fiery Furnaces and the Beatles, which you can always assume is true of me, because it is.
Watching: I watched a couple installments of The Beatles Anthology last weekend because I was bored and depressed, and watching The Beatles Anthology is the only known cure for that; No Age and High Places at the Horseshoe, which was beyond fantastic. I danced alone for most of the night and felt really punk rock for it.
Reading: A really pointless and boring book called The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark which I don't recommend to anybody; Modern Guilt; this thing that nobody in the Universe cares about except for me; The Idiot's Guide to Bartending
Wearing: The same-old same-old; a pink ribbed tank advertising the Miami Seaquarium that I have been wearing on a semi-regular basis since I was approximately six years old; new track shorts from American Eagle Awesome
Wanting: To exist in a permanent state of "being at a No Age concert"; for the impulse to bite off all my nails to disappear (I fell off the wagon that day I watched The Beatles Anthology)
Bjork singing "Anchor Song" in Icelandic (Iceland is the next country where I'd like to go):
(Liz showing off her manicure/gigantic hands, indicating how many minutes we got to save the world. Also shown: overworn blue satin dress, magical nail polish.)
LJ's Miami Seaquarium tank and A.E. Awesome trackies:
Also: Laura's new favorite ginger-haired scamp performing "1941" on the BBC:
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Bits and Pieces: Pitchfork Music Festival, sample sales, just straight-up sales!
+ The 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival is this weekend in Chicago, IL! Union Park, to be exact, and yours truly will be there and hopefully I'll have enough batteries in my camera to take some decent snaps. The lineup this year is especially stellar: nostalgists get Fridays, where artists like Mission of Burma, Sebadoh and Public Enemy perform their masterworks in their entirety. Saturday I'm hoping to catch Fleet Foxes, !!! and thereafter perfect my ability to be in two places at once when No Age and Jarvis Cocker perform at nearly the same time. Sunday theoretically I'd like to see High Places, Boris and Spiritualized, but I'll be lucky to be alive at that point. (Kat)
+ Sample sale fiends (and I know quite a few people who furnish their wardrobes entirely through this technique) will want to plot the Elizabeth & James/LaROK sample sale on their map. Details: 145 West 18th Street, August 5th - 7th, Tuesday: 8am - 8pm, Wednesday and Thursday: 10am - 8pm. Up to 75% off retail prices. Payment accepted: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover. Check out Savvy NYC for more sample sales and details.
+ One of my favorite shopping/browsing sites, Le Train Bleu, has added an additional 20% off on sale items. It doesn't quite help when I'm "inspiration shopping" the wares by my new sartorial love, Thurley, but a girl can dream... (Kat)
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Heavy Rotation: Harry Nilsson, A Tribe Called Quest, Tilly & the Wall + More!
Harry Nilsson, "Gotta Get Up"
I recently came to the conclusion that I have devoted way too much of my life to ignoring the existence of Harry Nilsson for no reason. It makes no sense why I never thought it might be a good idea to listen to his music until a week ago; I guess we can chalk the whole fiasco up to plain old learned behavior. "Gotta Get Up" is the first Nilsson song I ever consciously listened to, and guess what? It's the ultimate perfect Laura Jane pop song of all time! Now, I listen to it every single morning while getting ready and have even made up a little pantomime-dance for it, which I would gladly perform for the entire world if I could. I will listen to this song on a semi-regular basis for the entire rest of my life. I will play it in cars and I will play it for my children and I will dance to it at my wedding and I will force everybody I know to listen to it with me ad nauseum forever. Go to Hell, Learned Behavior! (Laura)
Tilly and the Wall, "Black and Blue"
An adorable but slightly-musically-cooler-than-thou dude I know once said to me as he was perusing the abnormally high play count for Tilly and the Wall on my iTunes player, "I can't believe you'd fall for this!" To which I replied, "Why not? At least I have the joy of falling for things, instead of existing in this emotionally tepid ambiguous limbo regarding perpetually everything in my life!" (Just to clarify, we've never been "involved" but we have contemplated marriage, if only because we enjoy busting each others' chops so much.) So yeah, for their joy and buoyancy, I fell for Tilly and the Wall, and my life is infinitely more fun for it. (Kat)
A Tribe Called Quest, "Can I Kick It?"
I saw The Wackness last weekend and found it fairly adorable despite some majorly icky feelings about its female characters. (Apparently in Wackness world, women have four options: They can be kinda bitchy, kinda cruel, kinda pathetic, or Mary-Kate Olsen. I pick choice D.) At the beginning of the "Can I Kick It?" scene I briefly misheard it as the Lou Reed song Tribe's sampling here and got super-nervous that the movie was going to turn into something like the video for "Wildside" by Marky Mark, which would've been quite the misstep indeed. But then it didn't and all was well. And I'll never love A Tribe Called Quest even half as much as I love De La Soul, but this track makes me love them at least about one-third as much. I'm sure Q-Tip is so overjoyed to hear that. (Liz)
Suede, "Metal Mickey"
Suede makes me think of Donovan Leitch, of Donovan Leitch's defunct Suede rip-off band Nancy Boy, and of some dumb quote from Donovan Leitch about how he's/was a "bisexual who's never had a homosexual experience." Despite the fact that I just called Donovan Leitch dumb, I'm actually really fond of him, mostly because of his handful of scenes in Gas Food Lodging and because I dig his sister so much I named my iPod after her. And I've always wanted to check out a Camp Freddy show, but sadly that's probably the last thing anyone I know would ever want to do with his/her precious time. Boo-hoo, being stuck in 1993 is just soooo lonely sometimes. (Liz)
Jackie Lomax, "Is This What You Want?"
Jackie Lomax is important for two reasons: 1) He was one of the first artists signed to Apple Records and therefore is automatically awesome in my books, 2) In 1968, he was the Sexiest Man Alive. His first album, which has the same title as this song, is pretty damned okay. His voice has a weird growly texture to it that might sound bad if he weren't so sexy about everything, but he is, so cool. I love this song a lot and I wondered why I loved it so much for a long while, and then realized it was because it is pretty much exactly "I am the Walrus," so there you go. I also particularly love the lyric "I'm buying things for all the boys," because I imagine that by "the boys" he means "The Beatles" and then I think of hot Jackie Lomax going out and buying presents for the Beatles to thank them for signing him to Apple Records, and that just cutes the hell out of me. (Laura)
Devendra Banhart, "The Other Woman"
On the one hand, there's something vaguely creepy and weird about Devendra poorly aping a genre with such strong cultural associations as reggae. On the other hand, there's something really fascinating and terrific about him occupying the particular lyrical point of view of this song, in which he makes fine use of his vague creepy weirdness. I don't know; it's just an oddly good song in the way that so many Devendra songs can be. (Kat)
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Random Picture Entry: Flora by Schiele
Egon Schiele was an eerily talented person. He died of the Spanish Flu when he was a mere twenty-eight years old; considering the vehement devotion to morbidity demonstrated by his body of work, this early death was thematically in keeping with his creative output, which I guess is an optimistic way to frame a rather obvious tragedy. Flu epidemics are such a downer, man! (FYI: Plagues can also be classified as "major buzzkills")
Unfortunately for people who care about art, Egon Schiele's aesthetic has been thoroughly ripped off and co-opted by every contemporary illustrator that I hate, imbuing his macabre, cadaverous style of portraiture with heroin-chic vapidity and pro-ana overtones, which makes me want to puke and punch people. It sucks that I will always like Egon Schiele a little bit less because of these losers; more imporantly, however, it REALLY sucks that Egon Schiele never got to develop to his full capacity, because I am quite confident that his full capacity would have been revolutionary as all freaking get out.
Recently I have discovered Egon Schiele's studies of trees, forestry, flowers, et al, which are heavy-chestedly beautiful in a gloomy, black magic way. They remind me of days when it is overcast and crappy out, but you're in such a shit-hell-death mood that you are able to bask in the beauty of bare branches and sunlessness the same way you do all chipper and abuzz in the summertime.
Rest in ugly, excruciating, black cat anti-peace, Egon Schiele.
(left: Autumn Sun 1 (Herbstbaum), 1912; right: Autumn Trees with Fuschias, 1909)
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We're Obsessed: American Eagle Underwear, passiveaggressivenotes.com, Jay-Z at Glastonbury
This one goes out to all the perverts in the house! Now you all know what my actual, real live underwear looks like: dream about it, Creeps.
I am a big believer in Total Design, which means that I need to derive some amount of aesthetic pleasure from every single object I interact with over the course of a given day. Cute underwear are a big part of my allegiance to this principle. I remember reading an interview with Milla Jovovich (I could be totally wrong about this; I may actually be thinking of somebody who is not Milla Jovovich at all) a whole bunch of years ago where she talked about how she sleeps in giant t-shirts that she cuts up and dyes so that if somebody were to walk in on her sleeping they wouldn't be like, "Ew! She sleeps in THAT?!?!?" Shallow as it may be, I totally feel Milla Jovovich (or whoever the hell) on this one. Maybe you can't see my underwear every day, but if you knew how awesome they were, you would never think, "Ew! THAT'S what her underwear look like?!?!" You'd think "Wow, American Eagle Outfitters boy briefs are bloody adorable. Good call, LJ!"
The photograph seen below barely even represents the tip of my American Eagle Underwear Iceberg. I don't know if I've ever set foot in that store (which RULES) without forking over twenty bones for three pairs. They're always coming out with fly new patterns; tragically, right now the pickings are pretty slim- some idiot in their design department decided to go and ruin everything by making this round of boy briefs weirdly moral and/or creepily "sexy".
It's been a "thing" about me since I was about fifteen years old that my underwear are always hanging out of my pants, unless I'm wearing high-waisted jeans. There's nothing I can do about it and I've fully accepted it about myself. But honestly, I don't know if I would have reached this beatific state of self-acceptance without the kind folks at Aerie providing me with such sweetie-pie drawers. At this point, I'd rather they hung out of my pants: that way, everybody can know that THAT'S what my underwear look like, if they haven't seen them posted all over the freaking Internet yet. (Laura)
I really feel like some things don't need explaining -- like basically how funny this site is. If you don't get it, you're just an idiot. But we like you anyway! (Kat)
This is my favorite:
(I love how this note goes from normal punctuation to all caps, like they progressively lost their shit as they wrote it.)
How insanely good Jay-Z looked at Glastonbury
I should've posted about this last week, but I really had to get that drug rug biznis taken care of first. Hopefully by now you've already seen Jay-Z opening his Glastonbury set with a kiss-off cover of "Wonderwall" segued into "99 Problems," but in case not, here's the vid:
So: I know how anyone who ever posts or comments at Jezebel.com is completely right about everything all the time, but I have to take issue with the commenter who - in response to a semi-recent Snap Judgment on Rachel Bilson - made up some rule about how it's wrong to wear scarves and sunglasses simultaneously. Clearly, Glastonbury's evidence that Jay-Z makes the scarf-plus-shades thing work on some level of awesomeness that we mortals can only ever dream of someday achieving - I mean, really: Has he ever looked this good? I can't believe I fleetingly thought that that "Back in Black" sample was his smartest choice of the night. Oh, and the jacket rules too. Five stars all around.
If I'd gone to Glastonbury, by the way, I would've wanted to dress something like this girl (although I'd probably look a lot more like I actually enjoy life). I don't get anything that's going on with her legs, but the faux fur coat over boring black t-shirt totally does it for me. Ever since mid-season-1 of Sex and the City I've secretly coveted some big dumb fake-fur coat, which is a bad desire indeed. Save me.
This photo, FYI, was discovered by me via my new favorite blog Modern Guilt, which I wish I'd start reading many moons ago. (Liz)