My two new favorite works of art

In no particular order (I love them both equally!):



Hazy was suddenly inspired to draw this one day, apparently, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to be the recipient of such an ambitious and optimistic world view. Note: The dog is not only walking his human on a beautiful day, on a planet where the sun wears sunglasses (of course!), he is also simultaneously reading the paper and enjoying a hot cup of joe while he's at it. Impressive.



Yes, I asked Henry and Hazy to draw self-portraits again. How can I resist, when I'm sure to get results like this? Henry is indeed at the age where a wry smile is where it's at. Man. I miss those guys so much already, and they only left yesterday!

Happy Halloween

Photo: Bob Gruen

I love this photo so much. Mainly because this is the corner of 23rd street and 8th avenue back in the day when what's currently a BBQ was a bank, the ad in the background on the building that's only really appropriate for a pack of smokes was a pack of smokes, and diagonally across from where the awesome band for whom every day was Halloween is standing there was the bowling alley where I won a second-place trophy in 5th grade (I was playing against a bunch of chimpanzees, I'm sure) and the Lamston's where I bought my first Maybelline eyeliner pencil, etc., etc., stood.

But perhaps most of all, look at how Gene Simmons is dressed. Not only do I have clogs almost exactly like that, I would wear his whole dang outfit in a snap. Homey looks sharp!

Halloween anticipation

This year you get a preview of what my sister has cooking. It's gonna be bananas.

The ol' switcheroo

Here's yet another impossible-not-to-love photography project. Canadian artist Hana Pesut photographs (mostly) straight couples, then has them switch their outfits and takes another picture.

Go here to see more.

Blog infidelity

I wrote a post for MoMA's blog Inside/Out last week.


Ger Van Elk's version of Paul Klee's Around the Fish

I'm sorry oh snap! I still love you as a form of self-indulgence and communication! (And yeah, I know, most of you already heard about this from my post on the social network that shall not be named and other blathering. Apologies for the repetition repetition.)

A big bottle

Can I hear it for public art in New York City? So many messed up things are happening in our fair city: overzealous budget cuts, deranged architecture decisions (farewell, Donnell Library—one of many current "oof" moments in NYC's rapidly changing skyline), squirrel and rat standoffs, etc.—sometimes the only thing that can placate a grouchy urbanite is stumbling across a big, fascinating bottle in a public park.



And when I say big, I mean it. Maybe it's not as sizable as this summer's big, crazy public-art head in Madison Park, but it's still impressive. I ran by it a bunch of times, intending to take a closer look one day.



Then recently, at dusk, I noticed the lights on and went over to check it out. I was really surprised when I looked through one of the portholes. It looks like the perfect apartment for a robot.



Here's a better (but undownloadable) pic of the inside. Can't you easily imagine a friendly little machine toodling around in there, checking his or her email on their smart phone, or washing their hands before dinner?

As I went on my excessively sweaty way, I thought about another perfect resident. I read this article awhile ago about a Seattle program for homeless alcoholics. It provides repeat offenders with government-funded housing where sobriety isn't enforced; an experiment started to stop the endless (and expensive to taxpayers) jail/rehab/emergency room cycle. Of course it turned out to be a big money saver. So wouldn't it be cool if NYC had a bunch of these, say about a million trillion, all piled on top of one another? Maybe entering and leaving a bottle every day would create a "What the hell am I doing with my life?" kind of revelation/new perspective and break the cycle for tons of drunk people! Also, the interiors seem perfect for the rapid and easy cleanup of vomit and other unfortunate accidents. Sorry, gross but true.

This idea was apparently very energizing, as I ended up having a great run that night.

The inside of the bottle is actually, according to artist Malcolm Cochran, a representation of the stateroom in the Queen Mary ocean liner.

Nice.

The 80s were a powerful time in music

Thanks, Rodriguez

Sure, you pretty much know in advance of your click on "play" that you'll laugh, this does involve Cookie Monster, after all (and if the iconic blue, cookie-loving puppet does not amuse you, you are a very hard case, indeed), but this video struck me as particularly genius. Enjoy!

A roundup of almosts and could've beens

I haven't been posting as much this summer, dear readers, mostly because I keep coming across stuff I get excited about and want to share with you, but then five minutes later I'll decide "Nah." I seem to be quite the tough critic lately. (I know. Lately? How about always and forever?)

Like this dresser I noticed in one of Todd Selby's emails about someone's groovy house he recently photographed somewhere.



OK, I just looked it up and it's "Karen and Avril at home in Auckland, New Zealand." Actually, it's very worth clicking through if only to see the weirdly great duvet cover these two made out of old brassieres and girdles. I was also captivated by the photo of Avril and the little city she's working on, probably because it reminded me of the miniature cities my brother I used bang together down in our basement when we were kids. Ours weren't half as fragile and carefully done as Avril's, I'll tell ya that much.



OK, moving on.

I was also going to post about this artist's project of photographing runners after running, and then again, normally dressed.



And about these "brilliantly sarcastic responses to completely well meaning signs."









But I just couldn't get it together to get them up here until now. Finally! Done!

Debauchery recap

For the third year in a row, I tagged along with P as he attended a cocktail convention in New Orleans. No, I didn't go to the "History and Importance of Ice in Cocktails" seminar as yes, I was more inclined to find myself suddenly surrounded by a promotional rum event and given a free pair of sunglasses, personal water mister and manicure when I'd just been hanging out by the hotel pool reading a book ... but I did learn a few things anyway.

I don't like Negronis. Not even when the gin and Campari are correctly balanced. Speaking of gin, my hotel key card:


Poor, exhausted phrase!

We arrived at the Hotel Monteleone as the street in front of it was being set up for "the world's largest" Genever Kopstootje toast (the Genever Kopstootje [pron. kop-stow-tjuh] is translated as "little head butt" and represents the traditional Dutch version of a beer and a shot) to kick off the convention. Normally an event like this would cause me to drop my bags, roll up my sleeves, and jockey for a space.


Photo courtesy of David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune

But it was something like 9am. And as I found out later, they were toasting with light beers. Light bottled beers. I'm glad I took a nap instead.

A couple days later, Ricard turned the same street into a Pétanque court (similar to Bocce ball) to get everyone excited about that lovely anise-flavored liqueur.


Photo courtesy of Crave

But I'm getting ahead of myself. That first night, we went to a huge party at the World War II museum, wherein scores of well-known bartenders dressed in wartime garb were mixing drinks and handing them out to anyone with a free hand.

Outside, in front of the museum, there were two charismatic goats and a hardworking cow hired by Hendrick's gin to supply milk for almost-impossible-to-make-fast Ramos gin fizzes. P and I were psyched to see the animals, but they turned out to be a bittersweet sight to behold. Looked after by their attentive (and I'm pretty sure, sober) handlers, and certainly up to the challenge, they looked sad anyway, like they just wanted to get the heck out of there. Who could blame 'em. I'm sure parties thrown by goats and cows are much different.

I was also distracted by the weirdness of so much boozy socializing under dive bombers and in front of huge war photographs and memorabilia. P reminded me the end of World War II was a joyous occasion, and how museums are often chosen for huge parties and of course get paid for it, and yeah, yeah, yeah, OK.



But I mean, come on.

I know: It's not very New Orleansian to think too penetratingly about anything in the midst of a party, especially one with free drinks and free oysters and free sailor hats and other liquor company swag.



Oh, the swag!



What can I say. My skepticism follows me everywhere.



New Orleans is a fascinating and beautiful place, and I'm lucky to have the chance to get to know it a little better each year.

Where else could Walgreens be



?

Read about last year's trip here and the year before here.

It's about. freakin. time!

Can I see your license and registration

Hazel told Brook "I look like Auntie Jocelyn with these sunglasses, take a picture and send it to her!" today. So Brook did. Thanks, B!



Apparently, I look like a highway patrolman.


Now I know why I was so drawn to this whistle at Kiosk recently. I should've bought one. Or two, so the next time I see Hazy we can go out and scribble us up some speeding tickets!

Goodnight sweet Bizzy

The green-grape obsessed, tennis-ball-loving, determined and obstinate burrower under beds Bizmark gave up the ghost on Sunday. The central air conditioning vent in the floor of the kitchen won't be the same without his long furry snout upon it. Rest in peace, Biz. We're all going to miss you so much, and already do!



Read more about this beloved canine here.

Another great photography project

Photographer Yeondoo Jung did a series in 2005 called "Wonderland," where he made photographs of children's drawings.

Why doesn't everyone do this everywhere, all the time?!







You can see more here.

(And when I say "another great photography project," I'm thinking of Irina Werning's series Back to the Future, the recreated childhood photos I posted about in February. It will be a very, very long time before I recover from the crazy brilliance of her idea and its execution. If in fact I ever do.)

The power of hyphenation

Stretch...now hold it

Ever since I got that book...

The birds

Here's a chaser to my previous post, which could be viewed as kind of a downer.



Fancy pigeons!



These are just some of the esteemed winners of the National Pigeon Association's 2010 championship. In other words, those grubby gray flying animals we city dwellers live with have some very impressive relatives.



Frank gave me the book Extraordinary Chickens a few years ago; could Extraordinary Pigeons be next?



Yes, yes, by all means, yes.

Not that I'm a believer in these my-bird-is-better-than-your-bird contests.



My favorite bird of all time is Cocky Bennett. I xeroxed these pages out of a book I found in the Beverly Hills Library lo, so many years ago.



I didn't write down any information about the book and unfortunately the internet doesn't seem to have caught up with Cocky's fame and importance. But go ahead and read page 116...you'll get the idea.

Everything is

Well, except for the super cool Wrong! pin I stumbled on, on ebay.



And the candle Dao gave me this week, that I will never, ever burn.

But man. Sometimes I just gotta tell it like it is.

Was she leading them back to the arctic?

I hope so. (And of course, I wish I'd been in her shoes!)

Why not

Homeless stylin'

I came across this article about a recent contest in the current issue of Threads magazine. The challenge was to take this pattern and "take it to extremes," and below is one of the winner's responses.



It's a very clever and successful solution. Maybe it's just the magazine's presentation of it that I find so bizarre and funny.



The smiling, copper-haired model showing us what to sew for ourselves (or have our mom sew for us) if we're homeless...the coat can be rolled up and worn as a backpack during the day when you're panhandling, or unrolled and turned into a sleeping bag at night. There are even pockets in the coat you can put newspapers and books in, for extra warmth on those freezing-cold nights when you curl up outside instead of at a homeless shelter (because you've had such unfortunate episodes at homeless shelters).