there is no better way to spend a sunday than on a beach in new england. 

stealing is wrong

this is my lovely friend kristin. 

i would just like to say that stealing personal property is very very wrong. on her 23rd birthday my beautiful friend kristin had her bike stolen from her front stoop. on her birthday, no less. now, we've all done our share of teenage shop lifting from large corperate stores to get back at someone somewhere for making us live in a two bit town with one walmart, (ahem, not me, of course)...but, stealing personal property from people who work hard for it, and might not have a way to get another one soon, is completely inhuman.
so to whomever stole kristin's bike, i hope your life is as miserable as your deed.

slightly disgruntled with this tribute

let me start by saying that i'm probably a bigger fan of the magnetic fields than any normal human being should be. my obsession with mr. stephin merritt is a bit on the absurd side, and i would gladly be his faghag at any place on any day.
so, you can see how happy i am when i find out that anyone, anywhere is paying tribute to this amazingly witty and beautiful man....and i was, i "was" very happy.
many of you may have been aware of a little website to which you could send your own versions of magnetic fields songs, if you happen to be a local indie, or minimally famous indie (i.e. 'mentioned once on catbirdseat') band. if you aren't aware (i.e. you have a family, or a life to take care of), then check it out...but please please please, for the love of all things, please do not go to this site if you have never heard these particular magnetic fields songs!!!! go listen to the originals first. the versions that you will hear on this site are completely void of all sense of originality and beauty that is the magnetic fields. souless, i would say. yes, i said it, the covers are completely souless. i know it's harsh, but really, these poor kids really shouldn't have let the belle and sebastian's of the world get so deeply inside their heads. (example, this version of 'the luckiest guy on the lower east side' , so very sad)
please don't take this to mean that i think that i, personally, could have done a better job at covering a magnetic fields song;
i know i can't, and that's why I DON'T.
simple. advice for all of us.

sunset, at a canadian truckstop...imagine this sky, with these colors, surrounding you in all directions, and that's what we were seeing.. 

by accident, i used the flash on this photo, turning it into, what i think, is one of the most erotic pictures of an orchid that i've ever seen...eat your heart out maplethorpe! 

a tiny little bonzai oasis... 

parts of the chinese garden, montreal botanical gardens... 

BONZAI!!!! 

some pics from the montreal botanical gardens...otherwise known as the most beautiful place i've ever been so far in my life... 

the fainting couch...pics by pam pritzker 

after the ceremony 

the wedding...is over. it was lovely, if i do say so myself. thank you dearly to everyone who helped, and joined us on saturday. more pics soon.  

it is so nice to have lovely friends in boston. it's even nicer when they have a roof on which to enjoy fireworks.  

the question of bruno

currently reading: the question of bruno by aleksandar hemon
i'm half of the way finished with this book of short stories that i picked up this weekend at st.marks bookshop. what i've read is entertaining, to say the least. i read somewhere that mr. hemon writes in english, even though it is his second language. (which brings up comparisons to conrad, although i don't see it)
this is the only fault i have with this book...it is evident that he has a very dogeared, over used copy of the OED laying around his apartment. in one of my favorite stories so far, "a coin", (which involves letters written by a girl in sarajevo sent to a friend in america....a stomach turning story about how to escape sniper bullets while traveling from point A to point B and the absolute reality of horrific gore and misery when it surrounds you completely), mr.hemon replaces simple words that would have justly conveyed his point, with giant, unrealistic words, which seem almost annoying in the context of the story. (example: replacing "cowardly" with "pusillanimous"...it just isn't necessary).
but, otherwise, i really enjoy the picture he paints with the english language, even though many of them are gruesome and hard to swallow. he has a great grasp of how to make things seem vividly real under very unreal circumstances.

this book goes well with the heat.

i want to be a part of it....new york new york...

the handsome trio... 

thompson square park...on a lazy day sunday in nyc. 

in line for the swinging cars... 

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the wonderful wonder wheel 

the 'self proclaimed' 'real' king of the polar bears... 

punch drunk on the way home from coney island... 

redbones

playing with our new digital camera...my sugar sweet fiance, at our favorite place to eat large quantities of barbeque and drink wonderfully large amounts of mojitos. 

mermaids, carnys, and freaks...oh my!

what we must do is live our lives to the absolute fullest. that is what we must do. so i propose a trip. out of this miserable bostontown and into 'the real city', full of endless possibilities, both good and bad, great and tragic...to a party of the greatest possible proportions. full of freaks and ferris wheels, cotton candy and skee ball, bright beaches and carousels, tiny wine bottles and boardwalk beauties.
come one come all to the mermaid parade, at coney island, brooklyn, ny....june 25th.
it would be an absolute shame if you missed it.

Jason Irving Doeg, 1982-2005

'Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.'
-edna st. vincent millay-

we miss you j.

pamelia kurstin is f*cking hot

no post in quite some time, i just noticed. ernie and i are deep into wedding planning blitz mode. ("second times a charm", that's the phrase, right?)
but, i thought i would just write and let everyone know that my favorite boston based motleys are playing upstairs at the middle east on thursday, may 26. for those of you who aren't 'in the circus/sideshow music know', i'm referring to the amazing 'beat circus'. they will be playing along with another favorite of mine from brooklyn, 'barbez'...which happens to include the hottest living actual theremin player in the universe...pamelia kurstin. yes, that's right folks, she actually plays, as opposed to just fondling the theremin for her own personal enjoyment (as i've been know to do).
also, playing will be the guitar/accordian project 'gutterhelmet'...alec k. redfern, you rock my socks with your accordian box. (that sounded much more naughty than i had intended)

so, if you're in the boston area, come to the middle east up, on thursday night, may 26. you will be shocked and amazed.

les yeux noirs!!

wednesday...one of those days when you know that laying on the couch and watching horrific reality tv will only leave you with a television hangover in the morning, so you force yourself to go out, do something, and you feel so much better for it...so much better.
on these midweek nights when ernie and i need to get off the couch and away from the tele, we go down to davis square. last night i had noticed that there was a band from paris called les yeux noirs playing at johnny d's. a "russian french yiddish gypsy fiddle driven ensemble"...honestly, how could we go wrong??
all i can say is that the cd's that they were selling were horribly overpriced at twenty american dollars, (i am assuming because the dollar is crap), and i readily and easily handed our twenty over to the lovely french fiddle player...with a smile, no less.
they were, astonishing.
to anyone, and everyone who has the chance, please, i implore you, go see this band. not only is the brother fiddle duo quite 'easy on the eyes' as the girls would say, but they're absolutely talented as well.

updates

i never meant for this site to be about 'updates'...but here are a few affecting my life right now:
-i am engaged, with a lovely sapphire and diamond ring
-it is warm today in boston, it is spring in boston, i am happier in boston (rare)
-my brother daniel is home in tennessee from iraq, he is alive
-my brother nigel is out of prison on bail, his trial has been postponed until august, he is alive
-my parents are deeper and deeper in debt, almost to bankruptcy, but they have their two youngest sons home for at least a short while, and they are happy
-my bike is out of the garage for the first time in two years...rode it with ernie on the cape next to the ocean this weekend...so beautiful
-my 'to do' lists are getting longer and longer
-still miss ny, it's still my 'goal'

i'm sure it's chemical, but even with all that is still happening with my family, the fact that it has warmed a bit in new england has changed my mood considerably for the better. anxiously awaiting my first summer swim at walden pond.

secrets

maybe jumping the bandwagon late...but in my obnoxious job above the garbage dump, this website helps me with my day.

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sent to me by a very talented craftster swappee... 

la vie en rose...

may i humbly suggest to anyone in the boston area, to please go to the lizard lounge on saturday, april 9th at 8pm to see ZIAF (playing the songs of edith piaf). i've seen them twice before, and they are wonderful. the lead singer, while not sounding exactly like piaf, (but who could, really?), has an amazing voice.
they will be playing two sets, along with some other local bands, including 'cirkestra', a three piece (accordian, violian, bass fiddle) who play circus sideshow americana type whatnot.
salut!

a fine city indeed...tres bon

i should change the name of this blog, to the 'a-ok' blog...since i've no reason whatsoever to want to chronicle the awful stesses that are actaully happening. only the good. to all of the morose, my apologies.
a much much needed weekend trip to montreal...a break from massachusetts...a break from this country...a break from reality. my first visit to the fine french city...i'm absolutely in love.
rekindling my adoration of the language, i bought some cd's to help me begin my quest to master the language and undo all of the damage my highschool french teacher, with a tennessee accent, might have inflicted. over the weekend a friend of mine commented that if she learned to speak fluent french, her 'stock' would go up 100 points. i heartily agree, and intend to invest fourfold in my 'stock', as i'm almost thirty, and being able to hold a perfect french conversation (and roll my 'r's in all of the right places) would most likely distract from my continually sagging ass and laugh lines. more charming than botox, i'm sure.

happy birthday miss rockmore...

today is miss clara rockmore's birthday. she would have been 94 years old. she passed in 1998. thank you miss rockmore.

only positives

there is much more negative than positive in my life as of late...so today, i will not write about the negatives. they really don't deserve any more of my time. it's just as well, most of the negatives are so unbelievable and sad that they don't really transfer well to the page...unless of course, i'm dave eggars (harharhar).
positives: (they are small, but they are strong)
*massive amounts of snow in boston this winter, lending to many nights of sledding and pizza. yes, i'm sick of the snow, but the sledding has made it much more bearable. in fact, the sledding has made many things in my life much more bearable.
*finishing my first stencil design on a shirt, it turned out well. learning more about that devil program photoshop to use for my crafting advantage.
*finishing my first knitted wire bracelet with beads. my fingers were blistered, but it looks quite nice.
*found an amazing, kick ass pair of 1970's leather knee boots at a thrift shop for only five (5) bucks!!
*the beat circus show at tt's. long, drawn out, they didn't play until 12:30am (on a school night, no less) but it was well worth it.
*finishing "hunger" by knut hamson. wondering why i hadn't read this much much earlier in my life. highly recommended.
*discovering a new writer in the new yorker, that i actually like.
*reading on the bus.
*knowing that certain members of my family are safe, and alive.

these are all of the positives i could muster. there are the usual suspects...ernie, he is always a positive. my apartment, always a positive that i have a roof, and my warm bed. but i find it's easier and more comforting for me, if i focus on the smaller things. makes the reality of certain things seem much less horrible than they actually are.

manolo says super fantastic...

while doing some nonsensical searching on the internets...i came across this completely ridiculous blog...manolo's shoe blog. disregard the fact that it's mostly all about shoes and fashion, and it's one of the funniest things i've read...today, at least. don't miss the cafepress store, where you can buy a coffee mug that reads...
"manolo says, the hassellhoff, he is comfortable in his celebrity."

yay! 

something positive...

on saturday evening, i got a phone call from my mom, an exhausted sounding, but exited message on my machine...they had heard from daniel. he was being sent to kuwait, to wait to be sent back to okinawa. on the 25th, if all is well, he'll be sent home...to tennessee....when i heard the message i couldn't help but cry. i hardly ever cry happy tears, i always thought it felt so odd...but, i couldn't control them, they just came. the past few days have been so completely emotional. as close as my family and i are, we hardly ever talk on the phone these days...it's just too painful...all of the things going on. and then the news of the crash...and then finding out that daniel is ok, and might even come home (pre empted by the news that he was on the 'second' helicopter, the one that didn't crash, 50/50 chances).
i've heard no news to tell me different, so my hope is still that he is on his way out of there. it's the only positive news my family has had in some time...and it makes me wonderfully happy and terribly nervous.

waiting...

yesterday in iraq, a helicopter went down in the desert and 31 marines were killed. among those 31 marines, 27 of them were stationed in kaneohe bay hawaii, and were with the 1st battalion, 3rd marines, 3rd division, III meu...this is the same battalion that my younger brother is with. as more and more time goes by, more and more names are released, and having not heard any news from my parents as of yet, my hopes are high that he is ok. but, there is the still fear. so much fear that my stomach is in knots. the waiting is almost unbearable. and then still more fear and anxiety, will he remain and be sent home safe?
coupled with the fear is the absolute anger that i feel toward bush, and the current administration. bush spoke yesterday, of how these deaths may "discourage" the american people, but we must stay with it, to "spread freedom". he showed no emotion for the fallen, i honestly don't think i've ever seen him show any emotion for any of the 1400 men who have died recently for the lies we've been told...we are already discouraged mr.president, we have been for a while.
but, no amount of political ranting will make this ok.
my heart goes out to the families of the marines who died yesterday. i'm sure my brother was friends with some of them, and they are not alone in their grieving.

the obligatory "oh my jesus, could there be any more snow?!" post

so. it snowed. and then it snowed. and then some more it snowed. and we shoveled and shoveled, and then some more we shoveled. and tomorrow, here in beantown, it will snow again. but we will not shovel...we will sled.
because, last night...on a fairly fresh two feet of snow, we managed to find, the best sledding hill ever!! it's no secret, in fact, it's pretty much one of the only hills in boston...but, damn, it's a good one. leave it to harvard to create a perfect little slice of park heaven in the middle of jamaica plain. for those of you who are not aware of the absolute, A-#1 Best Thing In Boston...you must visit the Arnold Arboretum in JP. ernie and i discovered it this summer, on a lazy sunday afternoon with nothing else to do but brush each other's hair, and read the paper. we had long thought that jamaica plain was much too far to drive for a park, but had heard that the arboretum held unknown pleasures, and it was sunday, so why not travel. it turned out to be, as said, heavenly. literally, it was what i imagine heaven would look like, complete with a lilac hill, a rose pond, a cedar forest and a bonsai garden.
the hill that we went to last night was easily a quarter mile to the top, if not more...starting off at a fair pace, not too slow, not too fast, and then ending with a burst of speed and craziness, before delivering you softly to the bottom of the hill without fear of tree injuries or snowbanks. it was only after four or five trips having to walk our sleds back to the top, that we realized why sledding should be done during the day and not at ten o'clock at night (at 11 degrees out), and why we should really take better care of ourselves and do a lot more cardio. pants wet, and frozen, thoroughly out of breath, we did the only thing we could do. we went for pizza...sicilian style.
it's odd how parts of your life can be absolutely perfect at times, while other parts of your life are farther from perfect than they've ever been.