TO THE LEFT

I’ve been addicted to reading this book I found on the ground in Park Slope. It is called “Small Changes” by Marge Piercy.

I picked it up because apparently it is an ”explosive novel of women struggling to make their place in a man’s world.” But really I just needed a new book to read. (I was tired of borrowing Ben’s iPod just to listen to the same two albums over and over while I was riding the subway.)

The front cover of my copy is missing. And it just dawned on me this morning to look up the book online and see what the cover art looks like.

Voilà!

It is very interesting and sometimes infuriating. I’m finding myself relating to it a lot. (Personal reasons.) But then, I have always related to feminist texts. Most of them anyway.

One more reason I decided to start reading the book is because I used to own a copy of Piercy’s poetry book, “The Moon Is Always Female”.

I don’t remember the poems too well, but it was lent to me (and I never gave it back) by this girl I went on 2.5 dates with in college. I remember on our last date—the .5 one—I took her to go see Erase Errata because I love that band and they were in town.

About a quarter of the way through their set, she leans in closer to me and whispers, “I’m going to have to question your taste in music…”

Right. Whatever. End of date.

Well, Erase Errata is playing at Glasslands in Brooklyn this Sunday, and I’m definitely going. And I am going to have a good time.

The moon is always female, remember.
craig

SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY!

SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY!
6.2.11

This isn’t an actual self portrait because my sister took this photo of me at Prospect Park today. But it is a portrait of myself, so I guess that counts, right?

I actually have had no time to do a self portrait today.

I guess I’ve gotten myself a little part-time gig walking dogs in Park Slope, so I was busy doing that all day. (I wanted something small that could get me out of the house more and that brought in a little extra cash during the summer.) Then I came home and my sister was here. And I’ve been busy entertaining all day.

It’s been a good day, though.

I’m just running on very little sleep today because I had a rough night’s sleep. (Had insomnia for a little while.  And it sucks.) And I’ve been on the go.

Tired.

But the weekend is here.

This is a good thing.

xo
craig

I RUINED YOUR LIFE

On Saturday afternoon Ben and I boarded the ferry to Governor’s Island to go check out our friend Lillian G.’s studio.

You can get on the ferry to Governor’s Island at the boarding dock at the end of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. I had no idea that’s what this was used for. I’ve sat on this dock before really late at night. Drunk. Feet dangling over the water underneath.

It is good to know what it is actually used for.

Anyway, if you’ve been paying attention to me for the past while, you’ll know that Lillian G. is one of my best friends, sometimes collaborator and sometimes bandmate. (You remember, our sometimes band Lazy Susan.) Sometimes.

I took some photos of her work.
She built this room—I’m talking hammers and nails and wood, people—and it’s like a big diorama. (I failed to take photos of the room unfortunately.)

Love that drawing.
It would be a good print for fabric. (Imagine a jacket with that print. A jacket that had a lining with that print would be really awesome, too. Pants. Shorts. Shirts. Ties. Etc.)

I’m always into Lillian’s work. Her artwork is always very hands-on and usually lo-fi and her attention to detail is obsessive and inspiring. Love it.

xo
craig

SHE WAS EATING

First of all, Joni Mitchell is wearing a maxi length dress in this performance of a song that I really love called “Both Sides Now”:

Women, do you like maxi length skirts/dresses? I am undecided. (Even if you have no opinion, just listen to the song because it is good and has been on my mind lately.)

Moving along, I was going through the many photos I’ve taken on my phone and realized I’ve got a breakdown of a few areas in NYC.

Herald Square:

Garment District:

Chinatown:

Cobble Hill:

Park Slope:

Currently seeking the strength within to brave the rain and go to the post office…

Wish me luck,
c

CHANGE BATTERIES

It’s a snowy day today in Brooklyn.
My first snow of the season since I was away in Texas during the blizzard.
(Flurries don’t count.)

Tomorrow morning we shoot the Take Off Your Clothes FW’11 collection. Super excited. We’ve been working on it for awhile now. Already mapping out SS’12, too.

Always move forward.

Other things I’m enjoying:

WE’RE GONNA KILL THE CALIFORNIA GURLS

(NSFW? Not sure… Do naked fake people in suggestive positions count?)

Yesterday we had to go out to Bayside, Queens to run an errand. It’s nice and quiet out there, but I couldn’t live there.

Especially with all the sexy churches they have:

I can’t deal with suggestive signs like those.
I’m a Brooklyn kinda guy.
(Ben leans more towards Queens. Perhaps I’ll be broken one day, but not anytime soon.)

I feel like there’s so much to say, but I’m at a loss for words.
That’s usually how it goes for me.

The Take Off Your Clothes photo shoot went extremely well on Saturday morning, and I can’t wait to show you the results.  Within the week, I think.
Some cool/weird eye candy pour toi:

danger!

Last night after a stressful commute home (tired, hungry, snowy/slushy/cold, late), we made a nice salad for dinner (spinach, chicken, blue cheese, pear, peach, sliced almond, vinaigrette) and settled in to watch "Beetlejuice", mainly to watch Catharine O'Hara's outfits. 

I'd remembered a blog post I read last month on the Is Mental blog about her outfits being designed by Comme des Garcons and Issey Miyake. I thought it was an amazing post, and it got me excited to watch the movie. It had been awhile. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed her outfits at the time, but it makes so much sense!

(You should really read the Is Mental blog post on "Beetlejuice". It's quite awesome.)

But I started to fall asleep halfway. 

That really bummed me out. 

At least I would wake up in the morning and the snow would have stopped.

And things would be back to normal.

Not the case.

Woke up to more snow.

So, I think I'm going to call it a snow day today. Only complete freaks are venturing out. Complete psychotics.

Like this person:

snow day (as seen from my bedroom)

And that other person:

snow day (as seen from my kitchen)

But maybe they're not their own bosses like me and they have to go into work…

Or they could just really be insane.

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GREEKER

Yesterday I went on a field trip to Dead Horse Bay, which is this beach in southern Brooklyn that has a lot of really old glass bottles and horse (and other animal) bones in the sand.

Apparently garbage used to dumped in the water waaaaay back in the day.
And there were factories to turn dead horses and animals of NYC into glue and fertilizer and such. So, their bones were dumped in the water, too.

So, that's what went down.
It was a party (mostly) sunny day, and the high was a surprising 85 degrees!

Ben J. and I met up with Sarah and Max and a couple (that means two) of their friends.
Before we met up with them, though, I REALLY had to piss (pardon my language) in the bushes.
After I took a photo of Ben:

Ben J.

Then we walked the trail that led out to the water.

This is what Dead Horse Bay pretty much looks like:

Dead Horse Bay (low tide)

It's not especially pretty or anything at all, but it's VERY cool to look at all the old garbage and bones that are washed up on the shore:

friends

feet

(Notice that old bone next to my left foot.)

jar

jars in the sand

The BEST thing I found was this eyeball pingpong ball (the photo's not that great, but you get the gist):

eyeball pingpong ball

It was cool to find a dead horseshoe crab in the sand.
I'd never seen one at the beach before.

dead horseshoe crab

horeshoe crab

And towards the end of the day as it got colder and Ben and I realized we probably should've brought sweaters or something warmer to wear, the six of us ate sandwiches (tomato, basil, mozarella, avocado, and pepper) and fruit (pear and mango) and watched the high tide come in.

high tide

It was a very good day.

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lift up my eyes

While standing in line at the post office, thinking, I sent my sister this text message:

text message

On the bus this morning, I was looking over this woman's shoulder at the newspaper she was reading—I'd just run out of yarn and had nothing to knit with and nothing to do, so I was getting antsy—and I saw a headline about a bus driver stabbed to death by a rider trying to evade paying fair.

I thought that because of the number 52 you see on the front of the bus meant that it was the B52, the bus I take every morning, especially since the incident took place at Gates Ave. and Malcolm X Blvd.

02driver650

But it turns out it was the B46. (The photo I saw didn't have that top part lit up. The photo I'm showing here is from the New York Times.)

Still though…
This is horrifying.
I feel bad for the driver's family and friends.

This reminds me that life and people can be dangerous. I sometimes feel that since I'm usually in my own head and thoughts, knitting or doing a crossword puzzle, I'm protected and that I'm in a safe little bubble.

Of course, this is just me being an idiot.

And all that.

This is why I have trust issues. People are capable of many disgusting things.

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inhalers and los angeles

People in my life are obsessed with quinoa.
I wish they were obsessed with Mexican food and margaritas.
Cuz that I can understand.

I think this shirt is the only t-shirt design of mine that hasn't sold. Ever.

pink multiple gretchen

I think it's my favorite, too. (Those eyes…)
I don't know what the deal is. Crompy and I had fun making the prototypes.
Oh, well. I thought violence was still in style.

I've got a lot on my mind, and I can sorta see it all coming out in a big mess.
Hopefully not, though.

Anyway, I'm continuing to help out Emjo with her project by taking a self-portrait as soon as I wake up in the morning.

first thing in the morning, 9:58 AM

I don't like the fact that I only look one way (messed up) in these photos, but that's the point. And I guess that's why I like it.

Notice how it's sunnier today?
It's a nice 71 degrees here in Brooklyn today.
Low humidity.

And it's awesome.

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