PAIN AND WIND

The storm hit us. It was downgraded to a tropical storm right before it got to NYC, so that was familiar territory. It was a nice weekend, though. I liked hunkering down, awaiting a big storm. It was like NYC was awaiting the arrival of a visitor. A new life was breathed into the city.

It was nice seeing NYC being forced to shut down and chill out for a change.

The weather is one of my favorite things to talk about actually. I know it can be something boring to discuss with most people, but I like knowing there is this invisible force that determines our outfits for the day. And I like knowing the weather can either make for a great day in the park.

Or totally destroy your life.

 

I went for a walk in the morning time to assess damage in my neighborhood. It wasn’t so bad. Normal tropical storm stuff.

This was the most interesting thing I saw:

 

All day yesterday the wind blew as the storm continued going north. I enjoyed it very much. It made me feel cozy indoors.

And the sky the storm left was beautiful:

 

I don’t regret going to the grocery store to buy extra food and supplies because I needed them.

I only regret buying so much of that Hurricane Chow the store kept advertising!

 

xo
craig

HOT ACHE

Heat wave.
Tomorrow the high is 98 degrees. Today is in the mid-90s.
We broke down and turned on the air conditioner.

Summer in NYC is brutal and not cute.
So, I made a list of places I’d like to go:

I’ve  never been to Europe, but I currently have little interest in going. (Unless you’re paying.)

We found this flyer on the subway and agreed it looks like me:

In other news, friends…
I’ve updated my links section to include some friends’ blogs that I enjoy, so please check them out. I might add more in the near future. These are the first ones that came to mind.

xo
c

COMEUPPANCE

Having my younger sister here this weekend provided me with some very tourist-y photos of myself. I think it’s great. So hilarious.

Here are some of them.

My sister and me on the Brooklyn Bridge:

On top of the Met:

Me in Times Square:

Coney Island. I was talked into getting on the Cyclone.
Not a pretty sight for Craig…

Oh, and me in my cramped apartment:

It was a fun weekend.
I felt like I was a tourist in a different city (more so than the other times my sister has been to visit).
NYC has a lot going on. On many different levels.
It’s almost overwhelming.
But I should explore more often.

xo
c

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

don’t pay for white teeth

I'm almost done with a book called "Geek Love". 

It's about a family of circus freaks. 

At first I was half-interested in it and was only moving forward with it because I hate to leave a book half-finished. Now it has grown on me, and I wish there were 150 more pages to go instead of the 30 or 40 I have left. 

Those freaks have grown on me, even though there are only a couple of characters in the family that are worth liking. Most of them are kind of jerks. 

This is a busy week. 

We are getting ready to shoot the new Take Off Your Clothes collection. 

I've got a good feeling this will be the best one yet. I'm really excited about it all. 

I'll keep you updated.

The other day Ben J. and I were sitting on a bench in a playground in Chinatown. 

We were eating our (v. cheap but amazing) dumplings, sipping our bubble tea, and relaxing before meeting up with our friends at the Sonic Youth concert. And it dawned on us that we really like NYC, that there is no other place for us right now because this makes so much sense. All the cool things to eat and do, and all the accessibility to resources we need… These are things you can't find in many other places.

It was a nice feeling. 

And for once, I didn't mind all the noise and people whirling about all around us. 

As long as I am able to sit still in the midst of all that noise and eat my dumplings and sip my bubble tea, I'm just fine.

(The trick to living in NYC, I think, is to leave it regularly so that you can appreciate it more when you come back.)

Now for some eye candy:

The other day I was looking up pictures of feathered dinosaurs.

Here are my favorites:

Jinfengopteryx

Gigantoraptor

Sinosauropteryx

And my absolute favorite because it's so cute:

Scansoriopteryx

If I were going to own a feathered dinosaur, it'd be that one.

I would buy it dog treats. Little ones.

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GRANULATED SUGAR

Today is so very hot.

The "feels like" temperature is 100 degrees.

Yesterday the "feels like" temp was 105.

What is with this Texas heat in NYC?

I thought I left that part of Texas behind.

I was actually afraid to leave the apartment yesterday. 

New York heat is different from Texas heat because in Texas you can hide indoors. 

In New York the heat follows you everywhere. 

Work, commute, sleep. 

Gah.

I was reluctant to leave yesterday because I knew I had a photo shoot planned with my friend Andrew. And we were shooting in a basement… 

For some reason I imagined a basement being really uncomfortable (temperature-wise) much like an attic. But it was actually very nice and cool. I hardly broke a sweat.

Our photos were for a top secret project I have planned. 

They didn't come out as planned this time around, but I am patient and devoted to this.

We DID get this one shot of myself that I like:

Me tied up in a basement

In other news, I haven't had much else on my mind except for heat and… drag, of all things.

Ben has recently shared with me the gift of "RuPaul's Drag Race".

I never thought much of drag before, but the show is very entertaining, very quotable, and hilarious. I also have a new appreciation for drag queens. The very idea of "channeling" women to impersonate is very interesting. Makes the performance art aspect of drag more evident.

And being RuPaul isn't as easy as I imagined. 

There's a whole persona you have to embody to successfully pull off a drag look. Ru does it right. 

Whenever she walks the runway, I just can't help but think she looks great and in control.

And you know, I totally admire anybody that looks great, confident, and is obviously in control of a situation. 

This combination is very rare in a person. 

I love it when it happens.

A video of RuPaul's song that will not leave my head—AT ALL:

RuPaul’s Jealous Of My Boogie (featuring Tyra Sanchez, Raven and Jujubee

I used to think the worst/cattiest thing in the world was a roomful of women.

I now know that it is a roomful of drag queens.

To quote my very good friend J:

"…a room full of drag queens would MOS DEF be worse than a room full of women 'cause what could possibly be more war mongering than a woman with a penis?"

Well said, my friend.

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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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SANTA CLAWS!

No, I don't think with my penis.
I just highly value its opinion.

While I was sitting by myself in the grass at McCarren Park, thinking, knitting, people watching, I saw this big bear walk by:

big bear

There have been very nice sunsets the past few days here in NYC.
I wish this photo I took from the apartment were a bit nicer—kinda blurry, but you get the idea:

sunset

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SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY!

SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY!
9.11.08

Well, I haven't done SPT in quite some time—just been preoccupied—but I figured that this self portrait (the one for EmJo's project) would suffice. Hopefully I can continue to keep on keeping on.

first thing in the morning, 8:20 AM

Woke up in someone else's bed.
Hot stuff.
Or something like that.

Not much else to report.
Have just been holed up in my room working on a design or two. And maintaining an internet presence.
And working on a secret scarf. (Think size FIFTY needles…)

xo
c

P.S.
It's 9/11.
This means I'm also a bit bummed out.
My thoughts go out to all affected by this event.

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pocket knife

Busy weekend!
Sorry I haven't been around.
I missed you tho.

Highlights of this weekend:
-Going to the Museum of Natural History on Saturday afternoon.
(I was really into the animal exhibits, especially the deep sea creatures. It's kinda like space, but more interesting—to me, at least.)
-The Annex (it's a club on the Lower East Side) on Friday night with my fun/good pals.

At the club, there's a gal that walks around taking photos of people and such.
As I was reading about Little Red Riding Hood early this morning, I remembered that the photos from Friday night would probably be posted. So, I took a lil' peek…

I thought my friends' photos looked very nice (except Max's, which I'm not including):

Sarah J.

Ben J. and my head

But I must say that I got a bit embarrassed when I saw my photo:

me

I don't know what's going on with my face and hair there.
It makes me look like some sassy douche or something.

I'm not a sassy douche.
But I can be a sarcastic jerk tho (sometimes).

There's a difference.

Okay, I'll stop being one of those people who obsesses over photos of themselves. It's just the only thing I have to say right now that's not TOO boring—like if I were to talk about my FEELINGS.

I mean, who really wants to hear about how these days I can get more anxious and bummed and nervous and uneasy than I have been in the past four or five months?

Oh gosh, I feel so vapid now.

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