here's where things are @/'Arrive Pumped'

The below was "found in St. Paul’s Cathedral Baltimore. Dated 1662"). Not. The above found by Ian and Grant 2000-something during a midnite dumpster/recycling spree. Glenn. His sweatershirt..i am..making..a tshirt of this..I can't stand it).

As Above/So Below. i'm changing my name to "Desiderata" how beautiful!. This came to me from a friend at pretty much the perfect second...and the fact it's dated...1662..wtf??) note: read addendum. this information is FALSE.
(note: italics by me)

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence , as far as possible without surrender (Cheap Trick), be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth, quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are a vexation to the spirit. (editor's note: ya i better try that. avoid. loud aggro people. check)

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter (bitter? did someone say bitter?); for always there will be greater or lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plan. Keep interested in your own career (Art Janitor), however humble, it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is, many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love (uh..i wrote text/lyrics today: SHOVE OVER/LOVE IS OVER); for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurturing strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune (sic?). But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe (HELL YA!)no less than the trees and the stars; and you have a right to be here (me, you and everybody else we know in the universe. dont get me started on m. july). And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should (just like a roll of toilet paper!). Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be. And whatever your labours and aspirations in the noisy confusions of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. (Arrive Pumped).

ya. i guess they're right..he or she? who wrote this? who found it? i hope a lady wrote this. it's more gentle than I Ching esoteric hardass. On being cheerful: sometimes i gotta fake it. Fake it Till I Make It...Till I make it...AWESOME. it's still a very beautiful world (even though it sucks). A sham. i love that word. love, s.

ADDENDUM!!! WOAH HOLD THE PHONE!! good thing i wikipedia-d this shit...it was NOT found in 1662 but more like 1962...SHAM!!!! it was being circulated w/this 1662 notion at one point. It was written in 1927 by a man (ya) named Max Ehrmann - poet and lawyer:

"I should like, if I could, to leave a humble gift -- a bit of chaste prose that had caught up some noble moods."

it became popular in the SIXTIES...anyways...Max- that thing you did - you did a great job! Thumbs up! However, my image of a Vermeer lady scribing this in the 1600s is shattered.

i'm still changing my name to:

"Desiderata" (Latin for "desired things", plural of desideratum) is an inspirational prose poem about attaining happiness in life

LATIN is so coming back. Two awesome writer friends i know are teaching themselves latin (and attending class).

oh the 'love' link is to an Akron/Family song (again): "Love Is Simple". I love to sing along to it - all these great harmonies to choose from.This was the best rendition i could find (Fox Rox). The studio recording is AMAZING. A huge chorus singing along - ladies, kids. I had imaginings that they really were a family..always singing and jamming in an empy country church or barn..but no. it's just a few dudes playing tunes (& slightly out of tune in this version). Still. I love this song. 'Don't be afraid/it's only love...don't be afraid/you're already dead'. etc.

the singer is cute. i like his crummy pony(tail) and earnestness.

However, if you need to cleanse your palette, i am still totally obsessed with this Roxy Music song from Avalon. The Main Thing. Woah. The official video is slightly obscene! If you sit thru it there's a weird scene at the end w/ a lady brushing her teeth ALL WRONG. I just got back from the dentist and it finally got pounded into my head HOW to brush your teeth. If you can imagine the most gentle possible slow way - you're on your way. It's all in the flossing...but if you scrub like a mothra-effer, your gums will recede and you will be screwed.

ciao!

Redheads

if this was a perfect world, i'd drive the car(s) of my dreams. but this world isn't so. plus i'd have to take a powder puff mechanics course or sumthin & i dont have time for that right now. neko case looks really different. i wonder why. There's Sydney's art on her TOP! yah!
that vanessa beecroft 'documentary' 'The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins' i HIGHLY recommend. As is often the case these days - my mouth was agape 75% of the movie. (my mouth is often agape these days in reaction to random ongoing global travesties). It's really something else. I have a fascination with VB. She. is. a. freaker. with a beautiful sing song soft voice controlling everything. Once she ate an entire bag of walnuts - shells and all - in an attempt to purify herself. She ended up in the hospital. She has huge problems with food and makes no bones about it.
French Lieutenant's Woman is really good. It's a move within a movie. I also recommend that.

ANGORA KIDS

i mean 'keds'

i made these for a shoe auction event to be held at the Bata Shoe Museum..lotsa neat artists involved...a great cross section which i always like.

i keep every last scrap of angora (try to) and I used the bits for the shoes. it gives me a great satisfaction to use it all. Sometimes i send off the tiniest bits of fluff hoping that it will make its way to a bird's nest.

I spent hours on these Keds. Painstaking. Taking pains w/ the hot glue gun. I'd say definitely 'Abstract Expressionism'.
i've been wearing a pair of the non-keds versions around. They're fun to wear. I have a few more pairs - let me know if you are interested. I haven't uploaded them to Etsy yet but if you're my pal we can figure something out. Feel free to drop me a line.

The non-keds versions are sitting in The Other Room now...which is...a spaceous studio space. I used to sleep in there. It's a room near the front porch and it felt weird to sleep next to the front door. Ill-at-ease. I would feel vaguely paranoid knowing that *someone* could easily tap on the window while i slept. Now I sleep in the livingroom and i'm not sure about that either. Rae the adorable gentleman below me wakes me up calling for his cats: Forlorn and Whitey. Basically this entire apartment is a studio. There are books piled everywhere...papers, angora, work stations.

and me fretting amongst it wondering where to focus next.

so while i wait 54 minutes till MEGAVIDEO lets me back on to 'dexter', i figured i'd finally update this blog. That and the fact that two dear friends asked this week: where?

Where? 'Where' is fretting.

i cant believe i went to valuevillage today. this is what happens when it's 3 blocks from where i live. it was 50% off day and total obvious mayhem sounds of cheap plastic hangers scraping the rods. i went straight to the book section and it was very quiet there. Everyone else wanted a new outfit or more landfill junk. I was able to spend a good 25 minutes browsing and filling my boots. These days I'm working on a book sculpture project as a way to relax. My big joke right now is that i 'quit art'. Again. Now i'm just making it around the house - the way i have always done (since, like, age 3). It feels better this way. Maybe it wont see the light of day. Who cares? I can tell my friends about it. I'll try to put pictures up. Ok so i bought a bunch of feminist theory books. It looks like someone dumped off their entire collection. all the classics 'female eunuch' and such - personal 90s fave: BACKLASH that no one really read unless your name is courtney love who wouldn't shut up about it and got plenty of young ladies purchasing it...and Sweet Valley High books. The content is pure garbage but i cannot resist the words: SWEET. VALLEY. HIGH. A Perfect Fit with my highs and lows chapters. 'i climbed the mountains, skiied the valleys'. I'm dog-tagging each and every page in a perfect fold - into the gutter of the book - the accordian-like effect is most pleasing. They stand up as perfect sculptures. I've cleared all the shelves in the kitchen getting ready for the book sculptures. This is something i can make while i'm on the phone or...FRETTING.

I'm also working on an aluminum foil ball which is getting bigger everyday. I like these small projects that take nothing - two minutes at a time or even 2 min per day....and you can see it growing. that's where i'm at right now. I have huge years' long projects that loom over me like a giant dark shadow. enough of that. (and i'm also making a rubberband ball but apparently i 'cheated' b/c i started off with a sphere form. what difference does it make? everyone else cheats. grant started his from nothing..oh..wait..he said a bead..his rubber band ball is so impressive. oh..and i'm also starting a quilt from the angora scraps that are a bit bigger than the sneaker scraps..the fluff bits are being made into friendship pins again).

and my obsession with aluminum cans is NOT going away. The theme to all of these little projects is The Depression. Grapes Of Wrath style. that's all i can come up with for now.
pictures later, skater.

PS i didnt know germaine greer was born in melbourne, australia. interesting.
xoxoxo