In this photo, my mom explains to young Fang that in these uncertain economic times, it is necessary for him to examine his personal financial plan very closely – to make some tough decisions before things get out of control.
"You could consider rolling over your various 401k accounts – all of which, I'm sorry to tell you, have lost a considerable amount of money. A Roth IRA might make sense for a cat your age."
[silence]
"Could I take the losses as a write-off?"
"Yes Jeans, you can take the losses as a write-off."
We're not really doing Christmas this year, but in the off chance that anyone decides they want to get me anything (is it sad when you tell your family what you want for Christmas via blog?) I'm going to post a couple choice items over the next several days.
First up: Two-Lane Blacktop, often called the greatest road movie ever made, on Criterion DVD (or VHS, new or used, I don't care).
. Some sample spreads from another favorite children's book – this one by the playwright Eugène Ionesco, with illustrations by Etienne Delessert. The text is funny and the illustrations are outstanding (as with all of Delessert's work – in 1975 he was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in the Louvre, which went on to travel to museums around the world). Click to enlarge:
More Delessert and Ionesco in future posts. In the meantime, snap this one up at Abe Books.
Top five shows of 2008 in no particular order: -Past Lives/Triumph of Lethargy at the Green Room -Laura Veirs at Union Hall -Cave Singers at Union Hall -Fleet Foxes at Bowery Ballroom -Hello, Blue Roses at Glasslands
. While doing some research for a client I came across these stills from a 1968 French film by Jacques Deray. La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) stars Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, and Jane Birkin. Check the trailer:
Dope style, dope soundtrack... I feel an obsession coming on.
Some miscellany for Monday as I'm juggling a ton of stuff this week.
The other day Emily and I took a walk through the woods in Seward Park, one of several Olmstead-designed parks on Lake Washington.
It's kind of crazy having an old-growth forest in the middle of Seattle – it feels really remote in parts. The other day I was there (just me) and this song came up on shuffle, which was weird and cool and added to the mood:
It is rare and memorable when shuffle gets something right.
Saturday we walked along the waterfront on a path that goes north out of downtown Seattle.
There's a big grain elevator there and this ship from Panama was unloading its haul, while another waited at anchor in Elliott Bay.
Sometimes even just looking at boats feels like vacation. After that we went to Lowell's in the market and had some clams and Manny's.
Later that night we went to The Anne Bonny and caught the opening of Bald Man Art, a new exhibition by Ezra Dickenson, while enjoying some refreshing beverages with gallerist and proprietor Spencer Moody. I recommend stopping by soon and often – it's a great show and the Anne B has a never-ending collection of interesting things going on.
Tonight Spencer's band Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive To Death is playing at the Showbox. Here's a video for their song "Demolition Man."
Triumph of Lethargy is playing with Past Lives. I meant to post about the record release party for the new Past Lives EP several weeks ago, and not just because it had one of the cooler flyers I've seen recently:
Past Lives is destined for greatness – check out some samples on their MySpace page, pick up the EP now at Suicide Squeeze, and head over to their website for more info.
And I think that pretty much brings us up to speed for the moment….
December 5th is Repeal Day – take extra joy in your pints this evening if you are so inclined.
A.C. Newman Drink to Me Babe Then mp3 (Side note, A.C. Newman has a new record coming out in January, yet another reason to look forward to the New Year.)
I love the simplicity of the current Givenchy campaign by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. There's a lot of subtle action going on in what would otherwise be fairly straightforward studio shots, and by straying from their usual (also outstanding) gray backgrounds in favor of higher contrast, it somehow helps capture the somewhat aggressive-seeming attitude of Givenchy very well.
Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci is guest creative director for the current issue of A Magazine as well – definitely worth a trip to the newsstand.
Last night we went to Vermillion for an installation by Michael Hall – aka Specs, pictured above left – and the launch of his new comic book Mux Adapter. The show was the first in Vermillion's current series of one-nighters. Here are some pics (click to enlarge).
I have known Specs for a long time – I think it was 1994 when I bummed an Elevators tape off him in Tower Records – and it's great to see him going creatively strong, both visually and musically. Here are a couple classics from the crates:
Specs One Who Is He? mp3 from Return of the Artist (available here)
Specs One Concrete mp3 from The Long Awaited Mega EP (available here) The Crew Clockwise Rap Capsule mp3 (produced by King Otto) from Tribal Productions' Do the Math Elevators Back In It mp3 from 1994
Hear more at myspace.com/specsone and get your copy of Mux Adapter (80 pages, limited edition of 500 copies) by sending $7 to
Michael Hall / Capstan Media PMB 824 1122 E Pike Street Seattle, WA 98122-3934
E-mail capstanmedia[at]gmail.com for press or retail inquiries, or check out myspace.com/capstanmedia for more info.
A recent post at the top notch design blog HI+LOW inspired me to pull out this Graphis annual I got through Abe Books a few years ago. Even in (mostly) black and white, it's a pretty amazing collection of album covers, circa 1974.
One of my favorite weirdo perv records they feature is this German Oh! Calcutta! soundtrack:
I picked it up from Steve (not Stinky Steve, the other Steve) at the 25th Street flea market in Chelsea several years ago. A couple cuts: Brave New World Oh Calcutta mp3 Brave New World Jack & Jill mp3
Vivian Girls Blind Spot mp3 (Daisy Chain cover) Order it directly from In the Red and get more info, blog, tour dates, and the VIVIAN GIRLS SURF'S UP FUN PACK! at viviangirls.net.
I took a chance on this 7", I liked the cover. It's from a local label called dirty knobby.
Oh also, Emily pointed out that two of the above covers have planes on them.
Pacific Standard issue no.1 covers: top, Abby Brothers by Michael Donovan; bottom, Alexis Schuster by Charlie Schuck. Select image above for more information.
In this photo, my mom explains to young Fang that in these uncertain economic times, it is necessary for him to examine his personal financial plan very closely – to make some tough decisions before things get out of control.
