Leaving Shangri-L.A.

What I’ve Been Up to At Friend of Dorothy Wilde

2011-05-04T20:15:00.001-05:00

Hello! I see I still get quite a few hits over here, and thought it might be time for an update.

I’m still blogging over at Friend of Dorothy Wilde, which has the same content but a little bit more gay.

Okay, a lot more gay. :D

Anyway, here are all the reviews I’ve done over there so far. It’s safe to say that their content carries over—if you like Francesca Lia Block, you’ll probably like these books too.

Fiction

Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn

Pages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg

About a Girl by Joanne Horniman

The Legend of Holly Claus by Brittany Ryan

Secrets of Truth and Beauty by Megan Frazer

Love & Lies: Marisol’s Story by Ellen Wittlinger

Nonfiction

How Sassy Changed my Life: A Love Letter to the Greatest Teen Magazine of All Time by Kara Jesella and Marisa Meltzer

A Homemade Life: Life Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg

Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties by Marion Meade

The Black Apple’s Paper Doll Primer: Activities and Amusements for the Curious Paper Artist by Emily Martin

16 Things I Love About the Doris Anthology, by Cindy Crabb

You Are Among Friends: Advice for the Little Sisters I Never Had by Lindsey J. Markel

How-To

Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills by Raleigh Briggs

Beadalicious: 25 Fresh, Unforgettable Jewelry Projects by Sonya Nimri

Lovely Things to Make for Girls of Slender Means by Eithne Farry

Poetry

Handmade Love by Julie R. Enszer

I also did a list of 36 Books for the Feminist Adult YA Reader, which proved quite popular!

Hi All!

2010-10-10T11:09:00.002-05:00

I've noticed a spike in traffic, so welcome!

If you would like to check out more of what I've been doing, visit my new blog:

Friend of Dorothy Wilde

and especially its accompanying tumblr: friendofdorothywilde.tumblr.com

Peace out!

Rie

Not Dead, Merely Pining For the Fjords

2009-07-29T23:49:00.001-05:00

Hello all!

I'm still here--I had to take some time off for numerous school/life/work related reasons, but I'm back with some exciting news to come in the next couple of days.

If you'd like to see what I've been up to in the interim, check out girls.books.food.art.love, my tumblr full of magic, wonder, books, and what is colloquially called Teh Gay. Comments are enabled, so feel free to share the love.

Avec <3,
Rie

Life Artists 2: How to Turn Your Town into a Surreal Wonderland

2009-04-13T08:06:00.001-05:00

That first post on Guerrilla Art-in-the-Round (as Lisa dubbed it) was so popular that I've been collecting links ever since for a second go-round.

*Cartoonify your life with a Sharpie and some pingpong balls, courtesy of Dyers.org. Want to see this Muppetification on a grand scale? Check out FilthyLuker's DeviantArt gallery.

*Zoomdoggle strikes again with their Fun-O-Meter, a spiritual successor to the late, lamented Gumball Poetry. For fifty cents, you get a fun idea, a toy, and a quarter. Can't beat that in this town!

*The Toy Society started as an Australian street art project, but now "spreads the love throughout the streets of the world. Nothing to it really just a bunch of handmade toys looking for a nice home. "

*Got a steady hand and some chalk? Create your own choose-your-own adventure story on the streets of your neighborhood, just like the Mission Stencil Story

*LexofGreen is the one of the heir apparents of the glamourbombing community. Her fae (read: devious and quirky) sense of humor shines through her work. Seen here are her watchful trees, but I also love the havoc she wreaks with balloons and toy dinosaurs

*Fellow NYC denizens: you are lucky enough to have three guerilla art-ing collectives in your midst. Improv Everywhere is the one with the elaborate pranks, Flux Factory does the strange and thoughtful installations, and Newmindspace is all about having childlike fun on a giant scale.

All fired up, but want something to keep you company when curling up in bed after a long day of chalking? Here are a few guerilla-arty titles

13 Little Blue Envelopes is too much fun to give a lot of the plot away, but when its heroine discovers a series of letters from her beloved late aunt, she sets off on a whirlwind tour of Europe to do good in others' lives and make the world a more whimsical place--as well experience some crazy adventures of her own! It's very Amelie-esque for the teen set, and I love it.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is smart, funny, and cleverly full of inspiration for girls displeased with the social status quo. When Frankie's barred from her boarding school's boys-only secret society, she takes inspiration from the Cacophony Society and turns the Basset Hounds onto their heads, raising awareness about the inequalities present on their prestigious campus. Sound boring? Not when the Library Lady, a hound made of produce, and a kidnapped guppy make their appearance!

Love, Stargirl is the superior follow-up to the infamous title about a magical girl who transforms a school, then leaves under mysterious circumstances after human nature kicks in. The sequel proves that Stargirl is no Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but a very human teen with hope and heart and plans to bring her community together in unique ways

The Queen Geek Social Club is rather on the light side for LSL, but its heroines--who start a social group for misfits and plot screwball schemes with the help of a fussy but kind-hearted house robot--are charming enough to warrant a check-out from your local library. I could do without Shelby's love interest in this volume and the sequels--he's a whiny, possessive drip--but the musical numbers, Feed the Models campaign, and ping-pong proms will keep you entertained.

Kathy Cano-Murillo's Novel!

2009-04-13T06:09:00.001-05:00

Most of you know the Crafty Chica for embellishing every surface she can get her glitter-loving hands on, as well as her tender and funny family stories. Now she's combined the two in her new novel, Waking Up In the Land of Glitter, due in March 2010.

Struggling domestic-goddess-in-training Ofy is determined to turn heads at this year's International CraftOlympics. To do that, she'll need the help of her best friend, Star. Considering herself a serious artist, Star is hesitant, but finally agrees to help as a way to end her own creative slump. Truthfully she thinks Ofy is a little loca about the whole craft thing - and about her idol: Local TV personality, Crafty Chloe. Star doesn't trust the bottle-blonde, even after she becomes part of their crafting team. As the competition heats up, Star will learn Chloe's dirty little secret, why crafting means so much to Ofy, and that beauty, art, and creativity can take many more forms than a canvas hanging in a gallery.

Sounds just like my kind of novel! Bonus fact: this book started out as Kathy Cano-Murillo's Nanowrimo novel--so don't let anyone tell you they're ALL worthless.

Amazon Fail: A Quick Update

2009-04-12T18:56:00.001-05:00

Via awesome reader/blogging buddy Lisa Chellman:

If you follow Neil Gaiman on Twitter, you already know this, but for the rest of us: Amazon.com has made the sickening and, apparently, homophobic maneuver of hiding sales ranks for a slew of books with LGBTQ content. These sales ranks are tied in with whether/how books appear on sales lists and come up in searches on Amazon. In other words, we've got an issue of visibility and accessibility as well as (un)equal treatment here.

Read the whole post here.

Read more at Alterdestiny, reported by former Mag intern/political/comics journalist dynamo Sarah J.

Up-to-the-minute updates are found at Twitter keyword #amazonfail

I will be boycotting Amazon.com and its affiliates until they explain themselves, at the very least. All book links will lead to Powell's, Booksense, or WorldCat as appropriate.

A Real Change of Face

2009-04-08T10:00:00.001-05:00

Hey Awesome Readers!

You've probably noticed it's gone a bit quiet round here--I've had a crazy month. (In one word? Girls. In several? Girls and grad school.) I still love LSL and have absolutely no plans to leave it (Working on a couple of reviews as we speak, as it happens). However, I needed something fresh. That, my loves, is my No Longer Secret Other Blog:

girls. books. food. art. love.

All the wonderful, whimsical, weird content you love here in bite-size pieces throughout the day. Content's a little less sweet and a little more twentysomething over there--think The Sassy Minx (<3!) as opposed to Pink World. If you're so inclined, you can wade through the archives--I put up almost 200 photos, links, and videos in the past month.

Speaking of, don't get a Tumblr. It will eat your life.

By the by, new Francesca Lia Block interview over at my other new favorite blog, Deer Women. It's all about her new books. I also just fired off a quick email to the lady herself to see if I can find out a bit about that dating guide. (If you know me at all, you know exactly what the question was...)

Author Interview: Sara M. Harvey

2009-04-03T12:01:00.001-05:00

Now, you can go ahead and call me biased, but I think Sara M. Harvey, author of A Year and A Day and the brand new The Convent of the Pure, is awesome. She's a costume-crafting, mind-molding, tale-telling weaver of wonders, and I'm not just saying that cause we've been buddies ever since A Year and a Day was short stories on an Angelfire website. Sara has generously granted me an interview (LSL's first!), and I hope you enjoy it!

1. The Convent of the Pure is both familiar territory and a surprising departure from your body of writing. What inspired this particular mix in your latest novel?

I really love angel myths, and readers of my previous book, A Year and a Day, saw the lighter side of angels. The Convent of the Pure mixed in some of the old myths with a dark, Steampunk bent. I was drawing from my magic-reality, urban-fantasy well but tilting it towards a horror market. And as much as I have always loved to read horror, this is my first time attempting to write it. The crux of this plot came from a dream I had- I always keep a dream diary and write down the gems my sleeping brain comes up with. Sometimes I feel like that's cheating, but it is still my brain and my ideas, just done while sleeping (one of my favorite pastimes!).

Biblical myth, historical fiction, horror, with a good dose of a weird dream, and a touch of female-female love story just seemed perfectly natural to me. ^_^

2. Lots of writers are talking about the advantage of a small, dedicated publisher in current economic climes. Tell us about your experience with Apex Book Company.

My experience with Apex has been nothing short of wonderful! I really feel like I am part of the family, we take care of one another. I don't have the same nationwide distribution that I did with my previous mass-market publisher, but I feel that I MATTER to the company. The people there care about me specifically and I have been allowed a lot of creative freedom in how my book looks, feels, and is marketed. And with the smaller scale of production, I get to have a hand in cover art, back blurb copy, etc. And small publishers can really feel niches in the book world, allowing for more specialized writing to reach its target audience. And with digital print-on-demand technology there is no difference between a small publisher and the big houses, especially when the small publisher is Jason Sizemore who is committed to having a book that is top quality- inside and out.

3. Steampunk, as a genre, is well known for its comics and movies, but not so much written works. What steampunk-flavored lit would you recommend?

My obsession with Steampunk started at a very young age with the classics, H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. There has been a rise in Steampunky literature in the past few years from Circlet Press's Steampunk erotica anthologies (Like a Wisp of Steam and Like Clockwork) to YA fiction (His Dark Materials- The Golden Compass trilogy and to some extent, A Series of Unfortunate Events) to mainstream stuff (The Court of Air) to fantasy (Palimpsest).

A quick search of Amazon.com of items under the tag "Steampunk" reveals a wide variety of music, literature, films, and graphic novels- there seems to be a little flavor of Steampunk for every taste!

4. You're a Renaissance woman--a ghost tour guide, a college professor, a costume historian and designer. Do your other pursuits ever flavor your writing, and vice versa?

Everything is a tapestry for me. The theatre background led to the costuming and the teaching and the touring. And the history thing, oh, that flavors everything. It is one defining thread through my life- I love things that are old, I hunger for nostalgia.That love of history is where the ghost stories come in- it is history directly interacting with the here and now! I love to read and write historical fiction for a variety of reasons, but the clothing is a lot of it for me. I just adore describing costumes! It rally adds so much to the character- the colors they choose, the textures, how free or restrictive the clothes are, etc. It is just the same for theatrical costume design as well. Clothing says a lot about our personalities and reveals a lot of secrets that most people don't even realize. I love to use this to my advantage!

5.What is your advice for other writers that consider genre merely a set of nice suggestions to be politely ignored?

As someone who floats free on the genre sea, I can tell you that your fans will love you for your complexity and your uniqueness, but larger publishers will make you want to cry because you don't fit neatly into pre-determined categories. But that is another place where small publishers really help to fill in the gaps for readers and for writers- they allow for a lot more grey areas between genres that most readers really desire. And the bigger publishers are starting to come around and pick up books that cross a lot of genres and eschew boundaries. But fairly warned be ye says I, it is not an easy road, but ultimately one that is, for me, the most rewarding. I have got to be me and if I can't hit the broad side of a genre barn, but my readership continues to increase, well that just tells me that I am not doing anything wrong and maybe it's the world that needs to change!

But then again, I am the instigating type.

***

Intrigued? I knew you would be. Catch her all over the WWW, at her Official Website, her blog Charmed and Dangerous, and over on Livejournal and Twitter. If that hasn't sold you, we'll have to have words--preferably words about her 10 Days of Amanda Palmer interview over at Apex's blog.

A Change of Face

2009-04-01T14:10:00.001-05:00

Awesome readers, it's time for you to know of my secret plans for LSL.

It's been a great two years reviewing the best and brightest of YA literate, genre fiction, and life guides for the Francesca Lia Block fan, but sometimes one feels a change in the wind and must follow accordingly.

From now on, it's chick lit and chick lit only. The more preposterous, fluffy, and catty, the better. I'm just not interested in stories about art and magic and blazing your own trail--too taxing! Too idealistic! I'd rather live vicariously through my reading material, with shopping and wooing handsome men, thank you very much. So expect to see a lot more of this:

in the future. Thank you and goodnight.

...:D

Another New FLB Book!

2009-03-25T23:10:00.001-05:00

Good news, everyone! According to the Francesca Lia community, Suza Scalora and Francesca Lia Block will be collaborating on a new title called Evidence of Angels--which already has a HarperCollins placekeeper website.

Ms. Block is crazy prolific this year! This means we have

The Waters and the Wild (I've read the ARC of this; it's a nice meld of her old and new styles)

Evidence of Angels

Open Letter to Quiet Light

Little Pink

Pretty Dead

Wood Nymph Meets Centaur: A Mythological Dating Guide

Lay Me Out Softly

and House of Dolls

to look forward to in 2009!

The Typewriter Girls!

2009-03-19T13:07:00.001-05:00

Good friend and Leaving Shangri-LA correspondent Emily-HyperFaerie attended a Typewriter Girls show in Pittsburg at my behest. Here's what she had to say:

The Girls had an old-school typewriter set up at the entrance and encouraged audience members to add onto an Exquisite Corpse poem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse) which would be read at the end of the show. After much futzing with the typewriter, I added some lines from my old poems and a few lines of "red rum" for good measure, and Julianna put in one of her favorite song quotes...

The show itself was fantastically wild and stunning, with belly dancers, local poets reading bizarre snippets from their books, a gorgeous androgyne Eros-boy go-go dancing in wings and a Speedo, burlesque performers, and the TGs themselves in drag as Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot. When the performance itself ended, the Girls put on music and the audience had a wild dance/makeout party...

Read the full account at her blog: Poetic Cabaret is Freedom.

The Half-Twisted Twists of Trinity Place: Second Verse, Same as the First

2009-03-17T06:11:00.001-05:00

Photo by Mr. Nightshade

You all may remember when I published the first verse of The Half-Twisted Twists, an epic rhyming poem about two vaudeville stars and their crazy scheme to gain fame and fortune. The majority of it is stranded on a laptop which is having a bit of downtime, but I thought I'd post the second verse so you awesome readers can see what happens next.

If any of you have verses three and four of Half-Twisted Twists, please send them to me! I miss them and want to work on it.

They sewed into the night with derangement and passion
and made gilded clobber like the nightmares of Fashion.
They had hats like flowers and ombre-dyed tights,
Dresses with sequins and run through with lights
Mermaid tails for a Barnumesque Siamese twin,
And men's suits that glittered like skies over Brooklyn.
"If nothing," said Rie, later on, when she's pressed,
"I'll never deny the Twists were well dressed."
They sang pieces not known in proper tradition
Practiced acts that were glorious acts of sedition
(The sedition, in part, was meant to woo
the socialist diva on floor #2)
Painting was easy, but the scenery cursed;
Next time they wouldn't steal wood from a hearse.
For one week they hammered and spangled and sung
And Friday next, jumped when the telephone rung.
"Oh my gaaaaaaaawd," drawled the agent they'd found in a bar,
"The theatre said, like, they'd make you both stars!"
"Incandescent and burning? You got it," said Cal,
"Where is this luminous downtown locale?"
"A dive of a place, the Vamping Vagabond,
Put the burly in burlesque this side of the pond.
There are strongmen in tutus and parrots that swear
Mustaches to ride from here to Montclair.
It's built like a palace, 3 stories tall
Oh, there's a curse, but don't mind it at all."
Their Agent hung up, they could hear her hair-flip;
Rie was regretting their benefactress's tip.
"A curse? There's nothing in the handbook 'bout those,
It might makes us wanton, or strip all our clothes."
"A curse," scoffed Cal,"some considered that blessed.
But life's much more fun when you keep saying yes."

Their fortune's in wit, their fate in their face
The Half-Twisted Twists of Trinity Place

A really important question...

2009-03-11T02:25:00.001-05:00

Who's the cutest?

A. Clare Crespo

B. Lisa Loeb

or C. Kate Nash?

The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum by Kate Bernheimer and Nicoletta Ceccoli

2009-03-11T01:39:00.001-05:00

My amazing readers! Do not fret; I have not abandoned you. I've just been under the weather (and over the moon...) for the past week, and in the excitement neglected my favorite little corner of the web.

In the interim, I met the amazing/amusing/fantastic Penelope Bat, but that's another story for another post. :D Just let it be known that she is every bit as cool as she is on her blog, Cocoa, and she has exciting news for the lot of you. (It's a surprise! As a trade, I showed her the location of the Secret Stash, which I only reveal to the best people ever. Problem is that I know so many of them...)

Anyway. Book!

There, through that window, right there.

Do you see her?

It's been said she's lived there forever.

Did you ever wonder if there were tiny people sharing your world? The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum spins the tale of a tiny blonde girl in a castle full of "music and grace," with checkerboard floors, flying windup toys, cuckoo clicks and pinwheels. Even in this dream world, she longs for company, and reminisces about those who made the journey to her castle. But wait! She has an idea to light up her lonely world--and you can help her.

Kate Bernheimer is a fairy tale scholar; her background shines through the simple but lovely writing. However, my true love is for Nicoletta Ceccoli's art. She brings the tropes of pop surrealism--big headed waifs, old-fashioned toys, dream ballets--to a young audience. (Has anyone done a collection of pop surrealist picture books? Rock-a-Bye La Rue Gallery? Anyone?) Her palette is muted sea and fog tones, with touches of acid green, cerulean blue and raspberry red for liveliness. Every time I look through the book, I find a new detail: buttons atop crenellations, a wheeled fish, pom poms and flowers in visitor's hair. It's a picture book unlike anything else you've seen before, and if you love other worlds, museums, modern surrealism and fables, it's a must-read for the younger folk in your life.

*An interview with Kate Bernheimer

*Illustrated review at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast

*Nicoletta Ceccoli illustrates marvels with a style that splashes color and whimsical details in soft, mystical dreamscapes. I confess that I have altogether too much fun playing around with the Book section of her website. Che bellissima, Nicoletta!

*Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle is a legend amongst miniaturists, an epic, intricate love letter to fairy tales and legends.

*Not all sweetness and light? Alexandra Blythe's miniature work, with its bagpipe-playing octopuses, naughty fairies, exquisite cabinets of curiosity and bemused baby dragons, may be your cup of tea

*The Toymaker is a papercrafter's delight, with the same sort of classical-but-modern fantasy feel as The Girl in the Castle.

*Ullabenulla is a fellow lover of all things fanciful and miniature, and curates her own beautiful little dollhouse, with a hat and pastry shop inside!

* Inspired? Create your own teeny doll house. I spy a Dame Darcy creation inside!

The New Jane Brocket!

2009-02-27T04:12:00.001-05:00

Ripping Things to Do: The Best Games and Ideas from Children's Books, the follow-up to the much loved Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer, is coming in July 2009!

Sita Sings the Blues

2009-02-24T04:01:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited to hear the Sita Sings the Blues, an animated jazz-infused retelling of the Ramayana, will air on PBS on March 7th. You can keep up with the latest at director Nina Paley's blog.

Everyone is Some Kind of a Freak: Half Life by Shelley Jackson

2009-02-24T03:19:00.001-05:00

Imagine you're a conjoined twin, two souls in one body. What if she was bold while you were shy? What if he inherited the family fortune while you were left a pauper?

What if she had gone to sleep and never woke up?

Nora lives in San Francisco, a happy bastion of Twofers and Togetherists who throw Twin Pride parades and run Twin bookstores, petition for Twin-souled representation in government and even yet shy from the attacks of less open-minded souls. Nora's twin, Blanche, has not made a movement nor word in years, and her sister plots to make herself a singleton--a highly dangerous and illegal move. When word comes of an experimental surgery in England, Nora runs off to London, encountering strange collections, an old lover with a collection of postmodern adult toys, a mysterious doctor and an all-too-welcoming post-Twofer cult. Not to mention that all this time, comatose Blanche may just be waking from her years of slumber....

Shelley Jackson's Half Life is darkly funny and poignant, a modern fable set against the dusty, radioactive badlands of Nevada, urban bohemia of San Francisco, and murky corners and phantasmagorical museums of London. For our edification, Nora has included the contents of her Siamese Twin Reference Manual. From the twins' conception (their showgirl mother fell in love with a man who carried an heirloom dollhouse to her show) to Nora's friends (counting Audrey, who claims to be a conjoined twin in a singleton's body and Trey, duplicitous and hysterical), everything in this novel has an off-kilter bent. Jackson's inventiveness is never twee; she balances singing taxidermy with smart humor and scholarly ruminations on the concept of self--not to mention truly funny sendups of modern identity politics. I can't count the times I found myself chuckling at an all too familiar dig at manifestos, consciousness-raising, or the picking-apart of language.

Later, when we were bigger, it was Hurricane Norbla that stooped over the dollhouse, arms undulant twin tornados, and swept it up. We whirled it until our legs felt all cloudy, and then bumped it tipsily down a south-western version of Oz, where baby horny toads were tucked tightly into bed so they couldn't escape and wept bloody tears, and beetles taped on top of piano stools consoled them. Sometimes we left stray bits of furniture behind--a delicate chair on an ant den, a tiny candelabra. On a walk we once saw something glinting in a pack rat's nest and waded carefully into the brush to see what it was. It was a tiny silver tea set. We decided to let the pack rat keep it, imagining a pack rat family sitting down to elevenses around it.

Jackson's prose marries the decayed fabulism of Angela Carter with Tom Robbin's irreverent reverence of the odd, especially when Nora reminisces about her childhood in the desert with the wildlife, the dollhouse, and their Amazon Granny for company. While the last part of the novel veers into some very esoteric territory, I still recommend Half Life for those who love their magical realism arch, bold, and satirical.

*Shelley Jackson's home on the web includes Skin, a novel told in tattoos and The Doll Games, an exhaustive excavation of imaginary play

*Sycamore and June, the World's Prettiest Twins, come with a pug, Chinese fans, and thought bubbles. Find them at Amanda Atkins in a Canary Forest.

*Colette Cascione paints the most sensual, delicately surreal portraits. Her women have worlds in their hearts, wings in their bustles, and dreams of butterflies. Not one to browse at work; nudes abound.

*Dame Darcy creates the wonderful comic Meatcake, a baroquely gothic fantasy where conjoined twins plot, mermaids curse, and heroine Richard Dirt gets herself into any number of scrapes. I can't wait to read Gasoline, her apocalyptic rock'n'roll eco-pagan fairy tale.

*Walter Potter was famous for creating enormous taxidermy tableaux. They're endearing and unnerving all at once. Nora visits the former Potter Museum in Half Life.

*Daisy and Violet Hilton were jazz-age performers, now best known for their appearance in Todd Browning's Freaks.

*the dollings are sweetly melancholy dollies with a story, handmade with love. Among the twins are Alli and Illa, Vera and Vella, and Dusa and Duska

Bitchin' Kitchen: I think I'm in love. With pasta.

2009-02-23T03:48:00.001-05:00

Get Famous Frittata Bitchin Kitchen Cooking Show - Watch the top videos of the week here

There's a primal part of my brain that responds to beautiful, irreverent women who raid John Water's kitchen to bring you a laugh, some carbs, and happy warm feelings of being amongst your tribe. Nadia G. serves up Italian-ish recipes with sass, wit, and a couple gallons of olive oil on her webshow, Bitchin' Kitchen.

Got a problem? She'll slap your (metaphorical) ass and feed you. (It's like going home again.) Hit the appletinis too hard last night? Try the Rehab Ravioli. Meeting the girl's (or boy's) parentals for the first time? Go for Impress the Inlaws Gorgonzola Farfalle Pasta. Need your leafy greens? Try Garlic-Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

If you can't handle her gesticulations, we can never meet in person. Just a warning. Buon appetito, i meie amici!

Oh--and don't forget the cookbook!

The Chelsea Whistle: A Memoir by Michelle Tea

2009-02-21T17:28:00.001-05:00

Previous to reading The Chelsea Whistle, I'd attempted a memoir by a smothered-but-privileged writer. This history of Tea's youth soared where that failed.

It's all those adjectives given to books that end up written by a mom in the midwest--raw, gritty, real, hopeful--but this one's real. It's the brutality of childhood that we all experience, the confusion of adolescence, the disillusionment of young adulthood. It's climbing into a forbidden creek and seeking validation from a psychic teahouse in Boston, neon costumes and pop-punk anthems that give you a glimpse of a world beyond Chelsea, a string of loser boyfriends before convincing yourself that you've fallen in love with the most beautiful flapper-girl-artist ever, a bad high at the first Lollapalooza, rejecting and then uniting with your sister over shared abuse. The end has been construed as depressing by some, but it's not, when you realize this is only the beginning of her life in print. (It continues with The Passionate Mistakes and Intricate Corruption of One Girl in America, Rent Girl, and Valencia).

So beautiful and ugly that it hurts, Tea's memoir is for those who want a true slice of life, a coming-of-age of a queer feminist force of nature.

*The Chelsea Whistle Excerpt on GoogleBooks

*Michelle Tea's Myspace

*Sister Spit: The Next Generation hits the road April 2009 with a whole new all-girl lineup of zinesters, fashion plates, novelists, performance artists, slam poets and fancy scribblers. A vanload of magnificent underground female brilliance, blazing across the USA and into your town! The latest in a tradition of rowdy, raucous literary adventure stretching all the way back to 1997! Come and meet your new favorite performers! I am so excited I can barely stand it--and look, an axolotl in the banner.

*The Michelle Tea Shrine, with a little help from The Wayback Machine

Gorgeous Glistening Creatures: Mermaids on Parade by Melanie Hope Greenberg

2009-02-20T22:22:00.001-05:00

Once a year when vacation starts I march in a parade to celebrate the opening of the ocean during the summer solstice...

A historical parade, a ceremony to welcome the summer, fruit thrown to the sea and men in beards and beads dancing in the street: clearly, the stuff of a picture book. Welcome to the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, a no-longer-so-debauched-but-every-bit-as-decadent festival where one little mermaid in training's dream comes true.

In front of us are Brooklyn's East River Mermaids. They bring their own music. I get chills down my spine each time they spin and twirl and dance and whirl.

Greenberg's art is childlike, expressive, and incredibly colorful. Mermaids on Parade truly captures the carnival-like atmosphere, artistic ingenuity, and endless diversity of New York City's boho crowd. Tourists with cameras capture contortionists with spangled tights who dance to music by flute players in tutus while rose-bedecked pirates kick up their heels and green-haired girls hula hoop. It's a crazy ride, anchored by the decidedly urban background of Coney Island. You'll find something new every time you join this little mermaid for a glorious day at the parade--and perhaps be inspired to join her!

*Melanie Hope Greenberg's website offers her workshops, book info, and illustrations

*Mermaids on Parade is her blog about the creative process behind picture book making. Quote: "It takes a community to create a picture book!" (Bonus: She loves libraries too, and knows a thing or two about New York City magic.)

*The 2009 Coney Island Mermaid Parade is on June 20th--save the date!

*Weeki Wachee is Florida's only City of Live Mermaids. Roadside America reports.

*Space Mermaid is jewelry for...space mermaids. With a lot of dosh. It's clay charms and silver-dipped shells and coral and zebras and rainbows, but with a simple, ethereal aesthetic. Glow in the Dark Stars interviewed its creator, Stephanie Carbone.

*Kim Antieu is head priestess of The Church of Old Mermaids, a novel and sanctuary for artsy types.

Myla Alvarez, novice, walks into the Sonoran desert near Tucson, Arizona and begins telling stories about the Old Mermaids who were washed ashore onto the New Desert when the Old Sea dried up. In this mystical new world, they lived, created, and walked in beauty...

*Mermaid's Song, by Alida Van Gores, is the Seanan McGuire-approved quintessential mermaid novel. I'm currently tracking down a copy for myself!

*Acension: The Water Trilogy Book 1 is another title I'm hunting for. This may have just started a mermaid kick!

Upcoming Reads!

2009-02-18T20:58:00.001-05:00

Inspired by Lisa May of Look at that Book, I've flung wide the doors of my Amazon.com wishlist to share some books that I'm very much looking forward to in the near future.

The Convent of the Pure

Sara M. Harvey, April 1st

Secrets and illusions abound in a decaying convent wrapped in dark magic and scented with blood. Portia came to the convent with the ghost of Imogen, the lover she failed to protect in life. Now, the spell casting caste wants to make sure that neither she nor her spirit ever leave.

Portia's ignorance of her own power may be even more deadly than those who conspire against her as she fights to fulfill her sworn duty to protect humankind in a battle against dark illusions and painful realities.

Fabulous Doodles

Nellie Ryan, May 25th

From beautiful doodles to fabulous ones, Nellie Ryan’s fancy illustrations decorate each page and beckon girls young and old to join in! “Fill the page with butterflies.” “What is she daydreaming about?” “Customize my snowboard.” “Design her tutu.” The prompts exercise imaginations to be limitless, like every fantastic dream!

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd

Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci, August 1st

Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside)and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult literature: M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr.

With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!

Palimpsest

Catherynne M. Valente, February 24th

Between life and death, dreaming and waking, at the train stop beyond the end of the world is the city of Palimpsest. To get there is a miracle, a mystery, a gift, and a curse—a voyage permitted only to those who’ve always believed there’s another world than the one that meets the eye. Those fated to make the passage are marked forever by a map of that wondrous city tattooed on their flesh after a single orgasmic night. To this kingdom of ghost trains, lion-priests, living kanji, and cream-filled canals come four travelers: Oleg, a New York locksmith; the beekeeper November; Ludovico, a binder of rare books; and a young Japanese woman named Sei. They’ve each lost something important—a wife, a lover, a sister, a direction in life—and what they will find in Palimpsest is more than they could ever imagine.

Shelf Discovery: Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading

Lizzie Skurnick, July 21st

SHELF DISCOVERY [based on the beloved Fine Lines column] is forthcoming from HarperCollins in [July] of 2009. With bonus reviews by Laura Lippman, Meg Cabot, Cecily von Ziegesar, Jennifer Weiner, Tayari Jones, Margo Rabb, and Anna Holmes; classic cover art; and peerless insight into our teeny teeny brains, SHELF DISCOVERY is a love letter to the teen classics we never stopped reading.

Happy Second Anniversary, LSL!

2009-02-17T19:24:00.001-05:00

1. Those who visit LSL at its blogger home have seen the new temporary header. For those none so fortunate, see above! Ain't she cute? I wish my hair looked that good

2. Leaving Shangri-L.A. celebrated its second anniversary on the 13th. I can't believe it's been two years! The very first book I reviewed was The Van Gogh Cafe; isn't it crazy how much things change, but how much they remain the same?

3. A LJ comrade and I had a chat about bloggers, and she mentioned that she does not trust blog reviews in general because they are uniformly positive as a response to free swag. As such, I thought it might be a nice idea to explain the whys and wherefores of LSL.

The reason all of my reviews are positive is simple: I only review books that I love. Work and school keep me so busy that I'd rather spend time working up a post on a book I truly adored. All titles are purchased or checked out by me--although I admit that I have a few good sources for cheap books.

Criteria for review is a little more ephemeral. The books featured at LSL are chosen for something that will appeal to a Francesca Lia Block fan, but that something will vary from book to book. Qualifying criteria can include a quirky protagonist, decadent details, art and love as powers of healing, feminism, queer friendliness, magic, wonder, and really good shoes. I can't always put a finger to it--but I know it when I see it!

Delicious, Just Delicious: Dear Julia by Amy Bronwen Zemser

2009-02-15T19:53:00.001-05:00

Lucida put on an apron...Then she chopped a slice of bread into ten pieces, all the while gazing into a camera and tossing her hair so abruptly that her director's hat fell off. Then, as part of a tap dance, she half sang, half spoke the words: "An Apple Charlene is one of the finest examples of French Cuisinart known to man. Since the dawn of the gorilla, prehistoric man has eaten Bavarian crèmes while flambeing the famous Molotov Cocktails." She pirouetted around the island counter, picked up the knife, and whacked at another slice of bread. She beamed and winked at the camera lens. She held a piece of bread underneath her chin as a final pose.

Elaine sighed. "You posses such natural gifts," she said," Only a true master of the stage could achieve such subtlety.

The words "modern fairytale" get tossed around a lot in Book Bloglandia, and usually mean that the fairies have piercings and the heroine defeats goblins with a letter opener or filking prowess.

Dear Julia, by Amy Bronwen Zemser, is the first book I've read that feels like a fairytale, but has absolutely no magic whatsoever--unless you count Elaine's preternatural gift for the art of French cookery. Our heroine dreams of becoming a master chef like her heroine Julia Child. Her congresswoman mother, who dreams of passing the Equal Rights Amendment, wants her to go to attend the family college and join the crusade. Elaine goes blithely on teaching her 5 brothers to cook and writing letters to Julia Child (which she never mails), but her world is turned topsy-turvy by the introduction of Lucida Sans--a girl whose gift is find out what gifts she lacks.

When the New Paltz Festival on the Green is shaken up by a disastrous performance of Romeo and Juliet, Elaine and Lucida become fast friends. Lucida's "rotten fig" of a boyfriend must be brought to justice. In their calamitous attempts at vengeance, they discover a contest that could rocket both girls to local stardom. Through slapstick sibling moments, dangerous spy missions, uncooperative Ducks A L'Orange and dreaded college interviews, Elaine perseveres and finds a way to achieve her impossible dream.

The narrative has a fable-esque quality I can't put my finger on, but draws you into the town of New Paltz and into the thick of its slightly odd inhabitants. Zemser has a gift for writing physical comedy, and many scenes were truly laugh-out-loud, sometimes at the expense of poor Lucida. However, she also evokes truth empathy for the characters and their friendship; Lucida is quirky but so generous and sweet that she endears herself to the reader, and Elaine is serious but not stoic or (worse) boring.

The Hamilton siblings are a motley bunch, and I especially enjoyed gender obscurist Chris, who steals Elaine's nightgowns and tells off his mother for letting him apply to women's college while forbidding Elaine. Lucida's moms were a nicely sympathetic, and I liked how they cheered both girls. While French cookery is a bit beyond my tastes, Zemser does convey the passion Elaine feels for the art and how it's become so much a part of her.

"Yes, I have an idea, but I can't do it alone. I need your help." Lucida opened a packet of sugar and added it to the ketchip in between the scalloped potato slice. Elaine opened a small jar of capers and spooned a few over the salmon flower so they fell over the petals.

"Croton wants to be as famous as much as I do," Lucida said,"...and I am going to beat him so good he'll never forget it."

Elaine sliced a cucumber lengthwise into paper-thin sheets, stacked them on top of one another, and diced the mound into little cubes. She drizzled olive oil over the dice and added some feta-cheese squares from another contained. She withdrew a baguette from her bag.

A heroine, a sublimely silly companion, a quest, a truly nasty villain, a meditation on modern feminism and the joy of cooking and even a surprise Deus Ex Machina--such is the stuff of fairy tales. Dear Julia is a wonderful novel for those whose home is the hearth or the stage, who love slapstick and family drama, and anyone who wants a good foodie novel where dreams come true and life is--well--delicious!

*Linzer owls, terrarium cupcakes, and the best chocolate chip cookies in the world are the work of Bitterbutton

*AnnatheRed is known for her crazy-detailed geeky bentos, but sometimes she posts simple treats like these 1-Up Mushrooms

*Clare Crespo is the queen of whimsical cooking. On her blog, she shows off her treats, such as these Henna Hand cookies for a friend working on a one-man musical about India

*Need vintage cupcake toppers, edible glitter, or polka-dotted pastry suitcases? Bake it Pretty has the cutest cookwear, ingredients, and decorations ever.

*The Muddy Cup, Elaine and Lucida's haven in Dear Julia, is a very real and very good coffee shop. There's even a Cup in my hometown!

*The Post-Punk Kitchen started out as a real cable-access cooking show and propelled Isa Chandra Moskowitz to vegan cooking stardom. Its blog will keep you up with the latest--including this Latchkey Lime Pie.

Clare Crespo shows off her stop-motion skills in Yummyfun Kooking. Those of you familiar with my picture book--that's what Amandine's show is like.

The Knit Would Still be Hers: Chicks With Sticks (Knit Two Together) by Elizabeth Lenhard

2009-02-13T05:02:00.001-05:00

She decided if she couldn't fight the angst, she might as well join it in the blogosphere. She plopped herself into her desk chair, opened her laptop, and began surfing. She hit a few of her usuals: the American in Paris who always bragged about the antique knitting needles and precious Euro-yarn she found romantic flea markets; the Indiana spinning guru with the grotesquely fat cat (pictured daily); the comic artist who catalogued her life in daily stick drawings...

Oh La La had spent the previous afternoon finishing a delicate bolero jacket in a chic cafe. The spin guru had had a birthday party and photographed her cat in a goofy party hat. The comic artist drew and ice cream outing and called it Simple Pleasures.

So unsatisfying, Scottie complained in her sleepy mind...Is it too much to ask for just one broken heart?

Oh, Ms. Lenhard, you know us bloggers too well.

In Chicks With Sticks (Knit Two Together), Scottie's gone boy-crazy and it's driving the Chicks up a wall. When a cute artsy boy from NYC moves into her building, she can't believe her luck--not to mention the plum opportunity when his fashion-designer mom commissions knitted lace for her eccentric creations. While they bond over crazy artist moms and their even crazier private school, sugary snacks and classic films, the Chicks unravel boy issues of their own. Amanda's formerly nerdy-cute college boyfriend is turning into a major dumbass, Bella's sworn off dudes--and finds herself swarmed by them. And Tay? Her nice guy John is suddenly Clingy McClingerson, down to joining their stitch'n'bitch. Will the Chicks survive Yarncon, debutant training, utterly grody non-frat frat parties, secret blogs, the blissful highs and nauseating lows of teenage lurve? Course they will! The fun is reading about it.

Next to my blogging buds Carey and Lisa, Elizabeth Lenhard is the person I'd want to show me around Chicago; she does for the Windy City what Francesca Lia Block's done for Los Angeles. Scottie's narration highlights little details others would miss: odd statues, a perfect day atop bread-factory-come-artist's-loft, the prerequisites of an indie coffee shop, and the sights and smells of YarnCon:

Scottie couldn't stop gasping in delight as they began strolling through the fray...At the next tent were jars of adorable stitch markers snazzed up with glass beads, tiny rubber animals, and fuzzy pom-pom creatures--as cute as candy.

There were giant displays of knitting bags, books, needles, and themed T-shirts. People strode around, nibbling chicken satay skewered on knitting needles and giant cookies iced to look like yarn balls. There were gray-haired ladies wearing cardigans, middle-aged mom types, and other teenagers in knitted tanks, badass ribbed wristbands, and bits of yarn woven into their hair.

I enjoyed becoming better acquainted with the chicks. Amanda's vulnerable side counters her perfect-girl veneer, and it gives her a certain gravitas that makes what could be a totally annoying character really sweet and likeable. Likewise, I adored seeing Bella cut loose and get angry; even manic pixie dream girls can go nuts and avenge their friends every once in a while. Tay continues to be a shining beacon to hetero gender-nonconformists. I think it's great that Lenhard wrote a butchy straight girl with an endearing tender side; some people forget that gender obscurism is open to all shades of the spectrum. Scottie's lovahboy Beck seems like a decent kid, and I really sympathized with his desire to make interesting friends and have a life outside the boyfriend-girlfriend thing. His love scenes with Scottie are the stuff of teenage dreams: breakfast picnics, nights at an arthouse theater, and smooching in the elevator. He's cute. He can stay.

It took a second reading for this novel to agree with me; initially I was slightly annoyed with all the boy-craziness. Maybe it's the season, or maybe I realized that if I had gone to one of the Seven Sisters instead of Big Catholic East Coast Library School, I would have done just as much pining over anyone with cute hair and a nose ring. I could totally relate to Scottie's all-encompassing crushy obsession, but also appreciated the words of wisdom from Amanda's punky, free-forming mentor Regan:

"I've seen this happen a million times. A girl falls in love for the first time and loses it. She forgets about her friends. She becomes all about him. What's he's interested in. What he wants to do. Where he wants to go and when he wants to go there. And when the inevitable break-up happens--because what else can such an intense relationship do but crash and burn?--the girl's left all alone. Take my advice, girlfriend. Don't let it happen to you."

Lesson for the day? Boys come and girls go, but your art and your heart are what matter in the end--so treat 'em right. For knitting nuts and teen-nostalgia-seekers, Chicks With Sticks (Knit Two Together) is a fab addition to your shelves.

*Elizabeth Lenhard's website has lots of cool extras for CWS fans. Here's a fun excerpt posted to her blog, with cupcakes and novelty yarn in

*Unsatisfied with the shades on your Local Yarn Stores's shelves? Dye your own with Kool-Aid and revel in the fruity scent and chemically-enhanced colors.

*Gooseflesh crochets wunderkammer-worthy sea life from pre-loved wool and plastic bags.

*I plugged MochiMochi's free patterns in the last post, but her main blog is great, too--posts about other handicrafts and the best of cute and subversive stuffed things, like Bittersweet's Kiwi.

*These vegan knitty cupcakes help me make the blogger's weekly cupcake quota.

*Though I usually shy from linking retail sites, I can't resist passing off COLORBOMB Creation's etsy shop. They have a great sense of humor--yarns named Poop de Peeps and Cheesy Poofs--and sweet kits for embellishing your own handspun. Follow the proprietress's yarn adventures at Velma's World.

*This is a chick wearing a knitted cuff. It is too cute for words.

Celebrate Angstgiving in Crafty Style

2009-02-11T23:49:00.001-05:00

Hearts, flowers, smooching couples all over my blogroll...it must be St. Emo's Day again. I'm a happy bachelorette who plans to live the day up ice skating and girl-bar-hopping with her friends, but I know some of you readers may have waited for last minute to get started on your S.O.'s gift. Oops! Well, no worries, because here are the creme de la Stumbleupon for last minute crafty gifts, none needing more than a trip to your local Crafty Emporium (with maybe a side trip to the grocery store). If you're a single lady like me, why not surprise the treasured confidant in whom you confide your true insecurities and share dating horror stories? They deserve your love too!

1. Does she drag you into every toy shop on your route and giggle over little things? Win her heart (and attention span) with Not Martha's Surprise Balls.

2. Does she want to drag you out on V-Day for yet ANOTHER Anonymous Protest? Before you don your masks and hand out the confetti, surprise her with a Flying Spaghetti Monster Necklace.

3. The bookish sort? Bookmark Books. Seriously, these are the cutest and most useful things for the obsessive reader. Half a dozen with a fresh pick from her Amazon.com wishlist, and she'll be singing your praises on her book blog.

4. If she favors polkadots, Cupcakes Take the Cake, and handmade body products from chichi shops in the city, make her a set of Cupcake Bath Bombs. Cue comments about being good enough to eat.

5. Knitty and fond of knicknacks? MochiMochi has free patterns for cute little love monsters and tiny hearts to show your love for a chick with sticks.

6. Prefer something colorful and edible that screams "I came out yesterday"? Rainbow cupcakes. Psychedelically delicious.

Stories for Everyone But You

2009-02-10T23:28:00.001-05:00

Illustration by Anne Anderson, from Grandma's Graphics

My fab buddy and writing-partner Beatrix Cottonpants recently decided to collect her fractured fables, fairy and folk tales for the...er, pleasure...of the 'net at large at her new blog Stories for Everyone But You. Surely you've heard of "The Boy Who Cried Hippie"? Or "Little Someone-or-Other in the Pinstripe Fedora"? "Rabunzel the Rabbit Girl"? No? Then hop over, curl up with your laptop in front of a roaring fire and savor your childhood favorites as you don't remember them.

Have a tiny excerpt from one of my favorites, "Hansel and Gretel, Creepiest Twins Ever":

The twins heard none of that conversation. What they did overhear, however, was the conversation their parents had the very next night, the one where they agreed to go for a drive the next day, kick the kids out of the car, and abandon them. And so, when they were told the next day that they were going on a road trip, they smiled and said nothing. When their father pretended to be lost, they fretted and said nothing. And when they were asked to get out of the car and look for directions, they complied and said nothing.

Once they were out of the car, however, Hansel explained to his sister that the whole time, he’d been dropping crumbs from the window, to make a trail they could follow back. Gretel exclaimed that she, too, had done the same thing, and that with two trails to follow, they’d certainly make it home again.

Except…when they reached the road, they were greeted with a terrible sight. There were no crumbs! In the distance, they could make out shapes on the road and soon discovered a veritable trail of dead birds. Oh! The poor things must have stopped to eat the crumbs, and been killed for their troubles. The most unfortunate thing, however, was that many of the birds had obviously made off with their food, so there was not even a trail of dead birds to follow home.

Hansel and Gretel wandered for some time, lost and hungry. One day, though, they stumbled upon something amazing. A house made of candy! Even though neither was fond of candy (they preferred beefy jerky and salted crackers), they attacked the house like children who had not eaten in several hours.

Her Knitting Was Already a Part of Her: Chicks with Sticks (It's a Purl Thing) by Elizabeth Lenhard

2009-02-09T19:42:00.001-05:00

Scottie sighed contentedly and sank deeper into her seat. The noise of all the girls' needles didn't exactly make music, but they coexisted comfortably. Tay's click-swishes were almost violent, tugging and snapping loudly. Bella's stitches were feather whispers. Amanda's flowed in fits and starts, faltering when she overthought it and recommencing when she took a deep breath and put her trust in her fingers.

And Scottie's own knitting music? That was like asking her what her face looked like when she wasn't looking in the mirror. Her knitting was already a part of her. She felt like she knew it as well as she knew her own body. But like her body, it had its own mysterious side.

Take your four-girls-with-a-schtick novel and tie it up with some funky rainbow homespun, and you've got Chicks with Sticks (It's a Purl Thing). Scottie's grieving the death of her favorite aunt, Amanda struggles with a learning disability whose existence threatens her social standing, Bella's having an identity crisis, and Tay just wants some stability. All are drawn to KnitWit, a haven of sunset colored furniture, knitting-crazed regulars, and Alice, curly-haired mentor to aspiring fiber artists who guides knitters to their perfect yarn. Though knitting looks like the magic answer to all of their problems, things fall apart in the way of clever YA novels, and Scottie is left questioning her new-found talent and friends. Will all the threads come together so she can enjoy both as she did in the past? Of course, it's YA--but some of the answers may surprise you.

I adored the Chicago spun by Lenhard and its slightly off-kilter inhabitants. Her writing is witty and colorful, with a knack for short but punchy description and scene-setting details. Knitwit is a haven that makes me want to pick up a pair of needles and join in:

Scottie found herself in a room dominated by a giant, round table laden with yarn. Skeins and hanks of the stuff spilled out of bowls and buckets and boxes. There was yarn that looked like cobwebs. Like eyelashes. Like paper. Fuzzy balls of undyed wool squished together like a family of sleeping hamsters. Yarn as deeply red as cherry juice. Yarn as translucently blue as watercolor painted on a pure-white page.

An Amazon.com reader described the series as "Betsy-Tacy for the Oughties," and I couldn't agree more. There's a comfortable feeling to the girl's little circle that even their real-world issues can't tear asunder--without minimalizing the real feelings of loss and fear. I loved Scottie's casual quirkiness and the real growth and change in her family, Amanda's insecurity and budding talent for fashion design, Bella's gregariousness (kudos to Lenhard for not writing another creepy antisocial homeschooled teen--one gets the feeling Bella would be the happy sort no matter how she was educated) and the fact that the girls are so progressive that they can go from teasing Tay about John or Jocelyn without an after-school-special-moment in between. And the knitting? Oh, it's delightful, and I'm a paper artist--project descriptions and yarn porn abounds, and the book finishes up with four projects for the readers. This one's a joy for any crafty reader--and Elizabeth, please write a series for us paper crafters!

*Elizabeth Lenhard's official website has tons of info about the series, a Which Chick are You? quiz, a knit-along message board, and her blog--with lots of author interviews, photos of her cute daughters, and the tantalizing hint of a new book!

*Knitty: the haven of all things knitted on the web. Unbelievable free patterns at all skill levels and gorgeous art direction

*Thomasina's Guide to Geeky Knitting breaks patterns down by scientific discipline; the infamous Knitty Uterus is under Anatomy, while a set of cute little nautilids comes under Paleontology.

*Not one for sickeningly cute amigarumi or yet another fuzzy scarf? AntiCraft offers bacon tiaras, wire-knitted beaded pasties, and crocheted headwear for opheliacs.

*Grrl+Dog runs with scissors, colors outside the lines and barks with her own voice. She commits random acts of guerilla knitting and other mixed up media. She is growing old disgracefully while attempting to bake the perfect cup cake. She loves to dance, collect pink plastic and dead things. She's a dedicated guerilla knitting blogger, and I love her posts!

*The Yarn Museum serves up galleries of handspun so beautiful that I get twitchy knitty fingers just looking at them. I totally need a scarf with peacock feathers woven in, right?

*Knitted Landscape shows off a new kind of guerilla knitting-mushrooms, flowers, leaves, and rocks in unexpected places.

Thank you, Amy, for your help compiling these links!

Handmade Nation's a documentary about contemporary crafting in America--keep an eye out for the guerilla knitters!

I Felt Like I Was Creating the World:Gothic Lolita by Dakota Lane

2009-02-06T23:10:00.001-05:00

do you ever wish you had someone (not the sky someone, but a real person) who could share your reality?

there would be nowhere you could go that this person couldn't go, down to the details of your last strange dream.

you'd be in this game together, just you and the other person creating the entire world.

Unthinkable, years after the first time I'd spotted them, that those strange-eyed girls in Victorian finery would get their own novel. Gothic Lolita is a breakneak thriller of a novel, fast-paced and starkly written, a contrast to the dreamy tone of The Orpheus Obsession. Chelsea and Miya, thousands of miles apart are connected in unimaginable ways--a dramatically romantic manga, a pechant for frightening but beautiful lolitas, and brothers they love and a secret world they share. What will happen when their lives appear to fall apart? The plot is best discovered for oneself, but I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, which I had expected to take a more somber turn.

While Gothic Lolita is a dark novel, ribboned with grief and regret, it has moments of beauty which are fragile and melancholy:

i've been tricked by books all my life.

they fall into your hands at the exact right moment and say just what you need to hear--more like a friend than a book--until the moment you finish. as soon as you close the cover, the book goes back to being just a memory of someone else's story--leaving you lonelier than you were before.

Or as light and decadent as the pastries lolis loves:

one cluster of girls wore phospherescent dresses; they caught the light in the most ethereal way, giving the feel of holographs. in my mind, they looked like rainbow warriors.

i imagined myself posing with them, icy pastel shimmering gloss on my lips and eyes and cheeks, skin polished with a sparkly dust of mild green and baby pink...no shoes on my feet, but toenails the color of pearls and seashells. i would be an intergalactic mermaid splashing into the hearts of an enthralled crowd, a cyberdelic creature.

I loved this corner of the world conjured by Lane: the overwrought romanticism of Shonen Rainbow Warriors, their beloved manga; the intense relationships between sisters and brothers; the bits about online culture, where these girls met. Dakota Lane uses her photography to immerse the reader in Chelsea and Miya's worlds, in double-page spreads with a mystic, shady atmosphere. It's a treat for fans of Japanese subculture, anyone who has lost and found family, and mystical realists. Toss on your rocking-horses, sit back with a plate of macarons and enjoy.

*Gothic Lolita's Myspace has events, videos, picture outtakes, and more

*Royal/T is the real-life counterpart of Lolipopland in the novel: Royal/T is a playful blending of café, concept shop and art exhibition space. The space reflects the interior realm of fantasy that strongly influences the artists included in owner Susan Hancock's collection. Royal/T Cafe is inspired by the meido kissa (maid café) phenomena of Akihabara--Tokyo's electronic district. Recontextualizing the underground culture of Japan that celebrates cosplay (costume play) waitresses dress in maid uniforms, with a Lolita-esque touch and the café serves a fusion of French and Japanese cuisine with local and organic California style. The art space showcases curated exhibitions with a focus on Japanese contemporary art; and an inventive concept store emulates the collections' sophistication--a fusion of pop culture and high-end design.

*La Carmina is a premier GothLoli blogger and face of Gothic Lolita, with a stunning website full of interviews with other lolitas, swoonworthy shop profiles, makeup tips, street fashions scans--it's amazing! And I just found out she's got two books coming out this year: Crazy Theme Restaurants in July and Cute Yummy Time in November.

*Sitting around in your frock looking for fun? Here's a list of 101 Lolita Lifestyle Ideas

1. Buy a lovely floral print notebook or leather-bound journal and keep a Diary. Begin each entry with 'Dear Diary', press flowers between the pages, and draw Lolita fashion designs in it.
2. Get a Lolita pen pal, learn how to write a proper formal letter and send it on pretty scented paper, send gifts and things for each others birthdays. You might want to purchase a quill or dip pen, its fun to write with when you get used to it and has an old fashioned feel.
3. Find a time during the day when you can enjoy the ritual of Tea. Late afternoon or mid-morning is traditional. Read about how to hold a 'high tea' and visit specialist tea shops to learn about the different blends and qualities. (My favorite is Chai!)

*The Princess Portal is home of Skye, former sweet lolita and all-around princess. She blogs about pretty little things, advice for princesses-in-training, fairytale fashion and literature for aspiring royals. Everything she posts has this old-fashioned, dreamy feel--like Picnic at Hanging Rock without the metaphysical oddness. Love it!

*Vivcore is the talent behind Candy Violet and Cute Salad, Japanese street fashion inspired clothing lines. Her journal features her fiber art, dolls, fake pastry, historical gowns--she can do everything! Fancy Girl is her personal website, A modern day "ladies book" filled with information on living a little fancy every day.

*Kamikaze Girls is...indescribable. Just watch the trailer:

An Extraordinary Child:Coraline by Neil Gaiman

2009-02-04T23:31:00.001-05:00

It took me a while, but I figured out why my feelings about this book are bittersweet.

My mother was a huge fan of stop-motion animation, but especially The Nightmare Before Christmas. She collected the memorabilia back when you had to import it from Japan--Hot Topic had just jumped on the Tim Burton bandwagon in '03. Now, my family has a slightly morbid tradition of bribing mourning children, and the day my mom died my dad and brother and I visited the comic shop my mother imported all her Jack Skellingtons. I picked out Coraline.

Now, I could make all sorts of cheesy connections between that and the end of my childhood, but anyone who's seen me run around Tah-Poozie knows that my inner child is alive and well and probably fingerpainting the walls I'm supposed to tear down.

Anyway. Book.

Coraline is a quintessential children's novel: your perfectly average heroine finds herself in extraordinary circumstances when her parents move into a crumbling old building which is so much more than it seems. What kid doesn't dream of finding a portal to another world through a tiny doorway, one where your parents love you and you have toys and clothes and wonders--but at a price? Of having strange neighbors who "trod the boards" in their youth, or tutor a secret mouse circus in the attic, who are your unknowing allies? Of--even though it frightens them--hearing strange noises and seeing odd shadows dance about your room? Of triumph over evil with the knowledge that yes, there is magic in the world, and some is scary and dark but some is very, very good?

Gaiman's writing style is easy, charming, and full of details that flesh out Coraline's world in just a few well-chosen phrases, such as in this description of her bedroom behind the secret door:

There were all sorts of remarkable things in there she'd never seen before: windup angels that fluttered around the bedroom like startled sparrows; books with pictures that writhed and crawled and shimmered; little dinosaur skulls that chattered their teeth as she passed. A whole toy box filled with wonderful toys.

This is more like it, thought Coraline. She looked out of the window. Outside, the view was the same one she saw from her own bedroom: trees, fields, and beyond the horizon, distant purple hills.

Something black scurried across the floor and vanished under the bed. Coraline got down on her knees and looked under the bed. Fifty little eyes started back at her.

"Hello," said Coraline, "are you the rats?

I loved how Coraline was resourceful and brave in a perfectly childlike manner. She comes up with strange games to entertain herself, she accepts her guide (a vain but wise cat) with bemusement, and defeats the villain of the piece with her own best talent--exploring. As creepy and strange as the Other World may be, the reader is reassured by Coraline's bravery--even though she doubts it, herself.

Coraline is an odd, dreamy novel that keeps good company with Alice in Wonderland and The Thief of Always. It's full of bits that kids love (weird people, odd gifts, an atmospheric setting in the English countryside, a kid subduing the bad guy all by herself) and humor sophisticated enough for the adults who gift them with it. Coraline is destined to be a classic.

*Mouse Circus is Neil Gaiman's kid fiction home on the web

*And you can catch up with him on his Journal--he's posting lots of Coraline-related ephemera.

*I can't wait for the movie! The Coraline team has been sending out mystery boxes of bits from the movie to bloggers they like--awesome!

The Fourth Annual Brigid Cyber Poetry Slam Part 2

2009-02-02T14:33:00.001-05:00

Art by Fumi Nakamura, who will be illustrating Francesca's latest Wood Nymph Seeks Centaur: A Mythological Dating Guide

dreamscape

by Francesca Lia Block
in these hills there are many lights
luminarias and bonfires
christmas ornaments and candles
scattered through the deep green dark
as i clamber the steep sides
the broken steps and chipped pathways
you are always just a little ahead of me
i can hear your band playing at the next party
but when i get there you are gone
just some stray people drinking beer around the koi pond
dazzled by the shiny reflections
they never seem to see me
like a dreamer in a dream

my mouth is pomegranate
i am wearing a pale blue silk corset
thigh high fishnets
fetish shoes
that make it hard for me to walk
all under the velvet cloak
my hair spills dark around pale cheeks
i am trying to look like the woman i imagine you see
alone in your room at night
while you dream your songs

i have left the warm and fragile arms
of my college boyfriend
the one who wrote the first poem about me
the one i left for that lover anorexia
and my father's cancer
the one who married a japanese woman
they brought their baby to my reading
he must be a young man now, that child
willowy with lotus blossom eyes
and the only time i see his daddy
is reflected in the dark pool of my dreams

i have left the little bungalow in the hills
overlooking the jewel-like lights
i feel my bound nakedness under my cloak
corset bones girding my hips like your fingers
as i stumble from one party to the next
following the music
thinking somehow you can bring me back to life
wake me from this dream

but you can't
even though the trees in my garden would dance for you
even though when i tasted your mouth i became bloodthirsty
like a maenad
you're just wandering the hills of your dreams too
and though you cannot save me
still i am breathless with
the beauty of all this
it is all mine
and soon with
or without you
soon i will
awaken

***

Let poetry bless the blogosphere once again!
WHAT: A Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading
WHEN: Anytime February 2, 2009
WHERE: Your blog
WHY: To celebrate the Feast of Brigid, aka Groundhog Day
HOW: Select a poem you like - by a favorite poet or one of your own - to post February 2nd.

The Fourth Annual Brigid Cyber Poetry Slam

2009-02-02T00:48:00.001-05:00

Photo by Eric Gay

"Once Again I Prove the Theory of Relativity"

By Sandra Cisneros

If
you come back
I'd treat you
like a lost Matisse
couch you like a Pasha
dance a Sevillana
leap and backflip like a Taiwanese diva
bang cymbals like a Chinese opera
roar like a Fellini soundtrack
and laugh like the little dog that
watches the cow jump over the moon.

I'd be your clown
I'd tell you funny stories and
paint clouds on the walls of my house
dress the bed in its best linen
And while you slept
I´d hold my breath and watch
you move like a sunflower

How beautiful you are
like the color inside an ear
like a conch shell
like a Modigliani nude

I'll cut a bit of your hair this time
so that you´ll never leave me
Ah, the softest hair
Ah. the softest

If
you came back
I'd give you parrot tulips and papayas
laugh at your stories
Or I wouldn't say a word which,
as you know, is hard for me

I know when you grew tired
off you'd go to Patagonia
Cairo Istanbul
Katmandu
Laredo

Meanwhile
I'll have savored you like an oyster
memorized you
held you under my tongue
learned you by heart
so that when you leave
I'll write poems.

***

Moondrummer started this tradition--if you decide to join in, leave a comment for her. I can't wait to read what you post!

Life Artists Unite: Those Who Make the World More Whimsical/Surreal/Wondrous

2009-02-01T19:46:00.001-05:00

INVITATION

If you are a dreamer, come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer . . .
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire,
For we have some flax golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

~Shel Silverstein

Imagine this: you're walking down the street, and the trash can is looking at you.

Or you're dragging your hand along a brick wall and discover a secret city between the cracks.

Or you're at a cafe, and a girl pulls off her hat, removes a handful of treasures from her bag, and starts playing a game with her tablemates.

Art isn't just paint on a canvas or clay on a pottery wheel. Anything that makes you stop and think and see the world in a slightly tilted way? That's art too. In my travels around the net, I've discovered quite a few artists who are making the places they live a bit more surreal, whimsical, and wondrous.

Every day I see such lovely things.

ColorMeKatie documents tiny adventures in NYC--sticking hearts and eyes and butterflies in unexpected places, dying food unexpected colors, dancing with strangers and photographing missions with Improv Everywhere. Her photos have a wonderful sense of color and composition, and every post makes me want to go out and have an adventure, too. The best part of ColorMeKatie is the integration of art and everyday life--so inspiring!

Lea Redmond’s other creative projects range from socially-engaged conceptual artwork, to projects with youth, to small performances reminiscent of magic tricks. In a nutshell, she loves to make things. Things that inspire. Things that tell stories. Things that spark critical thinking. Things that question. Things that make us wonder. Things that envision and create a new world.

Recipe dice and The World's Smallest Postal Service. Poetry ribbons and reader-named crayon colors. Matchbox theaters, creative wedding consultations, and earrings for spontaneous seeding. Lea Redmond proves that you can be whimsical and environmentally conscious with her quirky, earth-friendly projects, crafts, and performances. When I first discovered this site, I gasped in delight and devoured every word. Find treasures in her Curiosity Shoppe, read about her Art Projects, and keep up with her latest works on the Leafcutter Designs blog. The World's Smallest Postal Service was recently featured on BoingBoing.

When Leonardo's da Vinci's pupils were stuck for inspiration he advised them to make a study of a crack in the wall, and it's true that when you spend time engaging your imagination with such a crack, all sorts of possibilities and new worlds may begin to appear...

Helen Nodding's website is called Stories from Space, but her work is thoroughly terrestrial. She creates castles for spiders, fairy-lit caverns for squirrel gods, a bestiary's worth of mythical bugs, and messages in moss.

ABC Adventures began one dreadfully boring night in Tempe, Arizona. Elizabeth Adventure and Brian Adventure were sitting at her house, determined to have an exciting, adventure-filled night but were running dry on ideas. We wished we’d had a book that was full of awesome things to do almost anywhere, any time, any day of the week. Since no such book existed as far as we knew, we decided it was imperative to create such a thing and share it with the rest of the people in the world who would most certainly, at some point, be as bored as we were that night. While the physical book is still our goal, we’ve chosen to publish our adventures as we go on this blog.

When you've been all shook up from reading arty blogs and want to go out into the world and do something, ABC Adventures is your guidebook to cheap fun: bubbles, moustache-wearing, tree-climbing and secret-note-leaving. They love reader participation, so send in your own adventures!

plain and simple, the mission is: to spread big or small bits of love and things that make you smile and laugh, little bits of unexpected happiness and affirmation. we believe in feeling good and spreading it; we want everyone everywhere to know that somebody somewhere loves you. because you are amazing in all your strange and wonderful ways.

here you will find lists on how to love yourself more, beautiful things, ways to share your beauty & knowledge & love. you will also find stories of people who have discovered YOU ARE REMARKABLE through the tangible guerrilla love sharing.

Does what it says on the tin. While the sites above aim to spread art, this one looks to spread love--which becomes a kind of art in itself. I love the List of Ways to Heal a Broken Heart, secret gifts, and love letters to & from.

Want to join them?

1. NamelessleTTer is a collaborative art project where people from all horizons leave personalized bookmarks in books with the goal of seeing other readers discover them. Library-based arting? Awesome.

2. Cakespy created faux cupcakes with inspiring messages and left them for the world at large. “The ultimate goal was a momentary escape from everyday worries, and a small reminder that yes, life can be strange, but sometimes sweet.”

3. Zoomdoggle's on a mission to send out 1,000 love letters.

4. Magnets + plastic army men, dinosaurs, and aliens +magnet friendly surface = Vertical Wars! Guttermonkey on Livejournal tireless documented his own tiny plastic battles: Post 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. (Noting that I don't necessarily endorse the views of the first website, but I do like reading posts about weird art and ghost stories.)

5. Are you a fiber artist, or just a chick (or dude!) with sticks? Join the Global Guerilla Knit Up Challenge!

6. If it wasn't for Keri Smith (and Jerry Spinelli--Stargirl, naturally), I wouldn't know about the crazy world of guerilla art. Read her post on How to Be a Guerilla Artist as a primer, and this interview at Art News for in-depth exploration of her work and philosophy.

You Are Among Friends

2009-01-31T21:04:00.001-05:00

Please sneak You Are Among Friends (written, performed and produced by Lindsey Markel) onto your friends' ipods, add it to your teen sister's playlist, burn it onto mini-cds and leave it in the park and between the covers of appropriate books in the YA section of the library. Listen to it and know you're loved.

Except maybe not at work. It talks about petting the kitty.

this is the free podcast version of my zine you are among friends, my love letter to every girl. very pro-optimism, pro-masturbation, pro-empowerment. please feel free to listen and share. you can get the paper copy on etsy.

advice on high school boyfriends, credit cards, sex, God, brains, bodies, break-ups, stories, conjuring your own brand of brave beauty and brilliance...

(P.S. The music she uses is fab!)

It's a sad and a strange thing, but it's time and I am changing...

2009-01-29T16:04:00.001-05:00

The newest Dar Williams video is so beautiful!

The Axolotl: Nature's Pokemon

2009-01-29T11:02:00.001-05:00

I love axolotls, and you should too. Reptiles and amphibians have always had a special place in my heart, but the squishy pink alienness of axolotls makes them especially endearing.

This is Spyyk, a very happy and handsome specimen. You can read all about him at his owner's blog.

(But Rie, you say, what does this have to do with Francesca Lia Block?

The world is a weird and wonderful place, I'd reply, and also Witch Baby would have one for a pet. She would name it Annie Liebowitz.)

These neotenic amphibians are pretty special little guys--not only do they make great pets, but they've helped scientists learn a lot about nerve regeneration. Sadly, due to invasive non-native species and the destruction of their native habitat, they are severely endangered. How can you help? Don't eat Mexican tilapia (they're not native, and eat juvenile axolotls), and spread the word.

Quote Dapper Cadaver's eloquent post, "Scientists are rushing to establish Axolotl sanctuaries, most notably around the Isle of Dolls or La Isla de las Muñecas, so called because it inhabited by an eccentric old man who fishes doll from the lake and hangs them from every part of the island to ward off evil spirits. Could he be the axolotls savior?"

Weird and wonderful. Yes.

If you want a bit of their pink alien squishiness to yourself...

You could bake an axolotl cake...

Or give a home to this cuddly life-size amigarumi specimen by Etsy seller KATZ...

Or this itty-bitty phonestrap buddy from Strapya World.

Is that a Doctor in your Pocket?

2009-01-28T00:28:00.001-05:00

My bud Lou just came out of felt-and-fabric fueled vision quest with these pocket buddies of all ten Doctor Whos in tow. Each costs a mere tenner--and yes, she's up for commissions. Pick up your own little Four or Eight or Ten to love at her Etsy shop.

Go ask Alice when she's three martinis tall: A story about New York

2009-01-27T15:59:00.001-05:00

(General Disclaimer: This one's long, kids. You might want to bookmark it and come back, later. Photo by Matthew Byrne)

When you're young and starved for adventure, the thrill of sneaking out takes away from the embarrassment of having to do it when you're in your twenties.

"Hey, you with the flower!" called the DJ.

I wasn't wearing one that night. I swear, you get into one heated argument over the superior academic discipline (library science vs. museum studies, natch) the night you've got a rose in your hair and they never let you forget it. I'd be You With The Flower forever, but at least I wasn't Nose Ring Girl or Straight Best Friend.

Oh, wait. Straight Best Friend was my wingman, hobbling around in a curious way on her too-high heels with a too-short skirt with a Coke in hand. Tonight was relatively uncrowded, but the crowd all seemed to know each other--but not us. No matter how well I could do an unintentional cat's-eye in liquid liner, or how tasteful a conversation piece my jewelry was that evening, I always felt like a wallflower. The difference between her and I was that she didn't care.

"You singing tonight? You shouldn't keep ordering those," the DJ told me, "You keep staring off into space with a weird look, like you're blogging this in your head."

"I'll sing," I said, "I just don't know when."

The setup for Karaoke Night was effortlessly casual but had a certain kind of magic to it, the magic that came from being in New York and young and maybe a little tipsy and in love with music and that pretty young thing over there dressed like Claudia Kishi via H&M.

There was no stage, no booths, and no drunken frat boys--they shoved a microphone in your hand and tossed you out onto the dance floor when your chosen song came up. Just a little terrifying, but the locals seemed to join in whether you liked it or not.

If life were truly a music, right now we'd swing the spotlight to the right and give an all caps entrance to Her.

Wingwoman stopped in the middle of an anecdote. "Oh. You've spotted one. You've got that look."

"Do not!"

"Whenever you see a cute girl, you stop paying attention to me and start quirking your right eyebrow." She turned around. "In the Threadless shirt? Brown hair, blue eyes, dinosaur pendant?"

"Ding ding ding. I'll refill your soda." Wingwoman was a dear for coming at all, but after a couple of years of dealing with crappy boys and their crappy drama, she happily accompanied me to the girl bar, enjoying a dance floor where her bottom remained pinch-free. "I like the dinosaur."

Ms. Threadless ignored the bar and strode over to the the DJ booth, paging through one of the well-loved and much-photocopied songbooks. She nodded, pointed, and leaned against the wall.

"I love it when they lean," I sighed.

"You love it when they breathe and have a pulse," said my friend, before sitting back to enjoy the last bits of the hostess's spirited rendition of something heartwrenching by Joni Mitchell.

Threadless Girl skipped the line. She was up. Wingwoman rolled her eyes and went back to her soda.

I knew those opening chords.

Ah, now I don't hardly know her
But I think I could love her ...

Well, she was no Blackheart, but she'd do. I feigned disinterest while the Wingwoman craned her head around, trying to figure out if the hostess's girlfriend was her ex-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend.

Ah when she comes walking over
Now I've been waitin' to show her
Crimson and clover over and over

Somebody was staring at me. Was I being...mocked? I whirled around, and there she was.

Oh, this wasn't over. What happened next? The only explanation I can give you is it's New York.

I took the spare microphone from a blonde dressed like a Bratz doll (in the most endearing way). The ringing chords and deep harpsichord of my favorite tune kicked in...

I am not your senorita. I am not from your tribe.
In the gard- in the garden, I did no crime.
I am not your senorita. I am not from your tribe.
If you want inside her, well, boy you better make her raspberry swirl...

The tune slowed, grew mellow while the piano jangled in the background. I remembered this one, I thought it was obscene when it first came out and still did now, as she smirked and retorted

Would it be my fault if I could turn you on?
Would I be so bad if I could turn you on?
When I kiss your mouth,
I wanna taste it.
Turn you upside down --
don't wanna waste it.

Oh yeah, hon? You got another thing coming. I got close enough to identify the dinosaur around her neck, (Pleisosaur. Awww, Nessie.), but backed off as the tempo went up and the crowd huddled into the bar and couches, whispering about what would happen next...

You're no rock n' roll fun
like a piece of art
that no one can touch
Your head is always up in the clouds
writing your songs
won't you ever come down?

I looked to Wingwoman for backup. She was watching the hostess canoodle with the little brunette. Guess it was her ex's ex after all. There's one for Facebook.

Wait, where'd that synth come from?

And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you'll only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
Because we'll never be wrong together

I was temporarily blinded by nostalgia, but not so much that I protested heartily when I heard a certain Eurodance cover band wind its way into the melody.

"Oh no," I said, covering the mike.

Oh yes. Oh well. It was bound to happen, after all.

Look at me now, will I ever learn?
I don't know how but I suddenly lose control
There's a fire within my soul
Just one look and I can hear a bell ring
One more look and I forget everything, w-o-o-o-oh

The dance floor grew tighter as the whole bar joined in, dancing with vigor if not exactly talent. It was a beautiful thing.

Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much I've missed you
Yes, I've been brokenhearted
Blue since the day we parted
Why, why did I ever let you go?
Mamma mia, now I really know,
My my, I could never let you go.

I squirmed my way out of the crowd with a wink for Threadless Girl, collecting Wingwoman on the way. I didn't know her name. It was okay, I'd find out another night. We tripped down Hudson, breathless and still a little incredulous about what had just happened.

"That was fun!" she cried. "But next time, Rie?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time you get three wishes...try to come up with something better than I wish my life was a musical."

***

If you made it all the way down here, congratulations and Happy Rabbit Hole Day! This is an untrue post based on true facts, and I hope you got a kick out of reading it, cause I sure did writing it.

Happy Australia Day!

2009-01-26T18:44:00.003-05:00

Today we celebrate a country where the reptiles are poisonous, the mammals lay eggs, the money is colorful and has pictures of women on it, and some of the best damned fiction you’ve never read makes its happy home. Oh, Australia, land of the quirky and poetic writers who fill my heart and empty my pocketbook.

Here are some of my favorites

If you’re in the mood for dreamy, quiet, literary novels where secrets, magic, and the beauty of nature abounds, you’ll love the work of Joanne Horniman. Secret Scribbled Notebooks is one of my favorite novels of all time, which I reviewed this past summer. I was thrilled to get my hands on the sequel, My Candlelight Novel, which is every bit as beautiful as the first. A Charm of Powerful Trouble is so sensuous, bold, and gorgeously deep that I barely have words for it, but you can read an older review I did for the Cocoa Book Club.

Wistfully sweet but exuberant are the heroines of Brigid Lowry’s novels—she is so much a more lighthearted Australian Francesca Lia Block. Guitar Highway Rose, Follow the Blue (my review here), and Things You Either Hate or Love are available stateside, while Juicy Writing and Tomorrow All Will Be Beautiful (reviewed here) can be imported from your friendly UK discount book dealer.

Jesse Blackadder has only one novel to her name thus far, but it’s a stunner. After the Party brings together whales, radical faeries, aerialists, a Phoenix Game, a runaway girl and a mystical healer brought together by the strange events after a party at Black Dragon’s house. This one’s import-able from the always delightful Gleebooks.

Notes from the Teenage Underground by Simmone Howell is a fast-paced, intricate story about friendship, art, and feminism that I reviewed here. I can’t wait to read her next book, and I’m lovin’ her series of articles called Paperback Love.

Strawberry Hills Forever, by zinestress Vanessa Berry is best described by the author: Within its strawberry-patterned covers are tales of op shops, the Olympia milk bar, being a goth girl, suburban adventures, dressing up in a rabbit suit, old ladies sipping cappucinos, custard tarts, missing the Camperdown velodrome, and the illuminated everyday.
What's more, thanks to Keg de Souza, it includes a rabbit, a turtle, a rooster and a unicorn. You can import it via Gleebooks, or sit back with lots of Vanessa’s writing online at her delightfully retro website

I can never thank Anthea Paul enough for the Girlosophy series, which has gained worldwide acclaim since I picked up that chunky, colorful first edition in the import section of a bookstore years ago. Her work combines inspiring writing with gorgeous photography of girls, sacred spaces, and all things bright and beautiful. I love them deeply. Real Girls Eat is the first of many that I’ve reviewed, and you can preview the entire series on GoogleBooks and purchase at Amazon.com or your local indie bookstore:

Girlosophy: A Soul Survival Kit

Girlosophy 2: The Love Survival Kit

Girlosophy: The Oracle

Girolosphy: The Breakup Survival Kit

Girlosophy: Real Girls Eat

Girlosophy: Real Girls’ Stories

My Girlosophy: How to Write Your Own Life

The Girlo Travel Survival Kit

Do you have a favorite writer from the antipodes? Is there a title I’m missing and should read post-haste? Comment away!

"There are as many ways to live as there are people in this world, and each one deserves a closer look"

2009-01-24T17:40:00.001-05:00

At about 3:48 into this video is one of my favorite scenes in the history of ever, when Harriet, Sport, and Janie visit a magical art garden. (Click here to see it in high quality!) I wish I could tell you more about the actual venue, but all I know is that it's somewhere in Toronto. where the movie was filmed. Do any of you awesome readers know more about it?

The Handmade Toy Alliance

2009-01-23T19:22:00.002-05:00

You awesome readers may not know that I have three little cousins that I adore to bits and pieces and love to play with and read to and, especially, shop for.

Did you know that on February 10th, some of their favorite things will be contraband?

Like this Cupcake Bug Tea Party by Dream a Little?

And this Superhero Cape by Her Flying Horses?

And these painfully cute pretend canned foods from Magic Cabin?

From the Handmade Toy Alliance website:
The United States Congress rightly recognized that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) lacked the authority and staffing to prevent dangerous toys from being imported into the US. So, they passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August, 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number.

All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational toy manufacturers to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each toy have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and update their molds to include batch labels.

For small toymakers and manufacturers of children's products, however, the costs of mandatory testing will likely drive them out of business.

This is serious news, awesome readers. This means many small manufacturers and handicrafters will be driven out of business by rising costs--not to mention what will happen to the children's book industry, as stated in this open letter by Random House:

If the CPSIA is applied to paper-based books, as indicated in the advisory opinion of the CPSC General Counsel, children's book publishers, manufacturers and distributors will be confronted with several nightmarish scenarios. All existing paper-based children's books such as The Cat in the Hat, Goodnight Moon and Harry Potter as well as thousands of textbook titles—tens of millions of books—currently on the shelves of our nation's classrooms, public and school libraries, bookstores and in warehouses may simply be removed and destroyed because they cannot feasibly be tested to assure compliance with these unfounded toxicity concerns. All new paper-based books—not plastic toys in the shape of books—will be needlessly subjected to expensive and time-consuming testing that will overwhelm the few laboratories accredited for testing of actual children's toys and other children's products potentially presenting real threats of lead toxicity.

Can you imagine? If this act is carried to its fullest potential, I will have to destroy the entire library--2oo0 well-loved volumes--at the school library where I work. This is madness, awesome readers, and I was all ready to chain myself to the Central Children's Room, before I remembered that it's closed for renovations (another rant for another time).

If you love the vibrant, creative world of handmade children's toys and clothes and want to see these crafters thrive, please spread the word. Save the kids in your life from a childhood of overhyped, overbranded plastic crap!

You can read more at CPSIA Central, National Bankruptcy Day, and Fashion Incubator.

Down the Rabbit Hole Day, January 27th

2009-01-22T09:22:00.002-05:00

Photo by Nimir-Ra

January 27th is the birthday of Lewis Carrol, author of ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. Alice fell down a rabbit hole into a place where everything had changed and none of the rules could be counted on to apply anymore. I say, let's do the same: January 27th, 2005 should be the First Annual LiveJournal Rabbit Hole Day. When you post on that Thursday, instead of the normal daily life and work and news and politics, write about the strange new world you have found yourself in for the day, with its strange new life and work and news and politics. Are your pets talking back at you now? Has your child suddenly grown to full adulthood? Does everyone at work think you're someone else now? Did Bush step down from the White House to become a pro-circuit tap-dancer? Did Zoroastrian missionaries show up on your doorstep with literature in 3-D? Have you been placed under house arrest by bizarre insectoid women wielding clubs made of lunchmeat?
Let's have a day where nobody's life makes sense anymore, where any random LJ you click on will bring you some strange new tale.

Let's all fall down the Rabbit Hole for 24 hours and see what's there. It will be beautiful.

This was written 4 years ago, on the First Annual Livejournal Rabbit Hole Day. Now bloggers on all platforms are invited to join the madness!

So the question remains--will you won't you will you won't you will you won't you join the dance?

The Cretaceous Midsummer Ball, by Seanan McGuire

2009-01-21T09:54:00.006-05:00

Seanan McGuire has honored me by choosing my prompt in a recent round of Iron Poet!

(You may know her better for the list of 100 Surreal Things That Have Happened to Me, but she's also a filker and poet and her novel Rosemary and Rue is coming out this fall. I'm so excited!)

From the prompt "Velociraptor's Midsummer Ball" came "The Cretaceous Midsummer Ball," which is completely hysterical and terribly poignant all at once. Thanks, Seanan!

Well the Pteranodons carried engraved invitations
To the dominant vertebrates of the Cretaceous,
The ones who belonged to the class Sauropsida,
As the continents started to slowly divide-a.

"Come quickly," it said, "for Pangaea is done,
And we're nearing the end of our time in the sun,
So theropods, sauropods, ornithischians all --
Come to the Cretaceous Midsummer Ball."

The Albertosaurus, whose range was quite small,
Was svelte for his type, only nine meters tall,
But he danced with T-Rex and proud Tarbosaurs,
These tyrannosaurids who stalked days of yore.

Read the rest here!

Photo by LesbianBurrito (<3!)

Till Human Voices Wake Us: The Novellas of Roxanne M. Carter

2009-01-20T14:37:00.002-05:00

For years, Roxanne Carter's novellas have enchanted me. In her worlds, deadly mermaids slink in the sea and your unconscious, little girls float to the sky, statues bleed while women dine on flowers, and childlike empresses don costume jewelry to walk in the rain, and everyone one of them will break your heart, then make it whole again. They can be read in their entirety on her website.

Photo by SixyBeast

The Tea Party

When the dreams come for you, will you be ready?

the dream house is surrounded by a garden overgrown with milkweed and rosemary. it has picture windows that the girls pose in, sipping from their teacups, flirting their eyes heavy with false eyelashes for false butterfly kisses. there is a trampoline in the backyard with a few broken springs and an orange tree, branches weighed down, bowing to the ground. aurora picks oranges and juggles them, the bright orbs spinning like triple suns in a science fiction novel. in the dream they seduce one another, and slowly they are transformed by their love and take on shapes that betray them: aurora an underground stream of blood, veronique a golden fish caught in a bowl, and linette becomes a passionate flower.

Photo by Katie Jane Parker

Drown

A novella of love lost and found in the sea

I wait for things unknown, knowing only that she is next to me. That giddy waves lap and lick our skin until we are raw with salt and sunlight. Kneeling in the sand, I close my eyes as the ocean hurdles towards me, engulfing me, the sand sifting through my hair, the sea kissing at my mouth until it is bruised and swollen. Aurelia is laughing and dancing away from the tide, her bright feet flashing along the foam as it slides back out into the Pacific. I push snarled tendrils of hair away from my face and grin at her silhouette. Her eyeliner is leaking down her cheeks, streaking like tears, but oh how she laughs and sings, her voice pushing against the waves. Digging my fingers deep into the sand, I lay with my body pressed to the earth and let the ocean move me to its ancient rhythms.

I go everywhere with Aurelia. Anywhere. We follow each other, hanging on to the threads that drift from our tattered skirts. She slides through the city unseen, like a thief or a virus with strangely seductive beauty. Her fingernails stained black from dying her hair. Her transparent skin. Her pale eyes and her body, sudden like a lightening bolt. While everyone seems to notice her, nobody sees her. We can go anywhere and not be disturbed. Yet, people we don't even recognize know our names. They can call me Cassandra, but they don't know who I am, and they never will. Not like she knows, not like I know her. No one can come between us. I am invisible, with an invisible mystery girl.

***

I have seen mermaids born like sea kelp, growing up from the sludge of the sea floor, faces turned up towards the unseen sky like flowers. Limbs waving like flags in the current. Pretty maidens all in a row, sing willow, willow, willow. They sway like ballerinas, the esprit de corps, slim necks extended, catching plankton in their crying mouths so screamingly well. Weeping at the embrace of the cold, dark and lonely sea. That is how we learn our songs.

The Mystery of Meteors

2009-01-20T11:57:00.001-05:00

Photo by Ianqui

For New York and my country...

The Mystery of Meteors

by Eleanor Lerman

I am out before dawn, marching a small dog through a meager park 
Boulevards angle away, newspapers fly around like blind white birds 
Two days in a row I have not seen the meteors
though the radio news says they are overhead 
Leonid's brimstones are barred by clouds; I cannot read 
the signs in heaven, I cannot see night rendered into fire

And yet I do believe a net of glitter is above me 
You would not think I still knew these things:
I get on the train, I buy the food, I sweep, discuss, 
consider gloves or boots, and in the summer, 
open windows, find beads to string with pearls 
You would not think that I had survived 
anything but the life you see me living now

In the darkness, the dog stops and sniffs the air 
She has been alone, she has known danger, 
and so now she watches for it always 
and I agree, with the conviction of my mistakes. 
But in the second part of my life, slowly, slowly, 
I begin to counsel bravery. Slowly, slowly, 
I begin to feel the planets turning, and I am turning 
toward the crackling shower of their sparks

These are the mysteries I could not approach when I was younger:
the boulevards, the meteors, the deep desires that split the sky
Walking down the paths of the cold park
I remember myself, the one who can wait out anything
So I caution the dog to go silently, to bear with me 
the burden of knowing what spins on and on above our heads

For this is our reward:Come Armageddon, come fire or flood, 
come love, not love, millennia of portents-- 
there is a future in which the dog and I are laughing 
Born into it, the mystery, I know we will be saved

And if I die today I'll be the happy phantom...

2009-01-18T17:16:00.002-05:00

From Gala Darling:

Post a photo of yourself looking REALLY, deliriously happy...!

Why not?

And who else had braces and still covers their mouth when they laugh?

This is from a convo I'm having with an LJ friend, reminiscing about wisdom from my late mother (such as "I don't care who you like, Rie, just stop whining about it").

Dr. X will build a creature...

2009-01-18T09:02:00.002-05:00

Remember the post where I cast the remake of Rocky Horror Picture Show?

Here's a hot cover of "Science Fiction Double Feature" by the Dresden Dolls. Does Amanda have the most swoonworthy voice or what?

The Televisionary Oracle by Rob Brezsny

2009-01-17T12:32:00.002-05:00

The is possibly the weirdest book you will ever read.

I mean that in the best of ways.

The Televisionary Oracle is an epic love story between an avatar of the goddess and an aging rock star. It's a how-to manual for saving the world with peace, love, sex, and television. It's a guide to picking up earth-loving magic-seeking chicks, and a meditation on myths, dreamscapes, soulmates, and popsicles.

Rapunzel Blavatsky is the goddess avatar of a secret worldwide feminist society who've been joylessly worshipping the Sacred Blood since the dawn of time. Rockstar just wants another gig to go well when he trips over Rapunzel's lavender Converse, catching her in an act of artistic disobedience. He is instantly smitten, but Rapunzel won't have any of it, telling him he must join her quest to unite the sacred masculine and feminine and kill the apocalypse before he can woo her. His adventures are interspersed with Rapunzel's history as a mystery cult's foundling, child avatar, and rebel runaway, and sacred performance artist. Each narrative is punctuated with dispatches from the Televisionary Oracle itself, tiny bursts of wisdom and funky love notes from the universe.

Rob Brezsny's writing is like tripping into a hallucinogenic Dada wonderland. It's grotesque, provocative, and tenderly passionate, full of surrealist imagery from a deranged but loving goddess's childhood: magical salamanders, holy brassieres, guerilla spiritual carousing and shamanic rock shows.

When my life with Jumbler got underway, I took my apostasy one step further. Beginning on that first night in the Villa Inn in San Rafael, high on pranks and tears and erotic thrills, the two of us, a loving couple, found a way to pull off a feat which as far as I knew no two flesh-and-blood magicians had ever done before: fly away together on a shamanic journey.

As the light from Jumbler's eyes caressed the light from mine, as our hot sweet breaths mingled in each other's lungs, as our almost unbearable pleasure mutated our brain chemistry out of its habitual groove, we disappeared into a gossamer net of shimmering light whose warp was gold and woof was silver. It collapsed gently around us, turning into a soothing, slow-motion tornado that soared and fluttered and finally set us down, many sighs later, in a dreamy landscape that seemed perfectly real. I never once lost sight of Jumbler even though the whole world changed around us.

We found ourselves lying on a grassy hill on a bright day with a very big sun directly overhead. There was an exuberant blend of smells in the air: spearmint, baking cake, varnish, brewing coffee. We were wearing the same clothes we had on back in the tear-stained bed.

"Doesn't this place look like a cemetery to you?" she asked with a matter-of-fact curiosity that made me laugh. How could she be so poised after a wild ride like we just had?

"It's rather festive for a cemetery," I said, trying to match her nonchalance. "Look at the prayer flags hanging from the trees. And the flower-bedecked floats over there. As if there's been a parade. Plus I smell all sorts of delicious aromas."

"Check out the women in their underwear dancing around the maypole," Jumbler said. "That's the wackiest lingerie I've ever seen. My favorite is the two floral shower caps attached to make a poofy bra."

"Do you mind if I ask you a stupid question?" I said.

"They're my favorite kind," she replied.

"Where are we?"

This isn't a story for everyone; The Televisionary Oracle is earthy, frank, and more than a little blasphemous, but with the best intentions. It's a wake-up call, feast for the extrasenses, and community action guide for a more peaceful and playful future.

*Like what you've read so far? The entire text of The Televisionary Oracle is available to read on Brezsny's website

*PopMatters review, alongside the companion album Give Too Much

*Free Will Astrology is the only horoscope I ever read. He's scarily prescient.

*Want more of Rob Brezsny's rowdy bliss? Pronoia is the Antidote to Paranoia: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You With Blessings is a collection of his best essays on life, metaphysic, truth, beauty, and strange miracles. You can read a generous chunk of it here.

30 Days to Getting Over the Dork You Used to Call Your Boyfriend: A Heartbreak Handbook by Clea Hantman

2009-01-15T17:22:00.002-05:00

Is it the season of breakups?

More often than not, I've been counseling friends with broken hearts. No wonder so many made New Year's vows to seek another soulmate.

I'd also like to take a moment, for any friend-of-a-friends who are reading this, to mention that my ex is not a dork. My ex is a sweetheart.

Except when it comes to They Might Be Giants. Then she's a dork. :)

Well, awesome readers, dry your eyes and pick up the ILL form, cause Clea Hantman--aka Super Clea of LSL's much-touted Hey Day!--is here with 30 Days to Getting Over the Dork You Used to Call Your Boyfriend: A Heartbreak Handbook.

This tiny but powerful title promises that the sun will shine again, the pain will end, and you'll be singing a new song , Chiquitita. However, no wallowing is allowed. Each day has a new bit of hard-won advice and mission to get you moving and discovering bits of yourself, topped with a haiku and served with a song . Following the five stages of grieving, Clea starts you off writing the saga of your lost love. After you've committed it to memory, you're instructed to tear it into itty bitty pieces and toss it over your head. It's a slightly messy celebration of new things to come! What fun!

When you hit the anger chapter, you'll be doing yoga and turning that nasty break-up letter into kistchy paper jewelry. Bargaining for her love? Get your mind off the torrid past by learning to flirt, or making your own little "Love is..." posters to stick about. Depressed? Feng Shui your room, remake your wardrobe, and script your life as a movie starring you. Accepted that she's hit the road? Research your passions, chart a world tour-de-force, and then reward yourself for the last 30 days of growth and:

Do something silly and ridiculous and flirtatiously fun with your friends. Like, throw a congratulatory party with lots of meaningless pop songs and yummy snacks...Or mark this day by having you and your friends communicate only through song lyrics!...Or maybe you and your friends can hold an all-girl poker tournament at your house, and instead of money, you play with gummy bears...Or you could gather the girlies together to create a magazine about something or someone you love. And you can do it in one crazy, fun-filled night...Or you and your friends could all plant little flower gardens in your bike baskets and then go on a parade all around the neighborhood and all around town. Yes, it's absurd, and yes, it's silly, but that's the point.

By rewarding yourself with a fun activity, you're rewarding yourself with a rousing good memory, a wonderfully delicious memory. And like I've said before, the good feeling you get from that memory is something you can return to again and again.

This is a fantastically dynamic guide to duct-taping your heart back together, following warm advice with proactive activities to get you back into gear. You may not be totally over that dork, but you'll be well on your way to a happier, well-rounded existence. Fun, portable, cheap and full of good spirit, I totally recommend 30 Days to Getting Over the Dork... to all the newly-singletons who need a kick in the proverbial bottom.

*Clea Hantman blogs at SuperClea and Clea's Corner

*When your month is up, check out Holi-Dazed, a free book about weird holidays in the zine-y style of the much loved Hey, Day! I have the whole thing from the original website and adore it to bits.

*The Getting Over the Dork blog follows up on Clea's love of indie music, posting tracks to sigh to and scores for your moment of revelation that hey, you're just not into her (or him) either

*30 Days to Finding and Keeping Sassy Sidekicks and BFFs: A Friendship Field Guide is out on April 14. Sweet!

Life is just more fun with friends. And who doesn’t want a sidekick in case there’s ever a need to fight crime or solve a mystery? Every girl needs at least one wonderful pal, and when you harness the power of friendship, life’s possibilities can be limitless. It might sound like kid’s stuff, but the support of a girlfriend can last a lifetime. Long after the boys have come and gone, a true blue girlfriend will still be by your side.
But like it or not, friendships take work, plain and simple. And that’s where 30 Days to Finding and Keeping Sassy Sidekicks and BFFs comes in—a field guide to friendship that will help you learn the basics of meeting new friends and keeping the old.

*Grrl.com founder Bonnie Burton's list of things to do to repair a broken heart makes for good extracurriculars during your 30 days.

*Still stuck? Read Ask Nicole for advice about love, life, and everything in between, and if you're brave, submit your own query

The Costume Suitcase

2009-01-15T10:37:00.001-05:00

Photo from FairyLove, cause I can't get over how awesome they are and because I've fallen desperately in love with their Rainbow Bustle Tutu

Every girl should have a costume suitcase. "What?" you say. A costume suitcase. It's an old suitcase, maybe from a thrift store, maybe from your parents' basement, maybe from the trash pule, but it's a suitcase and it's old. And then when you see groovy accessories that you must have but, face it, you won't wear everyday, you plop them in your suitcase. The reason this is a fabulous idea (as if it needs explaining) is that say one day you're bored and decide to just put all your most flamboyant, fabulous artifacts on to dazzle the world with your grooviness.

Well, this way, all you have to do is grab your costume suitcase and dive in. Or say you are having a party and it needs some life. Break out the suitcase and make everyone partake of something fabulous. Make Jeff wear the feather boa and Marie [<3!] wear the butterfly wings and Marcel wear all the belts AND the beaded mask.

~from Hey Day! Super-Amazing, Funk-da-Crazing, Ultra-Glazing Things to Do, Make, and Ponder Every Day of the Year by Super Clea and Keva Marie

Seeking sartorial inspiration from your reads? Try these!

Freak Show by James St. James

Tonight my hair will be pink and my skin will be blue. There will be feathers on my ace and ruby rhinestones on my lips. I will be swathed in a flowing cloak of iridescent sequins. My eyelashes will be so long and heavy that they will obstruct my vision. I will be forced to let a nearly naked slave boy carry me around...

Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan

He takes one look at my thick legs in their fishnets and my skirt I made out of Mylar birthday balloons and my tank top that barely contains my ginormous boobs and finally the eyeliner I cake over my eyes because it makes me look dangerous...

Fruits and Fresh Fruits by Shoichi Aoiki

Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins

Amanda was wearing a little shift of off-white organdy...to the neckline of which she had sewn peacock feathers and beads of black glass. It was a thin textile and she wore no bra. The sun warmed her chest like a Vaporub.

Born Confused, by Tanuja Desai Hidier

...I had watched her before my dresser mirror as her lips deepened to garnet. Zoomed to the eyes as she used wet violet liner to pull off a perfect imitation of Kavita's Cleopatra look and then, with surgical steadiness, toothpick, and cosmetic glue, applied tiny drugstore gems to the tips of the lashes. Snapped just the strands as she drew the scintillating choker in place, worked the hair-clip earrings from lobes to coruscating cornrows, adjusted rakhis into armlets...

And you, awesome readers? What reads give you sartorial satisfaction?

Hex and the City, Part Two

2009-01-14T06:24:00.001-05:00

While perusing the racks at my friend's Borders in Florida, I came upon a most interesting tome:

Let's face it: You know what you want, but somehow you're just not getting it. What you may not realize is that you control your life--and Click! shows you how.

Based on the idea that what you give is what you get, Click! explains how to figure out what you really want; how to focus on your goals using positive energy; and, ultimately, how to achieve those goals.

By creating more positive energy every day, you can stop waiting for good things to happen and make them happen. In fact, you're about to click send on a whole new kind of E-vite to the universe--and finally get the mail you've been hoping for!

Yep. It's the Law of Attraction for teens. Except instead of planting a money tree, you E-Mail the universe. For all I would have snarked in the past, the authors appear really well-intentioned, and if there's anything the world needs right now it's positive energy.

Fairy Love!

2009-01-13T14:59:00.001-05:00

My dearest real-life friends have a new chorus, and it's "Oh Rie, your poor butch..."

I'm a happy bachelorette at the moment, but they already sympathize with the strapping young thing who may hold my books, help me over puddles, and warm my heart (and feet) in the future. On the other hand, I know that if I can't bring a lass for brunch at Alice's Tea Cup with a side trip to look at tiny puppies without worrying that her balls will fall off, she's not worth my while.

The answer, by the by, to "How many puppies fit in a tote bag?" is "1 chow chow, 2 french bulldogs, 3 shih tzus and 4 yorkies," or exactly what Heather and I saw in the window.

Anyway.

Last week I was hopping around the Glamourbomb community archives when I spotted an old beloved haunt: FairyLove.

All photos are from the FairyLove website

Long story short, a couple of crazy kids decided to have a go selling wings and rainbow things at music festivals, and soon expanded into a fae-themed B&B in a 15th century country house.

They've got workshops on Freeing Your Fairy and bachelorette parties (check out the photos, they're fantastic!) where you dress up and take photos and scare the villagers and you can have tea and shop for wings and things and oh, it just seems wonderful all around.

I want my honeymoon there. Come on, let's say it all together.

"Oh Rie, your poor butch."

Now, what if you're a postcollegiate like the blogmistress who has to create her own fun instead of chasing it across the Atlantic? No worries--that's what an Leaving Shangri-L.A. and your friendly local library are for!

Seeking fairy attire? Haunt sales racks and thrift shops for last season's gauzy clubwear and hippie skirts, and then make them over with Just For the Frill of It or the 99 Ways series. The best wing tutorials are on the web--you can watch Emilie Autumn make her own set, or go with this illustrated step-by-step guide at Instructables.

Most fae lore says to never eat or drink what they may offer, but your guests will probably want a nosh. The Fairy, Princess, and Mermaid Cookbooks are the cutest things I have seen in ever and I want all three. You could send your snacks down the rabbit hole with Tiny Treats, or go uber-naturale with Ani's Raw Food Kitchen.

If you're not quite brave enough to face the locals after you're all kitted out, stay in with a movie, crafts, and a sober friend with a digital camera. The Dark Crystal/Labyrinth/Mirrormask trilogy is classic, with the bonus of being progressively odder as the night goes on. The newest Midsummer Night's Dream is visually stunning; even though it's been panned, it's still one of my favorites. Craftwise? Glamourbombers took guerilla art into their own hands to spread wonder and delight, but your tastes may be a bit more profane. Bead and bake with the jewelry and matching recipes in Beadalicious, or make yourself paper doll curtains or mirror mosaic with The Big-Ass Book of Crafts (I love saying that.)

Once you're suitably sugared up and seeking extra excitement, try the following:

*Make giant bubbles! Preferably at night so the neighbors think you're crazy

*Play 1000 Blank White Cards

*Go all arty-woowoo, pick a SARK poster and do everything on it or pick a goddess, dress up in her guilded clobber and have a suitably whirly ritual. Think YaYas, without the mind-altering substances.

*Weave yourself a flower wreath and pretend you're in a Sofia Coppola film

*Sneak out to go Bookcrossing or create a Drop Spot

*Raid the kitchen for things to slather on your face, feet, and what have you. I swear by sugar and water on blemishes, but don't be like me--rinse it off before you leave the house.

*Unearth that stash of makeup you never use and make yourself up like your mythical archtype--elfSTRUCK's videos will show you how

Hello! I return from the Kingdom!

2009-01-12T15:01:00.002-05:00

While I reorient myself with the chilly NYC climate, please enjoy this ridethrough video of the fantastically surreal It's a Small World, which was the first thing my friends and I visited (which I begged to return to--we ran out of time, but will be going back first thing when we make our next visit).

This ride was designed by Mary Blair, current darling of the retro art fan set.

Arrivederla!

2009-01-07T22:32:00.000-05:00

I'm off to visit a dear friend in Florida for the weekend! I'll be back on Sunday afternoon with a story and a review and whatever else has followed me home from the Sunshine State.

By the by...

Since I've read Vanessa Valencia's post on the subject, I wanted to make it clear that whatever photos and drawings I publish on this blog are Creative Commons-Attribution/NonCommercial Generic 2.5 licensed. You can take them and remix them however you'd like, but I'll ask kindly that you 1. credit me and 2. do not use my art for commercial work.

It's important to always respect the wishes of the individual artists, and I wish Vanessa and her colleagues luck with solving this mess.

Take care! I'll see you on Sunday!

The Wonder Book

2009-01-05T19:16:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

If your friends and relatives are anything like mine, I bet you were gifted with pretty notebooks just like the billions of pretty notebooks you've got hanging around your room. Here's one way to kick-start the one that's climbed to the top of the pile and cried "Write in me! Make something pretty and meaningful!"

Mythologist Joseph Campbell described sacred space as a place where wonder can be revealed. The form sacred space can take is varied: a garden, poem, painting, room, altar, shelf, a circular bench underneath an old apple tree, and of course a book. And that is how I created what I call the Wonder Book.

...While there are many books on personal mythology, the most sensuous way to begin your search is with a picture. Somewhere, in an art book, on a gallery wall, or in a box of old photographs at an antique stall, there's an image that will stop you cold. This is your first clue. To find it, you'll have to take a delightful detour to libraries, museums, or flea markets. By all means seek out places you've never been before, but don't discount what's nearby either...

What I would like you to do is find a large, beautiful blank book that speaks to your senses. (Mine is a peach colored journal with long leather ties that wrap around.) Everything about your Wonder Book should appeal: the size, the cover's texture, the color and weight of the paper. Search until you find one that thrills you with its look.

Books are living presences and reflect on every page and in between their lines the love that has gone into their creation. This should be the same visceral experience you have with your own intimate journal. Feeling magnetically drawn to your own Wonder Book is part of a romantic mystery that will slowly unfold before you eyes.

After you have found both your mythical image and your book, set aside a time when you can be alone. Light some candles, listen to some exquisite music and sip something festive. Glue your image on a page in the beginning of your book. Gaze upon it reflectively. That's all for now. Both you and your image have traveled far to find each other...look at your picture, and ask it to begin to tell you a story. It will, and as it does, write that story in your Wonder Book. As your story progresses, you'll discover (as I have) that you'll want more pictures to illustrate the tale. Keep searching and they will come to you.

“There is for every man and woman, some one scene, some one adventure, some one picture that is the image of our secret life,” W. B. Yeats tells us. “For wisdom first speaks in images and this one image, if we should brood over it our whole life long, would lead our whole life long, would lead our souls disentangled from unmeaning circumstances…into that far household where the undying gods await all whose souls have become as simple as flames.”

There will be many wonderful revelations in the days, weeks, and months ahead as you are drawn deeper into the mystery of your personal myth. But for now, simply be grateful that you are being gently lead into the luminous future, one reflective glance, one heartfelt chapter, at a time, of the one story worth telling. Yours.

Selections from "Mythical Women" and "The One Story Worth Telling," from Romancing the Ordinary by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

Photos from "Into the Woods: A Fairy-Themed Birthday" from Cookie magazine. Follow the bouncing link for more gorgeous photos!

Hex and the City

2009-01-05T03:43:00.001-05:00

As a New-Agey type, I've read all sorts of tomes about channeling, spellcasting, stargazing, and tarot-reading. I especially get a kick out of those who try to update said mystical things for the modern world.

Last night I read a book that including a song to call the four elements to the tune of the "Macarena."

...

Oh my.

To be fair, the authors also have a a chapter relating the "Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show with crossing boundaries between the mundane and spiritual world. Awesome.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T23:39:00.001-05:00

By Made Underground

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness.

I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can.

And I hope, somewhere in the next year,

you

surprise

yourself.

~Neil Gaiman

Is That a Gift Card in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Happy to See Me?:Books for your New Year's Resolutions

2008-12-30T04:14:00.001-05:00

I'm not really a resolution kind of girl--generally I just have Really Good Ideas for the coming year, like "Talk to girls without shaking like a Chihuahua" or "use that daily planner the way it was intended." However, there's nothing like a new year to make a fresh start on, and what better way to set your intentions than with some exciting, inspiring reading material?

These are my favorite reads when I need a boost to the mind, body, or spirit.

The Red Book is a breathtakingly outrageous and tender guide to getting in touch with The Big Unknown and Unseen. It's the smartest book I've read about spirituality, and the one that speaks to me the clearest and brightest. Sera Beak's a jewel, and you should drop in on her blog, Spiritual Cowgirl.

Speaking of potential controversies, I'm just going to link to that Four-Letter One-Word Guide to Loving Your Damn Body and Womankind in General by Inga Muscio, for those of you that like your empowerment sprinkled with expletives.

Girlosophy is a guide to life and a journey through girlhood in all corners of the world. Anthea Paul takes gorgeous photos of every shape, size, and color of women and brings them together with tiny but heady bits of wisdom. There are more books in the Girlosophy series, all about traveling and food and writing and healing your heart. I love them.

The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewellyn will make you fall in love with learning all over again. Even if you're not a teenager and unschooling's totally out of the picture, you can find out dozens of ways to learn and grow and change your life and the lives of others.

How to Be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith gives you a whole new way of seeing the world around us. It has exercises and places to doodle and ponder and document your life. This one's a bit more theoretical than the rest of Keri Smith's crop, but in an accessible, down-to-earth way.

The Teany Book: Stories, Food, Romance, Cartoons, and of Course, Tea is a book about tea, but it's also a book about life, with vegan recipes and herbal remedies in. It's wonderfully designed, clean and bright but with little doodles and crazy photos and asides to liven it up.

The Femme's Guide to the Universe (out of print, but good luck hunting!) is a million times better than any of those other life-as-a-twentysomething-with-lipsticks-and-a-credit-card guides, because Shar Rednour is whip-smart, hysterical, life-loving and mindful of those of us without a trust fund as backup.Plus, I personally find it awesome to read a guide-to-twentysomething life written for girl-loving-girls like me!

The Bodacious Book of Succulence is, oh yes, the ubiquitous SARK, but I think this (and Inspiration Sandwich) is her best work. It's an expansive guide to coaxing your inner muse out of hiding, and what to do with her once she's sitting on the fridge, peering at you curiously and eating all the Oreos.

Poemcrazy by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge is full of exercises, stories, and poetry to woo your muse off the fridge. It has this delicate quality and nature-based imagery that's soothing and inspiring all in one.

Beauty*licious and Think Pink by Lisa Clark are newcomers to the game, and I never turned down a book just cause it's written for chiquitas half my age. (Hello, 90% of this blog.) They're quirky little guides to life, love, and the pursuit of the perfect back-to-school outfit written from the point of view of a preteen pink-haired diva. They're like brain candy, if candy was secretly good for your self-esteem and taught you a few things about negotiating with your friends, moving your body in ways that makes you happy, and wearing what looks good on you and not your classmates. Awww.

I Wish You Peace and Jelly Whelps

2008-12-24T21:57:00.001-05:00

The Jelly whelps by =mariecannabis on deviant ART

Amber called her uncle, said "We're up here for the holiday,
Jane and I were having solstice, now we need a place to stay."
And her Christ-loving uncle watched his wife hang Mary on a tree
He watched his son hang candy canes all made with red dye number three
He told his niece, "It's Christmas eve, I know our life is not your style."
She said, "Christmas is like Solstice, and we miss you and it's been awhile."

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said
Sending hope for peace on earth to all their gods and goddesses

The food was great, the tree plugged in, the meal had gone without a hitch
Till Timmy turned to Amber and said, "Is it true that you're a witch?"
His mom jumped up and said, "The pies are burning," and she hit the kitchen
And it was Jane who spoke, she said, "It's true, your cousin's not a Christian,"
"But we love trees, we love the snow, the friends we have, the world we share,
And you find magic from your God, and we find magic everywhere."

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
And where does magic come from, I think magic's in the learning
Cause now when Christians sit with Pagans only pumpkin pies are burning

When Amber tried to do the dishes, her aunt said, "Really, no, don't bother."
Amber's uncle saw how Amber looked like Tim and like her father
He thought about his brother, how they hadn't spoken in a year
He thought he'd call him up and say, "It's Christmas and your daughter's here."
He thought of fathers, sons and brothers, saw his own son tug his sleeve, saying
"Can I be a Pagan?" Dad said, "We'll discuss it when they leave,"

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
Lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old and
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold

~"The Christians and the Pagans" by Dar Williams

Go see MarieCannabis's other Dessert Whelps here, they're precious!

It's just a jump to the left...

2008-12-23T03:03:00.001-05:00

A dear friend reminded me of the (apparently ancient) rumor that the Rocky Horror Picture Show is being remade.

Now, with MTV at the helm this could be quite the questionable venture. If I were to cast it? It would be a thing of beauty and a joy forever; that is, if you're the type that paints your nails blue and still listens to Sleater-Kinney. My dream cast follows:

Rufus Wainwright as RiffRaff--he's handsome in a wilted lily sort of way, has a this purring ironic voice and a great sense of theatricality. Perfect. Watch him in "Rules and Regulations" and "April Fools" (Bonus: Guess which lady matches up with which opera).

For Magenta, Beth Ditto. I'm convinced this woman is Divine reincarnated, in all the best possible ways, and her raw rock-star vocals and love of camp make her a fantastic candidate. You can watch her and The Gossip performing "Standing in the Way of Control" for a taste.

Now I'm a tad biased as I have a wicked crush on the lad, but I couldn't see anybody as Eddie but the painfully gorgeous Lucas Silveira. Those eyes! That voice! Those guitar licks! Catch me before I swoon again, and catch him and his band, The Cliks, in their videos for "Oh Yeah" and "Complicated" (with Margaret Cho!)

For Eddie's main squeeze and Dr. Frank's spurned love Colombia, who but the gloriously strange and dark and lovely Amanda Palmer? Of course, nobody can beat the goddess of rock herself, Joan Jett, in the Broadway run, but can't you just see her belting out Colombia's lamentations and giving Frankie what-for? See her video for "Leeds United" and judge for yourself.

For poor, sweet Janet, I picked Kristen Bell. She's already shown off her naughty-and-nice sides in Reefer Madness. Take a look at her in "Romeo and Juliet" (and then watch the rest of the movie, because it's great).

My friend Louie suggested Dan Radcliffe for Brad. I laughed so hard I pulled something. Consider him a placeholder till something better comes up.

For Mr. Rocky Horror himself, I've taken the liberty of picking Rob Pattinson. Blasphemy, you cry? Oh, but all he has to do is stand around and show off his glittery man titties, just like in Twilight. When even your professors think the man beautiful, you know you have a winner. Too thin, you say? Well, he came out of the tank a bit shrunken--cold water and all.

I made Anthony Head the Crim on a friend's suggestion (also, because he has no neck, see?), but Eddie Izzard as Dr. Scott? All my fault.

Oh? Have I forgotten somebody?

Ahh, yes.

Dr. Frankie...herself.

Yep. I did it. But men in heels isn't transgressive anymore, that's a Thursday night sitcom's subplot. But a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman, fooling around with Mother Nature and anybody else who shows a bit of thigh, and committing heinous crimes all for a bit of attention? That's hot!Take a look at her in "AC/DC," and see what you think...but don't tell it to me, I'm sold.

There's my dream cast. Tell me yours!

Places I Meant to Be: The Writings and Photography of Emily, the Hyper Faerie

2008-12-17T23:54:00.001-05:00

I don't quite recall how we met--it must have been through one LJ community or another. However that happened, this self-described "average actress/writer/poet/freak/dork/daydreamer/sick-minded individual" charmed me with her writings about places I'd never been, but wished to be. She can take a city and make it come alive, the sights and smells and hidden corners, colors and flashes of light and the taste of a Cosmo cupcake or shades of emotion in the passers-by. They make me want to toss on some gypsy anklets and have a wandering day in a city I don't quite know yet--and you'll want to come along.

Photo by Emily C.

One Foot on Sea and One on Shore: Stratford, Ontario

There is a little tea boutique a few blocks down selling rosemary jelly (rosemary reminds me of Ophelia--pray you love, remember) and tea buds that bloom like flowers in hot water. Lyrical Asiany names-- Lotus Lamp. Phoenix Eyes. Jade Guan Yin. White Jasmine Moon. Wild Love. Pearl in a Shell. I buy tiny tight-fisted greenish buds tied with jasmine called Rishi Fairy Girl--psychedelic flowery orbs for delicate pixie-lady sadhus to imbibe in between their meditations and mischief. Nextdoor is P'Lovers Eco-Store, named for the sea bird and also for P'lanet Lovers; they have patchwork hoodies and pewter pocket tokens adorned with angels, dolphins, faeries, Oms. The whole place smells like sage and lavender and aloe from organic beauty products. The banister knobs leading upstairs have sock puppet covers with funny stories attached: some sockpeople are Finnish dancer exchange students, others purple-black caped vampires.

Faeries by the Sea: Part I, Oslo, Norway and Part II, Brighton, England

Brighton reminds me of a Joni Mitchell song--the sea breezes carrying the sweet melancholy cries of gulls, the tiny cobblestone alleyways lined with pastel-painted boutiques selling sparkly things which look good enough to eat and colorful sweets looking good enough to wear. The bright lights and dazzling cacophony of the touristy little carnival at the Pier. Street performers' songs following you down the blocks where Tarot readers and local artists sell their wares. The Royal Pavilion like Kubla Khan's stately pleasure-dome, all Taj Mahal turrets and overgrown gardens outside, and inside Chinese dragons,snakes, and lotuses decorating every surface of decadent chandeliered dining rooms, plush rococo parlors full of mirrors and lacquered harpsichords, and colorful ballrooms with gilded cockle-shells lining the high ceilings.

The South Side: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Driving down the long long street – on which I have tested my mettle by marching up and down it three times in the cold during and after an anti-war protest– you feel like you're on the Sunset Strip, or a river flowing to exotic locales. Parking down there's shit but who cares; it's worth it to drive around for a bit as long as you can hang out there later. It unfolds before you – storefronts, ethnic restaurants, bars (so many bars), cars full of drunken guys speeding down the street like maniacs, punks loitering, theater-goers speed-walking to shows, and so much more– and it goes on and on until you reach the more corporate chain part but even that's still kinda cool, only not as much as the lower parts of Carson Street. And once your feet tread the pavement you know you're there; you can feel it. So much coolness with a little bit of edgy danger thrown in to spice things up a bit, dark with light shining through, an urban jungle with magic lurking around the corners.

p.s.OMGWTFNIPPLE

Moving? Maybe? Not Yet...

2008-12-14T23:32:00.002-05:00

Hello all!

After the fifty billionth time fighting with Blogger and its layouts (I still love you guys, it just ate my blogroll), I'm looking to move on to another free blogging site. Never fear, I won't ever, ever delete the content I have here, and would probably mirror it at the new site.

How many of you amazing readers use Wordpress? Do you like it? I'm impressed with the functionality, but perturbed about content warnings. Not that I'd ever go above a PG-13 or so, but I'd hate to see things deleted. What say you?

Things I Am Looking For in a Blogging Site:

1. Tags. Tags and Labels, like NOGOODFOME, would be amazing

2. Three-column layout support

3. PG-13 content support

Come Stalk Me at The BUST Craftacular!

2008-12-13T23:04:00.001-05:00

Hello all!

Again, again, late to the party, but I'd like to let you know that I'll be volunteering at BUST Magazine's (aka, the Mag from this spring's posts) Holiday Craftacular in New York City. 200 vendors, cheap admission, food, dancing, and Amy Sedaris signing books! Come on, you know you wanna get some holiday shopping done...

(Click the pic for more info.)

I'll be working two to six--look for the teeny bottle redhead with a fauxhawk and black tie!

I think magic's in the learning...

2008-12-10T13:17:00.001-05:00

Hello!

I've just completed my final project for my References and Resources class, a Feminism for Teens wiki named We're Waving, Not Drowning. I would love it if all of my awesome readers would help me contribute to this, so if you are interested please comment on this post or email me at devilinpetticoatsATgmailDOTcom for information on how to sign in and start playing with it.

If nothing else, there's a different music video on every page. Go have a listen! And enjoy the above video, Dar William's seasonal classic "The Christians and the Pagans."

The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy

2008-12-08T02:47:00.001-05:00

Have you read any Neil Gaiman? He's clever in such an understated way, making such things as poetic redheaded trees, children raised by ghouls, and an angel and a devil coming together to save the world perfectly believable, touching and human.

China Mieville? He's endlessly inventive and deeply dark, filling underworlds with unsavory characters, salacious detail, and gripping underhanded plots.

Tom Robbins? He writes absurd, whimsical modern-day myths with strange characters saving the world from mundanity.

If the three had a magical literary baby who fended for himself in the dusty stacks of a small liberal arts college with arcane moonlit rituals until he was rescued by the members of pagan art-rock group My Barbarian, it would be The Order of Odd-Fish.

Jo Larouche was an extremely dangerous baby--but life in her movie star Aunt Lily's ruby palace in the desert was blissfully dry and tame till a neurotic hedgehog, a three-foot tall cockroach and a mysterious package from the sky crash Lily's costume ball and Jo's humdrum life, setting off a wild adventure full of ostrich jousting, dangerous epic pranksters who create the most terrifying balloon animals in the world in a battle, knights who revel in useless knowledge and pointless quest, underground worlds, elaborate ceremonies, a mysterious actress who knows more than she lets on, dangerous musicals and the end of the world as we know it.

Kennedy's first novel is so many odd flavors wrapped into one, a novel as rich and creepy and magical as Eldritch City, where Jo discovers her past and apprentices herself with the Order of Odd-Fish, knights and dames trained in esoteric sciences and obscure knowledge as well as jousting and ostrich-taming. Together, they'll save the world from destruction at the hand of the all-devouring Mother, aided by the deadly Silent Sisters and the notorious Belgian Prankster, whose hideously humorous reality show leads to rumors that he may, in fact, be the devil himself. It has a sometimes droll, sometimes quick sense of humor best appreciated by someone with a love for words:

There was so much to learn, so many new things to do, she felt it was impossible to take everything in. Even in the evenings, the knights would gather the squires together to give seminars about their own specialties: Dame Myra would show off some man-eating flowers or metallic, glassy blobs she'd collected in the fens, or Sir Alasdair would give each squire a different musical instrument and watch in silent amusement as they unsuccessfully tried to play them, never offering any help--not even when Nora's instrument got angry, sprouted wings, and flew away.

I felt as if the first few chapters dragged a tiny bit, but once Lily and Jo escaped to Eldritch City, the story picked up at breakneak pace. Another little caveat? The love interest is a brave and true lad, but sometimes I didn't feel so interested in their blossoming relationship. (I have a far more interesting match for Jo, but Mr. Kennedy may not totally approve.) Hands down favorite character? Audrey, the gifted actress with a heart of gold and mischievous spirit:

One afternoon Audrey and Jo picked the lock to Dame Delia's secret dissection lab, and they spent hours examining dozens of Dame Delia's dead monsters. A huge spider was still spread on the dissection table, its underbelly opened up to expose its colorful guts; other creatures floated in barrels, hung from the ceiling, or were squashed away in drawers; still others were sliced into sheets and bound like books. Audrey stole what looked like a furry starfish and hid it in Ian's bed, and that night Ian's road of shock woke up the entire lodge, and Audrey and Jo had to bite their pillows to muffle their hysterical giggling. (This was part of Audrey and Jo's campaign to torture Ian until he got rid of his mustache. When he finally shaved it off, Audrey organized a small funeral for it.)

If you love elaborate ceremonies, weird motives, strange smells, hideous devices, a classic quest with Lovecraftian squishness, strong women and strange men, and the odd creature or two (tame squid anyone?), The Order of Odd-Fish is for you.

*James Kennedy's website

*His blog

*His performance group, Brilliant Pebbles: An exciting mix of romance, epic battles, space dance, psychology and fun. Adventures of imagination. Time through obstacle courses. Holy arrows in directions of orbiting eyes to new places. Animal knows, human houses guide -light- start -shoes- fireblood hearts SURPRISE ! Red curtains, and baroque bows. Gymnastic mirrors floating in hope. .

*Chicago Reader's interview/review, "A Giant Peach", which mentions his next work, "The Magnificent Moots, a sci-fi comedy he describes as “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets Ender’s Game meets The Royal Tenenbaums meets A Wrinkle in Time."

*Laini Taylor's excellent review (scroll about halfway down):

You know how it's better to watch a comedy with somebody, that somehow the humor is riper and deeper when shared? Well, the whole time I was reading this I wished I was reading it with someone, so I could elbow them at particularly bizarre moments, or chortle, or read passages aloud and savor them. I don't recall having that kind of reaction when reading a book before, at least, not so consistently.

For the Distinguished Young Fortean Investigator--A Call For Recommendations

2008-12-03T00:21:00.001-05:00

My younger brother likes Joseph Campbell, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and H. P. Lovecraft. He loves monsters and role playing games and Victorian horror and time travelers. He wants to be the next P.T. Barnum when he grows up.

As you can see, eccentricity runs in the Selavy family.

I'm making him a Cthulhu Hunter's kit for Christmas, inspired by the astonishing fascimile monster hunter kits by Alex CF (a bit of a warning: some of these are a bit gruesome) and the witchy surprise boxes by The Catt. It will be housed in a box that looks like a hardcover box, and contain a nice fountain pen, an antique journal with useful phrases for a monster hunter inside (such as "Something eldritch is dripping on your shoe"), calling cards (which he's wanted a set of for ages) and some tiny specimens. With this, I'd like to include some interesting books about creepy curiosities and wonders, or just strange stuff in general. Books that look like something a monster hunter would actually use--like the Dragonology books--are a plus, but in a pinch he gets a kick out of anything.

Here are some that I have in mind:

A Field Guide to Monsters (My brother likes picture books as much as I do)

How to Catch a Flying Saucer and How to Find a Ghost (these are middle grade books, but very, very well written and full of interesting info)

Yokai Attack!:The Japanese Monster Survival Guide

The Vampire Watcher's Handbook

The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases

The Discovery of Dragons

The Voyage of the Basset

And now I turn the floor over to my amazing readers. What books would you include with his kit? Anything about monsters, ghosts, vampires, demons, and surviving in the wilds of Ry'leh would be perfect, but anything with strange facts and weird stories works too. Thank you so much!

But there's the box and there's your name...

2008-12-02T16:03:00.001-05:00

This is Amanda Palmer.

She is my epitome of womanhood.* She's created an awesome, beautiful video with drag queens and cabaret dancers and a big band sound and...football hooligans. Clearly, this is a brilliant, talented, beautiful woman.

Her record label, however, doesn't quite agree with me.

Do you think this is as ridiculous as I do? Then join the Rebellyon! You bet mine would be up there if I had any aptitude for writing on my stomach, backwards.

*Of course I respect Ms. Palmer for her mind and soul and brains. That said, I'm teased sometimes for having a type** and dark hair, light eyes, deep voice and men's clothes totally fits it. Swoon.

**"Rie, I saw you walking in St. George with your Cute Ex."

"That wasn't Cute Ex, that was The LIS Student That I'm Mad For."

"DAMN, Rie."

All Hail the Crafty Chica

2008-12-02T03:06:00.001-05:00

If you're a hands-on kind of gifter, click over to Kathy Cano-Murillo's 50 Fabulous Gifts to Make and Give for the holiday season.

Yep, 50.

My theory is that she crafts in her sleep. Favorites? The Comic Book Belt, Glittered Birdcage, Loteria Luminaria, and Bejeweled Champagne Flutes.

The Leaving Shangri-L.A. Holiday Gift Guide

2008-12-01T04:29:00.001-05:00

Ahh, tis the season for frantic Amazon.com hopping, balancing stacks at The Strand, and hoping that art book isn't going to land on your head at Barnes & Noble. Yes, holiday shopping is upon us, and I find the most touching gift, next to something handmade, is a well-chosen new book to love. I've been told I have book karma--the ability to chose just the book one was looking for (and five more they had no idea existed). It's a tough gift to manifest online, but here are some suggestions for some of the fantastically eccentric types you might find hitchiking out of Shangri-L.A.

I've recommended some out-of-print books too lovely to ignore. You can hunt them down at your local casa de used books, or (carefully!) find them online.

The Kid at Heart will love you for indulging their inner child with cute craft books like Tiny Treats and Beautiful Doodles and wonderfully weird stories by Daniel Pinkwater, collected in 5 Novels and 4 Fantastic Novels. Magic Trixie's meant for the middle-grade-reader crowd, but Jill Thompson's amazing art gives it appeal for those who love a good witchy story. The classic Betsy-Tacy series is near and dear to my heart, and any girl who loves an old-fashioned family story with tons of period detail will eat them up--I especially love the sometimes-neglected high school quartet. Is she a sucker for a painfully sweet holiday story? Then pass on The Legend of Holly Claus. Kids at heart with an artistic flair will always appreciate a beautiful picture book. How about Mermaids on Parade, or The Girl in the Castle in the Museum, or The Salamander Room, or The Jewel Box Ballerinas?

Pair the book with: interesting and odd art supplies, finger puppets or small stuffed animals, or jewelry that looks like food

The Urban Fairy is a sweet, drifty sort who soaks up beauty. Fairie-Ality and Fairy Island will make her squeal in delight--not to mention the classic, Suza Scalora's The Fairies. Is she a New Yorker, or wishes she was one? Try The Good Fairies of New York or Changeling. Dame Darcy's twistedly lovely comics will go over well--try Gasoline and her Meatcake comic books. Something dreamy to look at, like Girlosophy or Inspired Gatherings, and something lovely to cook from, like The Teany Book or Sweet Serendipity, will absolutely thrill the urban fae type.

Pair with: a bubble wand, a tiny bottle of glitter on a necklace, a hardy but pretty potted plant, a suncatcher, a feather butterfly garland, or shiny hair doodads

The Vampire Fangirl is probably chewing your ear off about the joys of sparkly bloodsuckers. Give her a new and improved heroine with Sunshine--a baker who makes charms and pastry with historical allusions and kicks major supernatural butt? That's my kind of girl. If she prefers her vampire romance on the giggly side, pick up the Vampire Kisses series or the insanely adorable School Bites graphic novels. Of course, nothing beats the classic Interview with the Vampire. (I can only guarantee the quality of the first two books in that series--after that, caveat emptor.) From the Dust Returned is the tale of a supernaturally gifted family and their mortal child; it's fable-like and melancholic and will appeal to many a vampire fan. If they'd like a bit of sensationalist nonfiction, track down Piercing the Darkness for an inside look at people who claim to be actual vampires.

Pair with: A piece of gothically ornate costume jewelry, a gift certificate to a costume shop, wineglasses, or tarot cards

The Happy Sapphist has no right to bitch about a gift of The Femme's Guide to the Universe or Girl Meets Girl if she's a newbie to the scene. If she's up on historical fiction, gift her with Tipping the Velvet (or the gorgeous miniseries based on it) or The Privilege of the Sword. Not so down with bodice ripping or swashbuckling? Track down some crazy decedant omnisexual speculative fiction (read: SciFi/Fantasy) novel, like Rock'N'Roll Babes from Outer Space. This list can help you narrow it down.

Pair with: A movie! Better than Chocolate and Itty Bitty Titty Committee are must-sees. Or else a set of ironic dress-up magnets, a tiny classical nude statue, a calendar of Nuns Having Fun or a book of postcards by her art heroine.

The Kitschionista is easy to please with a copy of some vintage-inspired craft guide like The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girl's Guide to Handmade Jewelry or The Big-Ass Book of Crafts. (I heart you so hard, Mark Montano.) Gorgeously eccentric, pop-culture filled memoirs like Queen of the Oddballs and Nasty: My Family and Other Glamorous Varmints will tickle her immensely and make her wish for a life less ordinary--then go find it! If in doubt, think colorful and weird, like Bitter With Baggage Seeks Same, The Gallery of Regrettable Food and its sequel Gastroanomalies, This is Blythe, and the absolutely hysterical and classic I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence.

Pair with: Hideously beautiful jewelry from the op shop, nail polish in colors to coordinate with the book's cover, sillicon baking supplies, or a scarf made of wild handspun yarn

A Princess Reading List

2008-11-30T22:34:00.001-05:00

The marvelous Skye of The Princess Portal recently wrote up her list of "books that I find very touching and inspirational, that carry me to another world and evoke some of the essence of fairy tales and what it means to be a Princess. Not all of these stories contain Princess characters, but they all express some of the beauty and magic that forms my world view and in some way have influenced me over the years." Sounds lovely, no?

Go take a look over at 50 Books: A Princess Reading List. Other readers have added their favorites in the comments. Here are some of mine:

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M. M. Blume

Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards

No Flying in the House by Betty Brock

The Little White Horse and Linnets and Valerians, by Elizabeth Goudge

Dancing Shoes, Ballet Shoes, and any of the Shoes books by Noel Streatfeild

The Girl With the Green Ear by Margaret Mahy (out of print, but not hard to find. All of her short story collections are wonderful.)

7 Facts, 25 Books

2008-11-24T16:55:00.001-05:00

Sweet Penny Lane at Buttercup Kisses tagged me with the random things about yourself meme. Since I feel so bad about neglecting my awesome readers, I'm combining the facts with book recommendations. Enjoy!

1. I played with dolls until I was 13 or 14. In fact, I love pretending things so much that if you asked me to be a British wizard or girl detective with you, I'd still join in at the advanced age of 23.

My favorite doll books are When the Dolls Woke, The Secret in Miranda's Closet, and The Doll's House. I also love Changeling and The Egypt Game. One of the reasons Annie on My Mind spoke to me so clearly is because its main characters love pretending things, too.

2. I'm a little new-age woowoo, in a secular-pagan kind of way. Sera Beak is one of my idols; The Red Book speaks more to my spirituality than any other. (Okay, as well as Teen Goddess by Catherine Wishart--I don't agree with everything she says, but empowering yourself, spreading love, and dressing up to express your inner awesomeness are my spiritual trifecta.)

3. I love utopian/dystopian stories fiercely, especially those by Tanith Lee and Angela Carter--I like their decadent writing and struggling-against-the-crowd themes. The best are the Claidi Journals, Biting the Sun, The Silver Metal Lover, Burning Your Boats, The Book of Flying, The Garden, and The City, Not Long After. Of course, Ecstasia and Primavera play their part in this love as well. (P.S.--I'm always on the lookout for new recommendations!)

4. My personal heroes are Eugene Walter and Jeanette Howard Foster.

5. I have the inner personality of a theatre-chick and only crippling stage fright (and a love of books) kept me from that particular corner of the universe. How I Paid for College and Attack of the Theatre People help indulge that particular facet of my personality. I can't wait to read Dramarama and My Life: The Musical.

6. I'm also in love with fiber arts, even though I don't think I have any aptitude for knitting or crocheting. The Chicks with Sticks books let me live this out vicariously--as does browsing beautiful handspun wool on Etsy!

7. Macaroons are my favorite cookie. I may not have tried them if not for The Girl Who Ate Everything. (I get mine at Le Petit Belge on 14th St.)

To See Myself Transformed: The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner

2008-10-22T22:58:00.001-05:00

I haven't had this much fun revisiting a book in quite a while. (Actually, The Manny Files was as good the second and third time around, but I digress.) The Privilege of the Sword has been languishing in my review pile, a sad but not lonely place for such an excellent title. After spotting the twelfth copy of a certain chess-piece-bedecked vampire novel being toted around campus, I knew I had to put up some novels with strong, brave heroines that take no shit but still have time to enjoy the finer things in life, like velvet cloaks and voyeurism.

Lady Katherine's mad uncle agreed to erase her family's debt with one simple request: that she move in with him, live and dress as a boy and take up the sword, training to become his personal guard and defender of whatever honor his whim dictates. When her dear friend is violated, she sets out to avenge Lady Artemisia on behalf of all the women who cannot defend themselves, subvert the dominant paradigm, and find out what's going on behind her mad uncle's locked doors. Kate is tossed from her genteel poverty into a whirlwind of political intrigue, romantic drama, depravity, decadence, crazy artistic schemes, wonderfully terrible novels, brothels, lecherous theatrical fangirls...I could go on, but it's best to just leap it and let the story carry you away.

We shared [the gingerbread] out, and then went down to the kitchen together looking for more cake. The pastry cook was creating little icing flowers to decorate something. The duke appropriated the flowers and bore them and us off to the library, where we saw the sun down playing a complicated gambling game using them as tokens, joined by a couple of resident scholars. Winners got to eat their own sweets; Marcus occasionally was sent down for more plates of flowers to keep the game going. No one wanted any supper--instead, the scholars started quizzing each other on points so obscure that the joking guesses Marcus and threw out were sometimes right. Candles were lit. The duke scrambled up and down more ladders fetching volumes to adjudicate between them.

The night went on, the candles burned down and we sent for more, and the kitchen started sending up jellies and syllabubs, along with cakes decorated with the little flowers. The duke's homely friend Flavia came in, looking for a book, but she refused to play. She picked a few flowers off the cakes, listened for a bit, and then said, "I didn't know it was possible to get drunk on sugar, but I think you've managed it," and went off grumbling. She may have been right, though. One moment I was screaming with laughter, and the next it was all I could do to keep from falling asleep on the window seat.

It's just so much fun. The characters are great, loveable or hateable or inscrutable as need be, Katherine especially. She's this wonderful blend of naivity, self-assurance, confusion and cockiness, but with a good, brave heart despite her wild surroundings. The scandal is delicious, the swordfights exciting--not enough swordfighting in my opinion, but that leaves room for a sequel.

A friend from Livejournal once told me what every fantasy heroine wants is a pretty dress, a sword, and a good romp between the covers. This novel certainly delivers on the above, and while queer sexuality is sort of intolerantly tolerated in Riverside, the heroine (and most of the other characters who matter) is curiously bisexual. There are quite a few strong, sexually expressive females in the novel, which is refreshing in the context of historical/mannerpunk lit.

Here's where I apologize for letting my cranky riot-grrl side come out. Writers, here's a real revolutionary challenge: write me an alternate historical, fantasy or no, where women are on equal footing with men. No arranged marriages, no kowtowing to the fathers and brothers, no rape as a shortcut to character development. Kushner comes closer than most that I've read, and I am grateful for it. It's a riveting, romantic gem of a novel.

*Preview The Privilege of the Sword at Googlebooks

*Spaceholder for Ellen Kushner's website (it's down right now)

*Ellen Kushner's Livejournal

*A beautiful review at Strange Horizons. The first paragraph made me cheer:

It's a man's world. Yes, still. How else could Ellen Kushner's The Privilege of the Sword—a vastly entertaining bildungsroman, told as a novel of manners with a judicious amount of swashbuckling—be so easily dismissed by one blogger as "fantasy chick lit"? The main character is a young woman, and there are a couple of references to shoes, it is true. The setting is also largely urban, a generous amount of tears are shed (a girl is raped; this upsets her), and certain characters do indeed fall in love or at any rate have sex (both pastimes being, as I understand it, quite common among human beings). The fact that it is also pacy, witty, filled with politicking and swordfights, and essentially a coming-of-age story, is apparently irrelevant. Men's stories are universal, after all; women's are niche (and fluffy).

Right on.

Straight Out of a Telenovela: Fat Hoochie Prom Queen by Nico Medina

2008-10-19T23:41:00.001-05:00

Speaking of fierce femmes, on the recommendation of Lee Wind I picked this beauty out of my Secret ARC Stash. I'm so glad that I did! Even though I almost tossed it aside as Yet Another Prom Novel (I'd read three in a row), Fat Hoochie Prom Queen turned out to be a fab, funny, raunchy and touching novel about blazing your own trail, living life to the fullest, and finding out what's going on underneath the perfectly bleached roots of your arch-frenemy.

Hey, I usually don't hate people. I love people! And I love myself. I love my big ol' body and I love who I am--and people respond accordingly, which has given me a life full of amazing, astounding, and all-around awesome friends. I might have even been friends with Bridget Benson--if I didn't want to expose her bullshit in all its stinky awfulness to the misinformed student body.

Madge Diaz has a pretty sweet life--if you ignore her micromanaging mother, workaholic dad, dream-deferred big sister, and broken-hearted best friend Lucas who chases all the wrong dudes. All's well till her bitchy rival Bridget Benson announces her campaign for prom queen--and insults everything Madge takes a stand for. After a beautiful retort from Diaz's corner, Madge plots her own prom takeover, complete with anti-prom party. What follows? Road trips fueled by hot dance floor anthems, sassy filthy-mouthed drag queens, amazing outfits, copious junk food, sweet-hearted redneck beaux, endless one-liners from Madge and Lucas, scheming, dirty tricks, and eventual reconciliation, with a happy ending for all involved.

Why weren't my friends smart enough to throw an anti-prom when we were their age? We would have had so much more fun. I digress.

A caveat: Madge and her coterie aren't the most PC of crowds. Some of the lines, not to mention the extensive underage drinking and social drug use, made me want to shake sense into the lot. It's not a book that plays by safe boy-meets-girl-meets-conflict-meets-resolution-and-goofy-dance-scene rules. Fat Hoochie Prom Queen is the love child of Rachel Cohn and John Waters, a slightly twisted teenybopper romp with flash, perversity, good music, bad taste, and heart. So much love.

Oh--if you love this one, get your hands on Freak Show, another prom-queen novel by James St. James, now in paperback. I read and loved it several times; check out the LSL review here. Madge and Billy would be best friends or brilliant rivals--I would kill to see their dance-off. (Or combined fashion line. Oh, the feathers. Oh, the fake facial hair.)

*Read Chapter One, Chapter Two Part One and Part Two

*Nico Medina knows how to do an author website! Tons of info about the man himself, his family, and his books, and a whole page of distractions

*Another reason I love this book? Madge reminds me of an old and true friend, Cat. Not cause she's a fat hoochie prom queen, but because she uses the word breasteses and is always the life of a party. She just turned 23 last week, so happy birthday, Cat!

*Oh, what the heck--have a Fat Hoochie Prom Queen mix, on me!

The Girl in the Cupboard Comes Out; Or, Where My Sapphists At

2008-10-13T21:27:00.004-05:00

Lesbian Angels by PhotoCatcher

Saturday was National Coming Out Day.

As usual, I'm late to the party.

If you haven't guessed already, I'm definitely of the lady-loving lady persuasion. Yep, that's me. I like macarons, I can para-para dance, I want to be a librarian when I grow up and I date girls.

This is para-para dancing, if you were curious. I dare you not to get up and try it.

I'm proud of my heritage, of the strong, brave women who fought for my right to drink tea and type my thoughts without persecution.

Of YA lit? Not so much.

Lots of books are coming out (ha!) about awesome boys that like boys and lead interesting lives beyond that. I'm thinking Totally Joe, How I Paid for College, Boy Meets Boy,
Freak Show...but where my sapphists at?

Where are the books about awesome, strong, empowered young lesbians (or heaven forfend, genderqueer/trans/etc individuals) that aren't about falling in or out of love with a girl and the usually-terrible consequences thereof? Where are the Sassy Femme Companions(tm) to balance out all the Flamboyant Gay Best Friends(tm)? Where are the young lesbians solving mysteries, fighting dragons, time-hopping, swing-dancing, llama-ranching?

Readers, point me the way or I'll be forced to write them myself.

New Interview - Mixed Multitudes

2008-09-30T11:37:00.001-05:00

Francesca Lia Block changed the face of young adult publishing with her first novel, Weetzie Bat — a book that was mature (both in the “sophisticated” sense and the sense of mature themes) beyond anything else that was being published in the genre of children’s literature at the time, but never lost sight of its primary audience and never stopped being, at its heart, a book about a teenage girl. She’s influenced by imaginary realism writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jeanette Winterson, as well as early film (think Georges Méliès) and the golden age of Hollywood. Weetzie is the tale of a girl whose father (a Jewish immigrant) became an effects man in Hollywood, and whose life starts off surreal and blossoms into a fountain of weirdness.

Francesca Lia Block: Learning to Quake
(Matthue Roth is an excellent author in his own right. I very much enjoyed Never Mind the Goldbergs.)

Art in the Heart, Dirt in the Skirt:It's So You edited by Michelle Tea

2008-09-08T18:39:00.001-05:00

I like to let the city dress me up in its love. I know it's a good day when I leave my house and by the time I come back I'm wearing a completely different and more bizarre outfit.~Rhiannon Argo, "Art in the Heart, Dirt in the Skirt"

I'm not a very good book blogger. Sometimes, I don't want to write something meaningful--I just want to thrust It's So You: 35 Women Write About Personal Expression Through Fashion and Style in your hands and say "Read it! It's amazing! There's clothes and feminism and it's happy and soulful and incredibly queer friendly. There's a girl with bee shoes and a butch pinup paper doll and and grandmother with a marshmallow dress and Proustian memories of red lipstick and dressing to rock your own fucking world."

This is one of those times.

[My grandmother] loved every detail of dressing herself, and she instilled in me what she considered the important rules of fashion: Don't dress like everyone else; dress to make yourself happy; and once in a while enter your own fantastical world where it's perfectly normal to wear plastic and newspaper...I spent many days fashioning my own creations under her direction--a skirt made into a beehive, complete with beaded bees attached by coil springs, a pair of pants covered with little plastic rabbits and trees, and a long tube dress covered with fuzz to resemble a caterpillar. When I wasn't dressed as part of another world, I wore a sometimes-dizzying array of mismatched colors, prints, and textures.~Debbie Rasmussen, "My Grandma's Attic: Dressing Up and Acting Out"

I've noticed that Michelle Tea picks writers like herself: raw, experimental, but not without humor and quirks of personality. They have dizzying highs and heartbreaking lows and every experience in between, feverish to get the most out of life and living, to make sense of their pasts, to see beauty in ugly things and vice versa. There are artists, models, many writers, witches, urban professionals, a psychic, a fashion designer, from every creed, color, social strata and gender expression. And the clothes! Oh, the clothes--pink Mode Merr girdles trimmed in rhinestone, a crushed velvet babydoll dress to wear to your first Ani DiFranco concert, a Hawaiian barkcloth dress, and it goes on, with a lot of love for thrift/vintage/DIY style. But more than just personal sartorial histories, each essay meditates on personal style as expression through a feminist lens. It's smart, incredibly readable, and wholly inspiring, just like Michelle Tea herself. So much love, so highly recommended.

Maybe fashion is our way of marking our evolution. I am wearing what I am wearing to help you know who I am and who you are looking at looking at, and most of all, who is looking back. ~Jill Soloway, "Look at Me"

*The Michelle Tea Shrine
*Her Myspace
Notable contributers: Parisa Parnian (<3 Rigged Out/Fitters!), Ellen Forney, Felicia Luna Lemus, Debbie Rasmussen, Nicole J. Georges, Kate Bornstein

The Half-Twisted Twists of Trinity Place

2008-09-07T11:13:00.001-05:00

Photo from DiscoverBlackHeritage

Have you ever had a writing project come out of nowhere?

My dear friend Callan and I have a running joke about how we were once a vaudeville act in a past life. (If you've seen us interact in person, you'll know why.) I told the jokes, and she rang the gong. Because sometimes I have whims to write in rhyming couplets, this bit of an inside joke became the start of an adult picture book about how we rose to fame as the Half-Twisted Twists of Trinity Place. Here's a sample!

The Village bohemes had the wildest tricks
In the year of Our Cod, ninteen hundred ought-six
I once heard the tale of exceptional girls,
Wit like a sledgehammer, bon mots like false pearls.
At the corner of Church Street, in a chill garrett loft
They'd fired their latest of agentish toffs.
Rie tired of penning their dreadfuls for dosh
And dreamed of careers with a bit more panache...
"We'll find us a job to which we can admit
And make names for ourselves, we'll be a sure hit!"
Callan pondered, "The name, I suppose is the thing,
Though Faffney Codswallop sure does have a ring."
"I see the bright lights," countered Rie with a sigh,
"There's more to living than paint and peach pie."
"You never complained bout the baking before,
Till you fell for the pie-hating poetess bore."
"Nevermind her, I've got us a plan,
We'll make our own fame,and find you a man!
Our names up in limelight, our act in the Times,
Fans throwing knickers and committing small crimes!"
Callan wondered and thought till her hair held a curl
And said, "What can we do, mere slips of a twirl?"
"That's it!" cried Rie with a hand to her face,
"We're the The Half-Twisted Twists of Trinity Place!"
(As it must be explained: the young twist-and-twirl
Is Cockney for ambitious, naive bohemme girl.)
Rie sobered and said, while grooming Cal's pup,
(Their curls would match before the night's up.)
"We'll need costumes, and sets, and connections, what's more
Everyone in the theatre's a bit of a whore."
"There's a whore in us all," quipped Callan with glee,
"None like fallen dames for unique joie de vive."
"From where do they fall?" asked Rie absently
"Do we have the bread for the booking fee?"
"Oh, fees," said Cal as she gathered her kit
"Let's work on our costumes and practice our bit."

They were models of virtue who'd fallen from grace
The Half-Twisted Twists of Trinity Place

There are two more verses, so far--if you'd like to read it, please toss me an email!

A Leaving Shangri-L.A. Reader

2008-09-06T13:32:00.001-05:00

Those of you that know me outside of cyberspace are familiar with my "paper livejournals"--the scrapbooks I carried around quite frequently during college, filled with daily ephemera and striking beauty from the hallowed archives of bloglandia and elsewhere. Owing to my college's generous printout limit, if I found something I loved, I arranged it in an attractive manner and printed it to scrapbook in one of my bag-sized journals (5x7, unlined, preferably spiral bound, medium weight paper--I'm picky). I've fallen out of the habit, but have all sorts of good intentions to start up again; the fall season always inspires me to work on creative things of all sorts.

What went into a Paper Livejournal? Lists, stories, fanfiction, pretty bits, anecdotes, anything inspiring and colorful and a bit magic that caught my eye. Friends have asked for favorite bits so they could make their own, and now I oblige.

*Inspirational Show Tunes: the story of the ukelele-playing, showtune singing subway protestor from a few years back

*Dance of the Sugar Plum Lesbians: this one speaks for itself. Awww.

*100 Surreal Things that have Happened to Me, by Seanan McGuire. This is famous for a reason: funny, creative, and yes, surreal. On a more serious note, her 50 Thoughts on Writing are incredibly useful.

*Revenge of the Librarians, originally published in The Mag, all about why my future colleagues are badass. Know it, read it, love it.

*Feeling Fae: Glamourbombing as Magical Acts of Revolution: Is it strange that I put academic papers about guerilla art in my journal? This is the best Glamourbombing 101 I've seen thus far.

*Combating Dailyness: an excerpt from my favorite book nobody's ever heard of, Milking the Moon by Eugene Walter.

*How to Transform Your City: by the proprietors of Newmindspace, a performance art troupe

*Becoming an Artist: a retrospective/how-to on how to give your own party inspired by SARK's How to Be an Artist poster.

What about you? What pieces would you add to your scrapbook? What photos, what writing? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Mermaid Crossing

2008-08-28T12:17:00.004-05:00

Photo by me! Cape May, NJ.

Good day to you! Yesterday was my second day of school and work as the Slightly-Less-Competent-Than-The-Last-GA-But-Not-As-Slow-As-The-GA-Before-Her GA. (Cookies for the reference.) I am back in the world of academia, and happy to be there. However, that means that updates may be a little slower coming until I'm settled into a routine. Never fear, I'll never abandon this blog or my lovely readers.

Speaking of mermaids, I'm Here, I'm Queer, What The Hell Do I Read? (Love your blog name!) alerted me to the existence of a picture book that needs to join the rest of my collection. Ever hear about the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island? It has a reputation as rather a wild time, but has grown more family friendly in recent years while still retaining a bit of that debauchery. The illustrious Melanie Hope Greenberg has immortalized said mermaids in her latest, Mermaids on Parade. Here's what Ms. Betsy Bird (of Fuse #8, also one of my blogging heroes) has to say:

Really, one of the few parades left in the city that successfully melds that old-time wildness with the newfangled kid-friendly vibe is Coney Island's annual Mermaid Parade. Topless women and babies, that's what you'll see these days. It seems an odd parade to celebrate in the format of a picture book, but Mermaid Parade attendee and illustrator Melanie Hope Greenberg is up to the challenge. With her bold colors and sense of pizzazz, Greenberg brings to life an event that continues to enthrall both children and adults alike with a love of fun, costumes, and general unavoidable weirdness.

I would have adored this book as a child--carnival atmosphere, bright colors, a theme park, mermaids, New York City happy families and a touch of genderbending, all wrapped up in one colorful package. (Just like the books I'm writing!) Can't wait to read it!

Here's Lee Wind's original post, with an interior shot.

Judging a book by its cover...

2008-08-25T02:19:00.003-05:00

Confession time: I can be swayed by pretty things. That's how I discovered the joys of Patricia A. McKillip and the Girlosophy books. Tonight while gathering links, I ran across these two beauties by Maryrose Wood:

WHY I LET MY HAIR GROW OUT tells the story of Morgan, a heartbroken Connecticut girl who chops off all her hair in a fit of angst after her boyfriend dumps her on the last day of school. Her frantic parents spring into rescue mode and send her on a "let's-help-Morgan-get- over-it" vacation.

Before you can say ow, my butt hurts, Morgan is biking her way across Ireland, where a most unusual accident sends her tumbling back through time to a magic, long-ago word full of faeries and enchantments. She even meets a hunky warrior-dude named Fergus who really knows how to treat a girl who's part goddess — guess who that turns out to be?

***

[How I Found the Perfect Dress finds]..soon-to-be-seventeen-year-old Morgan Rawlinson, snarky Connecticut teen and half-goddess from the long-ago days of Irish lore, takes another wacky romp through the faery realm.

This time it's Colin, her own freckle-faced Irish hottie, who's under a strangely yawn-inducing spell. To save him, Morgan has to find a leprechaun. In Connecticut. And that's only the beginning!

This book has magical prom dress shopping, a rather unusual game of mini-golf, and a special guest appearance by Gene Simmons. Seriously. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did making it all up.

Color me bemused. I may just have to check these two out. (Kiss the Pages has the Fae in it. It's research.)

Capsule Prize Reviews: That's Bold

2008-08-24T20:09:00.006-05:00

Like the shiny little prizes you get from a gumball machine, here are three titles I've picked up in a recent library jaunt involving brave teens defying tradition for notoriety, to stand up for a cause, or just to make some excellent music

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart, had me sold at the promise of mischievous doings in the name of gender equality. Frankie's an incredibly likable heroine; she plays ultimate Frisbee, writes papers about the Cacophony Society, and falls in love with P.G. Wodehouse's writing. When faced with an sexist secret society, she infiltrates and turns it on its head. This is a fast-paced and fun story with trenchant insights about the screwed-up nature of teen socialization. However, no moralizing harpy is Frankie; she takes what she's learned and uses her wit and savvy to get a message out there; her secret reign as a Basset Hound is responsible for The Library Lady, The Night of a Thousand Dogs, and the Canned Beets Rebellion.

Wide Awake, penned by David Levithan, has the quirk and charm of his less serious YA fiction. Duncan, our hero of this near-future novel, is thrilled at the prospect of a gay Jewish president. When Kansas declares a recount of votes, he travels with his town's Green Party team to protest, along with his furiously idealistic boyfriend, two self-proclaimed Jesus Freaks (who come from a movement that asked What Would Jesus Really Do?), and a couple of old-time dreamers from the 90s. Wide Awakes suffers at the hand of some heavy-handed lessons in politics and society delivered via the prospective president, his minions, and Duncan's peers. Despite this, it's little details (the non-shopping malls where you barter for self-shaping jeans and roasted marshmallow perfume, community-made pancakes, and the fact that pop music will always be painful to listen to), perfect emotional moments (including one of the best love scenes I've read in YA fiction, ever), and optimistic look at the future make it a good read for the curious and fans of Levithan's other work.

Plastic Angel, Nerissa Nield's first novel, is the sweet story of a budding folk-rock duo. Randi's a drifter on the edge of the popular crowd; Angela's an outcast for being too beautiful, too successful as a child model. With Randi's famous songwriting father's gift of a guitar and a certificate "good for FIVE lessons," she's inspired to turn around their boring summer by starting a band. Both girls are preternaturally gifted in music, and experience the joys of song scribing, secret recording sessions, and dressing like you don't give a damn under the gentle glow of their guardian glow-in-the-dark plastic angel. With Gellie's mom hell-bent on raising the next Lindsey or Miley, the two girls deal with family squabbles, social machinations, and some really heinous agents in pursuit of their dream. Gellie's mom is truly vile (SHE GAVE HER GUITAR TO GOODWILL. BITCH.) until intervention, and her adverse reaction to Angela's interest in music seems overblown, especially in this age of pop-superstars. Besides that sour note, it's a cute first work with some excellent emotional depth and fantastic descriptions of the joy that comes of creating music. Included with the book are sample tracks from This Town is Wrong, the novel's soundtrack--so you can actually listen to the songs the girls write in the novel.

*E. Lockheart's website and blog
*Read the first two chapters of The Disreputable History...
*David Levithan's website
*Read the first two chapters of Wide Awake
*Nerissa Nield's website
*Read an excerpt from Plastic Angel

Literary Fashion: Dear Mrs. Winterbloom

2008-08-20T00:03:00.002-05:00

The studio. Smaller than I'd imagined, more people than I'd imagined as well. A table full of breakfast fixings, I took tea in a packet that matched my current hair color and shocked me with its delicately floral, berry sweetened scent when I dipped my nose into the cup for a sip. Meeting with the execs, the minor execs, and a wardrobe maven that brought to mind images of a corporate bird of paradise. A peek in at the writers hashing out last minute hiccups in the script, plans for a read through later this afternoon. All in all, more attention was paid to me in 4 hours than I'd ever received in my entire life. Funny how things worked like that- one day, you're kissing ass with your child psychology professor in hopes that your midterm grade might be bumped up a few points, and the next you're hopelessly searching for memories of that jargon you'd forgotten when being lectured on the mission statement of the children's television show you'll be hosting.

Amandine hosts a popular local children's television show on their city's PBS station, where she gets to dress up and talk to puppets--essentially the best job ever, if you keep a healthy sense of irony about the production. She loves the Union Square greenmarket in the summer, buying weird art off of street vendors, and fighting with her tarot deck.

Clear blue eyes behind cat-eyed frames overhung with heavy auburn bangs. Kittenlike features, pointy nose and chin when she uncovers them. Black and white striped shirt matching her sneakers, serviceable jeans covering a softly curved form, bare arms covered in indeterminate splashes of tan jade green red turquoise on the left, jeweled toned swirls on the right. A smudge of green on her cheek, more of the same on her hands, including three nails painted the same hue.

Havela Silver, called Ava, is a sculptor and puppeteer at Chimera Studios. She enjoys making faces at the animals in the Central Park Zoo, chalking trenchant literary quotes in unexpected places, and learning how to make excellent crepes from her best friend at work, Asher.

That first Monday morning of spring break, I showed my Mama our homework assignment for art class. I don't have a problem with Picasso, I like what he does with color and whirly lines. But my mother had other ideas...

Sarah Jane lives in Brooklyn with her moms and her goldfish, Alice B. Toklas. (She inherited the goldfish.) She likes gold stars, watercolors, and watching babies hold conversations with inanimate objects.

And one last family set, for the road:

Review: Mini Henna Body Painting Kit by Earth Henna

2008-08-19T15:12:00.006-05:00

It occurs to me that I might be a Manic Pixie Dream Girl.

That's right! I wear mismatched earrings, I read children's books in public, and I exist solely for the purpose of helping my love interests find their true calling. Okay, maybe not so much the last one. My life-changing advice to be-loved ones usually turns out to be "Stop being a nerfherder and get out of bed" and "Go read [Michelle Tea, Grace Llewellyn, Kate Bornstein]; she'll rock your world." Not so much the stuff of classic movies, alas.

That said, I do like body adornment. Having been a fan of mehndi since the body art craze of the late nineties, I recently got my hands on a Mini Henna Body Painting Kit from Earth Henna. The contents: a cone of henna, a tiny bottle of solution, an even wee-er bottle of eucalyptus oil, some reusable tattoos as starters, and a couple of q-tips and toothpicks to do cleanup work on the designs themselves.

Being a real girl and not the fevered imaginings of a lonely director, I did my research on the subject to determine whether or not I felt it appropriate to undertake henna painting as a medium. My final thoughts on the subject that while I would feel uncomfortable using other culture's motifs on myself, I don't believe it is wrong to use the material, any more than it would be wrong for another culture to use egg tempera or gold leaf in their art. Besides, it's much safer than the beautifying materials of my ancestors. (The Romans favored lead and tin oxide in their cosmetics. Ouch.)

The instructions are simple. Pour the solution into the powder, seal it up (it ziplocks closed), and roll it around in your hands to get out the lumps. Wait two hours, and then squeeze it into the bottle the solution had come in. I managed to get through all of that easily until the bottle part. My advice: shove the cone as far down into the little bottle and fill from the bottom up. If you get any henna paste in the bottle neck, it's going to make things infinitely harder.

Once that's done, you attach the decorating tip and have at any bare bits of skin. I chose my foot, googling some Roman decorative motifs to practice with (as I'm a quarter Roman myself). It's a bit tricky to get used to, as painting with paste uses different hand movement than sketching or watercoloring, both mediums that I've grown up with. Catherine Cartwright-Jones has a beginner's guide to the technique of creating different tradition motifs that was incredibly useful.

After you've created your design, it takes about a half hour (for thin small designs) to an hour for the paste to dry fully. To get a dark stain, Earth Henna recommends leaving the paste on for 6 hours. I put a sock on and went to bed, waking up to a nice dark orange stain when I washed off the paste on Sunday morning which deepened to a beautiful shade of blood orange on Monday.

I would recommend Earth Henna to anybody curious to dip their toes into henna body art but not quite ready to deal with the nuances of mixing their own. Everything in the kit is naturally derived, but as with everything you stick on your body, do an allergy spot test first. My usually rather sensitive skin suffered no ill effects. The solution does use Walnut Oil, so do not use this kit if you have nut allergies. The decorating tip is very, very small; it looks as if I'm going to need to use a beading needle to clean it. As it was, I used a bit of E-string, as it was the thinnest piece of wire I had in my room. (Don't worry, Laura...your Christmas present is still intact.)

My kit was overpriced at 21 dollars, 6 bucks over the MSRP, purchased at the East/West Bookstore. I was disappointed, especially since their prices and selection of products are generally good for what you get.

Overall: it's messy but fun, and not a bad way to get started. My recommended reads on the subject are Mehndi by Carine Fabius for technique, Mehndi: The Timeless Art of Henna Painting by Loretta Roome for history, and The Art of Mehndi by Sumita Batra for beautiful photography and patterns. Catherine Cartwright-Jones offers a number of free henna and body art related ebooks on her website, along with information about different kinds of body painting such as gorgeous Zardosi henna (done with glitter gel) and Celtic woad.