Ani DiFranco sings "32 Flavors"
Lately I've been thinking about the way we present ourselves to the blogosphere, after have a bit of an identity crisis over my writing voice, the direction of this blog, and life in general.
Long story short: there is a very real girl, or young woman, behind the blog. I turned 23 a few weeks ago, and in another couple of weeks I'll be starting my second semester of grad school. Like many book bloggers, I am joining the esteemed path of professional librarianship; despite a lousy job market, I've never found a field that suited me better. Books are love. When I find a particularly good one, I'll hug it till I get to the cash register, because some combinations of art and words and presentation are just magic, and thrill me into tiny bits. I do, occasionally, wear purple and shiny bits. I intermittently keep a very pretty journal, and write one poem per affair of the heart and no more.
On the other hand...
I love dirty jokes. Photostories about dolls with filthy mouths or censored Muppets make me laugh until I cry. I don't wear heels for political reasons, and cut my hair short for practical ones. I really like red lipstick and ties on girls, and my dream career is librarian by day, drag king/faux queen by night. I like hiking in the Greenbelt. I've kissed somebody whose name I never learned. I used to not shave if I was feeling cranky at my internship, until I learned one of my supervisors did the same thing. (<3 her!). Gender commodification at the local Toys'R'Us is enough to send me into a nasty 3rd wave ranting fit. I think fashion magazines are irrelevant and that Web 2.0 may save the world. Sometimes I make up really horrible songs about people who have wronged me in the past, and sing them in my head to make the day just a little bit brighter.
I am 32 flavors and then some, and some of those flavors want their chance to speak up. If the thought of your local Rie going a little bolder and less sunshiney in general freaks you out, then you may skip out with no hard feelings. If not, welcome to the show.
Monday, July 28, 2008
On Public Personas
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Character Interview Challenge: Stella Heke
Ashley Lorelle, of Lucious Letters, says:
In order to write a character, sometimes you must BECOME that character. I would go full days dressed and disguised as one of my characters and testing them against the real world. I think this constant practice of making my characters this vivid was the reason I always had serious identity issues. Who I was and how I dressed and what I believed in always depended on which character was possessing me that day.
Do you have the power to make your characters this vivid and real? Here is your weekly challenge: Make your characters real! Create a character and fill out this Character Interview form. Post the filled out form in the comments here. Tomorrow I will post mine. Remember you are conducting an interview, so make sure you address all these questions to your character.
What fun! Here's this week's interview, with Stella Heke, the brains of the expedition in the comic my friend Krista and I are working on, tentatively titled What Exit?
(P.S.: She also did the character art to the left.)
What is the first thing you remember?
My first memory is of playing with my mother's medical textbooks with the colorful plastic overleafs. I didn't know they were supposed to be grotesque; I thought they were beautiful.
What is your favorite childhood memory?
I always liked hanging out with the ghost of a little-known local children's author, who owned the house before my family bought it. She was glad of the company, and is probably the reason I'm an English/women's studies major.
Building my dollhouse with mum and dad was really nice too. I keep a family of little plastic lizards in it; they're much more realistic looking than silly dollhouse dolls.
What is one thing that no one knows about you?
Sometimes, I read books just because I like how the main character dresses. Also, I like girls.(Editor's note: Everybody knows.)
What are your regrets?
I should have punched Brett right in the kisser when I had the chance.(Editor's note: Brett is one of her greatest admirers, a rockabilly theater major in a Pagan rock band. He'd be totally awesome if he wasn't utterly obnoxious.)
What makes you feel proud?
Pulling an all-nighter where most of the theory came from Ye Old Archive De Butte and getting an A on the paper anyway.
What do you want to change about yourself?
I wish I made friends as easily as Taylor does. He can talk about anything and everything and when people meet him, they can't help loving him because he's so friendly and full of life.
Who do you love? And why do you love them?
I love logic, fact, and reason. I love the power of the written word. I love solidarity. I love the smell of certain old paperbacks. I love abandoned amusement parks, poet's graves, and the haunted schoolhouse two towns over. I love the unseen. I love the night.
Do you fear dying?
No. I know what comes next.
What kind of person do you want to become?
I want to be well-educated and self-sufficient. As for the rest, I am satisfied being surprised with the directions that life takes me.
Are you able to love easily?
I fall in love a hundred times a day, but not with people.
Who has betrayed you?
Her name is Viola and I don't want to talk about it.
Tell me about your mother (hehe, couldn’t resist).
Her patients call her Dr. Alice, and she took her mother's maiden name to honor her. She is tall and slim with a fall of red hair, like a coppery weeping willow. She has a tank of tropical fish in her office, all shades of blue and purple, because it has been scientifically proven that watching fish soothes the nerves. For breakfast, she eats granola out of the box standing up, and a peach or a persimmon or a pomegranate, whatever is in season. Her houseplants always look peaky until Dad starts taking care of them. She has a tattoo of the "Twittering Machine" on her left shoulder and her favorite movie is Mirrormask.
What do you want people to remember about you fifty years after you’re gone? Do you want them to remember you at all?
I would like to fade like a pressed leaf in an old text: a mere whisp of a memory, crumbling away but leaving faint traces of my presence to seep through the pages surrounding me.
My favorite shoes! Also, a black fedora, little birds to stick on my hat, and interesting ties, and jewelry made out of watch parts and chandelier crystals, and I like clothes. I like clothes an awful lot.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
If You Loved: From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
If You Loved number two is up at BUST.com, and it's one of my favorites this week.
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Irregulars
Some people, I've found, are almost bursting at the seams with the desire to let you get to know them better. Ask one innocent question, and within ten minutes, you'll learn that their beloved pet Chihuahua suffers from halitosis, that their grandfather once wrestled an alligator, and that they secretly dream of being a Las Vegas showgirls. As entertaining as these people may be, experience has taught me that those who say the most are those who know the least. Quiet people keep their secrets to themselves. That's what makes them interesting--and generally worth the wait.
~Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Baby's First Blog Award!
The illustrious Penelope Bat has gifted me with my first blog awards!
Both are passed on to blogs that are inspiring, uplifting, and all-around peachy keen. I can get behind that. Now, the official rules are that you tag seven people, and then they have to do the same--but you guys are under no obligation to follow up. Just bask in being amazing!
In alphabetical order:
Cocoa is a charm bracelet of word paintings, style tips, and beautiful images. She's also a fantastic penpal, and always quick to put in a good word for a fellow blogger, so here's mine for her. Add her now, cause then you can say you knew her when.
Bitterbutton is all-around wonderful, featuring such edibles as terrarium cupcakes, owl linzer tarts, and Superman lemon pies. Simply the most creative and unique food blog out there; may many more follow in her example.
The Ladies at BUST are turning their website into one of the must-see stops on the web for the smart and sassy pop-culture obsessed but culturally aware ladies, gents, and everyone in between. I'm so glad to have been a part of their team!
Disasterville rocks a mix of heartfelt advice, classy photography, kicky fashion editorials and little groovy bits to make your day better. Dayna's also one of the soon-to-be-famous-fabulous femmes who's helping me turn LSL into a better place on the web, so cheers to her for her patience with newbies!
Pink World is Lisa Clark's groovy little pink home on the web, featuring interviews with inspiring peeps, the latest in kitschy fashion accessories, and some pretty rockin' book reviews as well.
Treats and Treasures is tempting, colorful daily hints of my favorite artist journal. She's inspired my own journaling, with her quirky layouts and fun subject matters, not to mention her play with different kinds of media.
Ullabenulla is one of my longest-read blogs, and for good reason: each entry is like stepping into an exquisite cache of antique jewels, forgotten books, little worlds for dolls and insects, and Victorian forest animal theatres.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Fool's Journey: Leaving Shangri-L.A.'s Favorite Tarot Decks
Dayna's recent post inspired me to share one of my favorite divinations-slash-artforms with you. Ever since I first read The Hanged Man, I've been drawn to Tarot cards as an art form, from their mystic symbolism to the Fool's Journal that processes through the Major Arcana. Because of its mutable, archetypical nature, the Tarot lends itself to whatever other artistic passions you could ever want to pair it with, from curious big-eyed forest creatures to elegant animal-headed people to ethereal mermaids to sinister lunatic moons. I would like to share my five favorite decks with you.
Pay no attention to what is behind the curtain, she told me, but I could smell pomegranates and sea air. One day I would be ready for her wisdom.
"The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself," he warbled before he sped off. Wonderful, my classmate was right all along: ABBA really is the answer to all of life's mysteries.
"You'll need some guidance along your journey," I had been rebuked. I wasn't expecting the menagerie, but they certainly made for conversation pieces whenever I cartwheeled into town.
After squabbling forever, we soon came up with rules of our own devising and set about creating a pocket universe, beautiful but temporary.
There was music and dancing, a inside-out, glittering, transformative world she had never imagined. All she had to do was join the dance.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Accounting for Taste: Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer by Jane Brocket
One of my birthday presents came today! I've been waiting for this beauty ever since reading about its inspiration on Jane Brocket's blog, yarnstorm. (Oh, how that stack of books delights my soul...) Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer is a celebration of classic children's cookery from 19th and 20th century children's literature, with an especial focus on books from the UK (from which it hails, naturally.) Each recipe starts with a generous introduction to the story it hails from, perfect reading for a children's book lover like myself, as well as many descriptions of feasts enjoyed by the characters and meditations on the midnight spreads and picnics. From the simple delight of Pippi Longstocking's gingersnap hearts and campfire cocoa to more elaborate Turkish Delight a la Narnia, gilt gingerbread, and "immensely enjoyable meringue," it's a sweet, nostalgic delight. Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer is beautifully designed to boot, with the books' original art and vintage typefaces, in a nice little pastel hardcover the perfect size to toss in your bag before heading over to a friend's to bake some jam tarts and shortbread.
*Jane Brocket's website
*I love, love, love The Book Depository. Discounted books with free shipping to the US, and my order came a week to the day it was purchased. Love them
*Other bloggers weigh in more elegantly than me: Poshyarns, Lacer's Life
*My favorite lesser-known titles featured in this cookbook: Dancing Shoes, The Little White Horse, The Borrowers, The Phoenix and The Carpet (and all E. Nesbit's books)
*Jane Brocket's Top Ten Food Scenes in Children's Literature
ETA: link 7/17
