Tis the season to be reading

The Internet is all abuzz with Summer Reading Guides but to me Summer is more akin to picnics, bands, drinking and dancing. While in winter I go into hibernation zone and start baking, watching movies and reading more than ever. So here's my Winter Reading Guide as there are heaps of books that I want to read at the moment.

1. The Heart Says Whatever - Emily Gould

I'm always interested to read anything that is heralded as "the voice of a generation" especially if she's female. I'm yet to find anything that sounds like my voice - maybe we voice sounds like Cher from Clueless? Also I love slacker stories.

2. Just Kids - Patti Smith
I still haven't read this! Can you believe it? Because I certainly can't, I should just go and buy it but I'm saving up for a trip overseas (hopefully) and a new winter coat/gloves/hat (I'm freezing) plus I've been waiting for the library to get it in for soooooooo long. It would feel like quitting to go and buy it now.

3. Role Models - John Waters

I might have to buy this after listening to this lovely interview on NPR and reading this interview on Salon.com. Frugality be damned, and also the library hates JW, they never get his stuff in no matter how much I suggest it. I just want to sit at JW's feet and have him tell me that everything's going to be OK and then kick me in the pants and make me do something with my life. He is totally my guru.

4. The Family Law - Benjamin Law

I've always loved Benjamin Law's irreverent anecdotes in Frankie Magazine (yes he's Australian AND yes we can make our own funny everyone!) and I am of course a huge Dave Sedaris fan. You see poor Benjamin he gets compared to Sedaris in every single review/interview. I guess there are worse people to be compared to, but it is telling to see how Sedaris "owns" this genre of funny familial stories and how! Whatever you do don't go to Paris Benjamin!

5. What the Dog Saw - Malcolm Gladwell

I love Gladwell. If JW is my guru Gladwell is like that cool uncle or cousin that knew everything and always made family get-together dinners more bearable. Even if I don't always agree with his theories I love his writing and speaking. I've bought people copies of 'Blink' and 'Tipping Point' just we can share Gladwell-ian points and secret smiles when something is 'soooo Gladwell'. Therefore I want to read this collection of essays even though I've probably already read half online. It'll totally be worth it.

6. Don't Tell Me The Truth About Love - Dan Rhodes

Dan Rhodes is my all time favourite short story writer, if you haven't already read his book 'Anthropology' please do! Its absolute genius and will take about 2 hours max to read. I went through a phase of photocopying his stories and sticking them inside mixtapes and CD's after my friend Johanna did this for me - it was absolute genius!

7. Wilson - Dan Clowes

I've read all of Clowes' comics after seeing 'Ghost World' the movie for the first time and a hundred times after that. I am definitely of the indie-breed when it comes to comics (Love and Rockets, Scott Pilgrim, Adrien Tomine) and one other which I've always assumed everyone knew Ivan Brunetti - who only released 4 comics in his Schizo series as far as I know. To be honest Wilson sounds a lot like Clowes-does-Brunetti AKA overly-self-aware-honest-angry-intolerant-cynical but also weirdly relateable and funny? Anyway can't wait to read it as I love them both and if one wants to ape the other who am I to complain?

8. The Unnamed - Joshua Ferris

I love, love, loved Joshua Ferris' book 'Then We Came to an End'. So I can't wait to read this new one 'The Unnamed' it will be interesting to see if he can bring his surreal but believable touch and wonderfully humanist tone to illness ('The Unnamed') the same way he can to office life and retrenchment ('Then We Came To An End').

9. Zeitoun - Dave Eggers

I'm still waiting for Eggers to win me over the way he has my friends. If at first you don't succeed - keep reading. From what I've read in the New Yorker it does sound interesting "one man’s experience after Hurricane Katrina, Eggers draws an indelible picture of Bush-era crisis management".

10. You're a Horrible Person, But I Like You: The Believer Book of Advice

Confession time: I like self help books whether they be relationship ones, how to reach your life's goal, how to become zen and I love getting advice most of which I ignore till I've heard the same thing for the hundredth time. Self help and advice is like my trash romance literature - instantly forgotten but thoroughly enjoyed. This looks more enjoyable and less forgettable (and funny in a different way) than most of the trash out there ATM.

11. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon
I have had this out 2 times already from the library and keep only getting 150 pages deep into this some 800 page tome. However I kinda like this way of reading it. This books is like catching up every few weeks with your wacky friends adventures and exploits. I am so determined to finish this too - now if only I could apply this sort've finish a long book determination to the Russians. I am modern literature's whore.

If ballet was easy then everyone would be doing it

I saw Coppélia at the Sydney Opera House way back in the late 1980s or early 1990s - it was my first ballet (I wore black patent leather mary janes bought especially for it) and I've had a serious soft spot for it ever since - and the ballet in general. In fact I still have the soundtrack my Grandmother bought for me after I became so obsessed with it. The soundtrack is beautiful too, and that ain't sentimentality talking neither.

My mother never let me learn ballet as a child either - though I was dying to - as she thought it would damage my feet or spine or something. There is no way someone as clumsy and uncoordinated as me would ever have been very good at ballet but goddamn i missed out on the cute shoes and tutu's didn't I?

This is a long preamble to the fact that I'm going to to see the Australian Ballet's remounting of the 1979 version of Coppélia tomorrow night and will be pulling out my frilliest ensemble and shiniest shoes for it. Someone else can bring the opera glasses!

SECOND POEM

Morning again, nothing has to be done,
maybe buy a piano or make fudge.
At least clean the room up for sure like my farther I've done flick
the ashes & butts over the bed side on the floor.
But frist of all wipe my glasses and drink the water
to clean the smelly mouth.
A nock on the door, a cat walks in, behind her the Zoo's baby
elephant demanding fresh pancakes-I cant stand these
hallucinations aney more.
Time for another cigerette and then let the curtains rise, then I
knowtice the dirt makes a road to the garbage pan
No ice box so a dried up grapefruit.
Is there any one saintly thing I can do to my room, paint it pink
maybe or instal an elevator from the bed to the floor,
maybe take a bath on the bed?
Whats the use of liveing if I cant make paradise in my own
room-land?
For this drop of time upon my eyes
like the endurance of a red star on a cigerate
makes me feel life splits faster than sissors.
I know if I could shave myself the bugs around my face would
disappear forever.
The holes in my shues are only temporary, I understand that.
My rug is dirty but whose that isent?
There comes a time in life when everybody must take a piss in
the sink -here let me paint the window black for a minute.
Thro a plate & brake it out of naughtiness-or maybe just
innocently accidentally drop it wile walking around the
tabol.
Before the mirror I look like a sahara desert gost,
or on the bed I resemble a crying mummey hollaring for air,
or on the tabol I feel like Napoleon.
But now for the main task of the day - wash my underwear -
two months abused - what would the ants say about that?
How can I wash my clothes - why I'd, I'd, I'd be a woman if I did
that.
No, I'd rather polish my sneakers than that and as for the floor
its more creative to paint it then clean it up.
As for the dishes I can do that for I am thinking of getting a job in
a lunchenette.
My life and my room are like two huge bugs following me
around the globe.
Thank god I have an innocent eye for nature.
I was born to remember a song about love - on a hill a butterfly
makes a cup that I drink from, walking over a bridge of
flowers.

Dec. 27th, 1957, Paris


RIP Peter Orlovsky

wild and wonderful

Wild Nothing - Chinatown from Jack Tatum on Vimeo.

I thought for some reason I'd written about Wild Nothing before - maybe its just because everyone else has? All my friends seem to love them and so do I! I've featured a few of their tracks over at Mixtapes for Johanna - and in previous mixes for pals - Summer Holiday is also a JAM!

TRIVIA - Scenes from the 1969 short film "Clown" by Richard Balducci.

When I've got trouble even opening a honey jar

Speaking of kitty kats - see below - is everyone loving the new Joanna Newsom record(s) 'Have One on Me'? I keep only being able to really love-on one song at a time, cause each song is about 10 minutes. This is my current fave. Another reason to love Jo-New is this interview here - if you been busy trying to figure out the latest MIA VS NYT beef (I think it involved truffles?) - you should just read the part were she calls Lady Gaga Arty Spice.

XXXO

This Recording

I think my brain just exploded. I've just stumbled onto This Recording which could have been my new favourite blog but is something so much better - my new fave online magazine!

I just scanned down the scroll bar quickly and saw links to amazing stories such as Woody Allen week, Spend Your Youth With Frank O'Hara (do I have any youth left? if so its all Frank's), Rich Kids of Metropolitan (AKA Whit Stillman is a genius) and an article about Turn Offs with a huge pic of Lindsey and Nick from Freaks and Geeks (one of my favourite TV relationships of all time).

Woah. I'm totally smitten. I'll be back soon.

Working people have alot of bad habits, but the worst of these is work

I was inspired by this blog post to think about my bad everyday habits (besides having a job)

1. Biting my nails (I only half stopped some of the time)


2. Smoking


3. Putting off what I can "air out" today rather than dry-clean tomorrow


4. Pretending I'm going to spend all weekend dusting, selling things on ebay and reading Tolstoy when I know deep down instead I'll be drinking cocktails, reading comics and rewatching Seinfeld in bed.


5. Oh Ebay


6. Buying eye cream and not using it


7. Not spending money on things that are worth money ie wool coat, winter boots and leather gloves.


8. Using bad language like LOL, OMG, BTW, ATM and liking it a lot

On a bad habit note here are some cute things that I could buy to help me kick my bad habits - bad language and smoking oh and these two of course (LOL).