Urban Girl-Urban Rhythm

Happy Holidays

2009-12-25T12:26:00.001-08:00

Ode to Psych

2009-03-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

I have a very good memory...it's somewhat freakish. This post is a trip down adolescent memory lane. Even though my teenage years were far from perfect or even rosy-in truth...they sucked. But I guess I've been wanting to write a post like this for awhile (for what reason I have no idea-maybe it's therapy). This writing focuses on my Beatle/60's days and my memories of specific Beatle peebles. It was a very important time for me and maybe I'm a better person for it. I've never regretted my sister introducing me to the Beatles when I was 10 by playing Sgt Peppers.

*Disclaimer: these are my memories--How I experienced these events during this time might not be the same way another person experienced them. I just want to be clear and since I'm not making a bit of sense I will shut up and get to it.

I recently reconnected with someone I knew in high school and actually I knew of her in junior high even though I never talked to her; I reconnected with Laura, via of all places, Facebook. I haven't seen Laura since Beatlefest '87--more than 20 years ago...YIKES!

Many months ago, I was going through old photos and came across some of Beatlefest ('84 I think). The photos were of Jimmy, Melanie, Laura, Laurel and assorted other people in the hotel room at the Bonaventure Hotel (see pic above). I started wondering what all those people were doing now and especially Laura which is kind of funny because I never knew Laura that well. I really only knew her through Laurel.

(*NOTE: From this point forward when I mention both Laurel and Laura I will refer to them as L & L and when I refer to one or the other I will say their name).

When I was in 7th grade at a certain junior high in Huntington Beach, Orange County, I remember seeing this very tall blond girl wearing Beatle t-shirts and buttons. But I never talked to her which is crazy since I loved the Beatles at that time too. The summer before my freshman year in high school is when I first remember hanging out with Laura. However, L & L were very tight so it was kind of hard to break into their circle.

We used to have bday parties for the Beatles, specifically Paul (and I always wondered why we didn't have them for the other three-actually I think I went to one for George). Yes, I will repeat that..we actually had birthday parties for the Beatles. This particular one was my first and it might have been for Paul's 39 birthday. There were about 15 people at the party and most of them were nuts!!! And I guess i should include myself in that group of nuts. I remember wearing a t-shirt that Laurel let me borrow...It was black with the white album images. We all went outside to the parking lot at some point and held hands and went around in a circle singing "We love you Beatles. Oh yes we do etc." (Did we really do that? I think we did!). Ahh...the tape. We made an audio tape for Paul and we all got a chance to send him our birthday wishes. Some people cried. Some people said nasty things about Linda (I now regret ever saying bad things about Linda McCartney because she is someone I really admire now.). I'm sure Paul never received that tape (or if he did, he probably tossed it within the first few minutes of listening to it. HA!). After that period, I didn't see Laura for a year until she came to FVHS.

I was a sophomore when I started noticing the whole mod thing mainly because both L & L were in it. I really loved the whole psychedelic scene even though I was never technically one until I moved away to northern California. I told Laurel that I wanted to become a psych. Actually, I think I had someone else tell her for me because I was afraid of what she would say. Well, she got all huffy about it and she obviously didn't want me to be part of it. So instead I became a closet psych. I started shopping in thrift stores until my closet was bursting with groovy, groovy dresses, skirts, tops, boots, and 60s sewing patterns. Sometimes I would dress up at night and walk the dog (kind of pathetic, isn't it?). It wasn't until I moved that I completely changed--I even cut my hair very very short so it was all one length which was oh so important for the whole look. It probably sounds really stupid now but when you're in high school and someone doesn't want you to be a certain way-- you tend to let that effect your decisions. I now wish I had thought "what the hell and who cares what Laurel thought" and somehow had the balls to be myself and dress the way I wanted to. Ahh well...we all have regrets. (Wow--this is therapeutic!). Anyways, wonder what would have happened if I had told Laura rather than Laurel that I wanted to become psychedelic? Hmmm, something interesting to ponder.

What I remember about Laura is her being tough--nobody got in that girl's face...nobody was going to mess with her. I also thought she was really lucky cause any guy she liked she usually got. There was one conversation I had with some friends and we were all talking about how we wished we could be more like Laura (are you rolling your eyes yet?)--seriously! I just thought she was the coolest person I'd ever met at the time.

One of the best Beatlefests I had was the one I spent hanging out with Laura (1981?) for one of the days (without the other L. for once). Beatlefests usually lasted 2-3 days. We were waiting in line for the doors to open and when they did, we ran screaming trying to get the the front row seats. And then music started and we screamed louder and then the images of the boys came up on the screen and we screamed even louder. What fun!!! LOL. We never got to live through the real thing so we lived through it in our own special way. And those elevators at the Bonaventure--man those were some crazy ass elevators!

There were many times I went to Laurel's house for various get-togethers, parties and such. Laurel always made her famous taco dip and one night we were watching MTV and some 60's videos came on. Everytime someone very cool came on Laura would say "god". For instance, Brian Jones-"god", Keith Moon--"God". Then Madonna appeared and Laura screamed "c***"...and all of us started cracking up because Laurel's mom was upstairs. Because I was in my closet psych faze I always noticed what L. & L. were wearing. I distinctly recall Laura having a very cool green rain jacket-with a striped lining on the inside. It's funny that I can remember little details like that but sometimes I can't remember a person's name whom I just met.

When Laura told someone off she often said "you suck my d***" or "you suck my boyfriend's d***" which I though was incredibly cool. Laurel asked me one year to go to a birthday party her father was having for her. She said I would be doing her a big favor because she had to bring 3 people and Marianne couldn't come. (oh gee..thanks for telling me I was your second choice). So me, L & L and someone else who drove, went out to a fancy dinner theater type restaurant and watched some Grease musical number. I just remember it being weird and I think Laurel's mom was there rocking out to the music. So on the way home, in the car (you will not believe I remember this!), Rod the mod "Tonight I'm yours" came on the radio. And in the part of the song that he sings "rock me baby, rock me rock me", Laura sang along with her own lyrics"F*** me baby F*** me f*** me" and then the "Stray Cat Strut" came on and the part "strut right by with my tail in the air" Laura sang "strut right by with my ass in the air..." We laughed so hard.

Of course there were some bad memories too. The one I think of right away is when everyone went to see Paul in Los Angeles for the premiere of "Give my Regards to Broadstreet"...and no one invited me. I cried so hard that night. But I guess I could have gotten someone else to drive me to Los Angeles. But I'm thinking now..why didn't Laurel invite me? Who knows....

Sidenote: Yesterday I reconnected with another person from this time...Lucy!! I met Lucy at B'fest '85 (I think-it was a couple months before I turned 18). I saw her walking around the hotel with her boyfriend and I knew I had to talk to her. I finally saw her sitting alone on one of those benches/couches that were scattered all over the Bonaventure so I walked up to her and commented on her outfit. She looked up and asked me either if I was in a band or if I was a musician. And I told her "yeah I play the tambourine"--yes, I was regular Davy Jones (not even close-believe me!). I could have talked to Lucy for hours and hours but she was with her boyfriend and well, you know.

When I think of Lucy, I think of Nicole and I think of Dandy. Nicole was, as she claimed, the only "black" mod in the LA scene (this was in the mid-80s). This is how she introduced herself to me when we first met. And no, I have not reconnected with her on Facebook and don't plan to! Dandy (after the Stones song "Dandelion") was a name I wanted people to call me for a short time. I guess I wanted to become a different person or adopt a new persona but low and behold, I finally realized I was the same person inside and out. I once wrote a comparison English paper on Nicole and Lucy (and how I wish I still had that paper). Lucy was a psych...Nicole was a mod...Lucy had red hair...Nicole was black..It was a good paper believe me! I might have to do another blog post about Lucy.
End of Sidenote

It's Laura's birthday today. The thing I remember most about you is that you were always very nice to me and I guess that's the most important thing! I hope you have a great day you crazy groovy chick!

The Attendent by Su Lin

2009-01-08T21:09:00.001-08:00

The elevator attendant was feeling the heat. And so was everyone else in Washington Heights. Summer days on the island were brutal, putting everyone a little on edge. The attendant’s job was to sit in a stuffy elevator, taking riders underground to the #1 train and back up again to street level on 168th street and Broadway. Luckily for him, it was only a 4-hour shift but 4 hours in 90-degree heat with 85% humidity is still like being in an oven.

It was 2:00 in the afternoon and at this hour the traffic in the station was pretty slow. As he took the 3 passengers downward-his last downward ride before his shift ended, he suddenly noticed a very strong smell coming from behind him. He turned around and noticed a man clutching a briefcase and dripping with sweat looking either very nervous or very sick…if there ever was a distinct smell for fear this was it. The attendant turned back around and faced the doors-better to mind his own business. In less than a minute he was opening the elevator doors and letting the passengers off to their destination either uptown Bronx bound or downtown Ferry bound and it was then that he turned around and noticed the briefcase. His immediate response was to grab it and find the nervous man that it belonged to but as he got up to do this the briefcase suddenly opened and spilled its contents. $100 bills-hundreds of them. For a minute he was in a trance until the sound of passengers approaching bolted him awake. He immediately stuffed the money back in the case and sat back down at his post, pushing the case between his legs. He waited for the riders to enter the elevator. The nervous man was nowhere to be seen. He would turn the case into the MTA immediately because, after all, it was his job along with the people of NYC to report any suspicious package, backpack, briefcase that was left unattended in the subway. He would do just that, he thought to himself, as he let out the last passengers of his shift. He tidied up his post for the next worker, picked up the briefcase, and nodded to the incoming attendant. He went to clock-out, all the while thinking of the debts he had accumulated due to his gambling habit which in the past couple of months had gotten out of control. He was still thinking this as he walked up the stairs and out into the glorious heat of summer, the briefcase still in his hand.

2009-01-08T18:48:00.000-08:00

Chanel by Su Lin

2009-01-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

She was strolling down Fifth Avenue on December 18 for her annual walk through. As she came upon the Chanel Boutique on 57th street, she stopped. She gazed into the window and her heart skipped a beat. “Oh, the fabrics, the plaids, the wools, the tweeds, the patent belt with plexiglass buckle”. She hadn’t noticed that her face was crunched up against the glass until the guard in the shop tapped the window and gestured for her to scoot. She felt behind her for her shopping cart, piled high with her belongings, while still admiring Karl Lagerfeld’s latest collection for Chanel. She grabbed the handle of the cart and found herself looking down at her tattered shoes. But she stood tall as she strolled on and thought to herself, “maybe next year.”

Happy Holidays from the Beatles!

2008-12-25T10:11:00.000-08:00

2008-12-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

28 Years Ago....

2008-12-09T03:17:00.000-08:00

This is a day late...28 years ago (although it still seems like yesterday) John Lennon died.

Holiday Party!

2008-12-06T22:48:00.000-08:00

Here is a flyer I made for the ISO NYC Holiday Party....

2008-11-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

We Have a Winner!

2008-11-04T20:32:00.001-08:00

History in the Making!

2008-11-04T08:13:00.000-08:00

Harlem residents voting, NYC

I voted today. Did you? I voted at PS 128 on West 169th Street. I voted using one of those very old lever machines-you pull the red lever to the right before you vote and then you pull it back to the left when you finish. Regardless of your political beliefs, this is an historical moment. I never thought I would see a black president-of course he hasn't won yet but from what everyone is saying...we should have our first African American president tomorrow.

Resisitng Empire

2008-10-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in Iraq and what the mainstream media is not telling you...be sure to check out the tour dates of Resisting Empire.
http://www.resistingempire.org/Fall_speaking_tour/Home.html
I'm currently reading Blackwater-The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill who is speaking on the tour (a Brooklyn resident!). I'll be posting a review of Blackwater soon.

10 CDs

2008-10-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around with the idea of making a top 10 list of songs, albums, bands with my main obstacle being that it would be hard to narrow it down to just 10. And so I've decided to make a list of 10 albums I like, as of today. My thoughts will probably change tomorrow so this is not set in stone. These are just 10 albums, excuse me, CDs(!) that I'm fond of. Most of these are albums from the past (when we still had albums!). I'll try to put something recent on...but as many of you know, I'm a bit of a retro girl (and that's putting it mildly). I grew up in the 80s where people were listening to Duran Duran and The Cure. I, however, in my continual quest to be different, was listening to the Beatles and 13th Floor Elevators. And even today...I'm still like that. I'm now obsessed with movies and music from the 1970s. I'm also obsessed with making lists (I am the "girl of 100 lists")! So here are 10 albums-some of them you've heard of...some of them will be new. All are available on CD. I hope you find one or two that you like:)

Shelter-Lone Justice
I first became interested in Lone Justice because Maria McKee, the lead singer, guitar player, songwriter etc., is the sister of Bryan MacLean who was in the group Love in the 1960s (see below). Lone Justice had its roots in the country, punk, rockabilly sound of the 1980s. Their first album did quite well but on their second album, Shelter, they went more for what critics saw as a "traditional" pop sound. However, I disagree, and I think Shelter is one great album. And when I listen to it, I can still get a hint of their early inspirations. Maria McKee kind of reminds me of Janice, Joni Mitchell, with a better vocal quality of Stevie Nicks all rolled into one. Reflected is my favorite song.

Rubber Soul-The Beatles
I will always have to put the Beatles somewhere no matter what kind of list I make! I picked Rubber Soul because...well..I felt like it so bugger off! I love the album cover. Yes, the Beatles were getting stoned...you can just see it in their eyes. This was pre-Sgt.Pepper so the boys were departing from their happy pop I Want to Hold Your Hand style and delving into musical genius. My favorites are Nowhere Man (because that song describes me so well); Girl and when you hear John suck in his breath..it's almost enough to make me rethink Paul as my favorite Beatle; and In my Life...because this song..it just says it all.

Rumors-Fleetwood Mac
Before I ever loved the Beatles, I loved Fleetwood Mac. When I was about 11/12, I wanted my hair to look like Stevie Nicks, I wanted to dress like Stevie Nicks...and fly around in a make believe world. There is so much drama going on in this album. Lindsey and Stevie were breaking up after 9 years together and Christine and John McVie were divorcing during the making of Rumors. You can feel the tension in the songs-Go Your own Way and Dreams especially. My favorites are Gold Dust Woman and Songbird.

Forever Changes-Love
I'm sure many of you have never heard of this band. When I was in my teens, my three favorite bands were the Beatles, Stones and The Who. I then started realizing that there was more music from the 1960s that I hadn't yet discovered. One of those bands was Love. I see Love as being part of the psychedelic punk/garage band explosion that happened in the mid to late 60s in Los Angeles. My favorite story about Love is that they were Jim Morrison's favorite band and he used to always say that he hoped they (meaning the Doors) made it as big as Love someday. How can I describe Forever Changes? Very psychedelic, most definitely acid (LSD) inspired, dreamlike. My favorites are You Set the Scene, The Daily Planet and Your Mind and We Belong Together. Bryan MacLean is the brother to Maria McKee (see above). He has since passed away as has Arthur Lee, the genius behind the band.

Parallel Lines-Blondie
Ah...Blondie. Deborah Harry is the bomb. I'm still hoping I'll run into her someplace in Manhattan, maybe at Staples? I was very young when Heart of Glass and One Way or Another came out and was instantly hooked. Deborah seemed so incredibly cool to me with her bleached blond hair. After I heard Parallel Lines I immediately went out and bought the band's previous albums-Blondie and Plastic Letters both of which I also recommend. Blondie was one of the bands along with the Ramones who played at CBGBs in the 1970s. My favorite songs are 11:59, Pretty Baby and Sunday Girl.

Play-Moby
I love Moby especially the fact that he's a hardcore vegan. This is a great CD-the music is organic and fuses (sorry for using two overly used words in one sentence-meaning organic and fusion!) techno, blues, gospel and funk. Bodyrock is full of energy and is a great one to dance to; Moby reveals his spiritual side in Natural Blues; and Porcelain is just a gorgeous song.

Automatic for the People-REM
This is an album I continually come back to and as I add and delete songs from my ipod, the ones from Automatic for the People tend to stay there. REM used to be so huge and they've kind of faded away although I hear their most recent CD is good and they did get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year. My favorite songs are Sweetness Follows, Ignoreland and Nightswimming. I like their politics too.

Star-Belly
I first heard Belly in the mid-90s or so. The band only had two albums, the first one being Star. Tanya Donelly, the lead singer and songwriter is an amazing talent. She gets a lot of her inspiration from dreams and fairy tales-my kind of person. This is a gem, a classic..every song is amazing with so much going on below the surface. The opening acoustic Someone to Die For is extremely haunting and a great introduction to what follows. Dusted is a disturbing song about child abuse or kidnapping. My favorite is Every Word-I can really relate to that song right now.

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn-Pink Floyd
Before I ever heard of Syd Barrett, I tended to think of The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon when Pink Floyd was mentioned. Thanks to Tim Storm (formally of the Gargoyles) who made me these very cool tapes many years ago. On several of them, he put tracks from Piper. Syd Barrett was the founding member of Pink Floyd (he's dead too!) and will probably go down in musical history as a footnote (Brian Jones is another footnote too..don't even get me started on him!). Like Love (see above) this album is extremely psychedelic but it's a definite classic-good music to play if you're on an acid trip (only if you're into that type of thing). Lucifer Sam and Bike are my favorites.

Seeing Things-Jakob Dylan
I managed to put a 2008 release on this list. I'm a big fan of the Wallflowers so it was great to hear Jakob Dylan was working on an acoustic solo CD. He's a great songwriter but his lyrics tend to be on the somber side and a little depressing. My favorites are Evil is Alive and Well and War is Kind.

Hope you enjoyed my list of 10 CDs I like as of today (I can always change my mind, you know!). Please let me know of a favorite CD that you have...and put them in the comments section so others will know about them.

Things to do on Saturday Night-Part 1

2008-10-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Metropolitan Museum http://www.metmuseum.org/ is the bomb on Saturday Night. It's opened till 9:00pm on Friday and Saturday. It's less crowded in the evenings but at the same time, many more interesting people show up. The best thing to do is get a bunch of artists together and sketch in the Roman statue or Egyptian section...and then go out later. Yet another fun thing to do on a Saturday night in Manhattan.

Free Market Failure

2008-09-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here is flyer I've made for our next public political meeting...

The Great Gene Hackman

2008-05-15T17:33:00.001-07:00

Tonight I was late for both my political meeting, meditation class and bookclub. No, I wasn't planning on doing all three! Two days ago I planned on going to the bookclub but I didn't start the book. Last night, I was planning on going to my political meeting but I didn't do the homework and I was too late for my meditation class tonight so instead I went to Borders to see Gene Hackman. He has a new book co-written with a friend of his, Daniel Lenihan, Escape from Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War. I had no intention of buying the book and I have no intention of ever reading it. I just wanted to see the real Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey is no Gene Hackman!) in person. He was just walking by when I got to the Borders event area and I thought "oh, that's Gene Hackman". It's quite fun to see someone in person that you're used to seeing on the big screen. Gene has done some great movies-some of my favorites:

Mississippi Burning (on my top ten list)
Superman
The Conversation
Bonnie and Clyde
The Birdcage (he was so funny in that!)
The French Connection
Get Shorty

He was very funny but I got the feeling from what he said that he is pretty much done with Hollywood and his acting career. He basically said that he's getting too old for Hollywood.

George Clooney Couldn't Even Save the Day!

2008-04-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, I went to the emergency room at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. I had been suffering from flu-like systems for close to 10 days: nausea, heartburn,and other stomach ailments, (which I won't mention at the risk of being too graphic) severe neck and shoulder pain, and a rash on my lower arms and around my eyes and ears. I had gone to the doctor the week before and he took some blood tests for an ulcer which would take two weeks for the results. In the mean time, he gave me medicine for nausea and told me to take Prilosec for my heartburn. That was Thursday and I was still very sick Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I started to get scared because I wasn't getting any better. On Tuesday morning, several people encouraged me to go to the emergency room and since I live only two blocks away from the hospital, I really had no excuse not to go. However, I still didn't want to go-I had heard so many horror stories about emergency rooms. People wait 10 hours to get seen and feeling the way I did, I really couldn't imagine waiting 10 hours to see a doctor. But I thought that maybe today wouldn't be busy and I could get in and out in a couple of hours. HA!

I went in around 10:00 in the morning and I didn't leave the hospital until about 6:30. So much for wishing and hoping. I sat in the general waiting area for about 4.5 hours and if you ask me what I did during that time I couldn't tell you. I didn't feel like reading or writing and I couldn't take a walk because they might have called my name so most of the time was spent staring off into space.

I talked to a Homecare worker who had brought in the woman she took care of and evidently, this wasn't the first time she had brought her to the emergency room. The homecare worker said that this woman was a bit of a hypochondriac. One woman came in who seemed to have hurt her leg-she could hardly walk and she had all her possessions with her. At one point she stood up, eyes closed and swayed and was like that for at least 20 minutes. I don't think she was all there. I then saw a young man who was in a wheelchair wheeled in by his girlfriend. He was maybe in his early 20's. He looked very sick, in a lot of pain, shivering and was holding on to what I think was a blood transfusion. His girlfriend tried to comfort him and she told me it was his kidneys. I saw one woman, maybe in her 40s, come in around 2:00 complaining of chest pains. There were at least 20 people in the waiting room throughout the day. The ones that were waited on were immediately replaced by more people coming through the doors.

I kept checking with the front desk every hour to see what time I would be called and to make sure they hadn't forgotten about me. Many people came after me and got waited on. The man with the kidney problem was one that came after me but got waited on right away. I wasn't an emergency-I understand that but I still felt awful. At one point I was #5, then I was #3 and then I was finally called in. The nurse who waited on me (along with another patient) was very nice but he was rattled. The ER seemed to be short on staff that day but full of overworked nurses. The nurse took all the relevant tests. I didn't have a temperature and my blood pressure was normal and I thought that now, finally I would see a doctor.

No such luck. I then was sent into a big room with about 20 patients in beds, some in private areas with curtains, others just stuck in the middle of the room. I was given a chair and was placed in the middle of this big room. The first doctor I saw after about an hour was a med student (I think). He was nice enough but seemed surprised that I had come in and told me that I really didn't need to come in with my symptoms (was that supposed to make me feel better?). They took lots of blood and other samples from me (which I won't go into due to the graphic nature if you know what I mean but I will tell you this: one sample that is normally taken lying down had to be done standing up because there were no beds for me (lucky me!). They also gave me 2 Tylenols for my migraine which was just starting (lucky me again!). It didn't help that I hadn't been eating very much for the past couple of days-that always triggers my migraines. They also gave me an IV in case of dehydration. I couldn't leave until I saw the supervisor of the first doctor which took another 2 hours and then I had to wait for the test results. They said I could leave but it wasn't recommended until they had a complete picture of my health which included the test results. I felt like I received good care but I got the feeling I was being talked down to by both doctors. At one point, I told the supervisor my symptoms-I referred to them as flu-like and he immediately asked me "how do you know it's the flu?" but with a slightly snotty attitude. Like I was trying to play doctor-whatever. The good news was that all my tests were negative. They even took a test for an ulcer or bleeding in that area which was negative.

As I was leaving this big room from hell I passed by the young man with the kidney problem. He was lying on a bed stuck in the middle of the room with no privacy. He looked very pale and was still shivering. I told him I was sorry and walked out. I'm still thinking about him. I hope he's ok.

I left around 6:30 feeling better because the ordeal was over. I was also relieved that all my tests were negative. But I still felt very weak and my migraine was extremely painful. I hope I don't have to go to the ER again in my lifetime. But unfortunately, I might have go again someday.

Was is really a "lost weekend"?

2008-03-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

May Pang. Who is she? For those of you who aren't familiar with Beatle lore (Oh, I can hear some of you start to snooze but stay with me-this will get interesting!). Sometime in 1973, Yoko kicked John Lennon out and said he needed to have an affair and find himself (I kid you not! John and Yoko have always been a bit eccentric). Yoko intended for him to be gone for only a couple of weeks but it turned out to be close to 2 years, famously known now as John's "lost weekend". Well, John found himself with May Pang and partied hard with the likes of Keith Moon, Harry Nielson and Elton John. I was at Barnes and Noble a couple weeks ago and I noticed an advertisement that said that May Pang would be there on March 13 for a talk and signing, and I thought to myself, "oh, fun"!

Tonight I decided to skip my weekly political meeting to see May Pang. I really didn't know anything about her book only that it was photographs taken by May with narration about her relationship with John. For those of you who like trivia-May is the one saying/whispering "John" in #9 Dream from the Walls and Bridges album (thanks sis!).

When I got to Barnes and Noble I, of course, had to use the porcelain facilities, as a certain someone I know would say, and all of them were closed except one. I'm waiting in this cramped bathroom and in walks these two English women and I looked at one of them and she looked just like Cynthia Lennon, John's first wife and mother of Julian. (I know, most of you are probably thinking, "who cares about Cynthia Lennon" but this is my blog so just bugger off, to quote the Brits, and I'm saying this in a very cheeky way so don't take offense. Believe me, if you love the Beatles like I do then Cynthia Lennon is a big deal!). So I'm thinking that it can't be Cyn-is she here to see May speak? But why would the ex-wife of John Lennon be friends with one of his lovers? Well, it did turn out to be Cynthia and evidently her and May are the best of friends. I kind of regretted not saying anything to her in the bathroom but what would I have said..."I thought John was a real jerk the way he left you for Yoko". Yeah, I'm sure she would have really appreciated that. Besides, bathroom time is private time!

May Pang was very entertaining

Some interesting tidbits from May...

-Phil Spector shot a gun off in the studio during one of John's recording sessions (a foreshadow of what was to come for Phil Spector and sadly, for John too)
-John was going to meet with Paul in 1975 in New Orleans to write songs but he ended up going back to Yoko instead. What could have been? We'll never know...
-John was supposed to play a show with George while he was on tour (was it the "Concert for Bangladesh"not sure-my Beatle trivia is rusty these days) but for some legal reason John could not play with George because the Beatles had not yet been officially dissolved-the offical papers had not been signed at that time. This might have been the last time John and George saw each other. When May told this story it brought tears to my eyes-the idea of the Beatles being "officially" dissolved struck me as so sad.

When I took a picture of May and Cynthia, I actually did tell Cynthia one thing. She wrote a little paperback book many years ago called, A Twist of Lennon. I told her it was the first book about the Beatles that I read (not really true but it was close) and she said something like "that was a looong time ago".

I saw 50 year-olds with Beatle jackets, I overheard people talking about Beatlefest...I also saw this kind of geeky couple-the girl had a Beatle hat on (believe me, it takes one to know one. I used to have a Beatle hat too-Yikes). I saw this couple I had seen at the Idina Menzel signing a couple weeks before. They had a ton of stuff for Cyn and May to sign (just like with Idina) and May seemed to know them (and Idina seemed to know them too-what the hell!). Between the two of them, they had bought about 12 of May's books and at $25 a pop, that's more than $300 and they didn't look like they had money.

I was obsessed with the Beatles in my youth but I rarely go to any kind of Beatle "event". To be honest, the whole talk was kind of sad especially seeing the photos. John just died way to young...

Where would you like to go?

2008-03-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I went to the NY Times Travel Show at the Javits Center in NYC. I don't intend to travel anytime soon but it sounded like an interesting event. The show consisted of hundreds of travel vendors representing every part of the world you could imagine (except for maybe Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. I don't think I saw Israel represented either). They were giving away luscious brochures (some quite large-I have one of Africa called Simply Safari which is about 100 pages) filled with beautiful pictures. I would just saunter up to each vendor and quickly take information otherwise, the person at the booth would try sell you a nice little travel package (little did they know that I was the wrong person to sell to!).

There were also talks, demonstrations and dancing (for instance, Puerto Rico had dancers throughout the day). I sat and listened to a woman talk about her cheese travels-OMG talk about boring! but she did give everyone cheese samples (very smelly and rich-i had to throw mine away but the pears were good!). I also listened to Rick Steves talk for a bit. From what I could gather since I arrived after he started talking, his presentation was about terrorism and traveling abroad. A lot of his political views came out and at one point I thought it was more of a political talk than anything else (please Rick, tell us how you really feel!!!). I couldn't help but wonder if some people in the audience were just hoping that he would talk about how to get all their crap in one suitcase!

One funny part was when I was walking through the United States section and this guy forced a big catalogue of New Jersey on me but as soon as I was out of eye shot of him, I left the catalogue on an empty chair. Why the hell would anyone want to go to frigging New Jersey for their vacation!? I picked up catalogues/brochures of Korea, Greece, Lithuania, Zambia, Indonesia, China, Macau, Italy, Alberta, Hudson River Valley, Asia, Russia, India, Grenada and many more. There are some great photos to practice my drawing on too!

I couldn't help but wonder, walking around the Javits Center, that if I had all the money in the world, where would I go? They had a film playing on a big screen TV at the Alberta/Canada area. I never even thought of going to Canada but this film had me literally drooling-it looks like an absolutely gorgeous place.

If I could just take off today for any place in the world it would probably be London because I've been wanting to go there for so long. And now that I'm in NYC, London is closer and cheaper. However, if I could pick someplace farther away or more exotic or adventurous I would have to say Africa. I would love to someday see the gorillas and chimpanzees and also go on a safari. Zambia looks nice. Well, maybe someday!! Maybe I could get a job where I travel around the world buying beautiful fabric for famous designers!

I know you didn't have the privilege of going to a travel show but where would you like to go and why? And try to think of someplace you've never been to. What do you think you would learn by going to this place?

Let it Snow!

2008-03-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

One reason I wanted to live on the East Coast was to experience the four seasons. I was a little nervous about the winters in NYC. Being from California, I'm not used to cold weather. However, this winter has been very very good to me-not too cold. Snow came several times in February and it was absolutely beautiful. But ask any New Yorker how they feel about the snow and you most likely will get a negative response-they don't like it! And it's because of the aftermath and clean-up that comes with it. I don't care what they say-I love the snow even if it turns to grey mush 24 hours later. Here are some pictures taken from my apartment and Central Park.

Idina and the $100 ticket

2008-03-06T16:07:00.000-08:00

Many years ago I read a great book called Wicked-The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Times-Witch-Harper-Fiction/dp/0061350966/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204853943&sr=1-2The story follows the friendship between Elphaba (the wicked witch of the west or the green one) and Glinda, the good witch, through college up until Dorothy appears. It's really a hoot of a read especially if you like a different take on a favorite childhood fairy tale. Sometime later, I found out that they were making a Broadway musical based on the book and I remember thinking how great it would be to see it.

My top priority the second time I visited NYC in 2003 was to see Wicked and I did! I went the night after opening night and it was the best $100 I spent in one pop (which I don't do very often). I was in the 4th/5th row right in the middle and there were no basketball players sitting in front of me!

I didn't know much about the cast going into the theater only that Kristin Chenowith was playing Glinda and some girl named Idina Menzel, from the original Broadway run of "Rent", was playing Elphaba. Well, Elphaba/Idina stole the show because she was the underdog. The audience was rooting for Elphaba because Glinda and all the Munchkins were so damn mean to her! I remember the end of Act I when Elphaba was singing Defying Gravity...

So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky
As someone told me lately -
Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me -

Tell them how I
Am defying gravity!
I'm flying high
Defying gravity!
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!

and right when she flew up to the top of the stage I knew then that she was singing specifically to me (and to the hundreds of others in the audience!). It was a great night and another example of how a little creativity-seeing something creative or doing something creative can never hurt. And I personally think it makes us better people. Yes, art is very very important to life!

I got a chance to see Idina a week ago at Borders Columbus Circle at the Time Warner Building where she was signing her new CD. She seemed very nice and much prettier in person.

Oh, she also has very good taste-she's married to Taye Diggs!

Richard Warren Mangan

2008-01-26T17:40:00.001-08:00

June 8, 1920-January 26, 2008

My father died today. He was 87. He was diagnosed with cancer in early January. The picture above is of my mother and father on their wedding day. They were divorced some 38 years ago. Richard Mangan was born in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and went to Whitefish Bay High School. He was in the Army Air Force from 1940/41-1945/46 during WWII. He was an instructor pilot who taught young men how to fly B24s. When the war was over, he attended Marquette University Medical School and after that he started a private practice in Corona, California around 1954. He retired in the 1980's and there's no doubt that he helped thousands of patients.

He is survived by his wife Marti, six children, three stepchildren and many grandkids.

My dad and I were not very close. I was adopted at four months and my parents divorced soon after this. I really only saw him at Christmas. It's hard to deal with death especially when your relationship with the person who passed on is rather confusing. However, I am glad that I was able to stay in contact somewhat with him especially in the last couple of years through letters and phone calls. I will think about him often.

SNOW

2007-12-02T07:44:00.000-08:00

Oh My! I looked outside my window at 7:00 this morning and this is what I saw. Being from California, this is a new experience for me! Also, I have never been skiing! How many exclamation marks can I use in a short paragraph!?!?

NYC is an amazing place-where else can you see white stuff falling from the sky and hear Tama Janowitz, author of "Slaves of New York", speak all within a 24-hour period. I'm trying to sound like I'm really hip on 80s pop culture. To be honest, I didn't know who this woman was before I heard her speak but evidently "Slaves" is one of the 10 most important fiction books of the 80s along with something like "Bonfire of the Vanities". Anyways, she was either drunk or stoned when she spoke or maybe she wasn't on anything which in that case made for a very interesting reading.

All They Want is A Sliver!

2007-11-28T12:17:00.000-08:00

I went to a rally in Washington Square Park yesterday in support of the Writers' strike. Currently, writers only get 4 to 6 cents per DVD sale. They are asking for up to 8 cents per DVD and 2.5% of the profit studios make off the writers' work on the Internet or digitally (like when a video is streamed or downloaded).

There were about 300 people at the rally (they were hoping for 1,000), many of whom were media hungry reporters and lookie loos. I went because I support the writers' strike and believe in what they are fighting for. Because of my weak bladder, I snuck into one of the NYU buildings to use the facilities so unfortunately I missed John Edwards 3 minute speech (I didn't know he was going to be there and actually I don't think anyone knew he was going to be there). Aasif Mandvi of the Daily Show was the MC and he was quite funny. The Executive Director of the Writers Guild of America East, Mona Mangan (!!) spoke as well as representatives from PSC/CUNY (Professional Staff Congress City University of New York) and UFT (United Federation of Teachers). SAG was present as well.

Gilbert Gottfried, who, in my opinion, is like nails on the chalkboard, observed the audience and said, "I haven't seen this many Jews since Schindler's List". Danny Glover and Tim Robbins spoke and several celebrities were present: Joe Pantoliano from the Sopranos (Tony whacked him but he really deserved it!), Richard Belzer (Law and Order and Homicide) Julianna Margolis, Anthony Edwards, Tina Fey and Kristin Davis.

I hope the strike ends soon and the writers get what they are asking for-they deserve it. Good tv and movie writing is hard to come by and as Tim Robbins pointed out-these are not millionaire writers that are striking-they're middle class just like the majority of us! For more information please go to: http://www.wgaeast.org/ or http://www.wga.org/.

Snow Flakes at Time Warner

2007-11-24T15:11:00.000-08:00

These images are from inside the Time Warner building at Columbus Circle (59th Street and Broadway).

Through the Looking Glass-Bergdorf Goodman

2007-11-21T06:33:00.000-08:00

The holiday season has arrived in New York City. In the next couple of weeks, I will share with you my favorite holiday experiences throughout the city. The first experience on the list are the window displays. Very beautiful, very contemporary, very over-the-top! More to come. Enjoy!

Note: In the second image, the woman (mannequin) is dancing with an alligator.

Who is This Man? Update

2007-11-08T06:25:00.000-08:00

So much for the guessing game. The man in the photo is Yusef Salaam. He was wrongly accused of the Central Park jogger case in NYC in 1989. He spent seven years in prison. After he was released, he was exonerated of his crimes when they found the real suspect. I saw him speak last weekend and he seemed to be such a sweet, gentle man which is amazing when you think that he spent many years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.

Who is This Man?

2007-11-06T06:26:00.001-08:00

One hint: This man is known for an event that took place in 1989 in NYC that drew national attention. Please put guesses in the Comment section.

Happy Halloween-10 Scary Movies

2007-10-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

Halloween is just around the corner so I thought I would share some of my favorite scary movies (in no particular order). I added a warning for most of them in case some of you are squeamish.

1. Seven-Oh Gwyneth Paltrow...you will never be the same! Seven is the story of a NYPD detective (Morgan Freeman) who is retiring in a week. He is partnered up with Brad Pitt and they are searching for a serial killer who is committing murders based on the seven deadly sins. I remember seeing this movie with a friend when it first came out. I considered walking out after the first murder, Gluttony, but my curiosity got the better of me and I stayed for the whole film. The relationship between Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt is interesting to watch. Warning: The movie does not show the actual killings only the aftermath which is quite gruesome.

2. Blair Witch Project-This movie scared the crap out of me!! It is true that what you don't see will scare you the most. Three film students go to the woods in Burkittsville, Maryland to document the legend of the Blair Witch. They disappear (of course) but their film footage is found. I remember when I first saw the poster for this film a month before it came out-very clever advertising campaign because the poster made you think that this was a true story and when I finally saw the movie, it played out like a real documentary. The three students are chased by something but you never know by who or what exactly...is it a crazy person? the blair witch? Ted Kosinski? Warning: If you don't like jerky camera movement, especially if it makes you nauseous, please don't see this movie. Also, you probably will never camp in the woods again after seeing this film.

3. The Exorcist-This list wouldn't be complete without this classic. You either love it or hate or you laugh all the way through it (as my brother did when it first came out). Everyone knows the story of poor 13-year old Regan who gets possessed by the the big, bad, awful devil. My favorite scene is when Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) arrives at Regan's house in Washington DC (see image)-this is a great movie moment. The last time I was in DC I actually went to the famous stairs where Father Karras falls down after the exorcism. I fist saw this movie on television many years after it first came out. I watch it every once in awhile and it still disturbs me 30+ years after it was made. Check out the special DVD edition and see Regan do the spider walk-extremely creepy! Warning: Gross pea soup scene and inappropriate usage of religious objects-need i say more?

4. Alien-I remember when I was very young and having to stay home while my brothers and sisters went to see Alien. I remember how excited they all were to be seeing this movie and how pissed I was that I was too young to go see it too! The idea that no one can hear you scream in space and the fact that you never really see the Alien until the last scene keeps you on the edge of your seat. Again, what you don't see will scare you the most (see Blair Witch Project above). Yaphet Kotto is in this movie! Warning: Alien comes out of of John Hurt's stomach.

5. The Ring-This movie makes no sense-creepy little girls coming out of television sets and videos that when watched causes people to die but still loads of fun. Warning: Creepy little girl.

6. The Shining-Jack Nicholson makes this movie horrific-actually I take that back. I think Shelley Duvall is the scariest thing in this movie. Redrum redrum redrum REdrUM. Warning: Shelley Duvall.

7. Identity: A new twist on a classic, 10 Little Indians. Great twists and turns. I was going to give a warning but I'm afraid that would spoil the ending so rent this movie for John Cusack who is very cute!

8. Picnic at Hanging Rock-This one seems out of left field, I know, however, it's definitely unsettling and raises more questions than answers when it's over. I saw this in a film class and when it ended I was like "whaaat?" Warning: No answer, conclusion to the plot line is given. So if you don't like movies where you don't find out who did it than you won't want to see this.

9. Wait Until Dark-One of the great thrillers. Audrey Hepburn plays Suzy Hendrix, a blind woman who is terrorized by Alan Arkin. Warning: To this day, the ending still pisses me off. I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it but it has to do with Suzy's husband and what he makes her do. Warning: Creepy teenage girl wearing go-go boots.

10. Vertigo-I had to include a film from the master of suspense. I could have gone with Psycho but Vertigo is my favorite Hitchcock movie. I saw the restored version in the late 1990s in San Francisco and it was gorgeous. James Stewart following Kim Novak around San Francisco and the Bay Area-the imagery is just fantastic. Of all the films on this list-this is the one to see. I'm not going to say anything about the film because the less you know the better experience you will have.

Hope you had as much fun reading my list as I had writing it. Please tell me your favorite movies in the comment section (and you thought this was going to be a list of slasher movies!).

Art for the Animal Rights Activist

2007-10-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

I visited el Museo del Barrio last Saturday. The above image is what I chose to write about for my museum class. Here is a little blurb from my response paper:

I am an animal advocate so there were several pieces in the El Museo’s Bienal: The (S) Files 007 exhibit at el Museo del Barrio that I connected with. If I see something in the art world that depicts animals in distress I usually stay far away from them but Andrés García-Peña and Oscar Oiwa were two artists I enjoyed studying.

Andrés García-Peña Cojida en el Cielo de los Toros depicts a bullfight but from the bull’s perspective. The bull is finally getting his revenge on the matador while his fellow spirit or angel bulls cheer him on from the stands. The spirits are drinking, smoking, laughing and celebrating, enjoying every minute of the matador’s demise. It’s a different take on the hero myth with the bull as the hero and the human as the beast. I also liked the style that García-Peña used in his paintings. The matador and bull are painted realistically while the spirits take an almost cartoon look, yet another example of humans anthropomorphizing animals. It is interesting to look at García-Peña’s entire bull collection at http://andresgarciapena.com/bulls.html. When the bull finally kills the matador dead he stands on his hind legs and lifts his front legs up similar to what a fighter in boxing match would do when he achieved victory. I find bull fighting horrific so this piece put me in such a good mood!

Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire!

2007-10-25T04:22:00.000-07:00

From a Santa Clarita, California neighborhood where my famous sister lives!

Beyond the Green Zone

2007-10-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight I heard Dahr Jamail talk about his new book, Beyond the Green Zone. Jamail spent time in Iraq as an unembedded reporter in 2003 meaning he didn't travel with the troups and therefore was putting his life in great danger. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a more truthful account of what is going on in Iraq.

Update on "Will someone shut that couple up!"

2007-10-17T06:53:00.001-07:00

I've figured out who the mysterious, extremely loud screwing couple is...unfortunately it's my neighbors above me. My landlord came over yesterday to cover my air conditioner (this is what they do in NYC when the cold weather comes-the air conditioner is to big to be taken out so they cover it with a sort of plastic film to keep the draft out). Anyways, he mentioned to me that my windows in my bedroom were open on the top (I thought they only opened at the bottom but evidently they open at the top as well). This is one of the reasons I thought the couple were across from me in the opposite building. So now that my windows are all shut tightly I now know that the sound is coming directly above me. Last night at 1am for about 45 minutes and this morning around 7:30...-I never knew Asians could be this loud (I can make fun of Asians because I am one-well, actually I'm not technically Asian anymore. I'm now a Pacific Islander but you know, we all look alike!).

Subway Stories #1

2007-10-17T00:50:00.000-07:00

This is the first installment of subway stories. One of my favorite things about living in NYC are the subways even though I curse the system on a daily basis. It's still the best public transportation I've ever experienced.

The image above is the 1 line on 168th street and Broadway about 1.5 blocks from my apartment. I take this everyday. I can also take the A or C lines which also stop at this station but I prefer the 1 line because it goes right to FIT (27th @ 7th Avenue) whereas the A or C lines stop at 34th Street and I have to walk about 7 blocks which isn't bad but when you have a lot to carry it can be a bit of a pain.

When I first visited NYC I used to find it amusing when I saw people fall asleep on the trains. I often wondered how they immediately woke themselves up when it was their stop-the train operator usually announces the stops but when you're dozing you can sometimes miss those announcements. I am now one of those people who fall asleep on the subway!! My commute time is 30-40 minutes and I always start dozing whenever I leave whether it be 8:15 or 10:30 in the morning and I always doze off when I come home in the evening.

My first week living here in mid-August, a local firefighter died on the job. I remember seeing many firefighters the day of the funeral at the Grand Central Station at 42nd street. There were several on one of the trains with me and then a Mexican Mariachi band boarded and started playing. There is at least one person(s) on every train trip you take that either 1) asks for money (sometimes they go into great detail of their woes-homeless, Vietnam vet, cancer etc) or 2)performers who then ask for money. I've seen brake dancers several times who use the pole and handles in the train that commuters hold on to during the train rides. I often think that one of these kids is going to fall and break their neck during one of their acts. They usually make maybe up to $50.00 each performance on the subway. And they know the trains well because they can only perform on the express trains because that allows them the time to perform.

I usually leave school around 5:00 or 6:00pm. 5:00pm isn't bad at 28th street station-you can usually get a seat or a comfortable place to stand but at 6:00 you are packed in the trains like sardines. Sometimes you have to wait for another train because there is no room to get on. Also, you have to be careful because if the train is heavily packed then sometimes you can't get off at your stop. Tonight I was on the Q line from 59th street and Lexington and I arrived at Times Square station to take the 1 uptown. I went down the stairs and the platform was literally packed with people-from one end to the other lengthwise and from side to side and a train was just leaving fully packed. It was about 6:30. When this happens (like tonight) I hike from within the Times Square station to Port Authority and I take the A express to Washington Heights. Less crowded.

About a month ago I was getting off at Lincoln Square at 66th street. It was about 3:00. I was just about to exit the train when a group of loud, tall, and big African American teenage boys literally shoved me back on the train (and shoving everyone else around me). I did get off thankfully but was pissed off...yeah-real funny guys.

This concludes Subway Stories 1. More to come!

Sex as background noise or "Will someone please shut that couple up!"

2007-09-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

My first couple nights in my new apartment I heard this extremely loud, amorous couple having sex (or maybe I should be more specific-I really only heard her). I thought it was the neighbors upstairs (still haven't met them) but then I thought it was the people downstairs from me (still haven't met them either but I know they were away for awhile so it couldn't have been them. I also think they're smoking-it's a non-smoking building). But I'm now pretty sure it's coming from the building across the way. My bedroom is in the back of my apartment, away from the 24-hour party that is 168th street @ Amsterdam. My bedroom window faces out to, probably, the bedrooms of the building across the way. Sound travels. Sometimes I think this couple is right above me, sometimes to the left, to the right, underneath, sideways-you get the picture.

I've decided it's not the couple above me because they're Asian and you know Asians are so quiet in everything they do-it can't be them. This woman (the one having sex) is loud-screaming loud-literally! So I've decided that the couple is African American or at least she is! And I don't think they're Dominican because she speaks English (or should I say, screams English). Have I made enough racial generalizations for one posting? I can't help but think of the Rolling Stones' song "Some Girls" and if you know the song you know what I'm talking about.

The first time I heard her I thought, "Wow, she's lucky!". The next night (because it's every night between 9:30pm-12:30am (not for that long-just between those times) and on Saturday mornings around 9am. The next few times were just kind of amusing, annoying. If I'm lucky I usually get home after they're done. Now five weeks later it's all part of the background noise, along with the music, the preacher, the basketball players, the sirens, the domino players, etc.

**I could have been much more graphic for this post but I chose not to (probably to the relief of most of you-well,all 2 or 3 of you that read my blog).

From LATT to FIT....

2007-09-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

I moved to Los Angeles at the ripe age of 19 to attend Los Angeles Trade Tech as a fashion design major. I moved to an area of Los Angeles called Atwater. I had no car. For those of you who are unfamiliar with LA public transportation...not so good. And not so safe. I got a job at the Broadway in downtown Los Angeles-don't remember the exact location but it was within walking distance to the Bonaventure Hotel (where I spent a small portion of my adolescence attending Beatle conventions). I was in the fashion accessories department where I sold fake jewelry to women who would buy the stuff for a party and return it the next day. So I worked at the Broadway (don’t know if they exist anymore but it was a big department store like Macys) and I was attending LATT. I was a big Madonna fan at the time and I had fantasies of designing her clothes (if you're going to dream..why not dream big?).

The fashion program was not easy at LATT. The director of the program was Sharon Tate (yes, that was her name!) who I remember as being very stylish-one time she walked into my sewing class dressed in a long leather black skirt, red shirt and black leather jacket. My schedule was pretty intense: I had sewing from 7am-11am M-Thursday and a history of costume twice a week. Imagine getting up at 5:30am every morning and walking in the dark to the bus stop. Not so fun and once again not so safe. I remember walking home from the bus stop at night after work and cars stopping, yelling and making obscene gestures to me and also stopping to see if I wanted a ride. It wasn't the greatest experience for me. I was sick to my stomach all the time-nausea and heartburn (I'm convinced now I had some type of ulcer). I hated my job at the Broadway where I think I ruined my feet from standing all day.

However, I remember the good times (I don't like to remember the bad times). I particularly remember going to Venice Beach, walking in the stores, being with all the crazy people. I also remember meeting a woman at the Broadway who was selling perfume and pursuing a career as an actress. Her name was Teresa. She was 26 and beautiful. Being 19, I was so in awe of her. I remember going to see her at the Broadway on my days off (!) and eating cookies with her on her lunch break. I was so flattered that she wanted to be my friend (of course, once she found out I didn’t have a car I think she lost interest). I wonder if she ever made it as an actress…

Here is the irony...When I was at LA trade Tech all of us young aspiring fashion designers talked about going to the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City for our BA. It seemed like such a magical place-New York City; and Calvin Klein went to FIT. I eventually dropped out of LATT. For many years after that I couldn't look at a fashion magazine or even consider using my sewing machine.

Sometime during my mid-20s, I started regretting dropping out of fashion school (I also dropped out of UC Berkeley too but that I don't regret so much-well, maybe a little). In 2004, I was at a conference for my job (I was working for a local nonprofit). Sitting at our table at dinner was a woman whose daughter was attending Parsons in NYC as a fashion design major. I felt myself getting so jealous and wanted so very much for that to be me. But I never ever considered going back to the whole fashion design thing. I thought my time had passed for that.

My first trip to NYC in 2001 started changing my thinking. I fell in love with the place from the minute I looked out the window of the plane and saw this beautiful, magical island of lights. This was in November of 2001 so NYC was still very raw by 9/11. I loved every minute of it-the millions of people on the street, the noise, the cabs, Broadway, street vendors, subways...The second time I visiting NYC in 2004, I started to really see all the struggling artists, young and old, trying to make it-pursuing their dream. Some of them might never reach that goal but they will die trying.

I was at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum one day and our tour guide had us in front of one of the buildings giving us the history of the tenement housing when a woman walked by and the following conversation took place:

Woman: Hey, (addressing tour/docent) didn’t you audition for me?
Docent: Yes, I did...
Woman: Well, keep trying...

For some reason this short conversation had a profound effect on me. This docent guy looked like he was barely getting by and he looked kind of sad about not getting the part of whatever he was auditioning for. But I knew he was going to keep trying no matter how many times they rejected him at auditions. This was his passion.

I decided to rethink the whole fashion thing in 2004 and now three years later...I am attending FIT-the school I once imagined myself going to many years ago. I'm in classes with 18-year-olds (all of them thought I was 20-which is very flattering. What can I say...I look very young!). It's hard and in some ways, more challenging than it was in Los Angeles. I take things more seriously now-if I screw up now I honestly feel that this will be my last chance to screw up. And then it’s back to the nonprofit world for me…

New York City probably has the best public transportation in the country. But it's a tough city and not very forgiving. I've heard one person say that NYC being tough-that is part of its charm. I've also heard that the idea of living in NYC is a lot better than the actual living in NYC!

I learned a lot about myself in Los Angeles..One negative trait I might have developed during that time is keeping things to myself and not opening up to the bad or good things that are personally effecting me everyday. I will learn more about myself during this time in NYC as well. I just wish all these lessons were a little less painful to endure.

People are afraid to pursue what they really want out of life and I know I have to give myself credit for doing what I'm doing. I'm afraid everyday. The only way to get over that fear is to face it.

Contemporary Art-Entering the Unknown...

2007-09-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a class on Saturday afternoons called "Art in New York". We will be going to a different museum every week. Our professor's specialty is contemporary art. My specialty is to stay as far away from that crap as I can. However, I will be open to it even though after this first outing, I wanted to run screaming from the modern art section of the met to my safe place-the French Impressionists and lay in a fetal position! Here is some images and the response I wrote to them. Who knows-you might learn something too.

**To view complete collection go to:
http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp
Click on Neo Rauch

Contemporary art is definitely not one of my favorite areas, however, I’m open to learning about it which will hopefully lead to an appreciation of this current period of art. With that said, I found myself surprisingly drawn to Neo Rauch’s Para exhibit.

Color is very important to me and I found that yellow seemed to have a reoccurring role in all of the paintings. Sometimes it is in the form of a candle or fire or simply an article of clothing. Yellow can mean different things to people but for me words like creativity, curiosity, wisdom, communication and optimism come to mind but many of the paintings depict some danger or sadness in them. For instance, Paranoia, which is my favorite of this collection, depicts three people seemingly having a secret meeting but being interrupted by some unforeseen person or thing. They seem very nervous, as if, “caught in the act”. And off in the corner a small curtain glows yellow. Also, the ceiling seems to be illuminated by yellow and there is a canvas of yellow on the back wall. The shadows and glows of yellow almost make the room seem haunting yet I don’t get the impression that this trio is frightened. It’s almost humorous to me because I want them to get caught-whatever they were discussing or planning could not have been good! The yellow, to me, may represent some intellectual pursuit on the part of the participants in the paintings or it could mean the lack of communication to whoever is about to arrive.

In addition to the Paranoia work, I found Vater (Father) interesting especially considering Rauch’s family background. I thought the combination of his obvious inspiration of classical cartoon animation and the self-reflection of his personal history quite touching. It shows the young person in Rauch wanting to be comforted by large but friendly hands but you also get the impression that he was smiling during the painting of this work.

Some of Rauch’s inspiration comes from his dreams and I think that’s one reason I like his work. I like surrealistic forms of art when there is a lot going on beneath the surface of what you are actually seeing in the painting.
Metmuseum.org states:

"The artist is inspired by misplaced memories
and momentary perceptions that are
lost before they can be named."

This is very similar to what we experience in a dream state or even a daydreaming mediation. There have been many times where I meet someone or experience a situation that reminds me of some memory I can’t recall-an experience that Rauch is trying to depict in a very strange way.

When I went through Rauch’s exhibit I kept thinking to myself that his work reminded me of something…The style of these paintings remind me of illustrations from my childhood: one memory is of a children’s’ bible I owned when I was about eight. Strange but true!

Ode to New York City

2007-07-21T00:57:00.000-07:00

The idea that being away from something makes the heart grow fonder, I think, is true. I just returned from an apartment hunting trip in NYC-a city that I've been away from for about 2 1/2 years. I admit, I was afraid it wouldn't have the same magic it did when I first took the plunge and lived there for six months in 2004. But I'm happy to report that, YOU Manhattan, have still got it!

Many people are surprised when they find out that I once lived in NYC and are even more stunned that I'm going back for more. (But those are the people who enjoy small town living and have never ventured out of California-more power to them). I feel extremely privileged to have lived in Manhattan and am thrilled (though slightly nervous) about going back. It is truly an amazing place-Disneyland for adults so to speak. But it's not the easiest city to live in-I'll make a bet that there are more tears shed in Manhattan than any other place in the country. If you piss someone off or they don't like you for some reason, they will express it to you-loudly and with emotion!

Many people ask me why I'm going back to NYC. The main reason is I'm pursuing a second career (well, actually my dream career) but here are 10 things that I love about NYC (in no particular order) and that keep me coming back...

1. Fabric Stores-If I had all the money in the world it still wouldn't be enough for all the amazing, funky, beautiful fabric in the garment district!

2. Metropolitan Museum-What can I say about this place? If you're having a bad day-go to the MET. So many beautiful pieces of art, history, costumes,-so many things to be happy about. And admission price is a donation of your choosing! I usually pay $2.00.

3. The artists (musicians, designers, actors, dancers, painters, writers etc.) living in NYC, struggling, just trying to get through each day.

4. Fire engines, ambulances, and police sirens throughout the night-I know this means that someone is very sick or is in danger but those sounds just make me feel safer. It also helps me sleep.

5. Looking out your window at 3am and seeing people taking a leisurely stroll (many of them aren't even drunk!).

6. The plethora of vegetarian restaurants (even though I won't be able to afford eating out) in every neighborhood in Manhattan.

7. Times Square-I frigging love Times Square. I love the lights, the Las Vegasness charm of it. Many New Yorkers (the real ones, who were born here, not the ones that live here a year and call themselves New Yorkers-much like what I will do in July 2008!) hate the way it's been glammed up, much preferring the hooker, drug induced zombies and sex shops that littered the area pre-Giuliani. I understand how they feel but I still love the place. I like going there early evening on a Saturday and walking amongst the thousands of people. I love the lights, the smell, the energy. There's not a lot to do there-not a lot of shopping but if you want Broadway-it's the place to be. Also, two huge movie complexes are there so if your feet are tired you can always rest them for a couple of hours while catching a flick.

8. Lower East Side-I think about the immigrants coming to New York City in 1815-1914 or so and living in those tenement buildings. The tenement housing had a strong effect on me when I first visited NYC. So much history. Also, on my first visit to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (I highly recommend any first time visitor to put this on their to-do list), our guide was a struggling actor. I don't remember his name but he was one of the reasons I decided to pursue this second career because he was struggling (believe me, he was struggling, you could tell!) so hard to be an actor. I really respect people like that-it takes so much courage to pursue a dream. I often think that I should write a story about a seamstress living in a tenement housing project in the 19th century. Well, maybe someday...

9. Times Square Subway station-I love this place. I love the entertainers in the subway. I love that it's a main transfer point. I love seeing all the people having someplace to go-having a purpose if only for a little while.

10. I love the fact that my feet are my transportation..