Cat Cafes

There are many times when I tire of being in a house with a cat. The hair everywhere, the stinky litterbox, the scratched up furniture, the constant fear of my feet being attacked anytime at night... but besides that, I've warmed up to cats a lot. Only if they are friendly, like Boydster is.
A Chinese Flickr contact just uploaded some photos of his trip to a cat cafe. It's hilarious to me that they even exist. Why not just get a cat? Too much upkeep, eh? I'd still like to go sometime. Love this grey, grouchy puff of fur especially.

Work Venn Diagram

Unfortunately, I am stuck in the non-overlap paid circle. For now. (Click image for larger)

Image from Bud Caddell

Almost 25

This no-nonsense list of behaviors to adopt once you turn 25 is sobering to read. I know I have to grow up soon, and this just proves how much further I have to go. Hope I haven't been so annoying for the past few years. Sigh..

2. Do not invite yourself to stay with friends when you travel anymore. Presumably you have a job, and the means to procure yourself a hotel. If so, do so. If not, stay home. Mentioning that you plan a visit to another city may lead to an invitation to stay with a friend or family member, which you may of course accept; assuming that "it's cool if you crash" is not. Wait for the invitation; if it is not forthcoming, this is what we call "a hint," and you should take it and make other arrangements.

3. Do not expect friends to help you move anymore. You may ask for help; you may not expect it, particularly if your move date is on a weekday. Your friends have jobs to go to, and you have accumulated a lot of heavy books by this point in your life. Hire a mover. If you cannot afford a mover, sell your books or put them in storage — or don't move, but one way or another, you will have to cope.

Romanian Names

The new John Vanderslice is good. Somehow, it sounds less like his quirky self, and more sweetly poppy. I really like the shimmering "Too Much Time," even though it hardly even sounds like him. It's like he started talking and singing differently, less careless with this enunciations. I approve. So does NPR.
Another track: Fetal Horses

Houston - M Day weekend

Happiest Hour

Despite a major issue I had having to do with who was and wasn't invited, I had a jolly good time at Kristi's birthday party yesterday at Red House. It was the perfect weather outside, as we sat beneath a large tree on a long picnic bench. Even though I hadn't drank much or enjoyed it at all in the past few weeks, I ordered a Sangria to be polite and I think that made all the difference. Suddenly everyone around me was interesting and interested in my witty comments and I partly lost my voice from talking so much. Not typical Frances social behavior at all. Chatting can be thorougly enjoyable, I see. So that's the draw of Happy Hour!

Courtesy of my Gmail web clip, I love this quote (somewhat related to the issue):

After all, what is your host's purpose in having a party? Surely not for you to enjoy yourself; if they were their sole purpose, they'd have simply sent champagne and women over to your place by taxi.

-P.J. O'Rourke

Slow Photography

Lately I've been thinking about trying medium format (not Holga/Lomo). I carry my film Canon Rebel around all the time and snap quick shots during my free time. It's about speed and dexterity: capturing the moment by finding the right settings before the shot is no longer there. Even though there is a time and place for that, I'd like to slow down and take less photos and really focus on learning how to compose a good scene. I'd think I'd rather have fewer quality photos, than a lot of haphazardly shot photos, some good, some bad, most OK. But then again, I like to take lots of photos to document my life (I have a really bad memory and must make up for it somehow). I would probably use 35mm and medium format in conjunction. Gotta scrounge up a pretty penny for a decent camera though. And processing!

From a NYT article by a large format photographer:

"One advantage of using larger formats is that the process is slower. It takes time to set up the camera. It takes time to visualize what you want.

When doing portraits, it enables the photographer to talk and listen to subjects, to observe their behavior. A camera can trap a photographer sometimes. You can look so intently through a viewfinder that you are unaware of the picture in front of you. When I use an 8-by-10 camera for portraits, I will compose the picture and step back. Using a long cable release, I will look at the subject and wait for the moment. It's very liberating."

Too Much Rubbish

Lately I've been finding it not that hard to avoid materialism. I know, I know, all I post about these days are things to own. But when I think about them for a short while, I realize I don't care at all. That's definitely never happened before. Finding it exceedingly difficult to deeply care about anything, really. Everything, everything is in flux.

Vintage Cycling Gear

I thought I wouldn't let myself get into this, but the designs are just so damn good. It's almost enough to make me purchase a Team Z hat. Gotta love that 1990-1992 design sense. And Greg Lemond was on that team. (Gonna go check out one of his frames this weekend). Prendas, a cycling retailer from the UK, is currently bringing back vintage cycling jerseys. The Team Z one is great.. too bad I am too small for Men's Small.

Who knew Bic had a cycling team in the 70's. Cute. Img source

RUSA wool jersey. Members only. Found on Lesli Larsen's blog.

Rapha Campionissimo shirt. Based on the stylish Fausto Coppi's shirts.

I remember American Apparel once sold a cotton shirt similar to a bike jersey. I think it was called Pocket Block? It has 2 back pockets. I now regret now not snatching it up.

Still Flyin'

Listening to some solid summery pop (reggae-influenced) tunes from this San Fran band. Good stuff! A bit disappointed that they played so many times at SXSW this year, all of which I missed. Ah, gotta do your music blog scouring before the big festivals.. Youthful exuberance abounds!

The Hottchord is Struck (highly rec'd)
Good Thing it's a Ghost Town Around Here

A Camp

I always say that the only girl-fronted band I really like is the Pretenders. Older band, I mean. I guess they were popular in the 80s? Anyway, Chrissie Hynde's voice is so gravelly and great. Here's a new single from the new band of the lead singer of the Cardigans. It's pretty catchy, and has the unmistakable sound of the 90's. Meaning, not new-school/ indie. The horns remind me a bit of Blur, actually. Also, I admire with artists who are multilingual and can write good lyrics in more than one language.

Stronger than Jesus

source (theyellowstereo)

Klein Tools

New favorite functional bag. So functional that Home Depot sells it. Klein Tools

Leather:
Canvas:

Also new discovery: Beckel Canvas bags! Thick canvas with leather reinforcements. Great names, like War Bag and Possibilties Bag. Now I'm sad that I went out and impulse bought a small AA duffle for traveling this weekend.

STP Alternatives

The newest trend in heritage bags especially is potentially confusing, because you might end up looking like a middle-aged person who has owned their authentically-aged canvas luggage for years, or just a snobby wealthy jetsetter. That's the trick of a trend- it borrows or steals from existing non-fashionable looks. What's classic and somewhat outdated is now the latest great. To prove this, here are some worthy items from the discount super store, Sierra Trading Post (functional and outdoorsy only) that could easily be worn by a hipster. It's all so ridiculous, but we're bored so we play the game.Australian Bag Outfitters Bushman Angler bag - $76.95 (orig $130). See AC's post on fishing bags
Australian Bag Outfitters Brumby Duffle bag - $99.95 (orig $170)
Bric's Cargo Duffel Bag - $170.95 (orig $345)

Sandstorm Kenya Canvas and Cowhide Laikipia bag - $169.96 (orig $290)

Sandstorm Kenya Canvas and Cowhide Explorer bag - $199.95 (orig $340)

2 F's

Thought-provoking short article about how social networks like Twitter and Facebook are really a way in which power controls us. Everyone sort of knows this in the back of their minds, but most people do not really care. Entertain us because boredom is the worst. Wish I read more Foucault in college. But if I did, I'm sure I'd be much more afraid of living in this society.

Social media tends to be understood as a kind of freedom to express ourselves in a new way; interactivity liberates us from one-way communication and affords us the opportunity to speak and participate. But this “freedom” can function as a kind of compulsion, as part of what Baudrillard et. al. called the “fun morality.” Foucault insisted that power is both decentralized (not a matter of some authority telling you what you must do) and productive (it allows more things to have a kind of social being, not fewer; creates more data, not less). In an interview in Power/Knowledge, he says, “What makes power hold good, what makes it accepted, is simply the fact that it doesn’t only weigh on us as a force that says no, but that it traverses and produces things, it induces pleasure, forms knowledge, produces discourse.” Various modern technologies have brought about what he calls “a new economy of power” that allows “the effects of power to circulate in a manner at once continuous, uninterrupted, adapted, and ‘individualized’ throughout the entire social body.” In other words, there is no way to sneak around power because we are basically bathing in it, breathing it in and out at all times.

The Meaning of Hipsterdom

Hipsters hate being labeled as such, and they sure hate being discussed. I will just go ahead and say that I am included in this group, I guess. More so than any other group?

I revisited Marginal Utility, and found some juicy new articles up. Some excerpts:

What?

“Hipsterism,” as I tried to argue in this post, is more a fear of irrelevance or phoniness than it is an aesthetic one would purposely adopt. It is the shadow that passes over us when we begin to tentatively plan to do something unconventional, the chill that tells us that maybe it would be safer to do nothing rather than become one of them, trying for cool but failing. That is to say, “hipsterism” is the term for that sinking feeling that cool is at stake in any endeavor, and that nothing can be pursued for its own sake anymore. Of course that is not true, but it often feels like it is, and the image of a stereotype arriviste hipster is there to personify that feeling. And the final twist is that once we begin to fear becoming hipsters, begin thinking primarily about the way what we are doing will be perceived by others who somehow can see through us to the roots of our motivations, we become at that very moment hipsters ourselves.

And, why do we even talk about it?

It boils down to a question of where a generation of educated, privileged, creative class sorts of people are ending up. As a group, those who wind up being hipsters tend to have a good deal of opportunity, so if hipsterism is a kind of psychological/cultural zombie state (suggested by the Time Out New York article, and the Adbusters article from a couple years ago “Hipsters: The Dead End of Western Civilization”) then there is a vast amount of potential being wasted.

Those of us who routinely write about “culture,” including cultural ephemera, do so exactly because we’re trying to figure out what (if anything) its impact will be on wider society and the way we live our own lives. Culture routinely has a more immediate impact on us than politics does, but it’s often harder to pin that impact down because it’s more subtle and variable (which also means that people are more likely to disagree on what’s important based on where they live, who they interact with, etc.) It’s a vicious cycle, to a certain extent: when no one is aggressive in calling attention to something in culture and explaining what its significance is, people get progressively more resistant to the idea that anything cultural is really that lasting or important — because they certainly can’t see what its significance could be!

I think the way out is to grow out of it. Once you have a family and kids, assuming you take your roles seriously, you really don't have much time to care about identity by way of interests, fashion and particular tastes. I look forward to that freedom, as I feel like I'm running a race that isn't worth it at all. It's the easy thing to care about- it makes me world so much smaller and managable. It's especially not worth it to even be aware of this culture, I think. Find a way to feel good about yourself, and then move on, because there are so many other issues outside of yourself! And those hipsters who really, really love culture could hope to become successful and influential tastemakers. Do it for a job. But that is a highly unlikely outcome for most.

Clarks Desert Boots

New trends always consume me at first (Americana/Heritage anyone?), but then I have to remember to treat my wardrobe as a more permanent portion of my possessions. With that said, I really love Clarks Desert Boots. Soldiers wore them in WWII, your parents probably wore them in the 70's, and all sorts of people wear them today. I am very impressed by all the collaborations they have done (too many to list, but mostly successful). I have been putting off getting a pair for a while because I have only seen them on men (stylin', of course), even after convincing my brother to get a but after reading the blog of Lesli Larsen (Archival Clothing- I have never been so thrilled to find a kindred spirit, who shares the same unabashed admiration for mens clothing as I do), and seeing a girl friend of mine wear the same Clarks Desert Treks as B, I decided that it was more than OK to wear what I want to and not be hindered by socially determined gender norms or whatever.

Going along with the waxed fabric craze, I am particularly impressed with the new waxed taupe version of the Desert Boots offered in the Spring 2009 line. Being leather and waxed, they will age beautifully. Too bad the smallest size is mens 8! (I wear 7.) Edit: I found a size 7, amazingly enough, on the amply stoked Onlineshoes.com. Wooh!



Sorta look like 90's Doc Martin's eh? Often imitated, but can never beat!

Img sources: high snobiety, hypebeast

So Far Around the Bend

This song has been on my mind for weeks. It features such a light and pretty arrangement by Nico Muhly, but the lyrics are starkly gloomy. It's sad because it's so true, eh? Song for all the alienated hipsters who have not found anything real in the big city. I mean, that describes a lot of people who listen to the National. It's scary to think that this also might have described me in a highly probable alternative life.. leaving church, pushing away people, immersing in culture... being alone. But now I have B and I know that it'll never happen to me.

Hear

I know you're a serious lady
Living off a teacup full of cherries
Nobody knows where you are living
Nobody knows where you are

Take a bath and get high through an apple
Wanted to cry but you can't when your laughing
Nobody knows where you are living
Nobody knows where you are

You're so far around the bend
You're so far around the bend

I'll run through a thousand parties
I'll run through a million bars
Nobody knows where you are living
Nobody knows where you are

You've been humming and I think it's forever
Praying for Pavement to get back together
Nobody knows where you are living
Nobody knows where you are

You're so far around the bend
You're so far around the bend

There is no leaving New York
There is no leaving New York

-The National

Buttons

So I get an email last weekend from Sarah about a theme for Jeni's birthday party on Saturday. 1976. A week is not a lot of time to prepare! Wearing 70's clothes is out of the question, so I resolved to find a political pin of that year (a suggestion was the American Bicentennial) in less than a week. Did a search on Ebay and found some pretty neat looking ones. Check em out:

More Boredom Quotes

For musings.

Nothing is so stifling as symmetry. Symmetry is boredom, the quintessence of mourning. Despair yawns. There is something more terrible than a hell of suffering -- a hell of boredom.

VICTOR HUGO, Les Misérables

Life is never boring but some people choose to be bored. The concept of boredom entails an inability to use up present moments in a personally fulfilling way. Boredom is a choice; something you visit upon yourself, and it is another of those self-defeating items that you can eliminate from your life.

WAYNE W. DYER, Your Erroneous Zones

I am convinced that boredom is one of the greatest tortures. If I were to imagine Hell, it would be the place where you were continually bored.

ERICH FROMM, The Dogma of Christ

Boredom is the self being stuffed with itself.

WALKER PERCY, Lost in the Cosmos

Dapper

OK so I freely admit I have very little knowledge or interest in "old" music, especially old school funk/soul. The beats, style, and crooning never really appealed to me and the music just sounds too dated (production-wise). I had the impression that only older people who were alive back in the day, uber-serious audiophiles, and young people with loose and lazy taste in pop liked that kind of music. But in the past few weeks, I've come across a stellar, catchy, standalone track by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, which is found on the Dark Was the Night compilation. And this morning, someone was filling on for John Aielly, and played this fabulous and interesting instrumental, which I enjoyed on my way to work. Looked it up later- The Menahan Street Band, which is also comprised of some of the Dap Kings. Hear em!

Inspiration Information (Shuggie Otis cover) - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings

Contender - The Menahan Street Band

Img source: St. Louis Today