Progressively Louder Laughter

I bought an agenda this year and it is ridiculously positive and complimentary. I usually buy a very sober black Moleskin agenda, however this year I felt compelled to buy one that has “YOU’RE KILLING IT!!” violently written across the cover. For the month of May it has what looks like a handwritten note penned into a corner that reads  “you’re more exciting than the final round of a game show.”

Well if you say so, mass-produced agenda.

I was reading an interview with the photographer Cindy Sherman this week. She said that she places objects in her way to remind her of particular projects that she is planning to work on. Projects she is putting off. I liked this idea and decided that it wouldn’t take very much (considering the space of my room) to have an object intrusively remind me of its very conspicuous presence. So finally, I got some wood (Ha!).

Pine to be exact. I have no idea what I will turn it into, but I am eager to finally use my jig saw (!!)

I am really getting into Duchamp. I don’t know if someone else has said this, but he is absolutely the original punk artist (or maybe, what do I know??)

Chris, Craig, and Lauren had their birthday party this week. Rachel and Leo came out for the first time in while (particularly after having a baby) and I got to geek out about my new Brazilian records. There was a palpable feeling of mutual excitement. I’ve put the most prog-rock Os Mutantes song on my playlist this week. I fucking love it but would like to state/request this for the record: please shoot me if I start listening to Jethro Tull.

30 Minute Playlist: Untitled 1

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Alistair drinking a beer ^

I have just spilled a cup of coffee all over my bed. This is perhaps some kind poetic explanation for how I’ve been sleeping lately. After working almost constantly for a month, this week has been a ragged attempt at a convalescence period. I can’t seem to keep my eyes open beyond 10:30pm and then suddenly at 1:30am I am wide-eyed lying awake in bed.

I promise to stop talking about sleep and dreaming and other non-participatory activities. It just feels like sometimes the more you that you try to strike something off of your list of things to do (rest) the more it requires your full attention.

Still, the week wasn’t all bad.

30 Minute Playlist: I’ll Sleep When I’m

IT’S SUNNY!!!

And almost summer.

I am energized by this while simultaneously feeling completely depleted of energy. I have been working so excessively with diminishing returns that I know my mind needs to shut off for a bit. Despite this, I still find myself wide awake at 4am. I want to do all of the things right now, I’m making lists.

The lists started on Monday morning. The sun was out, I was on my way to work, reading Just Kids and thinking about the previous weekend. I spent the majority of the weekend cooped up in my room doing the last big push of my freelance project. I also went to a party at Dalton. Steph had built this large outdoor lounge space à la studio 54 (but instead Dalton 34), which we never actually used (it was cold) but looked down at in awe many times.

The combination of experiencing the limitations of my room  (while working on my project), seeing this massive outdoor piece that Steph had built and reading about Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe and how they used the full space of their apartment to work on their art led me to the revelation that I want a dedicated space for making/building/creating stuff. This launched a hunt for studio space and started a few conversations with like-minded people who might want to share a studio space to also make/build/create stuff.

All of which came to a screeching halt when I did my taxes later on in the night- only to be further halted the next day when I thought I had lost my metropass (*diminishing returns*). AKA, I am poor.

Today though, the sun is out and I refuse to let finances scare me out of finding a solution to this problem.  Yes, today I am treating this blog like a vision board. May the answer be manifested.

30 Minute Playlist: Space

Pictures of the week: