Spaces, again

Carlota Santamaria for Apartamento (more here, I'd definitely live there!)

By Nike Felldin

Unknown

Unknown

Édouard Boubat, Sans titre, 1972, via shotgun season

By Clarisse Demory, from her blog Ensuite

by o l y on flickr

Well, friends, two days after my last post, I found an apartment! The best thing is, it's right behind the one I currently live in, and I'll be able to move in by foot. It's a bit of a fixer-upper, but it has a cosy kitchen, a small yard at the front and back, and I'll be able to have an office/studio space. Plus, rent is very reasonable for the size. What a deal!

In light of the move at the end of next month, I have been doing a lot of cleaning, so if such things might be of interest to you, you will probably see pretty great things appearing in my etsy shop over the next few weeks. Think leather shoes and boots, wool sweaters, silk blouses, and a few 1950s cotton dresses.

The above photos are a bit more apartment inspiration, since my new space is all I seem to think about right now. What I like about all the interiors presented is that they are realistic, and appear to be lived in. They're a bit messy, a bit cluttered, and overall very comfortable-looking. The kitchen in the last photo is my  favourite. It's the kind of space I would be able to spend hours in whether it be to eat, work, or hang out with friends.

Truman Capote's dream house

I'm moving in a month or two, and I'm pretty nervous since I still haven't found a new apartment. It is still fairly early, but I would rather get that trouble over with already. One thing that calms me down a little--and when I come to think of it, it technically shouldn't!--is to look at great spaces that could inspire me to do something comfortable with my new apartment. I'm really looking forward to moving into my first apartment without roommates, with only the boyfriend and the cat; the perspective of having a whole four and a half rooms to do whatever I want with is a bit scary, but also very thrilling.
Obviously I won't live in anything nearing Truman Capote's Hamptons country house above, but it has many comfortable elements I can try to reproduce, like the very high bookshelf and the assortment of old chairs and soft cushions.

All the photos are originally from Architectural Digest (1965 and 1976) via The Selvedge Yard, where you can read more about Capote's dream house.

P.S. I finally got around answering all comments!

Radiolab

Hi!
Visibly, last month was finals month, and I gave up on all internet-related activity that wasn't mindless procrastination inducing. But hey, I'm done now, and I even managed to get pretty good grades!

Over the last month, I spent hours perusing through Rookie Mag's archives, clicking away the time I should have used to write essays. But this procrastination was not fruitless, and led me to discover a new podcast I have been listening to obsessively for the past week or so.

I have already shared with you my love for This American Life, and I was really happy to see that host Ira Glass is an occasional Rookie contributor. So when he recommended the podcast Radiolab, I didn't have a choice but to follow his suggestion.

Radiolab is hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, and it mixes personal stories, socio-historical facts, and science in a seemless, ear-appealing manner. I mean, my description might sound a little bland, but the featured stories are like great, strange stories told by a friend PLUS the scientific/psychological explanations tying up all the loose ends of those stories. Also, the way the sound is mixed makes for an unique audio experience.

I, very obviously, highly recommend you listen to it as well, starting with a few of my favourites:

-Crossroads (short)
On fantastic blues musician Robert Johnson, and the tale of his selling his soul to the devil

-Detective Stories
I think this episode might be my very favourite so far. For one, you all know I can't stay away from a good detective story.
This episode relates the stories of a thousand year-old pile of garbage and what is found in it, someone's lost correspondence, and Genghis Khan's genes.

-Death Mask (short)
On the relation between L'inconnue de la Seine and Ressusci Anne, the CPR dummy.

Until next time, which should be much sooner than last.

COVETING/CYCLE

from Good Night, Day/Tara-Lynn Morrison



from Datter/Kaye Blegvad

I don't usually buy things new if I can avoid it, but there are a few exceptions I don't feel bad about making especially for items that are hand crafted with so much care. Above are two of those rare examples: I fell completely in love with this new sweater from Good Night, Day, as well as with the silver "eye" ring and the "hands" bracelet from Datter.
I have to admit, I don't post here as often as I could because I do feel uncomfortable sharing things I want or things I have bought--I often stop myself, forget those posts in the draft folder, and wait until I have something more substantial or less potentially commercial to share. I have difficulty with the consumerist fashion/living blogging cycle, and while I do enjoy having a look at what others consume, wear, and purchase, I'm unsure about how to deal with my responsibility concerning this cycle on this blog. I feel my blog should reflect my ideals, and that I should do my best to balance substance and inspiring imagery. Still, I sometimes consider trying out doing outfit posts, and then other days I feel like the only ethical thing to do is to write about music, films, books, and articles.
In this case, I decided to share with you those items I am coveting not only because I find them beautiful, but more particularly because I feel comfortable promoting the people behind them.

I thought I would share how I feel about the subject with you to make things clear between us, but also because I think you all have interesting opinions on the subject of the balance between inspiring imagery and consumerism when blogging.
Take care, and please feel free to let me know what you think.

BLANK GENERATION

From the write-up by Chale Nafus, director of programming at the Austin Film Society:

"Taking his silent 16mm footage and separate audio cassette recordings, Poe and co-director Ivan Kral (guitarist for Patti Smith) put together a documentary, "Blank Generation" (1976), that exemplified a punkish attitude toward film structure with handheld zooms, angled compositions, floodlight lighting, extreme close-ups, elliptical editing, flash pans, and a general in-your-face and “up-yours” stance. Sound and image purposely do not synch. In many cases music and image were recorded on separate nights more economical because of the high cost of raw film stock with sound, but also an aesthetic nod to Jean-Luc Godard who had slashed the umbilical cord uniting sound and image. Out of the French New Wave came the New York No Wave. Neither a collection of music videos nor a straightforward documentary, "Blank Generation" captures in embryonic form vital appearances of the Talking Heads, Blondie, the Ramones, Television, and, most belligerently of all, Patti Smith."

I watched it, and I think that you should too. Available at the ever-awesome UBUWEB.

"Feed your head!"

my photo.

I have shared this with you in the past, but I would like to reiterate my love for Miette's Bedtime Story Podcast. All the short stories the mysterious Miette chooses to read are excellent, and she is a very eloquent reader with a lovely voice. It's a bit of a shame that some of the earliest recordings's sound quality is low, but I was delighted when I read that she is in the process of re-recording some of those older pieces.

All of her stories are pure treats, and while I always long to hear her voice whenever she has guest readers, there is this one amazing story read by a guest reader I need to direct you towards, as it comprises amongst other things the best peacock song immitation I've ever heard: Feathers, by Raymond Carver.
Outside of her regular program, she has written and recorded a hilarious and fascinating piece on laughing tracks. Go have a listen here, if you'd like.

Growing up, I loved--probably like most children--to have stories read to me before bed, although I must admit that my wish to see the illustrations, or keep a close eye on the words actually destroyed the soothing effect the stories might have had. But here, there's no book to follow from, and as my days grow more and more busy with school, I always look forward to reclining in bed with a hot cup of tea, preferably this one, and to drift off to sleep with one (or two or three, I must admit) of Miette's stories.

What about you, do you listen to podcasts regularly? Please feel free to share any podcasts you enjoy, I'm always on the lookout for new ones.

February so far





February so far:

Being gifted:
-Songs From A Room, by Leonard Cohen - from my boyfriend
-The most perfect nude silk camisole, and a tinted lip balm - from my mother

Crafting:
Finally getting around doing more collages, I think I needed a tangible excuse to start doing them again. This one was sent here :)

Finding:

-Gloves I bought in Florence, Italy when I was 15, forgotten and found at my parents' house

-The most wonderful 60s velvet Oscar Wilde-ish coat at my favourite thrift shop

-The first pair of sunglasses I have ever bought for myself (almost free at Local 23/the girl working there said: "girl, what have you been doing all that time?" and indeed, what have I been doing?)

-The perfect turquoise ring, after years of searching (from here)

Listening:

P.S. I'm quite happy to finally getting around blogging again after my poor old computer got repaired--again. Hope you're all well!

I'm getting around giving my much neglected flickr account a second chance, and I'm cleaning up a bit around there. I would like to use more of my own content over here, so we'll see how that goes. My flickr's pretty empty at the moment, but go have a look if you'd like!