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Anybody's going to see the Cocteau Twins? My friend Stuart W. emailed me this morning about the them playing at Coachella this April... I thought about it and I want to go, but I won't.

But I would definitely go see Lush if they ever regroup, but not the Twins. I'm such a traitor. This time around, a 2hr drive out to the desert... I'm just too old for this schitt! And the animation? Just something random.

Music: His Name Is Alive - Are We Still Married? [Dirteater mix]

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Looking thru my old wallet, found my favourite 'fortune' from years ago. I loved it so much I kept it, and I'm still loving it. Makes me laugh.

So much for the road eh? Oh and notice the numbers on the back of these fortunes? Are they supposed to be lotto numbers? Yet they never specify which is the mega number! Sheesh! Good weekend everybody!

Music: Gus Gus - Starlovers

A Child Is But A Child

Originally trained as a painter, Ms. Lux continues to draw influence primarily from paintings by Old Masters, including works by Bronzino, Velasquez, Goya and Runge. This influence is especially apparent in Ms. Lux's compositions. Structuring the photographs by carefully choosing the models, costumes, and backdrops, she usually composes the works digitally "to make them meet my ideas perfectly," she says.

Ms. Lux uses her own paintings in the backdrops, and photographs the children separately, divorced from any social setting. The artist then places the subjects into the background, digitally enhancing various aspects of the image, including the costumes, subjects and settings. The effect is of isolation and distance, which Ms. Lux explains as a basic experience of human existence. This distance shifts Ms. Lux's images outside the normal realm of portraiture.

Lux's photographs of children are not portraits in the traditional meaning of the word. Rather, she sees them as imaginary portraits which deal with the idea of childhood as a paradise lost. The carefree, innocent childhood ideal is explored in the photographs as an imaginary kingdom, one which is created more by the projection of adult ideals and concerns. The images, portraying self-aware children, are about the discovery of the self, or the development of a concept of one's self. "We are radically alone and forced to choose our own path and create our own authentic life, but the self is a mystery." says Lux.

Photos: Loretta Lux; Text: Yossi Milo Gallery

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My friend Bridget invited me to PhotoLA yesterday and there were plenty to see. [I also got in free - Woohoo!] A good few pieces really appealed to me [I'm sure there were a whole lot more, but I'm quite jaded!!], especially Loretta's work. I've always loved photographs of children, happy ones at that...

Children are always, always wonderful subject matter do you think not? From the heart, they're pure, gentle, sparkly and effervescently enigmatic. How can anyone resist?

Music: Brian Eno - Discreet Music

Rock Star

Last night I was listening to This Mortal Coil and I can remember so much from my old days [I dare not say 'youth' cuz I wasn't that young then; ok, 21 years ago, 17 years young!]. Those 4AD import double albums kick'd some serious butt!! With attention to every detail... the photography, the design & layout, the typography, the printing and the pressing, the packaging and the music all in one ensemble / package was simply amazing!! One would have to see it to believe it.

I remember listening to their music would just take me worlds away. In a dark and soundless room [mine usually], I would put on their records in low volume and drift off... I believe their music does take a bit to get used to, but once heard, you'll be hooked. I wouldn't categorize their music as strictly being sad or depressing [most would agree], even though sometimes it can be dark and brooding, but in my eyes [and ears], it's nothing but ethereal bliss. Beautiful & poignant. It's my perfect music. My life was transformed.

Their music had reshaped my way of thinking and on how I see my worlds, yet still today, and I can say that they are, and will always be, my favourite band of my time. Rock on!

Unbelievable!

Wow. I don't know what to think! It just doesn't seem right to me at the moment, or am I just being a bit harsh?!?

Thinking About Thinking

You know when you're just simply 'doing' things of the ordinary... Basic mundane tasks like walking, driving, reading, washing dishes, etc... While you're acting out that certain something - at times when you think about it - isn't it nice that you're not able to think about 'other' things at the same time? I like that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the brain can process multiple thoughts at once.

I know that there's a certain time and place for every thing [tho prolly 99.9871257481% of it, we will not live long enough to experience!], but while one's occupied on a certain something, it's just great not to feel the 'flipside' of things, in that duration of time at least. So other than my original thought stated above, maybe when one's doing all the boring stuff and thinking, in actuality, at the same time your brain is subconsciously formulating a wicked scheme otherwise?!? No?

Talking about thinking [sounds kinda fun-knee! heh!], it seems to me that my overall actions and thoughts are geared toward a single direction, eg. from Point A to Point B, is there any other way to go about? More like, if you are doing 'this' and moving this-one-way, what exactly is the parallel thought to that? [Well I guess if one's all doped up, that's probably another story entirely.] Today I watched people doing some menial tasks at the office, photocopying, writing an email or just getting coffee, and I would be all watching... getting a sneaky peak on things and 'seeing' them thinking, or not... It's wondrous!

Do you think our thinking process travel in an uni-direction? I don't know. Rather than images, if you could see a thought in its form, what would it look like? Some kind of energy wave prolly! So partly, this was what went on in my head today. My head hurts! I don't know what it all means, I'm a silly puck, but I know I'm gonna think 'til I bleed one day! *Hey, I'm doing that right now!!* Um... If you have read / tolerated this far - thanks!

Originally I was gonna title this post - "Not Feeling It!"

Music: Bran Van 3000 - Everywhere

Night Music

Was going to upload a picture of some flowers [x-rayed], but decided not to. Didn't feel like having 'em static, so this is just something I rehashed and tweeked. Seems so disorderly yet beautiful - such as life! I like brittle things...

And I also love a pretty, tangled mess!

Music: The Hope Blister - Friday Afternoon

Spirit

There once was a boy that I knew, he wasn't too bright yet he wasn't too slow either, he was as simple as simple can be. He didn't laugh much and only cried here and there, yet as far as I can remember, he was a fairly decent lad.

He had a few friends. No one played with him much but he didn't mind. Somehow, he always found things to occupy himself with. I recalled his dad once gave him this stuffed animal. It was a teddy bear of sort, or was that a dog? I should have asked him to re-examine the beast.

The boy never threw a fit, he didn't know how, but I remembered when he did cry, and that only happened when he was terribly, terribly sad. As he got older, he did some really naughty things, he never felt the need to justify himself though, because he thought he wasn't hurting anyone really... Or was he?

As a young adult, he was never too exciting. But he was content. He knew that life was good, even with all the things that went on around the world and back, it never occurred to him that life was ever bad - EVER! The thought of that alone would be ludicrous! He was happy, he was sad, but he never cared too much about either one!

He [thought that he] fell in love and then he was out of it. He hated the ones he loved, because why would he give a shit to the people that he didn't care about anyway! Would you? *He never 'hated' anyone or anything really, but I just thought it would be neat to use the word together with 'loved' in the same sentence!* Everyone called him a crybaby! Then years later, he fell in love again, and this time, it was for real. And as real as real can be.

His entire life he was always so melancholy... Maybe it was a blessing? Maybe because it was the sunny weather?!? He thought about life frequent and frequently because that's all he could ever think about. He had his whole world in his head.

Years passed and seasons gone by and by... When he was still alive, I remembered him telling me again and again: "I lived a good life!" Many people do indeed, but not too many people realize it - truly.

He was a good man, and I think I miss him.

The Path II

Remember when? That was more than a year ago. Have I changed any? I must have. I might not have a bike in the picture, but I may still be on the same path, who knows - but me...

Fun-knee thing. Last night I had to sleep on the other side of the bed and since I can be such a creature of habit, I wasn't too used to sleeping on the flipside. All night I was having these 'uneasy' dreams... like moving pictures of me wearing my underwear backwards [not inside out], standing on wet floor in the bathroom [o I hate that for some reasons], and reading a book with English grammar that don't make any sense and sentences that would end in 2 [double] periods... and other wacky behaviours as well tho I don't quite remember! Dreams are a trip, but life is trippier!

On another note, I found the track!!! heh! You can go to the radioblog.electronika and you'll find it, by O-Zone! Who would've thot - Romanian! Way kool!

Anyway, back to the picture... *Can't really concentrate with that darn song playing in the background!* This picture was taken up in Olympia, WA., a path called the Woodard Bay Trail about a mile off Alec's parents' house... And at the end of this wondrous trail, you'll find this lovely place... I tell yah, no matter how straight a path and bittersweet a life, sometimes you just don't know what lies ahead! It's a brand new year, and I'm just happy that I'm still treading...

So, and with that, however long and near that may be, in your own accord, may you find your very own enchanted trail... G'nite!

Brand New Year

I hope everyone had a great first day of 2005. This picture was taken at this beach right below Alec's parents' home. Call me crazy, but I do love this cool, cold wintery weather here in Olympia, Washington. There's definitely this distinguished tranquility & calmness feeling about it here...

Tonight we saw the film Sideways, pretty good and there are a couple of scenes that are just laugh-out-loud hilarious!! And if you happened to be a wine enthusiast, you'll really dig the film.

Anyway, it'll prolly take me a week or so to catch up on some of my favourite blog reads... can't wait! So last night, my cousin Mike sent this to me along with his New Year's greetings... Dunno where he got it from [does anyone?], but it made me chuckle! haha!

PS. Isn't it a good thing to end one's post with a big laugh?