Last weekend LJ and I celebrated our 6th birthday together with a picnic at Coney Island. 7 of us met up at the Owl’s Head Pier in Bay Ridge and rode there along the Shore Parkway greenway. It’s so nice to have a mostly car free ride, though then the greenway dumps you off in the Toys’R’Us parking lot and you have to fight through traffic the rest of the way. Felix said that our birthday parties are some of the only times he gets out to Brooklyn public spaces, which I took as a great compliment. The sand was hot, the water full of trash, the boardwalk crowded and the arcades loud. All told, it was a perfect Coney Island adventure. And since it’s the last season of it’s grittiness, I plan to be there often to enjoy it to its fullest. Going back home (on the subway) the N train went express, nonstop, to 59th street, drawing cheers from all aboard and causing Jason to remark it was “like having a limo.”
Horse friend (carousel version)
Chris and Emily’s wedding also featured the historic Carousel at Lighthouse Point, which is a “piece of American folk art” according to their website. I have been fascinated with carousels (or really, anything to do with horses, living or carved from wood) since I was a very little girl. The reception features carousel rides which LJ, myself and the other (former) zine kids who were there enjoyed very much. Each horse had it’s own name, our favorite being “Fancy Prancy.” More photos on flickr!
Chirs and Emily’s Wedding
Last weekend LJ and I traveled to New Haven, CT for the wedding of our friends Chris and Emily. Emily makes beautiful books and zines and Chris is a musician and producer. The table setting here feature the combination of their collection genius- electronic animals! Yes, anmials fused with vacuum tubes in beautifully letterpress printed packaging. Congratulations Chris and Emily, may your relationship continue to bring you (and your friends and family) hope, inspiration and companionship for many years to come!
Family
I got really terrible news last week and while it’s not like me to be posting about things like this, my parents called me to say that Thea, the terrier I am holding in my arms in this picture from December, died an untimely death. All my life animals have been really important to me and they have taught me a lot about listening, feeling and observing. They can be patient and they are willed by their own nature. They teach respect and have made me humble, reminding me there are always things I will never know, even about those I am closest to. Maybe someone says “Oh, she was just a dog,” but in my mind, animals are souls with personalities who have roles to play in this world and we forge important relationships with them. My mom pointed out how Thea had brought so many people together, from my grandmother to friends who stopped by our house from time to time, made them laugh and made them feel good. She was an important companion to my parents and to me when I was in Maine. She will be sadly missed.
Electrelane Rock It To The Moon at Irving Plaza
First of all, I love this picture because you can see the whole band. What I love about Electrelane is that they write amazing songs which they count and play perfectly, while barely expending any obvious effort to do so. It’s as if they feel each change instintively. Mia Clarke touches her guitar and it sends off squalls of feedback. It’s hypnotizing watching each note fall perfectly into place. While I was transfixed by their Irving Plaza show, it didn’t feel quite as high every as when I saw them in Paris. They are such a confident band though, they don’t fail to rock and it’s great because when you look at them together, they do not make the kind of music one might stereotypically expect. However, perhaps one can not say that music made by a group of four ladies could have any stereotypical sound. I think the history of women making music, and especially rock and punk, shows that quite clearly. On a personal note, the lyrics to their song “To The East” resonate quite a bit lately, “If you said these words, I’d come to you, where you are, it’s too hard to be apart…”
Electrelane’s Mia Clarke Shreds
Because seeing Electrelane once is definetly not enough, I had to go catch them again at Irving Plaza last week. Here is Mia Clarke playing her guitar and amp and drummer Emma Gaze. There are way more photos on flickr and I think they turned out better than the Paris ones because I basically glued myself to the stage for the evening!
Posing on a Post-Bike
My last full day in Paris was May 1st and with a national holiday came a perfect day for a picnic. We took the RER into the 93 and walked along the Marne river until we came to this pratically empty lawn bordering an old hospital. It was the perfect place for a picnic away from the crowds and heat of the city. P. transported tons of good eats on his retirned from the post office bike, which seems like one of the more useful city bikes I have seen.
The day also included marches and rallies that were most definetly anti-Sarkozy in tone, so I would say that perhaps those are warm ups for what will and must come in the next 5 years. My condolences to France for being stuck with (as my sister said) “a little Napoleon,” I know how it feels…
For more pictures see my flickr page at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/killerfemme
Small Village in the 20eme
I never get sick of walking around Paris. In the past week and a half I can’t even tell you how many kilometers, much less miles, I trekked in shoes that were hardly made for standing, much less city walking. There’s always something new to see and I love learning about how cities unfold and fit together. This trip took me to some new neighborhoods, such as this small corner of the 20th arrondisement, which looks like a small village in the French countryside. Many thanks to G. to showing me this place and many others and putting up with me when I wanted to go back to some of my favorite places (like the Canal St. Martin).
Electrelane at La Cigale
and here’s the rest of the band…
Electrelane at La Cigale
We also got to see Electrelane at La Cigale, another incredible show. I’m looking forward to their show in NYC next week. This four lady band rocks, with each song building, ebbing and flowing in a really powerful way. As with the time I saw them 2 years ago, they are an extremely “togther” band, each song falls together perfectly. The crowd LOVED them and 2 gay dudes totaly started a mosh pit, something I was glad I was not a part of. I thought there might be a kind of riot when the club would not let Electrelane come on for a second encore. I was suprised that they didn’t play more songs from their new album “No Shouts, No Calls,” which is one of my favorite new albums of late.
Killerfemme 