lonely little love dog

Eugene Mirman came to the Book Cellar last weekend to talk about his new book, The Will to Whatevs. It includes indispensable tips on such real-world issues as how to make a baby cry more and how to talk to arrogant, radical college students. Needless to say, it was a Euge success.



Also last weekend, No Coast hosted the final events of the Unlympics, which included (among other things) an eye-opening presentation on prison torture from Tamms Year Ten (one of many Chicago social justice campaigns that needs funding and support and does not need the city to be financially and emotionally absorbed in a "sporty mega event" such as the 2016 games), a jump rope competition, and maybe the most amazing karaoke performance I've ever had the privilege of witnessing: Matt singing R&B while Heidi seamlessly interpreted the song in dance...in floral print rollerskates.





Heidi also led a game called "Telekinetic Synchonicity," in which we had to try to draw the same thing as a partner (without looking at his/her paper). We were supposed to draw *LOVE* and Anne and I ended up being pretty in sync. She drew a cat thinking of pants and I drew a cat with a heart-shaped face sitting near an ice cream sundae.



Bryce owned it.



Loverzz. (Pic stolen from AEM.)

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Also recently...High Places on WNYC's Soundcheck. M and R are currently in New Zealand, cavorting with hobbits. Poor babies!

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Some recent Time Outness.

another year of missing phil...

...and trying to integrate his memory into days that, in most ways, require forward momentum—knowing the difference between looking back and staying back.

I know now, two years later, that this is nothing like "moving on": it's just moving. Trying (despite an unbelievably cyclical interior monologue) to think new thoughts, experience new things, make each day as alive as possible. Learning how to navigate these long, elliptical paths around the sun.




But missing, still. And speaking of orbiting the sun, he would've been 30 today.

(...I dial again
the number I know by heart,
thankful in a diminished world
for the accidental mercy of machines,
then listen and hang up.)

u.n.i.t.y.—that's a unity

SPELLING.



(Pics stolen from all-star speller Christy Prahl.)





The eventual winner, Aay. Way to go, Aay. And congrats Anne, Matt, and the rest of the Unlympics organizing crew for sparking conversation and ridiculousness.

SWAPPING.



Swapping frocks (and jeans and jackets and one insane leotard) at Sara's.



Kim decided the um, resplendent gold underwear works well as a hat. As a fashion designer, these things occur to her.





Meanwhile, in Bellingham this weekend, friends demonstrated how they've been fighting winter malaise/ennui by putting on a real humbdinger of a community art show, The Winter Commission. Wish I could've been there. I am always a fan of slaying winter—together and with creative force. (February thaws don't last forever.)

the world is bound with secret knots

Mid-winter trip to L.A. = really mentally rehabilitative. Clear skies and hills rolling in all directions. Long and long overdue walk to the Griffith Observatory and back. R&R, perspective, and the sun-sponsored kind of light therapy. (The best kind.)



Spent a lot of time in M. & A.'s magical backyard.



Gardening like crazy...already-rooted plants and transplants and fruit trees, &c.



Neighbor dog, Toby.



Granola.



Very L.A. laundry experience.



Nicely curved path from house to street.



Hello, Echo Park.



Hello, Chinatown.



Hello, Pure Luck.



The fascinating and strange Museum of Jurassic Technology: field recordings, faraway bells, dioramas, darkness, and microscopic collages made from the scales of butterfly wings. My friend Jon said it was a must-see...



...and he was right!



Rob looking at a microminiature Pope sculpture by Hagop Sandaldjian.



"An unexpected sneeze or misdirected breath could blow away a microminiature with hurricane force, while a casual movement could sabotage the work of months. Since even a pulse in his fingers could cause an accident, Sandaldjian ultimately learned to apply his decisive strokes only between heartbeats." (The Eye of the Needle)



"...guided along as it were a chain of flowers into the mysteries of life."



Homeward.



Scenic rest stop in the high Rockies.



Legendary road dog and all-time trooper.



Plains of Nebraska.

the lives of perfect creatures

Yeah, being an aunt pretty much rules.



Bozo Banner=BANZO!



Cookie decorating sesh with Brooke. The Gorilla face...classic.



Fortuitous.