For Nick

"I'm never gonna know you now but I'm gonna love you anyhow."
- Elliott Smith



Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
- Edna St. Vincent Millay



Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
and things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art; to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Open Studio is Stuck in VT

Jericho-Underhill Open Studio Tour [81]

Dog Dreams and Warm Fuzzies

Lucy often has noisy dreams. I finally managed to capture one on camera. Once I mentioned her dreams at the dog park and everyone piped up simultaneously, "My dog dreams too!"

When I am editing late at night I frequently look down and admire these two sleeping lovebugs. They change positions often, snooze in various spots about the room and never cease to fill my heart with pure happiness.

Tomorrow they are both getting micro-chipped so I will always be able to find them. They will never escape me now, mohawhaw! Their cuteness is MINE, all mine!

Lilacs

Today was one of those perfect rainy days that I hope I remember for a long time.

The Clothing Exchange is Stuck in VT

The Clothes Exchange [80]

Evil fucking world

Be careful, this Detroit Free Press video about pit bulls in Detroit will break your heart. When I was living in Oakland with my crazy cattle dog Sheila, we ran into many pit bulls on the streets. There was this one junk yard near my house where mean, lean pit bulls tried to attack us when we walked by.

I hate people who hurt animals. Makes me sick.

Meow

The Cabaret Bomb

Serafina Pekkala: There are many universes and many Earths parallel to each other. Worlds like yours, where people's souls live inside their bodies, and worlds like mine, where they walk beside us, as animal spirits we call daemons.

The cabaret is over and I can finally focus on my garden and digging in the dirt. Planted three nut trees, a pussy willow tree, brilliant purple petunias and fragrant marigolds so far. That is about all I can muster today.

I also finally got around to seeing The Golden Compass which has totally enchanted me. I am in love with Lyra and her dark, magical world where threats and evil lurk beneath every antique twist and turn.

The cabaret after party was packed tighter than sardines and the 12 pack of Bud Light I brought was gone in 5 minutes. Next thing I knew, all the dip was gone, the cops had left and the sun was rising. What a lovely gaggle of madmen, deviants, vices, and sirens.

My house is a mess. Fans, glitter, sequins, frocks, wigs, hats, gloves, a peacock feather hat, brassieres, stockings, garters, my chair dance chair, etc. I've been living out of this suitcase for two weeks and am not quite ready to unpack yet. These once special costumes seem so lifeless and empty now.

I expect it will take some time to recover from the cabaret bomb.

Take a Bite Outta the Cabaret

You got one more weekend to see the cabaret. Watch this to see what you suckers are missing:

Phinn Sonin is Stuck in VT

Phinn Sonin [79]

Often, editing can be quite a grueling process. Whittling 2 hours down to 5 mintues HURTS SO BAD. But not this week. Watching Phinn is better than TV.

Even though I am in the cabaret with Phinn, I barely know him. So it was a pleasure to spend the afternoon watching him socialize with folks at Junktiques even though we were both groggy and post-cabaret-pooped.

Sheriff Phinn, seriously, you should run for President. You have my vote.

I Love the Le Mays

These Lovely Le May Ladies know how to spice up an event. They wear stunning matching outfits, cause a ruckus where ever they go and take lovely photos with everyone they meet.

I want to be a Le May Sister when I grow up, I wonder if they take applications?

Recently, they visited the cabaret and blogged their tale! Thanks Lovely Ladies!

Don't You Wish You Were Backstage?

"Darlings, salut, it is me, CouchePartoo. Let me show you around our glamorous digs."
"This one will throw the first punch and can make voodoo dolls, watch what you say round her."
"Too much happy sauce for this cutie, cut her off."
"She may look a bit frightening but inside her is the heart of a kitten, c'est vrai, I have pet it."
"This landing is dangerous, watch your footing madame."
"Oooh, Miss Elsa will make your dreams come true."
"This monkey is an avid reader.""Sugar and spice and everything nice."
"Put your hand inside Eloise's box for a nice surprise..."
"Shucks, the nicest cowgal you ever did meet."
"Oooh, these Cigar Girls are so modern."
"Yes, is a glamorous dressing room, told you so."

"Here is where we hang our various costume changes."
"Oh Miss Mabel, you and your smoking habit have stolen my heart!"

We have been rehearsing the cabaret every Sunday since January. Below is a picture from our last Sunday rehearsal. We were locked out of Contois and spent an hour sitting around waiting. Luckily, we had lots of chairs.I wish I had more energy to describe what it is like performing in the cabaret but I am too tired. After three nights of show and a zillion barrel turns, feels like a truck ran me over.

Suffice to say that the audience is like a breathing entity. We feed off their energy, good and bad. And I think I finally understand that beautiful feeling of letting go and trusting the magic of theater. Sort of, kind of, a little.

One more weekend to go...

Inner Fire District is Stuck in VT

Inner Fire District [78]

I should also mention that everyone but Tim is also in the Spielpalast Cabaret band. That is yet another reason why they kick serious butt.

Return of The Offasty

This is for you Suzanne (the cutie sandwiched btw me and Miss Abbie above)! I uploaded all of the Offastys to Blip.

The Office + Dynasty = THE OFFASTY!!!

You can see all 4 of 'em documenting the tragedy of burnt toast, a stolen container of yogurt (below), Aimee and Abbie leaving the office and finally, yours truly absconds and Suzanne gets my office (nicely played Suzanne). Scene.

An office really is fertile ground for drama, tragedy and soap opera. I hope I never have to work daily in an office ever again. The monotonous 9 to 5, the water cooler chit chat, the mundane mass emails, the time wasted at the photocopier and mail machine, all kill my soul bit by bit.

The last Offasty episode is about my departure from the 9 to 5 work world. Oprah hasn't called yet but things have turned out quite well for me career wise. I am nourished and inspired by the work I do and I feel like a part of this vital community - how fucking awesome is that?

In The Offasty I met my dear friends Suzanne, Abbie, Lesh, Kelly, and Tracy (and that is only the short list - I am talking about you Jack and Gary!). And for that, I am forever grateful.

And remember, you haven't lived until you've had a dance party with a xerox machine. Sigh, I miss you guys.

Va Va VOOM!