My brain sometimes has the tendency to leak and this is a virtual scrapbook of things going on, music, cool little links and photos that I "clip" along with the occasional brain dump.Short movie about the plague from France. I really love the animation in this.
La Peste on Vimeo (via Vimeo)
Banksy is probably one of my FAVORITE artists ever. I just wish there was a way for me to get to Bristol. Sigh…..
banksy (via snappycat)
I am not a huge 4th of July fan. Never was. I mean, I don’t hold anything against backyard barbeque (in fact I was at one) - I am just not a huge fan of fireworks. ESPECIALLY in my new enclave where they were shooting them off day and night all week in preparation for a five our spectacle. Well, it wasn’t so much of a spectacle as it sounded like a freaking war zone. Unfortunately, my neighbors like blowing sh*t up and it gave me a migraine. Bah.
I listen to FAR too much music. I have the tendency to be a genre hopping fool. Just check it out for yourself to see what I am yapping about.
So, I’ve Been A Little Incognito
The past couple of weeks have actually been busy. And not in that scattered ADHD haze exactly - I mean, I’ve been really busy. With work. Freelance to be exact. Whether it be editing photos or researching press contacts or even managing Twitter accounts, I have been quite the busy bee. It’s been a whirlwind, and I even attended my very first Long Island networking event, which was very odd. I won’t go into details, but it is a whole other world out here. It feels like the minor leagues next to events I’ve been to in the city. I have essentially traded rubbing elbows with Creative Directors at the Art Directors Gala for listening to spiels from The Bug Man. Yes. You read correctly. I will not repeat.
Sometimes I feel like I have made some awful missteps in my career. Now that I know I have ADHD with an odd mixture of neuroticism (yes, I was the annoying chick that always went: “they’re letting people go, omigod, is it going to be me?”) the job hopping makes more sense to me. But why did I leave Ai? There were people there that were making me uncomfortable, and I really let it get to me. Sad thing is, it was the most rewarding job I ever had. They invested in me and paid for graduate classes, and I left them in the dust. It was a bitter pill to take. And I left it for that horrible recruiting job that effectively sent my career in a downward spiral. I learned my lesson.
So now, I am enjoying the freelance life. Working my own hours, setting my own schedule, and working on a diverse range of projects that don’t have too much structure. Most of it is deadline oriented work, which I am pretty good with. It’s different, but now I am wishing that I got help earlier.
Big props to a former friend who suggested this years ago - you were right. And if you knew that the things I said were linked to the ADHD, maybe things would have been a bit different.
In other news, I’ve been getting the crafty bug again and today made my solid perfume. Unfortunately I reek of it and my hands are very dry. I’ve been learning to sew. I am also trying to see if I can laminate or sew my stock of patterned paper and turn them into wonderfully upcycled wallets and such. Marc’s been doing man-work - our bathroom floor was so ridiculously awful that he couldn’t take it anymore and went to Lowe’s. This weekend was all about plastering and tiling. That should be complete by the weekend.
Travelogue - Part Three
Saturday we woke up and decided to go to this cafe called Brewhaha for breakfast. It was a pretty lazy place and we both ordered blueberry multigrain pancakes with fresh syrup. It was very good and we decided before hitting the road, we’d hit the hot tub and chill for a little bit since it was closed the night before. The smell of the basement was pretty pungent - it smelled of sweat and mildew - not a good combination. The pool area was desolate and the hot tub was merely a pool with warm water and no jets so we obviously did not stay.
When we hit the road heading toward Northampton, we took the scenic route; the Mohawk Trail along US Route 7 through the mountains. It was absolutely amazing - the windy turns and the stunning views were incredible. So many interesting towns along the way and lots of kayak tours. When we hit Northampton, we kind of meandered about the town, hitting up the stores and browsing. Nothing really struck our fancy, and we got back in the car to head over to Amherst for lunch. We ate at a place called Mango Mango which was really good. I had a veggie chik sandwich with guac and granny smith apples which may sound odd but it was really good. We then waltzed into Newbury Comics and checked out some cds. Nothing struck my fancy.
There was a sustainable crafts and culture festival going on which was interesting. Walking through the merchant tents felt like we were in a global bazaar, complete with the sounds of ethnic music and the smells of Tibetan cooking. After that, we hit the road and ventured home.
Travelogue Part 2: Bennington, Bellydancers, and Brew
After MassMoCA, we checked into our hotel - the Holiday Inn in North Adams - literally around the corner from the museum. We settled for a little bit, and then decided to grab a cup of coffee before dinner. The place we wanted to go to was closed already, and it seems like everything in the town was closed for the evening. Surprisingly, the only stores that were open were children’s clothing stores and toy shops. I left my camera in the hotel room, thinking that we were just going to hang local. Since Marc was in need of coffee and I was craving a chai, we headed to Bennington, VT - which was a 15 minute drive from where we were staying.
We arrived in Bennington and immediately came across a cafe and I noticed the tribal bellydancers that were standing in front. This is when I curse myself and mutter that I should have known better than to leave the hotel without camera in tow! The show was good, a short 15 minute or so set, and Marc was pleasantly surprised, as he thought they looked “scary.” One of the tribe members came up to us and we got into a discussion about bellydance. Very friendly people, but we were on a mission and wanted to see a little more of Bennington before the sun went down. It started to rain, and we were starting to get hungry for dinner, so we ventured out to a diner that unfortunately did not exist any longer.
Plan B was to go to this place Marc found when he booked the hotel. It was this brewhouse not far from the hotel and after getting ridiculously lost (on my behalf, I must admit) we finally found the place. We walk in to the sound of an uninspired cover band singing “Margaritaville” - a song that should be banished from the annals of popular music. We find the dish that we were both excited to find: sun dried tomato ravioli. Now, before any of you say that you don’t go to a brewhouse for pasta, we’ve had some great meals at pubs in the past. Plus, it looked like a house specialty. Unfortunately, we had a Gordon Ramsay moment. After waiting forever (or what seemed like forever, especially when you add bad cover music in the mix) we finally got our dishes. I took a bite, it was okay and then the next bite: FROZEN! Marc also had frozen food. In our heads we were like, “it’s not FRESH! How can you serve this!” And of course, after waiting forever again, we got a nuked plate of food. Awesome. The only consolation is that we scored a free dessert and I must say that was death by ice cream. We were pretty surprised, because we’ve NEVER had a bad meal in the Berkshires - usually the food is super fresh and amazing, so this dud was our first.
LeWitt Exhibit
Travelogue Part One
I LOVE road trips. There’s something about getting away from the familiar and exploring what is out there. I had a wedding booked that was canceled, and Marc had the day off yesterday which was prime opportunity for us to get off the Island!
Marc planned on taking me to North Adams, MA to visit Mass MoCA which I’ve heard amazing things about. Turned out that there was an exhibition of wall paintings from my favorite artist, Sol LeWitt on display. I was pretty excited.
Before we entered the museum, which is a really amazing complex of businesses, shops, and galleries, we ate at one of the on-site restaurants, Cafe Latino. I had some really yummy fish tacos, and Marc had a burrito. The food was fresh and excellent.
Mass MoCA itself is beautiful. This is what happens when a community is vested in bringing culture to the people. Like many towns in Western Mass, North Adams was a big mill town with a huge legacy in manufacturing. The museum site was actually a former electric factory that was closed in the ’80s that started a decline in the city’s economy. In 1999 the museum opened its doors as a place meant for large scale contemporary art.
It is beautiful, and there is one exhibition space that equals the size of a football field. The rest of the space feels open and inviting. Definitely worth a visit. And the LeWitt exhibit alone is worth checking out.
via pix.epodunk.com
