Very Grownup Indeed

First, the good news: Not only can I get a manicure, but I can get business cards too!

That's right! Even though I didn't get to keep my position working in Brown Bag, The Food Bank hired me for another exciting position. I am officially the Agency Capacity Coordinator for Franklin and Hampshire county! (That is, starting Monday :)) That means I'm a liaison between The Food Bank and all the various community organizations that make up the emergency food system. It's a pretty exciting and interesting opportunity and I'm very pleased to accept it.

We went to the Moan and Dove last night to celebrate, and accidentally stumbled into the opening of an art show there. Giddy on professional advancement and Hennepin, we decided to purchase one of the stunning paintings by local artist (and self confessed "anti-archtophilist" - it's on his business cards!) Brent Klockars. It was the first time that I think I've bought real art, and it seemed like kind of a milestone.

Here are some examples of Klockars' style. The paintings are really more beautiful though when you see them in person. They'll be on the wall until the end of the month there at the Dove. You can also check out his etsy store.

New job, new art. March is actually turning out to be a good month for once, even considering the weather.

Toledo Suprise

Last weekend, Paul and I saw "The Drowsy Chaperone" at Theater at the Mount. My little brother was in it and it was awesome. The show's premise is that a lonely man sits in his lonely apt., getting all his pleasure from records of his antiquated musicals. He puts on a record of the Drowsy Chaperone from the 1920's, and the show comes to life in his living room.

Since we saw it, I cannot shake the infectious tune of the number "Toledo Suprise". The actors in this video aren't actually nearly as good as those we saw in Gardner at TAM, but they give you a good idea of the musical/thatrical content.



It's a really good play! I'd reccommend it to anybody who gets a chance to see it.

FAT Tuesday

Happy Mardi Gras!

Pretend that you're enjoying jambalaya on the bayou and watch this footage from a 1941 New Orleans parade!

Dazzling

If I could afford designer duds, I would totally pounce on these awesome interstellar garments from Christopher Kane. I really love the neat galaxy inspired fabrics.

$925

Not to get too punny though, but the prices for these fairly simple pieces are frankly astronomical. Who spends this much on a single article of clothing? Finding out how much these outfits cost made me feel that fashionistas must be wasteful dummies with no concept of how much things really cost.

$1,265

$940

$325

$1470

I would much rather purchase 2 round trip tickets to Brussells than own this dress. So maybe that's just what I'll do!

Hobbit Dance Party

This is my jam of the week: an awesome remix of audio clips from the Lord of the Rings movies.

It is surprisingly good. I listened to it on repeat a few times. It's awfully refreshing to hear a dance party song that's not drowning in autotune for a change.

Love-Crafts

I made this kinda sorta cute and cuddly stuffed C'thulu for Paul. It was supposed to be a Valentines gift but it took me longer than I thought it would!

As I've mentioned before, there weren't too many good knit C'thulu patterns on the internet. So I decided to sort of make it up as I went, loosely basing parts on bits from other patterns and experimenting. Even though I'm not 100% thrilled with the shape of it, I'm still pleased with it as the first pattern I devised largely by myself.

He's a pocket sized Arkham Horror!

Skulls and Bunnies

Last night Paul and I finally watched the documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)"; a street art documentary about a guy making a street art documentary. I highly recommend it, it will provoke your thoughts about "vandalism", art, capitalism and desperate trendiness. It gave me a new appreciation for the artistic skills good graffiti actually requires. It also taught me (finally) what the deal is with those Andre the Giant "Obey" stickers you see everywhere.
 
The movie also got me thinking about some of my favorite contemporary artists. You know who's awesome? Jeremy Fish. He's a skateboard designer who combines morbid shit with pure cuteness. While a lot of his work is commissioned for products-

-He's done his fair share of street art too.

He's a good example of the line between consumerism and integrity that pop artists face in these modern times.