who knew lora lou?

Oneiric Standards

2009-12-12T11:30:00.000-08:00

Dawning Mind

2009-12-11T05:22:00.000-08:00

"The voice of the light remains ever so faint; images quiet as ancient constellations float across the dome of my dawning mind. They are indistinct fragments that never merge into a sensate picture. There would be a landscape I have not seen before, unfamiliar melodic echoes, whisperings in a chaos of tongues. "

-Haruki Murakami, 'Hardboiled Wonderland And The End of The World'

vacation all I ever wanted

2009-12-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

treehouse restaurant, new zealand

Brown Bunny

2009-12-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

Etta James

Today it snowed and I want to bleach my hair. What do you think?

Waking Dream

2009-12-10T07:05:00.000-08:00

"That day I carried the dream around like a full glass of water, moving gracefully so I would not lose any of it." — Miranda July (No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories)

Unencumbered

2009-12-09T18:05:00.001-08:00

fire damaged Deyrolle taxidermy studio

"Lightly my darling, lightly. Even when it comes to dying. Nothing ponderous, or portentious, or emphatic. No rhetoric, no tremolos, no self-conscious persona putting on its celebrated imitation of Christ or Goethe or Little Nell. And, of course, no theology, no metaphysics. Just the fact of dying and the fact of clear light.

So throw away all your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That's why you must walk so lightly. Lightly, my darling....Completely unencumbered."
-Aldous Huxley

Little Dragon

2009-12-03T08:04:00.001-08:00

Haze

2009-12-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

wangechi mutu

pig installation

arnaud loumeau

All one could do was glimpse, amid the haze and chimeras, something real ahead, just as persons endowed with an unusual persistence of diurnal cerebration are able to perceive in their deepest sleep, somewhere beyond the throes of an entangled and inept nightmare, the ordered reality of the waking hour.

- Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory

Chimera

2009-12-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

The Fool settles beneath a tree, intent on finding his spiritual self. There he stays for nine days, without eating, barely moving. People pass by him, animals, clouds, the wind, the rain, the stars, sun and moon. On the ninth day, with no conscious thought of why, he climbs a branch and dangles upside down like a child, giving up for a moment, all that he is, wants, knows or cares about. Coins fall from his pockets and as he gazes down on them - seeing them not as money but only as round bits of metal - everything suddenly changes perspective. It is as if he's hanging between the mundane world and the spiritual world, able to see both. It is a dazzling moment, dreamlike yet crystal clear. Connections he never understood before are made, mysteries are revealed.

But timeless as this moment of clarity seems, he realizes that it will not last. Very soon, he must right himself, and when he does, things will be different. He will have to act on what he's learned. For now, however, he just hangs, weightless as if underwater, observing, absorbing, seeing.

2009-11-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

"A wise girl kisses but doesn't love, listens but doesn't believe, and leaves before she is left." — Marilyn Monroe

dear marilyn,

LET LOVE LIVE

LIVE LOVE

LET LOVE LIVE

LIVE LOVE

love, me

The rebirth of cool

2009-11-29T07:32:00.000-08:00

(via supersonicelectronic)

Waking Dreams

2009-11-29T05:46:00.000-08:00

Difficult Things

2009-11-28T11:01:00.000-08:00

Ram Dass

2009-11-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

The most important aspect of love is not in giving or the receiving: it’s in the being. When I need love from others, or need to give love to others, I’m caught in an unstable situation. Being in love, rather than giving or taking love, is the only thing that provides stability. Being in love means seeing the Beloved all around me.

-ram dass

Binary Love

2009-11-20T16:19:00.000-08:00

Mutatio

2009-11-18T18:25:00.000-08:00

New Moon

2009-11-17T06:17:00.000-08:00

Capricorn - If you feel like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders these days, you might not be so far off. That Saturn-Pluto square (especially for December-born Capricorns) is some heavy astrology and it's hanging over your solar 10th House (career) and 1st House (self and health). This is astrology of transformation at its most intense and you're being challenged to rethink yourself and how you inhabit your world, especially as a public person. Part of this process involves recognizing the pressure you're feeling and giving yourself time to engage in healthy ways of relieving that pressure. Monday's New Moon in your 11th House of friends, networks, colleagues and ideals urges you to let go of at least one friend or group of people that consistently drags down your energy and open up to new connections with people who can help you get where you want to go.

Riot Grrl Gonna Stomp On You

2009-11-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

Sunday Mornin' Drama is Callin' Up My Mamma

2009-11-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

Long Island Tea

2009-11-14T07:19:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wake up with the sun and take a walk around this tiny town.

Lora met Lou

2009-11-13T21:04:00.000-08:00

Mongrel

2009-11-13T19:38:00.000-08:00

"...movies are not unlike the visions the homesick see when their hearts are bearing the weight of the realization that they're homeless, exiled, or caught in limbo between native & tourist"
-Justin Chin, Mongrel

He Said She Said

2009-11-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

Buy Art

2009-11-12T06:38:00.000-08:00

*because art is valuable and Adee makes stuff that you should purchase...check it out...http://pineappleblack.blogspot.com/

Inspiration on a page

2009-11-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

http://superdefstar.blogspot.com/

Sew Divine

2009-11-11T22:05:00.000-08:00

GOOD WOMAN

2008

Graphite on cotton rag paper

96 x 53 inches

MAN SIZE

2008-9

Graphite on cotton rag paper

98 x 53 inches

I can't stop looking at the work of Alyssa Phoebus.

Poetry In Motion (taken from the space time continuum)

2009-11-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

From The Double Image, Pt/1

by Anne Sexton

I am thirty this November.

You are still small, in your fourth year.

We stand watching the yellow leaves go queer,

flapping in the winter rain.

falling flat and washed. And I remember

mostly the three autumns you did not live here.

They said I’d never get you back again.

I tell you what you’ll never really know:

all the medical hypothesis

that explained my brain will never be as true as these

struck leaves letting go.

I, who chose two times

to kill myself, had said your nickname

the mewling mouths when you first came;

until a fever rattled

in your throat and I moved like a pantomine

above your head. Ugly angels spoke to me. The blame,

I heard them say, was mine. They tattled

like green witches in my head, letting doom

leak like a broken faucet;

as if doom had flooded my belly and filled your bassinet,

an old debt I must assume.

Musical Theater

2009-11-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

D.I.Y. Shrug

2009-11-06T06:35:00.000-08:00

I found this amazing piece on the Facehunter and it inspired me to attempt something similar on my own. I am off to the thrift store and will be posting pictures of this d.i.y venture. Wish me luck....

p.s. my mum just pointed out that this is actually a shawl and not a shrug! just in case you were curious a shawl is defined as a square or oblong piece of cloth worn as a covering for the head, neck, and shoulders ; whereas a shrug is a woman's short jacket or sweater open down the front.....and if ya' don't know now ya' know!

Ghost all around

2009-11-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

"Billy and the rest wandered out onto the shady street. The trees were leafing out. There was nothing going on out there, no traffic of any kind. There was only one vehicle, an abandoned wagon drawn by two horses. The wagon was green and coffin shaped. Birds were talking. One bird said to Billy Pilgrim. 'Poo-tee-weet'?" - Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughter House-Five

Walk don't run

2009-11-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

All work by the incredible Laylah Ali.

Fleabath

2009-11-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

Amethyst Rock

2009-11-02T07:28:00.000-08:00

"...Infact I know God personally, he lets me call Him, Me..."

Daylight Savings/Fall Back

2009-11-01T22:50:00.000-08:00

sordid confessions of a telltale heart

2009-10-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

(ruven afanador)

(photo of woman accused of biting off husbands member)

queer desire

2009-10-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

(Isaac Julien, “Looking for Langston,” 1989)

"I think black people are afraid of their own queer desires. It’s so interesting that homosexuality is so threatening in our communities that we’d rather institute draconian policies that limit all that we are or who we could be out of fear. Homosexaulity and heterosexaulity are recent concepts that don’t effectively convey the diversity of human sexuality, gender or biological sex. We hold tight to the notion that two sexes, produce two genders which lead to two orientations but history and our current world refute this at every turn. but we hold on. We hold to these notions that ultimately imprison us and do nothing to transform the world into what it could be. It’s our desire to hold onto values, that were never ours by the way, that keep us locked in a push/pull that is not transformational or edifying."
(via Tyler Perry x Morehouse x Real Black Men)

Henry Miller

2009-10-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

"Not a single object seems to possess a practical use. The antechamber itself seems useless, a sort of vestibule to a barn, It is exactly the same sort of sensation I get when I enter the Comedie-Francaise or the Palaise- Royal Theatre; ; it is a world of bric-a-brac, of trap doors, of arms and busts and waxed floors, of candelabras and men in armor, of statues without eyes and love letters lying in glass cases. Something is going on, but it makes no sense; it's like finishing the half-empty bottle of Calvados because there's no room in the valise."
— Henry Miller (Tropic of Cancer)

going, going, gone

2009-10-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

the return of saturn, a three part love story

2009-10-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

(saturn, NASA)

("Saturn Devouring One of His Children" Francisco Goya)

(saturnalia, collage '08)

"Saturn. . . is never easy to deal with because his function is that of promoting growth," explains astrologer Liz Greene, author of Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil, "and it is only frustration and pain which at present are sufficient goads to get a human being moving." This frustration and pain have given Saturn a bad reputation. But the planet's often misunderstood value lies in its very ability to evoke pain. Like the pain of an illness, it warns that something is wrong. Saturn doesn't create the problems, it merely illuminates them.

Growth is often accompanied by trepidation and turmoil. As the old self is pushed aside to make room for the new, you may feel weak and vulnerable. You want to move ahead, yet are frustrated by a fear of doing so, torn between a compelling urge to throw off everything connected with your past and an equally frantic need to cling to the familiar rather than brave the great unknown.

Even if your external world seems to be in order, your internal structure may feel as though it's being assaulted with a battering ram. Nervous conditions, irritability, depression, insomnia, and feelings of insecurity are common. Most people go through some sort of identity crisis.

Even though your Saturn Return may be disturbing, ultimately it reveals what you truly want and sweeps away the clutter that may have been impeding your progress. Your Saturn Return is a personal spring cleaning. No matter how difficult it seems to let go of inappropriate people and things, the first Saturn Return is the time to do it. For if lessons are not learned, the problems will come knocking again during your second Saturn Return at about age fifty-eight, when you are more set in your ways. Once the conflict is confronted, the tension usually subsides. You feel stronger and more capable of moving ahead.

Saturn Return is one of the most crucial turning points you ever experience, when you assume the greatest responsibility of all: responsibility for your own life.

http://www.newage-directory.com/saturn.html

the queen of cups

2009-10-24T13:36:00.001-07:00

(from sweden to pittsburgh, '09)

modern love

2009-10-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Greer Lankton is amazing. I'll be heading to the Mattress Factory tomorrow( http://www.mattress.org/) to check out her permanent installation, "It's about Me. . . Not You".

ghost hunter

2009-10-17T12:25:00.001-07:00

(the ghost whisperer series, '08)

clad in white linen

2009-10-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

New Moon

2009-10-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

Capricorn - You may have been feeling as if the car of your life has been stuck in the mud lately and no matter how hard you tromp on the gas pedal, you just keep sliding slowly but inexorably backwards. But the next three weeks should bring you surprising opportunities to move forward with a career matter or a creative project, thanks to new developments involving the two good luck planets of the zodiac. First, Jupiter returns to direct motion in your 2nd House of income on Tuesday. Jupiter has been retrograde here since June; his return to forward motion should shake loose some money-making ideas and opportunities to increase your income. At the very least you'll figure out how to make more out of what you have. Second, Venus enters your 10th House of career on Wednesday for a three-week stay. Venus is the ruler of this area of your chart, making her exceptionally strong here. Keep yourself open to receiving good things because opportunities that just weren't there for the last little while should suddenly appear. Sunday's New Moon in this same part of your chart encourages you to rethink how you're approaching your life's work. Look at the big picture now and be honest about what's working and what isn't. You may realize

you're growing in a new direction and it's time to update your career paradigm.

import

2009-10-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Seasonal Effective Disorder

2009-10-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

A circadian rhythm is a roughly-24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes of living entities. The term "circadian", coined by Franz Halberg,[1] comes from the Latin circa, "around," and diem or dies, "day", meaning literally "approximately one day."

Lighting levels that affect circadian rhythm in humans are higher than the levels usually used in artificial lighting in homes. According to some researchers[21] the illumination intensity that excites the circadian system has to reach up to 1000 lux striking the retina. In addition to light intensity, wavelength (or color) of light is a factor in the entrainment of the body clock. Melanopsin is most efficiently excited by blue light, 420-440 nm[22] according to some researchers while others have reported 470-485 nm.

It is thought that the direction of the light may have an effect on entraining the circadian rhythm;[21] light coming from above, resembling an image of a bright sky, has greater effect than light entering our eyes from below.

(all images by me except the David LaChapelle photo-duh!)

mud on my pants

2009-10-12T10:41:00.001-07:00

Quagmire

2009-10-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Good Love

2009-10-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

magic

2009-10-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

Full of it

2009-10-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

glorious bastards

2009-10-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

Appalachian

2009-10-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

(car shop)
(rainbows corner store)

(children of the corn)

(home grown)

Constructive wings

2009-10-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

Capricorn - By turning to your intuitive self to solve problems and create a new energetic in your life rather than relying on force and aggression in the outer world, what you're actually doing is choosing to work on the causal level of reality rather than the level of effect.

Back to the Begining

2009-10-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

(Wangechi Mutu) (Louis Vuitton)

Tuesday welcomed the arrival of my second niece, Arianna Diamond Marie. While my sister was breathing through her contractions we watched the, 'The Color Purple' and I sang her the 'Miss Celia's Blues' song. It was just me, my mother, and my youngest sister. My song made the entire room break out in laughter. I mean it was completely over the top and wonderful all at once.

This is my second posting of a Wangechi Mutu piece. She is hands down my favorite artist. Mutu was born and Kenya and studied sculpture at Yale. Through the use of collage she explores cultural and gender identity. Learn more about the artist here http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/wangechi_mutu_about.htm

Habits

2009-09-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

(vintage Obama)

We become our habits.

Fixed identity

2009-09-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

(wangechi mutu 'forensic forms')

(sierra)

(peter pilotto)

Capricorn - As the Sun (energy) makes a dynamic aspect to Pluto (deep transformation) you could well find that some of the wisdom that has been dribbling and drabbling into your mind over the last month or so suddenly coalesces into a remarkably clear picture of both (a) who you really are, or are intending to become, and (b) what this "real you" feels called to do in the world at large.

Tradition

2009-09-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

Italian Vogue Sept 9

Italian Vogue 1991 This morning my mind races along the edge of tradition. Living in rural isolation my priorities have shifted. I am craving durability and strength. The ideal marriage of form and function.

Reload bags just unveiled it's most recent line from the incredibly talented Sonrisa Rodriguez. Check 'em out here http://www.reloadbags.com/store/collections/denim.