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March 23, 2006
Name That Car
My first car was a 1995 white Jetta and my friend Wayne came up with her name: “Shuga” (a.k.a. sugar), which I thought was perfect. She was a very sweet car. Now I have another white car that needs a name. Wayne is not around so much these days, so I guess I have to come up with something on my own… Here’s what I have so far:
1.Cupcake (this was the first thing my cousin said upon seeing the car)
2.Chuck (This from her boyfriend… he had a complicated explanation about how the Charlie Brown/Peppermint Patty dynamic symbolizes my relationship to this car, but I don’t now if I can really endorse that.)
3.Boxcar Betty (I thought about Boxcar Bertha, in honor of Marty, but I just don’t like the sound of Bertha…)
Any suggestions?
Posted by lk at 11:26 AM | Comments (1)
March 20, 2006
Monday Morning TCT Report
Three Cool Things to report this Monday:
Cool blog: she real cool
Stumbled onto this one while I was looking for … I can’t even remember the original search, but this chick is pretty funny so I’m adding her to the blogroll)
Cool tunes: Cassandra Wilson’s Thunderbird
(The album won’t be released till April, but you can hear the whole thing here)
Cool Car: MY ’93 Volvo! Whoo Hoo! That’s right, the Toastkitten finally has her own wheels. Expect details, photos, a name that car contest and various car related posts to flood this blog all week!
Posted by lk at 08:25 AM | Comments (2)
March 17, 2006
Art vs. Comedy?
vs. 
OK, so there are tons of art things I can do on Saturday. Literally TONS! but I'm contemplating throwing it all aside to attend ... WIZARD WORLD! My inner geek is calling. So the question is, should I go to :
1. Hammer Symposium
2. Noguchi
3. LACMA
4. Tony Hernandez
5. Courbet and the Modern Landscape at the Getty
OR...
Drive downtown (in my friend's borrowed Thunderbird) and see Kevin Smith and a clip from Clerks 2?!!
Anyone? Anyone?... Bueller?
But I'm definitely going to attend my friend's opening at 6pm!
Posted by lk at 12:40 PM | Comments (4)
Top 5 Green Things
... Or, Please Lord, don't bring back the Shamrock Shake!
St. Patrick's day is a tricky thing for me to celebrate. Don't get me wrong, I love Irish stuff (U2, corned beef and cabbage, good whiskey, etc). I even like the color green. What I can't stand, however, is when people feel compelled to turn food and other random things, that are not NATURALLY green, into instant St. Patty's day props by way of green paint or food coloring. I love green vegetables but I HATE food that is made to look bright green, just because it's March 17th. The mere site of these items literally makes my skin crawl… green cookies, beer and the infamous Shamrock Shake? YUCK!
So anyway - here are some (naturally occurring) green things I do like:
1. Broccoli
2. Olives
3. My herb garden
4. The Green Hornet (well, actually I was more of a Kato fan)
5. Cash
Bonus: Kermit the Frog
Posted by lk at 08:14 AM | Comments (2)
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Not enough frequent flyer miles to make it to Ireland this weekend? Me neither, but thanks to the magic of the internet we can learn to say anything in Gaelic!
Posted by lk at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2006
Happy Birthday Q!
73 and amazing!
…Happy B-Day to you too, Jamie Bell (20). You still got quite a ways to go, but you're cute as a button.
Posted by lk at 09:22 AM | Comments (0)
Watch your back, Curtis! You could be next!
The spring killing, uh I mean CLEANING, on “24” continues! According to the NYT this awful trend (killing off popular cast members) “has become an increasingly widespread plot device as television dramas compete for loyal viewers.” Pretty good article but it has one glaring omission, not a mention of the demise of poor MV.
Posted by lk at 08:35 AM | Comments (0)
March 13, 2006
Happy Birthday Kitty!
Somewhere last week Toastkitten had her first birthday!
I can’t remember exactly what day I launched into the bloggosphere but I’m happy to still be around! Big ups to Rebecca, Elizabeth and LA Artgirls for the encouragement, and even bigger ups to those of you who stop by on a regular basis! Even if you don’t ever comment, I am totally grateful to have any kind of readership at all. I mean, a year ago I didn’t even know what a blog was. And now, well, I don’t really know much more then that but it’s still cool.
Here are some other celebrity birthdays for the week that was March 5-12:
March 5: Actor James B. Sikking ("Hill Street Blues," "Doogie Howser, M.D.") is 72. Actor Dean Stockwell is 70. Actor Fred Williamson is 68. Actor Michael Warren ("Soul Food," "Hill Street Blues") is 60. Comedian-magician Penn Jillette (He’s the tall guy, I think) is 51
March 7: TV personality Willard Scott is 72. Actor Daniel J. Travanti (another “Hill Street Blues” guy) is 66. Guitarist Ernie Isley of the Isley Brothers is 54. Comedian Wanda Sykes is 42. Actress Rachel Weisz ("Constantine," "About A Boy") is 35.
March 8: Actress Lynn Redgrave is 63. Musician-actor Micky Dolenz of the Monkees is 61. Actor Aidan Quinn is 47.. Actor James Van Der Beek ( big-head boy of "Dawson's Creek") is 29.
March 9: Actress Juliette Binoche is 42. Actor Emmanuel Lewis ("Webster") is 35. (Now, there’s an interesting couple…)
March 10:Magician Lance Burton is 46. Actress Jasmine Guy ("A Different World") is 44. Singer Edie Brickell is 40 (Remember her?!). Rapper-producer Timbaland is 34.
March 11: Singer Bobby McFerrin is 56. Actor Terrence Howard ("Crash," "Hustle and Flow") is 37. Actor David Anders (ooooohh, Sark! From "Alias") is 25. Actress Thora Birch ("Ghost World”) is 24.
March 12: Darryl Strawberry is 44. Singer/songwriter, James Taylor is 58. Liza Minelli (queen of the false eyelashes, oh and she also sings) is 60. Barbara Feldon (“Get Smart”) is 65 and singer Al Jarreau is 66. Finally, if Jack Kerouac was still with us he would be 84!
Posted by lk at 08:30 AM | Comments (3)
March 12, 2006
What are you doing tonight?
If you are home tonight, you need to be watching The Sopranos. And if you don’t have HBO - well, then you need to be reassessing your priorities.
Truth be told, I have given up on this show more than a few times since it premiered way back in 1999. Oh, come on! You did too! I mean, a year and a half between seasons is just a little bit much, don’t you think? I actually thought I was done last season (with what they did to poor Adriana, Lordy!) But if Tony’s back, I’m there!
At this point I’ve invested too much in this show not to see it through to the final bada-bing, and what’s sure to be a bitter, blood soaked finale.
Posted by lk at 06:23 PM | Comments (2)
March 11, 2006
Remaining Light at d.e.n
Saw Amanda Sefton Hogg's show at d.e.n and even got a chance to talk with her a little about her work. Among her influences are the light in LA, the films of Marguerite Duras and square format photography. I really had no idea what she was going to say but I certainly didn't expect that! The show is filled with paintings of drippy, shadowy, lacey, chandeliers. They remind me of something Mrs. Haversham might have hanging in her dining room. I actually like a few of them quite a lot, but I think maybe she could have stopped after 4 or 5. I guess I'm a minimalist at heart… Now I’ve got to go rent something by Marguerite Duras.
Posted by lk at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2006
A cool drink for the ears
Kelly has tagged me so I guess I’m obliged to post myTunes. The last time I was tagged I totally blew it, but I'll play along this time.
Here are her instructions:
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre,
whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they
must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions
in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to. (Note to Kelly: I don't have that many online friends so I have to leave it at 5)
From my "Sunday" playlist:
1. Shoot the Moon – Norah Jones. Yeah, I know most people consider her too “liteFM” but I think her voice is beautiful and I love these lyrics.
2. Times Like These - Jack Johnson (Someone told me he's a blander '90s version of James Taylor. Whatever. I like it.)
3. Very Nice – My friend Chrystal made me this amazing mix 2 years ago when I was freezing my ass off in NYC. It’s all samba, French and Brazilian music. I would listen to it in my cold, tiny, cold apt an imagine I was on the beach (with a hot guy in one hand and a cool Caipirinha in the other…) This is one of my faves from that cd. Sorry but I don’t know the artist.
4. I Shall Believe – Sheryl Crow. It’s a hold over from my Alias/Felicity days (what TWoP calls “Ovary Electric Music”).
5. Scar Tissue – Red Hot Chili Peppers. Put simply: They Rule. I can't wait for Stadium Arcadium!
6. Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz. This is just a cool song. I think I had it on endless loop for a whole day last week.
7. Ready Steady Go – Paul Oakenfold. I have a bunch of Ok on this playlist but this one's the best. I hear this and suddenly, I. Am. ON!
Bonus: Miles Davis soundtrack to Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud. I taped it from my friend Amy about 9 years ago but never labeled it, so for the longest time I didn’t even know the name of the record or even the tracks. I listen to this soundtrack all the time. Literally. One day I’ll see the film but for now I prefer the movie that plays in my mind. This is some great, moody music. It's Miles, man. What more can I say?
1. Rebecca
2. Elizabeth
3. La Dauphine (where are you?)
4. Hunter Woo
5. Wysegal
Posted by lk at 09:09 AM | Comments (2)
March 09, 2006
Some days you just need comfort food
For some reason today I had a wild craving for a burger and a shake. I really wanted In and Out but was too far away. The closest thing I could come up with was Swingers. The burger was a little pricy for what you got but the shake was AMAZING! Totally hit the spot. I may have even sighed as I finished the last sip. It was perfect. Exactly what I needed when I needed it, and how often does THAT happen? It's the little things that count. I think that shake actually saved me from killing someone on the ride home...
Posted by lk at 09:14 PM | Comments (0)
March 08, 2006
"There's no one cooler than Gordon Parks."
- Richard Roundtree
Gordon Parks, photographer, filmaker, novelist, poet, and composer, died yesterday at age 93. (Next time I say I'm tired - just slap me!)
You can read the AP summary of his many accomplishments here and you can get more about Parks photographic legacy here.
It's hard to write something insightful and fresh about someone who was such a pioneer. Gordon Parks was one of the first photographers I learned about when I was a kid. I will never forget how amazed I was when I discovered that he had been an FSA photographer, a wonderful fashion photographer AND the director of the movie "Shaft"! How could one person have created so many amazing images in such disparate areas?! As I learned more about his work, Parks did something really crazy; he kept on growing and experimenting and creating. Eventually when someone told me that he was creating a ballet and writting a book on W.J.M.Turner, I pretty much had to stop learning about him - my ego couldn’t take it :)
I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Parks in 2003 at the opening of a group show I co-curated called Saturday Night/Sunday Morning. It was a crazy night, toooo many people in an upstairs gallery with poor ventilation - but when Parks arrived, the scene just exploded. People were so excited to see him. The photographers were so honored that he had come to their show. Parks was amazing. When he first walked trough the gallery people literally parted the way for him. He was so gracious and seemed truly appreciative of the attention of so many young photographers. He was a perfect gentleman - dapper and charming (not a letch or conceited as I had feared). By the end of the evening I had a total crush on him. It was all I could do to keep my voice steady when I thanked him and said good-bye after that marathon 4-hour reception.
Gordon Parks was an amazing person. Incredibly talented and endlessly curious. He will be missed.
Posted by lk at 06:48 AM | Comments (2)
March 07, 2006
Chocolate Oscars
Jason has an interesting chat going on at Negro Please re: 3 6 Mafia winning an Oscar on Sunday night. Having not seen the telecast I feel a bit removed, but it certainly sparked some strong feeling from a lot of folks.
Posted by lk at 08:36 AM | Comments (1)
March 05, 2006
WOW!
To quote from cinematical:
HOLY CRAP! Can I say that again? HOLY CRAP! Crash has just won best Picture.
I totally didn't expect that. Good movie, great performances but "Best Picture"? Really?! I totally thought the cowboy love story was going to sweep... Good thing I'm not a betting cat.
Truth be told, I'm not a big Oscar person, unless there is a big party goin' and the drinks are flowin' I'm not really that into it. I love watching movies and I like talking movies. But awards shows...not so much. They are simply too LOOOOOOONG. And having grown up on the east coast where you're held hostage in front of the tv till all hours of the night... Ugh!
But I always check in to see who won :)
Posted by lk at 10:05 PM | Comments (3)
A "Post" Post
Back in 2001 Thelma ushered in a new era when she coined the (slippery) term “post black”… Well, it’s five years later and look how far we’ve come. I’m still trying to tease out the finer points of what it could actually mean to be “post” your racial identity and Jerry Saltz ups the ante! Apparently we are now in a period of “ Post America”. This from his review of the Whitney Biennial:
"Day for Night" is filled with work I’m not interested in; it tries to do too much in too little space; it is often dry and confusing. Nevertheless, the show is a compelling attempt to examine conceptual practices and political agency, consider art that is not about beauty, reconsider reductivism, explore the possibility of an underground in plain sight, probe pre-modern and archaic approaches, posit destruction and chaos as creative forces, and revisit ideas about obfuscation and anonymity.
Interesting. And then there's this:
Finally, to anyone who thinks that the "Peace Tower," right now on Madison Avenue in front of the Whitney, but originally built in 1965 to protest Vietnam War, is silly or ineffectual: Now is the first time it has needed to be built again.
Flaws and all, Day for Night speaks to a nation that is no longer an ideal but only a country. That makes this the Post-America Biennial.
Miles Davis, RU Legal, 1991 (anonymous collection)
I might have to check it out... just to see an oil painting by Miles Davis. HA.
Posted by lk at 09:18 AM | Comments (0)
March 03, 2006
Some food from this week
A good friend of mine from NYC gave me this fab tea for Christmas. You just drop this tightly packed herb-ball-thing into your teapot and it unfurls into this lovely shape... About a year ago I had read about a tea that turns into a flower in your teapot (see below). My friend H said she had had that tea with her mom last time she was home (in Japan). She said she’d find it for me in NYC - cuz you know, they have everything :) Well, not quite. She couldn't find it for me but it was sweet of her to try. She sent me Celestial Peach Ball (Green Tea), purchased and gift wrapped at Takashimaya. The whole package was a work of art!
Thanks so much H! I love the delicate taste and the whole experience of preparing it.
Apparently you can purchase this tea at McNally Robinson bookstore in Nolita. But it’s a dine in only kinda deal.
Posted by lk at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2006
But two days later it’s beautiful!
Reason #249 for moving back to Cali?
It’s the SUN, stupid!
Posted by lk at 07:39 PM | Comments (2)