Afrikan Motherland and the Land of the Rising Sun

Since I seem to be on a roll with the scroll inspiration:

check out Wafrica if you haven't!
Wa- as in the people of Wa (the ancient Japanese)
Africa - as in, you know, that big beautiful continent

As much as I hate the generalization of blending and entire continent of styles with a single country, this can't possibly tie in better with my afropunk-band-goes-Meiji-period scroll.

I Admit, I'm an Idolater: St. Vincent's Actor

a while back at the MFA, on college night

So, St. Vincent has a new album (Actor). Had to spread the love. Bought it on pre-order because of the strength of Annie Clark's debut and how sweet and genuine her violinist, Dan Hart is (once upon a time we played a show with his other band, and they blew us away). Got it in the mail today with a complimentary 7" single. Amazing.

There's an epicness to many of these tracks as the progressions follow this sort of iambic rhythmic heartbeat– or maybe its just my own quickening pulse. Clark is as bone-chilling as always. I wonder if she gets tired of being referred to as ethereal, haunting, spooky, etc. but its hard to use any other adjectives when she's just always pushing musical life beyond the pale. When the first listen is this strong I know my speakers are getting months of electric exercise.

Reminds me of: the Pocahontas soundtrack, synchronized swimming, the sound of zippers, buddhist chanting, and all the best of 4AD.

St. Vincent Actor Out Of Work Music Video on IMEEM Video - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Will not escape

in-studio vanity

It's been over a month since my last post... for shame.

whats been up? I'm making a scroll... it's currently 15 feet long (hopefully it will reach ≈ 4oft) featuring a time-traveling afropunk band in Meiji era Japan. Just thought I'd document some inspiration photos:

prostitutes at yoshiwara

badass movie still...

sick topknot and tats

and something i've been obsessed with lately:

These ridiculously badass yukata from Tsukikageya.
Good god. All I want for Christmas is a suitably pouty expression and the white leopard print one. Fresh. To. Death.

One of those days when feeling stupid feels alright.

Maybe it's the frustration of not yet knowing my major... or just being a hard-working person with no applicable direction. But there's something beautiful about the freedom to suck at life. I don't care if you're not black or if you're the whitest little piece of bleached American-made denim, Chris Rock says it best.



Damn, sometimes I wonder why I don't have HBO.

Pocahontas is my Favorite Disney Movie. Hands Down.

Facebook profile pic, wut- wuttt!

OK, so I'm biased. Also I am not a Powhatan so I'm not entitled to any sort well-placed anti-Disney rage at their impossibly racist/inaccurate history with their animation.

But here's the proof to substantiate my claim:

• This is the only Disney animated movie inspired by fact.
• The film's premiere was a huge event in Central Park. With over 100,000 people attending, it holds the record for the largest movie premiere.
• The Europeans using matchlock muskets was a nice touch. This is exactly what mariners would be using at the time, as the wheellock was too delicate and expensive and the snaphaunce (forerunner of the flintlock) was still too new and unreliable for general use (especially at sea).
• Animators working on the film regarded "Pocahontas" as being one of the hardest films ever produced by the studio. The complex color schemes, angular shapes and facial expressions meant that the film was in production for 5 years. The hard work paid off, however. Pocahontas herself is now frequently cited as being one of the most beautifully and realistically animated characters in the Disney canon, her fluid movements mainly being attributed to rotoscoping.
• Lastly... and most importantly....Kocoum was crazy hot.

I always cry like a baby when Thomas nails him in the chest. Just, one of the many sad, sad, side-effects of colonialism.

Sexy vs Slutty and the Real Reason We Can't Win

Freakum Dress - Beyoncé

It's not a girl's fault that the mere size of her tatas dictates how low-cut she can wear something and what she gets away with...unless you measure fault in genetic predispositions and number of potato-chips consumed in a lifetime. While I'm a firm believer in booty-shorts and pretty lingerie (not necessarily alone as an outfit), there are things which my puritanical heart can't seem to sail a Mayflower on.

(That metaphor sounded nice but I do know that Puritans and Pilgrims are completely different sets of people)

Boobs are tough, symbolically that is. While I and most other women have to deal with them unquestioningly, the problems they present are manifold. Small-chested women face the stigma of being seen as boyish, unfeminine... and the chestier of us err on the edge of obscenity. My own Asian mother (who loved to take us to family dinners at Hooters) yodeled at me since I filled out at 14, saying things like "Your breasts are always showing!" and "Why can't you be more modest?" Even if you drape a sheet over an elephant... a five year-old would able to make the shape out anyway. There's just no hiding.

And so I get to my point- or turning point: sluttiness is for the extremes of society. Its attainable only by those at the fringes, either very rich or very poor. Arguably, the middle class...status quo as it is... just does not engage in this as heavily. But... as a poor college student I may attest to the bosom of the issue. An excess of money and an extreme lack of it can afford people the luxury of dressing however the f*ck they feel. Is this magical or tragical, who can say?


Exhibit A:

Ivanka Trump,
daughter of Donald, whose net worth is about 3 billion.

Exhibit B:

Random Model,
g r e a t g l a m . com

Lessons Learned

• Having millions at your disposal and a real income = sexy
• Having $20.80 to spend on a dress with no label but a stupid name = slutty

And for those who don't find this dress objectionable or even curious, I leave you with a testimonial from the site in question:

My hat is off to you, Mary T. May you forever be young and wear your shirts as low as your boobs will hang.

Conceptualize THIS, you punks.

What's on the plate this time? Just spending too much time in the VES department, I think that I am perhaps a little overexposed to contemporary conceptual art... sometimes we just want something real, beautiful, complicated in a different way. And what's more complicated than a good male nude (or semi-nude). Here's just a little to get your heART back where it should be.

A couple Saint Sebastians:

My favorite by Odilon Redon, so beautiful and so luminous...

Superdrama - Regnier Nicolas
Botticelli (It's not my favorite, I just think that expression is priceless)

¡¡¡¡Warning!!!! The next picture acknowledges that men have genitalia!!!
AVERT YOUR EYES IF YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO HANDLE A WEE-WEE.

The New Adam, 1962, Harold Stevenson
It's so monumental, it's just about perfect.

I don't really know why but I think its about oversaturation, so many artists have done the voluptuous, vulnerable naked-lady shdig... also, why not admire the male body in a non-submissive, excellent way?