so i wanted to send a little virtual/visual grounding and relaxation . . .
started to send "pretty" and "normal"images but then i found these. here's to counter-culture relaxation!

hellz yeah

ok. all my freakish amounts of grading are done. Done! I have pushed through, assigned grades very decisively, and emailed every official thing I can think of.

damn. except that I forgot to turn in this:
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EJWSowlHUSCHQ8EcY_ABQce3mN0269oytGG3S8uJUj0qYPSlbeCVO0H1yt2WJXAml9Nv6QVCsu87V8EJmqkxp-SMWX3X8eIw1rUO5tUNryP9gGJDtNKR_3IIYJTvmxQUQARa9q5H96xj/s1600-h/Photo+81.jpg">
Yes. a packet of evaluations for my research methods class. Was supposed to turn it in for my prof. oops. Hope they except late ones!
Am extremely proud of myself for grading this:
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZkJTQcBFUQBvY1uUnbJD94xFG78lc_qlNIruotiLVInOufQ1nL3lu-T5Mt2U0_tO9laEo-snf1AM3WjTOGzScZyAIp-UNCxykO-8MRyHBDpCISjywEC6XayxaY4psk6Njp8HZod5_ER4/s1600-h/Photo+85.jpg">
...in one day. Good work, Nicole. Make yourself a martini!

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0PnI_uVs8Dzv196-uPhL6LdvCaepbN_TrYWq26LAWcKwX_79PUhEEtw6pnT-9XhstZbRCiFrOtRsha0c26t2cPwxesuB0zpXBHlkUP9A30FR3cHW_tmBM5drndPUrZw9BoTYyCuWDCt-/s1600-h/Photo+82.jpg">
"ok! I will!!!" And I will hide mysteriously behind my hoodie as I am photographed!"

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOoFpMjhxczfuXDnvQbqQJEj7cnG-LOuQyoh92l0GrD8bGwXEPoDmRLQl_YUynGXaYxRtnO3WmyfgPPnXNt9jcZMKTsQtul4WSzPfKiwHwOURjnp3wzkFmynqGCJBeJodNNjjvRb-tGYP/s1600-h/Photo+88.jpg">
wish you were here!

sometimes i think we all have selective amnesia about our living situations so that we can maintain our homeostasis . . .

for example, i hate snow. i hate cold. winter is pretty long and crappy here but today it's sunny and 70 degrees and i'm having a tough time actually remembering my winterly discomfort.

of course, i have been longing for spring and summer. i want to see flowers and trees and wear my cute tiny spring jackets and go to the beach . . . with all of that to distract me i had forgotten that the city (pretty much the whole city) smells like urine once the temp goes over 70degrees. i guess you can't expect the city to perpetually smells like chocolate and flowers, especially when sitting next to a homeless man.

i'll acclimate and then forget. i'm sure there are annoying things i have forgotten about fall and winter already . . . i both love and am afraid of the fact that my brain is so smart that it can trick me.

1. when did panera stop playing classical music and adopt elevator jazz??
2. i hate APA

sigh. je suis desiree paris. that's right, "i want paris". I loved your post and also felt it fill me with an ache so penetrating and sad. I miss paris; I miss feeling like I just got back from there. When you mentioned last night how many years it's actually been (can it be three, really?) I felt old, and depressingly moored.

On a brighter note, I am having a lovely afternoon, sipping coffee and typing away. I have finished all my assignments for my presentation tonight-yay!-now i am free to move on to grading and more grading...yay...

The sky is a fresh summer blue and clouds are drifty and peaceful, as though they've been that way for months. :) Cheeky bastards. Well, my mom's calling me, better go!

paris

The French may prattle on about how totally different they are from the English, but when it comes to Parisian fashion in 2008, a lot of guys are taking notes from Michael Caine circa 1969. We’re seeing clean-cut nonchalance and a strict color code that mostly revolves around black, gray, and navy blue. Goofy dad glasses are generally the icing on the croissant.

Although Parisians rarely leave the city, it looks as if they’re all preparing for a weekend jaunt in the countryside with their heavy brown coats and lumberjack shirts. 2008 also marks the return of yacht-rock chic, with a petit twist of grunge for good measure. Everyone looks like they love Vampire Weekend, but we hope they don’t really because that band is lame. A quota of at least two vintage items per outfit seems to be an unwritten rule. This is most likely a rejection of 2007’s obsession with all that was new, shiny, and overpriced. To wit, fluorescent Nikes have been replaced by the classic patent-leather dock shoe and a total disdain for flashy colors. Of course, like everywhere else in the world, tight jeans remain a fixture.

Layering hoodies, simple slacks, and uncoiffed hair are also acceptable looks this year. Basically Parisian guys need to get stoned, raid their granddad’s closet, and come out looking like they’re ready for an afternoon of beers, bon mots, and Gauloises.

Parisian women are always classy—almost annoyingly so. Last year, French girls were all done up like grannies having afternoon tea. In 2008 they’re more like your cool babysitter—a girl who can teach you how to walk in high heels but who’ll also make you do your homework. They look neat and cozy and smart. The French are also one of the few nationalities not clinging to the garish “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” 80s look. Good for them. The streets of Paris are full of artsy women wearing black, charcoal, and more black. Girls don’t mind spending some money on quality wool coats, sweaters, and ankle boots. No self-respecting girl will ever leave the house without perfectly tousled hair and swept-to-the-side bangs. Also, no one can wear a jaunty scarf like a Parisian lass can.

vice

decisions, decisions...

Well, while you were reading really smart publications like the wallstreet journal, I was shopping. I know, how shallow of me. I just got this domino magazine, and there was a code to get 20% off at allposters.com. :) I am trying to decide between these prints...what do you think? I'm thinking I most definitely want "the breakfast" for my kitchen. I'm a sucker for images of of rustic comfort, such as coffee and newspapers and bread.

does it seem like I'm avoiding obama? I am, I know. It's just that I hardly know how to handle all the gooey-love-oprah-charisma-buzz. Not that any of the other figures on the political horizon intrigue me at all, or even fill me with even a glimmer of hope. (now i am sounding cynical.) I don't know what's come over me, I'm just incredibly disillusioned by our national leadership lately. It's not like I never had faith in the system, I did...but now I just don't even feel like voting. I know that's blasphemy for smart women like us. how can I shake my political malaise?

Whether or not Barack Obama would make a good president, it’s clear that he makes an excellent muse. It’s hard to think of a political candidate in recent memory who has, in real time, inspired so much creativity, exercised free of charge and for the campaign’s benefit. Perhaps this suggests something about Obama — or maybe it suggests something about his supporters.

The examples are many. One of the most prominent is the limited-edition print created by the Los Angeles artist Shepard Fairey in January. Fairey is best known as the creator of the “Obey Giant” imagery that, beginning in 1989, spread on city streets around the world by way of posters, stickers and stencils. (Disclosure: I contributed an essay to Fairey’s 2006 book, “Obey: Supply & Demand,” an extensive survey of that project and of his career so far.) Fairey made a brief statement when he unveiled the portrait, noting his “great conviction that Barack Obama should be the next President.” Poster sales, he added, would underwrite “a large statewide poster campaign.”

In addition to popping up on many streets, the image later made its way onto a T-shirt, created in collaboration with the San Francisco street-wear brand Upper Playground — and apparently onto the radar of the Obama campaign. The candidate himself sent a thank-you note, and his campaign had Fairey create a new poster that became the inaugural offering in an “Artists for Obama” section of the barackobama.com online store. Fairey told Creativity Online that while he has been politically active, there’s something new in the enthusiasm he now professes to feel. “I just thought it was time to stick my neck out,” he said. A variety of other artists apparently feel something similar. A California art duo known as the Date Farmers created an Obama screen print in an edition of 300; add the pro-Obama prints by Sam Flores, MAC and Munk One, and you’re on your way to a hipster gallery show.

Meanwhile, will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas created a video that remixed an Obama speech into a song, with a variety of music-celebrity contributors joining in on the candidate’s oft-cited slogan, “Yes, we can.” It’s had more than 6.5 million YouTube views and inspired spinoffs, including a “No, you can’t” video by the satirical Billionaires for Bush. As Advertising Age has noted, a variety of ad-world “creatives” (it’s actually a job title in that industry) have also cooked up freelance online videos and the like, free. The grass-roots end of the creativity spectrum has included ObamaOfDreams.com, which offered T-shirts on which baseball team logos were tweaked to read “Obama” (until Major League Baseball intervened), and a D.I.Y. “O’bama” St. Patrick’s Day dress recently featured on Craftzine.com.

Creative types have backed politicians before, and Obama does not have a monopoly on such expression even in the Democratic primary. (There’s Jack Nicholson’s somewhat strange pro-Clinton clip made up of spliced-together movie performances, for instance.) But the Obama endorsements seem not simply expressions of support, but of something more like fandom. Dan Ariely, a behavioral-economics professor at M.I.T. and author of the recent book “Predictably Irrational,” has gone so far as to compare it to romance, citing research about the early stages of dating as a comparison point: “When we get partial information about others we tend to fill in the gaps optimistically; we assume that they are wonderful, just like us and that they share our exact values and preferences.” He figures part of Obama’s charm may be the way fans are filling in the blanks.

This brings us to perhaps the most delightful piece of Obama-inspired creativity, the Web site barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com. This is nothing but a series of statements about the wonderful things Obama has done for “you.” He left a comment on your blog, picked you up at the airport, built you a robot, thinks you are cute and, sweetly: “Barack Obama has a balloon for you.” The site has been read as support — and as a satire of crush-blind Obama supporters. Of course this ambiguity is what makes it so pleasing. Because perfect little things like this are invariably converted into profitable objects, a deal has been struck to release an illustrated book based on the site. The stated goal to get it into stores before the Democratic convention reflects a reality lurking behind the political optimism: all the creative expression in the world doesn’t guarantee that we’ll ever find out what sort of president Obama might be.

new york times

done with dinner and laundry. painted my nails. washed the dishes. emailed my dancers . . . .

still a little manic
and a little hungry

but i think i will read a book to calm myself down and avoid any snacking.

just did laundry.
now it's time for dinner . . .

midday update . . .

it's 3:20 and my crazy energy has partially subsided. just made my second batch of coffee for the day and ate some lunch. now i will head back into thesis land.

the weather is inspiring me to do a little spring purging, so the next break i take will involve cleaning out my closet.

hello my dear hipster-princess-housewife. how's your day off going?

today i am feeling so manic (of course no idea why or how long it will last), i can hardly sit still! it's good though because i have a million million things to do!! right now i am just trying to hold myself still long enough to organize my to do list . . . then i hoping to shoot off like a rubber band and organize my life!

seems that my mania is preventing me from writing anything coherent to you because i have way too much skipping through my mind (no more coffee). better do some yoga before i start to choreograph!!

i'll write more later.
luf
j

weekend crash

I'm totally running out of steam. What a weekend! Tomorrow being monday and all, I'm calling it a night in the homework department, but I had to share this with you; I found it in an article I'm reading for my proposal.

"There's an ancestor for [the practice of academic journal keeping] in the florilegium (literally: "flowers of reading") in evidence throughout the classical, medieval, and Renaissance periods. The florilegium was a small compendium, a collection of proverbs, of quotations that strike one for whatever reason. These were later reread, thus serving to focus attention on their substance" (409). From Silence: Reflection, Literacy, Learning and Teaching by Pat Belanoff

...I totally thought of our quote books! I guess we're on to something...a Renaissance something. Huh. :)

goin' a little pink-preppy

photos of the outfit of the day . . .sort of cheesy?
maybe.
but who cares.

sad sad saturday night

Hey.
I'm sad that I didn't get to see the incredible focused, adorable question-esque band with you! Wow, I can only imagine how in love I would be with the band... ;)
Tonight I've been working on various school-related things: grading papers, working on my proposal, fighting with the printer over whether or not it will print out my proposal ( i lost). I've been reading these essays to supplement my lit review and just wallowing in a little puddle of jealousy and self-pity. I'll never write like annie dillard, my journals will never be as poetic as may sarton's...i'm not disciplined, unsociable or taciturn enough to be a writer. But, I am good a wallowing, so that's something...

Anywhoo, here's to you from my poorly-lit puddle! I'm going to get a head-start on my procrastination and look at that band's myspace now!

plants and animals

as always, i wish you were here. then i wouldn't have to send you this blog telling you how incredible the band was last night, 'cause you would have been there with me . . .

anyway, 'plants and animals' left me speechless. only you will understand this but they are like 'the questions' but really really good!! (not that the questions aren't good, but they have a little too much crazy whereas these guys have the perfect balance of crazy, passion, costumes, skill and soul. can you imagine drew a little more focused and conventional--same passion, just as cute but controlled).

the stage was set up in a happy egalitarian way(drummer was front and center) and the guys had such smooth interactions with each other (as a performer i am addicted to watching how other performing groups work together . . .always in search of the perfect communal artist structure . . . but now i'm rambling)

their set was great. honestly a seamless mix of art school, garage rock and neo folkness. but the best part of the show (the part where i seriously contemplated calling you and just holing up my phone so you could listen) was when they came back on stage for a quasi-encore and played a cover of sinnerman. oh nic, you know i am not a fruity music person, but it took me to another place. it was striking. i am in love.

here is there myspace. i think you will like them.
luf
j

ok, the gmail thing was an april 1st joke and i was totally fooled!!

how did i miss that? just off my game i guess but i am glad it's not real . . . it messed with my scope of reality a little too much!

um . . .

so, i love gmail but this could be google's attempt at taking over the world . . .

they claim that you can send emails from a "customized time". so if i forgot your birthday i could send you an email dated feb17th . . . plus i can mark it "read" so i can "prove" to you that i never forgot at all!! your students could email assignments after they are due but they will pop into your inbox as though they promptly arrived when they were supposed to.

i could email my thesis a week late but date it as though i met the deadline . . .hmmm.

gmail has put some limits on this power though. so as not to mess with the laws of physics (don't want the world to implode because time ceases to matter) you can't send a message dated before gmail existed (2004). and you can only send 10 custom dated emails a year.
sorta crazy, unethical and certainly tricky