ten track mind

aquarium from below

2008-11-29T09:22:00.001-08:00

right-side up jellyfish

2008-11-29T09:20:00.000-08:00

Unpacking

2008-09-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

The Bowl

2008-09-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

I work across the street from this grocery store, and shop there at least twice a week.

It kind of sums up my feelings about Berkeley in a nutshell:

It may be a "town of hall monitors" but the food oh! the food!

Ocean Beach Bonfire

2008-09-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

Where I Live

2008-06-28T10:00:00.001-07:00

The Saddest Wienerschnitzel

2008-05-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

My Job, In Wildlife Metaphor

2008-05-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

I am a momma bird who eats data. I chew it up, swirl it around, cut it 100 different ways, and puke it back up in a digestible form for my baby bird clients.

If I'm doing my job right, it comes up as a coherent story about a place, a time and a community.

If I'm doing my job right, it looks easy. It isn't.

Despite my unappetizing description, it's actually quite an interesting and enjoyable process.

Try Not To Crack A Smile

2008-04-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

Just try.

via jezebel

Friends and Llamas

2008-04-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

New Growth

2008-04-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

Navigating

2008-04-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

Nick and T

2008-04-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

WTF?

2008-04-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

My mom just used the phrase OMG in an email.

I can't quite figure out why, but this struck me as odd.

Do your parents use internet acronyms?

It Was 90 Degrees In Venice Yesterday

2008-04-13T09:25:00.001-07:00

The menu:

Peach salsa and tortilla chips
New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp
Homemade cornbread with chipotle butter
Brazilian collard greens
Rum-glazed grilled plantains
Fresh margaritas, beer and wine

I've missed my kitchen...

Cognitive Dissonance

2008-04-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Coming back to LA is like traveling back in time. I'm trying to roll with it, but if my hand starts to disappear I'm on the first plane back to San Francisco.

Look What I Just Found On The Sidewalk! It Lights UP!

2008-04-11T14:04:00.001-07:00

Three cheers for Berkeley!

There Are So Many Donut Shops Within Walking Distance Of My New House.

2008-04-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

Sensational.

First Impressions

2008-03-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

So Long, Los Angeles

2008-03-13T08:27:00.001-07:00

Thanks (to all of you) for the memories.

I'm Going To Miss My Cakes

2008-03-11T08:20:00.001-07:00

Cakes not pictured, but still missed: Julie, Eileen.

I Can Hear It From My Bed At Night

2008-03-08T09:06:00.001-08:00

Ok, Guys

2008-03-05T17:16:00.000-08:00

Who left the copy of Machismo in my bookshelf?

(Link NSFW)

Everything Changes

2008-02-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

I accepted the offer. I can't figure out if I'm more excited by the new job or the new city.

I think I'm in shock.

Can't Work Out What I'm Supposed To Do

2008-02-23T12:33:00.000-08:00

Everything will change next week. Or not.

For now, I wait.

Can't Go Out, Can't Stay In - Whitey

Caramel

2008-02-17T11:13:00.001-08:00

Back At The Purifoy Foundation

2008-02-15T14:29:00.001-08:00

My Imaginary Friend Is Real

2008-02-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

And he likes pastrami....

My First Time As Anything-Of-The-Month

2008-02-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

I'll try not to let it get to my head.

Flea Market Photographs

2008-02-04T12:45:00.001-08:00

Razbliuto

2008-01-31T07:54:00.000-08:00

I recently heard this word on the Savage Love Podcast (episode 66, very nsfw). Defined as:

(n): the sentimental feeling you have about someone you once loved but no longer do

Razbliuto. It's fun to say, descriptive and meets a vocabularial need. Unfortunately, it's not a real word, but when has that ever stopped the English language?

Even better than the word itself is the context in which it was introduced. The woman who mentioned it has a grammar fetish - that is, she gets off on using big, fun, delicious words in bed.

How awesome is that? It's like, the nerdiest fetish ever. Go her.

Bethany On The Mountain

2008-01-25T14:06:00.001-08:00

Other Food-Related Flotsam and Jetsam

2008-01-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

Best word ever.

Om nom nom nom.

Skirting Salad Boredom

2008-01-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

A very, very useful guide to basic salad combinations.

Miss Ginsu, via Slashfood.

Freaky Observers

2008-01-16T09:01:00.001-08:00

The Boltzman brain problem suggests that, over eons of time, there is an infinite possibility atoms colliding in outer space to create recognizable things, from the mundane (the unscrambling of an egg) to the grandiose (a parallel universe). There could also be another you out there, just floating in space. Or, according to the Boltzman brain problem, an exact replica of your brain.

In fact, it is more likely that just your brain is out there than your whole body. Nature tends to do thing as simply and with as little energy as possible, and the creation of your brain is statistically "cheaper."

So it's entirely likely that your brain is floating somewhere out in space, fully aware, with your memories and the illusion of your world around it. Lots of your brains, in fact. And because the creation of our universe the way it is was such an improbable occurrence (ie there's only one "real" you, compared to many floating brains), it is statistically more likely that you are one of these brains in space, and not yourself in this universe.

Kind if disturbing, right?

The thing is that most cosmologists don't really believe this is true - but they can't figure out how to disprove it. And this flaw in the use of probability to predict the universe creates all sorts of issues in other parts of cosmology, which is in itself disturbing.

Or maybe it is true, in which case - wooooaaaahhh.

Check out the NYTimes article for a much longer and more detailed description of the whole phenomenon.

I'm An Alien Rock-Star Spy!

2008-01-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

Remember when you were a kid and playing pretend was basically the best game ever? You could be whoever, whereever, whenever you wanted, and reality was no hindrance to your fun. Fly to outer space and shoot lasers out of your eyes? Sure! Transform at will into a talking unicorn-pegasus hybrid? No problem! Die a dramatic death and come back to life? Practically a given!

We were talking about this the other night, trying to figure out at what age playing pretend went out of style. M played openly until his friends started making fun of him for being uncool. I willingly gave up public playing in a pre-teen attempt to rush adolescence. But we both admitted to playing pretend privately until we were much older, and eventually these pretend games dissolved into our modern-day fantasy lives...which then led us to ask if we've ever really stopped playing pretend.

And of course, we haven't. From silly daydreams to the occasional complete delusion to the half-truths we tell ourselves just to get through the day, we still do. So what's the difference between the way we pretend now, and the way we played then? Obviously reality is more of an issue now. But how many of our modern-day hindrances are self-imposed, the byproduct of our shrinking imaginations?

I don't have any answers. Just pontificating into the ether.

But here's one of my favorite songs about playing pretend (the adult way):

Aaron and Maria - American Analog Set

back on california soil

2008-01-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

19 mosquito bites later.

pig in a truck

2008-01-05T11:53:00.001-08:00

now he's in my belly.

rusty heart

2007-12-27T10:58:00.001-08:00

the happiest engine

2007-12-27T10:52:00.000-08:00

Fa la la la la

2007-12-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

Last night we went caroling on the back of a flatbed truck. The truck was decorated with Christmas lights and garlands, and a few people brought along ukeleles. As we traversed the streets of Hanalei people came running out of their homes and shops, waved to us from lanais and a few even followed us on their bikes.

Afterwards we went back to the church social hall for a potluck dinner, where I was force-fed Christmas cookies and had spam for the first time (salty).

In case you're wondering what's going to be in my head this Christmas, here it is.

Steps at Alamo Square

2007-12-20T07:27:00.000-08:00

Dream = Reality

2007-12-18T09:41:00.001-08:00

It's in the works.

godspeed little airplane!

2007-12-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

self-portrait at 22

2007-12-10T08:41:00.001-08:00

Tiny injured baby hedgehog

2007-12-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

All safe now and recovering at Tigglywinkles animal hospital.

From the daily mail via jezebel.

Bethany and me in Beverly Hills

2007-12-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

Somehow, this looks like neither of us.

Poof!

2007-12-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

Just as quickly as it arrived, it's gone.

My newish camera is back in the shop for repairs, so it seems I'm going to have to wait a little longer to explore the land of digital SLRs.

Sigh.

rainy day muffins

2007-11-30T12:56:00.001-08:00

I took this with the Canon 5D my parents passed on to me over Thanksgiving. I don't know too much about digital SLRs just yet, but I suspect it's going to be fun learning.

And you know what else?

2007-11-24T10:45:00.001-08:00

Just as I am too old for twee heart/star/skull prints, I am too old for writing in all lower case.

From now on, I'm capitalizing.

i'm back!

2007-11-24T09:48:00.001-08:00

i'm not sure what happened over the last couple of weeks. at first i didn't blog because i had nothing to say, then i was too busy, then i was out of the habit, and when i realized how long it had been since i'd last posted, i felt a lot of pressure to come back with something witty or beautiful or profound - things i just don't seem to be feeling right now.

what i am feeling is inward-facing - the desire to be silent and alone, for measured social interactions with plenty of time to think.

so apologies if i seem to have retreated. i think its a healthy thing every now and again, but i'm hoping to pull out of it soon. i miss everyone!

judd apatow has produced a short film about the place where i tutor

2007-11-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

this is exactly what it's like.

november

2007-11-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

a short playlist for early nightfall.

trophy - bat for lashes
summer wine - nancy sinatra and lee hazelton
style it takes - lou reed and john cale
things behind the sun - nick drake
twelve hours it take sometimes - the reindeer section
wonder wonder - edith frost
ponytail - panda bear

fires make for beautiful sunsets

2007-11-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

when my soul starts glowing

2007-11-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

love is blind (the pumpkin)

study

2007-11-01T09:27:00.001-07:00

long beach and big bear, before the fires

2007-10-30T00:15:00.001-07:00

aboard the queen mary

2007-10-27T11:40:00.001-07:00

i couldn't make this stuff up if i tried.

2007-10-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

seventy-five year old, german identical-twin acrobatic duo.

wiener dog races.

play-off bound

2007-10-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

(i'm the weak link)

i didn't realize i had a problem

2007-10-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

until i saw this study.

we're just misunderstood.

i worked with a 7 year old girl and an 11 year old boy today

2007-10-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

they goofed off for the first 2 1/2 hours, insisting their homework was too hard, and then finished it swiftly in the last 30 minutes.

i persuaded and cajoled and put my foot down, but it did no good.

the truth is, that's how i work half the time too.

i think my dentist is coming to hawaii with me for thanksgiving

2007-10-15T17:47:00.001-07:00

i'm totally serious. how did it come to this?

she wants me to send her my flight info so that we can sit next to each other on the way over.

i'm kind of weirded out.

paperweight

2007-10-12T18:06:00.001-07:00

the bad news

2007-10-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

i just picked up the first roll of film from my newly-repaired canon - and it was blank.

the camera store (which is already on my bad side for moving far, far away from me, losing a roll of film, having cranky employees, and randomly cropping 4 x 6 prints into 5 x 5) said it could be a problem with the lens, but they're not sure, so i have to bring it in again.

sigh.

the good news

2007-10-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

i am tentatively scheduled to receive my mom's old digital slr, which - quite frankly - kicks ass. i've been secretly hoping this would happen ever since my mom told my dad she wanted a cute little digital camera for christmas, and he bought her a camera bigger than her head.

this means i won't have to deal with far-away cranky error-prone expensive camera stores to get high quality images anymore.

so don't fret, my pets - all is not lost.

waiting in line = sore feet

2007-10-08T10:08:00.001-07:00

the swings

2007-10-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

scary ride

2007-10-08T09:55:00.001-07:00

new light

2007-10-05T13:20:00.001-07:00

through this window.

by the beach

2007-10-01T19:02:00.001-07:00

i've lost my voice again

2007-09-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

squeak!

i went on a date with this guy

2007-09-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

from LA Can't Drive

And this just in....
A reader emailed this to me, and I just had to share. "My true story... I watched a guy in stop and go Friday traffic on the 10, driving with his knees while practicing his ukulele. I know he was practicing because he had his sheet music propped up on the passenger seat and was turned sideways so that he could read it as he drove. I only wish I had a photo."

no, seriously. we met at a coffee shop. he made me a mix of bluegrass and indie rock. we went on one date and he explained to me that he used traffic time to learn new instruments. it started with the harmonica and progressed from there.

later he told me i reminded him too much of an ex-girlfriend he wasn't yet over. he was upfront about it and there were no hard feelings. it was just one date.

but it makes me happy to know he's still out there, playing the ukelele in traffic.

hawaii moments

2007-09-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

tiny creatures

in the car

on the mountain

me by marty

2007-09-21T08:15:00.001-07:00

this is olive

2007-09-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

olive lives next door. she likes to watch me. it's a bit disconcerting and unbearably cute.

someone stole my bike

2007-09-17T18:53:00.001-07:00

i mean, really?

the fuji thrill i bought used a couple of years ago?

it means way more to me than any stupid bicycle thief.

it'll get you where you're going, but i don't think it'll get much at the pawn shop.

so long, mr. bird

2007-09-16T19:54:00.001-07:00

i'll miss your blank stares, your loud, random squawks, your hostile demeanor.

mr. bird is back with his rightful owners.

they call him something else (something stupid), but to us he'll always be...

mr. bird.

global warming and my house

2007-09-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

marina del rey and venice given a 3 or 5 meter rise in sea level.

i live in the little red star.

these visuals are from architecture 2030, which recently released a coastal impact study on the effects of rising sea levels on 32 coastal towns, including new york and san francisco.

they're quite effective.

predicting the results of climate change is hardly an exact science, so they provide a range of sea level changes. you can find out more about their methodology here.

my emmy-winning roommate

2007-09-09T14:35:00.001-07:00

this was on the kitchen table when i woke up this morning. it's really real, really shiny, and damn heavy.

no matter where life takes our little kelly, she'll always have an emmy.

what will you do when your suntan is faded and the summer's gone?

2007-09-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

the new york times recently did an article about the last days of summer in stone harbor, nj - the tiny south jersey beach town where i spent all of my summers as a kid. it's been a long time since i've spent any significant time there - by college i'd left behind summer jobs scooping ice cream for resume-building internships, settling for weekends at the shore. but those summers left little footprints in my brain, and i can still taste the bittersweet ending of summer inside my mouth.

summer is ending here too, but i'm not going back to school. i still don't know what i'm doing. i suppose i should feel sad, but i'm not - i'm excited. i have a blank slate and the rest of my life in front of me. i was sad to leave hawaii, but i'm ready to begin.

queens bath

2007-09-02T12:51:00.001-07:00

yesterday we hiked down to the ocean.

we swam in gentle, salty pools carved into the lava rocks. later, when we put on snorkel masks, we realized we were surrounded by hundreds of tiny little fish.

i believe those two splashes in the foreground are mike and julie.

miguel in the pool

2007-08-30T17:49:00.001-07:00

lunch on the lanai

2007-08-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

2007-08-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

flying through clouds gives me a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. when i was a kid i loved it. now i'm not so sure. the light is beautiful, but i'm always relieved to come out the other side.

look! there in her mouth!

2007-08-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

tiny baby newborn panda!

bacon-wrapped hot dogs at home?

2007-08-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

with corn on the cob?

heck yeah, summer!

clever, clever

2007-08-20T14:01:00.001-07:00

i saw superbad last night - fucking hilarious. go see it now.

that being said, one element of the movie did bug the hell out of me [warning: small spoiler ahead]: the unattractive-to-average-looking, nerdy anti-heroes end up with the hot/sexy/popular girls in the end.

now, i don't resent the notion that an average looking person can end up with a hot person - attraction is incredibly complex and personality is critical. i just resent that in hollywood, this personality-as-attractor scenario is only played one way: nerdy guy and hot girl. when was the last time a nerdy, unattractive girl ends up with a hot, popular guy (without getting a music-montage makeover first)? not since the says of john hughes and molly ringwald has this been seen on the big screen - and molly ringwald isn't exactly a hose-beast.

am i a touch bitter? perhaps. after all, what happens to the unattractive-to-average-looking nerdy chicks when their counterparts are off with the hotties? not that i'm really on the market these days, but it still strikes a chord.

perhaps pelle carlberg says it better:

clever girls like clever boys much more than clever boys like clever girls - pelle carlberg*

sigh.

*i'm not trying to imply that women can't be hot and clever, btw, but in the case of superbad and other male fantasy movies, they're usually just identified as hot.

the time between hearing there's been a major disaster in the city where some one you love lives, and hearing that they're ok

2007-08-15T18:21:00.001-07:00

sucks.

but by the way, he's ok.

my camera died yesterday

2007-08-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

the last image it captured:

do you suppose the television was contagious?

it was a sad day. i own many cameras - toy and digital and polaroid - but this was my camera. the one i've had for 13 years. an extension of my eyeball. it's been around the world and across the country with me (several times). its the camera i learned to shoot with, and it's captured every aspect of my life since i was 16.

it's in for repairs as we speak. i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

my roommate's been nominated for an emmy!

2007-08-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

i'm no longer calling her my roommate. from now on she's my "emmy-nominated roommate," the same way actors and actresses are prefaced.

and that's the way it's going to be until she's my "emmy-winning roommate."

banksy in venice?

2007-08-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

wouldn't be the first time...

last night i dreamt

2007-08-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

that i got a random chinese character tattooed on my left breast.

it was actually kind of a nightmare.

p.s. did you feel the earthquake? it was my first!

arthur and yu and marianne and matt

2007-08-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

boum (cover) - marianne and matt

1000 words - arthur and yu

sweet and sexy, in turn.

smoking window

2007-08-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

ul

2007-08-02T11:01:00.001-07:00

simpsonized

2007-07-30T18:02:00.001-07:00

behold the simpsons version of me. i'm not one for short pants but otherwise i think its a pretty flattering likeness. the hair is spot on (but only on a really, really good hair day).

and apparently i'm not the only one on my block who's excited about the simpsons movie. this little floral arrangement graces the front of an otherwise drab apartment building just a few doors down.

i wonder what happened to marge and maggie?

i learned to drive so i could read los angeles in the original

2007-07-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

reyner banham loves los angeles

if you're interested in more, esoteric bus tours is starting a reyner-banham-themed-tour in the fall - check it out.

attention muggles: do not deliver or open before july 21!

2007-07-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

it's here!

a question answered by the late, great wendy wasserstein

2007-07-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

i've been trying for years to determine the correct spelling of the slang word for casual. i'm currently reading the elements of style, and according to wendy wasserstein, its caj.

caj. i like it.

and coming from her, it has authority.