a question answered by the late, great wendy wasserstein

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.

its so lame that someone leaked the new harry potter online

do they hate magic or what?

its been a while

a week, actually. i think this may be the longest i've gone without posting since i started this blog, unless you count trips abroad.

i've been taking a bit of a pause, if you will. circumstances have required my body to take a break, and i've decided to give my neurotic, over-active mind a break too. there are a billion things i could be freaking out about at the moment, but for now, just for right now and the next couple of weeks, i'm not going to. i am going to play wii and watch television marathons. i am going to read trashy novels and all of my edward tufte books. i am going to construct wooden insects. i am going to beat zelda. i am going to make pancetta-burrata-tomato sandwiches, and not drink or smoke. i am going to sit in the sun and talk to my mother.

doing these things, not freaking out - its harder than it seems. my life is a giant question mark, which is both scary and exciting. and - just for now - i'm going to be ok with that.

here i go

wish me luck.

blue steel

these orthopedic flats are made for walking

i wasn't feeling well when i left kelly and jake's, so i decided to go back to dumbo for a nap. as i walked the three long block to 6th avenue, my feet and my ipod conspired to take control of my body, and walked right passed the subway entrance, to 7th avenue, 8th avenue...i was almost at 9th avenue when my mind finally regained control and turned me back towards the F train.

so long chicago

we spent the weekend in chicago getting drunk with his relatives, listening to jazz at all night clubs, checking out the theater scene, and haunting cavernous used book stores. i always manage to catch that town during beautiful weather, and it absolutely captivates me. but i hear that's not always the case...

this morning finds me in new york on a beautiful july day.
i am a lucky girl indeed.

fleur de sel caramels

i just ate the last one.

try them for yourself.

Walking Wilshire

from downtown to santa monica.

via thrillist

i haven't had a cigarette in over a week

it still sucks.

first bowl show of the summer last night

cut chemist and dj shadow


afterwards we went dancing.

later that night we stole a gang of balloons and led a parade down hollywood boulevard towards roscoe's chicken and waffles, but it was closed.

we let the balloons go.

(starring: marcel, elisa, david; cinematographer: me)

i love the soft coolness of the air just after the sun sets on a warm summer day.

on spontaneity

i accepted a last minute invitation to lunch with my dentist (remember her?), her two dental hygienists, her receptionist and 4 other patients yesterday. the lunch was actually a blind date set-up between two of the patients (she's known for this), and the rest of us were along to ease the process. except the guy being set up didn't show. awkward. i was still numb from the novacaine and drooling all over myself.

good times.

fuck it

i'm baking cookies!

who's with me?!!?

still not m*&f%*&&n done

blech.

you'd think i'd be done by now

wouldn't you?

the stars (mis)align

two different people have pointed out to me that mercury goes into retrograde tomorrow, the day of graduation. when i asked what that meant they both just made a face and shook their head. so i did some research: apparently mercury in retrograde signals a time of cosmic change in which inevitable or fated events will occur. it also effects communication, leading to poor decisions, misunderstandings, confusion, and is best spent in introspection rather than action.

now i know why they shook their heads.

post graduation to-do list

have a day at the spa
get my car serviced/dents removed/washed
go to all of the museums i've fallen behind on
take up spinning in addition to yoga and get in wicked shape
go hiking
put all of the photographs i've been saving for the past three years into an album
write letters
send packages
make a mix cd
finish my model
take a walk every day
throw a party
go to new york
fix all of the little things that need fixing around my house
learn how to barbeque
go to the hollywood bowl as much as possible
figure out the rest of my life
clean out my closet
clean out my bookcase

in honor of my last day of classes

panda video!

rust

grunion unicorns

in the movie the last unicorn all of the unicorns, save one, have been imprisoned in the sea by an evil wizard. with every high tide they ride the waves onto the beach, but are pulled back into the ocean as the wave recedes.


last night i watched the grunion running on the beach by my house. with each wave hundreds of silvery fish would wash up on the beach. the waves were alive with splashes and scales and slippery little fish.


and then, like little grunion unicorns, they were pulled back into the sea from which they came.

urban planning soundtrack

someone, somewhere made an urban planning mix, and the link to it fell into my busy little hands. i'm not going to post it here because its not mine to post, but i will share two of my favorite songs:

hot property - 7 day weekend

big cities - director

who knew planning could be so sexy? i mean, outside of urban planning school.

i'd also like to add a song that wasn't on the mix, but is always accompanied by cities being built in fast-forward in my head.

+81 - deerhoof

aw

candied bacon

just one element of the (mostly) all-pork dinner party:

raw manchego
mitica miticrema
fra mani salumi
black pepper crackers

candied bacon

potato-rosemary bread
rosemary butter

figs stuffed with parmesan and wrapped in bacon

pork wrapped in bacon, maple-mustard pan sauce
spiced roasted sweet potatoes
arugula, shaved parmesan and fennel salad

strawberries

bethany and i may also be hosting a "wrapped in bacon" potluck in the near future - lets get creative, people!

procrastination, sponsored by vicky

**Post Amendment**
Digital SLR is, unfortunately, not one word. I guess I'll replace it with 'job.'

Not as easy as you might think.
Answer each with one word...

1. Where is your cell phone?
table

2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend?
work

3. Your hair?
messy

4. Work?
exactly

5. Your father?
changed

6. Your favorite thing?
food

7. Your dream last night?
heroes

8. You're last kiss?
door

9. Your dream car?
garage

10. The room you're in?
exposed

11. Your pet?
dead

12. Your fear?
loss

13. What do you want to be in 10 years?
happy

14. Where did you hang out last night?
movies

15. What you're not good at?
patience

16. Eyebrow rings on the opposite sex?
hmmmmm

17. One of your wish list items?
digital slr

18. Where you grew up?
exurbs

19. The last thing you did?
coffee

20. What are you wearing?
pajamas!

21. what aren't you wearing?
underwear

[deleted]

23. Your computer?
smooth

24. Your life?
changing

25. Your mood?
contemplative

26. Missing someone
always

27. What are you thinking about right now?
dinner

28. Your car?
dinged

29. Your work?
writing

30. Your summer?
travels

31. Your relationship status?
taken

32. Your favorite color?
green

33. When is the last time you laughed?
flashing

34. Last time you cried?
uncertainty

35. school?
donzo

36. Beautiful?
grunion

37. Myspace?
why?

38. Candy?
bacon

39. Embarrassing moment?
hunt

40. now?
questions

100% increase in animals running amok

an 500 lb orangutan escaped a taiwan zoo today and ran amok among the tourists.


and this just a week after a 400lb gorilla escaped from his enclosure and ran amok in a dutch zoo!

i think something is afoot with running amok.

just before the crowds

cheesycakes build a human pyramid

in uniform

soaking wet

with two strangers

on a public sidewalk

in the middle of the day

what?

the euclidean distance from hazmat facilities in the city of redlands

in miles


and in meters

i bought a watch today

i haven't worn one in over 5 years. i can't wear a watch unless i absolutely love it. and i love this one.

but still: a watch.

changes are a comin'.

in the desert

some say that traveling together is the real test of a relationship

but me, i'm going to go with outlet mall shopping.

nothing says 'i love you' like encouraging someone to try on the same pair of pants in 3 different colors and 2 different sizes in the 4th hour of shopping while surrounded by the mass personification of the dumbing down of america.

did you know that aborigines could will themselves to die?

i'm reading and transcribing hundreds of anonymous confessions for a project on the relationship between space and secrets. some are guilty, some are proud, some are angry, some are works of art, and some just about break my heart.

humanity can be so moving, sometimes.

los angeles is burning

600 acres of griffith park is gone.

and things aren't growing back so easily these days.

i think that maybe

the things i do over and over again

that i beat myself up for doing

and ask "why will i never learn?"

because i should have learned by now, because i should know better.

i think that maybe i actually like doing these things, and don't really care so much about the consequences. or i like doing them more than i care about the consequences.

i think that's why i haven't learned.

sparkles

i wore a dress today

first of the season.

changing times

when elephants use to bathe down the street.

from ucla's library digital archive of los angeles photographs from 1920-1990.

i went out to claremont this weekend

it's good to remember.

we've joked about it many times

but i never thought anyone would follow through with it.

those of us living in los angeles can now rent a pet.

answers at last

how men work

how women work

eucalyptus

i've never been a big fan of the gossip

but i've got to give it up for their cover of the aaliyah classic 'are u that somebody'

and their lead singer fucking rocks.


where were rock stars like that when i was a teenager?

XXX

cauliflower revolution

with the exception of its use as a base for truffled soup, i've been pretty indifferent to cauliflower for most of my life. it's a little bland and slightly creepy. but recently this has all changed: i've discovered the joy that is roasted cauliflower. and now i want to share it with you.

here's the deal (paraphrased from cooks illustrated):

make your way down to the store and buy a head of cauliflower. preheat oven to 450. cut off the bottom stalk, and then chop the head into 8 wedges. toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. cover a baking sheet with tinfoil and brush with more oil. add cauliflower (one of the flat sides down) and then cover the baking sheet tightly with another layer of tinfoil. put it in oven for 10-12 minutes. take the tinfoil off and cook for another 10-12 minutes. flip the cauliflower over to the other flat side and cook for another 10-12 minutes, or until they look done. take them out and don't eat them too fast or you'll burn your mouth.

its tastier than i ever dreamed cauliflower could be.

artifact

i have a friend date tonight

someone i met ages ago at a party. we exchanged numbers, talked on the phone a few times, but this our first chance to hang out.

i'm a little nervous.

its raining!

at last.

mas

so let me get this straight

we live in a country where the average joe can walk into a store and buy semi-automatic weapons without a problem, but a woman can't get a medical procedure that might save her life, because some repressed, self-righteous stranger might be offended.

yes, you neo-fascist, neo-conservative dickheads, this makes total sense.

jackasses.

something is in the air

almost everyone i know is in some sort of crisis: break ups, breakdowns, general malaise and ennui around every turn.

i'm thinking we should all just take cover until memorial day, when we'll reconvene for a giant barbecue at my house. i'll import fireflies from the east coast. we'll lie in the hammock, drink beer and pick each others scabs. everything will be fine.

in the alley

la isla de las munecas

i realized this morning

that the way i've been walking to get coffee is loud, smelly and trafficky. its the shortest path from my front door to the coffee shop.

but this morning i remembered that i have a back door. and this door leads to a less noisy route to the coffee shop. a route that, out of pure habit, i haven't been taking.

i know this isn't some revolutionary realization. in fact, its kind of obvious and dull. i just never cease to be amazing by the power of habit, or of anything that goes unquestioned for too long.

top 10 lessons for surviving a zombie attack

1. organize before they rise!
2. they feel no fear, why should you?
3. use your head: cut off theirs.
4. blades don’t need reloading.
5. ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair.
6. get up the staircase, then destroy it.
7. get out of the car, get onto the bike.
8. keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert!
9. no place is safe, only safer.
10. the zombie may be gone, but the threat lives on.

from: the zombie survival guide

happy easter!

traffic in mexico city's a bitch

i lost my favorite hoodie

fuck.

awkward pelvic exam conversations are almost as bad as the exams themselves

"so, what are you planning on doing after you graduate?"

"i don't know. what are you planning on doing after you get your HAND out of my VAGINA?"

crime

as long as we're on the subject of maps, i thought i'd offer this interactive map of los angeles: you enter an address, and it shows all of the crimes that have taken place in a 1 (or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5) mile radius in the past 3 (or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7) days. you can scroll over the jauntily color-coded markers for details.

for an even more disturbing look at the city, check out the map version of LATimes homicide blog.

and, for good measure (and because i just got out of map class) check out the carte marina, a beautiful old map of the nordic countries. i'm particularly fond of the sea monsters.

close-up of one of the sea monsters

the pyramid of the sun, the sun, la collecion jumex, yum, el tunel de la alegria, mexican culture is quite macabre

los angeles without smog