Oh, Hello

This has made the rounds, but, you know, far be it from me not to re-post something Lionel Ritchie-related.

Hello from ant1mat3rie on Vimeo.

Watching That Man

Practice makes perfect. I love Aladdin Sane, and I love the album cover. So much so that, you know, about 18 years ago I dressed up as it.


Nice to know it took D. Bowie a few tries to get it right too. Thanks, internet.




(oh, and it was a few years after I first obsessing with it that I discovered the pun. We all have strengths and weaknesses)

Baby This Honey's For Me

Am I sad that R.E.M. broke up? I mean, I probably thought they did 15 years ago.

Still, it's a nice excuse to play this song and get a little wistful as I dress this Casual Friday.

Thanks boys, for the memories. And the best use of Kate Pierson as a sideman this side of Iggy Pop.

How Could Seeing These Buddies NOT Brighten Your Morning Commute?

A McQueen Come True

So how did I spend my Summer Friday? Well, I spent about 90 minutes of it in line at the Met to see that Alexander McQueen exhibit people won't stop yapping about.

And? Despite the wait, I'm glad I went. Now, I'm not going to say that it was the best thing in the world, or even that it was worth the long line - but it was a good time. Pretty dresses on nice mannequins in a dark room.

This here was the most impressive thing - they had the dress on display and a higher quality version of this video. I mean, this is something.



Not only is it a great performance/fashion/piece (how many of those are there, really?), but the dang model doesn't fall over and barf when the painting is done! She's a superhero.

If you would like to recreate the experience of seeing the show, read this blog on your smart phone while boarding the A/C/E train at Port Authority during rush hour.

Oh? And here's the line on Saturday, which we did NOT wait in. Know who took this picture? Al Roker. America sure is something. Our credit rating gets down-graded, 000's of people wait in line to see dresses, and our national weatherman tweets this picture during his morning jog.



Anyway, after this I took a nice nap then went to that new Spanish restaurant down the street from me. Summer Friday, you're a good thing.

Seeing Reflections On The Water (not lace nor leather)

So on Sunday I was doing what I do, trying to find an interesting cover of that best Bond song of the 90s, "Goldeneye." I found this.



Who is this man? Why is this man? Why are there less than 1000 views for this man? Why does he have 128 videos? Everything is wonderful.




God Bless, internet. Thank you.

of Museums and Culture

Yesterday, I went on an educational jaunt to QUEENS. Whaaaa?!? Yep, Queens.

See, the Museum of the Moving Image had a little show about the Muppets - I'll blog about that later. The last time I went to the MoMI, it was raining, and we saw a double-feature of Night at the Opera and Der Blaue Angel. If there's one thing I can suggest, don't ever go straight from a Marx Brothers movie to one where someone dies from loving Marlene Dietrich. It does not make for a fun night. However, my companion found a $20 bill outside the museum on our walk home, so you never know.

HOWEVER, this Sunday none of that happened. Here's a few of the gems they have on display.

Elsa Lanchester's wig! Who knew the bride of Frankenstein was a ginger?


They had a whole Star Wars toy exhibit, which was pretty awesome - I remembered owning and playing with each and everyone of of the Action Figures. What I did not remember, was this quasi-NSFW C3-P0 tape dispenser.

I have a question on these books here below. Did Betty Grable, Judy Garland, and Ginger Rogers figure in as characters in these novels? A little research is in order, but I don't want to be late for work.
Furthermore, I wish I had this Julia lunchbox growing up. I loved that show. The legs really are the last thing to go.


In conclusion, my favorite bit of memorabilia was these Geraldine and Flip Wilson dolls. God, but they'd look grand on my fireplace mantle.

Television is great. Also, movies. Queens, not so bad.

"Be Bold"

Some books you love for the plot, some for the emotions, and some for the words.


Be bold. It's the only chance to get away with it.

Bears, Flowers

Sometimes I like art.

I Mean, How Do You Argue With That?

The picture:

The website URL:

http://www.thebestpictureontheinternet.com/

And there you have it.

el Arte tan bueno

I spent today in the Thyssen-Bornemisza, perhaps my favorite museum and one I haven't been to in about a decade. The familiarity of some of the paintings made me feel so good.

Interestingly, I could have just sat in Kevin's house it seems to have enjoyed some of the art.

There Is Art In Everything

Conductor: www.mta.me from Alexander Chen on Vimeo.

Conductor turns the New York subway system into an interactive string instrument. Using the MTA's actual subway schedule, the piece begins in realtime by spawning trains which departed in the last minute, then continues accelerating through a 24 hour loop. The visuals are based on Massimo Vignelli's 1972 diagram.

(details here)

Doodles, Bugs

So my favorite doodlebug is, of course, Doodlebug from Cleopatra Jones. Also, I like drawings in marginalia.

My Nana used to doodle, I wish I had one of those still. She would draw Veronica Lake again and again. Her TV Guide was filled with Veronicas Lake.

Other famous doodlers? I found some on this site here.

Here's Sylvia Plath doodling away in her diary. The site points out the marshmallow chasing the hot dog, I was mostly fascinated by her girly handwriting. Not at all what I expected the penmanship to look like under the bell jar.


My favorite of course is this one by Vladimir Nabokov. Of course he would draw a cockroach in his copy of Metamorphosis. And also of course, he would take issue with the translation. What a mind.


And speaking of our dear friend Franz, here's Kafka's doodlings. A whole story library here in just a few scribbles.
Thanks, doodlers. And God, Bless.

Like Chocolate & Peanut Butter

OK, so last year when I drove to Maryland and back to see my nephew, I listened to Della Reese the entire way. This year? I played the new Kanye on loop back and forth.

Mashing up what might be the best song with the Muppets? An act of extreme disrespect or genius?



I mean, if you can make the Virgin Mary out of elephant poop and call it art, then this too deserves its spot in the Brooklyn Museum. And Miss Piggy oinking out the best rap in the piece? My life is complete. Right key, right hole baby.

"Could Be A Piano, Could Be A Fruit"

Genius. Pure, underwater, Genius.

There Oughtta Be An App For This

How can you see this:

And not choose to do this?

Happy Almost Thanksgiving!

"I hated the soup and felt little for the can"

Shorty finally finished Freedom. He liked it, but it took him forever to read and I get the sense he had some over-identification issues, so despite the beautiful sentences about the Silver Palate cookbook and an evening of Zinfandel, he was glad when it was over.


Not so with Patti Smith's memoir of her friendship with Robert Mapplethorpe, Just Kids, which unlike the Franzen's tome, was nominated for a National Book Award.

Smith touched me when I was a late teen and her musings seem ripped from my adolescent heart (the appropriate time & age for over-identification, it seems), and it's nice to see this carry over to my adulthood. Sentence for sentence, it's a tough call - but my money is on her. This one here is the fave so far.

"I didn't feel for Warhol the way Robert did. His work reflected a culture I wanted to avoid. I hated the soup and felt little for the can. I preferred an artist who transformed his time, not mirrored it."

And yet, I do love those cows.

Drei Dinge auf Deutschland

Here are three things I learned while in Germany.

One: if you order Nachos, you get a plate of Doritos with three dips.


Two: they have no idea what QWERTY means. Tzping can be a dooyz.

Three: here's a gratuitous picture of me with culture and coffee.
Das Ende.

My Daddy Taught Me Good

Is the Internet making us Stoopid? Maybe.

And yet, if not for the internet, my life would not be richer for things like this.

To wit, this here, from a local Kansas City newscast, is enough of a gem:



But then some geniuses do this? If it was for this alone that Autotune, or even the Internet was invented - it'd be worth it.



God bless, America.

Murder in da Club

Enjoy.
Murder in the Club by Wing Commander
Best. Thing. Ever.

This is for all the congressmen in Washington, D.C. with no entertainment while they eat their TV dinners.