my moral standing is lying down

I'd been thinking a little about making a sticky welcome post but with this recent friending meme I decided to actually go ahead and make one since it's not related to any specific fandom and thus broader interests/discussions are relevant.

So, if you're interested you can check that out here: HI NEW FRANDS!

But then I realized that, along with my 30th birthday last month, it was also the 10th anniversary of creating this livejournal (way back in May 2001)! Looking back I felt like there were long stretches where I didn't actually do much with it... and that's not far off, in terms of what I wrote in it and whether I was interacting with people or just recording random things for posterity or, you know, just to hear myself talk.

So I checked my calendar of posts and realized... there were only NINE MONTHS where I didn't post even just once -- out of TEN YEARS on LJ, and they're spread only between 2003-04.

I know plenty of people do posting challenges -- 365 days/year, for example! -- and I can't even commit to doing a 30-day meme in actually 30 days! But lol, have I mentioned how I tried doing that when I got a diary for my birthday when I was six? I'd forget to write in it for a week and then I'd come back and feel like I had to rip out the pages I'd written in because I had to start over. It had to be completely filled in, or in other words, perfect.

I've gotten over that feeling, clearly, but it also makes me happy to know that I've actually stuck with writing in a diary for TEN YEARS. In some ways, it's something I think I've wanted to do since I was a child and didn't quite realize I was already doing?

Ahaha, okay, randomly-introspective!Sara hour is over now.

Ooooooh, look at today's Google logo! It's Takashi Murakami's art! I'm totally getting his flat jellyfish eyes tattooed on my arms (above the elbows) next; I've been wanting that for too long now... I just have to save up some money since it'll probably cost a good $500+.

So suchdisguise (aka ifeelbetter) posted an offer to write commentfic based on location. I normally don't make prompts and probably wouldn't have, but she mentioned being inspired by the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva for a previous fic and I had one of those oh moments.

I've wanted to visit the the praying hall of the Great Mosque of Córdoba for the. longest. time. Okay, so technically, almost 12 years now? Since that AP Art History class I had in senior year of high school. (That's pretty equivalent to "the longest time", I think.)

In any case, the commentfic she wrote in response was just perfect.

I'm going to get there one day, and then I'll think of this moment, and it'll be even better. I think in some ways the Moorish arches are to me what Penrose stairs are to Arthur. Or vice versa.

a gift from louiex! my very own Weighted Companion Cube Pony! <3!

[edit: for anyone not familiar with it, the Pony is based on the Weighted Companion Cube, a silent, but important "character" in (the best game in the whole world) Portal.]

http://www.break.com/index/deadline-cool-stop-motion-post-it-art.html

FUCKING AMAZING. WATCH NOW.

NO EXCUSES!

If we have NA on Wednesday at WR, I'll be able to meet up after class. If NA is this Thursday I won't be able to make it as I'm going to meet up with a few old friends after work at the highly praised Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden in Astoria for food/drinks.

If anyone is interested in joining me at the Beer Garden on Thursday, you're more than welcome. It's right off the Astoria Blvd stop on the N/W line, which is about a 20-25 minute train ride to/from the midtown area.


( philly recap )

Anyway, I leave you with this quick cell phone pic of my new tat. It says "w;t", because I like the word "wit": what it means and how it's used. The semi-colon is a reference to John Donne poetry (which I love), by way of this play (which I saw when I was 17 or 18, and also love).

It's a synogogue. How apropos.

http://synagogueforthearts.org/

According to a Times article from 1989, "it replaced an unusal 1866 neo-Grec loft building, startlingly interrupting an otherwise intact 19-century streetscape." On the one hand, it's kind of unfortunate that the streetscape was not preserved, but on the other hand -- we wouldn't have this awesome interesting building randomly in the middle of a street in Tribeca.

I don't think it's worth preserving everything old just because it's old. It wouldn't provide an opportunity to create new and interesting modern pieces, otherwise. In 100 years, someone might fight for the preservation of this building (if it isn't already considered a landmark), as an example of some cutting-edge idea that someone had in the late 1960s.

Why is one more worth preserving than the other?

Apparently, FIT has a museum! I didn't know this! (And now, I think back on what I've missed all this time!)

Current exhibitions are Arbiters of Style: Women at the Forefront of Fashion (May 21 to November 8, 2008) and Gothic: Dark Glamour (September 5, 2008 through February 21, 2009).

Hours are: 12-8pm (T-F), 10am-5pm (Sat). Closed Sundays, Mondays, and legal holidays.

Also, admission to the exhibitions is free!

I think I'd like to possibly make a visit this Saturday before the anime fundraiser event. Let me know if you'd like to join me.


( and now, a visit from the meme sheep )

So last week I got to see Taylor Mali at the Bowery Poetry Club! Pretty darn cool. I went by myself, which was unfortunate, but still -- I was glad.

He recited a sestina about his deceased first wife. It was really excellently done. A sestina is a pretty difficult poem to write. Go look at the link for the explanation. I am in awe of anyone who can write a sestina (well), and feel somewhat challenged to write one myself, but my poetry always turns out horribly cliche, so I dunno. In addition to the rules of the sestina, Mali challenged himself to write one wherein the six key words used in the last stanza would make a complete, stand-alone sentence. Craziness!

One of the things I really like about his poetry is that they're so intelligently, strategically designed. Sometimes that speaks to me more than passion and vehemence. Control and precision can be so much more attractive. That is not to say that passion/vehemence are NOT -- indeed, with control, the combination is breathtaking.

Poetry that is an expression of feeling without form leaves me indifferent, but an intellectually-structured poem of feeling is inspirational.

Of course, the topic plays into this as well. There was another poet who wrote a sestina that left me bored. I barely remember what it was about. In fact, I don't remember at all. I also admire words used efficiently, which can be oh-so-difficult to do.

Urbana Poetry Slam Finals are this Saturday night at 8pm (at the Bowery Poetry Club). So if I'm free I may go.

I feel really sad that I missed the period in which Taylor Mali was doing a whole lot more, around 2003.

[update: OMG! Mr. Caleb Emmons, you are amazing. S|{e,s,t,i,n,a}|, a math poem]

Read more here and here.

So I had the expected two hours of sleep, got on the bus at Port Authority and we were in Philly at 10:30am. Picked up the car and went into the city. South Street feels kind of like Haight Street in San Francisco. But more diverse, so actually kind of interesting and funny. Lots of sex shops, clothing shops. We went into a goth/rock/punk store that had moved around the corner from its previous location -- where it had been since 1980, apparently one of the first punk stores in the nation. Supposedly they'd opened one year before Trash & Vaudeville on St. Marks. The women there were really cool and after we mentioned that we were visiting this weekend from NYC, they talked to us for a bit about goth clubs and interesting places to visit in Philly.

Oh man! Jim recommended going to Jim's Steaks on South Street & 4th Avenue. When we got there it hadn't opened yet, but on the way back we passed it and there was a line out the door and around the corner! I'm looking forward to going there at some point before we leave. (I also have to remember to tell Jim that I have now experienced and more fully understand the benefits of a GPS if you're driving in an area you don't know. It's pretty darn cool. Still, I wouldn't go somewhere dependant only on a GPS, I'd still bring a map with me.)

Anyway, after eating and taking a little time around the South Street area, we went over to the Mütter Museum. It's a bit smaller than I had thought it would be, but it was full of fascinating stuff. Took about 2 hours there before driving over to check into the hotel. I could have stayed a little longer, but it was crowded in there and I'd given my full attention to everything that I thought looked particularly interesting. I really enjoyed it; I'm really glad we went!

We have a tour reserved at the Eastern State Pen tomorrow, and hopefully we'll be able to get to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and possibly the Rodin Collection by the end of the trip.