Dick Hebdige

Tomorrow evening on the west side - Dick Hebdige: "After the fall: from punk to pornetration to 'let's be Facebook Frendz!!'

Unknown Treasures, Part Deux

Here we go again (repost from R4TH) --

Our almost famous triple team yard sale, now quadruple (Ricky/Lesley, Violet, Nastasha and moi) is happening again this Sunday, April 11th with extra loot from 2 household moves - call it necessary editing!.. this time it's back in Highland Park and all details on craigslist here.

*This chap went straight for the grey felt stetson last time, it looked great on him, I hope it's getting some sun.

**One of the many stacks I sold last time.... Don't worry, there's plenty more...

Ulrike Meinhof

Germany has never been my thing. I tried getting into krautrock in my teenage years and only got as far as Neu!*

The Deustch aesthetic encompasses a different kind of sensibility for me. I've found it challenging, ambiguous, and a little too intellectual and serious for me.

Perhaps I've heard of Ulrike Meinhof before but during this past holiday, I was formally introduced to her in Chris Kraus' first novel, I Love Dick. An epistolary novel, I Love Dick was very thrilling and fun to read. I loved how cultural theory and criticism were used to drive the plot. Now I'm reading Kraus' second novel, Aliens and Anorexia, which further delves into the life and activism of Meinhof. It's a pretty wild book.

Without realizing what it was about, I went to a rare screening of Yvonne Rainer's amazing Journeys from Berlin/1971, which also explores Meinhof and her gang. At times super abstract and dense, this film was so unwavering in its examination of personal and political identity and power. I was in over my head but learned a lot and left a little bit bewildered and light-headed which was very exciting. And the word "terrorism" was never mentioned once in the film.

The next day, I told my precocious filmmaker friend about it and he was like, "Oh, you don't know about the Baader-Meinhof Gang? They were really hot."

He's totally right. They were dangerously hot and sexy. I wished someone had told me of their handsome countenance years ago because I would of instantly read up on them (or in this instance, google imaged them).

Here is Andreas Baader and his equally hot girlfriend, a fellow RAF member, Gudrun Ensslin.

And here is Ulrike Meinhof. Smart and sexy.

Weirdly, Meinhof died on the same day as my birthday.


ALL HOT.

---

*I believe this genre was more of a British conception which was not found amusing by those making said music. I find the term a little disconcerting and derogatory for my taste. Would people be okay with "chinkrock"?

Yard Sale Details

Repost from RFTH:

All the details for our Unknown Treasures yard sale now up on Craigslist (a small grab of my loot pictured above). Selling a bunch of things previously posted on R4TH plus other flea, antique mall finds and wardrobian exiles. Also dapper vintage clothing from Tim, kicks and vintage/designer ladies clothing from Les, Violet and Owley, + Indie records to boot. All in one place, do drop by.

Unknown Treasures

This holiday season, I've been invited to participate in my friends' annual group YARD SALE. It's this Sunday, December 13th somewhere in Silverlake (address to be announced later this week)! Tim and Violet will be selling clothes/wares again, Matt will be selling some amazing things (which I'm not sure what they'll be yet but amazing no doubt) and Ricky and Leslie will be unloading some of their unknown treasures.

Some highlights of Owley's treasures:

*New and vintage designer pieces (Margiela, Comme des Garcons, Sonia Rykiel, APC, Vivienne Westwood, Band of Outsiders, Pendleton)

*Mint conditions records featuring early 90s indie rock

*Various musical instruments

*Vintage pottery from Morocco, Denmark, Mexico and Vietnam

*Vintage books featuring music biographies (first editions)

and Ostwald Helgason masks, Romanian Byzantine eggs, English rose-shaped candle holders, precious gems, rocks and crystals...

Everything is shockingly reasonably priced and erm, negotiable!

And for those who personally know me, I'm taking appointments this week for a presale "open house"!

Here's what it looked like last time... here and here...

Ooga Booga Mini Shop opens!

Unstoppable. This past weekend, two formidable figures of Los Angeles, Una and Wendy, joined forces to create the Ooga Booga Mini Shop within the Keep shop in West Hollywood. This just makes me so giddy. I love these girls. 'Tis the season...

Charley Harper goes well with baby Keep shoes.

Look Jeremy, it's the Atherton Lin 2010 Stand Up Straight Calendar prominently displayed!

Keep + Ooga Booga have made fresh fruit preserves and pickled beets in honor of their collaboration.  These limited edition jams and pickles used sustainable produce only.

The ever useful JanSport backpacks.

I learned about "Secret Male Hypotism" in Melissa Ip's zine.

The ribbon cutting ceremony courtesy of the Los Angeles Police department.

The Most Beautiful Swiss Books in the Universe

The most elegant (and Most Beautiful) lady I know, Ms. Cynthia Leung will co-present the Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2008 this weekend.

***

The New York Art Book Fair
Oct 1: (VIP Preview)
Oct 2-4
@ P.S. 1

With a giant bottle of sake and "The Present Issue" for sale.
The winners of the Most Beautiful Swiss Books (2008) will be exhibited, with Cynthia's (!) essay included in "The Present Issue" catalogue...


Only for the true (Most Beautiful) book nerds!

The Quiet American

I was here last Thursday. I wished I can remember the name of this bookshop. It's on 16th St, btw Guerrero and Valencia in the beloved Mission of SF. I found one of my favorite books, The Quiet American by Graham Greene and couldn't resist buying it for Richie.

The Poet Upstairs

I saw John read for the very first time this past weekend. He was introduced as the greatest living poet... quite right! I recently did a little piece on him for the second issue of Do's fantastic Paris, LA. Like I told him (and am telling you right now), with all earnestness and obeisance, "I don't think of poetry as being futile or masochistic, I think it's pretty badass to be a poet in today's world." Paris, LA... available only at the finest retailers... oui, oui...

"Words, Don't come easy"

Arrived into NY and was immediately taken to something that looked a bit Sinister and got dizzy from the circular motion of it all. I was literally walking and reading in circles. May I suggest purchasing this book, F.R. David, from its online bookshop (whose editor I had the pleasure of meeting a few months ago)?


Josef Albers and Henry Moore, two faves.
Randomly stumbled upon Left Bank Books, an excellent first edition bookshop in the West Village and the music geek in me could not resist listening to "Positively 4th Street." Here, covered by The Byrds.


I cringe every time I see Curb Your Enthusiasm but Woody Allen's new film, Whatever Works, makes me the biggest Larry David fan now... Loved it.

My new favorite subterranean NY store is Ale et Ange on Orchard. Been obsessing over nice thin cotton tees lately and found the loveliest pale shade of pink/salmon men's tee for this summer. Nice summer...

Supported the DVD trading B'Ling gals at the No Soul for Sale project hosted by the curiously interesting X Initiative.

And got seriously intense at the I.U.D. show before I headed back west...

an idea

I've had this idea for a few years now. And I've been thinking a lot about it lately and how to go about it. Now it's time for action! If you were a child in a refugee camp, specifically a Vietnamese one, after the Fall of Saigon and up until the 90s, please contact me (owleypatrol at gmail dot com)!!! I'm putting a book together of photos and stories, et mais oui, it's going to be elegantly designed and beautifully printed. Similar to my own personal experience as a six year old refugee at the Songkla Vietnamese Refugee Camp (I have five friends who were there at the same time!), I know there are many of us out there living the blessed, privileged lives our parents sacrificed for us to have right now. Please contact me and I'll give you details. x

Deep versed in books and shallow in himself.

"I was born with a reading list I will never finish."
But it helps to keep my mind off other things...

Animal Shelter Issue 1
Fleeting, and non-hierarchical, Animal Shelter is part intellectual journal, part DIY ‘zine.



John Ashbery's A World Country
"...It will all be over in a minute, you said. We both
Believed that, and the clock's ticking: Flame on, flame on."



Joseph Beuys and Rudolf Steiner: Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition
This NGV exhibition catalog explores the blackboard drawings of sculptor Joseph Beuys and philosopher Rudolf Steiner. I will always be in awe of Mr. Beuys.



The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch
Borrowing it from the Poet upstairs..

10 Things I Love About You.

I was down on the blog, it got weird as I got weird. But I'm keeping calm and carrying on...

And oh, I discovered many wondrous things in the last month and put them all to good use this past weekend...

1. I'm Googled out! My new bf, just perfect + lovely + adorkable, gave me a new Google tutorial every night when he stayed with me a couple of weeks ago. [One of the best weeks of my life! I love to get schooled by someone much smarter than me. So rare these days...] I was already using Calendar + Analytics but was reluctant with Reader. Even his bf (don't ask, it's a very complicated, sensitive situation) was trying to sell me on it... how wasted time is not squandered time with Reader at the airport. Now, I'm obsessed! And I put it to v good use on Sunday at JFK when my flight was delayed for 5.5 hours. After my freak-out at the counter, I settled in nicely with my Reader on the iPhone. But am still v bewildered and suspicious about Latitude. Do I really want you to know where I am exactly? I mean I could fib and say I'm at Taj Mahal (in Jersey, not Agra you dolt!) but right now I'm sitting on my couch listening to my Winter's mix while American Idol is on mute.




2. Though it's finally raining here, it's still v unnatural in LA and I'm getting sick of it. I want SEASONS! Sea Urchins' Please Rain Fall is an excellent song to fall asleep to...

3. As grating and demented Fishbeck can be, he redeems himself (just barely) with the tender compliment, with the gentlest gesture. He made me this drawing for me, inspired by my recent haircut. It's Rei! How can I be mad at him?



4. And I'm already dreaming of Scott Walker's Copenhagen. In 6 weeks!

5. My friend recently gave me the first two Destroyer records. "Cuz nothing good can come from leaving London..." This is how I will feel in 7 weeks...

6. The Cold: The thing that surprised me the most during my NY weekend jaunt was how pleasant the cold was for me. I loved it. I thought I was a weather wimp as I come from a hot exotic climate (erm, not LA but Vietnam)... But it felt fantastic walking 10 blocks at 3am in the freezing cold in LES. It was invigorating. I'm fantasizing a life of winter hibernation. I say this now but 3 months of it could do me in...

7. I went to see "He's Just Not That Into You" yesterday evening. I'm glad I went by myself cuz' when I wasn't laughing, I was in tears and cringing uncomfortably in my comfy seat. A film full of cliches and of actors I detest, I did relate to it on many levels. I'm so pedestrian; I'm a pathetic c***! Hmm, I meant bunt.

8. Nite Moon Cafe at Golden Bridge. Yes, one of my rules (as I'm not the exception) is "Kill All Hippies" so it's ironic that I should frequent the hippie "spiritual village" of LA every day for their yummy vegan lunch and to get my daily smoothie fix. Ugh! Quel est mauvais avec moi? But I do feel "fresh, alive and whole!"

9. I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Lauren this past weekend. She does arty things at the New Museum and you know how I adore arty people. I went for a visit and was emotionally captivated by Jeremy Deller's "It Is What It Is: Conversations about Iraq."

10. CameraBag app for the iPhone (thx Kate). I'm obsessed with making every image into a Polaroid right now... Let's have a look at my work shall we? Feel free to critique!


Like the last few times, I went straight to UWS. Central Park was eerily quiet and extremely beautiful.


Pond ice and leaves..


Damhave's precious petite mobile phone in my palm. You were awfully sweet to me this time around Damhave. And boy, did you look good!


Modern and elegant with beams and beams of sunlight.


Scott's library. I love this photo; it's reminds of a Godard film, full of pretension and primary colors.


Carl's pet turtle in Brooklyn. I spent some time in this borough and it's not so bad or far like I had imagined all these years. But still, no thanks...



I couldn't do a Polaroid of this as it would have cut the "B'L'ing" part out and then there would be no point to this at all.


Mary's whimsical SSWTR installation at Kiosk.


Ippudo goodness in the East Village. The 1.15 hour wait was well worth it.


The view from Canal, right before I left.


(*****I wonder how many of my shared friends will star this entry as it's so fucking good. It was well worth the wait, no?)

Nightwood: Only the impossible lasts forever; with time it is made accessible.

Dykey?

In this past month, I've been made aware that I look and act like a dyke from several unbiased and reliable sources. Like seriously, no joke. It took me by surprise. Is it because I like to dress in mens' shirts, baggy mens' cardies, a blazer here and there... that I read books such as Barnes' Nightwood, (I'm almost finished and it's just perfectly pretentious like me, full of rhythm + musical pattern like a perfect song, yes a poem!), that only on rare occasions I will wear make-up (such as Halloween for dramatic effect) and that I love being with the ladies (that's Ladies of Substance you dolt!)... I mean, why not, they're just awesome! Harder, better, faster, stronger, you know it's the truth, there's no denying it... The girly girls at my last job used to call me "butch" and "dyke." Those are terms of endearment I think! If I live in say, Berlin or London, I would be considered a total girly girl but not so here in sunny and idyllic Los Angeles. Here in LA, if you got it, you flaunt it and if you don't, well you try to get it to flaunt it. It's a bit crass isn't it? What shall I do? Please advise...


East coast LOS. I'm just besotted with these ladies. I must see you soon again. You almost (almost) make me think it could be worth it to move to NYC (but not Brooklyn)... Shigenobu Twilight, your scent is with me everything single day!


Broadway & Owley... Dykey? Butchy? Yes definitely... The ultimate couple right? The view is beautiful right? Je t'aime...

be no spring chicken

End of May, beginning of June. My first full weekend in LA in a long time. Sunset hikes, bbqs, brunches, farmer's market, cooking, yoga, gardening, wii fit(!), and straight up relaxing... sadly no sand and sea this time around but next weekend for sure?


Weekend started by meeting up with Wiggles at the book expo. Rather stuffy inkhorn affair but that Kuma Sutra booth kinda made it exciting for us.


Benne Anna & Colbs treated me to a late bday brunch at yummy Cliff's Edge. Got a bit tips on the moscato. Thanks for the owl guys...


Took them to the Keep sample sale afterwards where Colbs got 3 pairs of awesomeness...


...while Barr dj'ed really messed up tunes upstairs where no one could see him.


Made it to Anna's bbq before she headed back for her last summer at Bard...


Sargent Court view of downtown...


California sunset


OM underneath the golden trumpet allamandas at the Getty. Caught the last weekend of the California Video Show. I loved Suzanne Lacy's "Where Meat Comes From" (saw it 3x!) and the Target vids were as awesome. Sadly, I have to miss this amazing screening this Saturday for my cousin's wedding... Choices.. Choices... Choices!

Anthony Bourdain

My culinary hero, Anthony Bourdain, was appearing on the Jimmy Kimmel Show to promote his new masterpiece, The Nasty Bits. I managed to get into the Green Room and stalked him for a little while before I got enough courage to go up and talk to him. He's pretty tall (I would say 6'4") and suggested we sit down for the photo. Smart. You can kinda see his thumb ring on the left. He's pretty awesome.