Monday, March 31, 2008

Resident Tourist

The article in the NY Times, Sisters in Idiosyncracy touches on two ideas I identify with -- the draw to the D.I.Y aesthetic credo and living like a "Resident Tourist." Highlights on these two themes:

"IF there is an aesthetic credo to Brooklyn and the Bay Area, it is Do It Yourself, which connotes more than using an Allen wrench from Ikea. D.I.Y. can mean everything from wearing locally designed T-shirts to attending concerts staged in someone’s warehouse apartment, to riding a bike to work," explains NOAM COHEN, NY Times.

He goes on to say....

Danny Hoch, a Brooklynite, recently performed “Taking Over,” a one-man show about gentrification, at the Berkeley Rep Theater in California. “What I see as the reason for so many NYers having come to the Bay, and so many Bay folk moving to Bklyn (tens of thousands literally),” he wrote in an e-mail message, “is that each group has become accustomed to the alienation or perceived impossibility of staying where they are.”
Someone leaving Brooklyn for the Bay Area, he said, gets “a nicer climate, laid-back vibe, better produce, California’s nature close by, and a job scene where you feel more in demand as a NYer.”
The reverse, he said, is also true.

But Mr. Hoch predicted that the transience that allows people to hop between both places so fluidly would eventually lead them away.

“Although I think each side sees the other as an amazing place to live and spend time, neither sees it as a place to actually stay forever,” he wrote. “Both are nostalgic for home.” “Each becomes the new ‘resident tourist,’ as I say in my play.”

Perhaps Austin will begin to feel like 'home' in time and we will come to embrace the D.I.Y. aesthetic credo Tejas style.

Friday, March 28, 2008

"Delightfully Frothy"

..says Salon's review of Miss Pedigrew Lives for the day. I'll pay to see anything that features two woman that actually like each other. I'll need to start a list of gal pal movies for my collection.

Hhmnn... Thelma & Louise, Walking and Talking... others?

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Think Small

The Modularean Eco House dollhouse is such a dream. Not sure this one is for sale but there are other modern dollhouses and furniture out there. For all things related to this hobby see the Mini Modern blog.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Two Years 11 Days


....since our family of four moved to Austin, Tejas. This is my short list of the good, the bad and the undiscovered.

Good:
Breakfaste Tacos
Hot weather, cold water (Deep Eddy and Barton Springs)
Our front porch
Mathews Elementary
Feeling like you live in the Country in a City

Bad:
Bugs
Heat
Traffic
Feeling like you live in the Country in a City
Bugs

Undiscovered:
Hill Country (Texas Wine Country)
Music
Border Towns (starting with Laredo)
The Stitch Fashion Show and Guerrilla Craft Bazaar (every fall)
Canoeing on Town Lake (recently renamed Lady Bird Lake)

Monday, March 3, 2008

Brangelina. Tomkat. What about Marpah or perhaps Opratha?



Talk about a power couple. Perhaps after Obama turns the White house around (after multiple terms), Oprah and Martha will share a ticket.

Marpah News:

Oprah begins her biggest EVER bookclub/web caste today. The book is A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle. Tolle aims to guide people toward "a saner, more loving world by rejecting egotistic ways for a new form of consciousness." I am a big fan of Eckhart Tolle although I find his style of spirituality difficult to practice without a lot of practice. I'm not a fan of web castes, however I would make an exception for this one if it wasn't scheduled to begin at 8 pm CST. Check it out if you are free. I'll be actively rejecting my ego by reading Good Night Gorilla, The Tractor Book and Sam's Potty for literally the hundredth or so time.

In other news, Martha had an interview on her show last week with Rob Kalin, a fellow that need not attend Oprah's web caste, having already been Awakened to his Life's Purpose. Rob is the founder of Etsy.com. The 27 year old took a leap of faith in 2005 when he founded the website etsy.com, a Brooklyn-based on line marketplace for all things handmade. In just three years, he has seen some remarkable results from his hard work and dedication: Since Etsy's launch, it has gained more than 750,000 members and currently has about 100,000 sellers from around the world that have opened up Etsy shops. On a given day, 15,000 items are sold and 20,000 new items are listed. Watch this exclusive video that gives the inside scoop on the creation of etsy.com, how people can get involved, and some of the success stories behind the company.