car

This has been a strange month.

A few weekends ago, on a trip up to North Florida on a rainy Saturday morning, we ended up on the side of the highway, sinking into a ditch.  A massive white pickup truck (I have dreamed about this truck multiple times since then, and I always see it when I close my eyes now) began to merge into our middle lane without looking or realizing we were there. In avoiding a collision with him, we shifted back to an empty lane on the right, but began to hydroplane on the wet roads. At that point, I closed my eyes and began to brace myself for impact.  I don’t know exactly what happened after that, but we were basically all over the road–facing oncoming traffic at one point–and seconds later we ran into a small copse of trees and a swampy ditch in the median between the north and southbound traffic.

I remember looking at the branches scraping at the windshield, noticing our miraculously unspilled coffees and thinking How are we even still alive?

In some parallel universe where my partner keeps a less cool head, this situation could have ended quite differently. The alternate reality us may have ceased to exist that day.
I  don’t care to dwell on that overmuch.

Giles
Giles by Goblinfruit Studio
Kraiza
Alholomesse by Robert Kraiza

My art gallery is ever expanding.  I could lie and tell you that I purchased these things as balm for my fractured soul after the above-mentioned incident, but the truth is that I ordered these things before that. I have long admired Carisa Swenson of Goblinfruit Studio’s works–her curious creatures and aberrant animals have been delighting me for years!  I decided it was the right time to provide a home for one of them, and so in the top photo we have Giles in his jaunty blue waistcoat keeping company with other various treasures

In the second photo is Alholomesse by Robert Kraiza. I consider myself a person of hushed passions, silent desires, but I’ll admit, gazing upon these wildly ecstatic women whips me into a bit of a maelstrom. I am so thrilled to have these witches dancing on my walls! Well, eventually. We all know how long it will take for this to happen.

black catcoven vampirella

It’s summer wardrobe time!  And summer wardrobes, as we all know, consist of interesting, dark-themed tee shirts. Right?  Well, that’s what mine consist of, anyhow. Much….like the rest of the year, I guess. Hm.

Black Sunday shirt $19 // Cat Coven Feminism shirt $25 // Vampirella shirt $23

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Reading:

The very excellent Sabbat Magazine’s Maiden Issue, which is full of magics from some of my favorite artists, writers and visionaries. A++ 5 stars would be ensorcelled again.

X’s For Eyes by Laird Barron. This took a chapter or two to catch my attention, but I’m glad that I stuck with it, because X’s For Eyes is a lot of fun.  I am about two-thirds of the way through (it’s only about 100 pages or so) and it’s like…a pulp-cosmic-noir adventure with Hank and Dean Venture except less incompetent and more demented.

Giant Days Vol 2. I’ll just come out and say that I will always support anything John Allison has a hand in. His webcomic Bad Machinery (formerly Scary Go Round and Bobbins) is the only webcomic I still read…and it’s the one that I actually started reading many years ago that got me into webcomics in the first place.  I even got to interview him once! That was a total dream come true. And once he mentioned my polyvore stuff on his blog, or in the comments of his blog, as inspiration for some of his character’s fashions! Which…that makes me sound totally stalkery, so we’ll move on. Anyway, Giant Days is also a lot of fun, following Esther, Susan, and Daisy through weird, slice-of-life college life adventures.

The Beauty: I haven’t actually started this one yet, but doesn’t this sound intriguing? “Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty. What if there was a way to guarantee you could become more and more beautiful every day? What if it was a sexually transmitted disease? In the world of The Beauty, physical perfection is only one sexual encounter away.”

Listening to Mamiffer’s The World Unseen. I’ve loved this experimental duo since discovering them quite by accident back in 2010 or so. This new effort flickers with loss and light and is described as an “exploration of subconscious and psychic bonds between the past and present” and an “eight-song aural lexicon that vacillates between Arvo Pärt’s delicate minimalist beauty, Thomas Köner’s narcotic pulses of noise, and Richard Pinhas’ sublime textural patterns.”

Watching: The Fly and Angel Heart.  Can you believe I had never seen either one of those movies?  I enjoyed them both immensely.  That was obviously the role Jeff Goldblum was born to play and it was nice to see Mickey Rourke looking like a dream boat before his face became the unfortunate plate of wet cat food that it is now.  (Sorry, Mickey Rourke).

Doing: Saw a live taping of NPR’s Ask Me Another, attended a They Might Be Giant’s show, gardening, and knitting all of the things that gave me trouble last year.

What about you all?  What have you been up to lately? Seen anything fun? Reading anything interesting?  Had any near-death experiences?  Fill me in!


Shana says

I recently bought a print of a painting of a Luna Moth on a tree, it's gorgeous and I can't wait to find a frame for it. This old house and it's portrait shelf are a godsend though. All my art, even unframed has room on these 13' ceilings.....tons of wall space! The unframed is hanging out on the shelf and the framed I actually hang.

I'm re-wearing everything, moving in meant I majorly downsized and I now have a minimalist wardrobe that I am attempting NOT to add to. In fact if I wear something and am uncomfortable or it has a stain or hole....I dump it into a donate bag I have in the corner of the room, it's almost full.

Currently just started reading Ghost Gifts by Laura Spinella. I can't tell you how it is yet as I am still in the first chapter. It was in my amazon recommended reading after I finished Wylding Hall (I always look up and end up reading at least ONE of your current books when you post them) which I loved.

Listening to Kaleo and also to a remastered Dead Can Dance album as well as Beats Antique. Good music that I don't have to concentrate on while I work.

I recently watched Man Up which is British comedy by Simon Pegg. I love him, so I have to say it was a great movie to laugh to.

Other monthly tasks have been me finding Pintrest pictures, showing them to the boyfriend and he and I make them come to fruition. Which has been a blast. It's transformed the home into the most laid back and chill atmosphere and has included lost of string lights of different shapes and sizes. Oh and gardening....lots of gardening. I've only killed the poppies I was trying to grow by seed, this is good considering we have about 15 or 16 pots of things growing!

S. Elizabeth says

That luna moth print sounds gorgeous--and how I envy your wall space! I have several framed items I am going to try to get up in my office (maybe this weekend!) but I have twice as many things that still need to be frame! Auugh.

Over the past year my wardrobe has doubled in size...and most of it I don't even wear...but it was so nice to know that I didn't have to scramble to outfit myself for a wedding we attended this past weekend--as a matter of fact, I had several choices! Still, most of the time I am in jeans and tee shirts, heh.

Shana says

The luna moth print is amazing with its rich chartreuse wings. I'll have to get a picture of it up!

Even though I downsized I still have plenty of dress up options as I have to be fancy at work....it's my dress down options that are a little more limited. I still have a tank top obsession though....so all is ok with that!

Sonya says

Somewhat related to The Fly: recommending Consumed: A Novel (by Cronenberg senior) and the movie Antiviral by Cronenberg junior. Body horror forever. I'm in the middle of Consumed right now and it is lovely and weird.

S. Elizabeth says

Ooh, yes, I remember hearing about this on NPR in the last few years, maybe they were doing an interview. This is the book about the two journalists, right? I can't believe I forgot about this! On the list it goes. And Antiviral has been in my queue forever, but I always find a reason not to watch it. That's dumb. It's happening this weekend.

Maika says

I too will read anything and everything created by John Allison. Bobbins and Scary Go Round were two of the very first webcomics I ever read and Bad Machinery is among very few that I still do.

But hold that thought. Your harrowing driving experience sounds incredibly scary! I am SO glad that you two are okay. Thank goodness for drivers who keep their wits about them.

Now back to comics - thank you for mentioning The Beauty. I hadn't heard about it before and am thoroughly intrigued.

Also I cannot get Robert Kraiza's Alholomesse out of my head. I must add it to my art collection as well.

Have I thanked you lately for being an endless source of fascinating, beautiful, moving, and inspiring things? When I was younger I found sharing the various things I was into to be one of the hardest things to do. It felt like that meant both exposing my vulnerable, insecure self to others and making those things I loved less special somehow. I'm so glad I eventually worked through that because now I derive tremendous pleasure from sharing those very same sorts of things with kindred spirits like yourself. Indeed part of the delight of encountering something wonderful and new is bringing it to the attention of people I know will enjoy it at least as much as I do.

S. Elizabeth says

Oh yes, I have also had to disabuse myself of the notion that sharing=making the special things I love less dear, or lessening their value somehow. But if I hoard all of my treasures like a lonely dragon, well, I have decided that's a rather sad existence. I, like you, love to share the things I love with like-minded friends who will no doubt feel the same! And -without a doubt- most folks find another aspect or facet to something I love that I hadn't even noticed before, so it's really wonderful to re-examine that thing you love once you have shared it!

And John Allison! Oh, man. He has given me some of my favorite dialogue ever written. I can't locate the specific strip (but you know I have started re-reading from the very beginning as an excuse to find it) but there is one panel where Amy exclaims "First it exploded! Then it got explodier!" I think it was Amy, anyhow. That always makes me giggle.

lau says

so so terrifying about your car trauma. having been in a horrific (and similar) accident that did not end as well, i feel for you, deeply. so glad you + yvan are okay. <3

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