Ann Arbor Folk Fest January 2011 Susan Werner (mc)/The Avett Brothers/Citizen Cope/Vienna Teng with Alex Wong/The Spring Standards/The Paper Raincoat/Anais Mitchell/Theo Katzman/Newfound Road/The Doyle and Debbie Show/Eilen Jewell /Kaplansky/Red horse ft. Eliza Gilkyson /Mavis Staples/Judy Collins/The Swell Season
Make for yourself a world you can believe in. It sounds simple, I know. But it’s not. Listen, there are a million worlds you could make for yourself. Everyone you know has a completely different one - the woman in 5G, that cab driver over there, you. Sure, there are overlaps, but only in the details. Some people make their worlds around what they think reality is like. They convince themselves that they had nothing to do with their worlds’ creations and continuations. Some make their worlds without knowing it. Their universes are just sesame seeds and three-day weekends and dial tones and skinned knees and physics and driftwood and emerald earrings and books dropped in bathtubs and holes in guitars and plastic and empathy and hardwood and heavy water and high black stockings and the history of the Vikings and brass and obsolescence and burnt hair and collapsed soufflés and the impossibility of not falling in love in an art museum with the person standing next to you looking at the same painting and all the other things that just happen and are. But you want to make for yourself a world that is deliberately and meticulously personalized. A theater for your life, if I could put it like that.Don’t live an accident. Don’t call a knife a knife. Live a life that has never been lived before, in which everything you experience is yours and only yours. Make accidents on purpose. Call a knife a name by which only you will recognize it.
Now I’m not a very smart man, but I’m not a dumb one, either. So listen: If you can manage what I’ve told you, as I was never able to, you will give your life meaning.
I can't stop watching this old music video from Belgium. Remember the Turkish fashion blog I mentioned before? Well, the girl in charge posted this and it's strangely addictive (be warned). But also, how did the Turkish girl post a youtube video if youtube is banned? Hmmm.... There could be hope yet...
Since most of the songs I listened to as a child are on Billy Joel's greatest hits album, I'll let you listen to those gems on your own. Instead, here are some great Liz moments. Because I want to be Tina Fey.
Ryan Gosling on the brain. But really, my days with Lara in Evanston were quite magnificent. We knocked a few movies off her never-been-seen list (and remembered that time when Libby, Erica and I attempted to recreate the 'cell block tango' in the Chi-O living room).
judging someone most likely.
We conquered The Keg, an Evanston bar/some fusion of Skeeps and Rick's where I'm fairly certain I saw (hit on) a boy who was celebrating his Bar Mitvah.
The next day Lars, her mom and I ate brunch at this charming place that I can't remember the name of before heading into the city to see rabbit hole. And the title of this post comes into play again right about.. now.
As we were eating our fried egg sandwiches, we noticed a man eating breakfast across the table from a giant, human-size stuffed monkey. The weirdest part was that no one seemed to notice or think it was strange. After he finished his meal, he walked over to the other side of the table, picked up his friend, carried him out, and Lara is fairly certain that she saw him buckle the monkey into the backseat of his car. Casual.
I'm currently thinking of similar things that I can do to mess with people in public places. Any suggestions?
p.s. - here is a thing we ate and a thing we saw...
Hello folks.
Well, I took a dip in the Gulf of Mexico and emerged sunny side up! Nothing like a lil' vitamin D to cure the winter blues (plus, on the way home, my mom looked at me with what can only be described as pity and said "you were really pale").
In order to succeed at this blog thing I realized I have to actually write about stuff that happens, so I will start with Chicago...
At the beginning of the month I spent a great weekend with Simi eating Gaylord's chicken vindaloo, trendy vegan cuisine, and approximately three pounds of white chocolate peppermint Hershey kisses. I met the whole bridal party, imagined pomegranate centerpieces, and finished season four of Dawson's Creek (oh, that ski trip is a doozy)!
Most importantly, I spent a single, beautiful night spooning with the sweetest pup named Astro. Here is a glamour shot for your enjoyment:
Isn't he a beaut!
I'll leave you with this photo of Simi waiting in sweet anticipation of what's sure to be her new favorite movie. Most would call this terrifying, I just call it business as usual. MISS YOU SIMI! Thanks for a glorious weekend.
A leetle history lesson for you today. Slava means "to celebrate" or "to give glory to" in serbian. In the Serbian Orthodox church, Slava is a day to honor your family's patron saint.
Today we celebrated our family's patron saint, John the Baptist. Father Mateja Matejich came to bless the house and do a simple ceremony. Father Mateja is an old family friend. He baptized both Simi and I, and will be performing the ceremony at Simi's wedding in October, along with Father Michael at the Greek Orthodox Church. He is one of the most wonderful people I've ever had the honor of knowing. He talked to me about Turkey and even brought me a book on Orthodoxy in Istanbul. When we talked of my travels, he said to me "God be with you. I wish you happiness not just while you're here or there, but every day of your life." He just warms my heart, ya know?
I tried to capture some of his short visit to our home. Note: my mom's yummy Turkish coffee (not to mention her homemade bread and pie)! I think I will be writing many posts on Turkish coffee alone, as it has had a huge impact on my life and has undeniably influenced my study abroad decision.
After a marathon to get my dad out of the house in time to drive him back to the church, Father Mateja stopped me outside and told me, "I get a lot out of just seeing you. I love to see you and your father and your mother and Simi. Some people make you murky just to see them, but you and your family make me so happy."
"... and the impossibility of not falling in love in an art museum with the person standing next to you looking at the same painting and all the other things that just happen and are." - Jonathan Safran Foer (can't stop, won't stop quoting this man)
I can't wait to spend an excessive amount of time in museums while I'm abroad. This past week Lara and I went into the city to visit theChicago Art Institute and it was just wonderful. I didn't fall in love with anyone though, unless you count Rothko, which is inevitable...We did, however, watch an experimental black&white video of a famous guy just pointing at the camera for a long time. It had something to do with his fascination with the relations between artist and spectators, etc. etc. I think he was probably just fucking with us.
Anyway, here are some horrible pictures I took on my Crackberry. You're welcome, world.
This Cezanne painting was my favorite.
Picasso. Took us a while to find this guy.
Mmmmmm.
A hipster family with a British mom took pictures of their teenage son looking pensively at this for quite some time. I think (hope) I made it into at least one of their photos.
Sorry about the short hiatus (Melissa Murray), but I am currently in Chicago eating lovely food with lovely people (read: me and Lara chilling alone in her basement with oven-made pizza). Mostly I've really been watching lovely movies. I don't think that there is anything that I enjoy more than sitting in a dark theater and watching a good movie. The whole collective experience thing really gets me, ya know?
The more I think about it, the more I realize that Blue Valentine has to be the best film I've seen recently. It crushed me, in the greatest and worst ways. It's one of those movies that knocks the wind out of you. Sure, my jaw was still dropped well after the credits stopped rolling in Black Swan and 127 Hours, and I am still oh so incredibly jealous of the talented tween that got to hang with Joel and Ethan and Jeff and all the other greats on the set of True Grit (as Simi so eloquently whispered to me as she leaned over her arm rest in the theater, "can you imagine being spanked by Matt Damon?").
But Blue Valentine may have affected me most of all. It left me awed, but in a quiet, raw, introspective way. So, until the perma-cloud it left over my head clears, here is one of my favorite scenes from the film... besides Ryan Gosling singing and playing the yukalaylee, that is. In case you forgot how beautiful he is (I didn't), you should probably see this movie and cherish every moment of that scene. I won't give it all away here though.
I think you'll find my sense of humor present somewhere in this particular clip - enjoy:
I will write about my Chicago adventures soon, but first I'm off to Ann Arbor tomorrow!
p.s. - as made evident by me accidentally "following" my own blog, and not knowing how to undo it, I don't totally have this whole blogging thing down yet, so maybe it's best to follow the link (to start the video around 1:40, if you wanna)
It's strange trying to prepare to go to a new country. Or even just a new community. Yes, I have a Turkish dictionary. Yes, I've looked at pictures, read articles, and have even begun to follow a Turkish fashion blog (my addiction continues, thank you Sartorialist and thank you Erica Buher). But, no matter how many pairs of Istanbul-appropriate shoes I own, or how much advice I've gotten from well-seasoned travelers (read: Zoe Maani after losing her phone in the Holy Land), there is no way for me to picture what comes next.
The only thing, and I mean the only thing, that I am certain of at this point, is that I will not be able to youtube my favorite 90s music videos, oscar speeches, and inside the actor's studio clips. So, in anticipation of four months without groundbreaking footage of golden retriever puppies playing in a field, this is the start of my 'ode to youtube' segment. Soon, these links will read "information unavailable" or something of the like. Until that fateful day, here are a few gems - some of my favorite musical movie performances (well, the ones that I can think of right now).
Hope you enjoyed them! Mostly, I hope that you lead an interesting enough life that you didn't actually sit and watch them all. I'll be spending the next month of my life waiting in vain for Josh Radnor to appear at Cup O Joe, so I have a valid excuse.
