This state.

Tomorrow I travel downstate again, the good ol’ CA north-southerly.  I remain a student of the city and of my environment, geography and community or something to that effect, is what I wrote in my graduate school application.  But I suppose that doesn’t mean that I always need to be moving around so much.  I’ve been reading a lot of California-centric/inspired literature and non-fiction.  I just finished reading Amra Brooks’ novella, “California” and it was so so so good, like hurts so good good.  (You can get it over at Teenage Teardrops–I really recommend it!)  Also, Chris Butterick recommended I read Joan Didion’s “Where I Was From” on our December LA–>>BAY trip.  It is pretty amazing so far; I am reading it simultaneously with Mike Davis’ “City Of Quartz” essays.  I will write you some sort of comparative book report when I am finished.

Yes, tomorrow I am out of here again.  But tonight, I see High Places in San Francisco!  Their music is like California also: a magical place. See you there?   

Oh goodness!

Ge Lan

I hope you guys love this 50s/60s Shanghai/Hong Kong superlady icon, Ge Lan, as much as I do.  How can you not???  She was one of Mama Su’s idols growing up.  (And now I finally know where MaSu gets her hip-shaking dance moves, melodrama and bong bong tiao tiaos from.)  I need to find copies of these movies.  If anyone can help, let me know!  Thanks to Cyn, Charley and Mama for the priceless rediscovery tips!

Laundry hibernation

I have been hibernating. It is winter after all. I have been nesting in my bed in the comfort of my mama’s house. I decided to take a step in the direction of un-sloth by doing some laundry today. I stuffed the washing machine downstairs full with sheets and blankets and comforters and clothes, shortly after which I crawled back into my bed. And then shortly after which the laundry machine made loud noises — the fast clanking kind, which should tell me that I over-capacitated (?) the machine or accidentally threw in a hammer or allen wrench in with the pile. But I did nothing to stop the clanking, except to imagine that my laundry would overflow and explode out onto the earth and the next time I attempted to descend the stairs, I would find a perfectly flooded sea of fabrics that I could swim around in and pretend it was summer and not this darkest month of January. Or if not summer, then that I could hibernate underwater like the aquatic turtles do. The lovely polaroid above was taken by jacoplast and found on flickr with creative commons license.