Trend, meme, phenomenon. Call it whatever you want, as long as they are funny people can make as many videos of girls saying sh*t as they want. And these? These are funny.
“How do we feel about bangs?”
“It was like visual Klonopin. Snore.”
Girls, Girls, Girls
January 26th, 2012Word Made Flesh
January 25th, 2012I came across a fascinating article on the Publisher’s Weekly blog PWxya about books that inspire tattoos. I love the concept of having a tattoo drawn from a favorite book, and before now had no idea this was such a popular genre. As someone who has been yearning for a tattoo of my own, I’ve spent a lot of time considering the art form and the importance of meaning and symbology when choosing a design, especially given a tattoo’s permanence (laser surgery notwithstanding). Gabe Habash, the story’s author, says:
What’s just as interesting as a tattoo is the story behind the tattoo, and that’s certainly true for the subcategory of tattoos that are inspired by famous literary works.
Habash, with some help, spent many hours combing the Internet’s two most extensive literary tattoo sites – Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos and The Word Made Flesh – then cross-referenced the tattoos they found most frequently with Google image searches, “all to get to the bottom of what books inspire the most tattoos and why.” They narrowed their list down to five books that inspire the most tattoos: Fight Club
Children’s books account for three of the five books, largely because of their enduring messages and the sense of childhood nostalgia they evoke. In the case of Alice in Wonderland, which, according to Habash, has inspired the greatest volume and the most variety of tattoos of all the books, people are mostly attracted the rich imagery the book provides. Tattoos inspired by Where the Wild Things Are seem to be pretty evenly split between images of Wild Things and Max. But the “single most popular book-inspired tattoo is, by far, ‘So it goes,’ the mantra from Vonnegut’s most famous book.”
Which leads us to the why behind these literary tattoos. Certain quotes and images that celebrate counterculture messages and promote the individual are popular, as is to be expected since these are typical themes among tattoo fans in general. Tattoos with specific connections to these books also evoke themes of loneliness, being true to yourself, and the appreciation of the world’s wonder and beauty.
Other oft-inked Vonnegut quotes are: “Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt,” “To die would be an awfully big adventure,” and “I carry your heart.” Fight Club also inspires a fair number of text tattoos (doubtless with a little thanks to Brad Pitt), with “It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we are free to do anything,” used most often. The Little Prince‘s most famous line, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye,” is also extremely popular.
With nothing like the semi-scientific method that Habash and his team employed to come up with their list of the most prevalent tattoos from the most popular books, I took a look at Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos and The Word Made Flesh to check out the literary tattoo phenomenon for myself.
For one thing, appropriately enough, The Word Made Flesh
The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide is a guide to the emerging subculture of literary tattoos — a collection of 100 full-color photographs of human skin indelibly adorned with quotations and images from Pynchon to Dickinson to Shakespeare to Plath. Packed with beloved lines of verse, literary portraits, and illustrations — and statements from the bearers on their tattoos’ history and the personal significance of the chosen literary work — The Word Made Flesh is part photo collection, part literary anthology written on skin.
Okay, so that’s going on my Amazon wish list immediately.
One of the things I loved about The Word Made Flesh was how many poetic tattoos were featured. I definitely could see a line from one of my favorite poems by e.e. cummings or Wallace Stevens finding its way into ink.
Of course, this tattoo interested me. Readers of the site are encouraged to post photos of their own literary tattoos, and the woman who submitted this said:
As writers, what are we if we aren’t evoking emotions from our readers? The semicolon is a tribute to all of my fellow writers who know how to use it correctly.
Where The World Made Flesh is a site that lends itself to browsing, Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos is better catalogued, with links to top-rated tattoos and categories and tags that make it easy to search for certain subjects or authors. It’s true that the books and specific tattoos that Gabe Habash mentioned in his article feature prominently, but I had fun clicking through the likes of Lemony Snicket and T.S. Eliot to satisfy my amused curiosity. I didn’t discover anything earth shattering or aesthetically outstanding, but it was interesting to note that “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” seemed to inspire lots of people and that tattoos made to look like old-fashioned typewriter text are cool, perhaps due to their straightforward simplicity and direct correlation to their literary source.
Some of my favorite tattoos from this site were, quelle surprise, based on poetry. I also loved this arm tattoo of a line from Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, one of my favorite authors of all time, and this quote from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.
Habash’s conclusions about why people choose certain literary references for their tattoos seems to be spot on, based on what I saw. Children’s books and their nostalgic subjects are popular, as are poems and other iconic phrases. Ultimately, why does anyone choose to have something inked on their flesh except that it speaks to them in some significant way. (Or they got really drunk and ended up with a Harry Potter tramp stamp.)
The tattoo I’ve been planning for the longest time is a crow, done by Zulu in LA, but my corvid won’t be quoting “Nevermore.” Poe is just a bit dark for me.
When at a Certain Party in NYC
January 24th, 2012For the latest video installment from Motionpoems, Amy Schmitt designed and animated Erin Belieu’s poem “When at a Certain Party in NYC.” It’s absolutely brilliant!
Thanks to Poets & Writers, I just discovered Motionpoems. What is a motionpoem? “It’s a new hybrid form: a short film (usually less than 3 minutes in length) that treats a great contemporary poem as a script. It’s a professionally produced, fully imagined, HD experience designed to introduce new audiences to poetry’s unique thrills.”
OUR MISSION is to broaden the audience for poetry by turning great contemporary poems into short films for online, broadcast, and big-screen distribution. We introduce talented video artists to some of America’s best living writers, step aside, then make the resulting videos free to subscribers. Completed films go on to screen at film festivals, art cinemas, libraries, schools, bookstores, and elsewhere.
Visit the Motionpoem website to check out the lineup of poets and filmmakers for the 2012 season, view motionpoems from previous seasons, and even subscribe to receive a new motionpoem delivered to your inbox each month.
I’ve always been an avid reader of poetry, but I must say I’m hooked on motionpoems. And I want to live in a converted chocolate factory and have a “Lacanian soap dispenser in the kitchen that looks like an industrial age dildo.” Gonna have to get on that.
Gong Hey Fat Choy: It’s the Year of the Dragon
January 23rd, 2012General buzz is that 2012 is going to be a big year, with everyone from economists to astrologers gushing about signs that point to a year filled with good luck and new opportunities for prosperity and happiness. We might have the Dragon to thank for that.
Today heralds the arrival of the Year of the Dragon. Chinese New Year, or more accurately the Lunar New Year, is observed across the world among Asian cultures as the beginning of a new phase in a twelve-year cycle, each marked by a different animal in the Chinese zodiac. It is the most important of all traditional Chinese holidays and the 15-day New Year celebration is rich with symbolism and customs all centered around securing abundance for the year ahead.
There hasn’t been this much global excitement over Chinese New Year since 2007′s year of the Golden Pig, an occasion that only happens once every 600 years. Unlike in European cultures, which usually represent dragons as fierce animals to be feared, Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize power and good luck. The Dragon is considered the mightiest and most esteemed of all the signs and a Dragon year is believed to be particularly auspicious. Powerful, mystical, and magical Dragon is the bringer of spring rain. In Asia, where it actually is spring now, rain is welcome as it nurtures growing crops; metaphorically speaking, rain symbolizes the force that brings life to all things. Dragon grants blessings and is the symbol of power.
For details on what we can expect from the Year of the Dragon, I consulted my friend, expert Eastern astrologer Susan Levitt:
Dragon is the most powerful sign of the Chinese zodiac so anticipate a year that is exciting, creative, and over the top. Dragon’s influence inspires passion, drive, and daring. Dragon year is an excellent time to start a business, get married, have a child, or take incredible risks. But results can be drastic: undreamed of success or unrealistic fantasies that crash. Either way, life’s pace is speedy, dynamic, and anything can happen. Should Dragon year’s maximum volume leave you overwhelmed, take time off to retreat and rest. On a planetary level, expect extreme earth changes such as earthquakes, tidal waves, and volcanic eruptions.
The Chinese Dragon is wildly generous, overly benevolent, and extremely lucky, unlike the Western interpretation that Dragon is evil. Protective and powerful Dragon is the most sacred mystical animal in Chinese history. Dragon is a very ancient symbol in China, from the time of the dinosaurs. Proud and strong Dragon symbolizes royalty, wisdom, and prosperity. Magical Dragon can transform into any type of creature, and can overcome all challenges.
Everyone I know is looking forward to 2012 with excitement and anticipation. Many are starting new businesses or launching into new phases of their lives with creative endeavors or new projects. We couldn’t ask for anything better than such Dragon-like qualities to guide us through the year. (Just make sure to have your disaster kit ready for those earthquakes and tidal waves.) Check out Susan’s website to find out what the Dragon has in store for you.
A Chinese proverb states that all creations are reborn on New Year’s Day. The Chinese New Year is a celebration of change … a time to sweep away all that is old and unpleasant to make room for everything shiny and new.
That may be one explanation for why Hong Kong luxury IPOs are busy chasing the Dragon. “By 2015 China will account for around 20% of global luxury sales, according to McKinsey & Co., surpassing Japan as the world’s largest luxury market.” Even many Western companies are rushing to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange to take advantage of its current strength and growth anticipated in 2012.
Retailers have been working overtime to create special Year of the Dragon products, particularly targeting the Asian market, where the demand for luxury goods is strong and Chinese New Year traditions and beliefs are deeply ingrained in the culture. Like Rolls Royce, whose limited edition Year of the Dragon Phantom, priced at $1.2M, had already sold out by the first week of January. Haute horlogerie is taking full advantage of Dragon desire (and the strength of the Chinese market), with several watch brands paying homage to the imperial dragon and reviving traditional crafts and jewelry-making techniques to create exquisite time pieces the likes of which most of us will never see. In the article Year of the Dragon Is the Time to Strike, The New York Times provides excellent descriptions of dragon symbology and the extraordinary work that went into the creation of these truly amazing watches.
“Dragons in Chinese mentality have always been considered auspicious creatures carrying positive symbolic values,” Carson Chan, managing director and watch specialist at the auction house Bonhams Hong Kong, said by e-mail recently, pointing out that it was also an important symbol of imperial authority.
Conscious of this link, many watch brands have chosen to use the design of an imperial dragon, which is traditionally represented with a long serpentine body, a pair of horns and five claws. The imperial dragon often cradles a large pearl, which is believed to represent the wisdom of the emperor’s thoughts and commands. Only the clothing of the Chinese emperor was allowed to depict the five-clawed dragon, whereas that of his officials and other nobles had three-clawed or four-clawed dragons depending on their seniority.
If you happen to have a spare $380,000 or so lying around (which is the price of the Altiplano Double Jeu, the most expensive watch in the collection), you could treat yourself to one of the watches from Piaget’s dragon series. If nothing else, the craftsmanship and attention to detail that went into making these literal gems is drool inducing. Frankly, I was fascinated.
In a more-is-more approach, Piaget of La Côte-aux-Fées, Switzerland, has gone all out with a Dragon & Phoenix series that offers watch lovers a choice of 24 different models with engravings, cloisonné or enamel features of dragons or a phoenix. The phoenix, which Chinese tradition considers the queen of all birds and a symbol of virtue, represents the feminine yin to the dragon’s masculine yang and was usually associated with the Chinese empress.
Using a range of existing models, from Piaget’s ultrathin calibers to the Tourbillon Relatif, artisans have adorned them with the mythical creatures using a variety of techniques. The Piaget Altiplano’s grand feu enamel dial is decorated with the fierce head of an imperial dragon using a cloisonné technique that outlines the dragon in pure gold wire, while the bezel is paved with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds.
With the Piaget Emperador XL, a tourbillion model, Piaget designed a dragon in the shape of the number eight and set it with 257 brilliant-cut diamonds.
The Dragon is all about image so 2012 is definitely the year to step up your sartorial game. At Chinese New Year it is traditional to wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize starting anew in the new year, as if we fashionistas needed any further justification. Now is the time when we’re beckoned to toss out the old and grungy in favor of new and refined. It’s all about dressing for the success of Dragon Year.
Even if a diamond-encrusted dragon watch is not in your shopping budget, there are plenty of other ways that you can get in on the Year of the Dragon accessories trend. There is virtually no limit to the variety of Dragon products available, from jewelry of all kinds to sneakers, bags, wallets, iPhone covers, sterling silver USB key fobs, barware, and even nail polish. The list goes on and on.
Still solidly in the most-of-us-can’t-afford-it category are two gorgeous handbags by Versace, one in silk with an embroidered dragon and jeweled decoration and the other in Chinese red python skin. Both are only available in Asia, of course. For those of us stateside who long for a dragon to carry on our arm, Coach and Bally both have Year of the Dragon offerings. Coach teamed up with Chinese tattoo and street artist Zhang Lan to create a series of bags and wallets that feature a traditional golden Chinese dragon painted on the brand’s signature “C” pattern. Bally’s dragon bag is a messenger style designed for men, featuring an embroidered gold and red dragon, with matching leather high-tops. For women, they’ve created a phoenix tote with matching flats. (Dragon and Phoenix are often depicted together and the Phoenix is considered the feminine yin to Dragon’s masculine yang. While the Dragon is the symbol for the Emperor, the Phoenix symbolizes the Empress.)
Of course, the writer in me is particularly enamored of the Cross Year of the Dragon pen collection and Shanghai Tang and Moleskine’s collaboration to create two Year of the Dragon notebooks. Of everything here, these are the pieces I most want to own. With the “mightiest sign of the Chinese Zodiac into [my] hand” imagine the amazing things I could write in a “notebook [that] features China’s most auspicious, powerful and successful symbol, the Dragon, embossed on the iconic Moleskine black cover.” Both the Dragon Notebook and the Feng Shui Diary have “classic Moleskine features – the elastic closure, paper band, bookmark and inside cover are all coloured in Shanghai Tang’s signature colour scheme.” The Cross pens, available as a fountain pen, rollerball or ballpoint, feature “layer upon layer of hand polished, high gloss lacquer, painstakingly etched with this iconic symbol of passion and strength.” The pens come in black and red trimmed with 23k gold plating and come in a special edition gift box with a booklet explaining the significance of the Dragon.
What I found curious and somewhat amusing was how universally sports equipment companies are jumping on this trend, although perhaps it shouldn’t be all that surprising given athletes’ propensity toward the superstitious when it comes to their performance. Why wouldn’t they want to get in on a little bit of Dragon luck? (And in the case of folks like Nike, not a little of the Dragon lucre.)
There is a special dragon Chuck Taylor All Star Hi from Converse. Nike has released a range of limited edition Year of the Dragon trainers, and Puma and Air Jordan both have created Year of the Dragon “packs” that contain specially designed accessories to go along with the shoes. All of them are beautifully designed (for athletic gear) but I have to give props to the Jordan Brand for getting into the spirit of the Dragon, even though they’re making a bit of a stretch by equating Michael Jordan’s lucky number 9 with Chinese mythology (8 is the number universally revered in Chinese culture).
While it’s fun to look at pretty things and even maybe buy a few of them to start the new year with something shiny and new, there are ancient and earnest customs behind the celebration of Chinese New Year whose purpose is to ensure happiness, health, togetherness, luck and prosperity in the year ahead. Family and community are very important, and good fortune and abundance come in many forms. I’ve written about many of these beliefs and traditions in my posts about Year of the Rabbit and Year of the Tiger.
May the mighty and benevolent Dragon bring you the very best year in 2012. Gong Hey Fat Choy!
The Fortune Cloud
January 22nd, 2012Have I told you how much I love Shanghai Tang? No? Well, I do. A lot. For one thing, I love their aesthetic – the rich colors and fabrics and liberal use of Chinese symbols. The first time I visited the Shanghai Tang boutique in New York I was struck by the clever way they rendered traditional Chinese designs in fabrics more typically seen in Western clothing and I was simply blown away by the sheer gorgeousness of everything they make. I still have the yellow silk Double Happiness and Double Fish pattern jacket I bought that day.
I was looking at the Shanghai Tang website while doing research for a post about Chinese New Year (you’ll be seeing that soon) and I ran across this Fortune Cloud bracelet. I think I actually gasped.
In the book of the I Ching, Cloud brings rain and good fortune flows freely like water. The more you see of it, the more luck it brings you.
What you, my loyal readers, don’t know quite yet is that I have big plans for my little Cloud of Chaos in this new year (you’ll be seeing some of that soon too) and, well, I could use some good fortune. Those of you who know me well are aware of my particular fondness for symbols and that my favorite way to invoke their power is to wear them as jewelry. It was too perfect that I would find a Fortune Cloud just when my spirits needed a boost, and on the eve of Chinese New Year no less.
Clouds, sometimes referred to as “auspicious clouds” (xiangyun 祥云), represent the heavens and also “good luck” because the Chinese word for cloud (yun 云) is pronounced the same as yun (云) meaning “luck” or “fortune”. Its form often resembles the auspicious shape of the lingzhi “fungus of immortality”. The cloud is a commonly seen design and when repeated in a pattern symbolizes never ending fortune.
This would seem to augur success for my endeavors this year. I like the sound of auspicious clouds. Excuse me; I’m off to find a bracelet.
Shoe Shopping on a Winter Day
January 21st, 2012We had the first big snow storm of the winter today. I needed new winter boots and, typically, had put off getting a pair until there were several inches of snow on the ground and there was nothing for it but to freeze my toesies in my rubber rain boots while I schlepped myself off to the store.
I knew what I wanted; I’d called ahead. I went for these:
Of course, what I wanted were these:
Idiocy Won’t Stop Piracy: Why you should oppose PIPA and SOPA
January 18th, 2012Doubtless everyone has heard something about the two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, that have drawn such outcry from the online community and prompted opposition from millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs.
In a great Political Hotsheet article, SOPA and PIPA: What you need to know, CBS News explains the basics behind the legislation and covers the positions of its proponents and opposition.
The bills are intended to strengthen protections against copyright infringement and intellectual property theft, but Internet advocates say they would stifle expression the World Wide Web. In essence, the legislation has pitted content providers — like the music and film industries — against Silicon Valley.
On the surface, the legislation is meant to protect content providers from Internet piracy from websites overseas. There are already laws that protect copyrighted material and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in particular focuses on removing unauthorized content from the web. But PIPA and SOPA target the companies supporting offending sites, giving the U.S. government the authority to target credit card companies and online advertisers, along with Internet service providers, who have ties with “rogue” sites.
Consider how many sites are hosted by individual Internet service providers, how vast the customer base of credit card companies and their subsidiaries, and you begin to understand how easy it might be for a small business or a fledgling online magazine to unwittingly have “ties” to sites that are breaking the law. Not to mention the many blogs and websites that rely upon online advertising to keep themselves going.
If you are thinking that SOPA doesn’t matter because none of those situations apply to you, then think again. This morning, Mashable OP ED author Chris Heald explains why SOPA is dangerous. Beyond analyzing sections of the bill to explain some of the possible ramifications I’ve already mentioned, Heald points out how this legislation has the potential to be a threat to the average Internet user:
…if you upload a video to YouTube of you singing a popular song, and that song might sell for $1, and your video gets 2,500 views, you are guilty of felony copyright infringement. Furthermore, you can tack on “willful infringement for commercial gain or valued at more than $1,000.”
This would make you a felon, and if a copyright holder were to bring a suit against you, would give you a criminal record that would make it virtually impossible to gain future employment, and may subject you to up to three years in prison for singing a song. You don’t have to receive any money. You don’t have to gain anything from your video. Simply receiving 2,500 views on a song you sung, which happens to have copyright held by someone else, makes you a felon.
Forget about “pinning” that cool photo you saw on Travel + Leisure. If you read the language of the bill carefully, you learn that even if a site isn’t expressly designed for purposes of distributing copyright-protected content, “it only has to provide functionality that can be used to enable copyright violation” to be breaking the law. If you’re a pinner, you’re a sinner. Instead of choosing the perfect cover photo for your Facebook timeline, you could be posing for a mug shot.
If even such disparate groups as the ACLU, MoveOn and the Tea Party Patriots all agree that PIPA and SOPA should be stopped, then these bills really are bad. Today, a growing list of websites are going dark to propose the legislation, including popular Wikipedia, Reddit, WordPress.org, and TwitPic. Mashable has already posted a number of articles relating to the issues at hand, including one that shows us what an Internet after SOPA might look like.
There’s no doubt that piracy of copyrighted materials – particularly of content like music and movies – is a serious problem that should be stopped. In fact, Representative Darrell Issa, R-Calif (who opposes PIPA and SOPA) is introducing alternative legislation that “would make the International Trade Commission, rather than the Justice Department, responsible for policing U.S. connections to foreign rogue sites.” But I – along with numerous others with far more power, influence and industry association – believe that PIPA and SOPA present very real threats to anyone who has a presence on the Internet, from the possibility of litigation that only the largest of companies could afford to rising costs of services that would make it difficult, if not impossible, for small companies and individuals to maintain their presence on the web.
Brad Burnham, managing partner at the venture capital fund Union Square Ventures, said his company has avoided investing in companies related to the music industry because of the copyright risks — but under the proposed legislation, that risk would hit just about any Internet company. SOPA and PIPA, he said, “takes the risk of frivolous litigation… to the entire Internet.”
That should be a concern, Burnham said, when the Internet accounts for 21 percent of economic growth among developed nations, according to one study.
The impacts could go beyond the economy, some argue. Rebecca MacKinnon, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan New America Foundation, argues that if blogging platforms are motivated to monitor their content, that could have “a tremendous chilling effect on people tyring to conduct political discourse and trying to use content in a fair use context.”
If you oppose legislation that reduces freedom of expression and undermines a dynamic, innovative global internet, then you can sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA. The Senate will begin voting on January 24th.
Live Little, Be Happy
January 12th, 2012In this great TED talk, writer and designer Graham Hill asks: Can having less stuff, in less room, lead to more happiness?
Hill discusses his belief that by keeping only those possessions that hold special significance for us and living in small, more efficient spaces, we can save money, lower our carbon footprint and, yes, lead happier lives. He started the project Life Edited to explore how this idea might provide some practical solutions. By crowd sourcing the design of his 420 square foot New York apartment through his website, Hill ended up with a “jewel box” of a home. “Because it’s really designed around an edited set of possessions, my favorite stuff, and really designed for me, I’m really excited to be there,” he says.
I was impressed by what Graham Hill had to say. His needs were similar to mine; he wanted a comfortable place to live that would include a home office and provide for the things that were important to him. Would it be possible for someone like me, with lots of books and shoes, who works from home, to pare down and fit my life into one room?
I’ve lived in studio apartments before. One was tiny and awful; the other was large and quite commodious. Over the years I’ve come to find that, even if I don’t have a lot of square footage, I prefer the separation of space that having different rooms affords. But lately I’ve been wondering if I could be happy living in a studio now. Not only could I save money on rent, but I might even be able to buy something of my own.
In this article from House Beautiful, designer Ellen O’Neill describes the process she went through to move herself from a large, six-room apartment with “towers of items” into the perfect New York studio. Much in line with Graham Hill’s philosophy of making room for the good stuff, O’Neill was ruthless when it came to editing.
I was practically an Egyptologist — rooting in dark old closets, digging out and refinding my life. Then, I had to set up a whole filing process. There was even a pocket for Old Boyfriends and a pocket for Bridesmaid Dresses. And after I decided who got what, I had a huge sale. It was a healthy purge.
She says she kept “my books, my black and white clothing, and a few sentimental bits.” To be fair, O’Neill does own a house in the country, so this small apartment is not her only home, but I could easily seeing myself living in this perfectly appointed, beautiful studio, albeit with a bit more color.
Another amazing studio is one that I blogged about two years ago, when The New York Times did a feature on how a young man transformed a mere 178 square feet into a cozy, utilitarian and, most importantly, artfully designed and pleasing space in which to live.
I’m still not sure I could manage in a studio that small, but it makes me want to try to “live little” anyway. I took to the web for further inspiration:
Lots of designers go for minimalism in a studio, for the obvious reason that in a small space, clutter is killer. Too much minimalism feels too cold to me, though. Other studios are great examples of high design, but they feel like posh hotel rooms, not a place I would feel comfortable hanging out in my yoga pants, faffing about on my computer all day.
I think I could live in some of these studios, but more than anything else I’m convinced that with just the right space and some strategic furniture choices and decorating, I imagine I could be happy living an edited life.
We’re Here!
January 12th, 2012You’d think Mercury was in retrograde or something! It seems we had a GoDaddy glitch. But not to worry; Cloud of Chaos is still alive and well and bringing you gorgeous, fun, snarky deliciousness.
A Writer Suits Up
January 10th, 2012Several years ago, after my best friend quit her high-paying corporate job to go back to art school, pursuing her dream of being a painter, she came home one day with shocking pink hair. At first I thought she’d just lost her marbles but then I realized that there was something more profound behind ruining a $300 dye job for a set of bubblegum locks – my friend was creating a costume for herself. She wanted to look the way she thought an artist should look. Until reality caught up to her dreams, she wanted at least to look the part.
There’s an axiom that says you should dress for the job you want. This is usually dictated to corporate types who aspire to a position that comes with a big title and a corner office. But what if the job you want is “published author whose work appears regularly in awesome magazines and who is currently on a book tour?”
In her book Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers
If you can’t really believe you’re a writer, why not pretend you’re one? You pretended when you were little; why not now? If you were a writer, what would you have? A black turtleneck sweater? Maybe, but that won’t fly if you live in the Mojave Desert. A cigarette-smoking habit, so you can have yourself photographed in wreaths of smoke? No. You’ll die, with people yelling at you for being dumb.
Carolyn See is not being facetious when she says this. Everyone from life coaches to spiritual gurus have built entire practices on the precept that you must embody the thing you wish to manifest. See uses marvelous examples of writers she knows and fanciful projections of potential literary lives to make her point that whatever it is that makes you feel like a writer is what you should do, including how you choose to dress. She describes Amy Tan’s “extraordinary ‘Oriental’ costume, heavy on the silk and satins” and Richard Ford’s “madly dashing trench coat” and she says: “Writers don’t just appear that way, sprung from the head of literary Zeus; there’s a moment in time when they stop by the haberdashery and get fitted.”
Marguerite Duras also believed in the transformative power of a uniform:
A uniform is an attempt to reconcile form and content, to match what you think you look like with what you’d like to look like, what you think you are with what you want to suggest. You find this match without really looking for it.
When I first decided to commit myself to writing full time, I’d been writing my blog and I’d signed up for a writing workshop, but there wasn’t much concrete evidence to put in front of anyone to prove that yes, I am a writer. Aquinist affirmations aside, I was inspired to follow Carolyn See’s and Marguerite Duras’ most excellent sartorial advice. I even made a list in my journal of what I thought my uniform should be. But it turned out not to be that simple for me. Carolyn See, no doubt, would scold me for my lack of determination and I imagine that Marguerite Duras would say I had the process backward and the uniform would choose me. Nevertheless, the pivotal wardrobe eluded me. (And trust me, yoga pants and flannel pj’s are not what I wish to suggest is my best and most fascinating writerly self, even if this is what I wear most of the time when I’m sitting in front of my computer.)
Perhaps what I need (along with all the other writers and dreamers out there subscribing to the See method of self actualization) is a wardrobe designer. Not just a stylist who goes through your closet and vetoes things that are so out of fashion they’ll never come back or who can give you tips on what will best complement your body type. No, I’m talking about an actual Edith Head or Patricia Field type person. When a Hollywood costume designer goes about selecting a wardrobe for a character, she considers the quirks and peculiarities, lifestyle and location, personal history and story arc written into the script and chooses clothing, accessories, hairstyles and makeup that convey the essence of this character and serve as visual clues to the audience about the character’s personality. It’s the perfect solution! Except for one minor detail: I am not a film producer with a vast wardrobe budget and connections with designers willing to loan me props.
Since I don’t actually have a costume designer at my disposal, I decided to pretend (Carolyn See would be so proud) and I spent several hours playing around with Polyvore. It’s a bit addictive; I can see why so many people like it. Anyway, I came up with the kind of inspiration board I envision someone might use to create the wardrobe for “Angela, a writer living in Boston, winter, pre-book tour.” Because that will do for now.
By the way, my friend with the pink hair is painting professionally now, having earned an MFA from Pratt, and is exhibiting and selling her work at galleries across the country. Although her hair is back to being brown, I’m sure that when she needed it to that pink kept her going when it was difficult for her to believe in herself as a painter. And I have her to thank for having the courage to believe that I could be a writer. I am a writer!
