my love for you.

who knew paper cuts could feel so good.

i have always veered towards the bittersweet.  i've never been one to shy away from wearing my heart on my sleeve.  so i appreciate heartfelt things, especially art.  but please make no mistake, i'm no sap.  nope.  i tend to like sardonicly sweet things.  loveliness w/ a bit of a twist.  a wink, if you will.  so it's no big surprise that i absolutely am in love w/ rob ryan's paper cuts.  his work is sweet and tender but slightly sad and quirky, my fav.  scenes such as falling leaves against a chain link fence that say "as long as it takes. i'll wait here forever for you.".  or high heel brogues (such a stylish lad!) that say "everything i do for you & i don't ever want to stop."  ugh, it just makes my heart jump.  so sweet and insane.  how adorable.

here are a few of his paper cuts that i absolutely love.  i have been watching rob for a few years and actually corresponded w/ him a while back about doing an international sticker exchange. we'd start small, just he and i!  ha!  i never got around to it...but that hasn't stopped me from keeping an eye on his work.  now he has an etsy store and a blog! 

make sure you click on the photos, they will open up into another page and you can see the true beauty.  also be sure to take a good look at tatty devine's wedding dress that rob designed lazer cut wonderfulness that was hand sewn on!  so gorgeous.

i found this last minute and had to add it.  it's a commissioned piece for the lyric theatre hammersmith.  watership down is one of my favorite books.

"try this trick & spin it."

i'm getting ready to go back east for a six week trip.  i have so much to do before i leave, all the little annoying stuff one has to do before they take off.  i'm pretty low energy, i mean who wants to go buy stamps, sort bills and get keys cut?  BORING.  so i've been listening to the new M.I.A. album KALA to get me excited.  wow is all i have to say.  it has been the perfect cd!  it's pretty frenetic, and i mean that in the best possible sense.  the album artwork represents the actual album so well, it's fantastic, crazy, fun, colorful.  there is so much going on w/ this album.

as i listened to it today i was consumed w/ all the mixes and samples.  it's the perfect mid-summer/pre-holiday soundtrack.  it almost feels hot and muggy just listening to it.  it's exciting, hot and sexy.  i mean, just check out M.I.A., she is so beautiful and stunning it's only natural that magnetism would spill out, into and all over this album.  the beats and singing are super intense as well.  i was really excited w/ all the guest appearances, including three 6 mafia and missy elliot.  there are many great tracks on the album, so many clever samples such as paper planes which has straight to hell by the clash.  one of my favorite tracks is 20 dollar in which M.I.A. sings the chorus to "where is my mind" by the pixies, a boston band, thank you very much.  perfect re-entry song, and perfect album to get my energy up and ready to go!

from pdx w/ love and satire.

"hope atherton is better than charlie parker." --from portland w/ love scott wayne indiana.

i saw this plaque yesterday on my way to blue bottle in hayes valley to get a glass of their new orleans ice coffee.  i was so excited to see this. i had heard about this project, but hadn't seen any yet.

it's a project that was conceived by scott wayne indiana, who is the sweetness behind the horse project, which i wrote about in june.  american testimonial is an irrevrent pairing of hot, contemporary media darlings w/influential movers and shakers of the previous century.  the hope is that viewers will stop and think twice about who in our society we deem to be important and for why.

personally i find hope atherton, kind of ehhh and jazz just kind of eludes and annoys me.  but i like the thought of these two people from completely different areas paradoxically opposed.  just another reason why i love san francisco...street art here is thoughtful and dynamic.  by the by...there are 19 plaques and they are dispersed amongst 5 cities; new york, minneapolis, la, seattle and our beloved san francisco.

"i'm only waiting if you stay."

i just picked up two albums from the brooklyn based band au revoir simone.  i was w/ my friend terri in japan town last week and she pointed out a  fashion spread w/ the band in it.  she told me to definitely pick up one of their albums.  terri and i have that kind of friendship where we bounce ideas, trend-spotting, art and music off each other all the time.  we are constantly trading notes, magazines and cds.  so when ever she tells me to keep a heads up about something, i'm on it.

so i'm really into both of the albums verses of comfort, assurance, and salvation and the bird of music respectively.  but how could i not be when the band's name comes from pee wee's playhouse?  (pee wee meets and says good bye to a waitress named simone who's dream is to go to paris.)

this summer seems full of all girl bands for me.  i'm totes ok w/ that.  so far every album i've picked up i have been more than happy w/.  au revoir simone doesn't let me down w/ their synth-pop goodness.  both albums are filled w/ casiotone plinky plinks (that is the universal phonetic sound of keyboards, fyi) and dreamy sing-songy tunes.  the bird of music is a lot lighter than their first effort.  i always seem to be drawn to darker pieces, so i prefer verses of comfort, assurance and salvation.  some of my fav's are back in time, the winter song and stay golden, both are sooo good.  regardless, either album is perfect for me to pop into my computer and drive away at my sewing machine or sit and draw to.

you can listen to the band here on their myspace page.

t.g.i.f. and/or thank god for my camera phone.

a lazy friday in sf. today.  i can barely do anything.  which is completely and totally a-ok.  here are some photos i took recently.  i hope you like them.  i do, and wanted to share them.  lots of love. meighan