Outside My Window

Also, this happened outside my window a few weeks ago. I see this guy when I walk to the grocery store, and he calls me "Pretty Legs." I have mixed feelings about the whole situation.

Foundry

This is long overdue. Here are the letters I cast last semester in my foundry class. In case it isn't clear, they spell out the word "Brooklyn" because I live in BK, baby, and to commemorate my time here in some type of permanence it was either bronze or a tattoo so I opted for bronze.


Sorry for the shady picture quality; now that my time at Pratt is coming to a close I am realizing that Photo I might have been beneficial for me.

A note of advice for future foundry participants: if your pieces are somewhat thin like mine are, try to get them cast first in the pour. Mine were poured last in a round of four when the bronze had cooled down too much to move easily, and you can see the gap in the "B" where it didn't flow all the way. I kind of like the way it looks, but I'm pretty into sloppiness.

P.S. To Roy Orbison and Patsy Cline: Stop rocking me so hard; I can't take it.

Wakiash and the first Totem Pole

Guys, I've been so neglectful, and I'm going to continue the neglect as I fail to write a longer post. Here's a little sumthin sumthin though. This is a video I made for my Native American Architecture class' Myth Presentation Day. It's about the Kwakiutl legend of Wakiash and the first Totem Pole, so there you go, and now I have to peace out to finish my presentation on Northern Plains Indians Powwows.

To my friends in Austin: I will see you soon.

-Amanda

Boston, a short trip

A short weekend trip to Boston, a haiku or two:

Fung Wah you devil.
I curse you lightly as we
barrel through the rain.

A push on cement
and a fist through a glass door.
Punk bars in Boston.

I visited Nathan to say hello and leave the city before the homework load gets too heavy.

My soundtrack:
Against Me!
Paul Simon
Saves the Day
Ryan Adams
Gillian Welch
Bob Dylan
She & Him

My book:
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The waterfront, Harvard, Allston, Charlie's Burgers, the MFA, Fenway Park, cookies, and trolley trains. I should have brought my bike; walking gets me where I need to go just fine though.

I'm pretty grateful that I can just pick up and get out of town for a weekend. That's all.

Your Heart Beats Like a Subway Train

I SAW PAT BENATAR AND BLONDIE PERFORM LAST THURSDAY. I feel a change coming on: a new era of mix cd's, a shift in most-played lists, an undeniable compulsion to ROCK. AND. ROLL. I can't say that before the show I knew much about their music aside from their biggest hits. Debbie Harry has, however, always held an honorary place in my heart for a few reasons:

1. She's been rapping in the song "Rapture" for close to thirty years now.
2. She played CBGB's.
3. The song "Maria."
4. Most enviably, she dated The Clash's very hunky bass player Paul Simonon.

Pat Benatar - Besides Brody Dalle-Homme, formerly of the dismantled Distillers, her voice comes closest to my idea of a rebel yell.

I had some qualms about going to the show, mainly that it might be pretty depressing to see these groups that once embodied youthful, rebellious music be, well, not youthful. Sidenote - I once witnessed a woman practically throw her bra at Herman's Hermits; this was forty years after they released "I'm Into Something Good." It was unsettling. Also, should I go see Bob Dylan if I get the chance again? How can I? How can I not? What about Ray Davies? Do I try to capture the magic of the Kinks by seeing him perform solo? Please, please, please, Velvet Underground, I am begging you to go on a reunion tour because that might actually be pretty amazing.

As you've gathered I went anyway with Kaylee and Chanice; it was free, and there was little justification to not going considering that. Yes, it was an older crowd. Yes, they took up a bunch of space with their lawn chairs. Yes, they danced funny. But they danced. Some of them. One lady declined our dance invitation on account of her knees. The best Pat Benatar moment: "We Belong." The best Blondie moment: an encore of "Heart of Glass" that segued sneakily into "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." Check out Brooklyn Vegan's post about the show for a full set list graciously provided by Rob C. in the comments section.

Other shows I've seen recently:

1. M. Ward at the Summer Stage in Central Park. I didn't actually see him. I heard him. The show was free but too full to get in to by the time Chanice and I got there, and they had an opaque fence set up around the perimeter. I can't complain; it was free and whatnot.

2. TV on the Radio in Prospect Park. Part of the Celebrate Brooklyn series. I didn't feel like paying the $30 for this show, although I feel I owe it to them just for the album Return to Cookie Mountain. I could hear them just fine from outside the fence though. They were ok. I'm not going to say anything more out of respect for the band.

3. The Texas Party at Goodbye Blue Monday in Bushwick. My friend and fellow Houstonian Ashlyn put on this little shindig for the purpose of gathering all of the New York adopted Texans we know. Her band Inoculist played, German sausages and saurerkraut were served on baguettes, good times were had by all.

In other news, I went to a smores party. Awesome. See me and Chanice below.


And Kaylee, Chanice, and I discovered the comparably uncrowded niceness of Rockaway Beach.


School starts on the 31st. Enjoy the rest of your summer.

All of My Friends Were There

I've been visited.

Some of my friends recently road-tripped from Houston to stay with me for a week in Brooklyn. Now they're gone, and I miss them so. I would like to say that they are in New Orleans right now, but keeping track of seven people's whims isn't a precise art.

So, when Charles called me a couple of days before his scheduled arrival to tell me that three more people than originally expected would be traveling, I fell into a mild panic for about twelve seconds. I imagined the horror on my roommates' faces when I told them that seven people would be joining us for a week. "But Amanda," I thought, "these are some of the chillest people you know, and your roommates are wonderful, understanding people" and became freakishly excited.

I was right not to worry. Most of these guys live in the co-op that I mentioned in my post about Austin, and they're all gung ho about dividing up cleaning and cooking duties and making sure everyone is taken care of. Except for a couple nights of eating pizza from Luigi's and flat rice sticks in Chinatown, we made big family-style dinners that ranged from spinach and mushroom enchiladas to General Tso's tofu.

Charles, Chris, Arthur, Paula, Alekos, Jackson, and Daniel - please come back and make me more food. K thanks.

Of course we did more than eat. During the day I would go to work while they trotted around town going to museums and whatnot, and at 4:00 I would leave to meet up with them and join the adventure. Our mission: find the cheapest, best things to do. Adventuring with friends who have a similar budget to mine (paltry) is usually my favorite type of adventuring. Things we/they did:

1. Saw the Dirty Projectors play a free, outdoor, riverside show in Williamsburg.

2. Spent hours in the park between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge after the sun went down and watched Chris spin fire.

3. Ate falafel at Mamoun's. Three times. $2.50 for a falafel sandwhich. Yes please.

4. Milled about Central Park.

5. Visited the MoMA, the Met, PS 1, and the Museum of Natural History.

6. Caught some shows at the Siren Festival on Coney Island. I had to leave to babysit before Monotonix played, but I was told that they rocked hardcore.

7. I know Alekos and Daniel headed to the Bronx at some point to see a show, but they would have to tell you what it was.

8. Jackson repeatedly went missing.

9. Played MarioKart. I know this kind of goes against the idea of branching out and exploring new places, but none of us cared because we heart MarioKart, and we needed a break from walking.

10. Ate in Chinatown, looked around Little Italy, and walked home over the Manhattan Bridge.

11. Visited shops in Union Square including H&M and the crazily packed Whole Foods to use Charles' employee discount. Thanks Charles. If you find yourself of drinking age in Union Square, we suggest that you head down 14th Street to the Trader Joe's Wine Shop where you can get three buck chucks. Then use them to make Sangria for a Spanish/Mexican meal like we did.

12. Had long chats on my stoop in the cool evening air.

13. Plenty of other stuff I'm sure, but I'm drawing a blank. Charles asked me towards the end if there was anything else that they absolutely had to do before leaving New York, but I think we agreed that they had done a lot of stuff worth doing and were pleasantly worn out.

Also, apparently everyone almost died before they even got to New York when Paula swerved to miss a possum somewhere around Kentucky I think. I'm glad they didn't. And I'm really glad they came. I had a wonderful time. Please send me pictures cause I have none.

On an unrelated note, I would like to publicly acknowledge that a good deal of the music that I listen to was introduced to me by my boyfriend Kelly Marshall. For example, I borrowed the title of this post from a Kinks song of the same name that appears on the album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, one of the albums Kelly gave me that I love now as one of my own. That said, I liked the Clash way before he came around to them, and I'm sticking to that claim. ;)

Sista, sista

My oldest sister Beth came to visit this past weekend, and I am slowly recovering. Here's why:

Thursday

I pick Beth up at Penn Station in the afternoon and we walk the couple blocks to the Empire State Building. We decide not to go to the top and head back to my apartment in Brooklyn, get a slice at Luigi's, and eat it on the Pratt campus. We take the train to the Brooklyn Bridge and walk over it and through DUMBO where we split a chocolate chip cookie from Jacques Torres' chocolate shop. So rich, so delicious. After sitting in the park and watching the sunset and the passing dogs we take the G train to this Polish restaurant called the Golden Cafe in Williamsburg. I like taking visitors to this cafe because it is cheap and different and just plain tasty. We retire for the evening.

Friday

Breakfast at John's Donuts on Myrtle Avenue, and then SIX HOURS AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. The newly renovated American Wing is pretty stunning. I suggest checking it out even if American decorative art isn't your thing because the layout and computerized information stations are very exciting. In case you were wondering if the rumors are true, it is nearly impossible to see everything in the Met in one day. We only went through about half of the building in those six hours. However, if you are a financially strapped student, the Met is a great place to spend a few days because you can do it for $0.25 if you want (the suggested ticket price is $20, but many people don't realize that this is truly just a "suggested" amount, and that you can pay whatever you want). Watch out for the cafeteria, however, where $15 salads are the only salads.

For dinner we walked south through Central Park towards Serendipity 3 and split a creamy chicken crepe and frozen hot chocolate, which the restaurant is famous for. By this time, believe it or not, it was 9:00 and we were exhausted so home we went.

Saturday

Breakfast at Choice Cafe and the express train to Battery Park to catch a ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island. The view of Manhattan from the ferry is enough to make the trip worth it. The islands themselves aren't half bad either. Although we didn't opt for the ticket that included entrance into the Statue of Liberty, I felt satisfied just walking around it and marvelling at the amount of welding that must have gone into all of those green folds. We spent more time on Ellis Island. My favorite bit of information that I learned was about the fiances who would get married upon landing because women weren't allowed to leave the island with a man who wasn't related to them. I also can't help but mention that I had a surprisingly good and cheap cheeseburger from the island's cafe.

Soon after landing in Manhattan again we headed to Canal Street and quickly left it. I suppose that everyone should experience at least once the chaotic maelstrom of haggling and aggressive venders that is Chinatown's Canal Street, but I stringently avoid it unless I need art supplies from Pearl Paint. From what I know, if you head farther east towards the Manhattan Bridge it becomes a lot more bearable. Also, to Canal Street's credit, Beth did find those cotton pajamas that I loved so much when I was younger and bought two pairs for her boys.

Anyway, Little Italy is just north of Canal so we ate a lovely dinner there and sat for the better part of an hour just people-watching. Then it was home for the night and some much needed foot resting.

Sunday

At this point Beth and I were just done. We ate breakfast at Bergen Bagel, rode to Penn Station, and bid each other adieu. Thank you dear sister for wanting to go places I might not have gotten around to going to and especially for paying for most of it. I appreciate it, and so does my student budget.