Everyone Should Read…

any book that encourages people to dream and draw magical watermelon boats gets a thumbs up from me. the illustrations – broccoli trees and jelly bean cars – really bring me back to my childhood.

a FULL PREVIEW of the book is available here.

and the best part?

(via poppytalk)

my fort is on booooooom!

holy crap, i’m so excited right now i can barely contain myself. so the two awesomest blogs i know of right now, boooooom (launched by Jeff Hamada to honor all things creative & cool) and weloveyouso (THE Spike Jonze & Co. site for Where the Wild Things Are fanatics) teamed up to bring us the Wild Things Fort Contest!

The Project: To “build a world out of things from your everyday life” and to fill it with things you love.

after seeing the first batch of photos folks submitted of their forts, I knew I was in. the imagination and creativity oozing off my screen was just too inspiring. so, I went at it. above is my fort built from curtains, bedsheets, escrima sticks, chairs, and my tiny couch. I filled it with a few of my favorite things – yarnballs, kids books, cushions, and a star-lantern i built entirely from recycled bottlecaps! and VOILA! my fort – a cozy cloud cavern – has been up in my living room ever since.

oh, but that’s not where it ends! Just now (about 10 minutes ago), i jumped onto booooooom and saw my very own fort right there on the homepage! I was floored.

so, i really just thought i’d share my joy with you all. oh, and i thought i’d share an important life lesson i learned throughout this whole thing. i’m sure some of you are looking at this photo thinking “damn, she must have a lot of time on her hands.” actually, no. i don’t. in fact, i’ve been drowning in adulthood lately. the point is, i didn’t have the time, but i MADE the time…to do something i knew would be creative, liberating, and FUN. for a couple hours, i got to be a kid again. the lesson: reverting to a child-like existence (at least once in a while) is essential for good health. so take the time to free yourself from the “but i don’t have time, i have too much work to do, this is gonna take so long” thoughts in your head…and build a fort!

contest ends monday october 12 at midnight!

check out the AWESOME forts that folks have submitted:

Wild Things Forts I
Wild Things Forts II
Wild Things Forts III
Wild Things Forts IV

thanks, booooooom!

friday favorite: tikki tikki tembo

a while back, i started a collection of books that i used to read as a kid not only to satisfy my own inner child, but also in hopes that one day my own chickadees would revel in the magic of my childhood (hopefully, they don’t just think i’m a big dork). while i have my known list of favorites, sometimes i’m serendipitously reminded of a book that i once loved as a kid but have since forgotten. today’s one of those days. as i was going through my daily reads, i happened upon a blog post titled, “tikki tikki tembo” over at booooooom. gasp! wide eyes! i remember how proud of myself i was when i finally memorized the name, tikki tikki tembo no sa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo.

if you’ve read it, then i’m sure you’re delighted, too. if you haven’t, lucky for you, there’s a youtube video! this guy’s voice is the classic “old-white-grandpa-narrator” voice of yesteryear. haha. enjoy. and have a lovely weekend.

Where the Wild Things Are Kubricks!

If this doesn’t excite you, then perhaps you’re an unexcitable human being. These bad boys come out in October along with Spike Jonze’s feature film rendition of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s tale, Where the While Things Are.

Other Wild Things goodies:

1) Don’t have the book? Get it! (click image)

2) Check out the trailer (click image):

3) Visit the awesome blog, We Love You So, for all things WTWTA related.

4) Interview with Spike Jonze at Aint It Cool

5) Wanna know how excited I am?

(via booooooom)
(trailer image via fobbdeep)

photo friday: dreams of flying

since 2002, jan von holleben, a west german photographer, has been working on a whimsical photo series entitled, dreams of flying. he uses everyday objects, natural surroundings, and the very ground we walk on to create these fantastic dreamscapes for the local children in his south west germany neighborhood. influenced by classic children’s books and modern day superheroes, jan von holleben’s work taps into our fondest childhood (and adulthood!) dreams.

want to photograph your own nostalgic dream scene? do it, and send it to him! he’ll add your photo to an ongoing collection of photographs inspired by dreams of flying. you should check these out. they’re a riot!

he has also published two volumes of dreams of flying. the first is currently unavailable, but the second can be purchased here. this is a picture book i’d love to have on my (invisible) coffee table.

The Diver

Superman

The Astronauts

The Pirates

The Photographer

The Ghostbusters

Anakin Skywalker

check out more of jan von holleben’s dreams here

(via photojojo)

The Passion of El Hulk Hogancito

Jason Magabo Perez, aka “Jay” aka “JPZD” aka “Hason” aka my friend, has MAJOR issues, childhood traumas that run deep – to a time before he was even born – and he just can’t get over them. He’s no different from the rest of us, I suppose. We all have treacherous memories of our wayward youth, failed piano recitals, parental boot-knockin’ in the next room, etc. Most of us have moved on and are stronger people for it. Not Jay. The thing is, Jay’s got plans…plans to turn all those traumatic childhood experiences into, well, fame, respect, and at least a million dollars. Because, unlike the rest of us, he’s writing a whole novel about all the things, for better or worse, that have molded him into the storytelling genius he is today- all while illuminating the tragedies of a racist 1970s America that convicted his mother, Leonora Perez (Hi Auntie), for mysterious murders committed in a VA Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

And he’s going to share his lunacy with all of us (yippee!) in a poignantly humorous, heart-breaking, mind-widening, multi-media performance reading of his novel-in-progress.

Here in SF. You should come. It’s gonna be a riot.

THE PASSION OF EL HULK HOGANCITO
Sat – Sun, Mar 28 – 29 8PM/6PM
Sat – Sun, Apr 4 – 5 8PM/6PM
Bayanihan Community Center
1010 Mission St @ 6th St. SF CA 94103
Tickets: $13 – 20, http://brownpapertickets.com/event/56330

Here’s an excerpt:

Third Grade is all about warfare.

Soon we’re stopped at San Diego Avenue. Fuck this intersection. Turn right and you enter Locos del Sol barrio. Up ahead: scrawny palm trees, the I-5 and the Pacific Ocean. Directly to the right, in the bicycle lane, stand the peewees, the apprentice-gangsters with not much better to do than ditch and flash signs at passing traffic. These not-quite eses, in their shaved heads, shredded Dickies and Cortezes, manipulate their fingers to spell the acronyms of the most elaborately-named gangs. It is their God-given purpose to assure that Rancho Del Oeste 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments Posse does not go unnoticed in this cruel cruel world.

More deets can be found at kularts.

Read a preview of The Passion in this week’s SF Weekly here .

Elizabeth Gilbert Has a Genius.

At the beckoning of my two close girlfriends, I have begun to read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. I’m only about 100 pages in, but so far, it’s an epically glorious memoir that taps into some of my deepest hopes, fears, anxieties, and dreams with the utmost respect for my quirky, girlish sensibilities.

With that, I came across this 19-minute TED speech by Gilbert on the idea of creative genius. If you can, I would suggest you push everything aside, right now, at this very moment, cozy up with your computer, and WATCH THIS.

The jist? She discusses the urgency for artists (and, in my eyes, people in general) to create a “protective psychological construct” against the “inherent emotional risks of creativity.” And she does this by invoking the ancient Roman concept of “Genius,” a concept that over centuries we have redefined, she argues, at the demise of the artist.

This isn’t just any speech, folks. Through her humor, storytelling, vulnerability, fervor, and command of the colloquial, she presents a poignant case that seeks to heal the tormented creator in us all. Ole! to Elizabeth Gilbert.

p.s. bonus points for mentioning dobby, the house elf.

(via swiss miss)

Pareng Barack: Filipinos in Obama’s America

On Sunday, I attended the book signing for Benjamin Pimentel’s Pareng Barack: Filipinos in Obama’s America at the SF Public Library. I haven’t read it yet, but the small book is about how Filipinos responded, “often with excitement, sometimes with fear and dread,” to Barack Obama’s historic campaign and election. Having just returned from D.C., imagine my excitement to purchase a book with the words “Obama” and “Filipinos” on the cover.

The event wasn’t that well-attended, and the question-and-answer portion turned more into a long-winded-comment-and-answer session, but I was inspired by Pimentel’s reflections and his eagerness (the book was released 2 weeks after the Nov. 4 election) to chronicle the diverse perspectives of the Fil-Am community in the context of Obama’s phenomenal rise to the presidency.

I found one of the author’s reflections to be particularly stirring. During the event, Pimentel noted that he was 8 years old when President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in the Philippines. From that point on, for 14 years, his own political views (ultimately cynical and pessimistic) would be shaped by a dictatorship. Today, one of Pimentel’s sons is 9 years old. How wondrous it will be for this father to witness how his son’s views on politics, race, and social conditions are shaped by an (hopefully awesome 8-year) Obama administration.

“It will be Obama’s face and voice that my sons will see and hear on television and on the Internet over the next four years, maybe longer. It will be Pareng Barack who will play a critical role in defining my sons’ future in America.”
-Benjamin Pimentel

Not sure yet where you can get your own copy (I’ve been looking all over the internet, and can’t find ANY purchase information), but as soon as I figure it out, I’ll let you know!

3191: A Year of Mornings

“3191, A Year of Mornings began on January 1, 2007 as an almost daily photo conversation, in blog form, between two friends that live 3191 miles apart. It lasted the entire calendar year ending on December 31, 2007.

The project has now been transformed into a book, published by Princeton Architectural Press.”

Two women, who maintained a lasting friendship online, but who met only once, captured the most intimate moments of their mornings through photographs of ordinary objects in their homes. The images revealed a striking resemblance in color and composition. Take a peek at some of the kindred photos in the new book, A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart.

(a lovely reminder of the abundance of daily serenity when you just take the time to look, listen…)

Peep their latest visual blog, 3191, A Year of Evenings