Thursday, July 31, 2008

Goodbye July

What a month! July never felt like it would end! Now August is upon us and the heat won't let us forget that summer is so serious. But 100+ degrees or not, it's Saturday! It took you so long to get here! This heat does not help the days go by...
But night swimming sure does. A big plus to this is NO sunburns! Don't hav a pool? Do what I do! Hit up the nearest apartment complex & hop a fence with a Lonestar in hand at least twice a week. Friends make the experience better, but floating alone isn't bad either.

Wednesday Austin, Rissa, & myself went down to the Mohawk to see Chris Flemmons from The Baptist Generals play. He came down from Denton after having day surgery that morning. He's tough. We swayed in the dark on the verge of tears through his whole set. The words "rhythm guitar" have never been used so fittingly. He plays his thrift store classical guitar like a drum. The songs themselves are dark and wholy satisfying. Like licking a wound.
Stories of drinking, retreating, hearts breaking... All of which go well with a glass of whiskey in hand. Rissa and I made a sleep over date for when their new record comes out. We are going to lay on the floor, listen to it over and over again, & drink till sleep over comes us. We aren't sad sacks, it's just sounds like the thing to do. I look forward to it. The new record is said to be done in a few weeks, so maybe it will be released by the beginning of next year. * fingers crossed *


On a more cheerful note... you all know that I have a thing for white tigers, well on thursday I read that a litter tiger cups were abandoned by their mother and then adopted by a golden retriever named Isabella. She has taken to cleaning and feeding then as if they were her own. Sigh and coo! How sweet! Apparently tigers and puppies develop at the same rate and require the same amount of care. *Makes me seriously wonder if I am ready to take on a puppy at this point*


I made this "Because I <3 Tigers" necklace to mark the occasion of Isabella and her new family

I'm going to sign off now and read for a bit before the Lions show tonight.
More on that tomorrow.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

As if the internet weren't addicting enough...

Most of us are members to a handful of sites. We subscribe to a half dozen blogs (or so). We have so many user names & passwords committed to memory, taking up needed space for things like, i dunno, correct spelling or that thing you told someone you'd do on friday, but can't remember what.. or with who.
Well, make room for one more pass word & user name, because the world of Polyvore awaits! It reminds me of making collages at sleepovers with stacks of Sassy & Jane magazines! Yay!
So, I have been putting of starting a Polyvore account because I knew it would be yet another distraction from the many things that need doing, but I gave in today and I AM (already) ADDICTED!
I'm still learning the in's and out's but thats part of the fun.
Won't you join me?





i've always wanted an ALL blue outfit. *swoon*

Friday, July 25, 2008

Art Fix

Last night my neighbor left her demon cat out. He is aggressive and picks fights with any other living creature it comes across. No joke.
So, he cornered another cat right outside my bedroom window (thank you very much). The sound of an actual cat fight, makes my skin crawl! AND when my skin is crawling I find it impossible to sleep. So, I lay in bed, hoping my neighbor was loosing sleep too but when I got bored with that I thought about art. Art I want to make, art I've seen, art I want to see... I thought I would share some of this art with you lovely people.
I visited Seattle last summer and my pal Russ took me to the SAM, which was amazing. I enjoyed every moment, but they were showing Nick Cave's (no not the musician) Sound Suits. Have you seen these?! They are incredible! Here, I will show them to you now, but click on the link and watch the video to see them in motion:

As you can see they are made of many many different things. Iron on's, bottle caps, wires, hair, sequins, twigs, scrap metal... It's all quilted / sculpted together. I have no clue how many he made, but each one looks like it took an eternity to put together. Apparently they are called sound suits because of the sound each one makes when it is worn. Yes, they can be worn and eventually were made with the intention of being performed in! Cave says that these suits reflect his experience of being an African-American man and his experience as a human being. I would love to meet this man!
This is a nice thing to think about when you can't sleep, it's not far off from dreaming itself.
As for Art you can see here in Austin, TX - Justin Goldwater opening his one man show "Stupid Answers to Snappy Questions" @ Domy Books on August 2nd.
Be There or Be Square.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Where to begin?

Oh man, with so many things going on it's impossible to keep this blog up to date!
Let's see... Where to begin? Ah, the Second Sunday Sock Hop Beach Party! Having a cold did not stop me from making an appearance at the hop on July 13th. I went dressed as if I were straight off the yacht with half a voice and a head full of Claritin. What fun! Hawaiian shirts, vintage bathing suits, sand, boys with beards getting "laid", hula hoops & kiddie pools! The weather was hot and balmy - in other words - perfect for the event. If you live in Austin and want to DANCE - this is it, this is what you need. Forget about work on monday, just slip on your flats and "shake it like you do when you wanna get you some!" The hop is my favorite event that happens all month. It will help you work out your frustration, but sadly it will not help you get over a cold. I hope they have another beach party, it was a blast... cold or no cold. Here's some photos:











My cold took a turn for the worst which caused me to miss the Tilly & The Wall show - suck! But once I was on the mend Austin and I headed down to Padre for a little family time. I guess the sock hop beach party left me wanting some real surf in my life. We drove in and went straight to the beach, where we drank tequila, floated in the waves and saw some real deal sea turtles! They had the sweetest eyes and were at least a foot and a half long! It was magical. We also ate some cocktail shrimp that were boiled in red hots (yes the candy) instead of things like celery salt, mustard seeds, ginger, pepper, cardamom, etc.. and they were DELICIOUS! We could not stop eating them! The day at the beach left me with a serious sunburn. It was really red, totally blotchy and left me napping on the couch for hours... eek. Note to self: More sunblock!
Seriously!

Now that I am home it's business as usual. Booking tours by day and art + craft + make by night! Ive got a new bracelet up in the shop, it will be hard to part with because I am IN LOVE with it!



Oh! I found out today that Tiny Meat will be making some of their awesome wallets using my art! Which has been a dream of mine. Realizing dreams is the best drug ever! You can see what the wallets will look like here and here.

Speaking of things that are addicting - have you gotten yourself a Twitter account yet? Go, go now! Let me know so we can "follow" eachother :)
Austin keeps his tour blog through Twitter. It's a little gritty and soaked booze at times, but always entertaining.

until next time...
xo,
B

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

56 mm × 56 mm

I am no pro when it comes to photography and I have never claimed to be, but I do like to document the occasion. Like most people I have a little digital camera that serves it's purpose. It's tough enough to live in my purse and sit on bar tables, the batteries last a long time, but it's all point and click. There's really no science to it. If your index fingers work and you can handle being blinded by the direct flash - you are in the memory makin' business. So a few weeks ago I was packing for my NY trip, and some friends came by to drink wine and visit while I went over my "don't forget this!" list. Rissa a.k.a. less like math brought her Holga 120fn over and insisted that I take it to NY with me. I had never used one before but she assured my that it's a toy and that the pictures will come out in ways I had never imagined. Rissa has a large (and growing) collection of old camera's (some instant, some more of the toy variety, & some that I don't even know what category they would fall into) and I was really excited that she trusted me enough with one of her babies. The verdict? I loved this camera! I will be getting one of my own soon! Thanks Rissa for turning me on to this truly addictive toy! Here are some of my favorite shots (not everything on the roll turned out, there is a learning curve). I hope you enjoy them!






Saturday, July 12, 2008

Turn it up!

Oh man. What a week! Work, work, work.
Our new band at work The Dedringers, had their record release on Thursday and their was only a million or so things that needed to be done before they actually hit the stage. It wore a sister out! The show was really great though - as were the margaritas...
When I am at work, chained to my desk, making calls, reading code, & generally making everything legit I have to have some music going. It's the only way to get through the paper pushing. Working at a booking agency - we have a large library of music to choose from. It's been brought to my attention recently that I am a girl band whore. Most everything I listen to is made by some ladies. My current love? Grand Ole Party! I saw them at SxSW this year and my jaw hit the floor instantly. Their songs are funky and the lyric content is swanky sexy. Oh yeah and Kristin Gundred is unbelievable! Singing, drumming, and smokin' hot. I'm telling you - if I were a lesbian...
I walked out of the Emo's Lounge after Kimya Dawson finished warming the hearts of a few hundred folks with her beat up accoustic guitar when I heard this giant, heavy drum beat come from the Emo's tent across the street and I wondered over in a trance.
Here, take two and a half minutes out of your day to watch their video for "Look Out Young Son" - she may very well be the devils daughter, because I am under her spell.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Charming!

Lately - with my man on tour all the time - I have been crafting my brains out! This weekend I hung out on my living room floor watching Sixteen Candles & making my first charm bracelet. So very fun!
After my week long trip to NY I was too tired to take part in the 4th of July fun. I skipped The Jungle Rockers show (which I never do) and just hang out all me, myself and I style. Uploaded some pictures from my trip, made Elvis cupcakes (chocolate, peanut butter & banana- yum), and a shit ton of shrinky dinks! A little "me time" is just what the doctor ordered.

Austin got home from tour on sunday night, so I fed him cupcakes and have been trying to get him as addicted to shrinky dinks as I am. So far I'm not seeing that sparkle in his eye, but in all fairness his mind is else where as it should be. Lions are working on a new album and those songs don't write themselves. Oh to be a rock star...

Anyway - here's the charm bracelet, which is for sale on my website. I am not too happy with the quality of this photo, but I am looking at new camera's right now - if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them :)

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Tigers Really Are Terrific...

or should I say BADASSICAL?

Maybe it's obvious, maybe not, but - I Love Tigers! White tigers especially - which are also known as Bengal tigers or Panthera Tigris (if you want to get technical). So yeah - they are fabulous and I am not alone in loving them... Recently Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary Club fame commissioned me to draw up some tigers for the logo of BADASSICAL, a blog she started with Karly Hand (the beauty & brains behind Design Crisis). I am pleased to announce that BADASSICAL is up and running!


Okay! Go, read, be inspired!

You like it. You love it!

How many times a day do you wish that you had a theme song that would play every time you entered a room? This is something I day dream of constantly. So, when setting up this blog earlier today I thought of what I would like my theme song to be at that moment (I am far too moody to just have 1 for all occasions) and I came up with "Introduction" by The Trucks

You like it. You love it!

I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to get a big girl blog... I've been keeping journals, scrap books, sketch books, & my myspace blog for years... it's time to go public. Time to find an arena where my flickr, yelp, inner needs, wants & ideas can come together. A place where sharing is the only agenda. Because as we all know *and yes it is cheesier than a bag of cheetos* but sharing is caring, and as cynical as my sense of humor can be, I honestly do give a damn. 

I've got big plans for Good Girls and Geeks! You can expect plenty of Model Citizen updates, stories of dreams come true, things made, things to make, things to listen to, people to love, dances to do, places to go, things that will make you a super human being, and many surprises along the way.  There may be other contributors in the future, but for now it's 100% me. 

let the good times roll.