Friday, October 20, 2017

Hamlet


A.C.T.'s production of Hamlet was fantastic. And John Douglas Thompson was a revelation -- his was the first Hamlet I've ever seen who actually seemed to make sense. With this epic role, even the greatest actors often seem to default to the oh-well-he's-emotionally-unhinged-he's-acting-irrationally mode. But this time, like watching a great novel or a disaster unfold, you saw the intelligent thought and internal logic going into each decision, and the tragedy was all the greater for it.



Thursday, October 19, 2017

Color Poem #28



why is the most
purple cardstock
all used up when
purple’s my least
favorite color?


Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Audio Books


Maybe a year ago, maybe less, I started listening to audio books. One of my best friends and my mom have both listened to them for years, but somehow I always thought they were something other people did -- people with CD players, and cars. Then I realized I could listen to them on my phone while I walked to work or took the bus or washed the dishes. And it was quite a revelation. A little while after that I realized I could get them from the public library via Hoopla or Overdrive rather than buying them through iTunes. Another revelation. Because while I like to own the physical books I read, I have no need whatsoever to own some random digital files of books I've listened to. The other day I got the urge to snapshot all the audio books I've listened to so far. So I dug up the history section on the three different apps and this is what I got. There are 33 of them and they were nearly all very excellent. Perhaps it will not be interesting to anyone else, but it is interesting to me.




Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Autumn


Someone started complaining the other day that Fall was here, and I was just like, what?! Are you nuts? Fall is the best. Turns out this person likes Summer. There is no accounting for taste. These Autumn mood boards by Design Crush are channeling loads of Fall goodness for those of us who appreciate the dream (if not always the reality) of this time of year.

All image credits and product sources are here.



Monday, October 16, 2017

Bra and Birth Control


I completed the final two drawings for the art show I'm having early next year (about which, don't worry, much much much more to follow, no doubt): another bra, this one green, and some birth control pills. Everyday objects.

Friday, October 13, 2017

The Customer is Always Wrong by Mimi Pond


I am utterly obsessed with Mimi Pond's new book The Customer is Always Wrong -- her second chunky graphic novel (the first was Over Easy - also amazing) about waitress and making art and growing up and navigating a huge cast of lovable miscreants in 1970s Oakland. Feast your eyes.














Thursday, October 12, 2017

Color Poem #27



and with the pantsuit
I also bought a winter
wool coat exactly the
color of
french’s
yellow
mustard


Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Book Sightings


One of the great many fun things about being an author, it turns out, is that friends and strangers (and your publisher, and sometimes even yourself) send you photos of your books when they spot them in stores all over the world! It's pretty amazing. Today, a little round-up of such things as they have occurred to The Secret Art of Being a Grown-Up and How Art Can Make You Happy.

Above: Faye's Video in San Francisco, spotted by Christina Loff


The Color Factory in San Francisco, spotted by Leah Rosenberg


Indigo in Canada, spotted by Chronicle Books


Documenta 14 in Kassel, Germany, spotted by Maxine Schoefer-Wulf


Tate St. Ives in St. Ives, England, spotted by Chronicle Books


Ritual Coffee pop-up shop in San Francisco, spotted by Brian McMullen


Tanum in Oslo, Norway, spotted by Bridget Quinn


Barnes and Noble, spotted by @booksresist


Green Apple on the Park in San Francisco, spotted by me


The National Portrait Gallery in London, England, spotted by Robyn B. West


SFMOMA in San Francisco, spotted by me


Tate Modern in London, England, spotted by Natasha Clark Risk


Pendragon in Berkeley, California, spotted by Casey Daniel


Folio Books in San Francisco, spotted by Ariel Richardson


Tuesday, October 10, 2017

House Mullets


I found this collection of "house mullets" -- traditional homes in the front, renovated to be modern in the back -- on Design Milk and I can't stop looking at them. There is something both exciting and soothing about the idea of the secrets these houses are keeping. Makes you wonder how it must feel to live in one.







Monday, October 9, 2017

Tampax Multipax


I like to draw everyday objects. Even the ones we as a culture sort of like to pretend are not actually everyday objects, even though they very much are.

Friday, October 6, 2017

Weather, Weather


Maira Kalman's third book with Daniel Handler and MoMA, Weather Weather, is a delight and a joy forever. Here are a few of my favorite images -- based on photographs from the museum's collection -- and you get a little snippet of Handler's winsome prose down there as well. Happy Friday!