Game time!

Let's play a game. It's called Who would you grab first, the man or the baby? 

Stock images are amazing...

gum

One very vivid part of my childhood was gum. Firstly we have tiny sized chiclets. They are rarely seen any more as they are sparsely produced; i guess every one is too worried about what their breath smells like these days. You can still find it sometimes, but it's not so easy to come by. But this gum is amazing. It comes in a tiny little yellow packet and the pieces of gum are teeny tiny little squares. You essentially chug the whole thing into your mouth and mash them up to make gum. It's amazingly sweet and delicious. 

While I don't really remember it, I've heard this story from my mother a thousand times: when I was little, maybe 3, and we were in Iran, she left me with my grandmother while she went out. My mom continuously told her not to give me sweets or candy, but she didn't listen. So when my mom came home I ran around screaming "adumps"  (pronounced adumbs?) which is Farsi for gum. What's actually interesting about this story is that only recently did I have the revelation of a lifetime when I realized were the Farsi word came from. The company that makes chiclets and tiny sized chiclets is Adams, and Iranians just didn't know how to pronounce Adams the correct way! 

Also a great gum was trident's original cinnamon gum. The unfortunately discontinued it and that makes me very sad. There are lots of knock offs around but none of them are the same. They all have some weird ingredient called xylitol or something. Apparently I'm not the only one who's upset. (http://savetridentcinnamon.blogspot.com)

the baby names post

We all have a list. It's just a matter of whether or not you've sat down to type them up. In no particular order...

GIRLS                      BOYS

Nolie      Clel

Kaja      Sivian

Isadora              Simon

Marjan      Tayo

Marion       Oliver

Naima       Jasper

Zara      Niko

Cai      Corin

Nadja       Kai

Suri              Corin

Gia              Gage

Nasrin              Nolan

Parisa      Cy

Malia      Marc

Arora      Marlon

Jasalin      Tomas

Esme      Severin

Marjorie      Quentin

Tiger-lily      Tristan

Scarlett      Corvan

Aviva      Simin

Adele      Cole

Celie      Sky

Jolie

Oralie

Nila

Melina

Saffron

Paprika

Serafina

amazing brids

Birds can be so fucking awesome. Yes, I'm serious; no, I'm not stoned. I've had a long standing obsession with the sage grouse, one of the funniest looking birds I have ever encountered.  

In the place where I got my last piercing done, they had a row of computers set up in the lounge area for while you are waiting. Clearly I spent this time youtube-ing the sage grouse, during which I then discovered that it moves even funnier than it looks. In the words of a guy who worked there, "Dude, does that bird have BOOBS?". Well technically it's a male so it's probably shaking his balls. But whatever.   

In other news, have you ever seen an albino peacock? It looks like a fucking mystical creature. Just the idea of a peacock without its colors is so tragic yet so beautiful. I love regular peacocks anyway; they just get a bad rep. But I have to admit, the albino ones are way prettier.  

Lastly, I bring to your attention the tawny frogmouth. It looks kind of like an unpleased furby. 'Member those? 

I Miss Sesame Street

I had forgotten about sesame street, but I discovered some gold on youtube. I've decided I now only respect musicians that have been on sesame street.

Feist This makes me infinitely happy!

Goo Goo Dolls (lol)

REM I actually faintly remember this one from when I was a child. 

Nora Jones I didn't like the original song but this is still cute...

James Blunt samesies. 

LL Cool J You know.

But at the end of the day, all I have to say is that if I have a son he better be as cute as John John. 

Jus' a Really Good Poem.

I have her book (At the Drive-in Volcano). It's pretty great.

Candy Necklace

by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Each piece of chalky wafer breaks

my heart. I adore these pastel chips

strung on the thinnest of elastics. I hold

them in my mouth. I drool little rings

 

down my lips and when I try 

to talk and giggle there is a catch

in the throat-a catch when the elastic

snaps and the sizzle of candy spills on tile

like a drop of orange sauce on a hot grill.

Winter now and drunk flies knock

my window for just one more drink

of light, or to sink into fruit juice left in a glass

overnight. I chew off all the tiny pink

rings, then the blues, the yellows, and leave

all the white: a sad excuse for pearls

at this age. We have sticky necks

sticky hands and when I slide the candy-

an acabus around my neck- I count the times

you thought of me today- or was it 

how many times I thought of you?

I set the silly truck-stop rings you offered me

under my tongue. My neck is still sticky,

still collects- but the candy necklace

I wear tonight is all the rings you gave

my phone and I didn't answer. Now

I can afford even peacock pearls clasped

in a wild gold latch but I have no money

for his steps     his boot    his taste.

The Installation Art That Is Anthropologie

Sadly, after a serious, long and excruciating google images search I could not find documentation of the aforementioned raised bed display in Anthropologie (though they have done a lot of other cool things with beds). But I did find a whole lot of other fanfuckingtastic pictures. Could this store be ANY greater? I think not. 

I would absolutely love to be part of the design team that makes these displays. I wonder if there is only one small team that comes up with these designs and sends the materials/directions to each store across the country, or if each store gets the freedom to decorate its own store. This is something to ask. Regardless, I worship the head of this artistic masterpiece. 

photo credits:

http://fiveprime.org/hivemind/Tags/anthropologie,display

http://thesmartestfish.blogspot.com

http://cravinganthropologie.blogspot.com