Defenestrate the Development Agency

One of my favorite public art pieces in San Francisco is a rundown rat trap that was a residence hotel until a fire there twenty years ago. In 1997, artist Brian Goggin turned it into the Defenestration Building with furniture crawling out the windows and up the exterior walls, some of it leaping from the roof. Couches and refrigerators and a floor lamp and an armoire not only hang off every surface, but also twist in very un-furniturelike ways. They all seem very animated, especially the spindly little end tables that scramble along like cats on ice. It’s wacky.
The building itself, not so wacky. It’s a substantial piece of real estate on a prominent corner that’s been abandoned for decades and the fact its ramshackle state adds to the dilapidation of Sixth Street is pretty damn annoying. Sixth Street is a filthy skid row that has resisted the steady efforts of the city and several very right thinking non-profits to change it for the better. I know, I’ve worked with Urban Solutions, one of the best nonprofits involved, for years and watched them struggle against the entrenched shabbiness of the area that defeats most of the businesses that try to move in there. So dealing with one of the most derelict buildings in the neighborhood is okay by me.

But the only solution the local development agency can think of is tear it down, art and all, and start over. It’s a big sturdy building, why not renovate the interior and keep the art on the outside? There’s little enough charm in the world, why destroy some on purpose?

I Want to Dance Like Jimmy Somerville

It is absolutely not true that I stopped listening to music twenty years ago. Well, okay, it's sort of true. In fact, it's totally true. I lied.

80's fag disco dance synthpop is the soundtrack of a very happy time in my life, the time I was happiest dancing, so imagine how pleased I was to stumble on Jimmy Somerville (one of my all time faves) singing "You Make me Feel Mighty Real" (one of my all time faves.) Is this old? Was I just oblivious? Probably. It is actually better than Sylvester's original. I know, gasp. I would share it with you, but the only performance on YouTube is abysmal, so you have to go find it yourself. It's on ITunes, it's only 99 cents. Get real, mighty real.

This Is Wrong

So wrong.

Ronettes - Be My Baby

Phil Spector is in jail and today Ellie Greenwich died. This is an odd, sad time for all of us who are fans of big hair, big sounds and big girl groups. While many of Greenwich’s obits emphasized “Da Doo Ron Ron” “Leader of the Pack” and “Chapel of Love,” everyone (and by everyone I mean me) knows this is her finest moment.

Dr. mrpeenee Recommends

You know what I think would be a really good idea? Anesthesia on demand. It worked for Michael Jackson, right up to the point where he all died and stuff, so why not for me? I would set up appointments for all the owie stuff that I dread, go under and let the owie teams go at it. Teeth cleaning and dental work? I have you down for 10:00 to 11:15. Dermatological removal of broken blood vessels around my nose? You’re up. Colonoscopy? Eeks, ok, I’ll squeeze you in at 11:30, but don’t dawdle.

It’s brilliant. Even the electrolysis of Secret Lady Places for those of us who are not technically Ladies and whose places are hardly Secret, yes, even that. This way everyone who puts off these unpleasant but necessary upkeep items will jump on my Conked Out Bandwagon cause then they get all of it out of the way AND they get to get loaded. This is health care reform that we could sell. I bet Rush Limbaugh already does it.

Do You Smell That?

Last night I made pan seared salmon. Perfectly tasty, no big deal, but now the house smells like a bait shop at low tide. Ick.

Which reminds me, when I refer to a Secret Lady Place, it is a phrase I stole from MJ over at Infomaniac which in turns reminds me that when you Google the tantalizing term "mangina" (what? I suppose you haven't?) you turn up images similar to this:

Not that I'm bothered by this. Of course not.

Which in turn reminds me that Muscato is sneaking snacks in Oman during Ramadan when he should be fasting. It all comes together now, doesn't it?

Design Star: Let Me Know When It's Over

Design Star. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it was three days ago, but I just now watched it because I was reading Sunday night and now, having seen it, I'm glad I didn't stop. The show is teetering terribly close to Must Skip TV.

In my previous posts about this, I may have been a teeny bit too focused on how irritating the late, unlamented Taschika was, how totally cute little tiny Nathan was (he's gone! How can that be? He was like a design elf) and speculating about how Dan might look in really tight thongs that I sort of overlooked the fact that none of these losers are any good at design. How did they get on this show? Except Dan and his tight thong, and lucky the talent guy who got to interview THAT. They suck. They all suck.

This show was kids room and none of the finished products looked better than the before pictures. In fact, that's what they all sort of looked like: the starting point for a before and after show. The shicksa who had the artsy little girl and stapled random fabric up on the wall. Why did she get to stay? Also, I think the tight thong may be cutting the blood off from Dan's head cause I can't imagine why else he would pick that dreadful red and green palette. Do you think he's color blind?

Loni and Antonio? BLAH BLAH BLAH .... You could walk into any IKEA and come out with a better finished product.

I think Jason's pink princess room, while not any great shakes, was the best one, and he got tossed. The hell? Still any of them could have gone home, they're all equally bad.

I miss Nathan. But to help us all through these difficult moments, a photo of Dan:My advice? Stick to your day job and your thong.