Us Humans...interesting creatures

On Sunday I read a passage by Borges that inspired today's entry. 

The passage quotes a ‘certain Chinese encyclopedia’

in which it is written that ‘animals are divided into: 

(a) belonging to the Emperor, (b) embalmed, (c) tame,

(d) sucking pigs, (e) sirens, (f) fabulous, (g) stray dogs, (h) included in

the present classification, (i) frenzied, (j) innumerable, (k) drawn with a

very fine camelhair brush, (1) et cetera, (m) having just broken the water pitcher,

(n) that from a long way off look like flies'.

After reading it one time, I was like huh...

and decided to read it a few more times.

Each additional time, I switched the word animal for the word human

and for each division

I imagined a type of person

that would fit into that category.

Nerd, I know (I was in the subway - a perfect location for this kind of exercise)

but

fun and interesting.

Think about it

and

Draw your own conclusions...

On the bright side

INDULGENCE

in the FALL

A picnic in the park

Apple Crumble

A cozy breakfast

Pear Tart

A hearty dinner with friends

Heaven on earth 

a couple of these pics are from a cool magazine

called kinfolk

Thanks + Giving

It's almost 7:30PM (EST) and I am about to leave the office

On their way out, all my colleagues have wished Happy Thanksgiving....

Thanks + Giving....

I guess, I will use this space to share my thoughts and feelings about this particular time of the year at this particular time of my life:

I'd like to express my gratitude to my dear and unconditional friend, Juncal, who has been by my side during the roughest times and who continues to impress me everyday.  She is representation of unconditional love.

I'd like to express my gratitude to my family y continuo en español para que lo sepan, por ser mis padres, mis amigos y mi piedra. (en la distancia no es facil). Gracias a ellos, soy quien soy.

I'd like to express my gratitude to my gordis, Pia, for welcoming me everyday at the door with a BIG lick-smile.

I'd like to express my gratitude to Bon Iver, Patti Smith, Cat Power and a few others for helping get through.

I'd like to express my gratitude to my friends (you know who you are), for checking on me and showing their love
in their own ways.

I'd like to express my gratitude to NYC for providing special spaces to connect
and appreciate beauty.

Last but not least, I'd like to express my gratitude to LIFE for being a fucking pain in the ass
and teaching me how to RIDE THE WAVE.



Happy Thanksgiving
New York City, 2011

On the bright side

Three things define this/last week's on the bright side (I am slightly late)

NYC

Friends, food, drinks and small gatherings

Art

the artists ...

... in their own way

“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

(Albert Einstein)

Good week

NY style

Enjoying last weeks in NYC

soaking its character

A night at

The Jane Hotel

 Completed in 1908, the American Seaman's Friend Society Sailors' Home and Institute was designed by William A. Boring, the architect renowned for Ellis Island’s immigrant station.  Originally built as a hotel for sailors with cabin-like rooms, the landmarked hotel was lovingly restored on its centennial in 2008. 

 In 1912, the survivors of the Titanic stayed at the hotel until the end of the American Inquiry into the ship’s sinking.  The surviving crew held a memorial service at the hotel four days after the ship sank.   

 In 1944, the YMCA took over the hotel from the Seaman’s Relief Center, as the hotel was then called.  

 During the ‘80s and ‘90s, the hotel was part of downtown New York’s bohemian culture, hosting Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the Million Dollar Club, amongst many other rock-n-roll events. 

Recommended

Welcome!

I learned today that I have more followers

than the 6 that appear on the side of the blog : )

No that numbers matter that much to me...but it made me happy.

So, I want to welcome those who read me anonymously

 either by twitter, by email or by checking this space daily.

Cheers

Reminders

I usually get irritated by The Selby.

The photography is cool,

the subjects interesting

and the locations pretty awesome

but it is this utter perfection

that can be quite aggravating.

Maybe this is the catch -

to expose things so beautifully and dreamy

so as to help us escape from our reality,

evade from the mundane

and for a few seconds be part of other people's lives,

imagining how perfect it would be to live in that particular house,

and have that beautiful, flawless family.

Well, this morning The Selby succeeded.

I arrived in the office, opened my email 

and saw that I had my Selby's update.

With certain skepticism, I decided to open the link

and watch the film… guess what?

For about 5mins, I stepped out

of my reality and connected to my dreams,

my inner Silvia or however you want to call it.

The point is that the movie helped me get in touch with

something that I want and strive for.

I don’t know if it was Lucy,

the house, the colors,

the nature or the subtle message…

I don’t know but

there was something in that movie

that I related to.

The result?

 I felt inspired and hopeful.

Sometimes things get confusing, I get lost and

I start to feel that

I no longer know who I am, what I want

and/or what is next.

Then, I see the ocean, read a book,

see a photograph or watch a Selby film

and something connects.

  

It might sound weird but
I am glad to have these reminders.

Let's archive them.

On the bright side

Shades, shadows and reflections

Hope you had a fine weekend

11.11.11

TRANSIT DATE

I woke up to this message from my friend Bea:

The train is approaching the station; you can hear the whistle blow as it winds around the corner into view. There is a gentle rumbling beneath your feet as it slows down to align with the boarding platform. You glance down at the ticket in your hand and notice that the present station reads, “Been There, Done That.” As you turn the ticket over the new destination reads, “My Life’s True Happiness.” While you sit and ponder the possibilities of where this might take you, the conductor calls out, “All aboard, last call!”

The date of 11-11-11 is one of the most powerful shifts in human awareness that we will experience in our lifetimes. It is a rare opportunity to release lifetimes of karmic scripting and ancestral entrapment—entrapment in the sense of the conscious and unconscious habit patterns which have us wondering why we can’t seem to actualize the life we really want to have, and that we know is possible.

Many people are presently feeling, “I can’t go on like this anymore, I just can’t live like this another day.” While we long for that which is original and exciting, we may feel burdened by the fear of not knowing the consequences of the changes we desire. So many stay trapped in the generational karma of, “Well, my father was a cobbler, so I guess I’ll always be one too.” Or, “My mother did what she was told, so I better play it safe too.” You don’t need to imagine there is a burning hell in some other dimension, because both these situations can feel like a living hell over time.

“Don’t worry, because you make yourself small by worrying, by being afraid. Expand. Trust in the Infinity of God. The Infinity of God shall come through you.”

The message is clear

and it´s still 1PM (EST) 

Here we go

Love, Sex and Silk Robes

One of those albums...

Adanowsky x Devendra Banhart

The Indie Lounge Lotharios On Love, Sex and Silk Robes

Worldly troubadour Adanowsky, AKA Adan Jodorowsky, and psych-folk balladeer Devendra Banhart share their languid love song “You are the One,” a preview from Jodorowsky’s forthcoming album Amador (Spanish for “lover”). The lush, multilingual tour de amore was produced by Phoenix’s Robin Coudert, mixed by frequent Banhart cohort Noah Georgeson, and inspired by a painful breakup. “I was sad and I needed to feel something good in me. Amador is a guy who is living from the heart,” says Jodorowsky, a Mexico City resident who was raised between South America and France. “I’m not a hippie. I’m just trying to feel something.” The son of famed Chilean surrealist filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky, the cabaret-inclined frontman and multi-instrumentalist counts the record as his US debut and his second release worldwide. “This album is a transition. It’s about someone leaving sadness to go into happiness.”


Adan Jodorowsky: So, Devendra. The last time I saw you was in Mexico. You were deejaying rap.

Devendra Banhart: Yeah. You were deejaying too. You were playing strictly lounge music and were in silk fireside slippers. Once upon a time that was an elegant sartorial move for any man of fine tastes and exotic haberdashery. And you were wearing a smoking jacket and there was a pipe.

AJ: When I was in Paris, I listened to Devendra’s album Niño Rojo a lot while making love to a woman. So I thought, “Wow, this guy is a genius! He gave me some incredible orgasms.” I wrote him and said, “Do you want to do something with me?” I waited for three weeks for a response and I thought you were never going to respond.

DB: I never respond quickly. That was the quickest I’ve ever responded.

AJ: I went to Los Angeles, came to your house, and you opened the door and grabbed my ass!

DB: I thought I had ordered you off the internet.

AJ: You were really nice. You were like, “You are like my cousin. We are the same size, we have the same pants.” People think we’re real cousins. We used to have the same pants, but not anymore…

DB: Well, you know. The 60s was a crazy time. I hate to bring up your father, but I will. He writes comic books because a lot of the things you can do in a comic book you can’t do in film. Moebius taught him to draw. I still have that drawing of his. It’s a drawing of a primitive man from the future eating a giant hot dog. It’s amazing. I think we approached the song that way; like what does the song look like? You make up a story. I’m pretty sure [the song’s inspiration] had to do with guys on their knees and we took it from there.

AJ: Yeah, I remember it like that. It’s true. It was really easy. It’s not very simple to collaborate with people; there are egos. But this time there were no egos. It was nice.

DB: That’s the thing. It’s really rare to find people [with whom] you can start a conversation speaking and continue the conversation playing music.

AJ: We had the idea to do an album together but you don’t have time and I have little time.

DB: I need to learn how to play music and sing first.

http://www.nowness.com/day/2011/11/6/1714/adanowsky-x-devendra-banhart

DIVE by Tycho

Just beautiful

http://tychomusic.com/

On the bright side

Got back from Brussels yesterday

It was an exhausting trip in all possible ways

I have so far slept 12hrs straight.

Woke up an hour ago,

walked Pia,

it was still dark outside

only a few souls on the street and 

a freshness and silence that makes you forget that you are in NYC, 

came back, ate a banana and back in bed.

This week's delayed on the bright side

is a compilation of the things and moments

that brought light last week.

Happy that it was done

and happy that I am back.

Have a good week

All the above could have brought a lot of light

but it was all business, so unfortunately, only the last one

was actually mine.

They know how to do it

when it comes to beer and chocolate selection

Hunting and Collecting

a Belgian version of my beloved NYC's Love and Adorned

Just around