So.  It’s election year.  I think they planned so that it would fall on the same year as the Olympics.  You know, so everyone’s in good spirits before they get all pissed off.  In New York it’s also Fashion Week.  Something I forgot to pay attention to because I was too busy pretending that summer would never end (I’m still in denial — today was the hottest it’s been in weeks.  Ask my sweat glands.)  So we’ve got the Presidential Election and Fashion Week.  Ironic that the two should come to the forefront of my attention at the same time as they have nothing to do with each other.  I mean, Hillary’s pantsuit (and I’m sure Palin’s, too) isn’t exactly screaming avant-garde.  But I guess that’s what’s going on in the world and since I don’t live under a rock, it’s hard to avoid.

Fashion and politics.  When something goes wrong in one, children ask why Mommy used to dress like a slutty disco queen.  When the other takes an unfortunate turn, they ask why Daddy isn’t coming home.  One provokes a cringe, the other an ache.  I think this is why I don’t understand politics and government.  They are not beautiful things.  They are entities that were, somewhere along the way, deemed necessary to preserve order.  I don’t know if it all started with good intentions or was immediately about taking over the world, but in my 20something years of observation, it hasn’t looked good.

In politics there is a huge division of people.  They are only unified when they are for something and against something else (did you NOT hear the crowd at the Republican National Convention?)  Fashion, like the Olympics, unites people.  It brings countries, cultures, and people together to celebrate beautiful work.  And it’s subjective, which creates tastes and style and allows for individuality.  I don’t see that in politics.  Differences aren’t celebrated.  I see red and blue.  Might as well be black and white.

Now, I don’t follow politics all that much, just as I don’t follow fashion trends (I set the trends, duh).  So when I look at this election and there is a big, huge war (apologies for the double positive there) in the middle of it that has put the world into such a sorry state and neither candidate plans on pulling out of it because they can’t, because it’s an issue of national security, it’s quite disheartening.  If we just put down the guns, put our hands up, and said, “We just want to help you be the best you can be, take it or leave it,” do you think they’d gun us down?  Well, I don’t know if they would, but fighting fire with fire doesn’t stifle the flames.  Then again, aren’t we over there for oil?  So maybe we don’t really want to *help* them so much as *control* them.

My prediction?  If we continue along the same course, self-destruction.  Just like every powerful civilization in the history of the world.  I just hope we leave something behind as cool as the pyramids.

A while ago I read this book.  Now I’m reading this book which has led me to listen to this song on repeat (as I will so often do when I need something to really sink in).  And if you head on over to the Wikipedia page for that song and scroll down to Legacy, you’ll see some interesting facts on just how popular that song is.  Now what I would like to know is why the fuck does everyone on the planet have such a thick skull?  The ideas provoked here obviously resonate with anyone who has half a brain, yet nothing really seems to change.

It was a few years ago that I rejected the idea of religion and any superior being that so much of the world puts their faith into.  Though they are all founded on human morality, they have been polluted with meaningless rituals and lists of rights and wrongs.  Who is to decide what is moral?  We’re all human.  It doesn’t make sense that any one person or group of people know what is ethical.  Human nature and common sense should be able to dictate those things.

As of recent, I’ve decided that this also applies to governments because whatever we’re doing, it’s not working.  There’s too much greed and, in effect, violence for someone to look at the state of the world as a whole and say, “Yes, this is okay.  Let’s keep it up.”  No way.  I don’t accept that.  It’s like we’re fighting for peace.  How the fuck can you fight for peace?  I have an idea on how to achieve that goal:  Stop.  Fighting.

That being said, I know we live in a materialistic world and I am most definitely guilty of *needing* those shiny new toys.  That glowing apple icon?  Gets me every time.  Four inch patent leather mary janes?  Sold.  $100 haircuts so that my hair is one less source of stress in my life?  Done.  Luxury condos in Battery Park City?  Give me a few years, I’ll get there.  I am certainly not above desiring all of the pretty things of the world, and New York isn’t exactly the city of frugality.  It’s tough to not want everything.

However, college/living abroad/traveling/moving apartments every year has taught me that there is a lot of unnecessary crap in our lives.  After living in Italy for 4 months and taking home the only two suitcases that I had brought with me (though stuffed with plenty more than I came with), I realized that minimalism makes life a lot easier.  My pack rat days were over.  Only take what you need, leave the rest for someone else.

In the last 6 months or so, that zen mentality of mine got lost in a mess of cool new tech products, clothes, restaurants, bars, vacations; basically all things excessive and expensive.  I’ve wanted and needed the latest and greatest and wouldn’t be satisfied until I had it.  That is, until I took a spill off my bike a couple of weeks ago.

At first glance all seemed fine.  Minor scrapes to myself, the bike was okay, and though everything fell out of my bag, it all seemed like it took the crash well.  Then I got to work, took out my laptop, and realized the case was totally warped and the latch broken.  Uh oh.  After turning it on, the machine seemed to be working properly.  Within a couple of days, though, that was not the case: the DVD drive was eating discs, the camera wasn’t being recognized, and the trackpad button felt weird to the touch.  Upon inspection at the Apple store, I was informed that yes, those things collapsed from the impact and no, the fact that I bought the machine 6 months ago doesn’t matter because the warranty has been invalidated.  The price tag for repair?  $1200.

However, the hard drive, screen, keyboard, and trackpad are not busted.  Everything I need to do my job is fine.  And for that, for not having to replace a $2000+ machine, for not even having to actually get anything repaired, I woke back up.  I remembered that this is just a tool that allows me to do the things that I do.  I’m taking my ever-so-graceful spill as a big shove from the universe to get my head on straight.  Yes, it’s sad that I can no longer take stupid Photobooth snapshots when I’m procrastinating, and it’s sad that my new machine is now a used machine, but such is life.

I’m probably getting far too big a lesson out of this incident, but if you know me, you know how attached I am to my pretty aluminum baby.  My baby that was dropped on it’s head and now has some permanent brain damage and a couple of scars to show for it.  But I’ve relearned my lesson: that you have to appreciate what you have.  Otherwise nothing will ever be good enough and you’ll turn into a greedy little bastard.

Her life would not be complete until she owned a scooter such as this.  Hot pink with an explicit label.  What more could she want?

Click the image to view larger.

I’ve submitted this photo to JPG magazine under the theme “Democracy” and it would be great if you would do me a favor and vote for it here.  I imagine you are wondering why this image should evoke the theme of democracy?  Well, here is my reasoning if you are interested:

There is one major flaw that our society is based on: the Pursuit of Happiness. When you are in the “pursuit of” something, there is an end result which remains the sole focus. It’s become second nature for the majority of the population to think in such a way that happiness will come when this falls into place or that has been achieved.  What’s worse is that people blame their unhappiness on circumstances - being undereducated, an unstable childhood, the wrong partner, not enough money, or just dumb luck. To that end, happiness has become a set of quick fixes acting as a band aid over a gash that needs stitches.

This photo was taken in Sag Harbor, NY where the majority of people have been on the receiving end of fortunate circumstances; they are Hamptonites - the privileged part of the population. The people who are supposed to be living the American Dream. But I have a feeling that most of them are still looking for something that can’t be found in a bottle or needle or shopping bag. Suggested remedy? A realization that happiness should be found in the pursuit itself and not as a final product.

If that doesn’t suffice, then there is also the simple idea that although the Hamptons reek of synthetic boobs, superficial values, and a shiny, botox-induced newness, this hotel dates back to pre-Revolutionary America when this country was first becoming independent.  Seems like the owners have preserved the Dutch colonial look of the place quite well.  Almost as well as the women preserve themselves.

Click the image to view larger.

The other day I was out to dinner with some very smart friends. While two were engaged in their own conversation, the third turned to me and asked, “How do you think quantum physics shapes human morality?” Whoa. What? My face went blank and I didn’t speak for a few moments until I laughed and told my friend that I was sorry, I didn’t mean to space out on him, but my mind started going about 100 miles an hour to come up with some kind of appropriate response. Surprisingly enough, I actually had one because of the fact that I had just read an amazing book that had a huge impact on how I look at the world: Ishmael.  And I’m glad I read it because it made me feel smart for a hot second.

I don’t really associate morality with quantum physics (think What the Bleep Do We Know? and The Secret). I think the easiest way to figure out morality is to look at immorality. What makes people immoral is our government and our society. By standardizing a code of law and saying that This Is Right and This Is Wrong, life becomes far too black and white. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that people are basically moral in nature and don’t mean to do harm. However, it becomes confusing when someone says “lying is wrong,” though, in truth, lying isn’t necessarily wrong in itself. It’s how it is used. For example (and I’m totally stealing this from the book, but it’s a great example), go back to Nazi Germany. You are hiding a Jewish family in your attic. Nazis show up at your door and ask if you know the whereabouts of said family. If your answer is yes, you have just sentenced an innocent family to death.

Each situation that a person is faced with is different in context and character, and there is no single response that can be used every time. A person should be able to call upon their own knowledge and understanding of the world in order to make the right call. Laws and commandments and regulations and rules create confusion and undermine our innate ability to think for ourselves. They also, as far as I’m concerned, are what create greed (”I want the rules to work for me.”) which, in turn, creates resentment, anger, and hate, and these eventually turn into violence.  And when are violence and cruelty ever moral?  The system works against itself.  By trying to keep people in line, the opposite has been achieved.

There’s a lot more to be said about this, but I’m pretty sure I just took a superbly radical stance on something that no one ever agrees on anyway: the government.  If you disagree with me, and I’m sure the majority of you do, then do yourself a favor and go pick up a copy of that book by Daniel Quinn.  After you read that, then we’ll talk.

I’ve kind of been in a funky mood the last few days, mostly due to the fact that I’ve been ridiculously clumsy lately leading to some serious scrapes and bruises on various parts of my body. Ouch. What I think is bothering me, though, is that I don’t really believe it was accidental, because I think that whatever happens to you - good or bad - you’ve somehow attracted to yourself (go watch The Secret if you don’t know what I’m talking about. It’s hokey, but it works.) On that note and upon further inspection, I think I have been expecting to get hurt, just not physically. I totally manifested pain into my life, though it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m going to think of it as a Wake Up Call so that I can make an effort to knock it off.

What do the flower blossoms have to do with any of this? They are relaxing. I need to relax.

Click the image to view larger.

I was about to call it day and put the camera away when I came across this pond full of swans. Whoever designed the gardens at Kaukenhof definitely had a photographic perspective. The entire day felt like it was a professionally styled shoot that made it very easy to take a whole lot of really good photos. You Dutch just get it right every time, don’t you?

Peeves:

1. Labels and love are the reasons to come to New York?  FUCK.  THAT.  Had I known that - had I been looking for that - I never would have come. As far as I’m concerned, this is the most difficult place in the world to have a lasting relationship. And most of the people I know can barely afford to eat in order to pay their rent, much less splurge on thousand dollar handbags.
2. Some of the cheese just got to be too much. The “love” keychain made me roll my eyes quite a few times. Especially when it turned out to be the password to get to Big. Yuck.
3. P.S. ~ Miss Louise found her love in St. Louis and moved back to the Midwest. If you’re confused as to why this is a peeve, see #1.
4. There’s a Metrocard in Carrie’s bag when she is returning books to the library. In the entirety of all six seasons, Carrie has only taken the subway once: when she was stuck in traffic and needed to get downtown to ring the bell at the stock market (episode To Market, To Market). Why on earth would she start taking the train now when she is A. more successful and B. has Big’s driver at her disposal?
5. With said Metrocard, she could’ve gotten to Miranda’s apartment much faster on New Year’s Eve when the streets were clogged with cabs. But instead she ran 100 blocks on icy sidewalks in pajamas and heels. Cute, yes, but completely unnecessary. Though I do understand that sometimes you need those hundred blocks to clear your head and put yourself in a better place than when you walked out the door, I’m not sure this was the case here.

Loves (and these will far outnumber the bothers):

1. Theme numero 1: Happiness. I loved when Charlotte said that yes, she was in fact happy in her life every single day. It seems like so many people are content with being happy most of the time, or even some of the time. It should be every single day. Otherwise you are settling. Don’t settle.
2. Theme numero 2: Forgiveness. Carrie says to Miranda, “You’re asking me to forgive you after 3 days and you won’t forgive Steve after 6 months?” Miranda replies, “It’s not the same thing.” Carrie says, “It’s forgiveness.” Thank you, Carrie! Forgive and forget and move on with your life. You’re only hurting yourself by holding onto anger. This also means that you can never again use it against the person. Otherwise you haven’t really forgiven, have you?
3. Theme numero 3: Friendship. Obviously the whole movie revolves around this one, but it’s important. When you’re having a tough time in life, sometimes you need someone to show up with a bottle of vodka. Or make you eat when you have no appetite. Or make you get up and get dressed and get out of the house when you really don’t want to. Sometimes your friends do know what’s best for you.
4. Theme numero 4: Love. The biggest one of all (no pun intended, really). Through most of this movie I sat there thinking that I never want to get married, never even want to get involved with anyone ever again. The heartache can be so overwhelming when things go awry. The thing is, though, that you always surface from it. It takes time, but the sadness and loneliness dissipate and then you learn something. In this case, Miranda and Steve learned they couldn’t let their lives get in the way of their marriage. Carrie and Big learned they didn’t need to put on a show for everyone else when all they wanted was each other. Samantha learned she wasn’t meant for relationships regardless of how much she loved someone. And Charlotte, well I think she had love figured out a long time ago.
5. Carrie’s pink sparkly cell phone was duct taped together.
6. The whole Saint Louise thing was cute. Especially when Carrie had to turn off the movie Meet Me in St. Louis because of Judy Garland’s love song. A little bit of cynicism can go a long way in a movie about love.
7. The product placement made me laugh. All of the norms were there (ahem, Manolo Blahnik), but the Vitamin Waters on the chairs at the fashion show? Hi-larious.
8. The Vogue photo shoot. My wet dream realized.
9. The fact that Carrie wants to write about found love and how to keep it. Sequel anyone??
10. Standford Blatch and Anthony Marentino are friends. ‘Nough said.
11. The closet Big builds for Carrie. I would have sex with it if I could. It breaks my heart that she doesn’t get to use it.
12. Carrie’s redecorated apartment. Especially when she’s shopping for desks (”If you have the right desk, the words will come.”)
13. Samantha’s humping puppy. So appropriate.
14. Sushi.
15. The Cinderella thread. Carrie tells Charlotte’s daughter that things don’t always work out like that. In the end Big slips her foot into her gorgeous blue Manolos. We’ll call it Cheese Well Done.
16. The movie ended zooming out from the center of the Meatpacking District - my favorite neighborhood in this most glorious city - catching glimpses of Soho House and Hotel Gansevoort. Two of my favorite places because, in addition to other reasons, I’ve had some very awesome incidents there as of late.

I’m sure I could go on, but this is already a rather long list. There was a good portion of the movie that I sat there thinking, “I don’t like this. It’s making me too sad.” But then they made Charlotte shit her pants. I came away from it smiling. I think they did great justice to the show. Just like Carrie’s first book dedication, it’s for hopeful women everywhere.

Click the image to view larger.

I had planned on writing some smart essay about fonts and typography, but I’ve decided that 1. I’m too lazy and 2. I’d rather rebel against anything of the sort; I’m out of college and didn’t graduate with an English major. AKA, you can’t make me (as I stick my tongue out at you).

Click the image to view larger.

I will say, however, that maybe because everything was in a different language that I most certainly do not speak that I started noticing the variety of fonts. I mean, I know New York is packed with advertisements and words and over-stimulators, but I’m used to it. And I can read it quickly. When you no longer have the subject matter to guide you to understanding, you have to try to read the voice of the typeface to figure out what is being communicated.

Click the image to view larger.

And on that note, I’ll shut up and let you look at the photos. Enjoy!

Click the image to view larger.

But if you know me, you know I don’t shut up all that easily…

Click the image to view larger.

This last one was taken right down the block from the hostel that I stayed at in the Red Light District for four days. I have to say, the sign was actually much cooler than the shop. The goods sold were strictly condoms (rather than being a full on sex shop), and let’s face it, other than getting the job done, condoms aren’t all that exciting.

However, I’m not awarding points to either side (NY vs. Amsterdam) seeing as this was the Red Light District and there were more sex shops crammed into a half mile radius than there are Starbucks in New York. I guess some people just like buying their condoms in a shop that doesn’t also carry Deep Throat.

Click the image to view larger.

After switching to DreamHost this week, I realized I hadn’t properly backed up my blog and therefore have spent the past few days going back through every. single. post. and manually uploading and inserting the images back into each. Annoying? Yes. Will I always make sure to back things up from now on? Absolutely. Learn from your mistakes, right?

Anyway, about this image. The first time I went to Amsterdam this was the first coffeeshop I ventured into. I was quite surprised when I walked in this time to find that they had just reopened and it was much nicer. Before it had been more of a bar. Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m all about bars. But now this place has got a cool Indian vibe going on. More character, if you will.

And on another note, there was actually a lot of really cool signs and typography all over Amsterdam. I took a lot of photos of this stuff and feel like if I write it down right now and send out my intentions to the World Wide Waste of Time that I’ll write a thoughtful essay on such matters, then I’ll actually do it. But I need a bit of time to procrastinate. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day!

Yes, I’m comparing myself to an empire.