Always Auspicious

In addition to being a delight in her green bikini and encircled by floating hearts and an ice cream cone, this time the Blah Girl was a sign of hope and home for another lovely girl.


This one lives at the corner of Pearl and Marcus Streets in Cabbagetown.

Oakland in October: Photos

It was a wonderful Sunday in the Park. I can't wait till the leaves really start falling.

Regressing

Green painted toenails, black glittery fingernails, purple streaks in my hair, a vampire book in my bag, and the iPod alternating between Concrete Blonde and Pigface… have I time warped back to high school? Yikes- “time warp” makes me think of Rocky Horror… maybe I should go see that sometime. Okay, don't let me.

Both Hands

Reem just texted me to tell me that Ani DiFranco is about to be on Conan. She’s on now and playing “Both Hands”—the more than 10 year old but the quintessential Ani song that made me love her. However I just can’t seem to get around the fact that I am also terribly bored with all she’s done for about the last 8 years… that is of course other than the thousands of dollars she’s given our office that has supported my job. Oh yeah, and the fact that she narrated the documentary about our work. As Reem would say, whoops a daisy!

My stomach turns a little while watching her, but then she does the “I am watchin’ your chest, rise and fall like the tides of my life…” line and I have to smile a little as she tugs on my heartstrings.

Sunday at Oakland Cemetery

There's nothing like a beautiful fall day at Oakland Cemetary.

Next Sunday is even more special with their annual Sunday in the Park Victorian festival. There will be bands, food, walking tours, story tellers, an artists' market, even antique cars. One of my favorite things about this day is that they open up some of the mausoleums and you can check out the stained glass & engravings close-up.

If you've never been to Oakland before, this is a great day to go and easily avoid various silly stigmas generally associated with cemeteries. Not that those bother me... I just love it there.

Reporting Back: Amy Sedaris, Rilo Kiley in Atlanta

There is no doubt in my mind that Amy Sedaris is a genius. Who else would have the foresight to be led in to her Decatur book signing on Friday night by a dragged-out marching band in boas and sequins?

You’ll be glad to know that Amy and her long-time imaginary boyfriend Ricky are still together (he’s not dead anymore; she reported that he had been ‘murdered’ on Letterman a couple years ago). They had a baby but they lost it. “Not LOST IT, lost it- but lost it, lost it. As in, we can’t find it.”

Earlier this week Amy appeared on Martha Stewart’s talk show. I missed it but Reem told me all about it and then I watched the video. They were making cheese balls and Amy kept referring to A1 Sauce as bong water. Martha would reply, “bog water?” “Yes, Martha, BOG water” replied Amy with a big ol’ wink towards the camera.

One of the audience members in Decatur on Friday night asked Amy if she were ever on Martha’s show again if she thought she could make Martha cry to which Amy quickly replied “Oh honey, most men don’t cry.” Zing!

The most exciting part for me personally was that I got to ask a question directly to her in the Q & A section of the program. I asked her what her 3 favorite garage sale purchases have been. She stumbled and stuttered for a moment and then exclaimed “Bitch!” in my direction- mine was the only question she didn’t have a stock answer for! I am SO proud. Amy Sedaris called ME a bitch! She finally decided that her three favorites are:

• a curlicue wig that her brother David found for her. Its used in the Grieving section of her book;
• A gold tooth that she used in the Dentist episode of Strangers With Candy;
• A tiny porcelain skull that she gave to David as a gift.

Afterwards, she signed my copy of I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence- she drew a magic wand coming from a ghost’s hand and wrote “Magic Happens”.

In other genius news, I got to see close up and live the lovely kids of Rilo Kiley on Saturday night at the Variety Playhouse. The ambiance on the stage felt like the 1940s- Malissa noted it was reminiscent of the bandstand era. The backdrop was a luminescent glimmering curtain that changed colors depending on the lights. The band wore black, white and silver- the boys with ties and suspenders, Jenny Lewis in a playboy bunny-like number with a silver bowtie.

Simply put, they were fantastic. Great performers, changing and rotating instruments the whole time. One of the many treats was their ‘cover’ of a song that Jenny wrote with the Watson Twins, “Rise Up with Fists!”- but they did it sorta reggae/ska-style. They didn’t play my favorite song this time around, but I suppose that is reason enough to see them again next time.

Thank god there is finally some rock n roll happening in this city! And there is SO much more to come in October.

This Girl Gets Around

The lovely Blah Girl is making more and more appearances in Atlanta. This one on the left is off of the side of a truck and was taken by my lovely roomie Anne with her cell phone camera. Blah Girl fever is spreading!

This other one smiled back at me from the girl's bathroom at El Myr. Apparently Mademoiselle Blah and I travel in the same circles. But we already knew that, I suppose.