If I am not. . .

a wonderful mess

a good cook

proficient in my knowledge of jazz and telling dirty jokes

a murakami muse

male or female

no matter

what I shake 

there is rhythm

that may be all I know

words of a true magician

"She will remember your heart when men

are fairy tales in books written by rabbits. 

Of all unicorns, she is the only one who knows what

regret is - and love." 

-Schmendrick in The Last Unicorn

Who am I this year??

Ok, I confess, I never have any idea what to be for Halloween. 

Usually I end up throwing together a costume last minute, 

and feel pretty pleased with myself, 

only to arrive at a costume party to find that everyone else's costume is AMAZING 

and they've probably been working on it for weeks.

So, this year, I asked my favorite friend, Kirk, for some ideas. 

I didn't expect such a list!

Daria

David Bowie

Pork Chop

Typhoid Mary

Lamp Chop the puppet 

Pee-Wee Herman

a lemming

a sushi roll

the Log Lady from Twin Peaks

a shoe

Clarissa Explains It All

Darth Potter

Sherlock Hagrid

Thor

a trophy

a sexy yogurt

the theme song to The Walking Dead

Korra from Tron: Legacy

Cruella DeVille

evil Willow from Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Elliott from ET

Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy

Frankenberry

Kirk had suggested combining two of the above ideas into one costume. Unique!

But alas, the plot thickens. . .

I got invited to a "sexy Halloween party"--- the catch being, 

it can't be a costume which is normally considered sexy. 

Oh man, check it out:

Sexy Oscar the Grouch

Sexy Big Bird

Sexy Miss Piggy

Sexy Abe Lincoln

Sexy Einstein

Sexy Charlie Brown

Sexy MLK

Sexy Magnum PI

Sexy "It's Pat"

Sexy Ebola Victim / Haz Mat

Sexy Genitalia

Sexy Spuds McKenzie, RIP

Sexy Winston Churchill

Sexy Any Food Mascot character, like the Sun Maid Raisin Lady or Sexy Morton Salt Girl

Sexy Freud

Sexy Tape Worm

Sexy Fetus

Sexy Frog

Sexy Mount Rushmore / Sexy Statue of Liberty

Sexy Hitler?

Sexy Groucho Marx / Sexy Mark Twain

Sexy Chinese Crested Dog

Now I really don't know what to be!

The reverberations of that voice wandered

sweetly, softly
working like a massage on the area of my heart that was most tightly clenched,

helping those knots to loosen.

It was like the rush of waves, and like the laughter of people I'd met in all kinds of places,

people I'd become friendly with and then separated from,

and like the kind words all those people had said to me,

and like the mewing of a cat I had lost, 

and like the mixture of noises that rang in the background in a place that was dear to me, 

a place far away, a place that no longer existed,

and like the rushing of trees that whisked past my ears as I breathed in the scent of fresh greenery on a trip someplace. . . the voice was a combination of all this.

That night I heard it again.

A faint song that felt more sensual than an angel's, and also more real.

I tried to catch the melody, fixed the little that remained of my consciousness on it,

listened desperately. 

Sleep trickled down around me, and the happy tune dissolved away into my dreams.

-Banana Yoshimoto, Asleep

another TT, slightly Steve Martin-esque

Billy Corgan as reindeer-sweater-wearing Neal Cassidy

love this. 

Throwback Thursday

A favorite which came to mind recently--- 

it always brings me right back to my tiny closet apartment when I first moved to New York.

Funny how songs shape us, and also change as we change.

"and hope for something more" -Yuna

I just returned from an epic trip to Malaysia--- 

though I've been before and had life-changing experiences 

while there previously, 

this recent trip 

might have been the greatest yet. 

I spent most of my time in Langkawi, 

an archipelago known for its mysterious legends 

and 

beautiful mangroves, 

eagles, 

diving,

laid-back beaches and super friendly locals

Most of the tourists are mainland Malaysians 

or Indian families/groups of friends on holiday. 

I can say without a doubt that I have never seen so many people on the beach at sunset engaged in 

good-hearted tom-foolery 

as I did on Cenang Beach. 

I have a lot more to write about my trip overall-- but for now,  let's just say, I was sitting drinking coffee talking to the guy sitting at the table next to me about the best places to get chicken curry in town-- at least 100 places to get good food around-- "and how can you possibly navigate" and====

then a song came on, and I recognised it, but couldn't place it at first.
 It was Yuna, a Malaysian artist I've followed in the past, 
but hearing her song on the radio in her home country 

was a strange experience indeed. 

A playful, colourful relationship Malaysians have with nature

rawness and lyrics

g'night---more to come soon la!

Martha Graham

“There is a vitality

 a life force 

an energy

a quickening 

that is translated through you into action, 

and 

because there is only 

ONE 

of you in all time

this expression is unique. 

And if you block it, 

it will never exist through any other medium 

and will be lost.

The world will not have it. 

It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others” 

summer reading, Japan version

First of all,
this book by Andy Raskin!

The Ramen King and I: 

How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life

Honestly, I attempt to read books slowly 

(especially books I'm enjoying)

but this read was insane. 
I read it in 2 days, and that was trying to space it out.
I also had one of those moments where I looked like a crazy person on the bus laughing out loud. 

Careful!

Also, this is the other read I've been looking forward to 
for a long time, the newest Haruki Murakami book.
I haven't watched this preview, because I'm wary of knowing too much going into something, but you can watch it if you want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPQnYYvnBZA&feature=youtu.be&Ref=Email_KDD_2014-8-12

I was thinking recently how I miss summertime in Japan: 
the traditional festivals where everyone dances the bon odori

(I actually went to a bon odori festival in Portland recently)

I also miss
the get-togethers outdoors, playing music, drinking sake and barbecuing with friends nearly every night, 
and the lazy summer days, whiling away time in airy cafes.

If you've never heard of Kinfolk (Portland-based magazine), 

this article is a good introduction to Japanese cafe culture.
Scroll through some of the photos at the top!
Osaka: Bird

On a different note, I haven't felt like a celebrity's death would ever affect me the way Robin Williams' did. As an actor, I've always respected him in so many ways, but something about the man's spirit touched people I think in an indefinable way.

Here are two pieces which I feel are worth a read/listen 
in memory of this wonderful soul:

http://www.wkamaubell.com/2014/08/robin-williams-1951-2014/

http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/remembering_robin_williams

Happy summer days to you. 
Peace!

whoa, synchro!

You know when a song resonates with you for a season, 

and you might not listen to it all the time, 

but the lyrics are active in your subconscious? 

Well, that EXACT song for me lately, an obscure one which came out in 2008 (though I discovered it recently) was running through my mind today as I walked into one of my favorite stores to browse in. 

I opened the door to the store and, no joke, the song started playing in the store from the very beginning. This is seriously one of the strangest instances of synchronicity that has ever happened to me and reminds me of the short story "Chance Traveler" by Haruki Murakami which you can read online:

here

And here is the song, in case you were curious:

oh yes!

It's rare I actually remember 

about this weekly throwback-thang, 

but some old jazz was going through 

my mind today, specifically this:

One of the first CD's I ever owned was 

-Ella Fitzgerald sings 

the Cole Porter songbook-

and

somehow I was also thinking of this scene

(perhaps the best choreography/dance 

prowess in a film ever):

Happy Thursday, y'all!

It's so nice. . .

rediscovering an album.

Due to a spotty internet connection, I was scrolling through my I-tunes library and going down a memory lane of sorts.

If you've never heard Fela Kuti before, enjoy!

Circa 1999

Sitting under a sakura tree

I wish I had my sketch book

And yet I couldn’t possibly attempt

To give an accurate sense of its beauty

Because I don’t understand 

the lines on the petals

Or the reason that one flower is open, 

one shut tight

Let alone the mystery of why it blooms 

for just a short while

I wish you were here 

And though I don’t know who you are

I know that you are here

In a little kid’s voice 

sakura!

And in the breeze blowing from the sea 

where I just was walking

And in the tears welling up 

In my hopeful, impatient eyes

Which look for you in Japan

And in people who don’t see me

You do exist like the blossom 

fickly blooming above my head

A child goes by on a noisy bike with a bell

I hear with an ear accustomed 

to not understanding

Numerous people sake in hand

Sit poised 

Under their own sakura tree

the land of smiles

In Bangkok, 

there's a sense that the smells 

and the tastes permeating the air 

have been etched across the sky. 

Even the pollution seems to know that it, too, bleeds from human voices, singing, crying out to a source unknown, 

but always present. 

A person needs something concrete to beat the intense heat, and save the fruit vendors, 

you won't find it on Khaosan Road, 

that mass of intertwining international bodies 

all seeking the best t-shirt bargains. 

The music is a source of continual 

comical relief or annoyance, 

depending on how you look at it. 

One could argue its' timelessness and yet, 

the phrase "No accounting for taste" 

is a constant in the mind. 

Truly, though, a few too many Singha's and you, too, might find yourself singing along to CCR with a bunch of Kiwi's

-nothing to be ashamed of in my book.

Getting to know oneself is not an easy thing, but being abroad is certainly 

a nice way to do it.

an oldie, but a fav nonetheless

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. 

Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable." 

- C.S. LEWIS

are you living in fear

or are you alive?

your dreams vivid when you wake

or 

 just a recollection 

of a thing called a dream

a light-speed life 

one day too long

could cause you to dream of the

hundred

acre 

woods

bake bake

the making of 

cheesecake!

and hearing a song I love

simple things are the only things that move me 

as of late

zee avi

rainy nights . . .

for whatever reason 

bring

David Driver to mind.