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!