what's been up in my life these past few weeks?

-

the advent of november seems to be opening up the floodgates,

but the day to day is a mix of:

-

-

editing latest projects (film and print)

and assembling the last stages of the new reel.

entering the W magazine art photography contest.

launching print website.

ambition at a "gris means gray" desk.

plus:

-

-

delving deeper into l.a.'s nightlife with friends,

finding our way through the networks,

and prepping for the Paper Magazine/Mr. Black party this tuesday night.

plus:

-

-

working with my new talented team on a string of fashion projects,

(jo here applying body makeup to that poor, unfortunate soul, alex c.),

plus:

-

-

subjecting poor, patient tim

to endless lighting tests.

plus:

-

-

missing my black&white girls.

a lot.

plus:

-

-

occasionally getting caught out on the town with celebs

by the relentless papparazzi.

-

ALL HALLOW 09 -

it's been a rough year.

-

so, we went a little dark.

-

yum.

-

-

-

-

and the boulevard was crazy alive.

-

-

i think the inner ex-catholic in tim did backflips when hunky jesus walked by.

-

-

me?  i had to hump a muppet.

-

-

gaga indeed

-

-

bibbity, bobbity, boo-ya!

-

-

seriously, look at the green fairy.

-

the swine flu was . . . disturbing.

-

-

but the mad hatter?  spot on.

-

-

and best costume of the night?

MAX AS AN ADULT TRYING TO GO BACK TO THE WILD THINGS!

-

-

i endorse and adore : Jo Strettell and Serena Radaelli

a man is only as good as the people he surrounds himself with.

so imagine the gift to my manhood

that these two ladies have been.

-

-

serena is the tamer of manes, the wind-tousled italian maestro who brings

light and movement to our talents' hair, but also to their spirit and ego.

i swear that the performances improve every time she quietly enters frame between takes,

as she strokes their heads and murmurs to them, you can see them ease,

see them relax into their sphere.

she calmly walks back, nods to me,

and i know all is well.

-

and she has taught me bold and powerful lessons about my genre,

and myself.

-

jo applies make-up as if balancing emotion on the face itself, painting mood and emotion,

gauging the story i want to tell and inventing stronger, more modern versions of it's

characters each time.

-

she also shepherds us all, maternal, gentle, bawdy, and suddenly racy,

making us laugh, blush, and feel grounded

all at once.

-

without these two, i would be a poorer man.

-

plus, we love their raucous, brilliant, shiny children:

-

-

and they love my man:

-

-

great gifts

for which i am humbly proud to partake.

-

MR BLACK, encore.

it's the new weekly hangout.

-

-

(tim's antique ivory polar bear cuff links.  grrr.)

-

-

-

(luke and sarah gavigan)

-

-

(kristen patrick and friend.)

-

-

(bic avoids the papparazzi.)

-

-

(while i RELISH it.)

chicago comes around again -

found ourselves reconnecting with our past selves a bit this month,

first when colleen dirsmith (my producer for YEARS)

dropped into town . . .

-

-

and later when we reconnected with the ever gorgeous,

ever brilliant,

ever loving erin o'connor.

-

-

truly examples of plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

and how important it is in life to keep the tethers to our past lives

healthy and vibrant.

-

lives change,

but often, and most importantly,

the reasons we love and are drawn to each other,

don't.

-

exactly a year ago, today -

this was what was going on in our life:

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

memories from an old memory card.

-

the circle of life. well, my planned circle of life.

this ain't no lion king.

-

(answer key at the end of post)

-

purchasing A:

-

-

to supplement my arsenal will lead to more shots inspired by B:

-

-

which will lead to assignments from C:

-

-

to shoot more of these (D):

-

-

and ultimately get the attention of E:

-

-

to shoot the work of these (F):

-

-

and land my work in G:

-

-

so i can buy something like H:

-

-

and fill it with I:

-

-

while doing my very own work,

akin to J:

-

-

now set all that to some bernie taupin tune and we're good.

-

plus, i cleared more stuff off my desktop, so double plus good.

-

oh, answer key:

A) leica X1

B) the artwork of ryan mcginley, fashion's current darling

C) fashion editors at the paris shows

D) cream of the crop models on the burberry prorsum runway (eerily divine)

E) anna dello russo (fashion editrice of vogue nippon)

F) the olsens. rather stellar designers.  and fashion darlings.  and new CFDA members.

G) VOGUE

H) idealized image of a dream home

I) ideal rick owens furniture to fill idealized dream home

J) personal work that inspires only me.

-

high note, denoument, and curtain.

-

oh dear lord. was that an embolism or a coronary?

-

'cause my heart just stopped for a second.
-
"Fashion folk have a thing for Tilda Swinton, and finally Swinton is in a fashion-driven film.
“Io sono l’amore” (“I Am Love”), due in theaters this spring, is coproduced by Silvia Venturini Fendi and stars Swinton as a well-heeled woman of Russian descent who marries into a wealthy and powerful Italian clan. (This being Swinton, everything is not as it seems. Her character ends up in a steamy affair that has tragic repercussions for the family.) Costume designer Maria A. Cannarozzi dressed Swinton exclusively in Jil Sander dresses, suits and coats in rich hues to help set the tone. “This is a woman who marries into a very particular milieu, a very strict world, and she needs a uniform,” said Swinton after showing the film at Soho House on Friday."

-via WWD
-

i endorse and adore : OKI-NI

in full disclosure,

i was made an ambassador for this site recently

because of my relentless stalking/browsing/recommending/fawning over them.

-

the internets for the menses is not an easy place.

you are stuck with american online retailers

(assorted watered down preppy/basics)

that continually trumpet the same four items

(god save us from the "classic with a twist".  they don't know what the hell that is. ever.)

or it's the aging gay man's bad lycra tee shirt hell.

-

so when i found OKI-NI a few years ago,
(you can click on it to visit.  now or later.  probably later after you read more of this post.)

i was a bit dumbfounded.

it was like some cool kids got together from tokyo, london, and l.a.

and threw together their best tees, denim, trainers, watches,

and then asked linda farrow to donate some shades,

rick owens some leathers,

and raf simons some neoprene.

-

i have sent my gay friends,

my straight friends,

and even the ones in between to the site,

and every one has loved it.

-

plus,

once they made me an "ambassador",

i realized they're kind of grass roots, laid back, and genuinely cool.

-

anyhoo,

here's my latest picks from the site.

-

should you want to know what an ambassador would wear:

-

-

and I KNOW.

how cute is their house model?

-

pretty things worth posting (october edition) -

this is honestly also becoming the fall back posting title for

"cleaning all the random stuff i pulled down off the web off my cluttered desk top so i can find shit again"

-

you'll see what i mean in a second.

-

ok, to start,

why i am probably never going to mingle well with the masses when it comes to choosing clothing.

also known as "i never seem to agree on the "hit or miss" polls on people online's site".

(god that's a lot of quotation marks)

(i'm sorry mrs. murphey.  i know how much of a stickler you are for punctuation.)

(although i gave up caps years ago, so relax, woman.)

i digress.

people magazine online put up this picture of UMA in LANVIN.

i think that is an instant "hit".

it's like TILDA in HAIDER.

donezo.

so i hit "hit".

-

-

75% of people online readers DISAGREED.

i had to stop reading.

although i did hit the "hit" button like forty more times to try and up her status.

stupid people online.

(i mean that both ways.)

-

i love type.

faces.

typefaces.

they make me feel calm,

like its all going to be ok, in the end.

as long as it's set nicely.

-

-

see?  fine.

fine men.

sigh.

-

oh yeah.

ashley, i love this picture of you,

but i am pissed that you haven't called or anything in like,

years.

ok, weeks.

whatever.

call me, bitch.

(i have new boots.)

-

-

oh, lookie!

i got new (old) boots!

-

-

i KNOW.

-

ooh, and who doesn't want to be "married well divorced better cavorting around single in my couture wardrobe generally being fabulous got my own comme des garcons perfume just cause they like me plus i have a sense of humor about myself and i get to pose in french vogue" daphne guiness?

-

-

i KNOW.

stop.  love her mainly cause she laughs about her own life.

and then throws on fur and heads out the door.

-

aren't we glad that fabien baron is back heading up INTERVIEW?

-

-

another richard haines moment,

from recent shows,

how he saw carine roitfeld AND anna wintour,

in a few sleek, spare, hainesian lines:

-

-

hainesian.

you are welcome to start using it.

-

the next is a screen grab from facebook

that i affectionately call

"wishful thinking, landis"

-

-

yeah.  his brother hijacked his status.

(i knew it, but for a moment . . . no.  not even I am that delusional.)

-

and this,

this just says

"REALLY? how much more painful can this get? how much further does the mold have to set in before the FDA, the EPA, and the CFDA step in and just shut it down?"

-

BRIAN KENNY BE MY FRENEMY, RICK OWENS BE MY ONE N ONLY -

ok, the title of the post is a bit lame,

but for fun,

and because you never know how people google your blog,

these are the people i've decided i want to

1) go to dinner at lucques with . . .

2) get in front of my lens, naked, with one piece of vintage dries . . .

and

3) learn from.

-

first up,

brian kenny,

an artist and illustrator,

whose subversive, sexual, agressive art

makes me sit up and smile every time.

-

his partner, slava mogutin, is a personal fave on the photography front,

but finding brian's blog and art was like stumbling into someone's

head . . . and i liked the inner space.

check him out here:

BRIAN KENNY

-

next would have to be everyone's favorite "fat" model,

lara stone.

she's gotten tons of press because she's a great model,

but she's also not stick thin.

sadly, get this,

she's a size FOUR, and thinks she's too heavy.

i want to meet her,

photograph her,

and feed her some of tim's turducken as a celebration.

she's love it.

-

come on,

girl is gorgeous.

-

then,

leigh lezark,

of the band the misshapes.

not for the music.

but for the fact that she is a TRUE fashion hanger-on.

she's everywhere,

for no reason.

but she always looks amazing.

love it, want it, need it.

-

-

only in fashion can you be famous,

and rightly so,

for simply knowing how to have style.

it's so NOT . . . american.

-

then,

and i mean this one,

i want to meet nicola formichetti.

he's a stylist.

he's perhaps THE stylist.

and he does this kind of thing:

-

-

i just want to hear the stories.

-

vanessa traina.

because her mother is danielle steele.

because that doesn't doom her to a life of romance novels.

it seems to doom her to a life of going to fashion shows and looking like this doing it:

-

this was the photo heard round the world at the paris shows,

when tommy ton (the blogger of jack n jil) posted this as his ultimate fashion moment,

wearing the givenchy crown to the show.

seriously, making me sweat a little with envy.

cause you know how i feel about crowns.

and eye make up.

and the name vanessa.

-

no list would be right,

or fair and balanced, to quote fox news,

without anna dello russo.

the fashion director of japanese vogue

(vogue nippon)

she is a fucking fashion maelstrom.

she is a fashion time space continuum.

she wears every day what women dream of wearing their whole lives.

-

-

these were her DAY LOOKS.

i want to pet her.

softly, like a little squirrel.

then i want to raid her closet for a crown.

she HAS to have one in there somewhere,

she brought THREE pairs of those stupid cherry ysl platforms for fashion week,

and those things are collectors items.

-

sorry,

got a little light headed there.

-

and of course,

this man.

i gotta know this man someday.

he seems too smart for all of it,

and too much in love with it at the same time.

and i love that.

-

-

and if you don't know who that is,

well my pretties,

you haven't been doing your homework now, have you?

-

ADVICE FROM WARHOL THAT SAYS IT ALL :

-

yep.

that about sums it up.

-

different kinds of porn (the fashion edition) -

a quick and belated post to remind us all that fashion

is a favorite form of porn.

-

first up : what giambattista valli did for moncler gamme rouge

(the "red line" of the ski company)

for spring,

and how you bring the season to puffa jackets:

-

-

and if silk roses aren't your thing,

how about feathers and chains?

the accessories at gareth pugh's women's show in paris

pretty much upstaged the clothing itself:

-

-

and let's not forget a moment of silence

for one of fashion's greatest porn photographers,

mr. irving penn,

who passed, but left us with his stunning legacy:

-

-

and a more modern moment,

from the mcqueen runway

(streamed live),

the "lobster claw" platform shoe:

-

-

i view it as my duty to share the extreme with you, kiddos.

i hope you appreciate the artistry and the artisans

who make up this dreamy stuff.

-

and grr and avec wanted to add their favorite recent find:

-

-

beauty's where you find it.

vogue.

-

BRING IT BACK TO MR. BLACK (l.a.) -

we're getting to be kind of addicted to Mr. Black on tuesday nights.

-

me and the two rusty's.  sweet n spicy.

-

-

"the ASS", luke nero, and tim

-

the delicious lenora claire and me

-

-

the requisite shot with "the ASS"

-

-

krissy lindquist and tim having a wee too much of a laugh

-

pirates, hosts, and roses.  i was doing a galliano homage, so shut up.

-

intentionally cruel post intended to make you jealous : sweet holy hell what is this "dutch apple pancake with candied pecans" you speak of?

-

did i mention sometimes tim just decides to whip up breakfast?

-

-

the dogs almost wet themselves.

-

-

traveling the streets : inspiration on the go

part of staying at home and learning this city

has been taking the dogs on long walks around west hollywood

(weho to the natives)

and remembering how much we have missed living in a CITY neighborhood,

one that is constantly changing,

that feeds you surprises and stimulation every walk.

-

take the very cars parked on the side of santa monica boulevard.

-

-

yes, this el camino was literally COVERED with the erotic images of

TOM OF FINLAND.

(loved this so much, wanted so much to shoot it, tim had to drag me away.)

-

-

yes, decoupage.

the only let-down.

but hell, get one of my girls, an eyelet sundress and picnic basket from bottega,

a "wolf" in chaps,

and we've got ourselves a shoot!

-

-

or how about this insane yellow land cruiser?  land rover?  range cruiser?

i get them all crossed.

but i had an office this exact color once,

i think the shade was called "leap of faith".

-

once we crossed this little storefront, then doubled back,

because the smells and the sign were TOO enticing.

-

-

it's a storefront deli cum restaurant cum cafe

called

FOOD LAB

and it's like a petite dean and deluca meets social experiment

with the best sandwiches and take out treats in the whole neighborhood.

ices in original fruit husks anyone?

-

-

and some days,

the inspiration

(or implied message)

is just right in front of you.

-

-

which is something neither of us, actually, ever are.

-

EDUARDO LUCERO - the "torera" dresses

woman goes mad for love.

oldest story in the book.

-

latest version : "Torera"

-

three dresses stood out and helped tell the tale:

the lace seduction dress,

the blackbird madness dress,

the caged angel dress.

-

-

-

-

EDUARDO LUCERO - the "torera" out-takes

in between takes on the film,

we grabbed the actors and would shoot like crazy to pick up as much of the clothing

and mood as possible.

-

there was so much beautiful work to cover, not all of it made it to the cut.

-

here are some of my favorite print pieces from that day

-

-

and yes, that is the amazing ms. connie bang,

pinch hitting as a model and muse.

-

EDUARDO LUCERO COUTURE -

the summer exploration started when eduardo lucero,

the los angeles based celebrity red carpet mainstay designer,

asked me to come see his runway show at a museum gala,

and then collaborate on a project inspired by the clothing.

-

this led to a short based on the concept of a female matador,

a whirlwind of filming in an empty storefront on melrose place,

actresses and models and topless moments,

and a bunch of new friends.

-

it also led to photographing eduardo's work,

which is exquisitely hand detailed,

with amazing silhouettes.

-

the man even does a mean hat:

-

-

pretty things worth posting (from september, before i got all heavy on you last week)

-

the cover of vogues hommes, japan

-

-

the return of kristen mcmenamy, modeling again past 40

-

-

the new (not just concept but for real) BMW hybrid (that they quit formula 1 racing to develop)

that finally proves the point that GREEN DOES NOT HAVE TO BE FUGLY AS HELL

(take note prius.  your reign of aesthetic terror will end one day.)

-

-

kate lanphear's haircut.  did i post this already?  i don't care. i'm obsessing on her a bit.

-

-

where i will put my money when it surfaces someday.  soon.

-

-

just some glorious inspiration picture that's haunting me a bit.

-

from nightlife to tea parties -

just to show that we're not all about

photoshoots and nightclubs,

some pictures from a highlight of the social season:

jo strettell's tea party.

-

-

one of the things we love about jo

is that besides being one of the most highly skilled and innovative make-up artists

in the fashion industry,

she is one of the most humble and funny people you could hope to meet.

-

she is also as british as the queen.

-

hence the completely wonderful tradition of sunday tea parties,

all from scratch.

-

-

home baked cookies, tea sandwiches, individual tea pots . . .

-

-

and the irrepressible daughter, jasper,

who knows nothing is as entertaining

(or wildly disturbing)

as the family dog wearing a rabbit snout:

-

-

today is the first day of the change you have been waiting for -

i was told this summer that i wasn't allowed to make any decisions

or to try and affect any changes

until october.

-

i was only allowed to create.

-

it's here.  so i'm advising this:

don't look back

-

-

you have already been there.

look forward.

-

-

something new is almost here.

-

MR BLACK - LOS ANGELES - THE FAMILY PORTRAIT

before attending luke's new night,

i got to shoot him and his famille de nuit.

-

talk about a willing and photogenic crowd . . .
i loved shooting them.

-

-

kind of makes you want a reservation for next tuesday, don't they?

i'm pretty sure luke will let my friends in . . .

meet us at the bar?

-

-

luke nero, mr. black (los angeles), and the chronologically most recent launch from our little group -

the thing i love the most about the people i've been playing with all summer

(and "play" is the proper verb regardless of the "work" involved in the learning curve and execution)

is that there is no predicting the direction that any one of them

will head off in,

dragging us all as willing participants along for the ride.

-

for instance,

here we are with luke nero (far right) at the second week of his event,

MR BLACK,

which he decided about a month ago to import from nyc.

-

(eduardo xol, jo strettell, the landis, luke nero)

-

in nyc, the club was known for it's ability to mix celebrity and coctails and conversation,

waiters in no more than aprons and boots,

flash bulbs, closed doors, and club kids . . .

if you are lucky enough to remember it the next morning.

-

from what we saw,

luke is off to a great start.

-

-

we mingled over dinner first:

-

(tim and michael anthony)

-

the got up and mingled more with the crowd:

-

(the russian doll effect came from the dark club, the french 75's, and lenora claire's red hair.  tim was confused.)

(krissy lindquist came later.  just in time to meet us on the dance floor.)

-

(i just adore Larva.  she inspired my leather riding cap.  then trumped me with a feather!)

-

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE ? i've spent the past few months figuring my part out. here's why. and here's how. -

-

some of you may have noticed the drop off in posts here lately.

-

perhaps even the distance between intimacy and arm's length in the posts that do appear.

-

it's been quite a summer.

so this is your little update, the lifting of a bit of a curtain,

to bring you in a little closer again to what i've been up to.

-

the initial plan was to spend the summer here:

-

-

it being a "big" birthday and all,

we were going to head back to limoges to see my mother

during her two month stint as she taught and painted and cooked her way silly

through the summer, and then spend a few weeks ourselves

celebrating change and friends whom we dragged along

in the city we most love.

-

but then, as has happened for many of you,

the economy hit,

and we had to face some realities.

-

realities like:

we were both trying to start new (ish) careers,

in a new city,

at the worst possible time.

that my choice to direct and desire to shoot photography

coincided in a sudden dry spell with the work that i had previously seen burgeoning.

that the world had changed and was going to be far more competitive.

-

and i'm going to do THIS:

-

AND THIS:

-

-

for the rest of my life.

-

(there.  i've said it in print, finally.  feels like home.)

-

so the summer became one of learning and exploring from home,

rather than celebrating and splurging abroad.

(i know, no tears argentina, we made the tough/smart choice).

-

i've spent the last five months taking on some amazing,

challenging,

creatively free-reined,

and budgetarily TINY projects.

i've directed with a crew of people whom i've been lucky enough to assemble around me

over years of work (they did me some BIG favors)

and from rather recent connections (also with the favors).

-

 

 

-

we've shot film for established but re-inventing designers,

for a small but chic cosmetics company,

for new clothing lines,

and more.

-

and the print side has been amazing,

filled with a steep (but rewarding) learning curve on the technical side

(love and thanks to my mentor/tutor, brandon herman, the fine art photographer),

that is buffered nicely by some work that (personally) confirms the most important thing:

i have an eye.  and it's good.

-

-
i hope you all know me well enough now to know that i say these things

from a place secure in my own vanity,

weak spots,

and inestimable good taste

(thank you, maman, for the skill to pick out the most beautiful objet in the room,

regardless of price or provenance.)

-

i guess print and the art of catching the moment in ONE image in time,

has long been such a love of mine,

it's nice to see that i'm pretty damn good at executing it myself.

-

 

 

-

the film side?  well, i can let that speak for itself over the next few weeks.

-

which leads to the real meat of this post:

the unveilings.

-

-

each week i'll be rolling out another of the projects that we've tackled over the last few months,

each week another creative veil lifted,

and i think you'll see that giving up what i thought was the "fun" stuff

(new clothes, travel, throwing parties, etc.)

these past months

taught me both how much i love to work when i love what i'm doing,

and about how far you can go

and how much you can take on

if you really want to do something new with your life.

-

also, and this is important,

it never never never would have happened without him:

-

-

but most things that surprise me in this life couldn't,

haven't,

and won't.

-

thank you, my catalyst, my task master, my number one fan.

-

i think you saw all this coming long before i did.

-

i hope all your summers were as interesting/challenging/draining/eye-socket expanding.

i think that's the point of this whole "life" thing.

-

-

coming home. to them. is the best. thing ever.

a week of shooting in vegas at the palms.

fun and crazy and dramatic and very very vegas.

-

so coming home to grr and avec?

-

-

you know all the waiting they've done,

the puppy butts and "singing" they do . . .

-

-

it's just their way of reminding you

of what's important in life.

-

-

the love of those you choose,

and the love of those who choose you.

-

A LESSON ON HAPPINESS, FROM A MASTER. SOMETHING TO SHARE FAR AND WIDE :

on today of all days, 

it's important to remember the good.

-

to learn from the past and focus on the future.

-

i present my friend and co-conspirator,

jim, 

and one of the loveliest posts i have read in years.

-

tell me this doesn't move you:

-

JIM'S TIPS FOR HAPPINESS

JENNY HOLZER IS STALKING MY ASS :

who wouldn't?

you might ask,

and i'd be flattered.

-

but for those of you unfamiliar with ms. holzer's oeuvre,

she is a master wordsmith,

who puts her insight and wit about our culture,

into (normally) solid objects,

as if wit is trapped in bronze or stone.

-

sometimes they are installations that project light,

sometimes they are cut into marble,

i, personally,

would kill for any of her work in bronze:

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you may notice i've been a long long time fan.

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recently, she has begun to twitter.

amazing.

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just sporadic bursts of art,

delivered to your account.

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she is the only person i follow on my mobile device,

and her words coming to me,

randomly,

suddenly,

have become startlingly prophetic.

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right when i was disappointed that someone i cared about was not living up to their end of the friendship, i received:

YOU CAN'T EXPECT PEOPLE TO BE SOMETHING THEY'RE NOT.

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fine.

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when at a consulting job,

where things were winding down and i was feeling a little redundant,

this poster was being hung behind me in a cubicle:

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and holzer txts me:

A STRONG SENSE OF DUTY IMPRISONS YOU.

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gee.  thanks.

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when unreasonably angry last week:

MURDER HAS ITS SEXUAL SIDE

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uh. huh.

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when procrastinating about a difficult phone call:

BELIEVING IN REBIRTH IS THE SAME AS ADMITTING DEFEAT

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bitch.

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i'm beginning to think she's following me.

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i also love the things you learn from FB :

like how garance dore, 

the blogger, 

pictures herself in red margiela:

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or how the perfect new york sunset looks to bethany tucke

from her living room, one august night.

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or how my mother looked, 

even though her long emails elucidated the trip in great and vivid detail,

during her long two month stay in the limoges area, 

painting, and cooking, and exploring france.

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like how sarah gavigan and i looked last week at cherry pop,

dancing our asses off

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or how some people

chose to survive the insufferable heat and smog

we recently survived here in los angeles:

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knowledge isn't always pretty, people.

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i kind of love it when friends on facebook get startlingly lovely all of the sudden -

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luckily,

ms. katy dickson has never had any self-esteem issues,

but dayum.

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