brain itch defeated!

Yesterday I had the Brain Itch, and not the fun 'ooh, that's a good idea, I cannot rest until I've done it' kind, either. Luckily, it turned out to be the 12 hour strain; by evening it had slunk back to the burlap cave where it lurks in wait to pounce on me unawares. (Me, unawares -- it knows what its doing.) Things that sent it packing this time? Thai take-out was a crucial component, as was finishing Walking the Black Cat by Charles Simic. (So good!) The best part, though, was when I had a Scales Fall From My Eyes Epiphany while reading the book and listening to some music. I love those so much, especially when the result is less agita and brain itch for me!

And now, some random things:



++ I LOVE this little 30 second clip -- it's freaky animation for some of that deeply weird writing found at the bottom of spam email. The little guy reminds me of Jeremy whatshisname from Yellow Submarine. There are two others in the series that are equally trippy and well worth checking out. (via boing boing)

++ It smells SO GOOD right now here in Portland I can't even tell you. This time of year is one of the most beautiful if you ask me -- the sun is starting to come out in reliable quantity, the roses are all blooming like mad, the foxglove are getting tall (I love them because they make me think of fairy tales and digitalis poisoning via Agatha Christie), the peonies are making a voluptuous mess. It's all very abundant right now. Oh, right, the smell! (The Smell makes it sound like some sort of unspeakable horror, doesn't it? Like "smell this milk and tell me if you think it's gone bad.") The Fragrance? The Aroma? The Stink? None of them are right... Anyway, the air smells very sweet once the sun warms everything up: lavender, cut grass, sweet alyssum, sweet woodruff, that thing I can never identify, peonies, roses, etc. The bees (and yes, I have seen some of the giant furry black and yellow bumblebees as well as honeybees) are going out of their wee little bee minds.

++ Meg Cabot cracks me up, re: a reading she gave at a middle school -- I bet Salman Rushdie and writers like that NEVER get to do events like the one I did at Gregory Middle School. Ha ha, suckas! You get fatwahs, I get cake!

++ I was talking with a friend recently about the importance of the Nutty Adventure (a term I first read by Robert Christgau in reference to seeing 30 concerts in 30 days). I think we'd all have a bit more fun if more people adapted the Nutty Adventure Model. This poem from Walking the Black Cat illustrates the concept brilliantly and with such style "Cutting a great dash"... it is all I can do to not go get a Marie Antoinette wig this very minute.

Theatrical Costumes

A present from neighborly burglars
For us to dress up
On a dull day
In a manner fantastic

Cutting a great dash
As we descend the stairs
In our powdered wigs and high-heeled shoes
Into the busy street,
Crossing it against the screeching
Traffic, and entering
The Burger Heaven with a swish
Of your long skirts
And not even a Say what?
From the astonished customers

You are dressed like Marie Antoinette
And I am all in black
Like her executioner
Or her father confessor.
It's New York City. It's hot.
The fire alarms are ringing everywhere.

The French Queen is putting
A lot of ketchup on her fries.
Her executioner is inserting
A lit ciggie in each ear
And blowing the smoke out his mouth.

Charles Simic