// FiveTwentyThree

A few days ago, I decided it was time to learn to knit.  I picked up a copy of Stitch ‘N Bitch : The Knitter’s Handbook, walked over to the Garment District, and bought a set of needles & a few different colors of yarn.

The last three days, in between bottles of wine and silly movies, I have cursed, thrown my supplies down, and watched more than a dozen This Is How You Knit, You Retard videos on youtube.  There was also some pointing and laughing in my direction, but it was well deserved.

Now, I am a basics master and knitted a teeny, tiny little swatch – all cast on, English Method, and bound off like an old pro!

Friends, family, and small animals – be warned.  There shall be scarves in your future.

In other news, we had another blizzard, and my man & one of our roommates braved the storm and had brunch.  One of these days, I will venture outside with my fancy camera again, but Snowpocalypse V.10million was not that day.

iPhone / Photoshop Mobile / Camera Kit

We Did Porn by  Zak Smith

Full of “I’m still punk as fuck but I’m going to surprise you with how smart and articulate I am” rants and rambles.  The constant and never ending run-on sentences irritated the living crap out of me, but there were some very sweet passages about his girlfriend.  The entire book came off as a very smug person trying to sound the humble victim of society’s pre-conceived standards, while giving the always expected finger to the man.  And yes, this is coming from a chick who has had her hair every color of the spectrum and is covered in tattoos.  Punk is dead, get over it.  Overall, I had to force myself to finish it, but the random cameos of friend and acquaintances of mine (under the guise of slightly altered names) throughout were welcome.

The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show by Ariel Gore

A light, almost fluffy, read, but an semi-enjoyable one.  Yes, it was predictable.  Yes, it vaguely reminded me of Clown Girl.  Yes, I finished it in an afternoon and it didn’t leave me with any strong feelings in either direction.  But, if you’re going to read a novel about a traveling performance troupe narrated from the point of view of someone that can perform the stigmata on command, it might as well be this one.

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

I was really excited to read this one, and was sorely disappointed.  I absolutely loved Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, so I was excited to see a new take on it from the Doctor’s perspective.  In retrospect, it was an unnecessary endeavor.  It succeeded in portraying Dr. Frankenstein as even more of a soulless, whimpering jerk than Shelley originally had, but didn’t ever achieve the level of humanity she gave the creature.  The novel wasn’t all bad, and the “new” backstory of Victor Frankenstein’s life was fun enough, but by the end of the novel, the new author should have just left well enough alone.

Rimbaud : The Double Life of a Legend by Edmond White (not pictured because I can’t remember where I put it)

More of a fan boy’s brief romanticized notion of Rimbaud’s life and volatile relationship with Paul Verlaine than a comprehensive biography.  It references a number of other biographies of the subject within its own text, and often claims they are villainizing Rimbaud, rather than the historical truth.  The entire time I was reading this, I kept thinking of  the well off suburban kids that would put studs on their jackets and hang out on St. Mark’s Place when I was a teenager, pretending to be gutter punks and squatters and emulating poverty.  I should have skipped this bio and just read the wiki.

Thankfully, I’ve had a much better selection so far in February.  What did you read this month?

Once upon a time in a lovely New York October, I spent a few nights at the Ace Hotel and hatched plans.

Once upon a time in cold and snowy New York February, I got accidentally drunk at the Ace Hotel and hatched more plans.

The two incidents were entirely unrelated, but both were nifty.

There was a blizzard a last week.  That was mid-morning, day of.  It kept going and going and going, and now the city is a mess of filthy piles of cold, wet snow.

These are things I am looking forward to doing in warmer weather :

• WALK.  I miss walking, mostly because I’ve barely left the house all winter.
• Eat red Italian ices from pizzerias.
• Sit outside a cafe and read a book.
• Wear dresses and short sleeved shirts.
• Reorganize / redecorate / restructure our apartment.  Yes, this should be a winter hibernation activity, but the cold is not terribly motivating or inspirational.
• Juice fast and, possibly, a Master Cleanse.  For now, I stick with carbs & fats, because I need layers of it to keep warm.