bread

Fucking bread! It tastes so good, they sound so groovy and we need it so damn much! The South Beach diet made a mockery of this amazing starchy delight. Well I'm fighting for the carbs! For Easter I decided to make a traditional Easter bread with eggs and all. Boy was it good! Even though my stomach popped out like I was 4 months pregnant from all the bready goodness, I still loved it.

After rubbing my Buddha belly I thought it was time to take it down a notch and listen to the extremely sappy sounds of the 70s wonder band, Bread. Their depressing lyrics and melancholy music will make you want to slit your wrists. And boy do I want to slit my wrists right now. I feel like I've fallen in love with some girl and I will never see her again. I don't even like girls, but this one really got me... Actually when my cousin died her husband played Everything I Own at the wake. What could could tear your heart out more than that? I'm crying right now just thinking about it...

But let's move on before I go to that place (I know you know what I'm talking about) and think about my favorite use of bread. The slang use. You know you need it, and you need it badly, if you are asking for bread. Does anyone actually say that anymore? I think I am going to bring back a renaissance of the use of bread for money! Join me... "Hey man, you got any bread? I got a bit of yeast problem."

silent movie

You know by now that I have this ongoing love affair with vintage toys from the 60s + 70s. Here is one of my absolute favorites; the Fisher-Price Movie Viewer. The best part is that there is no sound. The movies can be seen at any speed you want depending on how fast or slow you wind the crank (on the other side) which makes them doubly entertaining and pretty tripy.

I have to say, this is my my favorite sketch as of late. It looks like a still from Barbarella or some kind of ray gun toy, which is destined to be my next obsession. Those 1950s tin toys are so sweet. My mother used to collect them. I remember talking to my mother about my vintage toy collection and she just couldn't understand how toys from the 70s could be considered vintage. Shit, toys from the 80s are vintage! I'm sure my kids will be talking about the classics from the year 2000 when they are in their 30s and I'm going to look at them like they are crazy too.

FUNK

A few weeks ago I wrote about Mirrors on Grand and the awesome funk band that plays there once a month. L.I.G. has been around for years. I drew this picture of the guitar players left handed guitar. Not sure I got it right, but I tried my best. I interviewed Durand, the guitar player, to get a little more info about this amazing band that is way under the radar. Here is the interview:

What does L.I.G. stand for?
Love is God.....(Not Dogmatic by any means...lol)

What instrument do you play?
Guitar

How long have you been a member of the band?
2 years...if you count my oblivious hiatus.

How long has the band been in existence?
Don't know.

What is your most memorable gig?
I forgot....I know I had a good time though.

What is your favorite place to play?
Mirrors on Grand!!!!

What is your favorite music to play?
Jam Band music.

Do you play original music?
Not yet.

Who is the oldest member of L.I.G.?
Santa.

Can you think of anything else I might want to know about your band?
L.I.G. is a group of neighborhood music lovers with some talent....The unique thing is the authenticity in grove. It comes from the love of music...While we play covers..they are the ones the last time they were heard you were probably a child..giving it a nostalgic quality. We often get..."Wow...I haven't heard that in a long time!" We're always learning new material which moves us away from the same ol' same ol'.

L.I.G's next appearance is at Mirrors on the Grand in Brooklyn....April 25th. 5ish. Check them out!

5 pointz UPDATE!!

Holy shit!!! A couple of hours after I left 5 Pointz with 3 kids, the staircase pictured above collapsed and trapped a woman under it!!! Dude.... I feel like I better thank my lucky fucking stars because this luck could run out at any time.. Check out the story on NY1. How messed up is it that I took this picture in the exact same spot just a few hours prior???

T R A S H

I was sitting in the Atlantic/Pacific station waiting for the 2 train when I decided to sketch out a trash can. I had to force myself to finish it because I just wasn't feeling it (shut up, I know I sound like a hippie). Then some art-hater stood in front of it and I couldn't see the recycling sticker. I thought it was the spirits of sketch telling me not to draw it. She moved and I trudged on with my feelingless sketch. I didn't pen it or write my word until days later. After I finished, I was glad I pushed myself. All my little excuses for not working on this sketch were put to shame. I really dig it!

Lets talk about trash for a minute. We all have it. We all hate it. Well not all of us... In fact I was a witness to some incredible dumpster diving just the other day. Took my daughter and some of her friends to LIC to see the awesome graffiti building, aka 5 pointz. We saw some divers who found a couple of sweet rolls of vinyl in red, black and yellow. A very good find because that stuff is pretty pricey. I'll admit I would have loved to grab one of those. Project ideas were flowing into my head like vinyl rivers with no end. I don't usually post photos, but I how could I resist this one? It is of a dumpster we saw at 5 pointz overflowing with discarded fabric. They are having an open studio on May 30th. Definitely check it out if you have the chance.

SOUNDS

First, I want to apologize for not posting this week. I was sicker than a dog at the begining of the week and with my kids starting Spring break today, there was so much crap to coordinate, a blog post just wasn't on my list of shit to do. I know you will all forgive me. If not... Well, as we say in Brooklyn, 'fuck you!' Now to the business at hand, my sketch and something about it... Enjoy!

What the hell is this obsession I have with music? I can't get enough of it and this shitty Nano just doesn't hold enough music for me. Plus, what the hell was I thinking getting a pink Nano? Oh yeah, I let my daughter pick it out. I guess at 6 pink is the way to go. If I was younger (like a teenager) I would have seriously thrown up at the thought of anything pink in my possession. Suddenly I have this new found love of pink. How the hell did that happen? I mean I'm a product of the 80s, but I was all about black. Maybe a splash of red or purple, but pink??? No way! Now I have pink shirts, socks, leggings and even a pink Adidas track jacket! Sometimes I think I've gone over the edge. But then I realize I just have to accept the fact that I actually like pink now. It's okay. Really it is.

No se apoye contra la puerta

The subway has been a part of my life for... well.. my whole life. When I went to Madrid the first time I couldn't figure out how to get anywhere, but when I went on the Metro I could understand that city like I was born there. I guess I am just a natural-born underground maven! But the NYC subway system will always have my heart.

When I think of all the signage I pilfered from the subway, I am amazed I never got caught. My room was lined with condom ads from the F train and my door covered with stickers displaying messages using only Helvetica. But I did, however, get arrested (handcuffed and thrown in a paddy wagon) for jumping the turnstile with some friends. I, with true Brooklyn grace, called the cop a racist pig and out came the handcuffs. Ooops... Sorry guys... At least it made for an exciting story!

Speaking of subway signage, what ever happened to the No se apoye contra la puerta stickers? Has the Spanish speaking population in NY left? From my extensive research it seems that nearly 28% of NYC population is of Hispanic or Latino decent, so I'm thinking much of this 28% speaks Spanish. When I was growing up all of the subway signage was in both English and Spanish, not just the advertisements. So what's up MTA?

I miss the subways of the 80s. There was graffiti everywhere and we all smoked on the train. If anyone said anything we said 'Fuck you!' and stood in between the cars to finish our smoke. That's right I used to hang out between cars and smoke cigarettes! I wonder if I ever told my therapist that? I admit that I do miss the rough edges of NY. What will my kids have to talk about? 'Remember how that guy littered that one time?' I'm sure my kids will find rough edges of their own to boast about, even if it isn't getting arrested and smoking on the subway.

Just wanted to add that if you are pissed off about the fare hike send the MTA your bill!

waiting waiting waiting

Todays sketch is of the molded plastic Herman Miller-like chairs in the waiting area of my therapists office. Gotta love finding good design in the oddest places.

Growing up in Park Slope gave me a false sense of reality in many ways. One being the idea that everyone went to therapy. I mean at least half of my friends had parents that were therapists and we all went to therapy.

I was in therapy at the age of 4 because my parents didn't want their divorce to seriously screw me up. Basically I knew what play therapy was before I could read. This was not the most useful trivia when I went to camp in NJ. For whatever reason, the kids out there didn't want to hear how a shrink could help you work through you problems rather than acting out.

My worst memory of therapy is when I told a therapist I smoked pot. He then suggested to my mother, without my knowledge, that I see a drug counselor. Okay, so I was only 12 and had smoked some pot. But let the story be told that I had only tried it once at that point and I probably got the pot from my father. I'm still working out trust issues from that one. I went to numerous therapists after that, but by the time I was 16 I had enough and decided to give therapy a break.

I am back in therapy now and really love it! I feel so lucky to have this other person to work through issues with, along with all of my forms of self help (jogging, biking, sketching, dancing, loud music). If you don't have a therapist, GET ONE! I'm telling you, it's worth it. Your head will thank you...

sweet

I went to see a friend's funk band at the bar across from my store. I was craving a bloody mary, but the bartender didn't have the mix. I settled for a rum punch. It was so tasty. I realized that sweet drinks like rum punch could seriously turn me into a blathering drunk. And that drink was sweeeet!

Now I'm not saying I'm an alcoholic (well maybe I am but I'm just not ready to admit that I'm powerless over alcohol yet) but it is tempting. Sometimes I think about going the route of my all time favorite drunk, Charles Bukowski. I mean that man was brilliant! But he sure didn't dig sweet drinks, so I might not be cut out for that kind of imbibing.

Speaking of sweet, if you are interested in checking out a sweet bar in Clinton Hill, definitely stop by Mirrors on Grand. The owner, Michelle, is super cool and has really done a nice job making it a true neighborhood spot despite some bad reviews early on. Two cheers to another woman owned business! Yeah, I'm sexist and I like my drinks. Got something to say about it?