it's showtime folks

Something Def Sound retweeted reminded me of this quote from one of my all-time fave movies - ALL THAT JAZZ.

It's too long to tweet, or FB status, but hey - guess what?  I have a b-l-o-g.  How cool.

Pulled from IMDB - so it's on them for accuracy! ; )

Joe Gideon: No, nothing I ever do is good enough. Not beautiful enough, it's not funny enough, it's not deep enough, it's not anything enough. Now, when I see a rose, that's perfect. I mean, that's perfect. I want to look up to God and say, "How the hell did you do that? And why the hell can't I do that?" 

Angelique: Now that's probably one of your better con lines. 

Joe Gideon: Yeah, it is. But that doesn't mean I don't mean it. 

my quote project

Hi!

This is a direct appeal!

I have a new journal, agenda, datebook, calendar - whatever you might call it.  It starts NOW and goes for 18 months!  That's a lot of weeks - like, um....78?

Yes, it's an old-fashioned paper, bound book.  I have a Google Calendar and all, but I like to write things down.  (Writer.  It's what we do.)

So...I got this idea to pepper the book with quotes.  I collect quotes and have been for a long time.  I started filling in short quotes I like in  the Monday slot of each week in the diary (another word!).  They can't be too long, as there is not that much room, and I might still need to write appointments in on the day.

What I'm going for is to have a hand-written quote for each Monday of the next 18 months.  I've gotten a lot, but many of the quotes I've saved are quite long.

Here's my plea:

Do you have any short quotes that you just LOVE?  That inspire you, keep you going, set you on your way, affirm your choices, make you laugh in dark times?


Please - if you do - post them in the comments below.

I am hoping to place them variously in the book and forget about them sufficiently that I will be surprised each Monday.  I'm also hoping that my somewhat random placement will end up being apt and serendipitous when I do turn the page on a new quote.  I'm pre-placing inspiration - something I've never had the forethought to do before, but something I think might be a good idea!

I'd be so happy if you'd share something!  Thank you in advance!

xo

rumi-nation for monday

I'm just loving this poem right now.  So instead of a quote, you are getting a whole poem.  Hand-typed by me.  Hopefully no mistakes.

From Rumi - Bridge to the Soul, Coleman Barks translation.

DISCIPLINES

Do not expect to be always happy on this way.
You have been caught by a lion, my dear.

The friend dumps plaster on your head.
Think of it as expensive perfume.

Inside you there is a monster
that must be tied up and whipped.

Watch the man beating a rug.
He is not mad at it.
He wants to loosen the layers of dirt.

Ego accumulations are not loosened
with one swat.  Continual work
is necessary, disciplines.

In dreams, and even awake,
you will hear the beloved screaming at you.

A carpenter saws and chisels a piece of wood,
because he knows how he wants to use it.

Curing a hide, the tanner
rubs in acid and all manner of filth.
This makes a beautiful soft leather.

What does the  half-finished hide know?
Every hard thing that happens
works on you like that.

Hurry, Shams.  Come back
like the sun comes back
every day with new
and powerful secrets.

- Rumi translated by Coleman Barks




I think this is my favorite stanza:

Watch the man beating a rug.

He is not mad at it.

He wants to loosen the layers of dirt.

It tells me everything I need to know.

Things That Make You Go Yum #2

Friday!  Time for installment #2 of Things That Make You Go Yum!

Really – it’s things that make me go yum.

Bloom Cafe

I was told by countless people I would like this place.  When a friend came to town, I went and was not completely impressed.  I ordered the Chilaquiles, which were very non-traditional, and couldn’t hold a candle to Swingers’ version.  

I sensed it was worth another try.  Had a meeting there – the other person had also been told how good it was – and ordered the Veggie Curry Bowl.  It was absolutely transformative.  A spicy, coconut curry with their fantastic rice and shitake mushrooms, tofu and vegetables.  Went back a few days later and got one of their salads.  It was not as amazing as the Veggie Curry Bowl, but it was super-good.  We also went for the lavender crème brulee – light and fresh.  They have good coffee, an adjacent café that serves gelato and wifi!  Organic, veggie/vegan friendly.

Rahel’s

Probably I’ve blogged about Rahel’s before.  LA’s own vegan Ethiopian restaurant, it has just expanded and now boasts a daily all-you-can-eat buffet – currently priced at $9.99.  This is pretty much a weekly destination for us.  Us – well, an ever-slightly-rotating cast, but the veggies who dig alternative cuisine, the vegan-friendly foodies, and the poets and artists around town.  I went with Carla this week and her b.f. came, and another friend of ours, and when we got there, they sat us next to some other friends.  All in all, we were 6 people but representing 1 MC, 4 poets, 3 dancers, 1 DJ, a musician, and a few singers. 

But the food is the thing.  Always fresh, always flavorful.  A lot of the favorite options – Split lentils, chick pea stew, greens.  I don’t even like cabbage, but their cabbage is fantastic.  The injera is great and they also have rice and bulgar available.  You get soup or salad, too.

My fave thing is Telba - a drink made almost entirely of flax seed.  It tastes like if you put shredded wheat and milk into a blender and then sucked it up through a straw.  Yum.  And super-healthy!

Nice people. nice place, amazing photograpsh on the wall.

See you Monday!  ; )

Cost Plus-World Market

I love this place.  I totally do.  For a long time it wa the only place in LA I could get the “exotic” foods I loved – from Walker’s shortbread, to red bush teas, to rice noodles, to scone mix.  It’s true that L.A.  has changed and there are places to get all these things, but strolling around World Market is always a good time.  My friend G and I have closed down the place on several occasions, wandering in around 8:30 and then having them wait for us to finish browsing after they are closed at 9pm.

Noah and the Whale

What do you get when you mix Elbow, Iron & Wine, and Eels?

I think you get Noah and the Whale. 

About a year ago, I was in Rough Trade Records for my first time.  It was such a good day – I listened to just about every CD they had available.  When I saw the name “Noah and the Whale” I had a rush of excitement as my inner film geek said – “Hey, wait a minute – can that possibly be a combo of one of my favorite-ever indie movies The Squid and the Whale, and its director, Noah Baumbach?  I think it is…”

Right – so if you’re one of those people who though The Squid and the Whale was one of the most annoying movies ever, perhaps this album will  not be to your liking.

As I listened in Rought Trade, I knew I wanted the Noah and the Whale CD, but finances being what they were, I figured I’d download it.  My iTunes account went dead on me for a few months for no good reason, and wouldn’t let me get at the credit I had in there, but I tried again a few weeks ago.  I downloaded The First Days of Spring, and I’ve been listening to this album daily since.

It's beautiful and makes my day and I just keep hitting replay.

adventures in tapland

Dear L.A. Metro Transit:

When in NY, get a Metro Card.  When in London, get an Oyster Card.

When in LA, fumble around for lost change.

In other cities - in almost every other city, there is not only quick and easy transit around the city, there are quick and easy ways to access that transit.  In LA, bus fares are $1.25, except if they're not.  Except if you get on a Culver City bus, a Santa Monica bus, a Dash, a Rapid....

There are no transfers.  Well, except if you're going between an LA Metro and a Culver City, a Culver City and a Santa Monica or well, I'm not really sure.

Four busses will cost you $5.00 - except when it doesn't - even if it's just a round-trip.  A day pass will cost you $5 - which is at least 4 busses in a day, except when that is actually less money than a day pass for which you overpaid.

You can buy a monthly pass - a supposed savings - but that is only possible by calendar month.  So if you want to buy a monthly pass, but you are here from June 15th to July 15th, well, then you would have to buy weekly passes instead, which would cost you more and you'd have to go four times to purchase them.

Imagine my thrill and excitement upon learning about the new TAP Card on your website. A-ha!  LA has joined the ranks of the initiated - one card to rule them all!

From your website:

While not a pass in itself, the TAP card is an important innovation for L.A. County transit riders. The durable plastic card contains a smart chip that allows you to buy and electronically load Metro passes, participating regional and local transit line passes, electronic cash, or any combination of the three. In other words, TAP becomes your "transit fare wallet" – holding your passes and cash, paying fares to the exact penny, and freeing you up from carrying around loose change. It even recognizes free transfers!

Well, sort of.

Where can you get a TAP card?  Um, some random check cashing places.

Ok - go to random check cashing place.  Ask for TAP card.  It costs $2.00.  This is not a deposit - it is a cost.  Ask for $10 on the card.  This cannot be done.  I can have a day pass or a week pass.  I don't want a day pass or a week pass.  I want the "electronic cash" option.  The free me up from carrying around loose change option.

Not possible.

Okay - if I buy a day pass does it have to be for today?

Yes.

Okay.  But I'm not taking transit today.

I buy the card, figuring I can add cash on line, like it says on the website.

Well, sort of.

I can  buy another TAP Card, and have it mailed to me.  With a day, week, or month pass on it.

I can't actually register the TAP Card I have.  And I can't put the cash option on it.

So, I dialed the customer service number:

No, you can't do that online. 

But your website says I can.

No, you can't do that where you bought it.

But it says I can on your website.

No, if you read carefully, and click here, and here and here, then you will see the list of places that you can add cash onto the TAP Card, and NONE OF THEM are in the Los Angeles Metro Zone.

Excuse me?

Yes, m'am, you have to leave Los Angeles, put money on the card, and then come back.  Say, you go to Culver City and you can put money on the card and then use it in the Metro system.

I'm sorry - I need to ghetto money onto my TAP Card?  And I need to go to the Culver City Town Hall to do that?

It's a pilot program, m'am, we are still experimenting with what works best.

A pilot program?  When every other city in the world already has this?

So there I am calculating the additional bus fare to go to Culver City for no reason other than to put money onto my $2 TAP Card.  Can this be real?  LA - can you really be this not together?

I want to be a pedestrian. I really really do.  One huge reason I left this city so I could not be chained to a vehicle.

Does it really have to be this hard?

Signed,

Bitchy Winans