the power of human emotion

I know I'm a little late on this one, but I just saw the work of Nathalia Edenmont My first impression was definately that they were beautiful and kind of peaceful. It didn't bother me that they were photos of dead things. i've never minded taxidermied animals and have always wanted to get my own pets done when they die. What is disturbing about Nathalia's art is that she kills the animals herself. PETA has gotten involved and has been quoted as saying [her work] is a desperate cry for help, disguised as 'art' and that she mutilate[s] and kill[s] animals in order to demonstrate her own ability to exercise the ultimate power over others who are weaker than herself. I don't think that either of these statements are true and I think all the petitioning is unwarrented. Many many more animals die worse deaths for worse causes. The thing is, I do keep picturing her (what does she look like? i'm dying to see her.), with this very eirry calmness, inject the animals with sodium pentobarbital and then slowly and carefully slice off their heads or little paws. I keep thing about how the photos are so clean; there is not a drop of blood or a sign of violence anywhere. I would like to hear more about her thought-process and what the work means to her, but when interviewed, she is quite removed and brief. Maybe she is insane.


In a smiliar vein, there is the artwork of Veronica Nicholson. (I'm surprised how little info I can find about her on the net.) Veronica also photographs dead things, but hers are found, mostly roadkills, and not created. Again, there is that same sense of peace. These artists make death seem sort of comforting and nostalgic. These particular arrangements with the birds and flowers remind me of the Jane Campion film Sweetie.

Friday, walking around downtown, I was handed a flyer from the Turn Your Back on Bush organization. It seems that the only way they can have a demonstration is to show up trying to look as normal as possible: neat and showered, no signs, no anarchist t-shirts, not even a forward-thinking book to read while waiting for Dubya to show. And then, when it is too late to cart everyone away without causing more of a scene, the participants in the audience will all "turn their backs on Bush".

I wish them the best of luck. I hope it goes well and I hope it is captured by the media. The scene down there is really going to be something. This article details some of the security measures and new technologies that are being implemented. They include (but are surely not limited to): 100 blocks barracaded, with admission allowed only with passing metal detectors, a patt down, and an evaluation for "suspicious behavior", more than 4,600 law enforcement officers, sharpshooters with rifles on rooftops, an "army of Secret Service agents", several hundred surveillance cameras, certified bomb technicians, about 20 explosives-detecting dogs, bomb jammers, representatives of engineering companies specializing in rescuing victims of building collapses, "forces" equipped to deal with a chemical or biological attack, mobile and stationary chemical and biological sensors, radiation monitors providing detailed alerts and airflow monitoring, a tripling of the no-fly zone around Washington, increased air patrols, and police helicopter surveillance.

Sounds way too scary for me to set foot anywhere near there. We don't need a terrorist or assasin to cause damage, we could very easily destroy ourselves. What would a false alarm look like?

This really belongs with yesterday's post. As I said, the sky was simply amazing in Jemez, NM on New Year's Day.

Over my holiday break (thank you work for a full 11 days off in a row), I wrapped and then opened presents, kissed all my relatives on the cheek, stuffed myself with food until I couldn't move, and took a trip to Santa Fe, NM.

It was a wonderful, wonderful trip. In fact I was surprised by how wonderful it actually was. You see, my first trip to Santa Fe had its divine moments (sexual favors in a private Japanese spa, a strangely odd and beautiful circus, the discovery of green chili, my lovers arms wrapped around me all night), but it also was fraught with difficulties. Paul and I were shy and too quiet with one another (when he brought up my silence, i cried), his kids didn't want me to touch them, I felt lost in his unfamiliar house, and I was not impressed with the barren winter landscape (i must have been blind, i think now) or the city teeming with tourists and consumerism.

Somehow, everything was different this time. I had a great time with the kids (it seems that beatings and ticklings are the keys to a child's heart), who went as far as to climb into bed next to me in the morning. They are so sweet and beautiful and fun to be around. i'm upset with myself that i didn't take the time to get some nice photos of them, but they really are always moving, so this is the best i've got right now:


Dylan is six and Tristan three.

Paul had to work the day after I got there, so I was able to explore the city on my own. I took Paul's car and drove around in circles all day. I was seriously lost, every turn I took was a turn in the wrong direction. I kept ending up in the same place and try as hard as I could I just couldn't find his house again. It was seriously exhausting, but still I had a good time. I visited SITE Santa Fe, which shows contemporary art and the current show was "Grotesque", right up my alley! I even got to see a Jenny Saville painting in person for the first time. it was huge and she really is an amazing painter.


These are photos from the outside of the building, which they had completely covered in black plastic rats. This hanging baby reminded me of some I used to own. I even had one with a wash of blue paint over it that I kept in the freezer and another with a wash of red that lived in the bathroom sink.


I took lots of photos of the adobe style architecture which i love and is everywhere, making it feel almost like another country.

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New Year's Eve was a bit of a bust; in fact, Paul began to nod off on the couch at 7 o'clock. This was fine with me, since I was recovering from the previous night of tequila and beer. Plus, we had a very special event planned for the next day! In Paul's freezer was a bag of mushrooms he had been talking about eating with me since i met him. He had picked out a place for us to do this in the Jemez Mountains, where we could hike out to some natural hot water springs, and had even booked us a room in some little inn so we didn't have to drive back to town. I had never taken mushrooms, so i was really excited and had been talking to friends about it all week, who gave me various bits of advice: They taste really gross. They make you hopelessly emotional. Don't do them unless you're sure you trust the people you're with. Don't do them unless you can be outside in nature.

Well- we had the most beautiful day ever, with the bluest skies I think I've ever seen. We ate a few mushrooms in the car on the way there, thinking they would take awhile to kick in, but it wasn't long before the serpentine road started to seem fluid and we were giggling at one another. We hungrily looked out the window of the car as if we were in a cage as the mountains were transformed into something from The Dark Crystal (they weren't that far from it anyway).



The sky was dotted with small quick-moving clouds, that acted like a light show, illuminating and shadowing various parts of the scenery.

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Jemez Springs was an odd little town of about 15 buildings in the middle of nowhere, nestled between the mountains. Tripping certainly didn't make it seem any less strange. I'd never been anywhere like it before. We spent most of the day by a little bubbling creek, rolling about in some yellow straw-like grass. I remember the colors being more vivid than any I have ever seen and the clouds breaking apart and disappearing into the sky.




This is one of the loveliest views i've ever seen.




The world's giddiest inhabitants. Oh, and did I tell you how blue the sky was?

Clearly, one of the best days I have had in a long time. Topped off with a hike up to a hot mountain spring feeding two large pools as the sun set in the distance ... sigh.

NOTE: One word of advice -- if you are taking psychedelic mushrooms, don't save some to eat after you come down. We ate more after our first trip and they had no effect on us.

Gimme a hug
Say my number
Give me call

Make me wet
And dry me over
Press me up
And take me home

Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow

I am currently addicted to the song PUSSYCAT by the Swedish band Hello Goodbye. Its a delicious bit of silliness that will have you bouncing off the walls.

WARNING: this WILL get stuck in your head and your coworkers WILL NOT appreciate you singing meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow all day.