Jagger: Rebel, Rock Star, Rambler, Rogue is a must for long time fans or those fresh into the Stones. It's sort of a response to Keith's book, Life. Spitz poses the famous question of who would you rather be—Mick or Keith—and kind of explains away why your answer should totally be Jagger! X - Jen
Elizabeth Barker and Laura Jane Faulds are re-writing all of The Beatles songs as short-stories or essays, and then publishing them over nine volumes in the Let It Be Beautiful book series. Judging from quotes such as "I looked like a Richard Kern photo, which was the best thing I had going for me, which is barely even better than NOT looking like a Richard Kern photo," we think this is going to be a project that strikes a very entertaining balance between sweet and sarcastic.
Wendy looks back on 20 years of Built By Wendy with a scrapbook that traces the line from its beginnings in Kansas to her move to NYC and eventually her own shop on Centre Market Place. Highlights include Thurston Moore, Bananarama, Robin Tunney and lots of '90s goodness. Wendy is seriously a rock star!
In honor of our party theme this month, we're taking a look at some of history's notorious party girls. Here, meet Lily Bart.
The heroine of Edith Wharton's 1905 novel The House of Mirth, Lily Bart might have been the first modern-day party girl. The story takes places against the backdrop of New York high-society in the 1890s. Long before Carrie in Sex and the City, before Mary in Party Girl and even before Holly Golightly in Breakfast and Tiffany's, Lily Bart was the prototypical single girl in New York, the last one at the party when everyone else has moved on.
For the past 11 years, the lively and beautiful Lily has been a fixture in the fast crowd and on the social scene. Though once wealthy, a series of misfortunes changed that, a situation worsened by gambling debts that she has accrued. Lily decides that her only way to escape the fate that is rapidly closing in on her is to find a wealthy husband.
Author Edith Wharton
Lily's plan for finding one is to say yes to every social engagement she's offered, but she soon finds that she can no longer afford the fashions that she once considered so important. "If I were shabby no one would have me: a woman is asked out as much for her clothes as for herself. The clothes are the background, the frame, if you like: they don't make success, but they are a part of it," she says.
But now, at 29 Lily's beauty is fading, and she's forced to come to terms with the fact that "younger and plainer girls were being married off by the dozens." It doesn't help matters that, in the past, Lily turned down several marriage proposals because she considered the suitors weren't good enough for her. "I have been about too long," Lily complains, "People are tired of me."
Sadly, The House of Mirth is not a story that ends happily ever after and Lily never does find her prince, and it's a true tearjerker.
But, in no way should that keep you from going out tonight, and you're probably going to need something to wear.
In the '70s, high school teacher Joseph Szabo began to snap photos of his students as a way to connect with them. After two books, his work became The Joseph Szabo Project, a short still-image documentary which brings those classic high school moments back to life. The film will be showing this Sunday, November 6, at 9pm at the IFC Center (6th Ave & West 3rd St.) and is sure to make you feel like you're right back in homeroom.
These Beaded Skulls by Our Exquisite Corpse were made along with the Huichol people from the Sierra Madre Mountains of Western Mexico. Each skull is unique, with different shapes, colors, and patterns from the Huichol culture. All we can say is, "Wow."
Limelight, a documentary detailing the rise and fall of notorious club king Peter Gatien, opens this weekend. Expect a large dose of early '90s club kid fashion inspiration.
"On our last day in Prague we woke up early to view the sunrise over the Charles Bridge without the crowds, then walked into the Old Town Prague Square to take a look at the medieval astronomical clock.
We went to the Alphonse Mucha Museum, the epitome of art nouveau and one of Claire’s favorite artists. At the Old Town flea market we dropped way too much money on a painted wooden jewlery box, rare stones, and La Muse Verte Absinthe—warmth in a bottle.
We fell in love with this city and with the ornate detail on absolutely everything. It’s the perfect mix of Eastern and Western motifs. We’ve found that in Europe we only eat carbs, in the form of beer and freshly baked soft pretzel. They were so cheap and so delicious! Don’t judge us, we’re on vacation.
We’re in complete denial that 36 straight hours of flights back to LA loom in our near future. It feels like we only just arrived. This trip has been a feast—visually and literally. Our favorite days have been when we wandered aimlessly with the goal of getting completely lost. That’s when we stumbled upon gold. We’ve tried on each city and each has changed us and broadened our perspective that much more. It’s been thrilling to be so far away from home. We’ll miss this crucible of cobblestone.
"After hearing Prague praised as “The Paris of Eastern Europe,” we decided we had to visit. It was raining in the city when we arrived, which was a refreshing change from the intense heat of Israel. First thing, we checked into The Hotel Prague Inn and looked out our window onto Wenceslas Square to find an international folk dancing competition. We interpreted it as a welcome ceremony and a sign of great things to come.
We spent the rest of the day taking a long walk through New Town (which is actually quite old, since it was built in the 1300s) and wandering in the direction of Prague Castle. We stopped to change money and were astounded by how beautiful the Czech Crowns are. They’re like little pieces of art that everyone carries around with them.
We stopped for extra foamy cappuccinos two times at two different places during our 40 minute walk to the castle. At the top of the hill, we found a magnificent view of the city that reminded us of every fairytale we’ve ever read combined into one. On our way back down to the real world, we decided to stop for a pint of Velvet beer that was recommended to us in L.A. It was delicious and had a higher percentage of alcohol than we expected. We laughed our way back to our hotel, only managing to take two or three wrong turns along the way.
A three-hour bus ride from Prague brought us to a village reminiscent of a fairytale—Česky Krumlov. The village is maze of cobblestone alleyways squeezed around a 13th century castle and cathedral, with the Vltava River flowing through the center.
Before venturing into the town we parked ourselves on a bench on a hill overlooking the city so Claire could sketch the view.
After an hour we walked down, took a chance on a medieval restaurant, and marveled over the stained glass windows in the cathedral. We topped the day off with a tour of the castle, which was extravagantly furnished at the height of the Gothic and Rococo periods. In the evening it began to rain and our poor shoe choice was evident, as the cobblestone streets became a “Slip 'n Slide.”
We laughed, sang in the rain, and eventually forfeited our umbrella all together. We literally soaked up all the city had to offer."—Katie and Claire
Wanderlust: Mount Masada, Negev Desert, & Tel Aviv
"This morning we woke up well before dawn and walked the Roman Ramp up the side of Mount Masada, the palace-fortress Herod the Great built to last forever. As we reached the top we looked down at the Dead Sea and sand dunes while a red sun rose over the mountains. We wandered the ancient fortress and bathhouses while learning the sad story of the community who once called the mountain their home in 72 BD. They committed communal suicide rather than fall capture to Roman enslavement. This was by far the most beautiful and haunting place we’ve visited.
We spent the night in a Bedouin tent in the Negev desert. The locals treated us to a traditional Bedouin feast, minus cutlery of any kind, and let us attempt to play their instruments, which appeared easier than they actually were. As night fell we sat around a bonfire and star gazed next to a herd of camels.
At sunrise, all of Claire’s dreams came true when her friend Natalie O’Brien joined her on a camel ride through the nearby mountains. They promptly named their camel Prince Ali Ababwa and sang as many Aladdin songs as they could remember during their ride. Katie, who is deathly allergic to camels, had to sit this one out.
Tel Aviv is the cosmopolitan heart of Israel. After absorbing a modicum of history in the Independence Hall (where Israel declared itself a nation), we walked to a local souk displaying an assortment of organic produce, spices, and fabrics. We met up with our girlfriend Yvette from Los Angeles who spends her summers in Tel Aviv. That night we went out to a hookah bar with a big group of friends and got a bit sloppy.
We were late to bed and early to rise for our flight to Prague in the morning!"—Claire and Katie
"The next stop on our Israeli adventures was the lowest place on earth—the Dead Sea. It was once Cleopatra’s exclusive spa. Before a swim and mud bath we stopped in at the Avhada Center, which specializes in products derived from the Dead Sea. We bought active mineral facemasks made of mud that, in hindsight, we’re pretty sure we could have salvaged from the seashore ourselves for free. In the afternoon we hiked up into the rocky mountains of the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, passing ancient tombs cut into the rock now inhabited by a herd of ibex. The highlight was the natural lagoon and waterfall which was much appreciated after hiking in 108°F heat. Thankfully it wasn’t a mirage, because we quickly stripped and jumped in.
Next, we descended down the West Bank to Jerusalem through the Valley of Jericho. Jerusalem is a unique place where the first century mixes with the twenty first. It’s the perfect place to visit for history buffs like us.
Our first night we stayed in Old City where we were pleasantly surprised to find out that Jerusalem is nocturnal. We joined in with the Israeli youth who flocked to the bars on Ben Yehuda Street at nightfall and found their way home by dawn.
In the morning we flocked to Mahane Yehuda market, an intoxicating blur of color, scents, and sounds. The market has been around for over a century and is home to hole-in-the-wall restaurants and antique jewelry shops. We fell deeply and completely in love with the dried kiwi.
There was so much to see in this city that it became a bit of a blur. In three days we’ve visited ruins of temples, the Dome of the Rock, and Har Herzl Cemetery. We heard firsthand stories from Holocaust survivors at Yad Vashem and wedged notes in the Western Wall.
Jerusalem is a ten in our book."- Katie and Claire
"What took the Israelites 40 years to travel from Egypt took us two days straight of traveling from Los Angeles. Our journey began at a Kibbutz called Ohala in Northern Israel overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Due to some serious jetlag we woke up abnormally early the first morning for a three-hour hike of Jilabun Creek, where we were surprised to discover a massive cave and a 100-foot waterfall at the end of the trail. After rehydrating with iced coffees and stuffing ourselves with hummus, we ventured up Mount Bental, an abandoned Israeli bunker with a breathtaking view of Syria. It looked very peaceful though we knew there were riots not too far away across the border.
Later that afternoon, two sisters who are also from Los Angeles, Emily and Natalie O’Brien, accompanied us on a comical rafting experience down the Jordan River. We quickly realized that our rafting skills were truly abominable as we ran into every possible rock, raft, and tree in sight. The phrase “up the stream without a paddle” comes to mind, even though we had two. We might as well have had none. Next stop: Tzfat.
Tzfat, an ancient blue city nestled high in the mountains of the Galilee, is the center of Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah, and arts. We started our day off by visiting the eccentric artist Avraham Loewenthal, originally from Detroit, who is the personification of “high on life.”
The rest of the day we spent exploring narrow cobblestone alleyways, stumbling upon local musicians, and shopping in the small bazaar. We also met Israeli soldiers and university students over some mind-blowing falafels.
Our lasting impression was that Tzfat is special. It has an energy that we’ll never forget. We also won’t forget the falafels."—Claire and Katie
Meet Maurine and Noreene, two twin sisters from Denison, TX who were photographed thoughout their lifetime wearing matching outfits. Their fashion choices from the '30s to the '90s will now live on through Flickr and we're glad they won't be forgotten. Now, if only we could get our hands on those lamé dresses...
Our last About A Girl, Claire Oring, and her sister Katie, are sharing their most recent trip with us—a Jewish heritage tour through Israel! See where the journey takes them as they spill the details of their adventures in around the world.
"A few years ago, we found out that the state of Israel sponsors trips to Israel for youth with Jewish heritage. After a year, or three, of applying, we finally have our tickets booked. Though we’re not very religious, we both believe that visiting our heritage is important and want to soak up as much Israeli culture, history, and sun as we can over the next two weeks. We’ve also treated ourselves to a week in Prague for dessert. Yes, Israel and The Czech Republic is an odd combination, but camels, sand dunes, and 13th Century castles actually compliment each other quite nicely. We’ll prove it! Join us over the next few weeks as we photograph everything along the way. We’re both over-packed and ready to go!"—Claire and Katie
Tonight, tune into 88.5 WXPN from 9pm-11pm for the one-year anniversary show of Making Time RADio. And a little bird named Terry (aka, Dave's mom) has also informed us that today is Dave P's birthday. We would like to dedicate the first 15 seconds of this song to you, Dave. Hope it's a good one!
Have you ever been an early 19th century schoolgirl who suddenly disappears after venturing into a mysterious rock formation? Wait, you haven't? That's okay because you can still dress like one! Channel the girls in the 1975 film Picnic at Hanging Rock by wearing white lace, high necklines, and long dresses. Possess a mysterious, distant expression and intense curiosity. But just please don't disappear at Hanging Rock because that would be really spooky!
A long flowy dress to get dirty in the forest.
This blouse is sheer enough to cool you down when you're hiking up rocks on a sunny day.
Long white skirts are necessary for a PAHR girl!
The sun at Hanging Rock is blinding! Get prepared with this cute hat.
Did I mention you're, uh, climbing a huge rock? Keep with the fashions of 1900 with these stylish boots!—Hazel
