Good-bye

The SAD side of the coin:

After several months of lackadaisical blogging on my party for thefifthdayofmay, I've decided to put a firm hold on my commitment here.

Despite it being a small outlet for my thoughts with a small, but generously loving audience, I am finding myself over-committed in all of my endeavors and struggling to post here. To top it off, I am harboring personal guilt for not writing here. Between the cafe project in L.A., personal assisting in NY, scene study class & my acting career, Meryl & Marina, I am already struggling to carve out room for other pleasures - theater, cooking, adventures, movies, reading. It's a catch 22--when I'm not out experiencing the world, I have little to write about, and when I am, I have no time to write about it. So, for now--a hold. I'm largely sad to give up maintaining this online history of my endeavors over the last three and a half years. I think I'm going to still keep it up, so I can refresh my memory as often as I want.

the BRIGHT side of the coin:

I'm going to be blogging regularly at www.MerylandMarina.com. It's going to be much easier for me to focus my energy into one project. The content will not change - I promise to post just as many old family photos, cooking demos, and nonsense. At least until Meryl learns to post and forcibly stops me. It's going to be a good thing. I'll be blogging way more than I am now. I hope we're all OK with this. I hope that I'm OK with this.

I'll occasionally guest blog at paperorplastikcafe.tumblr.com, so check it out.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll do some secret sneak attacks here. I just can't stay good-bye.

Vollmond

I'm not interested in how people move but in what moves them." - Pina Bausch

Watch the Vollmond (Full Moon) trailer on BAM's website.

For my birthday, I was clever enough to ask for a gift membership to BAM. This would allow me the opportunity to immerse myself in New York's creative offerings and persuade me to go commit to attending them.

This idea was ripe with possibility and has proved itself endlessly valuable. I am reaping the benefits of New York in the autumn, with new seasons abound at nearly every creative institution in the city.

When I caught an invite to the opening night of the Next Wave Festival at BAM, which was a performance of the late Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal doing Vollmond (Full Moon), along with an invite to the after reception, I couldn't resist.

I invited my friend Meryl (of Meryl & Marina) and on the eve of our largest artistic endeavor yet, that being the premiere of our first short film "Secret Garden", we soaked up the multidisciplinary and celebratory revelry that was "Vollmond". Followed by some wine and Germanic-themed braised cabbage & spaetzle, we had the loveliest of times. Even better, we spotted Juliette Binoche, a.k.a. my favorite actress of all time, standing in line, looking around for an entrance as frantically as we were.

The fun continues tomorrow! I'm seeing The Deer House!

why i love new york

via unworn blog

tangier photos

this is my favorite photograph from my trip. we're in tangier here, possibly walking to cafe hafa, the most beautiful, sprawling coffee house looking over the mediterranean sea. it captures the spirit of the trip for me - feeling careless and adventurous, wanting to wander and roam, warm and content and thrilled all at once. i dream of traveling because of photos like this, ones that unearth memories of endless alleyways and new pleasures behind every corner, like little restaurants or souks that become the crowning jewels of how you remember a place, of the thrill of getting lost and the relief of being found, of there being light at the end of every road.

my nostalgia makes me feel at once pleased that i was there and disheartened that i am no longer.

funny how the NY Times travel section story about Tangier, the one i would scan the paper for every sunday, finally came out, exactly a month after i had left the country. funnier still is how similar their photos were to mine:









glad to know i did just fine in tangier without their guidance.

family

i'm back in new york and i'm alone in my apartment and i never thought i'd say it, but here i go: i miss my family. i do. i was spoiled by not only getting to see my parents and brothers and darling nephew for 5 weeks straight every day, but i got to travel around the world to see the rest of my family - grandfathers, cousins, aunts, uncles, more nephews, whom i see so rarely for distance's sake.

it's yom kippur, the holiest day in the jewish calendar. my uncle sent over these scanned photos to my dad and i, wishing us a good fast. i wasn't quite sure why he had sent them, why this day of all days, one of repentance and suffering, garnered some dug up family photos.

it took a bit of silent, unconscious meditating to feel the link to this day and the photos of my relatives. and it hits home even harder when i'm so far away from all of the people that connect me to these roots.

the bearded man is my great-great grandfather, a michelson. my grandpa is recognizable in the second photo as the standing kid to the left. don't know who the rest of those folks are but their blood is coursing through my veins.

Where in the World is Marina?

So you know, I haven't given up here. I've been away, figuratively and literally. At first way away on vacation for 2 weeks and for the following 5 weeks I was enmeshed in one of the most time-consuming/rewarding ventures of my life. I'm flying back home today, getting back into my New York state of mind. I have a lot of adventures to tell about and I will. Soon.

My family's cafe is throwing a party...

Our House

We listened to this song on the drive up to Montreal and it brought me straight back to my childhood, listening to it from the backseat of the car, driving with my parents, them singing along wildly and me pretending to know the lyrics, wanting so badly to be cool.

Marc

My friend Marc, whom I met somehow during my final year of high school and recently reconnected with on Cinco de Mayo at a Mexican restaurant around the corner from my apartment, will be shooting our portrait. His photos are tremendous.

This one sways me most.

M&M Portraits

Meryl & Marina are doing our first photo shoot tomorrow with the aim of getting a few portraits of us together. Here are some ideas that are floating around my head.

Montreal

the cafe in Mile End, one of the 5 pictures I took over the weekend

I've just returned from Montreal where I accompanied my boyfriend and friends to the prestigious Just For Laughs comedy festival where they had been invited to perform in a sketch show hosted by Michael Ian Black. The trip was very eventful and nonstop in energy. We stayed out until 5am each night, drinking for free, dancing, shmoozing, and laughing.

Some highlights:
+trying Poutine
+visiting sweet coffee shops and vintage store in Mile End, Montreal's answer to Bushwick
+playing with Maggie in the swimming pool
+dancing insatiably at a semi-house party in a car wash
+dancing and drinking for free and rapping at a tremendous loft party
+dancing in the car on the way over to Canada
+invoking the phrase "just for laughs" whenever and wherever possible
+learning about my new obsession, Beardyman, at the most awesome midnight music show

check out this absurd jam session between 3 incredible and unusual musicians:

+the Tom Green show - surprisingly funny and enjoyable
+the Alternative Comedy show - nearly everyone was memorable. Never thought I'd like stand-up that much
+biking through Old Montreal and by the canal
+some kind of Caramel ice cream that will be forever unbeatable
+watching my sweet boyfriend and our even sweeter friends kick ass two nights in a row

Some lowlights:
+Losing my voice, completely and painfully
+Fighting with my American bank about urgently releasing at $250 authorization hold for a $5 bike rental
+Missing out on Au Pied du Cochon
+Not going swimming more often

Boys Will Be Girls - Night Out

So proud of these dudes, and of my red-clad sweetheart. I like this vid even better than the first.

Howl

Ginsberg's Howl is my favorite poem and I can't wait to see this movie.

Anna

Watch this 1962 interview with Anna Karina, who was at one time, my ultimate muse. I still can't help but adore her.

Zeitoun

I've been eagerly devouring a Dave Eggers book I picked up on Friday called Zeitoun, which chronicles the nauseating trials undergone by a successful Syrian-American family in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The book is a gripping and suspense-filled personal account of an event that should not fade from our national memory. It's another glimpse into the madness that befell this country during the disaster. If it sparks your interest, definitely read the NY Times article about the fate of a hospital after Katrina, and check out Trouble the Water about a couple who survive the storm.

Coconut Curry Mussels

To die for and easy to make Coconut Curry Mussels.

la tangerina

the hotel we booked in tangier looks killer. it's called la tangerina. it gets me all shook up!

Sugar Snap Pea Salad

I'm back in the swing of things with this season's CSA. I received such a great selection of items the other day, I got bummed that I'll be leaving it for 6 weeks!

I received:
a half dozen farm fresh eggs, some of which I'll soft-boil for breakfast tomorrow.
a bunch of radishes, which I'll probably add to my breakfast with salted, buttered toast
a head of bibb lettuce
a head of red leaf lettuce
a bunch of kale
a bunch of rainbow chard
a bunch of cucumbers
a few zucchini
a bunch of parsley
a pint of sugar snap peas
four pints of cherries
and a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers and snap dragons



My boss will be out of town this week and I get to pick up her CSA as well! Eager to see what I'll get!

I made the most delicious salad tonight using some of my sugar snap peas. I actually lifted the recipe from an unforgettable dish I had at Roberta's recently. It's incredibly simple: cooked sugar snap peas with picked onions, topped with mascarpone. I used a lovely, oil-marinated feta that I had at home instead and it worked just as well. I also used this picked onions recipe from David Lebowitz, which was simpler than imagined and left me with a jar of picked onions I'm eager to devour. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo, just scarfed it down. It's really easy to try, though, so just take my word for it.

Hideous Kinky

Watched Hideous Kinky last night to get me pumped for Morocco. I like the way Kate sleeps with her hippie daughters. That's how I'm going to sleep with my little girls when and if I have them.

summertime is for sweethearts

Magic Kids - Summer

via kickin the peanuts

Zucca

Looking for long dresses to cover me up in Morocco. I adore this one.

Morocco

Did I tell you that Billy and I are going to Morocco? Because we are! On July 26th. And we're never coming back...








Just kidding, we'll be back. And that's just Part 1 of our six-week long adventure! Stay tuned to hear more. Meanwhile, anyone been to Morocco? Tips? Riad recommendations? Guides?

Unthinkable

Alica Keys feat. Drake - Unthinkable

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Pretty much amazing.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Sofia Strikes Back

Eager for this.

Inspired by Iceland

Are we loving this weird commercial?

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

via cup of jo

Stranded

Just watched the harrowing documentary STRANDED: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed in the Andes.
Bone-chilling. Speechless.

Swimsuit

Bought a brand new bathing suit today for the first time in years. Seriously, maybe 4 or 5 years. Isn't it adorable?