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.