Realize

Coming at an end, the lovers

Are exhausted like two swimmers. Where
Did it end? There is no telling. No love is
Like an ocean with the dizzy procession of the waves' boundaries
From which two can emerge exhausted, nor long goodbye
Like death.
Coming at an end. Rather, I would say, like a length
Of coiled rope
Which does not disguise in the final twists of its lengths
Its endings.
But, you will say, we loved
And some parts of us loved
And the rest of us will remain
Two persons. Yes,
Poetry ends like a rope.

-A Book of Music, by Jack Spicer

If I Had Eyes

When Isaac grabbed this book off his shelf to distract me while he did some work, he preambled it by stating, "My father gave it to me." Recalling that his dad is a doctor, I took one look at The Secret Family: Twenty-Four Hours inside the Mysterious World of Our Minds and Bodies and inwardly sighed. I knew this was going to be one of those excruciatingly boring human science books, the kind only medical students entering residency or super-nerds with thick glasses and no social lives eagerly devour. And while I may arguably fall into the latter category, I've always been the type of dweeb more focused on Shakespeare's severing clouds laced with envious streaks (Romeo and Juliet) than Gray's Anatomy (the text, not the TV series, which I bought and tried to read and failed miserably).

Anyway, it shouldn't be surprising that I was absolutely wrong about this book. After a somewhat asinine intro, the book jumped straight into jaw-dropping, fascinating, "for real? I had no idea!" territory. I kept reading aloud compelling passages to Isaac (who hasn't read about, oh, 99% of his book collection), and screeching, "Did you know that!? Isnt that crazy?!" The very first fact I encountered that piqued my interest was about what happens when a father's eyes meet his baby's gaze: "the tiny muscles controlling the pupils in the dad's eyes suddenly tug wider. Males who don't have children rarely show this universal sign of interest." However, it happens to most women, mothers or not. Then that led to a whole section on how baby food is prepared, which sparked both disbelief and horror. If this were truly the case, why hasn't there been more of an uproar about this? The stuff he describes warrants a massive reform akin to the one incited by Upton Sinclair's The Jungle in the early 20th century.

What was also really impressive was the book's collection of photographs. I had never seen any of them before, and they're truly stunning pictures revealing normal objects in a mindblowing point of view. The back of a smooth CD zoomed in so you see the nooks (bet you didn't know it had nooks!). A close-up of sweat droplets on the back of a hairy hand. A bed mite in its magnified glory, creeping and crawling and waiting to eat your dead skin cells. Ok, I can't find any of these pictures online, but luckily dust mites are pretty fascinating for most people and some other good pictures exist out there:

Ewwwwwww. Seriously, this book is awesome. You won't be sorry if you pick it up. But you might end up learning a few things that will make it a little harder to rub your face lovingly against your favorite pillow at night.

Don't Stop the Music

A quick blurb of songs that I'm completely fixated on at the moment:

Lil Wayne - Lollipop
When I first heard this, his first solo single in forever, I seriously was far from impressed. It barely even sounded like him! But then, after hearing it just once more, I became more addicted than Tyrone Biggums. Every time it comes on the radio, I start squealing. I love him. I really think he's amazingly talented. Sure, he's hideous, but who needs good looks when you've got a showstopping voice? (Marc Anthony's comparably fugly, and he impregnated JLo!) I'm going to be so sad next week when this song gets killed by radio overplay. Listen to this unique, irresistible jam on my "Feeling Frisky?" playlist on the right, or check out the music video on Youtube.

M83 - Kim & Jessie
I love this song! Besides my name being in the title, I also really think it's gorgeously fun, and quite different from their other moodily beautiful pieces. It has this 80's vibe, but the lush singing and lyrics add this magical quality to it. The CD just came out, and someone on Youtube made a video for it with scenes from Donnie Darko, so I'm going to provide it here.


Sun Kil Moon - Lost Verses
GOD. My favorite band ever, and Mark's back, baby. The last album was all covers of Modest Mouse songs (my favorite is the first one on my "Feeling Wistful" playlist, Neverending Math Equation), and while it was lovely, nothing compares to original Mark Kozelek lyrics:
'I see you well and clear
Deep in the moonlight, dear
Your radiant august eyes
They are the suns that rise
They are the light that guides
They are these lost verses'
This song, the opening track of their new CD, is absolutely stunning. This is classic Kozelek: haunting, hapless, and heartbreaking. I could only find it on their Myspace (it's the first song), since they never do music videos. But you have to be in the right mood to listen, and the right time. I'd say around midnight, surrounded by fog, while forlornly clutching a distant memory.

Stop and Stare

I've been a Shopbop fan for several years now. This is the first time I've seen them give out a code for an additional 30% off their sale items (30MORE). The true extent of this economy has just now fully hit me. Bear Stearns can go crashing down in value, the real estate market can implode, gas and food can rise to astronomical proportions--nope, it's all nothing compared to Shopbop trying desperately to liquidate their inventory. This isn't an April Fool's Day joke, people. It's real. It's happening. God help us.

Well, I'm going to do my part to fight this looming recession--by shopping! And I'm going to highlight some of the cutest stuff I found. However, in the interest of saving time and our wallets, I'm only showing items under $50. I know! Shopbop hardly ever has stuff under $50, and I managed to find a handful of adorable wares! Naturally, the nicest apparel is all still over $100, but I'm pretty impressed with being able to find a satisfactory selection in such a low price range. These things go fast though, so don't be surprised if everything is sold out by the time you start searching. Oh, and free shipping! Gotta love that!

C&C California Tonal Dots Bold Tank: Yes, just a basic tank top but with polka dots! I heart polka dots, so much that I can almost comprehend why Damien Hirst's spot paintings can command over a million bucks apiece, despite the fact that the guy has done almost a thousand of them! But I digress. $48 $16.80

Parballe Keyhole Tee: I really dig this t-shirt! It's not cute enough to justify the original retail price, but it comes close. The metallic print rocks, and I adore extra touches like the embroidered keys on the upper back of the tee. The semi-sheer quality is nice too. $99 $20.79

Miki Tanaka Square Rings: Aren't these gorgeous? I never buy jewelry because I'm prone to losing them within 24 hours, but this is really tempting. I love how unique they are; they seem both delicately wrought and solidly designed. My favorite is the one that dangles, but that shit would snap off in no time. I have really bad luck when it comes to keeping around my accessories. $176 $36.96 (#2)

KZ Jersey Drape Cowl Neck Dress: Oomf. Last Christmas, I helped Phil pick out a KZ dress for Jade, one that I absolutely adored. Then in February, it went on sale. I mulled for twenty minutes, and it sold out under my very nose. While this dress isn't as cute as the one that got away, I do like it, and I'll be damned if I let it get sold out again! But I can't decide what color! Green isn't really my hue, but it looks so good on the model that it's fooling me into believing I could pull it off. I love the gray, but it's spring now! Decisions, decisions. $187 $39.27

T-Bags Solid Turtleneck Open Back Mini Dress: T-Bags usually has some crazy prints going on with their clothes, stuff a boring person such as myself can never wear. So it's a pleasant surprise to see they've made what would be a basic closet staple (turtleneck dress), but with a sexy twist. While I love the concept of open back apparel, I don't own any such items. Why not? Because I like being able to comfortably wear a bra. I don't want to have to go out and buy those bras that paste to each boob. Still, every time I see bare-back stuff, I want it. $202 $42.42