design lust

swoon.

http://www.paristic.fr/index.php

I'm in love.

Forgetfulness

I am a fan of creative writing, and one of my all-time favorite poets is Billy Collins. My mother recently sent this one of his to me, which feels right:

Forgetfulness

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,
something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,
not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.

unusual things my cats eat / have eaten

(or extremely mauled by biting-)

baguettes
croissant
chocolate croissants
package of (4) scones on fridge hidden from cats
spiders
flies
cord of brand-new headphones
own collar (four times)
lint on floor
all the strings off sweatpant waistbands
all the strings off of hooded shirts
belt of wraparound dress
camisole strap
venetian blind cord
venetian blind louver
entire pan of cooling bacon fat
all 12 tulip buds of bouquet (foliage remaining)
plug to notebook computer
two layers of plastic bag to get to Orowheat loaf (multiple incidents)
houseplant
1/3 stick of butter (multiple times)
dozen Wheat Thins extracted from box with paw (two incidents)
hair, beards from set of gnome Christmas tree ornaments
prongs on snowflake ornaments (multiple incidents)
tumbler of water
glass of juice
thawing chicken breast
rug fringe
shoelaces
shopping bag handles
gift ribbon
elasticized hair ties
q-tip ends (many)
cashews set out as hors-doervres (three times)
packing peanuts

Happy 2008

had a fine time at Linda's on Capitol Hill last night, cool folks to chill with, and rockin' tunes (Daft Punk, Ratatat, also 80's stuff). I'm still pickled, but am recovering. this image is from earlier in the evening, illustrating my inability to take myself seriously for photos, which I always regret upon seeing the photos.