Tumblin'

I have a Tumblr now. Am I going to maintain two blogs? I don't know. Do I have enough things to say to fill two blogs? OF COURSE. That is not the issue. I could fill ten blogs with my useless thoughts. The issue is streamlining my internet output to make it easy enough for the public (i.e. my five readers) to consume.

maggieinamerica.tumblr.com

Let me know what you think.

Hellzapoppin'!

Last night I couldn't sleep. Tossed and turned. Regretted my dumb evening nap and even dumber caffeinated tea. On the plus side, I discovered lots of interesting things on the internet! For one, doesn't this show seem like it would have been a fun evening back in 1938? At the time, it was the longest-running Broadway musical. Description below, courtesy of Wikipedia. 

A comedy hodgepodge full of sight gags and slapstick, the show was continually rewritten throughout its run to remain topical; its opening scene was Hitler speaking in a Yiddish accent. A circus atmosphere prevailed, with dwarfs, clowns, trained pigeons, and audience participation adding to the merriment. The sketches were a "smorgasbord of explode-the-fourth-wall nuttiness: comedy songs; skits abandoned partway through; cameos by audience stooges; an absurdist raffle; and in a trademark stunt, a man who wandered through the theater hawking an ever-larger potted tree." 

Fa(t)shionistas

Despite my generally slovenly appearance, I really do love fashion. I love people-watching, window-shopping, and reading Tavi Gevinson's blog. But since being fashionable requires time and money, my outfits rarely reflect my appreciation for style. I'm impatient, lazy, and cheap - and I hate shopping. My favorite items of clothing are usually hand-me-downs from friends and relatives. 

That said, once in a blue moon, I'm injected with a dose of inspiration that propels me to actually put thought into my wardrobe. Last year I stumbled upon a message board featuring fatshionistas, who posted their daily outfits to a community of enthusiastic commenters. It turns out the internet is full of fatshion blogs, which I often find more interesting than regular fashion sites. One of my favorites is GABIFRESH, featuring Gabrielle Gregg, a fairly well-known fashion writer. I love the fact that these are larger women who have rejected fashion norms for women their size (wear black, never wear shorts, always wear sleeves) and create outfits that are gorgeous and outrageous and smart. Hopefully my clothing/jewelry/shoe collection will one day get to place where I'm posting my daily ensemble, but for now, I'll just enjoy the fatshion eye candy. 

Hurricane Irene

Despite generous offers from friends and guilt-inducing offers from family (Mom: "So, you're just going to be alone in your apartment? With no power? Just in the dark, alone, inside your apartment? Alone?"),  last night I opted to wait out the storm at my place in Astoria. Even though I was by myself, through the wonder of the internet, I toasted some Brooklyn friends from afar:

I also listened to WFUV, drank ginger tea, wore faux hipster glasses, did some unfortunate watercoloring, and hung out in my kitchen, which I rarely do. There was something about the hurricane quarantine that inspired me to disrupt my usual routine in a really nice way.

Black Tie Beach 2011

This past Saturday, I participated in Improv Everywhere's Black Tie Beach 2011. They e-mailed us our location on Friday afternoon (Rockaway Beach, which I semi-suspected) and instructed us to wear our finest thrift-store formalwear and not to tell onlookers why were doing so. Mission: accepted!

Sarah and Gayle were my co-agents, and after a delicious bagel brunch, we headed down to Far Rockaway. As we walked to the beach, we were stopped by an elderly woman who was overwhelmed with how beautiful we looked (her words, but she was right!). She insisted on taking a picture of us, told us to have fun and to stay sober. It was 3:45 pm, but good advice nonetheless.

The beach was full of fancy folk and regular beach-goers and it was a gorgeous day. We played in the water, strolled romantically along the beach, ate watermelon, and acted elusive when people questioned our motives. "We just thought we'd get dressed up for the beach!" Sarah said. (She was much better at improvising than I was).

This is the second Improv Everywhere event that I've participated in, and I'm always so overjoyed by the diversity and friendliness in the participants. I saw whole families with little children, all dressed up in their party clothes, messing around in the water. The events really do generate a sense of playfulness and joy that is so important - to coin a Chinese phrase - "in our daily lives."

Below are some photos taken by a mixture of IE photographers and my dear friend Sarah. Bonsoir!

Good Night, Odd Dreams

Dual Celebrity Crush

Andrew Garfield and Kat Dennings in the same place at the same time. I hope this wasn't Photoshopped.