banana

i had my first whole banana in 1992. i choked it down in front of the science building at CU before taking my SAT. i read that potassium boosts brain power so i ate one thinking that it might help. i am not sure if that was the case. i mean, while i did get a perfect score on the verbal portion, that damn banana certainly seemed to keep me from my glory on the math section.

and, just when i thought i'd forever shaken ze banana:

token bath picture

margot at the wedding

"i am not acting like a crazy person. this is the right reaction. in proportion with what's going on, this is right!"

my man, noah baumbach, strikes again...

breathing lessons

hi grandpa. willy wrote to me saying that you are having a hard time breathing. knowing that you would appreciate some levity at this juncture, i was reminded of the following quote by l. frank baum:

"whenever i feel blue, i start breathing again."

love you,

kate

meiko

one wonders if, say, britney spears had spent more time taking this approach to music if she wouldn't have been better off. one of my biggest problems with the music industry is its insistence on turning every talented female into a glossed up sex kitten. i hope joni mitchell watches this video and breathes a small breath of relief knowing that there are still a few fresh faced girls sitting on their beds, hair parted down the middle, strumming a guitar.

another bone sister

"it feels like someone is chiseling away at my joints with an ice pick."

these were the words my friend, erica gerber, whispered in 2002, just a few days after she got back from her honeymoon.

disgnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at 32, erica went from being a property manager, board member of the valentine museum, graduate student, interior designer, new bride, and the darling of the richmond cultural scene, to being laid out on the couch, having to be carried into and out of the bath each night.

instead of taking this diagnosis lying down, erica decided to "give a young face to an old person's disease."

in just five short years, erica has become the chief arthritis advocate for the state of virginia where she's lobbyed in d.c. and met with every major congressmen to continue to enact new legislation for those stricken with this disease. she's gone on the lecture circuit, marched all across the country, and even started an award-winning organization called "just 10". google her name and articles and interviews will come up from the top media outlets in america and across the globe.

she's coming to denver tomorrow to give a lecture and i cannot wait to sit at her table and marvel at all that she has accomplished. her courage to be happy in the face of adversity humbles me and spurs me on to live my absolute best life.

love you, girl.

mamabird

"mama, can i sit on you?"

"of course, baby, of course."

reegs

when i met you 15 years ago, there was no way i could have predicted the advent of youtube or tay zonday or the fabulousness you are about to see. what i do know is that our true sisterhood comes from sharing the same funny bone. it's this bone that's about to whack you over the head. look closely, i believe we've found the son of francois.

batty et betty

grandpa, do you remember when i was about twelve and i came to kilburn for the whole summer? one night, grandma and i were in the parlour watching 'the good neighbors' on the BBC when you ran past us wearing nothing more than boxers and an undershirt. waving a large net, you went up and down both sets of stairs shrieking something loud yet indecipherable. as it turns out, some bats had found their way into the house. i remember that grandma just chucked and cuddled me closer, as if she had seen you do this a thousand times. and it was only when the bats decided to fly down and tangle themselves in our afgan, that i was struck by the beauty of grandma's laugh. deep and smoky, yet unmistakably feminine. it's as if her laugh came from a part of the throat that doesn't exist in most people.

i can hear it now. can you?

bright eyes: first day of my life

so many of you, my friends, have just fallen in love or have tied the knot or have decided to try to love again. it thrills me to share in your happiness as i have enjoyed immensely the midnight conversations with empty glasses and wine stained lips, your wide eyes and wild hands waving over coffee, and those hushed confessions on back porches as you tell me of this thing called love.

so to all of you i say, welcome to love: population clearly growing by the minute.

calling a spud a spud

it today's style section of the new york times, a manhattan-based interior designer, flavia kawaja, gives what i think is the best quote ever regarding the prevailing opinion that organic is always better for you:

"I don't assume organic automatically means good for you," she said. "I mean, if you fry an organic potato, it's still a french fry."

thank god someone said it. i wonder if she'd have a cocktail with me.

october imix