it's ALL G O O D.

do you sometimes do difficult* things just for the good feeling afterwards? then when the rush fades, do you look for other difficult things to do, looking for your next "fix"? after a while of "chasing the dragon" do you just feel empty and you don't get the same "high"?

*by "difficult" i mean it in the most innocuous way--like, boring or tedious, or overwhelming in its tedium, or something dumb you've procrastinated so long it's become this huge monster (i.e. cleaning out your closet, renewing your car registration)... i don't mean stuff like climbing kilimanjaro or long term stuff like...completing med school or achieving enlightenment.

it's ok with the germans and the japanese!! you're fine!

NEW at my house!

my new 8-cup bodum is so pretty i like, envy myself.

weird japanese stuff

these are cuddly, soft, CUTE (of course) items you may not expect in stuffed-toy form:

1. TOFU

2. EVIL (?) TOFU (still cute)

3. MANJU (neatly arranged in own box)

breakfast at etsy

you delicious canadian cupcake--specifically strawberry cupcakes from ottawacupcakery.

if u loved me

u would buy me this

firedandfused, etsy.com ($3)

meet the natives

11pm

incroyable

OLD TOWN, gamla stan

(more from flickr---is this legal? )

Södermalm

i think this is where emi lives (yes! as in LFTEC). the "greenwich village" of stockholm.
(stolen from ChrisGoldNY--found searching for most recent pics of stockholm on flickr.com)

THANK YOU ALSO

genius autodidact friend of MINE mine mine (i'm an only child)

T H A N K Y O U

to argentinian photographer who allowed me to enjoy my coffee at the beach this morning. three different beaches! 1) brasil; 2) argentina; 3) ?? somewhere i've definitely never been, some exotic locale for sure. there are a bunch i cannot steal just to beautify by blog. LOOK how the sunlight shines through the tree, the beautiful clouds, sky----> unstealable photo.

strawberry-girl land

strawberry-girl land (outside of seoul, in heyri) had a great gift shop where i wanted to buy everything. instead i took pictures (thank god--i had to stuff my suitcase as it is). i mean, how could i have chosen between all these different cats? (actually probably would've gone with the traditional korean wedding cat--i think that's a wedding outfit anyway). strawberry-girl land is like this kooky little play-land for little kids, but heyri has art galleries and shops with handmade goods.

"retort foods"

[talk about unconscious blogging--i don't even drink or take ambien--i found this as a draft that never got published. i must've started this sometime in july... WAY TO FOLLOW THRU! well, i hope it's not a duplicate--that'd be real dumb]
anyway, this was at shinsegae department store in seoul. i love that store. i have no idea was "retort foods" are...

i need routine like air/ COMIC-CON 08

i told my friend i was going to visit him in cleveland tomorrow but i just never got the ticket. cleveland is just not that motivating. i went there once and i have no recollection except for snow and cold. no, that's just an easy excuse.. cleveland is just so blameable, an easy fall guy, just like saint louis, oh and maybe detroit. AS DR. HOUSE said--offering proof of the absence of an afterlife or heaven--"I don't need to go to Detroit to know it STINKS." haha.

this summer is difficult for me. i'm not complaining, really. this is my own specific challenge that maybe you would not identify with, perhaps at all. actually, i hope you don't resent me. when every day is a murky amorphous blob, i hyperventilate. figuratively (most of the time). self-doubt is at an all-time high. i think this will be deleted after i write it. but who knows? i may not be able to make a decision. (indecision is also at all-time high).

COMIC-CON sounds fun this year. (why oh why didn't i just stay an extra week!??) i'd like to see the hello kitty/darth vader guy (girl?) and various character-morphs (obamawankenobi, last year) wandering around. last year was fun. i thought it was just for comic book/anime/ gaming nerds; i didn't expect to see celebrities-- also didn't know it'd be so fun to see them--but they're all hanging around in san diego during comic-con, promoting their fall shows and doing panels, or i don't know, just hanging out. my aunt and her fam go every year. i tagged along last year (i got it in through sneaky but legal, i think, strategery) and i admit it was really fun. chewbacca and barack obama and even an UNI (yes, giant sea urchin harrassing people at the crosswalk) walking on the sidewalks like it's no big deal. it was FUN to catch glimpses of harold and kumar (john cho and kal penn), kristin chenoweth, ned from pushing daisies (what's his name?? he's much cuter/less cheezy in person i can report)... now i must remember his name or i'll worry i'm losing my memory. just a sec. no, it's gone-- you'll have to google it, if you really need to know. (it's bothering me, but i refuse to google for 24 hrs).

every network and film studio has it's own area--like NBC had a 30ROCK and OFFICE -filled area, Sci-Fi had its own battlestar galactica FRAKKIN area, etc., plus every big movie coming out had an area, plus lots of things to buy of course, and announcements of freebies on the loud speaker. it's super-chaotic and fun. at night there was this so-lame-it-was-almost-cool talent show, i think it was called "Masquerade." the show was so packed we could only get into an overflow room with a huge screen.

this year i hear there are lots of cool guests:

adam west, ray bradbury, the TWILIGHT cast (see previous post on hot creeps), the MythBusters' dudes, Lela Lee (ANGRY LITTLE GIRLS-really really good cartoon), oh and --AMAZING!-- rarely-seen japanese animator HAYAO MIYAZAKI (spirited away), which i guess demonstrates how international the convention is getting.

[duh LEE PACE!! it just came to me--you know, ned from pushing daisies.]

i just skimmed an article in nytimes--neat-o: miyazaki is promoting his new movie, PONYO, an animated film "about a goldfish mermaid and her young boy companion." the japanese really know how to mix cute/pervy/artsy in the best way. that sounds amazing. i like how the nytimes just states it, like no big deal---sheesh, it's just a mermaid that's a goldfish and her boyfriend, get over it-be liberal and cool and open-minded.

portable wit

**shopping alert these bags are so fun and simple. (actually they're lovely, because they're from england). but you can buy them on alphabetbags.com. i think they're 8 quid.

i of course want the last one. cuz i'm a Liar, Lame, and Ludicrous.

where summer is located

Tamarack Beach, Carlsbad, Ca