fame, famous friends, and other brilliant ideas.

broken pencil back page pictorial by claire manning

first, the back page pictorial done by claire manning for the last issue of broken pencil has appeared online (possibly a while ago, i haven't been checking very well). i don't know miss manning but i totally love the illustration she did (as well as her greater body of work). it made me feel so important to have my interview and likeness rendered in such a way. i especially liked the scalloped crochet edging - it's the same edging i use in my neck warmers. this attention to detail has not gone unnoticed, miss manning. the issue, by the way, is about comedy, which might explain why this piece spans both worlds of my life. i have a new project in the works that will also encompass my various worlds of interest and experience. but more that soon.

but back to issues of fame (and explorations thereof)...tonight i am hunkering down in my apartment with aitor and lauren to watch our friend carl get really famous. he is going to be interviewed by stephen colbert on the colbert report about his amazing book, let's talk about love. apparently, it was mentioned by some actor i've never heard of on the red carpet at the oscars and a week and a half later - famous. carl's book is very deserving of attention, too. i've been meaning to recommend it here but i never understood how it would fit in. apparently, famousness is a theme today so it fits in. you should buy and read the book. i am no good at sysnopses so i will just say that it is one of the best things i have read in my life. there is a big public viewing of the broadcast (and a rock show, too?) happening at the pilot tonight. but i think having friends appear on television offers a rare opportunity to sit around in your underwear and watch them talk.

further, in the brilliant-but-not-on-television catagory, my friend ryan kamstra is starting a murder folk night with a sing-a-long componenent at the katharine mulherin gallery. being an avid collectivist, he also has a request line through which you can demand he learn and sing you murder ballads. i have to say, the genre really scares me. i even got scared thinking about the songs i was requesting. i think this evening will wreck me for life. but it's also a great idea.