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At the intersection of perfume and web comics that I read, we have ZOMG Smells' Girl Genius collection.
( Let's meet our three contestants: Jäger #1, Jäger #2 and Jäger #3... and then enjoy some Chocolate Orange Cordial. )
It's been an interesting exploration so far, and there are still many more scents to explore...
( Let's meet our three contestants: Jäger #1, Jäger #2 and Jäger #3... and then enjoy some Chocolate Orange Cordial. )
It's been an interesting exploration so far, and there are still many more scents to explore...
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( Raven, Soothsayer, Boneyard. )
Consensus: Raven and Boneyard are definite reorders. I'm going to have to spend more time with Black Cat, Mummy and Carnival of Ghosts to see how I really feel about them over time, but they're interesting enough that I find myself remembering their scent and wanting to wear them again, so that bodes well for future relationships. Soothsayer, I'm afraid, just did not work well at all with my chemistry.
Will I order from Black Baccara again? Almost certainly. The turnaround time on my order was staggeringly fast. I'm a big fan of dark, resinous/incensey/earthy scents, and there are a lot of those in their repertoire. And they've managed to pull off the impossible: a floral that I actually enjoy wearing!
Consensus: Raven and Boneyard are definite reorders. I'm going to have to spend more time with Black Cat, Mummy and Carnival of Ghosts to see how I really feel about them over time, but they're interesting enough that I find myself remembering their scent and wanting to wear them again, so that bodes well for future relationships. Soothsayer, I'm afraid, just did not work well at all with my chemistry.
Will I order from Black Baccara again? Almost certainly. The turnaround time on my order was staggeringly fast. I'm a big fan of dark, resinous/incensey/earthy scents, and there are a lot of those in their repertoire. And they've managed to pull off the impossible: a floral that I actually enjoy wearing!
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Life in general is swirlingly chaotic, so somewhere in the midst of all that is perfume. New perfume from a new source, Black Baccara.
( Carnival of Ghosts, Mummy and Black Cat )
The scents so far have been interesting and evocative rather than classically beautiful, which is fine with me because I prefer interesting and evocative scents. Mummy, in particular, is one that I think could really grow on me.
( Carnival of Ghosts, Mummy and Black Cat )
The scents so far have been interesting and evocative rather than classically beautiful, which is fine with me because I prefer interesting and evocative scents. Mummy, in particular, is one that I think could really grow on me.
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The house next door was foreclosed upon close to two years ago. In the time since, the bank has done pretty much nothing with it. It was not put on the market, and even basic yard maintenance went undone. At one point, grasses in the front yard were approaching two feet in height, and the backyard had transformed into a field of weeds. Any yard work has been done by either our yard guy, the dude who lives across the street and is concerned about weeds invading his garden, or the sons of the folks who used to live there, who would come over every now and then with a lawnmower. The bank also failed to winterize the property last year. Rumour has it that the pipes burst, and over the sweltering Boston summer, the house itself became a mold farm.
I've been saying for months that if the bank isn't going to do anything with it, maybe some squatters could/should take it over, fix it up, and make it less of an abandoned ruin.
Well, there's a sign up on the screen door to the porch that says that the house has been winterized, by some company that apparently specializes in maintenance of bank-owned properties. It's a little late for winterizing - after last winter, I suspect the damage is already done - but I wonder if the bank may be getting ready to do something with it, after all.
I've been saying for months that if the bank isn't going to do anything with it, maybe some squatters could/should take it over, fix it up, and make it less of an abandoned ruin.
Well, there's a sign up on the screen door to the porch that says that the house has been winterized, by some company that apparently specializes in maintenance of bank-owned properties. It's a little late for winterizing - after last winter, I suspect the damage is already done - but I wonder if the bank may be getting ready to do something with it, after all.
After several years where I failed to crack the three-digit mark, it appears that my reading is back on track with 120 books (which admittedly includes novellas and graphic novels).
I read a lot of great stuff in 2011, both in book form and on the kindle, but my very favourites are below:
Margaret Atwood - The Penelopiad
Matt Birkbeck - A Beautiful Child
David Browne – Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth
Jo Clayton - Tooth and Claw
Neil Gaiman - The Graveyard Book
Kristin Hersh – Rat Girl: A Memoir
Elizabeth Kostova - The Historian
Stieg Larsson - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire
Sara Marcus - Girls to the Front
China Miéville - Un Lun Dun
Dave Simpson - The Fallen: Life In and Out of Britain's Most Insane Group
Special mention goes to the last book I read in 2011, which was in many ways the best book I read in 2011, and which may well be one of the most interesting true crime books of all time: Stevie Cameron's On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women. Any one of the disparate elements of this case would have made a compelling story in and of itself: Willie Pickton, who transitioned from a disturbing childhood into a lengthy and prolific career as a murderer; the total shambolic failure of the Vancouver Police to even deign to investigate the murders that were occurring in their own backyard, due to a dysfunctional blend of toxic office politics and a culture that believed that the victims were, in essence, disposable anyway; the often-heartbreaking stories of the women themselves; and the total clusterfuck that was the investigation and trial of Robert William Pickton. Put them all together and you have a disturbingly compelling (and compellingly disturbing) read.
( And everything else can be found under here. )
I read a lot of great stuff in 2011, both in book form and on the kindle, but my very favourites are below:
Margaret Atwood - The Penelopiad
Matt Birkbeck - A Beautiful Child
David Browne – Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth
Jo Clayton - Tooth and Claw
Neil Gaiman - The Graveyard Book
Kristin Hersh – Rat Girl: A Memoir
Elizabeth Kostova - The Historian
Stieg Larsson - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire
Sara Marcus - Girls to the Front
China Miéville - Un Lun Dun
Dave Simpson - The Fallen: Life In and Out of Britain's Most Insane Group
Special mention goes to the last book I read in 2011, which was in many ways the best book I read in 2011, and which may well be one of the most interesting true crime books of all time: Stevie Cameron's On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women. Any one of the disparate elements of this case would have made a compelling story in and of itself: Willie Pickton, who transitioned from a disturbing childhood into a lengthy and prolific career as a murderer; the total shambolic failure of the Vancouver Police to even deign to investigate the murders that were occurring in their own backyard, due to a dysfunctional blend of toxic office politics and a culture that believed that the victims were, in essence, disposable anyway; the often-heartbreaking stories of the women themselves; and the total clusterfuck that was the investigation and trial of Robert William Pickton. Put them all together and you have a disturbingly compelling (and compellingly disturbing) read.
( And everything else can be found under here. )
Of the movies seen in 2011, most were documentaries and only one (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2) was seen in an actual theatre.
In alphabetical order, my ten favourite movies of the year were:
Bridesmaids
Champion
Dear Zachary
The Gits
Love, Actually
Never Let Me Go
Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story
The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
The Union: The Business Behind Getting High
A Wink and a Smile: The Art of Burlesque
( The full extent of my 2011 movie-watching is behind this curtain. )
In alphabetical order, my ten favourite movies of the year were:
Bridesmaids
Champion
Dear Zachary
The Gits
Love, Actually
Never Let Me Go
Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story
The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
The Union: The Business Behind Getting High
A Wink and a Smile: The Art of Burlesque
( The full extent of my 2011 movie-watching is behind this curtain. )
It was an exciting year in theatre, with ![[personal profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
st_darwin and I bouncing back and forth between Boston and New York with greater regularity than ever in the past. I've now visited New York more often in the past 12 months than I had in the previous 12 years. We also saw productions in Georgetown, SC and London, England. There were a lot of memorable moments but in chronological order, my favourite shows of the year are:
R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe
Prometheus Bound
Hair
Breaking the Code
The Drowsy Chaperone
Matt and Ben
Avenue Q
Porgy and Bess
Much Ado About Nothing
Rocky Horror Show
Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth
Seminar
Arabian Nights.
Special mention goes to Tina Packard's mind-bogglingly wonderful Women of Will: the Complete Journey (Parts I-V), which was so utterly fantastic that it's sort of in a category of its own. And also, of course, Sleep No More, which I have now seen 15 times. not that I'm obsessed or anything.
The full list of shows follows:
( The curtain rises and the cast(s) take the stage... )
st_darwin and I bouncing back and forth between Boston and New York with greater regularity than ever in the past. I've now visited New York more often in the past 12 months than I had in the previous 12 years. We also saw productions in Georgetown, SC and London, England. There were a lot of memorable moments but in chronological order, my favourite shows of the year are:R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe
Prometheus Bound
Hair
Breaking the Code
The Drowsy Chaperone
Matt and Ben
Avenue Q
Porgy and Bess
Much Ado About Nothing
Rocky Horror Show
Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth
Seminar
Arabian Nights.
Special mention goes to Tina Packard's mind-bogglingly wonderful Women of Will: the Complete Journey (Parts I-V), which was so utterly fantastic that it's sort of in a category of its own. And also, of course, Sleep No More, which I have now seen 15 times. not that I'm obsessed or anything.
The full list of shows follows:
( The curtain rises and the cast(s) take the stage... )
After browsing a fair number of sites, I have come up with two basic rules for perfume-buying. Well, one rule and a corollary.
Rule One: If a scent has a name I cannot say with a straight face and/or a name I can't tell either my mother or mother-in-law without one of us blushing, it is a scent I cannot buy or wear. Examples: Pom Pom Nom Nom and Nookie Cookie (Love Potions), Giant Vulva (BPAL).
Corollary: The more fun and/or seemingly random a name is, the more likely I am to want to wear a scent. Examples: ZOMG Smells is good for this – Giant Robot Birthday Party, The Large Hadron Collider Produces a Strangelet, The Melancholy Death of Nikola Tesla.
Why yes, there is a ZOMG Smells order coming up in my near future...
Rule One: If a scent has a name I cannot say with a straight face and/or a name I can't tell either my mother or mother-in-law without one of us blushing, it is a scent I cannot buy or wear. Examples: Pom Pom Nom Nom and Nookie Cookie (Love Potions), Giant Vulva (BPAL).
Corollary: The more fun and/or seemingly random a name is, the more likely I am to want to wear a scent. Examples: ZOMG Smells is good for this – Giant Robot Birthday Party, The Large Hadron Collider Produces a Strangelet, The Melancholy Death of Nikola Tesla.
Why yes, there is a ZOMG Smells order coming up in my near future...
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A recent trip to Los Angeles meant a pilgrimage to Dark Delicacies, which retails the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab line. It was amazing – I could have spent the entire day there, but alas I was dragged away. I managed to check out their exclusive offerings as well as the BPAL line, and was able to cross a few things off my wishlist (Sara Pezzini, regrettably, smells like sweat to me, not good sexy sweat, but more like the inside of a mouldering gym bag) and add a few others (The Nameless City Drive-In Theatre, 51). I managed to make my escape with only three new perfumes, which was nothing short of miraculous.
We'll be meeting the rest of them soon, but for now, let's enjoy some Gothic Horror.
( The movie curtain peels back... )
We'll be meeting the rest of them soon, but for now, let's enjoy some Gothic Horror.
( The movie curtain peels back... )
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I'm wearing BPAL's Nosferatu today, and it just hit me what this smells like (other than rooms at Sleep No More).
My grandmother.
Maybe that's one of the reasons I have such a deep, visceral love for this scent. All I know for sure is that I probably can't wear this around my mom. I think it weirds her out enough already that I look kind of like her mother and sound kind of like like her mother. If I started smelling like her mother, it might really be unhinging.
My grandmother.
Maybe that's one of the reasons I have such a deep, visceral love for this scent. All I know for sure is that I probably can't wear this around my mom. I think it weirds her out enough already that I look kind of like her mother and sound kind of like like her mother. If I started smelling like her mother, it might really be unhinging.
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We don't have a lot of holiday traditions. I think we started two of them last year: the Christmas day viewing of the classic Christmas film Eastern Promises, and going to see The Slutcracker, a wonderful burlesque parody of/tribute to The Nutcracker.
The Slutcracker is amazing and everyone loves it! It sells out fast and if you don't get there early, you'll be relegated to the very back rows where you can't see everything that you really want to see. We made that mistake last year; this year, our plan was to get there good and early so we'd be able to get good seats. We got a bit later of a start than I would have liked, but managed to get to Davis Square, miraculously find parking with no problems. I found myself profoundly grateful that we weren't doing this on a weekend - since the MBTA has closed the Davis Square T station on weekends, I'm sure parking is a complete nightmare.
We had a quick dinner at Chipotle and then hustled over to the Somerville Theatre. Last year we got there 20 minutes before showtime and wound up sitting in the balcony. This year, we had our pick of several choice seats in the first six rows. And then... The Slutcracker.
As with the show last year, it was awesome and all of the performers were amazing. I do want to single out Sugar Dish, Oliver Tryst, Abby Normal and the always amazing UnAmerika's Sweetheart Karin Webb as being my very favourites.
As an aside, it totally cracks me up that the Boston Ballet is one of the advertising sponsors of The Slutcracker, with the ad for their Nutcracker prominently displayed on the back of the program.
The Slutcracker is amazing and everyone loves it! It sells out fast and if you don't get there early, you'll be relegated to the very back rows where you can't see everything that you really want to see. We made that mistake last year; this year, our plan was to get there good and early so we'd be able to get good seats. We got a bit later of a start than I would have liked, but managed to get to Davis Square, miraculously find parking with no problems. I found myself profoundly grateful that we weren't doing this on a weekend - since the MBTA has closed the Davis Square T station on weekends, I'm sure parking is a complete nightmare.
We had a quick dinner at Chipotle and then hustled over to the Somerville Theatre. Last year we got there 20 minutes before showtime and wound up sitting in the balcony. This year, we had our pick of several choice seats in the first six rows. And then... The Slutcracker.
As with the show last year, it was awesome and all of the performers were amazing. I do want to single out Sugar Dish, Oliver Tryst, Abby Normal and the always amazing UnAmerika's Sweetheart Karin Webb as being my very favourites.
As an aside, it totally cracks me up that the Boston Ballet is one of the advertising sponsors of The Slutcracker, with the ad for their Nutcracker prominently displayed on the back of the program.
Behold, the final batch of imps from this shipment!
( Dracul, Nosferatu, Anne Bonny )
In summary, this order was a rousing success. I have a much better feel for not only what kind of scents I love (in general, not florals) but what notes work best on me. All of my choices worked, to some extent or other, on me and I wasn't disappointed in any of them, and the Lab's freebies (Twilight, The Apple of Sodom and Aglaea) were all keepers, with one of them (Aglaea) being an unexpected delight.
I think I'm getting the hang of this perfume thing.
( Dracul, Nosferatu, Anne Bonny )
In summary, this order was a rousing success. I have a much better feel for not only what kind of scents I love (in general, not florals) but what notes work best on me. All of my choices worked, to some extent or other, on me and I wasn't disappointed in any of them, and the Lab's freebies (Twilight, The Apple of Sodom and Aglaea) were all keepers, with one of them (Aglaea) being an unexpected delight.
I think I'm getting the hang of this perfume thing.
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It's one of those days: I lost an earring somewhere between the hotel room and the theatre, and I seem to have picked up a bit of an intestinal bug. On the bright side, the play - Seminar with Alan Rickman, Lily Rabe and Jerry O'Connell – was wry and funny and viciously witty, and Alan Rickman of course was extremely sexy, even in a relatively unsexy role. That voice, that voice.
Prior to that, we had breakfast of sorts, a slice of pizza at Famous Original Ray's. We were just too exhausted after last night to get up in time for the breakfast buffet at the hotel. I didn't even have time to do yoga, so I was all sorts of out of sorts by the time we hit the theatre. If it had been a less than stellar production, I would have been devastated, but fortunately it was excellent. I also see that Paul Gross is on Broadway right now, doing Private Lives with Kim Cattrall. We may need to get back here earlier than springtime.
We had dinner at Hill Country Barbecue (I know – who goes to NYC and eats nothing but 'cue?) It's a little different from the average restaurant. You go in and they give you a meal ticket, which you take up to various stations where they serve you your meat or side dishes; drinks are served by an actual waitress. We shared ¾ lb of ribs, which were of Flintstonian proportions. Then we poked through a local gourmet grocer before catching a cab to the McKittrick for the evening. Getting a cab in NYC this visit has been tough! We've had the best luck catching them just as someone else is getting out. Flagging one down on the street is nigh-impossible.
New procedures at Sleep No More that I neglected to mention: the doormen now scan Ids, presumably to make sure they're real, and the entry cards are punched now, presumably so that less-than-ethical types can't reuse them.
Tonight, instead of Maximilian, there was last night's Malcolm, looming in the center of the room, posing, occasionally raising his drink in the direction of the bar. Eventually he got up onstage and invited the aces to make their way to the back of the room in a dreary, almost monotonous voice, very different from Max's cheery patter. Constance de Winter gave us the rules before summoning James the elevator attendant (who doubles as Mr. Bargarran, the taxidermist).
( Wherein there is no more sleeping. Macbeth hath murdered sleep. )
Prior to that, we had breakfast of sorts, a slice of pizza at Famous Original Ray's. We were just too exhausted after last night to get up in time for the breakfast buffet at the hotel. I didn't even have time to do yoga, so I was all sorts of out of sorts by the time we hit the theatre. If it had been a less than stellar production, I would have been devastated, but fortunately it was excellent. I also see that Paul Gross is on Broadway right now, doing Private Lives with Kim Cattrall. We may need to get back here earlier than springtime.
We had dinner at Hill Country Barbecue (I know – who goes to NYC and eats nothing but 'cue?) It's a little different from the average restaurant. You go in and they give you a meal ticket, which you take up to various stations where they serve you your meat or side dishes; drinks are served by an actual waitress. We shared ¾ lb of ribs, which were of Flintstonian proportions. Then we poked through a local gourmet grocer before catching a cab to the McKittrick for the evening. Getting a cab in NYC this visit has been tough! We've had the best luck catching them just as someone else is getting out. Flagging one down on the street is nigh-impossible.
New procedures at Sleep No More that I neglected to mention: the doormen now scan Ids, presumably to make sure they're real, and the entry cards are punched now, presumably so that less-than-ethical types can't reuse them.
Tonight, instead of Maximilian, there was last night's Malcolm, looming in the center of the room, posing, occasionally raising his drink in the direction of the bar. Eventually he got up onstage and invited the aces to make their way to the back of the room in a dreary, almost monotonous voice, very different from Max's cheery patter. Constance de Winter gave us the rules before summoning James the elevator attendant (who doubles as Mr. Bargarran, the taxidermist).
( Wherein there is no more sleeping. Macbeth hath murdered sleep. )
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Dinner at RUB was good, as usual. Post-show supper at New Venus was made even better by the presence of water and ginger ale. So thirsty. So very, very thirsty.
( And now on with the show. Usual warning about spoilers applies. )
I think we are almost reaching saturation on Sleep No More. As we were enjoying our post-show breakfast-at-night,st_darwin suggested that perhaps next time we come to New York, it'll be in the spring, and if Sleep No More is still running, maybe we should only see it once. I, for one, am not ready to forgo it entirely, but I can definitely see how limiting it to one show per visit would enable us to do other things. My feet would definitely appreciate it.
( And now on with the show. Usual warning about spoilers applies. )
I think we are almost reaching saturation on Sleep No More. As we were enjoying our post-show breakfast-at-night,
st_darwin suggested that perhaps next time we come to New York, it'll be in the spring, and if Sleep No More is still running, maybe we should only see it once. I, for one, am not ready to forgo it entirely, but I can definitely see how limiting it to one show per visit would enable us to do other things. My feet would definitely appreciate it.Tags:
It's been a while since the last batch of imps from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab floated through my doorway, but at long, long last, it's time for another set of scent reviews.
( The Apple of Sodom, Dance of Death and Tezcatlipoca )
( The Apple of Sodom, Dance of Death and Tezcatlipoca )
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Animals seem drawn to the tires of my car lately. Last night it was a rabbit on the on-ramp to 93. Today, as I was driving down Magoun, it was a squirrel. No one has died. Yet. But two near-misses with two animals in two days is two more of everything than I'm used to.
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