Peru.

Peru Notes

Day 1, 6:00AM.
Landed in the Lima airport.
Bus packed with people, all the way to the front — and our bus, running alongside, only 15% full, I have an aisle to myself. The other bus has La Molina written on the side.

Pakayla Biehn

About three years ago I began re-embracing my love for the ultra feminine. I started incorporating ultra feminine aesthetics into fine details of dress and space; in the process I stirred some emotional and physical feminine parts within myself that I thought I’d had… never. And I fucking love it, darling. To sit and patiently paint my nails, listening to ladies like Warpaint, and let myself venture as deeply as I’d like into my Lady-Brain and not care how tangled it may get inside. Sometimes I daydream about elective tubal ligation, other times I plan family names. Everything gets laid out on the table as an option rather than a necessity. I think about what I want, who I hope to be, and feel comfortable when I’m unsure of the answer. Liberating my Lady-Brain has enabled me to strip insecurity down to its barest forms and rebuild.

So it is in this ultra feminine spirit that I offer these pieces from Pakayla Biehn, whose work encourages autonomous feminine perspectives.
For you, my fellow fems.




Artist’s website HERE.

Kenya.

In the past month, I have:
-Written and passed my doctoral preliminary exams (an important step).
-Been accepted to present at another international conference.
-Secured summer teaching (University Writing for non-native English speakers).
-Traveled to Kenya with my mother for 10 days and returned.

I’ve finally accomplished enough to believe in the finish line.
And even though I’m definitely putting some brag out there,
I also feel more grateful and humble following my trip.
Kenya marks my 18th country-visited, and perhaps my favorite.
I don’t think I can summarize my experiences in any way that does them justice.
But I can share a few photos of the 800+ that I took.
(I made the full photo albums public on facebook, click HERE for those.)

Maddie on Things.

I’ve been gone a while.
I have missed you, blog. You are my internet playground, my digital hobby. I was devoured by the PhD Exams Beast, and won’t be shat out till March. My birthday is hiding in my schedule, somewhere; on that day my school-panic will momentarily lapse in the face of existential-mortality-aging-panic. To be cured with: bourbon and a massage I bought on LivingSocial forever ago. Then, a highly anticipated bucket-list sort of trip with my lovely mother. Life is good.

So how about some photography, then? May I interest you in a project by Theron Humphrey, who is traveling “around all 50 states over the next 365 days” photographing his dog, Maddie? It’s a surprisingly sophisticated project that plays a bit with color composition, shapes, and texture. The photos are all anchored by Maddie the coonhound, she clarifies the personalities of her surroundings. Mostly, I love how well-humored, accessible and friendly the work is.
I present Maddie on Things!

& while you’re at it…

Bring back kitty.