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Beautiful things…
Excepting the diner
On the outskirts
The town of Ladora
At 3 A.M.
Was dark but
For my headlights
And up in
One second-story room
A single light
Where someone
Was sick or
Perhaps reading
As I drove past
At seventy
Not thinking
This poem
Is for whoever
Had the light on- Donald Justice, “Poem to Be Read at 3 A.M.”
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Bahahhaahahahhahahahhahahahhaha. Oh, Shanghai.
Is that Bowie inspired? Plus Marylin Manson? Plus really terrible Photoshopping on the star-eye. Don’t miss the shadowy background figures: including a bear!
Absurdity to the max, Cleo, to the max.
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How I Learned to Stop Worrying, and Love the Absurdity
Many a day passed in China when I thought:
This shit is absurd. I hate it. Everything around me is so exaggerated, and hyped up, and shoddily produced, and based on meaningless gratification of the most base and selfish urges, fulfilled in the most ludicrous ways, demanded by people who don’t deserve the money they’re flaunting.
I wanted to change it all.
It took years for me to learn to understand what my ex loved: the amusement in the absurd. I couldn’t separate the circus from my value judgements. I couldn’t step back far enough to laugh.
Then I came back to Canada. Now that I am freed from the absurdity, from being held up to the insatiable standards of lascivious men and nihilistic addicts, now the whole luxury goods/party scene/burn-out-young thing seems kind of …harmless and funny. The absurdity of it all is amusing.
This is a great example, from an e-flyer I got last week:
(highlights mine)
“Santa, Santa..
Merry Coca-Cola Red Christmas to you all!
If you stayed in Shanghai and unfortunately are spending Christmas without your family this year, do not get sad!
Christmas with newly encountered friends is a bonding experience, and a very high probability of mating with the fellow partygoer over some unsolved father issues..
BTW what are you doing for NYE??
Are you joining us for the “most bonkers/craziest/outofyourmind/one-uva-kind” event of the year??
Yes you are! It’s NYE MASSIVE, and it was designed by scientists in a party lab to suit all your NYENeeds..”
*Not all of China is like this, nor am I racist. I was surrounded by newly rich expats. I’m talking about the expat bubble woes. I loved a lot about China, too, as mentioned fondly in other posts.*
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Why do women who aren’t afraid to humiliate themselves appall us so much, and why do we rush to find superficial reasons to dismiss them (‘she’s crazy’ ‘she’s a narcissist’ ‘she’s young’ ‘she’s a famewhore’)? I think in part because they pose a threat to the social order, which relies on women’s embarrassment to keep them either silent or writing in socially accepted modes.
– Emily Gould (via staceymayfowles) -
And so it begins: Christmas ecards from China have started to trickle into my inbox. This is the first. I’ll post the best.
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(via followthewhiterabbit88)
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Pale pink short hair. Probably the best haircut I’ve had. I hope you gals like it!
I wish this were my hair!
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How To Deal With Awkward Questions
Dating a coworker? Going to a work Christmas party? No problem!
If anyone looks at you and your sugar-buns-honey-lover and raises an eyebrow, here’s how you make things go down well:
Nosy Coworker: “Hey are you guys…?”
Clever You: “—Married? Oh, no. We’re just fornicating.”
BOOM.
Everyone will shut up, slink away, refresh their drinks and pretend it never happened. Casual smirk optional.
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obvs.
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That Thing You Did Last Night
Last night was full of brilliant coincidences, that reveal the smallness of my world in the final week of school.
While I mark assignments, I run a timer that plays an MP3 when time runs out. I had it set to treat me to Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard”. So every x# of minutes (I won’t tell you how long I spent marking because it will depress you), I heard that song.
Then I got up for lunch and took my laptop to the kitchen to stream Radio 3. What had Grant Lawrence picked to play at that exact moment? Julie Doiron’s (beautiful) cover of “Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard”! I swear. The first sounds to brighten my world when I wanted a break, were the same as what I’ve been hearing for about 12 hours straight.
So, late last night, in the warm glow of a cheap, evergreen-scented Glade candle, I decided to switch it up. I spent my night listening to “Christmas Time is Here”, whenever my timer ran out and I was putting in extra pain.
As it turns out, there are about a bazillion versions of the Charlie Brown Christmas theme on Youtube. None as good as the one on the Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack.
That was my night.
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Donyale Luna in an amazing dress, 1960s.
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Jane Asher, 1960s. You are cute, lady.
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he is playing a mandolin… ladyboner.
Agreed. The mandolin causes instant swooning. Every time.
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I smell like cigars and men’s cologne and I’m wearing red lipstick.
The boy has been writing exams all day.
HAH. I win.
Though…this might be hard to explain…
(Did I mention: the sobriety pact ended today? This is me after 1 glass of red wine. Teehehehehehheheheheee.)
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(via livelaughdude)
