for you to see

cathedral light

2012-02-10T10:30:00.000-08:00

glimmers of glass

2012-02-10T01:56:00.000-08:00

every now and then, i remember that i really, really like philip glass. then i go on a listening rampage. (what reminded me today was mental_floss.)

the reason i ever listened to him in the first place was because i had a job which compelled my formally-trained-in-classical-music boss to repeatedly talked about how she couldn't stand him. never having heard of him prior, i was intrigued twofold: 1, because I was curious to know why my boss despised him so and 2, because, contradictory to that, every description i had read of him sounded fascinating to my weird, avant-garde-ly inclined mind.

so i listened. and i loved.

a flower for you

2012-02-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

(guess where i'm returning to)

happy super bowl sunday

2012-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

or sundae, as we dually celebrate in my family.

a night-time sky-line

2012-01-30T23:56:00.000-08:00

because what i need is another blog, i started another blog. whatever keeps me running, right?

art on the walls

2012-01-27T17:50:00.000-08:00

(work by jeff felker, jeff dojillo, keith telfeyan, kristin komorowski, left to right!)

get in my closet!

2012-01-20T11:16:00.000-08:00

(me with the mustache that lives in my alley. photo by erin of bows & sparrows)

lovely erin of bows & sparrows came over last weekend to do a little diggin' around in my closet for her closet case series. head over there and learn all about me.

five eyes

2012-01-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

(four maps)

someone's gotta be a pro

2012-01-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

reordering reorder

2012-01-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

thanks to it's nice that, i learned a little more about the work i was caught by during my unofficial visit to the brooklyn museum.

the house i didn't live in

2012-01-08T22:40:00.000-08:00

double the nuts

2012-01-07T12:53:00.001-08:00

'you see, the year is barely born and yet you've had it for one whole day.

2012-01-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

i hope you're as optimistic about this one as i am.'

swooping sky

2011-12-24T14:01:00.001-08:00

a day full of rainbows

2011-12-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

the saddest free pile i have ever seen

2011-12-23T15:50:00.000-08:00

one unidentifiable piece of cloth, covered in frost.

christmas lights & urban plight

2011-12-18T16:16:00.001-08:00

find your grail

2011-12-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

a much overdue post, but father & i have furthered our spamalot viewing to four. it came to the new(ish) three stages performing arts center in folsom in november (evidence) and was as enjoyable as ever.

us ever-intrepid monty python fans have also attended in sacramento, san francisco, and new york city.

kitty kitty sidewalk kitty

2011-12-12T23:37:00.000-08:00

2 + 2 = 4

2011-11-29T18:27:00.001-08:00

2 leaves
2 feet
4 years (of for you to see, that is)

unplanned matching

2011-11-28T21:05:00.001-08:00

things i am thankful for

2011-11-24T23:44:00.001-08:00

in no particular order
.
.
.

dinosaurs

music (gaga)

apartment

icecream

day brighteners/giggle inducers

french fries

remixes

grilled cheese

job

nvps

g&ts

beers

surreptitious swiping

travel

friends

family

kitties

not pictured: coffee, other things.

i am also thankful for an excuse to look through photos from this past year and do a massive photo dump all over this blog. ahhh yee.

happy thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:22:00.001-08:00

today i am thankful that my domain renewal didn't completely mess up my site. also for other things.

it's time for me to start using this sign

2011-11-21T21:19:00.001-08:00

mirror image

2011-11-17T00:10:00.001-08:00

new museum, new york city (edward krasinski, untitled, 2001/03)

to walk above a city

2011-11-13T21:58:00.001-08:00

high line park, new york city

ps

no dogs allowed

2011-11-07T18:04:00.001-08:00

no escape

2011-10-16T23:08:00.001-07:00

kitty light

2011-10-16T16:45:00.001-07:00

look at sugs, hangin in the sunlight.

i am being high tech and posting this from my phone. what it do.

royal garbage cans

2011-10-09T23:08:00.000-07:00

previously in garbage cans: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (recycling can bonus!)

in reference to clouds

2011-10-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

(see: clouds) here is a miniature castle i came across in the sky one day:

'the road leads where it's led'

2011-10-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

i looked at this picture and i thought this thought (the title of this post) and then i thought "i think that is a song" and then i looked in my itunes and found out that indeed it is.

how i feel today

2011-10-01T12:53:00.001-07:00

(now i know who made this sign)

ps

'for a long time, years'

2011-09-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

i subscribe to miranda july's omniscient email list for the future (sign up--or spin--here) which emails your future to you every monday and thursday.

last thursday, sept 22, i got this email:
"The Future: It will happen on the coming Sunday, between noon and 3:15 pm. It won't change your life forever, but for a long time, years."
on said sunday, within the hours listed, i found the below photo (with notation on the back):

struck with the blurry but clear joy on the man's face, paired with the obtuse phrase on the back, i purchased the photo for 82cents and returned home. i hadn't thought of the email at the time, but when i rediscovered it saved in my inbox i thought to myself "hmm..."

ps

look at your eyes when you close them

2011-09-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

the emptiest airport i have ever been in

2011-09-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

(though it is certainly full of art)

continuing my inadvertent/ongoing empty places series, i realized during sunday's airport visit that this would be the only time it would be this empty.

there weren't even employees:

fly fly fly

2011-09-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

thanks to my connection with the sacramento metropolitan arts commission, this past sunday i had the honor of attending the vip reception for the new airport art. after seeing all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, it was doubly cool to see how fabulous it looks all finalized and in place!

the red rabbit, aka lawrence argent's leap is stunning, and cannot be missed from any angle on the ticketing side of the terminal:

but, on top of the oft-talked-about rabbit, there are 11 more artworks! below are some highlights. you can learn more about each individual artist, their concept, fabrication, installation, and final product by clicking on their names here (and see photos of the ones i wasn't able to snap pictures of!).

christian moeller's the baggage handlers:

which is made from this:

donald lipski's acorn steam (which i keep misreading as anchorsteam!):

which includes thousands of austrian crystals:

living lenses' your words are music to their ears:

where you can type in messages that are translated to music which plays through the horn (not pictured)

there is a free community preview day of the airport (docent tours of the art, too!) on sunday, october 2, 2011. be sure to check it out if you can--this is big for sacramento!

i found a tree with a face

2011-09-17T23:58:00.000-07:00

this time it was right-side up and not googly-eyed:

but seemingly wise, based on the goatee and the old eyes.

refuge, not escape

2011-09-17T22:31:00.001-07:00

in case i didn't know

2011-09-16T00:47:00.000-07:00

today is my birthday:

thanks, facebook.

also, thanks to those from whence i came:

mommy:

daddy:

and, more indirectly:

grandma & grandpa new:

grandma & grandpa kranz:

you're the reason i'm even having a birthday in the first place!

the best burrito i never ate

2011-09-14T23:10:00.001-07:00

everyone remembers

2011-09-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

no one forgets.

ps

souvenirs from nyc

2011-09-06T23:26:00.000-07:00

money & card from m&d, receipt from disaster dinner, a guide to st. paul's chapel, welcome note from maria, american airlines boarding passes, notes of subway routes (to take), information & map - new museum, doodle tablecloth - egg - brunch - brooklyn.

not pictured: employee's only matchbook.

ps

welcome to the sideshow

2011-08-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

this happens every day:

do you know what sideshows are? have you heard the sideshows song? is this for real? yes, it's the name of the coffee bar at one of my offices. lolz.

also, this happened on facebook today:

oh, william. i am sad i will be missing the majority of your trip to sacramento this weekend. but i am not too sad because the reason i am missing the majority of it is because i am going to nyc! eeee!

ps

in threes

2011-08-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

i read an article about myself.
i conducted an interview that was published.
i contributed a small sum to a large debt.

'but i'll just stay right here and remember.'

2011-08-23T00:29:00.000-07:00

on sunday morning, i sat down and worked on transcribing more of my grandmother's letters, an on-and-off project of mine for the past few years. i happened to mention this to my mother, who noted that the day (august 21) marked (what would have been) my grandmother's 90th birthday. how serendipitous!

every time i carve out time to work on these, i am (once again) struck by how fabulous my family is (and how lucky i am to be related to them; even the ones who died when i was young or before i was born). to have been raised by parents who love each other who were raised by parents who loved each other who were raised by parents who loved each other. not everyone can be so lucky.

urban portrait project

2011-08-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

i am honored to be a part of nicholas wray's urban portrait project not once, but twice.

once representing sacramento365.com with my lovely supervisor miss rachael lankford (who is taking modeling pointers from me in this picture):

and once because apparently i do enough cool stuff to warrant it:

to quote for verification: "alison is connectconnectconnect & dancepandadance & notverypretty & alisonkranz. and when she's not that she's other things. all awesome."

so, when lots of silly blogs + other things = awesome, alison = awesome, and awesome = urban portrait project. equations ftw!

ps since july was so hectic i didn't even get a chance to mention that i got to write about nicholas as sacramento365.com's featured local artist for july 2011. check it out.

reclusively recluse

2011-08-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

"the recluse" is one of my all-time favorite (creepy) songs and certainly my favorite cursive song, so needless to say i was way stoked to learn it was the newest project of the recently-very-prolific feckless wonders. (and, yet again, featuring my photo.)

if you're familiar with the original, you'll love this remix since it's so different, but in a completely perfect way. and, if you're not familiar with the original you'll still love this remix. so there. here it is.

previously in feckless wonders remix covers:
-mouthful of diamonds by phantogram
-helena beat by foster the people
-what you know by two door cinema club

i wish i got as much sleep as my cat

2011-08-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

update:

you know what's awesome?

2011-08-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

having michael attach my photo to another one of his feckless wonders remixes. this time, it's two door cinema club's "what you know." what i know is that it's really catchy! download it here.

peekaboo

2011-08-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

ps vote for this

here is someone i would like to meet

2011-08-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

sacramento has so many great personal license plates. seriously, it's about the only thing i ever post about on twitter. well, that and taco bell.

my digital camera still has a viewfinder, can you believe that?

2011-08-09T00:57:00.000-07:00

almost exactly three years ago my camera was broken (and then, replaced) and now, three years later, my replacement camera is broken (and not yet replaced).

i should specify: it still works to take photos; the screen is broken. at first i thought "oh, this will be fine, i'll just use the viewfinder all quaint and old fashioned like." but then i realized that no screen also means no settings. goodbye iso, goodbye knowing when my flash is going to flash.

maybe it's time to go back to film? or the darkroom? or sneak polaroid attacks?

[previously in trash cans: 1 2 3 4 5 apparently i like taking photos of trash cans. also, recycling cans, but not as much.]

ps

have i ever mentioned that you should always click every link i ever link to in any post?

my art as a musical face, round 2

2011-08-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

i am honored to have my photo on the cover of feckless wonders' remix of foster the people's "helena beat". download the track here.

(see/hear round 1 here)

incompletely beautiful

2011-08-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

"i see beauty as a form of curiosity that exists in response to sensation, and not just information. it’s what happens when we see something and, even though we can’t explain why, want to see more. but here’s the interesting bit: the hook of beauty, like the hook of curiosity, is a response to an incompleteness. it’s what happens when we sense something missing, when there’s a unresolved gap, when a pattern is almost there, but not quite."

-jonah lehrer on why does beauty exist?

more on beauty

ps thanks to milad for the link to the article quoted above above.

when airplanes fly in a circular sky

2011-08-04T23:22:00.001-07:00

what up, bro?

2011-08-04T22:42:00.001-07:00

gonna get your brows done?

when jellyfish swim from the ceiling

2011-08-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

i was going to say something about this being my 500th post, but i really don't have anything to say.

so i wrote this intro to this book once

2011-07-28T23:50:00.000-07:00

a beautiful production that i had yet to see--my dear friend jeffrey's photobook titled the romance of mourning.

if you go to his website and click "photography" and then click "romance" you can see the series (but it looks more slick in print form! i want a copy!).
ps

stripes for squares

2011-07-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

samples of the art of LAUNCH 2011

2011-07-21T15:57:00.001-07:00

the past few months have been spent working to coordinate the art/artists for LAUNCH 2011, a multi-disciplinary audio/visual festival celebrating music, fashion, art, architecture, and design in sacramento and beyond. after much preparation, it's finally happening!--this saturday inside the greens hotel.

among all the other elements, 11 fabulous artists will be showcasing their work. here are some samples of the talent that will be on hand (but these pieces won't be in the show. you have to actually go to LAUNCH to see the new stuff!):

work by (in order left-right): nicholas wray; raoul ortega; micah crandall-bear; brady tuazon; keith telfeyan; jeff felker; chelsea greene lewyta; joel lee; john horton; jeff dojillo; aaron kraten

learn more about the artists here. buy tickets for LAUNCH here (save $5/ticket with discount code "sac365")!

mandate (man date)

2011-07-12T00:21:00.000-07:00

ps in reference to the post below, i have opened my book, had a stare down with sugar, and am now turning in for beer/book/bed/bauhaus (opted for a band with a "b" to keep the pattern).

going for a ramble

2011-07-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

it is july. i have done some things. i am thinking about some things.

i have modeled again for cuffs and nicholas wray and van der neer. in that order in one weekend. if you put one shot in order from each of those, it looks like this:

(if you can't see those you can click them for larger if you didn't already know)

i have spent time with friends, which makes me giggle.

i have been enjoying my work at sacramento365.com and got to write my first theatre review even if it doesn't say my name (gotta change that!).

i have thought about summer and how it's slipping away fast!

i have thought about google plus and social networking and how it sometimes would be nice not to do any of that anymore.

i have tried really hard not to be stressed about launch but now i am stressing myself out trying not to be stressed. okay, so i will be stressed and now i will wonder: how can i hang art on cinderblock walls without putting holes in the walls? do you know?

i have thought about miranda july and her new film and how i very much want to revisit learning to love you more and how i got the book off my shelf and now it is sitting on my floor but i have yet to open it.

i have played a lot of text twist.

i have wished that my macbook had a delete button like my pc at work, where i can delete forward instead of backward. i have wished that for a long time.

the white house

2011-06-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

flair for flare (flare for flair)

2011-06-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

'i hope your bit of sky is as blue as mine'

2011-06-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

empsfm

2011-06-11T00:40:00.000-07:00

bsg. also.

necrophilic springtime (dali by dali)

2011-06-10T02:05:00.001-07:00

the painting above is my favorite by dali: necrophilic springtime, discovered in the book dali by dali which i came across several years ago, in my days of frequenting the berkeley public library (a place where, in addition to allowing me to discover this painting, also ignited my love of xiu xiu and helped complete my kieslowski cravings).

immediately drawn to the image, i scanned it into my computer (note crease and page numbers) before returning the book. i couldn't find any info about necrophilic springtime online and, unlike the other images from the book, it had no year/medium/date/collection assigned to it. (it now pops up in a google search of its title. created in 1936, i just learned.)

awhile after my initial discovery of it, still unable to discern anything from the internet and still enthralled by the image, i tracked down a used copy of dali by dali on amazon (amazon informs me, vaguely creepily, that i purchased it on june 3, 2008 for $4.50) and obtained the book for my shelves.

it begins like this:
"1 If intelligence does not exist at birth, it will not exist at all.
2 If men go on dying, blame Jules Verne, he was logical.
3 To be logical is to be cuckolded every day by truth and ugliness.
4 What is truth? Less than nothing.
5 What is ugliness? Ugliness is that which cuckolds you every time with beauty.
6 What is beauty? No one knows yet, since it is too obvious.
..."

logical in its illogicalness. perfect in its perfection.

ps

'i stopped shaking as soon as i got there'

2011-06-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

a box for my polaroids

2011-06-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

can you spy the space needle

2011-06-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

it's hiding but it's there. (like a lot of things)

dinner

2011-06-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

flamingo foot

2011-06-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

butchart gardens

2011-06-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

very pretty

ps

high tea at the empress

2011-06-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

1, 2, 3, tea

yum

a sunny day for a hotel room stay

2011-05-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

a rainy day for a hotel room stay

2011-05-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

photos of me not by me

2011-05-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

a couple weeks ago i got to collaborate with nicholas wray on some shots for a show at beatnik studios, inspired by the velo and vintage fashion show. the shoot was one of the longest (but fun!) shoots i've ever done, and it was worth it as nick got some great shots. he has a round up on his blog (plus one more!)

since i haven't done a modeling update in a bit, here are snippets from other shoots of late:

shann gillogley:

lydia chen photography for poppyhearts:

shop cuffs:

(if anyone wants to buy me this outfit, by all means feel free!)

castle/hospital/college/castle

2011-05-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

craigdarroch castle, where it rains stained glass and is full of ghosts:

it's raining stained glass

2011-05-23T18:39:00.001-07:00

sitting/standing

2011-05-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

like father like son (plaid)

2011-05-10T21:20:00.001-07:00

desert

2011-05-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

before the dust storm

too bright too see

IT'S ABOUT TIME

2011-05-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

0:03, 3:08, 4:04, 5:06, and everything else: thank you, obama!!

via the white house blog.

misc things and things

2011-04-11T19:16:00.000-07:00

i have been writing a lot lately. in these posts, at least. a change of pace from my usually succinct title/photo/repeat. but, since i'm already on a roll, let me expand and update upon this list:

1. i am now an official employee of sacramento365.com (!!). if you don't believe me, read the news in this week's newsletter.

2. i have taken on the task of gallery director for launch 2011 (more here).

5 (3, sir). it was an honor to write about my favorite local fashion designers, van der neer in this month's featured artist profile on sacramento365. read it! they are so amazing! (and like them on facebook for up-to-date news & sneak previews)

oak knoll: goodbye and hello

2011-04-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

i have fond memories of oak knoll, the site where i used to work. right before i left, in late 2009, there was some uproar from the neighbors about the site being a fire hazard and serious talk of demolishing (post lehman brothers breakdown) began to happen. well, yesterday, some serious demolition did happen--the old hospital was imploded (that link is for video, but here's a good article).

i am sad to see it go. kristin & i used to go on exploratory runs around the site, breaking down doors and checking out the eerie, abandoned buildings. reminiscing, i decided to go through my file of photos and finally post some good ol' oak knoll shots, which i've been meaning to do since i took them.

hilltop views:

club knoll (the place to be):

view of club knoll from the bell tower (above); broken bell tower glass (below)

entry hall:

kitchen ceiling:

windows windows windows:

earlier glimpses of oak knoll: 1, 2, 3, 4 (#5), 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

two years ago today

2011-03-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

it's been two years. hard to believe. in honor of today and all that's been grown, recovered, and learned, i want to post this in non-secret form, having garnered permission from young william to do so:

(originally written in 2009, not long after the accident)

we're alive:
i keep having flashbacks to him lying there, breathing timed breaths and then, worse, breathing his own--untimed and unsettling.
alone with him, rambling, rambling. 'alison, alison' all i can pick out of the muffled words hidden behind oxygen mask and clouded head.
voice hoarse, unrecognizable even as a voice.

the right leg moving up and down, knee straight knee. the left one still, numb, exactly how i don't want it to be.

his wrists pull against the straps as his hand holds tighter onto mine.
it's ok, i tell him, you're strapped to the bed.
his grip lessens some, and i hope he understands.

his eyes roll back into his head and i peer through the slit of his lids. just white, just white and then, there! the bright, bright blue.
hello william, as they lessen the drugs. can you wiggle your toes for me? can you squeeze your hands for me? good, good. go back to sleep.

the food goes drip drip drip and i tell him what he's eating.
yum yum it must be tasty, i joke. if only your stomach had a tongue.

i touch his forehead, and it's still him, still, still.
his hair grows back and his beard grows in,
and still, he's muscley and strong, as a marine.

but not for long, not for long. he shrink shrink shrinks until his eyes are hollow and his lungs are full.
he coughs and coughs but the tube won't let him. the nurse comes and wipes it out.
and then, a bath. and then, perhaps, a shave! but the ventilator still goes breathe breathe breathe.

an eye on the heart-rate machine, always. keep it going keep it strong. at least you are doing this one on your own. you shudder & it shoots up, along with mine. i stare at it until it's resting. go go go keep on pumping. if you can do this then soon, then soon, your breathing, too.

and my dad, he laughs
and my dad, he cries
and my mom, she laughs
and my mom, she cries
and me
i cried
and then, i laughed.
and then, and then,
and then, you laughed
and all of us, together, for a long long time

---------------------------------

dancing with myself

2011-03-26T15:17:00.001-07:00

the week's highlight? seeing lady gaga on wednesday. there i got to dance with maria and many other little monsters--not just myself! last night, i got a text from maria: "have you stopped listening to gaga? me either." and it's true, i'm concurrently typing and tapping my feet to some sweet gaga beats.

for japan

2011-03-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

do this while you can

do this while you can

(if you're too late for the above, you can still do this)

circa 1998

2011-03-11T12:13:00.000-08:00

the raddest of all dinosaurs was discovered:

cozy colors

2011-03-10T21:59:00.000-08:00

may i invite you to follow miss maria's blog. yes.

blue skies

2011-03-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

a sunday that is a saturday

2011-02-20T16:39:00.000-08:00

been stuck on listening to this again.

ps

a weekend in three parts

2011-02-18T11:48:00.000-08:00

inn

ocean

sun

ps

just a regular old closet

2011-02-17T23:09:00.001-08:00

oh, also this

my art as a musical face

2011-02-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

for you to see musical collaborator and long-time friend michael has just released the feckless wonders "3am confessional text" rework of phantogram's "mouthful of diamonds." i am honored to have my photo grace its cover.

if you want to hear the original, you can download it as part of the trouble with river cities mix tape.

oh, and become a fan of the feckless wonders facebook page. because you know you don't like anything until you like it on facebook!

when garbage cans go googly-eyed

2011-02-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

previously in garbage cans: boop boop boop (rogue recycling can aaaah!)
previously in yerba buena: boop boop boop
previously in googly-eyed: BOOP
(it gets to be capitalized because it's the only one of its sort, the final in the series, and the eldest of them all)

[i am into linking today!]

i can't think of anything to say

2011-02-06T23:44:00.000-08:00

but i keep looking at this picture

ok

everything is flat

2011-01-31T22:58:00.000-08:00

and doors lead to nothing

where i pretend i designed this from scratch

2011-01-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

LOOK WHAT I MADE! i made it while balancing my laptop like this:

balancing the laptop was the most complex part.

it's basically a bunch of links, but i figured why not--my parents have purchased this url for me two years in a row now, so i ought to do something with it, right?

the only thing that makes me cranky is that i can't have the naked domain (i.e. without the "www") direct to it. what the wtf google sites.