Well, not really! I’ve been hard at work and doing a lot of thinking, my friends-
and so I do apologize for the quiet. Exciting things are soon to be revealed!
The season is turning, and in these liminal states we find hidden knowledge.
My dreams are getting wild again- are yours? What’s the latest from dreamland?

I can’t recall where I found this now, but I remember being shocked and delighted
to stumble upon it! Someone liked my kookla costume, and decided to sketch it…
But who? Was it you? Do tell. It’s like going through the looking glass, to find such a thing!

Thanks to Miss Ghoul Next Door, I’ve become totally obsessed with this carte de visite
depicting Maria Germanova of the Moscow Arts Theatre, costumed for her role
in Bluebird of Happiness. She is my perfect style icon, now and forever.

Onward, says she! Spurring me towards greater heights and flurries of productivity!
With that in mind, as I take a break from other writings,
here are some bits of fascinating distraction to inspire and delight:
✧ When I was in New York recently, I took a calming sojourn in St. Mark’s Bookshop
(one of my favorite spots) and very nearly bought a copy of Finding Frida Kahlo.
The weight and price deterred me, but imagine my pique when I discovered
the controversy! I think I still need it, even if it’s all a hoax- as literary hoaxes
have their own magic- think Thomas Chatterton and JT Leroy, hmm?
✧ Asgarda – Amazons of the Ukraine!
“In the Ukraine, a country where females are victims of sexual trafficking
and gender oppression, a new tribe of empowered women is emerging.
Calling themselves the “Asgarda”, the women seek complete autonomy from men.
Residing in the Carpathian Mountains, the tribe is comprised of 150 women of varying ages,
primarily students, led by 30 year-old Katerina Tarnouska. Reviving the tribal traditions
of the Scythian Amazons of ancient Greek mythology, the Asgarda train in martial arts,
taught by former Soviet karate master, Volodymyr Stepanovytch, and learn life skills
and sciences in order to become ideal women. Little physical documentation
existed on the tribe, until recently, when renowned French photographer,
Guillaume Herbaut, met the Asgarda back in 2004 in the midst of the Orange Revolution.”

Looking at these images, I am filled with a powerful emotion I can barely articulate.
I think this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It’s so crazy that I had this powerful
urge to shave part of my head, as a ritual for shedding the old, and to become a warrior.
That was my impetus for doing it, and the minute it was done- I felt so strong and right!
It’s an Asgarda haircut! Please go look, and read about them.
I feel like I’ve been dreaming about this my whole life.
Pictures soon- I need to re-do it already, it’s grown out so much.
On a less profound note, some news from the ether:
✧ Did you know the Chuck Berry and Sylvia Plath were lovers?
You learn these things from Bishi, twitter, and The Independent.
“The archetypal rock’n’roller met the legendary poet at Smith College in 1955,
when he and his band played at a summer “homecoming ball”.
Berry was then 29 and tasting success for the first time with Maybellene,
named after a line of cosmetics. His band, the Sir John Trio, were No 1
in the charts and their hard R’n’B sound was a “cool” alternative,
among progressive colleges, to the soupy country and western fare
generally heard at college “hops”. Plath was 22, a senior student at Smith
and in the process of conquering her demons. After a failed suicide attempt,
a period of electroshock and therapy, she had sailed through the final exams
and was about to graduate summa cum laude. In a mood to let her hair down,
she danced through Berry’s entire set and, through the college ball committee,
arranged to meet him backstage. They conversed for an hour about
the underpinning of rhythm by the human heartbeat and Berry invited
the flushed and excitable Plath to join him at a nearby motel.
College friends provided a cover story for Plath in the next two weeks
as she accompanied the band on a tour of Maine, New England and Maryland,
occasionally helping with cooking and washing duties, before returning to Smith.
Berry fondly commmemorated their brief but passionate union in Little Silver Dollar,
while Plath immortalised her quondam lover in Berry Song
(“Love set you ticking like a fat gold watch …”)
She was to meet and marry Ted Hughes in Cambridge only a few months later.”

Thanks to Darla Teagarden and Coilhouse, I am now officially in the painful throes
of wool-want. For only £870.00 I can have this incredible thing, the CP 1919 Woolen Cape.
Now no other winter covering will do. I’m going to be shivering, naked in the streets without it.
✧ Speaking of naked.. Really? I want one!
Plans Put on Hold for Gold Statue of Semi-Naked Nick Cave
✧ Oh and I love this photo set of Kate Bush when she was a wee girl! Thanks Tara!

The past month has been quite a whirlwind. I feel like I’ve been on a constant carousel,
or perhaps in a speeding racecar with a lion. “Whee!” says the lion. “Waah!” says me.

Perhaps this should be more my pace for the next little while, eh? Llama races!
What else? Black tea, seaweed, Balsam fir incense, and cool winds.
Summer’s gone baby gone, just like that. Hello, October!
Tell me all about your favorite tidbits, won’t you?