Saturday, February 5, 2011

i love mary oliver...

more than words can say....
a poem for you on this beautiful saturday afternoon.

Wild Geese 
Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.



Saturday, October 9, 2010

A F F

ali's fall fives:

just a few
thoughts
for
fall




(find)





(feel)








(fly)

max richter. 2006 songs from before.
bon iver. for emma, forever ago.
dustin o'halloran. piano solos volume II.
nick drake. pink moon.
django reinhardt. everything.


(fall)


1. into leaves
2. onto an enormous trampoline (and jump and tumble and squeal)
3. out of your comfort zone
4. into bed
5. in love




















Tuesday, March 9, 2010

lost things (adventures in stop-motion)





Written & Directed by - Angela Kohlerhttp://www.angelakohler.com and
Ithyle Griffiths http://www.ithyle.com

Starring - me (Alison Sudol) http://www.afinefrenzy.com


Music - Sleepwaking by A Fine Frenzy http://www.afinefrenzy.com

Music Produced by Butch Walker
http://www.butchwalker.com/
http://maybeitsjustme.biz/


Wardrobe - Sarah Schaub and Sunshine Wright http://sarahandsunshine.wordpress.com

Lighting Tech - Andrew Hamlin http://www.andrewhamlin.com

Digital Tech - Matt Harbicht http://harbichtphoto.com/

Hair - Kristin Ess

Makeup - Samuel Paul http://www.samuelpaulmakeup.com

Paper Cuts - Mr. Yen http://mr--yen.blogspot.com


a Gallant + Keen Production


me and a tree


so, i was out on a walk on the last day of my mountainous retreat, when i came across a log, completely and utterly covered in carved initials.
neato burrito!
of course, i had to take a look and see what was on there. lots of hearts, a+b, c+d etc. etc.
but then, then i come across this little gem.
it says, simply, ME.
now, perhaps this just means molly loves edward or mel loves ellie, or something like that... i mean, that would make sense.
in my funny little imaginary landscape, however, i saw someone go up there, look at all that love and think, "well, i don't have a special initial or a plus sign to put on there, but i've really been working hard to be a good person and i like the way i've turned out. so,"-take out a handy swiss army knife, "i'm going to,"-digging into the old wood, "(jeepers, etching is hard) celebrate that," - more scratching, "by doing this."
ME

i'm trying to be kinder to myself.
i think it's a good lesson to learn.
while it is important to stretch, to grow, to learn and to make mistakes... falling on your face every now and then isn't the worst thing, even though it hurts and is pretty darn embarrassing... especially if you're on roller skates and your pants split... not that that's ever happened to me... ahem...  it's also natural to want love, to wish for it, to yearn for that plus sign and that other initial... but don't forget about Molly and Edward. they should be the first carving on any tree, and if you try to make them happy, you might not be so worried about finding someone else...  don't worry, i'm sure if you want to add another initial on there, whoever it is won't mind. and if that person does mind, perhaps they don't deserve to get their initial carved on there next to yours anyway. it's really not as easy as it looks.

a x





 

Friday, February 26, 2010

a distinct lack of blogging

well, whoopsie daisies, it's been... (counts the months on my fingers)... a long time since my last (and only) post. 
i said i would write about whatever i found stuck to the inside of my head, ambles, rambles and so on. 
this is not a good representation... 
shoddy, really. 
oops. i pressed all sorts of buttons and can't seem to uncross, unbold and unitalicize that whole paragraph. 
awesome! 
there really is stuff going on in my head! lots, actually! 
(oh dear... not convincing) 
the fact is, i've been ambling and rambling quite a bit, but haven't actually remembered to write it down. 


....
anyways...


i'm about to go on a little trip- going out to the mountains to breathe clean air, talk to trees and do a lot of writing.  
and reading.
this post is actually going to be an interactive one. i hope.
here's the deal: 
i'd like to put together a reading list. not only for this trip, but just in general. i did a little tweet on the twitter, asking what books i ought to bring, and the response was a little overwhelming. in a GREAT way! i can't tell you how depressing it would be, to ask for reading recommendations and be met with radio silence (or whatever the text equivalent of that is- i suppose just... nothing... visual crickets...)
that would be terrible. 
so... yes! anyhow! 
the list is a little long. also, everyone's taste in reading is different. however, a great book is a great book. 
i thought maybe you could help me out. . . . . ?


i'm going to write down the recommendations i received in the tweetarium- you tell me what you think. comment! please. 


this will be fun. perhaps say what you like about your particular choice and why. 


ok. here goes:


Into the Wild
Convivium
Of Mice and Men
the hunger games
Alive
It's Kind of a Funny Story 
blue like jazz
The Dharma Bums 
Desolation Angels 
The Book Thief
Soul Craving
await your reply
PREP 
Everybody Poops (*****THESE ARE SUGGESTIONS FROM TWITTER I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OF THIS******)
Yours Ever
A Walk in The Woods
the gargoyle
going bovine
the weetzie bat books
a great and terrible beauty 
the tea rose
sybil
Power of attraction
The Great Shark Hunt
Walden
Lovely Bones
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
The Good Good Pig
the girl w/ the dragon tattoo
Last Lecture
Stories of God
Dearest Creature
Years of Solitude
Mark of the Lion Series
The Great Divorce
Angels and Demons (read it already, fun!)
the Twilight Saga 
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates
The Poisonwood Bible
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Don Winslow (is an author...)
This Present Darkness

The Life of Pi
The lovely bones
The road
he Art of Racing in the Rain
jasper fforde (also an author...)
Women in Love
The Shadow of the Wind
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
breakfast at tiffany's 
Heidi
Three Cups of Tea
Try Think and Grow Rich
Sharp Objects
Half Broke Horses
Into Thin Air
Prodigal Summer
 Let the Right One In
Rebecca
The Dead Travel Fast
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
the history of love
The Museum of Mary Child
My Side of the Mountain
eggy sue contra los invisibles
The Secret History
Fingersmith 
 Jitterbug Perfume
The Diary of Max Tivoli
 Beautiful Creatures 
City of Bones
Catcher in the Rye (read it, loved it)
umm...a survival guide?? ( i love this tweet. very practical. thank you, bangtailcalico! )
Carolina Moon
earth abides 
Designer's Don't Read
The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Alchemist (have it, bringing it!)
Wuthering Heights (tried to read this, got too sad, couldn't...)
Hangover Square
Tree of Angels
the help 
Book of love
The historian
the hunger games books
the power of one
Lamb
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto 
1984 (oh yes, read this at 15, it changed my life... and scared the beeeeeep out of me)
Winter Girls 
Mountains Beyond Mountains
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Neuromancer
Undaunted Courage
For One more Day
The Host 
The Shack 
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook (this used to be in the bathroom at my parents' house.. ha)
the kite runner
the last patriot
Crossing to Safety
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
The Pillars of the Earth
How to survive a bear attack 101 (haha... let's hope this won't be necessary)
3 Cups of Tea
Hunger Games
Catching Fire


aaah! i just pushed a button on twitter and... oh, well... i don't really have any more steam to tackle the next however many pages of tweets, i'll try to do it on the next post. 
a lot of books, eh?? holy mackerel! and not even nearly the end of them!
this is a good start! let's discuss! 


and here's a picture for you, because pictures are nice:






bye for now. 
ax 



Thursday, November 26, 2009

the hanker chiefs

it is late at night here in los angeles, my hands are cold and i'm typing by twinkle light.

this is my first foray into the proper blogosphere.
it's kind of exciting.
in a nerdy way...
which is kind of the only way i get excited about things...

not entirely sure what i'm going to write about, but i think i'll figure it out as i go?

i hope?

we shall SEE!
...
tomorrow (technically today, but it's still yesterday to me... wait, what?) is thanksgiving.
TURKEY!
STUFFING!
MASHED POTATOES!
PUMPKIN PIE!

...
YAMS!
...

mmm, i'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
....
on a side note

i took this picture in eureka a couple of weeks ago in the most incredibly overstuffed antique store. you know, the dusty, fusty kind with paintings of squirrels and ships leaning against the walls and one-eyed owl salt shakers peering out at you from impossibly old china cabinets... in other words, my favorite kind of antique store.

it's fun to hunt for treasures.

 i bought two rings there, one which looks just like a little watch but doesn't tell the time (and i made sure it never will by washing my hands while wearing it no more than ten minutes after i bought it... ring watch, i'm sorry...).



this makes me think,
wouldn't it be nice to be a member of a club
with a properly improper clubhouse
in a tree
a treehouse
(of course)
we'd drink tea
have little cakes
read poetry
and books
and wear handkerchiefs on our heads like little sailor hats
with feathers sticking out on top?

we could be called
the hanker chiefs.

i think that would be really nice.


why am i not sleeping?

sheep, come here, let me count you....

ax