on the street: studded python

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OK, I’m not saying I want these, though python has come up recently and will come up again soon (I got a bikini..and some other stuff…), but I was delighted to run into them. Also appreciating the chameleon-like effect going on between the shoes and the sun-dappled sidewalk.

Studding isn’t something I currently want in my life (and it’s annoyingly ubiquitous now…keep finding things I would like if only they hadn’t been studded to within an inch of their structural integrity) but I’m glad it’s out there, and I particularly like this example; studding not as embellishment on an otherwise normal, dreary or unremarkable item but as an additional outlandish touch to an item that was a bit outlandish to begin with.

Also, yes to high-tops. I haven’t had a pair since seventh grade (bright blue with Tweety bird on them, inexplicably) but maybe it’s time to revisit the look. I keep going back to this picture of Erykah Badu sporting an extra high number from Converse and it looks better each time. Better than any piece of Converse advertising I’ve ever seen. [Also, why do all of my jeans have their knees intact? It’s as if I didn’t even live through the 90s.] Sadly, this silhouette doesn’t seem to come in many colors. Isn’t it always the way? Going to keep thinking about it.

x

reading: Messud, Saunders, Amis, Coetzee…

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Tenth of December, George Saunders – If you are not reading George Saunders, I suggest you start. Then remember what a story is capable of being, and capable of doing to you.

Boyhood: A Memoir, J.M. Coetzee – I so admire his style, regardless of the topic at hand.

Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis  – The action builds to a hilarious crescendo of distress. You hardly go two sentences together without some piece of humor (reminded me of Three Men in a Boat in this way). I can’t believe it has taken me so long to read this, given that I must have bought it ten years ago or something. Liked so much.

The Emperor’s Children, Claire Messud – An eminently successful book in that it made me decide to read more of the author. Many of those ‘yes, life is just like that’ moments. She’s wonderful in person, too. I always admire authors who, when taking questions from the audience, can give a great answer to even the most vague and nonsensical of questions. Also recommend this Vulture article. Pronounced ‘Messooood’.

A Little History of the World, E. Gombrich – A fantastic overview of world history, translated from the German not so long ago, intended for perhaps 7-12 year-olds (and written with great charm) but I would recommend it to anyone.