Photo of the Year

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1738458_1585589,00.html

i found this commentary pretty interesting, wanted to share...miss you
friday nite. good day with mom. still a little wrecked from the whole J thing. hope u r well
xo
Lauren

The winners of perhaps the most visible and prestigious photojournalism award were announced today. World Press Photo has named this image by Anthony Suau as the 2008 Photo of the Year.

The World Press Photo site offers this description and analysis from the jurors:

The picture shows an armed officer of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department moving through a home in Cleveland, Ohio, following eviction as a result of mortgage foreclosure. Officers have to ensure that the house is clear of weapons, and that the residents have moved out. The winning photograph, taken in March 2008, is part of a story commissioned by Time magazine. The story as a whole won Second Prize in the Daily Life category of the contest.

Jury chair MaryAnne Golon said: "The strength of the picture is in its opposites. It's a double entendre. It looks like a classic conflict photograph, but it is simply the eviction of people from a house following foreclosure. Now war in its classic sense is coming into people's houses because they can't pay their mortgages.

Fellow juror Akinbode Akinbiyi commented: "It is a very ambiguous image. You have to go into it to find out what it is. Then all over the world people will be thinking ‘this is what is happening to all of us'."

Juror Ayperi Ecer said: "We have something here which visually is both clear and complex...It's not about issues - 2008 is the year of the end of a dominant economic system. We need a new language, to learn how to illustrate our lives."

j'ai finished

just broke up with J. 2:19am
on to bigger and better things

David LaChapelle a la Monnaie de Paris

really cool exhibition. took my mom. in a beautiful old old building.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/feb/06/david-lachapelle-retrospective-review

there is a PDF of all the photos that were chosen for the retrospective. Just click, in blue, "Janvier 2009 Exposition Retrospective..."

http://www.monnaiedeparis.fr/presse/index.htm



reminds me .... you end of shooting head shots again?

xo
Lauren

The Lord's Day

a.k.a. Sunday, or Dimanche.

update: V-day was strange not in a bad way. mom came yesterday. so far so good. i bought a marquis de sade book b/c French people like to discuss it. Until I came here I totally never thought about how the S&M dude was French. I haven't even read the book yet (I bought it today with my mom. No, i picked it she paid for it. wierd?) that makes so much sense to me. It's SUCH a different approach here to "it," for one thing, it's not as referred to abstractly as "it." Rather it's a man with an extremely intense history and philosophy, and impacted modern day thought, a lot (Freud, Marx).
So yea. I'm really excited to read the book and "learn" about it; it's cool bc it sort of gives a structure to thinking about things that I think about while simultaneously having a complex and not thinking things, not "letting my mind go there," or even understanding what "there" is. I feel like I am on a sexual journey. Haha. Maybe that's what life is. But anyway, learning about myself. Learning how to connect the mind/body. I mean for me, that's what a lot of S Factor was about. And is about. I stuck with it even though it was hard and I didn't "know" why. I just went with it.

Anywho. What do you think? Let's talk about sex!
Oh and yea I've been having some. Could you tell? And all with the same person which feels the best it ever has. It means more to me now. Not that this person is the love of my life, bc I refuse to believe that, but I'm learning. Hell yes, sexually liberated countries!
Love is a whole other issue. My next inner hurdle is conquering my belief (meaning, I can't help it. I try not to think this) that there is so much for me to know, learn in the world. How could I, now, be able to recognize true love? I have not in the passed, maybe I always knew. But I guess I dont believe in it. It's hard to believe its true that it even exists.
I desperately want it, but I dont know what it is. Its sort of what makes me go on, gives fuel to the artistic fire. Passion. If I didnt believe in it, it would be hard to care about anything. Wouldn't it? Or no? I really mean that as a question.

OH! I made the coolest painting/collage thing, and I had this idea that I wanted to duplicate the texture of the main image (a breast; hmm i see a theme here,) and the first thing that came to mind was the pattern of a fishnet stocking. So i stretched it over the canvas. It looks rad. Still a little more work to go.
Ill take a photo.

Hope your weekend was good. I want to hear about the boys! I was actually referring to your nephews, which feels creepy considering the context of this letter, I have to admit.

Hope to hear from you soon
xo
LHS

FB cracks me up!!/is like crack??

Facebook is lame sometimes, but I have to admit there are moments when it cracks me up/astounds/excites me.

For example today, when I received a FB email in Italian, 2 of them. Which I thought was cool. But also the fact that its from Mr. Italian Riviera! (Good code name, yea?). He had also sent me a message with a "special kiss" and telling me the new hotel he was working at.

I was dreading looking at his pictures, because I had this hunch/I knew that he would be and look older than how I remember him. And voila. I can only laugh at myself and give myself a little credit for having the best time. If HE has facebook, then everyone has facebook, I am sure of it.

Had to share.

xo
Lauren

Journey Modification/Addition

I will now be staying until May 16th so I can spend time with my poetry teacher and mentor doing THIS:

Paris Poetry Workshop
May 10 - 15, 2009

For the seventh year, the Paris Poetry Workshop will offer English-speaking poets from the U.S. and Europe the opportunity to come together for a week of intensive workshops, talks and readings. This is a chance to see and experience a side of Paris not readily accessible to the average tourist, and an opportunity to spend time in Paris as a poet among poets. Participants generate new work, hone their craft, offer feedback and support on one another's creative endeavors, make new friends and expand their literary horizons.

This year's Paris Poetry Workshop will once again kick off with a festive poetry potluck dinner in a private apartment in Paris's 19th arrondissment belonging to Marilyn Smith. Chez Marilyn will also serve as our headquarters throughout the week. The 19th is a vibrant, diverse and very friendly quartiere near the picturesque Canal St. Martin and the Bassin de la Villette, a few steps from the metro stop "Laumiere."

I'll lead the daily workshop sessions from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day, with a break midmorning for coffee and croissants. If weather permits, we'll wander down to the waterfront or to the beautiful nearby Buttes de Chaumont to do some writing together. We'll spend workshop time both generating new work and offering close critique of work-in-progress, so you should plan to bring with you some poems you're working on, and also plan to do lots of writing while you're in Paris.

We'll break for lunch at 1 p.m. -- there are wonderful and reasonably priced cafes right in the neighborhood, or it's always nice (and cheap!) to buy a baguette sandwich at a boulangerie and take it to the park ... Our afternoon break will be long enough to give everyone some time to write and relax, as well. There will be late afternoon sessions with poets and writers who live and work in Paris. Most evenings, there will be poetry readings and informal gatherings. Mid-week, we'll make an excursion to Roigny and spend a day there with Jeffrey Greene. The week will culminate with a public reading by workshop participants and then a gala farewell dinner.


The workshop is limited to 10 participants ...

In order to provide intimacy and intensity as well as attention to each person's writing, the workshop will be strictly limited to 10 participants.


Cost

The full fee will be the same as last year's: $895, with a $500 deposit due by March 15 and full payment due by April 1. The fee will cover all workshop activities, midmorning refreshments, and afternoon and evening lectures. It does not include meals, local transportation, air fare or lodging.

The fee in euros is 700 eu.


Travel & Lodging Arrangements

Many participants found wonderful apartments to rent (and share) last year in the immediate neighborhood of chez Marilyn. There are numerous websites that offer short-term apartment rentals in Paris. Marilyn has also informed me that there's a new complex just across the canal that has both a Holiday Inn and a youth hostel. Several of her friends have stayed at the Holiday Inn and she's seen the rooms. She says they're VERY nice, and only 99 Euros per night if booked in advance. Here are the links to both (both in separate wings of the same building):

Hotel: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/6c/350/fr/hd/parlv?countryId=0350&_requestid=449486&cm_mmc=mdpr-_-googlemaps-_-ex-_-parlv&_requestid=449486

Hostel: http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/StChristophersParis-Paris-19865


I hope that's enough info to whet your appetite! Paris is always gorgeous and exciting, but especially so in May. Please feel free to contact me with questions, and let me know soon if you can join us in Paris this spring ~

Cecilia Woloch
CeciWo@AOL.com
http://www.ceciliawoloch.com







To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget. -Arundhati Roy

Today Was Beautiful

It's a thin line...

between love and hate! (my parents, my "lovers") So funny you wrote about that because... well, I am experiencing the same thing and just finished writing something about it that I will now post:

Paris is alive and well, and so am I. I have made some friends. I have been seeing this French guy whom I shall call "J-Man," who is a director, right now he does music videos. He’s 25. I like being around him because he is very smart and we have good conversation. The sexual chemistry is there, which is a good thing I suppose. I have known him only 2 weeks, I have to keep that in mind when I let him get on my nerves. Not just a little, but to the point where I am am fucking disgusted by him and his self-righteousness and well, I don't like feeling like i am "putting up" with someone or something. He is always “so busy” with work bla bla bla. He has this thing where he will not sleep over at my place, he leaves very late. I had never even asked him to, but twice now he has anticipated that I will get mad at him for that so he starts this grave conversation where it seems like he is about to tell me someone died. And most of the time the way he explains it (his English isn’t perfect), is very mean. The first time, he made me cry because I thought he was talking about something completely different.

Sidenote: A part of me would very much like for him to sleep over once, it is nice to be next to a warm body and just, I fun and intimate. On the flip side (apparently I do not have to worry about this) is that most of the time I like having my bed to myself, and I wouldn’t want him to make a habit of sleeping over (Like Charles did in the past, or something).
The fact that he is so so busy and talks about it all the time is, ugh, tiring. The first and second times we hung out were cool because he shared a lot about himself and it was interesting, etc… He showed me some of his work, and some examples of what he aspires to do, his passion. He said that next time, he wanted to learn more about me and for me to teach him about some American poetry. I thought it was sweet, however the next time we hung out, we had sex right away (I have no problem next time being like, umm lets wait or umm I don’t feel like it). We use protection, obviously, he is also very paranoid. AND he has a slight problem keeping an erection. Which is….? Im just mad that he doesnt even give me the chance to say yes, I want you to sleep over, or no, i dont want you to. Because really, I have the right to, and so what if he doesnt like what I say c'est la vie. This is not a dictatorship.

I don’t mind taking things slowly (aka hardly seeing him so there is a lot I still do not know). So I told him that, and we are gonna wait a while till we have sex again. So, back to our rendezvous, basically what happened is we had sex, and then we went to one of his friends apartments, which was great because I had said I wanted to meet his friends and he knew I would like them, smart “artist” types. We had a great time, and of course on the way home, he starts talking about something and finally I realize what it is, and told him to stop projecting, he doesn’t know me or how I feel. I never even said I wanted him to sleep over, in fact, I hadn’t yet thought about it.
He also has this whole thing about how he cant be attached bc of his work. I told him not to flatter himself, I cant be attached to someone ive only just met, that is crazy. But I feel like he is saying it more for his benefit than mine. And at that point I really wanted to punch him in the face and well, I was ANGRY, and I hated him. No doubt about it.

And of course, I have more time on my hands to let things simmer in my brain.
Writing this makes me realize how much this doesn’t work for me. I am emotional enough but to go from hot to cold (love and hate) so quickly, every time, I'm not sure that's healthy??

I am in fact very open to meeting other people. The whole idea was nice, but he irritates me more than he makes me happy. I was hoping for a Valentine… it’s a big thing here.

This is terrible, but back to love/hate (I can't believe I am writing this about my relationship with my mother, but its true. Such a thin line...)
My mom is coming to visit, she will be here on the 13th. I told her if I have a valentine I will be unavailable, she understands. Any suggestions on how to enjoy this time with her, as opposed to feeling like its an imposition? A part of me IS looking forward to it, just fearful of having it go sour.

SO. That is my rant. Thoughts? I am going to go read yours again. I mean, when I think about it, I hate the idea of you going through those ups and downs, and you prob feel the same way about me...so its probably not positive of a pattern?

love
Lauren

Superbowl-less Sunday

It is supposed to snow tonight...I really am very excited. 2-4 inches. We'll see...

Any Superbowl plans? Let me know which commercials are the best lol

I have come out of my "funk" thankfully. Now I just need to get my writing groove on lol.
Reading this book called "Wild Mind" which is about writing, and I can't remember who wrote it and the book is upstairs...a.k.a. i will look later and tell you. She has these really simple writing exercises, along with awesome perils of wisdom, such as: go to a restaurant, cafe and just write, starting with things like: I see, I remember, I do not remember, etc...

The exact wording is upstairs. Does the idea appeal to you of picking one exercise each week? Dates/deadlines are good for me. Obviously, it is free writing, so If we don't want to share it for whatever reason, maybe our post will be a mini reflection on what it was like, if it was hard, etc...

Thoughts?

miss you!
xo
L

PS- reading the Bell Jar, finally. so so good. SO good. I love how she writes, her metaphors are so rich.