It’s Friday the 13th! I love Friday the 13th! I think I will dress in black & do epic make-up & walk under as many ladders as possible. I encourage you to do the same! I hope none of you suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia, though!

On that note…

I always wanted to be an Addams. For more creepy, kooky, mysterious & spooky fun, read Charles Addams: Master of the Macabre. Yay!

Now, onto more normal stuff!

Peek at some pictures! My favourites from the past week are the super-cute circus-themed photoshoot from Agent Provocateur; Dame de Paris from Harper’s Bazaar Russia, & photos by Christophe Kutner.

Andrew Blake: “Average Pornography Is Anti-Erotic” — an interview from BlackBook. My favourite pornographer speaks! (NSFW.)

Travelling Raw: The Survival Kit!

Marianne Williamson on A Course in Miracles.

I met a super-sweet graphic designer called Cynthia at the Sex & The City meet-up, & was delighted to discover her website, CMYKaboom! It’s a catalogue of her daily obsessions with lots of eye candy.

Past Notes is the website of someone who wishes not to be named, cough cough, but it’s such a cool concept. She has taken notes that were passed to her in school, typed them up & then written a commentary — who it was from, what the circumstances surrounding the note were, etc. I’ve really enjoyed reading it so far, it’s quite engrossing. It makes me think about all the notes I collected through school, though honestly most of them were pornographic or my best friend talking about how much she hated her parents & how cool Courtney Love was… haha!

Naomi sent me a link to the Helmut Newton Machine Topshop gallery. I LOVE it!

An interview by Guy Kawasaki that revolves around how to escape corporate America (or corporate anywhere, for that matter). If your job drives you to despair, this is for you!

Urgent Personal Finance Advice from Seth Godin. Read it. Promise me you’ll read it!

Tim Ferriss writes about travelling in Tokyo — how to do it like a pro & on the cheap. Read Hacking Japan: Inside Tokyo For Less Than New York part one & then part two.

If there’s a road trip in your future, check out NPR’s Road Trip: Songs To Drive By section.

Gala Mania! I was recently interviewed by Tim Hurley for MyBedHead about my wild shock of hair in the mornings! Have a read, it was a really fun interview. I was also interviewed by Lisa Clark for Pink World, about being a writer, what inspires me & my travelling essentials! Eeee! & Trend & The City, an Italian fashion blog, did one of those “steal her style” articles on me at Fashion Home-Made: Gala Darling, which totally cuted me out!

My friend Andrew recently started a site called Life Sans. He says, “Sometimes, less is more. I firmly believe that you can improve your quality of life by carefully limiting what’s included in it. This site is about living without certain things, either permanently or as an experiment. It’s based in part on my own experiences and experiments, and partly on the experiences of others that I read about. It’s also about things your life should not be without, those things that enhance the quality of your life.” Pretty cool, right? Here are two articles he’s written that I really like, & you might too: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone & Into A Whole New You & Working A Day Job Without It Eating Your Life.

Heat sensitive paint. WOW. The human mind is a truly magnificent thing.

Mike’s Amazing Cakes. It almost disturbs me what people can do with fondant, these days… P.S. The site has automatic music (major pet peeve!), so if you’re at work, turn down your speakers.

Unicorns are real! BELIEVE!

How To Build Relationships with Dr Oz & Keith Ferrazzi (whose book I am still reading).

We all love Winona. Why? Your answer: Don’t Show-cha Your Chocha, Volume XII & her alternative father’s day gift guide. Winona’s dad sounds very cool. I’m hardly surprised.

Black metal baking via Coilhouse. Too awesome for words!

Writers’ rooms: Roald Dahl is fascinating. Where did he write Matilda, The Witches & Charlie & The Chocolate Factory? Now you know. I love Roald Dahl so much. In fact, if I had a child I might consider calling it Dahl. THAT is how much I love him. Also, we share a birthday. It is my secret connection to him. There are other writers’ rooms here but most of those people don’t interest me as much!

DailyOM was on fire this week! (As in, super-hot content, not flames & whatnot!) I like this piece very much: The Death & Rebirth Of Self.

…& if you really need some distraction today, watch the movie Dark Days, available free to watch here on Google Video. It’s about the homeless people who live underground in New York City. If you don’t anything about the subject, read the Wikipedia page, check The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City out of the library (it is one of the most engrossing & fascinating books I’ve ever read) & educate yo’ damn self!

Enjoy your day, my boisterous, bootylicious, beatific beauties!