Happy Friday, sweet bugglings! (Bugg was my nickname when I was in my late teens/early 20s…) Here are some THINGS for your eyeballs! Enjoy!

Looking for something new to do with your social life? Why not join The Underground Rebel Bingo Club? (They have clubs in London, Brighton, Nottingham, Manchester, Bristol & NYC!)

Jetta: cute space girl from the 1960s by famous Archie artist Dan DeCarlo. I love Jetta!

Dirty, dangerous & destitute | New York in the 70s from The Selvedge Yard. LOVE this blog.

Das Energi by Paul Williams.

Laura emailed me to tell me about Postpals — a place where you can become penpals with children who are in hospital or are sick. This is such such such a great idea & wonderful thing.

Angel links to the loveliest things.

Rabbit Write has a very smart blog. I like it. Here’s her take on dumb blonde ambition.

Would you dare to take the Venus in Gemini challenge?

My friend Tamera has a fantastic Etsy shop full of lovely vintage findings. She is getting married in October so your pennies will be going to a great cause: LOVE!

Please, no! Snorkin’ it from Trend de la Creme.

Tory Burch writes about bringing back the backpack. What do you think about backpacks as fashion items? I was recently sent a mini backpack by Yak Pak, it’s black with neon stripes & it’s adorable! I wear it to the gym, it’s perfect for holding the few things I need to be workout-ready, but have yet to wear it with an “ensemble”, you could say. Will you be rocking a backpack this summer?

Victoria Beckham is a saucy tart. I love her!

Dr. Seuss in Yiddish! Eyn Fish Tsvey Fish Royter Fish Bloyer Fish! Hee!

Danielle LaPorte writes about the sacred yes we wish for… & warrant.

Are you going to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa? Here’s what to pack & expect by nonpareil Lauren!

This spring at Coney Island — a video. Very beautiful.

…& on that note, Scouting NY (great, great blog) has this photographic tour of abandoned Coney Island which is fantastic. Have you ever been to Coney Island? It is wonderful.

Rock ‘n Roll Bride blogged about Zoetica’s wedding. Bless!

Dead dude rides again. This is so creepy! Who thinks this is okay?! So disturbing!

Stereotyping people by their favourite author. Hahah. Do you agree? I think some of them are a little off but some are hilarious. (My favourite authors off that list, for posterity, are Vladimir Nabokov, Hunter S. Thompson & Haruki Murakami…)

Archie comic welcomes first gay character. YES!!!

My name’s Rachel, and I’m a workaholic. And I think the internet may have something to do with it. A hearty yes to a constant connection to the internet serving as a reminder of all the things we haven’t done yet… The only sane response is to step away from the keyboard!

Extraordinary animals in the womb, wowwwww!

54 Ways to Get Out of Doing Anything You Don’t Want to Do. Also, 5 Things Happy People Do.

Cobbled from the Greek eu (“good”) and daimon (“spirit” or “deity”), eudaimonia means striving toward excellence based on one’s unique talents and potential—Aristotle considered it to be the noblest goal in life. In his time, the Greeks believed that each child was blessed at birth with a personal daimon embodying the highest possible expression of his or her nature. One way they envisioned the daimon was as a golden figurine that would be revealed by cracking away an outer layer of cheap pottery (the person’s baser exterior). The effort to know and realize one’s most golden self—”personal growth,” in today’s lingo—is now the central concept of eudaimonia, which has also come to include continually taking on new challenges and fulfilling one’s sense of purpose in life.

Sunday Life: The gorgeous value of strangers by — WHO ELSE — Sarah Wilson.

And therein lies the appeal of the “consequential stranger”. The kid who makes you coffee, the woman in accounts, the guy at the vegetable shop who goes out back to get you a zucchini after they’ve packed up for the night – these people play an increasingly nourishing role in our lives. Our close relationships are not what they were. Marriage is no longer forever and busy lives have watered down our connections with family and friends. And so we’re seeking out different kinds of intimacy. Perhaps even a little experimentally.

I like this comment too:

I’ve come to the conclusion that every conversation we have is nourishing, and the more contact we have with other people, the more serendipitous things happen for us.

I am, of course, in awe of the most efficient apartment ever, too!

The extreme minimalist life of the Pete Campbell Mad Men actor. I have never seen Mad Men & don’t really care to, but this is really interesting to me:

“Like, I don’t have a toilet at the moment. My house is just a wooden box. I mean I am planning to get a toilet at some point. But for now I have to go to the neighbors. I threw it all out… It started a couple of years ago. It was in response to going to these Golden Globe type events and they just give you stuff. You don’t want it. You don’t use it. And then Mad Men started to become a success on a popular level and people started sending me stuff, just boxes of shit. Gifts for every holiday, clothes. One day, I looked around and thought ‘I don’t want this stuff, I didn’t ask for it’. So I started giving it to friends or charity stores, or if it is still in its box I might sell it for a hundred bucks. I liked it so I didn’t stop.”

An interview with Ethan Imboden of Jimmyjane fame. (I love Ethan, he is an extremely excellent person.)

[When I entered the industry] there were only two options: products that looked literally like severed anatomy (penises) and also really goofy wind-up or jumpy novelty items. The message was that toys could either be pornographic or comical. But people just want these items to reflect self-image. The clothes that we wear, the cosmetics that we use, the cars that we drive — these are intimately tied to our self-image. Sexuality is incredibly united with our sense of well-being and our aspirations, as well. If we choose to be intimate with somebody, there is a decision. Intimacy is vulnerable: psychologically, physically, and emotionally. If anything should be beautifully designed, it should be the products that are closely tied with our sexuality. It’s my fundamental belief that you never feel better than when you feel sexy.

Live Review: Hole at the Music Box.

So when Love, looking as healthy and tack-sharp as ever, pulled back the Fonda curtain to reveal this new, all-male incarnation of Hole with her as the sole original member, it felt like a warning shot to anyone hoping to validate their late-teen angst. If there was any question as to how she sees the band, Hole is about Love and her songs, not you and your feminist anxiety.

“I keep writing songs about Malibu, and I don’t know why,” Love said. “None of them want me there.”

Roger Hiorns is amazing:

Last year artist, Roger Hiorns was nominated for a Turner Prize with this art installation, Seizure. For this work, Hiorns pumped 75,000 liters of liquid copper-sulfate into an empty public housing flat in London, which resulted in the rooms being covered with stunning blue crystals.

Dirty pictures I didn’t want taken from Salon.

On the long subway ride home, I tried to make sense of what had just happened. Why had I not resisted? Would I have spoken up for myself eventually? Where would it have ended? I didn’t have a job on the line, or a relationship — the only thing at stake here, I finally realized, was my own vanity. That was the real reason I hadn’t pulled up my sad little panties and run for the door. Because I didn’t want the photographer to stop thinking I was pretty. I didn’t want the photographer to think I wasn’t cool.

“Whatever it is — it’s better in the wind” from The Selvedge Yard.

There are somethings painfully lost in today’s gadget-driven virtual world. We are replacing real life experiences with time-sucking, technology bullshit. We peek through our internet looking-glass like voyeurs of some distant reality, where people are actually living life as it was meant to be. Do you really effin’ think that Steve McQueen would be glued to his iPad surfing for the latest neat-o apps? Or would he get off his ass and get to livin’?

A poem by Francesca Lia Block…

what not to wear

according to that bitchy pair on tv you mustn’t wear a pink and black plaid mini kilt with black fishnet shirt, black studded belt, knee high skull socks and danger pumps
even if you are a beautiful twenty-something dj/designer
who can rock it well

so what would they say of me
in my blush frothy tulle ballerina mini skirt
or my frayed hem jeans?

i have worn hats with veils, eccentric platforms
men’s engineer boots and prom dresses
ripped t-shirts and torn stockings
a piece of orange satin wrapped into a dress
distressed knit “depression wear”
and silk kimono patchwork big enough for clowns
i’ve had bleached hair with black roots
pale powder face without blush
too-big silver hoops
mostly i’ve worn my heart
bleeding all over both my sleeves
it’s not a pretty sight, my dears
and now my fear
like ridiculous armor to keep you out

hey tv bitches, bring it
at least i still
got up this morning
and wrote this thing

I wanted to share this email I got last week, too, from Beth. It made me smile.

I wanted to send you a little tidbit about my friend Khari and I, and how we spent an entire weekend several weeks ago. We live in this really conservative town in North Texas, and there is definitely a surplus of those we’re-the-tea-party-and-the-GOP-has-a-direct-line-to-God types. About every other car I see has anti Obama bumper stickers, or anti-gay marriage, or anti-abortion, or anti-something-that-isn’t-really-their-business-anyway. Khari and I decided to do something illegal, but mostly harmless and extremely fun. We ordered a variety of gay pride bumper stickers in bulk, and three nights in a row, we went out at about midnight (when the entire town is probably soundly sleeping.) and scoured neighborhoods for the more hateful bumper stickers. Such as the “Don’t Blame Me, I voted for the AMERICAN” or “Go back to Kenya”(really?) and the stickers which actually show little fetus bits and accuse doctors and women of being callous murderers. So the more hateful, racist stickers all got covered with gay pride stickers. I still feel a little guilty but I also can’t help giggling when I think about it…

Have a fantastic weekend. MAKE IT COUNT!