Angeliska Gazette » HAPPENINGS

Grackle Camp

Angeliska — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:59:26 +0000

Once again, our garden is overrun with pixies! A month ago, the sevenfold
incarnation of the Black Forest Fancies took up residence in our backyard,
their tent-village springing up like a fairy ring of mushrooms. Grackle Camp
was born, with the sweetest, most hard-working bunch of puppeteers you
ever did meet. We woke up every morning to the sound of laughter in our
kitchen, and found that a flurry of seven (not dwarves, but elves) had cleaned
the dishes, and made a big communal meal. For two weeks, our seven elves
stayed, and not once did we become overwhelmed by them, or wish to have
our house back to ourselves. To the contrary; it felt too quiet without Zibby’s
cackle, or Libby making salsa, or Otter lolling naked in the hammock,
or Jesse sleeping out under the stars in his sleeping bag. Nina Carolina
and Miss Pandora rounded out and led this wolfy pack, and together they
put on a series of amazing performances of The Pomology of Sweetness
and Light. With all of them being here, I think I finally got a sense of what
it might be like to grow up in a big family. It definitely felt like Swiss Family
Robinson Crusoe around here for those two weeks. Dinners under the dark
canopy of sycamores and pecans, red candlelight and vinho verde and
millions of mosquitoes. Half of them have returned for another go, two
new shows, which I really hope you can go see! Here’s all the info:

A new configuration from New Orleans’ own puppet darlings,
risen from the ashes of the Black Forest Fancies – The Mudlark Puppeteers
are back in Austin with two new shows. They will be performing The Six Swans
and The Nightingale at Center Stage Texas
2826 Real St. 78722

Thursday, July 29th and Friday, July 30 at 8:30 pm.
Admission $10 for adults, $5 for students, seniors and children.

We are hosting a very special party
on Saturday July 31st at 10pm
The Mudlarks present the
WORLD PREMIERE of
The Story of St Dymphna
Behold the making of the beloved martyr
and patron saint of madhouses, motherless children, and princesses in exile.
Told through rod and shadow puppetry – to a score of very black metal.
WARNING – MATURE CONTENT!
and The Six Swans – from the Brothers Grimm.
A princess braves an incredible trial to free her
brothers from a cruel witch’s curse.
Told in rod and shadow puppetry.

Also featuring the amazing Lex Land, chanteuse extraordinaire
and DJ Lina X spinning into the night for dancing under the trees!
1051 Springdale Rd – admission $6

(Pandora and Nina, post-bloodwrestling…)
The last two parties we threw for the Fancies were great successes,
with money raised for the Mudlark Theatre in New Orleans, and from
the Fish Fry for the Gulf Coast Fishermen. We threw an underpants
party, with live bloodwrestling, which was quite a hit, as you might imagine.

And before: as Dolly Parton

…and J. Lo!

Sick, as carny-barker presents the bloody spectacle, with Zibby, Frannie and Marrow wrasslin’ to the death!

Analy and Rachel tipped the pool over with their exertions!

Our donation bar was generously provided by the awesome folks at Tito’s Vodka,
with applejack cocktails that enabled and inspired much of the wrestling!

The bartenders did double time at the kissing booth.

Lovely Monika wielding sparklers in her fanciest underthings.

The lovingly cradled PBR was merely a prop to display her talent for showcasing.

Hans Christian Andersen’s story, The Nightingale was brought to life by the Mudlark Puppeteers,
as a fable told through shadow puppetry and marionettes. The Emperor’s palace and garden are
the most magnificent in the world, but of the many wonders in his vast empire, the nightingale
is best of all. The emperor never leaves his throne, so heavy is he with his own importance,
so he has never heard the beloved voice of the little bird. The nightingale is summoned to the
palace, to please the Emperor, but can nature’s beauty thrive in a gilded cage at court?

Waiting for Gumbo was hysterical. Beckett’s Godot performed by crawdads, mice and live cockroaches!

Miss Amelia, radiant and lovely, and wearing only her unmentionables!

I don’t remember this chicky’s name, but I like her Aeon Flux hair-do.

Elves, I tell you! Amanda Stone is made of elves, and don’t let nobody tell you different.

See the full set of The Black Forest Fancies Underpants Party photos here!

Bastille Day at Justine’s

Angeliska — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:05:38 +0000

The other night, we gathered for an evening
of unabashed celebration to honor le Quatorze Juillet!
Bastille Day is infinitely more fun than the 4th of July,
especially when the party is at Justine’s – our favorite
French brasserie located conveniently right down the road.
There were shocking volleys of fireworks, an impressive
guillotine, and though I missed the cake and Josephine Baker,
(alas!) the French punk band + red, white and blue cocktails
were excellent. Best of of was seeing so many friends and
various cuties all dressed up in the colors of the French flag!

Liberté, égalité, fraternité ou la mort!

Nicole Labry slays me every time! She is so brilliant, hilarious and sweet –
and can whip outfits like this out on a whim. Oh yeah, and she’s a mama!

Allyson Garro of Coco Coquette in one of her custom wigs – so sassy!

Miss Erika Payán Zanetti, a dashing swashbuckler.

Pierre owns the place with his lovely wife Justine – they have really given
the neighborhood, and the city such a gift. If you haven’t been yet, let’s go!

Penny Stark + Chia Guillory, wearing some of Chia’s incredible designs.
Matching rumba outfits? Ruffles and sequins and satin, oh my!

This is Emily. I love her hat and gamine face.

Dan + Jen = moustaches + white tulips make me happy.

Vive le France!

Francesca is a tiny dynamo who has always loathed being referred to as “cute” –
and though she’s so much more than that, I’m happy to see that she’s finally just
accepting and owning the fact that she is cuter than all get-out! Beyond cute!

I mean, seriously? Own it, girl! Rompers + clown-noses forever!

Mistress Stephanie’s luscious red ribbon heels.

Vintage deadstock sunglasses from Coco Coquette, hair ornament from Tail of the Yak.
I collect clothes with little hearts, and painted or enameled deco ball chain jewelry. FYI.

Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé.
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L’étendard sanglant est levé.

Arise, children of the nation!
Our day of glory is here.
For against us we see raised
Tyranny’s bloody banner!

My full set of Bastille Day photos are up on Flickr! – take a peek!

also, a charming Scotsman named Sandy Carson
took amazing photos all night – go and see!

AZZ EVERYWHERE

Angeliska — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:31:37 +0000

In the third buckwild installment of Azz Everywhere
we are bringing you the dirtiest mouth in the south,
hot lady rapper and New Orleans Bounce diva
The Legendary Ms. Tee! Our DJs Rusty Lazer
DJ Twerk (aka. Chicken Kiev) will be makin’
your booty go all night long. With poppin’
aerial dance performance from Miss Marion Ette
and hostessed by Miss Angeliska!
Bootylicious visual projections from RECSPEC!
The party goes from 10pm – 3am –
$7 at the door – 18 +
Friday, June 25th
at The Independent (ND) 501 Brushy & East 5th
We will also be featuring an Bounce Dance Class
with the lady, the legend – Altercation!
It’s at 9pm and sliding scale of $10-$20
Learn how to twerk like those girls on YouTube!
RSVP at bounceclass@gmail.com

My head exploded in a crystalline shower of laser chrysanthemums.

Val + Al

Dawn + Tootie

Miss Marion Ette doin’ her thing.

…and being sweet with Big Freedia.

Work it for Freedia!

I am surrounded by sweetness + fabulousness!

They are brothers, too – can you believe? So cute!

Alan had to take his boots off eventually, but can we talk about fierceness?

Penny Stark aka. DJ Lovecat

Mike Peen of The Peen Scene, an extremely useful and trusted source
for fun nightcrawling and music out and about in Austin. This guy is tireless,
or so it would seem! He and and his lovely wife Jen always do great coverage
and photos, and make me happy whenever I see them out and about. Go Peen!

Jen Peen!

Want more? Oh, there’s lots!
Check out all the photos from
AZZ EVERYWHERE!

The Pomology of Sweetness and Light

Angeliska — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:02:07 +0000

Fellow Austinites, these next four days are your last chance to see this incredible show!
My BFFs, the Black Forest Fancies have been staying in our garden, camped out in tents
and the trailer for two weeks, and it is testament to their sweet natures and good hearts
that we have enjoyed every minute of their stay! Not only are they adorable darlings,
but they have created a wondrous spectacle for your delectation – get yourself to the
theatre and be amazed! There’s a great review in this week’s Chronicle also, hooray!
We held a benefit for the fancies, and for the Gulf Coast Fishermen last week in our garden,
and it was so much fun, we are doing another on Friday (tomorrow!), please come if you are able!
It’s going to be a Black Forest Fancies Sweetheart Soiree + Underpants Party!

New Orleans based puppet troupe, The Black Forest Fancies are bringing their award-winning show,
“The Pomology of Sweetness and Light” to Austin’s The BLUE Theatre this June. “The Pomology of Sweetness and Light,”
follows the tale of Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman, an American folk hero whose wholesome identity is complicated by the
esoteric fact of his thwarted engagement to a ten year old girl. Legend has it Chapman ended the engagement when he
saw the girl flirt with a boy her own age. It was Chapman’s belief that every creature and action on Earth is an echo of the
realm of the ‘Spirit.’ The story is told from the child bride’s perspective. Her understanding of the world and Chapman’s
philosophy are expressed through puppet craft and acrobatics. This is a story of exceptional beings. Inspired by the
journey of the apple on the frontier, “Pomology” is an exercise in selective adaptation. Onto the backdrop of the American
Eden, The Fancies graft the figures of Dionysus and Snow White, of St. Lydwina and the Big Bad Wolf. These scenes are
interwoven with an ongoing view of the apple’s journey from precious obscurity to domestic staple on the frontier.
“Pomology” puts these fables into conversation to tell a story of misfits
seeking their place in the new world and to revive a story of forgotten love.

(This photo, and the ones below are all from Charlie Kinyon – you can see his full set from the show on Flickr.

“The Pomology of Sweetness and Light”
At Austin TX’s BLUE Theatre
916 Springdale Rd 78702
Thursday, (Tonight!) June 17
Friday, June 18
and Saturday, June 19 at 8pm
Matinee show on Sunday, June 20 at 3 pm

These last four shows are likely to sell out, so buy your advance tickets at SMART-TIX
Tickets are also available at the door.
Tickets are a suggested $15 for adults
$10 for students, children and seniors

No one will be refused for lack of funds!

Parental Advisory – Contains Adult Themes

More info here:
www.theblackforestfancies.com
www.themudlarkconfectionary.com

RSVP at the Facebook Page!

Queerbomb Magic 2010

Angeliska — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:22:22 +0000

Well, I am thrilled to relate that the first ever Queerbomb was a rollicking
success! My heart was expanded to the point of bursting by the sight and
sounds of so many of our finest folks frolicking in the street. Have you ever
taken over a public space like that? There’s something incredibly powerful
and liberating in that act – it transforms the area, frees it from the ordinary
status of being solely a thoroughfare, and makes it magic. Crossing the
highway, and seeing all the cars stopped to let our procession pass
gave me chills of joy. Minor Mishap Marching band totally brought it,
and really made the parade – the music was so good, and it was so
delightful to have the chance to experience the acoustic magic of
a marching band jamming beneath an underpass! The general
feeling of elation was so intense, it brought tears to my eyes.
We were able to get a permit (in a cray-mazing turn of events),
and the Mayor of Austin made June 4th officially
QUEERBOMB DAY! Can you believe it?
I am so lucky to be surrounded by so many incredible,
hard-working, creative and beautiful people!
Here are a few of them for you to meet:

I forget this boy’s name (and his kitty’s name) but aren’t they the best?

My electric friend Penny (aka DJ Lovecat) is a magic dancer and has a
blog: The Mothership Connection – you can download or listen to her
special new Queerbomb-insprired mix “Lovecat Supreme” there!
I can tell you from direct experience that it is the perfect
soundtrack for dancing around in your underwear.

Silky gave a really beautiful speech in this incredible jeweled cloak she made.
It’s a very special garment indeed – she must have spent a million hours hot
glue-ing those suckers on. It’s geometric sparkle magic, and it makes me think
of Mardi Gras Indians and DMT gnomes.

This is one of my favorite pictures ever of Brianna. She is so beautiful!

Los Blancas Locas! I love Will and his band of naughty albino cupid go-go dancers.

Allyson Garro (of Coco Coquette!) and Tiana Hux (MC Sweet Tea) are the
hottest sugar-mama baby-dolls! They smell like candy and new dollie!
Also, if you are bad they will spank you with their candy-sticks.

Sadly, this was taken after I had lost most of my tinsel beard, but you get idea.

Kate X Messer + I = love. She has entered the pantheon of totally mind-blowing
Virgo women who I admire and adore. A great writer, and a great friend.

Caleb and Maverick. Cuteness.

I love this photo of Miss Lea. She is very lovely indeed.

Angelica + Lea sharing sisterly love. They both have such elegant, elfin
chins and jawlines, don’t you think? I’m a sucker for good bones.

Katzen, displaying her bisexually proud leg. Love it.

More photos are here, but be warned some are so NSFW!:
Queerbomb 2010!

QUEERBOMB!

Angeliska — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:44:47 +0000

Can I tell you a little story? It’s one I’ve told a few times recently, but never written down –
until tonight. I’ve been thinking about transitional moments a lot recently. I think that in those
in-between spaces is where the magic in our lives happens. The step betwixt this and that,
the place where you levitate above the line that’s been drawn in the sand, bat-like. Gloaming.
Right, so – I’m 13 or 14 years old, and it’s summer in Butt-fuck Egypt, where I live with my family.
My mode at that time involved these tall aluminum tumblers of iced coffee, the kind that come in
jewel colors and give you Alzheimer’s, right? My dad would make a big pot in the morning and
leave it on the stove. I’d wander in at some point in the afternoon, having embarked on a possibly
life-long nocturnal mission to find peace and quiet in which to write (hey, like right now – at 4:30am).
It’s just me and the dogs breathing, frogs chirping. Remembering something. Walking through those
rooms in my mind brings it back. The sun’s turning gold and getting ready to slide down the side
of the house like an egg, and I’m just waking up with my coffee laced with cinnamon and a pop-tart
and the best channel on television: Austin Community Access! Oh man – at that time, you could see
so much weirdness on that channel. Usually super late at night, but the afternoon shows could be gems
as well. Anyone could have a television show, basically – from the Zendiks with their creepy bearded
hippie patriarch, to the punk kids who played Pain Teens and Skatenigs videos, or the granny with
her exercise show that she did mainly sitting while in a chair. On this particular afternoon, I happened
across the best thing I had ever seen, up until that point in my relatively brief life – incredible footage
from the Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco. It was glorious! I was electrified by the sight of queens,
leather-boys and dykes all prancing and dancing in the streets, undulating with boas on fabulous
floats and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence making a scene in nun’s habits and giant schlongs!
Never had I felt such a burning desire to be instantly transported through a television set, and into
another reality. I had found my people, and my kind of action. Something very intense happens when
humans take what’s normally private or taboo and take it joyfully into the streets. It’s a very ancient
practice, and one that I feel is necessary to our society. Saturnalia, Bacchanalia, Carnival, Purim.
It’s all the same, and so very sacred to me. This was different though, and I figured out why fairly
quickly. The camera panned away from these bright and decadent visions and to a dreary studio
with ugly chairs, fake plants and a couple of beige-faced, tight-laced dudes in suits droning on and on
about “abominations” and “crimes against nature”. I was fucking incensed. How dare they? How could
they watch this same footage and see something evil? How could they not see the beauty, the power
in it? Or I suppose they did, and that’s exactly what they were condemning. My stepmom came home
from work and found me throwing pop-tarts and cursing at those geezers on TV. I was so mad, I was
spitting and ranting to her about what I had seen. Her response was to level a long gaze at me, and
ask if I was experiencing any “homosexual tendencies”. The line in the sand. I buried my head in it, shut
down, and backed off. Discussing my sexual proclivities with any adult, much less my parents was the
very last thing I wanted to do. Besides, if I did, they’d probably stop letting me having my best friend over
for sleep-overs, and I already wasn’t allowed to stay at her house (her folks were a little quicker.)
I can remember feeling that liking girls was the most dangerous thing I could ever admit about myself.
I honestly feared that I would be stoned to death at school, if ever any credence was given to the constant
taunts of “lezzie” and “witch”. I’d wake from hot dreams of white curves and black velvet, if you please
in a cold sweat. Surely people in the halls could read my naughty thoughts on my face, surely they could
smell it on me. Shame. I don’t remember anyone ever specifically telling me it was wrong, but instinctively
I knew that it wouldn’t be accepted. At some point, though – not long after the day I saw my first pride parade,
I stopped caring what they thought. I took a feather from my San Franciscan sisters’ headdresses and figured
out that if you can’t join ‘em, you can’t fool ‘em, and you can’t beat ‘em, then you might as well dazzle them into
astonishment with glittery false eyelashes and sequins glued on my face. I was a miniature Cockette and drag devotee,
and it was the best armor I could have ever worn. Insanely flamboyant drag was how I discovered my version of femininity,
and how I made the transition from gangly, hyper-awkward sexless nerd to another kind of creature altogether.
These are my roots, and how I came to be who I am: a queer lady who loves regardless of gender, who doesn’t
buy into binary systems, or rules about who we can love, or how we can express ourselves. Who and how I love
is mine to enjoy. To be able to have that freedom, to be able to take it into the streets and dance wildly or walk proudly
in the full expression of that is not a gift: it is something that is always there, but must be claimed. I plan on claiming it,
and proclaiming it loudly with a huge congregation of fabulous freaks today. You know what else?
It will be my first Pride Parade! I just realized that. In the years since I first saw that first flickering footage,
there’s been nothing that came close to lighting the fire in my idea of what a Pride Parade ought to be.
There are parades practically every week in New Orleans, and I know how to do it up right from my years living there.
I love sharing the street with everybody on Mardi Gras morning more than anything in the world, but this will be different.
You see, it’s not that there hasn’t been a Gay Pride Parade going on every year in Austin since I moved here –
it’s just that I don’t feel that it’s a parade for me, or that I’m for it. It’s a procession built on corporate sponsorship,
greed, banality and the fear of allowing gay people to represent as anything other than clean, safe, khaki-wearing
upstanding, family-friendly, hetero-normative contributing to the rat-race members of society. I’m not interested in doing that.
Tomorrow, we have other plans. This coming Friday marks the kickoff of a historic occasion for my town, and for my community.
We have all been working hard for the past little while to carve a new path for ourselves, and claim a social ritual and celebration
that should be powerful and joyful rather than bland and lame.
It’s high time for this town to get hit right in the la-la with a big, ripe, juicy QUEERBOMB!
Austin has such an incredibly diverse, creative and all-around bad-ass population of queers,
and I cannot wait to shimmy and shout with them for the next three days and nights!
There’s a buttload of amazing stuff happening, but #1 is the big parade and after-party at The Independent!
Be there for it! There’s tons of info, so if you don’t already know – get it to it, and join us!
Saturday and Sunday there are super-fun Queerbomb parties at Cheer Up Charlie’s! Come find me there!

The Cockettes! Let them be a constant inspiration to let that flag fly, to raise it high and dance together.

I’m also thrilled about all the great thought, dialogue and writing that all this action has inspired.
There are so many kick-ass pieces in The Chronicle this week, holy moly – please do, if you have
a minute, go read them. My friend Kate wrote three of my favorites, linked below – but wow, there’s so much!

★ PRIDE Weekend 2010: I Am QueerBomb. I Am Austin Pride.
How queer is your Pride? How Austin is your bomb?

★ History’s Morgue – We choose whether to let our stories live or die

★ Preaching Beyond That Choir
Is Austin ready for Bishop Yvette Flunder’s good news of radical inclusivity?

Sinister Wisdom by Leah DeVun

★ Heads in the Sky; Feet on the Ground
Leah DeVun’s very intentional exploration of lesbian space by Andy Campbell

Coco the Sasquatch, Rebecca Havemeyer and Silky Shoemaker in Trivia Travesty!

There’s a fantastic piece on one of my heroes:
★ Pride Piper
Silky Shoemaker brings a heapin’ helpin’ of DIY to the Pride table by Cindy Widmer

“In that moment, the slight, androgynous Shoemaker is both the spunky girl
who grew up doing musical theatre in Amish country and a wicked-sly,
multilayered performance artist, sending up cornball theatricality –
performing camp, if you will – with a kind of manic weirdness
that is one part homage and two parts subversion.”

I particularly like her definition of what it is to be queer:
“‘I think of queer as being about nonheterosexuality,’ she explains. ‘I think sexuality is really important –
claiming sexual perversity and excitement and desire. I want there to be sexuality involved in homosexuality.
It’s also about being feminist and having an understanding of expanded gender categories.
I think of it as challenging a capitalist model of society and community.’”

Speakin’ of heroes! Paul Soileau (aka. Rebecca Havemeyer, aka. Christeene)
just really continues to blow me away. Wow, wow, wow. This amazing creature
has done so much work, and pulled so hard to make all this happen – by
encouraging, and organizing and speaking so powerfully and eloquently.
I have so much admiration and love for this man! Glory be!

QUEERBOMB AHOY!

There are some really fantastic posts by some of my fellow Austin bloggers
that I highly suggest you read! From Miss Tolly:
It’s Ok To Be Me (Even if I’m a Drag Queen)! – QueerBomb
and from Chris Apollo at Republic of Austin:
Will a Queer Bomb destroy Austin in 2010?

P.S. – If you are unfamiliar with the amazing phenomenon of community access television may I scar you
permanently with this exceptional example? I don’t think Austin can claim this one, but it’s pretty close:

AZZ EVERYWHERE!

Angeliska — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 05:52:59 +0000

The weather’s getting warmer, the bees are buzzing
and all the butts I know are gettin’ itchy for a little
rump-shakin’! I don’t know about you, but if I don’t
get my dance on fairly regularly I start getting a mite
tetchy. Shaking it loose it often the only cure for a slew
of ailments, including but not limited to: the mean reds,
the dirty blues, scurvy, gout and neuralgia. It’s true.
So we can’t help ourselves, we’re putting on another
dance party – this coming Friday! Be there, sassafrassies!

This one’s gonna be extra special, because not only is
my sweet brother Rusty Lazer coming all the way from New
Orleans, but he’s also bringing Miss Marion Ette to wow you
with her aerial dance skills, and Miss Altercation to teach you
all her moves! Ever wanted to learn how to twerk it right?
Here’s your chance: as of right now we still have 19 spaces
left for the A Bounce Dance Class with Miss Altercation herself!
It starts at 9pm, you gotta pre-register, and spaces are filling up!
Sliding scale- 10-20 bucks, for one hour. Send an email to:
bounceclass@gmail.com now to register!
Cost of the class includes FREE admission to the PARTY!
At 10pm we open the doors and roll out sets from
DJ Rusty Lazer
Christeene
DJ Chicken Kiev
Plus a very special aerial performance by Miss Marion Ette!
Hostessed by your very own Miss Angeliska!
Presented by the insatiable Glitoris!
Friday, April 16th at The Independent (ND, 501 Studios)
located at East 5th + Brushy.
This is gonna be a hot hot mess, dress appropriately,
or inappropriately if you got it and you wanna flaunt it!
More info and RSVP over on the Facebook.

Until then, here’s some dance party videos to get you in the mood:

Miss Altercation, Rocky and ReRe dancing
with Katey Red at Gay Bi Gay Gay 2010

Ass Everywhere from Nathan Brescia on Vimeo.

Super-fun times in Detroit!

Christeene! So very, very NSFW, okay?

5TH WARD WEEBIE & YA BOY BIG CHOO
Learn all these moves, and you’ll be alright!

Snowday!

Angeliska — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:53:22 +0000

A very strange thing happened yesterday. Well, strange for Texas -
because after a weekend of blissful balminess and riding bicycles
in the sunshine and shortsleeves, it snowed! All day, big fat fluffy
flakes fluttered down. It was magical, and bizarre. I didn’t believe
the predictions, to be honest. Imagine my amazement to discover
a winter wonderland swathing our garden in a blanket of white!

Poor frozen disco ball! I bought it for 3 dollars at a garage sale.
It’s a big one, and has lost most of the mirrors and has been
repaired with duct tape (?) and silver glitter. Pathetic, really.

Wee effalent wishing for a wooly mammoth coat.

Princess Grrizelda frolicking in her first snowfall!

Our back garden dusted in powdered sugar. I know that this is commonplace
for any of you living up north, but we Texans are like little children when it
snows. We like to marvel at it and take lots of pictures, because many of us
have only ever seen it a handful of times. I stared out the window all day,
hypnotized by the flurries. White bees and icy crystals. Heavenly.

The kale and arugula got sugared, but they should be fine.

Mister frog and his pansy cohorts were not so pleased. Shivering and crumpled!

These johnny-jump-ups did just that — popping up incongruously in the
tomato bed. I hope they emerge unscathed as well – we desperately need
a bit of color outside! I am so tired of this cold and drear. Springtime, ahoy!

The irises seem to think it’s time, too. Cross your fingers for the last of winter!

Krew du Poüx!

Angeliska — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:18:05 +0000

Hello, hello! Many apologies for the long absence
and all the tumbleweeds drifting around these parts!
I am returned from my travels, which proved far too
fun and chaotically action-packed to do any of the
updates I had anticipated. In fact, I barely had time
to flick a finger towards my laptop – which was
remarkably freeing! Now I am come home,
and the seemingly inevitable Mardi Gras crud
has caught up with me. I am sadly sniffly and febrile,
and fervently wishing I weren’t! Though it is funny
(in a gallows sort of way) to see that the various flux
and malaises have their original epicenter in Louisiana,
and are now winging their way through the country with
the diaspora of revelers returning home. Check out this map
of flu trends in the US! How many people totally depleted
their immune systems partying, and are now paying the price?
Lots and lots, and I dejectedly among that number! Oh, aches!
So, since I never even got around to posting anything from last
Mardi Gras (yes, I always seem to be about a year late with these
things – it’s totally ridiculous!) I will be devoting this sober Lenten
(ha) season to almost nothing but debauchery and costumes!
Speaking of – this year I actually had to bow out of all Lundi Gras
naughtiness, as I had my nose firmly to the grindstone frantically
trying to finish my Mardi Gras costume. Never again! I missed the
Poux Ball, and I’m quite heartbroken. I heard it was the best one yet,
replete with naked knife-fights for the crown! What’s that? You’re
unfamiliar with the infamous Krew du Poüx? Shame! Let this
wonderful little mini-documentary be an introduction to you:

I was so bummed to miss Poux, especially since it meant not being given
one of the much-coveted commemorative handmade glass medallions,
a grand Poux-doubloon if you will. Lucky stars for me! My dear friend
Forest had kept one warm and close to his heart for me. Good thing
I went out Ash Wednesday, eh? So here are my treasures, which oddly
enough I never cared about collecting until the hurricane blew me west.

Typical Poux antics. I believe this is some sort of trebuchet, no?

Randall and Drew in their amazing ensembles. They make me so happy.

Tanya Solomon (aka Dr. Flummox) is a great clown. Not the bad kind. The good kind. Really!

Liser is the big bad wolf and little red riding hood simultaneously. It happens.

Ratty and Oops were the King and Queen of Poux!
This year they won their crowns again (yes, the
naked knife-fight!) and continue to reign triumphant!

Myrtle von Damitz III, odalisque-ing out with Drew’s giant neon head.

Laron + Kelvin, two of my favorite NOLA/NYC darlings.

Jock is the leader of the 9th Ward Marching Band, a gentleman and a great dancer.

Haley Lou Haden has a stick ‘em tattoo of toast, and I love her.

Hungry for more Lundi Gras Poux?
★ Here’s more photos from Lundi Gras 2009, just for you!
★ Lundi Gras Valentine
★ Lundi Gras (A pictorial essay on the nature of debauchery)
★ Vicissitudes from Cradle
★ Voila les petites creatures musicales qui se cachent dans les fleurs!

Disko Tease

Angeliska — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:30:55 +0000

Just a tease of photos from the last Gadjo Disko, from my friend
Chip Warren. I was so excited that he brought his camera, and
documented some of the magic of the night! More will be forth-
coming, but I’m having some technical difficulties and frantically
trying to get ready to hit the road for Mardi Gras! I can’t wait!
I’ll try and keep posting once I get there, hopefully I’ll be able
to swipe some snippets of time in between all the madness!
Until then, there are lots of great photos up on my flickr stream,
and in the Gadjo Disko group, if you’d like to check them out…

Me and Darby Rose. I love this one so much.

Colin is the king of my heart.

Now, that’s what I call a mohawk. This girl ain’t messin’ around with no faux-hawks!

Something about this pretty lady reminds me of Natasha Khan. Do you see it?

Miss Vu, the resplendent frittilary.

Francesca, sleek and lovely

La Bella Franziska!

Miss Allyson Garro and her sweet fellow Greg.

Winovino were amazing – when our sound went out, they kept the party
going by playing acoustically until we got it all sorted. Total heroes.

Dominique Vyborny did beautiful aerial dance on the silks!

I love this sad face so much. This is how I feel about the Disko ending!