A grab bag of weekend thoughts, plus I like my life right now.

So, this weekend, Jeff and my parents and my broham Chris and his wife, Angelita, went to Virginia to go to a wedding of her brother Juan and our friend Melissa. We got up really early Saturday to drive there, and myself, not having slept b/c of the whole Hatchet deadline and whatnot, I was very sleepy all day yesterday. Thus, everything was experienced from this sort-of dreamy, Sophia Coppola lensed state of exhaustion. The wedding was very sweet and short and we all stayed at this gorgeous bed and breakfast and it was fun and silly, (Jeff and I watched Saturday Night Live and laughed at the Andy whatshisname (Samberg?) sketches including one about french kissing a dog that was entirely too funny and super gross) and relaxing in a way that we don't often get to experieince. We woke up this morning and it was GORGEOUS in Virginia, sunny and not too hot and woods and foliage and deer all around us. We had breakfast with some folks there on their anniversay and we talked about Nascar and Ferraris and domesticity while we ate sausage strata and french toast with real maple syrup. I saw a store called "The Wormy Chestnut" and in the window of a toy store there was this great wax dummy of a Pirate that was TERRIFYING. While we drove back I fell asleep, my parents were listening to To Kill a Mockinbird on audiobook as read by Sissy Spacek, and it was lovely and wierd and dream inducing. We got home and ran some errands and wathched The U.S. Vs. John Lennon, which is excellent, btw, great in that it's not about the Beatles at all, but about how at this one point in time there was this cultural zeitgeist, that has never been duplicated, and never will be, and how he made a difference. I was in the kitchen getting a beer and I saw all the photographs on my refridgerator and I realized, Jesus, I love my life right now, with my amazing boyfriend and my incredible family and awesome cats and my job that (usually) does not make me want to kill anyone. We're really lucky, all of us, even when we're not, because, you know, It could always be worse. Also, Chirs and Ang gave Jeff a gift certificate to Schoolkids for his B-day and we got the new Feist and that album from the dude in Wolf Parade and the first Olivia Tremor Control album and this UNBELIEVABLE collection of soul 45's out of Chicago in the seventies on this series called "Eccentric Soul". Also, when we got back from shopping and whatnot, I called my cousin Anna, whom many of you know as my sister from another (vagina) twister, concerning plans for her (30th!) B-day party next month, the day after our cousin Nanny's wedding, which we are all lookng forward to. (For real, btw, as all of my ENORMOUS, extended family will be there and it's going to be exciting and huge, (held in some great hall of the University of Dayton where they all went to school), in that both Nan and her fiance, Sam, are both big uppity-ups in the Indiana and the national DNC and there will be much heated debate and friendly comraderie concerning '08, not to mention, lots of beer and dancing to James) Anyway, Anna and I had a terrific chat about that Jonathan Lethem artcile I keep pushing as well as that whole unpleasant Annuals interview I had and she brought up an incredibly valid and striking point: In the Scientific community it's all about building on the foundation of what came before and in that vein, people who publish and do research are not necessarily out there to do something revolutionary and groundbreaking in the sense that they are trying to create something new. Instead, they recognize the work that came before them and wholeheartedly admit that the work they are doing stems from the work that came before without fear of condemnation as long as they cite their influences/ sources. It's so bizarre how in the art world, it's all about creating something brand new and how defensive that makes everyone. Especially given the precedent in scientific communities that recognize how important work is that branches from the root of work before them. You know what I mean? Scientists know they are being revolutionary wihout resorting to "dibs", if you will. Not to say that doesn't happen in the science world (just read/ watch And the Band Played On for a perfect/horrible exmaple) but how amazing art of all kinds could be if we could get over hang-ups about being derivative/ wearing our influences on our sleeves. This ties into one of the other "questions" I had for Annuals which was essentialy about how, depsite the fact that as an artistic/snobbish/elitist community we celebrate artists/ writers/ musicians who are spartan in techinique or minimlist in style, at the end of the day we still choose Fitzgerlad and The Great Gatsby as the greatest American novel of the 20th century. That we love The White Album over Meet the Beatles, or that it's Picasso who sells mouse pads not Schiele or Rothko. My whole point is that we often say one thing as artists/art enthusiasts but it's the opposite that we really come out gunning for. We say that what we create is unique, when we know, in our heart of hearts that 1) it's not unique, it's a hodge-podge of our cultural/life/artistic experiences and 2) that we are terrified to be "found out" and called derivative. So fuck it, I'm here to say that I, Amanda Becom, aka That Obscure Object of Desire, will readily admit to ripping off every book, play, movie, album, show, speech or life experience I've had/see/heard/ hated/ loved to become the "artist" that I am. Oh yes, BTW, there is this excellent Magazine called Seed that I have been trying to get people to read for at least three or four years, that briges the gap between Science (capital S) and Art (capital A). It may sound pretentious but in fact, it's the opposite. It's incredibly accesible and in every issue there is; beautiful photography, moving articles between thinkers and artists (like, for instance, between a ballet choreograper and and an astro-physicist) engorossing articles about how understanding science helps make us better people, etc, etc. I seriously considered going back for a degree in Biology a few years back b/c I became obsessed with evolution and the different social sciences that evolution effects but instead I chose to do this. Which, as I mentioned, is not so bad, when you think about it. So anyway, a good weekend, though tiring, and a great conversation with Anna, whom I miss like my left arm. I'll post some picture soon so you guys can see some of the peeps I'm talking about. Also, not too long until I'm 29 and I'm proud of myself for keeping it this together.