A Plan...

I found the amazingly chart-tastic We Love Datavis tumblr via Black*Eiffel and had to boost this for my very own.

This is my to-do list right here...

Wantables — Paris Memorabilia

Let's see how long I can beat this dead horse...

Since my family never made it to Paris (had the volcano not erupted, we'd have just been returning today), I've been toying with the idea of buying faux keepsakes from the trip that wasn't. [Cue the violins...Stéphane Grappelli, perhaps, since he's the only French violinist I know.]

This idea ranged from the silly, to the bland yet suitable, to the exorbitantly pricy. Falling in the latter category, there's home décor from Bonjour Mon Coussin.

A cute macaroon throw pillow for baby girl's room.

Exquise

Déliceux

Or, maybe a tote bag that celebrates the arondissement in which we'd booked a pied-a-terre for our stay.

Paris 3 Bag

I'm going to get over this whole thing, guys, I swear. Just...not today.

Art I Heart — Josh Cochran

"The Future Is Space"

I am all about Josh Cochran's illustrations right now. I go kinda cross-eyed just thinking about all the work the Brooklyn-based Parsons prof puts into each intricate piece. (Oh, and I wish I'd gone to art school so I could effectively put into words exactly what it is about the color palette situation that I love so much.)

I'm perusing his online store trying to pick which print I "need" in my life.

"I Feel Space"

"100 Cars 1"

New Hayao Miyazaki!(?)

I have no idea what the above says...but I'm still pretty stoked.

From what I understand, this is the official blog for the new Ghibli Studios film coming down the pike. According to the GhibliWorld site, it's based on the book, "The Borrowers."

Here's what Miyazaki, himself, has to say about it:

The project of the feature length animation Chiisana Arrietty is based on Mary Norton's The Borrowers. Its location has been moved from England 1950s to Japan 2010 though. To be more exact, its specific detail location is around Koganei where things are familiar to us. A family of tiny people live under the floor of the kitchen of an old house; the fourteen year old Arrietty and her parents. They are "borrowers"; to live they borrow everything they need from the humans above them. They can't use magic, nor are they fairies. Instead, they fight against mice, suffer from termites, dodge pesticide spray attacks, escape from cockroach traps and live cautious in order not to be seen. There still remains a classical family image though. The father has enough bravery and patience to go hunting for his family, the mother is responsible for keeping the house with creative thinking and the daughter Arrietty is a curious girl with a rich sensibility. With this, seen by 10cm tall tiny people, a world familiar to us will be restored with freshness. The story starts from the tiny people's life. Arrietty meets a boy, makes a fellowship and separates. Finally, they escape from the storm blown up by callous humans and go into the field. The wish for this film is to comfort and encourage people who live in this chaotic and anxious time.

This was all the way back in 2008, though. IMDB has nothing but a July Japanese release date, so it's really unclear if/when this will release here in the States. Until then, we'll keep wearing out our Totoro/Ponyo/Kiki DVDs and I'll cross my fingers that the new one isn't too "Spirited Away"-intense for five-year-olds.

Watch This — Tim Doing What He Does Best

I love Tim Harrington. He is insane and that is but part of his charm.

Here is some bizarre little video I picked up on Pitchfork. In it, Tim dons an outfit that's actually well-made, compared to the dumpster-derived costumes he wears onstage with Les Savy Fav. In fact, I've even passed him by on the streets of Soho wearing something not as tasteful as you'll see in this, er...short film.

The band's playing at Echoplex, May 9. What better Mother's Day present than to have him smear lipstick on my face, or dance around me in a torn bridal gown? Beats the pants off of brunch and a bouquet. (Hope my husband gets the memo! If not, I'll settle for some of Tim's Deadly Squire home goods.)

Wantables — This book needs to be on my coffee table

Chronicle Books just released "Mixed — Portraits of Multiracial Kids" . There is such synchronicity between what author Kip Fulbeck has done and what I do with Swirl Syndicate that I kinda' wish he and I were Wonder Twins...form of "mixed kid gift basket!" (Actually, when Fulbeck debuted his "Part Asian - 100% Hapa" exhibit at L.A.'s Japanese American National Museum a few years ago, I was invited to sell my shirts in the museum gift shop in conjunction. Alas, that was to be the end of our liaison. I need to be more enterprising and try to sync myself up with him again!

The book is filled with pix of kids of every hue and background, as well as their own little handwritten intros and letters from their parents. My daughter doesn't see many kids who look like her in her daily life; this book could be a great visual reminder/inspiration for all three of us.

Watch This — "The Golden Afternoon"

My daughter has been twirling around the house singing this song incessantly, having just watched Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" for the first time. It seems so seasonally appropriate (even though it's pretty much perpetually spring where we live). The old-school animation is so ridiculous; CGI can go kick rocks.