Outfits, Spain packing, News, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters

I'm leaving for Spain tomorrow! I'm all done packing, all I have to do is paint my toe nails (I'm in love with this coral color I have- it goes well with my skin tone, I think!), paint my finger nails (nude color, since I don't know how often I'll have time to paint them and I hate hate hate chipped finger nails!). I'm bringing my sketch pad, at the suggestoin of my drawing and painting teacher, and my digital camera. The rest is essentials and clothes clothes clothes! Besides shorts/tops I packed 8 dresses, because I figured since I'd be there for 3 weeks, there was no harm in bringing them. Plus, I couldn't choose which ones to bring! I love them all =] haha. I've become a dress-addict. But apparently theres a heat wave passing through Spain, so I think they'll be good to wear.


The down side- I won't have my cell phone since I odn't have an international plan, and I'm not bringing my ipod because 1) if it's stolen/lost my parents would kill me and I'd probably cry (it's the first/only ipod I've ever had), and 2) I don't know if I'll have the time/means to charge it (since I think you have to get a converter to charge things in Europe? oh well.)


Geez so much stuff has been going on! Some of it pleases me, some of it doesn't. I hope that while I'm in Spain I don't lose track of whats been going on here!


Assasination, George Tiller: What is wrong with us?! and those people in Kansas. Sometimes I am so disgusted.

Ssometimes I hear things on the news that just form a knot in my stomach- one of those things being the killing of George Tiller a little more than a week ago.

Background: The situation took place in Wichita, Kansas- a doctor, George Tiller, had a clinic that performed late term abortions. This caused anti-abortion groups such as Operation Rescue (an extremist group) to basically harrass and stake out at the clinic for years- which has been bombe, blockaded, and vandalized before. Turns out he had already been shot by someone from Operation Rescue in both arms many years ago, so he was well aware that there were many dangers to continuing his practice- but he did anyway. Then, on May 31st this year he got shot while serving as an usher in church...yeah, classy, I know. The killer, Scott Roeder, was caught.

Before people go up in arms, here are some truths: (haha, well, to the internet's knowledge)

Late term abortions=totally legal: law prohibits aborting fetuses that could live outside the womb - unless two doctors certify the pregnancy would cause the mom"substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.", which Dr. Tiller cited that reason for aborting hundreds of viable fetuses over the years at his clinic. He was well-known for providing abortions for women who discovered late in pregnancy that their fetuses had severe or fatal birth defects. He also aborted healthy late-term fetuses. Some of his patients, he said, were drug addicted and some were as young as 9 years old. Dr. Tiller, called access to abortion "a matter of survival for women," refused to give up his practice." (from the Wall Street Journal)

Obama says: President Barack Obama said he was "shocked and outraged" by the killing, saying that profound differences over abortion "cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence."

And you know what? He's completely right. I know readers are bound to be divided on the subject, but you know whats really scary about this situation? That people decided they could take the law into their own hands, which isn't right. What Dr. Tiller was doing was legal, and he should've been left alone for this reason. But no, people thought they knew better than the law. People cannot take the law into their own hands every time they disagree! Then what would this country go to? Democracy made the law how it is, they should be fighting in court, not in a church. Ugh!

Speaking of Obama: I'm soo happy that he passed legislation to try to curb climate change. I'm just really happy he cares about the environement. =D He's already won me over! Yay earth!


Forever 21: I know that Forever 21 is infamous for all those intellectual property lawsuits and a lot of people call it tacky, but I'm a fan, and I've always shopped there. Although there's a lot of things I wouldn't wear, there are a lot of nice, cute things there! Of course, you have to try it on first to decide that since so many things look different on the racks than they do on the body. And although people say that their clothes "fall apart", all of the previoulsy bought clothing from there hasn't fallen apart yet- maybe they're just wearing it too roughly? or washing it with bad detergent? or maybe just picking out the flimsy/bad clothes they have, because I am utterly content with my clothes from there. Cheap and cute- if you stay away from some of the outrageous patterns. Call me a fool, but Forever 21 is my best friend.

Anyway, I'm mentioning it because I'm in love! I bought several summer dresses and a super cheap pair of jeans, and they're so pretty! Haha I just thought I'd mention how happy I am, and how happy I am to add it to my collection of summer dresses already from Forever 21.

Urban Outfitters: Urban is (was) my jewelry best friend. I barely buy anymore though, because I haven't been there in a while- I used to stop by all the time when I volunteered nearby. Anyway, I'd like to say how dissapointed I was when I went there this weekend! I went to their "yard sale", and I could not find anything worth the money. ='[. I'm thinking it might've been different if I got there earlier, all those chic girls probably beat me to the chase.

But as I was walking out, I saw one of their cute leather jackets! And I was like awww I always wanted a leather jacket but I never got one this year. Anyway, I look at the tag- and it's not even on sale/discounted! Haha I was totally expecting at least a little bit of a discount since it's a leftover from spring, I mean, who buys leather jackets in the middle of the summer? And it reminded me of how ridiculous Urban is at pricing sometimes, and I left the store. Oh welllll.

OUTFITS:
Okay, so here are more outfits from polyvore. I'm sorry they're not super-new, but I haven'tposted them on here, so I thought what the heck =]

#1 Pretty in Purple




#2, I am the Walrus



#3, Wasted Youth


#4, What a Lovely Morning



#5, Later in the Evening



#6, Simplicity

#7, Nice Weather




#8, Romantic Spring


#9, If I Could Wear What I Wished


#10, If I Could Wear What I Wished II


#11, Let's Visit Art Galleries

Maybe, Maybe, if I'm brave enough, I'll take pictures of my outfits in Spain. But I've always felt really self conscious of my fashion- and you know, I feel like it's so much more personal when people critique actual outfits than when people critique polyvore outfits- also, I don't really have that much of a budget for the chicest clothes, so that plays a factor. But we'll see =]

Anyway, I'll be gone for three weeks! I'll miss home and my boyfriend (very much! ah ='[) , but hopefuly it'll be fun.
Adios! Suerte!
-New York Chique

My Outfits and Ramblings

Hey it's almost summer!
Well, I'm so glad that people are still reading my blog! =]
I have some news that kind of relates to the last post:

1. Driving: I'm not going to get my license until around August, because for some reason if the permit is at leats 6 months old + the drivers ed you can get a full license, not a license with a bunch of restrictions.

2. SATs: I got my SAT scores back! I got a 2040 out of 2400, which I'm glad because I broke 2000 which was my goal- I think I might take it again, just because my math score wasn't too good (thank god the writing + reading held me up) and I want to make my scores look more balanced. In the "old" SAT scale (out of 1600), my score would be 1320. My goal was to at least get 1400 for Math+Reading, so that's more incentive to take it again.

I'll have the summer to study for the fall, so hopefully I'll get better at this stupid test to mak colleges happy. Oh boy, don't even want to think about that yet, I have some major visiting to do!

3. Rejection, finding work: I got rejected for the scholarship to go to Argentina =[ I was really upset, and went in a frenzied search to go find something to do over the summer- because the worst thing is to have absolutely nothing to do while everyone is away on trips or interning and fancy shmancy places. So I picked up application as I walked down a street a mile away from my home- I got an application from Mandees (teen clothing store, which I actally like sometimes), Fine fare 9supermarket), and McDonalds. Hahaha can you imagine!

Sadly, McDonalds is actually probably the hardest to get into, because with this economy, you probably have a whole range of people applying for jobs there. But the manager seemed really eager/nice, so I might have a shot! Plus, my mom says that sometimes they do like younger people, because they're all smiley and nice and pretty compared to the jaded, bitter about workers- though I can't blame them, McDonalds looks hectic lots of the time.

4. Working: I'm going to get my working papers soon. It's actually a semi-hassle for me because my school ends for me on Monday (I only have one final to take since I took AP classes which don't have finals), and I had to have a physical again which I took today with a new doctor. I think it's so silly that a 17 year old has to get working papers to work at a supermarket, but whatever. I will do what I have to.

5. I'M GOING TO SPAIN! The same people who rejected me from Argentina invited me to go to Spain instead. It wasn't one of my top choices, but who cares, I'm so excited! They sent me an email to say that they had "meant" to include that although I was rejected from Argentina they offered Spain, and that they had made a mistake by not letting me know at the same time. Whatever. I'm so excited right now it's unbelievable. One moment I'm scrambling to get a job here which I probably won't get, and now I get to travel to Spain for the first time for three weeks! Yayyy. I'll be able to work on my spanish! I've been to Europe before, but I've only seen France and Italy, so this is a really nice suprise. Also, unlike Argentina, at this time of the year Spain is hot hot hot. And I'm hoping to meet guys too ;)

I've also mentioned in my "sexuality" post that one of my favorite paintings was a Dali. And on the trip we get to visit the museum! So I'm realllyyy excited, and I think the museum + entire trip will help me with AP Drawing and Painting and my personal photoraphy next year, as inspiratoin.

For anyone who has gone to Spain over the summer some time, tell me about it! Maybe some tips, things to look out for, etc. Anything is appreciated.

I'm also going to *try* to work at McDonalds/Mandees/supermarket, telling them that there will be a 3 week period in which I'll be absent. The other months (june + august, basically) I'll be able to work everyday of the week, all hours available. I don't know (kinda doubting) they'd be okay with that, but I think it's better to try anyway, just in case. Because I seriously do need some extra cash.

POLYVORE:
Okay, so every once in a while I like to put up polyvore creations, which I usually do when I'm bored. I actually make myself very jealous at all the outfits I could have if I had the money to buy all of the nice designer clothing they have on there! One day, maybe :) Oldest is first, the latest is last. Enjoy! And please tell me what you think:

#1. Valentine




#2


#3, Walking Through the City

#4, Rebellette

#5, Jumpsuit

#6, A Slightly Darker Alice



#7, Soft Daisy


#8, Sweet Elegance


#9, Darker


#10, Subtle Elegance (inspired by the outfit right before)


#11, For the Sake of Starbucks- really for the sake of a contest! Which by the way, I never win. oh well, I thought I'd show it anyway: p.s., the bag is Miu Miu! ($1,350, net-a-porte.com) A lot of people asked me that a while ago and I never answered. So sorry for the late response!


#12, Sailor-esque


#13, A girly Alice




#14, Material Girl. The title explains itself.


#15, Concert Night


#16, Happiness is a Warm Gun. Not my best outfit, but here it is nevertheless.


#17, Keeping it Vintage. (LOVE the bag)



#18, Ruffles and Simplicity


#19, Casual Date in Central Park


#20, The Life of an Artist


I have more outfits on polyvore, but I figured after 20 your head is probably spinning from having so many on one post. So here they are!

If you want to check out my outfits, or see certain items on them, then you can always looks at my polyvore account at polyvore.com, "NewYorkChique" (yes, like the blog). Here's the link: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/profile?id=217941

So, hope you've enjoyed the post, and make sure to comment on the outfits made, I really like to hear the opinions of other fashionistas (be it good or bad, just stay constructive).

Muchisimas gracias a todas! Continuan leyendo!
Besos,
-NewYorkChique

p.s.- I got a little music playlist thingy on the side. I was looking at someone's blog and they had one, and it inspired me to get one too! And I have one of the she had on hers, the one called "Plasticities". I don't remember the blog, but whoever it was, thank you so much! You've totally introduced me to a very cool song. ;]

Life Update: Junior Year

...is terrible, but almost over.
I already took my SATS, which I had been practicing for, so I hope I did well! The only thing that got me bummed out was that people discussed the test afterwards and started talking about the answers to certain math problems, and I think I already got one of them wrong. Ah I hate it when people talk about tests afterwards! haha I get all stressed out. =]

I already took my two AP tests- one of them went great, the other went so-so (US history, toughie for me), but I could've predicted that. But I'm glad they're over and my mother was really supportive of it, so I'm just happy they're done, and I'm not too worried. After all, it's just for college credit and to show some effort, right? right. So all I have left is one final exam in June, a research paper, an english presentatation, and an in-class essay, take the ACT- and then I'm on the road to summerrrrr.

I still don't know what i'm doing, becuase I haven't gotten responses from the two things I applied for yet- I'm supposed to get them in about a week, or two? I'm either going to Argentina (which will be cold, because it's winter over there!) for community service, or being a counselor for 5th graders over a summer-school-like program. The counselor position is apprantly reallly hard to get into, because it offers pretty good pay, so I'm placing my hopes on the Argentina trip. If I don't get into either, I'd probably sign up for a summer class (boring, I know). So I guess we'll see!

(Figure above) Argentina. My mother joked that if I got to go, at least I'll get to see the glaciers of Argentina before they melted. Even though it was a joke, it kinda depressed me. A lot of natural things are dying soon, because of climate change.


Driving:
Oh! And I have finally passed and finished my driver's ed course. I've already had my permit for a while, so I've been practicing with my mother. I haven't gotten into an accident yet, and my mother's started actually breathing when I take the wheel (in the beginning her face would turn red and she'd clutch the side door), so she says I've made a lot of progress and turned into a decent driver. Hurrah! But the downside is, once I get my license, the insurance will go up about $2,000, and thats not something she's willing to pay. I would pitch in If I weren't broke, so basically she's not going to let me drive until senior year =[. I would be okay with this, but I have a little dilemna that I haven't exactly told her about yet. She doesn't know that in the city, you're not allowed to drive with a permit unless your car has a double brake! (which is stupid, because only instructor's cars have that. And how am I supposed to practice on the weekends?) So, basically everytime I've driven with my mom, I've prayed that I don't get pulled over on even bump lightly into another car, becuase I could get into muchas problemas- unless the police officer is nice and understanding (ha..ha...in the city? right. maybe upstate.) That's why I'm so anxious to get my senior license- so that I won't get in trouble for driving only with a permit, even if it is with my mom. And I need to continue practicing until I get my license, so if I have to wait until next year- well, that'll be a lot of times I'll be praying not to get pulled over! So you see the dilemna?

(One of my life ambitions is to own a smart car. So cute, and energy efficient. I wish that an American car company would develope something similar, to support american car industry, and maybe make it popular in america, instead of those ridiculous hummurs and suvs.)


PROBLEM, in case you didn't want to read that whole paragraph:
License= needed soon, so I don't have to drive illegally anymore. (without a dual brake car)
No license until next year (because of insurance cost)= have to practice in order to pass, lots of driving illegally, highering my chances of getting caught.

(my biggest fear, besides sharks, at the moment)

I'm thinking I should tell my mom that all those times we've been driving have been potential trouble. She's been led to believe that if I have a permit and an adult with a license, I'm ok. But, I'm afraid of telling her, because then she'll 1) get mad then 2) maybe stop letting me practice and then 3) yell at me for rushing to take driver's ed this year, and telling me I should've waiting until next year to take it. ughhh.

I don't understand how anybody practices in new york to get their license- I mean, besides with an instructor. If anybody sees a solution to this, or any words of wisdom, please enlighten me!


On the homefront:
My parents are doing fine. Today's mother's day, I'm writing this while everyone's getting up and eating breakfast/ getting ready to go out. My little brother (not so little- in 9th gade) is with this band, and he's the lead guitarist. They started getting serious about it, and so they actually went to a studio to record! And, okay, I'm was a pessimist, but they actually sound really good. If they ever get their music up via myspace or whatnot, I'll post the link up.

Next Year:
These are the classes I signed up for:
AP English (the hardest AP to get into in our school, probably won't get in)
AP Spanish Lit
AP Drawing and Painting (so excited!)
Religion
Calculus.

I'm actually really really excited to do the AP drawing and painting, which my teacher already gave me clearance to do next year (unlike the english AP, which you have to "audition" for, and the spanish lit, which I have no idea if they'll have space for me or not, but with my grades in spanish I think I'll be okay.)


Recently, I've really gotten into the arts- my mother was a painter on her free time, so she's very proud =] And she likes my works, so she's as excited, if not more, than I am. And it's kind of a risk, considering it's not a very "scholarly" AP class, but I think it'll make a statement on my transcript- you know, I'm not just some stuck up kid who does classes because they look good- I have passions, and I do it to learn what I'm interested in, not just to get a certain GPA or get into a certain college. That's how I felt like before that anyway, but now that I'm taking an art as a major class, and making a big committment to it (instead of just talking it as a minor), I really feel like- wow, I can actually do things that I love. And I know it's going to be just as stressful and demanding as other classes (the teacher is really intense), but I have this surreal feeling of hey- I might actually enjoy senoir year! haha.

Birthdays:
My birthday is veryyy veryyy soon (17, wooot), and I won't say when exactly so that I won't be somehow identified, hha. It's weird, but I've adopted this new view of birthdays- when I was little, I used to be obsessed with them. I was alll about the gifts. And I know that there are still people that celebrate them, and enjoy getting gifts (thats probably the majority), but my recent birthdays, I've gotten really nothing much, and I haven't had a party or anything- just usually a dinner out on the town with my family. And you know what? I'm perfectly content! Birthdays just don't seem like a big deal anymore- I'm happy I'm a year older, but then it's kinda like...so what? haha. Sometimes I feel like I forget it's about to be my birthday. Not like some girls in my grade that constantly count down to their birthday via aim/facebook statuses two weeks before, or start talking about their birthdays to everyone beforehand to make sure people remember. I don't even care if people remember or not (besides my parents, because I like going out for dinner, especially on a school night when we usually don't =]). Hmm, I don't really know why I've grown this way towards birthdays, but I guess it's just kinda the commercialism of it, maybe, that puts me off a bit. Even though it's fun to be invited to birthday parties, I'm happy with not having one of my own. Am I a birthday grinch? Maybe =]. But I like to think that I'm maybe maturing a bit.

Okay, enough of my life, I'm sure it's quite the bore. But thanks for staying tuned! I always promise I'll be more dedicated to the blog, but then I don't. And then when I'm like "hey, I should write something", I start thinking about how insignificant my blog is, really, in the big scheme of things- both in the world, and in the virtual world, and hey, not that many people even read it. But I guess once in a while, I give in to the urge that maybe something I say, or something I talk about, will interest someone surfing the web, or maybe strike a string. You never know.


Thankfully yours, (and remember your mothers today!)
New York Chique


p.s. I am now CPR certified! I passed the skills test and the swim test with flying colors. Maybe it'll come in handy some time.

The PediCab

Ah, this has to be one of the reasons I love big cities- they have PediCabs!
My mother and I were on the west side going to a college counselor speech/meeting/question-and-answer session, and afterwards instead of taking the bus across town we decided to walk under central park to the east side. I actually devloped a headache from the 3-hour long meeting (ah, i know! talk about long and intimidating), so my mom and I bought a couple Coca-colas, I took an advil, and we set off on our journey. Haha it was actually really nice, since it was SO warm this saturday! Crazy how the weather is fluctuating so much! But as we passed through the very tourist-y parts of Columbus circle and midtown, we saw the swarm of Pedicabs taking people around. My mother didn't want to spend the money on one and I was more than happy to walk, but I rememebred how long it's been since I went on one! And in a city where taxis rule over the city, pedicabs are a nice change. Plus, they run on human-power, which is super good for the environment.

And it gave me an idea. How cool would it be to be a pedicab driver over the summer? I mean, I only have June and August to spare since I might (cross my fingers) be going away in July, so that wouldn't give me too much time to get a steady job. And pedicab driving would certainly give me nice legs =] haha. I think they usually chanrge $2 per block, or $15-30 per ride. probably depending on the time/area.

And I'm sure this guy probably gets loads of customers because who wouldn't want a driver dressed in roman garb? Haha. This was a great picture, whoever the photographer is. =]

I wish I had the money to buy one...they cost about $1,900ish. But I think most driver's actually rent their pedicabs, and then try to profit from making more than that in a day. They actually are making a law now regulating the pedicab industry...by limiting the number of pedicabs to only 300ish! They might also require them to wear license plates! I'm not sure what the outcome of the hearing was, but I'm not sure if I'm in favor of limiting the number of pedicabs =[. They're too benificial for the environment.

(Someone who rented a fleet of them for their wedding) =]

So, overall, my little walk on a lovely Saturday inspired several thoughts:

1. Could be a potential summer job? Hey, I have strong legs! And i'll have my (junior) license in the spring if everything goes well. It's not a very feminine job, but it'll be a great way to be in nice weather everyday and I'll be able to chum up to tourists =]. Haha I most likely won't get a job like that, but we'll see! =D

2. Would serve New York well for going green. Honestly, they're much prettier/eco-friendly than those silly taxi's.

3. We need to reform our streets! You know, it'd be really nice if we could somehow incorporate a pedicab lane in our streets (kinda like they have bicycle lanes in some areas). It would make pedicabs safer and erase the issues of traffic that they have when going on streets with normal cars. The chances of this happening are slim-to-none, but hey it's an idea.

I don't know if all my readers have ridden pedicabs, but I'll tell you- they're so nice! In good weather, you can feel the wind in your hair and see new york city in a relaxed fashion. I'm definetly a fan of them!

Thanks for reading,

-New York Chique

Back in Black

A Thankyou: Hey everyone, it's been quite some time since I posted. Looking at the very nice comments I got from my last post (Frank O'Hara's poetry), I've completely regained hope in humanity. Okay, that's an exageration, but it's really nice to see that not everyone hates poetry (as the kids in my english class often groan). =] So this is a very big "thank you" to those who read my posts, even when they're not about clothes!

In this Post:
1. Introduction/ small anecdote
2. Outfits made on Polyvore with leggings
3. Celebrities
4. Models/inspiration
5. Some places to buy them

Introduction:
Okay, so this is going to be an outfit post. As you may know, I'm slightly addicted to Polyvore. For those who don't know what that is, it's a site where it is easy to make your own outfits by choosing clothes from many different companies and sites, and then pasting them on a screen to make an entire outfit. (http://www.polyore.com/). In case you were wondering, my username is "New York Chique", and my profile is: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/profile?id=217941.

My outfits are never really that popular, but then again most of the outfits that get 1000+ "Likes" are usually aero+hollister+abercrombie+coach combinations with little qoutes at the side. I actually once commented on one of those outfits saying "Sorry, but I really don't like this" (or something along those lines), and wow, was I in for a suprise! The girl sent me nasty messages, saying she would "report me" and how I didn't have the right ot call her outfit ugly. She ended the message saying "Thanks for being ugly" and a side note, "you spelled 'chic' wrong...hmmm" and then proceeded to block me! Haha i actually got a laugh out of that, she's probably still young and maybe really defensive. Anyway, since she blocked me I didn't get a chance to respond, so whatever. Just thought I'd share the story. =]

Polyvore Outfits:
Here are some of the outfits I've compiled, all made my me. This is when I was in a leather leggins-craze (I dont think the majority are even leather, they're just fake-look-alike leather), so all of these outfits were inspired by that. I have many more you can see on my profile that don't involve these daring tights, maybe I'll post them at a later date!


#1


#2



#3



#4



#5


#6




#7



#8


So, that concludes my leather-legging filled polyvore work.

Models/Inspiration: (I got these all from google/search engines)

Celebrities!: (from google as well. And apparently some other blog. Anyway here they are)

Left: Posh, Right: Hillary Duff


Left: One of the Olsen Twins, Right: Lindsay Lohan

Below: Rihanna! Who I think pulls them off really well =]

Where you Can get them!
Left: Forever 21, $15.80, Right: Urban Outfitters, $38. You can basically find them anywhere though, including American Apparel and other stores like that. As the stores are being cleared for sundresses and bikinis though, they might get harder to find.

Now, winter is coming to a close-have you been outside today? In New York, it's sunny and gorgeous! But since it's still in transition from winter to spring, you may be able to sneak in the leather leggings, even though I think most fashionistas would call them a no-no for spring time. Walking in the city and looking fierce, or in the evening, or at a party, would be the best times to wear them. Of course, you should make sure you have the legs to wear them- they're pretty tight, and show every bulge. One the other hand, if you're skinny as a twig, I think they'd make legs look even more twiggy and thats unflattering as well. So if you're moderatly toned, these are perfect! Well, thank you everyone for reading my post! I promise I'm going to be really good about keeping up, and commenting, and following other blogs. I promiseeee!

Much Love,

-New York Chique

Oh Frankie, We love you!

Frank O'Hara: my favorite poet

Okay, so sometimes I'm not a fan of poetry, but Frank O'Hara caught my interest immediatly. It was actually for an English assignment, and once I bumped into his poetry, I was in love! I completely feel his poetry; even when I don't understand it. And the more I examined his poetry and read about hsi life...its like I felt a weird connection with him. I wish he were still alive, I would definetly want to speak with him oneday. I dont know about you guys, but his poetry changed my life- the way I look a poetry- its just amazing.

His Life, in a nutshell:
-He was born in 1926, and died in 1966
-He grew up in Masaachusetts, went to Harvard, moved to New York where he started to write in earnest
-He worked at the MOMA (museum of modern art)

Style + Influences:
-He had an interest in art (working at the MOMA), which is why so many of his poems relate poetry to painting

-He loved New York, and the rush of life there, how everything is going on at the same time, and the city is always busy and brimming with so many different people
-He was homosexual, and you'll notice that his poems have no gender (he doesnt say he loves a 'him' or 'her'), to make his poems more universal
-Honesty. Frankness. Being true to art. These were his fundamental characteristics. His poetry was so new and different at the time because he had no structure (no rhymes, weird punctuation, lots of exclamation marks), and he wrote on impulse. In act, he wrote some of the poetry on the day of his readings sometimes. He didn't like the cliche, and critized painters and poets who didn't have passionate subjects but instead just made calculated, "safe" work.
-His poems also include tons of names and references to friends and loved ones of Frank O'Hara, and this is a great qoute to sum it up:

"Reading a Frank O’Hara poem is like being thrown into the middle of a party with
some stranger’s intimate friends. One has to do one’s best to make sense of all
the inside references, names, places, and things that one would have no
reasonable reason to know” - Jonathen N. Barron

Here are some of his poems (my favs), and you can decide for yourself:

Why I Am Not a Painter

I am not a painter, I am a poet.
Why? I think I would rather be
a painter, but I am not. Well,

for instance, Mike Goldberg
is starting a painting. I drop in.
"Sit down and have a drink" he
says. I drink; we drink. I look
up. "You have SARDINES in it."
"Yes, it needed something there."
"Oh." I go and the days go by
and I drop in again. The painting
is going on, and I go, and the days
go by. I drop in. The painting is
finished. "Where's SARDINES?"
All that's left is just
letters, "It was too much," Mike says.

But me? One day I am thinking of
a color: orange. I write a line
about orange. Pretty soon it is a
whole page of words, not lines.
Then another page. There should be
so much more, not of orange, of
words, of how terrible orange is
and life. Days go by. It is even in
prose, I am a real poet. My poem
is finished and I haven't mentioned
orange yet. It's twelve poems, I call
it ORANGES. And one day in a gallery
I see Mike's painting, called SARDINES.

Analysis: Okay, so I'm not going to analyze the whole poem, but basically what he is saying is that there are some similarities between painting and poetry, as different as the art forms may seem. They both start off with one idea, and end up writing/painting about something else. They also take some things from eachother; the painting uses the title (words) "Sardines" to convey a feeling, while the poet uses the color (like a painting does) "orange" to convey another. He plays with the dea that the weakness of poetry is that you cannot use immediate visuals to show the audience what you want them to see (to get his idea out, he ends up using pages and pages)- however, painting has the weakness of only having a limited space to get your message to the audience: a square canvas. This poem is also nice because Mike Gldberg and Frank O'Hara were friends in real life, and the poem is about a real painting by Goldberg (the one below):
Having a Coke with you

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne
or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona
partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian
partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt
partly because of the fluoresent orange tulips around the birches
partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary
it is hard to believe when I'm with you that there can be anything as still
as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when right in front of it
in the warm New York 4 o'clock light we are drifting back and forth
between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles

and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint
you suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them
I look
at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world
except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it's in the Frick
which thank heavens you haven't gone to yet so we can go together the first time
and the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism
just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase or
at a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow me
and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them
when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank
or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn't pick the rider as carefully
as the horse

it seems they were all cheated of some marvellous experience
which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it

Analysis: Well, this poem starts off in a humorous manner; he starts of by saying that having a coke with you is more fun than vomiting in the streets of Spain! Then he mentions all the little details about his lover; his or her love for yughurt, their orange shirt, the way they smile together, that makes frank love them. In this way, he stays away from the cliche- he doesn't say how he's SO in love forever and ever and ever and ever like other poets do, but instead, he stays realistic which is why he just says "i love you...you know, because i rather be here than sick to my stomach" and then later says "I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world...except for that one portait I love, to be honest I rather look at that!" He stays away from being too mushy or a hallmark card- he just writes honestly. He ontinues this idea when he starts to critize painters that pay so much attention to calculated proportions and form that they forget to choose subjects that are truly passionate to them- because O'hara believes that painting should be about passion, not being perfect. And so he sees flaws in all the master's paintings, because "they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank"

Steps

How funny you are today New York
like Ginger Rogers in Swingtime
and St. Bridget’s steeple leaning a little to the left

here I have just jumped out of a bed full of V-days
(I got tired of D-days) and blue you there still
accepts me foolish and free
all I want is a room up there
and you in it
and even the traffic halt so thick is a way
for people to rub up against each other
and when their surgical appliances lock
they stay together
for the rest of the day (what a day)
I go by to check a slide and I say
that painting’s not so blue

where’s Lana Turner
she’s out eating
and Garbo’s backstage at the Met
everyone’s taking their coat off
so they can show a rib-cage to the rib-watchers
and the park’s full of dancers with their tights and shoes
in little bags
who are often mistaken for worker-outers at the West Side Y
why not
the Pittsburgh Pirates shout because they won
and in a sense we’re all winning
we’re alive

the apartment was vacated by a gay couple
who moved to the country for fun
they moved a day too soon
even the stabbings are helping the population explosion
though in the wrong country
and all those liars have left the UN
the Seagram Building’s no longer rivalled in interest
not that we need liquor (we just like it)

and the little box is out on the sidewalk
next to the delicatessen
so the old man can sit on it and drink beer
and get knocked off it by his wife later in the day
while the sun is still shining

oh god it’s wonderful
to get out of bed
and drink too much coffee
and smoke too many cigarettes
and love you so much

Analysis: This poem is so funny but serious at the same time! He talks cynically about the world "the stabbings" but then keeps it upbeat by saying "hey, at least it helped the population explosion!" Then in the first stanza he talks about sex, everyone wants it, and says plainly "i just want you upstairs, now". And he continues to pull in funny situations and names and flaws in a huge run-on sentence, which sounds like the person would be reading this poem out of breath. The last stanza then sounds like a sign of relief: "oh god it's wonderful....and love you so much". It almost the only part of the poem that's crystal clear in meaning. After all the crazy things going on in the rest of the poem, the last stanza says, in my interpretation, that it's so good to have someone to be in love with, so that with all the hectic this in the world we can just sit upstairs, be in love (and in the moment), and forget about the world around us. It also seems like an expression of what O'hara believes love to be; a connection between two imperfect people, and an escape from the bad things in the world.

Thanks for reading! (and hope everyone had a great thanksgiving + black friday!)

-NewYorkChique

Sexiness and the Human Body

Well, I havent blogged in a while. Hope everyone is getting by okay =]



For those who responded to the last post, I ended up getting the Firefighter costume. It actually looked really nice, I think. Since I'm not an amazon with a DD bra size, it looked pretty appropriate. Either way, I got grounded (long story), so I ended up not celebrating at all for yet another year. Some of you commented on the sexualization of costumes- and you're all right. If it's not a little kid costume, it's most likely a sexy costume. I think that if you look around for costumes wisely, and stay away from using garters and 4 inch stilletos, you can actually pull of a party-but-not-too-slutty look. But then again, there is a sort of freedom in being able to dress sexily every once in a while. Is being sexy liberating, or objectifying? Some women may say it makes them feel like they have more power, and feel more free. Some may say that doing that makes them feel like they're selling themselves. That's an arguement that really has no answer, since it can be argued either way. It's then up to the individual to decide how they feel about it.

It's messy, but read anyway:



ART
Also, in art- in ancient times as well as the renaisance, women's bodies were adored-scultpures, paintings, the works. But now, photography or paintings are put on the no-no list of the U.S. to show to kids. But why? I never understood what was wrong with the beauty of people's bodies. Why is the body something that society tries to make us ashamed of? It's a big debate when it comes to book-censoring, sex ed, etc. as well.

By the way, this is one of my favorite paintings (its quite famous)- it's called "Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening", by Salvador Dali (1944).






1920s
Also, I'd like to point out that the teenagers and twentiers in the 1920's that took the stand to dress however they like, (which was considered slutty back then), by today's standards would be modest. But why did they do it? Well, they wanted to have fun. They took the "we may die tomorrow" look on life, so they danced (which was made easier by shorter dresses), put on makeup, and kissed boys (only kissed, not much else- but pecking a guy who you weren't engaged to was considered promiscuous back then). Well, we have to give thanks to them for giving women the power to go out and party, and socialize. Back then, being sexy to the newer generations was being powerful. To the older generations who dissaproved of the flappers and new clothing, it was objectifying.

(That's Clara Bow, a New Yorker, and I love her)

I mean, standards are constantly changing. Could it be that the standards for sexual freedom are changing in some parts of the world, and the government is just trying to hold back that change for as long as they can? Who knows.

Okay, so it's a lot to go by, but I'm sure if someone tried argueing with me they could find plenty of points to argue against - I mean, I don't have ultra clear opinions, but it's more like food for thought. These are things I often think about, so any feedback/arguement is well appreciated.



Thanks for reading!
-New York Chique