weapons of massdistraction

Today I have Bowie on the brain, even more than usual. David Bowie, the patron saint of gender bending, is not just one of the most influential musicians of all time. Bowie is also an accomplished painter, photographer, actor, collector and more.

David Bowie Is presents the first retrospective of the extraordinary career of David Bowie—one of the most pioneering and influential performers of our time. More than 400 objects, most from the David Bowie Archive—including handwritten lyrics, original costumes, photography, set designs, album artwork, and rare performance material from the past five decades—are brought together for the first time.

The retrospective opens today at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and a documentary about the exhibit is screening at select theaters tonight only. Alas, I can’t make it to the theater tonight due to prior parenting obligations. But this gives me an extra excuse to make it to Chicago sometime this Fall.

Five more good things:

• Recently Emma Watson gave a speech at the UN, at the launch of HeForShe, a solidarity movement for gender equality. Watch the video here. And directly related to this is the amazing John Oliver taking on the ridiculousness of the Miss America Pageant. And he absolutely nails it, as usual.
• Speaking of gender, this is fascinating…”In Afghanistan, ranked the worst country in the world to be born a girl, some parents are bringing up their daughters as sons. Then comes puberty and the ‘bacha posh’ are expected to to switch back.” That’s one way around the problem of sexism, but not a solution. I prefer another approach. When no gender fits: A quest to be seen as just a person
• Hmmm, I was thinking of getting back to Los Angeles sometime this Fall. This is an excellent incentive. California’s First Cat Café Is Coming to Chinatown in October. As well as an exhibition of the art of Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever at La Luz De Jesus Gallery from October 3rd - 12th. But there just isn’t time.
• We just watched Safety Not Guaranteed. A Time Travel Rom Com whose premise came from a classified ad in Backwoods Home Magazine in the 90s: “Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. P.O. Box … You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.”
• We’ve also gotten sucked into the hilarious podcast from Aisha Tyler (Lana on Archer), Girl On Guy. Which led us back to watching more Archer episodes (so good). And learning about this ridiculousness - H. Jon Benjamin’s (voice of Archer from Archer) Absurd Kickstarter Illustrates the Absurdity of Most Kickstarters

Ever so slowly I have been recovering from this sinus infection. Two plus weeks of sickness, combined with being exceptionally busy. Friday night we made it to the Turf Club, again, for Old Familiar Chime: A Guitar Festival. It was lovely but exhausting. Saturday there were multiple shows happening around town featuring friends’ bands but I was in no shape for any of them. Instead we took my son mini golfing at the Walker Art Center in the afternoon and stayed in to watch Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive. I adore Tilda Swinton so much. And she had great chemistry with Tom Hiddleston. Sunday we overdid it a bit. Met up with friends to sample the new brunch menu at the Turf Club (again with the Turf), and amble around St Paul Open Streets for a spell. We didn’t have much time to rest before my son’s birthday party out in the suburbs at SkyZone, an indoor trampoline park. A bonus perk? My son can go back to SkyZone for free whenever he wants for the next month. And I scored some free SkyZone aerobics passes. Oof. My back still hurts from Sunday.