Because someone out there is ALWAYS weirder than you...

Speaking of writer's block and boredom, dear GOD, what engrossing camp DON'T those crazy Spanish soap operas have? Seriously, every time I eat at Las Tres Fronteras, as I did two nights ago, I have to sit facing the television so I can see the insane soap operas that are always on. That night, it was the ridiculous El Rostro de Analia that was on. I only needed to see the theme for my interest to invested. (Hint: There is reggaeton involved. REGGAETON!)

I must. Know. Where I can watch this.

Florence Welch: Cure for Cultural Boredom

Summer is an important time for self-exploration, so it's essential to find a good source of introspection or inspiration. Last spring, I rediscovered Florence and the Machine per "Dog Days Are Over" (which has a knack of making me cry, and did tonight out of NOWHERE as I watched the Maida Vale performance of it, which I highly recommend and is viewable here), and re-rediscovered her just the other day after stumbling upon her picture in the May issue of ELLE UK. Starting that day, I have submerged myself into Florence and the Machine, reading old interviews, watching old videos, anything and everything I can, and its provided me with a bounty of inspiration.

A good story is necessary in the summer, a time that can get so dreadfully boring that you want to do something extreme. I've read some of my best books in the summer, and year after year, the pressure is on to find worthy contenders to beat the greats of years past. I think that, perhaps, via Florence, I may have found even a SERIES of contenders for this year's dive into reading. Captivated as I was by her disarming ability to tell a story, I've Googled pretty much everything name-dropped in her bloggings and interviews, etc., to come upon some serious gold in the "magical feminist" author that is, the apparently classic one I'd never heard of, Angela Carter. Tonight, I've been drowning in works like The Bloody Chamber and The Magic Toyshop (neither of which I even own... yet), even their chapter names so full of strange poetry that the connections Welch draws from her work is immediately visible to a Florence fan. You don't even have to go in with a clear plot in your mind, and it's still interesting as hell.

It's almost enough to get ME writing again. Hopefully, you'll get the idea too from the Alice in Wonderland-inspired video for her wonderful upcoming single, "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)":

Nick Cave has a new book coming out. THIS YEAR.

And the sound you just heard was me dying a little on the inside but in a good way.

YES, you heard me correctly: this fall will see the release of Nick Cave's second book, entitled The Death of Bunny Munro, which will follow a new widower and his son on a road trip around England. It will be his first work of fiction since 1989's And the Ass Saw the Angel, a critically acclaimed tale of revenge, sin and voyeurism in the deep South written in the peak of a Bible-thumping stage for which Cave would become so famous. It is the most eloquent, highly nuanced literary porn I have ever read (seriously, that book is dirrrrrty, Xtina-style, but not really).
This year will also see him providing voices and production for the upcoming animated film The Cat Piano (which sounds adorable) and taking on the role as screenwriter for the movie The Death of a Ladies' Man. Most notably, he and longtime partner in crime Warren Ellis will be in charge for the score for the long-awaited Cormac McCarthy opus The Road. I will be seeing all of the above.
And the Ass Saw the Angel will also see its twentieth anniversary re-release through Penguin later this year, re-edited by Cave himself.

So badly do I hope this all means a book-signing tour. It must, it MUST!
I WILL travel for you, Nick. My love knows no distance.

Your little doll,
Y Lolita Hazed

Historic Lolitas: Kat Bjelland

Holy shit, this bitch is SO. BAD. Seriously, if you're not down with Kat (center at right, wearing the Lolita glasses OBVIOUSLY), YOU SHOULD BE. One of the first things my Facebook pen-pal who I want to marry said to me was that I slightly resembled Kat Bjelland. At the time, I was completely unfamiliar with who she was. BUT NOW I AM. And now I see it is a HUGE FUCKING COMPLIMENT.
Off-topic ish aside, this here ladybird was a HUGE spark leading to the riot grrrl movement. Babes in Toyland, for whom she sang and played lead guitar, was all about oxymorons-- a cute sounding name with destructive as hell sounds, delicate looks and a rough as FUCK voice, lacy lingerie peeking from a babydoll dress. At the height of grunge, Bjelland coined the term "kinderwhore" to describe this sexualized little girl she dressed up as, a term eventually accredited with her close friend Courtney Love. (Of course, you could never tell they were friends-- the notorious singer was the subject of BIT's outrageous hit "Bruise Violet".) With an aesthetic revolving around irony, it demanded people to contemplate women's image in society, starting with the antiquated belief of "chicks who can't play their instruments". Everything about her made a loud statement, and it was heard by the likes of Kathleen Hanna, Corin Tucker, and other badass bitches that would go on to start the fire known as "riot grrrl". Evidently, this girl could rock.

Seriously, I'm obsessed with Babes in Toyland now. And you should be too.

Download: Babes in Toyland "Bruise Violet"