It seems about time for a
summer
in pictures.
I feel like as I get older I know a few extra things about myself which are mostly interesting to me because they exist in direct contradiction to stuff I THOUGHT I knew about myself. The number one thing I have learned as of late is that I am a nature lover. It is now possible for me to picture myself living in a cabin in the woods somewhere far from civilization. I spent a week at Little Straggle Lake in Northern Ontario and seriously considered not leaving at the end of it. I mean seriously. Consider the view above. Can you imagine looking out your window and seeing that every day? Bliss.
RUSH is another thing like that. Probably the only RUSH song I was into as a teenager was "Roll The Bones," which is not, arguably, a very good RUSH song. Today, though, I am a fan. Probably the highlight of my summer was getting to see them in Hamilton. RUSH rocks. We got there just as they were opening with "Subdivisions," which gave me CHILLS.
CHILLS.
Also it was the only concert I've ever been to where there wasn't a line up in the women's bathroom.
I could have gone several times with no wait.
When does that ever happen? Never.
The magic of RUSH.
Also the RUSH tee I got was Enormous. But I love it. Also, in Canada, you can now send your mail with RUSH stamps if you want.
(I'm sure you want to)
Oh hey, look! Killer plants.
Aside from that Heather and I have continued our tradition of Northern California adventuring. Case in point - California Carnivores, which, again, surprised me by being a place I could spend almost a whole day in. The plants are just so amazing. I loved them. I didn't buy one though because the idea of owning a thing that ate other living things reminded me of this guy I knew in University who owned piranhas, which was cool but ultimately kind of unsettling.
Also we went to an apple festival and I found this guy who was painting huge rainbow animals. And he was about 6'5". And he was painting rainbow buffalo and stuff. Someday, I am going to own a rainbow buffalo painting.
I've done a few California readings as of late. This is one I did for Radar at City Lights Bookstore, which was kind of awesome. I mean, it's a little bit of literary history, right? Everyone was very polite and quiet. And Dave End sang and wore this customized glorious 80's type gown with a plunging neckline. And one again I was wearing the most clothing of anyone else at the reading. Cuz I love a layer.
Aside from doing a TREMENDOUS amount of writing and editing I'm a bit needlepoint obsessed lately. To me it's very much like coloring in a coloring book. You have this space that you have to fill in. Once it's filled in, it's done. It's kind of amazingly simple. This is one of two big summer projects I did. Currently I'm finishing up my Northern Ontario inspired owl. You can follow me on Instagram for stitch by stitch updates if you want. I'm MarikoTamaki. Which, by now, should be obvious.
My big reading of the summer was at Powell Street Festival, which, I will say publicly now, almost didn't happen.
Why?
Why you ask?
Basically, day before my show, I was sitting at my desk hanging out waiting for the day to unspool so I could get to my 6 pm flight to Vancouver when I got an email from a sweet but somewhat concerned event organizer asking why I wasn't at the airport for my pickup that morning.
And I was like, what are you talking about?
And I checked my ticket.
Not 6 PM.
6 AM!
Has that ever happened to you? It has NEVER happened to me. I was horrified. The airline was not thrilled. The festival, I'm sure, was also pretty horrified but they hid it well. Anyway, long story short, I finally DID make it to Vancouver with about 10 minutes to spare before my reading.
So now I have another thing to manically check a million times.
1. Stove light
2. Wallet
3. Keys
4. Flight departure times
Hey. That said. It was a great festival. Nice audiences. Good questions. I got to see my BC friends and eat some yummy Japanese food.
Also.
How amazing are these kids in kimonos?!
OK.
Still justified right down the centre/center.
Let's slow things down, shall we?
My summer reads thus far have been joyously extensive and read on paper, Kindle
and tiny phone screen.
Lynn Coady's The Antagonist
Lisa Moore's Caught
Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake
Kate Atkinson's Life After Life
Laura Prepon's Orange is the New Black
I'm currently devouring David Rakoff's Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish: A Novel, which is heartbreaking and beautiful. And illustrated by Seth.
I've also started in on Marisha Pessl's Night Film, which is a little easier for reading on public transit. Because I don't have to keep up with the metre.
Okay so all that said, NEWS.
I'm super excited to say that This One Summer, which is my next graphic novel with Jillian Tamaki, is in full production mode in the US and Canada!
For more visuals you can go to Jillian's blog.
Also you can just look at Jillian's blog, which is pretty stunning.
Yes. I know. She's awesome.
This project has been so long in the making and I am so proud of it.
Seriously, you guys.
PROUD.
I'm currently working on a bunch of new projects and books. And trying to find some LGBT film fests so you all can watch my movie Happy 16th Birthday Kevin, which showed at Toronto's Inside/Out Festival this summer.
For news on upcoming readings, you can follow me on Twitter, which is where most things like that get announced...first.
xo
m