Join the I'm Serenity Thompson Club

Ever do a vanity check? You know, the one where you search on your own name and see how you're ranking?

At Miss A. Goggins' Scratchy Record Dance Party last Saturday night, amid kitchen banter with entrpreneurs in front of the refigerator, I realized my check was due. Guess what I found? Two new Serenity Thompson's! The one in Chicago is loads of fun, from what her Tweets reveal. The other is a real estate agent in Houston.

Is your name Serenity Thompson? Let's start a club! Comment below and let me know you are out there.

Subversion trumps fear

My fear is all about not wanting to offend anyone's moral code. I'm not questioning or denouncing any culture, belief system or religion here.

The thing about fear is that it stifles all senses, it's limiting, it creates intellectual regression. A point of view is something to be grateful for - whether in agreement or not. Hell, I know this is obvious to many of us and perhaps I speak from a sheltered California bubble. Theo van Gogh was not only shot dead for his film, deemed "offensive," but his throat was slashed to near decapitation and he was stabbed several times, with two knives. That's the kind of anger a point of view, expressed through the mild art of Dutch filmmaking, can stir up, for example.

I don't want to make this into a linguistic exploration. Sure, Theo van Gogh's murderer was subversive and overcame fear in his act of overthrowing. But he overthrew a person in place of an idea or institution, and with violence rather than debate or other intellectual discourse for resolution. I don't have much respect for that.

Theo van Gogh's film was clearly subversive. Did Theo van Gogh know the consequences he would experience? Probably had some idea. Ballsy subject matter, explicit cinematography, absence of fear and disregard for extreme consequence, expressed through art. I can respect that one hundred times over. With glitter.

The Great Suppression

Suppression, subversion, submission. These were key words for me this weekend, and, all told, are creating circular references in my world.

It all started with the word Suppression on a late, late Saturday PM/early Sunday AM. Thought I'd post/blather about the unemployment rate, the percentage of unemployed MBA's I know, and relate both to U.S. monetary policy, the Stimulus Package (*whistle*), chief econonmic indicators and the like. In my interweb lurkings around "Suppression" to support whatever hypothesis I came up with, I stumbled across this photo from an Iranian fashion show. What do you think?

The word Suppression in this context along with the visual reminded me of the word Subversion, which was related to a few other tasks on my to-do list. These other tasks result in the ability to pay my bills.

Sunday afternoon brainstorming on a theme. Sitting down at my desk with Subversion on my mind, thoughts quickly turned to Subversive people, artists, musicians. Johnnie Rotten, Sid Vicious. Made me think of Submission, on the B side to my red vinyl Sex Pistols import from junior high (Anarchy in the UK on the A side, natch). I decided to listen to every single version on YouTube. That's when I came upon this short film by Theo Van Gogh, also called Submission (WARNING: CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT MATTER, NUDITY, SOME VIOLENCE). This film brings us back to the fashion show referenced a couple paragraphs ago.

Submission, Subversion, Suppression. Arrived in a completely different place than intended, and hesitant and somewhat frightened to formulate a hypothesis. To be continued: Subversion trumps fear

Happy Valentine's Day from Jail

Valentine's Day is very romantic. I should know - I am an expert after contemplating every single one of them alone. Oh wait. There is one exception: the year my boyfriend at the time picked the lock on my front door at 2:30AM to surprise me by sneaking up on me, asleep, and dropping a big pile of hardcandy on my face. Yes, that was a memorable one, and I certainly was not alone. In fact, it was kind of like a late night coffee klatch once the cops showed up to answer the home invasion call.

Ah, so many musings from February 14ths gone by, such as the year my best friend and I had a gig doing the Valentine's Day window display for a certain NYC retailer. That was a stressful window - it involved alot of glass, satin, and an ornery mannequin with a slippery wig. Yea, it was the last time we spoke. R.I.P. 10 year friendship.

Thank goodness for sex toys. That's really what Valentine's Day comes down to for most people. Doesn't matter if you're single, coupled, estranged, celibate, etc. Almost everyone feels a little touchy-touchy on Valentine's Day.

So, all alone? Feeling too much pressure? Boyfriend in Alaska? Buck up Lovey! CES doesn't have the monopoly on all the latest gizmos. Here are a couple gadgets I suggest you gift to yourself for a high tech Valentine's Day that really can be spent at home in front of a pizza and Craigslist.

Vibrating to the beat is Sex 3.0. The OhMiBod music vibrator works with your iPod and/or your iPhone. Hello? Yea this is Serenity. Uh huh, uh huuuuuuuuuuuuuh, yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa okaaaaaaaaaay um um um um um UM UM UM keep talking...

SaSi by JeJoue - how tech-savvy is this!?!? Keep it by your laptop and everyone will think it's a state of the art mouse.

I love you all. Happy Valentine's Day my darlins. xxxoooxxx

January 2009 Rocked - Welcome the Age of Competence

I usually check out during January. Other than continuing to go to work and do my job well, I indulge myself like Charles Bukowski after a mediocre day at the track.

You see, January is my birthday month, ushered in by bigtime bashes at the top of the month. This year was celebrationally sublime, as the joiner to my monthlong festival of champagne, delcacies, momentary lapses into Jello-O shots and Trash Queendom, and rapid recovery was the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Since I was out for January, let me catch you up on the highlights.

Top 5 Best Things About January 2009

1. January 20: The Inauguration. Pulled up beanbag chairs around the big screen TV with colleagues at work. Boxes of Kleenex. Applause. Facebook status updates. Smiles, cheer. What a great day for bringing our country back together. My street cred in Paris is now back online. C'est cool.

2. January 19: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In years of non-inauguration, or a Republican inauguration, this one tops my list. Martin Luther King Jr was a man of the people. Such a visionary, gifted speaker, and a looker - yow!

3. January 1-3: New Year'e Eve/Day/Aftermath. After NYE 2009, been there, done that, done him, done her, done yo mama. With people I love - Thomas, Stacie, Nahid, Luis and new friends TJ and Ruben.

4. January 21: My Birthday. Lunch, cake, flowers, etc etc etc. Dive bar at night with a couple of my favorite people, Jaemin and Jaffa.

5. January 26 and 28: Unexpected Gifts. Flowers showed up at work on Monday, followed by big shiny jewelry on Wednesday. The BEST.

The New Impressionists

I came to a realization at Paris' Musee de la Arte Moderne: Thomas Ruff has created a new brand of impressionism. (Before you go off and google him, realize that what will come up in the images results are similar to what you'll find for Terry Richardson - porn-like images that dont deliver an artistic message without the benefit of context - don't go there - esp if you're at work. Gawd, mentioning Richardson's name to my boss in that meeting was awful...)



Ruff's large scale jpegs (4x7) at the Musee de la Arte Moderne were pixelated landscapes: gardens, forests, desert encampments. Clashing contrast to his pixelated buildings being destroyed, or the previously mentioned nudes - those works are more about immediate sensory perception and the internet or tv news as a channel for information. The landscapes are simple in their beauty and purpose. These pics dont give them justice - size maters here...




This interview with Ruff in PopPhoto is cool for background on the artist (German, Dusseldorf, Becher school, influenced by fine art no photo, etc)

NEWS RELEASE

DEWAR GIVES THOMPSON A SHOT

It-Girl-with-an-Attitude and Smart Alek Boarding Schooler collide in dueling air guitar match, trade lawsuit for love, natch.

San Francisco, CA (FACEBOOK) December 16, 2008 – Serenity Thompson and Thomas Dewar, two objects of burning desire in the Hipster Triangle, are now dating. The two met when their instruments collided during an air guitar match on the Make Out Room late Thursday night. When Miss Thompson’s air Stratocaster plowed into Mr. Dewar’s air Telecaster during the guitar solo of the Guns N’ Roses rock anthem “Paradise City,” the rumblings of a lawsuit were quickly quelled by a mutual interest in Miss Thompson’s perfect heinie. Their relationship was leaked over the Facebook News Feed early Saturday evening.

Mr. Dewar, originally of Mill Valley, CA, graduated from Cal and leads a very respectable public life. He enjoys Thai food, non-fiction, and wines of the world. “I miss my minx terribly when I am forced to go to work,” says Mr. Dewar of his new love.

Miss Thompson was born and raised in lovely Sacramento, CA, where she lived in midtown, not the suburbs. She’s part Amazonian goddess, part tech nerd. “He’s refreshingly clever and honest, and not afraid of revealing extremely personal information on a first date,” Miss Thompson explains.

Their friends are very happy about the perfect match. “Seri has made some really effed up choices in the past,” reveals family friend Cedar Ingber. “I’m glad she finally got wise and chose someone I can have a few cocktails and satisfying conversation with while the ladies are doing god knows what in the kitchen.” “The news gave me whiplash. It’s added a very readable quality to Thomas’ FB status updates. His updates used to be such a snooze,” says another friend.

Since their initial meeting on Thursday night, the two have spent countless hours together for holiday parties and other indoor winter activities. The couple is registered on Craigslist.



For additional information on the Dewar-Thompson relationship, please contact subject matter expert Thomas Dewar.

Press Contact:

Thomas Dewar, director of public relations
Dewar-Thompson Incorporated
http://www.facebook.com.com/thomasdewar


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