objets d'art...

a big welcome to the blogosphere to my very talented sister, an artist and jewelry maker, who is finally showcasing her beautiful work at sheena925.wordpress.com.

i have probably been the biggest beneficiary, as her passion and skill for jewelry-making have grown. for the last several years, for any occasion, she has shared her gift with me--literally. i'm always overwhelmed, not just because each piece is beautiful, but because "she" is in every one: her taste and sensibility--bold, yet refined and impeccable--balanced with thoughtfulness of what i would like. and each reflects the determination that she applies to learning and perfecting the craft.

i hope you'll visit her new blog. i'll be posting updates, of course, and i'll keep a link to it on the side bar, along with all the other folks that continue to inspire me.

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i've undertaken a little photo-experimenting with the pieces she's made for me. she liked a couple of them, so you'll find them at sheena925. but here are outtakes:

silver bracelet made by sheena. all photos © anita aguilar

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back when we were in high school, my cousin jojo created a collage for me, which still hangs in my bedroom at my parents' house, and which i've used for the last few years as my online "identity." it is so much nicer and more artful than any photo i would have picked.

me, in the 80s (ha). by jojo aguilar.

but i came home a couple of weeks ago to a wonderful surprise--a new painting (which is now my profile picture everywhere online). i hope it's not horribly vain and wrong of me to love this as much as a i do. (forgive me, if so.) but as i told him, that's me now, but on my best day, and exactly how i'd want to portray myself to others. big thank you hug to him for the new "me."

painting by jojo aguilar

he's another amazing talent in my family. visit his blog to see more of his work (also perma-linked on the sidebar). funny, he's got his resume up there as a post, so you can see the long list of animation projects to his credit.

happy birthday, jojo!

photo of the adorable ms. zooey deschanel.

photographer: hilary walsh for nylon magazine. published sept 18, 2008.

she and him...are pretty fantastic

cameras flashed like strobe lights from moment she and him took the stage. and zooey deschanel looked a little overwhelmed.


she--angel-faced, in a silver-sequined, vintage halter dress--is a slip of a thing. from my vantage point (not close), i could clearly see her ribcage, and it was a little alarming. i wanted to offer her one of those empanadas that they sell at the venue. were it not for the generous bouffant, and the colossal white flower on her headband, how very small she would have looked on stage...

but oh, what a voice. a strong, clear, capable instrument. if she were ever so inclined, she could make the transition from indie pop darling/cute, quirky songstress, to convincing chanteuse. some years from now, i would love to hear her ooohs-ing through a cabaret set at some swanky nightclub.

as for him--his voice is used as kind of an oddity on the recording. i sort of love that, of course. but on stage, he sings a true "second voice" and does it well. with his sexy guitar stylings, he just might be a more compelling presence than her. he can play with real abandon, and some of my favorite moments of the night were the amazed, joyful smiles she gave him whenever he did.


she's an undoubtedly adorable, but timid tambourine player--i kept wishing she'd just go wild with the thing. i kept thinking--this is the gal that wants to play janis joplin? she could do it, of course, i think she has the voice in her, but the stage showmanship would require real acting.

all of that said, i loved the show! i really did. they sound very true to the record. the only somewhat disappointing rendition? "sweet darlin'" --they sang it like "camptown races." part of the magic of that song is "the build" toward the end. but they started so fast, too fast, there was nowhere to go with it, but off stage. and so they went...(but came back for their encore).

here are a few videos. you get the gist of how "true" they sounded, i think. terminal 5 was not "camera friendly" in any sense. this was all I could get.

and jojo, these are especially for you...

black hole


you really got a hold on me


this is not a test


a new zooey tune

happy, happy birthday

jojo!!!

zooey deschanel in jane mag, june 2007

zooey deschanel, in jane mag, june 2007

love/hugs...