So this will be a long one to kinda catch up.  But I’ll try to be concise.  And fail at it.  Oh well.

My life is truly insane.  And the insanity has become comfortable.  And maybe my life – via this blog – sounds incredibly exciting.   Sometimes I wouldn’t trade my existence for anything…but there are many, many difficult times too.  And recently my father sent me an email that simply said this:

Maya:

A short follow up. Creativity can be stressful but it certainly beats the comfort of boredom.

Dad

My dad is a really wise man.

In  “I can call star power” news:  my article about Anna Evans came out in Brown Bunny Magazine (a very cool Italian publication) and Hot Danish Artist Thomas Warming took the photos:

Crazy Bitches by Maya Sloan

and yes, this is the picture they opened with.  They are Italian, after all.

And literally the night before, I open Time Out magazine and guess who is featured in the nightclub section:

oh Kayvon and Anna...you guys are really, really odd.

Now a pinch-yourself moment.  Lucinda Williams is one of my favorite musicians of all time, and not just because her brilliant poet father taught at University of Arkansas while I was there…because she is a poet too. And she’s a songwriter who’s been a soundtrack to a lot of good/bad/emotional times in my life.  And I finally got to see her play live!  And I somehow got me and Hot Danish Artist Thomas Warming VIP passes (don’t ask don’t tell)!  And yeah, it was one of the best nights of my life.

The crowd:

And then we got to go backstage…her husband/manager introduced us (I know that sounds cheesy – husband/manager - but he wasn’t cheesy at all.  An incredibly cool guy).  And I could hardly talk to her, I was so starstruck.  But I mentioned her dad and started babbling and she just threw her arms around me in a huge embrace.  I  mean, what an amazing woman.

And Thomas asked her to take a picture with me….he knew I wanted one but would never ask myself.  And I said something like, “I feel so weird posing for pictures.  And I swear to god she said right in my ear, “Why, you’re so pretty.”  Then snap.  Which is why I have this crazy expression on my face:

like the average woman, I only feel "pretty" intermittently. but having Lucinda say that to me...well, that was cool.

So that was one of those wonderful moments.  And there was also a super-scary one.  Emily (of Emo Goes Postal) got really sick.  She ended up being in the hospital for several days.  And it was scary as hell…and also kind of mind-blowing, how brave she was and how all her friends and family came together to support her.  And even more…how even in that situation, in a truly ghetto hospital on morphine and in a ton of pain…Emily maintained her humor and warmth and incredibly huge glowing spirit…and I feel so very, very lucky to have her as a best friend.

Emo hearts Oprah

we decorated her room

And yes, she approved the following shot to be on my blog.  In fact, she liked the idea.  And that is another reason I love that crazy ass bitch:

we have all become oddly fond of this bag and have considered the decorating options: bedazzling? Sequins? At the same time, this bag will be gone soon and I know that will be a huge relief. But damn, that girl can work a hospital runway.

Believe me, that hospital will never be the same.  They were so sorry to see her go.  And the medical students would find their way to her room just to hang out.  It was kinda a big old sick party, with lots of morphine and Shasta and hot doctors feeling the need to “check up” on Emily on a frequent basis.  And it was a salon too, because in her doped out state she let me do her makeup and hair and nails.

She’s feel a ton better by the way.  And if anything, I think this reminds all of us how much she means to us…and hopefully reminds Emily how much she is loved.

And more….

Jefferson is close with this fucking awesome Italian artist….and she has this crazy famous piece…sexy mopeds.  I mean, these mopeds are gettin’ it on.

This is her, Daniela Dido.

And she invited us to this very exclusive party:

And the President of Italy was there.  And I’ve never seen so much real Prada in my life or better dressed women.  And I was wearing my H&M discount rack dress and we were totally out place and it didn’t matter…we had a blast. And the whole thing was surreal and great.  And there was lots of free cheese.

And we took a paparazzi shot…long after the paparrazi was gone, of course, since that was the only time we could get near the press station:

And a kickass gift bag.  And of course we closed the place down.

All in all, it has been a wild couple of weeks

ZACK KARABASHLIEV

http://www.24chasa.bg/Article.asp?ArticleId=331188

My Burn Brother, and member of my Bulgarian family, not only won the biggest book prize in Bulgaria…he won the second biggest as well! He is such a rockstar.  And for those of you who voted for him on my website, I’m still gonna get you that drink….now I just gotta find a way to get him published in the US (any ideas?)

MATT GOLDBERG

Matt Goldberg, a great friend, kickass writer, and one of the coolest people I know (and not only because he shares a name with a famous Jewish wrestler from Oklahoma) got a story bought by the Atlantic!!!!!!  For those of you not into the whole literature thing…that is a huge, huge deal.

Matt, this is for you:

BROOKE CHESHIER

http://www.amazon.com/Wine-Lovers-Page-Day-Calendar/dp/B002IE1FV4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1262383776&sr=8-2

Another great writer and good friend, the lovely and charming Brooke Cheshier, originally from Arkansas and now relocated to Napa Valley, has not only had her food and wine blog listed as one of the top 100…but a wine calendar she co-wrote is available on Amazon…

EMILY TOBY-ROSE JOHNSON

Emily Johnson, of Emo Goes Postal fame, has gotten a residency from the Vermont Studio Center, which is a really huge deal!

I’m proud of ya’ll!!!!!!