They say smell is the strongest sense tied to memory, and the Urban Olfactory exhibit at SPUR Urban Center will definitely be a trip down down memory lane (Grew up in New Jersey? Ah, smell that turnpike!). Yes, turnpike smells.
The exhibit will feature scents from agrarian and urban settings throughout history. Admit it, you're curious of about what 18th century Paris smelled like. (And you already know what cookies and roses smell like anyway.)
The exhibit (SPUR Gallery, 654 Mission) runs through March 31, and is free.
Sarah B. Whalen insists that she's a prude. "I meet people and they think I'm some nymphomaniac," she says. "I think it's funny. I'm usually in bed by 10 and I sleep with a retainer in."
But it's not really hard to see why people might think that Whalen is more nympho than goody-good. Her sexual-themed ink drawings are graphic. Like, slippery blowjobs and sexual choking graphic. The overtly explicit subject matter sets the tone for each of her pieces, even though there is plenty of thought behind each. What they lack in shyness they are make up for in style -- they're economic; each line simple and deliberate.
Prude or not prude, she's a entertaining to be around. In person she is as open and uninhibited as her work. When she brings up shunga, a style of Japanese erotic art, and one of her personal favorites, she gets so excited that she almost starts shouting. "One of the most famous ones is a woman with her head back and there's a giant octopus that's eating her out. It's like, latched onto her vagina. It's so awesome!"
The pressure to do it big for Valentine's Day gets even worse if you're already part of an official couple. Everyone and their mother expects everyone with a significant other to have some extravagant outing planned, the more lavish the better. That's probably where the inspiration for this list of the 20 most romantic cities in America came from. Although compiled by the Huffington Post, the list draws on data taken from MissTravel.com, a dating site dedicated to matching up rich dudes with attractive broke chicks looking for someone to take them on a trip for free. Yes, this really exists.
The Write Stuff is a series of interview profiles conducted by Litseen, where authors give exclusive readings from their work.
David Welper has an MA from Wayne State University in Detroit. His work appears in Housefire, Denver Syntax, Louffa Press and more. He has been a featured reader in NYC where he lived for a couple years. He has also lived in Denver, but now lives in the Bay Area where he's keepin' it real, paying the bills by working as a Psych Nurse. His book of poems, Lookbaby, is available on his website as well as Kobo.com, Pegasus Books, McNally Jackson... so go get it!
If someone said I want to do what you do, what advice would you have for them?
Read a wide variety of genres and subjects, experiment, meet people and learn from people, take classes, listen, pay attention to life, keep submitting your work, never stop!
What's wrong with society today?
Being absorbed by technology, which is hindering our ability to communicate in person.
