Zocalo Hannah

street style: university

November 14, 2012 |

I spotted Portia, a hairdresser, while she was outside taking smoke break. I loved her nonchalant attitude and the small details that turned a plain, all-black uniform into something memorable: ripped (and cuffed!) jeans, an off-the-shoulder top, and a big pendant necklace. Her tattoos (so ubiquitous in Tucson—I love it) added a nice touch, too, as does her bold (but not overdone) eye makeup. (And, yes, she’s wearing flip flops. Sometimes, occasionally, flip-flops don’t suck. I’ve never claimed to be consistent! You might even call me a… flip-flopper… on the issue!*)

*I am so, so sorry. The puns! Aghhh, they’re terrible.

in pictures: the international wildlife museum

November 9, 2012 |

Aka the Dead Animals museum. Whatever. Let’s talk morality another day… For now, pictures! (FYI: this trip was part of Holly’s and my “Discover Tucson” series. It’s not really a Zócalo Hannah thing, but more of a hey-whaddayou-wanna-do-on-our-days-off thing. Part one was the M.T.D.E., part two was the un-reported-upon trip to the San Xavier Mission, and part three was [the practically un-reported-upon] All Souls Procession. Welcome to part four of many.)

Right off the bat, Holly and I were inspired to light-hearted gaity (a.k.a. idiotic photoshoots) beside this majestic beast that graces the entrance to the museum:

“What a treat! / greeted by the sight / of this majestic beast.” – Anon.

(After the lion, the next notable thing we were greeted by was a sign that informed us: “This is NOT the Desert Museum.” Duly noted.)

Then we learned about horns vs. antlers (as far as I remember, horns are bone covered in keratin, common to males and females alike, and they are not shed. Antlers are bone covered in velvet, aka skin; they are shed seasonally; found only on males; and they are larger on mature animals but grow smaller with age. Both horns and antlers are cool, though I personally have a soft spot for antlers.):

I really want to try to convey to you how confused the following display made me. It was in the “Mythological” section, which was pretty interesting stuff: displays of prehistoric bones (many from the Mediterranean region), along with explanations as to how the bones could’ve inspired myths about creatures like cyclopes and griffins. But the centaur was hilariously confusing because its explanation was not phrased in hypothetical language—it was phrased as fact. “This centaur was found… Confirms suspicions that centaurs were forced by humans into the mountains… Centaurs like to drink…” etc. Weird stuff. Entertaining. I believe in centaurs now.

This room was cray (yes, cray… I’m always afraid to—for instance—use “cray” in a text message because it will look like a typo. It’s not.):

Click to enlarge!

I will leave you, dear readers, with what is quite possibly the best advice Holly & I gleaned from our visit to the International Wildlife Museum: “Be a ferret.” Holly complied, I present her disappearing feet as evidence:

i’ll see you at: where i’ll be on election night!

November 5, 2012 |

So y’know how some people are all “the world’s gonna end if Romney gets elected!” and some people are all “the world’s gonna end on December 21st!” and people used to be all “Obama is the Messiah and will fix everything!” and other people still are all weirdly and endearingly optimistic about December 21st like are all, “there’s gonna be some chakra shift and feminine energy will flood the world and we’ll all move together to a higher plane” (no? Okay). Are you still with me? Did you have any idea that this post would turn into a plug for my favorite Tucson venue, Topaz?

Basically, I’ve decided that if Romney wins the election, then December 21st will spell death and destruction, and I’ll be one of the first to go because (a) I’ll be drunk when the apocolypse happens and (b—special three-in-one bonus) I don’t own a gun/have any survival skills/I’m basically blind without my glasses. BUT, if Obama wins… Maybe we’ll stand a chance.*

And now the plug: no matter who wins the election, I’ll see you at The Intelligence show at Topaz on election night, because um, no, I don’t want to sit in front of coroprate TV and watch the results come in. Because that’s boring, amirite?

* Okay, seriously. Politics in America are just so incredibly and pathetically messed up that the difference between Obama and Romney is at this point mostly symbolic, with a little bit of my reproductive rights thrown in. As I’ve said before, though, let’s get a beer and talk about politics in the USofA if you wanna hear my point of view, because in the public sphere I like to keep my opinions depoliticized to at least some degree. Oh, you want me to talk about Israel-Palestine? NO.

in pictures: all souls procession

November 5, 2012 |

(Click to zoom!) Left 2 Rite: Sarah as Dead, Calvin as Dead, me as Dead, Holly as Dead. We snapped a few photos before heading out into the crowds…

…And then my camera died.

 

 

in pictures: ozma atelier (+ street style bonus!)

November 3, 2012 |

On our way to BICAS, my friend Sarah and I passed by Ozma Atelier. Intrigued, we decided to stop in once we’d picked up a rental bike for Sarah. At Ozma we found owner Jane (looking absolutely fabulous) and a veritable treasure trove of designer and vintage clothes. There’s also a little gallery (aptly named Wee Gallery) ’round back featuring the work of several local artists. Feast your eyes below and be sure to stop by when you get the chance—perhaps tonight for Mykl Wells‘ art opening!

Sarah admiring the goods at Ozma (above).

One of Mykl Wells’ trippy paintings (above). Jane’s spectacular outfit and her amazing rings (below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

it’s a thing: skorts, pt. 1

October 29, 2012 |

You might remember skorts. You might not. Honestly, I don’t really care either way. All you need to know is: business in the front, party in the back (one of my friends made that mullet analogy… Jessie? It was a good one; I liked it).

So, skorts. They might not be coming back, but since hipsters are nuts I wouldn’t be surprised if they do. Honestly, I don’t really care either way. I bought two of them the other day. Holly found this vintage Levi’s skort (below) when we were thrifting at Value Village, and since she’s the best friend in the entire whole wide world she forced me to try it on. And now I own it (four bucks!).

FYI: the top is from Desert Vintage. Gonna interview Salima & Roberto of Desert Vintage sometime soon, because they are beautiful people and their shop is amazing! The shoes are Hasbeens. Expensive as (name-your-expletive), but ultimately a fantastic investment.

Business (kind of) in the front:

(Photo credit: Kyle Wasson)

Party in the back. (Maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe the beauty of skorts is that you can’t tell…):

(Photo credit: Kyle Wasson)

(Yup, I dressed like a garden today. Also, I bought Chakra/color therapy glasses, and my day has been awesome.)

in pictures: world margarita championship

October 29, 2012 |

Electoral systems in this country are just messed up, straight up. I mean, everyone knows that the electoral college is a silly relic that should be discarded, and, c’mon, can we not all agree that it is ridiculous that you can only vote for ONE margarita for the World Margarita Championship’s “People’s Choice” Award? Unable to choose between several top contenders (if you’re wondering: Agustín Brasserie, Acacia Real Foods & Cocktails, Kingfisher/Bluefin, and Marina Terra Resort & Spa), I did what any lazy/indecisive gal would do—I didn’t vote. (I promise I’ll be voting the Presidential election. But… If you wanna get a beer and hear me bitch about that election, let’s do it. I won’t bore you with my ranting for now, though. This is a post about margaritas, for God’s sake!)

So when the going gets tough, the tough get blogging.* Sure, I didn’t vote, but I took a few pictures that I’ll take this opportunity to subject you to. Take a gander, and I’ll ttylz.

Cushing Street Bar? Maybe, maybe not.

Along with bomb margaritas, Marina Terra Resort & Spa had this badass lady servin’ them up.

This is jambalaya or some shit from Bluefin Seafood Bistro. It was so super delicious that I died. (P.S. Mostly I just ate at the Margarita Championships. To be honest, a lot of the margaritas weren’t even that good. But the food was dank.)

More pretty & colorful margaritas.

More importantly: PUPUSAS.

And then I accosted a random woman and was all “Um sorry hi can I take a picture of you holding that taco?” Good times. Acacia Real Foods & Cocktails: good-ass tacos. The margaritas were tasty, too.

* Sorry; that was a stretch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

interview: krysta + joel of TOPAZ

October 25, 2012 |

OK. This might just be me, but y’know those sort of projects—be they restaurants, artistic creations, street festivals, zombie poodles, what have you—that make you think, Wow, who the hell was cool (or crazy) enough not only to come up with this idea but actually pull it off?  Now, I’m not claiming they’re up there with Calexico or equals to Christo and Jeanne-Claude (yet) or that they’re half as genius as whoever discovered that putting Mentos in Diet Coke makes the whole thing explode, but Krysta and Joel—the couple behind Topaz—are pretty damn awesome.

(Photo credit: http://www.topaz-tundra.com/sample-page/)

In case you haven’t stumbled across it yet, Topaz is the unassuming-yet-totally-rad arts venue situated on a bare stretch of St. Mary’s Road just east of the freeway. I covered one of Topaz’s shows a while back, and earlier that same day I was lucky enough to get to sit down with Krysta and Joel for an interview. I was curious to find out what inspired the creation of an arts venue as eclectic and unique as Topaz. How did it all come together? I ask them. Krysta and Joel exchange glances and then Krysta explains, almost sheepishly: “It happened by accident, pretty much.” So the story goes: Krysta was looking for a studio where she could work on her photography, and Joel needed space to store the vintage clothing he collects (and now sells—on Topaz’s second floor, known as Zia Vintage). “It was only once we’d found this particular spot that we realized, Hey, we could do shows here,” says Krysta. “It was very much the physical space itself that inspired us.” As Topaz illustrates in its very existence, a willingness to embrace instability, random strokes of insight, and fortuitous accidents can be a spectacular asset.

They were enthusiastic, but Krysta and Joel weren’t sure what sort of reception Topaz would get in the Tucson arts scene. Accordingly, they were thrilled when they found “a lot of respect, no drama, no pressure,” explains Joel. “If we’d done shows and no one’d come, we would’ve done something different. But there was support from the start,” and lots of people were eager to collaborate.

“We think of Topaz as a creative platform, so we love it when people approach us with ideas. We don’t have an overarching vision,” Krysta explains. “Or, rather, our vision is open-ended.” Topaz is primarily a music venue at the present moment (with 100% of profits going to the bands they host), but Krysta and Joel foresee an expansion into more polished art shows, poetry readings, literary events, and film screenings, among other projects.

So if you’re one of the many people in Tucson who would love to see the art scene of this city thrive, check out Topaz. It’s one of those crazy/cool ideas come to fruition that can inspire and enrich us all. And don’t forget to check the Zocalo Hannah blog for more Topaz updates—I’ll be keeping them on my radar, for sure!

in pictures: M.T.D.E. (most tucson day ever)

October 21, 2012 |

I went to eegees. Then to Mt. Lemmon. Then to the Tanque Verde Swap Meet where I took no pictures (for some inexplicable reason), but where I got to practice my Spanish (and Arabic!) and buy: tons of candy (mostly tamarind and/or chile flavored, of course, with a healthy dose of mango tossed in), a jar of honey, a bunch of dried dates, and two silk shirts for $3 each that were being sold at a booth that mostly sold knives, camo, and old comic books. It was the M.T.D.E., and I loooooved it.

eegees happened: an eegees, a sandwhich, ranch fries (genius), a pumpkin cookie, and Holly.

Oh, by the way, MT. LEMMON IS BEAUTIFUL.

Oh, by the way, MT. LEMMON HAS A SWING. (Also: pictures of me are always really flattering.) (Photo credit: Holly Hall)

Waiting for sunset. Doesn’t this look like it could be the photo on an inspirational poster in a high school classroom? Or office cubicle? I’m too tired to think up what the motto would be that’d go with it.

halloween!

October 19, 2012 |

Nbd but Jasmine and I have the same dance moves. Check it.

What are you gonna be for Halloween? I’m gonna be Jasmine. Cuz she’s a badass and blue is a pretty color and her feet are a women’s size three, just like mine. Also it will be fun to confuse everyone because they’ll be all, “But you’re wicked blonde and you don’t look like Jasmine at all” and depending on who it is I’ll either be all, “Are you stereotyping me, what should I be dressed up as goddamn Julie Andrews” or be like, “Are you tripping on acid, Jasmine’s a made-up character it doesn’t even matter” and either way it will be funny, at least to me.

SKIP OVER THE FOLLOWING IF YOU’RE AVERSE TO LIBERAL ARTS KIDS’ RAMBLINGS.*

Also my Jasmine costume is going to be a semi-ironic statement.** See, I studied religion (specifically the Abrahamic faiths and even more specifically Islam) and sociology for my undergrad degree, and holy jesus did that particular line of study teach me to overthink absolutely everything and come to solid conclusions about practically nothing.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is Orientalism is a thing,*** and so is Islamophobia, and so is sexism, and there’s all these crazy matrices of oppression strangling all of us, and by dressing up as Jasmine I will be simultaneously supporting and critiquing the exoticized/villified portrayals of Arab women in American society and giving a shout-out to the matrices of oppression that Arab and/or Muslim (because in the American imagination those things are pretty much the same thing) women find themselves within. But most people will probably just be all, “Sweet, I love Aladdin, too.” And I’ll be like, “Yeah, duh, who doesn’t.”

Hmmm. I think it’s time to think about grad school. I shouldn’t be writing this kind of shit on a light-hearted blog, especially when I don’t have time to explain it and definitely just sound like a rambling crazy person by this point.

OKAY YOU CAN START READING AGAIN.

Erm. What I’ve trying to say is… What are you going to be for Halloween? My friend is thinking about being one of the weirdo white creatures from this sweet music video (linked below). Don’t copy her idea. But check out the music video, it’s kind of fantastic.

Baths – Lovely Bloodflow

*It’s cool; most people are.
**Sorry to get all hipster on you, just like that, out of the blue.
***And Edward Said is a badass.

 

 

 

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