DAVID SEDARIS THINKS THAT AMERICA'S FAVORITE WORD IS REALLY NOT THAT "AWESOME"...

David Sedaris writes about the absurdities of everyday life. His ear for language, especially when it comes to local vernacular and eccentricities is finely tuned. 

He says in a post from his latest collection Calypso,

“In France the most often used word is ‘connerie,’ which means ‘bullshit’..

… and in America it’s hands-down ‘awesome,’ which has replaced ‘incredible,’ ‘good,’ and even ‘just OK.’ Pretty much everything that isn’t terrible is awesome in America now.” 

Sedaris toldUSA Today,

“It just got out of hand to me. Everything’s awesome all the time. I was in Boulder, Colorado and someone said, 

‘I’ll have a double espresso, awesome,’ 

and the other person said, 

‘Awesome.'”

But Sedaris does admit that the word does have a time and place, 

“I went to the Great Wall of China once, and I have to say, that was awesome. But that’s the only thing I can think of. Not a latte.”

Listen.

LAURIE ROSENWALD CHARMS US INTO HER ROSENWORLD

Laurie Rosenwald is “Jill-of-all-Things-Visual”… that’s the feminine for “Jack-of-All-Trades”. I’ve known her for decades from the magazine world, where I hired her to do her fab, poppy graphic drawings and collages. You may have seen them in The New Yorker, the New York Times or elsewhere. But she does SO much more. She runs a design, illustration and animation studio. I take that back, according to Laurie’s websitebio,

Laurie, left

“Actually, there is no studio, Miss Rosenwald works alone, and Rosenworld doesn’t exist.”

Too modest. She’s written books and teaches a popular and super-fun workshop, which I have taken, called How to Make Mistakes on Purpose which she has held for Google and Starbucks and many other regular folks too. She collaborated with David Sedaris on his diary, which is an animated app of her work.

But last night was her opening in NYC of paintings on wood which were made with with hot, colored wax, also known as “encaustic”. It was organized by John Cheim of Cheim and Read. We have a LOT of friends in common so I chatted with many old pals like photographer Janette Beckman and met some new ones, like artist Juan Ulsé, who just opened a show the night before at Cheim and Read. I took a few portraits of people along with her pieces. My favorite (I think) is the circle target, and the title wins too; “How Very Dare You!” Exactly. How very DARE she be so freakin’ talented.

"I don't know what it is but I want to eat it" is up at Parasol Projects for just a few more days, through May 9. There’s another opening tonight, Saturday May 7, 6-11 PM at 171 Elizabeth. Go. Tell her I sent you.