I TRULY LIKE THAT

LOST TREASURES

2012-02-19T03:17:00.001-05:00

So at 1.03 AM on February 19th 2012 I decided to eat a whole pack of peanut butter M&Ms and contemplate about the things that surround me. Two days before your 25th birthday, a lot of things really stop to make sense, and other things start to make a lot of sense. For example, the fact that I write a lot started to make great sense. It's the only way I can live. Whether it is a song or a story or a rather bad drawing with an awkward description, its very much all I am. There are a few other things that make sense. Like pistachio ice cream. Or fried bananas.

Last week I saw somebody wash their MetroCard at the laundromat.

I thought that was sweet. That way they can re-use it without having to worry about Bed-Stuy germs in their jeans back pocket. But Brooklyn doesn't make sense. There is nothing beautiful about it during the Winter. It is just senseless. Hot ciders, heating blankets, a sketchbook, those things can make it better. You know what I'm talking about.

These strolls along the river make me think. I am silent. Sometimes I talk to the squirrels or the various birds that hang out under the Manhattan Bridge. They know me there. Some of them even call me by my name. "Anna, you seem out of it today", they wonder. "Don't worry", I say, "I am fine!"...

Sometimes I find angels on the street. I wonder where they come from. Who lost this angel? Who would purposefully lose an angel?

One must never stop wondering.

SO EMOTIONAL

2012-02-18T03:33:00.001-05:00

HERBERT JAMES DRAPER

2012-01-27T02:24:00.000-05:00

These are a few of my favorite paintings by Henry James Draper (1863–1920).

MAD MEN DRAWINGS

2012-01-25T13:59:00.003-05:00

I started making these drawings of Med Men characters.

RIVER PHOENIX WITH LONG HAIR

2012-01-22T00:05:00.000-05:00

I decided that River Phoenix with long hair is better than River Phoenix with short hair. Back in the day I used to think the opposite. I also decided that River Phoenix with long hair is better than anything else.

WENT TO THE AQUARIUM

2012-01-10T21:10:00.000-05:00

GOING HOME

2011-12-23T13:47:00.001-05:00

To Germany for the Holidays... or for what's left of them. I haven't seen my family in over a year, so this should be wonderful. Not like last year, where I spent my entire Christmas season HOME ALONE, and Christmas eve at a Chinese take out restaurant on Lexington Av on the Upper East Side, together with a jaded old couple that sipped their jasmine teas for two hours slowly and without ever saying a word. Then I went home and drank root beer and ate candy until I fell asleep to the sound of mentally ill pigeons bashing their heads against my window. This year will be all different, of course.

Home Alone (Columbus, 1990)

I FINISHED ALL 4 SEASONS OF MAD MEN

2011-12-18T17:58:00.002-05:00

And I suddenly feel very empty.

JAMES DEAN SUNDAY (FOR WHAT ITS WORTH) -- AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS

2011-12-11T23:16:00.000-05:00

Thinking about the past on Sunday, December 11th 2011.

When I was about 10 years old I became an actress. A pretty bad one, to be honest. And when I first saw GIANT with James Dean, I thought I could one day be old enough for him to like me. I think I am old enough now. So I watched GIANT tonight and thought about my time with James.

Then I noticed this:

Giant (Stevens, 1956)

Days of Heaven (Malick, 1978)

Then I watched Badlands. Another house. And burning.

Badlands (Malick, 1973)

Then I remembered Sissy Spacek walking through fire.

Carrie (De Palma, 1976)

Then I looked at a lot of pictures of Sissy Spacek until i felt weird.

Badlands (Malick, 1973)

Then I ventured through the film archives until I ended up with this other dude who I really wanted to like me when I was 15.
By then I had figured out that I would never catch up with Al Pacino's age, and that I would have to compromise -- in reality I could only make him marry me once he'd be an almost 70 year old man.

Serpico (Lumet, 1973)

Then I was entirely happy and figured it was the right time to go to sleep.

EVERYBODY SEEMS SO FAR AWAY FROM ME -- EVERYBODY JUST WANTS TO BE FREE

2011-12-02T12:24:00.001-05:00

Looking to start a project with another person to make music. If you live in New York and are interested, send me an email! anna.rikje(at)gmail.com

DRIVING FOREVER

2011-11-26T02:51:00.002-05:00

Went Upstate for Thanksgiving. Reheating turkey in the microwave about six times a day, watching the 'Storage Wars' marathon, play Call of Duty, Scattergories, Apples to Apples and walk around town wishing I didn't have my camera stolen by a bunch of crack heads in fucking Brooklyn earlier this year. I feel pretty good right now. Maybe I will move back to Europe soon -- nowhere is better than everywhere after all.

LIZZY LEZZY

2011-11-15T22:32:00.003-05:00

Seeking Liz Lemon-like mentor for my life.

GOLD MINE TRASH SEEKS BRAVE DARK WARRIOR

2011-11-06T16:26:00.000-05:00

Nothing to say but I've listened to this a lot lately.

-- CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL --

2011-11-06T16:11:00.001-05:00

Ten years ago, this movie came out in Germany, and I watched it, and it became my absolute favorite at the time. About a year later, on my long way home from high school, I was waiting for the bus in a gray small town not far from where I lived, when some girl, who was also waiting, asked for my name. She seemed nice, and her name was Sarah, which is a nice name, so I talked to her. About two minutes later she asked me what my favorite movie was. "Crazy/Beautiful", I said, and she screamed "That's my favorite movie too!", from then on we were best friends. The film is great, if you are a girl of any age, you will love it, and look at the pictures, so nineties, wow. I remember how I wanted my very own Jay Hernandez. And in German, the film is called "Verrückt/Schön"...

A DAYDREAM NATION

2011-10-15T22:15:00.002-04:00

Kim & Thurston forever, or something along those lines, if that makes sense to you.

WHEN YOUR LIFE TURNS INTO A HIGHWAY

2011-10-02T15:44:00.000-04:00

I've been asking myself a lot of questions lately. I was never good at doing that. Most of the time I had the answers for everything and everyone. But it is really hard to come to terms with your own devils, especially when you are 24 years old living in New York City. It's been 2 years this month, and I am trying to figure out where my feet will take me next, and why am I still in this city, and why have I not left yet. Nietzsche said "Why does man not see things? He is himself standing in the way: he conceals things." I become somebody more aware of myself and my surroundings. I've always been good at reading people, their characters, intentions, schemes and worries, but I stopped asking myself the simplest questions about my own life. And I stopped working towards the 'oh so clear' agenda, turning it into an indisputable labyrinth with walls built around it. I've been growing out my hair like Rapunzel in the princess tower. I've been living modest because I wanted to save up for a brighter future. I work too much and I study things that I want to learn but that I don't need to be happy. My truth is every mistake I made. My truth is my discernment and its expanding capacity. I am happier now. I have a clear prospect of what there is to come and what it is I can do. My ability to feel what I feel isn't worth nothing.

Besides all that, I began a research to find out how many degrees I am separated from Friedrich Nietzsche. My grandmother carries his name and their ancestors are from the same region in Prussia. Today is a good day. I have Panda visiting Brooklyn. We will have wine at Chez Oskar.

Attached a few things that represent my last week.

RIP AMY WINEHOUSE

2011-07-24T14:53:00.001-04:00

Amy Winehouse died yesterday at the age of 27.
About 4 years ago I made this cover song for my mothers birthday.
I don't think many people have heard it. Maybe now is a good time.

Tears Dry On Their Own (by Young&Sad)

WEEZER & ASH UNITE

2011-07-15T00:14:00.000-04:00

I think today 11 years ago I listened to this song for the very first time.

I always also loved this cover by Ash which was the B-side of their Burn Baby Burn release.

And this is how I got this, which is hilarious, plus has an awesome cover of "I Only Want To Be With You" and
a live version of "Kung Fu", hell yeah:

And then I was thinking about this, which always makes me jump on my bed:

Koalamonkey

2011-07-08T02:57:00.000-04:00

I invented an animal. It's a Koalamonkey. It has a monkey body and a koala head.

The Koalamonkey

Ali with her head in things.

2011-05-17T12:17:00.001-04:00

Ali put her head in the freezer, in the stove, in the hoist.

BUILD YOUR CASTLE, STOP COLLECTING STONES AND THE RIVER BED SHALL NOT BE YOUR HOME

2011-04-24T17:30:00.000-04:00

Beautiful paintings of marine battleships by van de Velde, Baur, Chambers and the like.

LYNN GOLDSMITH

2011-03-16T21:44:00.001-04:00

Lynn Goldsmith is a pioneer amongst the rock photographers and one of my favorites. These are some of my favorite pictures she took, a lot are in black and white and a few in color.

* * *

JOHN WHITE ALEXANDER ~ PT. I

2011-03-12T00:47:00.001-05:00

I recently fell in love with the paintings of John White Alexander.

pompous fabrics, deep dark cats with satin fur, pastel flowers, sensitive lighting, contemplation, pale bodies and rosy cheeks, i am going to dream about shadows tonight...

South of Brooklyn

2011-03-04T13:26:00.000-05:00

Five days a week I find myself in the very south of Brooklyn. I go there to learn things. It's a far ride to get to this place, but whenever I got a little time, I like to walk around and capture what surrounds me down by the sea. It's different from Clinton Hill and reminds me of my time back in Southwick, England. The foggy days are the best, although one can't see very far, the things close by look even more beautiful.

These were taken on some non-foggy afternoon:

ROBERT AND PATTI

2011-02-19T20:57:00.001-05:00

I am almost finished reading JUST KIDS and realized how much Patti Smith makes me feel less like a fool. It's been four months since I turned into someone else. The other day I found 16 $ on Marcy Avenue. That happened sometime before, about a year ago on Johnson Street, 16$ on the ground, next to the trash bins. I forgot what I bought with the money from Johnson St., but this time I bought a full meal and a book with French poetry, which I despise. It didn't make any sense, but it made me feel good. And then I turned to Patti and felt understood.

Particularly this part stuck with me, so I wrote it down:

BROOKLANDBOUND

2011-02-02T15:36:00.002-05:00

Back in Brooklyn these days, I can see a remarkable improvement of my life and happiness. I am sitting at the Colador Cafe on Bedford Avenue, together with a friend who I recently made. They are playing Coldplay and Latinopop din. I believe I feel content. My house is on the other side of the street. Two of my three roommates are Turks. One of them has a German girlfriend, which is quite pleasant to know. I haven't spoken German with someone face to face in a very long time. Last thing I remember was the laundromat coin exchanging machine telling me to "remove my card" after I pressed the 'in German' option (Bitte entfernen Sie Ihre Karte!). That was incredible.

Once upon a time... in America...:

"WILD AT HEART" APPRECIATION TIME

2011-01-17T02:37:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I watched this movie, but I think I'll pour some wine now and enjoy the madness. Here are some screenshots for you.

MOVIES

2011-01-06T13:51:00.002-05:00

I decided since all my friends are making Top 10 lists about their favorite albums of the year, and since I am a film student and also unfortunately don't like music (except for the very relaxing elevator tunes that are played in my school's cafeteria day in and out), I will make a Top 10 with my favorite movies of the year.

The best movies (out of the ones I've seen):

1 Blue Valentine - My life.
2 Black Swan - Perfection.

3 True Grit - Everything a Coen brothers movie needs, plus some tears from my side.

4 I Love You, Philip Morris - Most original.
5 Cyrus - Yet another Duplass hit.
6 Exit Through the Gift Shop - Hilarious.
7 Life During Wartime - Lovely.
8 How Do You Know - Paul Rudd made the movie. His best performance to date.
9 Youth In Revolt - Michael Cera's best performance to date..
10 She's Out of My League - Yes, I think it was really funny. Excuse me, are you a plane doctor?

Where did Inception go? Where did The Social Network go? Who cares.
I have to admit there is still a list of movies that I haven't seen yet, like Somewhere, It's Kind of A Funny Story, Howl, 127 Hours, Enter The Void, etc.
My Top 10 is rather odd. I am happy with it though.

The worst movies (out of the ones I've seen):

1 I'm Still Here - Minus one point for Mr. Affleck.
2 The Killer Inside Me - Minus two points, Casey!
3 Devil - Yeah, it was scary, but I forgot about it right away.
4 Valentine's Day - Let's put everyone famous into an adaption of a dime novel.
5 Unstoppable - Chris Pine and Denzel were awesome, but the rest kind of sucked dick.

. good year it was . good year .

x

SOMEWHERE IS A PLACE WHERE WE BELONG.

2011-01-02T03:07:00.001-05:00

NEW YEARS TEXTS

2011-01-01T17:52:00.000-05:00

My night kind of went like this:

10.06 PM, Drew - Happy old year... for now.
00.05 AM, Joey - Hope 2011 is the best of your life!
00.06 AM, Unknown - HAPPPPPPY NEW YEARRRRRRRRR
00.12 AM, Maddy - Happy new years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
00.19 AM, Alex - Happy new year anna!
00.27 AM, Jonathan - anna +1 US is it true. i didn't get any replies texting to the german no. so youre quite a bit after Brisbane and Sthlm but u got there. can i please call u to say stewardess-happy-new-year!
00.27 AM, Eric - Xxoo
00.29 AM, Jonathan - .
00.29 AM, Eugene - Same to you :)
00.29 AM, Rory - Happy New Year, girleen!
00.31 AM, Jonathan - please call/text me. dear.est
00.37 AM, Phil - Back at ju
00.41 AM, Enrico - Thank u! Happy New Year !!
00.41 AM, Maddy - Love you too, Anna
00.41 AM, Enrico - I love MajiC.
00.41 AM, James - Happy New Years Anna
00.43 AM, Jorge - Mass text?!?!?! I feel so insignificant!
00.44 AM, Colin - Happy New Year Anna
00.44 AM, Greg - Happy new year =D
00.45 AM, Jason - Happy new year! Toot toot!
00.45 AM, Brian - Happy new year! I'm almost done here. I'm in Manhattan. What are you up to
00.47 AM, Bryan - If you ever come to California you got spots to stay and friends for days!
00.49 AM, Jonathan - Anna. truly happy new year. get back to me. i miss u
00.49 AM, Harold - Thx!
00.49 AM, Bryan - Anna!!! I love you so much even though I've barely known you!!! The night is ealy here so no "oh wells" but I wish you the best. Sweetest girl!!
00.52 AM, Adam - U too dear!
00.53 AM, Josh - Happy new
00.54 AM, Unknown - Haha.
01.05 AM, Chi - Happy new years ladies
01.08 AM, Alejandro - Hey. Have a great new year!
01.11 AM, Gary - Happy new years
01.15 AM, Chris - Who are you
01.16 AM, Chris - Asshole
01.18 AM, Chris - And what the fuck do you want from me?
01.20 AM, Noah - You too, little Mr. Ghost. Happy 2011. Sorry I missed your Xmas message. Was in Jamaica.
01.24 AM, Catlyn - Happy new year! X
01.30 AM, Alex S. - Same to you! Meet up next week maybe?
01.33 AM, Chris - : p
01.39 AM, James S. - Thank you and happy new yuear to u too : )
01.41 AM, Dylan - Happy new year
03.09 AM, Brad - appy new year!
04.36 AM, Enrico - I want to hear ur voice, it's beautiful, xoxo I'll call u soon
04.51 AM, Brian - why no brunch tomorrow?
05.04 AM, Brian - ? Good.
05.05 AM, Luke - Happy magic new years lights and crystals plus constellations to you, Anna my Germanic frriend!
10.12 AM, Jorge - I think I was too drunk last night to put together who this was. Happy New Year to you too. How're you feeling today?
12.24 PM, Lue - Happy new years
02.11 PM, Jelani - Happy New Years To All.... Have A Very Successful And Enjoyable New Years But Most Of All... Be Safe
04.11 PM, Christopher - Anna, wishes of magic for you as well in 2011!
04.16 PM, Lue - Happy new years
04.35 PM, Lue - Wass ya facebook? Need to add u

The End.

ANIMALS

2010-12-29T03:28:00.000-05:00

Here are my favorite photos that I took of animals throughout 2010.

This squirrel was climbing the wall of a sea side house in Manhattan Beach.

This kitten was walking down the street as I drove by in a car. I stopped to take its picture, it didn't mind.

This dog was trying to escape in the streets of Williamsburg.

These sheep were eating grass on a hill in the East of Brandenburg.

This horse was eating grass on a field in Schlaubehammer.

AFTER HOURS

2010-12-24T14:15:00.000-05:00

I dreamed I was Griffin Dunne last night.

BLUE VALENTINE

2010-12-20T18:57:00.000-05:00

[6:12:12 PM] : in january do you wanna go and see blue valentien with me
[6:12:14 PM] : valentine

[6:12:22 PM] : hells yes

[6:12:52 PM] : nothing like seeing a movie about the dissolution of a marriage with a girl you like

IT'S TOO MUCH TO CARRY ON

2010-12-14T19:58:00.001-05:00

walk through walls and talk to walls

2010-12-12T18:52:00.000-05:00

bitter and frustrated over life, your life that is

did you ever come across a better way of doing this

you're my only source for love

you're the only reason why i'm lonely

keep on keep on dressing up as a ghost and walk through walls

talk to walls and stop looking for your happiness in shopping malls

you're my only source for love

you're the only reason why i'm crying

i'm dying while you keep on lying to yourself

this is where our story ends but it never should have

come this far

empty eyes and shallow smiles, try to cheat the truth some more

if you ever come back home it wont be like it was before

you're my only source for love

you're the only reason why i'm living

i'm dying while you keep on lying to yourself

this is where our story ends but it never should have

come this far

(http://koala-monkey.tumblr.com/)

MY ROMANCE DOESN'T NEED A THING BUT YOU

2010-12-02T02:31:00.000-05:00

Days Of Heaven

2010-12-01T14:00:00.000-05:00

Brooklyn To Manhattan

2010-11-28T20:24:00.000-05:00

This week I am moving from East Williamsburg, Brooklyn to my new apartment on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. I am very excited, because this is almost like a dream come true. I remember being a young teenager and wanting to live in New York and go to school here and go running in Central Park every morning. Thankfully my new apartment is just two blocks away from that fantasy. Today I looked at a few old photos of New York and fell in love with the city once again.

I'm gonna be really fit.

This Weeks SUPER INs and SUPER OUTs

2010-11-02T16:54:00.000-04:00

Super IN
Arizona Iced Tea with Peach Flavor
Mini Oreos
New York Magazine Crossword
Flags
Dating in Park Slope
Contemplation about adopting Kittens
Stereotyping in the Cafeteria
Roosevelt Island
Ice cold shower baths in the dark
Walking anywhere

Super OUT
Trigonometry
Dating in Williamsburg
Plastic Cigarettes
Panda House
Any soft/tea/hipster drink that costs more than $2.99
Bitches
Doing other peoples homework
The beach
Apartment hunting in New York City
Slippery Shoes

I also was very intrigued to find this on my desktop yesterday morning:

It's going to be a great month.

LOVE, A.

Here is some LINDA MANZ appreciation time.

2010-09-21T20:14:00.000-04:00

Linda Manz is by far one of the greatest actresses of all time. If you haven't seen "Out of the Blue" or "Days of Heaven", you should do that right away, and then you can also watch "Gummo", even if you are not a Harmony Korine fan, Manz does give a great performance in this movie. That said, "Days of Heaven" is also in my Top 10 of most beautifully shot movies ever. Now, appreciate:

Vada Sultenfuss

2010-09-20T20:34:00.000-04:00

Who was your style icon when you were ten years old?

Mine was Vada Sultenfuss. I give you a collection of screencaps with her outfits throughout the movie "My Girl".

(One more thing said: I just watched the 30 ROCK episode that Anna Chlumsky was in... I must say, she still is very pretty and looks just the same. It is really funny how some people don't lose their face. Like literally. I had 3 faces in my life already. At age 22 I went back to having the face I had when I was 3. It's hilarious...)

I also would really appreciate if you would Follow my blog with bloglovin ! Yup!

This is about things I like.

2010-09-09T19:50:00.001-04:00

My name is Anna Conrad. I am a 23 year old German female with a lot of interests. Right now, I'm a student for broadcast journalism in New York. At some point in my life, I was a bartender, singer, trade fair admission supervisor, dj, photographer, singer, musician, acting agents' assistant, photographer's assistant, coat check girl, theater actress, tambourine player, nanny, and a bunch of other things.

There is a tremendous amount of things that I like to do.

I play music.

I take photographs.

I want to make movies.

I am a collector of many things.

I like discovering treasures.

I make collages.

I write postcards and letters.

I receive postcards and letters.

I do screen printing.

I make drinks.

I do watercolors.

I do acrylic art.

I sew stuffed animals.

I bake cakes.

...and a lot of other things.

What is this blog going to be about? I want to make another collection. A collection of things, that I truly like. It is easier this way, trust me. Write me, if you have questions. And because this is supposed to be somewhat personal as well, here is a photograph of me

on a trip through Eastern Europe with my parents and our VW Passat, somewhat around 1994: