New job alert!

In addition to writing for The Gloss, I've left MTV to blog daily for Crushable. The former is lots of fun lady stuff--fashion, body image, women's issues, feminism, media, sex--and the latter is more entertainment oriented. TV, movies, pop culture, celebrities, recaps of the sexy parts of True Blood, etc. It's a start up and it really needs eyeballs, so go check it out if you're into that sort of thing, leave some feedback about what you like/dislike etc. We've been working really hard to make it a great site.

I've also been doing a fun live music column for the Village Voice's music blog that's a collaboration with my roommate, who is an illustrator. Check it out:

Waste Of Paint

We've seen some really exciting stuff so far, like Death Grips:



Guillotiiiiiine! When I read this dude's lyrics out loud, they sound like nursery rhymes. Not so much when he says them.

Oh yeah, and I moved. My new place is awesome. I do miss my party loft a bit, but it's nice to have AC and a dependably quiet home office.

Got tattooed by Calamity a bit more the other day, check it:



Skills to pay the bills, are what she has.

Here is a picture I took of myself after coming back from the beach:



I would that my hair could always look like that. It's shaping up to be a very beachy summer, which is nice.

Thinking of taking myself on a little trip to the west coast once I figure out how to take time off from all my jobs. Now that I have the money, I'm not sure if I have the time. Ain't that always the way of it?

Wow, I'm fucking tired.

Got a new gig writing for The Gloss and a new gig writing about pop music for a company that is big enough that I'm afraid I'll get fired if I link it here. It's not generally my favorite genre but I don't hate it either, and I actually like some of it. If you ever wanna make gangsta money--err, I mean enough money to live on--you have to diversify. Nobody ever got rich writing solely about Animal Collective (as much as I wish that were possible). Both jobs are fun so far, but tiring.

Been running around looking at apartments. Punk rock Barbie dream home eludes us but we have until July 1st and I am hopeful.

Planning a huge art/music party for June. The theme this time is robots.

Click on my new photoset and leave it some more love if you want to see it on the front page. I am starting to worry it's not gonna happen, and I really like this one.

Oh yeah, we also got the grill out of storage and had our first roof BBQ of the season the other night. My friend who took the picture thinks we look like the demon queens of grilling here. I do make a devlishly good chimichurri sauce.



Here is a picture of me and my dude dancing like middle schoolers at a wedding:



Here is a picture of me at an art exhibit that was essentially a whole knitted apartment:



(artist: Agata Olek)

And here is a piece I wrote on why I like nude modeling.

Cheers!

Hunter

Awesome news, SG buddies! After a super long time of not shooting anything, I have a new set up in member review. Check it out, tell me what you think, leave some love, etc. I hope you like it. I am pretty pleased with how it came out myself, and I know Brooklyn is too. She and I share a love of natural lighting and relatively unadorned models, as you can see.











A few notes on this photoset:

You look great! Have you gained weight?

You may or may not have noticed that I've gained a bit of weight in the past year or so. However, I'm feeling pretty sexy these days, even more so than when I was thinner. This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I'm in a good relationship with someone who makes me feel beautiful. (Plus I'm getting poked on the regs, which always helps.) I'd also like to think I've simply gotten a better attitude as I've grown older. As you probably know, attititude is a large portion of most things, sexiness included. I'm not even afraid to let my extra bits of flesh show anymore, because that is what I really look like(!) It's taken me a long time to come this far mentally, and of course I have a ways left to go, but I think body acceptance can be radical and subversive (not to mention good for your mental health), hence it's an important goal of mine. I hope to infect as many other people with this goal as possible.

Ironically, people have been telling me I look good and asking if I've lost weight as of late. Maybe I hide it really well, but I dunno. I think they are really trying to tell me I look sexy, but they don't have any other socially appropriate vocabulary with which to say it, so they say "thin" even though that isn't what they mean. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate well-intentioned compliments (accurate or not), but non-skinny people can be sexy too! (NOTE TO MY FELLOW LADIES: You are rad! Learn to take compliments better.)

On the location

We shot the set in my living room, which is huge and cool-looking. It's funny, 'cause I've lived in this place for almost four years and had never shot a set here before, even though we have great light and occasionally lend the place out for photoshoots. I guess part of it is that I have five roommates and that could be awkward (everyone cleared out for this shoot). I'm actually starting to look for a new apartment now (can't handle another summer with no AC), so this set could be seen as a nice goodbye to my place. A naked swan song, as it were.

On the title

I made a long Sonic Youth playlist to listen to while we shot and it didn't occur to me until later that Daydream Nation would make a good set title. I wish I'd thought of it before, as I would've incorporated a candle or some other SY imagery to make it a bit more "themed." (My brain wasn't working very well that morning as I'd been out until 6am the night before.) I think some of the album's spirit comes through, though, as our loft has hosted a lot of squalid, broke, bohemian decadence similar to that described on the album. It's also one of my favorite records of all time, and never fails to get me in some kind of sexy badass attitudinal mood, which is helpful when you're hung over and trying to look sexy. Who's cooler than Kim Gordon? Fucking nobody. I try not to think about the fact that I was first introduced to their music by an ex boyfriend who was ultimately pretty bad for me...my love of SY has certainly outlasted my love for him.

Work stuff

I'm currently between steady gigs but have nonetheless been writing a lot lately. I'm always hesitant to link my stuff on here because of the safety issues that come with naked ladies telling people their real names, but I've done it before and I haven't been murdered yet. Here are some recent pieces:

Ponytail frontperson Willy Siegel on gender, sexuality, indie rock, and what was in h/er pants at Siren Fest

Sasha Grey on autotune, her band aTelecine, and her favorite sexytime music

Yeah, I asked Sasha Grey what her favorite music for "sexytimes" is. I'm mature like that.

The Top Ten Injuries and Casualties of SXSW 2011 Shit got real.

And I've been doing some stuff here and there for Jezebel...this one is about sex club reviews on Yelp, and this is about a smug article on 'how parenting lost its cool.' Hooray for work.

Wow, I've written two updates in two months. Not too shabby. Expect the next one sometime around the 4th of July.

Cheers!

Hunter

Hi from Austin! It's so good to be back here, running around to a million shows and sweating balls.

I have been busting my ass covering SXSW for Paper Magazine as well as an HP sponsored microsite. You can read my shit at http://hpsxsw.tumblr.com/ and http://www.papermag.com/. I've seen some really great stuff so far. I am staying in a sweet-ass trailer with two of my best friends. Check it out:



It still blows my mind that I actually get paid to see bands and party. Like, what? That is a job one can have?! Whoa. Had an awesome interview with the ladies of Wild Flag today (new band with Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss of Sleater Kinney, plus Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole), so watch for that on papermag.com. It meant a lot to me to meet women I've admired since I was in high school. Rock on, Wild Flag. You are amazing.

AND IN OTHER NEWS, I shot a new set with Brooklyn the other day that I'm pretty stoked on. It really has been too long. Look for it soon in MR. Here's a teaser pic:



EDIT: and here it is.

Cheers!

Hunter

Hi, Internet. It's been a minute, huh? That is because I write all day Mon-Fri and some weekend days too, and when I am done, I want to do something fun, like go to a bar with my friends or listen to music or watch pirated television shows or fuck or go to the beach. But talking about yourself can be fun too, I guess. I like to corral all my most vain and self indulgent and boob showing traits into "Hunter" so I am easier to take in my professional and personal life. But you probably know that already.

Ok, so March/April:

I went to an amazing music festival in Monterrey, Mexico.



Highlights included Best Fwends, Indian Jewelry, Neon Indian, a Mexican band called Alexico, HEALTH, and Liars. Probably more, but I forget. It was a long time ago.



Victor from Das Racist hit me in the face with a beer bottle by accident but it's cool, we're friends now.



Debbie and I decided to take off into the jungle with some dudes we met at the festival. On the bus, we played a drinking game that involved wearing a tiny sombrero.



We got off the bus in a little mountain town called Xilitla where there's an amazing Surrealist castle/sculpture garden called Las Pozas. It was built in the 50's and 60's by an eccentric English aristocrat named Edward James. Because there are no rules in Mexico, they let you climb all over it. It's probably the coolest thing I've ever seen.



As is generally a good idea when climbing shit, we got verrrry stoned off some weed a little old man near the entrance sold us.



We climbed up to the "cloud house" at the top, then down a steep mountain face, then took our clothes off and swam in the water. It was fucking amazing. There were only a few other people there so we thought we were alone when we did this, but then we realized an entire Mexican family was watching us. Crazy gringos.







We went to a crazy colorful town where there was supposed to be this ultra-spiritual "witch doctor" guy, but it was a little disappointing in that he was the type of witch doctor who gives you dumb homeopathic remedies that don't work instead of fun jungle drugs. I bought the closest thing to adderall I could find ("por el desarollo mental") and it didn't do shit. Oh well.



Then we went to Mexico City, where we hung out with some D.I.Y. kids we met in Monterrey and some adorable rich gay college boys.

We went to an art party at "Pre Teen Gallery" that was more party than art.



We then decided to walk around at night in the sorta sketchy/sorta artsy neighborhood (comparable to Bushwick, I'm told, only I don't know the area or speak the language) and crashed an awesome party by shouting up at the people smoking out the window. Sometimes risk pays off.



We also went to some cool museums (the Museum of Modern Art being my favorite) and ate some good food. There are many vegan friendly restaurants in Mexico City. Unfortunately, none of my traveling companions were vegan so I often ended up a) eating tortillas and scowling, or b) dragging them to restaurants they did not want to go to. In retrospect, I should probably have eaten by myself more. Or brought some protein bars. Or traveled with fellow veg*ns, or compromised. Idk. Apparently, I turn into a huge bitch when I don't get enough to eat.





The DIY kids we met in Monterrey brought us to a weird hooker bar.



Gay boyfriends to the left, our two American travel companions to the right.



This art is political!



This art is just cool!

After that, we flew to San Francisco, said bye to the boys, rented a car and drove to Portland. Then I flew back to Austin to get our suitcases we'd left there cause we thought we were coming back, then I flew home. It was a great fucking trip.

Since then it's been back to the usual...working, making money, spending said money on various things that are bad for me, cooking great meals, sleeping late, having fun with my friends, and generally living the life twelve-year-old me used to doodle in notebooks. I also met a genuinely awesome guy who is infinitely nice to me and makes me really, really happy. I'm still getting used to having someone like that around, as that part of my life has been a series of hysterical nightmares interspersed with long, boring, lonely periods of inactivity up until now, and I'm also irrationally scared he's going to learn something horrible about me and leave me, or maybe just disappear in a puff of smoke, but the more time goes by, the surer I am that he is a real, corporeal boyfriend who is totally not a hallucination and also not going anywhere. I'm so ooey gooey over him it's repulsive. And over my life in general. It's rad.

So I just got back from a three week trip all over. I was uploading photos from my camera yesterday and my computer fucking deleted all of them. Actually, just the ones from Mexico. Comical. So I'm going to wait until my travel companions upload their pics to do a full update. But just to give you some idea, here is a basic outline of my journey.

Austin, SXSW, blah blah same old stuff I always do blah.

Monterrey, Mexico for awesome if problem plagued D.I.Y. festival. Highlights: Liars, Health, Indian Jewelry, Alexico, Ratas de Vaticano.

Was going to go back to the US for a civilized road trip but met two guys in Monterrey who invited us to travel through Mexico with them. Took off into the jungle. Did not tell anyone where I was going (whoops).

Climbed all over surrealist castle in the jungle. Swam in mountain lake. Ate tacos.

Mexico City. Crashed rich artsy gay guys' parties. Gorged self on culture and mezcal.

San Francisco. Sleep. More tacos. Said goodbye to new friends, incl. boy I'd grown especially fond of (wah wah, miss him now).

Rented car, drove through magical redwood forest and clouds.

Portland for 12 hours. Bid roommate farewell.

Austin to get suitcases we left there, then back to NYC.

I'm still processing it all. It was one amazing thing after another. Pictures soon.

Hello again.

As Cocoabutter pointed out, it's been a whole fucking season since my last update. This is obvs. because I am so busy and important. In addition to writing a goodly amount for a few different places, I just started a new job that's going to last at least a few months and maybe longer at a certain lifestyle magazine/branding firm for which I have freelanced in the past. As always, part of me is scared I won't measure up, but I'm trying my best to chillax and do great work. Also: to have fun, as it is a fun job. Imma make y'all proud!

So what else have I been up to in the past few months besides a whole lot of this?




Three steps to blogging success

Back in the fall, I road tripped up to ATP NY, where I witnessed Nick Cave buying peanut m+m's from a vending machine, as well as many amazing bands.




This is yr brain on AnCo

The love I carry in my heart for No Age deepened even further after I saw them play Husker Du songs with Bob Mould.




Want2have both yr vegan babbys

I went to a lot of parties. Maybe too many.


Vice Halloween jam


Someone gave me a cigarette and I smoked it, awkwardly.


THE SHANK RETURNS



I continued to eat a lot of brunch.






Yeah I put peanut butter on waffles. I don't give a FUCK.

I chilled with Theodore.



At one point I attended a cat show, which made me feel slightly better about my mild obsession with my cat. I ain't got shit on those people.

Hmm, what else?

It snowed a lot.



I modeled undies in the window at Diesel. It was kind of a surreal experience; I felt just like an animal in the zoo, that is, if animals got paid to be in the zoo and only had to stay there for two hours.



I went shopping but didn't buy much because I was broke. Might go back and buy this dress now that I have some scrilla.

Git in mah closet

I sat behind Sean Lennon at my first ever fashion show, a dreamy collaboration between Yoko Ono and threeasfour. It was weird, mostly in a good way, although my seat neighbor shot me a poisonous look when I tried to make small talk before the show started.


Sean and his girlfriend, Spiney McModelson



I spent some quality time at home with my roommates, cooking and such.


Asian baked tofu with truffled rosemary yams and kale with balsamic reduction


Indian dinner party for my roommate's gf's bday

I fucked up a few museums.



I read my writing in public and didn't puke or pass out.


In the middle: Rachel Kramer Bussel, rad sex writer/editor and the organizer of the reading series

I hung out with my best gurl 4eva-eva Calamity


New year's eve '10


The return of the 4am Mexi-diner burrito run

And my roomies.


Me and Debbeh @teh cat show

I got moar sic tatties.



As you can probably see, I followed through on my promise to do more of this.


(Smiling, not jumping on trampolines...though I could probs stand to do more of that too. Who couldn't?)

And here are some random photos from the summertime that you may enjoy.


This pool was made out of an old shipping container


Don't worry, friends in the Vegan group, I gave it to him eventually


Rhode Island goodness



How's that for an update?