pause.

our world is filled with gut-wrenching beauty. and each of us experiences it in different ways--some of us see it with our eyes, some with our hands, others with our words. this year, let's reflect on the amazing ways we are able to see beauty in our lives, instead of what we don't accept and what we think must change. happy new year, kids.

this is only five percent of my current thought load.

it is raining outside, and dark as though the day was turning into night rather than the other way around. i sit here at work, tying things up in preparation for being out next week, eating half of a blueberry muffin and pondering exactly how much motivation i will need not to fall asleep the moment i get home. i've exhausted myself this month, letting my passions drive me at work beyond all measures- writing, planning, running around shaking everyone's hands. and it seems to be paying off. we've received donations and cards galore and yesterday i went caroling at the hospital with a group of people that i didn't know, except, to find, i had met almost all of them in one capacity or another. i am a broken record of promotion. so i take a lot of naps. store up energy on the weekend.

although, in december, there's no extra time to do so.

this morning, my coworker gave me a plant, perfectly wrapped in crinkly red craft paper. it's called a creeping jew, which i find a very odd name, though equally odd is the thought that it probably has a more "acceptable," non-offensive pseudonym. i will bring it home to creep a little more. we've been eating many chocolates and making many more and i've been running around in a new wool trench, purchased for the amount of $8.20 at the hospice home store. most everyone has put up with my exhaustive cheeriness with a smile and a laugh. alfred takes care of me at home, beckoning me to cuddle on the couch and take a rest from running.
tonight will be some of the last fits of energy that i have left. being a bad friend, i have not yet sent out various cards and assorted trinkets, and must do so by tomorrow, so that they'll have their postmark before the magical date of December 24th. then i'll put out the new towels and blankets for the folks, wrap some presents, and finally set up my *new* early christmas present of the printer/scanner, so that i can share more with you than words.

maple leaves.

as fall transitions into winter, as yellow and brown move to bare branches and evergreen, this is for you. see you so so soon.

Pure Genius.

Instead of taking a nice nap at home, I am currently sitting in my dark office. This is because I skillfully locked up all of the gifts for the children in the car, leaving my jacket with the keys in it on the front seat.

know it all.

as a general characteristic of my life i am not a patient person (with the exception of small children and my work--i must put it all in one place and not leave enough for the other). like the swimmer in the middle of the lake, i must KEEP ON MOVING: GO GO GO NOW NOW NOW and there is no time to sit and muse. i tend to hit most things head on and with a swell of emotion, but have difficulty with the long and sustained plateaus. those, in important cases, take a great deal of energy and effort to maintain. i also have extreme difficulty with the fact that i am not generally knowledgable about every possible subject on the planet. logically speaking, this statement is silly, but again, in my person, knowledge is emotionally connected to self-worth. if i don't continually jump from one thing to the next, collecting a smidgen of this or a smattering of that, it is worthless. "i don't know" is a far more difficult answer for me to mutter than "i love you" or words equally as despised and avoided by others. And of course all of this, whether I like it or not, often makes me come across as a complete snob, or the most self-consumed person you've ever met. but in truth, i carry little tidbits of things i've picked up like a chimpmunk does seeds in its cheeks. and i spew them out in friendship whenever i am in conversation with someone. add to the "snob," "self-absorbed" list "completely socially inept." so, at a point in my life, in which i am so confused that my head is rarely straight, and when there is no end in sight for such lack of an answer, i must sit back and jumpily wait. something that i am having most difficulty doing.

"People say life is the thing, but I prefer reading."

Bookstores cause me to lose most of my self-control. Of the 50 alloted pounds I was allowed to stuff into cargo, MSP to AVL, i had a good 48. Accolades to Half-Price Books Maplewood, which, despite its size limitations, has always proven to be a serious compeditor to The Strand.
What i brought back, in no particular order:

Indian Killer-Sherman Alexie

The Naked Chef Takes Off-Jamie Oliver

Paula Spencer (Sequel to The Woman Who Walked Into Doors)-Roddy Doyle

Martha Stewart's Christmas (1989)

The Best of Martha Stewart Living Holidays (1993)

The Art of the Great Hollywood Portrait Photographers-John Cobal

Moving Out-Robert Frank

Time Life Photography Collection-16 books ($29.99!!! which of course, will have to be shipped book rate)

And thanks to Baltic Imports: The Hippocrene Treasury of French Love Poems

And you?

neverland.

in the winter, and most any time of year, we would go for drives along the western shores of the st. croix river. somehow, my father always knew the spots where we could park and crawl down the steep slope, grabbing on to branches that grew horizontally so as not to slip and roll down head first. some places even had old, twisted stairs that showed up in your peripheral vision, but the drivers prefered to stay on the platform in the lot, snapping panoramic pictures of wisconsin. i imagine that my father had gained experience in the founding of small holes in the conventional world by having similar adventures as a child with his two brothers.
time lost its sense down here, all there was were trees and leaves and the river and your imagination. we explored (with much trepidation) dark caves deep in the cliffs, full of foreign marks and dan was here, 1967. yes, you could still find arrowheads in the 1980s, and on one particularly bold expedition, he and maija even discovered their own secret waterfall. we carefully noted the types of rocks and trees and the stories of the people who knew this land far before we came into existance. you didn't want to get too close to the edge, because the st. croix didn't ease in as many other rivers and lakes do, it cut through the land in a way that it was a sheer drop, at least 10 feet deep right at the edge. its verocity decreased in the winter, when in certain places it turned to ice, and we would slide across (tapping a stick in front to check the depth) to a nearby island and do a little dance, both because it was so cold and because we had set foot on a previously unattainable location. i remember, his glasses would fog up in the below-freezing weather and he'd tilt his head down to look over them, which made him look particularly erudite as it made his eyebrows raise a little and his brow furrow.
this was the land before it was claimed down to shore, before it became someone's "beautiful scenic view." the caves are now boarded shut with cement and the signs to the stairwell taken down.
however, if you know where to go, you can still slide under the bars while no one's looking.

wish you were here.

[Can someone please tell me where people are linking to this picture from?]

Maija fancies me a young Louise Brooks.

I woke up in the dark mist and sleepily drank the damp air in large gulps. early early in the morning, I watched the mountains fade away into the fog. for the next two and a half hours my focus turned to the two square feet of space allotted to me and I succeeded in distracting myself with the New York Magazine crossword puzzle.

No matter how long I am away from home, coming back always feels as though I've never lived anywhere else. Minneapolis is a more populated cold-weather version of where I live now, and for that I feel thankful. It's probably why I find myself feeling so comfortable in the mountains.

the Midwest has crept into the smallest crevices of my being and i am rereminded at the oddest of times.

Of course, coming here has been an overstimulation and act of excess. An excess of family, an excess of cold, an excess of vietnamese food. yesterday the four of us went to half-price books and made their day by buying no less than 30 books. i enjoy drowning in excitement, losing breath to the new, the exciting, something unknown and yet unbelievably beautiful.

In the stacks I found the most amazing collection of old Hollywood portraits, 1925-1940. The complexity in the simplicity of these people's faces makes me want to see how long I can hold my breath. Gary Cooper (above) could make me last to at least 120. I plan to pour over every inch of light and angle and focus until my own eyes can't focus anymore.

There are few places I feel more comfortable than with family.

In their craziness I feel normal, and accepted, just the way I am.

Diamonds In The Dark

by the Mystery Jets

on a matter of life and death.

sometimes, when an issue is so important personally, it is difficult to relay this bombardment of emotion to others. it is easy to become overwhelmed, overzealous, forlorn, bitter, or any combination of the above. i have been surprised at the amount of press the New York Times has recently given the Baltic states, and especially shocked at their dismal, yet pro-Baltic viewpoint in today's Sunday paper. about a month back, i had briefly touched upon an article they wrote about Putin's increasing power. the question is, when will anyone really start doing anything about it?

kings and queens.

on my last trip back from latvia, which was a couple years ago, I had a stop over in Budapest. depending on where you are, a stop over can be an interesting eye into the outside culture. an older woman, who looked to be my grandmother's age, approached me and asked the time. she looked really eastern european old school, scarf on head, long skirt, colorful beads to waist, and galoshes. her english wasn't that great, but considering her generation, it was a surprise that she spoke understandable english at all. i showed her my watch, which must have meant "i am a dutiful helpful granddaughter", because through a wild concoction of words, noises, and gestures, she convinced me to help her find her gate. this came as a shock, because she didn't look to be from anywhere else, and certainly not someone who travelled by plane. But, what the hell. We began to trudge through the concourse (me with about five pieces of luggage, following her) and she evolved from this hunched over, weak mass, into a dictatorial woman on a mission. it was a wild goose chase of sorts, me not knowing where we were going, her clearly knowing, and purposefully making the trek longer. as we stopped at her gate, after 45 minutes of exploring the airport, she grabbed my hand and ran her fingers over a scar on the back of my palm. she looked up into my eyes, clasped my hand, and said "gypsy," nodding to elicit understanding on my part. when i nodded in return, she turned around and walked away, returning to her mystery.

seriously.

i've been told that I don't have enough writing on my blog.

sorry, but this post isn't going to address that.

when i originally began this blog, I wanted it to be a forum to display and receive feedback on my art, photos mostly. but i haven't quite gotten coordinated down here yet with the developing and all. and i got a little off track having fun posting things otherwise.
in a direct rip-off of jeremy's nicely put retrospective, i have decided to post some older pictures of my own.

latvia.

savannah.

utah.

montana.

sweden.

brooklyn.

herald square.

8th street.

liverpudlians galore.

granted, the video goes from quaint to bizarre, but i like their energy. this is for you, kid.

fall crafts.

that picture just freekin' seals the deal.

( to learn how to make conan and martha's twig peg rack,

go here)

booyakasha

this is a preview of my halloween.

tonight i have to leave it.

wow. despite the fact that my brain was been working at top speed during the day, it completely shut down as of 5:07pm. i had planned to go drawing, but decided against it in order to spend the night at home with the pup and conserve some gas money. i think not having a plan was a mistake. (i love plans).
this is what i did tonight:
-i put on my workout clothes
-i took a nap
-i realized i was freezing and put on slippers
-i paid my bills
-i made a new cd for the car while downloading mp3s of the day
-i watched said songs on you tube
-i read my email
-i yelled "i'm bored"
-i took off aforementioned workout clothes
-i walked alfred
-i battled with alfred over bringing giant sticks into the house to chew
-i fed alfred
-i left a message for a friend regarding starting a dinner party group
-i started the 10-29-07 New York Magazine crossword
-i watched the Daily Show (with the Mets' David Wright)
-i made eggs and a tofu dog
-i watched the Colbert Report
-i ate two mini boxes of nerds (grape and strawberry)
-i called my mom
-i watched more videos on you tube
-i chatted with a friend
-i thought about reading a book
-i looked at craft ideas on marthastewart.com
-i decided that tomorrow night i need a plan

For those who don't like Sundays.

this song has never failed to lift my spirits. i keep it in storage to bring out every once in a while to make me smile. now don't you feel better?
pavement-carrot rope.

frenzy.

sometimes we all feel this frenetic.
amazingly enough, this video was made with 1500 inkjet prinouts over the course of 3 days.
(cut off your hands-you and i)

which direction to go.

tell me, are you left-brained or right-brained?

"Destiny may have to teach you to tell the difference between fact and fantasy more clearly."

According to Astro.com, it is in my nature to be "basically motivated by feeling and emotion rather than intellectuality."

last night i dreamt that somebody loved me. the house was large and white, magnolias and weeping branches. and in the warm sunshine and brightness of the kitchen i stood, gazing at your warmth. everything was light and i could see clearly. and i leaned forward and whispered all of those things, that which had filled my heart's vessel, now i was pouring into yours.

My brain functions better when accompanied by musical instruments.

The Silver Seas-"Country Life"

the long drive home.

i clench my fists when i hold the steering wheel. sometimes, on long drives, my knuckles turn white and my hands ache for hours.
mason jennings and i keep missing each other. despite the fact that i have tried to see him numerous times, something has always gotten in the way. tonight i drove to asheville, having known about the show for some time, and shocked to find it sold out. in north carolina! humbled, i drove home, (stopping at target), clenching the wheel, waiting for there to be a next time.

i'm hoping for there to be a next time. i believe in next times.

i wish i was a beautiful latin woman.

federico aubele-postales

Fascism, anyone?

Just one more piece of international politics that this country is ignoring that will certainly blow up in our face. The US believes in democracy...right?

american colonial.

today is a good cold fall day. not that i mean that i enjoy the cold, no sir. but it was the weather that fall should be--crisp and sunny, with touches of color starting to show. i spoke to the owner of one of the new inns in town and she told me they are completely booked through the end of the month for "leaf season." winter is fast approaching and no one is going to deny it. we're craving warm and heavy food, sweaters, and hot beverages. for the first time in a long time, i'm not minding this transition to fall too much. as it is my first here, i'm still very amused by my surroundings, the changes in the flora, and the charming comments left and right, sighing that the cooler weather has finally come. this is my first year, since i was a kid, that i get to spend Halloween in a house, getting to carve and display my pumpkins and shower children with loads of candy. i get to see downtown turn into a winter light show of sorts, the colder it gets, and the closer to the holiday season, the cheerier they seem to become. back to school and the last vacations are over, and people have settled into their places again, looking forward to the end of the year. i went outside with alfred at 6:30 this morning in my regular red checkered flip flops and was stupidly surprised, twitching and dancing to stay warm. alfred was obviously comfortable, because he was in no hurry.
i'm looking forward to minneapolis at the end of November, exploring the new Walker (yes, i haven't been there yet), the bakeries, the record shops, and of course stock up at Penzey's and Aveda. i will further reinforce the american colonial in my head with some good old midwestern charm.
and--maija would be proud--i'm even starting to think about christmas. i know it's going to be a big deal here (i'm sort of looking forward to that) and that decoration and celebration will abound. i have my own gas fireplace in my home (do you believe it?) and will have a tree. i'm looking forward to the whole family visiting and showing them around. for maij, all of the best, most quaint, and historical snippets: Biltmore House, Grove Park Inn, and Carl Sandburg House in full decoration, shopping at Mast General and the farmer's market, and hiking through the mountains among other things.
the cold weather has me musing. there's so much on my mind at the moment. but nothing some hot chocolate and a tofurkey sandwich won't help sort out.

oh yes. OH yes.

NY Times: "After Years of Being Out, the Necktie Is In"

slacker.

haven't been too good at posting all of the blogs going on in my head these days. here are a few visual momentos from nessa's recent trip to visit.

below: mr. snagletooth, in all his glory.
realizing that i probably should have changed the oil 1,000 miles ago. hemp sandwiches anyone?
nessa's pro nature shot.

fear.

look me in the eye

i've held a fascination about Asperger's Syndrome and Autism ever since I read Oliver Sacks' (genius) "Anthropologist on Mars" about academic Temple Grandin, who was one of the first people with the diagnosis to describe her world from the inside including her connections to animals, and struggle with human intimacy. a few years ago, while in social work school, i had an amazing first-hand experience working with 3 and 4 year olds who were on the Pervasive Developmental Disorder spectrum. these children were so lovable, but the world was so vastly different in their eyes.

now comes a new book, which i'm very interested in, but haven't read yet. if anyone has, i'd love to know what you think.

as a side note, this guy is the older brother of augusten burroughs. their little convo about the book is pretty funny.

my apologies for the incoherency of this post.

this is not the Onion

A Nebraska senator is suing God. Nuf said.

play with your hands

distraction.distraction.distraction.
i've been on an odd technology/diy/design/make it with your own two hands kinda kick for the past brief while. in my head those things all go together in some way or another.
herein follows a random list of craziness:

at work while searching for a decent photo release form, i came across lifehacker, a plethora of technologically relevant information so gi-normous that to absorb every tip given, you would have to live your entire life on the puter.

and then i met clocky, the mechanical counterpart to my personality: sleepy, cute, and squirmy. he ingeniously runs away and starts incessantly beeping when you try to snooze him more than once. he's the soulmate for someone who doesn't even realize she's hitting her alarm clock any more.


note to others: whenever you are considering purchasing anything for me, this, along with a wide angle lens, is what i want. (i am shameless.)

and yet another find, thanks to my dad's crazy connections, is the neat design blog core 77. i plan to build myself a light tent , after which i will stand with one foot on top of the kitchen table and declare myself some sort of conqueror.

on top of this, i've also been strangely drawn to a lot of dj-mixed music, recently in particular the genius of MSTRKRFT. their remix of block party's two more years is brilliantly danceable.

my life has become a series of blips and bleeps.

weathering the storm

for those who misconstrue.
you do, somewhat. but that's really mostly my fault. i've been delinquent in my writing for the past week because i've been a busy bee. you see, it all started when i finally met some people my own age. for the first time in months, i was able to exhale and sit on someone's couch and drink a cider and listen to old friends talk about their brother's awful cars and how they rode to school in winter in a convertable. and it was nice to be accepted into that. it felt so very normal that for a moment, i forgot that i'm the odd man out. that combined itself with the next evening of intense inspiration, sitting again, listening again, but this time to two artists who i was only so lucky to see. and again, it was so normal, and so beautiful, and it made me want to make beautiful things with myself. and then on top of that the next night i make strides in being that person, pittering away with senora, practicing my trilling rs, adding a little spice into this pale sea-water eyed body of mine. and then yet the next night i ran to another piece of me, this time with the dogs and the children and their eyes lit up, despite the pain they were going through and i knew that this was just as important as the other things and something that made me feel deeply. and yet the next night i was in another new place, with other friends, for them, eating free food and looking at totally foreign design elements that i could never afford. but i was recognized. i was the director they had met before and oh what a good job i was doing and what wonderful work i do. i was that somebody, that difference in someone else's life, beginning to be that person i strive for. and i sat on the porch at night and said, very loudly for all to hear, that if ever there was a need i would be there in an instant. and i was. and i wanted to be. and oh lord, where does this go now, but that was the most normal thing of the week, despite being quite oppositely so. so i proceed cautiously, but with true intent.
oh dear, maree's week has been extraordinary, to say the least.

for loves sake.

maree's week has been extraordinary. period.

below picture of me looking ratty taken by a child i work with.

but, hey--it's still a new picture of me.

i need a haricut.

Reflections

words of wisdom.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

Working for the weekend.

My personal inspiration for getting through today:

1) Tomorrow, I am finally getting myself to a record store. Am expecting to become totally overstimulated and spend way too much money. And then I am roaming the city. My adventures to be updated next week...

2) Christian Bale. Cowboys. What's not to love? (Am I the only one who is freaking out a little waiting for the new Batman movie?)

3) Farm Aid has always been one of my favorite organizations because they support individual people so essential to this country. We've forgotten where our food comes from. And how better to spread the word than to use music? This weekend they host their concert in NYC.

4) If you've been reading my blog, you've seen how much I love Charles Vess. Well, he's here on Monday, (*little dance to myself*) so I have something to look forward going back into the week.

What book are you?

You're One Hundred Years of Solitude!

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Lonely and struggling, you've been around for a very long time.
Conflict has filled most of your life and torn apart nearly everyone you know. Yet there
is something majestic and even epic about your presence in the world. You love life all
the more for having seen its decimation. After all, it takes a village.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

A Day in the Life

the idea is not new, but it's never old. the latvian embassy just sponsored "one day in latvija," on August 31st, an anniversary celebration of the original effort 20 years ago that captured the then-soviet state over the course of 24 hours.
I'm jealous that I missed it. (though, some of the photos more than make up for it).

Jamie T - Brand New Bass Guitar

A good week overall.

Musically, i've come across a lot this week. Been listening to some old cds pulled out while moving, and some new things, thanks to derek's links that he sent me. Here's a little list:

Satisfact-I bought their self-titled a long time ago in college. "Demonstration" is my favorite. "I'm in a bad way" is also a good song. Although no longer together, they were the pre-cursor to the dance-oriented indie music, though a great deal more dissonant.

Black Lips-(see previous post)

The Spits-Old fashioned (punk, that is) and just as sweet as candy corn.

Jamie T (above post)-listen to "Salvador," the opening wail reminds me a lot of jonathan richman. unfortunately couldn't find the video for it, so i gave you the gem above.

The Panthers

MSTRKRFT-awesome dance music out of canada. love their remix of the panther's "thank me with your hands"

new Interpol-they're dirty, and make me ashamed of myself, but i love them

Elvis Perkins-"While you were sleeping"-in the vein of Mason Jennings

More to follow...

Wish I was there.

One reason I miss NY

so in love.

*sigh* my heart is thumping, i am head over heels. black lips, will you be mine? listen, but just remember--they're mine.

*toot toot*

High IQ link to being vegetarian

Intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life, a study says.
A Southampton University team found those who were vegetarian by 30 had recorded five IQ points more on average at the age of 10.
Researchers said it could explain why people with higher IQ were healthier as a vegetarian diet was linked to lower heart disease and obesity rates.
The study of 8,179 was reported in the British Medical Journal.
Twenty years after the IQ tests were carried out in 1970, 366 of the participants said they were vegetarian - although more than 100 reported eating either fish or chicken.
Men who were vegetarian had an IQ score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians.
There was no difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who reported eating fish or chicken.
Researchers said the findings were partly related to better education and higher occupational social class, but it remained statistically significant after adjusting for these factors.
Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher occupational social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians.
However, these differences were not reflected in their annual income, which was similar to that of non-vegetarians.
Lead researcher Catharine Gale said: "The finding that children with greater intelligence are more likely to report being vegetarian as adults, together with the evidence on the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet on heart health, may help to explain why higher IQ in childhood or adolescence is linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in adult life."

Intelligence
However, she added the link may be merely an example of many other lifestyle preferences that might be expected to vary with intelligence, such as choice of newspaper, but which may or may not have implications for health.
Liz O'Neill, of the Vegetarian Society, said: "We've always known that vegetarianism is an intelligent, compassionate choice benefiting animals, people and the environment.
"Now we've got the scientific evidence to prove it. Maybe that explains why many meat-reducers are keen to call themselves vegetarians when even they must know that vegetarians don't eat chicken, turkey or fish."
But Dr Frankie Phillips, of the British Dietetic Association, said: "It is like the chicken and the egg. Do people become vegetarian because they have a very high IQ or is it just that they tend to be more aware of health issues?"

good things.

i saw this today, and it made me think of this, and because of that, i happened to run into this. makes yr heart beat a little fast, eh?

cats and dogs.

we drove very slowly because the rain was coming down so hard that it obliterated any view of the road that we had. alfred stuck his tongue out the window to catch a few drops, but quickly backed away, lest be hit by more angry drops. i had just left quite an impression on the alternative youth of hendersonville, having walked out from the overstimulating gourmet produce store to my car in the middle of it, effectively soaking every inch of myself (later appreciating the sight in the rearview mirror). it felt like we were in the southwest desert-- having prayed for months, the water finally came. maybe alfred did a little rain dance outside in the dark when no one was looking. this is what i remember summer to be, the groaning hot days and bacon-sizzling concrete washed away in the blink of an eye in an uncontrollable wave from the heavens. having been inspired by nigella lawson this morning, here i sit on the porch, crusty bread in hand, large almost over-ripe tomato gushing onto a string of crudely-pulled apart cheese. ice tea to my left, alfred at my feet, nature as my show.
this is the life.

i wish i may i wish i might

i have become a person with a penchant for fake turkey sandwiches.

i leave npr on all day without turning it off and fall asleep to the jazz show, except for thursday nights when they play this god awful dentist office stuff.

i lay my clothes across the top of the banister for the lack of furniture in my room and because i can't be bothered walking into the next room to the armchair and the closet (besides the fact that it is full of windows and i don't want to be improper with the neighbors).

i cry in my sleep.

i receive New York magazine every week and complete as much of the crossword as i can until my roommate takes over and we get 97 percent of the way through.

i continue to compulsively buy books in any shape or form (some things never change).

i sit on the front porch, preferably in the dark, in my rocking chair, listening to the locusts or the rain.

i drink a lot of tea in various flavors and forms. coffee has been reserved for emergencies.

i want to learn Spanish. classes start next week.

i have actually allowed myself to enjoy hiking by myself.

i am writing again, little by little, inch by inch.

For Lunar Nerds.

Monday night (8/27) will have two, yes two, full moons in the sky. Mars will be so close to the earth that it will be visible to the naked eye and due to the full moon, it will look like there are two. So grab your drink and a blanket and camp out!

Photo Op

A couple of weekends ago, my roommate and I attended the Hendersonville Co-op potluck. I made Maija's Guiness Cake, which is always a big hit. There were probably more desserts on the table than anything else. We met quite a few cool people there and I ate my fair share's worth of organic watermelon and lemonade. It's been like 98 degrees here for the past few weeks straight and the grass is brown and crunchy. All of the leaves are falling off of the trees and all of my plants have died except for the rosemary. It's so hot that walking Alfred outside in the middle of the day is pretty difficult. On the other hand, I've probably gotten more of a tan this summer than I have in ages.

Happiness is...

Alfred in a car.

Little Britain

Prepare for $.99 Tikka Masala! Tesco is coming to the States!

Pure Genius.

Point and Shoot.

I was rustling through an overly full cabinet the other day and came across a Minolta Rokkor Automatic from some forgotten age, looking as though it had been never used, but now seriously outdated. I scooped it up lovingly, changed the batteries, loaded some film, and started shooting. He's been sitting in my lap in the car for the past five days straight, capturing moments of interest and pure stupidity, and some silly bumper stickers to boot. I don't know how the pictures will turn out, am still searching for some place that will develop real b&w, but it has been fun.

He travels quite well.

In other obsessions, I recently purchased a Charles Vess book with a collection of his work on ballads. I didn't know who he was until I came across the following poster last August, hanging in a window in Asheville. I was told that in the illustration world, Mr. Vess is quite well known.

I still think it's one of the most beautiful things I've seen.

He's speaking at the bookstore in September, and if i can help it, I will be there, rapt with attention. http://www.greenmanpress.com/

Where's our shirt?

This post was going to originally complain about the lack of originality of my alma mater

(after seeing the above slideshow in the NY Times).

However, there is no friggin' disputing the beauty of the pink sparkly shorts. That and the fact that they have contracted the comfiest shirt maker in the world.

In the world I say!

Visual Amusement.

It is monday. I got a call a couple of days ago and someone I know said that they had gotten my link and, apparently, there was no blog. According to this person, all he could see were "a couple of pictures." Humph. Well folks, I live my life in rapidly changing snippets and you'll more than likely not find any long diatribes here (for some excellent length go to the first link on the left). So for your appeasement, here is an old picture masquerading as a new one.

No coincidence.

Top: Jay Alfred (Prufrock), Bottom: T.S. Eliot. Similarities?

The Hollow Men

Thus begins my intellectual pursuits...