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