Happy Christmas

12 days 'til that. AND, ONE WEEK 'til home. Yeeee-ayyy (!)


Scrubs cast re-does Charlie Brown.

Exactly.

Rebekah tells me this is an overtly-me reaction.
I've been bringin' the crazy extra hard lately. Iz fine.

Yesterday, it was 60 degrees and I contemplated no jacket.
Today, it's snowing and frock coat it is!

Also, 19 days until I see errrrry'body.

The Weather on the Moon

Just the cover; click THIS to see what Stephen made.
He just had his first novel published. He gave me the MS a while ago, and it's so lovely. His prose, and I feel weird quasi-critiquing him, is so original (and always is) and lyrical and poetic and gentle and wonderful.
And,
and he'll appreciate this,
I have "Wonderful" stuck in my head (Colin Meloy), and this pretty much sums up everything Stephen makes:
"It's weird and it's wonderful"

Before I met him, he didn't really write poetry, but since becoming friends with him, he does. I can't remember why I suggested he write poetry, but I remember essentially commanding that he do so.

Currently, we're writing a story together (sending it back and forth in the mail), and while it's brilliant fun, and he's NOT going to appreciate this haha, because I feel I exhausted my creativity in college, I feel things I write now are...eh. Eh? Eh. But, practice I shall, AND, he's essentially commanding that I write this with him, so, that is that.

Right now, only the E-book is available, but the paperback will be out soon (!)

I Want My Hat Back

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
^Clix!

I...yes.


A trailer for the book, although I don't really think it does the book justice. But, I like the accompanying music.

Bad Meat

Not only did it make me exclaim with an, "EW!" a few times, it looks absolutely horrendous. So much so that I think it gives Dahmer vs. Gacy a run for its non-existent money/budget. I made Stephen watch Dahmer vs. Gacy with me, and while it had some stupendous one-liners, it dragged on for entirely too long.

Anyway, Tahj Mowry is in Bad Meat, as is Dave Franco.

All this being said, I will most definitely be viewing; bad horror movies are just so super.

We No Speak Americano

Becca showed me this a while back and I just remembered it and yessssss.

Joey quits

So good. My two concerns after I heard about this at work today:
1. how is he going to get a job after a fiasco like this?
2. if he's quitting his job, wouldn't hiring a band be silly due to cost issues?
Luckily, he's already obtained another job (v.smart) and he's in that band, hence, no hiring. Also, I was assuming this guy would be an obnoxious blowhole, however he seems quite dandy.

Props and snaps, Joey.

Ow. Ow, ow, ow, ow.

Blind autistic man stuns the music world

For a brief write-up about him:
BBC NEWS

Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson's next film-o (fall 2012).
CLICKEROO

!Excitement. The plot seems so good, but I'm tryyyying not to build it up. Even though it looks like it's going to be so good. But I'm not building it up :X

Victor Hugo

A Ship at Choppy Seas, Le Gai Château, and Octopus with the initials V. H.
I'd never seen his artwork before, and when on a Les Mis kick the other day, found some. Also, he said this,
"I like you. You yield to me. I love you. – You resist me. Clear off..." (an example of "a typical Hugo love poem.")
Ha. After reading more about his life, he was REALLY back and forth about things, i.e. would constantly change his mind/opinions. Also, there are a TON of parallels between his and Jean Valjean/Valjean's life, which I suppose is fairly expected, but still interesting to get an idea of what inspired him.

I can see the mountains

About 45 minutes away from Broomfield (my little town-o). Idaho Springs, Co.

When I was 10, my parents and I were on our way to Arizona and our van broke down. We were stranded in Idaho Springs/neighboring places (where we camped, fished (Echo Lake; where we caught copious amounts of rainbow trout), etc.) for about 33 days (as I remember from the journal I kept solely for that trip).

The other day, my dad and I went up there and found a few places we had been 15 years ago. The H&H Motel (where we stayed), Marion's of the Rockies (where I had my first eggs benedict), and Tommy Knocker's restaurant (where we played pool and ate).

The temperature was 10 degrees colder there than Broomfield (making it 68 and windayyy). J'adore.

Can I sleep on

the air mattress with you?

I bought an air mattress for my housing situation when I move to Colorado NEXT WEDNESDAY. O, boy. It's actually really great! Comfortable, fast to inflate/deflate, and sturdy.

Holy, holy, I need to commence THINKING about packing, at the very least.

By a typewriter

British artist Keira Rathbone uses typewriters, instead of brushes and pencils, to create amazing portraits and drawings.
(click on the photos to enlarge and thus see more detail)

Fog Forests

I love every second of it
For more (and they're all divine): FOGTASTIC VOYAGE

Make Some Noise

I love this times infinity.
"Make Some Noise" music video by the Beastie Boys.
There's also a longer cut, running at about 30 minutes, and MORE actors are in that one (such as Shannyn Sossamon, Amy Poehler, Alicia Silverstone, etc.)

Put a bird on it

I especially love the ending ahahaha.
And this is why I love Portlandia.

Anti-jokes

Anti-joke
DOT COM.
(click click, click!)

Example:

How do you make a plumber cry?
You kill his family.

Ah HA HA!

Everyone is in it

The Muppets.

Mila Kunis, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt (d'aw), Ricky Gervais, Amy Adams, Jason Segal, Zach G...sadkjasdlkjsad-is, Neil Patrick Harris, Jack Black, Katy Perry, Rashida Jones (The Office), Selena Gomez, Whoopi Goldberg, Liza Minnelli, Billy Chystal and more and more.
Also, everyone is in Freaks and Geeks. I started watching all the episodes again (playing on IFC) and WOWEE-POWEE there are a whole lot of people who appeared on that show.

Absolutely not

.

Peter Pan Begins


This better get thrown out (the article says they're "pitching" it, so I hope someone has brains enough to say no, no.)

There is NOTHING I like about this:
I don't like Channing Tatum. Like at all.
Just from the title, I can tell it'd be a big project. People will expect a lot and because of that, it will be even MORE of a let down if it does get the go-ahead.

And yes, I saw Red Riding Hood, and it was awful. However, it looked pretty, but I just KNEW it was going to be bad, but sometimes one is surprised. This was absolutely not one of those times. It was god-awful. Alice, however, was superb. O, I have a bias because I do rather love Timothy Burton, but whatever.

Please, no. The only Peter Pan-esque movie/show/whatever I have refused to watch was Peter Pan 2 or whatever that was. And the Tinkerbell crap. But she's a harlot, so that doesn't count.

Shorts

"Alma"
This is a Spanish short by Rodrigo Blaas.
Apparently "Guillermo del Toro is set to godfather the development of a big screen feature adaptation of Alma with Rodrigo Blass directing for DreamWorks Animation."

I Stumbledupon Alma and 14 other "Amazing Animated Short Films" the other day.

I ended up watching most of them, and really liked this one, too:

"Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty"
It's hilarious.

15 Amazing Shorts

Camera Van

"More than 2500, inside and out. I made it into a darkroom in the back, and there’s a light-meter collection on the dashboard so when I’m driving and the light filters through the windshield, the needles are all moving. I have shutter buttons that control the cameras that work."

My dad showed me this article today in Car and Driver magazine about a man named Harrod Blank who put all these cameras on to a 1972 Dodge van.

"I put Polaroids on the bumper area. If they get broken, who cares? The driver side is a giant Kodak Instamatic that’s made up of Kodak Instamatics. The entire top is covered with 140 Super 8 cameras. I can put a working video camera there. The back has the oldest, dating to the early 1900s. The passenger side is a giant filmstrip made up of TV monitors, from which I can broadcast images I shoot, and I can also play my movie if I don’t get accepted in film festivals."

Also, he's made a film called "Automorphosis."

He said he hit a deer once and that the van was okay, but, "...the deer shape was carved out in the cameras. It took me two weeks to fix the damages." He's been doing this since 1993, so I understand that when he started, a lot of these cameras weren't as coveted, but now-a-days, I cringe a little bit and just want him to put protective covering over some of the older/more rare ones :X Ack hahaha.

Samuel L. Jackson reads...

Freddie Highmore

is this boy:

(in Finding Neverland)
I MISSED THE PART WHERE HE GREW UP.
Seriously, completely missed it. And he was one of my favorite child actors; I evidently forgot that kids grow up (a-ha ha: bad, unintentional pun...because he was in Finding Neverland, har har).
Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing this movie. Sure, it looks like the typical modern bildungsroman, but I love sassy Emma Roberts and obviously adore Freddie Highmore.

PS

I, too, am reading Just Kids by Patti Smith (compliments of The Denver Publishing Institute last year, thank ya!), and I'm absolutely loving it. And this video is just splendid.

The Denver airport is...

Davey Eggers

When I was in LA, I had a meeting with a DPI graduate, and her boss (this super great, soft-spoken, hip, English-professory guy with Allen Ginsberg-y glasses) had these drawings in his office, along with a plethora of African items: he's an anthropologist and was apparently the first American to interact with this one tribe. Super awesome. Anyway, the last one was my favorite. He had about 6 or so, but this just gives a gist of what they're like.
Dave Eggers, if you're in the unawares, wrote the screenplays for Away We Go and Where the Wild Things are, as well as being an editor, publisher, and writer of fiction and non-fiction and more.
What I was left with from the hip boss was, "don't...see it. Don't. It's awful. So bad. If you didn't like the first one, oh, just don't do it. It's even worse: vulgar and horrible." -(he said all this in a gentle, intelligent tone: it was so genuine that I couldn't help but believe every word of this assessment) about The Hangover 2. And I have never believed I would do as I said more than when I responded, "OK, I won't."

Stuff 'n stuff

Just finished reading Alice in Wonderland for the first time--it's really funny. And you learn patience along with Alice because everything she endures, the reader is like, "whatttttt is, ERGHH," as well, and as she begins to endure all the nonsense, so do you. I admit I probably missed half of what was going on...happens.

What to read next. I recently FINALLY bought The Great Gatsby (embarrassing that I haven't read before, I know), so maybe? But I have like 51 other books on deck...aghhhh, decisions.

I had a few dreams the other night, all good (FINALLY; I've had really disconcerting dreams lately, which REALLY blows), but the only part of anything that I recall is that Bill and I were lying somewhere outside and I was holding his foot (shoe on, if that helps with that wondrous visual at all, haha).

Saw Cloud Cult yesterday because my friend Matt was having a going away get-together and wanted to see them: they were really fantastic. One of the members (sometimes it's another guy) paints throughout the entire show and then they auction it at the end. And then they had other visual stimuli in the form of a screen in back of the band, playing arbitrary visuals and their music videos to go along with the songs. Clayton introduced me to them YEARS ago, so it was nice to see them live. They have a lot a sad songs (2 of the members are married and lost their 2 year-old son a few years ago and write a lot about him), but they also have this little gem (probably my favorite of their songs):

Yup! :)

Rainy Day Women

Jimmy Buffett covering Bob Dylan--fantasmic.

It's been incessantly rainy here, but this gem makes it A-OK :)
Oh, and revelation today: 12X35=???
Ah-ha, ha ha. Oy.

Marionette Butt

Stumblin'

Tehehehe.
I drew something LIKE this a few years ago, but I like this muchhhh better!

One Man Disney Movie

!!!

Thought Catalog

Thought Catalog
Wondrous articles/site.

In other news, LA trip is set for May 26th-June 2nd.
Hahaha, I just looked at the weather forecast, and it's bloody Pleasantville, apparently: sunny, sunny, then there's a lot of sun, sunny, sun, &c (the first 2 weeks of May). Per my favorite weather website: AccuWeather.

Bimbo Bear

*Raised eyebrow.
And for some reason, I think SR will like this.

Cat and Fox

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Absolutely.

This Instant

My first picture taken with my new Fuji Instax 210 Wide Angle camera.
I love it but I'm still getting used to the viewfinder that is WAY over on the side and thus does not give an accurate view of what you're photographing. Ah well, it won't be too hard to get a feel for it and just go from there, I don't think. I also have to figure out the zoom/focus (it has 2 options), i.e. not get too close, ha.

To counter

the awful last post, here's this:

Bahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Suchhhhhhh an infectious smileeeeeee.
I think Ben may have to tie me down so I don't convulse through the entire show (April 23rd, Columbus, yippeee!). So very excited.

The worst thing

This is a real music video.
Please notice the ratio of likes to dislikes.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan

I think she is my favorite: they called her "The Mud Maid."
But these gardens are magnificent. They're located in Cornwall, England and have belonged to the same family for 400 years.

Other eerie/lovely sites include:

Columbus-based

Retail rage

This man sure is mad aboot his shopping being impeded.

Away to Florida

6 Facts You May Not Know About Pompano Beach:

1) Pompano Beach was settled in 1900 and was incorporated as a city in 1947.
2) Its name is derived from the Florida pompano. A fish found off the coast of the Atlantic.
3) The city truly experienced a significant growth during the Florida land boom of the 1920s and in the latter part of the 20th century, experienced great population growth as many northerners made their way down south.
4) Pompano Beach has been listed as one of the top real estate markets. It has been featured in CNN, Money and the Wall Street Journal as one of the country’s top vacation markets.
5) Many notable residents are from the area including numerous professional athletes. A few notables are: Jerome and Stockar McDougle of the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars, and Ronald “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” Daniels, a professional wrestler. Actor Kelsey Grammer is also a Pompano Beach native.
6) Pompano Beach airpark is home of the famous Goodyear Blimp, Spirit of Innovation.

From: http://www.plazaoceansideblog.com/2010/06/6-facts-about-pompano-beach-you-may-not-know%E2%80%A6/

I wasn't aware it was a fish. And now I know. The more you know *insert rainbow swish here*
I leave Tuesday, and I'm devastatingly pale. Ruh row.

Cathy

Ksadljasdlksda. Brilliant.

The Beaver

Frightened Rabbit, Charlie Bartlett, and hilarity (!)

Old

And by old, I mean, I never liked them back in the day. Not an "oh, whatever" not liking, I really didn't like them. Because of the feud haha: TBS all the way.
It's like The Killers and The Bravery and how apparently they don't get along.
Thank you high school for instilling this information into my head.

Anyway, junior year of college, there was this boy, we'll call him Collarbone, and he loved Brand New. I did not. I said over and over, no, no I will not listen to them, they're stupid. He made me a "Mixed Tape" (his ha-ha, not mine) of his favorite songs of theirs anyway, and for some oddo odd odd reason, I uploaded it and made the effort to label the songs and everything. And kept that playlist. And slowly, the songs grew on me.
Me=so stubborn, so I'm not sure how this even happened. AND, to top it off, besides liking Collarbone for a very hot minute, that ship had sailed, so one would think I wouldn't really give 2 cents about this little mix.

Ha, and I love that there is a part in Jane Eyre about Seventy Times Seven (talking about forgiveness). Jane Eyre can literally tackle any idea ever. Ask a question and it's like you have a Magic 8 Ball, I swear.

But I actually really love how this music video starts. And the video itself isn't too shoddy, either.
A few of my friends went and saw them a couple years ago and said they only played new, boring stuff and their show was pretty lame, but for connotational value and guilty pleasure, I dig.

Make 'em laugh

This is about the epitome of what I should probably bop around with for the rest of ever.
I give this 13 out of 10 stars.
Apparently I knew exactly what I wanted when I was 10, because that's when I fell in love with him, ha.

So much respect. Get 'em, tiger.

READING A BOOK

Ahahahaha.

Elevator Girl

THIS is my favorite Robert Frank photo.
We studied him in my Beat class I took TWO YEARS AGO EW. But I was looking at his pictures for no reason just now and came across this:
http://www.lensculture.com/webloglc/mt_files/archives/2009/08/robert-franks-elevator-girl.html
THIS IS SO FASCINATING. Essentially, the girl recognized herself 50 years later in an exhibit of his and went on NPR and talked about it. And I don't know if we (my class and myself) knew about the Jack Kerouac quote, but apparently Jack and I have similar taste. Which is useless now but still neattttttttttttt *grin*

Little baby, all grown up

http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Drinking-Closer-Home-Jessica-Anya-Blau/?isbn=9780061984020


One of the manuscripts DPI class of 2010 read before the institute.
And now it's a realllllllllllllllll book.

They grow up so fast.

But in all seriousness, it was really quite good.
And hilarious.
And the author, Jessica Anya Blau, is really funny/witty (obviously), as well. She surprised us and came to Denver one day after we went over her MS--so exciting (!)

Made

I, er, started this in October and finally finished the other day.
It wasn't for anyone at first, but after being neglected for a while (to try charcoaling), and after telling Amy about it, I realized it should be for her.
So I sent it to her today. But not before running into walls with it in its sending box first. I'm so not kidding.
I can't wait until Summer/to see her (!)

In other news, I haven't written in ages.
But I've sure been delving into other hobbies.
Speaking of which, I have ideas for almost everyone for my "make things for people for 2011" project.

Three little babies...

Well, four.

But, my newest little ones (from Xmas):


DIY Pinhole, 35mm. About 3/4 of the way through constructing it. Got stuck on one part, so we'll see if dad can figure it out. Such an innnnnnnnnnnnteresting camera (!)

The Imperial Debonair. Spectacular for the name, yes. The one I received is in REALLY good condition. Yes, I have the flash (and diffuser!), no I probably won't be using it (since one has to change the bulb EVERY time a shot is taken with it). Dunno where parents got it, I think a friend helped, but it was because my Savoy's shutter was broken, so this one is similar. I'm really excited to use this. Takes 620 film (which my dad has found/acquired quite a few of!), but we're trying to rig my 620s to take 120. Also, as I told K, our family friend actually fixed my Savoy!! It took 3 professional photographers, but it happened. My uncle and dad couldn't do it but then our family friend, Kyle, went to town on it and bahd-a-boo, bahd-a-bing, fixed!!!!

A Minox camera. Mine has the cord, as well. Spies and my mother used this camera in the 70s, etc. Ha. My mom says it's great to take skiing bc it's so tiny-baby, so I think I'll do just the same. Takes 110 film, of which my parents found for me.

And lastly, a Polaroid Spectra. The film isn't the worst in terms of finding/buying and the film produces quite vibrant/good photos for a Polaroid. Thrifted by my lovely friend Michelle, who bought it for me. The coolest part about this Spectra is that Michelle found one BRAND NEW, in the BOX withhhhhhhhh directions and all. I thought that was pretty neat.

I don't know how the pictures will turn out, but I've sure been having fun with my Argus Super 75.
Bliss tomorrow: skiing at Boston Mills/Brandywine with Leahbez--!!!!!

Book carvings

Book carvings by a Taiwanese artist Long Bin-Chen.
(There are a few more: http://acidcow.com/pics/16197-book-carvings-9-pics.html)