to my last post: Arcade Fire US tour. It is finally fucking happening, my friends.
Teasers
The Earth Day Newtork informs you of anything and everything you can do this Earth Day to help make our environment b-e-a-utiful.
Also, this is an interesting article about the easy ways in which one can reduce their pesky carbon footprint.
Also, this is an interesting article about the easy ways in which one can reduce their pesky carbon footprint.
is my life right now. School has consumed my every thought (not my every action, fortunately). Thus, my long leave of absence. However, I'll be back soon.
Love,
yours truly
Love,
yours truly
Logorama - winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film
Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.
Celebrate our beautiful planet...
By growing your own sprouts! You help the Earth and your body simultaneously.
or...
By making the preservation and beautifying of our environment your artistic experiment!
By growing your own sprouts! You help the Earth and your body simultaneously.
or...
By making the preservation and beautifying of our environment your artistic experiment!
Earth Hour is a global movement in support of legislation to prevent the irreparable damage to our planet caused by climate change. It's a wonderful way to bring about widespread action, get involved, and show solidarity through glorious, wonderful, inspiring, communal darkness. Join in! From 8:30-9:30pm!
First, I found these articles in my Care2 daily emails. Daily emails can get a bit overwhelming, but Care2 does a good job of keeping things relevant. I feel that these two writings are very apropos.
Plants may listen to us... !
Happy, healthy, and rejuvenated in the spring!
Secondly, since it is the time of youth, blossoming, rebirth, I feel as though it may be a good time to reuse waste and start a compost pile, so here's a nifty eHow article delineating how to do just that.
GO FORTH AND COMPOST!
Lastly, to induce some harmless spring cleaning, here's a blog dedicated to minimalism, a rarity in today's society.
Enjoy, springlings.
The first.
I am at a loss for words when I read articles like this. That this country still finds this acceptable baffles me. I despise the fact that an injustice this pervasive is allowed, if not encouraged.
The second.
It speaks for itself.
I am at a loss for words when I read articles like this. That this country still finds this acceptable baffles me. I despise the fact that an injustice this pervasive is allowed, if not encouraged.
The second.
It speaks for itself.
Ah, the joys of spring break. Every time I breathe I feel freer. I quit my job, too. I can hardly fathom what to do with myself, and it's an absolutely wonderful feeling.
Today I dove into the ironically freezing waters on the East coast of my peninsular home and I became numb; I felt nothing and everything simultaneously. During this time I came to two conclusions. One was that I haven't been reading nearly as much as I'd like to. I then made a pact with myself that I'd change that. The second was that seashells are sneaky and deceptive. They're beautiful one minute then BAM!: they dry and the luster has disappeared, the beauty lasting only long enough to fool you into lugging a shit-ton home. Maybe it's nature's way of telling us to leave them where they belong: on the wet, glistening beach.
Now, I am both binging on pistachios and finally discovering the beauty of Pandora.
Musicians for you to check out:
1. J. Tillman
2. Samamidon
3. Gregory Alan Isakov
4. The Avett Brothers
5. The Low Anthem
6. JBM
If these names look familiar then you know that I'm on some odd folky, acoustic kick that causes every particle in my being to desire a home in the mountains. C'est la vie...
Today I dove into the ironically freezing waters on the East coast of my peninsular home and I became numb; I felt nothing and everything simultaneously. During this time I came to two conclusions. One was that I haven't been reading nearly as much as I'd like to. I then made a pact with myself that I'd change that. The second was that seashells are sneaky and deceptive. They're beautiful one minute then BAM!: they dry and the luster has disappeared, the beauty lasting only long enough to fool you into lugging a shit-ton home. Maybe it's nature's way of telling us to leave them where they belong: on the wet, glistening beach.
Now, I am both binging on pistachios and finally discovering the beauty of Pandora.
Musicians for you to check out:
1. J. Tillman
2. Samamidon
3. Gregory Alan Isakov
4. The Avett Brothers
5. The Low Anthem
6. JBM
If these names look familiar then you know that I'm on some odd folky, acoustic kick that causes every particle in my being to desire a home in the mountains. C'est la vie...
via This American Life on Chicago Public Radio...
[Listen here!]
[Listen here!]
374: Somewhere Out There
Of all the 6 and a half billion people in the world, what are the odds that any two people are a real match? Stories from people who know they’ve beat the odds, and the lengths they’ve gone to do it—including an American professor who sings Chinese opera for anyone who'll listen, to get one step closer to his mate, and two kids who travel halfway around the country to find each other and become best friends.
Prologue.
NPR reporter David Kestenbaum tells host Ira Glass about the time, when he was doing graduate work in physics, he and his other single friends decided to figure out the mathematical probability that they’d find girlfriends. They wanted to know what the chances were that there was more than one person in the world for them. And This American Life Producer Alex Blumberg and his wife, Nazanin Rafsanjani, reveal the subject of their first fight: They were in love, walking in the park, when Nazanin asked him if it felt like fate—like she was the only one for him. (Yes Alex, there is a wrong answer to that question.) When you’re in love, it always feels like it was meant to be, whether or not it really, statistically speaking, is. (10 minutes)
Act One. It’s Not Over Til the Fat Man Sings.
When Eric Hayot was 23, he went on an exchange program to China one summer. He took an opera class on a lark, and before he knew it, he was on stage, singing the part of a famous judge. Accompanying him, on a traditional two-stringed fiddle, was a 19-year-old musician named Yuanyuan Di. Eric fell for her the moment he saw her, and began spending time with her. But a couple of weeks later he went back to the States, and that was that. They didn’t keep in touch—it was too hard to communicate by letter. Then, two years later, Eric went back to China to study, and decided he had to find Yuanyuan again. Only he didn’t have her phone number, or address or any other way to contact her. So to track her down, he deployed his secret weapon: The fact that Chinese people love it when westerners sing Chinese songs. This American Life Producer Sarah Koenig reports. (19 minutes)
Act Two. Tom Girls.
Lilly and Thomasina have a lot in common. They’re both 8 years old. And they were both born boys, although it became clear pretty early on that they'd prefer to be girls. There aren’t all that many kids in the world like them, but recently, at a conference in Seattle on transgender parenting, they met. And they immediately hit it off. They could talk about things with each other that they'd never been able to share with other friends back home. And that’s comforting, even if they never see each other after the conference ends. Producer Mary Beth Kirchner tells the story, with production help from Rebecca Weiker. (17 minutes)
Song: "Somewhere Out There," The soundtrack to "American Tail"
Act Three. My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend.
A live performance detailing a humiliating love affair. When comedian Mike Birbiglia was in high school, he fell for a cool girl named Amanda. They start going out, and it’s going great, except that Amanda hasn't quite broken up with Scott, her other boyfriend. So for instance when Mike goes to Amanda’s house to meet her parents, Scott's there too, and Amanda takes turns making out with each of them while the other's in the bathroom. It only gets worse. (9 minutes)
Song: "Whole Wide World," Wreckless Eric
There's this: a protest against one of the most blatant corruptions of civil rights in this country. I don't even know these people yet I love them.
Love will win out in the end.
Love will win out in the end.
Last night I had the great pleasure of seeing Sondre Lerche in his favorite gator-infested town. Luckily enough, he was accompanied by one of the most intuitive musicians I've ever been exposed to, Jesse Marchant. The minute he began playing the room was still, shushed by the hypnotizing lull of plucked strings. I swear, not one person spoke. Everything he did made perfect sense--both emotionally and musically--without seeming predictable or contrived. Needless to say, I loved it.
JBM: 'Cleo's Song'
by Rachel Kowal
Though Montreal singer-songwriter Jesse B. Marchant reports that he spent little time in church growing up, he both lived and recorded his debut album, Not Even In July in Henry Hirsch's church studio in Hudson, NY, often stepping outside only in the mornings to get breakfast. After living in Los Angeles for much of the song-writing process, taking up residency in a church built in the late 19th century was a nice change of scenery for Marchant, who came to find the social climate in L.A. not to his liking. Not only was the church an amazing setting for its acoustics, Marchant grew to appreciate its peaceful and historical aura.
Marchants sings of his lost love with L.A., and what he calls the city's social climbers, on "Ambitions & War," when he speaks of "clowns who dressed up as snakes to fight for their stake in the town." Indeed, much of Not Even In July has a somber undercurrent. "July on the Sound" recounts a dying friend's last days, and "In a Different Time," the track for which the album takes its name, refers to "sunsets and breezes" that have lost their ability to invoke pleasure. That said, Marchant doesn't consider himself to be overly pessimistic. Hope still finds its way into his beautiful, heartfelt songs.
Though Marchant only recently released his debut album, he also lent his talent to Lovers in a Dangerous Time after the producers from the upcoming film saw him perform in L.A. As a testament to Marchant's talent, the producers thought that his contribution fit so well with the movie that they decided to scrap the previous soundtrack and drafted Marchant to score the entire film.
This post will either assume that a) you give two shits about Valentine's Day or b) you like making fun of the world around you. Either way, here are some entertaining cards I found.
For the sexually inactive and desperate:
courtesy of 2ndcoming on Etsy
courtesy of PaperTheatre on Etsy
courtesy of rollandtumblepress on Etsy
And, just because everyone has a softspot:
courtesy of mitchellanddent on Etsy
For the sexually inactive and desperate:
courtesy of 2ndcoming on Etsy
courtesy of PaperTheatre on Etsy
courtesy of rollandtumblepress on Etsy
And, just because everyone has a softspot:
courtesy of mitchellanddent on Etsy
Killian Mansfield's Optimistic Ukulele
by Marc Silver
February 2, 2010 - A ukulele's plucky strum kicks off a buoyant new version of the 1926 classic "Blue Skies." The musician is Killian Mansfield, whose innate optimism didn't fade when he began fighting cancer at age 11. Five years later, he died of the disease — on Aug. 20, 2009 — but the gifted string musician lived long enough and stayed strong enough to fulfill a dream: recording a CD whose proceeds would benefit the integrative therapies he embraced, from acupuncture to aroma therapy. The album, Somewhere Else, came out 16 days before Mansfield's death, and has built a following slowly ever since.
Mansfield took up the ukulele in 2007, after his cancer made it too difficult for him to play the violin. He appreciated the instrument's light weight and ease of play, and was drawn to its percussive quality: A ukulele can set the beat, and that's what it does in "Blue Skies." Mansfield's mom was originally scheduled to sing the song, as she had done many times with her son while he was entertaining fellow patients at the National Institute of Health. But Mansfield and his friends had many music-business connections. So the vocalist is Manhattan Transfer's Laurel Masse, whose luscious chops are complemented by a jaunty clarinet and mellow, slightly melancholy bass line, all part of an arrangement that Mansfield himself cooked up. But, really, his ukulele is what propels the song; it's the insistent sound of a young man who, as his mother remembers, loved playing music for people and believed that as long as you're alive, you might as well look on the bright side.
Efterklang always sounded to me like onomatopoeia for crashing silverware. Their music is quite the polar opposite. Efterklang has a knack for being wonderfully ambient with some discretion. The latest song of theirs I've heard is actually quite different from their norm.
If you've never happened upon www.etsy.com, now is the time to start. It is an online network of independent artists selling their art and spreading the love. So, in light of the recent tragedy in Haiti, many of these artists have collaborated in a creative way to help as much as they can. What you can do: buy their lovely creations.
-> Click me! I'm a portal!
-> Don't forget me! I want attention, too!
-> Click me! I'm a portal!
-> Don't forget me! I want attention, too!
I never get legitimate mail anymore. But, really, does anyone? It's either a bill or an organization PLEADING for my every penny, not realizing that they're wasting paper due the fact that they've already gotten to me via e-mail. Not only is this an epic waste of resources, it's disappointing. I mean, I would much rather receive a letter from a long-lost love in my suburban mailbox than the normal shit I get.
This being said, today I received in my mailbox a very lovely, quirky envelope from Anthropologie. Alas, not a love letter, but definitely not the status quo. Initially, thinking it was just some generic attempt at advertising, I almost tossed it aside. It piqued my curiosity, however, so I decided to open it.
This is what I discovered:
A little bit materialistic and definitely a product of rampant capitalism, yes, but also pretty fucking adorable.
This being said, today I received in my mailbox a very lovely, quirky envelope from Anthropologie. Alas, not a love letter, but definitely not the status quo. Initially, thinking it was just some generic attempt at advertising, I almost tossed it aside. It piqued my curiosity, however, so I decided to open it.
This is what I discovered:
A little bit materialistic and definitely a product of rampant capitalism, yes, but also pretty fucking adorable.
Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, I bid you a very sad farewell. I know we'll see more of you.
And to Jay Leno--take this:
You go Coco!
And to Jay Leno--take this:
You go Coco!
The senate race is not the only thing this average joe won. He also won the hearts of Cosmo readers everywhere as 1982's #1 Centerfold!
Honestly, I wish people could see past that "regular BBQ guy" bullshit that the Republicans pull all the time. Do the issues just not matter anymore?
Honestly, I wish people could see past that "regular BBQ guy" bullshit that the Republicans pull all the time. Do the issues just not matter anymore?
IJUSTDISCOVEREDTHEMOSTAMAZINGTHINGONTHEPLANET. O.O
Ice cream... made out of... bananas...
You have not lived until you try this.
And--much like sex--the recipe is fun, fast, and easy.
Essentially, you:
a) unpeel the bananas
b) slice them up
c) freeze them
d) "purée" them in a food processor until "creamy"
Then you add whatever the hell else you want to the concoction.
Click the post title for a portal to this mystical recipe. For now, here are some photos to tickle your curiosity. Don't mind the color, I added chocolate and honey. I'm sneaky, what can I say.
SOTASTY.
Ice cream... made out of... bananas...
You have not lived until you try this.
And--much like sex--the recipe is fun, fast, and easy.
Essentially, you:
a) unpeel the bananas
b) slice them up
c) freeze them
d) "purée" them in a food processor until "creamy"
Then you add whatever the hell else you want to the concoction.
Click the post title for a portal to this mystical recipe. For now, here are some photos to tickle your curiosity. Don't mind the color, I added chocolate and honey. I'm sneaky, what can I say.
SOTASTY.
I love avocados.
That being said, a while back I decided that I wouldn't throw away those precious pits found in the middle of this glorious fruit. So, I started hydroponically growing an avocado tree. It's all [not quite] grown up now, with little effort on my part. Definitely try this at home.
That being said, a while back I decided that I wouldn't throw away those precious pits found in the middle of this glorious fruit. So, I started hydroponically growing an avocado tree. It's all [not quite] grown up now, with little effort on my part. Definitely try this at home.
"We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors... we borrow it from our children."
- Native American proverb
With that being said, you should click both the Haitian Red Cross widget at the top[ish] of my page and the small, oddly placed Chase logo just beneath it. I'm really not advertising, just trying to help spread the love in little ways. You'll see what I mean once you click them.
- Native American proverb
With that being said, you should click both the Haitian Red Cross widget at the top[ish] of my page and the small, oddly placed Chase logo just beneath it. I'm really not advertising, just trying to help spread the love in little ways. You'll see what I mean once you click them.
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