New Reading

About to start reading this, which excites me.




When I have more time, I'll post some pictures of my weekend in San Francisco.

Listening to Okkervil River today.

Lovely Lace

I adore lace. I often say that I would cover myself, my apartment, everything I own in lace if I could. I think that is why I had such a connected reaction to these gorgeous photos by Carl Kleiner :





And there are so many more. Many of his photos make my breath catch in my throat. I especially like the "Girls Night Out" group. Beautiful.

Today I'm listening to Laura Gibson. Her voice is so lovely, and it helps that she's a fellow Oregonian ;) I really like her collaboration with The Portland Cello Project.
*sigh*

I've recently rediscovered Charley Harper, and I'm so glad.






His work is so minimal, colorful and arresting. He did a lot of covers for Ford Times, and I'd really like to own some.

Today I'm listing to Karen Dalton, and she is perfect for my mood. I cannot get enough of her voice right now. ♥

A City After My Own Heart

Now, this just made my little dorky heart so happy.



Then I learned it's an actual crossword, and I almost swooned:

People of Lvov city in Ukraine decided to add another attraction for the visitors of their city. According to the artistic project it was decided to place a giant 100 feet (30 meters) tall at the wall of the one of the multi-stored residential houses. There is one interesting detail about the design of the puzzle. It looks like an empty puzzle during the day-light, but at night when special lights are on the words in the puzzle become visible with a lightly-glowing fluorescent color. The questions for this crossword puzzle are located in different point of interests of the city, like monuments, theaters, fountains etc. So people while walking around the city can try to answer the questions and writing down the answers. When the night comes to the city they can meet at this house and check their degree of intelligence.

Today I'm listening to Garotas Suecas.

Stuff I Like: Phase 1

I'm having trouble keeping up with/remembering all the things I hear about that I like or want to look into. So, I decided I might sort of collect them here. Beginning the project, we have Steam Punk, which a friend of mine told me about and I recently followed a random link to this, which I am dying to make:



However, it looks rather complicated

Fashion-wise, Steam Punk looks like this, and it is right up my geeky alley:



Also, Andrew Bird's new album is out Jan 20, but streaming in it's entirety on NPR.

Neglectful Caretaker, that's me.

'Tis the season to be too busy to blog. It's been forever, but I'm working through some ideas for 2009 that will (I hope) will give this thing some focus and will give me a reason to keep it up. I've learned one thing about myself lately: I am a neglectful caretaker. This has also underscored my feeling that I should never own a pet. (Catsitting, while fun, is not my forte and I hope is over soon). Next time, maybe they should try calling these people instead:

Irritation alleviation

I'm feeling irritable today. When that happens, I like to alleviate that with images that make me either feel calm or amused, so here goes:

I have something similar on myspace, but here is a list of the men I want to combine into one super man. Mm.

Now, I wish I could say I was proud of California. While we voted for Obama, we banned gay marriage again. Ugh! That's going to change. It WILL change, and people are going to look back and wonder how people could ever have been so ignorant. Shame on you, California. For shame.

I love you today, America

I could not be happier about our new president, even if it was Hillary. I am so proud of my country today, for the first time in a long time, maybe ever. I have the utmost faith in Obama and I am so excited to see what changes he makes. Listening to his speech last night, I just felt this overwhelming relief and joy. What a difference from Bush and the frustrations of our past eight years. We finally have a chance to do things right. I would not be so proud if it had not been such a decisive win, but states like Virginia (very white, historically racist, and hasn't voted democrat in a very very long time) went to Obama. I have a big crush on my country right now and I'm almost in tears thinking that I've never felt this way about living here. ever.

Gay marriage is still being counted...it's close, but it's not looking good, which just goes to show that we still have a lot of progress to make. I can finally say we're on the right track though. Hopefully this country is ready to turn the corner into a progressive society. (I'M being optimistic. ME! What's going on here!? oh, that's right, the best decision this country has made in my lifetime!)

He's not my favorite person, although I think what he does is important and that more people should do it, but I really liked what Michael Moore had to say:

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Friends,

Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair.

In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea. The racists were present throughout the campaign and in the voting booth. But they are no longer the majority, and we will see their flame of hate fizzle out in our lifetime.

There was another important "first" last night. Never before in our history has an avowed anti-war candidate been elected president during a time of war. I hope President-elect Obama remembers that as he considers expanding the war in Afghanistan. The faith we now have will be lost if he forgets the main issue on which he beat his fellow Dems in the primaries and then a great war hero in the general election: The people of America are tired of war. Sick and tired. And their voice was loud and clear yesterday.

It's been an inexcusable 44 years since a Democrat running for president has received even just 51% of the vote. That's because most Americans haven't really liked the Democrats. They see them as rarely having the guts to get the job done or stand up for the working people they say they support. Well, here's their chance. It has been handed to them, via the voting public, in the form of a man who is not a party hack, not a set-for-life Beltway bureaucrat. Will he now become one of them, or will he force them to be more like him? We pray for the latter.

But today we celebrate this triumph of decency over personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago. What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet. I know, pinch me.

We may, just possibly, also see a time of refreshing openness, enlightenment and creativity. The arts and the artists will not be seen as the enemy. Perhaps art will be explored in order to discover the greater truths. When FDR was ushered in with his landslide in 1932, what followed was Frank Capra and Preston Sturgis, Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck, Dorothea Lange and Orson Welles. All week long I have been inundated with media asking me, "gee, Mike, what will you do now that Bush is gone?" Are they kidding? What will it be like to work and create in an environment that nurtures and supports film and the arts, science and invention, and the freedom to be whatever you want to be? Watch a thousand flowers bloom! We've entered a new era, and if I could sum up our collective first thought of this new era, it is this: Anything Is Possible.

An African American has been elected President of the United States! Anything is possible! We can wrestle our economy out of the hands of the reckless rich and return it to the people. Anything is possible! Every citizen can be guaranteed health care. Anything is possible! We can stop melting the polar ice caps. Anything is possible! Those who have committed war crimes will be brought to justice. Anything is possible.

We really don't have much time. There is big work to do. But this is the week for all of us to revel in this great moment. Be humble about it. Do not treat the Republicans in your life the way they have treated you the past eight years. Show them the grace and goodness that Barack Obama exuded throughout the campaign. Though called every name in the book, he refused to lower himself to the gutter and sling the mud back. Can we follow his example? I know, it will be hard.

I want to thank everyone who gave of their time and resources to make this victory happen. It's been a long road, and huge damage has been done to this great country, not to mention to many of you who have lost your jobs, gone bankrupt from medical bills, or suffered through a loved one being shipped off to Iraq. We will now work to repair this damage, and it won't be easy.

But what a way to start! Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Wow. Seriously, wow.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
MMFlint@aol.com