Danny&Annie

This is beautiful. Really. It's the short story of Danny Perasa and his wife, Annie's twenty-seven years together, not just in marriage but in true romance and devotion. I won't lie, it made me shed a few tears, but it was worth it. Great little story of wonderful, real people. As StoryCorps describes, "...These remarkable Brooklynites personify the eloquence, grace and poetry that can be found in the voices of everyday people when we take the time to listen." I think it's a neat thing to hear stories from 'the common man' and I've had a few experiences where I've opened discussion with a stranger, of they with me, and a truly genuine connection was made, whether it be from a little nugget of experience passed, a funny tale or just a different outlook on something...it's worth it. So, please, take the headphones out when you're sitting on the bus and talk to someone who looks up for it. You, afterall, are an 'everyday person' too, right?

...poetry...can be found in the voices of everyday people when we take the time to listen...

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo


The Blizzard's Never Seen The Desert Sand by The Tallest Man On Earth


p.s. I need to send a thanks to Chaucee Stillman who had posted a blip about this video on her facebook page where I first noted it and followed the link to experience this moving tale for myself.

Didn't I Just See You At A Barn Raising?

This was in a series of Minimalist Music Video Posters and it's brilliant. There's more here but the website is written in...German I think. But the posters are still neat. What makes this work? The colors are in high contrast and match the video. Who could forget that vibrant red jacket? Michael Jackson is well-known enough that he is recognized by two letters and the typeface the words are written in is creepy enough to pull it off, but not to wacky to be a distraction. And those eyes! Of course, Michael's eyes in that video are enough to provoke nightmares in us all, and the symmetric, bold shapes and colors used for those eyes are just as striking as the man himself. I have a Graphic Design class where we have been looking at successful posters and ads and picking apart what about them makes them "click" in the minds of their viewers. There are some more that I'll share below that either shock the viewer, make them laugh or somehow else grab their attention AND make them remember what they've seen.

I love that last one. It was an ad poster for a shaving kit. If you look at any of these and aren't sure what exactly they mean....look harder. It's rewarding. My professor has been telling us to look more than we have before and not just look, but understand why what you see means what it does. What does good design look like? Why is it successful or, contrarily, a waste of space and money? We don't live in a perfect world, of course, but everything around us has been designed. I think it's a wonderful thing that God's designs have far outlasted ours. The trees and the mountains are majestic designs that are always "successful" in their purpose. In addition to nature, man is God's design. Our brains alone are a BRILLIANT display of design with form and function meeting to create a beautiful and powerful machine. Don't just take a moment to take in good design around you, make a shift to be conscious of it nearly always. Appreciate that even if man's hands and machines created something, their idea was God-breathed. Many are inspired by nature which is, of course, God's artistry.

Go and...see!

I'm gonna throw it back a little with this one. Just back a few years.

Citizen Cane-I've Seen Better Days

B-A-G-G-U spells a trend you should fall for ! These Baggu bags are really neat and much stronger than your run of the mill, 99 cent canvas grocery bags. Sleek, reusable, machine-washable and available in lovely, rich and bright colors, these things are pretty dang awesome. And for the earth-conscious nucleus in all of us, the Baggu company estimates that using just one Baggu for a year when grocery shopping or whatnot, will prevent 300 to 700 disposable bags from being used. THAT is pretty gnarly. They come in little back packs or duck bags, regular size, small size, jumbo size...all awesome. The regular size is said to fit as much as 2 or 3 normal plastic bags.

The Weepies- World Spins Madly On

Help!

I'm getting a new camera. Hopefully. Thinking of a Canon T2i. Do you have any recommendations, blog world?

This is short today. But I will include a song, to make it more worth your while.

M.I.A.- Jimmy

This is good shake yo hips song. It belongs in a dance hall with a disco ball and enormous speakers. And lots of dancing folk.

Swallow the Sun

Ever since reading "Eat, Pray, Love" several years ago, the memoir's words have never left me. Written about Elizabeth Gilbert by Elizabeth Gilbert, it tracks her year journey through the world and through her soul. The book have me a passion to travel and discover and love and..it's just sort of hard to explain. Gilbert has a way of story telling that grabbed me--she's honest and concise and an expert and finding the words to define those things we all feel but can't manipulate into words. Also, she writes about Italy, a place I am longing to visit, so I read the Italy portion of the book slowly and imaginatively, it's my own little way of being on the cobbled streets eating gelato and overhearing the crowd at a nearby soccer game. Words also interest me and she spends a lot of time on the translation of words from our language to others. The literal translations of things can be humorous or inspiring, nevertheless they at least bring an appreciation for the words I speak each day and are spoken in other forms across the globe. Gilbert writes about people she meets and I feel myself missing them as I finish the books final pages. I didn't start this post to talk about the book, but as you can see--I love it. To pieces. If you get the chance, please, please, read it. Especially since the movie is coming out soon and though you've already probably seen trailer footage that might tarnish your mental film reel as you read, I hope you can create the characters and scenes yourself before you see it played out in its entirety on the silver screen, if you are, of course, even interested in seeing the movie. I have a fear, as is natural, I think, that the film will fall very short for me. It was the little idiosyncrasies of the characters, the cultural immersion I felt as she effortless described the scenery before her and the dead on metaphors Gilbert's wonderful memoir was filled with that made me fall in love with Eat Pray Love. They story itself is not so much about finding a love as much as finding yourself and from the trailers I've seen so far, it seems that they shift the victory and the concept of the story to this 'love story.' I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that I'm wrong. For Gilbert's sake. It would be a pity for such a beautiful story to be lost.

Do you like Ted Talks? Do you know what they are? If not, please find out. "Ted Talks" Conferences are held annually in different locations and they invite the most fascinating thinkers and doers of the past year to give a talk. As the Ted website notes, they "...are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)." And so, these talks are great, I listen to the podcasts of them in my car all the time and the videos are also available online, at http://www.ted.com/. I recommend the talks by Mike Rowe, J.J. Abrams, Sir Ken Robinson and Dan Buettner, who speaks about the areas in the world whose inhabitants often live to be over 100, why this is, and what we can do to be like them. I find this talk, and the others whom I listed, to be very inspiring and even life changing. Stimulating in the least.

Given my obvious adoration for Elizabeth Gilbert (see above if you missed the whole 'she's awesome and her book changed my life' thing) and humungous fan-age of Ted Talks, when I saw that Elizabeth Gilbert had given a Talk in 2009, I was instantly sucked in. Her talk was interesting and spoke on the subject of creative minds seen as crazies who are prone to suicide of depression. I don't really want to talk about it anymore, or spoil anything else for you, so just watch it if you're interested or a Gilbert fan like myself.
Here's the link

The annual conferences in Long Beach/Palm Springs and Oxford bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Florence & The Machine - Dog Days Are Over

listen to this and I dare you, try not to dance or at least tap your toes. I've lost at least 150 calories thanks to this tune today. I can't stay still when it comes on and...it's been on a lot.

I heart NY

Awesome

Champion

1) I love silhouettes

2)Don't we all want to go up against something like this and come out the victor?
I hope today you can face that dragon and come out on top. Even if your dragon is a pile of clothes in the corner that needs to be put away which...is mine. I shall attack my whites and darks with a spear and a shield!

Simon & Garfunkel - El Condor Pasa.

I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail.

Oh, The Temptation

Moral: Good things come to those who wait. That's all I got today, folks.

That and a song.

The Wombats- Little Miss Pipedream

No Pulse No Chance

This is a neat bit I found surfing the net today. It's hard to remember the differentiation between what we need and what we want sometimes.

Want vs Need

by Erin Hanson

Say Anything- I Want To Know Your Plans

It's Bone

Before he was Batman he was Bateman, a fantastically fit and well groomed Manhattan executive. His wealth is abundant and the ladies love him. He has an adoration and lyrical understanding of the music of Huey Lewis & The News, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston and his apartment is the chicest digs the 80's can offer such a refined young gentleman who, as it were, also tortures, violently rapes and even practices cannibalism on victims he finds as he peruses the midnight streets in his limousine. The movie version of Bret Easton Ellis's 1991 novel had Christian Bale playing this fascinating character and for anyone who is intrigued by this short description, is a fan of Bale, loves dry rich snobs unknowingly making fun of themselves and doesn't have an easily queased stomach, I definitely recommend this film. My favorite part was the monotone descriptions that Bale gave only adding to his enormous ego. I found a quote that captures it well, and it was actually found as a comment on a clip from the movie on Youtube: "The book is a satire on par with, say, Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange. Not because of its depictions of violence and sex, but because of its depiction of the sociological deterioration of people's moral compasses. A Clockwork Orange uses a political stance for its plot device, American Psycho uses greed." Bateman's character is well-versed in the land of perfect pocket squares, designer suits, mineral water and a business card's ability to make one sweat with envy--segueing to the clip below. This is at Bateman's firm on Wall Street. Enjoy. And watch the movie, or read the book. Great story, but be ready for some gruesome and sometimes disturbing scenes. It is, afterall, titled American Psycho.

American Psycho -- Business Card Scene from Jason Lin on Vimeo.

Battles-The Line.

another Eclipse soundtrack nugget. it's an interesting rhapsody of sorts, with lots of unexpected turns in melody and instrument choice.

I saw her knickers!

I know that it is summer vacation and no one is really in school right now, but this is a neat little short-story-turned-movie for anyone interested and with eleven and a half minutes to spare.

The Bravery-Ours

(I'll admit, it's from the Eclipse Soundtrack and each of the soundtracks so far to this saga have really been great, this new one is not a disappointment. Check it out.)

La la la la

Welp, I am one final away from completing my first semester at Penn State University. To celebrate, I am posting a laughable video, since we all need to laugh more.

If you've never seen or heard of Flight of the Conchords then you, my friend, are in for a treat. They're great. Look em up on YouTube. I'm too tired to go on more about them, just trust me. Great.

Avett Brothers-I and Love and You

Great song to sing loud in the car. Why else would I post it up here?

Breathtaking

Brownie Cookies?!

Okay, I have always loved brownies. As a bona-fide chocolate lover at heart, I am not sure what could be better than the fudgie, warm sponge of chocolate that IS a Brownie. SO, when I came across this brownie cookie, I was more than excited to try this one out. I have to admit, as much as I love love love making deserts, since I am basically living by myself now, I make less since they add to my waistline (it is, afterall, bikini season) and I enjoy making deserts for more than myself to enjoy, so it's sad when I have to throw away extra deserts that no one wants and have gone stale. So, I am making these brownie cookies now (about to take the second tray out of the oven Mmmm!) so that I can take in the extras to my classmates as finals are soon approaching. Who doesn't like a treat when you walk into class?! So, for anyone else interested, here is the recipe. I have already had one and when washed down with a cold glass of milk, these are reeeally tasty. And nice for travel and sharing since you don't need to lug a brownie pan with a knife and spatula and napkin. Enjoy!

Brownie Cookie Recipe

When I'm With You

If I had a great big mansion

I’d rather live in a shot gun shack with you
If I drove a red farari
I’d rather ride in an oldsmobile with you
If I won a million dollars
I’d give it away to spend more time with you
If i had a million lovers
I would trade em all for just one more night with you
With you I can be myself
With you I don’t have to be somebody else
It’s like puttin on my favorite pair of shoes
I’d like to be with me, when I’m with you
If I owned the finest vineyard
I would rather sit and drink cheap wine with you
If i could live on the moon
I would rather stay in Tennessee with you
If i could sail across the ocean
The ocean would just be blue without you
If i could climb up Mount Everest
I would turn around and climb in bed with you
With you I can be myself
With you I don’t have to be somebody else
It’s like puttin on my favorite pair of shoes
I like to be with me when I’m with you
If I could be like Albert Einstein
I’d rather just be dumb and be with you
If I could sing like Frank Sinatra
I would rather sit and talk to you
With you I can be myself
With you I don’t have to be somebody else
It’s like puttin on my favorite pair of shoes
I like to be with me, when I’m with you

**I Like to Be With Me When I’m With You – Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors

I know, I know, I already posted something today, but I unearthed this song today from the depths of my itunes library and the lyrics were so sweet and simple I had to share them with SOMEBODY! (Nicole, you out there?!) Many thanks to my good friend Peter who made me the mix that had this song on it. Thanks, Mr. Von Kahle.

The Castle on the Hill

I want to go to there. Please see it bigger here.

Also, I wish I had this problem on my hands.

When I'm Sixty-Four--The Beatles. If you've never heard this song/fell in love with this song...you're in for a treat. And if it's already a favorite, go and have another listen. On me.

Her Name is Yoshimi

These guys are just awesome. But more on them later.

I hope you enjoyed the sunshine today, because today the sun was higher in our sky and out longest from dusk to dawn that ANY OTHER DAY OF THE YEAR. That's a pretty exciting thought, I think and I celebrated by bein really healthy today. I ate really well and ran and did some yoga. We'll see if I am that driven tomorrow, but it was a good day. I also had the pleasure of watching this awesome wonderful documentary of sorts about Pixar from the beginnings to now. It was on CNBC and it was great. The brilliance of PIXAR makes me want to change my major to Animation if only I lived in California. They truly have hit the nail on the head in that they, which I'm sure no one is surprised at, make movies that have emotionally impacting stories with wonderful, vibrant characters. John Lasseter, the current wacky CEO and Co-Founder of PIXAR repeated this idea over and over again in the documentary, saying they work 2 and a half years developing the characters, the story, the tiny emotional pulls that the story will have before they even begin animating. They want to create movies that they, as "grown up" men and women, actually really want to see. In one interview in this documentary, Tom Hanks was saying he and Tim Allen saw the Toy Story 2 movie through for the first time together and though they obviously had worked on it for a while and were very familiar with the storyline and the script, the scene where Jessie is abandoned by Emily and left in a box of donations with a Sara McLaughlin ballad soaring in the background, reduced them to two men in their forties crying at a very sad and emotionally gripping piece of film. This company has done what no other studio in hollywood can achieve--constant success. So far, most of PIXAR's movies have surpassed gross profit from the movie before them, and all have received accolades from critics, five year olds, forth-five year olds and definitely from this 20 year old as well. I sobbed, really really sobbed, we're talking hyperventilation and shuddering shoulders, when I went to see Up in the theaters. Five minutes in and I was already a swollen-faced mess. In an animated movie. That's powerful.I have not seen Toy Story 3 yet but plan on doing it as soon as I get back home next weekend. I am bringing the tissues, as word on the street tells me this is another lump-in-your-throat movie. So kudos to you, PIXAR, for doing it the right way and coming out on top.

Happy Summer, Everybody. Go for a swim and toast me up a s'more, would ya?

-The W.A.N.D. by the Flaming Lips is the song tip for today, it's great in the car speakers turned up REALLY loud when you're driving home, skin tanned and tight, salt on your lips. Great summer jam. Equally amazing by the same band, if you dig this one, is Yeah Yeah Song, Free Radicals, Overtakes Me (This is my alarm clock on my phone, great wake up tune), and of course, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1. You've probably heard Do You Realize?? somewhere if you are reading this and thinking that you have no idea who the Flaming Lips are. Also, they are the guys at the top of this post if that's still puzzling you. If you EVER get the chance to see them in concert, even if you aren't really familiar with their music, GO. Just do it. For your health.

K Bye.

Explode

The only people for me are the mad ones,
the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved,

desirous of everything at the same time,
the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing,

but burn, burn, burn,

like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars

and in the middle, you see the blue center-light pop,

and everybody goes

ahh...

- Jack Kerouac

'On the Road'

-Light A Roman Candle With Me, Fun

Treats for you Visual

Musica for today? A summer tune, it sounds best with the windows down and the speakers vibrating:

The Format-Time Bomb

(It's really great so please don't pass up the opportunity for a new favorite song, here. Who would do that? Not you. right? Right. So come on, get happy)

Babylon, Harriet Tubman, and Chris Rice

I saw this today on a friend's blog this afternoon and thought it entertaining.
Indeed, the idea of thinking there's a Utopia here on earth is...gay. But I'm elated I have a Utopia to look forward in heaven. Am I alone in my daydreaming of heaven? I'm by no means a biblical scholar, but I do have a God I love and who loves me and I often like to think about heaven when I feel exasperated or letdown. Revelations talks about the building blocks of this heavenly kingdom being pure gold, diamonds, pearls, jasper, sapphires, emerald, crystal and chalcedony, among others. Can you imagine a wall built solely of precious jewels in the purest form possible? Seriously...it's going to be phenomenal to see. In my art history class we recently learned about Babylon and the lavish decor and architecture Nebuchadnezzar II focused on making his kingdom beautiful as a sign of power and almost holiness in artistic perfection. The Ishtar Gate, one of the eight gates to the inner part of Babylon, was more than 38 feet tall and constructed of bricks that had been glazed with crushed blue glass to resemble a bright blue precious stone. Some bricks were gold leafed as well, and in alternating patterns, the bricks were sculpted in relief with dragons, lions and bulls. I don't want to bore anyone that reads this, but this stuff is really brilliant, especially for having been constructed about 600 years before Christ. Special markings were made on the brick's sides after they were glazed so that the illiterate workers could place them together correctly during construction. Pieces of the wall that have been found mostly intact have been reassembled in museums-part of it I'm pretty sure is in Berlin, though nearly half it's original size since the original size simply couldn't fit indoors. The walls of the processional way leading to and from the Ishtar Gate were where the reliefs of the lions were, purposefully placed at the same height of average people so it seemed they were walking with you into the prestigious capitol of the Babylonian Empire. Below are some photos, that I'm sure do it no justice, would it not be INCREDIBLE to hop in a time machine and see this place in its full glory? Keep in mind that ancient Babylon also housed one of the seven wonders of the ancient world--the Hanging Gardens, in the middle of the desert where Iraq is today. Can you imagine a long journey through the beige deserts of the middle east when on the horizon you see the sun reflected off an enormous, vibrant blue wall that seems to be covered in a sheen of precious gems? What this long historical path is hopefully winding towards is a thought that man is certainly capable of creating beautiful structures to show their wealth, power, superiority, intelligence--whatever it may be. If mere man can create such structures that appear so mind blowing, the Ishtar Gate certainly only scratching the surface, we are certainly in for a wonderful surprise when we arrive in heaven. Yet, I am repeatedly reminded that when I pass through heaven's gates, I am sure that the gleaming architecture surrounding me won't be what 'gets' me. I will be in the actual presence with the Lord of the Universe, the being who imagined up the idea of light, created a human body with working bones, muscles, organs and millions of tiny parts working just right together, not to mention a brain that is truly a miracle in its abilities. He set the seasons up with their unique beauty and put Earth in just the right place in the solar system, spun it on a perfectly placed axis, and let it orbit juuust far enough from the sun to warm us, give us summer tans and grow our crops yet far enough away that we wouldn't burn up. This God gave us laughter, a sense of humor, singing voices, daisies and gazelles, and also lives in my heart--an idea that is hard to grasp for me, truly. I'm not sure what I'd say if I shook hands with Pablo Picasso, Tom Hanks, Harriet Tubman, Ben Folds or the President of the United States, but to be in God's presence, so to say, I'll be shaking hands with the 'guy' that invented...everything that is awesome. He made universe that functions, yes, but also looks pretty dang good while doing it. To live eternally in his glory, giving praises back to Him in a perfectly harmony of angels and Mary, Moses, Peter, Martin Luther, Corrie Ten Boom, relatives, and millions of other believers gives me goosebumps to think about. And of course, John 3:16 tells of how he, HE, loved you and you and you and well...the whole world, and, well, the Message version of the Bible says it in an interesting light:

Type A I'm Not. Comfortable, Caring and Looking for a Series Relationship, I am.

I like the way coffee mugs get buttcheek shadows at the bottom.

I also like this:

Also this:

And this. Because we all need love. Even our hands know it.

Close to Me-The Cure.

Listen to this and you'll realize the Cure was way ahead of their time. This song came out in 1985 but in 2010 this style is all over the place and has been for a few years...just listen and I'll stop trying to describe something you have to realize for yourself.

Nothing New Is Sweeter Than With You

We laugh until we think we'll die
Barefoot on a summer night
Nothing new is sweeter than with you

Home. Let me come home. Home is wherever I'm with you.

Technicolor Happiness.

I really love this concept. Aren't these photos just beautiful? This is from an engagement shoot done by the photographers of 'You Can't Be Serious' Photography. Their blog is a real delight- http://www.youcantbeserious.com.au/blog/ . I hope as a photographer I can always be trying new things like that. Creativity with color, lighting, concepts--it's so exciting, I just want to go out and shoot something fun like this right NOW!

-Home, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. Listen..go on, do it!

Warm & Fuzzy

These are unrelated but I like them. Neat lighting, especially the first two.

One band a day, every day

Who doesn't like getting a bundle of new, fresh music to listen to? Honestly? I'd like to think that even Ebenezer Scrooge had some tune that got his toe to tap and when Bob Cratchit came into the office with a shiny disc reading "Scrooge's Mix #2" scribbled in sharpie, his heart beat a little faster in anticipation. I got a nice new bundle this past weekend from a Mr. Sean Moeller. I've never met the man, but I'd like to shake his hand. Maybe even give him a hug. He turns the gears of an operation that makes a wonderful little gift to the ears of all who find the way to its homepage. Daytrotter.com is this magical place. I can't put it better than they can, so if you don't mind the read, then...read:

There are so many music/entertainment websites that copy one another, scrambling so fast to “discover” or present something new to the world. And just because you get there first, it doesn’t really make you an explorer. We did poke a stars and stripes into the moon, but we could always see it. We knew it was there. It wasn’t new. We can always come along and say we did, saw, heard something first, but we’re never right. What Daytrotter is attempting to do is to not kid around with you and tell you that we found something that you never knew existed. We are going to contribute to the musical landscape, not just toss it around like a used book or a stolen pick-up line. We’re going to give you something that you truly have never heard. We are not giving you songs from someone you love’s record album, thereby stealing from someone you love. We’re giving you exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks by some of your favorite bands and by a lot of your next favorite bands.

These fine people – as they’re traveling through America’s heartland – take two hours out of their travels between shows to stop in for a Daytrotter Session at The Horseshack in downtown Rock Island, Ill. The name of the city is not ironic. They use borrowed instruments, play with their touring mates, utilize an often unkempt toilet, eat some food and then cram back into their vans for the last half of the drive. What they leave behind is a pile of ashes, sometimes a forgotten stocking hat and four absolutely collectible songs that often impart on whomever listens to them the true intensity that these musicians put into their art, sometimes with more clarity than they do when they have months to tinker with overdubs and experiments. These songs are them as they are on that particular day, on that particular tour – dirty and alive. We want you to make this your new home as it is ours. We promise that you will love it here.

-from the 'about' section of the site

And so, I re-discovered this site after I had downloaded a few songs from the band 'fun' a few months ago when my obsession for this band was at its peak (it's still pretty high up there, mind you). There are usually around 4 songs per artist and there are truly hundreds of artists with some little nuggets to offer, some I had known of before and miles of ones I'd never even heard rumor of. So, the discovering began on Friday afternoon and a few clicks turned into exactly 165 new songs (to this point in time), all free downloads offered from Daytrotter as a gift to the listening ear. Auto-tune free, these songs are raw and fun, with not too much thought put into them (as it should be, most times). The site even has its own artist, Johnnie Cluney, who does really basic and fun illustrations of each of the bands and artists that record for the site. Please check it out and make yourself a new fun playlist to make your morning commute, homework hours or run through the park a little more hearty and fresh. Even Ebenezer would have to admit, it really is something.

The song for today is one of the standouts from a band I'd never heard before Daytrotter:

'Airplanes' by The Local Natives (The original version or, even better, that offered by Daytrotter for FREE!)

GO!

Jew

Eugene Mirman is cool. Look him up.

Listen

p.s.

Listen to "All That She Wants" either by Ace of Base, the original, or the remake by the Kooks. It's a decent remake. Listen to the Kooks, they've got good tunes if you want to sing like a carefree Brit. Especially in the car. "She Moves In Her Own Way" is a good one too.

Nothing to do with each other

Classy Woman. Beautiful Shot. (not taken by me)

PLEASE watch this. Ok, it's strange in a European way and I don't understand the cat woman thing, but the music..AH! Ben Folds just kills me with how wonderful his talent is. He created a 'piano orchestra' of 12 or so pianos to play a song from his recent album, "Way to Normal" (which is brilliant, by the way, a new direction for Ben) and this song is called Cologne. Let the pianos take you away.

Ben Folds - Cologne [Piano Orchestra Version] from musicmicerice on Vimeo.

Things

I love my sister. She's the pretties pregnant lady I've ever seen. And the prettiest un-pregnant lady too.

Good things are happening. Yesterday I was asked to take photographs for a wedding. WOW. What a great responsibility that is, though I believe I'm up to the challenge. Not long after this exciting request, I was asked to do some prints for a friend to hang in her shop. ALSO WOW. My work...for sale?! God is good and has blessed me with a passion and talent (I think) and it is really encouraging that he is providing me avenues to allow my hobby to grow from well...a hobby, to something that will be seen by many and appreciated, which is, afterall, what we're after, right? Who doesn't like to be appreciated? Honestly. Musicians like to be heard, authors like to be read and moms like to be hugged. It's in us all. When I decided to come home from Florida, I was worried this winter would be depressing, with the constant thought that my friends were in the sunshine and I was in the gray of a Pennsylvania winter. But, it seems this winter has been more white than gray and more busy and exciting than gloomy and depressing. Yes, I would most definitely love to lay in the sun with the sound of waves lapping softly on the shore this afternoon, but I am happy God has given me this winter with my family and friends here in Lancaster to appreciate the keystone and to cultivate my passions and hobbies into lucrative blessings to others.

Tales from the Forest of Gnomes

Wolfmother

(This is a good one)