Or Something Like That

Jared the Kitty Lover

2009-06-11T13:55:00.002-05:00

To say that I've neglected this blog for the last couple of months while lavishing all the attention on my photography website is quite the understatement. And while I can't exactly promise that I'll change my ways, I can guide you to some hilariousness in the form of my brother Jared. He's kind of crazy and awesome and weird all rolled up into a kitty loving little kid. And here is his new blog.

Swamp Adventures

2009-04-27T22:32:00.004-05:00

There's this cool place a couple of neighborhoods over that I like to take Bear for walks. It's basically a swamp with a boardwalk over it and there are all kinds of birds and plants living in it. He loves it because it has so many different smells and his nose goes crazy. Anyway, I took him there last week and he decided he was thirsty. For swamp water. Being the genius he is, he decided to lean over the edge of the boardwalk, even though it's at least a foot above the watery muck. And then he fell in and was stuck trying to get out again. It's too bad no one was around to witness the hilarity that ensued with me trying to pull him out and him straining his little legs to free himself. Finally he came out and he was elated. Doesn't he look proud of himself?

And a close-up of the nastiness:

He smelled so bad afterwards that we had to give him two baths to completely rid him of the stench.

Ps- Do you see that green spot on his forehead in the first pic? That's a grass stain. I have an awesome dog :)

A True Love Story

2009-04-17T13:25:00.002-05:00

My little sister put this lovely poster together in her photo class and I thought it was hilarious. Or Hillary-ous :)

2009-04-10T08:29:00.002-05:00

I have one question for you Mr. President:

WHERE IS THE PUPPY?

Honestly, I think your cute little girls (and myself) have waited long enough already. Only one thing will cure my depression from all the terrible news of people getting laid off, soldiers dying, and financial meltdowns. And that is... PUPPY MANIA.

New Website!

2009-03-23T06:06:00.000-05:00

I've finally worked out the kinks in my new photography website. The pictures are big and you can actually see detail! From now on I'll be posting most of my photographs over there, so subscribe to the RSS feed or add me to your blogroll (or both!). The first few photos from my shoe diptych series are posted so head on over and take a look.

Things That Happened on American idol:

2009-03-18T15:14:00.004-05:00

1) Kara wore some metallic monstrosity of a dress. I really don't understand how her and Paula can critique those girls on their fashion tastes. Seriously? Look in the mirrors ladies. Actually, that goes for Simon and Randy too.

2) I still think that Michael Sarver has to be one of the nicest guys ever. Still, his performance was not great; I think he might be the one to bite the dust this week. Simon said: "On a scale of 1-10 you were a 1.2" and Michael countered with: "At least it wasn't a zero." I don't think he understood the scale.

3) Allison rocked out like she's been doing every week even though the band's arrangement was terrible. Man I love that girl.

4) Danny Gokey wore a lab coat with safety goggles during his performance. It was a good thing too because it was messy up there.

5) Kris, the one who's been casted as the heartthrob, has been steadily improving each week. Along with being adorable he sang really well. And Randy called him a "tender dawg." What the hell is a tender dawg?? Can we vote Randy off? Please? Please? And he can take Kara with him?

6) I wanted to make out with Simon when he called Adam's sickening performance of Ring of Fire "indulgent rubbish."

7) By the end of the season, Alexis will probably have a good case for a sexual harassment suit against Kara. Dear Kara: you are seriously creepy with all of your overtly sexualized comments toward that girl.

8) Two too many people covered Martina McBride.

9) Backstage, Randy calls Simon the lil' judge.

10) Anoop came back from last week's giant misstep to have the best performance of the night.

Flower Power Shoes

2009-03-16T22:22:00.006-05:00

I'm starting to really hate how badly rendered my photos are on here. Click and look at it large. Anyway, I wasn't planning on posting my newest photos until I had my new website up and running, but it's turning into a harder task than I thought it would be so I changed my mind. This is kind of an outtake from the series of photos I'm editing right now, but I really liked it, so I kept it. Don't you just love the peeling paint on the left side? I do :)

Hi, My Name is Jennie, and I'm an Eavesdropper

2009-03-13T21:31:00.004-05:00

Don't you hate it when you hear people talking about an interesting topic and you want to jump into it, but you don't know them and that'd just be weird. I do. Anyway, these people were talking about how books are always better than the movie and I wanted to jump in and say that every once in a while a movie is better than the book. Not often, but sometimes. For me that movie is Sense and Sensibility. Emma Thomson's screenplay is flawless, beautiful, and true to the Austen spirit. Are there any movies you think are better than it's literary counterpart?

Her Morning Elegance / Oren Lavie

2009-03-11T01:24:00.001-05:00

I've been trolling youtube lately for cool ideas and techniques for stop motion. I came across this music video and was totally blown away. It's a little daunting to see how good this is; The part with the dancing is especially beautiful.

Changing Things Up

2009-03-10T12:45:00.004-05:00

It's been a little over two months of my 365 project already. Crazy. A picture each day has been a fun and challenging activity, as well as an educational one. I've learned that the best shots usually take planning and time to get them exactly how I want them. When I started the 365 project I had a sense of it being a kind of visual journal for my life, but now I find myself wanting to focus less on what's in my daily life and more on thinking up fun and beautiful images outside of my daily life. So I'm going to be changing things up a little in the near future. The result being that I'll no longer be shooting a photo a day; Instead it'll be more like a set of photos per week. I'm (slowly) working on a new and shinier blog that will be more conducive to photography and already thinking up bigger photo projects (and movie projects!). If all goes well weather wise, the first of these projects will be happening on Saturday.

Make A Wish

2009-03-09T14:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Lizzie!

2009-03-06T20:02:00.003-06:00

My sister's birthday was a couple days ago and my brother and I made this stop motion video as a present. It was my first foray into stop motion so it's not perfect, but I think it's still pretty cool. It was a lot of fun to make so I'm planning on doing another one soon :)

Lizzie and Fluffernutter

2009-03-04T12:31:00.002-06:00

I've posted a few pictures of her, but I don't think I've properly introduced you to our cat Sweety (aka Fluffer, Fluffernutter, All Fluff No Brains, Stinky, Stinkerbell, and Stinkerella). She's quite the daredevil kitty. A mixture of curiosity and stupidity makes for a wildly cute monster. Her favorite activities are drinking out of the toilet, antagonizing our dog until he chases her, trying to figure out what kind of creature my printer is, and exploring. We love this little ball of fluff.

Dude, Who Stole My Bike?

2009-03-03T11:39:00.000-06:00

Do-Si-Do

2009-03-02T06:24:00.000-06:00

Girl Scout cookies were delivered yesterday :)

Snow Monkey

2009-03-01T07:07:00.002-06:00

We had a MASSIVE amount of snow a couple of days ago. I'm pretty sure everyone around here is ready for winter to be over except Baerli. He can't can't get enough of it.

Downward Spiral

2009-02-27T10:56:00.003-06:00

I'm feeling much better today, thank goodness. This was taken in a parking garage in Minneapolis.

2009-02-25T22:10:00.002-06:00

Sorry I've been a slacker. I've been sick all week and haven't been up to editing and posting photos. I have high hopes that I will get back to posting for real in the next couple of the days :)

Rainy Bokeh

2009-02-22T05:33:00.001-06:00

Button Eyes Coraline Style

2009-02-21T05:16:00.000-06:00

The website for the movie Coraline has a cool feature that lets you upload a picture and put different buttons over the eyes. This is what I ended up with. Creepy!

Sunny Sandmen (49/365)

2009-02-20T05:59:00.001-06:00

I learned a new technique in photoshop yesterday that I tried out on this photo. I've always liked this shot, but could never really get it to where I wanted it. The changes are not crazy, but noticable when compared to the original.

Dancing in the Moonlight (48/365)

2009-02-19T05:46:00.004-06:00

True Love (47/365)

2009-02-18T07:57:00.000-06:00

All Fluff, No Brains (46/365)

2009-02-17T09:10:00.000-06:00

Sweet little baby kitty with not much going on upstairs. I think I'm going to start posting my photos with a black background. What do you think?

Jed Bartlet, You Are a Man of Mystery

2009-02-16T16:11:00.002-06:00

I just took a quiz the New York Times has that tests your presidential health knowledge. I failed it (2/8) because apparently I know nothing about the health of past presidents and I'm pretty sure that wasn't really covered in my American history classes. Anyway, the question that really threw me was one that included a question about Jed Bartlet. And I was like, what the hell? Who is Jed Bartlet? How come I've never even heard about one of our presidents? I am so stupid! I thought I knew a decent amount about politics and the presidents (aside from their health apparently), but clearly I know nothing. There are forgettable presidents like Millard Fillmore and Chester Arthur but at least I've heard of them! And then I googled Jed Bartlet and saw that he was a TV president and I didn't feel so bad anymore.

Buddhist Temple (45/365)

2009-02-16T05:57:00.004-06:00

This wasn't taken over the weekend, obviously. I've been going through all my negatives and scanning them into the computer. Unfortunately, I have quite a few negatives and it's taking forever. I ran across this one and liked it so much I thought I'd post it; it's from my time living in Hawaii.

Lemony Cloud of Goodness (44//365)

2009-02-14T10:44:00.000-06:00

Uh, I hope you're not on a diet and are hungry for cupcakes now. I don't know if any of you watch 30 Rock, but I watched it this week and I've been craving a McFlurry since Thursday.

Cupcake (43/365)

2009-02-13T09:02:00.001-06:00

Cupcake anyone?

Lily (42/365)

2009-02-12T13:21:00.005-06:00

One of my favorite place in the Twin Cities is the Como Park Conservatory. It's freezing and wintery outside but when you walk in, it's like you've stepped into Hawaii. It's warm and humid and smells like flowers. This flower shot was taken there.

The Moon Has Stage Fright (41/365)

2009-02-10T15:38:00.001-06:00

Capitan Underpants (40/365)

2009-02-09T21:13:00.004-06:00

Meet Captain Underpants. She's everywhere at once. People in the city love her.

Sk8r (39/365)

2009-02-09T08:02:00.001-06:00

Roller Derby Body Check (37/365)

2009-02-08T21:10:00.002-06:00

Lizzie and I went to a roller derby in Minneapolis. We were expecting a bit of violence and great people watching (which we got) but we weren't expecting to enjoy the actual sport so much. It was entertaining to watch and those gals are tough! Anyway, here's one of the pics from it.

Ice Sailor (36/365)

2009-02-07T08:00:00.002-06:00

To get their boats moving, they do a sort of running, bobsled sort of start and then jump in.

Ice Sailing

2009-02-06T20:00:00.001-06:00

I finally got around to editing the actual sailing pictures from the winter carnival. You should look up videos of this sport, it's pretty crazy when they get these "boats" going fast.

Mutual Admiration (34/365)

2009-02-06T13:14:00.001-06:00

I Found Your Boyfriend

2009-02-06T02:00:00.003-06:00

I like to play a game called "I found your boyfriend" with family and friends. Since we're all friends too, I thought I'd extend this game to the internet. Dear internet, I found your boyfriend. Enjoy!

Build-a-Boyfriend

2009-02-04T21:55:00.002-06:00

At the winter carnival Lizzie decided to build herself a boyfriend. Isn't he lovely and featureless?

Jon in Mickey's Diner (32/365)

2009-02-04T10:01:00.002-06:00

Let me introduce to you my sister's boyfriend Jon. Isn't he adorable? Our weekend Winter Carnival outing included a trip to the famous Mickey's Diner in downtown St. Paul. Have you seen the movie A Prairie Home Companion? This is the same diner that they filmed that end scene in. If you ever come to the twin cities, you must stop by and get a banana shake. So good!

January in Review

2009-02-04T09:48:00.002-06:00

The first month of my 365 project is done so I decided to put them together so I could see them all side by side.

Let's Go Fly A Kite (31/365)

2009-02-04T08:51:00.002-06:00

Along with the ice sailing at the Winter Carnival, the sky was filled with kites. Click to see it larger, it doesn't render very well so small.

People Watching

2009-02-03T20:37:00.004-06:00

If you've been reading this blog for a while or know me in person, you know that I'm a big people watching person. My sister and I try to take every opportunity we get to find interesting people to look at. This past weekend we went to the Ice Sailing event for the Winter Carnival in St. Paul. I took some pictures of the actual sailboats and ice sailors, but also documented some of our favorite people at the event.

This couple was by far the weirdest we saw. They were talking very loudly on their cell phones about calling police and going to jail and lawsuits.

We saw these fantastic matching snowsuits. Aren't they lovely? My sister and I are planning on finding the adult versions.

We couldn't decide if we loved to hate or hated to love this plaid concoction with fur trim.

We are naturally drawn to shiny things:

And some tuckered out children who had no choice but to nap on top of the iced over lake:

This little guy was the cutest little thing:

It Might Be Warm Enough to...

2009-02-02T09:41:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday, the Twin Cities saw a temperature above freezing for the first time in a month! On Friday everyone was talking about the possibility of mid-thirty numbers and everyone was very excited. Including a favorite radio dj of my sister and I. I'm not really sure how this dj got such a cushy job (she works for The Current, the awesome rock counterpart to MPR, and she's on in the afternoons when everyone is listening to the radio) because she's always saying really awkward things. Friday saw a new high in awkwardness though. She was talking about the weather and her plans for the weekend when she said, "It might even be warm enough to urinate outside tomorrow." Crickets.... It was silent for a few seconds before she added, "For my dog." I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.

Nice Headband Little Ski Bunny (30/365)

2009-02-01T16:11:00.001-06:00

Abominable Snowman Incognito

2009-02-01T11:50:00.003-06:00

Spotted: The Abominable Snowman trying to dress incognito in a snowsuit at my sister's ski meet.

Ski Bunny (29/365)

2009-01-30T00:47:00.003-06:00

Click for a clearer view. This was Lizzie's last ski meet of the season:

Electric Blanket Snuggle (28/365)

2009-01-28T18:32:00.003-06:00

Such a little baby. He refuses to leave the blanket unless he's hungry.

Paw (27/365)

2009-01-28T17:03:00.003-06:00

Happy Fiftieth! (26/365)

2009-01-27T12:45:00.002-06:00

My father's fiftieth(!) birthday. This cake looks a little silly, but man it was good. Homemade carrot cake with perfect frosting.

Light Painting (25/365)

2009-01-27T11:12:00.005-06:00

Had some fun playing with long exposures and light painting over the weekend. It was so cold! We nearly froze to death with the negative temperatures. Is winter almost over yet?

Mask (24/365)

2009-01-24T11:32:00.002-06:00

This is my first atempt at creating face masks in photoshop.

Tracks (23/365)

2009-01-24T11:31:00.001-06:00

Snow Field (22/365)

2009-01-24T11:30:00.001-06:00

Green and Yellow (21/365)

2009-01-22T14:41:00.002-06:00

Blue Spiral (20/365)

2009-01-22T07:39:00.003-06:00

This is part of some urban art in Minneapolis.

Obama Rama - Happy Inauguration!

2009-01-20T07:58:00.004-06:00

In celebration of Inauguration Day, I've made myself a mix to mark the occasion. An indulgent, feel good, happy to be alive, cheesy, celebratory mix. Here goes:

Love Today by Mika
"I've been crying for so long; Fighting tears just to carry on; But now, But now it's gone away." "Everybody's gonna love today, love today, love today; Anyway you want to, anyway you've got to."

Good Mornin' Life - Dean Martin
"I slept with both eyes open waiting for today to start; Good morning life, good morning world; How are you happiness; All at once I know what livin' can be."

Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens
"Morning has broken, like the first morning; Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven; Like the first dewfall, on the first grass."

Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In - The Fifth Dimension
"Harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding; No more falsehoods or derisions; Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in, the sunshine in."

The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan
"Come senators, congressmen, Please heed the call, Don't stand in the doorway, Don't block up the hall, For he that gets hurt, Will be he who has stalled, There's a battle outside, And it is ragin', It'll soon shake your windows, And rattle your walls, For the times they are a-changin'."

You Are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne
"Now both of us have known love before; To come on up promising, like the spring, just walk on out the door; Our hearts are strong and our hearts are kind; Well let me tell you what exactly is on my mind; You are the best thing."

You're the Inspiration - Chicago
"You know our love was meant to be; The kind of love that lasts forever; You're the meaning in my life; You're the inspiration"

Better Together - Jack Johnson
"Love is the answer at least for most of the questions in my heart; It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving; I'll tell you one thing it's always better when we're together."

I've Got the World on a String - Frank Sinatra
"I've got the world on a string; I'm sitting on a rainbow; Got the string around my finger; What a world, what a life; I'm in love."

Get Better - Mates of State
"Forget all your politics for a while; Let the color schemes arrive; Come on board, it's a curious sight; Absorbing sound that's never been right; Never ahead of, never behind it; Occasionally guarded, just keeps us surrounded. It's luck. Everything's gonna get lighter, even if it never gets better."

Let's Stay Together - Al Green
"Let's stay together; Loving you whether; Times are good or bad, happy or sad."

Don't You Worry Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
"Everybody needs a change; A chance to check out the new; Don't you worry 'bout a thing."

The Best is Yet to Come - Frank Sinatra
"Out of the tree of life, I just picked me a plum; You came along and everything started to hum; Still it's a real good bet, the best is yet to come."

God Only Knows - The Beach Boys
"God only knows what I'd be without you."

Idaho (19/365)

2009-01-20T07:56:00.001-06:00

Purple Dress (18/365)

2009-01-18T09:10:00.003-06:00

This is the last one in this (short) series of texturized portraits. I was pleasantly surprised because it was so easy to use this technique in Photoshop.

Blue Eyes (17/365)

2009-01-17T07:13:00.002-06:00

Old (16/365)

2009-01-17T03:09:00.001-06:00

Blue Suede Shoes (15/365)

2009-01-16T05:00:00.001-06:00

I'm still doing a lot of experimental stuff in photoshop; Today I was playing with texture layers. Which do you like better?

Lizbrith (14/365)

2009-01-15T08:21:00.001-06:00

I've been planning some shots from downtown St. Paul, but it's been SO COLD and I'm just not brave enough to try outside photography in -40 degree weather. Brrrr..... But I've been brave enough to mess around with photoshop inside where it's warm. Anyway, this is a picture I took a long time ago that I really like. Although I process pretty much every photo with Photoshop, I don't usually mess around too much with the image (bubble images aside). Anyway, I played around with this one a ton and this is what came out. I like it, but next time I think I'd do a couple of things differently. I really enjoy the gold/red color of it though.

Baby Bear (13/365)

2009-01-14T01:52:00.002-06:00

Green Bubble (12/365)

2009-01-13T06:16:00.008-06:00

I liked my bubble gum self-portrait so much that I decided to do one with my sister. I'm totally loving the bright green in this one.

Purple Bubble (11/365)

2009-01-11T01:56:00.006-06:00

I've wanted to do a self portrait for a while and I finally got around to doing one. And I found out that they are hard! It took me forever to get the focus right, the positioning right, and the facial expression right. This was the best one of the bunch and I (mostly) like it. I do wish the bubble were bigger, but unfortunately I didn't have real bubble gum on hand, just my regular chewing gum. Anyway, I really like the purple theme; this background is a lot of fun to shoot against. What do you think?

Insoles (10/365)

2009-01-10T13:49:00.002-06:00

Flamingos (9/365)

2009-01-09T03:24:00.004-06:00

Rubber Duck (8/365)

2009-01-09T00:32:00.003-06:00

Focus (7/365)

2009-01-08T01:16:00.004-06:00

How Did I Get In This Bubble?

2009-01-07T14:13:00.006-06:00

Check it out! I learned how to make photos look like bubbles today.

Original photo:

New photo:

Cool eh?

And I can make my brother look much scarier:

Jer Bear (6/365)

2009-01-07T02:28:00.002-06:00

Stinkerbell (5/365)

2009-01-05T18:51:00.002-06:00

Stretch (4/365)

2009-01-05T02:41:00.005-06:00

Mill Ruins (3/365)

2009-01-05T02:40:00.012-06:00

Teal Windows (3/365)

2009-01-05T02:40:00.011-06:00

Mamma B (2/365)

2009-01-05T02:39:00.004-06:00

Red Scarf (1/365)

2009-01-05T02:26:00.005-06:00

365 Project

2009-01-05T01:11:00.003-06:00

I'm anti New Year's Resolutions, but I have a few things I'm really excited for in 2009. One of them is a 365 day photo project I'm working on. I'm trying to really work on my photography skills and learn some Photoshop, so I figured I would challenge myself to take and edit at least one photo for each day of the year. And I'll be posting them all on here for all to see. Which means that I'll be blogging semi-regularly (Amazing!).

The End of the Year is Just an Excuse to Make Lists

2008-12-16T08:25:00.006-06:00

One of the best things about the end of the year is being able to make lists for all sorts of things that happened in the past year. Best movies, worst phrases used by politicians, most tragic fashion ensembles... you get the point. But my favorite thing to make lists for is music. I love delving into the past year of music and coming up with lists of my favorite albums, favorite songs, most beautiful lyrics, biggest disappointments. Most of these lists are mental lists, but I thought I'd at least share one of them with the Internets. So here are my 10 albums from 2008:

1) Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend

I almost didn't give this band a chance to show me how good they really are. I had heard a few things about how they were overrated and it wasn't until my sister brought this CD home that I actually gave it a listen. And I loved it! Great, catchy melodies infused with weird African-ish rhythms. The lead singer's voice is perfect and the simple, innovative instrumentation lets it shine through. I could listen to this CD over and over for months.

Must have tracks: Mansard Roof, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, and M79

2) Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes

This CD takes a very close second to Vampire Weekend. Their music is gorgeous, lush, folk rock. All of the songs manage to sound dense and wide open at the same time. When I listen to this CD I feel happy, empowered, nostalgic, and invigorated all at the same time, and their lyrics contain some seriously beautiful phrases.

Must have tracks: White Winter Hymnal, Blue Ridge Mountains, and Ragged Wood

3) Volume 1 by She & Him

I sincerely hope the title of this album implies a Volume 2 somewhere in the future. This CD is a collaboration between M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel, the actress in Elf and The Happening. Usually when movie stars try to cross over into music it's a disaster, but Zooey Deschanel is the exception. Her voice is hypnotically rich and the songs are perfectly written.

Must have tracks: Sentimental Heart and You Really Got a Hold on Me

4) Re-arrange Us by Mates of State

This CD is one gigantic love letter. My heart swells and I get a little euphoric while listening to it. I've never been a fan of this husband/wife duo until this CD, but I cannot stop listening to them. It'll make you want to dance, I promise.

Must have tracks: The ReArranger and Get Better

5) The Stand Ins by Okkervil River

I've been a fan of this band for a while and was excited to hear this album after their fantastic record, The Stage Names, came out last year. It did not disappoint. The lyrics are smart and poetic like usual and Will Sheff's vocals keep me coming back for more.

Must have tracks: Lost Coastlines and Pop Lie

6) Furr by Blitzen Trapper

This cd contains my absolute favorite song from the last year. Furr (the song not the album) is all about a boy who turns into a wolf, then a man, then a wolf again. It sounds silly when describing it, but it's a beautiful folk tale put to a fantastic melody. If you can stop listening to Furr on repeat, the rest of the album is good too :)

Must have track: Furr

7) For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver

All of these songs were written during a secluded winter in Wisconsin and when you listen to their songs, you can really feel the coldness of winter coming through. But in a good way. Every song is very quiet, very intense, and very good.

Must have track: Skinny Love

8) Rockferry by Duffy

She has an old school Billie Holiday sound to her voice just like fellow Brit Amy Winehouse. I listened to this CD on constant repeat after buying it because I loved it so much. It's one of those CDs you can blare in your car and sing at the top of your lungs to.

Must have tracks: Mercy, Rockferry, and Stepping Stone

9) Sleep Through the Static by Jack Johnson

A lot of Jack Johnson fans didn't like this record; I disagree with them, I think it's his best one yet. It's more melancholy than his last three records, but just as soothing and more heartfelt. And don't get me started about the song Angel. It's one of the sweetest love songs I've ever heard. I know I'll keep coming back to this CD because it's like comfort food in musical form.

Must have tracks: All at Once and Angel

10) Gossip in the Grain by Ray LaMontagne

I don't know if anything he puts out can ever top his previous album, Till the Sun Turns Black, but this is definitely a valiant effort. Ray has one of those voices that is both raspy and lush at the same time. I was lucky enough to see him live a couple of months ago and I was blown away by his voice all over again. It slays me. And while I'm talking about this record, I'm wondering why I didn't put him at a higher number on my list. It's so lovely.

Must have tracks: Let It Be Me, A Falling Through, You Are the Best Thing, Roses and Cigarettes.

These albums were also great and totally worth checking out:

Acid Tongue by Jenny Lewis

Tell Tale Signs by Bob Dylan

Feel Good Ghosts by Cloud Cult

Simple Times by Joshua Radin

Carried to Dust by Calexico

Woot! Woot!

2008-11-05T01:23:00.000-06:00

Woot! Woot! Haha, I just woot wooted. So lame. But I can't help it. I'm allowed to be lame and silly on such a great day. GObama! GObama! I wish I could show you the GObama dance my brother came up with to celebrate. Did I mention that awesome lameness is genetic?

Awesome lameness aside, I am of course ecstatic about Obama's victory tonight. Less ecstatic about my local races in Minnesota however. Things are up in the air with our senate race between Al Franklin, Norm Coleman, and Dean Barkley. I'm betting a recount will occur because the margin is so close between Franklin and Coleman. Also, my pick for house representative was bested by the amazingly awful Michele Bachman (of YouTube fame for proposing a media witch-hunt). That race makes me sick to my stomach.

Still, it was a good night for America and I'm extremely hopeful for the country. I truly believe and hope that Obama will reach out to Republicans and other country to work with them to get at solutions. I thought both McCain and Obama's speeches were just beautiful and I hope people will take their messages of unity to heart.

Fall Colors

2008-10-30T02:43:00.002-05:00

Hi, it's me, the absentee blogger. Here to show you fall pictures of the marsh that lives across from my neighborhood. Isn't it pretty? It's MUCH better in the fall than in the summer when all of the mosquitos are out in full force.

8 Ways to Hi-Jack a Meme

2008-09-27T19:30:00.003-05:00

Over the past year or so, I've gotten out of the habit of writing on my blog frequently, or even semi-frequently. And I keep thinking about shutting it down completely. But I think I've decided to keep it up and use it to post pictures and keep in contact with a few people. That being said, I don't really know if I'll be blogging in here more than once or maybe twice a month. At least for a while. Maybe I'll decide to really resurrect it in the future. But in the meantime, my cousin Lyndsi tagged me for a meme and I figured I actually do it since I haven't done one in a while. And then I kind of hi-jacked the meme...

8 TV SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH
1) How I Met Your Mother: I'm so in love with Neil Patrick Harris. So stinking funny. He mesmerizes me. Oh, and the show is pretty genius too :)
2) Veronica Mars: Dear CW, I will never ever forgive you for canceling the best dramady ever created and keeping trash like Smallville going. Pathetic.
3) 30 Rock: The cast and writing are pure comedic gold
4) The Daily Show/The Colbert Report: Ummm, yeah, Jon Stewart is pretty much my hero and it's always great to be able to laugh at right wing nut jobs through Stephen Colbert.
5) Pushing Daisies: Clever, beautiful, genius, weird. I can't wait till it comes back on next week
6) Arrested Development: Dear Fox, just like the CW, I will never forgive you for canceling one of the best shows ever to grace TV screens
7) Dexter: Creepety creeptastic
8) Psych: A show that definitely does not get enough credit for the fantastic duo that is James Roday and Dule Hill

8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS
1) I suffered through an intense 3.5 hour final in my real estate class. My teacher is sadistic.
2) I watched my dog mope around the back yard. Everyone is out of town except me and he DOES NOT take well to people leaving him.
3) I introduced my mom to the genius of Pushing Daisies
4) I thought about tackling the mountain of homework I have this weekend
5) My sister gave a speech about how awesome I am in her speech class. You're awesome too Lizbrith!
6) I bought a suit and nice shiny shoes to go with it
7) I hung out with my brother
8) My little sister got her driver's licence on the FIRST TRY! Watch out Twin Cities, here she comes!

8 NEWLY DISCOVERED SONGS I LOVE
1) Sideways, by Citizen Cope
2) Valerie, by Amy Winehouse
3) Ocean Stone, my Chris O'Brien
4) Your Ex-Lover is Dead, Stars
5) Old News, Dr. Dog
6) Plus Ones, Okkervil River
7) Dearest, Buddy Holly
8) If I Could Write, Sam Phillips

8 THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO
1) A new president
2) Getting a job that allows me to travel
3) The release of Ray Lamontagne's new CD
4) Making pies this Thanksgiving. I'm going to be at home with my fam for the first time in 7 years.
5) Getting a new car
6) A new president
7) Did I mention getting a new president?

8 PEOPLE THAT I WANT TO BE LIKE WHEN I GROW UP
1) My little sister
2) Thurgood Marshall
3) Cesar Millan
4) Jon Stewart
5) Ruth Bader Ginsburg
6) The Gilmore Girls
7) Tim Russert
8) Barack Obama

State Fair Part 1 and Protesting the RNC

2008-08-29T00:51:00.005-05:00

I took a political sabbatical from politics after the Feb. 5 primaries because I couldn't stand to watch two leaders I admire, respect, and would vote for running against each other. It was like a train wreck I just couldn't watch. But now, I'm back in the game. I've been following the candidates and listening to their speeches all along the campaign trail.

And now, my sister and I have decided to participate in the protests organized during the Republican Convention. I know, I know. You must be thinking about the crazy stigma most protesters carry with them. But I think taking part in a 10,000+ people protest is a fantastic life experience. I can't wait! But first we need to decide what our protest signs are going to say. I've done some extensive googling and here are some of my favorites. Unfortunately we can only use four of them so you need to tell me which ones you like the best:

1. How many lives per gallon?

2. Regime change begins at home

3. How did our oil get under their sand?

4. Iraq: Get Out, Iran: Stay Out, McCain: Keep Out

5. Whose God do you kill for?

6. Making war for peace is like making love for virginity

7. Liberty and Justice are so pre-9/11

8. How can you oppose universal health care and be pro-life?

9. Public Ignorance is Corporate Bliss

10. There is more to religion that Pro-War, Anti-Choice, and Homophobia

Or maybe I should put something like JOHN STEWART FOR PRESIDENT in the hopes that I'll get on tv and John will realize we were meant to be together. Or maybe that's a bad idea because the other protesters will think I'm not serious and beat me up. No good.

Anyway, the fam and I went to the Minnesota State Fair twice this past week. Did you know that it is the largest state fair in the United States? It pretty much rocks. Anyway, I took a bunch of pictures and will put the ones from the Miracle of Birth Center (cute baby animals!!!) up today and the rest up tomorrow.

Soundbites!

2008-08-28T00:54:00.004-05:00

Okay, I had all these ideas floating around in my head about what I wanted to blog about tonight, but it's really really late and I have to get up early tomorrow and take a test. So this is going to be just a short blog. Sorry :(

But I wanted to share with you two quick, FANTASTIC quotes given in the last 48 hours from two of my very favorite political people.

John Stewart talking about the media's coverage of Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic Convention:

"She's a democrat. She must PROVE she loves America. As opposed to Republicans who everyone KNOWS loves America. They just hate half the people living in it."

And on a slightly more serious note, this next quote comes from Bill Clinton's speech at the convention. If you didn't get the chance to watch his speech, it is WELL worth the 20 minutes... click here. I thought it was so eloquent, so very inspiring, and extremely touching.

"People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."

Hanging Out With The Animals

2008-08-20T15:03:00.006-05:00

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a few weeks now, but as per usual, I've been neglecting my blog. But here they are. St. Paul has a lovely FREE zoo and conservatory that we like to hit up once in a while. The conservatory is always my favorite though. Isn't it pretty?

Then we headed over to the zoo. Here's the clan watching those precocious monkeys:

And the precocious monkeys putting on a show:

After the monkey house, we headed over to the butterfly exhibit, always one of my favorites:

And of course, we couldn't leave without posing with the fake animals.

Olympic Thoughts

2008-08-11T01:47:00.006-05:00

It's late, I'm still kind of sick, and I have to get up mega early tomorrow, er... today, but I just wanted to share a few quick thoughts about the olympics so far.

First of all, holy crap! Did you see the 400 meter relay race that Michael Phelps was in? If you haven't seen it yet, I'm sure there are already clips of it everywhere. It's definately the most exciting race I've ever seen and probably ever will see. I almost peed my pants while I was watching. PS - Michael Phelps' abdominal muscles also leave me shocked and awed.

Second, after watching some of the gymnastics coverage, I've decided that Nastia Liuken is the most amazingly beautiful athlete I've ever seen. Not in the way she looks, but in the way she performs. She's so graceful when she's out there in the spotlight. It's as if she's the Michelle Kwan of gymnastics.

And lastly, how amazing was the opening ceremonies?! Each segment was just as jaw-dropping as the previous. It boggles my mind how they managed to choreograph so many people in so many different performances. Wow! Those Chinese sure know how to put on a show!

Okay, off to bed now.

Cough Cough Sniffle Sniffle

2008-08-07T07:53:00.002-05:00

Yes, it's that time of year again, when I seem to come down with a cold that tries to turn into Bronchitis. Last year it succeeded in derailing my training schedule for a few months because I tried to keep exercising at first. That was pretty stupid. This year, of course it came on the week when I HAD to be in school for tests and other unmissable things :( I decided to stay home today though. The cold has started to move into my chest and I just don't want to make things any worse. So it's lots of rest for me today. Fun fun stuff...

Random Thought of the Day

2008-07-23T22:48:00.002-05:00

I have a cousin who married someone named Conrad. Every time he comes up in conversation, which thankfully is not often, I get that terrible song from Bye Bye Birdie stuck in my head. For days and days and days and days and days.... And then I have bad feelings directed towards my dear cousin-in-law. Which is kind of sad because he really is a very nice person. It's not his fault his parents had a sadistic sense of humor. He once came on a road trip with my friends and I and I swear the whole 7 hours were spent singing: We love you Conrad, oh yes we do, We love you Conrad, and We'll be true, When you're not near us we're blue, oh Conrad, We love you!

Books Books Books

2008-07-21T08:08:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty bored because EVERYONE is out of town and I have no homework because I suffered through a big rush of tests last week, so I really don't have a lot to write about at the moment. Virginia posted this meme a while ago and I've been meaning to do it because it's all about books so here goes:

1. Do you remember how you developed a love of reading?
My parents were pretty much always reading to me when I was little and the habit stuck.

2. What are some books you loved as a child?
I loved Madeleine L'Engle books, Where the Wild Things Are, and the Babysitter's club. Over time I amassed a HUGE amount of BSC books.

3. What is your favorite genre?
I don't really have a favorite genre. I do try to stay away from those books that are about 6" X 4" and an inch and half thick, ones that come in "special" romance, sci-fi, mystery, fantasy sections in Barnes & Noble. I'm a book snob, it's true.

4. Do you have a favorite novel?
I have a few favorite novels: To Kill a Mockingbird, Life of Pi, The Historian, The Time Traveler's Wife, and Emma.

5. Where do you usually read?
Anywhere with peace and quiet. Usually in bed or at a bookstore.

6. When do you usually read?
At night before I go to bed.

7. Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?
Always! This is one of my worst habits. I have book ADD. Right now I'm reading five or six books.

8. Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?
Ummm... no?

9. Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?
I know I'm a horrible person for doing this, but lots of times I just sit in the bookstore reading books. If it's a really good book I'll buy it though!

10. Do you keep most of the books you buy?
Yes. Usually the ones I get rid of are books I bought on an impulse and didn't thoroughly love.

11. If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them?
Yeah, don't have kids.

12. What are you reading now?
A biography about Thurgood Marshall, The New Kings of Nonfiction, Guns Germs and Steel, Angela's Ashes, Twilight...

13. Do you keep a To Be Read list?
Sometimes. It's mostly a list in my head and pretty disorganized.

14. What's next?
A biography on Sandra Day O'Connor. And I've been meaning to read Middlesex for a while.

15. What books would you like to reread?
I don't reread many books, even if I really liked the book. I read the Harry Potter series and my favorite books every few years.

Manic Wednesday

2008-07-16T11:12:00.003-05:00

Ahhh! It's been one crazy morning. Here's how it went:

7:00 - I'm still sleeping instead of getting up. Apparently I don't hear alarms when they're wedged under my pillow.

8:15 - I woke up from a delightful dream where the cast of How I Met Your Mother was throwing me a birthday party. And then I looked at the clock. CRAP! CLASS STARTS IN 45 MINUTES! ACROSS THE CITY!

8:20 - I am in my car driving a bit recklessly and hoping that traffic will not be too bad and maybe I can make it only a few minutes late.

9:05 - I made it! But then I looked into my bag and discovered no binder of notes that we were allowed to use on the test. Uh-oh..... So I took the test. And luckily it was pretty easy because I knew my stuff. The notes were only going to be a safety net really. But I still couldn't remember all the names of specific clauses and laws and people. Oh well, what are you gonna do?

10:00 - I hopped in my car to drive BACK home to get the forgotten binder which also has notes in it for my 1:00 test today. Good thing gas isn't expensive or anything...

Anyway, I'm surprisingly not too upset or frazzled over the whole thing. It's kind of nice being home in the middle of the day, hanging out with my little Baerli, and blogging.

Adventures of the Deranged Kitty

2008-07-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

I had my suitcase out on my bed today and found out my cat has a serious attraction to it. He climbed onto it and started thrashing all over it. Weird deranged kitty. I photographed the love-fest.

Another deranged kitty scene happened yesterday. My brother was cleaning out Kitty's litter box and his back made a perfect horizontal for the kitty to jump onto and attack. Like so:

Kitty says, "Take THAT for cleaning out my box! Hsssss!"

Bits of Absurdity

2008-07-11T11:48:00.003-05:00

There have been some weird happenings lately. One of Lizzie's friends was starring in a musical so I took her to see it. During the intermission, I found her a boyfriend. Isn't he handsome?

They also had some weird, seriously creepy puppet animal heads on display. I have no idea what the owners of the theatre were trying to convey, but it was in Wisconsin, so I don't know what we were expecting.

Then Lizzie decided to channel her inner Wall-E, but failed miserably because I was making her laugh so hard:

During my lunch break the other day, Minnesota Public Radio was hosting a veterinarian fielding caller's questions. She said that if you have allergies, it's a good idea to give you cat a bath because their saliva can often be what's triggering your allergic reaction. So I gave my deranged cat a bath, much to his dismay, and then photographed it, because really, there aren't very many things more hilarious and ridiculous looking than a wet cat.

Wishful Thinking

2008-07-09T21:57:00.004-05:00

This weekend there's a big two night music festival going on downtown. I've been trying to decide whether or not to go. There are some good acts like Missy Higgins, Augustana, and Landon Pigg... but the price is a bit steep. I'll be honest, Missy Higgins is the driving force behind my desire to go. I've listened to her for a long time, but she's from Australia. Which means it's going to be quite a while till I'll even get the chance to see her again.

This whole internal debate made me stop and think about the many other artists I LOVE but for some reason or another never get to see live. And the top 5 are:

1) Jamie Cullum. There is no one, no one, no one that I'd rather see in concert period. He's a jazz musician who sings and plays the piano, but he infuses all of his songs and performances with tons of energy and newness. But he's also a non-American and seems content to stick to performances on the other side of the Atlantic. And when he does come on over, he only seems to play a couple of shows in California or New York. One of these days I'm going to plan a vacation around his tour schedule. My favorite Jamie songs: Twentysomething, All at Sea, These are the Days, and Oh God.

2) Ray Lamontagne. I can't even remember where I first heard his music, but it just swept me up. You can tell he's heavily influenced by Bob Dylan with his inspired lyrics and gravelly voice, but his songs are a bit understated and quiet like Damien Rice's music. It seems like whenever he comes to a place I live, I'm out of town or just moved. Without fail. My favorite Ray songs: Empty, Forever my Friend, and Shelter.

3) David Gray. Another artist from another country. Do you see a theme emerging? He did come to Salt Lake once, but his show was canceled because of some freak vocal cord thing. Favorite David songs: From Here you can Almost See the Sea, This Year's Love, and Sail Away.

4) Paolo Nutini. He kind of reminds me of Mika in some ways. Maybe not as much energy, but his music is inventive and it makes me happy when I put it on. He's (of course) a Scotlander who never tours in the US either. Favorite Paolo songs: Jenny Don't be Hasty, New Shoes, and Autumn.

5) Yoav. If you've never heard of him, look him up! He made his entire debut cd using only his voice, an acoustic guitar, and loop pedals, but you'd never guess it by listening to him. It sounds very synthesized hip hopish because he uses his guitar to make really unconventional percussive sounds. I didn't really get how it was possible until I watched this video of him. And yes, he's not from the US either, but he does call Montreal one of his homes, so maybe I'll have more of a chance to see him in the future. Favorite songs: Club Thing (You must listen to this one!), Beautiful Lie, and Adore Adore.

What musician(s) have you always wanted to go see live, but never got the chance?

Art Museum Bonanza

2008-07-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

Like I said yesterday, my sister and I hit up the Minneapolis Institute of Arts last Saturday. We were all excited about some guy's black and white photography exhibit, but it turns out that you had to be a member to see the exhibit before Sunday. But we made the best of it and took in the museum's collection of Modern and European 1800-1900's art. We found lots of great work like this detailed work made entirely of different shades of ash. I wish the picture of the artwork could do the real piece justice, but nothing could capture the texture and detail like actually being there.

We also found several FABULOUS pieces by Salvador Dali, one of my favorite artists of all time.

The conversation my sister and I had as we stopped to look at this painting:

Lizzie: Dali was an artist?

Me: Yeah! He's great. You know that painting where the clock looks like it's melting? He painted that.

Lizzie: Oh! For some reason I was thinking he was a religious leader or something. Oh wait, that's the Dalai Lama.

And then we both dissolved into giggles despite the stares from other museum-goers.

We coveted this lobster phone, also by Dali:

The longer we were in the museum, the sillier we got. We found this retro scale:

But then we got a little confused by the mixed messages on the podium:

We found art boyfriends for each other. Lizzie's is the one with green hair and mine is the one in the yellow hat.

Three figures giving the stink-eye, what a photo op!

Lizzie imitating a statue's humble pose:

A squished statue man (he's being stepped on by some statue woman) puckering up for Lizzie:

And finally, posing with the colorful bunny:

Weekend Teaser

2008-06-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Whew! Isn't it funny how sometimes it seems like the weekend wears you out more than the actual week does? The weekend was full of fun things: A trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, hanging out with my brother, and going to see Wall-E. And a few not-as-fun things, namely, homework. Which is why I'm still working on my post from the Minn. Inst. of Arts (lots of photos to sort through).

Luckily I have a few non-museum pics that I wanted to share. I LOVE this one. My brother has the goofiest look on his face and my dog looks like he's ready to jump out of his skin, he's so happy.

This one is of some random guy we spotted on the sidewalk the other day. Unfortunately I couldn't get a full shot, but he's riding down the street in a reclining bicycle with nothing but Richard Simmons short shorts and Bono glasses on. My sister and I were seriously cracking up. If only he had had a Gorilla trailing him like this guy

The World's Best Cracker (and Cupcakes)

2008-06-25T01:13:00.004-05:00

I was going through old files on my computer and I came across this photo and it made me laugh. That must have been one tasty cracker for all the effort he was putting into it.

In other news, I found a cupcake blog that made my mouth water uncontrollably. She's on a posting hiatus, but there are so many amazing creations in the archives. When I'm rich maybe I can hire a cupcake chef to come work for me...

The Ballad of Sven the Svede

2008-06-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last week, I dragged my sister and my sister dragged her friend "Emily" to the Swedish festival in Minneapolis. I didn't really do a whole lot of research so we didn't know what to expect, but in my opinion that's half the fun of going to events like these. We did know that there would be ample people-watching opportunities available since Minnesota has a large Swedish-American population.

At the entrance we found a Swedish flag:

And inside there was an exhibit of dresses. Not just any dresses, but ones that a QUEEN named Silvia had worn to the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE ceremonies. We had no idea we were going to be treated to such a fantastic exhibit, but it was quite a pleasant surprise.

There were dresses clearly dating from the 70's like this paisley chiffon gown:

But other dresses were timeless and beautifully designed. The next two were my favorites and the photos don't come close to doing them justice. This green silk taffeta gown was stunning:

This white one was SPARKLY all over! If anything would make you feel royal it would be this dress. The bodice was pearl encrusted and the tulle skirt had little crystals sewn all over in between the layers. (I could probably get rid of the bow, but maybe I just don't like it because bows aren't really my thing). But seriously, I think we were all mesmerized by the sparkles. I've just decided that when I get married I want a wedding dress encrusted with pearls and crystals. I wonder how much that would cost...

When we stepped outside the Swedish museum, we were treated with the sight of honest to goodness Swedish people. His coat was so regal blowing in the wind that we decided to channel our paperazzi selves:

After we snapped a couple, he started to notice and stare at us a bit. I figured he wasn't used to American customs like stalking, so I made Lizzie and "Emily" go over and ask for a picture.

Apparently he was smitten by "Emily" because he came over and tried to chat with her.

I thought he said: "Do you want to hang out with some Swedish people?"

"Emily" thought he said: "Have you ever danced with a Swedish guy before?"

Apparently he really said: "Have you ever gone on a date with a Swedish guy?"

She shook her head no and in a heavily accented voice he asked for her number. Apparently this really freaked her out because she panicked and gave him a fake name (Emily) and her real number. Which made me laugh... a LOT. Who gives someone a fake name but a real number?

After he walked off to go fiddle or something, my sister and "Emily" commenced a long freak out session.

L- You just got hit on by a 30 year old!

Me- I'm pretty sure he was at most 22

E- Oh my gosh! What am I going to do if he calls? He's as old as my dad! Eww! Couldn't he tell I wasn't even 18? Why was he hitting on young girls?

L- Crap! When he calls and gets you voice message, he's going to know your name isn't Emily! You need to rerecord it so it says hi this is petticoat or something!

Me- (Laughing like crazy) Petticoat? Seriously?

E- Yeah! Or something like that! What am I going to do guys? Oh my gosh! He's probably following us right now! We need to go or he's going to stalk me! What if he finds out where I live?!

This continued for a while longer, with me laughing for most of it...

Presenting Sven the Svede

2008-06-20T08:00:00.001-05:00

I was going to blog about what I would have liked to ask John McCain at his "town hall meeting" last night in St. Paul (if I had been willing to brave the people swarming everywhere for a candidate I don't even support), but IT'S FRIDAY and I don't have school and I don't feel like ranting. So instead, I will leave you with a picture of Sven the Svede (That's Sven's mother, Svenetta in the foreground). More about Sven on Monday:

Catch Up: Installment the Third

2008-06-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

(If you didn't get a chance, you can read my first and second installations here and here.)

A couple of weeks ago, Lizzie and I went to the Minneapolis Mosaic Festival. It's a celebration of different cultures and their traditional forms of art and dance. And it's FREE! Which is always fabulous. We'd never been in previous years so we weren't sure to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the performances. It was held in Minneapolis's theater district and each theater held different kinds of artists.

One of our favorites was the Flamenco dancer and her band:

And the children loved it enough to shake it up in front of the stage:

Besides the actual performances, we love going to things like this to do some serious people-watching. We found this lady who was so tan that her skin looked like leather. Honestly, this picture is flattering compared to real life:

We also found this ADORABLE patriotic couple. I especially love the fringe on her boots (The person in the foreground on the left side is my little sister pretending to pose for a picture. We try to be so sneaky):

The most mockworthy performance of the night were these Japanese drummer/dancers. You may or may not notice that none of them are actually Japanese. Pay special attention to the man in the back. He had some interesting moves that led us to call him "praying mantis man."

And last but not least, we saw this guy on our way back to the parking garage. Sorry it's so blurry, but we were walking and it was dark. Gotta love a guy in a feather hat and stohl :)

2008-06-17T18:35:00.003-05:00

Ick...

I got into rush hour traffic today and half-way home I started to feel incredibly nauseous. It went away briefly, but I am starting to feel like I'm on a downward spiral of sudden sickness. Let's hope I feel good enough to go to school tomorrow.