some cool, borderline nerdy stuff

Lego Stephen Hawking! I've been yearning for Legos hard lately, but this just takes it to a whole new level.
(kottke.org)



For die-hard Donkey Kong and/or King of King lovers, only.
(whatisblik.com/nintendo)







(20x200.com)

I keep reading about this project everywhere, and it sounds amazing. Artists out of New York put up new pieces every week, one photo and one work on paper. Depending upon the size, you can buy 1 of 200 for $20, (hence the name), medium sized pieces for $200, or larger editions of 2 for $2,000...which I know, no one reading this can probably afford. But still! Anyway, some of the pieces are excellent, and the site seems like a good way to add art to a collection. Hooray for pretty, cheap art!


Today I made waffles for the first time ever, and they were lovely. Banana walnut, topped with blackberries to be exact. Rick's mom got the iron for me for my birthday, and I can't wait to create tons of other crazy concoctions with it in the future. The blackberries came from the Proctor Farmer's Market that we went to bright and early yesterday. 1/2 a flat for $12, quite impressive. We've basically just been eating them by themselves though.

The birthday was chill. No crazy party/dinner this year, which was a nice change up. I got some lovely gifts and spent the day relaxing with Rick. I couldn't have asked for a better way to ring in my mid-20's.

photographer of the day + life updating

I really dig this guy's style, simplicity, and choice of subject matter.

Jon Huck - breakfast

I'm down with breakfast.
I swear I read an article about this exact same photo set in the NY Times, but maybe I'm making it up. I was surprised by the facts that a) there's a lot less cereal than I anticipated, b) SO MUCH TOAST/ENGLISH MUFFINS, c) lots of coffee-only people. But I guess the last one wasn't as surprising.

Worth taking a gander at I think.

Also, Rick has helped me start my creative writing pursuits up again. He's probably one of the best teachers I've ever had, and he puts up with my bs excuses better that anyone! I'm 7 pages into a short story I came up with a few days ago. I'm stoked. Only good can come from this. Grad school portfolio completion, here I come.

The movie shooting has been going really well. I think as of yesterday it's more than 60% completed. Kind of mindblowing when you really mull it over. I had my cameo, and it wasn't nearly as tough seeing myself on film as I'd anticipated. I'm getting better at this, but I suppose that comes with the territory of dating a boy who's good with the camera.

Also, we're going to do a vegan cooking show to be posted on Youtube. This is kind of a ridiculous venture, but well worth the effort. I think the hardest part is going to be coming up with unique recipes that I haven't stolen from every first-class vegan cookbook out there. We'll see, but I'm pretty sure the first recipe will be my famous tofu scramble with spicy potatoes. Om nom noms.

A quick trip to Mecca...

Going to Portland for a time. I wanted vegan donuts and Portland sounded infinitely more appealing than Seattle at the moment. It was really that easy.

TTYL, Tacoma.

(Arguably) The best line to come out of Rick's movie:

"You read books, you don't fuck 'em.

...Unless, that's your thing."

on the subject of marriage...much ranting ahoy

I got news yesterday that one of my best friends from college is engaged. I can't say that I'm that surprised, (she's that kind of girl who grew up on and saw no problem with Disney movies and who's been waiting to be swept off her feet; also, read: is still Catholic), but Jesus, it astounds me how fast people my age are willing to jump into this. I mean, it is the 20-26 year old thing to do, and if both people are in the place to make such a move, then I don't think there's a problem with it. But some of the time, [and as is the case for 2 of my 3 friends who recently got engaged] one of the two does not have a stable source of income...not to mention, may not be emotionally ready for that kind of commitment. Moreover and more specifically to the aforementioned friend, the guy fucked up kind of royally not two months ago, and she's writing it off because a) he put a ring on her finger and b) they decided to go to couples' therapy. I think therapy could've come in handy for both separately before the whole engagement conversation ensued!

Like many of my Generation-Y (Bother?) counterparts, I'm a product of divorce. Thus, I feel inclined to try and stop my friends from being victims of it before it happens. Especially before kids get involved...kids could be an entire entry unto themselves. I told my friend that I was happy for her, because I couldn't really say "Stop! He's going to hurt you again, but this time you'll be married! Can you support yourself if things go awry?" Etc.,etc. I would say the same things to a male friend if his girlfriend was doing him wrong, because men are definitely not the only ones that fuck up. It just irks me that people at this age feel that marriage is what you have to do - that there's some sort of clock [especially for women] ticking that indicates your time for this experience may be up.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely anti-marriage. I'm just anti-marriage when the couple in question has things to sort through, and/or are getting married under the wrong circumstances. If trust, communication or the tangible things necessary to enable marriage aren't there, I feel like it's a bomb waiting to go off. I see how some may argue that you just have to trust that things will work out and be open to the possibility, like anything else. But if you could prevent alimony/child support, years of heartache, and a broken spirit, from occurring wouldn't you? Shrug. Then again, I'm not completely anti-divorce in some circumstances either. Sometimes it's best for both parties, and oftentimes people change while being married.

I love the dress, the ceremony, the cake and unique locales that accompany weddings like any other lady. I love seeing really happy people who are ready to get married do it. But I'm also akin to the fact that marriage isn't the only option, and that commitment should matter more than anything else.

/rant

In other news, life is grand. No more bookstore, and I love this weather. Baseball, anyone?

so, it's now june. this shit's been neglected.

i so badly want to talk about the sex and the city movie, but i feel like i can't write anything about it without mentioning the whole boom mic debacle that apparently went on in it, which i, of course, had not noticed. gah. i could save a full review for later, but suffice it to say, the film was enjoyable. too much product advertisement [obviously], a bit too much lame humor, and a terrible soundtrack aside, it was definitely worth seeing for the hardcore fan. i think i NEED to see it again though, just to see if i'm straight-up blind, or if some people are exaggerating and/or wrong?

other pertinent news: i quit my job yesterday! the one i was so enthusiastic about in the beginning, the in the "realm of books" one. yeah. i'm done.
it's not that the place itself was terrible. it's more of what i did, or what i didn't get to do, and some of the people i worked with that killed it for me. i thought about it long, and hard, probably for a good month. but i knew after the first week there i didn't want to be there for long. i just realized that it wasn't a place i'd want to be, even if they gave me a better position. i want to be writing the books, not selling them. so i gave my notice, and breathed a sigh of relief.

this undoubtedly means that i'm back on the unemployed train, but i'm not too worried right now. i'm going to be production assistant-ing it on the boy's feature length film for june/july, and also applied to be a freelance writer for a local weekly. i really pray that works out, because if it does, it's hopefully my ticket into the freelance arena. and i'd really like to see my name in print again.

all kinds of change occurring. just the way i like it.

i am bottomless pit. put it in my face, and if it contains no animal products i will most certainly consume it. why?

the new raveonettes album is like crack. every time i hear it, i think thisissofuckinggood and just want to keep listening to it. i want to tell everyone i know about it, so they can share in this glorious revelation. i used to kinda hate on this band, so i'm eating my words now.

also, wii is grand. i like having the ability to check the weather, news, and get my bowling on all in one convenient console. although, i am probably the worst golfer [both wii and irl] in the universe.

excellent, marvelous developments

1) employment, in the realm of books, no less.

2) being blown away by The Boss this past Saturday at Key Arena. good gracious.

3) finally, the apartment to ourselves.

all that i want right now is a picnic by a large body of water, at like 2 in the morning, with a bonfire, essentials to make vegan smores, people to consume smores with and talk about how fucking cold we are because we're having a bonfire in "spring" in Washington state, and the guitar that's in my lap now, so i can wow everyone with the jam i just taught myself - "blonde on blonde" by nada surf. that's all.

sounds so good.

It seems like I was here not so long ago...

That's because I was. Was chugging/popping dayquil a few months ago. Now it's back. I hate winter. Incessant illness, snow, and lack of visible sun are the three main culprits. Summer is too filled with wonderful things and adventures to let something silly like a cold get in the way.

No more odes to dayquil now.

No more sleep either, because it seems that that's all sick days are good for.

I received my first rejection letter from an online publisher last month. I printed it out and want to post it and all future rejection letters on the fridge. I am not ashamed, I want everyone to see. They will remind me of 'where I came from' and also of 'where I am going,' I think. We shall see, but I'm already behind as I didn't send any out for February. Double up, March.

PS - Dead Poets Society is a brilliant film. I don't know what held me back for so long.