Runaway love.

Kanye West + Raekwon + Justin Bieber



It's no secret that I'm a Justin Bieber fan. And why should it be a secret? You gotta be a Scrooge McDuck to hate that burst of pop sunshine. It seems to me that Kanye's a bit late to the game to be teaching JB the ways of the biz... Please don't tell him I said that.

I'm just tryin to be coo'...

via hypetrack and hip hop connection (forgive those sound bites in the clip)

If you say you don't like TV you are a liar.

The opening of last night's Emmy Awards.

Tina Fey+ Jon Hamm + Joel McHale + cast of Glee + Tim Gunn = so so fun

Chincoteague polaroids

Island Manor House

Despite being sick and the monster mosquitoes, we hiked to the lighthouse. Here's a view of Assateague Island from the top.

The famous ponies live wild and free on Assateague Island in a protected wildlife refuge. You can drive or ride bikes around the refuge on a big nature loop. If you look really closely you can see a big group of horses grazing behind the trees in the center of the photo.

It was a gorgeous day to drive on the Bay Bridge Tunnel. Always such a treat. It was a brief but fun trip! I was bummed to be sick but we still managed to enjoy ourselves.

Chincoteague is quaint and charming and I hope to one day bring our middle school children there, give them bikes, and let them loose on the fishing village. The island is safe and only a few blocks wide. It's full of replicas of the lighthouse and old fashion ice cream parlors. You know, it would be like a trip to Busch Gardens for them, only we'd spend the night.

Nicholas Bohac

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The only way I could love these paintings by Nicholas Bohac more is if they were already hanging on my wall. I love artwork that has a lot jammed into it-- lots of color, activity and potential interpretations. These pieces are perfect.

Bohac has a lot more of paintings to look at on his website. Be sure to check out his Iceburger series.

A Young Adult Bed & Breakfast

Tommy took the week off so the two of us could hang out between his hectic summer schedule and my fall semester. We leave for Chincoteague today! Now, I had every intention of getting this book from the library and re-reading it before our trip B U T guess what came in the mail today:

My pre-ordered copy of the 3rd book in The Hunger Games trilogy! You know, having a well-read husband is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he will never turn down any book I suggest. A curse because he feels entitled to read the book I pre-ordered for myself first. I decided he should have first dibs because he reads so much faster than me and because I'm already eyebrow-deep in another novel. And I want to savor the last installment of this series for as long as I can.

I'm excited about our trip away. The B&B we are staying at offers bikes and gourmet picnic lunches. Gee wiz, staying at Bed and Breakfastes makes me feel a billion years old.

BUT! In other news, I am planning a Hunger Games Book Club Party. Unlike my other parties, this is an exclusive event, open only to those who have read all 3 books in the series. My brother Peeta (haha, HG joke...) and I have talked in length about the food that will be served: berries, chicken in orange sauce, tiny loaves of bread suspended on parachutes... I can't wait to see what Book 3 will add to the menu!

Anyway, let me know if you meet the criteria for an invite. The date has yet to be set... there's still time to read these page-turners...

In the words of Liz Lemon, "Peace out, Nerds!"

all delighted people raise your hands

Check out Sufjan's new 8 track, 60 minute EP. I was thrilled to discover Sufjan had new music and even more thrilled to listen to the entire album online for free. Let me know what you think about his rendition of "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel. How delightful indeed!

From his website:

"All Delighted People is built around two different versions of Sufjan’s long-form epic ballad "All Delighted People," a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s "Sounds of Silence."

Ah, a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse. Perfecto. Enjoy!

so literal

I'm realizing that this website is my internet collage of all the images and videos that I want to look at over and over again. If that's the case then this video better be on here. I watched it multiple times a day during the winter of 2008. I'm still not tired of it.

God bless you, John Darnielle. You know he use to work in a psych hospital? How typical.

songs about body art

If this blog were to get a tattoo, this would totally be it:



When I first met my mother-in-law she asked me point blank if I had any tattoos or piercings. Despite the fact that I don't, I told her that I had a few hidden ones. I couldn't help myself.

I'm too wishy-washy to commit to a tattoo, but I sure love this one.

found via size too small

Team Man Skirt

South African from the waist down by Coza Productions

When Erin throws a surprise Wiffle Ball Tourney for John's birthday and asks everyone to form teams and wear costumes, we assume she is serious. For some reason Team Man Skirt was the only one in uniform!

I heard this song called "South African from the Waist Down" and immediately thought of our team manager, Andrew. Even though he's the only one wearing a man skirt in South Africa, I thought the title couldn't be more perfect. Click through to watch the video and read the story behind the song-- it's so sweet!

I really need a new pair of sunglasses. Waka waka!

you cut me off mid-funk!

Why this show got canceled after one season is beyond me. It just got better and better with each episode. Ahhhh.... the dancing kills me!

Hipster Christianity

I took a class this summer on Social Construction which, in short, is the process of creating one's own meaning. We examined this theory in light of adult development and more specifically, the rejection and ownership of one's own culture and religion of origin. Gee wiz, and I thought I was the only one who laid awake at night worrying if the Christianity of My Youth could survive my late adolescence. I hate feeling cliche.



When I feel like a cliche I pout and then write an academic paper about it. This guy Brett McCracken laughed and then wrote a book about it!

Are you a Christian Hipster? Take the quiz to find out!

Summer swallowed us whole.

It's that time of year when people start dreaming of fall and sweaters and some seasonal drink at Starbucks. Not me, my summer just started. I have a two week break between semesters and I am wringing it out for all it's worth.

I'm not wishing for snow but I think these techno ice-capped mountains are beautiful.

artwork by Kim Asendorf/ found via butdoestitfloat

Thanks to Carrie for this guest post! I have been addicted to GREEK since I was waiting tables right out of school. I would come home after work and watch the episodes in my room on my laptop. Helped me hang on to college. Bone always laughs at how Rusty's eyeballs are perma wide.

Since this seems to be more relevant now, can someone tell me if this is Rusty??

Tender is the Night.

I've noticed book sellers coming up with a lot of creative incentives for choosing their book. Why buy the ebook when you can have a designed book jacket by Coralie Brickford-Smith? These are definitely worth getting and storing on your bookshelf until you can move it to your dream library with a ladder. (Am I the only one with that Beauty and the Beast dream?)

In other news, "Tender is the Night" is my most favorite book title/string of words. I have always loved it. My copy was tattered and very 1970s looking, nothing like the above beauties. And you know what, I don't think it survived enough moves to make it on my current bookcase. There you go, case in point. Spend a bit more money for the copy you want to keep forever.


found via design*sponge

a dream inside a dream

I have the most vivid and bizarre dreams. No matter how many hours of sleep I get I still wake up scared, confused or exhausted because my mind was churning all night. I have considered getting hypnotized to rid myself of these dreams. But then I think twice when I imagine the damage that might have on my creative process.

These chilling photographs look like they came straight out of a haunted dreamscape. I can just imagine an angsty Leo DiCap' perched on top of that sand.


Desert Indoors by Alvaro Sanchez-Montañes.

via burstoid

I'd like to see this Gap commercial

Never would've pegged Roger Sterling as the hottie out of this crowd. See what I mean about eye candy?

photo credit/tomandlorenzo

whoababy.com

I follow a lot of baby blogs but I have never seen anything like this. Parents, you want to pump up your web traffic? Teach your baby to do this. So incredible.

Mad about Everything Mad Men

I can't get enough of Mad Men. Thankfully neither can anyone else. NPR has been interviewing everyone from Matt Weiner to the guy who plays Lane Price to a real Ad Guy from the 1960s who wrote a book that Mad Men is supposedly based on. The book was out of print for years but came back recently due to its new relevance.

One truly awesome element of new media is the fact that all the Mad Men characters are tweeting through out the week. They are keeping the storyline alive during the work week between Sunday night episodes. It is brilliant. I mean, Don Draper's sad tweets about how lonely he was in his new apartment in the city kept me chomping at the bit for more all summer.

Check out the run down on all the Mad Twitter-ers in this great piece by The Baltimore Sun.

Check out the great fashion analysis and episode-by-episode commentary by TLo.

As if the characters and clothes weren't enough, I can't get enough of the mod furniture and art:



Everything is eye candy!

Winston Chmielinski

Wow, if I could paint this is exactly what I would want to make. Colorful, half surreal, half real, totally creepy.

Check out Winston Chmielinski's website for more of his work. And if you aren't already, follow Booooom! in your GoogleReader. Love it.

someone has rad parents:

It was too drizzly to stay at the beach this afternoon so Bone and I drove around a bit and looked at houses. I was thrilled silly to find this tree house trampoline somewhere around 88th street and landside. My parents forbid me from going on my neighbor's rusty old trampoline after I almost knocked my head off my neck when I was about 8. I never forgave them for it.

This is a fantasy and a concussion all rolled into one. I love it so much.