Pretty as Pink Ruffled Frosting

via design crush

Friday Funny

Friday to me, anyway. Funny to me too, anyway.

via ateotl

Foenetic Speler

English Spelling by Ed Rondthaler… Mr. Rondthaler was 102 years old when this video was made. If you aren’t familiar, I’d suggest starting with his (well-written) obituary: Edward Rondthaler, Foenetic Speler, Dies at 104.

via as

Do The Shuffle

Untitled

For once I find a child much more captivating than her k9 companion...

A young girl and her dog looks out from a vehicle as she and her family wait for security clearance at a checkpoint on the outskirt of Bannu, a town on edge of the Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 as they flee a military offensive in South Waziristan. Pakistani troops and the Taliban fought fierce battles in Waziristan, a militant sanctuary near the Afghan border, with both sides claiming early victories in an army campaign that could shape the future of the country’s battle against extremism.

via all creatures via The Big Picture - Boston.com

Lay, Lady, Lay

Just back from my annual week in North Carolina. Rental car had xm radio, and though I was too busy being unhealthily obsessed with getting through 6000 songs on my iPod shuffle to enjoy it much, I did catch this song this morn on my way into work. Only because the iPod was safely stowed away in my bag. I still have about 2300 songs to go and am determined to get through them before I'll let myself listen to any one artist. Is that normal. Note that there's not a question mark on the end of that. Anyhow, the white trash video is a pretty funny juxtaposition to the vision I've always had when I hear Bob sing the song. And though I could do without the frosty-lipped porn star girl altogether, you've gotta admit it kinda works.

Back to the grind, so happy it's a short week. Loved being back in NC with my fam, but also happy to be back to Chi. That's a nice combination. Was greeted by a movie-set sparkly snowfall upon my return, and that was a'ight. NYE comin' up. In true fashion, I have no idea what I'm going to do, and I wouldn't have it any other way. No doubt it will somehow involve bellying up to a watering hole. And that's also a'ight.

Pretty As A Well of Books

me me me me me

this cracked me up this morning. thanks, muppets.

"Separated by Skin"

".. til we let ourselves in."

Awesome

Yes, that's Bob Dylan in a video for a Christmas tune. Never thought Bob would use a flat iron....

Pretty As A Parapluie

As BBblog so aptly put it, "just shy of almost-too-much, the colors of these make me happy."

A Stroll Through Hive Manor Corridors

Cute On a Monkey Moustache

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.

via allcreatures

Humpday Funny

"Does your dog embarrass you at the park with his dirty butt? Are you tired of waking up with cat butt in your face? Then you need the No More Mr. Brown Eye from Rear Gear. You have many shapes to choose from including a disco ball and a pine tree air freshener. Only $5 at Rear Gear."

via rarebirdfinds

This.Is.Soooo.Cool

The True Love Project from Zack Seckler on Vimeo.

After you watch the video, go to check out the photos (and personal stories) from The True Love Project. Makes me wanna be hypnotized!

Pretty As A Smokestack

And close on the tails of beautifully creepy, I suppose this might qualify as beautifully... dirty.

via exposure compensation

"Make a Decision With A Kiss"

A beautifully creepy song with the video to match.

Into the Deep

Astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute today unveiled the deepest portrait of the visible universe ever achieved by humankind. Called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), the million-second-long exposure reveals the first galaxies to emerge from the so-called "dark ages," the time shortly after the big bang when the first stars reheated the cold, dark universe. The new image should offer new insights into what types of objects reheated the universe long ago.

via exposure compensation

Good Ole C.S.

via ateotl

I Second That

“Procrastinating is very hard to distinguish from ruminating.”

He's talking songwriting, sure, but this makes me feel a lot better about myself.

I often get down on myself for procrastinating, chiding myself for laziness, calling myself a do-nothing, but then I'll have an intense burst of creativity seemingly out of nowhere. Procrastinating is very hard to distinguish from ruminating. I'd like to just call them synonymous and be done with it, but unfortunately the world works on deadlines and people want their favorite artists to make new stuff NOW!

I'm slow, I think about stuff a long time before I lift a finger, and I rewrite stuff that other people might consider finished. It looks like I'm avoiding work, and I joke about it, but I'm working.

via the lead singer of The Long Winters via maximumfun via aswoba

She's Crafty

Cute idea. These are actually made by a designer, but it seems like something you could do at home to spice up a boring lampshade.

I Am Powerless Against You, Fennec Hare

via allcreatures

"Just Let The Water Win"

For the Love of Dogs

Two touching stories I happened to read in the last couple days....

"Strays to the Rescue" and "Why Old Dogs are the Best Dogs"

What, what's that funny sensation? Oh, that's just your heart warming.

"Everything Seemed Different and Completely New To Me"

dim just reminded me of one of my favorite Bright Eyes songs....

So that's how I learned the lesson that everyone's alone, and your eyes must do some raining if you're ever gonna to grow.

And when crying don't help and you can't compose yourself it is best to compose a poem, an honest verse of longing or a simple song of hope.

That's why I'm singing baby, don't worry cause now I've got your back. And every time you feel like crying, I'm gonna try and make you laugh. And if I can't, if it just hurts too bad, then we will wait for it to pass, and I will keep you company through those days so long and black.

And we'll keep working on the problem we know we'll never solve, of love's uneven remainders, our lives are fractions of a whole.

But if the world could remain within a frame like a painting on a wall, then I think we would see the beauty then. We would stand staring in awe at our still lives posed like a bowl of oranges, like a story told by the fault lines and the soil.

Always makes my eyes well up a bit and leaves one of those little lumps of appreciation in my throat.

Friday Funny

I love this idea. And boy do I ever have many texts prime for the needlepointing. I really should start keeping a list of the keepers.

via ginger anyhow

Silence, Sea and Sky

The Chameleons. Pretty. Peaceful. But also a bit creepy in the David Lynch sort of way, maybe because it's almost a little too pretty and peaceful.

This Pig Is Smiling

You can't tell me this pig is not smiling.


Sharon Montrose's latest and greatest

"Not For All the Tea in China"

"...Not if I could sing like a bird. Not for all North Carolina. Not for all my little words..."

Caixa Preta

Love this guy (Curumin). Another good one from the same album (Japan Pop Show) here.

I Second That

On any given day, there are a lot of people I miss... the other day someone said that they think the nicest thing someone can say to you is that they miss you. It's overused, but when someone really means it, I must say I wholeheartedly agree. I've always been a real sucker for missing. Today I miss my sister... and really wanna see her big preggers belly.

via designismine.

Where Would You Wish To Wake Up?

Fifty People, One Question: Brooklyn from Fifty People, One Question on Vimeo.

Me... awoken by the sun, in a warm and comfy bed, with open windows close by, the sound of ocean and birds, and the smell of coffee...

Superheroine

via at the end of the line

Double Take

Cool to behold, such a clever idea, and it makes you think. A combo that, to me, spells out really good art. Try to guess how Corinne Vionnet crafted these before you read the explanation below...

Following a simple search on the web, Corinne Vionnet looked at this collection of snapshots, almost identical images produced by these "we" anonymous and unidentified, making her choice on statistical major tourist places. By collecting, then bringing together the successive layers of around hundred "photo souvenirs", she brings forward the symbolic value or identity of a city or a country that these monuments have acquired with time, and underlying style of manipulation on the viewer. Why always take the same picture if not to interact with what already exists? The picture gives the proof of "I was there too, here, where everyone comes on a given day". To be true, the picture shall be perfectly similar to the one belonging to the collective memory.

via lenscratch

I Second That

I almost bought this shirt yesterday, moments after seeing the pic on DIM. But then I remembered the ol' spending freeze and stopped dropped and rolled myself. But I'm still thinking about it... boy do I like the sentiment.

Cute on a Cobblestone Path

via ateotl

Tin Underbelly

I'll never not get a massive sense of awe when I watch a big plane take off or land... and when it's right over my head, all the more awe. My uncle was in town a couple weeks ago. He (among many other visitors) is why I've not been keeping up w/ this here blog. That and it's summer (well, it was), which means I'm busy out and about doing things that people who appreciate summer do. But where was I... when my uncle was here he stayed out near Midway for the job he was working on, which had me driving to and fro Midway several times during his stay. It's a depressing ride, to be honest, but for the possibility that one of those big birds takes off or lands just as I'm passing under it in my wee car. My uncle loves planes too (he should, he has to ride in them enough)... and so we were both like two little kids, me saying "awesome, oooh so so cool" and him laughing at my glee, but laughing because he totally got it. It's about the only time this girl would actually strategically slow her vehicle... just for the chance to finagle myself right up under one of 'em. I would not put it past me to drive out there on a Sunday afternoon and park in a nearby stipmall to await the birds coming in and and going out overhead. Goes without saying, then, that these images really struck a chord with me.

via a photographyblog

In My End Is My Beginning

If I weren't in the midst of a self-imposed spending freeze I would've already placed the order at rae dunn.

Pretty As A Piano

pretty pics from lost

Cute On A Stick

I Second That

But that's what subtitles are for.

via designismine

Bonne Idee

Bad. Real bad. That's how much I want one of these. As winter draws near (and my apartment has already taken on a frightfully chilly temp), this could not look more appealing. Yes, even to this fire-phobic individual. Even I get the urge to somehow contort myself and crawl into this warm little egg on stilts. Too bad they're not for sale, or I'd get one in a new york minute.

via at

Pretty As a... Typhoon

Though it's a bit long, I had trouble taking my eyes off it. I was most surprised by the boat traffic that didn't seem to let up even amidst the strongest storming. If you don't have the patience, at least ff to the end to see the lights come up.

via daily dish

A Thing For Silhouettes

Especially dingo silhouettes.

via at

"You're Being Shagged By A Rare Parrot"

EMBED-Rare Bird Humps Photographer's Head - Watch more free videos

via allcreatures

"She Said"

"...too little too late."

Pretty As A Papillon

Neat-oh! I want some...

also via at

I Second That

Awesome. By chez sucre chez via at

Gulp

National Geographic Photo of the Day, James Snyder:

“This is a Cuban tree frog on a tree in my backyard in southern Florida. How and why he ate this light is a mystery. It should be noted that at the time I was taking this photo, I thought this frog was dead, having cooked himself from the inside. I’m happy to say I was wrong. After a few shots he adjusted his position. So after I was finished shooting him, I pulled the light out of his mouth and he was fine. Actually, I might be crazy but I don’t think he was very happy when I took his light away."

via allcreatures

"We Met In The East"

"...Poured in like a flood. You're the whispering kind. Dark sapphire blood."

Oh my. I just this morning received "White Water, White Bloom," by Sea Wolf and am already so very sold on it that I just purchased its predecessor. This is shaping up to be one of my new favorites fo sho. Reminiscent of The Decemberists, Conor Oberst, and maybe some Arcade Fire... and yet his own sound. Folky in its clever-like lyrics, but nice vocals and some interesting layers of intstrumentation overtop. And... I just looked up his tour dates, and he's playing Schuba's on October 1st.... which is actually a Thursday. Not to be confused with a Monday or Wednesday, which I'm finding are not good nights for a concert. The Fruit Bats at Schuba's this past Monday were well worth it, but they did get my week off to a super sleepy start (or maybe it was the late night before). And making it to Pheonix at the Aragon last night was quite the stretch. And the stretch didn't end once we got there... we were met by a surprisingly HUMUNGOUS crowd, which was good for Pheonix, bad for us. It consisted of more fratters and sorority chicks than I might've expected, which I can feel neither here nor there about... though perhaps enough to mention it. But what really bugged me was the fact that we scoured the place, and the only spots where we could glimpse a peek at the Frenchies was on the side, and from the side the sound was such total shite that we couldn't hear the vocals....at... all. The only thing we really got out of it was seeing the sea of humanity enjoying it all, always a nice thing to glimpse, but all-in-all t'was a waste of dinero. Oh wells.

"We'll Get To Know Each Other For A Second Time"

"... and then you can tell me 'bout your prison stay."

Ha. Never knew this song was about a jailbird comin' home.

Cute On A Stick

Or smooshed on a glass floor. That is so damn cute I wanna squish it.

A Moment

"Wading Through This Mess Together"

"... hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder. Some may stumble, some may fall behind..."

Willpower

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

This is adorable, and oh how I can relate to these kids' impatience. I daresay they did a better job than I would do now at the ripe age of 32.

via cupofjo

1901

Going to see these guys on Wednesday... yay! And tonight... the Fruit Bats. double yay!

Earworm DEUX Jour

I really like this band. There's nothing that jumps out at me about them, and yet everytime one of their songs comes on my iPod, I get just a little more happy.

Banana Chips

Is there anything better than hearing a song on a Friday afternoon called "Banana Chips?" Maybe seeing little Yoshitomo Nara-like animated characters singing about them....?

Cute On A Stick

What's not to love about a barrel-chested bird?

via allcreatures

This Is Your Captain Speaking

Hilarious.

bb blog via sharing machine

Bird on the Wires

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn't the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.I sent the music to the photographer, Paulo Pinto, who I Googled on the internet. He told his editor, who told a reporter and the story ended up as an interview in the very same newspaper.Here I've posted a short video made with the photo, the music and the score (composed by the birds).Music made with Logic.Video made with After Effects.

Neato.

via very short list

"Face Forward"

"...move slow, forge ahead."

I Second That

I've definitely learned to do this over the years... particularly over the last few years, but that doesn't mean I always follow them. Not right away, anyway.


via designismine

Women of Unwavering Indecision

I'm not sure yet what I want to say about this, but something... yes, something...

Pretty As A Parapluie

So wanna be her right now.... via designismine

Pluck Pluck Pluck

I kinda dislike myself when I find these words tumbling out of my mouth. I rarely (if ever) use them to console another person about their downtrodden state, no I wouldn't be that insensitive, but I do find its annoying cadence flowing out of my mouth right after I've finished complaining about something in my own life. A half-assed attempt to remind the poor person listening to me that, well, I know it could be worse. And, see, that makes it ok that I'm complaining about the mind-mushing state of network television while blood curdling atrocities go down, probably not so far down the street from me. Alas, it is what it is. Bah! There's another one... Yes, competing for the most nerve-plucking and overused response in our lexicon of late is definitely "it is what it is." I'm not sure which is worse, though we know damn well it could be worse.

Hmm... someone seems a little irritated today (looks around). I'm back on the pill and so I will surely start to blame every mood nuance on that little patty of hormones I stick down my throat every night. My doctor convinced me to go back on. By convinced I mean she said "hey, maybe you should go back on the pill," and I said... "ok." I'm a real hard sell.

I Preen for Satan

I have a new love, and it's called Mincing Mockingbird! Behold, gorgeous birdy paintings in combination with mischievous thought bubbles. And I am all the more excited to learn that they will be at the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend. Yay! I can't wait to find my perfect little evil bird.