Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Summertime Pleasures

I want a hammock and a tepee. Plz.





*Images via Kennedy Holmes, Google, the Selby.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Friday, June 26, 2009

The Weepies


The Weepies remind me of lightening bugs caught in a jar; dreamy and ephemeral. They are my little secret that I am sharing with you. I first heard this duo several years ago, on the long drive back from the Gorge to Seattle after Sasquatch. We were exhausted and sunburned to deliriousness. My dear friend and now old roommate Zach had randomly found their album, Say I Am You, and put it on, as we struggled to stay awake. It is magical music that automatically makes me sad, happy, wistful and sleepy simultaneously.


Happy Birthday Old Man of Mine

Today is Soren's 21st birthday and its a long time coming. The day he walked into my grandmother's kitchen, almost six years ago turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to me! As a true blue Ballard boy, it is only appropriate to celebrate at the bars on Ballard Avenue. We are going to see Hell's Belles, an all-girl AC/DC cover band, play some skee-ball at King's Hardware and maybe go for breakfast at Beth's Cafe. So before the revelery begins, here a little look back at the good old days..






Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Gibson Girl Chignon


The Gibson Girl was an archetype of a woman created in the late nineteenth century by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson. She was a more restrained 'new woman' with all the vigor and spirit of a rebel but the modesty and sensibility of a woman. More importantly, the Gibson Girl had a specific hairdo, seen above, called a chignon, pompadour or bouffant which created a kind of waterfall of curls effect. It is difficult to achieve without a hair rat, but I always felt weird at the idea of having something like that on my head. But, still it is the effect I strive for.




My dear friend Lucy has one of the most beautiful chignons I have ever seen. She literally ties a knot with her hair on the top of her head and it creates the perfect bun with such ease and elegance. (Picture by Matt Lutton).

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Summer Solstice

Here are a few from our escapades on that fateful summer day. My lovely roommates rode naked in the parade. I caught a ride to the parade from some lovely nudists. We made flower crowns, ate delicious cuban sandwiches in an alley and had beer floats in a garden. Perfect day!








*First four taken by Emily Santee and the last couple by me!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

The South is Rising Again!

Hello y'all. Anyone who knows me knows about my love affair with the tragic and romantic south. Growin' up in Maryland was not exactly the deep south, but I can bring out the twang with a little liquor. Recently I have been listening to nothing but country and bluegrass. I am yearning for a little old farmhouse in the country with warm summer nights, lightening bugs and thunderstorms that leave as quickly as they come.

This song takes me there.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Last Supper at the Nunnery






Here are some pictures from our last shindig my lovely house. They really don't do it justice. There was so much food and music and dancing. I'm going to miss these folks with my whole heart.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Joni is Blue


I just finished this pretty good book about Joni Mitchell's Blue period, called "Will You Take Me As I Am: Joni Mitchell's Blue Period," by Michelle Mercer. The title caught my eye, which is a line from the song 'California.' She implores that California "take me as I am, strung out on another man." Like many other young women and gay men, Joni articulates the roller-coaster that is love with patience and truthfulness. Love affairs are deeply felt and equally mourned when they go sour, with all the drama that comes with youth. Joni's music is like my road map to love and life as one who falls hard and fast and gets hurt easily.


This being said, I had high expectations of this book. Joni's Blue period was a early in her musical career, where her song writing was autobiographical and her heart heavy after giving up her child. But the songs that she produced during this period are easily her most prolific and personal. The author, while indulging in some hero-worship, also shows several less than glamorous sides of the siren. Joni can be cold and impatient with those not to her intellectual level. The author does paint Joni with a light brush, drawing shades and gradation from her childhood polio and life of the plains of the Canada. Overall, the book felt uneven and spotty in areas, generally unsatisfying. This probably due to the fact that this was the only biography written specifically with Joni's contribution and interviews. If anyone has found a better biography, do tell!

Women of the World

Who needs the fashion industry when the women of the world have the most interesting style? Street style is my heroin. I can never get enough. Here are some of my favorites.









As I was uploading these I realized that they are all wearing coats! Why is that in June I want to just be wrapped up in a beautiful coat? Must be all the grey and cloudy weather..

All images from either the Sartorialist or Face Hunter.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Evening at Golden Gardens


Necessary part of summertime in Seattle.

Back from the Dead: Levon Helm

Hello internetz. I am back. My dear friend has introduced me to an album that I think you will enjoy. Do you remember The Band? As in Bob Dylan's backup band on the Basement Tapes and the songs "Up on Cripple Creek" and "The Weight"? See below for a refresher:



See the singer/ drummer? That god in human form, is none other than Levon Helm. These days, The Band has dis-banded (ha) and Levon is working on solo projects.

The Dirt Farmer is one of those projects. And let me tell you. This is one of those life changing, eye-opening, summertime-inducing albums. But you should give it a listen for yourself and experience the magic yourself.



But really what you should do is actually go out and buy this album. This one song does not do it justice.