young guns 5

adc's young guns 5, fashioned by alan dye (formerly with kate spade, now apple), showcases 63 young design professionals in a 3.5" x 5.5" moleskin notebook. all of the featured artists/designers are aged 30 & younger. the above image (kind of resemble socks from the bodies exhibit huh?) made me pursue this collection & was taken by carlo van de roer, who has a portfolio filled with everything from pools & fashion editorial.

a single tear fell...

she's gone. in our two years together i'd never figured out whether she was a boy or a girl; in fact, it had never really mattered. she was mine & we went everywhere together, but last night, as we said goodbye, it was clear that my girl was going to miss me.

i spent yesterday cleaning out my car (finding campfire roasting sticks, my michigan license plate, a frisbee, a putter & the jumper cables i never knew i had). it was time to turn it in. i drove up to 170th & aurora ave n where the car dealer (ugh, i can't handle car salesmen) took my keys, wrote down the mileage & my vin #. i signed the paper & called gmac. it was over, it was official: i am now carless. i caught the 358 express into the city; i fell asleep on the bus & woke up at the same time that lake union came into view. i knew then, that my bus adventures would be far more adventurous than those as a driver. goodbye malibu maxx, gmac & commuter traffic.

human meets animal: silhouette style

do i love them or do i hate them? i wasn't sure until i saw the one pictured above (deer david). i like antlers. i was checking out tcritic today, when it appeared...out of no where & on to my wishlist.

piles of projects

my latest endeavor has been a three-panel series of two-color damask paintings. i am halfway there (i started over after hating the first color combo) & am pretty happy with the results this far. i hope to have them done by the end of next week. keep your eyes peeled!

the real problem here is that the project ideas keep pouring in. i purchased my new sewing machine (it is still in the box), i got a new knitting book for christmas (that has patterns waiting for me to attack), my screen printing kit is still in the box (but supplies for the inaugural project have been purchased) & my passion for extra-curricular print design has been waiting to be tapped again. i've decided to prioritize my projects, so here it is: finish wall panels, screen printing (can't mention specific project since it's a gift for one of my few subscribers...you think it's you huh?) & then the scarf pictured above. to me, it's perfect for the weather from march to may, tshirts & big scarfs hurray! it will be almost 6 feet by 1 foot, tweed, lined with silk or something silky & have some sort of detail. i figured that detail will be screen printing, embroidery or buttons.

musta been the 4th of july-i-i

i didn't have my pics uploaded yesterday, but i spent saturday in the park (sorry for the terrible chicago reference) with marques, justin, yachi & justin's moms. it was my first visit to the olympic sculpture park on what was a beautiful (felt like spring) day. it was great to see all of the people enjoying this new public space; little kids ran between sculptures & the old folks spent the afternoon sitting in randomly placed red chairs.

plantings are still scarce & young, but the layout of the park is well done. you can just imagine what it will all be like in a year or two. weiss/manfredi architecture/landscape/urbanism were the lead designers for the park, with magnusson klemencic associates as the lead civil & structural engineer, charles anderson landscape architecture as just that & anchor environmental for aquatic engineering.

what's my favorite? i loved wake by richard serra & stinger by tony smith (i wanted to break into bjork's 'it's oh so quiet').

young hov

after losing this album way too many years ago...it's back in my possession & i couldn't be happier. jay-z unplugged, backed by non other than the roots crew!

the tracks:
izzo
takeover
girls, girls, girls (why you treat me like animal?)
jigga what, jigga who
big pimpin'
heart of the city
can i get a...
hard knock life
ain't no
can't knock the hustle
i just wann love you
jigga that n***@

coffee & chewing gum

it's the first thing i do when i wake up, brew a pot of coffee i mean. while it is brewing, i make my bed, pack my lunch & wander around my house anticipating my first cup. i polish off two mugs before i even step out the door & have one to three cups while at work. today, as i headed into the kitchen at my office to pour a third cup (fifth of the day) i thought...i may drink too much coffee. i still sleep at night, i don't get the shakes & there are no throbbing headaches after a day without it, but still! 5, 12 oz cups of coffee a day? that's a crapload of caffeine. i sat down at my desk to start working again, thinking about the absurd amount of coffee i drink, when i looked into the garbage basket below my desk & noticed the 5 empty packs of gum thrown in since monday.

wikipedia has a good summary of the benefits & risks of coffee in terms of health.

divya & i talked about excess last night, that it isn't easily defined as a lot of something, but an amount the passes your acceptable amount. do i get to decide how much coffee & chewing gum is too much?

bring your bathing suits

it's always best to make fun of the serious things in life. this mocking of an inconvenient truth is perfect. sarah silverman is one of my faves right now; she has simple, tacky humor & a somewhat irritating voice (which i can appreciate).

knitty headscarf: complete

here it is. the pattern was very easy to follow, although my gauge was off (creating a headscarf for a monster head). i handwashed it, threw it in a pillowcase & into the dryer & wa-la! it still kind of looks like a slug when i lay it out flat.

these images are also my first contribution to the craft: flickr pool

ipod cozies

usually against cozies (unless rubber, with clever sayings wrapped around cans of pbr), i knitted three ipod cozies last week. chris' ipod froze on him during a trip to stevens pass & with a trip to whistler on the calender... it was an unacceptable situation. now chris, teresa & i have coordinating cozies all adorned with vintage buttons of my great grandmothers.

valentine from your mother

what's the best part about being freshly single? sympathy valentine gifts from your momma & dad. here's the list...

3 afghans knitted by my grandmother & mom
1 completed cross stitch runner (2 uncompleted) done by my great grandmother
my grandpa's pendelton wool shirt (playa)
1 set collapsible measuring cups
my childhood pez collection
1 2lb bag of dried cherries
1 2lb bag of chocolate covered dried cherries
assorted valentine paraphernalia (make your own card, pens, magnets, notepads, hand towels)
1 dell color printer

the ad spots

the only things keeping me social yesterday were chris' chili & advertising. i can't help it, i'm the demographic stereotype. for all of our reference & repeated viewing pleasure, myspace has a link to view all the ad spots from yesterday's superbowl. my favorites, none other than k-fed & coca-cola.

the roots crew

photo by tyson l on flickr

the roots @ the showbox, i'm still calming down. i've seen the roots about 6 times now & i will have to say that this was (by far) the best one. they added a horns section recently (also at radio city music hall). there was so much energy in the crowd & on stage. they did a bob dylan cover (masters of war) & a few james brown covers as well, including funky drummer which is said to be the most sampled song ever.

here's the set list for the second show according to the okayplayer discussion board:

dilltastic vol won(derful)
false media
game theory
don't feel right
in the music
take it there
baby
here i come
long time
livin' in a new world
clock with no hands
atonement
can't stop this

lobster tails & prime rib

it could be the hardest i laughed in a long time (or since i heard that she had won it). my dad sent me this picture of my sister on her "shop til you drop" experience at kalkaska, mi's northland mall (ie grocery store that sells carharts, liquor & fake designer jeans & juicy suits).

i talked to my sister since the spree. she let me know that she got a lot of meat & coffee, that her daughters ran close behind her & that she got 4 lobster tails that she swears were at least 2 years old.

my parent's are retired & living in fife lake, which is a beautiful, yet very very rural lake in northern mi. they worked in kalkaska (about 15 minutes away) & stay involved in local politics & non-profits. my sister & her family ventured up in december to participate in a winter fest to raise money for hospice (that my mom sits on the board for). she entered a raffle for a $500 grocery shopping spree & was pleased to find out that she was in fact...the winner!

girl like me

this is an amazing video by teenage director kiri davis for the media that matters film festival. there is a song titled, "black girl pain" by talib kweli which first opened my eyes to this struggle, but it is amazing to see actual young girls (& boys) be affected by the stereotypes of race. a small tribute to black history month...congrats kiri.