Latest exploits of yours truly...

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T21:06:00.005-05:00

So I know I've been absolutely horrible recently about posting, but I thought I would share the drawings I did for my family (and friends) this year for Christmas. I'm cheap, I don't buy real presents.

Butterfly for Mom

Sad Baby Polar Bear for Dad

Bonsai Tree for Gma and Gpa

Baby Deer for Spencer

Calla Lily for Traci

Daisy for Sunshine

Angry Tiger Face for Travis

Princess Leia for Penny

Han Solo for Zac (of course)

Hummingbird for Rachel

I am missing a few because I haven't been able to scan them in yet, but I will post them when I do.

I really liked the way that most of these turned out, so hopefully I will continue making them. I particularly like the animal ones with lots of fine detail.

Experimentin'

2010-07-30T20:23:00.005-04:00

Since I drew portraits of my family for Christmas I've been meaning to make more. I've been contemplating it for a while and I decided to draw them today. However, instead of just doing black and white I decided to use color this time.

This is Rachel Hazelbaker. This is Rachel Hazelbaker's portrait. In color.

I also wanted to do my own portrait. Therefor I did. I also documented the step by step process of the drawing as well.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Once I scanned them in I played with them a bit in Photoshop and in the process I inverted the color. It's kind of neat.

Well, at least I think they're neat.

The Real World Egypt

2010-07-15T02:25:00.003-04:00

Oh Zahi Hawass, how I love thee. Even though this show seems incredibly scripted I still love it. Archaeology at its most dramatic.

I can't wait.

Good Morning

2010-06-30T13:39:00.003-04:00

Another hit from the Rogue Wave bug.

Rogue Wave - Good Morning from Rogue Wave on Vimeo.

I love this music video. I wish I could romp around some barren wasteland with feathers in my hair. Can I? Oh please can I?

Solitary Gun

2010-06-27T05:01:00.004-04:00

Rogue Wave - Solitary Gun from Rogue Wave on Vimeo.

I know I've been raving for years about how much I love Rogue Wave, so don't read on if you are sick of it because there's a whole lot more about to spew out.

Their new album 'Permalight' is sincerely awesome. I love every second of every song. Their last album 'Asleep at Heaven's Gate' was a bit of a dud in my opinion. It wasn't bad, don't get me wrong, it just wasn't what I was looking for in a Rogue Wave album. I love all of the color and depth that 'Permalight' has. There are a lot of pertinent issues that the band deals with in these songs and that's one aspect that keeps me coming back for more. I'm listening to this almost as obsessively as I listened to 'Descended Like Vultures' back in the day (and sometimes nowadays). But let's not forget the early stuff either. 'Out of the Shadow' was a great one too. There's more of a playfulness to this early album than the rest, therefore it's good in my book. But for some reason I just can't put my finger on, it doesn't have the same oompf, or pizazz, or whatever it is that 'Descended Like Vultures' and 'Permalight' do.

Nope, there's no getting around it. I absolutely adore Rogue Wave. I doubt very much that will ever change.

However, Zac recently turned me onto Freelance Whales. They're pretty awesome as well. And not only is the music that they make incredible, their website is amazing on top of that. They're almost on par with Rogue Wave in my book, and that's saying something. I really like the song 'Hannah'.

Here's a little taste of who they are...

Freelance Whales - Generator 2nd Floor

Freelance Whales | MySpace Music Videos

Boxes and Light

2010-06-26T04:38:00.001-04:00

ENVISION : Step into the sensory box from SUPERBIEN on Vimeo.

I wish I had the know-how to pull something like this off. The fact that it seems to turn from 3 dimensions to 2 is amazing. It's best if you watch the whole thing.

PogoMix

2010-06-09T19:52:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Faye who showed these to me. They're amazing remixes of well known movies into really interesting and cool songs.

From the movie 'UP'

Alice in Wonderland

My favorite Disney movie 'The Sword in the Stone'

And of course 'Mary Poppins'

Not only is the imagery amazing, the music is great. I love it.

Jinn

2010-04-27T22:38:00.009-04:00

So I've been bad at posting on the blog recently, and by recently I mean in the past year. I may get around to finally posting photos of my trip to Scotland sometime (I was there at the end of May last year, so almost a year ago).

What's been keeping me busy as of late is a new film called 'Jinn' that I've been working on. I'm the Set Decorator and it's so far been a whole heck of a lot of new experiences. I've learned a lot, about the industry and the way that I work. The sets have been looking great, in my opinion, and I do feel like I've been doing the best possible work that I can. We're almost done shooting which is exciting, I will finally have some time to myself again. It's amazing how much filmmaking can take over your life.

Here are some set photos...

Kitchen

Kitchen (detail)

Home Office

Home Office (desk detail)

Father Westhoff's Office

Church Library

It's tiring work but there's a lot of satisfaction that goes along with it.

Million Dollars

2010-01-21T00:57:00.006-05:00

So this is a music video that I worked on last year. It is an amazing video mostly due to the wonderful Danny Mooney. He's amazing at everything he does, and once you see the video I'm sure you'll agree. We only got to shoot about two thirds of what was supposed to be shot, but you wouldn't know that with what Danny has pulled together. Keep an eye on him, he's definitely going far.

Just so you know, this video went up only about a day ago and it already has over 20,000 view. Which is incredible.

Christmas Fun

2009-12-25T23:27:00.013-05:00

So for Christmas I made portraits for mi familia as their presents. It was lots of fun and lots of work. I'm glad I got to work early on them, but even with that extra early start, I was scrambling at the last minute. I'm glad to know I still procrastinate, even though I'm out of school.

Derek

Josie

Sunshine

Gma and Gpa

Mom and Dad

Zac, Penny and Henry

Kerry and I

Aaaaand finally, Matt. (We call him uncle Fester)

December?

2009-12-07T11:51:00.005-05:00

How is it December already? I've been absent recently because of a film that I was working on called MOOZ-lum. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun. I had no life, but now I do. The other day I went to the Shadow Art Fair and one of the booths was a guy doing portraits of people and it was a 'name your own price' kind of thing. I got him to agree to exchanging a portrait for a portrait, so I did his portrait.

It's pretty silly. I love it.

Drawrings

2009-10-16T15:07:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple of drawings that I did recently.

Obviously I'm caught up in the 'Where the Wild Things Are' craze. I'm going to go see the movie sometime this weekend. I'll get back to you whether it's as good as the trailer makes it look.

London

2009-08-25T09:50:00.000-04:00

The end of May rolled around and since my Irish work visa was only for 5 months, I had to leave the country by the 30th and come back in to the country as a tourist. Complicated as it was, it was the perfect opportunity for me to take a fun little romp through another country. I decided to go to London because I found tickets through Ryan Air for only 2 euro. How could I pass that up? So I started out my little excursion in London. I went to the British Museum, which is awesome by the way, then met up with a friend, took a tour of Westminster Abbey, walked on the Thames, and went to the Tate Modern. I had a really great time, very different from the last time that I was in London, for one, I actually went INSIDE buildings.

Oustide the British Museum

In the British Museum's Hall of Knowledge. So many cool things.

The Rosetta Stone

This is a clock

I met up with a friend and he took me to Brixton, where apparently 'Electric Avenue' is. The song is based on this area of London.

It's hard not to find an Irish pub. This was about a 5 minute walk from my hostel. Right near Kings Cross Station (yes Harry Potter).

This is the 24 hour diner that Briana and I stayed in two years ago waiting for the train station to open. We didn't have a place to stay that night, obviously.

The London Eye

This is like the Viking tour of Dublin that Allison and I took when she came to visit. It's an amphibious vehicle from WWII.

Big Ben, double decker bus, pretty buildings, it must be London.

Walking down the Thames I found this statue that had a plaque saying that the holes along the wall and statues were from a bomb exploding on the street nearby in WWI.

The British sure do love to steal from other cultures. An Egyptian obelisk? Really?

The Thames

Inside the Tate Modern

The Globe Theater where the Royal Shakespeare Company's housed

You Know You've Thought It

2009-08-25T09:10:00.000-04:00

Random thoughts from the minds of... well, everyone. You know you've thought about some of these at some point in your life.

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-That's enough, Nickelback.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

Wild

2009-08-07T15:47:00.001-04:00

I swear I'll get around to posting more photos from the rest of my trip on here soon. But for now...

.Best.Thing.Ever.

2009-07-01T18:36:00.002-04:00

Thank you to Meesh for showing me this excellent video. HILARIOUS!

The Burren Adventure

2009-06-17T14:09:00.008-04:00

So I know I got really bad at posting on here while I was in Ireland, but now that I'm home and not doing anything, I figured I had the time to finally do it.

There was one week where Danny, Meg and I decided to rent a car and head out west to the Burren for a quiet vacation from Howth. It was getting a bit stressful with everything at work and our house so it was much needed. We went to relax with Danny's family and take a few short road trips around the Burren. Including to Ballyvaughan, Monks, Fanore (so I could get some sand from a beach that I had promised my sister), and to the Burren Perfumery. Now I had never been to the perfumery before, but had experienced some of the delightful scents from some of the shops around Ballyvaughan. It is a really gorgeous place, and smells great as well. It's also extremely peaceful. I wish I could go back right now. Anyways, I do have some photos from the trip.

Meg, Danny and me in the Burren on a soft day.

My favorite sign in Ballyvaughan.

I love the skies in the West.

Joe and Danny in the pub.

Danny in front of our cute little rental car. We stopped on the side of the road to take fun photos. Just because.

The view of the Burren from Danny's parents' house. It's so pretty with the sun.

Jump!

JUMP!

Mmmm yummy Burren pizza.

The Perfumery

During the slide show we decided to play. This is Meg and I attempting to capture the badger.

There was a cute, but ironically very stinky dog in the perfumery... with all the shampoos, and good smelling things.

Danny and Meg in the gardens. Very cute.

Meg and I in the gardens.

I love these shoes. I want some.

I really miss the Burren. And Ireland. And Dublin. And everything, I'm ready to go back please and thank you.

We Walk

2009-05-15T08:23:00.001-04:00

We Walk by The Ting Tings

A Nice Little Holiday

2009-05-10T11:57:00.006-04:00

Another visit from a friend from home. Allison, someone I used to work with back at Telefund, came to visit me as my last visitor. I probably did the best showing her around town and Ireland of all the visits (even my parents). It probably has something to do with the fact that I had a lot of practice with Jamie and then my parents. She got in on a Saturday, left on the next Friday and we did enough things to fit into three weeks. We did all the typical things like the Guinness Storehouse, the Hop On Hop Off bus tour around the city, and ate fish and chips with a bit of Guinness on the side. Duh, things you HAVE to do if you come to Dublin.

In addition to those fun adventures we took a trip out west. We booked a hostel for one night in Galway City and took a day trip to the Aran Islands. For how many times I've been to Galway, I never stayed over night. So it was fun and new for me as well as Allison. We went for a walk around the city when we first got there and then at night we went out to a local pub that had traditional Irish music. Galway, and the west for that matter, is known for the music. The weather was in our favor as well, surprisingly enough. That never happens on the west coast because you're right on the Atlantic so the winds bring bad weather quickly, but just as quickly take them away again. We saw a few rainbows (no leprechauns or pots of gold though). On our second day there we took the ferry out to Inis Mór which is the largest of the Aran Islands. Again this was something that I had never done so it was new for both me and Allison. We were only there for a few hours and did a short little bus tour and a bit of a hike up to see an old stone fort. It was excellent weather again and we had a great time. I can't even explain how pretty it was, but I do have some photos (obviously).

The River Corrib.

Allison walking down Quay Street.

Allison jumping under the Spanish Arch.

Me jumping in Eyre Square.

A fun shop front.

Allison and I in front of the River Corrib.

The name of the stone for that we hiked up to on Inis Mór.

Me and Allison in front of the fort.

The cliffs on the Island.

I laid down on the edge of the cliff and looked down. This is what I saw.

I'm so glad Allison was able to visit. I think she had a great time, I know I did.

Ain't no Better Zoo Than the Dublin Zoo (Well Maybe)

2009-05-09T12:43:00.008-04:00

One day when the sun was bright and the weather in our favor, Meg, Danny, Paul and I decided to go have a quick romp around the Dublin Zoo. It was an incredibly nice day and the spring flowers were blooming like crazy. It was nice just going on a fun little outing and being able to act like a kid. We all had loads of fun. Gosh I love zoos.

Paul, Danny and Meg walking around the zoo.

Meg acting like a Tiger.

Meg and me with flamingos in the background.

Gorilla hand = 2x Meg's hand.

The broken glass from inside the gorilla enclosure. Scary.

Marmoset there'll be days like this.

Elephants are so cool.

They had TWO baby elephants.

Me and Meg with one of the babies between us.

ELEEFONT!

Fun with the Parents

2009-05-09T11:22:00.010-04:00

My parents were able to come visit me a few weeks ago. We did a lot of fun tours around Ireland. We went to Northern Ireland to go see the Giant's Causeway which is something that I have been wanting to see for a long time now. Not as long as my mom who has wanted to see it since she was young. It was a pretty amazing tour. We took the train from Dublin to Belfast then off on a long bus tour around the coast of county Antrim, which is gorgeous if you ever get the chance to go. We went to the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery, the Giant's Causeway and also a few random stops along the way.

The Carrickfergus Castle. If you look far off to the left you can see a little British Soldier ready to take out imposing armies... or small children.

This is the village where Winston Churchill grew up.

The Old Bushmills Distillery

Far off in the distance you can see Scotland, but only if you look really hard.

This is Dunluce Castle. This is the castle that inspired C.S. Lewis (a Belfast man) to create Cair Paravel, the castle in the Chronicles of Narnia.

Mom and Dad on our way down to see the Giant's Causeway.

The basalt pillars of the Giant's Causeway.

Me and Mom at the Giant's Causeway.

It really is one of the coolest places I've ever been to.

We also went on a shorter bus tour a little closer to home. We went to see the Hill of Tara and Newgrange. Both are ancient sites from the celts. The Hill of Tara is the ancient capital of Ireland and even in the recent past has been used as a gathering spot for revolutionaries. On a clear day from on top of the hill you can see three quarters of Ireland, which is pretty impressive. Newgrange is an old passage tomb dating back about 5,000 years (which is older than the Pyramids at Giza). It's a tomb built into a hill and when you go into it there's a tight passage leading to a small room. The ceiling is still water tight, never has a drop of water leaked through in the 5,000 years that it's been there, pretty amazing stuff if you think about how wet the weather is here in Ireland. The most amazing thing about Newgrange is what happens on and around the winter solstice. At the exact moment that the sun rises on the three days leading up to the solstice and the three following, a line of light slowly creeps along the floor until it reaches the room, lights it up and then disappears again so the room is left in darkness. This proves that the builders of this tomb were incredibly intelligent and that they were attuned to the world around them .

A view from on top of the Hill of Tara. In the distance you can see the ruins of a castle.

I just like this photo. You can see a little robin on the wheel.

Newgrange

Mom standing in the entrance of Newgrange. They're really low ceilings until you get into the inner chamber. Also if you look at the big rock in front you can see a lot of markings. This is one of the most photographed rocks in the world.

Another rock at the base of the structure decorated like the one in the front.

That week was full of so much touristing about the land of Eire. It was well worth it though.

St. Patrick's Day

2009-04-30T13:07:00.006-04:00

The last time I was in Ireland two years ago, my experience on St. Patrick's Day was very unfortunate. First of all it was the day that my parents were supposed to fly in, but due to a storm on the east coast of the US they couldn't fly until the next day. So my plans had to change quickly. I ended up going into Galway City to see the parade with a bunch of people from the college only to find myself getting horribly sick (with some sort of virus NOT from alcohol), enough so that I was crying from the pain. Needless to say this year Paddy's Day was a lot better. I went down to see the parade on O'Connell Street in town and met up with some people from work. We ended up staying out for a long long time joining in with all the festivities. It was a much more successful day than two years ago, and I have photos to prove it.

Emma, Leo, Me, Meghann, and Michelle.

Fun things in the parade.

King Kong was in the parade too.

The coolest of the bunch. It was all made of metal and the guy sitting on it could control the movement of the head and the snapping of the jaws. SOO COOL!

There were people wearing green climbing all over everything.

My return the next day after the fun adventures.

Oops, It's Been a While

2009-04-30T12:28:00.005-04:00

So I didn't forget there was a blog here, I just didn't have time to write on it. This all started when Jamie, my cousin, came to visit towards the middle/end of March. It also didn't help that I was sick for a month with I don't know what, a cold, bronchitis, laryngitis, etc. There were so many things that prevented me from writing on this here blog. Now, I have a lot of time but none at all.

Anyways, when Jamie was here we got to do a lot of touristy things around Dublin which was a lot of fun. Tour buses, the Guinness Storehouse, museums, we did it all... well not all, but most. I think she had fun while she was here, even though I was sick and tired for most of it. Here are some photos from our adventures in Dublin.

A view of Dublin from the Sky Bar at the Guinness Storehouse.

Jamie on the tour bus in front of the Spire.

Us in the courtyard at Trinity College.

Us at the Guinness Storehouse.

Jamie on the DART.

At Trinity College, people were already getting ready for St. Patrick's Day.

Dublin Castle.

One of the funny things at the Guinness Storehouse.

Christ Church.

Oh My Gosh

2009-03-27T13:00:00.001-04:00

This looks amazing. I am so happy.

Kids should never grow up.

Just a Little Taste

2009-03-21T14:33:00.005-04:00

There's a couple of songs that are played constantly at all of the night clubs here in Ireland. Some are getting on my nerves, some make me want to dance... hah, me, dancing, hah. Here are just a few:

Infinity 2008 -Guru Josh Project (This is one that makes me want to dance. The music video is a bit weird though, and I like the original version of the song better, but this is all I could find)

Poker Face -Lady Gaga (This is one that's getting on my nerves)

I Kissed A Girl -Katy Perry (Nerves again)

Sex on Fire -Kings of Leon (I think I would get jumped in a dark alley if I said that Kings of Leon are 'ok' but this song doesn't get on my nerves, I just don't like it that much)

They also tend to play a lot of MGMT which I'm not complaining about either. Kids seems to be the DJs' favorite song too.

Better Late Than Never

2009-03-09T09:14:00.014-04:00

Two weeks ago today Meg and I headed off on a 7 hour journey to the west coast of Ireland, a trip that if taken by car should only take a bout two and a half. But alas, we were under the constraints of public transportation. We took the DART into town, then a bus from there to Galway. It was slightly surreal being in Galway again after almost two years. We didn't have too long there because we had to catch the bus from Galway to Bell Harbour, so we just went to the same cafe that we always used to go to and walked around Eyre Square a bit as well. When we were heading back to the bus station, Meg froze and pointed at someone. I turned not recognizing anyone and she said, 'I think that's the same bus driver we always used to have when going back home from Galway.' Of course, she was correct, and he even recognized us and was confused that we were going to Bell Harbour and not Ballyvaughan. Strange, even after two years someone can remember the minute details of everyday life. Once we were on the bus it started to get dark, which was unfortunate because both of us wanted to see everything along the way.

After the hour long bus trip we hopped off at Bell Harbour to find Danny and his dad waiting there to pick us up (Bell Harbour is about the size of a 7 foot tall man's big toe so it's kind of funny that we got a lift up to the house). Danny's parents had just moved into a new house which used to be a bed and breakfast, so it was fun exploring the maze of the house. They made us dinner and we sat around talking for a long time, even long after Danny's little sister and brother had to go to bed. It was relaxing, fun, and peaceful. I had forgotten how slow everything moves when you're in the Burren, and how much I love/miss that.

The next day we got up and got a lift from one of Danny's old neighbors (when his parents moved, they literally moved a few houses over) into Ballyvaughan and decided to start our adventure at the Art College where Meg and I went two years ago. Meg, Danny and I went tromping around the school grounds only to find it empty, only one or two people were there. Apparently the school trip to Berlin was on and almost everyone had gone. So it was like a ghost town, which I think I much preferred. It would have been very strange to see the college filled with strange people doing all the things we used to do. But seeing as no one was there, it was easy to feel like no time had passed at all. It's kind of odd how everything in the Burren felt like that, as if nothing HAD changed, even after two years.

After hanging around the college for a bit we started walking back towards town. Meg and Danny went to the shop and I went straight on to Gwen and Joe's house. Joe had promised to make us dinner when we came back (he's an excellent cook). Now there's something that did change though, they redid their house and put on a huge addition. I went to the front door (or rather where it used to be) and knocked. I saw Joe through the window before he let me in. When he opened the door it was seriously as if only a week or two had gone by since the last time I saw him. There was his goofy grin and giant hug to greet me. The weirdest part of this whole thing was that it seemed as if in my head time just stopped from two years ago and picked right back up again where it left off. Once I was in the house Joe directed me towards the sitting room where Oscar and Jasper were watching TV. Obviously time hadn't stopped for them, Oscar just turned 13 and Jasper's about to turn 6. So for them two years is a long time, and it's kind of hilarious how grown up they're starting to look. I wasn't worried about Oscar not remembering me, because he was old enough when we were there before. However, I was slightly more worried about Jasper not remembering me. But when we walked in, Joe asked Jasper if he remembered me or not, and he gave me a sly look and said under the blanket, 'yes.' That made me smile.

After the re-introductions, Joe showed me the rest of the house. It was pretty amazing what they ended up doing to the house, and Joe finally has an amazing kitchen where he can make his 'magic' happen. After a few minutes of talking, Meg and Danny showed up. It was fun watching Meg's reaction to the whole thing, as I'm sure it would have been fun for her to watch my reaction. After a while Danny had to get going to go somewhere with his parents so it was just down to me, Meg, Joe, and the kids. It was great just talking and relaxing (again, something I didn't realize I missed). At one point Meg went outside and ran back in exclaiming she had forgotten how many stars there were. Inevitably that drew me outside and I realized I had forgotten as well. Later, once the kids had gone to bed, we went and played 'Sing Star' which is essentially Karaoke for your house (or Rockband without the band). Gwen finally got home from work and we chit chatted with her for a while before she had to go to bed. Joe eventually drove us back to Bell Harbour, even though neither Meg nor I really wanted to leave.

The next day it was sunny and beautiful outside, but we spent most of the day inside hanging out. We had originally planned on leaving that day, but some sleepy heads that will not be named couldn't get out of bed in time. It's not like I was fighting to get home any sooner than I had to though. We just hung out with Danny's parents all day, and later at night once Kevin and Megan were home from school we helped with homework and whatnot until it was time to go to bed. I ended up reading Twilight while we were there (Megan is obsessed with them and I'd always wanted to see what all the fuss was about). It was a fun excursion all in all, and extremely relaxing on so many levels.

Danny, Meg and I took the long journey home through all the countryside just to get back to Dublin on the next day. It was a relief getting home and being able to sleep in my own bed, but I really want to go back to the Burren sometime soon. I think when Allison comes to visit in a month I'm going to take her there so that she can see where I went to school and for my own benefit as well. Here are some photos from the trip:

Outside of Danny's parents' house in Bell Harbour. If you look hard you can see the sheep and the lambs.

Newtown Castle at the Burren College of Art.

The lane leading up to the school.

Meg, Danny and I outside the school.

Flowers (just for you Mom).

The funniest collection of road signs that don't make any sense whatsoever.

Meg and I in front of our old house. Oh Orchard House, how I miss thee.

Joe making dinner, you know, the usual.

Jasper, Joe and Meg playing at the dinner table.

Joe and Meg playing 'Sing Star.'

The Balllyvaughan church at night.

Longest post ever, but totally worth it.

The next time I go back to the Burren I really want to eat at Monks, go for a walk on the water, hike up to the fairy ring and possibly hike up Cappanawalla. I'm excited.

MGMT

2009-03-04T12:06:00.002-05:00

'Kids' by MGMT is my new favorite song, and I don't know why.

'Electric Feel' is good as well.

Wonderland

2009-03-03T21:28:00.002-05:00

I want to be a kid again.

My New Album

2009-02-27T08:12:00.003-05:00

This is kind of fun.

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

Here's what I got:

This Cat's Actually Irish

2009-02-19T19:56:00.002-05:00

Drunk. Just drunk. All the time drunk. Hahahaha.

Bono? Really?

2009-02-15T10:20:00.003-05:00

So last night after work (well I guess it was really this morning at 5ish) Meg and I obviously needed a taxi to get home. It normally takes 25-30 minutes to get home after work, so we're with the taxi driver for a while. Some of them are... interesting, some are really nice, some are really talkative. Well the guy that we got last night (Gerry) was incredibly nice and talkative. He was telling us that he lives up near we do, so he was probably going to go home right after he dropped us off. He was also saying that it's been his dream to drive across the US, but could never find anyone to go with him. All in all it was a great conversation, and he's still on the old taxi rates so it ended up being cheaper than most other taxis. Oh yeah, he also told us that we were sitting in the car where Bono's been on many occasion. At hearing this, Meg and I both said, 'No way!' He was giving us this epic tale about all things U2 when he asked if we wanted to see Larry Mullen's house. So we were like, 'psh heck yeah.' Haha, so if last night wasn't interesting enough working at a night club on Valentine's Day, the trip home added to the interest. It made our night that much better.

Needless to say we're going to be calling Gerry on every occasion where a taxi is needed.

Incredible

2009-02-11T09:17:00.004-05:00

Incredible, that's all I really can say about these.

And this is just plain old cute. I still want one. (Yes, a whistling puppy)

Buck Whaleys

2009-02-07T13:39:00.003-05:00

I finally have a job. I work at Buck Whaleys with Meg. She originally got the job first, but since they were just opening up they weren't fully staffed, so, I got hired as well. It's an interesting place. There's a night club downstairs with two bars, and a piano bar upstairs. Meg and I are floor staff downstairs which means we just basically make sure everything is clean throughout the night. It's a fairly easy job, and well, it's a job. I'm still looking for something else where I can make more money during the day, then work at the bar at night. It feels good to finally have a job, but strange as well. I think it's mostly because it's a very new experience. Both Meg and I are not used to the night club scene in Ireland and dealing with drunk Irish people all the time. But hey, it's worth it, if only for the stories I'll bring back home (oh, and the money).

Other than that nothing much has been happening. We've been getting home around 4:30 or 5 in the morning and sleeping most of the day. Right now we're watching the Ireland-France rugby match for the Six Nations and Ireland's winning. It's going to be interesting going to work tonight with all the French and Irish people clashing/drinking/celebrating/moping. Wish me luck.

Beds Aren't Only For Sleeping

2009-02-02T23:33:00.004-05:00

This is my new favorite thing.

As is this.

I like the simple things in life. I lead a simple life, that might have something to do with it.

Hamburg(ers)

2009-01-29T12:37:00.010-05:00

This past weekend we went to Hamburg, Germany. We were there from Saturday to Tuesday, so it was a short trip but definitely still fun. We basically walked around during the day, ate at really cheap places, took daily naps, drank until the sun came up (because I was with Irish people and the bars in Germany just don't close), and gawked at all of the prostitutes (there were so many haha). Hamburg is a really pretty city, filled with a lot of interesting things. For example, there was this hot air balloon that you can 'ride' in and see the city. It's attached to the ground by a long wire and costs €15 to ride it, so possibly not worth it seeing as it was pretty foggy and windy most days we were there. Oh and it was balls cold too (probably not as cold as it is back in Michigan but still).

I didn't take that many photos with my camera because it's such a dinosaur to carry around, but I did take a few.

The boys in the train station. We were bored because we got there about a half hour before the train.

On this street is one of the clubs the Beatles played at.

In one of the clubs, there were black lights everywhere. Killian looks like an angel, do you see it?

Mary, O'Grady, Happy, Elle, Rob and Killian at one of the pubs.

The town hall.

It's actually really great to be home. I forget how stressful it is while traveling, and it's always nice to have a place to come home to. Still haven't found a job though, but the prospects are looking better. Wish me luck.

Crayons Are For Coloring, Not For Eating

2009-01-17T21:20:00.001-05:00

These past few days have been a bit random (not unlike the title of this blog post). A lot of things have been happening, and at the same time not much has happened. I've been applying for jobs up the wazoo, but haven't really heard back from anyone yet. Next week I plan on taking the DART into town and stopping at random places, getting off and finding the closest pubs to apply for jobs. I have confidence that I can get a job in the next week or two (and let's not lie, it's a necessity).

Over the past few nights, we've had people over every night. We stay up really late, and obviously since I'm in Ireland, we're drinking for the majority of that time. It's fun though. There's no pressure to drink if you don't want to either though which is definitely nice. We're all here to have a good time.

Last night Mary and I decided to book flights to Hamburg, Germany (a bunch of the crew were heading over already) and will be gone for next weekend. YAY! It's funny though, I really had not planned on going to mainland Europe this time. I wanted to travel all over the ROI and the UK. And now we're going to Germany with future plans to meet up with Roisin (pronounced Rosheen) who's studying in Sweden. The funniest part? My heritage lies in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Germany and (you guessed it) Sweden. So in the next few months, I may go to each and every place where I have a genetic tie to... weird. And I didn't even plan it that way. The fates brought me here, and the fates apparently want me to learn about my history. Hah.

I also got some really good news yesterday. My cousin Jamie, whom I haven't seen in about 3 years, booked her flight to come visit me here. I'm really excited and hope that she is too (I mean who wouldn't be though. A trip to Ireland and a visit with me). I also spoke with my mom and I think they're going to be able to make it out as well (everyone cross their fingers for that one).

I'm ready for bed but there's still quite the raucous downstairs. I'm gonna either sleep or go back down to chat. For now, here's some photos for you.

Me and Elle... Uh, testing the strength of the mattress.

Then the mattress moved onto the stairs and turned into a sled.

Me, Elle and Roisin

The dysfunctional family photo: Danny, Meg, O'Grady, Mary, and Happy.

Love Vaccine?

2009-01-13T06:23:00.002-05:00

There's this article in the New York Times today about the possible invention of a vaccine against love. This seems strange to me, it's like an anti-fairy tale written by a hermitic feminist. What is the world coming to?! Who would want a world without love?

Personally, I think love is a good thing.

Friends

2009-01-12T11:05:00.003-05:00

YAY! See what Michael's up to in his new 'video blog'

I'm starting to miss friends back home so this is nice to see Michael like he's right there with me. Also you really should check out his blog because he has some awesome drawings/watercolors/graphic design works up http://wanderingartist.blogspot.com/

Still searching searching searching for a job. I'm editing my CV (resume) today because... well because I want to make it better. Then tomorrow I'm gonna go back out and try again to find a job. Wish me luck.

Now, back to my tea and crumpets... well no crumpets I guess, but I do have some tea.

No Reservations

2009-01-08T08:55:00.005-05:00

You know the show 'No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain'? Well there's this one where he comes to Ireland. Mary (one of the other girls from home living with us here) had seen it and said there was a bit about Howth in there. And there is. Apparently this is one of the best places in the world to get seafood. Partially because you get the seafood that has come right off the boat into the restaurant. There's even a bar connected to the 'Waterside' (a pub we've been going to to watch the football matches) called the 'Fisherman's Bar'. It's called that because it opens at half 7 for the fisherman to come in and drink. So it's filled with a bunch of old, smelly irishmen, and I'm not even over exaggerating. Anyways, to recap, Howth is good for seafood, there's a fresh fish market in the mornings which I plan to go to now knowing that it's really that great, and Anthony Bourdain agrees. Here's some of the show that features my new favorite irish town.

The part about Howth gets chopped up into two pieces, so watch them both.

Dublin?

2009-01-06T20:38:00.010-05:00

Nothing all that exciting has been happening as of late. We still have to get to our orientation, then register with the garda, and only then can we start looking for work. Well, we've been looking, just couldn't do anything about it yet. We've been into Dublin a few times over the past couple of days, which has been fun. Mostly we've been going to do business, but yesterday after breakfast, Mary and I walked around St. Stephen's Green, which is right off Grafton Street and then went to the National Gallery. That tuckered us out rather quickly so we headed back to Howth just in time to catch the last of the daylight on the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Train, or something like that). Anywho, obviously I'll get on with something when it gets exciting around here, but for now, here's some more photos...

A building on Grafton Street

A view from St. Stephen's Green

A shamrocky street lamp

Grafton Street at night

O'Connell Street at night

The Christmas Tree of balls on O'Connell Street

S'all for now.

The Bloody Stream? Abrakebabra?

2009-01-02T23:40:00.001-05:00

They have places here like 'The Bloody Stream' and 'Abrakebabra'. Here's a little history lesson for all you wondering why the f*ck it's called 'The Bloody Stream'

10th August 1177, during the 2nd Norman Invasion of Ireland, Sir John de Courcy's expedition arrived off Howth. Unable to leave his ship, the command was taken over by Sir Almeric Tristram, said to be a descendant of Sir Tristram, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. A great battle ensued against the Danes, who were then in occupation on Evora Bridge, over a stream; afterwards known as the Bloody Stream. During the construction of this public house, we found that the Bloody Stream runs directly under these premises. Having fought a constant battle with the stream flooding the bar, we decided to make peace with it, hence the name, The Bloody Stream.

And I even found a Wikipedia page about 'Abrakebabra'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrakebabra

Tonight was the first night that we all went out. A bunch of Danny and Justy's friends (Justy also lives in the house with us) took us to 'The Bloody Stream' for drinks, then we all took a taxi out to Portmarnock for Danny's favorite treat, kebabs from 'Abrakebabra'. Basically it was like a night out back home, but much cooler.

Oh and we went into Dublin for a while today, which was fun as well. Didn't do that much, just some business. I think we might be heading back into the city centre tomorrow though.

Next Stop: Craic

2009-01-01T17:11:00.013-05:00

Craic (pronounced 'crack'): meaning 'fun or enjoyment'

Today Mary and I walked around Howth to do some exploring. It's not that cold here, I only wore a down vest and was kind of hot after walking for a while. There were a lot of people out down by the water, and a surprising amount of tourists. That made me feel less awkward seeing as I was carrying around a giant camera taking pictures at every turn. It gets dark here pretty early and our schedules are still rather messed up so we weren't out for that long. Probably an hour and a half. We talked with one of the workers at the off license just down the street and so far, everyone has been rather friendly, which is comforting. I can't really wait until we get a chance to explore the towns around here too.

I think in the next few days we're going to go into Dublin, and I'm excited to finally get back there. I was there once last time, and it was only for 3 days, which was definitely not enough time. I may also take the bus out to the west coast soonish to meet up with Gwen and Joe for a fun reunion of sorts in the Burren. As of right now though, I think we're about to watch a movie and hit the hay. To hold you over, here's some photos from today's romp around the city.

The front door of our house

The Cock Tavern

St. Mary's church, the ruins down the way

The Irish Sea

Some of the shops up the street

Oh and Happy New Year! Or Hippo Gnu Deer if you're my brother.

Irish Address

2008-12-30T12:17:00.002-05:00

Here's where you can send me the wonderful cards that I know all of you are dying to send:

2 St. Lawrences Rd.
Howth
Dublin 13
Ireland

And obviously you address it to me.

Irish Way of Life

2008-12-27T12:20:00.004-05:00

I'm excited. In two days I'm heading back to Ireland. I promise to keep this updated with photos so everyone can see what I'm up to. I'll also put up my address when I get it so everyone can send me stuff...hint hint.

Emotions Running High: Beware

2008-12-09T00:03:00.002-05:00

So, today I think is the first day that I've realized that I'm going to be leaving soon. The reason that I think this is because I felt like crying about 4 times today over stupid sh*t. At work I did end up crying, but because the guy on the other end did. I've been calling the old folks at work (1958 grads) and today I finally got one that had recently passed away. So recently that it was within the past week. Boy did that make me feel like crap. All of the emotions of everything going on in my life boiled over and I just broke out with tears. I think that may happen rather frequently over the next few weeks. (Hence the 'beware')

I've also been thinking about the fact that when I come back things are going to be extremely different for me and for Ann Arbor. The majority of my friends are going to be moving on with their lives soon after I return and the small hope that this town would be the same as the past four years will fall to pieces. I'm not saying that I won't like Ann Arbor, it's just going to be different, and as most of you know, I don't deal with change at all well. I adapt pretty quickly, but it's a rough stretch in between. I'm going to have to get a new job, what I don't know. I might want to work at a random place, or maybe I'll finally have the drive to do something with my life. I've felt a little useless since I've graduated, I don't really feel as if I'm doing anything. I've been busy hanging out with friends, which is definitely great, I love doing that, but at the end of the day I feel...well, pointless. Goal-less. Jobless. Career-less. I just don't know how I'm ever going to do anything good for the world. I don't have the drive, nor the experience to do anything worthwhile. People are telling me that going abroad is 'something' but to me it doesn't really feel like anything. I kind of wish I was working somewhere making a difference in someone's life...through art. Basically I kind of want my career to start, and this whole going to Ireland thing is kind of getting in my way. I think that it's going to be a great experience, but why am I doing it. I guess I feel like everything I do from now on has to have a point. There has to be reason behind it more than just 'well, I really want to do it,' because that's how I feel about Ireland.

I hate leaving things behind and that's what I feel like I'm doing right now. I'm going to miss all of my friends dearly and I really hope that they don't forget about me. It's always a fear, and a possibility. Change sucks, but is necessary and I know this. But it's hard...

Ireland (Part 2)

2008-12-01T11:47:00.009-05:00

The countdown begins now. It's less than a month until I leave for Ireland again, and I'm extremely excited. I know it's going to be very different from last time, in more ways than one.

1. I will be working as opposed to going to a small art school.

2. I will be living in Dublin as opposed to a small small village on the west coast of the country.

3. I will have more time to travel.

4. I already know quite a few people that live there so the whole transition will take less time.

5. It's been two years, I've changed, they've changed...I have to keep reminding myself of that.

Also, I feel like I've become a lot closer to many people living in Ann Arbor than I was before so I think it's going to be harder to leave, but easier to come back. And yes, I am coming back. Everyone keeps asking if I'm actually coming back. The answer is yes and there's no real need to worry about it. I love Ann Arbor/Michigan/the USA, it's just that every once in a while I like to get out. The last time I went to Ireland it changed my life. How could I not want to go back to a place like that?

Ok, so here's a visual comparison of what my life in Ireland was like before and what it may be like soon.

This is where I lived before:

This is where I may be living in a month:

This is where I went to school before:

And this may be where I'll be working soon:

There's quite a few things I have to do/find before I go though, like I need to find my old cell phone that I had when I was there before. So much to do, and a surprisingly short amount of time to do it in. But at least I don't have any thing else to do really.

List of things I'm going to miss:
*Snow (good thing there's been quite a lot of it this year so far)
*Family
*Friends
*Movies
*Ann Arbor
*Samdog
*And surprisingly enough, I'm going to miss Telefund...I never in my wildest dreams thought that that would happen.

Our New President

2008-11-05T01:07:00.003-05:00

Barack Obama, the new president of the United States of America.

I've heard all over the place people are finally proud to be an American. I've always had faith that this is a great country, because of the potential we have to make a difference, but can't deny that in recent years that faith has been tested.

We are finally going to be able to change the things that need to be changed, and prove that we live in a new world.

I can't even express how happy and excited I am.

Pooped

2008-11-01T17:38:00.002-04:00

I would say that today is the first day in a long time that I'm actually, honest to god tired. I've gotten about 5 hours of sleep over the past few nights, due to fun movie making. I always forget how much I like something until I do it again. I'm even willing to sacrifice my free time/sleep to help out on these projects.

Yesterday we went to Cedar Point to shoot some scenes from one of the movies that I'm production designer for. The park was closed and we were pretty much the only people there. We got to drive through the park to the Mantis (the ride we were shooting on). It was odd being there when nobody else was. It was also weird playing around on a park ride where we had full control of when the ride went out. I wasn't feeling so well but I still rode it once, which was enough for me. Some of the extras that made it out rode it 8 times...which is the direct cause of their recent loathing of the Mantis.

After we were done shooting yesterday I drove back by myself so I could surprise a friend at his 21st birthday partay. I stayed out for a long time even though I was extremely tired. I only got a few hours of sleep last night because I had to get up early to head off to work on some last minute Art House shoots. It was pretty relaxing, but still, didn't get much sleep and now I'm starting to doze off. Oops, probably should have taken a nap today, but, I'm not very logical sometimes.

Recaping this weekend so far:

-Movie Making

-Cedar Point Adventuring

-Driving...Lots of Driving

-Halloweening

-Surprising Friends

-More Movie Making

-Sleeping in Espresso Royale

AND the weekend's not even over yet. I'm back in town to go to another friend's birthday dinner, and then off to Wiard's Orchard to go to some haunted houses. I don't normally like haunted houses but I thought, hey why not?! Mmm, I'll probably pee my pants, but hey, that's why mother nature invented laundry detergent, am I right?

Sunny Fall Days

2008-10-14T15:35:00.001-04:00

I love love love the weather, and I love love love the colors. Suddenly when I woke up this morning a bunch of leaves were on the ground and it looked amazing. Amazing enough that I decided to take a walk with my camera. I ended up walking around for about and hour and a half.

Some shelf mushrooms on a dead log

Deer skulls galore

Trees

Swirly twig...or something like that

I randomly found a patch of the woods where all of the trees oddly bent into the ground. If anyone knows why that would happen, can you tell me?

I found a leaf stuck to the side of the tree

Then I started seeing faces in the trees

I call this one "Whistling Cyclops"...haha

You see the old man face?

I should take more walks like this. Maybe I'll find more old men in the trees.

We're family, of course we have that special connection...

2008-10-10T21:53:00.003-04:00

So in completely separate incidences, both me and my brother made posts on our blogs about voting. Hurrah, finally a confirmation that we're related...we have ESP. If that doesn't confirm it I don't know what does.

This is what Zac posted:

Get Out and Vote

2008-10-09T13:00:00.006-04:00

It frustrates me to hear people saying that they broke down and registered to vote, but they're still not going to vote. Why not? It takes little time, and your vote does matter no matter how much you think it doesn't. Think of it this way, if everyone who had this mentality (which is probably a good chunk of the population) didn't vote, their votes combined could sway the entire election. The way to make sure that doesn't happen is by getting everyone out of their houses/apartments/dorms on November 4th.

http://slackeruprising.com/

Slacker Uprising is Michael Moore's newest addition to a long line of politically charged films. However, it's not like his other movies. For one thing, he's released it free to the public as a downloadable film. Secondly, he's given away all of his rights to the film, which means anyone can show it, and anyone can make money off of it. Thirdly, this film is not like his other films. He doesn't constantly spew skewed facts, but shows the audience what his Slacker Uprising tour in 2004 (before the election) went through. All he wanted was to inspire people to vote, and promoted the not-so-radical idea that a single vote does matter.

Watch it if you love Michael Moore, watch it if you hate Michael Moore, watch it if you have doubts about whether your vote counts or not. Michigan has a record breaking 95% of it's potential voters registered this year. That's huge if you think about it, but only if all of them go out and vote on November 4th.

Happy Birthday Sputnik!

2008-10-04T12:10:00.006-04:00

51 years ago today the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit. As a result the space race began.

So I just would like to say Happy Birthday to Sputnik. I guess maybe I should say Happy Launchday, but whatever. Semantics.

Bruises

2008-09-25T23:32:00.001-04:00

Can't help it, I love this song.

Elephants and Cuddle Fish

2008-09-22T13:52:00.004-04:00

Over the past month(ish) I've been staring at the stars every time I come home. It's so dark out here that I can see more than I've been able to see for a long time now. This reminds me of all of the things that I wish I could be doing...like working as an astronomer. I can't figure out why I chose the path that I did. No matter what I do, I always wish I was doing something else. I don't feel like movies are for me, no matter how much I love working on them. I just feel like I'm not that good at it. The problem is that I don't feel like I am good at art either. I do, however, miss art, now more than ever. I miss making art, I miss talking about art, I miss going to shows, I miss going to museums, I miss so much about it. But I'm starting to question how I am going to live. Do I work on movies? Do I paint? Do I go to get a completely different degree? Well for now, I'm just lost.

The only good thing about this? It's finally fall. I love that I can wear a sweater and not sweat my a** off. It feels nice outside, it smells nice outside, and I can't wait for the colors to finally change. It's my favorite time of year.

I like orange, and I like berries, and I like fall.

Oh, and recently I've decided that Elephants are my favorite land animal. Cuddle Fish are my favorite water animal.

Arty Farty

2008-08-28T13:27:00.014-04:00

I have a proposal. Right now, all of my thesis paintings are just sitting on the floor at my parents' house, which is not at all where I want them to be. I would like to hang them up in the house, but our walls are old and falling apart already without a heavy painting on them...conundrum. So here's the plan, I am offering them up to friends and family to hang in their houses under one condition, that if ever I need the painting for a show (unlikely as that is) I will take it back for the duration of the show, then return it. I really just want them to find a good home, and not have to go to the happy farm (aka the barn). Let me know if you want in on it.

The Michigan Theater painting is already claimed, but I thought it would look odd without it.

First Day Off

2008-08-25T15:48:00.004-04:00

Today is the first day that I've had off in nearly two months, and I don't even really have it off. I have to go to work later, but I feel so bored. I haven't had time to just sit and watch a movie in so long that I forgot how boring that really is. I like being with people, and now that I'm not, it's starting to suck...a lot. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do now that everything is done. It's confusing to have something to do everyday and then just have it be over. Also, school's starting soon, but not for me, and today I just had this realization that the art school is going to continue on without me? Really? How? I don't get it. Not that I want to be back in school, it's just that I think I lost the one and only consistent element in my life. Every year, school has started in the fall, ended in the spring, and now what?

Ok just going over things and apparently I'm doing it online. I need to find something to keep me busy. Being bored is an unfortunate symptom of relaxation.

I think I may just miss my girls. Not only is it hard going from being busy to bored, it's hard not seeing the same people everyday, and may not see all together again...forever...sad.

NOWAY!

2008-08-10T03:31:00.003-04:00

Haha, I'm on IMDB now. Wooooooooo.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095163/

Also, here's a neato photo from the Olympics...

I wish I could get back into archery. Maybe that's something I can work on when I am at home by myself in the coming weeks. Just to keep myself busy. I'm too busy right now, and I know when that ends I'll go crazy. I'm going to have to get a few jobs or pick up a few extra hobbies. ARCHERY! Woot.

Movies

2008-08-03T16:37:00.002-04:00

I feel bad because I haven't been in contact with a lot of people recently, but that's because I'm working on Art House now. It's making me busy. Happy, but busy. I'll be much more free to do fun things once we're done.

Love you all!

Shut Up, It's Fun

2008-07-14T20:55:00.004-04:00

iTUNES! What?!

How many songs? - 2,671
Hours worth? - 6 days, 22 hours, 43 minutes, and 6 seconds

Sort by song title:
First song: A.M. World -Loudon Wainwright III
Last song: /=/=/ -Andrew Bird

Sort by time:
Shortest song: Muh Nuh, Muh Nuh -Space Ghost (0:17)
Longest song: Troubadours The Annoying Noise Of Death -Rilo Kiley (22:03)

Sort by album
First Song: 3 A.M. -Matchbox Twenty
Last song: C'mon N' Ride It (The Train) -Quad City DJ's

Sort by artist
First song: On The Table -A.C. Newman
Last song: Let Me Go -3 Doors Down

First five songs that come up on shuffle:
1) A Better Son-Daughter -Rilo Kiley
2) The Sound Of Silence -Simon & Garfunkel
3) I Want To Break Free -Queen
4) Hey You -Pink Floyd
5) Madonna -CocoRosie

Search the following and see how many songs come up: (and favorite song):

Sex: 8, I'm Too Sexy -Right Said Fred
Love: 132, One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead) -Stars
Hate: 3, Whatever Gets You Through The Night -John Lennon
Death: 60, I Will Follow You Into The Dark -Death Cab for Cutie
You: 327, You -Rogue Wave
Heart: 46, Kicking The Heart Out -Rogue Wave
Rain: 22, Red Rain -The White Stripes
Day: 96, Salesman at the Day of the Parade -Rogue Wave
Night: 30, The District Sleeps Alone Tonight -The Postal Service
God: 35, Motorcade -Beck

I don't know I have some of these songs, don't make fun of me because I have some crap music on my computer. (I don't know if you can tell from the last section, but I still love Rogue Wave the best.)

Mural

2008-07-08T23:04:00.002-04:00

So, I painted this mural for a friend's movie. The direction I was given was this; I need a guitar, minimal colors (no neon), needs to be big, and you know those abstract desktop designs that apple has as a default for macs? yeah that's your inspiration. This is what I came up with...

It was fun painting it though.

Out in San Francisco

2008-07-06T19:43:00.003-04:00

So here I am, reading my April 1932 edition of National Geographic, just like any other typical Sunday afternoon, when I come by this article. It's titled, 'Out in San Francisco: Fed on Gold Dust and Flattened by Sea Trade, a Pioneer Village Becomes a Busy World Port.' Naturally, this catches my eye. First of all, apparently grammar was different back then, 'today' was not one word yet, it was spelled 'to-day'. Little things like that make me happy, like I'm getting a backwards glance at our society. Anywho, this article goes on about San Francisco, of course, but I came across this section labeled 'Masterpieces of the Tattooman's Art.' It's slightly laughable:

To-day, new structures rise where old ramshackle frame hotels housed the visiting sailors. The tattoo artist still survives; for this is a seaport-and seamen like it. (what?!?!)

Odd are the tales the needlemen can tell-of women patrons asking to be decorated with patterns of scorpions, spiders, and other creepy things; of a wealthy woman who had her will tattooed on her back, and an English sailor with a portrait of King George on his bald head; a zealous missionary with a picture of the Last Supper on his chest, and another who was tattooed with the Ten Commandments.

"Dragons, lodge emblems, anchors, cupids, fat women in tights and out-all these are favorite designs," said the tattooman. "But the most interesting case I ever heard of was that of a sentimental sailor, whose favorite song was 'Where Is My Wandering Boy To-night?' He worried because so few people knew the words and music. Finally he had them tattooed on his chest; then, when he was lonely, in some far port like Capetown or Sydney, he could stand by a music-hall piano, take off his shirt, and have the 'Professor' play and sing to him."

The advertisements in the back are pretty amazing as well. Here's one:

DAME FASHION can't lead American men around by the nose!
'The Big Chain is Back'
Why are more and more of our best dressed men turning to substantial, man-size watch chains-the kind their dads and granddads wore when they were 'young men about town'? Why are the up-and-coming fellows who set the pace in social and business circles giving any chain that might be called 'dainty' or 'delicate' the go-by?
It's because 'the big chain' is smarter and more sensible. It looks as if it were made for MEN! It's strong, sturdy, masculine. It has character and bulk enough to 'set off' a man's clothes to better advantage.
The smart new designs in the 'big chain' are put out by Simmons. And, incidentally, this famous old house was making fine watch chains back in the days when the 'old timer' in the photograph above was shopping for his.
The better jewelers in all cities handle Simmons Chains. Why not have a look at these smart new, big calibre chains for yourself!

These people must have loved their watch chains...right, cause that's important. The bigger the watch chain, the bigger the...well you get it.

Nothing's changed really in the past 70 years...well, I guess I can't say nothing, we spell 'today' differently, but that's pretty much it...haha, yeah right.

Why Not?

2008-07-04T02:41:00.002-04:00

Why can't this happen to everyone?

Wow, just wow

2008-06-18T22:22:00.001-04:00

TURIN BRAKES - Dark on Fire
Uploaded by supershorts

I love this, I mean, I can't express how much I love this.

It makes me want to make some costumes out of some old clothes and go play cowboys and indians.

Hylophobia

2008-06-17T15:51:00.004-04:00

...is the fear of forests.

Glad I don't have that. Or these:

Ideophobia- Fear of ideas
Geniophobia- Fear of chins
Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news
Cholerophobia- Fear of anger OR the fear of cholera (that's an odd combination)
Aulophobia- Fear of flutes

AND, the best for last...

Numerophobia- Fear of numbers (REALLY glad I don't have that one, my IP would have gone so much differently...haha)

I swear I didn't make these up.

http://phobialist.com/

There's some pretty awesome ones in there, and obviously there are those out there that have these fears, otherwise who would have gone to all that trouble to research latin AND then name a phobia without there being a large portion of the population which it affects. That was a long sentence, but if you have Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia don't read this next word:

Antidisestablishmentarianism.

There, I just had to get that off my chest. (By the way, Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words. Do you think the person that created that phobia name just did it for shits and giggles? I think that may be true irony...am I right?)

Tell the World

2008-06-09T15:19:00.006-04:00

Let everyone and anyone know about this. We are looking for all kinds of art, everything from the smallest of small, to the biggest of big. We need to fill a house with art. Email me if you would like to submit, or if you know someone who wants to, forward them my address.

emilyemilton@gmail.com

The best part is that those chosen to show on screen will get film credit, and free publicity.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

Dream Big

2008-06-05T16:02:00.002-04:00

I think this is one of the coolest drawings I've ever seen. And it's just a self portrait. Creativity meets the new world, where anything is possible.

Too Much

2008-06-04T17:40:00.003-04:00

There's just too much hustle and bustle in town. I like being out in the country where it's slower and quieter. I was taking care of my parents house for a couple of days and now I miss it. I haven't really stayed there for that long over the past couple of years, especially in the early summer. It smells different. Yes sometimes it smells like manure, but hey, I grew up with that, it's just 'fresh country air' as my dad used to call it.

Right now all I hear outside my window is people speeding around in their noisy cars and the occasional scream and/or yell from someone walking on the sidewalk. Every once in a while there will be an accident, or someone with road rage, or some drunkies coming back from the bar. It's just not a peaceful environment.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ann Arbor, but I think I love nature more. I wish more people were ok with just going to hang out at some random park, but alas, most people want to be inside when it's time to decide what to do with the day. I guess I don't get it. Summers were always filled with slow days for me when I was little, just hanging out, doing whatever you felt like doing. When I'm in town, I feel like unless I'm alone, I'm supposed to do my hanging out inside.

I want to go on picnics. I want to go to the park, just to take a walk. I want to go swimming. I want to go canoeing. I want to go biking. I want my life to slow down.

Everyone is telling me to speed up, go faster, there's more out there to do, but what if all I want in life is to slow down? Take my time, spend it doing the things I love, and with people I care about. I like being myself, letting my mind wander when I feel like it, and taking my time figuring out how I want to live my life. I don't want to make a wrong choice, so just let me figure it out slowly. Just because I'm graduated from college does not mean I have to have a job, or even have a job in mind. As long as I can pay the bills and keep food on the table, that's all that matters to me right now. Heck, that may be the only thing that ever matters to me.

Just let me be myself right now. That's what will make me happy in the long run.

I want to be like Josie. Carefree and loving every minute of it. Just let me be the 5 year old at heart. It was good times.

Just(ice) Dance

2008-05-26T13:14:00.002-04:00

Probably one of the greatest music videos out there. At least I think so.

I Got One

2008-05-22T13:02:00.001-04:00

Just thought you might wanna know.

Meet the Eames'

2008-05-20T22:25:00.004-04:00

Blows my mind.

I love Charles and Ray Eames. They have so many amazing videos. It makes me want to be a better person, and artist. Makes me want to be lots of things. Mostly, makes me want to explore every aspect of this world. I hope I can live up to that.

BEST MOVIE EVER

2008-05-17T02:21:00.004-04:00

I think if you listen real hard you can here a 'derp' in there.

I wish I could do this. (There might be a derp in there too)

Craziest part.

I think these two movies were the best part of my childhood. Both GREAT.

I miss being a kid. Can I go back? Please?

Dreams and Screams

2008-05-15T15:49:00.005-04:00

I have been having a lot of weird dreams lately. I don't know if it's because I'm actually getting real sleep every night, or because something weird is happening. The other night I had two separate dreams (separated by awakeness) that we had to move to Seattle. The only good thing about the move was I got to see Michael. In my dream though I never actually got to see him, only had the intention of calling him. When I woke up from the second one of these dreams, I almost picked up my phone to call him, to say that I was in Seattle. Then I remembered that I was still in Ann Arbor. Oh god that was confusing. Severely. Then I actually did call my mom to ask if anyone was moving in the family. She said not to her knowledge. I don't know if this dream means that I'm going to be moving soon or not. I'm confused. And slightly concerned.

Last night I had a really weird dream including sparkly costumes, Terri Sarris with pink streaks in her hair, art students, film students, my high school auditorium, children and a white yak that I brought back from the bathroom. I don't get it. It's just plain weird. Oh yeah, and Shoshana made cookies. WHAT is going on in my head?

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, maybe that has something to do with it? Unsure. I just hope I don't have anymore stressful dreams. It puts me in a mood all day if I have weird dreams. A weird mood.

I Like Dogs

2008-05-12T12:47:00.002-04:00

I also like the Brits.

Couldn't believe this one until I saw it. And then I cried. Shut up I'm emotional. Ha.

I Like the Randoms

2008-05-07T22:16:00.003-04:00

So, I'm officially bored. Out of my mind. Doing a bit of sewing to keep my mind off the fact that I have nothing to do anymore, but obviously that's not working. It's been weird since school ended. I mean, it ended so abruptly. All of a sudden, everything in my life changed. And all the people in it. Friends are leaving, but I'm staying here. It's odd. Whatever, because of this boredom I've been finding random things on the interweb. Here are some of my discoveries.

Apparently, according to Urban Dictionary, a 'pfeiff' is a 'girl who is similar to a hermit crab'. Ok, what does that mean? I don't get it.

I do like this one though.

'pewpew'
-a noise that laser beams makes
(notice the grammatical error. Even with the error though it's still funny)

This is intense, how do people think up stuff to do like this?!

You have to admit though, this is kind of awesome.

Now I know this one's kind of a throw back but I still love it. And boy am I not coordinated enough to even try a stunt like this.

Ok yet another thing that I am just not coordinated enough to do.

This one's pretty amazing. And creative.

This movie looks beautiful, anyone want to go see it with me?

It looks like how my dreams are. Finally, someone who sees into my head.

On Saturday Meg and I are going to see these guys play. I'm really excited. If you haven't seen 'Once', it's definitely one of my recommendations. And not just because I love the land of Ire, which is where the movie is set, but because it's an amazingly inspirational story. Just go see it.

I think I may have over done this one a bit, but like I said, I'm bored. Give me something to do, please.

PUHLEASE!

It's Just Not Going to Happen Anytime Soon

2008-05-05T19:52:00.001-04:00

And I guess I have to be ok with that.

Spontaneous Generation

2008-05-03T13:06:00.002-04:00

I never really just play around on youtube, but apparently I should. There's some great stuff out there.

Yumm

2008-05-02T12:41:00.003-04:00

It smells like rain, summer and flowers outside my window right now. Today is such a good day. I hope all my days are like today.

But I already miss Michael. Tears and sadface. Come back to me! Or maybe I'll just drive out west to visit you. Ok that's the plan.

Keep an Eye Out for This One

2008-04-24T12:06:00.001-04:00

Music Video by Marty Stano

Keep an eye on this one, he's going to go far.

I also really like the song.

Yet again...

2008-04-23T21:25:00.001-04:00

Yup, got another sunburn today. This is a good start isn't it? I need to invest in some good...no great sun screen.

I don't want to be tan. I want to not get skin cancer thank you very much.

Ok that's all.

Really? Already?

2008-04-18T16:13:00.001-04:00

I got sunburned already. Geebus. My skin is too fair, and my brain to small to think to put on sunscreen.

I'm so smrt.

We're famous!

2008-04-14T04:09:00.001-04:00

Ann Arbor News Weekend Webcast | April 13-19

The Warehaüs is still going to be open all week until this Friday. Each day from 1-7 if you missed it.

It's not just that I want them, I think I need them

2008-04-09T02:56:00.004-04:00

I've been thinking lately, and there's some things that I really do want.

I want to go back to Europe.
I want someone to love me unconditionally.
I want to love someone unconditionally.
I want to be a great artist.
I want to be recognized for who I am and what I've done.
I want my friends to stay my friends.
I want to stay ok.
I want to live.
I want to be.
I want to go out and have fun.
I want to sleep in.
I want to sleep.
I want to like who I am and who I've become.

Can anyone help with this?

MALL WALKERS

2008-04-07T12:52:00.002-04:00

Everyone should get excited! Now.

Other people use the term derp?

2008-04-04T01:28:00.002-04:00

So, there seems to be a lot out there of people using 'derp' in different ways. This is one such way, it made me laugh.

I Met the Walrus

2008-03-27T02:58:00.002-04:00

I went to the AA Film Festival last night and this was by far one of the best films there. It's John Lennon in an interview from the 60s where this kid randomly jumped into his room with a voice recorder. The animation makes me...well, it makes me happy. It's great and whomever gets to see this film is lucky as shit.

Go to the film fest.

WEBSITE!

2008-03-26T03:03:00.003-04:00

Soooo, I know I announced it before when I got my website, but now I've uploaded much more than just the basic layout. All should come and have a visit. It's still not done obviously, but it's getting there!

http://www.emilyemilton.com/

Woop!

I'll Put You on the Streets!

2008-03-25T01:51:00.000-04:00

I might be going crazy...

2008-03-20T03:15:00.002-04:00

Had another crazy weird dream last night. I can't really explain the whole thing for many reasons, mostly because words can't describe it. However, I can tell you that Shia LeBeouf was there. We were in the mall hiding in the bushes (you know, the fake ones) because a monster was coming, we saw a bit of it, and in its wake there was a cliff type thing, another object it left in its wake was strawberries. Shia decided that it would be a good idea to figure out how to get a strawberry, and when he did, he sprouted wings. This is only like a two second part of the dream which was good and long, all like this too. CRAZY! Lots and lots of colors, which I hear only certain people dream in color. I should really get my dreams analyzed.

Yael Naim

2008-03-17T16:31:00.002-04:00

This is my new favorite video. It reminds me of summer, and all of the fun random things that happen in the summer.

She kind of reminds me of Feist, especially with the freeness of her video.

A few things...

2008-03-13T22:18:00.003-04:00

So, comforters, you know the things you sleep with at night? Yeah, try comfortNOT! No matter what, the tag always ends up at my face. Tickling, scratching, doing everything annoying, and it can't be stopped. I turn the comforter around, tag at the end of my bed, and it ends up back in my face. Some might say, well you probably just twist and turn enough in your sleep that it would go back the other way too. WRONG! Once the tag is at my face, the comforter doesn't shift, even if I sleep with it like that for a few days. Come on now universe, give me a break.

Another thing. Today, my alarm did not go off again, luckily I set 3. Two on my phone and one on my clock. The two on my phone, kind of woke me up, but obviously not well enough. I woke up at 10 am, guess when I have class. Yup, that's right, 10 am. I quickly threw a bunch of clothes on and shot out the door. I saw one of my friends from art school as I was walking down the stairs to the sidewalk, he was crossing the street, I turn out onto the side walk rather quickly only to find a patch of well hidden black ice. Now, I've gotten away with this whole year without a fall yet, but of course, on what ended up being one of the warmest days in recent months, I slip and fall. Right on my side, giant bruise awaiting reply. Luckily I took my computer out of my bag before I left the house, otherwise I would be in a much worse situation right now.

I've got a lot to do before tomorrow, I should probably get going. Kthnxbye.

Thesis Paintings

2008-03-11T03:59:00.000-04:00

These are the paintings I've been working on all year. Soon to be all done and showing on April 12th. There is where you can see them in real life, but for now, here's some pictures.

Farmer's Market One

Farmer's Market Two

Famer's Market Three

Wave Field One

Wave Field Two

Wave Field Three

There we have it. There are three more for that I'm currently working on which I will put up later, if at all possible, before the show goes up. YAY!

Couldn't Help Myself

2008-03-10T16:00:00.002-04:00

I love Elijah Wood, even when he's doing this.

Mall Walkers

2008-03-10T15:37:00.003-04:00

So there's this movie called Mall Walkers that I'm workin' on for a film class this semester. We started film in the Summit Place Mall up in Waterford this weekend. We have to shoot during off hours so our schedule involves many all nighters locked in the mall. It's fun but extremely tiring. I'm acting as the production designer so I'm in charge of hair, make-up, costumes, and sets. It's a lot of work, but fun at the same time, especially once we hit and pass that point of insanity in the night. This weekend we shot the coffee shop scenes in the mall, here's some pictures I took during my down time, which is plenty, but only once we start filming.
The Coffee Shop

Rehearsing for the shot.

This is crossing the point of insanity.

We're kind of a big deal.

The actors, they get antsy too.

Sometimes you have to get on the floor for the betterment of your art.

We have fun with the simple things (read the sign)

This is our director...being a banana phone?

She could be a JC Penny ad.

Director + Dolly = Amazing

Eeeep!

2008-03-02T21:34:00.003-05:00

I've got a website. Of course it's not done like everything else in my life right now, but I'm working on it, I swear!

http://www.emilyemilton.com

I feel so professional and stuff. PROFESSIONAL!

I'm heading into the home stretch for school this year (or maybe for the rest of my life) and I couldn't be busier. I hope to be able to keep in touch with everyone, but I can't promise that I won't become a hermit. See you all in a month or two! Ha.

They Learn Early

2008-02-27T13:42:00.000-05:00

Oh kids.

Bilal's Stand

2008-02-21T00:47:00.001-05:00

This is the film that I helped out on with the re-shoots this past summer and fall. The premier of it is at the Michigan theater on April 3rd. All should come to support Sultan (the director).

WOO HOOOO!

Crayons

2008-02-18T01:10:00.003-05:00

This is by far my most favorite Sesame Street tangent ever. I remember as a kid waiting in each episode to see if they were going to play the crayon factory clip. Apparently I still love it. The music is sweet. All of the old workers in the factory, smiling huge because they love making crayons. And then all of the colors! Man, so much about my life makes sense now. I really think this must have had a big impact on me, and that's why I'm so crazy nowadays.

I also loved all the freaking wonderful guests they had on Sesame Street. I wonder if they're still doing that.

The animations were key too.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T02:24:00.003-05:00

I still don't understand why people make such a big deal about Valentine's Day. Don't cry if you don't have a date. Hang out, relax, have fun. Watch a movie with a friend, go out to get some coffee and just chit chat. Eat a heart shaped cookie. I repeat, HAVE FUN! Don't you remember when you were little and V-Day was all about getting silly little cards in your heart shaped bag taped to the edge of your desk. And the best ones were the ones with candy? Don't you remember that? That's how Valentine's Day should always be. Just because you don't have a date does not mean you need to mope around.

Everyone, life will go on. The world did not end. I spent the day with friends and doing things I enjoy. I had a good Valentine's Day, WITHOUT A DATE!

Maybe that's just me.

Whatever.

(St. Patrick's Day is the same way, just replace dates with alcohol, and replace the red with green)

The Universe Revisited

2008-02-13T22:50:00.000-05:00

I just bought this book called 'Universe: The Cosmos Explained' which basically gives a simple explanation to most of the aspects of astronomy. I love it. All I'm doing right now is reading the glossary and I find it completely fascinating. Wonderous.

I also just bought the new Jack Johnson album, it's pretty much amazing. There's something about it that just gets me in a way that his other albums don't.

Now I'm reading about the Superstring Theory. Geebus this is interesting.

But I'm supposed to be painting. Woops.

The Universe

2008-02-13T02:28:00.003-05:00

Apparently somewhere in the universe every second there is a supernova. That's roughly 30 million supernovas per year. This has been happening for the past 10 billion years. To put it in perspective to something closer to home, there are about 2 supernovas in the Milky Way Galaxy every century.

Holy effing shit. The universe is huge. I can't even think about it. There has to be life somewhere other than just here. We can't be the only ones. There's no way. I don't believe it for one minute. They're probably thinking the same thing, wondering if we exist. Do we exist if there's no one else out there to wonder if we exist? And if we stop wondering if there are others out there, do they, in turn, stop existing? Existence is like that tree falling in a forest not making a sound puzzler.

I know I exist, but I don't know if you exist.