Snapshots From An Unmade Bed

Random Cool

I wanted to mention a wonderful gift that I received for my birthday from Iliana - an old book that was given a new life as a journal. It is such a treasure. (I also love the polk-a-dot pen she included!)

I was catching up on a friend's blog and her most recent post is about the shop Neighborhoodies - specifically their shop in Brooklyn, NY. They will personalize a hoodie, t-shirt or bag however you would like. I think this is a great place to check out for holiday shopping!

With the holidays just around the corner I have been searching one of my favorite online places to shop - Etsy!

I decided to list some of my favorite shops:

Photo Glass Works
Annejulie's Garden
That Jewelry Girl
moontree letterpress
Realisation Creations
Deciduous Soul
Loobylou Crafts
Rachel Sudlow Jewelry
June Designs
Simone Walsh Jewelry
Photo Glass Works
Boring Sydney
Krista Faye Knows Love
Caught Red Handed
Arete Designs
Nea
Little Llama
Timothy Adams Designs
The Glass Chef
Jane Cathryn
Nicholas and Felice
Joieux
Fringe
Sushipot Art Object
Modern Art Everyday
CleverGirl
Shop Announcement
garnish(home)

I think I could spend a year on that site and still not discover all the talent. Really, you should go visit some of the shops I mentioned but be warned, the place is addictive!

Film

I am sad to say that I have not seen any movies recently! I really must remedy that soon (like watching Elizabeth that is collecting dust at the moment)!  I did come up with movie news...

They just announced the winners of the British Independent Film Awards.  Here are some of the winners and you can read more here:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
And When Did You Last See Your Father?
* Control
Eastern Promises
Hallam Foe
Notes on a Scandal

BEST ACTRESS
Sponsored by Mac
Anne Hathaway - Becoming Jane
Tannishtha Chatterjee - Brick Lane
Sophia Myles - Hallam Foe
Kierston Wareing - It's A Free World...
*Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal

BEST ACTOR
Jim Broadbent - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Sam Riley - Control
* Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
Jamie Bell - Hallam Foe
Cilian Murphy - Sunshine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR/ACTRESS
Colin Firth - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Samantha Morton - Control
* Toby Kebbell - Control
Armin Muehler Stahl - Eastern Promises
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Imogen Poots - 28 Weeks Later
Matthew Beard - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
* Sam Riley - Control
Bradley Cole - Exhibit A
Kierston Wareing - It's A Free World...

BEST SCREENPLAY
David Nicholls - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Matt Greenhalgh - Control
Steven Knight - Eastern Promises
David Mackenzie & Ed Whitmore - Hallam Foe
* Patrick Marber - Notes on a Scandal

BEST DIRECTOR
Anand Tucker - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Sarah Gavron - Brick Lane
* Anton Corbijn - Control
David Cronenberg - Eastern Promises
David Mackenzie - Hallam Foe

inside SPIN

I was recently searching online for some new music to listen to and came across SomaFM. According their website, they are an independent, commercial-free internet radio, with 11 unique channels.  The channels feature underground electronica, chillout, ambient groove, downtempo, lounge, space music, indie rock and alt country/americana.

I spent quite a bit of time listening to their indie rock channel and here is just a tast of some of the bands/songs they played:

Victory At Sea - Undesirable
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Loop Duplicate My Heart
The Reciever - Afternoon
Amateurs - Spectacular Fall
Blonde Redhead - In Particular
Boat - Elephant Ears
Man Man - Engwish Bwudd
Walkmen - Louisiana
Private Eleanor - Down Waterview
Parker Longbough - Swimming In My Mind
Imogen Heap - Headlock
The Cheap Seats - Service And Parts
Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down
Juliana Hatfield - Some Rainy Sunday
Delgados - Witness
Azult Siete - The Sky
Unicorns - Tuff Luff
Album Leaf - The Light
Aqualung - Pressure Suit
Teenage Symphony - The Best Days Are Behind Us
The Ponys - Harakiri
The Standard - A Curtain Drawn
Kingsbury Manx - Piss Diary
Midnight Movies - Oh Twilight

This radio station started broadcasting from a basement in San Francisco. They fund the station on donations from listeners, the support of small labels, and from a few companies that provide them with bandwidth to broadcast around the world. It really is amazing. You should go have a listen to some of the channels and you might wish to give your support to keep this commercial-free radio going.

Books + Literature

"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become."
~C. S. Lewis

Of course we couldn't go to Austin without making a trip to Book People. What a great bookstore that is! I love wandering around because it is not only filled with books but also handmade crafts, stationery and a little cafe. In between the shelves you will find old comfortable chairs to lounge in while browsing your latest finds.

One of the things we went in seach of were Holiday cards and we found some very cool ones. (These will add on to the cute handmade ones I ordered from Etsy). I picked up a few magazines. I found an interesting book of photographs titled (and on sale): Readymades: American Roadside Artifacts by Jeff Brouws. I know that Michael found a few things to take away and I know we left before we were tempted to buy a few more!

The Arts

It was such a nice holiday weekend spent with friends so it has been a little hard getting back into the swing of things. (That may be partly due to waking up to a flooded closet. The plumber is coming tonight to fix the problem that has been going on for over a week now).   I hope everyone had a good weekend!

I think mostly it was because we enjoyed our time in Austin.

We took a different route to Austin to avoid I-35 traffic and it really made the 4-hour trip more enjoyable. It was also a much more picturesque, no traffic and much more relaxing drive time.

We stayed with friends that live really close to South Congress (close to a lot of cool places) and they have the most comfortable home and always make you feel right at home. We also had one of M's friends visiting with her mother from New York and I tell you, we hit it off.

One of the things we did do (along with plenty of shopping!) was visit the Blanton Museum located at the University of Texas at Austin. It was rainy and cold outside so the perfect day for admiring Art! The museum has a permanent collection comprised of works of art from Europe, the United States, and Latin America. The museum also features a changing exhibition.  One of the things I really liked about the museum was the Atrium - wonderful natural light. 

I was very tempted to buy this pinhole camera kit at the museum shop but instead I will add it to my Christmas wish list!

I have also added two new museums to visit when I take my next trip to New York:

Dia:Beacon - A collection of major works of art from the 1960s to the present. Located on the Hudson River in Beacon, New York. (about an hour train ride)

The Cloisters - the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe and located in Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River.

I will be back with news on books tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing each of you celebrating a wonderful holiday!  Those of you not -- have a great weekend!

We are off to Austin to celebrate with friends....see you soon!

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Celebrating another year on this planet...

Barcelona (taken in 2003).  I thought a photo with that old film style fits perfectly and who doesn't love balloons?! 

I started a little bit of an early celebration with Iliana last night at Tempest Tea. It was really nice (we had Rooibos Vanilla) and she gave me a lovely handmade journal and cool funky pen to start adorning the pages with script.  Thanks girl, it was the perfect start to a birthday celebration!  Tonight my husband is taking me out to my favorite Thai restaurant - I am really looking forward to a really nice evening together.

Birthdays for me are always a time of reflection. I am not feeling at all poetic today so I will look to the words of Jann Arden:

Do not strive for greatness, but for goodness - greatness lies in all things good.
If you can be fair, then choose fairness.
If you can be calm, choose calmness.
Sadness will bring you closer to God. Happiness can be trivial and frivolous if only sought for one's self.
See the world and never stop trying to understand other cultures.
If you are afraid of dying, you will not live a true life.
Time will heal all things. Being idle solves nothing.
The only thing that eases grief is grieving; let it take you over if you want to survive it. Keeping it at bay will cause internal unrest.
Never judge others for you will only be judging yourself.
Be outside as much as possible. Walk whenever you can.
Be responsible for your thoughts; they are powerful entities that will design your future.
Help others whenever possible.
Giving your time will always be bigger than giving from your wallet.
Depression is an underestimated tool. It can be Nature’s way of turning you around to face the light.
Companionship is the greatest of all things, without it we are inhuman.
To want to know others will bring you life's greatest joy. Friendships are golden.
Laugh at yourself.
Stand up in the face of disaster.
Walk towards the sunrise rather than the sunset; you'll enjoy fuller days.
Never abandon your own heart.
Be easy with yourself; be kind with your soul.
Change everything on a whim, if you want to.
Cause no pain to others. Be tolerant, always.

Pursue happiness.
Seek it. Find it.
Live a good life.

I hope peace follows you and finds your heart, all the days of your life.

The Arts

Last week was a bit of a blur so I am trying to get back on track with updates! The weekend was nice. My husband and I celebrated our 1st year anniversary on Sunday - although we celebrated all weekend. We opened gifts Saturday morning and I received a new Wacom Tablet to help with some of my digital creativity! I was very excited and have been learning how to use it. We went out to dinner at Shinsei Saturday night for a nice meal and had lunch with my mother on Sunday and relaxed the rest of the day. It was a really nice weekend.

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On the Arts, about a week ago I went with a friend to the Pocket Sandwich Theater to see Jack the Ripper and it was a lot of fun. It reminded me that I have not been the theater is a while. I am going to check out what is going on at the local venues and report back next week.

Random Cool

Here are some random cool things to check out over the weekend.  Have a great one!

ArtKrush - check out this online magazine that magazine covers the key figures, exhibitions, and trends in international art and design.

Pink Ink Studios - a design resource for photographers by photographers. There are wonderful things to be found at Pink Ink Studios. I think it is a great resource for photographers but I think it will also appeal to scrapbookers and digital artists!

BlueEyes Magazine - I forgot to mention that issue 16 is now online. They always have such amazing documentary photographic work.

Film

For Halloween we rented the movie 1408 with John Cusack.

I don't want to give any spoilers but the movie was different than I expected. The movie has been adapted from a Stephen King short story. The plot: Mike Enslin (Cusack), is a writer who travels the country visiting haunted places. He is certainly a sceptic since he has never experienced a paranormal event.  He receives an anonymous post card warning him not to stay in Room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Of course that is exactly what he does.

Samuel Jackson plays Gerald Olin - the manager of the Dophin Hotel who doesn’t want Enslin staying in the room. According to the manager, over 56 guests have met their death in Room 1408 and it seems that anyone who chooses to stay in the room doesn't last more than an hour.

I will say that it wasn't as scary as I expected but there are defintely some spooky moments and I am a fan of Cusack. If you are looking for something to get your thoughts racing - this movie will appeal.

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Dan in Real Life - there has been a lot of hype about this movie. We went to see this at the Angelika last weekend. For me, the movie started off a little slow but definitely picked up some momentum and turned out to be an entertaining, feel good movie. Probably a good one for a Sunday matinee.

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I currently have Elizabeth waiting at home to watch. I thought I should watch the first before seeing the current release - Elizabeth: The Golden Age.