Hitting the Road

I’m taking a half-day today and then driving out to Upstate New York for a family reunion. I plan to take my camera so be prepared to be inundated with boring pictures when I come back

In the meantime, here are some photos that I did some post-processing to in Picnik. What do you think, too much?

My sad attempts at style

Wardrobe Remix is yet another reason to be addicted to Flickr. For those of you that don’t know, it’s a street fashion group/photo pool and it provides me with endless wardrobe envy/fashion inspiration.

Every once in awhile, if I’m feeling frisky or have an outfit that I particularly like for some reason, I make my husband take a picture of me to add to Wardrobe Remix. I should probably start doing it more often, if for no other reason than to document my “style,” or lack thereof. It could be interesting to see how my style changes over the course of a year.

Anyway, here’s a few of my Wardrobe Remixes from this year. Kind of boring… I know. Maybe by this time next year I’ll be putting together some more fashionable looks.

Who needs fashion mags when you have blogs?

For whatever reason, I’ve been thinking a lot more about fashion lately. Maybe it’s because I’m bored? Or maybe because I’m starting to worry that I look old/lame. Or maybe it’s because I’m vain and superficial?

Either way, thanks to the wonders of the Web, I have found a ton of awesome fashion blogs to keep me updated on what’s hot. They provide some magnificent wardrobe-eye-candy and they are so much cooler than magazines, in my opinion. The bloggers are real people, not models, and most of the stuff they wear is totally affordable.

At the moment my favorite blog is Only Shallow, the fashion chronicles of Ranna, an adorable girl from Finland. She has an impeccable sense of style and her ability to accessorize leaves me in awe. She is also really good at mixing vintage pieces with modern. Here are some of my favorite looks from her.

I love the pairing of the soft, feminine lace top with the edgy boots.

I love this dress, and the red accessories really put the icing on the cake. Unfortunately, my bad knee will never let me wear shoes like that. ::sniff, sniff::

Bokeh Madness

Thanks to my Flickr addiction, I recently learned about the photographic technique called bokeh. I’m totally obsessed with it now. I had been taking shots with bokeh before I actually knew what it was, but now I guess I’m more conscious of it.

The term comes from the Japanese word for bokeaji, which means “blurry.” It’s the out-of-focus area of a photograph produced by a camera lens (not through post-processing). Usually, there will still be a large part of the picture in focus, and the bokeh will help reduce background distractions and give the picture a more artistic feel.

Here are some of my bokeh shots:

I’m a sporadic blogger, it’s true

I have been way too lazy and unmotivated to blog over here lately, which I’m sure absolutely NO ONE has missed since I’m fairly certain that nobody actually reads this blog.

I don’t feel like writing much today so I’m going to take the path of least resistance and post a bunch of pictures. I got a Nikon D40x for my birthday in February and I’ve been experimenting with it and trying to figure out how to use the darn thing.

Here’s a few random shots taken along the Lake Michigan waterfront in Chicago. I work in the South Loop so I go over there a lot after work or during lunch. I like to take pictures when I’m bored or feeling anti-social… which is most of the time.

DISCLAIMER: I realize that these are kind of boring and not really that good. Bear with me. I’m just an amateur.

Why, Elliot — WHY???

As a native Upstate New Yorker I was really excited when Elliot Spitzer was elected as governor. My family still lives in Syracuse and they also had high hopes for Spitzer. He was going to be the one that could help turn things around Upstate and finally start sticking up for the little guy.

After about 10 years of George Pataki, working class New Yorkers certainly needed a change… especially those of us living north of the Hudson Valley. I won’t even begin to discuss all of the reasons I disliked Pataki because it could seriously take all day…. but if you are not rich and you live in New York State, you probably know what I’m talking about.

Terence in the News

My friend, and bandmate, Terence had a nice profile piece written about him in the Dallas Morning News yesterday (see below). He’s and artists and had a solo exhibition at a gallery out there that opened last week. Yay for him

———————————————————————————————————————-
———————————————————————————————————————-

Artist Terence Hannum melds music and art
Twin endeavors keep artist in balance
Monday, March 3, 2008
By Michael Granberry / The Dallas Morning News

Courtesy

Terence Hannum’s Conquest for Death (Necro), acrylic and ink on canvas

When Terence Hannum was just a kid, 11 or so, he spent his summers in Washington, D.C., where his father lived. His parents were divorced. Dad worked as a private detective, which left his enterprising son, now 29, with plenty of time to play.

“Play” for Terence meant cruising the Metro to as many museums as possible. At 11, he wasn’t exactly Mr. Moneybags. Museums let him in for free, so while Dad was off investigating whatever it is private detectives investigate, an art career was being born.

“I would go to the Hirshhorn or the National Gallery,” says Mr. Hannum, whose cutting-edge exhibition “Don’t Give Up the Ghost” is on view through April 5 at Light & Sie Gallery in the Design District. He performed there Thursday night. That’s right – performed. He’s an artist who plays loud, experimental music, on which much of his art is based.

“During one of those visits to Washington, I remember going to an exhibition by Félix González-Torres,” a Cuban artist known for his quiet, minimalist paintings and sculptures. Mr. González-Torres uses objects – light bulbs, clocks, hard candies – to amplify his work, much of which reflects his experience with AIDS.

Young people don’t buy health insurance because they think they are “immortal,” says Sen. Clinton

On Tuesday night, I watched the Democratic debate between Clinton and Obama at Cleveland State University. Let me say, right of the bat, that I fall pretty far to the left on the political spectrum… so be warned. I won’t lie about that. Liberal isn’t a dirty word to me

During the first part of the debate Clinton and Obama got into lengthy discussion about health care, which is always a hot topic for me. I’m a working class girl through and through and I can just go OFF on this subject. During several periods of my life, both as an adult and a child, I’ve gone without adequate health care. I’ve paid dearly for this at times as has my family.

Among many things that were said during this argument that annoyed me, Sen. Clinton said this at one point:

About 20 percent of — about 20 percent of the people who are uninsured have the means to buy insurance. They’re often young people — who think they’re immortal. - source: the New York Times debate transcript.

Is it just me, or does that make her sound incredibly out of touch?

What do I have in common with Abe Lincoln and Darwin?

Answer: February 12th. We were all born on that day. That’s pretty much where the similarities end. They are both important historical figures, viewed by many as heroes and visionaries, who made lasting contributions to society. Me, on the other hand, I’m a glorified secretary with a bad attitude who is still trying to finish a bachelor’s degree. I guess not everyone born today was destined for greatness.

Oh Darwin, if only your precious evolution could do away with party hats and birthdays.

To be honest, I really didn’ t feel like turning 28 today. I was quite fine with being 27… really, I was. But NO. The tyrannical concept of time had to show up and plop another birthday on me. Pffttt. Thanks buddy. Could I get 5 more pounds to go with that, too?

The Road

Every once in awhile you read a book that stays with you long after you read it. I think The Road by Cormac McCarthy is one of those books for me.

 

I hadn’t actually heard anything about this book before I decided to read it, and I didn’t even realize that Cormac McCarthy is the author of No Country for Old Men, which (from what I hear… I haven’t seen it yet) has been made into a fantastic movie by the Coen brothers. I picked this one up simply because it was on the “buy 2 get 1 free” table at Borders and it sounded good from the description. Plus it had a sticker on it that said it won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction, so I figured it was worth a read.