Do you see what I see?

Spring flowers

A bouquet of these flowers has been sitting on my bedside table for the last week. Every morning I smell them and they remind me that it is finally spring. I have fallen in love with these flowers as they start to wither away I thought I would preserve them in this picture and this text. After a little research I found the Greek mythology that the name Narcissus was derived from.

"It all flows from the famous Greek myth about Narcissus, the handsome youth who was granted his great good looks by the Gods. But as in most myths, there was a catch. His beauty was permanent and he was immortal, as long as he never viewed his own reflection. Once, while Narcissus was hunting in the woods, a nubile wood nymph named Echo saw him from her hiding place behind a tree. He was so handsome, she fell desperately in love, but Narcissus spurned her. She was so devastated by his rejection that she wept and wailed, and was ultimately consumed by her love. She pined so that soon all that was left of her was her voice. The prophecy of her name had come true. But the Gods were not pleased. The goddess, Nemesis, heard about poor Echo, and lured Narcissus to a shimmering lake. There in his vain state, he was unable to resist gazing at his own reflection, and fell in love with himself! As he gazed, the divine penalty took effect, and he simply faded away. In his place sprang up the golden flower that bears his name today. Now you know how Daffodils came to be, and also why psychologists warn vain patients about the 'Narcissus complex.' "


ALSO, the first few pages of the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho has a nice little twist to this story and it is on my post-final exam reading list.

\m/


Source

Bring on the sun

It is incredibly inconvenient that the sun comes out here in Michigan at this time of the year. Just when school picks up again for a final surge the flowers start blooming and the roads clear of the white fluffy. I start biking the longer routes and more people start smiling as we cross paths. So I apologize for not updating lately. Talking about bikes, my friend Kevin recently bought a beautiful Bianchi Pista of ebay. I was on the phone with him for most of the last hour of bidding. I have never bought anything from ebay but I had no idea it could be so exciting. There seems to be a lot of technique behind bidding. Some people don't visit the site of the listed item, so that the site meter doesn't run up and draw attention. While others pay for online services that bid for you in the last moments of the alloted bidding time. How ever you go about buying something that site, that moment of surprise and sense of accomplishment is worth the wait.

peace and love

mini canvas

Detroit, MI

Parking structure East Lansing, MI

Graffiti New York

Morill Hall East Lansing, MI


I was at an art gallery this past summer and I was listening to an artist talk about how she looks at paintings on a wall. She usually rushes up to the painting / drawing as close as possible and takes a very macroscopic view on what one part of the art piece looks like. After that she would step back slowly to see how it comes together as a whole.
There are a list of photoblogs that I visit pretty frequently to look for inspiration and also to have goals to work towards. It seems people enjoy macro photography because it is so oten that we just walk by things with out walking up to them. Especially, here at Michigan State Univ. we are surrounded by red brick buildings. It seemed appropriate to examine these mini canvases

Heidleberg

The Heidelber Project

"Graffiti is not vandalism but a beautiful crime"

PHOTO: A stencil I recently made


PHOTO: Light post in New York


PHOTO: Also New York

Thinking back about two summers ago I remember walking around campus late at night black converses and all and spray painting stencils at the most clever places. It was untill one day when I thought that what we did was more along the lines of vandalism than a "beautiful crime". Since then, I haven't thougth of cutting out a stencil, but just recently the idea got sparked up again.

Since then I have been able to look at street art in a different light since my last stencil adventures. Stencil graffiti is categorized under Street Art and according to some people places like Brazil are "problem areas" as far as graffiti is concerned. Of course, when done without the property owner's concent stenciling constitutes as vandalism but most graffiti is on abandoned building reguvinating an area long forgotten.

Book: Graffiti Brazil
-This book was sitting on my friends dresser and I couldn't put it down

Video: Radiohead + Graffiti = LOVE
-Via Libby



heidelberg project SAVED for next post.

Tiger

PHOTOS: American Museum of Natural History, New York

While we are on the topic of tigers, I have to add that I recently bought into the revolution and installed OS X version 10.4 (aka Tiger) on my Mac. It seems I am really behind in getting with the funk of things because everyone I have called about happy butterflies in the stomach feelings about Widgets already are past their excitment phase.

In other news, the sun is out again in beautiful Michigan and there will be new photography recording bicycle adventures!

hands

Bring on the sun

PHOTOS: NYC

lookie

I came back to my place from class and
found this on my door knob.

Playlists

Mix tapes are in art. As we have become so technologically advanced the drive to sit down in front of a tape player and constantly hit play stop play.... has become very unnecessary. Of course, the old school hip hoppers, scenesters and the pretentious head bangers will disagree, I have to say that ipod playlists or mix cds (made on itunes) are just as fun.
People take all kinds of approaches to making a perfect playlist. Some stick to a specific genera, you could have a mix cd with only hip hop or you could have mixed genera playlist. While others will go from a mellow song and build up to a climax and then back down again. The possibilities are endless.
The good people at Tiny Mix Tapes have created an Automatic Mix Tape Generator .

Here's the deal: You send us a style, genre, word, phrase, emotion, or whatever else, and if one of our mix tape robots fancies your suggestion, that crazy set of circuits might just make a mix tape out of it -- well, at least a tracklisting for a mix tape out of it.

The following are a few of my favorite "mix tapes" they have made:

Songs to complement my mustache.

Requested By: tasty
Compiled By: Scott

01. Sly and the Family Stone - "Brave and Strong" (There's a Riot Goin' On!)
02. The Modern Lovers - "Dignified and Old" (The Modern Lovers)
03. Modest Mouse - "Perfect Disguise" (The Moon and Antarctica)
04. Bruce Springsteen - "Brilliant Disguise" (Tunnel of Love)
05. Queen - "You're My Best Friend" (Greatest Hits 1)
06. The Turtles - "Happy Together" (Happy Together)
07. The Cure - "Close To Me" (Greatest Hits)
08. Saves the Day - "Handsome Boy" (Can't Slow Down)
09. The Pixies - "Broken Face" (Surfer Rosa) (this song is how you'd be with no 'stache)
10. Paul Simon - "You Can Call Me Al" (Graceland) (you, talking to your mustache)
11. The Smiths - "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" (Hatful of Hollow) (how you'd be, 'stache-less).



it's not Milk and cheese , it's soy milk and tofu

requested by: Junie Sanders
compiled by: cleo

01. Belle and Sebastian - "Asleep on a Sunbeam" (Dear Catastrophe Waitress)
02. Van Morrison - "Astral Weeks" (Astral Weeks)
03. Animal Collective - "Sweet Road" (Sung Tongs)
04. Built to Spill - "Now and Then" (Keep it Like a Secret)
05. CSNY - "Guinnevere"
06. Devendra Banhart - "Insect Eyes" (Rejoicing in the Hands)
07. Rogue Wave - "Eyes" (Just Friends Soundtrack)
08. Neil Young - "After the Goldrush" (Greatest Hits)
09. Cocorosie- "Terrible Angels" (La Maison de Mon Reve)
10. Melanie Safka - "I Don't Eat Animals" (Carolina on My Mind)
11. Animal Collective and Vashti Bunyan - "I Remember Learning How to Dive"
12. Thunderclap Newman - "Something in the Air" (Spirit of the 60's)
13. Built to Spill - "The Weather" (Ancient Melodies of the Future)
14. Emiliana Torrini - "Sunny Road" (Fisherman's Woman)
15. Damien Jurado - "Ohio" (Rehearsals for Departure)
16. the Mamas and the Papas - "Somebody Groovy" (If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears)
17. Wilco - "Handshake Drugs" (Handshake Drugs)
18. The Incredible String Band - "Mr and Mrs" (Changing Horses)
19. Matt Pond Pa - "New Hampshire" (Emblems)

faces photo log

Since a few years I have had personal rule to lug around my camera bag to as many places as I possible. You never know which turn around a corner will reveal a once in a lifetime photo opp. I guess I picked up the habit from my mother, she would make us stand in front of every major landmark to snap the shutter and preserve the memory forever. In our constant pursuit of happiness It is human nature to keep the good times rollin'’, so I guess I don't blame her for it. We have countless boxes of pictures at my house. But in today's world of digital photography we have cameras in the rims of laptop screens, on the backs of our tiny cell phones and even a ten year old kid can buy one from Toys"R"us. Many people argue that photography alters the way we preserve memories in our brain. As soon as we see something beautiful or worthwhile we try to remember it through the lens of a camera. So our memories are replaced by snap shots we take on the fly.
As I took this portrait of Bugsy, I noticed a few other tourists were doing the same in the background. I wonder if this is how I will remember Time Square, I hope not.
So . . . I have decided to amend my rule of "lugging around the camera". I will make a more conscious effort to make more concrete memories before I start figuring out what aperture I should use.

road tripin'

PHOTO: (Left to Right) Bugsy, Devin, Me, and Kevin

I have been back from my mini spring break trip for a few days now and it is such a drastic change of pace. Just a few days ago I had now worries in the world and SLAM I am right back into it again. Kevin and I have been planning this trip to visit X for a while now. We considered almost every mode of transportation from train to catching a flight and in the end making it a road trip was the most economical. It cost us about $40 round trip to visit the east coast. On the way there we drove over night and on our return trip we left and noon and arrived back to Michigan late at night. Even though, driving during the awake hours wastes a day it is seemed to go by quicker because we were all awake.
Christina and Devon were amazing tour guides. We ate food at great restaurants, saw the American Museum of Natural History, MoMA and explored many random open doors. Now that I have a better idea of how the city works it would be nice to make a visit during the summer.

Boris and Yeltsin

PHOTO: Yeltsin one of the gerbils

Off to NYC

Good bye Boris and Yelstin

Kevin, Justin (Bugsy), Devon, and I packed up Bugsy's Ford escort wagon and headed for NYC last night. We left at 5 pm and drove into Manhattan at sunrise. Everything ran pretty smoothly and we didn't get lost on the way here. Today I will be in Union Square and for brunch with all these cool kats. Look for updates.

PS
Our car had:
4 iPod
2 laptops
4 amazing cameras
and 4 gangstaz ahahhaha