I'm right here

the arrangement of the natural & artificial

{via Lordy Rodriguez}

Finding a lot of inspiration lately in the possible applications of topography.

Gave good

I actually managed to make many of my presents this year, something I resolve to do every time the holidays come around. This year I baked up a bunch of batches of the NYT's Olive Oil Granola, & created some whiskey marshmallows (using this basic marshmallow recipe as a base) which I paired with a tiny bottle of Makers & some hot cocoa mix.

(For some reason my auto post didn't so much post this automatically for me last night...)

Got good

All Zelda all day

Today I spent a couple of hours in a cafe writing about Wind Waker (honestly at some point I felt like if I had to imagine any more of the possible configurations of light & stone & sand & doors I might lose my mind. Permanently.) & a couple of hours engaging in Skyward Sword.
But what I really want to share is this great text animation Gregor sent me today:



It's a version of a project he did recently using part of one of my poems. Want to watch it again? Just hit refresh.

strong

{via Little Paper Planes}

immediately before & after

Today exhausted me with its awesomeness (ok, last night might have helped too), but I want to share some sparkle before this eve is ended.

Merry Christmas. Enjoy it all.

Season evening

Friends & fireside (& phones).

Hope your evening is as warm.

winter means light

Tonight I think it was so cold in my house that while I was pouring it boiling sugar cooled quickly enough that my marshmallows failed. (Fear not, I will try again tomorrow.)
Makes me wish I was back here pretty hard:

or be enslav'd by another Man's

I will not Reason and Compare; my business is to Create.
--William Blake

Flash print

I had my Instax with me the day I shot at Powell Butte & took this unexpected but magical picture (doesn't it look like a sunprint?):

Black milk of dawn

I've been reading the Hamburger translations of Celan slowly & joyfully for a while now, but the other day Flo read some of the poems out loud to me in their original language & I flipped.
I recorded her reading the poems in German, followed by myself reading the English translations. I wish I could record the whole book poem for poem, but for now, a few of my favorite shorter poems will have to suffice:


{Crystal}


{With a Variable Key}


{The trumpet part}


{Your hands full of hours}

One of my favorite places to get presents during the holidays are grocery stores (esp if you have a New Seasons, which stocks things like those super tiny super strong magnet sets & adorable white ceramic elephant tea pots, nearby). Here are a few of the things I love & will be giving this year:

The Winter Vegetarian: Darra Goldstein
Lodge 12-Inch Skillet
Bambu Rounded Spatula
Moroccan Ras El Hanout Spice
William's Sonoma Spoonula
Jacobsen Salt Co. Sea Salt
Sabatino & Co Truffle Salt
Better Than Bouillon No Chicken
Sabatino & Co White Truffle Oil

swag

Dropped in the Pub Fair for a minute today & picked up some books, including Octopus' re-print of CD Wright's 40 Watts, & a Poor Claudia tote to haul it home in.

Advice: get ye the same (use the internet if you are far from The Cleaners)!

"like idk"

Spent a long time yesterday looking at Kate Durbin's tumblr project. I have very complicated feelings about it, but overall I am excited it exists.

So very lady

I did not take this picture, but the taking of it made me want a dslr pretty badly.

The spirit

Christmas tree: lit & beribboned & hung with what sparkles; everywhere garland & light.

come or go

Took a frigid photo walk at Powell Butte today after work:

outside

a spark

Yesterday before work I had time for brunch & Crafty Wonderland & then, inspired by all the craftiness, time for some crafting of my own, but I didn't quite have time to share the sparkling loveliness that is the holidays:

I'll try to post again today to make up for yesterday's little slip up.

Firsts

Today I finally learned how to do something I'd been wanting to do for a long time: letterpress! I am now nominally sufficient at typesetting, framing, inking & pressing. I made a text art print that I'd long been wanting to have up on my wall. I'm debating putting a picture of it up, since there are a few ppl who will be getting my hand-pressed prints as gifts. Would that ruin the surprise? Make it less joyful? I'm not sure.

On a side note: Cheltenham -- what a great font!

I also rode the bus by myself for the first time. This seems ridiculous, but it's true. I have ridden the subway alone in NY, heck, I've ridden the metro alone in Rome, but in my own little town I had not boarded a bus alone before today.

by the passage of another

I've been reading the Poems of Paul Celan lately & wanted to find a poem in the spirit of tonight's lunar eclipse. I found this, which tells you a lot about what I think when I think about the moon.


The trumpet part
deep in the glowing
lacuna
at lamp height
in the time hole:

listen your way in
with your mouth.


Nothing makes you sadder about spending all day writing poems about a video game than reading Celan.

Some dresses just want to come off.

Have you read this story? You should read this story.

Nick Antosca's The Girlfriend Game

intransitive

I recently developed a roll of film I found in my Lomo color splash camera, though I couldn't remember what was on it. It turned out the film had been in there since 2008. Not all the shots were great, but it was such a surprise to see these moments return to me. It was also a surprise to see this sharp seasonal divide.

{Winter, 2008}

{Fall, 2010}

{Summer, 2011}

Oh, time & time.

shake (or tremble) like a leaf (of a person)

in plainsong mode

Yesterday I cleared the photos from 2010 off of my hard drive (all 30 gigs of them) & was finally able to download the photos from my camera. Here are a few from a recent photo walk.

Law of equivalent exchange

Lately I've been truly nervous any time something's started to go right for me, because there's been a huge negative backlash every time I start feeling ok. Case in point:

On Friday this lovely woman who makes incredible jewelry came in to the cafe. We chatted about her upcoming marathon & she stepped aside to wait for her drink. While she waited she pulled a pair of hand cut & hammered silver earrings from her purse & said "These go with your necklace! You should have them." I was beaming for the rest of the day.

When I got home I had a hot shower, made a tea & planned to embark upon my 800th round of 1Q84. I was flossing my teeth & suddenly I heard a *ping* & looked down. My gold crown was in the sink. I had flossed it right the heck out of my mouth.

I don't know exactly how life math works, but I'm pretty sure somehow those free earrings cost me like $200 in emergency dental.

The most ironic thing about this? Her jewelry company, I s**t you not, is called Flossy. LIFE!