Sunday, January 30, 2011

Why does something so simple sometimes seem so difficult?

Found these images over at my friend Priscilla's amazing blog, These Are Hard Times For Dreamers.


Her blog is really simple, she posts beautiful and interesting b&w photos.

That's it.  Just photos, always b&w, no captions or anything. So elegant and great!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Win some, Lose some?

Ugh, just read this article from Thought Catalog* called The Difficulties of Being Single vs. The Difficulties of Being in a Monogamous Long Term Relationship that makes both being single and being in a relationship sound really bad.  WTF?  It's not even a 'grass is always greener' situation if both options are undesirable.

The author explains,"being single can be lonely and full of excruciating moments," particularly internet dating. Yet, "when you commit to a person in a relationship, you commit to their problems," and these problems can turn them into a "difficult, staunch, adversary" (his words).

So, according to him, your choice is to be depressed and alone or stuck in an "less exciting" (his words) long-term monogamous relationship with someone who's issues/problems are just tolerable enough to stick around.

Get the feeling this guy just got dumped?


* via Gala Darling.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I Want You To Want Me

Interactive art at MoMA that uses information from online dating profiles to explore the search of love and self.  This is really beautiful.



via Brain Picker 

Saturday, January 15, 2011

It Might Get Loud

I was stuck at home with the stomach flu yesterday and ended up watching movies all day.  Caught this documentary on Netflix and LOVED IT.

"It Might Get Loud" centers around Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Edge from U2, and Jack White from The White Stripes, and their obsessive love of guitars.  They captured some pretty fascinating and intimate interviews with each of the guitarists about their musical careers, beginning as little kids just really really into music.  There's also great footage of the three of them sitting around together and jamming.  Even if you're not a huge fan of either of their bands, you have to appreciate three generations of guitarists coming together like that.

I love early U2, and this film really made me want to rewatch the 1988 documentary Rattle and Hum.

Here's the trailer to "It Might Get Loud"

RIP

Lead singer of the band Broadcast Trish Keenan died yesterday at the age of 42.  So sad!



Thursday, January 13, 2011

We're probably too old to shop there

 Erin Gibson 

Forever 21 plays upbeat lady anthems so you'll buy clothes you think will make your ex boyfriend wanna fuck you one more time.

Dream of the 90's is alive in Portland

Really looking forward to this new Portlandia comedy series on IFC!



That's Fred Armisen (of SNL) and Carrie Brownstein (of Sleater-Kinney and music correspondent and blogger for NPR's All Songs Considered). I mentioned their comedy act Thunder Ant when they did a silly music video with St. Vincent a year ago.  Sorry if that kinda makes me sound like a hipster douchebag.  "Uh, I totally heard of them before they were famous."  I'm just glad they're getting noticed!

I'm also excited about the show because Portland is one of my favorite cities.  I probably visit there once a year.  When my single girl friends complain about not being able to find good single guys, I tell them it's because they all moved to Portland and married vegans.  The place is crawling with scruffy alternative dudes-- even the mailmen there have hipster beards.

I'm looking forward to visiting Portland again next week to see my friend Sayward (of Bonzai Aphrodite) and help her celebrate turning 30!  Can't wait to get some Voodoo Doughnuts!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from

Ted Talk on technology, innovation, and the importance of coffee.



via Doobybrain

Songs he likes that I like

Just because.


Black Lips - Veni Vedi Vici



Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon 



Television - Marquee Moon



Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Home

Sunday, January 9, 2011

"I don't want you sexually. Hell, I don't even want to talk to you"

This is pretty funny...

Originally Posted: Sat, 2 Oct 13:12 PDT

Bus boyfriend..I want to smell you again


Date: 2010-10-02, 1:12PM PDT



This was months ago. April, maybe May. We only rode the bus together three times, only two times sitting together... 

Friday, January 7, 2011

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Ex blocker


Ex-Blocker is a internet browser plug-in that "renders mentions of a designated ex-lover invisible on Facebook, Twitter, Google searches and more," according to the software creators Jess3.

I feel like this may have been useful to me two years ago.

But does it work?  I tried it out on Firefox.  What happens is it "blanks out" their name on any Google searches or other websites, but not 100% of the time.  It also prevents you from logging into their blog URL or twitter URL... kind of.  For example, if you try the said URL, it shows you the page for 1 second, then grays it out and a pop-up window says "BYE."  Eh... good idea, not perfectly executed.

If I designed this app, any time you typed their name in Google or tried to click on their Facebook/Twitter page, the screen would go blank immediately and a little window starts giving you positive affirmations like "Don't waste your time, honey.  Forget about him.  He's a loser and you can do much better.  Just give it time."

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

You're sad and alone!!!!

But at least you can laugh about it, right?
One of my guy friends posted this on F-book today.  Not sure where the image originated.  Reddit?

Monday, January 3, 2011

Fruit of Thy Womb

src: grist.org
One of the problems with being single and unmarried in my thirties is the looming pressure to have kids.  When I turned 30, I panicked when I realized that if I'm ever going to have a kid, it should happen in the next ten years.  Now that I'm nearly 32, it's down to eight.  That doesn't seem like a lot of time considering everything else that I'd like to happen first: graduation, job, marriage, house, so forth.  At least I finally got a boyfriend.

Lately however, I'm wondering if I want kids at all.  I used to think I did... Maybe I only thought I was supposed to want them?  At 32, I still don't feel any ticking biological clock.  I can look at a baby and find it cute, but I have no overwhelming urge to have one of my own.  I'd rather get a cat, honestly.

Grist, an environmental blog self-described as "making lemonade out of looming climate apocalypse," recently published 2010: The Year Childfree Went Mainstream, which discusses how being child-free, as opposed to child-less, has become more and more popular, even among celebrities such as Oprah and even fake celebrities like Carrie Bradshaw from 'Sex And The City.'  Now, like-minded environmental-friendlies have a name for themselves, GINKs (green inclination, no kids), as coined in Say It Loud: I'm Childfree and I'm Proud.

Earlier this year, New York Magazine published about the downside of having kids, All Joy and No Fun: Why Parents Hate Parenting.  According to their research, having children generally makes people more unhappy than their child-free peers, and less satisfied in their marriage.  Kinda makes you think, doesn't it?

If I decide to never have kids, does it take the pressure off my current and any future relationships?  Can I relax a little and just focus on having a satisfying sex life while still maintaining my friendships, career and hobbies?  It sounds kinda selfish, but then, what's so wrong with being selfish?

The other thing I think about is how much I hated being a kid.  I didn't have a horrible childhood at all, but between the ages of ten and twenty years old, I was basically miserable.  Why would I want to force another human being to go through that?

A little part of me worries that if too many intelligent liberals join the GINK bandwagon, society is going to deteriorate like in Idiocracy.  (If you haven't seen it, the first few minutes of the film explains it all.)



Honestly, I'm still conflicted by the baby thing.  Back when I was still shopping online for guys, if he said he "definitely does not want" kids -OR- if he "definitely does want" kids, EITHER WAY, felt like it was kind of a deal-breaker.  Maybe I prefer mutual ambivalence.  Can't we just wait and see how we feel in the next eight years?

Blueprint

“Radio-Inactive,” a new single from Blueprint's upcoming album, Adventures in Counter-Culture, to be released March 1st, 2011.  Soo good.  This makes me want to play more hip hop on my radio show.  You can download a FREE Best of Blueprint from his website.



...added 1/13/2011...

Blueprint just posted a behind the scenes look at the inspiration for the "Radio-Inactive."  Really looking forward to this album coming out!

Zoom

I just came across this awesome video of a remote controlled aircraft exploring some of the sites in NYC, including the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.  So cool!



More info about this stunt is available from Ars Technica and the Youtube page.  Song playing: Sackcloth Fashion - Under Man (Instrumental)