Music I am Marinating In

I have Cake (36:00) on repeat. Touch is also pretty great too.

Anna Hillburg is amazing
Do yourself a favor and click the link above. I'm also choreographing to a couple songs on this record. She inspires me THAT much. :)

I know there are haters on this one but I love it. I love how they recorded it on analog and how they used live session musicians on each track. I also really felt like Daft Punk wanted to create something that their musical heroes and teachers can be proud of. It it apparent on Giorgio and Lose Yourself to Dance most especially. Love it all though.

Fisheye Wine Country

So lovely to have a friend let me play with her fisheye lens (Thanks, Jess! You're the greatest). The fisheye filter on Camera Bag (iPhone app) just isn't the same as playing with the real thing. And now that I've taken a gander, there's so much more I want to experiment with. Oh, the possibilities! But fun things I've learned from playing with the fisheye lens today:

1. Not only is there an extended view of left and right but also up and down! A lot of my shots had my hands holding my phone at the bottom. 

2. I like how straight lines go bendy.

3. Upclose is one of my faves.

4. The non round objects look far more interesting.

5. Taking in the scenery in a different way. At first, I was really into up close and personal portraits but when I decided to take the scenery in, I was really excited by the results.

6. Fisheye is just straight up badass. Or can make buying a case of wine even more badass than it already is.

 7. I wish I did more horizontal shots.

8. New way to do group pictures!

Diva Wall

So I saw a diva wall at a workplace yesterday with gorgeous pictures of everyone's favorite divas. This inspired me to think of the divas I would put on my wall if I had a diva wall. Here's some of the many women I look up to and admire in no particular order

Frida Kahlo

  Tina Turner

 Hillary Clinton

 Twyla Tharp

  Erykah Badu

 Carole King

  Michelle Obama

  Isadora Duncan

 Amy Poehler

  Meryl Streep

 Coco Chanel

 Beyonce

 Ellen Degeneres

Janet Jackson

  Diane Von Furstenburg

  Martha Graham

  Lea Salonga

  Julia Child

  Queen Latifah

Just to name a few. ;)

 

Coming down from a post-trip high

So needless to say I got to work on blogging regularly. But I do admit that the majority of my inspiration recently has not been found online, but in the people around me. One of the biggest lessons I've learned since being an Adult with a capital A is that who I work with is one of the most crucial factors in loving my job(s).

I've been on a few projects recently that include some of the most talented, inspiring, and hard working people. People who are doing it big while doing it right. Fearless people who are brave for tackling really controversial topics. Their examples make me want to work harder, take better photos and push for the social change I want to see in the world. I'm JUICED!

This, by the way, is amazing. My bad for being late to the party.

This makes me miss the people I've bonded with on the trip of a lifetime I recently returned from. Just hearing this fills me with the bittersweet longing of a 1967 Revcon and the endless desert road.

Other recent accomplishments include:

1. Acquiring the red boots I've longed for since 2005
2. Trying beignets for the first time. Pastries so light that they're barely even there (in a delicious way). Hard Knox on Clement keeps on killing it with deliciousness!

Got the Blues...Harp.

So I've been indulging myself a bit lately and here's what I've found:

Finally! A men's fashion blog that I'm inclined to follow. The Armoury is killing it with Men's style- kickass combos of texture, color, and pattern and some dang good photos. I'm diggin it. 

I've also bought myself a Hohner Blues Harp (Key of C) that I'm trying to learn on. Diatonic = 10 holes, 2 reeds per hole. Or at least that's what some guy on YouTube said. Now that I'm learning more about the instrument, I'm learning a lot more about technique and what really great harmonica playing should sound like. Like this guy- who keeps me motivated:

Or this girl who gives an entire instructional video on playing the harmonica without uttering a word. 

Can't wait to get awesome and possibly learn how to play Roseanne's theme song. haha! 

Also, Ratto's in Oakland has this soft cheese made from 3 different milks in Italy. It is so worth trying out if you ever find yourself in old town Oakland during lunch time! 

I'm also on the lookout for a lentil recipe that involves beer. I've been finding some lentil soup that calls for beer but we'll see what I end up doing. bwahahaha ah ah ah!

Sleepy Sentiments

So much generosity and abundance. It's falling like rain right now and I feel like I'm in a whirlwind. How can one not feel creative?

Things that have inspired me recently:

DJ Qbert's Breaktionary Mix on Mix Crate. So much soul and the percussion is off the hook.


Diane Keaton and her many suits.

oooh lala! I hope I can age well and be fabulous. 

<3

Note to Self:

Use superlatives sparingly.

Sunshine and Niners Love

      

Helluv on this Decim8 hype. I've been playing with my fotos all day. 

In other news, I am ecstatic that my beloved Niners are going to the Superbowl Harbowl. The sunshine, the game, and the lovely company I kept today inspire me. I learned that super long coats help me stay warm when I'm too lazy to change out of shorts. I also learned that Motorcycle Clubs love their Niners too. And RZA. 'nuff said. 

Here's to sunshine and shorts while it's still January in SF. What's not to love right now? <3

CA Love

Luuurve this tee.

Blogging for Me

I love to read blogs.

I love Love LOVE them. Obviously, since I love following blogs so much I've always entertained the idea of having one myself. After looking into it further, I realized that most successful blogs are focused about one topic and have awesome quality photos. A friend mentioned once that the best fashion blogs are the women with photographer boyfriends. And I believe it. haha.

At the end of the day, though, I got super overwhelmed by trying to make my blog perfect from the beginning. I don't want to focus on just one topic. For anyone that knows me personally, I get excited by a whole bunch of things, whether it be food, fashion, dance, funny videos, crafts- whatever! I want to be able to post anything that inspires me.

So that's it. I'm going to share what I deem fit and navigate my writing voice as I go. If no one ever sees this, this will probably mainly serve the Future Me so I can have a glimpse of my thoughts and musings from this time in my life. I know I've backtracked to my old Blurty and Xanga and cringed. My Livejournal not as much, but still...at least I was able to look back at the Past Me(s) and remember how much I've grown. There's so much around me that incites inspiration and I hope I never forget that. And I don't want to place my thoughts in a box and limit my subject matter to one thing. Screw it. I hope other people find what I learn helpful, but in the end, I'm going to blog for myself.

Top Things That Have Inspired Me This Week

This Recipe of Baba Ghanoush. Last night was my second try at making this dish  and using this recipe as a base. It was awesome. It really makes a difference when I chopped the parsley thoroughly and added the chopped garlic first to my broiled eggplant so the flavors have time to seep into one another. Eggplant has a fabulous way of absorbing flavor. That is probably one of the reasons why I love it so much.

This Documentary Trailer of Advanced Style. I am pretty much an old lady and a gay man trapped in a young woman's body. More on this later, I'm sure.

Meatcake by Dame Darcy and Margaret Cho I've been intrigued and appreciative lately by illustrators and graphic novels. To be able to tell a story in long form via hand drawn pictures is truly a work of the heart. Dame Darcy loves to draw and it's apparent. Her whimsical, dark, Victorianesque world is so fun to look at if one pays attention to the detail and lines. This book is a compilation of short stories so I've taken to reading a couple a night.