The Ghost In You, She Don't Fade

Part 2 of the series! Cutey cute.

Gas (1940)

I was reading Alain de Botton's book, "The Art of Travel" as I prepare for a small trip to NOLA this weekend (yay!). It's a great book--rambling and all over the place, but in an endearing way. It's full of little tangential gems. For instance, I really liked de Botton's take on Edward Hopper's paintings (and his lonely travelers, train cars, rest stops and wating areas) because he sees them as more than meditations on human isolation. The paintings are stark and lonely, true, but I've always found them to also be alluring and weirdly comforting, as does he. Below is his take on the painting Gas (1940).

Like Automat, painted thirteen years before it, Gas is a picture of isolation: a petrol station stands on its own in the impending darkness. But in Hopper's hands, the isolation is once again made poignant and enticing. The darkness that spreads like a fog from the right of the canvas, a harbinger of fear, contrasts with the security of the station itself. Against the backdrop of night and wild woods, in this last outpost of humanity, a sense of kinship may be easier to develop than in daylight in the city....At this last stop before the road enters the endless forest, what we have in common with others can loom larger than what separates us.

The Way That You Looked At Me Now Made Me Wish I Was You

Part one of the two part series: cute videos of cute girls on cute bikes. What more could you ask for this weekend? Stay tuned for part two!

L'Etranger

Tell me, enigmatic man, whom do you love best, your father,
Your mother, your sister, or your brother?
I have neither father, nor mother, nor sister, nor brother.
Your friends?
Now you use a word whose meaning I have never known.
Your country?
I do not know in what latitude it lies.
Beauty?
I could indeed love her, if she were goddess and immortal.
Gold?
I hate it as you hate God.
Then, what do you love, extraordinary stranger?
I love the clouds...the clouds that pass up there
Up there, the wonderful clouds!

-Charles Baudelaire

Summer Babes

These are some of the most beautiful photographs I've ever seen. Photographer is Ryan McGinley. His work is really stunning. I urge you to check out his site for full effect (but maybe not at work cause it's mostly nudes!): http://www.ryanmcginley.com/

I Thought I Told You To Shut Uh Huh Huhp...

I might have watched this video 8 times today.

Michel Gondry directed the latest FOTC episode which contains this song. I was so entranced by the catchy tune and background projections that I didn't pick up that Brett was manipulating Jemaine with the doohickeys on his guitar until like the third viewing. The whole style is very much like The Science of Sleep which is another cool movie directed by Gondry. Anyways...enjoy...

Your House Without You

In the book "The World Without Us," author Alan Weisman imagines exactly that: "How our planet would respond without the relentless pressure of the human presence." (from worldwithoutus.com)

Though I've still not yet read the book, it's been on my list for a while. After watching the following 2 minute video I know I'll be picking it up soon. This video's so great. Meditative, slightly eerie and ultimately peaceful.

PS Aren't woodpeckers so cool??