laura veirs is my new favorite, favorite, favorite.

obsessed. i'm obsessed with laura veirs' new album, 'july flame'. it's not out yet (coming january 2010). but she's so cool to offer two free tracks. and they are so good. like i can't get enough of them, i play them on repeat all day, so good. i think this will be one of the best albums of the year. you have to hear for yourself. please download. and then leave a comment if this post was helpful to you. because i'm really sharing some love here. after all, music is for sharing. and this, here, is an honest form of sharing. so go.for.it!
this album is too.wonderful.for.words, yes?
this is what good music is supposed to do to you.
it does something to me.
bah-rilliant.

a brilliant recycle dude.

you simply have to check out the fotos linked below:

Home & Garden

The Recycled Houses

Michael Stravato for The New York Times

Published: 02.09.2009

A few of the homes in Huntsville, Tex., that Dan Phillips has built using old picture frames, wine bottles and other salvaged materials.

i love that the new homeowners are a part of the building process.
so very empowering.
and every home is just so brilliant. and be-a-utiful.
what creativity. what ingenuity.
three cheers for dan phillips, the brilliant recycle dude.

i love it. love it. love it.

dust jacket project

i've been meaning to put a link on here to joel p west's dust jacket project for nearly a year now. so now i finally am.

a very inspiring project. believe me, you'll thank yourself for looking into it and for participating in it yourself. share your art and receive some of joel's music. all for free. a brilliant exchange of created goods. beside's the album being wonderful, the blog is updated daily with each new submission, so that is always a treat to look through. enjoy friends.

you can dance if you want to

So my mom just sent me the link to this video, and I immediately knew it was worthy of posting on here. We've all seen the group-choreographed vids' on youtube, but this one has found a special place in my heart. It's especially pertinent because:

1. I'm becoming more and more convinced that my one constant these days is a train station. I live in them. I even stopped at the very station that this video takes place in while passing through Belgium last summer. Euro train stations are always a-buzz, always a-flutter, and this video does the atmosphere, my seemingly one true constant, justice.

2. I'd say the number-one reason why people knock musicals is because they argue that "it's just not realistic to have people spontaneously breaking-out in song and dance". Oh contraire. After watching this video, you'll see why the ol' "realistic" argument is just rubbish. Rubbish, I tell you. It's obvious that song and dance, whether choreographed or spontaneous, is simply a normal part of life. I know it is for me.

3. Um, hello -- this is the Sound of Music! Do.rey.mi.fa.so.la.tee.do in Europa! And to top it all off I'm going to Austria this weekend! I'll be in Vienna and then Salzburg... I'll be standing (and of course dancing) in the very places that made this song so beloved, so treasured. Life-long dream being fulfilled here... after having the line about 'my birthday being on Tuesday and wanting a pink paracel' and all that jazz quoted to me too many times to count, it's about time I explored Salzburg first-hand.

Here I come!

free musik

i feel it all; i feel it all...

One of my favorite San Diego treasures has got to be going to concerts on the water outside of Humphrey's.  

1: It's free.

2: You get to float on a raft/kayak instead of being confined to a folding chair inside the venue.

3: You get much more camaraderie with both friends and strangers simply by tying your rafts together.

4: The overall atmosphere is killer... I mean, floating under the stars with sweet jams surrounding you.  Nothing better.  [The only drawback is that it's a bit more difficult to dance from your raft or kayak, but somehow I always seem to manage...]

5: The performers on stage always, always, give shout-outs to the folks floating on the bay.  So be sure to holla' back.

Last night, we paddled out from the bay that is closest to the intersection of Talbot and Scott, brought along sushi and See's candy to eat on our laps for dinner, and saw Feist in concert!!  Such a good night!  The girl can rock it and yet also produce such chill ballads - her band does a fine job of accompanying her and adding a lot of the sweet sing-a-long parts.  There were easily 100 other people out on the water with us - one big floating party.  Past nights that I have enjoyed on this bay have included the likes of two of my all-time favs: India.Arie one week and Mr. Stevie Wonder the next - boy was I living the life last August!  And now Feist is a great addition to my summer celebrations on the water outside Humphrey's.

Below, I included her video for "I Feel It All".  Definitely one of my fav music videos.  Doesn't it just make you want to dance?  This was one of our apartment's main go-to jams last school year, and whenever it was played, it always resulted in a lot of jumping up and down and twirling about... kinda' like how she dances towards the end of this video.  Enjoy.