jill smiling + tom waits - "back in the crowd"

last weekend i finally was able to drive down to san antonio to visit my sister and see her new place. i took this right before she turned out the lights. she was arranging the pillows the way she likes and as we were saying goodnight, i looked over and saw this. of course, it seemed too beautiful to not capture. it's one of my favorites that i've taken in quite a while.

below is a beautiful song, "back in the crowd," off of tom wait's new album "bad as me".

here comes the sun again

this makes me happy.
(two of my favorite things: airplane rides & watching everything passing by, as well as a beautiful m. ward song). so much love.


M Ward - Here Comes the Sun Again

bon iver: bon iver

for emma, forever ago by bon iver is one of my favorite albums ever. his new self-titled album, bon iver, is different but still beautifully haunting to me in the way his previous album was. i'm not honestly sure though if any album he will make will live up to 'for emma, forever ago,' as it seems just about perfect already, and i know it's even more special to me because i have some special memories attached with it. and it's not quite the same, listening to him amidst the heat as it is during the cold months--where his music seems to enkindle the strange, nostalgic ache that winter brings. but regardless-- his music makes me feel like no other music does ♥
listen here.

'Sadness is a Blessing'

I love this. Lykke Li - 'Sadness is a Blessing' --Directed by Tarik Saleh, featuring the acclaimed actor Stellan Skarsgård.

SXSW Music begins...

i have a music badge & i'm super excited but also feeling conflicted in who i'm going to choose & who i will have to leave out---there are so many amazing bands/artists to see. it's so wonderful, what happens to this city during the festival. austin becomes one huge party all the time, not even in the everyone-getting-drunk-sense (but there is definitely plenty more of that too), but that everyone is happy & celebrating. SXSW Music kicks off today, the 15th, with some great bands playing & below is a video from a band i plan on seeing.
Dry The River- Bible Belt

"if it's dark outside, you light the fire yourself." --so, so good.

You Only Live Once (Demo) - The Strokes

Labi Siffre - Bless The Telephone

i can't stop listening to this, i'm crossing my fingers it works out that i see him at sxsw:


-just saw Crazy Heart for the first time today, such a great movie with a great theme song.

i love devotchka right now & wanted to share two songs i'm enjoying. (i promise i will eventually write about the trip, just need some time!)

i've come home

sooooo, i'm back from europe. i ended up staying a bit longer, it was a whirlwind of 2 months & i have quite a lot of photos to show for it! i will write about it eventually but just need lots of time, but for now i will just post a few pics. enjoy!

Local Natives, the magic of books

So I was fortunate enough to get to shoot the Local Natives for City Magazine the thursday before last. They're fantastic & if you don't know about them, you need to. I love all their stuff but I particularly can't stop listening to Airplanesand Wide Eyes. Click here to visit their site and buy their record!

--------
I'm juggling reading quite a few books right now, on top of all of my required school readings. I go through phases where I'm reading 24/7 all the way to droughts where I'm so busy or preoccupied with life that I forget the magic that books can bring. I'm a strong believer in the power of books---their ability to change the way we think, even change our lives--if not, at least, to bring us a little comfort in knowing we aren't alone. The author James Baldwin articulated this beautifully: "It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.” Amazing.
Another equally wonderful quote I love:
"My understanding of the meaning of a book is that the book itself disappears from sight, that it is chewed alive, digested, and incorporated into the system as flesh and blood which in turn creates new spirit and reshapes the world. -Henry Miller

I'm always asking for book recommendations, and am happy to give my own, so if anyone has a fav novel or knows about a lesser-known but amazing book, please do share!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend,
x

heather, monday, getting ready to enjoy some Sandy's ice cream cones.
-----
"Great people are those who make others feel that they, too, can become great."

hi hi!
Sorry it's been a while, I have five weeks left until i'm a college graduate, so as you can imagine I've been quite busy. Once school finishes up I'm hoping i'll have more time to update this thing!
I was introduced to the TED videos through a class and was shocked and upset to discover these videos have been available for a few years, all without my knowledge! TED stands for "Television, Entertainment and Design" and it's devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading." On TED.com, what once started out as something open to only the smartest and most talented of their fields, is now available to the world for free. I seriously encourage everyone to visit the site--whether it's a moving musical performance, a fascinating new discovery or a humbling talk about the best way to go about political change, you'll end up leaving the site a bit more enlightened. I'm posting a few links to some videos that I was required to watch for a class, as well as a video I stumbled upon that I can't stop thinking about.

-Aimee Mullins talks about growing up without a normal pair of legs and gives an empowering talk. I've always been aware of the power of language and the power each person has to change the way someone else sees themselves. The quote at the top of this post is by Mark Twain and something I strongly believe in. I think it ties well into what Aimee talks about. Check out the video here
-Barry Schwartz (cleverly) points out our society's loss of wisdom, watch it!
-Natalie Merchant stuns me with what she's been working on for the past 5 years: a rich body of work, full of history and stories unheard. She adapts both classic and contemporary poetry into beautiful songs. In this TED clip, she "brings back to life" a collection of 19th century poems. I've never been more inspired or amazed by her talent as from the clip--she is truly a professional at what she does!

-->I posted two poems that Natalie sings that I found really beautiful.
-at 7:35 on video
maggie and milly and molly and may
by E. E. Cummings

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea
-----
-at 16:20 on video
Spring and Fall: to a Young Child
Gerard Manley Hopkins

Margaret, are you grieving 

Over Goldengrove unleaving? 

Leaves, like the things of man, you 

With your fresh thoughts care for, can you? 

Ah! as the heart grows older 

It will come to such sights colder 

By and by, nor spare a sigh 

Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie; 

And yet you will weep and know why. 

Now no matter, child, the name: 

Sorrow's springs are the same. 

Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed 

What heart heard of, ghost guessed: 

It is the blight man was born for, 

It is Margaret you mourn for.
----

hope you enjoy!
x

"it’s a kind of ‘Amen’ to life"

Break is finally here and I know by new years I'm going to be antsy with all this free time. ugh. During these next 2.5 weeks, some of the things on my "to do" list include: taking a small road trip or two, doing a good bit of reading, photos photos and more photos, some soul searching?, freaking out about graduating, really freaking out, catching up with friends & making lots of lists. lists are good, i like lists.
Below is another dose of my "a few random good things" posts. enjoy.

photo by Stephen Shore, a photography god (clearly)

music:
-completely regardless of whether you've seen the movie, the music from the soundtrack is so powerful it makes me really appreciate people like Gustavo Santaolalla. he was able to evoke such particular and overwhelming emotion from notes in his head. amazing. click here to listen.
-also love: a classic, johnny cash

“What you feel in the presence of a thing you admire is just one word – ‘Yes’. The affirmation, the acceptance, the sign of admittance. And that ‘Yes’ is more than an answer to one thing, it’s a kind of ‘Amen’ to life, to the earth that holds this thing, to the thought that created it, to yourself for being able to see it. But the ability to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ is the essence of all ownership. It’s your ownership of your own ego. Your soul…[which] has a single basic function – the act of valuing…everything to which you grant your love to is yours.”
-one of my favorite books & a quote that i will always remember, The Fountainhead

i'm free

finals are done with.
praise the heavens, summer is here.
yesss.

today i added another place onto my road trip wish list. badlands national park in south dakota. check out some photos and you'll understand, i need to go there. i also want to go to yellowstone--i've been twice but its been forever. to see the huge expanse of fields and mountains, and buffalo roaming ....ugh. heaven. and that's without thinking about photography. the potential photos those places hold is daunting. i hardly ever go out to shoot, most of my stuff is just from my life, devoid of open fields and wild animals. but hopefully this summer, that will change.

i discovered nan goldin a month or two ago (i sadly don't own any photo books or know many famous photographers---i hope to change this this summer) and can't wait to start really looking at her photos, especially the relationship ones. amazing.

and here are some more words that i love:
(walk to the water, U2)

She said it wasn't cold
She left her coat unbuttoned
She wore canvas shoes
White canvas shoes
Around her neck
She wore a silver necklace
'It was given to me by my father' she said
'It was given to me'

She took the back way home
Past the lights at Summerhill
Turn left on to the north strand
And on
On towards the sea

He said he was an artist
But he really painted billboards
In large capital letters
In large capital letters
He was telling jokes
Nobody else would listen to him

I saw you that day
Your lips were cherry red
Your legs were crossed your arms wide open
Your hair was coloured gold
And like a field of corn
You were blown by the wind
You were blown by the wind
_
Walk, walk, walk to the water
Walk with me awhile
Walk, walk, walk to the roadside
walk with me in a light

A room in the Royal hotel
With sea facing views
A man with a suitcase
Full of things he doesn't need
I'm looking through your window
I'm walking through your doorway
I'm on the outside
Let me in

Let me love you
Let me love you
Let me

Walk, walk, walk to the water
Walk with me
Walk, walk, walk to the roadside
walk with me a while
_

--->the 4th stanza is my favorite (it starts with "i saw you that day," go back and read it), i especially love:

"And like a field of corn
You were blown by the wind
You were blown by the wind "
...doesn't get much better than that.

i don't sleep too much

anymore. oh well. more life that i'm living.

summer. yes. :

phoenix- too young

the sunset was beautiful the other day. there were clouds in the distance that made a second horizon, so i watched the sun hide its head before it was even through. it almost looked like it was descending into mountains and i love the mountains. it made me a bit giddy, which is nice to feel every once in a while. plus, look at those two lonely clouds. beautiful.

-and some loveliness, via ryan adams:

Took a walk with you
In the shadow of my shoes
Danced around the broken blues
In the dirty summer rain

Moonlight on the cars
Parked in single file at bars
With a thick and rosy smoke
Waving its busted hand

i could read that over and over and never be sick of it. that's all for now. xo

a few random good things

i decided that on this blog needs to be some of my favorite songs and photos. just because those are two things that make me really happy.

-the top photo is by tania lёshkina, who is really creative and talented. this is one of my favorite photos i've ever encountered on flickr. i love the photo for so many reasons and i've caught myself thinking about it often during the past few months, ever since i first discovered tania and saw it. there's such a delicate feeling and tenderness to it, it's beautiful.

-a photo of mine that i love a lot right now:

-songs i'm love with:
1. thirteen- ben kweller (all-time favorite)
2. cold desert- kings of leon
3. use somebody- kings of leon
4. old hat- ben kweller (the video isn't the best, but still good song)

-->obviously, i love ben kweller and kings of leon. their most recent albums, Only By the Night (KOL) and Changing Horses (ben kweller) = ftw. so get on it if you aren't already. srsly.

that's all for now.