The Everyman's Journal

I recently released two journals into the world, bright red, with the words "Pick Me UP" written on the front.

Inside were instructions to read the entries previous to them and add their own picture, story, advice, joke, anything, just add. Someone was reaching out to them and this was their chance to reach back.

i then wrote the first entry.

the very back page has my phone number and instructions to call once the journal is full, or if it has become damaged and unusable.

Coincidentally, today I got my first phone call from my "tin man" movement, which I almost completely ruined. A long flat tin box that said Pick me UP on the front of it had a whole lot of change in it, about four dollars worth, and a set of instructions to make ten people smile while holding/spending/whatever with it. when i left a restaurant today a homeless man asked if I had any change, and I handed him the tin box without even thinking of the instructions inside!

well i guess this other guy who found it said there were just a few pennies within, asked me why I did it and a couple of other questions, then promised he would finish the challenge with his own money.

happy.

p.s. If you have any ideas, I think a main theme for a movement is important to keep everything cohesive and meaningful. My actions as of late have been speaking against indifference to others, and challenging people to push the boundaries from strangers to friends. "war on indifference"? something like that. I need to know for my fat leaf mural I'm planning to adhere to the side of a commercial building in sacramento. I plan on having a huge statement written within. LET ME KNOW!!!!

thanks!
Brooke

happy birthday ryah bear

so adorable/stinky is now one year older...i mean old. well i guess OLDER yes. As in now she is in that strange phase of her life where she breathes air instead of amniotic fluid. ANYWAY here are some things I enjoy about her:

-the way she stinks. she lost her good baby smell and now she smells like wet dog. nikki didn't believe me, and it doesn't make sense unless cute/demon has been keeping a puppy mill under the couches (which wouldn't surprise me, that girl is a baby genius. sorry oprah, puppy mills happen), but there is a distinct wet-doggyness to her. Its a strange thing to enjoy, but its like the way I enjoy my grandpa's folksy racism and the way he makes explitives into nicknames.

-how she wiggles her way out of diaper changes. i actually trained her to do that, UFC recommends we start young.

thats all I got so far. shes cute, though. look at this picture of her with grandpa!



here is cute/demon toilet papering the neighbors house. she also knows how to throw eggs, make pipe bombs, and graffitti (but she needs a stencil. she is only 3 years old.)




i would write more
but I'm quite sleepy

At This Time I Need all my Freak Hos to get down on the flo'

Girl Talk released a new album!
The YouTube vid below is the first song off his latest album, Feed The Animals, and features Paramore, Fergie, T-Pain, Notorious B.I.G., and others. Not an interesting vid, it just plays "Doesn't Really Matter" (track one) while showing you a pic of the man behind mash-up phenomenon, Greg Gillis . I suggest you press play then enjoy while reading the rest of my blog. DO IT NOW.




55 minutes of music with over 300 samples from other bands, everything from Dean Martin to Lil Wayne to Rolling Stones. Similar to Radiohead's approach to releasing In Rainbows, Girl Talk's latest album will be available through his label's website where fans can pay what they like to download it. This could be five cents, it could be $5,000.

This band is my number one recommendation to everyone I know. Feed The Animals is even more mainstream listener friendly than his 2006 hit, Night Ripper. All his other work would be considered a little too experimental for most hip hop fans, and jam packed with enough manipulated hooks and sound bytes to make die-hard electro fans turn the stereo down for a while. Gillis puts out hip-hoppy stuff like this to support his Avante Garde passions.

I'm listening now....here are some samples I recognize...
beyonce-reginaspektor-wyclefjean-shakira-kellyclarkson-2pac-vitaminC-therange-ciara-T.I.- britney spears-beachboys-lilwayne-deanmartin-radiohead-babyhuey-timberland-basementjaxx-the eagles-jimjones-aliciakeys-liljohn-onerepublic-bahamen-lupefiasco AND MANY MANY MOOOOOOOOOREEEEEEE


**PLUS** the albums tracks are seamleass, making it a nonstop dance party.

A Book List turned Scarlett Johansson Review

I keep a list of books/music that I want. here is a current version:

Collected Work of Fiction by Jorge Luis Borges
Now You Know by Tony Arcabascio
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
As I Lay Dying by Faulkner
Everything is Illuminated by Foer
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
Metamorphasis by Kafka

my music list is surprisingly short

-The BPA (they won me over with their clever nudity/censoring music video)
-The War on Drugs
-Giantess
-War
-Tom Waits


speaking of Tom Waits, not many people are aware of the album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, that Scarlett Johansson released earlier this year. It consists of complex and beautifully tragic Tom Waits covers, courtesy of genius producer Dave Sitek (member of TV on the Radio, producer of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Foals).


Although Scarlett is known for her soft sexy curves making up for a terrible perfomance in The Island (I don't care who you think you are, it was bad. Ewen McGregor can't pull off an American Accent, either!!) her voice is harsh and brittle against the majestic sadness of the accompaniment, and is definitely drowned out by each intricate arrangment. Her impromptu live performance with The Jesus and Mary Chain at Coachella last year was supposed to be a stepping stone into the music industry for her, and she should've taken it as a huge cosmic hint when everyone present was less than enthused. The only song I really had a desire to listen to more than once was Song for Jo, track 6, which for some reason I really enjoyed.

Even though I would call this album a failure, I definitely respect the people, work, and concept behind it. Its an impressive failure, how about that? Check it out and tell me what you think! Click on the album link above to get to her page and you can listen for free.

Misprinted Type

Eduardo Recife, one of my favorite artists, has had a special place in my heart for a while. I randomly found his website, and thought he was an unknown genius. Then, I found an article about him in Juxtapoz Magazine (which is such a quality read, I suggest you go buy one at your local barnes n noble).

I recently watched a short film featuring his latest and greatest (and when I say short I mean really short, and slightly interactive.) The picture on the right side of my blog that says "everything will be just fine" is a link to his site, it is also my favorite image of his and I'll repost it in the blog so you can see it clearly. I recommend you click on "projects" and then "invisible" to check out the new work I am talking about.

Here are some other pieces of his I really like, even if one of them look like baby conan o'brian, which is terrifying.

Huski- Undatow

So when I was crazy and never slept, I became completely obsessed with this music video, actually felt like I was a part of it, and would watch it at least five times in a row before doing something else, then watch it some more.

I came across it again, and I've decided it is as AWESOME AS I REMEMBER. It feels romantic to me, somehow. But thats the crazy talkin.


Huski - Undatow



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Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

Meaning "With A Buzz In Our Ears We Play Endlessly," the 2008 Sigur Rós album, which will be released in North America in late July, has officially leaked! And no, this is not the hindquarters of the band.

Although destined to be on my Top Ten Favorite Albums of 2008, since this Icelandic phenomenon has been on every musical elitist's radar since Ágætis Byrjun (which means, I think, Good Start), the first track threw me off completely.

Critics have been raving that the first track is their favorite, it's what makes the album, blah blah; I agree to a point. At first I was a little confused. It was like Sigur Ros had mated with Animal Collective, which is a freakin' sweet combo in theory but it made me nervous that the rest of the album would lack that 'sigurrosiness' I need in order to survive.

Now CALM DOWN. I know that upset alot of you, but it needed to be said. It was a great song of course, but a little too Children-of-the-Flaming-Lips for me. The rest of the album was all the Sigurosiness I hoped for and more. That gorgeous falsetto flying around a heavenly collection of violin, guitar, piano- recorded in various locations including New York, London, Reykjavík, and Havana.

Some of you who read this blog won't know who this band is, so let me name some similar artists for you to get the gist of it: (Warning: Comparisons are weak at best. Sigur Ros is its own animal, nothing matches them)

-The Album Leaf, Efterklang, Radiohead, Mogwai , Eluvium , Godspeed You Black Emporer!

and for the more mainstream reader:

-coldplay+jeff buckley+boys choir
ONLY REALLY GOOD

Support the genius. To pre-order this album, click here


genre description: Ambient Slow-Motion Rock

The Fish In My Life

As many (all 3) of you suspect (already know), I do have a certain fish in my life. His name is the Giant, and he is that wicked piece of tail up top.

Unfortunately, we're going through a rough patch right now. Mostly because I keep calling him The Venus De Milo, which was my LAST fishes name. I know, awkwerrrrrd. Milos full name was The-Venus-de-Milo-Inspires-Me, which is probably the best line ever written for a serial killer with a lisp on *Law and Order: SVU. He was only with me for a few hours before he returned to the Great Sea Beyond via the Magical Toilet Flow.

Milo and I had something special. I fell in love with his devil-may-care way of swimming around the tank, but soon the strokes became willy-nilly, then upside-downey. I was devastated.

The Giant just can't understand that he was special to me. And he is also bitter because, honestly, his name just isn't as cool. You can thank cute/demon for that.

So now he is being short with me since I called him Milo, and I keep telling him I won't clean his tank if he gives me any sass. I swear. He'd rather swim around in filth than get over himself.

beta fish. can't live with 'em...... right girls?



heres a pic of milo.
he was a minimalist.



*In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these viscious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit. These are their stories. DUN DUN.

ALL FROM MEMORY, BABY

hey bloggie bloggie bloggie.

The first blog of my life. Its like I'm finally seeing in color.


Nikki has inspired me to blog; however, I'm trying not to mention her too much since her blog is fierce, in both appearance and content. well played, nicole. well played.

Now that my ashlee simpson 'living in the shadow' moment is over, lets move on to my day.

I'm not going to mention any names here, but I am going to tell a story about myself. Lets call me, Nancy.


I don't know about you guys, but I don't enjoy peeing my pants. Neither does Nancy. She especially doesn't like it if it occurs at an inopportune moment (ie, talking about your new book on the Oprah Show, on your wedding night, or at any other time you are not in a bathroom). Nancy's time was on one of her first days at work, a clothing store we'll call Harlotte Moose.

The reason I'm posting the story, despite how ridiculously awkward it will be for her in the future, is because she handled it like a freakin' champ. Removing the light blue jeans (yes, she was wearing light blue jeans, making the situation 2 to 7 times more hilarious, and sending it to the sitcom qualifier round), she first considered splashing water all over her person and blaming faulty piping. Knowing there would be serious holes in the story, such as the suspicious area that was splashed, Nancy soaked the jeans in water, rung them out, and put them back on. Now, if you're a genius like me/Nancy, you will see how this move has made the jeans simply look a shade darker, instead of crotchdamp (<-real word).
Besides boasting of how tastefully Nancy handled a situation that she really shouldn't be having to face for another 60 years, I also believe this story goes well with the title I chose for my blog: Cry, Breathe, Smile. Those three words were the first things I thought when I took a polaroid of the sky in Lincoln. I love this picture, it put things in perspective. That includes realizing how theraputic making fun of yourself is, and how it makes every day easier to laugh at the rough stuff.

p.s. if you don't believe me that crotchdamp is a real word, look it up

p.p.s. hahahahah you totally looked it up! ohhhh boy. hahah!

::sigh:: good times.