Ooh La La!

I've recently decided to learn (or rather, relearn) some French. YouTube has some pretty decent beginner videos:

















And of course I have to find a way to sneak music into this post:

Marianne Dissard w/Joey Burns(from Calexico) - "Les Draps Sourds"


Oldelaf -"le Café"


Emily Loizeau - "Je Ne Sais Pas Choisir"


And here's a good short:

Music Videos Galore!

I've been on a huge music kick lately so here's some videos:

St. Vincent - "Actor Out Of Work"


The Extraordinaires - "Neighborhood Watch" (live in Mishawka)


Aesop Rock - "Pigs" (w/eye candy from Jeremy Fish painting a mural)


Beirut - "Elephant Gun"

Mr. Rogers Seems Like a Swell Guy!

A magazine that I enjoy reading is mental_floss. They have a really interesting article on Mr. Rodgers that makes me wish I could have met him. I may sound cheesy, but he just seems like such a beautiful person. Some of my favorite things I learned about him are:

• He was vegetarian.
• He was a Presbyterian minister that when told to basically tell gays and lesbians off would instead tell the homosexual “God loves you just the way you are.”
• He was interested in everyone's lives to the point that he once invited a limo driver to come inside at the destination instead of having him wait in the car for 2 hours. He even ended up befriending him!
• He composed all the songs on his show.
• His mother knit each and every sweater he wore on the show.

The Boswell Sisters

I had fallen off the music loop for a while (I think partly because my computer doesn't recognize that it has a soundcard) but lately I keep going online on Jeff's computer. I'm thinking about starting a seperate music blog but for now here's a really cool song I stumbled onto.

Newton has a New Buddy!

Jeff is on his way home from the pound with this little guy:

His name is Buster and Jeff got him to give Nutrient some company when we're not home.

He just called! I'm about to meet him!!

Alela Diane

My friend April sent me a video of Alela Diane performing live. I had previously never heard of her and upon watching the video had to find out more. I discovered on her website that she handmade 650 copies of her album The Piarate's Gospel! but was no longer able to keep up with the demand. Her website is really humbling and her "about" page makes her seem so down to earth and real. Also, check out her free songs on Daytrotter. Here's the video that got me hooked:



Here are some more videos I found:
Oh! My Mama


The Pirate's Gospel


The Ocean


Tired Feet


The Rifle

Creative Friends

My good friends Valerie and Alyssa both make some pretty darn cute items. I just felt the need to share some of my favorites from both:

Valerie made this plush cuckoo clock that actually works!


She's also made several dolls:


This one employs the use of buttons on it's "paws" to attach to a house that serves as a pincushion.




For an art assignment, Valerie had to use an old book to create anything she desired. She came up with this dollhouse.




Alyssa's specialty is purses and bags.