atlas sound

I heard a Panda Bear track on KCRW this morning, which led me to discover this track featuring Panda Bear. I love it all today.

photo op

I've been in search of art or photography or anything really that I connect with to hang on my wall above my couch. It's bare and lonely and I really want some inspiration to spy every day. So I e-mailed my cousin, Gina Martin, who is a photographer for National Geographic. She led me to her photos and I've found a few that I really love.


For more of Gina's photos: www.NGSImages.com
Search for Gina Martin.

oh, semantics.

Thanks to the ability to search through tweets, I have the immediate satisfaction of knowing that crowds of people across the states are loving a set. It's all worth it. My boyfriend "kills it" every night... and that's actually a good thing. A wonderful thing.

Proud. And happy.

Long overdue: Yellow House

I finally bought Grizzly Bear's Yellow House this morning. I'm in love. And I very much feel inspired by this song.

In the Flowers

and sometimes you crash. and that's okay.

CNN Breaking News: NASA crashes a spacecraft and the upper stage of a rocket on the moon in search for water.

Crash?! The thought of finding water on the moon had been so exciting, but the first thought upon seeing this headline sent my heart downwards. Upon reading closer, however, I discovered that the crash landing in this instance was actually exactly what they needed. (Lesson #1 here: don't assume before you read the full story!) CNN reports: "NASA said Friday's rocket and satellite strike on the moon was a success, kicking up enough dust for scientists to determine whether or not there is water on the moon."

So my next thought is this: (Lesson #2) Sometimes it takes a little bit of a mess to make some progress. Imagine an art project. You don't have to cut directly on the line in order to get what you need. Trim it down. Pick up the scraps. Sometimes, there's gonna be clean-up, but that doesn't mean you didn't make something beautiful.

We can pressure ourselves to always do what's right in order to move forward, but maybe there's something in between what's "right" on paper and what's wrong in our conscience. So what if things get shaken up. Maybe the dust, like on the moon, will lead us to a realization, and what's accomplished from there is all that matters.

What I want to say is: Don't give up. And don't discredit your efforts. Look for discoveries in the smallest things, and find meaning in between the obvious progress.

I was feeling a little shakey this weekend, so I needed this pep talk. I feel better already, especially if it's worked for you too.