"The purpose of art is to raise people to a higher level of awareness than they would otherwise attain on their own."
-Brassai
August 16, 2010
August 11, 2010
August 6, 2010
August 4, 2010
August 1, 2010
nowhere boy
My entire life, my parents have instilled a strong love for the beatles in me and my siblings. There are multiple home videos of me and my siblings (some so young, they were not even able to stand on their own yet) dancing to song after song, from "twist and shout" to "octopus' garden" and singing along to every word. Some of my favorite memories from when I was a child involve beatles music. I spent a lot of time in the "woody wagon", my dad's old mustard yellow and white toyota pickup truck that belonged to my great grandpa, papa (or woody, as everyone else called him), driving around with my dad and listening to cassette tape after cassette tape of beatles albums. I remember that my dad even let me rewind the tape to "back in the u.s.s.r." over and over again for the month that i decided that was my favorite beatles song. Starting all of us on the beatles gave us all a real appreciation for music and a love for different styles and sounds. I'm pretty confident that any of us fisher kids would be able to sing (almost) every beatles song, word for word if we were asked to.
Because of this love, I am so excited for this movie, nowhere boy. There haven't really been any movies made about the lives of the beatles members and the stories of their careers, which is very surprising to me, seeing as they have made such a huge impact on music and culture. The movie will focus on john lennon's life, but it sounds like it also will take us through the formation of the band and the beginning of their career together. I cannot wait until the end of the year for this!
June 3, 2010
someone loves you
In the last year my dad has taken up "street photography". This is not what most would think of when they hear street photography - candid photos of people on the street, living their daily lives, being captured in a perfect moment - nope, this is actually photos of the street. Using his blackberry (the best toy camera one can get their hands on), he has been snapping photos of shapes, shadows, graffiti (above), textures, light and anything else that catches his eye - all on the ground. His twist on this is that his shoes are in every single picture, whether it's his entire shoe or just a corner of it, they must be in the photo. The photos are unexpectedly beautiful and show a city in a completely new and different light.
My entire life my dad has come up with art projects ranging from theater design to life size painted animals to fictitious businesses. Each project he tells me about gets the same response of confusion and excitement and in the end I'm never disappointed in what he creates. My dad continues to inspire me and encourage me with any art I do, as he has done since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I truly owe it to him for giving me a love of creating art and appreciating art, especially some pieces that may be over looked by others. I'm extremely fortunate to have been raised by such creative people. It has definitely made me who I am today. So dad - thank you and here's to the next project!
May 27, 2010
macarons
This weekend will be dedicated to two things - birthday party preparations for my darling Summer and baking. In addition to a few other baked goods (madelines, muffins and bananas bread?), I plan to finally make Macarons. I have wanted to make these delicious beauties for some time now but can never seem to find a good recipe, so when I walked in to Anthropologie and discovered i ♥ macarons, I had no choice but to purchase it. In addition to some great recipes in this book, there is some divine food styling and photography, which I'm a real sucker for. I cannot wait to fill the house with the sweet smell of these little pastries cooking! Word on the street is they are really difficult to perfect, but after reading multiple recipes, I really don't see what could be so tricky about them. I'm not too worried - I heard the same thing about baking madelines and had no problem with those either...I suppose I shall see this weekend!
May 6, 2010
superhero for a day
Ever since I was a little kid, I've loved the Make A Wish Foundation. When I was seven or eight, a family friend's daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer. Kyra was only three or four. When she was in her last months, all she wanted to do was see Pocahontas, the newest Disney movie at the time. Because of her illness, she couldn't go out in public to a movie theater because of all the germs she would be exposed to that would possibly cause her harm. Her parents contacted Make A Wish Foundation and next thing they knew, Micky Mouse and his Disney crew were at her door, ready to set up an in home theater for her to watch the movie (and in 1995, an in home theater was a huge deal).
At the time, Kyra was the youngest person I had known to die and be completely aware of what was happening. I remember feeling so hurt for her family and so sad for her that she never got to experience growing up, but for some reason, what Make A Wish did for her somehow made it alright for me. Ever since then, they've been one of my favorite charities and the story below, reminds me of why that is.
At the time, Kyra was the youngest person I had known to die and be completely aware of what was happening. I remember feeling so hurt for her family and so sad for her that she never got to experience growing up, but for some reason, what Make A Wish did for her somehow made it alright for me. Ever since then, they've been one of my favorite charities and the story below, reminds me of why that is.
Local boy with cancer turns into a superhero for a day
By Katherine Long
Thursday was shaping up to be just another school day for 13-year-old Erik Martin, but then something extraordinary happened: Spider-Man called.
Spider-Man happens to be one of the few people who knows that Erik, too, has a secret identity — he's Electron Boy, a superhero who fights the powers of evil with light. And Spider-Man needed Erik's help.
Erik, who is living with liver cancer, has always wanted to be a superhero. On Thursday, the regional chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted him that wish with an elaborate event that involved hundreds of volunteers in Bellevue and Seattle.
The local chapter, which serves four states, grants more than 300 wishes every year to children with life-threatening medical conditions, but only a few of them involve so many participants. Pulling off a wish like this one required a big story, and a lot of heart. And so, with a note of panic in his voice, Spider-Man explained the dilemma: "Dr. Dark" and "Blackout Boy" had imprisoned the Seattle Sounders in a locker room at Qwest Field. Only Electron Boy could free them.
Erik got into his red-and-blue superhero costume, and called on the powers of Moonshine Maid, who owns a DeLorean sports car. For good measure, more than 20 motorcycle officers from the Bellevue Police Department and King County and Snohomish sheriff's offices escorted Electron Boy to Seattle. "They shut down 405” they shut down I-90," marveled Moonshine Maid, aka Misty Peterson. "I thought it would just be me, in the car."
At Qwest Field, Electron Boy was directed by frantic fans to the Sounders locker room, where the entire team was shouting for help behind jammed doors. With a little help from Lightning Lad, the alter ego of local actor Rob Burgess, Erik opened the door with his lightning rod. The Sounders cheered. "Thank you, Electron Boy," said defender Taylor Graham. "You saved us!" exclaimed forward Nate Jaqua. "Good job, big man," said defender Tyrone Marshall. And forward Steve Zakuani mutely bowed his thanks.
Electron Boy seemed a little dazed by his powers. Out on Qwest Field, the Sounders gave Erik a hero's congratulations, posed for pictures and gave him a jersey and autographed ball.
Everyone was startled when, overhead, the Jumbotron crackled to life. "Electron Boy, I am Dr. Dark and this is Blackout Boy," sneered an evil voice, as the villain — Edgar Hansen, and his sidekick Jake Anderson, both of Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch"” taunted the young superhero. "We are here to take over Seattle and make it dark!"
On the Jumbotron, a video showed a Puget Sound Electric employee Jim Hutchinson trapped in the top of his bucket truck in front of PSE's Bellevue headquarters. Only Electron Boy could save him.
As Electron Boy's motorcade - the DeLorean, the 25 motorcycle officers and a white limo - rolled through downtown Bellevue, pedestrians stopped in their tracks and pulled out their cameras to take pictures. Clearly, somebody famous was in town. But who could it be? "It's Electron Boy," Erik's older sister, Charlotte Foote, shouted out the window of the limousine.
More than 250 PSE employees gathered outside the company's headquarters and cheered as Electron Boy freed the trapped worker. "It was so loud, people in office buildings were looking out the window," said Make-A-Wish communications director Jeannette Tarcha.
But Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy were still at large. Electron Boy got a tip that the evil duo were at the Space Needle, where they had disabled the elevator and trapped people on the observation deck. Racing back to Seattle, Electron Boy stepped out of the DeLorean to a cheering crowd of dozens of admirers, and confronted his nemesis. "How did you find us, Electron Boy?" Dr. Dark demanded. Erik wordlessly leapt at Dr. Dark with his lightning rod, freezing the villain. Then he unlocked the elevator and freed the people trapped upstairs. Bellevue police Officer Curtis McIvor snapped handcuffs on Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy, who couldn't resist some last words: "How can we thank you for saving our souls?"
A tiny smile played around Electron Boy's mouth. Just for good measure, he held his lightning sword to Blackout Boy's throat again. The crowd went wild. "Hip-hip, hooray!" Seattle City Councilwoman Sally Bagshaw stepped forward with a key to the city and a proclamation that Thursday was Electron Boy Day. Afterward, Erik posed for the TV cameras, flexed his muscles and spent some time astride a Bellevue police motorcycle.
"He's over the moon," said Foote. "This is definitely beyond anything we thought it would be." Watching her son run across the plaza in front of the Space Needle, mom Judy Martin said Erik goes to school when he's able, but is often too tired. "He hasn't had this much energy in a long time," she said. "They called it the power of the wish, and they're right."
Like any good superhero, Electron Boy kept his innermost thoughts to himself. But he did have one important thing to say:
"This is the best day of my life."
Article courtesy of The Seattle Times
Thank you to Marina for posting this!
Spider-Man happens to be one of the few people who knows that Erik, too, has a secret identity — he's Electron Boy, a superhero who fights the powers of evil with light. And Spider-Man needed Erik's help.
Erik, who is living with liver cancer, has always wanted to be a superhero. On Thursday, the regional chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted him that wish with an elaborate event that involved hundreds of volunteers in Bellevue and Seattle.
The local chapter, which serves four states, grants more than 300 wishes every year to children with life-threatening medical conditions, but only a few of them involve so many participants. Pulling off a wish like this one required a big story, and a lot of heart. And so, with a note of panic in his voice, Spider-Man explained the dilemma: "Dr. Dark" and "Blackout Boy" had imprisoned the Seattle Sounders in a locker room at Qwest Field. Only Electron Boy could free them.
Erik got into his red-and-blue superhero costume, and called on the powers of Moonshine Maid, who owns a DeLorean sports car. For good measure, more than 20 motorcycle officers from the Bellevue Police Department and King County and Snohomish sheriff's offices escorted Electron Boy to Seattle. "They shut down 405” they shut down I-90," marveled Moonshine Maid, aka Misty Peterson. "I thought it would just be me, in the car."
At Qwest Field, Electron Boy was directed by frantic fans to the Sounders locker room, where the entire team was shouting for help behind jammed doors. With a little help from Lightning Lad, the alter ego of local actor Rob Burgess, Erik opened the door with his lightning rod. The Sounders cheered. "Thank you, Electron Boy," said defender Taylor Graham. "You saved us!" exclaimed forward Nate Jaqua. "Good job, big man," said defender Tyrone Marshall. And forward Steve Zakuani mutely bowed his thanks.
Electron Boy seemed a little dazed by his powers. Out on Qwest Field, the Sounders gave Erik a hero's congratulations, posed for pictures and gave him a jersey and autographed ball.
Everyone was startled when, overhead, the Jumbotron crackled to life. "Electron Boy, I am Dr. Dark and this is Blackout Boy," sneered an evil voice, as the villain — Edgar Hansen, and his sidekick Jake Anderson, both of Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch"” taunted the young superhero. "We are here to take over Seattle and make it dark!"
On the Jumbotron, a video showed a Puget Sound Electric employee Jim Hutchinson trapped in the top of his bucket truck in front of PSE's Bellevue headquarters. Only Electron Boy could save him.
As Electron Boy's motorcade - the DeLorean, the 25 motorcycle officers and a white limo - rolled through downtown Bellevue, pedestrians stopped in their tracks and pulled out their cameras to take pictures. Clearly, somebody famous was in town. But who could it be? "It's Electron Boy," Erik's older sister, Charlotte Foote, shouted out the window of the limousine.
More than 250 PSE employees gathered outside the company's headquarters and cheered as Electron Boy freed the trapped worker. "It was so loud, people in office buildings were looking out the window," said Make-A-Wish communications director Jeannette Tarcha.
But Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy were still at large. Electron Boy got a tip that the evil duo were at the Space Needle, where they had disabled the elevator and trapped people on the observation deck. Racing back to Seattle, Electron Boy stepped out of the DeLorean to a cheering crowd of dozens of admirers, and confronted his nemesis. "How did you find us, Electron Boy?" Dr. Dark demanded. Erik wordlessly leapt at Dr. Dark with his lightning rod, freezing the villain. Then he unlocked the elevator and freed the people trapped upstairs. Bellevue police Officer Curtis McIvor snapped handcuffs on Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy, who couldn't resist some last words: "How can we thank you for saving our souls?"
A tiny smile played around Electron Boy's mouth. Just for good measure, he held his lightning sword to Blackout Boy's throat again. The crowd went wild. "Hip-hip, hooray!" Seattle City Councilwoman Sally Bagshaw stepped forward with a key to the city and a proclamation that Thursday was Electron Boy Day. Afterward, Erik posed for the TV cameras, flexed his muscles and spent some time astride a Bellevue police motorcycle.
"He's over the moon," said Foote. "This is definitely beyond anything we thought it would be." Watching her son run across the plaza in front of the Space Needle, mom Judy Martin said Erik goes to school when he's able, but is often too tired. "He hasn't had this much energy in a long time," she said. "They called it the power of the wish, and they're right."
Like any good superhero, Electron Boy kept his innermost thoughts to himself. But he did have one important thing to say:
"This is the best day of my life."
Article courtesy of The Seattle Times
Thank you to Marina for posting this!
April 19, 2010
brother moe
Harrison picked up my mom's guitar about two years ago and started to pick up songs just by ear immediately. He started taking lessons shortly after, and although that helped, he had a natural talent and it was clear that he was going to be great, lessons or not. After a while, I started to receive phone calls from him - "what blink182 song should I learn?" "give me another song to figure out!". Then he'd call me back about an hour later, and play the song perfectly for me over the phone. To hear my little brother play the songs that I grew up listening to, and in turn, he was forced to listen to, being played over the phone for me was an indescribable feeling.
Last September, Harry created a YouTube channel playing covers of songs that his friends and (nagging) sisters requested. With every song he recorded, I was more amazed and continued to ask myself how this was my little brother. For Christmas, he recorded a nine song cover CD to give as gifts. We all hung on to each song as it played and I don't think there was a dry eye in the room while we listened to the twenty minute CD. The song above is the first he has written (for his girlfriend, aw!) thus far. He makes me more proud every day and I still can't believe the amazing voice that comes through my car speakers when I'm playing his CD is that of my little brother, my little bud growing up, the goofy, sweet little boy I would babysit and care for.
Harry - Keep it up. You are amazing and you have something really special, a true gift. I am so unbelievably proud and lucky to be able to say I'm your sister. I love you, bud!
April 2, 2010
fifty people, one question
Where would you wish to wake up tomorrow?
Fifty People, One Question: Brooklyn from Fifty People, One Question on Vimeo.
I adore the woman with the red baret.
Fifty people, one question is a project I came across a while ago, and really fell in love with. The videos are pretty self explanatory - fifty different people, one location, one question. They only have five videos now, but each time I watch one of the videos, a new person or a new answer will stand out to me. They're all beautiful, but my favorites are the "If you could wake up anywhere" videos in Brooklyn and in London (the boy with the curly hair at the beginning of the London video breaks my heart every single time).
If I could wake up anywhere tomorrow? I thought about this for quite a while, and I thought about how much I would love to wake up in Boston, one of my favorite cities, or how I'd love to start my day to the sound of the waves and the cool wind while camping on the beach somewhere, or that I'd like to awake somewhere in Europe and see the sights there. But honestly, after giving it some thought - I would want to wake up in my own bed with Kevin. Not because I don't long for these other places in the world, or wish to explore other scenery, but because I'm so excited and content to wake up here, in my beautiful little home in LA, with the person I love more than anything and with the people I hold so dearly so close by. I truly anticipate what each day will bring and what new experiences and opportunities will come my way. I'm really loving my life, the people that I share my days with and what I'm doing right here, right now. So if I could wake up anywhere, it would be in my lovely bed, with the warm sun shining in through my window. Because I really wouldn't want to be anywhere else and miss a moment of this wonderful life I have been so lucky to live.
Fifty People, One Question: Brooklyn from Fifty People, One Question on Vimeo.
I adore the woman with the red baret.
Fifty people, one question is a project I came across a while ago, and really fell in love with. The videos are pretty self explanatory - fifty different people, one location, one question. They only have five videos now, but each time I watch one of the videos, a new person or a new answer will stand out to me. They're all beautiful, but my favorites are the "If you could wake up anywhere" videos in Brooklyn and in London (the boy with the curly hair at the beginning of the London video breaks my heart every single time).
If I could wake up anywhere tomorrow? I thought about this for quite a while, and I thought about how much I would love to wake up in Boston, one of my favorite cities, or how I'd love to start my day to the sound of the waves and the cool wind while camping on the beach somewhere, or that I'd like to awake somewhere in Europe and see the sights there. But honestly, after giving it some thought - I would want to wake up in my own bed with Kevin. Not because I don't long for these other places in the world, or wish to explore other scenery, but because I'm so excited and content to wake up here, in my beautiful little home in LA, with the person I love more than anything and with the people I hold so dearly so close by. I truly anticipate what each day will bring and what new experiences and opportunities will come my way. I'm really loving my life, the people that I share my days with and what I'm doing right here, right now. So if I could wake up anywhere, it would be in my lovely bed, with the warm sun shining in through my window. Because I really wouldn't want to be anywhere else and miss a moment of this wonderful life I have been so lucky to live.
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