Shedd Aquarium

*taken by Marisa

Fleurs From My Favorite Arkansan

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Squirrelizer!

http://www.lutralutra.co.uk/squirrelizer/

Happy Sheep

I have determined my favorite animals are:
1. squid
2. bunnies
3. sheep
4. chickens
5. sloths

Age Maps

Bobby Neel Adams does his Age Maps all without Photoshop- a rare find. I love the mix of something vintage with a look at the evolution of a person, and seeing what changes on us as we get older. More here, including FamilyTree, which puts immediate family members together, and Couples, which is also kind of self explanatory.

One Woman, Multiple Artists

Kim Noble is an unique case. She's an artist, but she's an artist twelve times over. She was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personalities) and all her alters seem to be artistically inclined. I find a lot of her work creepy, but what's more interesting is seeing the different styles (there's that word again) that come from each personality.

You're Special- Shut Your Mouth, by Ria
(Creepy and graphic, in a way that reminds me of Frida Khalo.)

Darkness, by Anon
(Creeeeepy. Again.)

Picking Flowers, by Ken
(My favorite favorite favorite. Such gorgeous colors!)

Kaballa 4, by Key
(My second favorite. It reminds me of the patterns Clive Barker put on a pair of Candy Quankenbush's pink pants in an illustration for his second Abarat book.)

Catch or Throw Girl, by Abi
(She spells her name splendidly, don't you think?)

Baby World, by Karen
(My third favorite.)

See more from her here.

Reads: Another Sedaris and Movie Books

4.56 out of 5
My favorite bit was, no surprise, the bit involving David's sister Amy asking him how to say 'blow job' in Japanese. This cover is also, in my opinion, the best that's ever graced the covers of his books. (On a side note, the other day I wore silver sequined pumps and a '60s floral dress and determined that Amy Sedaris is my favorite celebrity. By far.)

3.32 out of 5
I desperately hate when this happens because I am such a lover of reading, but I honestly think the movie was better than the book in this case. However, I would recommend this to anyone who ever wondered what people mean when they say their mind was racing, as if time were going excruciatingly slow and their brain was on speed- Kaysen explains it very well in one chapter, and I used to have it happen to me all the time before I was awarded medication.

3.89 out of 5
It's a short book, so it was a quick reread in preparation for me seeing the newest film adaptation with Will Smith (where apparently the vampires aren't vampires...). Matheson's stories are always chilling and thought-inducing, and this one is no exception. Another good cover illustration, btw. They blurred it out on this edition, but on the version I own it's very clear (very tiny, but very clear) and it's full of rotten decaying goodness.

A Very Belated Fourth of July

Sparklers!

More sparklers!

Dad, enjoying a patriotic cigar with Chuck.

I was attempting to kiss my mother.
She wasn't having it.

Joseph and Nikki

Drawn for Benjamin's brother and his girlfriend, Nikki. I like the version with just lines better, I think.

This Isn't Your Second Grade Maze

MazeFrenzy.com

I gave up, frustrated beyond belief at this rotating maze of death after ten minutes of hell, but through sheer determination or perhaps sheery insanity, Benjamin kept at it for almost two hours before finally completeing it. Just thought I'd brag a little on his behalf, because the idea of doing that maze for two hours still gives me a headache.

(Also, sorry Benjamin but you're the one who took the screen shot, not me. You should have known I would post this all over the interwebs, dear. <3>

Politics with Milk

I rely on Benjamin to translate all the mumbo-jumbo government bogus into entertaining English analogies for me, so when I found this online I was genuinely amused. Plus, it involves farm animals, so that's always a plus.


FEUDALISM: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

PURE SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all of the cows. The government gives you as much milk as you need.

BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and put them in a barn with everyone else's cows. They are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you need.

FASCISM: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them and sells you the milk.

PURE COMMUNISM: You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.

RUSSIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.

CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and shoots you.

DICTATORSHIP: You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

PURE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.

BUREAUCRACY: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.

PURE ANARCHY: You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.

LIBERTARIAN/ANARCHO-CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

From here.

A Day at the Michigan Sea

Alexis was back from Liverpool (yay!) so we gathered ourselves up, as well as some foodstuffs, and sat out by Lake Michigan, which is so large it might as well be considered a sea. I mean, you can't see across it. That's a good rule of thumb, right?

String cheese!

Neither Benj nor I can figure out where all that cleavage came from. >.>

I took this one for Benjamin. A segway parade!