26 February 2008

aj


the first drawing ive done in 3 years

21 February 2008

17 February 2008

I sound my Barbaric YAWP over the rooftops of the world

Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Don't be resigned to that. Break out!

Now we all have a great need for acceptance, but you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular, even though the herd may go, "that's baaaaad." Robert Frost said, "Two roads diverged in the wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

This is a battle, a war, and the casualties could be your hearts and souls.

We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?

They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.

(John Keating, dead poets society)

13 February 2008

practice never makes us perfect


david fullerton
Somewhere weakness is our strength, and I'll die searching for it
(paramore)
if we're really honest with ourselves, most of our plans don't work out as we'd hoped. so instead of telling our young people to plan ahead, we should tell them to plan to be surprised.
(dan in real life)

11 February 2008

happiness

Photobucket

people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. but that's not how happiness works. happiness is the consequence of personal effort. you fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. you have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. and once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effor to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. if you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment
(eat pray love, p260)

"i was the administrator of my own rescue"
(elizabeth gilbert)

replay

She was always inbetween
her life and her Childhood dream.

gling glo

10 February 2008

baz luhrmann

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of 99...

Wear Sunscreen

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years youll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you cant grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. Youre not as fat as you imagine.

Dont worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Dont be reckless with other peoples hearts, dont put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Dont waste your time on jealousy; sometimes youre ahead, sometimes youre behind the race is long, and in the end, its only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Dont feel guilty if you dont know what you want to do with your life the most interesting people I know didnt know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds i know still dont.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, youll miss them when theyre gone.

Maybe youll marry, maybe you wont, maybe youll have children, maybe you wont, maybe youll divorce at 40, maybe youll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. what ever you do, dont congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either your choices are half chance, so are everybody elses. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can- dont be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, its the greatest instrument youll ever own..

Dance even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you dont follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when theyll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do youll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Dont expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Dont mess too much with your hair, or by the time its 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than its worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen...

09 February 2008

now that i have my new camera i want to photograph everything. not what a postcard or a greenscreen can do- but to capture the spirit and feel of the culture. i have always lacked the desire to have a picture of me in each place. its like i have proof but i dont that i was actually there. i like the idea of going somewhere with out having anything to show for it. the idea of my face in front of a famous site or monument definately ruins it for me.

05 February 2008

03 February 2008

its things like this...



...that remind me why i love to travel:
so after waking up on the hard floor of a jjingil bang (korea's 24 hour spas/ it cost 8 dollars to get in and you can stay as long as you want. there are hot baths, cold baths, pools, sit and stand up showers. men and women are seperated so everyone is just walking around naked. when you arent in the baths you can put on the shirt and shorts they give you and hang in the common room and watch tv. they are cheaper to stay in then hostels probably bc we have to lay in a room w a hundred other ppl w only a leather square pillow and a towel as a blanket like its a middle school lock-in and everyone is wearing matching pajamas. good thing the floors are heated.) we decided to hike inwangsan mountain. it was around 1030a by the time we caught the metro, grabbing a grilled egg,cabbage,ham,ketchup,and cheese sandwich from a street vendor on the way, to the mountain and as we made our way up we got a bit sidetracked. we didnt really believe it but we saw a bunch of 70 y/o koreans playing on 3 badminton courts. one couple specifically called us over to watch. a few minutes later we were serenaded by a man on his harmonica, as another man proceeded to teach me a korean dance. when the song ended we were soon interupted by their wives calling us inside the little clubhouse for coffee. they all followed us in pulling chairs out for us and ended up hookin up the wok and cooking us some fish and kimchi. the men topped our coffee off with soju (sweet potato liquor) and poured us another cup of yogurt beer, which i actually liked. this whole situation was pretty amazing bc they were precious in their attempts to speak to us in english. they were the nicest ppl and extended the invitation to play with them every sunday. turns out they are on a badminton team. i have felt nothing but welcomed in this country.