12minds

And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing...

Tue, 29 May 2012 14:09:00 -0400

And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

This summer has me crisscrossing the country from DC to NYC, New Orleans, Chicago, and Seattle. From weddings to new friendships and old friendships rediscovered. Here’s to beaches, trails, new paths, new experiences, and glorious sunlight.

[Southern Honduras outside of Sabanagrande - alberto238]

Wherein We Discuss Las Vegas And BiSC

Sun, 27 May 2012 16:36:00 -0400

So how was Vegas?

The question is innocent enough, but how do you really express what you’re feeling? Goethe (or Biggie Smalls, I forget) once said—and I’m paraphrasing and translating (both Biggie and Goethe were fluent in German) here—if you don’t feel it, you’ll never get it.

So how was Vegas? In some respects it was a gamble. After all, I knew 4—admittedly, awesome—people going into it, but that meant that that there were 55 BiSC strangers I didn’t know. And then What Ifs invade like the seasonal locusts. But who are we talking about? This is me, after all. Locusts of doubt (bunnies of insecurity?) are sortof my thing.

But in most respects, it was a foregone conclusion. There was no real gamble or chance; indeed, it was the logical progression of guy who starts blog after a breakup to guy who tweets during law school to guy who becomes fast friends with other DC twitter folk. It was the inevitable transition from guy who felt like he didn’t belong to realizing that not only are there tons of other people similar to him, but that they were incredible and wonderfully distinct in their own ways. Not only were you not alone, but there were people with which you could laugh and drink and dance and, most importantly, grow and learn.

Two examples:

Our flight had Brad and me going from DC to Houston to Vegas. In Houston, at our gate going to Vegas, Terra and Stace came up to us and simply asked “BiSC-uits?” and that was that—We were friends.

On Saturday, we were all seated alphabetically and I was sitting next to Alana, who I knew from twitter but never had met prior to this weekend. We exchanged pleasantries, she gave me vodka to put in my orange juice, and next thing I know I had agreed to go spend the day with her, Dominique, Laura, and Kelly. One roller-coaster (yeah, it’s there, I checked), two ice drinks (from an amazing Narnia-esque ice bar, Minus 5), and several hours later and I felt like all of us were great friends.

And that’s how Vegas was. Except with 59 or so other stories like that. Moments in which you stay up talking until 5am, moments in which you bond over the fact that there’s a guy at a club dressed as a weird horse thing, moments in which you cheer your friend hoping she wins a booty-shaking contest at the pool (she did, and she did it with class and awesomeness), moments in which you bump into the group on Sunday and spend the evening watching the water/light show at the Bellagio. And during the entire time you can’t really help but think: This all makes sense. This all fits. This is as it should be.

And as we landed back in DC and were walking to our cabs to go back to our respective apartments and lives, I asked Brad if we’re doing this again next year. His answer was pretty on point: “I think I don’t have a choice.”

So how was Vegas? In a word? Wonderful.

There’s much to be said about the opportunity that our...

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:36:52 -0400

There’s much to be said about the opportunity that our clothing gives us to be deliberate and to articulate how we present ourselves. When I was in my early 20s I used to be very much on the side that viewed clothing as a purely practical thing—clothing protected you from the elements, let’s move on and focus on more important things.

And it’s true: at its most base, that’s its function. But it’s also a way to present yourself and a way to express some message or marker. It’s not even just an armor from the elements, but I’ve also heard it identified as an armor from the slings and arrows of everyday life. You’re sad? Put on something bright. You’re insecure? Add something you love.

The older I get the more I recognize how important it is to act deliberately in pretty much everything we do and to try to leave our mark on things and express who we are, even if it’s through a bright yellow pair of pants.

Via The Sartorialist

GPOYW: Toby Ziegler Becomes My Spirit Animal Edition

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:51:07 -0400

GPOYW: Toby Ziegler Becomes My Spirit Animal Edition

Lee to Abra in Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Which is to say:...

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:55:17 -0400

Lee to Abra in Steinbeck’s East of Eden.

Which is to say: Timshel.

Legos meet Mondrian! Two things I geek out about. If anyone...

Mon, 14 May 2012 08:18:31 -0400

Legos meet Mondrian! Two things I geek out about. If anyone wants to make this for my birthday, I wouldn’t say no.

sharlala | sweethomestyle | godwantsit

This weekend included brunch with good friends, lots of...

Mon, 07 May 2012 16:01:24 -0400

This weekend included brunch with good friends, lots of champagne, a tipsy trip to the zoo, learning fun facts about cheetahs and gazelles, a nap in my office, drinks while watching the derby, and then a sinful amount of prosecco and fantastic food. It also included the purchase of a stuffed red panda, my new favorite animal.

jesswanderlust: Animals in the News, by The Atlantic. So,...

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:34:00 -0400

jesswanderlust:

Animals in the News, by The Atlantic.

So, what do you do?

"I like you a lot and I want to make something with you. I think we have serious potential for..."

Mon, 07 May 2012 09:31:00 -0400

“I like you a lot and I want to make something with you. I think we have serious potential for something good.”

"I’ve learned to value failed conversations, missed connections, confusions. What remains is what’s..."

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:02:24 -0400

“I’ve learned to value failed conversations, missed connections, confusions. What remains is what’s unsaid, what’s underneath. Understanding on another level of being.”

- Anna Kamienska, from A Nest of Quiet: A Notebook (translated by Clare Cavanagh)

In case I ever forget. Cc @caraphrased (Taken with instagram)

Thu, 03 May 2012 15:40:00 -0400

In case I ever forget. Cc @caraphrased (Taken with instagram)

I bought my first piece of art a couple of months ago. It’s a...

Wed, 02 May 2012 22:42:00 -0400

I bought my first piece of art a couple of months ago. It’s a small thing, but it’s beautiful, it speaks to me, and only one exists in the world. It shows the back of a nude woman with her knees curled up against her chest and her arms enclosing into herself. The blue hues are accented with such strong, heavy brushstrokes that the paint itself looks as if it it’s reaching out in some kind of stormy-ocean-toned supplication. Aren’t we made of waves, after all? “Life is the just the progression toward, and then a recession from, one phrase—‘I love you,’” or so says Fitzgerald.

Art matters to me a great deal because it begets a conversation. I appreciate people who strive to not only see the world from a different angle, but to convey that message—people who try to re-examine truths and tell the story in a way for you and I to understand and to feel. And that causes us to think about what we feel and why, and just like that we’re not the same as we were a moment ago. Now we have awareness. Fiat lux, and all that jazz. Be it polka or hip-hop, a Picasso or Klimt, Hamlet or Hunger Games. You end up different and I love that.

But more importantly, it means that we’re always in a process of change and evolution. Maybe it’s a process of refinement, or maybe we really are waves in the ocean—tides moving toward and away—trying to reach beyond the shore but never quite making it. It means that the us of today will be distinctly different from the us of tomorrow or 10 years from now and that life is one conversation in which we’re all trying to find our voices. I believe that there’s grace and beauty in that.

But seriously, that piece is going to look amazing once it’s framed.

Fiat lux [blind shooting]

Wed, 02 May 2012 08:48:00 -0400

Fiat lux

[blind shooting]

[bookshelves | wildromantic]

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:21:24 -0400

[bookshelves | wildromantic]

Van Gogh, Portrait of Camille Roulin, 1888/1889 (Taken with...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:51:00 -0400

Van Gogh, Portrait of Camille Roulin, 1888/1889

(Taken with instagram)

ZZ Ward - Got It Bad Your tongue is like sin/you always get...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:01:14 -0400

ZZ Ward - Got It Bad

Your tongue is like sin/you always get in.

This song is the spark caused by the look from across a room and having had enough whiskey to let it burn up into pure desire. This song is lust and the shiver of a touch. That voice? It’s telling you to give in entirely and let it hurt so good.

[Read this and download here.]

What Lot's Wife Would Have Said (If She Wasn't A Pillar of Salt) / Karen Finneyfrock

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:21:00 -0400

librariesandlemonade:

Do you remember when we met
in Gomorrah? When you were still beardless,
and I would oil my hair in the lamp light before seeing
you, when we were young, and blushed with youth
like bruised fruit. Did we care then
what our neighbors did
in the dark?

When our first daughter was born
on the River Jordan, when our second
cracked her pink head from my body
like a promise, did we worry
what our friends might be
doing with their tongues?

What new crevices they found
to lick love into or strange flesh
to push pleasure from, when we
called them Sodomites then,
all we meant by it
was neighbor.

When the angels told us to run
from the city, I went with you,
but even the angels knew
that women always look back.
Let me describe for you, Lot,
what your city looked like burning
since you never turned around to see it.

Sulfur ran its sticky fingers over the skin
of our countrymen. It smelled like burning hair
and rancid eggs. I watched as our friends pulled
chunks of brimstone from their faces. Is any form
of loving this indecent?

Cover your eyes tight,
husband, until you see stars, convince
yourself you are looking at Heaven.

Because any man weak enough to hide his eyes while his neighbors
are punished for the way they love deserves a vengeful god.

I would say these things to you now, Lot,
but an ocean has dried itself on my tongue.
So instead I will stand here, while my body blows itself
grain by grain back over the Land of Canaan.
I will stand here
and I will watch you
run.

Fiona Apple - Every Single Night Fiona Apple’s new...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:43:00 -0400

Fiona Apple - Every Single Night

Fiona Apple’s new single.

[via Slate]

Shoddy craftsmanship (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:07:35 -0400

Shoddy craftsmanship (Taken with instagram)

Find me a bar with character, a story, and a good scotch. The...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:47:08 -0400

Find me a bar with character, a story, and a good scotch. The rest will take care of itself.