Natasha Khan

She is an ethereal superhuman.

I don't know how Fly Hunniez went so long without acknowledging her beauty.

I think it's because it goes without saying.

Jeff Pianki

For the most part I'm not a big fan of guys my age who play acoustic guitar. It starts earnestly but quickly descends into the depths of cheap John Mayer (who is already mediocre) knockoffs like this God-awful travesty. A few diamonds in the penny mine are able to transcend the AE-wearin', Owl City-listenin', Adam Brody-lookin' cliché.

An exception to this acoustic hellhole: Jeff Pianki.

Sugarplum Bear posted this video on the wall of Dutchess Dragonmane and I was immediately on board with this guy. I triple dog dare you not to giggle when you watch it.

His music, like Sugarplum says, "makes my heart smile." Sure, sometimes it does start sliding into the realm of guitar-boy stereotype-land, but there's something, I don't know what, but something that keeps it genuine.

Is it that he's Michigan-born and Midwest is best?

Or that he's a freckled redhead?

Or that his blog shows how he's just a normal, nice dude?

I don't know. What I do know is he's talented and my auditory nerves enjoy what he does.

Jazzy Jeff's Last FM has a gaggle of his songs available for free download. And his Youtube account features a bunch of originals, covers, and collaborations including another with his precious sister that may just be cuter than Say Hello.

I'll let you find it.

Here's a hint:

Tambourines

Best instrument ever: the cello.
Second best instrument ever: the lute.
Instrument I like: the TAMBOURINE.

The tambourine may not be the coolest, most technical, or most unique instrument. Actually, as an instrument, it kind of sucks. But aesthetically, the tambourine is really fun.

It's rhythmic and fun and jangly and can be pretty and yes.


Tambourines are a lot like me. Kind of useless, mostly filler, but SUPER FUN.
Seriously any band is better with a tambourine.

Peter Gabriel Revisted

Remember when I professed my love for Peter Gabriel?

I still do...

Check it.

Variations on the Wedding Entrance Revisited

Jim and Pam's wedding? The writers are totally reading our blog because we are the only place that reported the choreographed "Forever" routine. You're welcome, America.

I am still upset about Jim's choice of Pam over Karen. Karen is an ambitious, witty, and independent woman. Pam is a mousy, annoying twit who dropped out of art school. Also, during the earlier seasons, she had really gross hair. Pam embodies the girl you settle for, Karen is the lady you dream of.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that my heart was a-goin' pitter-patter during the whole wedding episode. And, fair enough, I melted into a puddle of estrogen when Jim cut his tie, but let's be real here, it all would've been way better with Karen.

Fuck Pam, Team Karen 4eva.

Tetris

Imagine, if you will, an alternate world.

A world in which I have a better GPA and social skills, blog more regularly, and cultivate useful hobbies.

There is only one factor that needs to change between this world and that one:

Tetris would have to go.

I love Tetris.

Lately I've been playing Type B/Level 0/High 4 on my Game Boy Color. (Mine is raspberry.)

If you know what I'm talking about: I love you. Let's get married.

Even if we have to go to another state to do so.

We'll watch "West Wing"

and play Tetris

and eat Pringles and Red Vines

for the rest of our lives.

But I digress.

If there was no Game Boy Tetris, I would be reduced to such pasttimes as playing Tetris using cut-up freezer waffles. See below.

Thankfully, I still have Tetris, even though my Game Boy is running low on batteries.

I would write more, but I have, you know, stuff to do...

Outer Space

I saw the movie "Adam" recently (read: a while back when I wrote the first draft of this) and certain points were loaded with information about space that the protagonist spouted off with ease. All of the terms he used flew right over my head/went in one ear and out the other. This is when I again remembered how crazy wicked outer space is.

The universe once again entered my life after a morning of looking at pictures taken by the Hubble Telescope. After a few minutes of "Oohing" and "Ahwing" (that is how I decided to distinguish the painful/relaxing "Ahh" from the cutesy "Aww") over some spectacular new discoveries, Intensity and I stumbled upon a website for the University of Cape Town's Astrophysics and Space Science Programme which includes course information for their Masters program(me). Shit's crazy looking. Seriously.

We then realized that outer space is something that neither of us would really understand. I mean, there are a lot of topics that I'll never know much about like poultry science or financial studies (someone's gotta do it). But astronomy?! Cool stuff.

Keep up the good work,astronomers, physicists, and astronauts.

Not cosmonauts, though. Right everyone who saw David Cross?

Soon after our revelation, Intensity and I came across RateMyTurban.com and were quickly distracted.

(Don't read this: If the universe is constantly expanding, what is it expanding to? Mind fuuuck. Told you not to read this.

Now not even a turban-wearing baby will be able to erase it from your thoughts)

"O Brother Where Art Thou" (the soundtrack)

Oh Lordy. The Hunniez have been busy lately. But obviously not with this. Never fear, dear readers, never fear. We are so back.

Yeah so, I've been spending an inordinate amount of time listening to the "O Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack. The relationship between a film and a soundtrack can be a complicated thing, especially when you're dealing with a reimagination of a Greek epic poem (in this case, The Odyssey, just in case you didn't know) and a powerful Americana musical setting.

With voices like Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris among a host of others rooting the film in the cultural traditions of Appalachia.

If you haven't seen it, watch it. If you haven't heard it, listen.

Here's a clip. And the soundtrack itself, I guess.

Music That Sounds Like Summer

As August marches relentlessly on, the end of summer's freedom draws closer and closer. The Fly Hunniez will officially walk the hallowed halls of our university once again on September 2nd (the effervescent H. Boldt on crutches).

But some songs will carry a hint of sun and sand and warm breezes with them through the fall...

Here are some of my "songs of the summer"...

Freeway - Kurt Vile

Beach Comber - Real Estate

French Navy - Camera Obscura

Contender - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Glad - Glasser

Warm Heart of Africa (feat. Ezra Koenig) - The Very Best

things will never be the same again -jj

Deadbeat Summer - Neon Indian

Seasun - Delorean

What are yours?

Variations on the Wedding Entrance

My parents have given me permission to do this at my wedding.

Will I? Probably not.
You never know with an open bar though. Something like that might happen spontaneously.

Variations on the Stanky Legg

I am not a tech-savvy at risk youth and have no idea how to embed Facebook videos but this one comes to you straight from the dirty Pulaski featuring Honorary Fly Hunnie, Laurney Lou.

"stanky legg, dun rite"

Greenfield News and Hobby

I used to frequent News and Hobby as a youngin' with my dad where he would buy my sister and me Paint-By-Numbers and engraving foils (I made one of a wolf a little while ago and you better believe that badass going to be proudly hanging in my room next year).

Now that's what I'm talking about.

I also remember an abundance of Warheads were purchased since a) they were all the rage at HC Elementary, b) they are fucking tasty, and c) News and Hobby has a quality candy selection where you can buy Warheads by the pound if you so please. And please do.

On a quest for canvas and a new paintbrush I headed back to my old stomping grounds in an effort to both support local business and bring back a flood of nostalgia. The store is exactly the same as it was ten years ago. Cluttured with airplane models and ink pots, News and Hobby is half a little boy's wet dream, half a recreational artist's wet dream.

Look at this display. There are two dogs, an unconvincing deer, and a zebra in a goddamn truck. And see that inflatable dinosaur hanging from the ceiling? Just try and tell me this place isn't worth your time or money.

The West Wing

I've had a pretty quiet social life this summer, which can only mean one thing:

I've been watching a LOT of "The West Wing."

This show is so. awesome. (So is Leo McGarry.)

Donna went to UW Madison for a while.

Ainsley Hayes and Sam Seaborn for sure both worked for the Santos administration and got together post-series. Such smart, cute, legal-eagle children!

I'm pretty sure that C.J. Cregg and Leo were really running the country the entire time. And C.J. looked really good and did an amazing lip sync to "The Jackal" while doing it.

Josh Lyman, you renegade, being all Deputy Chief of Staff and insolent and not getting together with Donna until the very end.

And hey, before going undercover as Gus on "Psych," Charlie Young was the BEST presidential aide ever.

Englishman

Part of being a Fly Hunnie is recognizing when things are awesome.

Though we all have excellent taste and are able to discover good, new music without help, sometimes it takes a little push in the right direction to listen to something that may have otherwise been missed.

Case in point: Englishman.

I can take no credit for knowing about this band, but they are excellent.

I think the immediate draw they have is the fact that they are able to embrace some of the most appealing aspects of current indie releases while not conforming to expected sound. They are lyrically solid, and the vocals are stellar and easy on the ear, 

which seems to be a trait found less and less in "authentic" music.

(By the way, I hate when people say things are authentic. Really? Really?)

I might not be able to take credit for all kinds of being aware of the emerging music scene and knowing what's going to be getting big, but thanks to other people noticing that this great little band is opening for Deer Tick, Elf Power, and Bonnie "Prince" Billy. and playing for Daytrotter, I'm going to agree that Englishman is going places.

And hello, they played at Transylvania University. That is awesome. And in Kentucky, but whatever.

Illegal Download of the EP "Taxidermy"

Grapple with morality on your own terms.

Lipstick

So I made a discovery: red lipstick tasted just like Red Vines.

This leads me to suspect that Red Vines just taste like dye.

Why not just wear lipstick instead of eating Red Vines, then?

I used to be a huge lover of lipstick, but somewhere along the line, I decided to be like everyone else and wear sheer glosses that sparkle and shine and make hair stick to my mouth.

What sticky lipgloss deserves:

I don't like those glosses very much. So I went for Burt's Bees Pomegranate lip balm, which has a nice tint to it. But sometimes, I just need that little extra POP.

That's where lipstick comes in.

It helps that lipstick has recently seen a resurgence in popularity among Fly Hunniez everywhere.

I feel a little retro, a little modern, and a lot sexy when I wear lipstick.

Who cares if no one notices? I notice.

And I imagine that I look like this:

Robert Pattinson's Jawline

The thing could slice through sheets of steel. I'm sure of it.

Here it is looking sullen.

Here it is hanging out with Todd Olson.

And..what? You can't actually see it in this photograph? Oh. Sorry...

Red Vines

Candy can be a divisive issue among friends. Several of my close friends do not like licorice, but I find licorice to be a good thing. I would not dedicate a whole post to licorice in general, but there is a particular variety that I eat constantly, even though I'm not sure if I actually like it.

Red Vines.

Red Vines have the fairly unique quality of functioning as a high quality straw, which can then be eaten after use. Not all beverages are conducive to the Red Vine-straw; milk for instance would be a huge mistake. Dr. Pepper, orange juice, and your preferred cola are all great options to drink through a licorice straw, as is, of course, Mr. Pibb, as recommended in the classic SNL digital short "Lazy Sunday," promised to be "crazy-delicious."

Warning: In high quantities, Red Vines can begin to create the sensation that you are eating mildly-flavored wax. Don't let it get to that point, trust me.

Smitten Kitchen

I'm trying to become a more marketable housewife (along with Claire). This includes me learning how to embroider and how to cook. I think in order to be a domestic goddess, I will also have to come to terms with the fact that my future husband will inevitably cheat on me with his busty secretary and that I must keep hush about it for the kids. But that's another lesson for another time.
Not long ago, I came upon this Smitten Kitchen site. I'm a sucker for food photography and this sated my needs. I soon decided that, hey, I'm a smart cookie, I ought to be able to make some of this fancy stuff.


So I began my journey today where I made Deb's (crazy simple) German pancakes. They are finishing up in the oven as I type. All bubbly and golden brown, they'll be delicious with some Southern peaches I bought yesterday.
Also on my list to make: Brown Sugar Brown Butter Shorties and Bittersweet Chocolate and Pear Cake.

Update: Delicious.

Cue someone (Brigid) commenting on how awesome of a cook they supposedly are.

Benoît Pioulard

Curled in a chair in the Union during the time when Brigid and I thought it would be possible to bring a certain songstress to the Terrace, I was browsing my iTunes Library to find a fitting opener and I came across a Stereogum download by Praveen and Benoît that I had forgotten about.
Upon a relisten, I ventured into the depths of Benoît Pioulard's work and never looked back.
Don't be intimidated by the French name. He's really just a Tom from Michigan who makes music that perfectly suits a lazy spring afternoon.


Listen:
Ahn

Pablo Neruda

This FlyHunnie loves poetry and first encountered Pablo Neruda in eighth grade.

I was sleeping over at a friend's house and her older brother had left his junior English book out, and being my nerdy self, I decided to read it when said friend fell asleep before me.

And what lay within? 

A whole BUNCH of great poetry.

The first poem I read was "Ode to My Socks," and I was struck. Anyone who could write like that

- about socks of all things -

had me on their team. I continued on in my search for Neruda and stumbled upon "Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair."

(Holy mackerel, did I hide that from my mother. 

An eighth grade girl's first encounter with passion and sensuality is a very memorable thing, let me tell you.)

I will also always be thankful to finding Robert Bly's translations of Neruda because they led me to Bly's own poetry, another staple of the Brigid poetry arsenal.

And the thing is, they are still as fully moving and heart-breaking and pit-in-my-stomach-inducing as they were in the days before I had even been kissed.

Being fourteen and fascinated with the idea of love, I devoured those songs and odes and sonnets

like I could never be satisfied.

I'm still not satisfied. I could eat those words for the rest of my life and not be finished until ink is running down my chin.

Universality. Pablo Neruda graffiti:

These are poems I can read forever and only hope to someday understand.

I wonder sometimes if it is possible for mere people like myself, no poet, to feel things so beautiful and so deep.

Hopefully someday, I can let you know.

Some Neruda for you.

Beyoncé Knowles

Sometimes I forget something I like for a while.
Tonight I remembered one: Beyoncé Knowles.

Beyoncé has pretty much everything going on. Her resumé reads like Lil Rail's best flyers:

Singer
Actress
Dancer
Designer
A-Lister
Married to an rapper (namely: Jay-Z)

Not only is she, like, insanely talented vocally, but she is also awesome. Seriously.

She's on the list of top ten people I would want to be. Maybe top five.

But check it. What girl doesn't want to be...

...classy and sexy...

...sweet and sexy...

... or a little bit crazy and sexy?

Want to know the answer? Come on. You know already.
Every girl wants to be like that.

She doesn't pull crazy tabloid shit.
She's responsible and knows what she wants.
(I am writing this after reading about her dreams for Broadway and about how she's waiting to have kids until she can be a responsible mother, not focused on her career.)
She's crazy-talented and has a distinct sound and style.
And last but not least, she's gorgeous. And hot.

From the time she was "jumpin' jumpin' " with Destiny's Child until her recent turn as Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé is essentially irreplaceable.

(P.S. If anyone knows where I can get a bra like the one she wears in the "Irreplaceable" video, let me know. I want it.)

Kids With Cameras

I think the hardest thing about photography is capturing unabashed human emotion (which is why I almost never take pictures of people).

Often sought after but difficult to attain, only people with a thirst for life will find it.

This is why I adore the children of Kids With Cameras.

Sure they live in less than desirable conditions, but they understand life and the emotions that come with it more than I ever will.

They are examples of pure triumph on a planet that has forgotten them.

And armed with only a basic camera, they are setting out to share their story with the world.

(Top to bottom: Cairo, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Calcutta, Jerusalem, Calcutta, Jerusalem, Haiti)

These photos and many more breathtaking works can be found at Kids With Cameras, along with information about the organization.

Some pieces are available for purchase with proceeds going to programs which will held educate these talented kids. So if you have $200+ to drop on a print, by all means, please do.
They certainly deserve it.