This Tim Riggins Jersey

Someone please buy this for me.

I would normally request a men's small but in this instance I'd like a medium or large so I can pretend Tim is letting me wear it to school on game day. Before the big FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.

All Friday Night Lights seasons are on Netflix and you're a dang fool if you haven't jumped up on that.

Brigid and I will likely just only post about Friday Night Lights forever and ever amen until the End of Days because it is TRULY the PERFECT television show.

Texas forever.

Michael Bublé Being Stalked by a Velociraptor

Bubleraptor

I like this site a lot.

I would like this site more if they depicted the velociraptor as the size of a turkey like they actually were.

The creators of this site probably think a brontosaurus is a real dinosaur!

FOOLS!

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:

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.

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)

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.

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...

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

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.

Henry Miller - Tropic of Cancer

Warning:
This post contains a photograph of female sudoriferous glands.
Avert your eyes lest the boobs cause impure thoughts!

Dear Henry Miller,
You are a raunchy old man and I love you for that.
XOXO,
Danielle
PS - Call me


I really don't know how to give this book the due it deserves.
To give you a sense of my appreciation for it: Quotes from Tropic of Cancer take up four pages of my book quote notebook. Quote-book?

In short, Tropic of Cancer is a novel about finding a way for life and decadence to thrive in the most dire of situations. Miller exposes the savage nature of mankind through a series of semi-autobiographical accounts of people (namely "working ladies") he encounters while living in a grim and filthy 1930s France. Sex and squalor, basically.

Some have called Miller a misogynistic bastard for depicting women as sexual objects and many have argued for the ban of the book because of its X(XX)-rated accounts of certain rendezvous. Those people should really stick to reading Twilight.
And now for quotes although I highly, highly recommend you read this novel novel.

"Passed me men and women ignited with sulfur, porters in calcium livery opening the jaws of hell, fame walking on crutches, dwindled by the sky-scrapers, chewed to a frazzle by the spiked mouth of the machines."

"We have no need for genius - genius is dead. We have need for strong hands, for spirits who are willing to give up the ghost and put on flesh."

"Do anything, but let it produce joy. Do anything, but let it yield ecstasy."

And, how could I forget:
"A laboratory cunt and no litmus paper that could take her color."

Burt's Bees

While on my plane ride back from the depths of time, I forgot to put my lip balm in my carry-on bag. That journey = longest plane ride of my entire life.
Anyone who uses lip balm religiously knows that your lips get the driest when you know you don't have any accessible stick of chap. Your lack of soothing wax taunts you, torments you until you become desperate enough to ask a companion for a swipe of their choice brand.
(I never, ever do this. I would rather feel like my lips have been scorched by desert's sandy winds and the sun's persistent rays than use another person's chapstick.)
I've experienced the Bonnebell plethora of flavors, the Chapstick chapstick, and generic balms, but none have compared to the minty simplicity that is Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm.
All natural, no animal testing, and, according to my tube, 30% post-industrial content.
Good for my lips, good for the Earth.

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead

Over winter break, not only did I reach absolute zero, I also journeyed to the center of the Earth. No, I don't have photographic evidence because technology gets funky in those sorts of conditions.

I had to decide on where I want to go for spring break (read: SPRING BREAK 2009 WOOOHOOO!). Space exploration was out of the question because I'm not of age to get rental vehicles. Out of body experiences are so 1950s Twilight Zone/Contact. And I've already been to Hogwarts like a gazillion times.

So, what's a girl to do?

Clearly, I have to time travel. Since the future is right now and now and now and now, I figure going into the past would be the best option.

And yes, I'm going solely to frolic with dinosaurs. That's it. Why else would anyone time travel?
Before I hop into my DeLorean and get my Jurassic Park on for the next week, I leave you with not one, but two presents to hold you over until my return, faithful readers (read: Intensity).

Passion Pit - Sleepy Head
Passion Pit - Sleepyhead (Wallpaper. Dio Remix)
Such a good song. Such a good remix.

Get busy to it, commoners. I'm off to ride a Gigantosaurus!

Bagels

No need for me to join eHarmony anytime soon, as long as I have bagels in my life, I have plenty of love and warmth and carbs.

I've always had a spot in my heart for baked goods but never realized my infatuation for bagels until I went to Einstein Bros. Bagels for the first time. I mean, there are a near infinite amount of combinations for bagel and schmear choices and they toast your bagel, how could you go wrong?! Some favorites of mine: blueberry bagel/honey almond schmear, good grains bagel/blueberry schmear, and, a reccommendation by ZoidBerg, potato bagel/tomato basil schmear.


I know, I know. Nationwide chain. "What about those little Ma and Pop stores, D. Bade,what are you, are an unpatriotic heathen?
Simple answer: uh-huh.
Einstein is the closest bagel supplier to me. I'm sure there are other bagels worthy of a home in my tummy from homegrown shops, but until I accidentally go to one or someone gives me a good bagel tip, I will continue to blindly follow the Einstein Bros.
Maybe even drink their Kool-Aid.
Or rather, eat their Kool-Aid bagel with cyanide schmear.

At some point Sir Cross talks about bagels (squagels, actually).
Listen to him, he's godly.

Panasonic RP-HTX7 Headphones

You really don't know what you're missing until you use a real pair of headphones to listen to your jock jams.

Brigid and I are both fans of the Panasonic RP-HTX7. Affordable, good sound quality, comfortable, and badass.
I have the red pair, Brigid has pink. If Hannah got a white pair, her headphones and my headphones could make Brigid's headphones.
Yes, I passed kindergarten art with flying colors. (PUN!)

Of course, I wouldn't mind owning a pair of Bose headphones, but I'm a real human being and cannot drop three Benjamins on noise-cancelling alien technology. Plus, they are always upgrading their stuff so it's hard to keep up with the times.

I mean, are Bose antler headphones still popular?

Diane Sudyka

My hero, Charles Darwin, as depicted by Miss Sudyka.

I've said before that if humans were capable of flight, I would be the Usain Bolt of the sky. Perhaps this wishful thinking is what has led to my adoration of the super-talented Diane Sudyka. Not only is she a phenomenal artist, she volunteers at the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History working with feathered friends (albeit dead feathered friends).
Be still my heart.

Did I mention she's worked alongside Andrew Bird? She created the cover for the deluxe version of his latest release, Noble Beast and some gorgeous tour posters.
Here's a little insight into the collaboration.
Are you jealous yet? Because really, I would give my left foot to talk to Andrew Bird about microcosms.

It is hard for me to not plaster this post with pictures of her breathtaking artwork so I'll limit my pictoral additions to her renditions of a few of my favorite birds.

She has a website, a blog, and a store. Visit, read, buy.

Alexa Chung

Alexa Chung is slowly becoming my idol.

Nevermind, she definitely already is.
Idols don't have to actually contribute anything to society, right?
They just have to be pretty and dress perfectly and date Alex Turner...