Sunbeam Chasing

The Sunflower

2009-06-03T09:07:00.001-07:00

Bring me the sunflower crazed with light.

(Eugenio Montale, Cuttlefish Bones)

Don't Stop Believing

2009-05-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.clipser.com/watch_video/1313316

The audio/video synch is a little off. But trust me, it's good.

"Chopin in Winter" by Stuart Dybeck

2009-04-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

Each night, Dzia-Dzia would tell me more about Chopin, describing the preludes or ballades or mazurkas, so that even if I hadn't heard them I could imagine them, especially Dzia-Dzia's favorites, the nocturnes, shimmering like black pools.

"She's playing her way through the waltzes," Dzia-Dzia told me, speaking as usual in his low, raspy voice as if we were having a confidential discussion. "She's young but already knows Chopin's secret--a waltz can tell more about the soul than a hymn."

By my bedtime the kitchen table would be shaking so much that it was impossible to practice penmanship any longer. Across from me, Dzia-Dzia, his hair, eyebrows, and ear tufts wild and white, swayed in his chair, with his eyes squeezed closed and a look of rapture on his face as his fingers pummeled the tabletop. He played the entire width of the table, his body leaning and twisting as his fingers swept the keyboard, left hand pounding at those chords that jangled silverware, while his right raced through runs across tacky oilcloth. His feet pumped the empty bucket. If I watched him, then closed my eyes, it sounded as if two pianos were playing.

- Stuart Dybeck, from "Chopin in Winter" in The Coast of Chicago, pg. 21

This is my favorite Chinese leopard ever.

2009-04-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

Whistling Puppy

2009-03-21T16:39:00.001-07:00

Hula-hooping Baby

2009-03-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

Pencil Fence

2009-02-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

2009-02-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

Japan in photomotion!!!

2009-02-12T16:37:00.000-08:00

Prettiest Wedding Pictures

2009-02-12T13:47:00.000-08:00

Bret Christensen Go to the album Amanda and Luke's Wedding

Like Children

2009-02-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

Kisses!

2009-02-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

2009-02-06T09:10:00.001-08:00

The breath of God is his breath yet though it pass from man to man through all of time.

2009-02-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

2009-02-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

"a moon-wound ocean"

(Tanuja Desai Hidier, Born Confused, 204)

Elephant Cathedral

2009-01-26T23:57:00.000-08:00

Nick Brandt

From "How Middle-Eastern Singing Was Born"

2009-01-25T10:18:00.000-08:00

Open
the book of time
with trembling
fingers, and read:
your life
that is chained
to this page;
your lover
who will tell you
the first mystery
and the last.

(Sargon Boulus, "How Middle-Eastern Singing Was Born," Language for a New Century, 468)

Courtesy of Wes Bruce #3

2009-01-24T11:46:00.001-08:00

An encouraging thought

2008-12-11T22:02:00.001-08:00

God is talking to me even when I'm not listening.

From "The Midnight" Again

2008-12-06T11:51:00.001-08:00

Sweet affliction sweet affliction
Singing as I wade to heaven

(Susan Howe, The Midnight, page 20)

From "The Midnight"

2008-12-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

What pine tree wildeyed boy

(Susan Howe, The Midnight, page 10)

THANK you.

2008-12-02T22:36:00.000-08:00

iwaslikehewasallshewasalltheywerelike

2008-11-20T18:28:00.001-08:00

You Smell Good

2008-11-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

Like a magazine.
Like a soda machine.
Like Halloween.
Like a dryer sheet.
Like some vitamin C.
Like a maitre d.
Like pumpkin pie.
(Not some sweaty guy at the gym.)
Like a candy bar.
Like a rental car.
Like a cookie jar.
Like some fryin' dough.
Like a boat show.
Like Hoops & Yoyo.

Boogie Boogie Hedgehog

2008-11-11T08:21:00.001-08:00

I started the day out laughing.

Oh Happy Day

2008-11-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

PANDA PILE!

2008-11-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

Every Little Thing

2008-11-03T08:06:00.000-08:00

Rise up this morning,
smile with the rising sun.
Three little birds
perch by my doorstep,
singing sweet songs
of melodies pure and true,
saying, "This is my message to you."

Singing, "Don't worry about a thing,
'cause every little thing is gonna be all right."

(Bob Marley, "Three Little Birds")

Courtesy of Tawnie Lee

2008-10-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

Band of Brothers

2008-10-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Flash.

THUNDER!

Courtesy of Wes Bruce #2

2008-10-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

Connected

2008-10-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

The Bottom Line

2008-10-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

If you have love to give now, you give it now.

Your heart can tell you no lies.

2008-10-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

I finished watching Mulan today. I am the biggest cheesiest cheeseball ever.

Courtesy of Wes Bruce #1

2008-10-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Mr. Brightside

2008-10-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

"As Agreed,"
by Nathan Zach
(translated from Hebrew by Tsipi Keller)

Look, as we promised each other,
We changed nothing and the world
Is as wonderful as it was, the rain
Tarries this year, but it will come:
It will come as long as we're still here....

(Language for a New Century, edited by Tina Chang, Ravi Shankar and Nathalie Handal)

Truth and Love

2008-10-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

The truth--that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest human secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.

(Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, page 57)

Courtesy of Nate Nam

2008-10-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

Like Rain

2008-10-23T13:46:00.001-07:00

It’s hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much, and my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst…

And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain. And I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life.

You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don’t worry. You will someday.

(American Beauty)

Books, Action

2008-10-23T00:08:00.000-07:00

"She ran the back of her hand along the first shelf, listening to the shuffle of her fingernails gliding across the spinal cord of each book. It sounded like an instrument, or the notes of running feet."

(Marcus Zusak, The Book Thief, page 135)

Weightless

2008-10-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Grace

2008-10-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

"I think that Grace fulfilled you in a way you didn't even know you needed."

(Eli Stone, Season 2, Episode 1)

Picasso's Doves

2008-10-21T00:09:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Katie Rose

2008-10-20T23:09:00.001-07:00

From "The Bear"

2008-10-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

"He didn't have His Book written to be read by what must elect and choose, but by the heart, not by the wise of the earth because maybe they dont need it or maybe the wise no longer have any heart, but by the doomed and the lowly of the earth who have nothing else to read with but the heart. Because the men who wrote his Book for Him were writing about truth and there is only one truth and it covers all things that touch the heart."

(William Faulkner, "The Bear," Go Down, Moses)

Where My Heart Is

2008-10-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

Apeirophilia

2008-10-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

After the dance, we left in Sam's pickup. Patrick was driving this time. As we were approaching the Fort Pitt Tunnel, Sam asked Patrick to pull to the side of the road. I didn't know what was going on. Sam then climbed into the back of the pickup, wearing nothing but her dance dress. She told Patrick to drive, and he got this smile on his face. I guess they had done this before.

Anyway, Patrick started driving really fast, and just before we got to the tunnel, Sam stood up, and the wind turned her dress into ocean waves. When we hit the tunnel, all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum, and it was replaced by a song on the tape player. A beautiful song called "Landslide." When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really fun scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing.

And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.

(Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

Just Got to Love Her!!!

2008-10-16T01:07:00.001-07:00

The ever so awesome Kristen Chenoweth of course. ;)

Shirefolk

2008-10-15T08:47:00.001-07:00

Prayer

2008-10-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

"To pray is also to breathe, and possibility is for the self what oxygen is for breathing." (Sickness Unto Death, page 40)

Noise Brigade

2008-10-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Without any training,
it's pouring, it's raining.
Training or a trade?
Hey, you bet I'm afraid.
Unequipped with a skill,
but I'm thrilled with the thrill!
Underskilled, unprepared,
hey, who wouldn't be scared?

Bring on the obstacles and burn me a bridge.
I'm not sure, should I call this a range or a ridge?
There ain't none too high if I'm up for the climb.
I'll go zero to sixty and stop on a dime.
A dime for a dozen if that's what you're after.
A moment of silence, a lifetime of laughter.

On the brighter side and on a happier note:
the noise, well, it's just love that gets caught in my throat.

The end of the line's not the end of the rope,
just a salesman selling a bucket of hope.
When the bucket gets kicked and my chips are all cashed,
my intentions, conventions are finally smashed.

- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "Noise Brigade"

Am I Waking You Up?

2008-10-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

esp ~ 3:45

YES!

2008-09-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

Where do we go from here?

2008-09-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

Cutest Oscar Winners Ever

2008-08-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx8yLvb0gZM

Brighter Day

2008-08-13T09:36:00.001-07:00

Maestro

2008-07-16T18:17:00.001-07:00

Wow

2008-07-02T06:29:00.001-07:00

Spa-nish

2008-06-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

He kicked him in the penis.

2008-06-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Something is up!

2008-05-28T01:32:00.000-07:00

Little Bitty Pretty One

2008-05-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

What do you do with telekinesis? Have a dance party!

lookkkk and dont forget to smile!!! :-)

2008-05-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

loookkkk and smile some more. hehe.

Some sweet moves!:D

2008-04-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

Puppy!

2008-04-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

Slow Motion

2008-04-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

The world is so beautiful sometimes I can hardly stand it!

yippeee, me a Grown Up! 8)

2008-04-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

ode to joy ;-)

Dancing Babies!

2008-04-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-6tzSd0Xufk

MOVE IT!!!

Good Days

2008-04-08T21:36:00.001-07:00

Joi de vivre!

I swear I've seen people make this face.

2008-04-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

Oh man, that would be so frickin' AWESOME!

2008-04-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

2008-04-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.

I would be friend of all--the foe, the friendless;
I would be giving, and forget the gift;
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up, and laugh, and love, and lift.

HOWARD ARNOLD WALTER

It's okay to get pied in the face!

2008-04-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Pie

2008-04-01T20:26:00.001-07:00

Danny Boy: The Muppet version

2008-03-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

mahna mahna

2008-03-25T22:46:00.000-07:00

Because: I think we've all felt like the googly eyed man. And I also firmly believe that phone calls like the one at the end should be made at least once a week.

Ajab si (Strange)

2008-03-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

Because: The soaring, and listen for this part, "Dil ko banade jo patange saansein yeh teri woh hawaien hai." (Makes my heart fly like a kite, these are your breaths, your wind.)

Mourya Re

2008-03-18T21:29:00.001-07:00

Because: It's delightful. And everyone needs to lead a song and dance in the middle of a street once in their lifetime.

A puppy chewing on something metal.

2008-03-13T00:37:00.001-07:00

xkcd

2008-03-04T20:23:00.000-08:00

UCSC Gospel Choir

2008-02-27T21:50:00.001-08:00

Singing Korean Baby!!

2008-02-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

A quote from Incubation

2008-02-19T08:21:00.000-08:00

Incubation: A Space for Monsters
by Bhanu Kapil

"My mother, smiling euphorically, smoothed the aluminum foil over the pillow and went to sleep, dreaming of mechanical sheep flying through a sky of tungsten. Copper and tulle" (67).

Kiss My Fat Ass

2008-02-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

Kanye West, "Hey Mama"

2008-02-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

Because: You're unbreakable, unmistakable, highly capable lady that's making loot, a living legend too. Just look what heaven do: send us an angel. And I thank you. (Hey Mama.)

I've Just Seen A Face

2008-02-09T14:52:00.001-08:00

Because: The Beatles, the silhouettes, Love, and can we add this hum to the collection?

2008-02-08T18:14:00.000-08:00

Edward Monkton

Charlie Bit Me

2008-02-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

Because: Charlie's laugh, British accents, inevitable sibling interaction

It's Good to See You

2008-02-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

Amazing Grace

2008-02-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

Also on the list of best hums in the world.
Wintley Phipps

Donated paint to bring color to Zambia

2008-02-05T11:58:00.000-08:00

A ship is expected to leave the Port of Oakland this week carrying 2,000 gallons of San Francisco's recycled paint bound for Zambia, Africa.

At least twice a year for the past half-dozen years, San Francisco's garbage company, Norcal Waste Systems, has sent the recycled paint to countries around the world. San Francisco is the first city - and apparently the only one - to do so. Mexico, El Salvador, Tonga, Fiji and Mali, among other countries, have received the paint.

The most-recent shipment should reach Zambia's capital and largest city, Lusaka, at the end of March, when it will be used to paint schools and hospitals. Many buildings put up by communities and international aid organizations need paint, which can be expensive and hard to come by.

A worker at San Francisco's hazardous-waste center, Mali-born Ousmane Sy, is helping to guide the project that has sent 25,000 gallons of recycled paint out of the country. His previous experience working with an international conservation group has helped the garbage company find contacts, obtain permits in foreign countries, and determine proper shipping routes.

Sy will fly to Zambia to help parcel out the paint in April.

"A 5-gallon bucket of paint at Home Depot costs $100. In Zambia, you can buy a lot with $100. Those folks live off $1 a day," he said.

Norcal has found 13 communities in Zambia where people plan to use the paint during the week Sy will be there. He plans to also make sure that money that would otherwise be used to buy paint will be spent on food, medicine and other items.

The paint comes from the thousands of gallons of extra paint that San Franciscans have dropped off at the city's hazardous-waste center on Tunnel Road. No counties allow residents or companies to toss unused paint into the regular garbage.

In San Francisco, workers have strained and sorted the paint into three useable colors - a shade of green, red and off-white.

And there is a lot of it.

"San Francisco is a really rich city. People bring us cans that are half full, three quarters full. Maybe they have bone-colored paint and decide they want white," said Robert Reed, spokesman for Norcal, the parent company of Sunset Scavenger Co. and Golden Gate Disposal and Recycling Co.

Much of the city's recycled paint stays in the Bay Area, and goes to local uses such as painting schools and covering graffiti. What can't be recycled is shipped to Southern California and used as an ingredient in cement.

It costs more to send it to the Southern California cement site than to ship it to other nations, Sy determined.

"We can save a little money and we can do a lot of good," he said.

Since 2002, Norcal has shipped two to three times a year with loads of 2,000 to 3,000 gallons each.

Sy said he doesn't know of anyone else providing such a service.

Sy, who moved to the United States in 1992, started working at SF Recycling and Disposal 10 years ago. His job is to ensure that Norcal companies comply with federal, state and city laws and regulations.

In Mali, he was a teacher and worked for five years with the International Union of Conservation of Nature, the IUCN, known as the World Conservation Union, based in Switzerland. The group had a land-management program in Mali sponsored by the United Nations, educating forest communities how to live with wildlife and the flora, Sy said.

Sy, who has a degree in social anthropology, also worked for the organization in Zambia, Guinea, Niger and Nigeria.

The local paint-distribution system relies on connections city workers have in places such as Mexico, Central America and Africa.

Although the paint is donated by Norcal, Sy pays his own way to visit the countries where the paint is used. While in Durango, Mexico, he visited seven communities over five days, he said.

"Oh, yes, definitely, they were happy to get the paint," he said. "Whatever money they save, they can buy school supplies, medicine and food."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/05/BACQUS02T.DTL&hw=recycled+paint+zambia&sn=001&sc=1000

Tim Gunn

2008-02-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=155947&title=tim-gunn&byDate=true

Because: Why isn't everyone as reasonable as you as a human being?

Stephen Colbert & Jon Stewart VS Conan O'Brien

2008-02-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=155946&title=stephenconan&byDate=true

Because: 6:21, take it take it take it.

I'm Yours

2008-02-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8jIRO2IR0iM
Because: Jason Mraz has the sexiest hum in the world (though it's not showcased here), the harmony, bare feet, it's all about Love.

Eli Stone, Faith

2008-02-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dOdd7OoEoi4

Because: Random dancing in an office building, bursting into song, faith.

Silver Trees

2008-01-31T09:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.purevolume.com/videos/rockyvotolato/silvertrees
Because: Sprouts come up glowing, the invisible choir sings, harmonica, acoustic guitar.

Lyrics: I hear you call me, branches break in the wind / and through the leaves and concrete you're gonna grow into something that death can't steal / a garden that gives, sprouts come up glowing / fruits of jade and golden silver trees to mark the legacy of a life that finally learned what this means / the invisible choir sings you a voiceless lesson / so you'll always remember what grew out of decisions that death can't steal / lives that learned to give when it seemed there was nothing / oh, how much more it meant to those around we go / there's a rhythm soft and slow / you'll always hear the choir if you listen close

Go Down Moses

2008-01-30T12:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=148027&is_large=true

If that link doesn't work, try this one:

http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/89440/detail/

Because: Stephen Colbert, Andrew Young, random skinny white guy with glasses, and the Harlem Gospel Choir.

House plays Baba O'Riley

2008-01-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5pwLzSBdBc

Orthopraxy

2007-06-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

Orthopraxy
Rightness of action (as distinct from or in addition to rightness of thought); right-doing, practical righteousness; correct practice. Frequently contrasted with orthodoxy.

www.oed.com

Psalm 23 in Scots

2007-02-26T18:21:00.000-08:00

The Lord is my Shepherd in nocht am I wantin'
In the haugh's green girse does He mak me lie doon
While mony puir straiglers are bleatin' and pantin'
By saft-flowin' burnies He leads me at noon.

When aince I had strayed far awa in the bracken,
And daidled till gloamin' cam ower a' the hills,
Nae dribble o' water my sair drooth to slacken,
And dark grow'd the nicht wi' its haars and its chills.

Awa frae the fauld, strayin' fit-sair and weary,
I thocht I had naethin' tae dae but tae dee.
He socht me and fand me in mountain hechts dreary,
He gangs by fell paths which He kens best for me.

And noo, for His name's sake, I'm dune wi' a' fearin'
Though cloods may aft gaither and soughin' win's blaw.
"Hoo this?" or "Hoo that?" -- oh, prevent me frae spearin'
His will is aye best, and I daurna say "Na".

The valley o' death winna fleg me to thread it,
Through awfu' the darkness, I weel can foresee.
Wi' His rod and His staff He wull help me to tread it,
Then wull its shadows, sae gruesome, a' flee.

Forfochen in presence o' foes that surround me,
My Shepherd a table wi' denties has spread.
The Thyme and the Myrtle blaw fragrant aroond me,
He brims a fu' cup and poors oil on my head.

Surely guidness an' mercy, despite a' my roamin'
Wull gang wi' me doon tae the brink o' the river.
Ayont it nae mair o' the eerie an' gloamin'
I wull bide in the Hame o' my Faither for ever.