kids

As most of you know, I absolutely adore kids. There is something so amazing about being with them - being imaginative, telling stories, being a "hero," taking away fear... I love it... Kids just make my heart so incredibly happy.

Which is why kids are probably my most favorite subject to photograph. They have this joy about them that to me, makes them one of the greatest subjects. I love their smiles, and even their pouts...

Here are a few of my favorites photos... and a few of my favorite kids.


Eli Stewart


Ezra Stewart


Lydia Stewart


Caleb Wilson


Elijah Kalbas


Meira Kalbas


Patrick Guerrero


Angel


LaQuita


Danielle Christensen


Arielle Christensen

mixtape

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love mixtapes. Always have. Probably always will. There's something so great about the tunes someone chooses to lump together. I think you can learn a lot about a person by the songs they choose to put on a mixtape. The sad thing is, I've not really received that many in my lifetime. I'll have to look into changing that status.

I have a friend who has a somewhat long drive this weekend, so I made my friend a few mix CDs for entertainment during the drive.

One of my co-workers and I were talking about the delicate craft of creating a mixtape. We swapped quite a few quotes from the movie High Fidelity, including this one:

"Now, the making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many do's and don'ts. First of all you're using someone else's poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing."

I'm not sure I followed the "do's and don'ts." I didn't have much time to create the mix CDs for my friend, so it wasn't done with as much creative energy and thought as I would have liked... But they're just filled with some of my favorite tunes that I know would help make a long car ride more bearable. Some of the songs I'd consider "good songs." Some are just guilty pleasures.

Anyway, here was one of the mixes I created that I myself am actually enjoying listening to:

Merry Happy Mix

"Cross My Heart" - The Rocket Summer
"A-Punk" - Vampire Weekend
"Old Enough" - The Raconteurs
"Hallelujah" - Paramore
"Lazy Eye" - Silversun Pickups
"Merry Happy" - Kate Nash
"Let the Drummer Kick" - Citizen Cope
"Everything is Alright" - Motion City Soundtrack
"Vampire" - Antsy Pants
"I Predict a Riot" - Kaiser Chiefs
"I'll Believe in Anything" - Wolf Parade
"Paper Planes" - M.I.A.
"Pretty Green" - Mark Ronson featuring Santo Gold
"Le Disko" - Shiny Toy Guns
"C'mon C'mon" - The Von Bondies
"Great DJ" - The Ting Tings
"Hide Away" - Rock Kills Kid
"Woke Up in a Car" - Something Corporate

art mail

Recently, I was in Milwaukee for Gallery night, visiting Light Ideas Gallery where my friends Michael, Bob, and Mark were displaying their photography.

As I exited the gallery, I came across an organization titled "Art Mail Milwaukee." The purpose of their organization is to provide individuals once a week with a fresh piece of art from a Wisconsin-based artist. Pretty sweet. Here's the description from their website:

Fresh Art in Your Email Inbox

Imagine receiving a fresh piece of art in your email inbox; a virtual breath of inspiration.

Each week, we’ll quietly email you a painting, sculpture, photograph or other piece of art from a Wisconsin-based artist. It's that simple!


Here's the piece I received in my email box today:




Jayne Reid Jackson | Bio

Born in Milwaukee, Jayne attended both UW-Milwaukee and UW-Madison. She works in intaglio and monotype and is most widely known for her mezzotints. Her work has been accepted into numerous national print shows and she is a member of several print societies and local art organizations.

She is represented by the Grace Chosy Gallery (Madison) and the Peltz Gallery (Milwaukee) and has recently become of member of High Street Gallery in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. She is also a featured artist on www.portalwisconsin.org, the cultural arts website of the State of Wisconsin.

fresh

"The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible." ~Vladimir Nabakov

The pages of Rain of Wonder have been blank for quite some time. The pages of my journal have been blank as well. For months, there has been nothing... I'm reminded of a well. It is as if I have this writing well. I lower the bucket, lower it some more, and when I hoist the bucket up through the well, the bucket returns to me without a drop in it. Empty.

There were times where I would sit and stare at my computer... blank, confused, frustrated, and sad. Any and all words seemed distant, and I couldn't seem to grab hold of anything. To form a coherent sentence seemed an impossible task. I would spend a good hour attempting to craft something resembling an entry, and end up with a page filled with ridiculous ramblings.

However, I've learned that if you continually find the bucket empty in one well, maybe it's time to find a new well.

This, my friends, is my new well.

While I cannot get a new brain, or force inspiration, what I can do is start anew. I can begin with an empty slate. I can put behind me 4 years of blog entries, and seek brand new start. This blog is it. New. Fresh.

Since I started my first blog, Blogger has added some fun new gadgets and gizmos. I may be adding new ones from time to time, so keep an eye out for those. For now, I suggest you check out the YouTube Gallery at the bottom where I will be displaying some of my favorite YouTube videos. Currently playing: So You Think You Can Dance - Joshua and Katee.

So please, come join me as I begin my new writing journey. My desire is that this new well will provide a wealth of water. Sometimes, my entries may just be pictures, or links. Sometimes I may post an entry with music lyrics. Sometimes I may highlight something cool and unique to Milwaukee. And sometimes, I may bear my soul.

Your comments are also most welcome. They both inspire and spur me on to write more regularly. They are ever so encouraging. I have cherished, and will continue to cherish, those comments that I receive both on and apart from this blog.

But most of all, this new blog is designed to help me get back into the art of writing... to discover the words written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.