Time

I wish I could just stop time and stay here. But that's just about impossible, isn't it. Everything is going so fast right now, even though I know it's all an illusion.

Last night was Earth Hour. Maybe that should happen more than once a year. I wished I could go down to the Strip and watch all the lights turn out, but I already spent the day outside making cat houses.

Sorry I don't sound so excited right now. I feel weird. Like Bella in New Moon, but less drastic. I feel like going...outside...riding a bike...

.

"if only"
the saddest words in any language.

lots o' flowers lately

my aunt keeps an impossibly impeccable rose garden. 'nuff said.

Sprinkles!

I took this one at Williams-Sonoma, one of those stores I just enjoy going to just to look around. It's so cozy. I think one day I'll design my house to look like Williams-Sonoma, all woodsy and warm. Maybe that's a little too far.

The weather has been really nice out here, except for the blustery day we had on Saturday which caused some allergies in me that I didn't know existed. But today I was walking outside and the sky was clear. And so were my allergies, thank goodness. I was sitting in my car on my driveway and studying. It was that nice of a day. But I went inside and by the time I came back, my dad took the car to go somewhere. Darn. I think if everyone saw life in slow motion, in the moment, everything would seem far more peaceful. Do this next time you find yourself in a nice day, or even in a gloomy one. Just go outside (preferably not when there's lightning around) and just stand/sit there. Listen and look up, look at how the light plays on every surface. I guarantee you'll see the world in a better light.

I was also looking forward to taking shots of my flowering plum tree flowers, but the leaves did something weird this year and grew in with the flowers. So now the tree is all leaves, and I missed my chance. There's always next year!

Me and this song are really getting along right about now.
This website is the most ingenious thing mankind has ever put on the Internet.

just sayin'

“you’ll regret it.

maybe not today,

maybe not tomorrow,

but soon

and for the rest of your life.”

-casablanca

it's a small world after all

i took the bottom picture a couple summers ago.
i distinctly remember experiencing déjà vu when i shot it.
as i was cleaning out my very very very old 'inspiration' folders,
i came across the top picture.
i finally connected the dots.
pretty wacky.

it's times like these that reassures us that we all walk the same earth.

*because it's so old, it don't know where to credit the top photo, sorry*

Goodies!

I've discovered Deastro. Go listen. It's incredible.

BOOOOOOOM!-a new blog about anything and everything creative. Click around. You'll find something of interest, I assure you.

Super Mario World music really cheers me up. I remember how fun that game was, and now that I think of it, I really want my old Commodore back. I loved the little car game with the little colorful flags. I don't even remember what it was called.

and King's Quest
and that castle game with the swinging ropes with the guy that goes "aahhahayyaayyaha" when he falls down
and Yoshi's World

Book cover design. I wish I had more time to read, but don't we all?

Have a good rest of your week. Find happiness in every detail.

The Fan Girl Comes Back

*a very old picture

My OK Go phase is coming back strong again! I can feel it. The new album's going to be out in hopefully a few months. There are some new Youtube videos surfacing of new songs they played on their 10-show pre-album release tour. I'm sooooo excited!!!!

SATs are over for me for now. YESS so relieved. I hope my scores come back to my liking. =D

Now comes AP season! And some relaxation. YES.

Your mind: Wow, she's a nerd.

First Photoshoot?

I really might regret posting both of these pictures together because, as you all know, I'm running short on new material. It's getting down the wire on a lot of stuff and I haven't much time to do photography!

Zamaika (yes, that mai) is just about an excellent model, as well as an excellent photographer, as you all well know. Today was a cactus clean-up out in Middle-of-Nowhere-Across-From-a-Power-Plant, Nevada. Really, it was like a million miles away. And it was next to a smoking power plant, which I had no idea we had around here.

Gah I wish I were so photogenic as Zamaika . I basically swung my camera around and snapped and she looked up, smiled, and posed for me in like a millisecond. Gosh, I wish I had that kind of skill. I think the reason why I even went into photography is that I never liked being in front of the camera. As long as I could remember, I wanted to be behind it.

Like the props? She's holding picks to dig those cacti up. She had A LOT OF FUN.
Right, Zamaika?! Muhahahha. I documented her Nyquil-dizzy, runny nosed, thorn-in-pants adventure, all
for the memories. And the slideshow.

I'm glad to finally get some new pictures. Although I may not have many for a long time.

I'd really like a Chromaphilick photoshoot somewhere like Niagra Falls...or England. Somewhere easy, hmm? *sarcasm*

Any suggestions?

Quest Crew won. YES! But I really would have been fine with Beat Freaks. I hope their future holds much success.

I figured out the aforementioned Truth of Fail! riddle. I was right the first time I tried, but it didn't work for some weird reason until I tried the day after. mmeheme I'm not going to tell you what it is though.

Check out Skittles' new "anti-site". They're showing off their ubiquity on the net.

wings

"one of the few things that lindsey had taught me about butterflies came back to me.

many of the poisonous ones aren't born poisonous.

it's not yet pumping through their cells when they escape their cocoons.

but they feed on milkweed as soon as they have the equipment to do it and that's where the toxins come from.

so there's a moment at birth when they could choose something else.

they could choose to be better, to be gentler, to be of no harm.

of course, butterflies have been feeding on milkweed since before we existed.

a biological defense mechanism, it's not in the cards for them to feed off anything else.

if it was, it would only make them more palatable to vicious jungle birds that would eat them for breakfast.

it's a lose-lose situation."
-Sloane Crosley

Mindblock!

I'm sure there's an easy solution to this, but I'm so confused! To any Nerdfighters out there, or anyone who isn't and would like to become one, play Truth or Fail! John and Hank are geniuses. I give kudos to anyone who gets the final riddle. I have no idea what to do. According to the comments, the clue is really easy to figure out. In Heidiland, we're having a little bit of trouble believing that. -_-

I'm trying to convince my sister to go watch Unforgettable, a play at USC put on by CASA (Chinese American Student Association). I think Wong Fu will be there...but Far East Movement definitely will be.

VOTE FOR QUEST! or Beat Freaks. I'd actually be pretty happy with either. But my official vote goes to Quest. Voting ends March 5th E.T, which I think means that voting ends in an hour here in the P.T. But you can try anyway. Tomorrow's the finale!

Paper Days in Paper Towns

I remember when everyone used to sing Grillz all the time. Or maybe that was just my school...
I feel so behind with photography and all that, but hopefully I'll come across something.

This is simply amazing. It's a forest made out of a small paper bag, in a small paper bag. It reminds me of this beautiful paper art(picture from Oh Joy!, "link in the sidebar* finger mustache) by Yulia Brodskaya. And sort of related to that, this stunning paper crane chandelier. Maybe if I work really hard at it, I can make one of those someday.

This is a little bit of a boredom reliever. I can't really get any sort of rhythm going, but maybe you'll have some luck with it.

I don't remember if I've posted Abridged Becoming Jane before, but it never gets old.

John and Hank have asked for another punishment. They haven't done one for a long time. I was watching some old school vlogbrothers yesterday and I realized they haven't really come up with anything new in terms of Nerdfighter inside jokes. Last year it was all Strawberry Hill and peeps with some books "in my pants" and waxing John's chin. But there hasn't been much of that lately. I hope this one brings that old school Brotherhood 2.0 spirit back.

Have a good week. I hope this sent you off quite well.

If you're confused about the above, see my "obsessions". =D

F#2: All About Lily Chou Chou

ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU CHOU
directed by shunji iwai

"pain can take you in prison. the ether can set you free."

click for storyline.

this film is not for everyone.

all i can say is that it is bluntly poignant.

it reveals the harsh realities of dark adolescence; violence, public humiliation, rape, suicide.

a young person endures adult-situations when he lacks adult faculties.

it's coming of age, sure, but it probably won't leave you with heartwarming feeling.
it is embedded in the traditional avant-garde belief that film need not being pleasurable to be beautiful or effective.

with that said, it is unapologetically graphic. & had left me inspired.

shunji iwai knows how to create beautiful images.

the film is in japanese, but can usually be found with subtitles for many languages.

has anyone else seen it?