iPod Mixtape #2

This time, I skipped three songs that were just not worth putting on a mixtape of any sort. Don't ask why I still have them in iTunes. Anyway, I improved my iPod Mixtape by adding links so you can hear the songs that surprised and inspired me today! Again, in case you forgot what the deal with this is, I put my iTunes or iPod on "shuffle" and picked my faves! This time I did eleven. Enjoy!

1. Crane Wife 1 & 2- The Decemberists
2. Para Que- Juanes
3. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off- Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
4. The Porter- Vetiver
5. Inner City Pressure- Flight of the Conchords
6. Into the Flood- As Tall as Lions
7. Michelle- The Beatles
8. Dress Me Like a Clown- Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
9. Three Seed- Silversun Pickups
10. Rest of My Life- Rilo Kiley
11. By the Light of the Magical Moon- T. Rex *

*This song is amazing! I'd never really truly listened to it before and hearing it in shuffle mode was awesome. It was like unwrapping a unicorn blindfolded. Also, it totally reminded me of Devendra Banhart. He could cover this splendidly.

"How strange..."

"...that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!"

-Emily Dickinson

O Deer!

I'm not quite sure how I would like to unveil this... Part of me wants to discuss how difficult and nerve-racking is it for me to post this in any sort of public place, and the other part of me wants to pretend like I am completely confident in my work... However, most of you know me personally and so will know that even if I had pretended to be confident, you would have known my true feelings. So, apparently, this is how I am unveiling this recently completed project. Please, enjoy.

Oh, and be nice. Sorry, there's my "confidence" seeping out...

Florence + the Machine

Beautiful videos. I want to live in them. They are like a mixture of Alice in Wonderland, Marie Antoinette, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Perfection. If I ever became famous for my music (which does not exist) I would want my music videos to be like these.

Check her out!

Transform

If you hadn't noticed, I did a bit of a remodel on my blog again. Apparently, i write too much sometimes so I've had to learn to separate my thoughts and organize them in a shorter manner... or something like that. Guess it makes sense. SO, I have TRANSFORMED my blog into a more organized and hopefully more interesting blog to look at!

Speaking of TRANSFORMED....



I went and saw the midnight showing of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (I bet you didn't see that coming). It was pretty entertaining, I must admit. However, the dialogue was cheesy and there were too many moments where I was honestly thinking nothing but, "What the heck?" For example: I was completely baffled as to why they needed a Joe Pesci-like bot and why there were twin ghetto bots with gold teeth... Comic relief, I guess?

Pluses: loud, constant action, Megan Fox has better acting skills this time around, and someone I love makes a cameo. Good times.

Anyway, I don't want to give anything away. Not that anything is a surprise after watching trailers these days. I mean, am I right or am I right?

Finally, Part 4

4. and 5. The Unstrung Harp and The Hapless Child by Edward Gorey

Edward Gorey is crazy. This man can write hilariously one second and then write the most ironic depressing thing you've ever laid your eyes upon the next. The funny thing is that his books look like they are aimed at children but for the love of Pete do not allow any child you know to read these. I mean, Gorey can be innocent enough at times but even when he is, the subject matter is nothing a child would be interested in.

So, if you really want to be depressed read The Hapless Child. If you want to read something that is nothing like the title and yet is like the title but in a very unexpected way read The Unstrung Harp. The latter is actually really funny and I could not help but (WARNING: NERD ALERT) read the entire thing outloud with a British accent. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it! It is the most entertaining thing you could do all day.

Finally, Part 3

3. The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories by Tim Burton

Not much to say here except that if you love Tim Burton or his films at all then read this and you will get it and love it dearly. It is creepy. It is bizarre. It is sad yet humorous at the same time. It is great. My personal favorite story is "Jimmy, the Hideous Penguin Boy". Its type of humor is right up my alley, which will be obvious to you the second you read it.




If you really want to read it but don't feel like buying it or borrowing it you can read it in its entirety here which also includes the illustrations.

Finally, Part 2

2. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho


I've had this book in my possession for a long time now and it was just another one that I thought sounded interesting but was never in the perfect mood to read. I finally took it off its dusty shelf and realized how short it was so I decided to finally read through it. I am so glad that I did!

This book is fantastic! If you like The Little Prince or Candide (more on that later) then you would love this book. Even if you've never read either of those you will still love this book.

It is simply a story of a Spanish shepherd boy who discovers his destiny and goes in search of it in a "strange land". He meets a king, a gypsy, a thief, and eventually an alchemist who help him to realize his dream. There are some breathtaking moments of realization and discovery that just made my heart smile. I would love to describe my favorite part but it would be much better for you if you discovered it yourself. I am sure you will know which part it is!

One of the aspects of this book that really made me fall in love with it was its reference to Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all throughout the story. There are references to Jewish kings, Allah, Jesus, Mary, etc. It is amazing how Coelho incorporated so much into such a simple story.

This has definitely made its way to my top 10 book list. It makes me feel the way I felt when I first read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland because it is so simple yet beautiful and imaginative.

Read this book and then if you love it as much as I did then definitely pick up The Little Prince afterward. I am actually just now starting to read Candide (which I have finally decided is pronounced, CAN-DEED) but have read in reviews of The Alchemist that they are both very similar. If it is any good, I will let you know!

Brushstrokes across the sky...

I know Laverne is going to love this!

Looking at the sky this evening as the sun set gave me chills.

This is art...

Caitlin's Closet: The Debut!

Ello, ello!

At the behest of a certain someone, I have decided that I should start a segment on my blog entitled "Caitlin's Closet" where I post photos of some of my fashion creations. You have the great fortune of reading the very first in a series of (hopefully) countless future posts. Enjoy!

Leave your love in the comments, love!



I wanted to come up with a different way of wearing that plaid top that I usually wear open over t-shirts. I'm wearing black knee-highs but no shoes... That happens to me quite frequently. I'll have a kick-butt outfit and no shoes to go with it. Ho hum. Such is life, I suppose.

Plaid top: Forever21, skirt: Forever21, knee-highs: Target, studded belt: Wal-Mart



This is my dressed-down version of the above. Boots instead of knee-highs and denim shorts instead of a skirt.

Denim shorts: Savers (American Eagle Brand), boots: Steve Madden


So, how did that go? Any suggestions or changes you think should be made? Leave 'em in the comments!

Finally.

Alright. OK. I haven't blogged in awhile, that is true. I'm not sure why it has become increasingly difficult for me to write about all the myriad things floating about my cerebellum. However, since I am awake at 1:37am the morning before Father's Day my brain has decided that it needs to expel some of its junk in order for me to get some R&R.

I recently went on a literary tirade exploring the works of Vonnegut, Tim Burton, Edward Gorey, and Paulo Coelho. Why I didn't take the time to blog about each of them, I shall never understand. I suppose now is the best time to explore what I gathered from these marvels of literature.

1. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut:

I read Breakfast of Champions awhile back when Julie and I had one of our very first (if not the first) adventures at Bookman's. I purchased the aforementioned books and read Breakfast of Champions shortly after. I loved it. I can't remember how the timeline went but Julie read Cat's Cradle before I did and loved it as well. I had then much more recently been told by someone else that Cat's Cradle is the best Vonnegut book out there. I finally decided to read it and was not disappointed.

Although I am more inclined to regard Breakfast of Champions as my favorite Vonnegut book thus far, Cat's Cradle was also very entertaining. The story confused me at the very beginning for some reason. After about 20 or so pages I wasn't really sure of what I was reading. I started getting into it soon after that, though, and loved every word to the very end. I loved the fake religion of Bokonon! So hilarious! In fact, pictured to the left is an example of a common practice in Bokononism: boko-maru.




Vonnegut's writing style is witty, sarcastic, and straightforward. His characters are well-formed which makes it easy to picture each one in detail. They are also each very unique and have their own little quirks. For example, in one moment in the book Angela Hoenikker, a seemingly simple woman with not much depth or beauty, plays the clarinet along with a jazz record and everyone is completely taken aback at how beautifully she can play. Similarly, Newt Hoenikker, Angela's younger brother (who also happens to be a midget) loves to paint and Frank, the eldest Hoenniker sibling, loves to build miniature towns.

Oh, and I loved this quote: "So, some people got free furniture, and some people got bubonic plague."

Overall, a great read.

(Alright, kind of a side note but still related: I wanted to read my old blog post about Breakfast of Champions from last summer so I just clicked on it a moment ago and started reading. One of the first things I said was something I just said: "Kurt Vonnegut's writing style is so witty, sarcastic, and to-the-point" Almost word for word. I am consistent at least...)


Alright, now that I have typed my eyeballs and my brain into a paste I think I should probably retire for the night. It only took me an hour and a half to write this... I hope people actually read this crap.

Happy Father's Day!

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy

This, my friends, is the beauty of my life... and it's all thanks to Julie that it is now in my possession (which, I just discussed with Julie, is an awfully-spelled word).

See, I make illogical decisions sometimes. In fact, my life is hardly ever what one would consider "logical". I get by, however, so it is not top banana, I mean priority, for me to fix this. Every once in awhile my friends or family will let me know that what I am doing is (how shall I put this...) stupid.

This was the case tonight at Bookman's, the greatest bookstore I have ever entered the pearly gates of. Seriously, this place makes Border's look like a giant-corporate-monster-overpriced-jerk-face. Which, it kind of is. If you want the children of America to become more literate then stop selling Captain Underpants for $15 a pop. Beside the point I guess...

I had two books I only semi-cared about but thought that I cared more about and struck Tim Burton gold and thought, "Aww... I can't afford all of these.... So I'm not going to dig up this gigantic piece of solid gold that is just sitting here in this gigantic hole that would be so easy to pick up my 10 month old nephew could do it with his pinky." Then Julie came along and in her infinite wisdom suggested I put back the semi-cared about books and purchas just the Tim Burton one. Wow, what an idea!!!! It was like Julie had to point out that the sky was blue to someone who already knew that the sky was blue but forgot in a moment of idiocy.

Needless to say, I took her advice and couldn't be happier. Except I'm pissed off about something else now.

I am not a shallow idiot. I just want you all to know that.

I am pissed off about something that others would just blow off and have blown off but I can't seem to. You know how people make assumptions about you and you just shrug it off as no big deal but then it happens over and over and over again and even when it's not necessarily a personal observation, when it is made even generally about you it pisses you off? Yeah, me either. That's a lie. I totally know what I mean.

Alright, to be completely honest, I'm pulling a James Frey right now. He made up a bunch of stuff to make his memoir more exciting. I exaggerate my pissed-off-ness and self-loathing to make my blog more entertaining. I hope my "Million Little Lies" didn't put you off too much. I'm feeling kinda saucy at the moment.

Oh, and this:

Creativity/Productivity

I'm never quite sure, exactly, why it becomes difficult for me to blog when there is so much time left open in my day. Granted, I've been trying to fill each day with at least one task that keeps me occupied or gets me out of the house for a little while. Yesterday, I did some chores around the house.

Today, I ventured over to the post office. I had a funny thought while I was walking up to the door, actually. I'm wearing a semi-adorable outfit today that I put together this morning. I thought to myself, Man, I really wish these packages had vintage clothing, art, some crafty piece, a photograph, SOMETHING interesting enclosed within them. I mean, I am a creative person. I don't have a job. I need to start filling my days with artsy projects and selling them in my own store on ebay! Julie and I have had this idea in the past but it never really panned out. I mean, how perfectly great would that be for me? I may not make enough to pay all my bills but it would be more change in my pocket than I have now! I can still look for a normal job while working on projects and I'd be using my creativity in a productive way for once.

I'm going to need some time to plan this out more, I only just came up with this today. I haven't even thought of what I'll do, exactly. However, it gives me some kind of excitement and hope.

If you have any ideas as to what I can make, let me know. I'd really appreciate it!

Do the truffle shuffle

As always, as I listened to my iPod in my car today I became particularly bored with my overplayed playlists so I decided to put it on shuffle.

What came forth from the depths of my iPod's soul chilled me and thrilled me to my very core...

The following is the best shuffle mix I have ever heard:

1. Coal to Diamonds- The Gossip
2. Rise Up- Diane Birch
3. Amish Paradise- Weird Al
4. Algo Esta Cambiando- Julieta Venegas
5. Headlock- Imogen Heap
6. Semi-Charmed Life- Third Eye Blind
7. Natalie Marie and 1cc- Spill Canvas
8. Play for Today- The Cure
9. Mind's Eye- dc Talk
10. Siamese Twins- The Cure
11. Skeleton Key- Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
12. Landslide- Smashing Pumpkins
13. Burritos- Sublime
14. Know Your Onion!- The Shins
15. Subbcultcha- Pixies
16. I Just Can't Wait to be King- The Lion King (YES! hahaha)
17. Dutch Courage- Spill Canvas
18. No Good Deed- Idina Menzel, Wicked Soundtrack

Throw in about three skips over some Doors music (I really should just take them off...) and there you have it!

See, for me, what makes a shuffle mix great is when it is made up of songs that I know the words to. If I know the words to a song, no matter how terrible it is or how much I hate it, I will sing along and have a good time. I LOVE singing along to songs more than just about anything musical. I can't play an instrument, I can't read music, and I can't actually sing but when I am singing along to a good song, I feel like Pavarotti!

Oh, and the other thing that makes the shuffle feature great is that when you have an experience like mine, it makes you feel like your iPod is giving you a mix tape... Awww!

Tell me about a great shuffle/mix that you love!

P.S.
Picture courtesy of Me. That's right, I am an artist.

Remodel

I have officially "remodeled" my blog and I love it. I don't even use this blog and I think this one is way cuter than my other one...

Hohum... Maybe I should start using this one?

What do you think?