You're amazing but...

You’re Amazing: These Exist. I mean, the platform on these...

Mon, 06 May 2013 12:14:02 -0400

You’re Amazing: These Exist.

I mean, the platform on these is ridiculous, but the T-Rex might be worth the foot cramp.

iamchuckyouarepie:

stop…really, i have to have them.

Amazing Weekend If you’re not nerding out with Star Wars...

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:14:00 -0400

Amazing Weekend

If you’re not nerding out with Star Wars tomorrow (May the Fourth), you might want to check out the Pie in the Sky Kite & Food Truck Festival at Penn Treaty Park from noon to fly.

Bring a kite to fly, craft a kite there, get some food to eat. The weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous (mainly sunny, high around 70) with winds enough to keep up the kites and proceeds benefit a new playground.

(GLS — Thanks for the tip!)

You’re Amazing: Walking with Dinosaurs Coming out just in...

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:10:43 -0400

You’re Amazing: Walking with Dinosaurs

Coming out just in time for the holiday break this winter, Walking with Dinosaurs looks like it’s going to be the best thing to happen thus far to 3D dinosaurs. And, except for the voice over in the trailer, there are no voices — the dinosaurs are not speaking, only squawking, roaring, and grunting. Could this be a feature-length movie with no words, only dinosaur noises and visuals to convey emotion, build characters, and move the plot? Amazing. The fight scene already makes me sad. Dinosaur times was scary.

(via io9:DiploDouglas)

You’re Amazing Butt. Submitted by Coujo (via...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:25:54 -0400

You’re Amazing Butt.

Submitted by Coujo (via iamchuckyouarepie), these pants are hands-down ridiculously amazing. And the only acceptable time, in my opinion, that leggings can be worn without a dress/tunic outside of exercise activities.

Only $24.99 from Romwe.

While I’m dressing dino and talking butts, I want this Dino Shapes Skirt from Drop Dead.

Free soft pretzels Friday

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:11:03 -0400

Free soft pretzels Friday:

On Friday, visitors to Philly Pretzel Factory stores can pick up a free soft pretzel. Early birds can even win a month’s worth - one free pretzel every day in May - if they’re among the first 100 to…

Thanks to Philly Pretzel Factory, you can get a free pretzel — no purchase necessary — at any Philly Pretzel Factory location (in more states than Pennsylvania) tomorrow, April 26, in celebration of National Pretzel Day.

You know, in case you want to save the 50cents you normally spend on a pretzel from a cart.

Stream Denison Witmer’s New Album If you’re looking...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:09:26 -0400

Stream Denison Witmer’s New Album

If you’re looking to listen to something soft and reflective, go ahead and stream Dension Witmer’s new album over at Paste (via Tangzine). The self-titled album is his ninth — a fitting time to sound introspective. Produced by Philadelphia’s Devin Greenwood and with guest performances by Sufjan Stevens, Rosie Thomas, and William Fitzsimmons, it comes out on April 30 on Asthmatic Kitty Records.

Denison is playing an album release show with friends Soporus this Saturday, April 27, at Johnny Brenda’s.

You're Amazing: How to Make It

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:35:20 -0400

Here is a tutorial (via Inspired to Share/The Neighborhood) on how to make a kite with paper, skewers, a straw, tape and string. Oh and scissors. I wonder: Does it fly? There are no pictures of that happening.

I went to a lot of weddings about 5 years ago when I was still a student and had little expendable income. I gave very few wedding gifts and promised a lot of handmade kites because I like kites and I want to share them/that like for them. I have yet to deliver on those kites. I have been collecting materials (discarded umbrellas and leaky tents), and I tried a couple prototypes a couple years ago, but the mechanics/balance was off and they only flew about four feet off the ground. I became discouraged.

Sorry friends. The list of kites I owe haunts the back of my mind, if that is any comfort.

Maybe these paper kites will work. There is a template.

Make a Kite

Stream Junip: Junip on Pitchfork Advance

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:04:14 -0400

Stream Junip: Junip on Pitchfork Advance:

Swedish indie folk group Junip release their self-titled second album on April 23 via Mute. The trio features acclaimed Swedish-Argentine singer-songwriter Jose Gonzalez. He describes the theme of the record as “finding that hopeful feeling between the lines” during “those life-changing moments that shake people up.”

This is working for me on a warm, overcast day while I rock the bleary-eyed computer-screen-stare and think, “Ugh. It’s only Tuesday?”

Amazing: Cheeks I’d like to kiss Dinosaur sideburns two...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:28:23 -0400

Amazing: Cheeks I’d like to kiss

Dinosaur sideburns two ways.

I think a Triceratops could also be worked out. DiploD can work on it for the wedding….

(via Coujo:Neatorama)

On Bangs and Eyebrows

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:33:00 -0400

Seeing these pictures of Model-Morphosis (via A Cup of Jo) in February, I noticed that most of those models have some eyebrows going on. I decided to let my eyebrows grow in to see what happens. Now, I’m not trying to be a model, but I’m also not trying to have to pluck or wax my eyebrows for the rest of my life.

Growing in eyebrows is a little scary looking or at least self-conscious-making (and a lot slower than you would think), but I have the perfect cover: I got bangs.

Wanting a hair change without cutting my hair, I had been thinking about bangs but was worried that the texture of my hair (fine and wavy) and my daily bike commute would make them impossible.

Then I saw this post: Ask Sarah: How Do I Get Bangin’ Bangs on A House in the Hills

That picture combined with the tips for fine-haired bangs immediately convinced me. I found a salon a block from my work and made an appointment for during lunch. Considering I had never been to this salon before, I got very lucky — she gave me exactly what I asked for, despite a c-curl and a cowlick in the bangs area.

With the bangs, I could hide the growing-in eyebrows during their awkward months. Perfect.

And it turns out that bike helmets are great for keeping bangs flat. (Let’s see how that works out once it warms up and the commute gets sweaty…)

The thing about bangs though, is that they grow. Much faster than the rest of your hair, which I really just don’t understand. The rest of my hair does not grow half an inch in three weeks.

So this morning, I trimmed my bangs. And you know what happened next.

The first trimming I did myself a few weeks ago went so well I was confident I could pull it off again. And I did — they are even but a wee bit short, leaving my eyebrows partially exposed.

I have three options:

1. Pluck or wax my brows
2. Wear my large-framed glasses all the time
3. Tell myself that probably no one is looking at my eyebrows (except that I’m flying to Phoenix to visit my family this weekend and family are the people that notice these things, along with the people who sit next to you on airplanes if they’re anything like me) and no one cares about eyebrows (clearly I care about eyebrows and I can’t be the only one, in fact there are a surprising number of tumblrs devoted to eyebrows…)

Glasses it is.

Midnight Faces — Feel This Way (via Tangzine) Saxon Shore...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:21:34 -0400

Midnight Faces — Feel This Way (via Tangzine)

Saxon Shore co-founder Matthew Warn (known as Matt Doty before he got married) has started a new band called Midnight Faces with Phil Stancil on vocals. Produced by Jason Martin (Starflyer 59, The Drums), their first full-length album, Fornication, will be out June 18.

For those of you used to Saxon Shore, Midnight Faces is decidedly different. While the lyrics may be brooding, the sound is definitely poppy in a good, catchy, easy to listen to kind of way. The Washington, D.C. based duo is booking tours for the U.S., Asia, and Europe.

“Feel This Way” comes from the Midnight Faces EP, which is available for download now.

In other news of Saxon Shore members and members-former, Soporus will be opening for Denison Witmer’s album release show at Johnny Brenda’s on April 27.

Philly Coffee Shop Ranked #1 in America

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:43:00 -0400

Philly Coffee Shop Ranked #1 in America:

My favorite neighborhood coffee shop, Ultimo, was ranked #1 in America by TheDailyMeal.com. Now, I don’t know what kind of authority The Daily Meal is, but I’d say that’s pretty good.

Hear that America? We have more than cheesesteaks, TastyKakes, and aggressive sports fans here — we have really good coffee served by really nice people in a really cozy spot.

Ultimo, thanks for bringing some pride to South Philly.

(Photo by aultimo via Flickr)

Like a Lion

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:03:00 -0400

We all know that we were lied to at points in our educations — it turns out that Christopher Columbus was a horrible human being (and a product of his time) and the functions of trigonometry will NEVER be useful outside a classroom — but there’s one that gets me, one that really makes me irrationally angry every year:

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.

First of all, would it not have been easier just to teach us the month that we had to remember, the single word, “March,” than to make us chant this entire phrase?

Secondly, it’s not true! It’s just not true! Where was this phrase created? I grew up 75 miles ~~east~~ west of Philadelphia, the weather patterns are not that different. Why did I fall for it then? Why am I now annually disappointed and enraged? My poor little kindergarten brain won’t let it go.

March is a lion all the way through. It continues to be lion-y into April. It is not the April showers that will bring the May flowers that I am worried about, it is the persistent roaring lion-y wind that I cannot abide! Wind is not lamb-ish!

Perhaps there is a part of the country/world where this phrase (can it even be called a pneumonic device?) applies, but it is not true in the Northeast. Stop teaching it to young impressionable minds. Wind exists. Already living in an angry city, every March (and into April), this makes me shake my fist at the weather and my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Zeamer, whom I adored.

(Lion Cub and Lamb via The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose — I really like the Baby Fox and Baby Porcupine)

NPR First Listen: Kurt Vile, "Wakin on a Pretty Daze"

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:21:25 -0400

NPR First Listen: Kurt Vile, "Wakin on a Pretty Daze":

With sunshine and temperatures that make spring seem like a real possibility, Kurt Vile’s new album Wakin on a Pretty Daze provides a nice sonic backdrop for looking out the window at the green buds on trees and imagining being in a car that’s driving away toward warmth and something different, at least for a little while.

Kurt Vile, Wakin on a Pretty Daze, via NPR First Listen

Brachiosaurus at the Chicago Airport (via Coujones) One of my...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:33:00 -0400

Brachiosaurus at the Chicago Airport (via Coujones)

One of my favorite types of texts to receive is pictures of dinosaurs sighted. All the better for a Monday morning.

Amazing: Wee-You Things Blocks Today is the kind of day that...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0400

Amazing: Wee-You Things Blocks

Today is the kind of day that I’d be content to stack some blocks and make a world for them. These blocks are brilliant — so many characters to choose from. I think the bear is my favorite.

There are plenty of other ways to learn the alphabet, kiddos, and these will be way more fun for you parents/nannies/sitters.

Like a toddler would need convincing.

(via Swissmiss)

Amazing: frankie magazine I know I mentioned some magazines...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:56:49 -0400

Amazing: frankie magazine

I know I mentioned some magazines recently, but lately this medium has become really interesting and inspiring to me. It might be even a little more fun because the good stuff is hard to get and most of them are bi-monthly or quarterly. It’s a nice change of pace: hunting, purposeful acquisition, anticipation, actual content.

This morning I learned about frankie, an Australian magazine full of pretty much everything I love — design, decorating, crafts, food, fashion, books & film, music. It is a bi-monthly publication that’s in its 52nd issue. Because it’s from around the world, it comes out in Philadelphia seven weeks after it hits the stands in Australia, so we’re pretty much always an issue behind, which somehow endears it to me even more. More excitement. If that really bothers you, they offer digital subscriptions too.

It is sold in one place — one place! — in Philadelphia, which happens to be one block from my office. Guess where I went during my lunch break. And I asked for a bag, so I can keep it looking nice. Maybe I will save it for my trip to Phoenix in a week…

Issue 51 , the one available in the U.S. now (it came out there in December, soon we’ll have their February edition as they put out the next one in April), features Molly Ringwald and Twiggy.

Find frankie near you!

Amazing: These Exist — Ira Glass Pillow via...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:22:31 -0400

Amazing: These Exist — Ira Glass Pillow

via nprfreshair:

Pillowfaces for all public radio hosts!

The Terry Gross pillow would not look that different:

(via Saratoga News)

But how many other public radio faces would you actually recognize?

Based on their pictures, I want a Carl Kassel pillow.
The Voices of National Public Radio — What Do They Look Like?

Also amusing, Buzzfeed’s How You Think NPR Reporters Look vs. How They Actually Do

Amazing: Dioramas DiploD and I were at the Mummer’s Museum...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:46:13 -0400

Amazing: Dioramas

DiploD and I were at the Mummer’s Museum over the weekend for the beginnings of a birthday party.

While there are many amazing and bizarre elements to gawk at, I became the most excited and mildly obsessed with the dioramas. These tiny Mummers I can get into. Perhaps a new hobby? Maybe not Mummers, per se, but other tiny scenes that commemorate something… Dinoramas?

It seems like it would oddly soothing.

NPR First Listen: Telekinesis, "Dormarion"

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:42:00 -0400

NPR First Listen: Telekinesis, "Dormarion":

Here is my dilemma: It’s a cold, snowy day. Quiet, relaxing, bordering on sad is the mood I am most attracted to today. But since starting the new Telekinesis album, Dormarion, I’ve not been able to turn it off, though it is mostly happy, poppy, fun, and sunny warm-weather-y. And super catchy, especially “Power Lines” and “Wires” — coincidence? — “Ever True,”and the surfy-feeling “Lean on Me.”

Despite the overall poppy danceability of the album, with 12 songs in 35 minutes Dormarion manages to hit a few other pleasing notes. The third track, “Ghosts and Creatures,” combines the snowy feeling with some energy and I can see myself listening to that on repeat. “Symphony” hits the sad/longing sound I was looking for, while “Island #4” has the emotion and drama to become an anthem. Also: repeat.

Some of the cuts between songs/ordering of tracks seem a bit startling/abrupt, but the songs themselves are really hitting it for me. “You Take it Slowly” is a good ending, summing up the range of the album and also leaving you with a mantra/reminder. I feel a little less old (10pm bedtime) for listening to it and I’m betting that Dormarion’s songs will be included in lots of playlists this year. There’s so much to choose from on just one album.

Telekinesis, Dormarion, via NPR First Listen