Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: barack obama, election 2008, holy shit, photography, politics
Okay, so 2008 did suck. Mostly everything about 2008 was overall bad.
But in the year 2008 America came out of the cultural dark. America became a country of true democracy, hope and change. We elected Barack Obama. I can’t even tell you how it felt on November 4th, 2008, to be an American. It was unreal. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of this country’s shoulders.
Not everything will change with Barack. I’m not delusional.The man is still a politician, and this country is still in shambles. So much of a mess that it will take years upon years and probably two presidents to bring to its zenith. But we elected a man that embodies everything America should (and actually used to, believe it or not). He is poised, kind, generous, sophisticated, and still a family man. And of course he is an African-American. It still blows my mind that Barack will be living in a house that was built by slaves. 50 years ago this was never possible. Hell 15 years ago this was never possible. I don’t know. It’s still so…. surreal to me. From the start when there were tons of prospective candidates running for the Democratic nom, Barack was always my man. Always. Something is different about him. I know it sounds so lame but it’s true. Singlehandedly, he transformed what I feel about America. I still have a lot of problems with our country and its pepole and its ideals and its culture, but I am hopeful. We are back from the cultural dead. It feels fucking fine.
I hope that in 2009, Barack kicks ass. I hope he shows everyone who looked down upon him as a black man, a Chicago politician or a left winger, how to fucking run this shit properly. He will. I am so hopeful it’s ridiculous. I believe in Barack, I hope you all do too, even the ones that voted for the opposite party. I hope you all realize what a good man he is and what he stands for. He is the example of rags to riches and how to achieve your ambitions. It was a good year for American politics (well, okay, not at all, but you know what I mean). Seeing this man speak twice was an honor. This is one for the books, kids.
I will never have enough space in this entry to show you all my favourite Obama pictures. I have so many saved it’s slightly worrying. But the man in those pictures is our president. I can’t believe it.
These are two of my favourite slideshows about Obama on the Huffington Post: Tears for Obama and Reactions Around the World.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2008, barack obama, oasis, photography, records, royal oak, thrift, vintage, YSL
I went to Royal Oak yesterday with my friend and we went to this amazing vintage store. I found these fucking incredible vintage Yves Saint Laurent heels for 35$, WTF. They barely fit my feet and are extremely painful but, YSL. WHO CARES IF THEY FIT. I would have bought them if they were a size 7. I also bought three vinyl records, Donovan’s greatest hits, the Byrds’ Never Before and Neil Young’s Everybody Knows this is No Where. And a pair of sunglasses. Good stuff. It was a generally really fun day, and I finished my role of Ilford film there. Now I get to wait 2 weeks to get it developed. Wonderful.
Tonight is New Years Eve. I’m not doing anything for two reasons: nothing is going on, and 2008 blew. I mean, I really did nothing in 2008. The only memorable experiences were… getting into college… seeing Oasis twice (and one of those experiences I don’t even want to remember)… and uh….. nothing else? I went no where except Chicago and Toronto which doesn’t even count anymore. I saw the PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama speak twice. Other than all of that, I did nothing. We had no money so nothing was even possible. I didn’t have any great nights out or great nights in. Mostly because I realized that everyone around here is pointless to me. I’ll be out of here in less than a year. I realized this year of school, like, it sounds so cynical but, I don’t care about these people!? Has it been wasted time trying to be friends with people I have nothing in common with? Wasted effort? Who knows. it’s almost over.
2008 sucked not only for me but, kind of for everyone…? I mean, Henry Paulson, the Wall Street fucktards and Bush fucked us over. Hard. There is no way to forget that unless money fell from the skies.
Well anyway, enough wining. Here are 3 of my favourite shots at the moment.
I need to know who took that. immediately. It’s so fucking incredible.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: glastonbury, music, space and time, the verve
Music should always look and sound like this.
The Verve at Glastonbury with “Space and Time”
Current crush: Michael Stipe.
Something is really attractive about REM’s frontman. I have no idea why. I think I love what he wears. And I guess Larry David has instilled in me a love for bald men.
I always liked R.E.M. but I never listened. I always heard but I never listened (kind of like how I did with the Smiths. I had their stuff FOREVER but didn’t really pay attention until a year ago). Now I am listening. I am so thankful that I am listening to R.E.M. It’s such good music.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: edinburgh, great britain, london, love, photography, travel, UK, united kingdom
I was going through my flickr photostream today and I came across my Glastonbury photos from 2007, then I started to look at all my photos of London. Over the last year or so I haven’t been longing for London as much as I normally do. All of that interest kind of shifted back into the US with all this Barack Obama hullabaloo and into Paris. Looking at my photos I realized how much I miss London. I haven’t been in over a year and a half but it honestly feels like eternities.
I think London is the best city in the world, and without a doubt, has the most interesting people I’ve ever met. The first time I went to London (although the first time I went was a 2-day stay or something like that in 2005) I kind of felt at home. Ever since the last time I left (end of June 2007) I feel like I left a part of my heart there or something. I know how lame that sounds so spare me. There is an energy in London that I haven’t felt anywhere else. It’s undeniably busy and fast-moving but there is always a quiet place to go if you need it. The romanticism that surround the idea of London is all true as well. Everything is just.. different in London. Things fall into place, at least for me. People that are normally labeled “freaks” around here (or most places in the US) are just normal people in London. Everyone is different but is normal at the same time. I don’t know why, and as lame and sap-ass as this sounds, but existing in London just makes sense. If I could live ABSOLUTELY anywhere in the world, it would be either Camden or Notting Hill in London.
Of course for someone like me, the art culture in London is unbelievable. I think London is getting a major second wind, almost like how it was in the ’60s. I mean, I can’t fully account for that because I haven’t been in over a year but it seems like the 3rd and 4th time I went, people are so alive. There is an anticipation in the air when you walk along Oxford Street or into a small bar on Portobello. Music is buzzing again. People are making art in so many different forms, it’s just churning out of the city. The film stars are getting popular again and so is the fashion. I think if I could go back right now, wearing what I’m wearing with nothing else, I would go. Actually I would need a camera.
I love a lot of places in the world, don’t get me wrong. I’ve been a lot of places. I love Chicago, I love New York, I LOVE Edinburgh, I love a lot of the east coast. But I either haven’t been to those places as much as London, or I don’t ‘get’ other places as much as I get London. I think it’s the latter.
Here are some of my pictures that made me feel as nostalgic. I’ll give you the links for the bigger versions on flickr too.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shes_electric/273360958/in/set-72157594334713358/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shes_electric/273370826/in/set-72157594334713358/
this is one of my favourite places in London. it’s a really musty and kind of grotty Garkfunkel’s off of Oxford Street. this tiny street called Duke Street. I love how you can see the guys chilling in the guitar store and in the apartment above it but also the commuters.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shes_electric/273376646/in/set-72157594334713358/
absolutely my favourite place in London. the smaller Rough Trade Records shop in Notting Hill on Talbot Road. you know, the place that signed the Libertines, the Smiths, the Strokes… you know. no biggie whatsoever.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shes_electric/458902671/in/set-72157600076322674/
and you know, the people you see aren’t too shabby either. Tom Meighan from Kasabian in april 2007. pre-obsession.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shes_electric/526465936/sizes/m/in/set-72157600076322674/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shes_electric/730349762/in/set-72157600544443466/
Trafalgar square at night. I think this was after Glastonbury and Madelaine and I decided that London was too perfect to waste a night sleeping in it.
alright, this is mildly random, but these are some of my favourite photos. they are all from Edinburgh in Scotland. I don’t know why my film turned out this colour. I’ve used my red filter before but they turned out especially red this time. Edinburgh is a great place too, again, really lively. and gorgeous.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: christmas, cinema, films, grateful dead, holidays, noel gallagher, presents, psychedelia, psychedelic, richard avedon, screwed up shit, shrooms
Christmas was fun. Well… it was conventionally fun in that we had no people yelling, no people crying, no people screaming, and just general Christmas cheer. But in the Mom’s-side-of-the-family way, it was boring.
my head really hurts though, and I feel slightly hungover.
I got a ton of good shit though. I mean, so many films I’m going to be cooped up in my house until school starts again. Band of Outsiders, Elevator to the Gallows, Jules Et Jim, Regular Lovers (LOUIS GARRELLLLLLL I want every film with him in it), Pulp Fiction, Children of Men, Strangers on a Train, and 8 1/2 (40$ version, fucking owned). Actually a lot of them are the really expensive versions. SO many criterions, I could die happy honestly. A shitload of books, too, the best has to be Performance by Richard Avedon. I already read all of it and looked at every single picture. I’m sure I will again soon. Maybe after Kafka was the Rage?. I’ll probably post a shitload of Avedon pics in here soon. I’m so obsessed with him. He makes me want to be a photographer so bad it should be illegal.
I have no idea why I’m listening to the Grateful Dead right now. I was in the mood for extreme psychedelia and this is NOT DOING THE TRICK. Jefferson Airplane type shit is what I’m in the mood for. Alas I’m too impatient or steadfast to actually look more than 2 minutes for something online.
I need psychedelic music suggestions, big time baby. This is what I want to feel like when I listen to it, if you need any help in suggesting:
But I don’t plan on tripping on acid. SO the music must totally be the stimulant. btw try not to look at that for too long.
Here’s a good story I think will brighten your day, youngins. This god damn macbook had like, 17 gigs of space left on it. Then I realized EVERY time I looked up a song in the search, 2 of the same song would show up? It made no sense. Then I realized that when I transferred all my music, I accidentally duplicated it. I mean, all like, 38 gigs of music or whatever it was. I deleted one folder and now I’m back up to 57 gigs of space left. BEAUTIFUL.
I wish I had all the money in the world, by the way. I know it’s shallow but think of all the things you could do.
p.s.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bush is done, christmas, holidays, oasis, the beatles, wtf
Happy Christmas everyone! War might actually almost be over! But you know what’s DEFINITELY almost over? THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION! BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT OF ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(merry christmas from the Beatles. I’m listening to Happiness is a Warm Gun from the Anthology discs. WOW, such a good version. I’m such a freak for studio chatter)
I was trying to find this really ridiculous picture of Liam and Noel with beards on and everything holding the Stone Roses record but alas…. it cannot be found. you will have to settle for this. I don’t even really know if that’s Santa to be honest.
EDIT: HA. I LOCATED IT.
err anyway. Nothing to say, I’ll update about my Christmas later. Just hope you all have a great xmas and thank you for putting up with me. 
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: film, marion cotillard, matthew goode, new york times, peter sarsgaard, screen test
I am slightly enamored by these (you can watch them in HQ on youtube)
(5:05 he sounds SO much like Michael Caine)
(I’ve always had a really weird thing for Peter Sarsgaard . I find him insanely attractive and enticing…)
Anyway, I love those videos. How brilliant are all of their voices?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: i hate being cold, me, meg, music, ryan adams, winter
It is so fucking god damn fucking cold in the middle of nowhere Michigan right now.
It’s so cold I could honestly die right now and be okay with it. Alright that’s a lie.
I’m listening to Ryan Adams. I haven’t listened to Cold Roses in AGES. I uploaded “Friends” for a friend (haha?) so here it is for you.
Go out and buy a Ryan album, any Ryan album (ok just kidding, buy Love Is Hell), you will not regret it. He is a genius of the modern era.
Ok I just noticed we are wearing the same shirt. What the hell?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: eva green, fashion, photography, Sasha Pivovarova
I entered this world on the Champs-Elysees, 1959. La trottoir du Champs Elysees. And do you know what my very first words were? New York Herald Tribune! New York Herald Tribune.
This post is full of random. These are some shots by Lachlan Bailey of Sasha Pivovarova that I love a lot. And it takes a lot for me to really love a fashion photography spread. There are so many fashion photographers I hate, more than I love. But I love these shots a lot. They are from the January 2009 issue of British Vogue (I think?)
