Well, Obviously...

[L-R]

Mae, MaSovaida, Abi, Shirin, Aimee

Jason, Mary, Lydia, Nasaem

Excerpted from Nasaem's farewell extravaganza: the balcony set.

I Wish I May...

Image 593, Etc.

I am the oldest child in a family of three. When my mom was pregnant with my little sister, Merilee, she was convinced that she was having a boy.

[Owing to some wives tale about how she was carrying, etc. And yes, the possibility of learning - conclusively - the sex of a fetus was an option. I have the impression that my parents thought it would detract from the 'romance' of it all, though.]

I, however, already had a little brother. Done-zo. What I really wanted was a little sister.

And so I prayed. And I prayed.

And I got a little sister. Whose birthday is today.

Happy birthday, Mer!

The Mightiest Sword...

Courtesy The Sartorialist

I wish I could be more cogent right now in expressing what draws me to this image, but I really don't have much beyond a serious fascination with it.

For me this image (pun intended) transcends what this man has put on his body and how he has styled himself. It is about what he is doing with his body - and with his mind - that is so powerful. This is probably one of my favorite pictures Scott Schumann's taken.

There's a power in this man's detachment from the camera that I really appreciate. Moments like this are, to me, what makes 'street fashion' so gripping.

Love!

Choose Your Own Adventure...

So this video likely exceeds the parameters of the little space that is typically provided on this page. Sincerest apologies.

Because I was seriously just getting the hang of the optimal viewing size ratio.

But that's not really important in this case, anyhow. What is important is that my friend Andy Grammer has created an interactive video! What you see above is the one I made...

But that's only kind of cool - I'm actually curious to know what the video YOU design looks like!

So here's the fun part! Check the link above and make your own video for Andy's new single "Keep Your Head Up" - and then post the link for your version in the comments field. Oh, and tell me your name (even if it's your super top secret Ninja-web name) and where you're from.

Because it's interactive

Phone Home...

I tell you truly - this is incredible! Joanna Goddard (of A Cup of Joe fame) shared this amazing find today.

Basically, if you ever loose your phone, just visit this site, enter your number, and it will call your phone - presto chango! Phone found!

Now if I could just get it to call my mind, or Jordan Catalano.... What!? I lose my mind, like, all of the time!

Thank You...

Via Bitte Ein Kuss.

...and you're welcome.

Youth Can Move the World...

Or at least me.

The Honey Trees - To Be With You (Official Video) from Simon Filip on Vimeo.

I've sort of been obsessed with Simon Filip since I first saw his work earlier this year. Um... he's 18.

This video he shot for his sister's band The Honey Trees (Becky Filip & Jacob Wick: support the artists!) is easily the most beautiful video I've seen in maybe forever. The Honey Trees describe their sound as 'dream pop', and I really feel that this catches that - perfectly.

Big shout out to Black*Eiffel for the head's up on the video. If you can't tell, I'm just in the mood for really lovely things, right now.

...And Taking Names

I love these shoes; literally and figuratively a 'pick me up'. To everyone who plans an outfit from the ground up: cheers!

Okay, but seriously - I want them on my feet...

Dress Time...

**This post is dedicated to Nazy, Semira, Sholeh and Kadria - but especially to Yasmin.**

Prep for cozy fall nights

...commence countdown in 4, 3, 2...

Elie Saab

*you may be curious to know that I'm totally stoked on chartreuse, lately*

...it's also fair to surmise you're not curious about this information at all.

Tough.

Anna Sui

*I.just.love.this*

All images courtesy {A Glamorous Little Side Project}.

Today at lunch, a friend dropped this little "fact bomb" on the table: eating an apple in the afternoon will give you more energy than drinking a cup of coffee.

Well, I'll see your cup of coffee and your apple - and raise you a quality fashion break.

Champion of the World...

Not my Halloween costume.

...however boss that would be.

In August 2009, a friend and I created a little eddy in the rushing rapids of the world wide interwebs. It would be a place where we could chronicle our more... shall we say awkward moments.

And it was glorious. Having a home for all of those times where you just want to shake your head and roll your eyes, thinking - what in the world were you thinking? Well it provided a necessary level of detachment. And they're funny stories. My clutz factor is not to be underestimated, friends!

But then I started Access to Praxis - and the kicker was that I wanted to use my real name. So I had to give up my super top secret anonymous internet identity. And since it's kind of moot to have an anonymous blog with a 'full disclosure' identity, I thought I'd let you in on the joke.

The Innocent Have Been Changed. If and when (things I think are) really funny things happen to me I tend to file them away there. True stories. Anonymous people. Except me.

!!!

Access to Praxis...

I've been thinking increasingly deep thinks lately, and I'm not saying that this little slice of my life can't handle them... but I've taken the liberty, nonetheless, of creating a separate space for them.

Marilyn Monroe

The ancient Greeks defined praxis as activity engaged in by free men. More modernly it is defined as the practice, application or realization of ideas. With Access to Praxis, I hope (with help from my friend Lydia) to figure out how to reconcile the dreams I have for helping to create a new world order with the looming impotence and stasis I feel... that my skill set is somehow insufficient to the task at hand.

I would actually really love if y'all were to come over and join in the conversation - cheers!

Resources...

As evidenced by my first post of the day, it's been an interesting week for the news. I read two articles this afternoon that really gave me pause.

The first was about a woman in England who wanted to do something nice for her mother-in-law's 50th birthday. So she (and 40 of her closest FB friends) gathered 600 loaves of bread and created a 9,852 piece "toast mosaic" of her MIL's face (pictured below, courtesy MSNBC.)

This afternoon I read the Weekly Review in Harper's Magazine (as is my habit), and chanced upon this article.

Owing to a famine in Zimbabwe, families are trading (selling) their daughters for maize (corn).

Oh... all of the toasted bread from the mosaic? Fed the birds.

Thinking out-loud style? What if next time the nearly 10,000 piece bread mosaic of love is redrafted as 5,000 sandwiches for the hungry?

So if you were thinking to break this particular Guinness World Book Record. Please don't.

Solidarites International :: Water Talks

Solidarités International: Water talks from La Boite Concept on Vimeo.

So this year's "blog action day" theme was water. And I didn't participate because I was stumped. I realized that for all that I l.o.v.e. water (I play water polo 4-5 times per week, I drink roughly 5 liters each day, and I'm a compulsive hand washer) I don't know that much about water.

I do know that, along with most people living in Israel, those of us serving at the Baha'i World Centre are doing our utmost to keep our water use to a minimum.

Thankfully other people do know what they're talking about. And I've decided (executively) that water is an important enough topic to talk about, even if you missed the B.A.D. boat, so to speak. I hope that you enjoy this video - head's up courtesy Black*Eiffel.

I've also decided that water is important enough that I should learn more about it. To that end, I've located an expert. Interview forthcoming...! In the meantime, what tips do y'all know about how to conserve water?

[In unrelated news, the universe sure is throwing a lot of 'Paris' my way. Universe... where are you going with this?!]

Next... On Sick Sad World

The Mexican government just burned 134 tons of weed. And, in so doing, smoked out all of Tia Juana and most of San Diego – for free.

Tomorrow’s headline:
“California Eateries Experience Boom: Business Hasn’t Been This Good Since Clinton Didn’t Inhale”

Actual and factual article courtesy the New York Times.

I don't mean to make a joke about the very necessary 'war on drugs', but I think it would be good to consider all of the implications before making any grand triumphal gestures of 'success'.
Carry on.

What Women Want...

It's possible that I mean me - but take note, gentlemen....

Take.Note.

But First...

Image courtesy of Missed Connections

So I've been thinking some thinks that I feel are pretty deep and important, and I have every intention of getting them out there... so to speak. But first!

I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize -formally - to all of the people I share a wall with.

I wouldn't go so far as to call me dreamy (unless, of course, you mean that I'm a day-dreamer. And then yes... you are correct), but it has come to my attention that I play obscenely loud music. **I play music obscenely loudly?**

Anyhow, I have this intense desire to actually feel music.

Like in my bones.

It seems that my bones may be stronger than my walls.... Sigh.

Just Because...

I love this song. Carry on.

Ten Cubed...

So, as per usual, my nerd factor is alive and kicking - but come on! It's 10-10-10! Accordingly, I thought I'd share 3 things (wait for it...) that I think are awesome.



In 1865 the billiard ball was patented by John Wesley Hyatt.

ADAM's Spring 2011 Ready to Wear collection - I still love it. It's finally starting to cool off in Israel, but I'm all of a sudden keeping my eyes peeled for beautiful camisols and rust colored blazers....

And last but not least (!!!) I learned a new word today! Tralalere! - who I would I actually love to meet someday - did a rad post today on "untranslatable words from around the world".

My favorite? Toska.

Russian – Vladmir Nabokov describes it best: “No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.” [definition courtesy Tralalere!]

Cheers m'dears - I hope you have a lovely day.

Cougar Town...

Yo.

Fox Fire - best amusement park in Anaheim. Particularly noted for its unparalleled people watching....

Sense and Sensibility...

Courtesy Bitte Ein Kuss

Courtesy the archives:

I love oranges, but I hate it when the peel gets under my nails. Actually the idea of anything under my nails drives me crazy.

Sometimes my head and my heart exist in total conflict. This also drives me crazy.

Sometimes my head and my heart exist in total conflict.

Tomorrow I might let my heart win.

Three years of thinking out loud, a day in the life at a time, and counting....

Bruce Lee on Ping Pong...

Boss.

**Head's up courtesy Melody Ehsani.

Doghouse Diaries on Peace...

Doghouse Diaries...?

They do the twitter thing, too.

Also? I don't want to brag, or anything - but when I was home? I ate Mexican food almost every day. Mmmmmm.... Fish tacos!

That is not-so-code for "Dear Wahoo's: Thanks for making my vacation special".

Tee Double You...

Shadi T.W. and Aimee P.

(courtesy Mona Y.)

Shadi and I served together at the Baha'i World Centre from 2008-2009 and she's here visiting her sister Hoda at the moment. Last night Hoda arranged a really lovely devotional program, following which Shadi shared pieces of her debut album, "Leather Bound Book". Luckily I got back to Haifa in time for the reunion times and soulful devotional the T.W. ladies prepared!

On The Benefits of Jet Lag...

So I'm still getting over my jet lag - le sigh... but what better way to amuse myself at 6:30 on a Saturday morning than to day dream about how great these would look on me - and how wonderfully workday appropriate they are!

These lovely little images are excerpts from designers' recent runway collections (designers and their inspiration/theme cited below) and their inspiration boards. Three cheers to the NYT Fashion Magazine - it's so nice to see the impetus and conversation behind a designer's look.

Alexander Berardi :: Breathless

ADAM :: Romance

Major props to Black*Eiffel for the head's up - and to her guest blogger You Are My Fave.

Une Nuit Parisienne...

A night in the life of the city of light....

I love that there are places in the world that come alive at night - to me it means that there is room in this city for people who aren't exactly like Mr. Nine-to-Five.

Take note, Orange County - take note.

Une nuit Parisienne (Paris by night) from manemos on Vimeo. Courtesy Tralalere!

Oh... and I'm back in Haifa!