Too much to handle.

So, a lot has happened since the last post...moved into a house, planted a 200 square foot garden, started going back to school full time, saw a handwritten illuminated manuscript of the Bible, decided it was time to reread all the Harry Potters...but instead of boring you with a big ol' exposition, let's start right from the present, shall we? How about a list of...

Fun things I'm working on:

1) The Garden. There are few things more exciting than watching a pile of dirt and chicken manure turn into a veritable jungle of edibles. We dug this puppy out with our own bare hands (holding shovels, of course), churned in the most foul smelling manure possible, planted the minuscule seeds, and waited with baited breath...for this!
























And I must point out our a-mazing labels...made by super-crafty housemate Katie. Uber-cute, eh?
























2) Linocut printing. So I'm not taking a lino class, although that would be incredibly fun, but this is actually the final project for my History of Graphic Design class. Instead of an essay, we make linoleum or wood cuts. Sweet, eh? Mine was inspired by my trusty muse, The Beatles. It says, "Good Day Sunshine" in the lovely font Caslon. I'm not sure how I'm managing to cut around all those little curves, but I know the x-acto knife is my friend. And for some masochistic reason I adore tedious detail work. Final print to come later!

















3) Blog numero dos. I can almost hear the scoffs as you read this thinking, "She never even writes in this blog." Touche. However, this one is a joint effort between me and my housemates. It's called What we did to your house while you were away, and it chronicles the goings on of our house, mostly for our super-landlords and friends, Scott and Jojo, who are doing amazing things in Bangladesh right now. But you can see more of the gardening saga as well as the gorgeous gift our 3rd grade neighbor left on our doorstep.

Top 15 Songs EVER : part 3

9) Blue Rondo A La Turk : Dave Brubeck -- There was a time when I listened to Brubeck's album Time Out almost every day. I love a great jazz combo as it is, but jazz with odd meter? Sweet! It makes it all the more swingin' when the bust out in the standard 4/4 after the intro. And I love Brubeck's thick chords and Paul Desmond's tone on sax.



8) When the Levee Breaks : Led Zeppelin -- This is what I love about Led Zep: they can rock out so much but still have that bluesy, folksy feel. The drums are so heavy, and add that harmonica and the blues riff...it's just so gritty. I totally dig it. This album (IV) and Physical Graffiti just blew me away in high school; Led Zep rocks out like no other, while blending so many genres at the same time.

Because of insanely thorough copyright restrictions, I can't find a good version of this one anywhere. But, honestly, if you don't have Led Zeppelin IV, you need it. It's one of the best albums EVER! Most definitely on my top 15 albums. So just run down to Bog Bean or Everyday Music, or the record shop of your choice and purchase that sucker!

7) A Day in the Life : The Beatles -- Choosing a favorite Beatles song for me is like getting my wisdom teeth pulled and getting dry socket and being nauseous from the pain meds...alright, maybe not quite that bad (cause that was pretty bad), but I could hardly do it. This one is their opus of sorts...the perfect combo of story telling, instrumental layering, and recording manipulation that makes this album so great. And the build up and release at the end -- phenomenal.

Top 15 Songs EVER : part 2

12) Old Friends/Bookends Theme : Simon & Garfunkel -- Beautiful, poignant lyrics (as always with Paul Simon), lovely guitar work, and a string arrangement that images the words so wonderfully -- like that dissonant part in the middle, sort of soaring, but scary at the same time. The album that this is from, Bookends, is definitely on my top 10 albums.

OLD FRIENDS, BOOKENDS THEME - Simon & Garfunkel

11) Be Your Husband (Live) : Jeff Buckley -- The first time I heard this song, I freaked. The breadth and depth of the vocals, the breaths and falsettos...he's got this blues thing down. An inspiration to any vocalist. And all done a capella...flipping awesome.

10) Paranoid Android : Radiohead -- I know more than half of us probably have this on our top 15, so it basically speaks for itself: A-mazing.

Paranoid Android - Radiohead


What phenomenal music awaits us?!?! We'll find out in the next installment...

Top 15 Songs EVER : part 1

Alright, after a torturous process (as Kallie will attest), I've finally chosen my top 15 songs of all time. I tried to cave and add classical in there, but, frankly, it was just too hard. So here it begins, sans classical: the top 15.

15) Gobbledigook : Sigur Rós -- I was a little leery about adding this one because I've only lived with it since it came out last summer, but this song fills me with a kind of giddy joy that makes me just want to run and jump and dance. The percussiveness is so primal and powerful...it just makes me deeply, deeply happy.

"Gobbledigook" - Sigur Ros

14) Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours : Stevie Wonder -- There's no denying how much I love funk and soul; both definitely influence everything I do musically. This song is quintessential of both genres, and I am absolutely in love with Stevie's voice...he's basically the man.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered Im Yours - Stevie Wonder

13) Christmas Time is Here : Vince Guaraldi -- Yeah, you guys all knew this one would be on here. But if it's good enough for Royal Tennenbaum's, it's good enough for my top 15! I love Vince Guaraldi's lovely lyrical style, the brushes on percussion, and the overall melancholy feel of the song. And it's got all these happy, Christmasy, Charlie Browny, piano playingy memories attached, too. Not to mention, how sweet to have a children's cartoon all jazzed out in the soundtrack? That's genius on par with Mr. Rogers.

Christmas Time is Here -

More to come...

You know you're working at a call center...

...when more than one person thinks that your brown shirt with thumb holes is one of those carpal tunnel braces. I really got the pity vote for having to have them on both hands. Maybe I could trick them into giving me worker's comp, too...

Look out Wes Anderson...

...'cause I've got a letterpress and your font...well, it's really Spartan, but it sure looks a lot like Futura. This is the first run on the press since I've gotten actual type, and let me tell you, typesetting is not for wusses! There's definitely a lot to learn about how to get a clear print on all letters. These aren't perfect, but they were fun...perfection will come. Next run: invitations for Margo Tenenbaum's new play.

Woolly Brain, Batman!

"Psychiatrist kits anatomically correct woolly brain" = sweetest headline ever. And doesn't that little bundle of cerebral mass look cuddly? Read the full story here.

Loo loo loooo loo loo loo loo loo....

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Working Girl

Lots of you (yeah, like a whole 3 people) have been wondering what exactly it is I do at work. Well, let me tell you:

1. Read...thus far I've finished The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The End of Reason, several classic short stories, and now I'm starting on The Shack. I'm going to be super-literate by the end of this thing.

2. Blog browse...especially my faves in the column to the right. Check them out while you're on the clock, too!

3. Crochet...a cute scarf pattern, only to realize that I have no idea what those annoying short-hand symbols mean, and then I give up.

4. Listen to Online SIRIUS radio...especially the classic vinyl, the all Led Zep channel, and the Underground Garage. Good times.

5. Sit. And sit some more. I do believe my booty is spreading out, flatter and wider, because of all the sitting. Since I avoid the vending machines like the plague (ugh, and that vending machine coffee tastes like the plague), I'm hopefully not getting bigger. These sitting jobs are brutal.

6. Oh yeah, take a few calls here and there. Get my teacher/phone voice on and do my little pitch. Did I tell you about our holiday specials?

Daily Prophet, eat your heart out.

No longer are moving images only the domain of tv screens and bewitched newspapers for witches and wizards.

Esquire is the first magazine to use E Ink on their cover. Sadly, they took this rather impressive bit of technology and turned it into a cheap flashing neon sign. What's that, Mr. Esquire, about the web being a "cacophony of noise"? Although I cringe to think of an entire newsstand looking like downtown Tokyo, you've got to admit there are some pretty incredible possibilities with this stuff. Maybe one day even us muggles will have moving photos in our newspapers...

More thoughts on my new blog interest, Design Assembly.

Happy Election Day!

And congrats to President-elect Lyn Rosten and first dude Jesse!
Oh, wait...they didn't win? What?! Next year, guys...but you get an S for spirit! (more patriotic pics here)

No matter if your red, blue, or purple, I hope you had a great day, full of free coffee and ice cream (thanks to S-bucks and Ben & Jerry's). I know I did!

Arrr...Treasury!

Bunny Noses made it into a treasury on Etsy! Yeah-ah! Treasuries are user-created collections of items that have a similar theme or aesthetic. This treasury is called Help the Animals, Please: they're effing amazing. Ha. Check it out here.

It's pretty interesting to see the responses this pic has gotten, everything from laughter at its startling silliness to pity for the incarcerated bunnies. It is somewhat sad, I suppose, but I can't help but smile at those big ol' furry noses.

83 Applications Later...

I got a job! And that's just from my Gmail, not including paper and online apps., and all those tedious interviews. Yeah, brutal. Job hunting in Portland is not for the faint of heart. Oh, but if you saw how brilliant the leaves look right now, you'd know it was worth it.

So what is this job, you say? Well, it's at a call center called Stream. Yeah, I know, talking on the phone is somewhere around the equivalent of an un-anesthetized visit to the orthodontist for me (probably if you're reading this, I owe you a call), but I must endure until something more suitable heads my way. And the environment is super chill, there's an X-Box in the lounge, and a bunch of computer nerds with awesome lateral lisps (think nerdy Neil from Family Guy)...well, I can wish.



So, I'll keep plugging away until Oblation Papers & Press asks me to head up their letterpress shop...yep, still wishing...

Two new blogs.

Just discovered these amazing blogs:

1. Lab Partners : Absolutely stunning vintage inspired letterpress and gocco prints. I am in love with this stuff. This duo has the 40's/50's aesthetic down pat. Check out their flickr stream for even more eye candy.
























2. Laissezfaire : An all things design blog, in the vein of Design*Sponge. Can one see too much good design? Well...um, no, I don't think so. I mean check out this architecture! Even Howard Roark could stand behind that.

Washington.

Click on Cara above for pics from a quick trip up to Camp Ghormley in central Washington. Our kind host, Benjamin, (whose parents run the camp and generously let us crash at their place -- a wood two story with forest green carpet that looked suspiciously like our old house in Colorado [run-on?]) sadly didn't make the cut in the pics. He was too busy actually working while Cara and I tramped through the woods. Pics or no, thanks goes out to Benjamin and his fam for taking us in (and feeding us some excellent pumpkin-shaped cookies). And to the state of Washington for their beautiful leaves and awesome state highway signs.

Thought for the day.

The reader 'plays' the text as a musician plays an instrument...Like an interpretation of a musical score, reading is a performance of the written word.

**Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton

Phenomenal-illustrator-that-throws-me-back-to-my-childhood of the week

is...S. Britt.

In the style of Ezra Jack Keats, Eric Carle, and Richard Scarry, he revives that fantastic 70's/80's aesthetic. A-mazing.

An Unfortunate Encounter with Pop Music.

Last night: restocking, reorganizing, refolding after hours. As soon as we closed shop, my fellow employees changed the radio station to some Pop Top 50 thing. I avoid music from those charts like the plague, but this time I was locked in with my paycheck riding in the balance.

And I left with one question: WHY??!!

Let me give you the overview:

Lyrics: Damn, girl, you lookin' hot. Damn, boy, I'm lookin' hot.

Beat: Same canned hip-hop beat we've known since the early 90's, looped bass line, annoyingly repetitive sample from old song or movie.

Message: Male = woman user. Female = meat.

Musicality: I don't know words with more than 3 syllables.

Seriously. Depressing. Tell me how this falls under the same artistic category as Bach, Beethoven, Glass, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Sigur Ros...it's blasphemy, I tell you! I know I'm a music snob, but, honestly, this is the popular music of our generation? It's like I'm inside an Ayn Rand novel...

Time for the E.A. Meetings...

That's right. Etsy-holics Anonymous. I'm addicted! You can get on the forums and help answer people's questions and critique their shops...and then you post a comment and people look at your shop...and then they say they like your bunny pic and more people look at your shop...and then you have people favoriting you and wanting to trade...and then you become well-known enough to quit your day job--wait, I don't have one--well, to just use your part-time job for it's stellar discount and make stuff full time...and then...wait, sorry, totally dreaming. But I did get a bunch of favorites and a trade offer. What fun!

Oh, and about my discount...did I mention that I got about $300 worth of stuff today for $90 when they gave employees a %70 percent off sale items sale? Jealous?
.

Betsy on Etsy.

Yes, the crafty little community that stole my name without the B now has me on as a seller.

My name: Plan B.

I'm just getting started, so there's only a couple things on now, but more is to come soon. You can keep track by this handy-dandy Etsy widget to the right here. And, dear friends, now would be an opportune time to buy so that you can be my guinea pigs, before the real people start buying (hehe...just kidding. You're real!). If you see anything on my website you especially think should be posted, please, do tell.

Oh, slight warning: when you venture onto the Etsy site, better alot a significant slot of time, cause there's some amazing stuff on there (my own included, of course!).

End of self-promotion.