Paggro Wifi

A neighbor I was pilfering wifi from named her network "Kristineatsbabies." Terrifying right? I still used the shit out of it though! I think I might go home and rename our network something like "Mycatwillsuckyoursoulwhileyousleep"

Best music of 2009

Music Blog Zeitgeist is Hype Machine's artistic visual aide to the past year's most blogged about bands and artists. The top 50 that made the cut were paired with an artist who created an original artwork based on the band's name. Pretty groovy, I say. This is the artwork for Girls, whose refreshing summertime anthem "Lust for Life" had me in a spastic dancing fever. View all 50 of the artworks I think it might bring a little joy to your day.

Jet lag delivers hot flashes

On day three of my return from an exhausting albeit incredible trip to Rome and Berlin over Christmas and New Years and I'm still delirious with jet-lag and surprised by the occasional hot flashes it affords. With both of us being as busy as a two dollar hooker, the man and I truly indulged in some much needed quality time together and fell more in love than ever. In Rome we shared raucous laughter and smiles that made our faces ache over delicious meals of margarita pizza, caprese salads, cacio e pepe pasta, all accompanied by a sea of red wine and finished off with double scoops of gelato.

Even in the winter rain, the ancient city still expels its enchanting history as the ruins echo past civilizations and one can't help but feel romantic. However, the highlight of the trip was not a meal, a museum or an ornately decorated church but rather an experience we got to observe at dusk on the night we were departing to Berlin. While approaching the Tiber river to cross Ponte Giuseppe Mazzini to meet a cab back at our hotel, we noticed a group birds flying overhead. It took us a few moments to realize that this just wasn't a flock of birds flying by but rather a swarming, billowing, intertwining cloud of birds, performing an intricate dance right above our heads. In awe we stood for 20 minutes with our eyes gazing skywards, mouths agape in disbelief. When we finally realized the time, we had to rush back to our hotel but as we walked, jittery with excitement at what we just witnessed, we noticed another cloud of birds performing the same dance above another bridge in the distance.

I vowed to research this spectacle of wildlife when we returned to the states and found that the dancing birds were starlings and what they were doing was called a 'murmuration' and is a basic instinct for survival--safety in numbers. The murmuration occurs as the birds return from an afternoon of foraging and as their numbers continue to grow so does the cloud. No one bird wants to be the outsider, vulnerable to predators so each bird tries to fly as close as they can to their neighbor, copying changes in speed and direction and even the smallest deviation in one bird will be magnified by those around it and distort the formation of the entire cloud.

How lucky were we to experience such a phenomenon!!

Iwannnttthatt

Let me begin with stating that I love, absolutely love buying presents for the incredible people in my life. However, when doing said shopping I have a problem with finding items that would be delightful gifts for myself. I usually cave and buy myself a few things but always feel shameful after doing so. The holidays should be shame free and full of love, charity and good will. This year I'm going to try to abstain from personal gift giving and focus on gifts for others. This incredible display at the Galleries Lafayette is in itself a gift to my eyes. Hopefully, this image and more like it will suffice my selfish cravings.

Hearty, cheesy warmth

During the warm summer months I tend to crave light, refreshing and crunchy salads for my lunchtime meal. During the cool fall months, however, my cravings are switched to warm, hearty and cheesy spoonfuls of satisfying soup. French onion and tomato basil are two of my favorites. What are some of your winter cravings??

I'm ready for my close up

In the past, the only requirements I had for a camera was that it could take a clear and focused picture. However, as the earth continues its circumnavigation around the sun and I begin to edge toward my 30s, my desire for an incredible camera has been growing each day. Soon I will find a justifiable reason to make such an outlandish purchase.

"Of course I need to be able to capture 9 frames per second. How else would I be able to study the mating habits of my neighbors across the street??"

My girl crush on Miranda July has just reached astronomical heights. Not only is she an insanely talented writer and director but she is also a remarkably talented artist. In a new photo series for Vice magazine she cast herself as extras from notably classic movies like Grease and Kramer vs. Kramer. Go here to enjoy the rest of the series. She has her own eccentric brand of quirkiness that I find so utterly endearing.