Hey, Reckless Mind

Nope.

2010-05-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

No more blogging. It was kind of fun, but I'm done. I still love reading blogs, but this is ughhhh so self-absorbed. Blech. Maybe I'll post something in the future? Ehh. I'm happy with my own thoughts to myself, my own pictures for myself. That's enough, just for me.

Hiatus

2010-03-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

"I think the best life would be one that's lived off the grid. No bills, your name in no government databases. No real proof you're even who you say you are, aside from, you know, being who you say you are. I don't mean living in a mountain hut with solar power and drinking well water. I think nature's beautiful and all, but I don't have any desire to live in it. I need to live in a city. I need pay as you go cell phones in fake names, wireless access stolen or borrowed from coffee shops and people using old or no encryption on their home networks. Taking knife fighting classes on the weekend! Learning Cantonese and Hindi and how to pick locks. Getting all sorts of skills so that when your mind starts going, and you're a crazy raving bum, at least you're picking their pockets while raving in a foreign language at smug college kids on the street. At least you're always gonna be able to eat."

-Joey Comeau

Blog posting will resume once I regain my sanity.

Outfit #4: Colour for a Rainy Day

2010-03-06T23:02:00.001-08:00

I love the rain. So much. And cold weather.

I also love colour. Black and white and contrasts and warm colours are fun too. But especially colour.

(Can you see my earrings? They're purple, blue, and yellow fish!)

Black leggings - Remember (a store in Athens)

Sweater - Old Navy :(

Scarf - pashmina, a market in London

Hat - knitted tam, a friend's store (it can fit my dreads!)

Coat - Giacca

Boots - wellies from Camden market in London

Umbrella - Gap

...and some long-sleeve shirt. Can't remember. :P

Outfit #3: Emulating Eagle

2010-03-06T19:50:00.001-08:00

Not on purpose, of course. Mrs. Eagle told me she loved my outfit and for the rest of the day everyone compared me to her. Awesome? I THINK SO.

(Because only people who know Eagle read this, no explanation is necessary.)

Shirt - Red, long-sleeve from Gap

Sweater - my father's, knitted by my yiayia

Scarf - Lucky Brand

Skirt - from some booth at a street fair in Hawaii. It's a wrap skirt and you can wear it a bazillion different ways. Plus you can turn it around and use the other pattern on the outside!

Tights - Macy's

Shoes - Steve Madden

Mix Assignment.

2010-02-25T21:01:00.000-08:00

Moni made a challenge.

Mix Assignment:

title: a lyric from one of the songs in this mix

1. a song from an artist/band you've seen live

2. a song that will get you going in the morning

3. a song you remember from your childhood.

4. a song about travel.

5. a song about a favorite hobby

6. a song discovered through a film

7. a song discovered through a mix

8. a song for a long car ride

9. a guilty pleasure

10. a song that will always make you smile

11. a song that can make you cry.

12. a love song

13. a song that reminds you of high school.

14. a song about a place you've visited

15. a song by someone who is now deceased.

16. a cover

17. a song for the rain

18. a song that mentions a religion/a religious character

19. current favorite song

20. all-time favorite song

but we never say a thing - these crimes between us grow deeper.

1. Grey Street - Dave Matthews Band

2. Ants Marching - Dave Matthews Band

3. The Last Unicorn - Kenny Loggins

4. Holiday in Spain - Counting Crows

5. Bicycle Race - Queen

6. Comptine D'Un Autre Ete - Yann Tiersen

7. Sore - The Annuals

8. Dream Life of Rand McNally - Jason Mraz

9. In Da Club - 50 Cent

10. Cecilia - Simon and Garfunkel

11. Landslide - Dixie Chicks

12. 3 AM - Matchbox Twenty

13. Basket Case - Green Day

14. London Calling - The Clash

15. Redemption Song - Bob Marley & The Wailers

16. Freefallin' - John Mayer

17. World Spins Madly On - The Weepies

18. Samson - Regina Spektor

19. People Got A Lotta Nerve - Neko Case

20. Don't Drink the Water - Dave Matthews Band

There is no such thing as too much DMB in my world. Nope.

Lewis & Clark College

2010-02-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

This is where I'll hopefully be going for college next year.

If I get enough scholarship money.

Please please please

let me let me let me

get what I want

this time.

Or University of Puget Sound. Which is also gorgeous and awesome and amazing and ahhhh I need money.

Mama Kin.

2010-02-10T23:34:00.001-08:00

Pilot Precise P-500

2010-02-08T18:29:00.000-08:00

Oh, p500, how I love thee.

This is an ode to the greatest pen. Ever. In haiku form.

You are the best pen.

P500 owns my heart.

I fucking love you.

The end.

Bits and Pieces #3

2010-02-06T23:52:00.000-08:00

"I am a rock, I am an island

I've built walls, a fortress deep and mighty that none may penetrate"

It's always been easy for me to get over people.

source.

my baby looks almost exactly like this.

source.

14617.) I've been in love with Albus Dumbledore since I was ten years old, and I'm secretly scared that I'll never find someone as good as him.

source.

"I have my books and my poetry to protect me

I am shielded in my armor, hiding in my room, save within my womb

I touch no one and no one touches me

I am a rock, I am an island"

source.

14608.) I want to release myself to the ocean.

source.

"And a rock feels no pain

And an island never cries"

Outfit #2: New Shoes!

2010-02-05T21:07:00.000-08:00

I promise I don't wear coloured tights, a brown dress, and my brown pleather jacket all the time. Promise. This is really weird.

I've been meaning to make so many more of these, but as soon as I get home I usually make a beeline for my closet - I always wear yoga pants and a sweater at home. And then I forget to take pictures of myself. Which means I don't blog about what I wear. Oops.

Anyway...I wore this to school and work. My mom bought me these shoes because they were super cheap and I love them! They're also comfortable enough to wear all day.

Dress - Lucky

Shoes - Steve Madden

Tights - Macy's

Jacket - Giacca

Scarf - Panic! At the Disco concert in seventh grade. Hahaha.

Thiago Santos

2010-01-30T23:09:00.000-08:00

This is Thiago Santos. In other words, my latest obsession.

Here is his profile from models.com under their Model of the Week:

Name:Thiago SantosAgency:New York Model Mgmt.Age:17Height:6'1" (186cm)Place of Origin:Brazil.Ethnic Origin:Brazilian.Birthsign:Sagitarius.How discovered:By David Ralph at Proscout in Dallas.Favorite things:Reading, taking pictures, tanning, dancing and surfing.Favorite music, band:Bob Marley, Hillsong Unite - Revolution.Favorite piece of clothing:Swim trunks.Hobbies:Soccer, basketball, volleyball, magic, le parkour.5 things you always carry with you:Passport, book, cards, cellphone and a smile.Place you'd love to visit:Hawaii.Currently you're obsessed with/about:Being famous.

...marry me now, please. kthnx.

And just look at that hair!

And he's only 17!

And he's tall!

And he's also a Sagittarius!

And he's FUCKING AWESOME.

If anyone else meets these qualifications that is a teensy bit more accessible to lust over, please let me know. I'm not sure anyone can beat Thiago, though. Dayuuum.

(information found via models.com, images from a quick google search.)

in the works.

2010-01-25T22:50:00.000-08:00

the candles are burnt down to the wick

and i still got nowhere to go.

this is

no love song

no tragedy,

no indie rock star movie scene.

this is just a chilly dank and damp evening

too early to sleep and too late to speak.

and nobody will leave this poem alive.

because art is death

or rather,

art is a deconstruction and reconstruction

of life, of love, of all that good stuff

that makes you get up in the morning

and look out the window

and see diamonds in the dew on the leaves

and your grandmother's hair in the clouds in the sky

and the broken spirit lying just underneath

the surface of that

boy you sat across from on the subway

and the ecstasy in a woman's face

when her newborn baby falls asleep against her breast.

but really

art is a crystalline castle

a fortress you build piece by piece

line by line

sketch by sketch

to guard yourself from the intricacies

and reality of the world around and within you

but no

art is another dimension

where you can chuck every thought

every emotion all imagination into creation

no obstruction and it's just you

and it

and it's beautiful.

and sometimes you've just gotta do it

because nothing else can make you feel

and nothing else can make you love

and cry and hate and scream and smile

the way that art can.

Bits and Pieces #2

2010-01-16T00:22:00.000-08:00

14307.) I want to hold your hand.

(from blogsecret and weheartit)

Thoughts on photoshop and special effects.

2010-01-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

Although the advances we have made in photography and films are incredible, it saddens me when I think of the fact that I can no longer trust an image I see or a video I watch.

I may not understand photoshop, but there are so many people who, with a few clicks, can completely transform a picture. How can I trust anything I see? How am I to know that nothing in the photograph was edited? Photoshop is essentially a cheap imitation of the magic that a master photographer can work in a darkroom and with a camera. The results can be beautiful, but I will always have the haunting knowledge that it's fake.

It's really frustrating when you spend days, weeks, perfecting a photo, and someone else can do the whole process digitally in a couple hours. It can take multiple rolls of film to get that perfect shot, and then the film may get ruined while you're developing it. You may spend an enormous amount of time testing times and filters and burning and dodging and layering and any other little trick, and when you finally get it right, you can still end up with water or chemical spots. And if everything goes well, and it dries right, you have an enormous feeling of satisfaction. YOU made it happen. With photoshop, yes, there is satisfaction after making a particularly amazing transformation, but really, anyone can do it. There are really simple ways to get the effect of a vintage polaroid or a lensbaby without a polaroid camera or lensbaby. And, if I spend my money and time creating the perfect TTV apparatus and getting the perfect cameras for it, how ticked do you think I'd be when I find people making fake ones with downloaded templates who are passing them off as "real art"?

I don't mean to say it isn't amazing. The things people can do these days with technology astounds me. But please, can we return to a time that still is amazed at plain film cameras, and people don't get bored during movies without visual effects? And will I ever again be able to look at a photograph and not have to wonder if any of it hasn't been altered with some program?

Bits and Pieces #1

2010-01-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

(favourite. found here.)

This will be on-going, without title. Just posts of bits and pieces of inspiration I find.

(images found on weheartit except where noted)

And ohmygod I love Marry Me Young so much. So many images and words.

Note to Self.

2010-01-04T15:22:00.001-08:00

Sometimes the only word you are capable of using is fuck.

Sometimes you have to cry.

Sometimes the only thing you can do is scream.

Sometimes it's okay to do nothing all day.

Sometimes it's okay to take a break.

Sometimes the best thing to do is forget.

Sometimes you can't help but remember.

can anybody find me somebody to love...

I just can't get no relief.

I don't really know if the cracks in the sidewalk are speaking to me by design or if it's all just in my head, like the leaves on the trees or the songs on the radio. Nothing is as beautiful as a plastic Christmas tree still up in March or so ugly as a surprise birthday party and the guests don't arrive. How can we exist? What the fuck caused mitochondria? Really? There's a billion people in this world, but no one, no one, no one. I hate the phrase "silence is deafening" but I know I've felt alone in a crowd. There's something in the air when you see two people beginning a relationship, but no pheromones here. I don't know why you came if you're not going to let me speak. But there are no more words. This language can't communicate. My genomic library doesn't fit; the books don't relate, they're written in a language I cannot comprehend. σ'αγαπώ; I love you? Why don't you go with her to make sure she's okay?

let go. let go. let go. breathe. float.

it's finished. it's begun.

don't let go.

Today is a lounge-around-with-a-book kind of day. And an eat-as-many-sour-patch-kids-as-you-want kind of day.

I have nooo motivation today. I am full of complaints and that's okay. Fuck today. Tomorrow will be lovely.

(photo by this girl)

Copycat.

2010-01-03T21:00:00.001-08:00

Urban Outfitters:

Threadless:

Really, Urban Outfitters?

You could at least TRY when you completely steal other people's designs. And those are even the original colours for the shirt! The red is for a threadless reprint.

Ugh.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010! A day late but ehhh. I'm actually sad to see 2009 leave. Oh well, it was great while it lasted.

This is the year I graduate high school. This is the year I go to college. Biiiiig changes.

Here's to the new year. Here's to a bigger to-do list than ever. No resolutions. Nooo resolutions. They never work.

1. Write more. Write write write. All the time.

2. Start reading for pure enjoyment. No in-depth analysis, no anything. Just pick up a book.

3. Feel beautiful. And never lose that feeling.

4. Figure out what to do with my life.

5. Cook on weekdays.

You know, just a few simple things to do.

Craft: Making Candles

2010-01-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

For this Christmas, I made a few of my friends candles.

The full method can be read here on Bonzai Aphrodite, so I'll be brief.

You'll need microwaveable wax, a crock pot, candle holders (glasses, teacups, mugs, etc.), wicks, and, if you want, colouring and scent.

I bought the wax at a generic craft store, same with the wicks and scent (I used a raspberry vanilla liquid one), and the cups all cost about five dollars. I love Goodwill. :)

This was taken when I turned off the crock pot and placed the wicks in.

And they're done!

I'll definitely be making more.

Outfit: Visiting a Friend

2009-12-30T21:31:00.000-08:00

Hey, I thought it'd be fun to do an outfit post! Sayward does them and I've seen it on a few other blogs, and turns out it is pretty fun. And I got a thousand, err, several tights for Christmas, so...

Here we are. I wore this a few days ago while I visited a friend of mine after her surgery. It was a really comfortable outfit and I'm excited to do more of these posts!

And, uhh, the photos were taken in front of my door. I'll work on getting a better location next time, promise. (For anyone out there who cares, for anyone out there who even reads this....)

Dress - a San Francisco street market

Tights - Macy's

Shoes - Mother's closet :)

Jacket - brown pleather, made by Giacca (from Macy's)

Bright Star

2009-12-26T16:03:00.001-08:00

This needs to be out right now, please.

Correction: Umm, this needs to still be out right now, please. Just bring it back or something, Osio. You can do it.

Recipe: Sesame Noodles

2009-12-21T23:19:00.000-08:00

Back with another recipe. :)

My friend and I made this for a Christmas party we went to, and they were def a hit. I've also made them with my mom to sell at the shows at my high school. Yum.They're really simple! Ingredients are highly flexible, play around with it.

Sesame Noodles

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Fettucini Noodles

Baked Tofu

Broccoli

Shredded Carrots

Shredded Cabbage

Pea Pods

Zucchini

for the sauce -

Sesame Oil

Soy Sauce

Rice Vinegar

Brown Sugar

Ground Ginger

Instructions:

Start boiling the water for the noodles.

Mix together the sauce. I started with about a third of a cup (I think) each of the sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice vinegar, with a few spoonfuls of brown sugar and ginger. The sauce is to taste, so however bitter/sweet/whatever you want make it!

(a sad attempt to show the ingredients.

this was taken after we had finished as an afterthought.)

Break the spaghetti into thirds before you put it in the pot, they're easier to eat and more fun that way. Add a dash of olive oil to keep them from sticking to the pot.

For the tofu, you can either get prebaked tofu or do it yourself. It's usually easier to buy it prebaked, so if you do that just place them on a cookie sheet covered in foil. Cut the tofu up into little cubes and drizzle the sauce over them so it bakes into the tofu. Stick the cookie sheet in the oven for a few minutes, preheated to about 300 F or so. Take them out and marvel at their deliciousness and sneak a few into your stomach.

After the noodles are done, drain and place in large bowl. Add whatever veggies you want, the more you have and the more colourful they are the better!

Throw in the tofu and mix them all together. Dump the sauce aaaalll over that goodness and stir. Add in more sauce as needed - I just throw whatever I think I need straight in. More soy sauce? In it goes! More rice vinegar? Here we go! Again, make it to taste. Everyone likes it made differently.

Take a cute picture with the food. Then enjoy!

(my friend Hillary who stood by lookin' pretty as we made these.)

photobomb.

2009-12-16T23:11:00.000-08:00

I found this website and I literally can't stop laughing. I really don't think I've laughed this hard at anything on the internet. At least not anything I can remember off the top of my head.

New goal: photobomb as many photos possible in my lifetime.

slammin'.

2009-12-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to a poetry slam at the Alternative Café. That's me reading. :)

Val did a montage improv poem but we arrived too late to hear it all, but I know it was amazing because she is amazing.

I read two poems:

"i've never really done a poetry slam before or
spoken a poem i was proud of out loud
before but
i figure i could start now.
and i'm dedicating this one to you.
cos i know you've had it hard
and i know you're stuck in quicksand
and your eyes are ringed like planets from
spending nights being older than you are
and these problems weigh more than
this earth we live on that Atlas is busy holding up
so i don't know how you're still standing.
this poem is for you.
it's for you, and her, and him, and them.
this poem is for everyone, no secrets
or privatizing of art
this poem was written on red paper.
this poem is for a rainy day
when your body's too tired to jump in puddles
when your mind's too tired to think like Thoreau
and the only beauty in a thunderstorm is it looks like your heart.
this poem is for raccoon eyes,
for bad hair days,
for empty wallets and worn-out soles.
this poem is for when you feel like you've walked 500 miles
and haven't wound up at any door
but the night is
darkest before dawn
so chin up and out
eyes wide open
heart ready to strike
do it for me
for she
for him
for us
for you
for you
for
you."

and

"and the skyscrapers, the towers, the city

will crumble, will fall
the wave of a thousand sighs of
nostalgia, hope, tragedy,
fear and some loathing (but not in, no, never in Las Vegas)
crashes over the post-traumatic stress
disorganization of the masses
and what was false is false
and what was true is true, always true
the gods of fire rain down on the gods
of ego who plead with the goddesses of objectification
and they continue to play scrabble.
a not quite eerie calm is pulled out from
the roots of buildings and the basements of trees,
is trailed along the i-beams
and latticework that assisted in
mutually assured construction of
anything but love and all other abstract
ideas - but what ideas are concrete? - that
poems such as this
conveniently and normally end with."

It sounds silly I guess, but I was so ridiculously nervous. You think I'd be all right after acting for several years, but it's different when the words are your own and not someone else's.

And I can't wait to do it again.

Then we café hopped. Hot damn I love indie kids.

and you won't bring me down.

2009-12-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

12841.) Would you mind if I sat next to you and watched you smile?

(via blogsecret and mmk008)

Scar Jo.

2009-12-04T23:50:00.000-08:00

I love Scarlett Johansson.

Who knew she could sing?

So pretty.

Tattoos.

2009-12-03T23:05:00.001-08:00

You either love them or you hate them.

I've personally seen a lot of them that I can't stand.

However, if you're happy, who am I to judge? It's just skin.

1. If I was ever to get a tattoo, it would be this.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

A little black and white of the two halves.

2. I love behind-the-ear tattoos. So cute.

(from Bonzai Aphrodite)

3. Another simple tattoo.

Also really pretty.

(from dA - stars-and-sons)

4. Kurt Vonnegut!

(also from dA user stars-and-sons)

5. One of my favourite tattoos I've ever seen.

I love owls. They remind me of Athena.

(found on Bleubird Vintage)

Yes, I do wash my hair.

2009-12-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

I have dreadlocks. And I happen to love them. And YES I WASH MY HAIR.

I get this question all the time, and it rather confuses me. Do you wash your brushable hair? Yes? Well, why should I not wash my hair? A clean scalp is a happy scalp, and hair actually dreads better when it's clean.

So, the next questions come firing out. How do you wash your hair? How often? What do you use?

Well, I wash my hair about once a week. Believe it or not, your scalp is capable of not getting super-oily once you stop putting so much product in it and stop washing it every day, which strips natural oils and causes your head to produce more than you need. So my hair is perfectly happy and healthy with its "bath days" once a week. :)

Because I can't comb residue out of my hair, I have to be careful when choosing what to wash my dreads with. You can go "No-Poo", which is awesome and great for your head, or just choose a non-residue shampoo. When I don't do no-poo, I use this solid shampoo. I really like solid shampoo because it's easy to use, eco-friendly (No plastic containers! Just a little reusable metal tin.), and pretty good for you. It does contain the dreaded Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, but because it's in such small amount and I don't use it every day, I don't mind so much. I also do something called deep-cleaning, which I might detail later.

I wash my hair by soaping up my hands and scrubbing my scalp, just like you! The soapy water washes down and through my dreads (with a little help) and then I rinse them clean like sponges. I dry my hair with a towel and blow-dry for a bit to make sure they're really dry.

And that's it!

Every person with dreads that I know washes them. Would you not wash YOUR hair?

The photo above is a recent one taken from a hike I was on this weekend. I happen to think it's pretty awesome.

Think about it.

2009-11-26T11:57:00.001-08:00

Recipe: Carrot, Ginger, and Butternut Squash Soup

2009-11-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

Fall means some of my favourite foods, including squash. Fall also means soup. Lots and lots of warm soup.

So here you go!

Carrot, Ginger, and Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

Handful of carrots

Ginger root

Some potatoes

Butternut squash

Alt. milk of choice

And that's it!

Instructions:

Preheat oven to about 375 F or

so to roast the squash. Cut squash in half, put on baking sheet. Rough time to roast is about an hour, depending. I also like to put some brown sugar in the belly of my squash to make it sweet when I mash it up.

Combine carrots, ginger, and potatoes in food processor. Potatoes are only there for thickening, in my case. Actual amount varies depending on how much of every

thing you want. I had a lot of squash and less carrots and ginger because, uhh, I love squash. Play around with the flavours.

Add mashed butternut squash to

food processor. Use a splash of alt. milk for creaminess. (I used vanilla soy because I have about eight cartons of it at my house. Oy vey.)

Garnish with salt, pepper, cinnamon, basil...whatever! That's what I used. Serve with some toasted bread and Earth Balance.

Yummmm.

(Apologies for the photo. I was in such a rush to eat I didn't both taking a proper photo to show off its deliciousness.)

I have found nirvana.

2009-11-18T21:40:00.000-08:00

Vanilla loose leaf tea, vanilla soymilk, honey. Clementines. Yoga pants. Oversized sweater. City and Colour. Hamlet.

Perfection.

Keri Smith

2009-11-16T23:13:00.000-08:00

Or, in other words, my new obsession.

She has made me fall in love with creating again.

I miss my old journal. I haven't done anything with it in months.

I love autumn.

2009-11-14T23:53:00.000-08:00

I love fall for many reason, including (but not limited to):

1. My birthday. Duh.

2. The fall shows are always the best. This year I'm Raymonde in "A Flea in Her Ear" and it's hilarious.

3. Scarves. Scarves. Scarves.

4. Peacoats.

5. Rain on my open-beam ceiling.

6. Scarves.

7. Tea always tastes better when you're cold.

8. As does squash.

9. And ravioli.

10. I love food.

11. Sweaters.

12. Scarves.

13. I just like autumn.

Hey, Hey

2009-11-09T20:25:00.001-08:00

Come out and play!

I'm pretty bad at keeping anything updated, but I'll try this time. Promise.

That said.

"I'm so adjective, I verb nouns!"