I did, however, just acquire a ticket to go see Philip Glass, Joanna Newsom, and Tim Fain in San Francisco in June. It will be quick trip, the third time and third city I’ve been to in California this year, and it’s about as spontaneous as I get (not very). A friend of mine mentioned the concert a couple days ago, said it might be worth a trip to SF, then said he was going ’cause it was worth the trip, and I thought about the bad reasons (only money related) and the good reasons (concert mom dad friends redwoods dim sum ocean) and obviously the good reasons are better.

Here is a Best Coast song I listen to when I get grumpy:

(Why this song makes me feel better is anybody’s guess.)

Sometimes weekends. On Friday night, I went to the 7th St Entry to see Father John Misty, who I’ve been gushing about for a few months, and especially since his album came out on May 1. Waiting for his set, I hadn’t felt that giddy since I saw the Fruit Bats back in 2010, and before that, Eve 6 in 8th grade. Or maybe Green Day in 10th grade. Basically, I’m saying that this was a truly special occasion. He was batshit crazy and he sounded amazing.

Saturday was filled with perfect weather, a jog around the lake, a lunch and ice cream cone al fresco, and serendipitous run-ins with a plant sale and book sale. We planted tomatoes, peas, basil, pepper, and dahlias. We mowed the lawn, spread grass seeds, and weeded the front lawn as the cats lazily followed us and stretched out on the concrete, their hips slowly melting onto the ground as they lay down, a sign of their exhaustion. The sprinkler tk-a-tk-a-tked. My shoulders were burnt at the end of the day and they continued their demise on Sunday at the May Day Parade, after which, year after year, I almost always feel a bit empty.

But on Saturday night, St. Vincent. I wrote about the joy of seeing her perform live via YouTube videos, and she did not disappoint. The sound was crisp, her voice stunning, and her distorted guitar sounds filled up the entire room.

Let’s go back in time. Colin Stetson is a saxophonist. Right now maybe his biggest claim to fame is that he’s touring with Bon Iver, but I think that actually detracts from what he does when he’s playing solo. On Thursday night, he played in one of the Walker’s galleries, and he blew my mind. It was just him, his saxophone, and a microphone, and it sounded like we were in a room full of musicians. The closing of the keys becomes an integral part of the music. He uses circular breathing the entire time. As I sat there, I contemplated the saxophone as an instrument, and it really is a strange, foreign, insane looking thing, so forget the smooth jazz: it makes sense that the sounds Stetson makes are the sounds that come out of this object.

My roommate Jade and I planned a bicycle tour of ice cream joints in the Twin Cities. We have plenty of great ice cream here, and while I’ve been to most of the places, I haven’t been to all of them, and definitely not in one day. A certain group of us have been talking about doing this for quite a few years, but it’s finally happening. It took us about 5 minutes to map out the route on Google Maps, and today it took me about 2 minutes to make this logo. The date is May 19, and I’m also going to work on some spoke cards which will function as ice cream diaries and scorecards. Kiddy cones for all.

Alternate logo:

Edit: made the spoke card.

The most recent issue of Smithsonian is one of the best. It includes an article about the MONA (Museum of New and Old Art) in Hobart, Tasmania (all the rage at Museums and the Web and the American Association of Museums 2012 annual meeting) with a short bit about Tasmanian devils and their Devil Facial Tumor Disease. I’m really fascinated and at the same time incredibly saddened by this cancer that’s going to wipe out the entire of devil population–they speak of an “insurance population” on mainland Australia just in case–like that will really help. There is an article about a travel writer who writes, “My love for traveling to islands amounts to a pathological condition known as nesomania, an obsession with islands.” (His article, not so much about nesomania, is about his struggle to understand Hawaii, and his failure seemingly making him incredibly uncomfortable.) And finally, there is an article about the conservation efforts to save the African penguin colony on Rodden Island in South Africa. If my life could be all of these things at once, in some way…

The issue also contains this poem:

There is no Wind in Oslo

“My dear,” said the traveler to the young woman, “life has not been kind to me; I went north in search of the famous Alaskan pigmy dog but never saw one; I went south to catch a glimpse of the long-tailed, blue-green African rhino and failed again. Inconsolable, I gave myself up to the sullen glory of great poems and ended up here, on the windiest corner of the windy city.” “Go to Oslo,” said the young woman, “there is no wind in Oslo.”

–Mark Strand

I’ve started a Tumblr where I keep the most important words I need just a click away. I was putting them here, under the category of ‘Quotable,’ which I will continue to do (as with this entry), but sometimes I need a line, a Sandburg, an Oliver, and I can easily find it here.

This video really got to me. Moms.

I would like to shout out from the rooftops that the project that I’ve been working on for the last 3 months has found a home. It has launched. In fact, it launched on March 27. It’s here: ReFarm the City.

Buy a nice tote bag or buttons while you’re at it, hmm?

In the past month, there’s been quite a bit of press for Farmscape. It’s not everyday a company announces it’s running for mayor. Interesting thing I’ve learned: it is common practice for news websites and even television channels to right-click, save, and use your graphics to do whatever they want with them. It’s all for editorial purposes, so, fair game, but it’s interesting to see what they’ve picked and how they’ve decided to use them.

Here’s a few highlights:
– Thrill number one: the mayoral podium on KCRW’s Which Way LA? blog.
– A Farmscape For Mayor banner on LA Weekly.

And then stuff gets crazy.

For about 20 minutes, this was the front of the LAist, a blog that I would call very popular. The biggest item of note is, other than it being the biggest item on the page, is that they squished my banner into their predesigned spot for images. Yes. So I am glad design standards are held high! But if you’ve got your top stories rotating every 20 minutes, I understand why you just automatically use the top image in the blog as the big one on the front page and you don’t go back and fix it.

And finally–my work was on a TV that was on TV. NBC Channel 4 decided to cover Farmscape’s campaign. Check out those sweet graphics slapped onto the bottom of the screen. And, check out the sweet t-shirts that Rachel and Jesse are wearing and the yard signs behind them.

I came across this picture on Tumblr a week or so ago (I was going to say a couple weeks but the internet moves extremely quickly these days) and every time I scroll past it, I think about what a great image it is. It’s the cover of a book of Ed Ruscha (OF COURSE) prints. It’s only $95.

From top-bottom: Ed Ruscha, from Some Los Angeles Apartments; Google Map image of 6565 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles, CA; Vector drawing for Farmscape campaign website

It’s been awhile (or forever) since I’ve posted anything I’ve made. I’ve been working extensively on graphics for Farmscape’s spring campaign. They’re the largest urban farming venture in California and they also happen to be some of my good friends from college. I’m extremely proud of them and proud to be helping them out.

This week we’re setting up the campaign website. Farmscape has decided to run for office and they are your candidate for refarm, dedicated to refarming the city. I’ve designed t-shirts, yard signs, mugs, and buttons for them, which will be for sale in the shop we’re finishing up right now. The link should be live by Friday. So excited!

Short and perfect songs.