Girl Walk All Day

 Jacob Krupnick screengrab

Sometimes you just feel like dancing.  And sometimes you feel like dancing All Day,  in fact.  (I just saw the film Step Up 3 on the bus, so I've got dance on my mind!)   Girl Walk All Day is a new film project by Jacob Krupnick that melds the new Girl Talk album All Day with the improvisational dance of Anne Marsen, Dai Omiya, and John Doyle.  The premise is basically the adventures of Anne, a ballet dancer who suddenly quits her regimented practices and decides to dance her way through New York--"a music video of epic proportions". The featured tapballethiphopetc style is utterly infectious and brilliantly playful, and shows that there are always new and inventive ways of experiencing your surroundings.  Check out the official website and download All Day (legally) here.  This is island dancing fo sho. 

Jacob Krupnick screengrab

 Jacob Krupnick screengrab

On the Street... Red and Magenta Monochrome

This lovely couple stopped by our yard sale over the weekend... their outfits certainly brightened up the neighborhood! 

Fresh Rhubarb, Radishes, and Onions

 I took these photos at our island market this past weekend... so great to see some beautiful fresh colorful produce after a long winter!  Most people were selling rhubarb, onions, and some radishes, but the selection will diversify as the season progresses.  What's fresh in your neck of the woods?

 

Drum Circle - Bangin on Pots and Pans

 Here's hoping you all have a great weekend!  Maybe join a drum circle, or even better, start one... don't forget the pots and pans!

Bikes Make Life Better - Projection Art

screengrabs via Wit and Delight

Bikes make life better.  Especially when combined with projection art!  Check out this cool short film and then go for a ride... remember those lights and helmets!   Can you bike to work?  How about that next potluck or concert?  Check out Bikes Belong and People for Bikes for more info on policies that promote safe biking.  (via Wit and Delight)

screengrabs via Wit and Delight

Happy Syttende Mai... Let's Dance!

 In all of the spring excitement here on the island, I forgot to wish you happy syttende mai yesterday (aka Nasjonaldagen or Grunnlovsdagen).  Many on the island have at least a tiny bit of Norwegian heritage (maybe that's why we ski so much!), and so Norwegian Constitution Day is a big day for parties, eating, and dancing like it's 1814.  These Stoughton Norwegian Dancers show us how it's meant to be done--at least the dancing part!

 

 

 

 

The Wild Braid - Stanley Kunitz in the Garden

One of our beloved poets on the island was Stanley Kunitz, who lived from 1905-2006.  His garden was, and is, a quiet place of solace, reflection, and meditation.  One of the books I'm reading this spring is The Wild Braid - A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden.  The book contains conversations that he had with Genine Lentine, a "bouquet" of poems, and 26 gorgeous photographs by Marnie Crawford Samuelson.  It is very inspiring to read about a man who had passion for his craft and knew that to get anything done, to plant a native flower and harvest a poem, you have to get your hands dirty and continue to nurture with light and water--each day, each day. 

 photo by Marnie Crawford Samuelson

The Round by Stanley Kunitz

Light splashed this morning
on the shell-pink anemones
swaying on their tall stems;
down blue-spiked veronica
light flowed in rivulets
over the humps of the honeybees;
this morning I saw light kiss
the silk of the roses
in their second flowering,
my late bloomers
flushed with their brandy.
A curious gladness shook me.

So I have shut the doors of my house,
so I have trudged downstairs to my cell,
so I am sitting in semi-dark
hunched over my desk
with nothing for a view
to tempt me
but a bloated compost heap,
steamy old stinkpile,
under my window;
and I pick my notebook up
and I start to read aloud
the still-wet words I scribbled
on the blotted page:
"Light splashed . . ."

I can scarcely wait till tomorrow
when a new life begins for me,
as it does each day,
as it does each day.

 

  photo by Marnie Crawford Samuelson 

  photo by Marnie Crawford Samuelson

 

 photo by Marnie Crawford Samuelson

On the Street... Spring Hats and Red Pants

Alexandre de Betak's Stone Home by the Sea

 photo by Jason Schmidt

I've been thinking a lot about homes lately.  This home in Mallorca, recently featured in Sunday's T Magazine, is pretty near perfect--bright, cozy, quirky amusing, reliant on natural materials, in harmony with the landscape, designed for both intimacy and hosting big parties, and firmly rooted between the mountains and the sea--on an island of course.  Oh, and the infinity pool and sleeping nooks for the kids is the cherry on top.  What you see here is the child of design genius Alexandre de Betak, a fashion show producer known as the Fellini of Fashion - think Rodarte, Christian Dior, etc.  As he says, “For 10 years I was dreaming about it, for five years I was looking for a spot for it, for two years working on it, for another two years building it, and finally here it is.”
For more about the home, including a video, see the article at the New York Times magazine blog or a pdf of the article as it appeared in print, via Bureau Betak blog.  For more about the man, check out a minimentary by crane.tv.

 photo by Jason Schmidt

 photo by Jason Schmidt

 photo by Jason Schmidt

 photo by Jason Schmidt

 photo by Jason Schmidt

 photo by Jason Schmidt

photo by Jason Schmidt

On the Street... Leather Shoes and Cuffed Jeans

Love the cuffs, classy shoes, and the pose.

Happy Mother's Day!

 I don't normally blog (or blob, as one of my grandmothers calls it) on Sundays, but since it's Mother's Day, I'll make an exception.  Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!  (and my other moms, Grammie and Mommom and Patty and Renee and Marcia and Beth!)  Here is a little digital tulip bouquet for you... it'll take some time to get around the island to each of you in person, but we'll work on it.  Hope you have a lovely day, see you soon!

Have a Nice Weekend!

Hope you make it to your local farmers market this weekend...and don't forget some flowers for your mom!

Surfing in Style

 photo via The Fashion Appetite

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  As you've probably guessed, there is quite a bit of surfing to be had on Miles Island.  Everywhere you look there's a beautiful point break, a beach with a nice hollow left, a reef that kicks up a gnarly wall...


Some of the islanders like to arrive to the surf breaks in style-- Chanel, to be specific.  Although I don't recall ever seeing Karl Lagerfeld in the water (has anyone ever seen him without a suit?), plenty of folks sport Chanel boards and apparel.  If the longboards ever go on clearance, maybe I'll even get one!  And yes, hats and heels aren't just for the Royal Wedding -- they're also in vogue at the beach... typically not worn while surfing, with some exceptions.

 

photo via The Fashion Appetite

 

photo via A Model Moment 

 photo via If It's Hip It's Here

 

photo via The Dusty Burrito

Oh, and we sometimes bring boomerangs to keep the seagulls away from our gourmet surf brunches. 

Music Tuesday: Fleet Foxes

via fleetfoxes.com

I know it's been a little while since we've featured a band here on the island, but that doesn't mean we haven't been pumping the jams.  Today we're featuring one of my favorite bands of the last couple years (and yes, I do say that a lot), Fleet Foxes.  If you're already a fan of this band, you've probably heard their brand new album Helplessness Blues is out today.  You can stream it at NPR and if that doesn't work, try streaming it here.  (For more NPR Fleet Foxes gifts, check out their Lillywhite session and their Newport Folk Festival set) and I loved their debut album and their second album is more woodsy goodness.  When I listen I picture medieval forests, a wide open ocean, enchanted valleys, and the list goes on... 

via fleetfoxes.com

via fleetfoxes.com

 

via fleetfoxes.com

On the Street... An Island Reader

A Miles Island reader...  and yes, it's a book.