Good Lord, don't ask me how I ended up at this site watching a guy fuel a charcoal grill with liquid oxygen. No wait, I got it from youngfromnewyork, who describes this process as "the equivalent of throwing a live squirrel into a room containing 50 million Labrador retrievers." Very entertaining.

Oh my gosh, the last hour of a workday on a Friday is the *worst*. It just draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaags on.

Song: What Do You Want Me to Say, by d-plan. Download it and listen loud.

Goodness! Too bad tickets to Jurassic 5 @ House of Blues are $23.50. Like I said, so many good shows, so little money...

Looks like I'm going to see The Pillowmints tomorrow night at The Note. Aah...Chicago and it's many, many delectable shows...

Someone earlier found lay-c.com on yahoo as they were searching for "pantyhose wallpaper". When people search for "wonderful beautiful intelligent artistic woman" why don't they come up with my site, eh? I profess, my search query hits are not as bizarre as some folk (though they can be), people come here looking for some random stuff (sorry to disappoint you folks who are looking for "jimmy eat world wallpaper" and "sad plays" and "weezer pinkerton wallpaper"--you're getting my rant instead). Well I guess since those lovely search engines are so good at quality information, they'll come here now (seeing that I put in the magic search engine words earlier...remember, beautiful AND intelligent!). Take that google! Take that yahoo!

Ooooooo....new BEAST. But you knew that already. Do yourself a favor and wait until you get home from work to look at this one. Ha.

I have a total of 13 Diet Coke cans in my desk drawer. Ridiculous.

I went over to my friend Ben's house last night, only to find him soaking his feet in the tub. Pictures ensue...

Oh, hello Creeper Lagoon! I almost forgot you in my new music spree lately. You remind me of NYC, and chillin with Bryan, Mike, Red, Beth...and now you get me all excited because I'm going to be there again in 3 weeks! Wahoo!

I have some photographic desktops to put up, so hurry and get your limited-time-only ones there on the right while they're hot. Right.

I saw a subtitled Bread and Tulips (Pane e tulipani for you Italians out there) last night and it was lovely. A nice middle-of-the-road film; not boring, not action-packed...and I just kindof left the theater feeling happy. I don't know if it's "really" in theaters right now or it was just this particular one, but despite how it looks, it's good for girls AND guys. Go see.

Thanksgiving from Tennessee. Yes I'm *already* back in Chicago. Gotta love those 6am flights. But to explain, you will see in this set of shots sunrise @ O'Hare, Chicago at dawn from the plane, Gavin, mom, shots from inside the car (I love those), Liz, and my parents' super cute dog.

Despite the fact that my head is clogged up from this badly-timed cold, I'm having a very nice time with my family. My brother was silly and went to Atlanta today instead of hanging out with his *only* sister, but hey, there's always Christmas, right? I have taken a billion pictures because I got a new compact flash card for my cam, so you all will be able to see my adventures in Tennessee. Suspenseful I know! If you're someone I know here in town and wanna hang out, drop me an email and we'll do something. Until then, I'm going to be a good little consumer and go shopping.

Ever get curious about making your own Winamp skins? Well here are the instructions.

It's ironic that I live in probably one of the best cities in the US to shop, and I'm planning on shopping in Tennessee over the holiday. Same stores I guess. But it's mostly shopping with mom: she's always honest. She always wants me to look nice. Good combo.

I need this. Wish I could be casual at work.

Medincine Head. My body is numb. My scalp is tingling. Is this normal? Darn DayQuil.
Caught Tomb Raider on vhs last night. It was entertaining (for all genders. all 2 of them. 3? bah) and somewhat fun, and *very* true to the video game. My roommate in Athens and I played The Last Revelation for many days (weeks?) straight and got very good at it, and some of the scenes in the movie are exacly like the game, which was cool. Sure, it's not award-winning stuff, but for a movie based off of a video game it's not half bad.

On the flipside, tomorrow morning (oh so early) I'm heading to TN to chill with the fam for T'giving. I can't wait. My brother has since become a football star and my parent's have acquired the dog of a friend who is recently deceased. And now I'm sick. So I'm looking forward to a trippy holiday. Think of me at 5 in the morning tomorrow when I'm at O'Hare airport.

Since the reviews of the Harry Potter movie have been so positive, maybe I'll go see it. I haven't read the books, and I always like to read books before I see the movies...but in this case I've been slack. But now I am starting to feel like I don't *need* to read the books first, and I like that for some reason.

God bless Ricola (lemon mint) and Kleenex (did you know they have Kleenex with menthol now??). Ugh. It's cold season.

Frankie: bam!

I saw The Man Who Wasn't There last night. It was amazing. Go see it. The values were beautiful (it was in black and white, but I know there were scenes that were more green, or more sepia), the acting was awesome, the characters were so convincing...just go see it. It's film noir, and if you like the Coen brothers, do not miss this film.

The White Stripes rock hard. (I downloaded mp3s from both epitonic and silent uproar) I will be adding them to my wishlist. Muhaha.

Did you know that insound has a photogallery? If you didn't, go check it out. It has pictures of lots of folk, like the Dismemberment Plan, Creeper Lagoon, the Promise Ring, Jets to Brazil, etcetera...they are really tiny, but if you change your screen res it is definetly worth it :)

Amazing: U.S. wants its MTV to get message out in Arab world. Such incredible steps for religious and racial tolerance lately! I'm so excited!

[idea via dismembermentplan.com]
The seven greatest songs of all time (right now):
Jimmy Eat World: If you don't, don't
Abandoned Pools: Mercy Kiss (I want some of those gradient sunglasses now)
Creeper Lagoon: Sunfair
Incubus: Wish You Were Here
Pixies: I Bleed
Ani DiFranco: Everest
Ben Folds: Not the Same

I have this sick feeling in my stomach, like when my parents were going to move to Atlanta my senior year of high school. I remember sitting in the realtor's car while mom, dad, and my brother toured homes. I was just trying to hold it together. Eating was hard, sleeping was hard...I felt exhausted all the time, but I couldn't sleep. I am this way right now. I've had a ton on my mind lately...major changes could be afoot for me soon. I don't know yet. I'll be able to disclose more information as the week progresses. Cross fingers. It's a good thing I have the Baha'i Temple close to me....it is quite possibly the best place to pray in the whole USA.

Tomorrow I'm going to see Alex Ross, comic book guy extraordinaire, at Chicago Comics. I'm going to get stuff signed and hopefully 1. get a glimse into this new Wonderwoman series and 2. get some insight on the new spiderman movie. Should be interesting.

Tired. Very tired. I woke up at the equivalent of 3:30 in the morning to go sit in the airport, to fly back to Chicago, to ride on a train for an hour, to come to work, to now be completely beat. It's going to be a night (or a weekend perhaps) of vegetation. And I don't mean jungles, folks.

Matt is so cool. :)

Here I am in Cleveland. Train, wait, plane, wait, car, talk, car, sleep, train, plane...you get the idea (that would summarize this year for me). But I really like the excitement that travel brings, and I'm getting exposed to all kinds of new things and people and places and now, opportunities. I don't know how much I should write about it on this website, but it's major freelance work, I'll just say that. Lots to think about, lots of potential...it's all very exciting. I'll stop being vague now, and just let you do your thing.

Okay, I'll be away tomorrow in Cleveland. There's a good chance I'll be showing this site to the people I'll be with, and that's going to be interesting. Sooo I just wanted to thank the people that have been linking lay-c.com and have been coming recently. I notice the traffic increase. It's appreciated :) Why don't you email me while I'm gone and tell me what else you would like to see here. I can tell you there will definetly be more photos thanks to my cute new Nikon. So anyways, see you guys on Friday. Whee!

My friend Afshin just finished the music on eeinnovations.com and it's really, really awesome. Go Afshoe!

Oh my gosh. 1. I ate sushi for lunch (amazing) 2. I got my digital camera in the mail days before I expected 3. I got invited to come to Cleveland tomorrow afternoon for a freelance opportunity 4. I got BOOKED to go to Cleveland tomorrow afternoon and night for this freelance opportunity 5. I am very excited 6. I am very excited 7. Did I mention I had sushi for lunch?

Yes yes, very fun-filled weekend. Yesterday was a holy day for me, so we had the day off work (an advantage of serving your religion for a living). Went to see the van Gogh/Gaugain exhibition at the Art Institute. Saw Titanic (the play) on Friday (amazing). Saturday was more consumerism. Met Andrew @ the Holy Day observance on Sunday which was cool. Listened to and picked up Abandoned Pools for $9.99 @ Tower (which is really excellent...be sure and go to the website and see the video for "Mercy Kiss") downtown somewhere, got some vanillia-licious Lip Gunk (my first ever...go me!), ate too much pizza, went to study circle last night, am now totally exhausted after a 3-day weekend. How does this happen?

I'm blogging from a mac for the first time in ages, and it feels like old hat. My friend picked up an iMac today from CompUSA on Michigan for about $600. Ridiculous! It was in perfect condition, but minus a keyboard and apparently a returned item. I am in love with it. I miss Macs so much...they really take the headache out of computing. PC people I'm convinced just love leading complicated lives. Buy a Mac and take 90% of the complication out of your life. Honestly, there's just not that much to break. I will be getting one of these for myself one day...one day........

Welp, I'm off for the weekend. I'm going to see my friend in the musical "Titanic" tonight at Northwestern, tomorrow I'm volunteering at the House of Worship, Sunday is lunch with a friend and a Holy Day celebration that night (where I will hopefully be meeting Andrew and Cinnamon, fellow Chicagobloggers), and then Monday I get the day off for the actual Holy Day. Not to give you all my entire schedule or anything. So I'm off to have another weekend of fun in this crazy city. Ciao.

I know way too many people like this. Well maybe not that loser-esque, but it's still amusing. I enjoyed the list of reasons to go to bed late, and the Matrix ending. Entertainment factor: 7 out of 10.

Lookie what Lay-C just bought!

Well I don't know where my brain is today, because 1. I can't type (I've already mistyped this entry twice) 2. I forgot to change the template of those photos so they all say "jerry madness" 3. I linked the WRONG mp3 below. Although New End Original is very good, I was trying to link this song by Dismemberment Plan. Oh silly me. I'll fix that template thing tomorrow. Nyeh.

Enjoy the new photos I put up. I think I'm going to break down and get a digital camera, because it's just 1. too expensive to buy and develop film 2. too time consuming for the same reasons 3. the quality is crap on regular film these days. When I got these back I felt a little sick the quality was so bad. But whatever, thanks Photoshop. Also, I'm going to take down those wallpapers on the left soon, so download those if you want them.
This song is haunting me. Amazing drums. Download and be entranced.

WHAT THE HECK?

Grumble. Metal desk + pantyhose = imminent annoyance + expense.

Every designer should go check out BEAST. I'll just reproduce what they say:
Beast is a free „magazine”. Published monthly (one year long) as a PDF file. No HTML, no Flash, no content, no sponsors, no banner, no ads. Main focus is on design, typography, art, illustration, photography, mind & matter and all kinds of creative exhausts.
Very nice work, too.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love explodingdog? I catch myself writing down things that would make good titles. I think that this is some of the most effective (affective? I need to figure this out) illustration out there right now, for some reason.

Nice colors at PiRho. This site's not in English, but I'm pretty sure it's a design firm. Note: "powrot" means "back to menu." Just lettin' ya know.

Check out the rad navigation on nobdepot.com. I'm not sure what this site's all about, but I'm assuming design, because it's pretty darn innovative.

My little poem was a hit yesterday, apparently, because National Spiritual Assembly member Joana Conrad asked me if we could put it in the National Center newsletter. Hahahahahaha. Wow.

Oh hey, what's up new Star Wars Trailer. I feel like if I say anything at all I'm going to be trampled by hungry Star Wars fans. I'll stay out of your way. Yeek.

Composed today: my "Ode to Coffee:"


A.M., when my mind is hazy
And my body’s feeling lazy
Blackish swirls of caffeinated
Pulverized, strained and consecrated
Steamy, frothy from a bean
Accentuated by mounds of steam
On the train I see the need
To grow that plant from a little seed
These things I dream before I drink
And if I don’t my mind will sink
With it, productivity will soar!
And nothing seems quite like a chore
Coffee, nectar from above
Brewed in-house with lots of love.


Thank you, thank you...

Well it looks as if Ms Natalie Imbruglia is back with a new album: White Lilies Island. Yeah, you all think I'm lame for still liking her first album from 4 years ago, but I don't care. She has 2 great tracks on her new website, so go listen. And for you boys out there, there are some wallpapers there you might be interested in. I got this link from a random BBC article.

This person can draw. Kindof a "thinking" site, so think abstractly and find your way to the portfolio. Amazing drawings...the diptichs are my favorites. And guess what? ALSO FROM CHICAGO. Be prepared for a link list of the chicagobloggers I've recently found. NYC prepare yourselves!

I tried really hard not to listen to Jimmy Eat World today. Alas, it did not work. I am painfully addicted to this cd.

Well hey! New podular. Very retro; lovin the delicacy of this one.

Just to fill some folk in, the Opera was beautiful. It was at the Civic Opera House across from the Sears tower, and the inside of the building is just amazing, all gold and towering...it's really awesome. But the actual opera was Romeo and Juliet, or a vignette thereof, and was all in Italian. The costuming was *amazing* to say the least...the colors worked so well and were so effective (affective?) that it took my breath away. And the vocals, of course, were other-worldly. Both Romeo and Guilietta (remember, Italian) were played by women, which kindof emphasized the youthfulness of those two. I don't think I would be able to afford this normally (my ticket this time was free), but if you can see an all-out opera, definetly do so. Worth it.

Great looking site: yellowcubed.org...and it's done by a Chicagoan! This one's going on the Chicago bookmark list.

Per Laura's request...

...and then a tribute to my own vanity...

...and then one for the road.

Nah, I'm not goin to see Incubus after all. Sigh. Instead I'm going to the opera! Yeah, that would be *the* opera. Haw haw. So much to do in this town, so short is the weekend. Alas...

Looks like I might be going to see Incubus on Sunday! Rock!

Apparently Billy's got a new band called Zwan. I knew it wasn't the end! And Jimmy Chamberlain is still along. Innnnnnteresting. Wish they were playing someplace besides Cali. Link via Silent Uproar.

Nice website for a college. A private education can apparently afford really fast bandwidth.

Style sheets have changed my life. If you have Dreamweaver and are not using them, you are missing out. Use them now now now!