What I listened to in 2012.

Looking at my Last.fm charts is one of my favorite things to do - especially at the end of a year. Even though I know what I listened to (because, well, I listened to it), there are always some surprises that come from near-comprehensive data aggregation. If you had asked me what I listened to the most in 2012, I would have said new wave - I had my Depeche Mode Pandora station on almost every single day. But: That stuff wasn't aggregated. Only one related artist made it on - I guess when I'm deliberate about an artist or album, things turn out a bit differently. Maybe it's because that Pandora station perfectly captures the aesthetic, memory, or gestalt of some intangible thing that can only be accurately presented as a collection of songs. Anyway, here they are: my top 10 listened-tos of the year.

10. Two Wounded Birds. This was solely based on their song I Think The World Of You, which I heard playing in TopShop over the summer. It is the most beautiful epitome of moody Brit surf you will probably ever hear.

09. The Veronicas. This one really surprised me. I only play two of their songs, but I play one of them to absolute death. It's called 4ever, and is probably one of their more popular ones. I don't know much about these girls, except that this song was the theme of one of the most fun nights I had in grad school, involving my friend Carrie, wigs, a new bar, cherry vodka, sweater creatures, and the sound of McDonald's wrapper crinkling in the depths of my half-asleep consciousness as the sun rose.

08. The Hundred In The Hands. They came out with a new album this year I believe, but I still couldn't stop listening to their previous one. So moody and good.

07. Michael Jackson. What a surprise! He surprised me last year as well.

06. The Ramones. I got really into Bowery history this year, which had me tearing through dozens and dozens of Ramones tracks. I also bought a black motorcycle jacket at around this time a year ago, which drove me to them even more.

05. Metric. Surprise, surprise. I think they're still my top listened-to artist since I opened my Last.fm account in 2006.

04. Pet Shop Boys. I was introduced to some really stellar tracks of theirs through that Depeche Mode Pandora station, and I had those on repeat many a day.

03. Metallica. My favorite band of all time, which may sound weird to some but make perfect sense to others. This year, Orion was on heaviest rotation. If you're ever in a bad mood and have to go walk somewhere, put this on.

02. April March. My favorite discovery of the year. In 2010, I became totally obsessed with yé-yé. A friend spun her English version of Laisse Tomber Les Filles (Chick Habit) at a metal bar one night (I don't know, it worked), and I was hooked. I know it was in a Tarantino movie, but I have yet to see it. Chick Habit (the song and album) got the most plays of the summer. It's fantastic. Also fun fact: She was once an animator for Ren & Stimpy. What.

01. The Faint. They came back in a big way this year for me. This is the band that has probably made the most songs that I have played on repeat for hours and days, dancing around like an idiot. (Exhibits A, B, C, and D).

For more cowbell:
What I listened to in 2011 (blog post)
What I listened to in 2010 (Flickr)
What I listened to in 2009 (Flickr)

Project 366: November

Well, it's after Christmas and I'm only getting around to this. Good one. ANYWAY. We only have one more month to go after this. Holy crap. Here's November --

Here's my favorite shot:

314/366: balloons.

9 November 2012

Saw a group of four friends strolling down the street this today, each carrying a different color balloon.

I was happy with that picture because the scene of a group of very cool looking people holding balloons made me smile, and I was basically crossing busy streets while taking pictures and trying to be discreet. And it came out, with happy sun rays in the corner and nobody being hit by a car.

Some other highlights: Began the month in Stockholm. Voted. Shattered my phone's display. Bought tiger slippers. Sent some snail mail. Went to Los Angeles again. Had a lovely family Thanksgiving. Went to Chicago. Got a case so my iPhone wouldn't shatter even more.

Not that eventful, other than the 4 flights I took ;)

Project 366: August

All right guys, happy September! This is what August looked like --

My favorite picture was taken in Coney Island --

239/366: Paul?

26 August 2012

Mr T had never been to Coney Island, and I hadn't been for a few years, so we trekked out after brunch. We walked around a lot, had fried clam strips with beer, sat on the beach and talked and read, played games, and went to Nathan's. We finished everything off with a Chinese dinner and drinks at a tucked away bar. And then I lost my Metrocard that I had just put $50 on that morning :| other than that, though, the day was a huge success!

Coney Island felt less like a creepy run down boardwalk that nobody wanted and more like a vibrant destination again. Things were freshly painted, there were more rides, and more people, yet the charm of its Americana, Kodak-Brownie past were all still there too. The history and present were integrated really nicely. What a dream.

Otherwise: I caught up with my old boss, Paul, who brought me to New York. I had a two-day migraine. I learned the basics of Arduino and got to spend time in 3rd Ward for the first (and not the last) time. I ate a bunch of octopus. I went back to Cleveland. I gazed at the skyline from a penthouse/roof party in Williamsburg. I went to the beach for the first time in two years – a brushy, duneish beach that reminds me of what I imagined the beach in a middle school summer reading book, The Jellyfish Season, to look like.

See you guys next month!

Project 366: June

Good grief, I have done it again. I had to go back eight pages in my Flickr account to start putting this one together. Time flies when you're having fun? Here's June --

Things definitely happened – so continued my summer of traveling – but looking at these, I didn't get a swooping sweep of nostalgia like I sometimes do with the Project 366 mosaics. In any case, here's my favorite of the month:

157/366: New York.

5 June 2012

It's chilly in June, and there are puddles everywhere from the rains we had yesterday. I looked down while waiting for the light to cross the street, and saw a coffee cup lid and cigarette floating. It seemed perfect.

When I looked at the picture later on in the day, I noticed that the building across the street (my destination) turned up in the puddle's reflection as well. There is almost always a puddle in this exact spot, and I find myself looking at it frequently now, to see the rest of the neighborhood around me reflected in it. Looking up while looking down.

Some other things that happened in June: I started a Soviet 24-hour mechanical watch collection (I can say this because now I have two and intend to purchase more). I found a quiet, secret cavernous room in which to eat breakfast. I went to the New York City Ballet for the first time and was blown away by A Midsummer Night's Dream. Was gifted a Peter Sellers biography. Found a lip balm I'd been hunting all over drug stores for. Saw an icon I helped design clung to a window in Cleveland. Met a cute little dog named Spider. Saw Laura and Hobe sing dirty children's music with toy instruments. Started a weekly breakfast ritual with Leila. Went to San Jose again and did work by a swimming pool. Had In-N-Out again! Saw a friend's first solo photo show. Spent time with an old friend as he ran sound for a band.

See? Lots of stuff but somehow I blame my pictures for not capturing the energy well enough. See you very soon for July's recap!

Project 366: April

All right, all caught up! Here's what April looked like:

Choosing a favorite was as hard as doing it for March, but for unfortunately the opposite reason – I was just kind of "meh" about all of these. I wonder if that signifies any sort of fatigue with this project? I hope not (though I do plan to look through my pictures from the first half of this month to hopefully quell this suspicion).

23 April 2012

Saw this after grabbing lunch with an old friend/walking back to work. Perfect combination of brilliant and terrifying.

Sometimes it's tough to wrap my head around, because a picture that represents my favorite memory of the month is not always the same as my favorite picture. So while this one was the result of a very fleeting walk by a window display that stopped me dead in my tracks, the memory of cooking this meal in my apartment was by far the highlight of April.

Speaking of April highlights, here are some more: Had the time of my life singing karaoke. Got my first ASOS order. Saw massive and gel-tinted Kurt Cobain photos that made me want to be eleven years-old again. Walked to the first oyster shooter of my life with Aaron, Annie, and Vladimir (PS: delicious). Made a delicious meal. Visited home to do little other than watch crime television and eat with my parents.

Project 366: March

True to form, I am way late to my own party. I pretty much only remembered two things I did in March, so it was nice to have a reminder as I was putting this mosaic together.

Assembling this also reminded me that the weather was pretty awesome in March. Lots of walking through the city and eating with sunlight spilling through the windows. My favorite picture of the month was hard to single out, but here we go:

26 March 2012

I had only been to London one other time, when I was fourteen or fifteen. It was when Karma Police and Bittersweet Symphony were on MTV, and all I wanted to do was visit this store since I had read that Metallica liked to buy their jewelry there. Of course I couldn't afford anything, nor did any teenager have any business owning jewelry that expensive – most of their pieces are 100% sterling silver and hand crafted on site. Fifteen years later, I found myself back in London and with an hour free; turns out my hotel was a 12 minute walk from The Great Frog. Well, my patience paid off. Click through my normal photo stream to see what I turned out with. \m/

And for all curious:

Some March highlights: Went to Cleveland. Walked around SoHo for hours a few times. Celebrated the 100th birthday of Oreo in its birthplace (Chelsea Piers, the old Nabisco Factory). Had my first boba tea of the season. Went to London for just over a day. Congratulated an old professor at a Hall of Fame ceremony. Bought some art. And ended the month with delicious, tummy warming tacos while it rained outside.

April's roundup coming very soon (shame on me)!

2011 in pictures.

In fewer than twelve hours, 2011 will cease to exist. From long-distance travel (Los Angeles, Seattle three times and Switzerland twice) to best friends moving, death, illness, and professional growth, it's been a whirlwind of activity – both good and not so good. Time for my annual Year In Pictures...



As you can see, I ate macarons the size of my hand, traveled to faraway lands, saw (and heard) alphorns for the first time, had a proper English breakfast (...in Brooklyn), bought my first watch, and was surrounded by loved ones. Even though the second half of the year kind of unraveled a bit, so much happened to only make me excited for 2012. Bring it.

Happy New Year, everyone ^^

Looking back on 2009

Usually in the last days of December I read old journal entries to relive some of the highlights of the year – and I did this year, and that was great. But then I realized that flipping through the pictures I've taken would be a lot more colorful (literally) and fun to look at. I went through some huge changes in 2009, and as it turns out, I filled up 50 pages documenting parts of it on Flickr. Here's the year in pictures:


[captions & indiv links here]

And some highlights...











Have a safe and happy 2010 everyone. See you next year!