Dizzy Swallows

Salt Spring Island, Part 1

August 31st, 2011 2 Comments

Hello darlings! No indeed, I have not forgotten about you! We got back from camping late Monday night and yesterday was something of a scramble to catch up with work. My goodness, the things that pile up when you’re unplugged from the internet…

But without further ado, I’m going to jump right into scenes from our camping trip on Salt Spring Island. It was one of those rare vacations where everything goes smoothly, from traffic, to the ferry, from the weather, to snagging a choice campsite.

My habitual ire with ferries does not, as yet, extent to the B.C. Ferries. Though we were on the “milk-run”, which stops at all of the major Gulf Islands and takes roughly 3 hours, there was no dawdling and we departed every stop with commendable punctuality.

The view wasn’t half bad either, with the characteristic rocky crags of Pacific Northwest islands rising from … Continue reading

Camping

August 24th, 2011

A scant few weeks after Jacob and I began dating we drove out of LA in my old beater car (miss you Max!) for a week of camping. That first trip is still one of our favorites. We stayed in both Joshua Tree and Death Valley, enjoying the wilderness and all the (tiny, deserted) back-roads in between.

Camping to me is synonymous with summer. I’ve lost count of the family trips we took growing up, often, as teenagers, having to be dragged bodily to the car with the dire threat: “You’ll thank me later!” Well, thanks Mom. Even those times spent huddled, miserable, and damp under a tarp with the rain sluicing down around us have been folded into my undying love of camping.

Though this summer has thus far offered a sad dearth of camping opportunities, I am delighted to tell you that on Friday we will be … Continue reading

Little Bits for a Monday

August 22nd, 2011

How was your weekend dear ones? Ours was divine, filled with friends, tasty eats, and a significant amount of beach lounging. Ahh.

It was so relaxing, this morning I’m having difficulty gearing up for the work week ahead. So, to help us all transition slowly, here is some dreamy music I’ve been wanted to share for awhile now. It would seem the Swedes have my number yet again, with the sibling folk duo First Aid Kit. Sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg deftly weave close vocal harmony with woodsy, Fleet Foxes-esqu song-writing. In fact, it was their 2008 YouTube video cover of the Fleet Foxes song “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” that first attracted international attention. This is the third single, “Ghost Town”, from their 2010 debut LP The Big Black & The Blue. The video was directed by Mats Udd, and features some pretty white dressed and the … Continue reading

Chim↑Pom

August 19th, 2011

I’ve always enjoyed good documentary. Leave me with The Blue Planet series and I’ll be blissfully entertained for hours on end. One of our favorite sites for streaming documentaries has been PBS Frontline. Have you ever watched a Frontline video? They offer documentaries on just about any topic, from high school football, to the Arab Spring, and from cheap flights, to the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Our most recent foray into the Frontline archives offered up a short film on the Japanese art collective, Chim↑Pom. The collective was formed in 2005 by 6 young artists: Ellie, Ryuta Ushiro, Yasutaka Hayashi, Masataka Okada, Toshinori Mizuno and Motomu Inaoka. Something of a guerrilla art group, Chim↑Pom explores themes like death, poverty, inequality, coexistence, peace, violence, and street culture. Past projects include a video piece in Cambodia, visiting children who had lost limbs to landmines, blowing up designer handbags and Ipods, then auctioning … Continue reading

Bon Iver’s Holocene

August 18th, 2011

A mid-week treat: Bon Iver‘s newly released video for my favorite track, “Holocene”, off his self-titled album. The video features the glorious geography of Iceland, one amazingly fuzzy sweater, and an adorable little explorer. Enjoy!

BON IVER “Holocene” from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.… Continue reading