the water's warm and children swim

this thought is the only thing that is keeping me going. finals are taking away my brain, sleeping and social life. but i'm ok with that because come this wednesday, i'll be free. i can't wait for summer, even if i'm going to be taking a class or working, i'll be home and be able to visit the beach. i'm listening to very chill and relaxing music lately, like earlier Death Cab for Cutie. here's their song "Summer skin" from their 2005 cd Plans...

i hope your weekend is going good, have fun for me. i promise to be back soon. i'm most excited because i'll have time to do some artsy things this summer, which i can share with you. get excited. until we meet again, hope all is well. sending warm thoughts,

-Genevieve

a picture mosaic is worth nine thousand words

today is officially my last day of classes, but i still have finals week. i'm really going to miss my astronomy and art history classes. they kept me intrigued and always gave me things to day dream or ponder about. anyway, i wanted to post this photo note i was tagged in, originally on facebook, but i thought that it would be fun little thing to start. i'm going to tag a couple of friends, but if you post this on your blog, i'd love to see what you come up with, so let me know.

Rules:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search (http://www.flickr.com/).
b. Using ONLY the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Mosaic Maker. Change rows to 3 and columns to 3 (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php)

d. Save the image and post in your blog
e. If you're tagged, pass it on. And tag me.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What is your favorite color?
4. Favorite drink?
5. Dream vacation?
6. Favorite hobby?
7. What you want to be when you grow up?
8. What do you love most in life?
9. One word to describe you?

i like how it turned out, each photo makes me smile and describes me in a certain way. i'm going to tag my inspirational and vastly creative friends Lise and Cara with this photo note. and i suggest going to pay their blogs a visit, they too make me smile. hope your week is going good, be back soon,

-Genevieve

awake to take in the view

as promised, here is the vid i created. youtube killed the quality, but you can watch a bit better version in high quality here, just click the HQ button at the bottom right. i shot time-lapses during the nature hike, so i combined them with pics. and i felt that Owl City's song "On the Wing" captured the mood perfectly. i think once school gets out, i'll be able to make some more shorts. i hope you like it, enjoy...

the thing you might have forgotten

there's nothing better than curling up in a sofa in a big baggy hoodie sometimes. i'm glad it's the weekend, but it's definitely going to be a laid back one. school is almost over, but the next couple of weeks are going to be very hectic. i've been doing a lot of thinking lately. which is not new for me, but i've been thinking a lot about relationships lately. it's never easy. but then again there's no other way that we know. people are complex creatures, but i don't feel helpless. on the contrary, i feel hopeful. hopeful that through my attitude and actions, i will continue to meet incredible people. when experiences lead you to see who your real friends are, it's not easy. but after some getting used to, you can come to understand the method to the chaos in this universe. well, sort of. the last year, i have grown much more than i ever thought possible and have also changed a great deal. i'm happy where i am at this moment. despite things not being at their best, i always have faith that things will get better. or if not better, that they all will fall into place. time goes by and it shifts things into order. i don't know if this makes any sense, but i just wanted to remind you (in case you forgot), that no matter how crazy things get, it will get better. thunderstorms don't last forever. and even though life isn't perfect, we just need to learn to live with what we've got. the best song that i've found to some up my feelings towards life and the rest of humanity is "Learn to live with what you are" by Ben Folds. try to listen to the lyrics in a positive light, as if they are saying to be you and show that to the world. because the only person that can make you fully happy, is yourself.

if you're happy, share your positive energy with others. and if things aren't going so hot at the moment, keep your chin up.

i just wanted to send some positive thoughts and energy your way. i hope you have a wicked weekend,

-Genevieve

music is what feelings sound like

i have been coming across some really cool bands lately through blogs and youtube channels. so i thought i would share them with you. i have recently been super into electronic pop progressive experimental type stuff that doesn't sound like anything you've heard before. it completely fits my mood and has become my new addiction. the three bands that i'm going to show you are either unsigned or part of an indie label so they don't really have music videos. but there is a lot of fans that make vids with their songs or people who record them at concerts, so that's what i found.

so first off is Owl City with "Rainbow veins". i'm pretty much in love with Adam Young. i plan to try to meet him one day to tell him how awesome he is.

second is Unwed Sailor with "Copper Islands". i actually discovered them because of Adam Young.

and last but not least is 100Monkeys with "Sweet Face". i wasn't aware of this when i first looked them up and started jamming to them, but Jackson Rathbone is part of the band. he plays Jasper (Edward's bro) in Twilight.

so i hope you enjoy the music, they are all worth checking out. i'm working on editing a vid with footage from the nature hike, so i hope to share it with you soon. in the meantime, i'm going to go listen to my finds, be back soon,

-Genevieve

some people just own leather sleeves

he completes me. enough said. Demetri Martin came to perform at my school last night and we went to go experience his awesomeness. sorry for the bit of blurriness, i was close, but not that close. i edited the pic a bit, to make him with more of a spot light. hope this week is treating you well,

-Genevieve

passionate, affectionate and loud

i wrote this on the bus ride back to school, so it's a bit random. or more random than normal i should say...

everytime i hear the Gipsy Kings, i can't help but smile. if feels like i'm hit with memories of when i was younger. my mum loves them and at every party, reunion or even just to sit down and listen to some music, she would play the smooth, romantic, passionate, Spaniard band. it starts playing and it's as if i'm back hearing people speaking in Spanish, laughing, drinking, having a good time. there's an energy that is indescribable to when you are somewhere where everyone is having a good time. you feel a part of that energy. you can't help but smile and want to be a part of it all. i'm proud to be part of a culture that is so passionate, affectionate and loud. music needs to be more than heard, it needs to be felt and experienced. food needs to be more than just "good", you need to be able to taste the love that it was made with. you need to be able to smell your heritage, it needs to remind you of your childhood. drinking isn't used irresponsibly, but must be combined with food and dancing. and dancing, is an entire life in itself. movements on the dance floor are not only to enjoy yourself, it's a type of flirting and connection beyond any other type of pick-up line. i could never give up such a culture. it doesn't matter how many years i've lived "abroad". i'm a native. it's in my blood. it's in the way i want to live my life: passionate, affectionate and loud.

here is the Gipsy Kings's cover for the song Volare

i think this particular song captures the thoughts that i wrote about. hope you enjoy it. be back soon,

-Genevieve

never judge an artwork by it's period

i have been away for far too long. i never thought that an entire week would actually go by without any blogs, but it has. i'm terribly sorry. i really have no excuse except that i keep thinking of things to blog about and then not physically sitting down to do it. well, here i am.

so i just wanted to mention about what i've been learning in art history this week. we are in the Gothic period. i never cared too much about the type of work to be honest. that all changed when my prof showed us all the details of Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France. it is incredibly elaborate and beautiful. i really want to visit it and take pics of every angle imaginable. the first pic is an aerial pic that i played around with, the second is a close up view of the west facade, the third is of the stained glass windows and the third is of the nave. the windows must be breathtaking in person, and it's amazing that they have survived for so many years (since 12th and 13th centuries). apparently, the light is like an uplifting spiritual experience in the cathedral because it's so bright and has the mixture of colors from the stained glass. even if you aren't Christian, the architechture is inspiring and the building becomes a piece of artwork from history.

i should be back shortly, literally. maybe even tonight or tomorrow. hope this week is treating you well,

-Genevieve

random indie finds

i love having little random finds of music, vids, films or pics. yesterday, i was aimlessly surfing the internet and i discovered the band She & Him. the duo works incredibly together and her voice is wonderfully soothing. i definitely recommend it if you like indie, eclectic music with choir like vocals. she (Zooey Deschanel) looked familiar to me and then i realized that she was the actress from "Yes Man". she's got a really cool style in the movie and in real life. she's in a new movie called "Gigantic" that come out last friday in limited theaters. it looks like it's going to be pretty comical, it's on my list for films i want to see.

so here are my little indie finds, She & Him's music vid for "Why do you let me stay here?". i thought it was a strangely cute music vid. and also the trailer for "Gigantic"...

hope you had a good weekend and that you enjoy the music. have a good week,

-Genevieve

solving the cube of time and tranquility

this past week has been very long to say the least. my studies attacked me and left me quite defenseless. but after a good night's sleep and a peaceful saturday, i return to my little corner in cyberspace. i have so many things i want to do to enjoy this weekend, that i feel there isn't going to be enough time. but so far, so good. i'm going to edit some time-lapse footage i took during the nature hike and make something creative. i might play around with some photos on sumo paint. i haven't edited too much with it, but it's uber awesome. in case you've never heard of such an amazing wonder, sumo paint is a free online image editor. you can also just 'paint' and draw something. but it's like paint on steriods. i don't have photoshop and the facebook picnik doesn't have this much stuff. i stumbled upon this site and it was love at first sight. happy sumo painting.

i youtubed stop motion because i've sort of become addicted to the idea of making vids with it. this vid is golden. probably because they used The Postal Service as their song and they actually solved the rubik's cube. i'm always amazed when someone can do it. i've spent tons of times trying and can only get one side, and parts of others. before i die, i want to solve it.

well, i hope that i can return soon. maybe with a vid that i make or some pics i played around with. hope your weekend is going good,

-Genevieve