3.26.2011

gimme gimme

there are days where i find things online and i feel like i am going to burst if i cant get my hands on the newly-found items...its so funny, materialism...cos one day, you didn't know something existed, then the next, you'll do a lot to get that new thing/item. well, call me a slave to materialism today, cos when i found those beautiful jellyfish lights below [which i TOTALLY just lost the link to...i suppose google it if you so wish...sorry!] & these outfits from gorman's winter 2011 lookbook i about died. like, seriously died. i mean, did you SEE those outfits below?!?!?!? i posted them in priority to which ones i want most. i seriously can't stop looking at them. i also love them so much that i also posted these and more on my collaborative style blog: themeritsofthescheme.tumblr.com

i honestly feel that this outfit was MADE for me to put my body in to. no joke

how fun AND classy.

can this be my new "professional" outfit? call this my "power suit", if you will.
which outfit is your favorite? what are you dying for? and it doesn't have to be a THING.

3.25.2011

for your viewing enjoyment.

ok. i'm a little late to the game on this one. i am sure most of you have seen it. but i hadn't until last night. and man is it hilarious. if you've seen the "sexy sax man" prior, watch it again, it'll make you laugh. atleast it made me roll on the floor laughing.


if you don't want to laugh, come visit me and my girlfriends' style blog here!

3.24.2011

polka dots and colors and circles and joy

i've been blogging about balloons and such for years now. happy round circles of joy, color abound, floating and dancing in the wind. or bringing you joy in your house, something to cheer after a long tiring day. so naturally, when i spied this photographer with his AMAZING photographs THAT HE PAINTS ON, i was brought a smile, and an undying urge to go the swiss alps. [or just go back home to alaska] Sebastiaan Bremer's photographs are so delightful and what a cool concept to paint over your photographs with acrylic and inks.







aren't sebastiaan's photographs amazing!?!?! perfect for ringing in the new year and first days of spring.

and this is my shot from the Baha'i New Year [Naw Ruz] of baktash mingled in with polka dots. see more photographs here:
oh did i mention that i love "little wings"? especially his album called "light green leaves". i know, its weird and sad sounding, but it actually isn't - its really happy and joyful and reminds me of spring. it reminds me of sunny warm days in the pacific northwest, floating down calm rivers.

if these photos could have a soundtrack it'd be this album:

3.22.2011

damn hippies

how can you hate hippies? like, really hate hippies? you can't. its impossible. and how can you hate fire worshipers? maybe i don't know what "fire worshipers" are, cos, i'm not talking about the people who start bonfires and than "sacrifice" a goat or a pig or a living thing...i mean you can't hate people who love to sit around a bonfire, really you can't. bonfires are the best thing ever; hours will go by and you'll still be there, surrounded by your pals, having a gay old time, really just enjoying the space and place that you have created together.

i came across this hippie vid recently and really loved it. i love these guys any way. i know i'm not the only one.


as i was watching their video, i recalled a sneak peek in to my life back in olympia, with my brother and all my best buddies. we lived on the very end of the puget sound, on that water, with acres of land to roam around in, rope swings, canoes, bonfire pit, badminton competition area, etc. [i don't know how we got any school work done...]. but during those 4 blessed years, we hung out, rain or shine in our rainboots and carharts and made big ole bonfires on our beach. here is a clip from one of those nights, where we consumed too much potent kombucha and espresso and chewed too much tobacco [logie, i'm sure was really geeked off redbull and other energy drink concoctions...].

nights like the night [on the video clip below] are what caused our landlords to think that Baha'is worshipped fire and "performed strange rituals down by the water around a big bonfire" that was surrounded by branches. they loved us any way. dare i say, maybe even more? okay. i also did explain to them later, that this had nothing to do with our religion, nor was it any thing strange. we just held hands and screamed and danced around the fire. nothing strange about that, right?

be warned, dear readers, what you're about to see, might put you in some sort of strange trance or vortex where you'll never be the same.

or you'll just think we're freaks. either way, i'll be satisfied.

a shout out to my dear friend glimpse aka glza aka hoarse whisperer aka john thomas hogan - he's the bearded handsome devil talking to me in the middle of this photograph: he was in a really bad bicycle accident in seattle a week back and i pray he's doing better and healing fast:

UP WITH IT

everyone loves a good bouquet of balloons, i mean everyone. and you all know i love me some balloons. therefore, i totally loved the movie/cartoon UP. and would you look at this, my two dear readers: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ACTUALLY GOT A HOUSE TO LIFT IN TO THE SKY FROM HELIUM [beautifully colored] HELIUM BALLOONS. this is so insane, icantevenbeleiveit.
[via GOOD]
happy new year to all my Baha'i homies out there. and my iranian homies. and all those hippies that do pagan things on the first day of spring [i totally did you guys].

AHHHHMAAZZZZEEEEENNNGGG, RIGHT?!

3.20.2011

rainy LA

man, its really raining here in LA. and i love it. it doesn't rain here enough. and its the Baha'i New Year [Naw Ruz]. cuddling up with the husband, baking cookies with the mother in law, visiting dear friends tonight, this is a great way to celebrate. 

[thanks to mark for the video]

3.17.2011

in other news...

the best samimi-extremie polaroid replacement out there currently- is my fuji instax film for my new camera! and as soon as i took these two test shots, i knew i was back. i got all giddy again, and ideas starting whizzing around in my head for future photoshoots. its gonna be epic. its gonna be EPICCCCCCCCCCCCC. [so excited] there is nothing for me like shooting with instant film that is good quality. i previously had the mini fuji instax, but the photos were credit card sized, and i wasn't really feeling how freaking teeny they were.

i really truly feel that shooting polaroids for so many years has trained me to be really serious and mindful of the shots i take. i realize now, that i am doing a lot of freelance work [YES! i said i'm a freelancing photography fool now!!! HIRE ME!! you know you want to!! na, but seriously, its been really fun and exciting...]. that i don't need to take as many shots as you'd think....meaning, i really think about my shots before i take them and am really much more happy with my shots this way.
bak & i in my in-laws house

i love having this as an art form for myself. i really love the ritual of taking my polaroid camera with me, going out, and practicing devotion and celebration. i know you might eye roll here, but it seriously is like meditation for me.

be prepared to hear more about my photography ventures as time ravels forward. and bookmark my photography site too, while you're at it. and when, dear readers, you like what you see, pass it on to others, so that i can meditate on their portraits, events & parties. heh. this is fun. say its fun. come on, say it.

Your daily life is your temple and your religion. 
When you enter into it take with you your all.

Kahlil Gibran

this quote has totally stuck with me lately. i love it so much. it even makes more sense right now because as Baha'is, March 2-21st is a period of fasting from sunrise to sunset.  my brother na'im and i just participated in this project for the third year in a row, called nineteendays. it is super rad. we take photos at dawn and dusk, documenting our day of fasting through photographs. you can see ours here.


there are so many amazing aspects to fasting, and it brings me back to the place where i really appreciate good food, like healthy food that'll sustain me for the entirety of the day. sharing with friends and family to me, is like a sacred act. 



 do you ever fast, if so, for what purposes?

3.13.2011

things like this restore my faith in our collective humanity.


[surprise birthday party for muhktar]
i'm not gonna lie - this totally made me cry. sweetest thing ever. thanks to my girl elise for sending me this under our promise to focus more on play/laughter/celebration.

i want to do something where i can find stuff like this from all over the world and put it up on the www. for every one to see how amazing people can be.

here is an image that i found years back and "favorited" then posted on our style blog The Merits of the Scheme. it's a really fun little place to go visit, we would welcome you with open arms.
thanks elise, for this beautiful, touching piece.
xoxo

3.08.2011

i think i miss[ed] winter

so i was skyping with my girl elise today for a couple of hours [we actually watched a movie together - you should try it sometime] and she is on "spring break" from grad school. and outside her window, all i could see was bright white snow, all cozy on her couch drinking tea. "observing" winter just isn't the same when you're in 70* weather with the smell of orange blossoms & jasmine. don't get me wrong, I'M NOT COMPLAINING - I LOVE IT. but i do feel a little bit like i am cheating; i have not skipped a snowy winter in four years.

so when i saw this video posted by my bro jamie, it made me happy - to experience, if even thirdhand, a snowy, crisp, clean, white winter. this video is so beautiful. the music, a little "strange", but i can dig it, if its paired with this beautiful moment.



in honor of those of you still in the throes of winter, i dedicate these photos i snapped last winter for you cold, albeit cozy ones:



3.07.2011

ummmm

can i get a "what the bleep is up with public libraries and people wearing pants that are too small and too low for them while they sit in chairs reading sci-fi romance novels while sneaking sips of mountain dew and surfing the "net" [as they call it] for hours on end looking up things like 'man with three arms' and then laughing to themselves"??

man, life is crazy.

WAIT! AM I IN A MOVIE/DREAM/STRANGE ARS VORTEX!??!?
#joysofthelastcouplehoursoffasting

Baha'i Holy Places in Israel

i took five rolls of film when i was in haifa for the month of january. here are some of my favorite shots of the Baha'i Holy Land & the Holy Places. i do hope you enjoy these photos.
the Archives Building

my father at the side entrance of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice

Another view of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice

"The favors of God are unending, limitless. Infinite bounties have encompassed the world. We must emulate the bounties of God, and just as each one of them—the bounty of life for instance—surrounds and encompasses all, so likewise must we be connected and blended together until each part shall become the expression of the whole."
~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá



the entrance to the Shrine of Baha'u'llah - prophet founder of the Baha'i Faith

fave shot!!! mansion of Bahji [Baha'u'llah's home]

view of Haifa Bay from the Shrine of the Bab


"Humanity is not perfect. There are imperfections in every human being, and you will always become unhappy if you look toward the people themselves. But if you look toward God, you will love them and be kind to them, for the world of God is the world of perfection and complete mercy."
~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
 


one way to enter the Shrine of Baha'u'llah

the Baha'i Pilgrim House

The Mansion of Bahji

The Pilgrim Reception Center
Bahji at Dusk


“We must always look ahead and seek to accomplish in the future what we have failed to do in the past. Failures, tests, and trials, if we use them correctly, can become the means of purifying our spirits, strengthening our characters, and enable us to rise to greater heights of service.”  
- Shoghi Effendi (www.bahai.org)
 

3.05.2011

MY BROTHER IN LAW IS A DANCING GENIUS

who knew my brother in law, bobby had such smooth dance moves?


and more importantly, who knew that SOMEONE RELATED TO ME LIKES LADY GAGA. phewf.

good moves, bro.

some of you might remember this video, that he made us for our wedding. [it was a big hit]

keep this in mind if you are ever needing a sweet music video for you and yours.

3.02.2011

TEDxGoldstar post 2


just following morgan spurlock's funny & honest talk, TED showed this beautiful commercial. ISN'T COLOR BEAUTIFUL?!?!

about TEDxGoldstar

so i love TED. who doesn't?? i have shared with you some seriously inspiring TED talks on this here blog before. well its the TED 2011 BIG annual event happening right down the coast from me in long beach. so i was dying to go, seeing as how i am in LA and could swing it...until i found out tickets are like, $3000. wow. not gonna happen. BUT i found aout about an event going on in LA. goldstar entertainment is hosting a live "simulcast"[live broadcasting of the event - in real time]  of march 2nd's TED event in collaboration with TEDx events. i was dying to go and saw that it was a closed, private event. "how can i get around this?" i asked. i wrote the organizers to request a ticket, and then they saw my internet presence [i do have like, 5 blogs], and they asked me to not only attend, but to be one of 5 specicially selected "interactive hosts" of the entire day's event. wow. so psyched!

so here i am, sitting in the dark, with my fellow TED-sters, watching, listening, moved and inspired. [and typing this to you, dear readers]

i will be updating my blog a couple more times today with updates. i mean, i'll need to update, as i still have to listend to BILL GATES, MORGAN SPURLOCK [super size me] & street artist JR - just to name a few.

please stay tuned and i'll try my best to share with you an oppotunity that i have had today which is fantastic. what a great way to start the Baha'i Fast too!

xoxo