Letter B

Ready For My Close Up

Do you know Karen? Chances are you probably do. If not, let me introduce Karen Waldron, an incredible photographer and a blogger whom I truly admire. Definitely start stopping by her blog and see what she has to say on any given day. You won't be sad you did.

Do you know what Formspring is? Chances are you do, since it's been spreading like, uh, things spread on the Internet (I'm giving up the word "viral" for Lent). It's a little web application with a simple interface that you set up to let people ask you questions, usually anonymously, and then you answer them. It's free and it can be a lot of fun, and occasionally you learn something interesting.

Well, the other day Karen set up a Formspring page. I went over to browse and sure enough, I learned something interesting. Someone asked her what she thought were the biggest mistakes that beginning photographers make. Her answers were all great but one really stood out to me: "In portraiture, not getting close enough to the subject. Don't be afraid to get close." Now when Karen talks about portraiture it's best to sit up and listen. I realized that I was definitely guilty of being too shy. While I was (sneakily) reading her words my husband was bathing the kids. I grabbed my camera right then and took these:

Such a simple piece of advice. I'm so thrilled with the results. Thanks, Karen.

SNOMG! SXSW!

I'm just getting around to blogging about this crazy storm that hit us last week because we lost power for three days and then Lowell got a fever that took him out of school for four days and now he has pink eye and oh GOD MAKE WINTER STOP! Here's a picture:

The snow was up to my thigh. Lowell resorted to swimming in it. More shots on Flickr. What you can't see in this picture is the mountains of fallen tree limbs everywhere (and entire fallen tree in our neighbor's yard). This poor little town looked like a tornado hit it and then a blizzard dumped on top of that. Still cleaning up from the thing and we will be for weeks.

In other news I'm leaving for Austin in a week to attend SXSW for the first time ever. I'm speaking on a panel called "Slow Twitter" about people who use Twitter in creative ways, those who take their time with a so-called real-time application. I'll be up there representing @momku so that is pretty cool. I am so excited but also, not surprisingly, a little nervous. If you're going to the conference definitely be in touch and let's meet up. And if you're not going (like me every year except this one) please wish me luck.

Sign Me Up

"Armed with glitter and grit, glue guns and sewing machines, impresarios like Ms. Burke and Ms. McManus have been redecorating the landscape of the city’s after-dark underground, tweaking and honing the warehouse parties that have roved Brooklyn for more than a decade into ever-more-refined environments."

Decorating the Night in Brooklyn via www.nytimes.com

I think I found the circus I want to run away and join. Will work for pizza and sequins.

Melt With You

[Had to republish this post because PictoBrowser was acting up.]

Lowell and I made crayon melt valentines for his class and other friends this year. We were inspired by an entry on The Long Thread which I found via the Craft blog. Lowell can be pretty lukewarm about my crafting ideas but he really took to this one. We had a blast making them and so far they have been a big hit.

The pictures were taken with my fancy new camera that I LOVE SO MUCH I WANT TO MARRY IT. Sigh. Romance lives.

What To Get The Blogger Who Has Everything

Way back in the year 2000 I turned thirty and Matthew, then my boyfriend, threw me an incredible surprise party. It was at my aunt Peggy's loft in Williamsburg that was a fabulous space with an amazing view of Manhattan. It was filled with all the people I loved including my sister who hid in the bathroom and called me on her cellphone to apologize for not coming and then sneaked over and tapped me on the shoulder while the room watched. There was a disco ball, there were 3000 frittatas, there was booze, and dancing, and general mayhem into the wee hours. It was an amazing night that I fed off of for years. And I remember thinking then, "Jesus, what's he going to do for my fortieth?"

Well, he topped himself.

Back in November he started asking me what I wanted to do for my birthday. Most of our conversations went like this:

Him: What do you want to do for your birthday?
Me: Nothing.
Him: How about a party? A BIG party...
Me: No. That will really interfere with my sulking.
Him: ...A REALLY BIG PARTY...
Me: Not a chance.

I did not want to have a party. Even after he convinced me to go along with the idea there were a few times when I asked him to call it off. Thankfully he did not listen to me. This weekend we had a giant bash at my friend Emily and David's house. Almost all of our friends were able to come along with a good portion of my family (including my sister, who did not have to hide in the bathroom this time). There was a disco ball, there were 3000 sandwiches, there was booze, and dancing, and general mayhem into the wee hours. But Matthew, being true to type, needed a surprise element. And he thought up the one thing that I would never suspect: he made me a birthday blog. It was unveiled at the party and I couldn't believe my eyes. People had posted old pictures and had written about memories and even made elaborate videos (including my nearly 90-year old grandmother who doesn't even watch TV). There were many, many, fabulous haiku (including one that our friend Mike got his famous boss to record on tape). I stood there with my mouth hanging open reading and crying and laughing. I can't even begin to thank everyone for putting the blog together but I am trying. It was the greatest gift that I could ever imagine. It was the greatest night EVER. And Matthew has done the impossible. He's actually made me look forward to my fiftieth.