the [peanuts] of christmas past

is there any thing better than being a kid at christmas?


this is the first year in a long time i haven't had to worry about architectural exams.  not having to worry about point loads or plaster types has allowed me to enjoy more of the season this year than those of recent christmas past.

the season has been filled with christmas movies, holiday parties, gift exchanges, lights, food, drinks, family and friends; and i've been enjoying every minute of it.  besides visions of sugarplums dancing in my head, i've been in a very nostalgic mood. thinking back to the christmas of the mid 1980's when the season was filled with a type of magic you just couldn't put your mitten covered finger on; something unseen, but  heartwarming.

i think that's why the other day i sketched a little version of me as a peanuts character. something about it's joy, simplicity, nostalgia, and optimism perfectly reflects my feeling this season.

so whether you're running around doing any last minute shopping, or taking a few days off work, i hope everyone out there is able to take some time, put on a vince guaraldi album, and figure out "what chirstmas is all about" for themselves.

everybody [discovers] home in [the fall]

one of my favorite lines from the book "on the road" is:

"everybody goes home in october"

i like it because the author, jack kerouac, writes the line right after he mentions traveling through kansas, but also because of how simply it conveys the feeling of fall to me.

kerouac had just finished traveling to the west coast and was now on his way back to new york. in a culture filled with hitchhiking and unpredictable accommodations, i assume most of his friends headed home to pass the cold winter months. although not everyone lives the same vagabond lifestyle they did, it still holds true. it seems most people head, or at least rediscover, home in the fall.  the energy spent externally getting "out of the house" is now internal, spent keeping warm.  travels and vacations fade with the daylight. quilts go from being sat on, to wrapped in.

this past october made me feel that way. even activities that took place outside gave a hint of winter looming. small town fall festivals, picking pumpkins, maze-ing your way through dried corn, hot apple cider; all thing dealing with harvest.

the end of summer.

preparing for winter.

staying home.

so as mother nature puts on one final dazzling display dressed in her autumn attire, and the stars seem to stare back at us more so than the sun, i hope everyone "goes home," settles in, and prepares to spend the winter with loved ones.

nearly midnight [lawrence]

there are only a few artists i'd travel two and a half hours to see on a random tuesday night; neko case is one of them.  not only because i've enjoyed her music for several years, but hearing her perform live is nothing short of magical.  in an era of auto tuning and twerking, it really is amazing to watch a live performance from someone with honest talent.

neko was on tour promoting her new album, which holds tracks already climbing up the list of my favorites. although we didn't share the eye-locking moment we did back in 2007 it was still an amazing show, and i'm thankful cameras take significantly better photos than they did six years ago.  if you've never heard of her, please check her out.  i'm partial to the song "hold on, hold on", but if you stumble upon her new album first, check out "night still comes," "local girl," or "ragtime," a few of my favorites from the new album.

the only people for me are the [acl] ones

after six years of attending and photographing the austin city limits music festival, i've learned one thing; i rarely look back and enjoy pictures i've taken of far off stages with tiny little performers singing. the pictures i enjoy most are those of my friends, and the 75,000 other people that form a three day, music loving, community.  a utopian society, swarming with strangers, solely based on their shared love of sound. a camp where you can cut loose the ties of traditional society; a place of pilgrimage where people can unpackage their personality and be whoever...or whatever they please.

one of my favorite quotes is from jack kerouac, and too me, there's no better way to describe the crowd at acl.


"the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."

good times, [chili soup]

"some of us have great stories, pretty stories that take place [downtown] with [booths] and friends and [chili soup]"

i know i do.

once again the chili cook-off proved to be a great time with great friends; friends from near and far, both old, and new. so thankful this annual event has become a tradition amongst my friends.