Lounge

Look, it's the living room of my old house in Norwich! This was the view from my habitual chair, which I spent many an hour sitting in whilst watching Veronica Mars and yes, occasionally sketching.





Details to notice: sitting on the mantelpiece is a letter to Kate Bush (unfortunately returned to sender). The remote control is stuck down the back of the sofa, as usual. Tim's guitar is propped up nonchalantly making us seem like a rock n' roll household. On top of the sideboard in front of the flowers is Jen's blacklight - why did we never have another blacklight party? I have left out the millions of DVDs which were stacked in the fireplace, and also our extensive and impressive collection of Kinder Surprise toys.

Gosh, I do miss that house.

I've gotten a bit scanner-happy lately, so I have scans of many more of my sketchbook pages. Maybe I will post some more soon.

Yet More Chuck Bass

"Hey Nick, want to hang out tonight?"
"Yeah sure, what will we do?"
"Look through endless photos of Chuck Bass."
"...Oh."



Susie: "Look, he's doing an emotion in this one!"
Nick: "So am I, it's called despair."



Susie "Look! This one's my favourite! Look at his face! He's amazing."
Nick: "Yes. It is totally different from all of the others."


Susie: "We happen to know he is wearing green socks with this outfit, don't we Nick? If only we could see them."
Nick: "Yes, if only."



Nick: "You're basically blogging my nervous breakdown."



Nick: "You seriously owe me for this."

My Cheering Reading Material

So I have discovered the perfect way to cheer oneself up in times of global economic recession:

Emile Zola - Germinal

Reflect on how at least you are not a miner in 1860s France. Oh boy, now that's grim.

Om Nom Nom

I never thought this would be the kind of blog where I post videos of cute animals, but hey, what's to lose.



It took me five watches to realise the one on the far left has a hairclip.

My fave is the little squeaky noises they make! Yum yum watermelon! Squeaky squeak!

(Nick just said: "The funny thing is, if you give Lucy a Kinder Bueno she makes the exact same noises.")

Babe Ruthless

So this is the thing I am now most excited about in my life:




Whip It! looks amazing. Take the alluring and intriguing world of all-girl roller derby, throw in Drew Barrymore acting and directing, an all-round awesome cast, and Ellen Page in the lead being cute as a button, and you have a recipe for sexy funtimes. This movie has been on the radar of fabulousness for a while now, and now that the trailer has arrived it doesn't disappoint. I hope the movie lives up to all of the personal hype I have created in my brain.

Trailer bonus points for Ellen's dorky glasses, the roller derby nicknames, Maeby from Arrested Development in the best buddy role, Drew's laugh, the DIY feminist ethos, gratuitous elbow violence, usage of Weezer and Boys Wanna Be Her by Peaches.

P.S. Kaia you are totally going to owe me five bucks. You know why.

My loud guitar comes in, my thumpin' drums come through

CUUUTE!!

I can't think of anything to post about this evening. It's been a long week at work, I'm tired and my brain has gone to mush. So the thing to do is look at some cute pictures of Tegan and Sara.

Note the adorability factor! Behold the lesbian hair! Imagine all the awesome pop punk being created in this studio! Try to guess who is Tegan and who is Sara (easy peasy). Spot the tattoos! Drown in a joyous sea of plaid!

These photos can all be seen on Tegan and Sara's fancy website. The photographer was Lindsay Byrnes.

P.S. Don't forget to vote in the poll to the right so we can see who we think is cuter, Tegan or Sara. You will also notice a third option at the request of my fairminded girlfriend who thinks judgement of this sort is cruel. Sigh. Bloody Americans.

Rollerskate Buddies

Here are two excellent music videos directed by film-maker Eva Husson. Both songs are very 80s, but in an acceptable way even to me (trust me, even if you don't like the vibe initially, they are both growers). Both videos use incredibly talented youths who get to show off their moves in a way that is both impressive end endearing.

M83 - Kim and Jessie

The Presets - If I Know You

I think my favourite must be the bright pink rollerskater pals dealing with various travails, but I am very partial to the video for The Presets - I love the way it builds, and the flaming finale with the 'power of youth' vibe to it.

(Can't find out anything much about the director, dunno where she'd based, but she does stuff in French and English. Website here, but these two music vids are most definitely the best things on there.)

We Have a Winnar

Just a little post to point out the fact that:

80% of people think that Eurovision is more entertaining than the Oscars.*

I feel so vindicated in my love for Eurovision! Obviously it helps if you get smashed. But certainly a night of quality entertainment for all! I have only watched the Oscars live once, obvs because of the time difference between here and the States, and it was entertaining enough. But nothing compares to the camp thrills, the confusing novelty and the sustained unintentional hilarity of Eurovision. I for one cannot wait til next year.

*Figures may not reflect all of humanity, merely the tiny handful of people who read my blog but it's still true so there.

Do You Prefer A or B?

Just because I think a comparison is always interesting:

You will probably notice various mistakes and bits of distortion both unintentional and intentional, which I thought were ok because no one was ever going to see the source photo. Oh well.

Thin Cities

Eugene, Oregon 24-08-07

Well hey there. I can't think of much to talk about at the moment, so I thought I'd just post these sketches from a couple of years ago. These are, what, three moleskines back? I think I am out of my moleskine sketchbook phase for now, but back in the day I was crazy for those little black volumes. So soft and durable and handsized. Where was I? Yes, these are some sketches of houses and things, mostly from the States, California and Oregon, but a few from home in the UK too. They were nearly all done with dip-pen for the thicker lines, and a tiny wee fineliner for the details; this is probably not noticeable, but it's the sort of finicky distinction I am all about.

You will also notice these are nearly all face-on, no background, isolated on the page, which is a way that I like to do buildings. I like them pinned down in my sketchbook like they are specimens, like my own personal architectural dead butterfly collection. I also tend to elongate the houses upwards; I especially like this effect for the San Francisco row houses. Some are from photos, some are from life. I don't draw this kind of thing quite as much these days, but I still really like to draw architecture. It can be very soothing.

San Francisco, California 09-08-07

San Francisco, California 08-08-07

Norwich, England 29-07-07

Cork, Ireland 25-08-07

San Francisco California 07-08-07

Monterey, California 17-08-07

Huddersfield, England 28-08-07

Humboldt, California 17-08-07

Haight Ashbury, San Francisco, California 06-08-07

Portland, Oregon 22-08-07