Crazybananas

Lately I’ve been posting quite a bit of music through Blim.fm, a site that works with Twitter to post songs and videos found online to your Twitter followers. I love it, because when I hear a song I love on the radio or wherever, it takes me a bit to commit to buying it via iTunes. I’m fickle with my music, and I can hear a song that I love the first time around, just to find out that I loathe it after two or three listens.

But since some of you stubbornly refuse to tweet (Mikayla! Trent! Unamed reader!), I figured I’d post a video or track every now and then to lure you in to my indie music web. Or maybe just so you can take a break from listening to Thriller on repeat (ahem, Mikayla, cough, cough).

First up! This band is Beirut and the song is called Nantes. I can’t really describe the music style, so I’ll let Wikipedia do it for me:

Beirut is an American band. It began as the solo musical project of 23-year-old Santa Fe, New Mexico native Zachary Francis Condon, and later evolved into a band led by Condon. Their first performances were in May 2006, to support the release of their debut album, Gulag Orkestar. The music combines elements of Eastern European and folk with Western pop music.

Now if that doesn’t lure you in, take a listen.

Beirut vid via Girls Gone Child.

[Guess what?! You can find my playlist anytime you like! Just click the link in the right sidebar that says Crazybananas Tunage. You know you want to…]

I’ve been a Macintosh lover and user for years. I guess it all started in high school, when the only Mac computers in the school resided in the journalism classroom, where the epic “Mentor” newspaper and “Blue M” yearbook were created. While most kids took a while to get used to the glory of the Macintosh (Where is the CTRL key?! How do you right click? What the ‘eff does CMMD mean?!), I quickly took to those silly looking computers with the time clock wait icon. When I decided to become a journalism major in college, I was pleased to find the whole school used Apple exclusively, and when I got my job as a video editor with the school, which lasted throughout my college career, I knew I would need an Apple of my very own.

Enter my beloved “Macaroni,” a G4 Powerbook which has stood by me for many, many years. It’s been through five major moves in four cities (including Florence, Italy), and countless You Tube videos. Though it doesn’t hold battery charge now and is basically obsolete, I still love my Macaroni, and refuse to give it up. That is, until it can be properly replaced (suggestion: here).

And my Mac love doesn’t just extend to computers. I have been the owner of way too many iPods, including my first, a pink iPod Mini given to me by Trent as a Christmas gift oh so many years ago. That was followed a few years later with a Video iPod, and a hand me down iPod Touch. But now, ladies and gents, now I have entered a whole new world of Mac dependency.

I have an iPhone. And not just a 3G, but because of some crazy billing error, the new 3Gs. Please, let’s have a moment of silence.

This phone is the best electronic tool I’ve ever laid my fingers on. I use the Google Maps GPS feature instead of printing out directions, I downloaded a sound machine app to help me sleep when I can’t settle down, I check Twitter way more often then is necessary, I can listen to Pandora or any NPR station in the county with just a touch. And having my music, videos, photos and phone all in one device isn’t bad either.

But the best part, for me, at least, is the new video feature, so when Lucy gets all cute at a Royals game, leading our section as team cheerleader, I can capture it and share with you.

Or when Mara is trying to avoid me, I can easily annoy her.

Or when I need to entertain my kid with random questions, I can capture her insane reaction.

But I’m certainly not wasting time taking videos. I spend most of my iPhone time checking my work email and calendars. And the stock market. And the weather.

Yup, it’s all about the work. Practicality, people. Uh huh. Totally.

[cough, cough]

Today is my best friend Mara’s birthday, and in honor of her big day (and because I just bought her a graduation present), in lieu of a gift, I have decided to glorify her with a poem. Specifically, a well-thought-out haiku:

Team Edward and Team Ronald
you are such a goof
twenty-six will be awesome

Please, please, stop applauding. I know, you didn’t realize my talents stretched into the world of incredible poetry. Well, now you know.

(If you’re on Twitter, wish Miss Mara a happy day yourself here! It’s also photographer extraordinaire [and fellow mother of a Tasmanian child] Nicole’s birthday! Wish her happy birthday here or here. I think I’ll go eat some cake now. You know, for solidarity.)

Another lovely sidenote of the wedding I photographed this weekend was the fact that I got to spend time with two of my favorite people on the planet. Ever since our wonderful “Nacho Cheese” (Abbie) moved to Alabama, we rarely get to spend time together. Though Mara and I have spent more time together lately than any two friends with obsessive personalites should (vampires! wizards! movies from 1983! redheads!), we truly never has as much fun as we do when Miss Abbie is with us. She balances us out, bringing to the mix fart jokes, country line dances set to rap music, and the ability to finally make Mara laugh. Case in point, the following selection of photos, which shows our threesome’s relationship better than any of my words could.

(Photos totally stolen from Abbie’s facebook)

Watch as Abbie and I decide we want a picture of three of us, then spend forever trying to get Mara to smile, while she pouts about taking a photo. Check out Mara’s face, it’s classic “Mara.” Techniques for capturing said elusive smile include silly faces, striking a pose, the robot (which unfortunately translates to jazz hands on film), and smootching:

Friendship is such a good thing.

(Note: Both Mara and Abbs look so damn cute, and I look sweaty and disgusting. I blame that on the fact that I was not informed I should dress up AND spent a good portion of the afternoon sweating and sitting on the grass while I took pictures. And I had to borrow a shirt from Abbie because after the first two hours of shooting, my shirt was covered in sweat stains. I know, you really wanted to know that.)

This past weekend I was able to do so many fun things, my head is still spinning. The fun was so overwhelming, in fact, I actually haven’t been able to sleep. For reals. It’s 4:22 a.m. and I’m still not asleep. This will not end well.

But as long as I’m not sleeping, I figured I’d share some of the fun with you all, you lovely Crazybananas readers, you. First, on Friday, I got to finally meet Miss Lauren Kathrine Fogarty, the new baby girl just birthed by the awesome Kristi. I definitely didn’t get enough time with the munchkin (Lu fell while playing with the neighbor kids and never really recovered from the trauma of it all), but there were major snuggles to be had.

Out of focus, but I love it anyway.

Kristi is a great mom already. Such fun stuff!

Um, yeah, I know. Right? Right?!! Arggghhh, BABIES! Overwhelming adorable-ness!!!!

That made no sense, did it? Well, like I said, NO SLEEP, so nothing I say in this post will make much sense.

But I digress.

On Saturday, I headed to good ole’ Manhattan, Kansas for a lovely July wedding. My best bud, Abbie, has a brother-in-law that was getting hitched, and she asked me if I’d take pictures of the wedding. Now, as I AM NOT a professional (or even f’ing close) photographer, I bitched and moaned and begged not to do it, but in the end, I decided I wanted to help out. And I’m glad I did, as it was a fun learning experience for all involved.

What did I learn? Well, when the bride looks like this, the photographer doesn’t have to do much.

What else did I learn? Well, sometimes, at weddings in Kansas, boys like to have their picture taken with their guns. I find this odd, but I tried to go wtih the flow.

And then I ran for cover….

Special thanks to Luke and Abbie, who trusted me (for some strange reason) to capture Sascha and Michaela’s big day. You guys are pretty. Now move home from Alabama, immediately!