wamp wamp, Blogspot

sooo there's been a change of plan-- due to Blogspot's weird formatting issues (you write the thing and get all your pictures looking all cool with text wrapped around them and other fancy tricks and then you post it and it comes out TOTALLY DIFFERENT!), I am going to start experimenting with Wordpress instead. It will be the same blog, The Loamly Goatherd, just different.
All of the posts I've written on this blog will still be here in case you ever need to reference some ridiculously intelligent blurb I spouted in November 2009, or super hip groove I posted in December that you simply can't live without. All of that will be here.
New stuff, however, will be posted at www.theloamlygoatherd.wordpress.com, so in the future you can head over there to get your sporadic-and-rando-musings-about-my-life-and-other-things fix.
Thanks pals! As always, I lurve you all very very much.
Frances

it's been a hot minute

Greetings, babies! Long time no blog!
I hope you are all whizzpop boom bam pow! I am feeling pretty great myself. The quarter's over: I got into Western's design program, I somehow managed to wrangle A's in French, drawing, AND band (although I'm pretty sure everyone got an A in band), and Ive been hanging out with REAL LIVE PEOPLE! As opposed to the dogs and my blankie, who are always great company and we remain quite close, but humans are turning out to be fun, too.
Also, yesterday I embarked on A Great Hunt for Inspiration and came across some really incredible stuff. Here are a few tasty morsels:

These are by a Swedish illustrator named Stina Persson. They are some of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen. The colors are glorious and her use of negative space is so innovative and bold and yet so delicate, I can hardly stand it. I love these. Don't ask me how Persson manages to keep her watercolors under such precise control-- I've been asking myself the same question for 36 hours straight and I really haven't the foggiest.
You can see her complete portfolio here.
























This one is by Finnish-born illustrator, Kustaa Saksi. Both Saksi and Persson favor sharp graphics with bold contrast augmented by silky watercolor drippiness. Loves it. This one (below) is by Chad Hagen. I think the colors are spectrumtacular and I want to know how he handled all the layering and overlapping of those semi-transparent hues. Teach me preeze, Mr. Hagen?

Vintage Citroen ads-- I mean come on. Tell me that ain't crispy.
1975 is more my style, though.

Kickin' it real tough

I like fish and mango pickle/when I climb trees dem feet dem tickle

The good word of M.I.A. -- amen, right?
Hey so check out: you can customize your own DUNXXX!!! It's a way good distraction strategy (distrategy, if you will). Friggaligs, dude, I could do this ALL DAY! Check it--
Cute Fuzzy Dunks
Tacksville Dunks (My goal with these was to create a pair of shoes so obnoxious that even I, queen of the anything goes wardrobe, would never wear them. I failed- they are undeniably obnoxious but I would totally wear them anyway.)
Bugs (Jeebs! The dudes' colors are way better than the girlzz...)
Soleil
Ninja Turtles TMNT theme was unintentional, but what can I say? Cowabunga suckazzz!

Aight Ima go read about war and the death penalty.
PEACE
Frandoodle

ReMIXXX

Dudes! I have a paper that I should really (REALLY) be writing right now, but I want to show these songs ultra speedy quick-like and then I will get my write on.
ok check it:
Kanye - Gold Digger (Diplo remix)
Ok Go - This Too Shall Pass (Passion Pit remix)
The Beatles - Come Together (Starfire remix)
Lil Wayne - Fireman So Cold (A-Trak remix)
ok I love you all a whole very lot much
Francoise

Nothing in particular

Nothing exciting, just some stuff I like to look at...
and hairdos I wish I had...

We wii? Oui oui, we wii!

Holy mackerel what a BEEYOOTIFUL day!!!! It's downright BALMY! Way good.
Here's the bulletin:

• I gave myself a haircut. I guess it could be better, but I didn't cut very much off and it was so shaggy already that you can't really tell the difference anyway.
• Ryan brought home a Wii last week, which means that every evening starting around 7ish our living room becomes Obom's Bowling Oasis (or the OBOwl to those is the know). I Wii bowled for the first time ever last night and surprised myself by not being awful. I didn't roll a single gutter ball, though, which goes to show that Wii bowling is nothing at all like real bowling. Anyone who's seen me bowl in real life can tell you that.
• There must be a major Kid Cudi blogging craze going on because about a third of the songs today on hype machine either have him in them, on them, around them, (insert your own preposition here) them, or ARE him. WAY GOOD. CHeck it out:

Kid Cudi ft. Sharam- She Came Along
Kid Cudi - Highs N Lows
Dan Black ft. Kid Cudi - Symphonies

Aight I gots to GO, y'all! The playground is calling my name...
I lurve you berry much! Franny

Developments on "Don't ask, don't tell", John McCain, and how to feel okay after hearing what he has to say...

Informative article by Elisabeth Bumiller of the New York Times on what's going on with "don't ask, don't tell" right this second. To say I'm hopeful would be pushing it, but people are talking about it which is definitely something.
I find that, whenever Senator John McCain speaks, it helps to do something else, like whistle, hum, or listen to recordings of whale noises, at the same time. Multitasking helps tune out the hatefulness and bigotry.
I mean, don't 100% ignore it, because it is essentially the only argument in favor of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and therefore a crucial part of the discourse, but still. I think ignoring at least 55% of it is permissible.

If you are unable to tune him out, this is a guaranteed cure-all megatronic wonder remedy for heavy boots:
This video of somebody tickling a cute fuzzy

In other news, the French test that I thought I bombed actually turned out aight (91% suckazzzz!)
Have I mentioned yet to day that I love you all? Because I do.
kissing noises, Franny

Mash-ups, alter egos, and spending freezes

DUDE(TTE)S!!!!! What it do?!
I have multiple topics to address this afternoon, in no particular order but all of critical importance.
1) I'm not a huge Chili Peps fan, nor do I usually love mash-ups (they're just so Glee) but this Busta Rhymes + RHCP track is growing on me.
Also, since we're on the subject, this young music teacher feller Tom Caruana recently produced an entire album of WuTang vs. The Beatles mash-ups called Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers. It's catchy business. It's also free (!)
Listen to and download the highlights or the entire album below:
WuTang vs. The Beatles - Uh Huh
WuTang vs. The Beatles - Got Your Money
Full album




2)Our next assignment in drawing class is to draw our doppelganger or alter ego. We have to sketch 5 different ideas for tomorrow and then choose one to do for reals. If you had to choose 1 alter ego for me out of the following 5, who would it be?

• Lucille Ball
• Julia Child
• Chiquita Banana
• The Jolly Green Giant
• A 6 year-old playing dress-up

The 6 year-old might be a non-starter because that's pretty much what I do everyday anyway...

2) This article by Slate's Fred Kaplan about Obama's proposed spending freeze and the military's exemption is by no means mind-blowing, but I think contains some important stuff that everyone should at least read. The Rip Van Winkle thing about halfway down the page is good:

"Most of this $382 billion consists of weapons systems—combatant ships, fighter jets, submarines, heavy armored vehicles—that the individual branches of the military have been cranking out for decades. If some Rip Van Winkle had fallen asleep in 1982, woken up in 2009, and looked at the U.S. military budget as an indicator of what was going on in the world, he would assume that the Cold War were still raging."

Speaking of fighter jets, my homework is sulking in the corner. It needs some attention.
Love, Franny

Obama tells the GOP what time it is

YESSS!!!!!
In Baltimore on Friday, President Obama attended a Q&A with House Republicans, and I am STOKED to report (albeit via the Huffington Post) that our boy DID WORK on those goofb-- I really shouldn't call names. Let's just say he did work.
FINALLY!
This is good overview of what went down, courtesy of Sam Stein (The Huffington Post). Handy video highlights here, full text and video of the Q&A here.
I've missed the sharp, tell it like it is, gutsiness of Campaign Trail Obama over the past year, and It's encouraging to see that he is not lost forever. I was afraid he had peaced out after the inauguration, but PRAISE JAH it appears he was just taking a bit of a breather.
Have a great Saturday, everybody!
Love Franny

Inaugural tunes-related post (test drive)

Sooooooo check it out:
Think Santogold but French + laser noises and electro house beats...
Crookers ft. Yelle - Cooler Couleur
...frigging premium, right? I'm not totes into the Crookers straight up, they're a teensy too electro por moi, but this song's the BIZ.
(Sorry the link is to another blog, I can't for the life of me figure out how to link directly to songs. This is going to have to do for the mo...)
I'm also currently way into South London-based band The xx. Who says 19 year-olds can't be musical geniuses? Perhaps that means there's hope yet for my kazoo + spoons quintet?
The XX's guitar+base+drum machine-y thing combo manages to be ambient and mellow without being trance-y.
Islands, Basic Space, Crystalised are probs my faves.
And HEY wouldn't you know it, they are playing in Bellingham on April 12th at the Nightlite! Good thing I can't go. SIKE. Being 19 is dumb.
Anyhoo.
I'll leave you with The Xx's rework of Florence and the Machine's You've Got the Love.
Ima go write about China's invasion of Tibet!
Talk about dumb.
Love, Franny

What a knockout!

Behold Mr. Chuck Close at his best, ladies and gentlemen, courtesy of ART110. We do wonders with bedhead and stubble.

Hold on __________, Imma letchu finish, but.....

My dear, dear, dear dear dear buddies and pals, GOOT MORGJEN!
First and foremost, if you have not had yourself a nice belly laugh yet today, for the love of peppermint patties check out the best protest signs of 2009. WAY GOOD.
Second, this 2010 State of the Union drinking game is premium, too, so I would take a look if I were you. And if you for some reason choose not to look at either of the above links then at least scootch your eyeballs down 1 centimeter and look at this:
"HOLD ON protestors, Imma letchu finnish, but CHAPLIN had the best Hitler mustache OF ALL TIME."
Some of the best protest signs have something to do with Kanye. Go figs.

I'm a widdle bit tempted to try the SOTU drinking game... If I didn't have to think clearly in a different language at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning I probs wouldn't be writing this blog right now-- I'd be too busy lining my stomach with Wonder bread, bacon grease, and bits of sponge. Then again we are watching Le Vie en Rose tomorrow and what better way to pay homage to the late, great Edith Piaff than to wake up still drunk?
Oh, hey mom and dad. I'm just kidding, I've never woken up drunk.
No really, I haven't.
I should really go do something important. Like work on my intellectual autobiography a.k.a. 3 pages on what I think about all the livelong day. Heck knows why the prof wants it in essay form when bullet points would be so much more efficient. My intellectual autobio would probs look more or less like this:
CHEERIOS.
What am I going to wear?
Baby animals are cute.
How loudly can I sing to myself without other people hearing?
Ooh, that was too loud.
Whales.
French verbs.
Baby whales conjugating French verbs.
Oooh, man in Carhartts. I wonder if we'll get married?
Cheerios.
etc.

And now this post has gone on far to long. Imma go toodle around somewhere else and I'll leave y'all to ponder your own intellectual autobios.
Word.
p.s. I love you all very much.

Loud and proud, Mr. President!

Most likely the one and only contest the GOP will ever win fair and square: LOUDNESS
Trey Ellis puts it well:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trey-ellis/the-most-important-state_b_436731.html

Cool and aloof can only go so far when the volume dials across the aisle are CRANKED TO 11

If you know what I mean.

Daou on Dems' recent weaksauce, the Overton Window, etc.

This is a great article by Peter Daou of the Huffington Post. Daou says that, contrary to the conservative belief of some, Obama's struggle to pass a comprehensive health care bill is not due to his being way too liberal, NAY quite the opposite!
Read on...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-daou/liberal-bloggers-to-obama_b_429031.html
It's from a while ago but no less important today than it was a week ago.
School time!
Love, Franny

Gnar shredding revisited...

Gnar Shredding, etc.

Unbelievably cool picture taken by Bob Mulroy (1/2 of the husband + wife team running Kumu Aina, the tropical fruit farm where I worked for a couple of weeks last winter) of someone I don't know shredding some major dogtown gnar, circa 1970.
I don't know about you, but this picture makes me want to DO stuff with it! Work on it's colors, mostly-- saturate it with browns, oranges, greens and yellows, sharpen the contrast a teensy. I think it would be way coolio pared down to 4 or 5 colors and screenprinted onto an oversized, soft, beigey t-shirt. Yummo.
In other news, this quarter is going to be a good one, I can feel it.
I never really understood it when adult-type people got nostalgic and and reminisce-y about college-- the glory days and whatever else. I have spent the past year and a half alternating between thinking that grown-ups were lying- that college is just another 4 years of coping, or conceding that maybe college IS the best time of a young person's life, but I am the exception and am destined for 4 more years of down in the dumpsiness.
Welp, I am happy to report that I WAS WAY, WAY WRONG!
The past month has been uber good socially, emotionally, physically, and whatever other -allys I might have missed.
I think this is the best I've felt since...er...1992? Wait, no, the night of my senior prom was pretty great... November 4th, 2008 was good, too.
But those were exceptional, extraordinary events.
This, what I have right now at 614 E. Myrtle Street in Bellingham, Washington, this is different. I'm fairly sure.
I believe this is contentment. I have more smiling, happy moments than I know what to do with. Today the homeless man outside the co-op that I say hello to most days asked me if I would marry him. That means SOMEthing is going right, right?
AY JI JI I just looked at the clock and it is way late, like 10:30 late, which is friggaligging late in my book, so I really must dash!
As always, if you are reading this blog and you have made it this far down the page, it is safe to assume that you are either a) my mother, b) my father, c) berry berry bored, or d) losing your marbles. In any case, I love you very much.
-Franny

decade #3 on deck...

Hello interweb friends! It's been way long. I'm sorry. No time to lose!
First and foremost, happy new year! May your 2010s be wondrous and glory-filled. Woop woop to my fellow '89-'90ers as we enter our 3rd decade on this jolly planet-- atta babes!
Enough of this sissy congratulatory bullhunky, though, there is shit to be done!
Healthcare, for one, let's work on that a little, shall we? We absolutely cannot allow a sub-par healthcare bill to pass, at least not without getting fuckin scrappy about it. I swear, if the reconciled House-Senate bill looks anything like the current Senate bill (extra pork for that dummy Ben Nelson, no competition for insurance companies, negative progress on a woman's right to choose, etc.) I will personally saw Washington, Oregon, and Northern California off of the North American continent. No one will have any choice but to let us secede and let us live in latte-sipping, arugula-munching, Birkenstock-wearing harmony.
Far out, man.
Speaking of arugula, this year has been/shall be quite the humdinger: Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th birthdays AND their 25th anniversary, Will is graduating from Whitman College this May, and our in-house publishing company, Bravemouse Books, completed it's first self-published childrens book, The Adventures of Benjamin and Bumper! So duh, we're having a party. Check it out:Party of the century, people, without a doubt the premier social event of the Spring season. Of all the seasons, really. The Orcas Horns will be grooving way hard, along with Gene flexing those golden pipes of his. Seriously, you should get a load of this guy, he's fantastic. He is one of the few Asians on Orcas and is our resident Radioshack helpful henry, and he can frigging wail on some Stevie Wonder like you wouldn't believe.
If you are reading this blog, you are, of course, invited. Bring a sleeping bag.
Speaking of wallabies, it is time for to do the sleeping, is what I am thinking? More soon, cyberbuddies. Toodloo!