National Geographic...

National Geographic Magazines are magical.  Open the cover and you have countless windows to peer through into unknown worlds or even windows of insight into our own, familiar surroundings.  Stunning photographs document and archive our play and toil, our existence, science and the environment, and our fellow animals that inhabit the earth with us.  The intimacy of each window through which we peer is astounding and unbiased, giving us a clear perspective of the world from the view of an outsider, explorer/investigator, or, a curious being.  In other words, each magazine represents a small representative of a larger, more comprehensive time capsule of the world.

I'm often so enamored with a particular picture that I've found from National Geographic, that I revisit it over and over, as I'm sure that many people have.  Chosen pictures have been revisited so many times that I've carefully chosen them from an already battered copy and cut them out to display around the house so that I may visit them everyday.  Other photographs that I love have been saved by the good condition of the magazine, and they sit, wonderfully preserved in their archives, to be viewed and visited on special occasions.

So, when I stumbled across National Geographic's Tumblr site, I found myself lost and mesmerized once again, by the mystery that is life on planet Earth.  Take a look...

Still curious? Want to keep exploring?  Then just click here.  

You're welcome.

Happy Monday!

Friday Research...

This Friday is a good Friday.

I've got a lot on my mind.  A lot of research to do.  So bear with me if I come at you with a lot to think about...

Research... feels good.

For my research, I'm currently mixing the two books "Zoobiquity" and "Some we Love, Some we Hate, Some we Eat", to create a sort of "literary double feature" and I have to say that the outcome thus far is fascinating and has left me hungry for more.

I'm thinking that my next pairing will be "Animal Factory" and "The Moral Lives of Animals", or, "The Moral Lives of Animals" and "Brutal: Manhood and the Exploitation of Animals".  If you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them!

For a summer read (long live book club discussions!), I'm reading "Ishmael", by Daniel Quinn, with Joey and my friend Garre.  Although it's "for pleasure", it feels like it is sharpening my awareness while enhancing my ability to make connections in my research.  I absolutely cannot wait to drink this one up and share it with you.

In the meantime, I hope you have a most excellent Friday!

I want to leave you with a few goodies to enjoy over the weekend...

Amanda Palmer on connecting the dots...
PLEASE be patient with this and stick with it through it's entirety.  It's a FANTASTIC speech and I think it's extremely important for everyone, especially artists and writers.

"Connecting The Dots" - Amanda Palmer talks art & controversy @ Grub Muse conference from Grub Street on Vimeo.

And, finally, 5 movies that are on my movie list.  They are all possible "double feature" picks...

Which do you think would pair well with one another?

The Real Dirt on Farmer John

King Corn

Tapped

Garbage Warrior

Dirt: The Movie

Also, if you have any recommendations of books or movies to add to the book or movie list, let me know!  I love watching my lists grow.

Happy Weekend!

Chasing Ice

When we're in a new city, Joey and I love to try to experience it as if we lived there, so, walking around and becoming familiar with streets and driving through neighborhoods is usually pretty routine for us when we're on a trip.  One of our favorite habits when in a new place is going to see a movie in a local, usually art house or independent, theater.  In Asheville, we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe and then strolled on over to the Fine Arts Theater where we were excited to find a showing of "Chasing Ice".  We had both heard of this movie and were interested in seeing it, but weren't expecting to run into an opportunity to see it in a theater, which was an amazing and perfect way to experience the film's breathtaking imagery.

I can't express HOW amazing this movie was... equal parts mesmerizing in it's meditation in the mysterious beauty of the natural world and intensely terrifying in the window in which we're allowed to observe, first-hand, the rapid deterioration of Earth's glaciers at the irresponsible hands of mankind.   It's baffling to me the overwhelming resistance that many people share in the "idea" of global warming.  I've never understood the concept that, even if you're still unaware that the environment is sick (which.IT.IS), why.... why, why, why, would you simply not be at least open and willing to participate in the preservation and health care of the ONE planet that we share with so many other living lifeforms... plants, animals, people... all earthlings.

 I love "list" posts, and would love to at some point create a list of "important movies".  Without a doubt, this movie would indeed make that list.

Go see it!

Meg, Joey, and Noodle vs. Asheville - Part IV - Asheville, Black Mountain, aaannnnddd...... St. Louis!

Ok, LAST leg of this adventure... I promise :).  During the downhill slope of our Spring Break trip, we went into Asheville a couple more times to cruise the neighborhoods, walk around and become familiar with downtown, and check out some awesome eats!  We also went to explore Black Mountain, a small town near Asheville, and cozied up to our area near our little cabin a bit more for good measure.

Driving into Chimney Rock (the town):

 Breakfast at Ginny's Family Restaurant

 BEST.BLACKBERRY COBBLER.EVER.

Checking out the town's "backyard"...

Pet friendly towns are the best towns...

Antiquing...

 

 Local Plant Nursery in Black Mountain...

 WITH A BUNNY!!!

 I'm pretty much smitten with this area of the country...

Noodle Love:

A dog and her boy...

Asheville loves chocolate:

 

 

Dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe:

 Fried grits "appetizer" with siracha sauce....

 Veggie Burger with a "side" of fried okra!!!

Chess on the street...

One last hike; just the Doodle and I...

 

We found the magical mystery tour...

 Headed back home.  We stopped in Nashville so that Joey could participate in our friend Greg's bachelor party.  Noodle and I got a night to ourselves, and Joey and the guys did what they do best, drank whiskey and caused a ruckus ;) ...

After jumping from Joey and I's vehicle and into my brother's car, I was off to St. Louis to meet my brand spanking new nephew, Max!!!

My beautiful sister, Lindsey, and beautiful little Max...

Bowe with a baby.

The GusBuster!!! Big Brother of the year!

Aaannnd, this is how Gus and I have fun... Gus with the camera and me acting like a clown while my mom walks by oblivious to our hilarity... good times!!! Love you Gustopher!!!

Thanks for checking out our adventure!  It was an amazing trip and one that I would highly recommend for anyone.  I daydream about it pretty regularly.

Here's an updated picture of little Maxwell man...

Such a handsome little fellow!!!

I'll work on brevity for future "adventure" posts... unless, of course, you liked all of the pictures? What do you think?

Happy Trails!

Asheville Part I

Asheville Part II

Asheville Part III

♡