Herakut

Last month I had a healthy debate with a friend who has decided to pull away from the internet to aid his creative mind. I wholeheartedly disagree with this approach. It’s a gift of the times that we live that we’re able to not only inspire and be inspired, but easily collaborate.

Hera and Akut (better known as Herakut) exemplify this synergism for me. While I have no idea what they accomplish individually, I think that what they create together is difficult to beat.

Top 20 Albums of 2011

It doesn’t matter how rarely I post, I can’t help but throw out my list of favorite albums each year. What I do hate is trying to order them! I love them all equally!! Well… almost. Anyhow, here are the album’s that I’ve most enjoyed this year in some sort of loose order. If you’re on Spotify, I have a Best of 2011 list where you can listen to them all. My username is carmonium23.

#20 Phantogram – Nightlife

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#19 Alela Diane – Alela Diane and Wild Divine

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#18 WU LYF – Go Tell Fire to the Mountain

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#17 Ollabelle – Neon Blue Bird

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#16 The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient

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 #15 Braids – Native Speaker

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 #14 Neon Indian – Era Extraña

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 #13 Snowman – Absence

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 #12 EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints

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 #11 Smith Westerns – Dye it Blonde

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 #10 Yuck – Yuck

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 #9 Bon Iver – Bon Iver

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 #8 Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

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 #7 Washed Out –  Within and Without

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#6 – Wild Beasts – Smother

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 #5 Papercuts – Fading Parade

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 #4 Cults – Cults

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 #3 Future Islands – On the Water

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 #2 The Antlers – Burst Apart

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 #1 Forest Fire – Staring at the X

Spectacular Sofas

With three bunnies in the house, nothing with stitching is safe. Our sofas have been gnawed from every angle. But one day when the little darlings are no more, maybe I’ll treat myself to something stylish like these. Don’t get me wrong, I’d choose my bun-buns over a new… anything, any day of the week…. but a girl can dream.

El Mac and Retna

Check out these murals by El Mac and Retna. Damn these guys make some beautiful art together. And we’re lucky enough to have the one just below in the SLC! It’s absolutely breathtaking.

Bikebot

I love this little guy and am kinda blown away at his ability to balance and correct. And the way that they programmed him to stop the bike and wave to the crowd = brilliant.

India

Not sure if I remember how to do this blogging bit. I’ve been working ridiculous hours, nights and weekends. Ugh. Consumer or employee… advertising will eat your soul. But I’m gonna make a break for it! Jetting off to India for 2 weeks!

Planning a 2 week trip to India is like planning a 2 hour trip to Disneyland. Even after opting for flights (instead of trains and buses) between a couple of cities, there’ll just be no way to see everything we want to see. We settled on key cities in the state of Rajasthan, in the north. Sadly, we won’t be able to see the place that made me fall in love with the idea of visiting India – the Golden Temple. Hard choices had to be made. Kell had to give up something he wanted to see as well – Jodphur, otherwise known as the Blue City. But, no sense dwelling on what we won’t see.. just an excuse to go back.

As luck would have it, we’ll be there during the Holi Festival! Knowing this, we planned our route around it and the Elephant Festival in Jaipur the day before. Our route will be something like: Delhi, Agra, Orchha, Jaipur, Udaipur then Veranasi.

Below is a little image tour of things I hope to see. Eeeeeeeeeeeee! So excited!

New Delhi

Red Fort

Akshardham Temple

Lal Mandir

Chandni Chowk Market

Laxmi Narayan

Agra

Taj Mahal

Agra Fort

Fatehpur Sikri

Gwalior / Orchha

Gwalior Fort

Orchha Palace

Raj Mandir

Jaipur

Amber Fort

Holi Festival

Hawa Mahal

Elephant Festival

Jal Mahal

Rooftop restaurant at our hotel

Udaipur

Lake Palace

City Palace

Jag Mandir Palace

Ranakpur Temple

Kumbhalgarh Fort

Varanasi

 

Ganges Boating

Varanasi Ghats Bathing

Varanasi Burning Ghats

Top Albums of 2010: 10 – 1

#10 Autolux – Transit Transit

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#9 – K-X-P – K-X-P

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#8 Mi Ami – Steal Your Face

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#7 PS I Love You – Meet Me at the Muster Station

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#6 – Tobacco – Maniac Meat

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#5 – Sleigh Bells – Treats

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#4 Foals – Total Life Forever

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#3 Tame Impala – Innerspeaker

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#2 LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

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#1 No Age – Everything in Between

 

Top Albums of 2010: 11-20

#20 !!! (Chk Chk Chk) – Strange Weather, Isn’t It?

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#19 Salem – King Night

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#18 Frog Eyes – Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph

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#17 Frankie Rose and the Outs – Frankie Rose and the Outs

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#16 Girl Talk – All Day

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#15 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

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#14 The Naked and Famous – Passive Me, Aggressive You

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#13 Warpaint – The Fool

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#12 Diamond Rings – Special Affections

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#11 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today

(#1-#10 next week…)

Warpaint – Undertow

I’ve been pretty busy the last couple of weeks – trip to Seattle and then a camping trip to Moab. While in Seattle I saw The xx, Warpaint and Zola Jesus play at the Paramount. It was an incredible show. I’ve been pretty obsessed with Warpaint over the past year. Their new album, The Fool, is out later this month and if it’s as good as their EP, I have a feeling it’ll nudge its way into my top 10 this year. Here’s a new video for their song Undertow which I’ve had stuck in my head off and on for 3 weeks now. Take a listen.

Tigers in the Himalayans

BBC’s Natural History team have discovered tigers living in the Himalayan mountains high above the tree line. Because the outlook for tigers living in the wild is so grim, any news of a new population  is exciting but to find them living in such extreme conditions is mind-blowing.

Vodpod videos no longer available.