STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP

You know, I thought it had been a little too quiet the past week. A little too calm, a bit too relaxing...our upstairs neighbors were definitely on spring break.

And now they're back.

Goody.

Black Bear lyrics - Black Bear

Black Bear on MySpace

I couldn't find the [correct] lyrics to this song anywhere online, so I decided to post them here. This album is pretty amazing, circa 2006, and the only reason I'm posting this now is because I'm making a B hearts J playlist and this song, black bear, reminds me strongly of him. I had to transpose them, anyway, because I have OCD when it comes to song lyrics, so here they are for the Interweb:

In the woods in the mountains
Is a good place to begin
A song about a black bear
Living in his black bear den
Doing all the black bear things
A black bear just might do
I hope in my next lifetime
I can be a black bear, too

And here comes black bear now
Crashing through the brush
Unfazed by thorns of branches
That would hurt me to the touch
In pursuit of some small animal
The food chain is a truth
And the bear has the advantage
Of the massive claw and tooth
But he'll also stop for berries
Or honey from the bees
Or nuts that he can shake down
From the canopy of trees
And afterwards he'll have his choice
From any stream to drink
While I fill up another cup from my old kitchen sink
And if he wants he'll have a nap
And dream his black bear dreams
That I could only dream of
Like I dream to drink from streams
And as he sleeps he hears the breeze
and knows that he is safe
While I'm sleeping with the fan on
To drown out my lack of faith
The simplicity of solitude is a hard thing to perfect
Stealing happiness from loneliness is not a simple theft
But the black bear has it figured out
And gets what he deserves
And the fur that he is wearing is the fur that he prefers

And when he stared across the river
Into my eyes
It made me shiver
And I knew that it was lovely
To have a black bear thinking of me
And when he thinks he is thoughtful
And when he rests he is restful
And when he runs he runs the fastest
And spins the earth right on its axis

And that's his gift to all
Showing us the sun
Keeping time for everyone
A steady beating drum
And in all the dirt he bounds upon
He'd leave his heavy track
That is deep when he is young and blue
But deepest when he's black
Because color for the black bear
Is a synonym for age
If I were one then I'd be in my cinnamon phase
Instead I am of 22 and the decades weigh a ton
This new century's essentially a bullet from the gun
It takes coffee, pot, they cost a lot, just to stay abreast
But the coffee hits my sense of loss and makes a nervous wreck
The simplicity of solitude is a hard thing to perfect
Stealing happiness from loneliness is not a simple theft
But the black bear has it figured out
And gets what he deserves
And the fur that he is wearing is the fur that he prefers

And when he stared across the river
Into my eyes
It made me shiver
And I knew that it was lovely
To have a black bear thinking of me
And when he thinks he is thoughtful
And when he rests he is restful
And when he runs he runs the fastest
And spins the earth right on its axis

You can hear it on his myspace page, along with a few other pretty amazing songs. He says this album was deeply personal, and that shines through in the brilliance of his lyrics and the folksy rhythm of his guitar.

Yeah, this song is totally J personified.

Spring Cure 2009

I'm participating in Apartment Therapy's Spring Cure for a second, hopefully more successful time.

Our apartment has been lived in for over eight months, and some things have just now started to come together, like our kitchen and my workspace, and if we're going to be here another year, I don't mind pouring more of myself into this place to make it feel like home, even if I'm not in the position to pour more money into it at the time.

The living room probably needs the least amount of work. It's where we keep our bikes, the couch and the TV, and our record player. J's workstation takes up one of the front window bays, and because our front door opens into the center of the living room, there isn't a lot to do in terms of rearranging. I think the coffee table could use a makeover, and if we ever found a new console that didn't break the bank, but still fit in the small space we have leftover, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat.

Plans for the living room: coffee table makeover, hang the ikea pendant light over J's desk, sew throw pillows using orange Marimekko fabric. Block windows using contact paper; take down blinds.

We moved my desk into the kitchen, which has been freeing and has relieved the aggravation of listening to the neighbors slam the door and do their laundry at the back of the house at all hours during the day. We hung a ledge over my desk where I'm displaying my camera collection, and I hung a rail above my computer to hold my colored pencils and inks. The second rail went above the stove, holding our measuring cups and a bag of onions, right now. I found an Orla Kiley stoneware canister, which now holds our coffee, and a gorgeous blue peppermill from Anthropologie, which could very well be the centerpiece of the whole kitchen, I'm that in love. The kitchen still needs a lot of work, though.

Plans for the kitchen: One more trip to IKEA to buy a spice rack for our grundtal rail, maybe buy a grundtal shelf, buy more hooks. Move asker pot to my desk, maybe use it for a potted plant. Hang "Now Panic and Freak Out" print somewhere near workspace or kitchen table. Finish block printing napkins, embroider rest. Sew curtains for kitchen window. Find new drawer pulls for desk.

That's all for now, I guess. The bedroom still needs a ton of work, and I could probably refinish that chest of drawers we pulled in from the street. I'm going to be pulling inspiration photos this week, and planning my attack. The goal is not to spend any money, with the exception of completing the grundtal solution and buying thread to sew my curtains and pillowcases.

You're on, Spring Cure 2009.

from postsecret.blogspot.com

I know I shouldn't even go here, because of all the topics that I least like to discuss, religion is in the top three, but comments like this really irk the hell out of me. So then your faith wasn't all that strong, post card person. You can't actually hate Bill Maher, because if you believed strongly enough, Bill Maher would just be another idiot in the masses whose faith was misguided and wrong. I think you hate yourself for being so weak. If you need other people to reinforce your beliefs? You're a sheep, which is probably appropriate given that you want to join the fold and all that. But I wish that, instead, this post card read "I hate myself for letting this guy confuse me about my faith when I was just starting to find it again." I'm pretty good at the self-loathing, post card person. I can teach you if you need a lesson or two on personal responsibility self blame.


Find religion, post card person, have faith. But stop blaming Bill Maher when it eludes you. It's not his fault you're confused.

I read post secret to feel connected with people, and that's what it did in it's inception, but these days I feel like it's just a bunch of people griping about asinine things, using bad grammar and being incapable of figuring out the difference between they're and their, and your and you're, while being homophobes.