Ample Sanity

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." Benjamin Franklin

Watch Blind's Heart of Stone at Motionographer. Superb.

For this week only, you can download the entirety of Future Magic Volume 1 at Said The Gramophone.

How strongly do you associate colour and imagery with the world's biggest and best brands? The Brand Quiz.

"This is the only life we have. We just have to run after it." Able Parris
(blog - tumblr - twitter)


p.s. Able invites you imaginative writerly types to offer up a little story.

Ibis Reader is the ebook reader for your smartphone, netbook, or computer that focuses on helping you find the best books and then getting out of your way.

Rubikon 2 is a paper cut-out, which becomes a functioning camera (camera obscura) after gluing together.

MP3s: Everybody Knows It's Gonna Happen Only Not Tonight. New Fang. Arkansas, & Go Outside. The Waking Hour.

Almost four decades. Best friends since fourth grade, both studious and nerdy. Just about every friday he would come to my house to spend the weekend. We'd watch sci-fi shows on tv, followed by our local late-night "Shock Theatre". Saturdays were spent sitting in a movie theater watching the latest horror films. On one of those days in 1960, the film was Circus of Horrors, and there was a catchy song on the soundtrack. Eventually, MLM got his PhD and tenure as a professor, while I chased after life and basic instincts. He passed away in 1990, but whenever I hear that catchy little tune, it all comes back - the memories and magic of four decades. Look for A Star.

Revisits: Showchicken. Color By Numbers. The Toymaker.

Found Sentence: New York's skinniest apartment, the one that’s only 9 and 1/2 feet across, is once again for rent at $10,000 dollars a month. Sure, that seems steep. But don't forget that in New York you can get a knish at 3 am, or whatever it is they won't shut up about. »»

Listening To: Jenny Owen Youngs

So. I chase after life and fun. Sure, sometimes i fall, and fall badly, but that's what bandaids and chocolate are for. What do you chase after?

Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun." George Scialabba

Mark is a homespun, moo-cow country boy, myself a wise-cracking city gal with imagination. You can probably guess the picture in my head as he stood gazing out the patio door and announced, "The sap'll be running soon."

Imaginative & intelligent......
I Am Paddy
Words from a Father
Made in Street »»
Ignore the Code
Fran Krause
Ilya Kazakov

Anxiety is part of creativity, the need to get something out, the need to be rid of something or to get in touch with something within." David Duchovny

I love that quote, for if taken at word, I must be quite creative. Imagination unlocks a lot of doors.

In NYC? There's an exhibition of drawings, Water Works: Surface Tension, by our beloved friend Sky Pape at the June Kelly Gallery, 166 Mercer Street until March 6th. So get your hindparts over there and prepare to be impressed. Then come back and kick mine for not mentioning this sooner. Did you notice the dimensions of some of those drawings? Whoa. Oh, and congrats, Skyrocket, on your upcoming residency. Throw Italy a kiss for me.

How to live to 100. (via)

Emily Jane White releases new album, Victorian America, April 27th on Milan Records. From the album: Liza

2 Frames per Second looks quite nice. I'll have to go back later this evening when i've more time. (via)

Now i really have to scoot. More to-dos than time. And did I tell you how nice you look today?

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral." Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The art of illustrator Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch blows me away. He's also a contributor at Blow Your Horn Hunter as well as Another Song Another Day. Yum.

Fragmented is happy art with a personality. It's also Maura Cluthe.

Talent plus humor are great traits for visual communication. Alex Merto.

Hope i never get stuck somewhere in washington.

Loving the portfolio of filmmaker, new media creative Jennifer Proctor, who views the world with unapologetic delight. (via)


Open Icon Library is an archive of icon files from various sources, designed to offer a single location for free icons. There are thousands of unique icons in svg, png and xpm formats. You'll also find various developer tools. (via)

MP3s: Shearwater and Freddie Hubbard.

Revisits: Pariah Burke Freebies. Book of Numbers. Etienne Delessert.

Found Sentence: Do you validate other people's markup? Yes? You're an asshole. »»

Listening To: Joan Armatrading

Getting sleepy. How about you?

Chase down your passion like it's the last bus of the night." Glade Byron Addams

Knowing how very much I enjoy his restructured images, Jim Kazanjian was kind enough to send a link to more of his remarkable works, maintained at creative endeavor Nowness. Thank you Jim!

"The point is, when it comes to the places we go, it's usually the circumstances-not the geography-that determines whether or not they find somewhere to live under our skin. Unfortunately, the geography is the only part we can hold on to. No matter how many times we return, those circumstances will never be waiting for us." An astute observation, and outstanding portfolio, from artist Alex Varanese.

Cheeming Boey has a website. He talked about a great deal, which he seems to thoroughly enjoy. So would I. He's talented. Me, not so much.

I like color and patterns, self preservation and perspective, ordinary love stories and fearless little love poems. Prickly ideas and photographs are nice too.

Is there a sound for memory?

I'm so glad to know you.

To put everything in balance is good, to put everything in harmony is better." Victor Hugo

When it comes to art and visual communication, it doesn't get much better than Joshua Pangell or Will Etling. Period.

Very amusing music video for band Hold Your Horses.

Air Pressure is a short visual novel game with only three different endings, but a lot of branches.

Loving the works of artist Anastassia Elias.


Firetricks: experience the Axis Mundi, a meeting point between the celestial and the terrestrial world. Meeting-place of heaven and earth? See also: Shambhala: The Spiritual Axis of the World. (via)

Interactive: The Museum of Lost Wonder by Jeff Hoke. (author video)

Vintage Postage Stamps Social Media Icon Set. (somewhat ad intensive)

We Love Style: How nice! Tom Sawyer's all grown up and working as a railroad engineer.

Currently peeping Phantasmaphile, a blog of art, culture, and mirabilia.

Retail Therapy: A handmade toy Wooden Robot made from recycled cypress pine. This little guy's arms feet and head can all rotate and he stands about three inches tall. All the wood is sanded and finished with a natural oil.

MP3s: Pumped Up Kicks, & The Dead Dog.

Revisits: Le Visioscope is a feast for the eyes. From the Rouen Library in France. But Does It Float is a nicely curated blog.

Found Sentence: The correct spelling of "Spider-Man" takes a hyphen. Knowing this is why we can't get dates. »»

Listening To & Looking At: Oh No Ono, music and art.

Thanks to the following for two of this month's featured sites: The Pandas are Moshing for Konstantin Kalynovych, and DWT for The Sieve and The Sand.

What do you have for eyes?

If I'd known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself. " Leon Eldred

That headache yesterday turned into full blown fever and chills by dinner time. The result has been an alternating 3 hours of shaking sleep followed by 3 or 4 hours of awake and hot as hell. Which is not to say these last couple hours up have been entirely unenjoyable......

NPR Music
Jörg M Colberg's 'American Pixels'
Baster is a busy man.
Rest in Peace IE6
Isn't that nice? Her hair is waving Hello.

Lordy...am i still alive? Think i'll go crawl to the sofa while i can.

Some days I'm buried under a mass of melancholy so great its event horizon stops any light from reaching me. And other days are weekends." Arch Stanton

"This comic about how brains grow is one of those things that makes you want to have kids and run experiments on them and try to make a super-smart kid. You all think about that too, right?" via

MP3: Reason to Believe. When I Go. If I had A Heart.

Afraid that's all i've got, snookums.... other than a huge honking headache. Stupid weather.

You can observe a lot just by watching." Yogi Berra

StreetArtLocator is a community google map mashup mapping street art the world over. (via)

Daniel Grizelj is an artist and photographer based in Gothenburg. Sweden. Extremely nice portfolio.

There's some good stuff going on with young photographer Margaret Durow. I'd love to see what she's doing ten years from now. (via)


Escaping the insidious Google Buzz and other adventures. (via)

We Love Style: Darn it! Why didn't someone tell me asylum bathrobes were all the rage?

Retail Therapy: Lynda Moseley creates create polymer clay focal beads, pendants and brooches. You'll find beautiful, and often whimsical, one of a kind designs in her etsy shop. My current favorite is also rather timely in a burtonesque sort of way: Mad as a Hatter. (via)

MP3s: Red Rocking Chair. Born Under a Bad Sign. Waves.

Revisits: Every time i visit the journal of Amsterdam-based Marieke Berghuis, i find the most marvelous artsy treats. Simply wonderful.

Listening: Sarah Jaffee, "Clementine" (right click, "save as")

In the upper 30s and sunny at the moment. A short reprieve, which hopefully will melt a bit of the snow before tomorrow's coming snowstorm. Sitting on the patio this morning, i noticed a great many hoof prints and several groupings of poo. In fact, it appears the deer had somewhat of a poopfest during the night. So.... sun, snow, and poo. What colors your world today?