January's Links to Love

Literary:

Podcast classes from Oxford are free!

Play with this map of authors. That's an order. Similarly, here you can type in your favorite authors and get some suggestions for some authors you might enjoy. (Like you don't already have a list of 300 books to read.)

Writer as social butterfly article. Do you break down people when you meet them? Do you want to write about them? I do.

George Orwell's diaries.

Translate any word into Parseltongue.

The decade in books.

Artsy:

Vintage Kate Spade catalogs.

Maia Ramishvili art.

Another lovely outdoor wedding.

Helvetica cookie cutters.

The youngest fashion designer ever. (I think my little sister Heidi could do some awesome stuff, too.)

Stolen Monet finally found.

Astounding artworks out of paper.



Between the Folds movie:



I like the idea of a wallpapered dumpster.

Anderson Ink always finds cool stuff. And I like this video she posted of Ramona Falls.

I like this style on guys.

I want to make some valentines like these for the 14th. If only I were romantically involved and someone were romantically involved with me (it's better if it goes both ways, don't you agree?) . . .

35 free fonts.

What type/font are you? test. (The password is "character.")

I will always find scherenschnitte beautiful. And here is some animated scherenschnitte:



I thought I found the German version of J. Crew, but it turns out it's a British company. I love the bright colors in their spring catalog, but it doesn't look like anything ever goes on sale into my price range, so I will probably never buy anything there. Here's the American site. Two of their dresses that I love:














Music:

I'm liking The Last Shadow Puppets:



Be Still My Soul, one of my favorite hymns:


I just barely heard about literal versions of music videos. Ha ha. Like James Blunt's "You're Beautiful":


MCQ's albums of the year list (with included YouTube videos).

Some great MTV music videos.

Techy:

I want a Nexus One! But you knew that. More info.

Google and China via NY Times. And via NPR.

Cool web trend map made by a cool-looking Japanese company:

The Web Trend Map Interview from GaijinPot on Vimeo.

If I had a phone that could take apps, I would totally have foursquare, especially for when I travel.

Via Forbes: "Friendships in the Digital Age."

Have you ever seen funny wifi names? I have. Here are two that are passive agressive.

About Facebook from an employee.

If people send you a question that they just as easily could have answered themselves, and you're the very sarcastic type, send them this link:

http://letmegooglethatforyou.com/


Mormon:

Mormon Scholars Testify website.

Random:

Tanya on sex slavery and New York. Yikes.

The guy who made up Gumby died.

Isn't this disease, Huntington's, tragic?

I'm thinking of juicing to get myself to eat more vegetables and digest some more enzymes. Thoughts?

Modern dating map (though we all know I'm not a modern dater because of the abstinence thing).

Bamboo bikes.

100 skills everyone should master.

I want to swim to the edge of Victoria Falls, too!

Martin Luther King (at Home) Photo Essay.

Amusing accent imitation video (not sure I think the German one is that great for a modern-day 25-year-old):



Chocolate and churros!

I'm not a big fan of hearts (as a shape for design), but these hearts seem like a good style for Valentine's Day.

And I liked these valentines.

Yet Another Invitation, This Time by the New York Times

Check out this New York Times list of places to visit in 2010.

Leipzig is number 10, between Antarctica and Los Angeles!

I've got a couch and a fridge located there if you want to make it to at least one of the New York Times's suggested places.

My Incomparable Morning Routine

Pray to say thank you for my many blessings, ask for blessings for me and for my family, discuss my life, etc.
Make some breakfast (My favorite is probably bread with yogurt. Or crepes.) to eat while I:
Read my scriptures. This includes:

• Book of Mormon, two pages or something I really need or some indexing.
• A page of "The Holy Temple" brochure by Boyd K. Packer
• A section of "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet.
• A section of my patriarchal blessing.
• My "Talk to Yourself" personal mission statement.
• My notes from a general conference talk or a talk or lesson in church.
  

Review something about the German language.
Exercise. This includes:

• Doing back and shoulder and stomach exercises.
• Picking up a bunch of things with my feet, roll around on a ball, etc.
• Going jogging or swimming.
  

Play the piano at the church.
Shower.
Check Facebook.
Read all the new blog entries on my Google Reader.
Read my emails.

That's why I get up early. Otherwise I'd never get anything done.

Tomato

What do you know? My tomato plant (try 2009) finally died in my freezing cold room. And it left me this:




It tasted pretty sour, but it was definitely a tomato. Here's to try 2010.

Mormon Women Project

I've been featured at this really classy new website called "Mormon Women."

As my interviewer wrote,

Introducing the Mormon Women Project

The MWP is a continuously expanding digital library of interviews with Latter-day Saint women from around the world. Today, the site features interviews with 18 fascinating women, but my vision is to have this library grow to include hundreds of women, profiled in a variety of media including photo essays, video shorts and visual art galleries. I want MormonWomen.com to be the source for accurate, inspirational information about Latter-day Saint women.

The Project celebrates women who have made deliberate choices — with the help of the Spirit and personal revelation — to overcome personal trials, magnify motherhood, contribute to communities outside their homes, or be converted to the Gospel. To an audience inside the Church, their stories support making personal choices with God’s help that often stand apart from the pressures of Mormon culture. To an audience outside the Church, their stories show the immense strength and wisdom of our people.

I hope you'll visit the site and be inspired by the richness of these women's lives. See our Get Involved page for ways you can get involved. You can also read more about the Project on the About page or in my Letter from the Editor.

Happy reading,
Neylan McBaine, Founder and Editor

Check it out! It looks so great!

Recent Events in Pictures (With a Few Comments)

*I finally got to visit Heidelberg thanks to Emily, my sister's sister-in-law, who is awesome. Yay! And isn't Heidelberg beautiful? Too bad there are so many Americans there.

Heiliggeistkirche Organ:


I got soaked without an umbrella:











*Silvester (New Year's Eve) found me at the Fingerles' eating cheese fondue and being forced into karaoke-ing Abba, followed by fireworks and a rousing game of Taboo.




*Mike's officially-no-longer-YSA birthday:



Before we got tons more snow that won't melt (I'm sure glad I've got my Wellies and my black leather boots from Sister Dixon. Now I've just got to find some brown ones):




*Alexa's wedding at Burg Frankenstein:






Mike and I were late and completely missed the official part of the wedding, but at least we were still able to see the Burg and eat and congratulate the happy couple. (And at least Mike got to see the sealing.)




The view of Darmstadt from Burg Frankenstein:



Alexa's cute niece Esther who I watched during the sealing and who made me laugh because her British accent makes everything she says sound so serious ("We can be friends. And we can talk to each other."):



Esther's little sister whose name also started with an E (Eliza?) and who loved running AWOL down the hall or onto the elevator:

Music and Emotion

I also read Girl, Interrupted. A great book for the depressed (yes, that was a bit of sarcasm).

This struck a chord with me:

"When you're sad, you need to hear your sorrow constructed into sound." pg. 48

Why? Because music, though it has always played a huge role in my life, has taken on a whole new meaning in my life. In my struggle with anhedonia, music has done something interesting. It has not helped me feel emotion or express anything; rather, it has become my emotion. I don't know how to explain that.

Footprints in the Sand

You know that poem about the footprints in the sand wherein the narrator sees a point in the path of his life where there was only one set of footprints? I've been thinking about it and I've decided I don't like it.

Why? Because the narrator has to ask the Lord where He was at the hard times. If the narrator didn't recognize the Lord carrying him at the time, he should at least have been able to in hindsight.

If the Lord is there for us at lame times, why don't we know it? Why doesn't He make Himself known? What kind of comfort is unrecognizable comfort?