Historical Findings

In recent months, I have learned quite a few interesting facts about the Twin Cities that I thought I'd share with y'all.


1. Prince was from Minneapolis. Born and raised!

2. So was F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote The Great Gatsby. The house he grew up in is not ten minutes away (walking distance) from my apartment.

3. As well as Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip. There are life-sized Peanuts characters all over the Twin Cities.

4. Garrison Keillor (of Prairie Home Companion) also lives not ten minutes away from me. Not only that, he owns a small bookstore by the name of "Common Good Books," about a block from where I live. You know how I know it's a great bookstore? That was where I found Sagmeister's Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far. There are also a lot of independently published books, some with alternative bindings.

5. Nina's, the amazing little coffee shop above the bookstore, is named after the most famous madam in the history of the Twin Cities. Nina Clifford ran a brothel in the early 1900's that connected to the Minnesota Club, a club for the city's founders and "fine men," most of which lived right in my neighborhood.

I love my neighborhood.

New Logo?

Lindsay's beautiful blog, My Design Voice, reminded me that I really need to make a brand for my freelance business. I was thinking about it, and this just came to me. Very rough sketch, cut out and taped together, but I think it'll work when I'm done. (Give me a break with the squiggly lines, ballpoint pens are ruthless!)


Pep was too short and over-used by everyone else in the world, and since my name is spelled like this anyway, I thought representing it this way would help it stand out. And the backwards 3 as the E really works with 3 P's! Am I right? Maybe not. Thoughts?

Brilliant

You should know, I am all about innovation. The only way for a design to really grab me is through the ideas behind the piece. Whether it's in the concept, the design, or the production, I want to see something new.

This is why I am loving this global warming awareness campaign launched in Amsterdam for MTV Switch, by Ogilvy Action. Of course, there's nothing new about the type or layout, but the concept behind the way they chose to exhibit the piece, and the execution thereof, is excellent. Pure brilliance!


(The hands are inflatable. In case you're like me and was wondering how long that person could hold his breath.)

It's Good!

So I was on my way home this evening, in a particular fit of road rage. Not that I actually get angry, I just swear a lot. :) But I was kind of down. It had been a long day, and the traffic being stopped along the entire freeway was making it hard for me to be little miss sunshine.

And this song came on. It's by Carbon/Silicon, it's a rock song. It had a nice guitar part and the rhythm was a bit peppy. I didn't hate it. And then the chorus:

Good morning here's the news
and all of it is good.
Good evening here's the news
and all of it is good.
And the weather's good! (Instrumental Break)

It made me smile. The words are so simple, but so beautiful! I mean, think about it. Really let those words stew. What if? What if that was actually true? Okay, never gonna happen, but what if we all chose that outlook? I mean, wouldn't it be nice to wake up every morning to that? To go to bed to that? Life might be better than how we're seeing it.

I think I'm going to make this my alarm.

Seriously weird.

Still trying to figure Minnesota out. This weekend has been our first weekend of legitimate snow. It's been coming down in flurries all weekend. Yet I look up in the sky, and what do I see? Seagulls. What??? I know.

Dude.

(Yes, I put my "I voted" sticker on my official registration card. It's sentimental.)

The title of this post says it all. I don't even know where to begin. I have this overwhelming feeling that compels me to write something here, but I'm left speechless by the magnitude of the event that I have just witnessed. I think I'm making sense, but you might need an interpreter. You know that by now, though. :)

I voted yesterday. My location was actually right across the street from me, so it felt like I was in college again, rolling out of bed and walking across the street at 8:00 in the morning (ahhh, Coleman). Except this time I was awake. Extremely awake. And if you have ever known me at 8:00 in the morning, that really says something.

I can't describe to you what I felt, how important this process was to me. I have never been so sure of a decision in my entire life, so fully behind one candidate. I knew exactly what I had to do, and it felt so good to use the Constitution-given right to make a difference in a world that recently feels like it's spiraling out of control. I felt so proud. Literally (and I have to admit, this is the first time I am saying this in all seriousness, partially because it sounds kind of cheesy most of the time) proud to be an American.

After casting my ballot, it was as if a tremendous weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. No matter who won, the stress of the election was finally over. I felt like we were finally able to get on with our lives and actually stepping toward change, no matter who was leading us. For the rest of the day, it was as if I was light as a feather. I was extremely giddy, yet at peace with the world, as I knew it was moving forward.


(I know, I was loving the overhead, too.)

Even today, I am unable to get a grip on my emotions. Last night was phenomenal. When I showed up at the event I was attending, Obama was already over two-thirds of the way there. It was like a football game. I almost wanted to go home because I knew we'd won. (But then you never know if McCain had some of that Texas Tech miracle power, and might have come back in the last second.) The moment they declared Barack president felt almost surreal. I blinked and it was true. And all of a sudden, I couldn't believe that America had come this far. That was the moment I was rendered speechless.

The speeches from both candidates were extremely moving. I was thrilled to witness such a historical moment, Obama walking out on stage to accept the presidency. After growing up hearing about the terrors that African Americans have endured, and still do, I am beyond myself that such a positive change has happened in the first quarter of my life. And his slogan, "Yes we can," is so powerful. It is that attitude that will carry Americans through to a bright new world.

This election process reminds me of A Bug's Life, when the ants rally together and create the change they need. It feels good to belong to a colony. :) Seriously, though, I have never felt such a strong sense of community in such a big way. I am so excited about the following four years. I truly feel that Barack Obama will be the change we need.

Happy Halloween to All!

Isn't Halloween amazing?? I mean, it's one big night of performance art. I love seeing what people come up with to dress up as. I, myself, have come up with some doozies in the past. I'm sure many of you remember the old bachelor cake costume (girl-popping-out-of-cake thing). I've also been a Sanderson sister, a Moulin Rouge dancer, and a big baby in recent years.

This year was a bit last-minute, but I was still pretty proud of my costume. I went as (drum roll, please) Minnie Mouse. And I was freaking adorable, thank you. :) I made about half of the costume, and put bits and pieces together. I never like buying the store-made costumes, I feel like they're never done quite right. This way's much better. I mean look at those hands!!


I saw quite a few amazing costumes this weekend. One kid was one of those awesome home-made robots with boxes spray-painted silver and foil and pipes and weird buttons to push. (I don't think my run-on description quite does it justice.) When I went out later on, I also saw Thing One and Thing Two, Sushi, Peter Griffin, the Pope, Beeker (sp?) and his partner, the entire Simpson family, and a Walrus. Kind of amazing. And one of my friends had the brilliant idea to rent her costume from the Guthrie! It was one of those goth Victorian dresses with a corset on top and tons of velvet fabric and lace. Absolutely gorgeous! And what a good idea.

What about you guys? What did you go as? And what were the top 5 costumes you were so fortunate to witness? I'd love to hear!

BTW: If you're looking for a good laugh, read this personal ad on Craigslist. What can I say, I get a kick out of going through these things every now and then. There are some pretty freaking hilarious entries. Once I found one where the guy's pic was a professional photo of him and a girl (I'm guessing his ex) with her head cut out. LOL! Bitter much? This is a personal ad, remember.