amber rae.

1. Chew Lips (10)
2. Thievery Corporation (9)
3. Kid Cudi (2)
4. xx (1)
5. Northern State (1)

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

There are many things we all desire in life. Desires are things that would be nice. Putting up a jewelry shop on some cliff-like coast of Greece would be nice. Having a live-in housekeeper would be nice. Gorging on pizza every single day would be nice.   Having my pants fit after gorging on pizza every single day would be nice. Doing anthropological research of indigenous tribes around the world would be nice. Owning a spa would be nice. Becoming a fashion designer would be nice. Having a brand new, white Audi would be nice. Teaching primates sign language would be nice.  Hell, all of these things would be nice, if not fantastic. And that’s what makes them desires. Especially the part about the pizza. With hot sauce. Franks, to be exact.

But despite how nice, fantastic, awesome, or mouth-watering all of these things are to me, I must be careful not to make the mistake of letting whimsical desires get in the way of my true dreams. Because those desires are sneaky little suckers, and they have the power to derail your thought processes, even if only momentarily. But that power is something to keep an eye on, because you don’t want to be derailed by things that would be nice. You want what will be downright freaking awesome. You want to stay focused on your dream–that is, the one unwavering desire that lies deep within you.

Don’t try to have it all–you simply can’t. Time doesn’t allow for it. But absolutely try for what it is you sincerely want to do. Having a jewelry shop on a cliff-like coast of Greece would certainly be brag-worthy, and give me plenty of excuses to wear nothing but white and eat chicken kabobs all day long, but is it what I truly want?  No. What I want is a mobile lifestyle in which I am enabled to wear white and eat chicken kabobs while exploring all sorts of different countries. (Evil laugh.) And I’ve got to do what it takes to achieve that goal–not some whimsical desire that suddenly strikes.

I’m not a sportsy kinda gal, but let’s indulge in a baseball reference for fun, because the point is salient:  Keep your eye on the ball.

Constantly reassess what you’re spending your time on every day, and make sure that the largest percentage that you can manage is dedicated to what you really want–what you dream about–because if you don’t, that dream will just stay a dream, and never turn into a reality. And then you’ll feel like a big, giant loser–point blank. You have all of the power to make it happen; you simply have to do just that…..make it happen.

Stop contemplating random desires. Start concentrating on what it is you really want. If you haven’t figured that out yet, now is the time. It doesn’t have to be one thing, but your goals must be clear, and above all, they must make your heart race. Whatever it is, you must be exhilarated by it. You must truly want it. If you’re not sure what you truly want, then start experimenting. Dig in. Jump in head first. Get involved with your own interests. And do the weeding thereafter. Then once you’ve identified something that, the idea of not having makes you weep, then run full speed after it.  No one else is going to go get it for you. It’s all on you, champ.

(via the middle finger project)

tomorrow I head back to San Francisco to sell my car and many unnecessary belongings, pack a few boxes and ship my life to NYC. stuff creates unnecessary attachment and holds us back. i can’t wait to live a flexible, de-cluttered life in new york. ciao for now nyc, i’ll be back at the end of the month to pursue my “emotional work.”

ps - for minimalism tips, check out the beauty of spring cleaning on exile lifestyle

pps - many thanks to @msg and @sivers for the nyc hospitality!

(photo via grainedit.com)

heyitsnoah:

Hi, So once a month on the second Tuesday at 9am, (this month it’s February 9, 2010), come to Katz’s Deli on 205 E Houston St @ Ludlow, and have breakfast with us! Bring a business date or a coworker you need to catch up with. Nobody normally shows up for breakfast there, so we completely own the place until exactly 10:30am when for some reason dozens of people start showing up. Pass along to interesting people. You don’t have to rsvp or anything, just show up! Thanks! Benjamin & Noah (via COME TO OUR BIG BUSINESS BREAKFAST 2ND TUESDAYS 9AM AT KATZS (.COM))

yeahhhh prom #2010

via wordbk.com

wordbk:

friend sil’s pretty much amazing illustrations

marsbot:

My Dead Pony I find this artist’s work wonderful for so many reasons. The hand drawn images + graphic shapes and scribbling. And don’t even get me started on the fact that Pony is part of his blog’s name….

chetgulland:

oats:

wordbk: Preview of Naveen and Chrissy’s birthday photobooth.

» I also put some media up at http://flickr.com/photos/nickgray/tags/prom2010

Aha. Very much looking forward to this.

YES!

wicked fun and smart people. hula hoops. ribbon dancing. 80’s music. latest tweets + check-ins on the ceiling. men in tuxes. superlatives. flasks galore. corner make-outs. photo booth action. hotel room after party. and a whole lot more. #prom2010 = major success.

(more photos)

Will Smith (via quote-book)

YES!

i’m working on re-branding my online presence (thanks to designer and world traveler @colinismyname - in the photo with me - for helping!) to create something more seamless and consistent.

i currently have online names and properties from @amber_rae to alambke @ gmail to amber-rae.com to socialamber.com, etc etc. this is confusing!!!! so i’m streamlining to ONE online name…

as much as I’d love to own amberrae, it’s not feasible. i’ve tried negotiating with @amberrae on twitter but she does not answer me (sad!) and amberrae.com isn’t available anyway.

SO TO THE SOLUTION! i started thinking about my nicknames and “a rae” is something some close friends call me. in addition, my mom named me after the idea of me being an “amber rae of golden sunshine.” (yes, my mom is a flower child and i love her for it!)

with that, something that IS available and also encompasses who i am is “i am a rae” - e.g. @iamarae, iamarae.com, etc. similarly, i could also go with “i am amber rae” - e.g. @iamamberrae, iamamberrae.com, etc. however, i think the latter doesn’t flow as well and is longer to type.

what do you think and why? (please leave your thoughts in the comments!)

thanks :)

1. Regina Spektor (25)
2. Trentemøller (19)
3. Nick Drake (10)
4. Florence and The Machine (5)
5. Air (4)

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

ofthegarden:

GPOYW: Whisk & Ladle & the lovely Amber Rae.

(many thanks to Frank for the photo)

yay! love!

As people get older, “they just have this sense, this feeling that time is going faster than they are,” says Warren Meck, a psychology professor at Duke University.

This seems to be true across cultures, across time, all over the world.

No one is sure where this feeling comes from.

Scientists have theories, of course, and one of them is that when you experience something for the very first time, more details, more information gets stored in your memory. Think about your first kiss.

Neuroscientist David Eagleman of Baylor College of Medicine says that since the touch of the lips, the excitement, the taste, the smell — everything about this moment is novel — you aren’t embroidering a bank of previous experiences, you are starting fresh.

Have you noticed, he says, that when you recall your first kisses, early birthdays, your earliest summer vacations, they seem to be in slow motion? “I know when I look back on a childhood summer, it seems to have lasted forever,” he says.

That’s because when it’s the “first”, there are so many things to remember. The list of encoded memories is so dense, reading them back gives you a feeling that they must have taken forever. But that’s an illusion. “It’s a construction of the brain,” says Eagleman. “The more memory you have of something, you think, ‘Wow, that really took a long time!’

“Of course, you can see this in everyday life,” says Eagleman, “when you drive to your new workplace for the first time and it seems to take a really long time to get there. But when you drive back and forth to your work every day after that, it takes no time at all, because you’re not really writing it down anymore. There’s nothing novel about it.”

That may be because the brain records new experiences — especially novel and exciting experiences — differently. This is even measurable. Eagleman’s lab has found that brains use more energy to represent a memory when the memory is novel.

So, first memories are dense. The routines of later life are sketchy. The past wasn’t really slower than the present. It just feels that way.

(via npr)

Lerer Media Ventures Joins Angel Investment Scene in New York

go NYC, go!