And You Thought Cassette Tapes No Longer Served a Purpose....

If you were to walk into my room right now you'd probably find about a hundred old cassette tapes from when I was younger just waiting to be thrown away (This isn't including the 200 cassette tapes my dad has in his music collection, and the other 200 hundred lying around in the basement).
I'm finding it hard to part with my tapes. I keep thinking, "What if they're worth something someday???" or "What if I want to show them to my kids??". I don't know if it's denial or nostalgia that keeps me holding on, but I keep trying to think of situations in which I would need them.
Then I stumbled across iri5.
Erika Iris Simmons (aka iri5) uses old, 2nd hand items to make art.
How brilliant.
I sat in awe looking at her art series titled "Ghost in the Machine" in which she took the tape from cassettes and used it to make magnificent portraits of some of my favorite musicians of all time. It's time for you to see for yourself...I'll let the tape do the talking...

(bob)

(jim)

(jimi)
(beatles)


Like what you see??? I knew you would. Feel free to check out more (and even buy something) here.

To Photography....and Beyond!

Ahhh it's been so long since I posted, and I feel guilty about that. However, I did stumble upon an amazing and interesting site that I am dying to share:

Photojojo.com

It's filled with creative photo tips, tricks, projects, money-saving ideas, camera accessories, etc etc etc...

One Particularly awesome thing that caught my eye....


Is it a zoom lens? No, It's a mug. What a great gift (and conversation piece) for a photography lover.
See more from the photojojo store here

Stuff No One Told Me (Blog Recommendation)

It is so satisfying for me to find a really cool and unique blog to pass along. This blog is so fun, inspiring, and funny. Stuff No One Told Me (but I learned anyway) is a collection of pictures done by artist Alex Noriega from Barcelona, Spain. The rest is pretty self explanatory. Below are a few examples of some of my favorites...

See More Here.

(all artwork done by Alex Noriega)

Words on Walls

Let the Walls Speak for Themselves....

(None of those photos were taken by me. All content belongs to http://wordsonwalls.tumblr.com)

PANCAKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who knew breakfast could be so inspiring? As someone who grew up with a mom who always made pancakes, this site put her pancakes to shame. Jim's Pancakes is a site dedicated a dad who makes different style pancakes for his daughter.
"My name is Jim and I like to make pancakes for my Daughter, Allison. She seems to like them, but, being 3 I don’t think she really cares too much."
These pancakes are so amazing that I would consider them edible works of art. I have included a few sample pictures below. Please visit his site for more!

(all pictures belong to Jim)

In an Effort to be more Thankful

One site that I felt deserved honorable mention is called THXTHXTHX in which the author writes a "thank-you" note a day. Some "thank-you's" are funny, some are serious, and I find myself relating to most of them. A thank-you note a day? Why didn't I think of that? It's never too late to start. Ever since I became aware of this I try to think of at least one thing everyday that I'm thankful for. It certainly gives a new perspective.
I have left here one of my favorites.....