she smiles

This was taken a little over a week ago, when Amelia was 5 weeks old. It was one of her first smiles. Now she's doing it all the time!

col gets interviewed

I interviewed my boy Col for NPR's National Day of Listening. We went snowboarding together on Friday after Thanksgiving and I interviewed him on the way to the mountain, at the mountain, in the lift and then finally at home. I thought the location was very fitting.

Colin couldn't understand why I wanted to interview him. It's not because he has a lot of history under his belt--he's only 32 years old. But we both lead very busy lives and sometimes we can go through an entire week without really talking to each other. It felt good to set aside an hour of time to have a conversation and get to know each other again. He enjoyed it too, I think, and was honored to be asked.

Here are some excerpts from our conversation:

On personal accomplishments:



A favorite memory:



On life influences:

to the royal mount

Montreal was a much-needed weekend getaway. We drove up Saturday after our morning coffee. It was a beautiful drive up with an endless clear blue sky. As we crossed the border from Vermont into Canada, the lush green forests diminished. Then it was golden cornfields stretching for miles, punctuated every now and then by clusters of old silos. Silos gave way to electrical towers the closer we got to the city. Corn fields gave way to concrete structures. We passed the Coca Cola man and knew we were close.


We headed towards centre-ville, passed the grain mills by the river.


Early afternoon sun cast jeweled reflections off some office buildings. They shimmered quietly as we passed.


After we checked into the hotel, we headed down to the old port area. It's touristy there, but we didn't care. We decided to grab some frites and wine at a little cafe.


It reminded us of Paris a little bit, and was almost romantic, despite the tacky parade of brides and white Hummer limos making their way through the small cobblestone streets of Old Montreal. We saw at least 10 different bridal parties having photoshoots among the picturesque buildings. I wish we had've taken some pictures of them ourselves.


I liked the green glass on this building.


A pagoda rooftop in China Town.


Finally, it was evening and so we headed back down to the piers for the Sigur Rós show. It was on the Quai Jacques Cartier with the city lights offering a gorgeous back-drop. We ran into Chip and Susan as we got to the entrance. Here, we were waiting in line to get into the show.


We were there early, so we walked around the Quai, got drinks and took pictures of the scenery...


Then Sigur Rós came on stage. They started playing, and it was pure magic. We were entranced. They city scape was bright and lively, with a large search light scanning the sky every minute or so. Yet, we were far enough removed that the setting was strangely quiet. Just like the music—lively, bright, complex, while at the same time serene, enchanting, dark. It was the perfect set really. I wonder if they planned it that way. Here's a picture of the stage with the city of Montreal in the background.


If you ever get the chance to see Sigur Rós live in concert, you must go. If you ever get the chance to see Sigur Rós live in concert, "en plein air" as the French say (outside) with the city of Montreal as a back-drop, you must, must go. As the band played, their ethereal sound bounced off the stage, bounced off the the waters of the St. Lawrence River behind us, off the buildings perched on the royal mount, and landed, hovering like a warm globe above our ears. It washed over us. And we were entranced. And then, there were dolls...


And then, there was fairy dust...


And rainbows... and passion... and fashion... And the show ended, just like that. But our senses remained piqued. We just had to walk it off.


We walked back up the hill and passed this fountain on the way. Underground lights infused the water with a fiery glow. We posed.


And that's that. I wish you could've been there.


They do too...

wash me trousers & the birth of butter boots

I probably shouldn't be telling you any of this. I should keep it locked up forever in the memories of those select few who were there. To keep it safe and untouched by the outside world. To keep the pub and the field and the memory just as they were. But to lock it up would also risk losing the story forever. For, what happens to unspoken memories? They fade.

So I've decided to tell—to share this sacred memory—if only for the sole purpose of keeping the story vibrant and living.

It all began with a woman, a pub and a tub of butter. Well, not real butter—the spread kind that's made from oil. She would never rub real butter on her Ferragamo boots... lest it become rancid and spoil the fine leather...

But it really started here: at the Square & Compass, a fine English pub situated on a hillside by the sea in the Dorset village of Wash Me Trousers (not its real name). We ventured there one sunny spring day during our visit to Uncle Richard's et al in search of their infamous meat pasties (prounouced pas-tē—I'm ashamed to say we were pronouncing the word incorrectly that day) and cider. The real-deal cider.



The pasties and cider were out of this world. They quite made our heads spin. And by the end of lunch, the whole lot of us were giddy as kids. So we decided to walk it off on a public footpath by the sea.

So we started our refreshing afternoon outing. The boys walked on ahead, while we three sisters hung back. We were enthralled in a conversation about my boots and how nice they looked. (I had polished them with butter that morning, upon the suggestion from my sister Emma, when there was no wax to be found in the cottage where we were staying.) The three of us concurred: tub butter, in a pinch, makes a very nice shoe polish.

All of a sudden...



And Butter Boots, our great Super Hero, was born. And she grew. And we made up more and more stories for her. She had super powers. She had back-up dancers. She had pink rubber gloves. She would save the world from evil criminals and even hemorrhoids. But that was then.

If you're wondering where she is now, I haven't a clue. The thing is, well, she can only come to life when the three Wall sisters are reunited again. I'm not sure if she'll ever grace Vermont or California with her presence (Butter Boots and her ladies are distinctly English). But I'm sure we'll find her one day, back in Wash Me Trousers. In the field with the cow pats and sheep. In the wheel well. With a jug of cider from the Square & Compass and Cornish pasty in hand. That's where the magic is. So, we'll be back to find her one day. Ahoy, Butter Boots!

riding like a bond girl

This one's for L-Train: a video of me at Stowe this week-end in the hot Burton one-piece that I was testing. I felt like a rock-star.

And here are some friends we picked up along the way:

baby mackenize

We finally got to meet Rob & Nicole's new baby Mackenzie this weekend. She's a right spiffy tyke—and nothing but smiles! She also likes to squeeze the kitties and tear up useless magazines.

meow in the morning

This is what Au Lait does:

This clip called 'Cat Man Do' is by an English animator called Simon Tofield.

south end art hop 2007

We went to the Art Hop last night. Saw some cool bicycle art at JDK. The old green one looked just like one I used to have. Then in the basement there was lots of colorful artwork that reminded me of Hannah's cat Mister and our cat Au Lait. Got sad, called Hannah. Went to the Box to see Isaac, Steve, and Rucchi. They had rented a paint ball gun so that people could shoot screen prints (art in action). Isaac had a bunch of blown-up text messages on display. Some of them were from my friends so I took pictures of them. None of them were from me though, cause I don't have a cell phone. Walked around some more. This green portrait was one of my favorites, but I neglected to see who the artist is. See more pictures.


Ended up back at the Box late-nite. We even made some art ourselves, starring the illustrious Vanessa in one film, and Colin and Taylor in the other.

more yo-yo tricks

This time it's Col doing the magic. (That's Suki our cat playing along.)

the secret life of yo-yos

I walked into the bedroom this morning after my shower to find Colin in bed with his computer. A common occurrence. But this time, he shied away and hid the screen from my view.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Just some research," he replied mischievously and grinned.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked again, this time more adamantly and grabbed his laptop. There filling his screen was a giant picture of a yo-yo.

This might be a good moment for me to interject a little secret about my boy: it wasn't until we'd been dating for about a year and a half that I discovered his obsession with professional weight frisbees and yo-yos. The frisbees is another story, but the yo-yo craze originated from 6 months of unemployment with his friend Dan in Northampton, Massachusetts. They had a lot of time to practice. The rest of the story is vague to me, but what I do know is that Col has a lot of tricks up his yo-yo sleeve and if you're lucky, he'll pull them out in close company. And so he did a few weeks ago down in Nantucket much to the surprise of everyone present.

Col's passion for yo-yos goes hand in hand with his love for gadgets. And so, he is always looking for the next best thing. And that's how I found him this morning with the question "what yo-yo do professionals use" in his Google search box.

At this point, I was now sitting next to Col wide-eyed and dumbfounded. I was intrigued. The search eventually brought us to a YouTube video of famed yo-yo star Hiroyuki Suzuki dazzling his audience in a recent competition.

All I could think of to say, over and over, was, "Oh my gosh, what the heck is that? What is he doing? How does he do that?" We were dazzled.

After the video, I realized this yo-yo craze actually has a legitimate underground following (mostly in Asia). And, as it turns out, Hiroyuki Suzuki uses a Yo-Yo Nation Speeder, just in case you were wondering (yoyonation.com).

"Are you going to get it?" I asked once Col made this fabulous discovery.

"Nah," he said. "It's kind of expensive."

"How much?"

"Forty-five dollars."

"For a yo-yo?" I asked in disbelief remembering my good old $2 red Duncan butterfly (same Duncan whose Freehand MG runs for $499 retail).

I really had no idea.

As we speak, Col's now researching the Duncan Metal Zero--same price as the Yo-Yo Nation Speeder, I point out, but I can see that Col's eyes are already glossed over, hypnotical style. He's getting sucked into yo-yo world faster that I can say, "Rock the cradle!" And I'm letting him do it. Actually, I think it's kind of cool: my boy the yo-yo star.

Bill Clinton at Middlebury

I finally got the chance to listen to the commencement speech Bill Clinton gave at Middlebury College (my alma mater) a couple of weeks ago.

I'm impressed. The subject: building community. Clinton said that every successful community has three things: a broadly shared opportunity to participate, a sense of responsibility for the success of the enterprise, and a genuine sense of belonging. Regardless of our differences. (I immediate thought of my baker friend.) Why is community so important? In a nutshell, Clinton says community is the elemental building block that will enable us to solve all the world's issues. I think he's right. And I appreciate his honesty and prudence for serving up a challenge that's so easily within grasp for all of us.

[Watch the video]

spielpalast cabaret pictures

Photos and video clips from Friday night's performance at City Hall in Burlington, Vermont.

spielpalast = play palace

There's nothing so timely as a Cabaret. Spielpalast, now a Burlington arts staple, never fails to wow the crowds and make you reflect upon how you fit into this wild and crazy world. Some people think Cabaret is just a bunch of singing and dancing and naked ladies. Not so. There is a real history to this entertainment form that stems from the pre-war days of Nazi Germany. From the eloquent words of the Spielpalast Web site:

At the end of the wild whirlwind between WWI and WWII, The Depression (known for its loose morals, prohibition, unemployment), The Roaring Twenties (re: hair bobs, jazz, bathtub gin) and the Weimar Rebublic (don't forget dadism, montage and rebellion), European and American ex-patriates flocked to the literary cabarets and burlesque entertainments. These feateured a wide range of scandalous and subversive performance, including political satire, nude dancing, gender bending and elaborate avant-garde nonsense spectacles. In the increasingly oppressive atmosphere of facisct nationalism, brutality, censorship, and restricted civil liberties, these cabarets and burlesque shows served the purpose of transgressive dis-ordering radical internationalism and a much needed release from the rigidity of "family values."

Performed in local clubs and cafes the cabaret celebrated the unstompable resilience of the individualistic and alternative human spirit in a time of mass propaganda, blind patriotism and military frenzy.

This year, as in the previous few years, the political undertones seem especially poignant. But for me, its the singing, dancing, and theatrics that rouse my emotions. I love this Stuck In Vermont VLOG by Eva Sollberger (also a Cabaret dancer). It encapsulates everything I love about the show and the people in it.



Oh, and there's still time to catch the show this weekend--go, go, go!

staying animated

Up until last night, I was hating my Designing Media for the Web class. Flash is a beast and I was slightly overwhelmed by all of the steps I had to take just to accomplish a simple animation. Our first project was to animate some text. I chose a passage from my favorite Jeannette Winterson novel, Written on the Body. I had lofty goals, but no know-how. In the end, I wasn't very happy with the results.
However, as with all technology and software, I have found that the more you use it, the better it becomes. I'm finally starting to get the hang of it. And, it seems, the possibilities our endless.

Our final project is to design a personal web site in Flash. I've been playing around with animating my ink drawings. Here's a sneak peak. I don't have a play button in there yet, so if you want to see it again, just rigth-click (ctrl + click on a Mac) on the image and choose play.

sparkle tower

Here's a little clip from our recent trip to Paris. At nighttime, every hour on the hour, the Eiffel Tower sparkle—albeit sideways—just like fairy dust...

Hannah jumps