Whip it real good

So, last week (two weeks ago?) my friends were taking part in GISHWES (the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World has Ever Seen)- and one of the tasks they had to complete was to get a church choir to sing a 30 second beautiful, moving, remix of Willow Smith's "I Whip My Hair Back and Forth." I found out about it when I was at their house for Halloween, and figured that I might as well use my music major for something... so I threw together an arrangement Halloween night (while dressed as a tiger, of course), invited my music friends to come sing it in our campus chapel, and this is the result:

Watch the video here because I couldn't find it when I tried putting it in this post!

Terrible voice leading... but I arranged it at 11 at night... just don't tell my theory teacher.

Thanks for helping me sing it, guys!

Seasons Greetings! (Etsy feature)

Just kidding, not yet!
As much as some people might like to try to deny it, it's after Halloween, and so the holiday season is upon us. I really don't like the commercialism surrounding all of it... but I'm actually kind of excited now that I've found these awesome greeting cards from robotic creative!

I've always had kind of a morbid/weird sense of humor. Always. So these greeting cards are perfect! They're a wonderful blend of dark wit and silly fun. Look at them!

I think my favorites are the yeti with the Christmas box and the monster with the cupcake... but they're all so wonderful!

Finger Painting

So, over Fall Break I went on a retreat with a group I'm in called Worthy Questions. Basically, we just dig into really difficult/profound/provocative questions we come across, sometimes finding answers, sometimes only finding more questions. The retreat was great!
Anyway, at the start of the retreat we did this fun activity where we all finger painted something on a piece of paper that somehow represented something that had been on our mind lately. We then moved to the paper of the person next to us and added to their painting, and the next one, etc. It was really cool, because what started out as a cartoony self portrait of me ended up being this super cool painting of a lion.
As fun as the activity was, I found myself being frustrated with the lack of control I had with the paints we were using... and the fact that I couldn't do anything super precise painting with my fingers.
But look at this super cool artist, Judith (she has my name!) Braun... Yes, I totally found this because someone posted it on someone else's facebook and it turned up on my newsfeed... but I'm in love:

In these exhibitions, she dipped her fingers into charcoal and then drew directly onto the walls. So beautiful!

And I have no idea what her process was for this one, but it's too beautiful for words:

Look at her website for her other amazing art!

Exams, Features, and Some Mean Girl Named Amaryllis

No time for an Etsy feature this week... As you may or may not already know, I've secretly been doing all of my blogging on the weekends during my building monitoring shift for work... but on Monday I have my first test for Medieval to Mozart, so I really only have time to listen to tons of Madrigals.

But! Check out this blog feature!
http://wist-etsy.blogspot.com/2012/10/fridays-featured-fabricator-judith-of.html

And, listen to this hilarious piece by Monteverdi. At least, I think it's hilarious...

Maru Wool Designs

I'm still on my it's getting cold thing from last week... and I will be until May, probably.
Yes, it's cooling off here... and I realized recently that I probably didn't plan very well when I was packing for school. It was hot, so I didn't really want to think of it cooling off! I brought enough warm clothing to get by, but now that I think about it, I didn't bring any scarves, hats, or mittens, which might be a problem.

So check out these cute things to keep you warm from Maru Wool Designs!

So cute! So toasty!

O del mio dolce ardor

Guess what. I'm a music major! Which means I sing a lot, basically. I'm singing 4 songs this semester (and possibly one with jazz band?) and this is the one I've been working on most recently. Give it a listen!

I'm not sure if Teresa Berganza sings this song with as much emotion as it should be; the song is from an opera and it's Paris professing his love to Helen of Troy. What I love so much about her rendition of this song though, is that she manages to keep her voice so light and smooth while she's singing it... something I'm working on, and haven't quite been able to manage yet.

I don't know how to decorate my dorm room (but Sonia and Kendra do)!

Okay, the title isn't completely true. I have some nice pictures hanging on my wall and some lanterns hung on the ceiling. I have crazy bright turquoise sheets... but that's about as creative as I get. My friends Sonia and Kendra, on the other hand, have all the cool ideas. Having tea parties or awkward 3-6 person dance parties in their room is always the best... because they are so sweet, but also because their room is just so darn spiffy looking. Check it out!

I love their color scheme. What I especially admire, though, is their creative use of fabric. The organza(?) hanging from the ceiling is so magical looking (don't worry- they never turn that light on... so no fire hazards!), and the fabric they taped to the front of their drawers is certainly more exciting than the boring wood that would show up otherwise.
Keep being cool, guys!