Procrastination at its best

Hi everyone! Hope you’re having a nice night after an awesome day.
This post is going to be full of shameless self-promotion. So, if you don’t want to read about me and what I do, stop reading. You’ve been warned!

I’m like a photography nut lately and totally and completely in love with it. So I registered myself on this site called RedBubble, where are lots and lots of talented, artsy people. Photography, traditional art, creative writing, t-shirt designs .. you name it, it’s all there. And in great quality! So, yeah .. it rocks!

My account there is called nelladella (surprise-surprise! *holding up a sarcasm sign*) and I’ve put up there photos, some writings and a few ideas for tees (those are more like for laughs and fun). The people over there are awesomely helpful and friendly. No bashing or drama going on. Just a nice, supportive art community. *zen*

Oh, I forgot to mention – you can also buy all my stuff that’s up there. So .. *ahem* .. support my unemployed ass, ok. Pretty-please?

So, I’m trying to add a widget here about my stuff on RedBubble. Let’s see if this works.

Success!

So, here you go. My stuff flashing in front of your eyes! Go check it out already!

Mmmm…I can smell some sweet aromas from the kitchen which tells me that the coffee I put on earlier is done. Which means that I’ll be going now.

Till next time, sweeties.
Take care, be aware, wear sunblock!

Much love,

-me-

Oh how I hate all kinds of “self-help” books and motivational videos, speeches, books, articles, booklets, posters and so on…and on…and on.. There’s like an endless amount of it out there! And the people who make and sell them cash in a lot of money. They try to pump the customer up to believe in himself and the world and to set high expectations and chase his dreams. But, as a pessimistic realist I must point out that most of the time having too high expectations means just being more depressed about not being able to fulfill them. Not everyone can be an astronaut…or a billion-dollar business-owner…or a successful artist. Let’s be honest here, MOST can’t. Only a very select few reach greatness. The rest of us must live with our mediocrity – and it’s much easier to feel successful if you don’t hope for too much to begin with. Just be realistic, people. And have some sense of humor about it. Sarcasm helps! ;)

So that is why I LOVE the Demotivators® at Despair, Inc.
As they say on their homepage:

“AT DESPAIR, INC., we believe motivational products create unrealistic expectations, raising hopes only to dash them. That's why we created our soul-crushingly depressing Demotivators® designs, so you can skip the delusions that motivational products induce and head straight for the disappointments that follow!”

Their products include calendars, posters, mugs, mouse pads and much more with demotivational slogans. Bringing out some here:

Demotivators:
(photos are links to product information)

If you're not a part of the solution, there's good money to be made in prolonging the problem.	Success is a journey, not a destination. So stop running.
It's always darkest just before it goes pitch black.	You aren't being paid to believe in the power of your dreams.

Other merch:
(photos are still links)

The Pessimist Mug® You’ll never see the glass as half-full again. (This glass is now half-empty)	DespairWear™ Clothes make the man. These clothes make the man sad. (Don’t ever change. I always want to be better than you.)
Mousepads Your desk just got even more depressing (We’re bringing oil to American shores.)	Lithographs They’re like posters, only swankier. (Just because You’re necessary doesn’t mean You’re important.)

In these irrationally exuberant times (enter SARCASM here), it's getting harder and harder for the self-respecting pessimistic realist to stay unhappy and despair in his/her own misery. So pervasive is the hope, so overwhelming the positivity, that without the firmest grip on your sullen perspective, you might actually lose it. Then one day, you wake up looking at the bright side, whistling some inane showtune, and generally annoying everyone around you. And then where we’ll be?

That is why you must check out Despair, Inc. and their products and go and order some! For that ray of despair that you so desire in your everyday life! ;) So go on already, check them out, here > http://despair.com

Don’t worry, despair!

Sullenly yours,
nelladella

Picture taken from http://dispair.com

Hi again you one and all!

I live in Stockholm at the moment. Well, I’ve actually lived here for quite some time already – over five months to be precise. I moved here from Tallinn (Estonia) because my fiancée got a job here as a system architect and we wanted to go somewhere abroad, see how everything works outside our homeland and to get to know a new language and culture… And so we came here, to Stockholm!

And it’s been actually quite great so far. I’ve joined an SFI course to study Swedish and I’m now looking for a job (which is difficult to find here unless you already speak Swedish..). The funny thing is that although I’ve been here for over 5 months I actually don’t know almost any Swedish people – all the people I’ve gotten to know are my fellow immigrants :D I find it hilarious!

Also, though I’ve been here this long already I actually don’t know the city almost at all. I’ve done some discovering, but not nearly enough to claim I know my way around here. Which is sad :( …But during the discovering that I have done, I’ve also taken some pictures and I wanted to display some here for your viewing pleasure!

So, here you go!

Gröna Lund amusement park, some views of the city in the background

Tree frozen in water, at winter (photo taken at a beach close to where I live).

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Anyway, I’m going out now soon to see some more Stockholm.  So, you do the same where-ever you are! ;)

(…okay, so I’m really going grocery shopping…so sue me!)

Much love.

PS! If you want to check out more photos by me then visit http://nelladella.deviantart.com

Hi all!

So, this weekend was the Hay Festival were Stephen Fry (an awesome writer/ actor/ comedian/ broadcaster) announced the ‘most beautiful tweet ever tweeted’. The tweet was chosen as the winner by Stephen Fry himself, who has over 1,5 million followers on Twitter.

Stephen Fry

The winning tweet (by Marc MacKenzie from Canada):
“I believe we can build a better world! Of course, it’ll take a whole lot of rock, water & dirt. Also, not sure where to put it.”

Organizers of the festival said the definition of the most beautiful tweet (a message no longer than 140 characters) fell into a number of different categories, including the most eloquent, most evocative or the best pun.

Other noted tweets included SyfretJ's "The blackbird's tweet is fairer yet than all man can muster" and "Beauty is in the mind of the retweeter" by TheEponymousBob.

[…]

To read more from Stephen Fry visit his homepage or follow him on twitter!
The Hay Festival’s homepage: www.hayfestival.com

Info for this post is from BBC News.

To finish this post I leave you with a clip of Fry contemplating the joys of swearing. Have fun!

Much love.

-Nelladella-

I love football (that’s soccer for all you Americans out there). Well, I should probably clarify that I love watching football. I couldn’t play it to save my life, but I’ve always enjoyed watching it. I’ve been to many games and there’s just something about the game and the energy and the feeling you get when you cheer with fellow football enthusiasts. It just feels great! And in only 5 more days the World Cup 2010 is here!

This time it takes place in South Africa and the first match is held between South Africa and Mexico on the 11th of June at 16.00 (local time). Check out all the information on teams, matches and much more on www.fifa.com.

Some promo:

Also, it was always a kind of a tradition in my family to predict the outcome of the games prior to World Cups and European Cups and then later see who got the most correctly. The winner usually also got a symbolic prize for the effort. Anyway, I’m planning to predict the outcomes also this year together with my fiancée and for that purpose I made some tables for us to fill in with our predictions – and also to later fill in the actual results on another copy. So, here are the screenshots of the tables I’ve made:

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If you wish to have these, then you can download them right here.

And, to get you in the right mood for some unifying football-watching experience, here’s the official World Cup 2010 theme song, ‘Wavin’ Flag’ by K’naan.

So don’t forget to get your ass in front of your TV on the 11th of June, invite some friends over and get ready for an awesome football-filled month!

Life’s a game!

Much love.

Picture taken from http://www.worldcup-southafrica2010.co.uk/

Today, the 5th of June, is “World Environment Day”, so I hope you’re enjoying it!
… and in a green way of course ;)

About WED:
“World Environment Day (WED) 2010 is aimed to be the biggest, most widely celebrated, global day for positive, environmental action.
Commemorated on 5 June since 1972, WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action.”

The theme this year is, as the title of this post, “Many Species, One Planet, One Future” (see logo above). It echoes the urgent call to conserve the diversity of life on our planet.  A world without biodiversity is a very bleak prospect. Millions of people and millions of species all share the same planet, and only together can we enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

WED2010 is hosted by Rwanda. Read more about it at UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)

[…]

So… I went kayaking today. A very green activity – no carbon footprints at all! ;)
What did you do?

Remember - think green!

Much love.

Hi guys! It’s a beautiful day outside and I’m itching to get out there. And I would kill for a muffin! And ice cream… Mmm…

Anyway, the reason I’m still inside is that an idea just popped into my head about what I should blog about and now I want to get it out asap so I won’t forget it (my mind is seriously like an old person’s most of the time – I forget everything ALL the time.. So if ever someone feels kind of left out by me, then know that it isn’t intentional!)

Also, I have been absent from the blogging world for so long that I don’t even wanna write any numbers down here… I’m so sorry for my laziness..but I’m back now! And I have some great talented people to share with you (if you haven’t already discovered them, that is..). I stumbled upon them on YouTube like forever ago and now finally I’m getting around to writing about them. They are truly amazing, ingenious musical minds who do beautiful things with their talent!

First off, there’s Kurt Hugo Schneider (on the right). He seems to be quite the mastermind behind all what the circle of friends gets up to. Basically he seems to be capable of playing numerous instruments, has quite a good voice, edits films, makes films, writes arrangements for musical pieces and also produces both music and films…You name it, he can do it ;)

Then there’s Sam Tsui (on the left). A future star, for sure. Beautiful voice! He also has an album out on iTunes, which was produced by Kurt, named The Covers. Check it out!
They are also friends, by the way, and currently studying in Yale. So they have the brains as well ;)

And here’s a video of a Michael Jackson medley (vocals by Sam Tsui; beat-box, arrangement and produced by Kurt).

This is only one video of many where Sam and Kurt have worked together and they are all simply excellent! So go check them ALL out!!! On Kurt’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/kurthugoschneider

Also other people have been in Kurt’s videos, including his friend Jake Bruene (sings, writes the College Musical, which also is produced by Kurt and available on his channel), Tiffany Alvord, Allison Williams (singing, acting in College Musical), and many more. Just get there and check them out already! :D

Some more fun and awesome clips by the same ingenious masterminds>

List of links …to make it really easy to check them out everywhere!! ;)
Kurt Schneider: Youtube, MySpace, NoodlehouseStudios
Sam Tsui: MySpace, album on iTunes
Jake Bruene: Youtube

And finally. As I mentioned Kurt and Sam both go to Yale. Therefore I’ll finish this post off with a great performance of “Umbrella” by The Duke’s Men of Yale. Nice moves! (Sam Tsui  is also one of the singers here).

[---]

Well…I this has been an enormously long post already. So I’ll stop now. Damn it was hard to pick the videos for this post – they are all just so great :)
I’ll go out now and soak in the sunshine. You - don’t you even dare to leave the computer! Go check them out. NOW!

Much Love.

Oh my, I haven’t written here anything for so long I almost feel ashamed. Almost. In my defense – I have been kind of busy lately. What with this being my last days at work and my last weeks in Estonia I have a lot of people to see and loose ends to tie, so to speak. I’ve been so busy in fact that I haven’t even had time to do any Christmas shopping or even decorate my home – I feel like I’ve missed the “holiday spirit train” this year. But I will catch up, even if I have to run! :D

I love the holidays, though. I love finding people presents. I love wrapping the presents and writing and sending cards to everyone and finding a nice and unique poem for every single card I send out. And I love getting the Christmas tree and decorating the rooms. And mandarins and baking the Christmas cookies and …oh I just love it all. But most of all I love to get to see all my family and friends and see them happy and cheerful and relaxed. Christmas is definitely my most favorite holiday – I love it even more than my birthday :)

But, to get back to the topic of my post, I love music. And I love John Mayer’s music. I think that he is just unbelievably talented and has a real gift for composing some wonderful songs. In case you don’t know who he is (how that could possibly be, I have no idea), here it is – a small summary of his career:

John (Clayton) Mayer is and American musician. He attended Berklee College of Music and his first studio album titled Room of Squares was released in 2001 and it had many hits including “Your Body is a Wonderland”, for which he won a Grammy in 2003. In his acceptance speech he said: “This is very, very fast, and I promise to catch up.” His musical style was mainly acoustic rock in the beginning, but became more blues-influenced around 2005. By today he has released another 3 albums - Heavier Things in 2003, Continuum in 2006 and now Battle Studies in 2009 – and received 7 Grammy awards in total.

You might be thinking, why am I bringing him up at my blog now? It is because he just released his latest album “Battle Studies” and it is doing extremely well at the moment. And here is a live performance of a song from that album for you to enjoy called “Who says”. (He performed it on the Ellen DeGeneres show yesterday, 15.12.2009). And as he is wearing a Christmas sweater for the holidays, it kind of ties in the Christmas and holiday talk from the first part of this post ;)

Enjoy!

His homepage is: www.johnmayer.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/johnmayer
and you can follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/johncmayer

More specifically, “The Invention of Lying.” The movie. I so want to see it, but it is not even shown in Estonian cinemas – what’s up with that? I feel like I’m back in the nineties when all the movies and music reached us like..years later. Anyway, I just wanted to write about this movie because I’m sure it is brilliantly hilarious.

First of all, the idea and execution for this film came from Ricky Gervais – a comedian of extraordinary capability. He is also the man behind shows such as “The office” and “Extras”. Plus, he’s British and I love British humor! It’s dry and sarcastic and …just perfect. Fits me like a glove!

So, this film shows a world where everyone tells the truth. No one can tell a lie, ever. There’s no politesse, or white lying to spare someone’s feelings. Rejections are frequent and cruel. So, you can already imagine the funny conversations that go on there. And funny stuff that can be portrayed (like the old people’s home is called “A Sad Place for  Hopeless Old People”). And in this world a guy (played by Ricky Gervais) discovers that he can tell a lie! And it is about what kind of power that gives a person and how to deal with that power.

Here are a clip and the trailer of the movie.

The movie’s official page is: http://the-invention-of-lying.warnerbros.com/

Hmm..and here is a stand-up bit from Ricky Gervais (a clip from a show “Animals”):

So, yes,  I’d like to see this film on the big screen.
Crap. Now I’ll have to hunt for a DVD.

Well, this will be a short-short post, but still, I just had to. Because it’s just so hilarious…and one of the most disturbing things I’ve seen lately! :D
Oh well, it’s all good fun and I’m all for artistic freedom!

100 Monkeys – Ugly girl
Produced by: David Monaco
Directed by: William Schmidt
Starring: Ben Graupner, Jerad Anderson, Jackson Rathbone, Ben Johnson, Uncle Larry, Kenn Mann, Theresa June Tao, Nichole Elise and Aye Hasegawa.

About 100 Monkeys (text from their website www.100monkeysmusic.com):


”the hundredth monkey effect generally describes the instant, paranormal spreading of an idea or ability to the remainder of a population once a certain portion of that population has heard of the new idea or learned the new ability… hmm.”

Hmm..right.

Enjoy!