Did You Read...?

Ah, Portlandia: this is pure genius. These are my people. The Hubs and I lived in Oregon (though not in Utopia Portland--couldn't afford it!) for a while back in the 90s. Yep.

Thanks to blog pal Eurolush for the find! I can't wait to watch episodes in their entirety.

The Mysterious Genius of Vivian Maier

Do you know yet about Vivian Maier? I hadn't heard of her until a couple of weeks ago, but now I'm completely taken by her art and her story. Vivian Maier (1926-2009) was a "street photographer" who, as a hobby, took thousands of photos that she tucked away in obscurity for many years while she earned a living as a nanny and caregiver. Why would anyone take so many stunning, evocative photos and not want to share at least some of them with the world? The answer to this query remains mostly unknown.

Thankfully, John Maloof discovered her work by accident at a Chicago auction, and he, along with Jeff Goldstein and others, are now giving this enigmatic photographer her artistic due. Maier's unusual and eccentric life story--what we know of it--only enhances the mystery surrounding her work. The fact that she began living in Chicago in the 1950s, around the time my mother and her parents moved away from Chicago's South Side to New Orleans, makes Maier's urban artistry that much more interesting to me.

I hope you'll enjoy and appreciate the raw beauty that is apparent in her long-lost photographs.

Our 23 Minutes of Fame

Untitled from Andrew Brewer on Vimeo.


Um, so--Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, right? I apologize for my lengthy, semi-intentional absence from blogging over the extended holiday season. Frankly, I got a bit lazy and distracted prior to Christmas. I really did mean to post some pictures from a couple of local Christmas markets, but--well, I just didn't. We didn't make it to as many markets as we'd have liked, anyway, due to the crazy weather (almost a month of snow accumulation--at long last, it has finally melted!). Thankfully we hadn't planned a trip over the holidays.

There was also this small thing, of Husband's back locking up and his spending a week and a half in a local German hospital. Fun times. He's okay now, slowly recuperating and now back at work. Here's a photo of our view from the eleventh floor on New Year's Eve. That's one we'll remember.

Amidst all of the holiday hullaballoo, I forgot to let you all know that our HGTV House Hunters International episode (I mentioned it a while back) aired on January 1! Of course, we weren't able to watch it as it aired in the States, but we've seen it now, thanks to a cousin of mine.

In case you watch the video, I feel the need to say that while we are every bit as goofy in real life as we were on TV, we aren't quite as dumb. We knew beforehand that German homes usually don't have built-in closets and that (built-in) kitchens aren't often "included." We also knew that German restaurants typically have German menus. Hey, it's all about maximum entertainment value, people! I'll put it this way: there's a whole lotta' acting involved.

Don't hate us 'cause we're famous.