{Book Review} Interpretation by Design

Long, long ago, when I was but a sparkly-eyed college student, I wanted a career in graphic design. No one told me to make sure the college you select HAS the career you want – I just assumed all colleges carried the same majors. (Yes, it’s quite a miracle I achieved a degree at all, isn’t it?) Well, none of that mattered anyway, because I took an Anthropology class elective in my first semester and immediately changed my major (and then later took an Ecology elective and realized I had, yet again, chosen incorrectly, but it was too late by then).

I’m not sure how I keep ending up with embarrassing personal stories for you guys when I try to make a point, but what I’m getting at is a very cool book and a very cool blog that you might enjoy if you have an inclination towards graphic design but don’t want to get a degree.

Put this book in your library.

[Video] Animals with British Accents

This makes me so happy. So. Happy.

Rainbow cake.

I like rainbows.

They give me this childish sense of hope, because they always appear after a big tumultuous storm, which is all windy and loud and lightning-y and sometimes scary. So it’s like Mother Nature’s way of saying, “Hey, I know stuff’s all crazy right now, but when it’s over, a beam of pure joy featuring all seven colors will come shooting out of the sky and things will be better.”

Or something.

So I was going to post a bunch of photos of rainbows because I’m needing a little sunshine and, well, rainbows are natural and therefore fit into this blog’s general theme. And I will still do that at some point. However, my search for rainbow photos brought to mind something else that I really love.

Cake.

I. Love. Cake. Seriously, I love it. I love cake so much, in fact, that I knew my best friend and I were destined to be soulmates because she loves the actual cake but doesn’t like icing, and the icing is my favorite part with or without the cake. So at parties, we’d take apart our respective cakes and trade parts. It was a symbiosis made in heaven. (In fact, we reenacted this very ritual just last week while I was visiting home. I know what you’re thinking and no, I don’t have diabetes. I hope.) Birthday cake, cheesecake, brownie cake, CAKE CAKE CAKE I LOVE CAKE.

Okay, I’m a little embarassed that I shared that with you, but my point is that what I just discovered is that the only thing better than rainbows and cake individually is

Rainbow cake via, wait for it, Omnomicon.com! YES!

I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW

LOOK AT THAT CAKE! In the pan! It’s so beautiful! It’s, it’s.. there aren’t words. I know this has nothing to do with nature. I hear you. Stop yelling. But LOOK AT IT.

Please go to this site and look at the other beautiful photos of rainbow cake, and then please make me one and send it to me in the mail, and you will have a best friend for life. Or at least as long as you keep sending me rainbow cakes.

The perfection of a snowflake.

Nothing special today, just feeling a little reflective. If you can, spend a few moments just looking at these photos. I feel in awe of the beauty and perfection that nature sometimes can produce in the midst of what seems to be chaos. Tiny bits of frozen water, suspended in time, all of their beautiful limbs so delicate and yet, when combined, so strong.

Happy Tuesday. :) (Photos via NatGeo, click on any of them to see the rest of the photoset.)

{Book Review} Of Wolves and Men by Barry Lopez

I’ve been wanting to dive into the topic of the Gray Wolf for some time now, and I’m starting by reading Barry Lopez’s Of Wolves and Men. It is an excellently researched and thorough book on the history of the relationship between man and wolf. I want to be up front: this post is mostly a representation of what I’ve learned from the book, not necessarily a formal review, but my hope is that you’ll learn, too, and be encouraged to pick up the book to seek more.