Warby Parker

While perusing butter + brass I saw her raving about Warby Parker. I went to their site expecting to see prices in the three maybe four hundreds but instead found that every pair of vintage inspired frames was $95 including prescription lenses!!!

 Let me tell you some other fun things about Warby Parker...

- Name inspired by Jack Kerouac's aliases.

- Buy a pair, give a pair.

- They sell a monocle!

- There is a virtual try on so you can see what looks best on you. 

- Free shipping, free returns and 5 frames sent to your home to try on and then send back...for free!  

Right now I'm leaning towards getting The Thatcher.

Adele - Someone Like You (Brit Awards)

Adele performed on the Brit Awards last night BLEW EVERYONE AWAY. Her sheer talent is refreshing amongst all the famous voices, pop and otherwise, that can't stand up during a live performance. 

She also stopped by NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts and this is what they had to say... "There's no one way to define a great voice: Genius might lie in the phrasing, the range, the power, the control, the words themselves, or some sort of indescribable something else. But one way to diagnose genius for sure is to have a singer walk into a crowded room with little to no accompaniment, open his or her mouth, and command breathless attention in a matter of seconds."

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Via: The Simpsons

Burberry Acoustic

While traipsing around Facebook one afternoon I stumbled into Burberry Acoustic. Created by Burberry, obviously, the idea to collaborate with emerging British artists was inspired by their Art of the Trench project. It was kicked off during London's fashion week last year and their still adding new bands to the list. I also really like the layout/format/whatever of the Burberry Acoustic website!

I saw Bobby Long play tonight at the Old Rock House in St. Louis. While he doesn't seem like much of an extrovert (aka he looked at the audience a handful of times the entire show) he does have a great voice.

My favorite is the guitar player to the right. He seems to be playing a bit begrudgingly but then he starts to smirk and you know he loves it.

  I've heard a lot of Johnny Flynn but not much with his sister Lillie as well. Their voices are so lovely together.

Alex presents: Commando

Today I received an email from my friend Dionne with a link to a video. She sent it to me because she knew I used to live in Tanzania and this little boy is Tanzanian. Little did she know............ HE WAS ONE OF MY FORMER STUDENTS AND THE SCHOOL BEHIND HIM IS WHERE I TAUGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So needless to say, I LOVE this video. My reasons are threefold.
    1. This says his name is Alex but it is really Alhadji. When I was there he was 6 years old and so sweet. He loved to watch wrestling and be tough but was still so cuddly. I called him kidege yangu, my little bird, in Kiswahili. The little boy next to him is Shadrack and was always quieter but sweet.
    2. I miss that accent and the way Tanzanians spoke English. *sigh*
    3.Alhadji is smart, hilarious, bi-lingual, not an orphan, not a child soldier, not starving, doesn't have AIDS, and thus breaking most of the stereotypes we have about Africans. This video is from Mama Hope and is part of the Stop The Pity, Unlock The Potential campaign.

This is the first video in the Stop The Pity, Unlock The Potential campaign and I can't wait for more!!!! If you go to the Mama Hope youtube page there are tons of other videos featuring children I taught and Mr. James my boss at St. Timothy's in Pasua. Thusly, I....am....freaking....out. In a good way of course.

Here is a picture of Alhadji, on the right, and his older brother, only by one year from 2008.

How I Spent My Winter

Via: Urban Dictionary

The Wheatfield

I love all the colors in this print. If I had a copy hanging in my house I would hope it would encourage me to get off my butt and go outside! All the prints in The Wheatfield's Etsy store are gorgeous and full of color. They have lots of flowers, swirls and nature inspired art without being cheesy or frumpy.

Via: Etsy

La Blogotheque - Local Natives

Local Natives | Who Knows Who Cares | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

For their second take away show with La Blogothque, Local Natives played Who Knows, Who Cares in Paris.  The song starts with only Taylor slowly winding through a passageway, then as he passes the others the song builds. It concludes in an atrium of sorts with a high dome ceiling which made for some great acoustics.One day I shall live in a place with wonderful musicians just traveling around singing in public..*sigh*

Stack 'Em Up

Wow, I sure hope they never have to move.

Via: The Selby

Speaking of Diplo...

In the post below I mentioned super-producer and DJ, Diplo. You may recognize his face from his recent Blackberry commercial and your ears would recognize him at least from M.I.A.'s Paper Planes if not from the numerous mix tapes and remixes he's put out. Here's a helpful list. Anyway, I've heard his name a lot for a few years but just recently realized he's fantastic and genius. Diplo founded and manages record company Mad Decent, does a lot of world all over the globe mixing different styles and made a documentary called Favela On Blast about Brazilian Rio baile funk music. He and DJ Switch also created the dancehall project Major Lazer. Alexander Wang snagged him for his Spring 2011 campaign and from what I've seen around the internets everybody think it was a great and attractive decision.