Vote

Vote for The Police for best reunion tour and Doctor Who for best sci-fi series! That's all I really care about.

Wish List

If anyone is wondering what to get me for Christmas, you can start with these shoes from United Nude by architect Rem Koolhaas.

Peel, like an apple.

Eamz, inspired by an Eames chair.

Mobius, after the strip, and connecting the curves of a Barcelona chair.

Light

When I moved this summer I left most of my old furniture behind. I only brought the basics - a bed, a dining table, and drafting table. I'm content to get by in a bare condo until I can afford to buy pieces I truly love. My new philosophy is that if it's not good enough for my future kids to fight over it when I die, I don't want it. That meant a few months of living on folding chairs, but my resolutions held firm.

Fortunaetly it didn't take long for me to fall in love. First I found an Artimide Mega Tolomeo floor lamp for a steal. The tag said there was a scratch on the shade, but there isn't. Even the salesperson couldn't find the defect and she gave it to me for the clearance price anyway. I took it right home and set it up in my living room.



It makes me happy, even with a folding chair.

I was even happier to find the perfect sofa at the same store. It took weeks for my order to arrive, but it was worth the wait.



The beige walls and vertical blinds will be going away soon, but until I find the perfect wall and window treatments, I'm content.

Address At The Heavenly End

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then this weekend I've caught up on months worth of posts. I hope you don't mind a few more.

I love cemeteries. Either you love them too, or you think I'm weird. There isn't much in between. I've always found them to be peaceful and fascinating places. Back in Utah I used to take friends around on cemetery tours in the fall and tell stories about all the interesting people. Now that I've moved I'm cut off from the familiar names and traditions I know. Near my home in Denver is a large cemetery named Fairmount, and last week I spent an afternoon wandering through. Apparently it's a popular thing to do because there were many others walking or biking along the lanes. There was even a group of people sitting next to a grave playing the guitar and singing.

I was also joined by a bus from a retirement center. The bus slowly drove around and stopped in front of a monument. Then a minute later it would drive around the corner and stop again. No one ever got off, but it slowly made the rounds as each person inside must have had a turn giving directions.



It was a beautiful fall afternoon. The weather was perfect.



According to the Fairmount's website, the 285 acres was opened in 1890.

Designed by German landscape architect, Reinhard Schuetze, the layout incorporates sweeping vistas in broad curved lanes thus creating a beautiful and serene park like setting.

Brett, is this the type of work you want to do?

It does, indeed, have sweeping vistas and some very curious monuments. There is also a different section for every religion and affiliation you can think of. There is a section of physicians, of veterans, of Catholics, of Greeks, of Jews, of Elks. If you belonged to it, you could be buried among it. Here are a few of the more interesting things I came across.

Most unusual monuments, in a contemporary art sort of way.



The inscription ad astra per aspera is Latin for "through adversity to the stars".





(The white building in the back is the mausoleum. It's huge!)

Best Nick-Names




Furthest Distance Travelled to be Here



Most Melodramatic Carved Image



Most Apropos Decoration



Idea I'm most likely to steal



Most "Colorado"



If this were Utah it would be red rock.

Most Cliche, but Still Touching



Coolest Headstone Calligraphy





Accompanied by
The Most Poetically Over-wrought Inscription



It's a little hard to read but it's by Tennyson.

"Now folds the lily all her sweetness up,
and slips into the bosom of the lake."

Most Appropriate Landscaping



Loveliest Carving





Best Name - Ever!



Most Intriguing Offerings



At the base of the candle is a pile of coins. Does anyone know the meaning behind this?

Coolest Religious Offerings



Most of the Jewish headstones were covered with rocks.

Best Monogram



Best Carved Name



Oddest Headstone



Cheesiest Amateur Poetry



Best Inscription and Carving Combination



Most Overly Sentimental Sentiment

If Tears Could Build a Stairway
And Memories Were A Lane
We Would Walk Right Up To Heaven
And Bring You Back Again

I wish I knew some of the stories of the people buried here. I bet they are fascinating.

Family

It's only taken me six weeks, but I finally had a chance to dig through moving boxes and find the cord to my digital camera. In September I flew back home for a weekend to attend my cousin's wedding. It was my first time back since moving to Denver, and I loved having the chance to see everyone. Here are a few pictures of the event. You can see more on flickr.

Writing

What's up with all the blogging? For the longest time hardly anyone I knew blogged. Now all of a sudden everyone is doing it. Friends, my brother and sister, even my office has a blog. So I guess I should post something more than once every six months. Here is my first little offering to the blogiverse. I'm heading back to handwritten blogs because I spend too much time in front of a computer as it is.



PS: Moleskins don't have spell check.