I Am Not Robot — You are so magnetic, you pick up all the pins — I was definitely shocked a little when hearing this song. It’s not as robotic sounding as I had imagined. Rather, Marina’s operatic vocals are mixed with piano, strings, and a few twinkles and a minimal synth beat resulting in a beautifully mixed song. As the song starts, I’m reminded a bit of Regina Spektor, but as the track progresses it definitely takes on a sound of its own.

I Am Not Robot (The Aspirins For My Children Remix) — Better to be hated, than loved loved loved for what you’re not — All I can say is that this is a really nicely done remix. The song’s original mood is retained but livened up a bit with added synths and beats. This version brings on a surreal sound without overproduction.

Ellipse soon approaches—but not soon enough in my book. That’s right. Imogen Heap’s third album drops August 24/25 in the UK/US and from the what everyone seems to be saying, it’s epic.

While snooping around google image search, I came across these… Hi-res photos from the 2007 Ikea catalog (probably my favorite to date, to be honest) and I figured I’d share them. I mean, I have no idea why you’d want them other than to look at (constantly), like me, but whatever! (Click on the picture for the full-sized guys)

The first few are to blame greatly for my obsession with the Swedish home store. These five shots were used both in the catalog and an interactive online site and all come from a model home Ikea set up. I think a lot of my interior style is subconsciously drawn from this home—it’s modern but traditional, neutral but colorful, large but cozy. I wish the Ikea press site had more images from this home such as the bathroom, livingroom, or kids room. It’s really just perfect.

Here are a few more rooms from the 2007 catalog. The first greatly inspired my bedroom right now—especially the one black wall, which I have. It’s clean, modern, birch, bright, and colorful—just what I wanted.

I’m pretty much addicted. I started watching during school when the show first started and have been completely hooked ever since. For those of you who are like, “uh what,” Harper’s Island is a mystery/horror mini-series (I guess you’d call it) on CBS consisting of thirteen episodes where at least one character dies off in each episode. Think of it as Scream meets And Then There Were None.

The general story goes a little something like this: Friends and family come/return to Harper’s Island for Henry and Trish’s wedding. One by one, characters are killed off in a fashion that mimics a series of murders which happened seven years before.

The show feels almost like a theatrical film. It’s cleanly shot, has nice art direction, decent acting (for the most part) and a huge feeling of suspense. Every single episode has me on the edge of my seat, hiding behind the covers, and wanting more.

Something that really doesn’t make a difference, but makes me love it a little more is that a good portion of the actors are from other shows that I also enjoy. Christopher Gorham plays both Henry Dunn in Harper’s and also Henry Grubstick in Ugly Betty. Katie Cassidy who plays Trish played Ruby on Supernatural. Jim Beaver (Sheriff Charlie Mills) also plays Bobby Singer on Supernatural. There are a few others I noticed, but these were the major ones.

Right now the show is on episode ten of thirteen and airs on Saturday nights on CBS, so if you haven’t started yet, you’re just a little (haha) bit late. If you can, watch the episodes online or perhaps find them on on-demand. It’s really a great show for anywho who likes horror/thriller/mystery genres.

Really? I’m resorting to writing about things I think smell delicious? So what.

Spiced pear (by method): Discovered this gem during the holidays this past year. At first, I hated it and ignored it for a while. And then it grew on me. It’s so sweet and spicy it’s almost much sickening. But a good sickening. Burning the soy candles gave my room such a warm, cozy feeling with a Christmasy smell that wasn’t too obnoxious.

Mandarin Balm & Pearls (by Herbal Essences): My new favorite shampoo scent by the brand. It’s a little fruity, a little clean, and all soothing. It’s just a really nice haircare smell, I suppose. Makes me sleepy kind of. Maybe because I shower before bed and it’s just an association I’ve made!

Satsuma & Strawberry (by The Body Shop): Sold as separate scents, these two little guys create the world’s most intoxicating scent when mixed. A few years ago, I got a wiff of this combination at the King of Prussia Mall when passing The Body Shop and have been married to it ever since. The concoction beats any other scent I’ve ever had the pleasure (or displeasure) of sniffing. I burn the two home fragrance oils almost everyday. The bottom line: it smells like candy—so much your mouth will water. Okay, some people might think I’m exaggerating (Beth thinks it’s way too sweet smelling, but I say the sweeter the better) but I stand by my opinion.

Black Currant Vanilla (by Bath & Body Works): The newest addition to my olfactory favorites list. Krista has a collection of things in this scent and I drive her crazy by constantly using the lotion everytime I visit. She says it makes me smell like a woman. I don’t care. I love it. I can’t pinpoint what memory it is that is triggered, but I think I’m reminded of my great grandmother’s house or my great grandfather’s shaving soap or something—I’m not sure. It’s definitely a vintage smell for sure, though.

Mango Mandarin (by Bath & Body Works): The cheapest/tackiest of all these scents probably, but still a goodie. You know how pretty much everything at B&BW smells the same—strongly like alcohol with a pinch of perfume. Yeah, this is just like that. But it smells like mandarin oranges and I adore it. I keep a bottle of this in my car to use both on myself when I’m feeling stinky or just to freshen up the car. It works great as a room/car spray.

Grass (by Gap): Oh god. I remember seeing this stuff a few years ago and thinking, “oh god, why would you want to smell like lawn clippings.” Well, I’ve developed a taste for this stuff. This (and also method’s Cut Grass) literally smells like…grass. It smells like you’re laying out in the yard on a summer evening. For real.

Sweet Water (by method): The entire Sweet Water line is absolutely fabulous overall, but I feel like the laundry detergent smells a little different than the rest. A little better, too. Something about it smells like my aunt’s pool which I frequently swam at as a kid. Another childhood memory reviver.

Oh yeah, and when I want to smell manly (or like a highschool boys’ locker-room), I enjoy Kilo by Axe. It is by far their best scent in the series. And that’s that. My favorite scents. So um, now you know. Wow, did I really just write eight paragraphs on this? Somebody slap me!

Just another reason why I love method.

Straight from methodtweet.

It’s been probably two or more years that I’ve been waiting for Japanese game developer SquareEnix to announce information about their once secret mmorpg codenamed Rapture. Finally, today SE announced their project as another addition to the Final Fantasy family—XIV (14) that is. All that was shown was a quick trailer, but I immediately saw a few interesting things and knew exactly what was going on. After the official teaser site went up, it became clear.

Final Fantasy XIV is either a sequel, prequel, reincarnation, or to previous FFXI (a massively multiplayer online role playing game that I dedicated [and lost] a few good years of my life to). The races seem to be the same: Hume, Elvaan, Mithra, Galka, and TaruTaru (as seen in the screenshot below and artwork even farther down).

( More screenshots, artwork, and blabbing inside… )

Before I actually start talking about the music, I’d like to blab a little bit about this first photo. Found on Flickr, the shot is of Emily Haines of Metric by user crazybobbles. I can’t even being to describe how beautiful this is. Take a look at the rest of their sets—there are a lot of really good photos from live shows and concerts.

Ah, Metric. This is going to be hard to limit how much I write simply because I am madly in love with every single track on Fantasies.

Gimme Sympathy — we’re so close to something better left unknown — Possibly my favorite track off the album, and also one of my favorite songs ever. The song’s perfection lies within its first thirty seconds—the first verse.

Help I’m Alive — if i stumble, they’re going to eat me alive — First single and probably most interesting sounding off Fantasies. Something about the strange beat and sound effects used as the skeleton of the song draws me in. I hate to sound repetitive, but i think this track’s hook is in the first segment of the song also.

Twilight Galaxy— did they tell you you should grow up, when you wanted to dream — I think the title word “twilight” is probably the best idea to associated with this song. The dream-like synth sequence in combination with Emily’s calm vocals is very reminiscent of sunset/sunrise tranquilit. Definitely one of the slower tracks on the album, but definitely a gem.

I’ve been waiting for this for ages. Crossing The Rubicon, the new album from Swedish synth-rock-pop group The Sounds. 2009 has been a good year in music so far and it will only get better.

I have nothing to say really other than this album is truly epic. There’s a great mix of upbeat dance songs and a few beautiful rock ballads. What makes everything even better: a majority of the tracks have a very 80s-rock influenced sound.

No One Sleeps When I’m Awake — standing in the shadows I hear people say I’ve got confessions to make — The incredibly infectious lead single off Crossing The Rubicon is sure to please fans of The Sounds, alternative rock listeners, and then some with its catchy guitar hook.

Beatbox — turn it up and break it down, come on bring that beatbox back — This song is so energetic and fun it’s almost ridiculous. Maja’s rapping is a bit funny sounding, but I guarantee the beat will have you dancing in your seat. Promise.

Midnight Sun — I will be coming with you, tonight you’re all that I want — A beautiful and euphoric sounding rock ballad that screams midsummer love. A great track to listen to on a warm night with the windows down and moonroof open.

Yes, it’s what you’ve always wanted. A stalkerish account of my daily wardrobe and activities. I try to keep these as accurate as possible—but I’m constantly changing my mind so there’s a good chance I’ll change outfits 3 times in a day.

Todays agenda: work, eat, be lazy, horror movie sleepover. Tomorrow: shopping with mama and possibly Star Trek. Saturday: another free day! Anywho…

Years and counting. Twenty-one was alright. Nothing special, but good enough. Wonder what twenty-two has in store for me. We’ll see.