Very Loud.

Listening to: |> Shout Out Louds - Very Loud

What you missed in November. (Pt. 1)

A quaint little wedding that took place on,

November 11th, 2011 at 11:11am

Thanks to Candice for scoring me my first wedding-photo gig.

Listening to: |> Blossom Dearie - Everything I've Got

Our first snowfall.

Eleven. Ten. Eleven.

Listening to: |> Clint Mansell - First Snow

Super Neapolitan.

Addie and Alyssa (Little sister as Piglett not pictured.)

Listening to: |> The White Stripes - My Doorbell

I could just _ _ _ _.

Listening to: |> The Postal Service - This Place is a Prison

My guy and I (have the day off).

Pixelated, but damn cute.

Listening to: |> Blossom Dearie - Thou Swell

Little Girl (Dark Night of the Soul).

Listening to: |> Julian Casablancas - Little Girl

Latest View.

Peaceful Valley, WI

Right outside my window.

Photo edits, long overdue.

Listening to: |> Jonathan Keevil - Babyfin

Candice Chrystal McGraw.

Candice's Tune of Choice

Nolen Robert Layman.

Nolen's Tune of Choice

Kurt Edward Anderson.

Kurt's Tune of Choice

Penny's 1st.

Listening to: |> Gino Washington - Like My Baby

James Michael Lieck.

Jimmy's Tune of Choice

Stacy Leigh Fuelle.

Stacy's Tune of Choice

Happy Birthday, Mike.

I can still remember the night you played this show almost to a 'T'.

And even though this photo was taken with my mother's crappy digital camera,
you had told me I could still save it with Photoshop; and it remains
my favorite picture taken at a show to this day.

It's more than apparent that everyone is missing you today and probably listening to your music and watching your videos. Keep a close eye on everyone, ...yeah?

Listening to: |> Mike's Sense of Humor

Sugar & Spice.

"Float like a jellyfish.

Sting like a butterfly."

Subject Matter: Candice McG

Listening to: |> Apparat - You Don't Know Me

Take me back here.

The Colorado Rockies

Listening to: |> Broken Bells - The High Road

"Taz, I'm over here."

People, having pets is no joke. When you start to see their health start to fail, their motions start to slow, and their sight start to go,

it tugs HARD on your heart-strings. 

Pictured Above: Best Buddy

Listening to: |> Sammy Lightnin' Hopkins - Darling, Do You Remember Me?

I fold it up and I flick it out. It won't fly the seven seas to you 'cause it didn't leave my room.

Listening to: |> Angus & Julia Stone - Paper Aeroplane

TROLLED.

An otherwise seemingly sightly and sentimental picture TROLLED.

TROLOLOLOLOLOL!

Listening to: |> Excision & Datsik - Calypso

Bonus Room antics.

Location: Holly Springs, NC

Listening to: |> Tokyo Police Club - Harrowing Adventures Of...

Slick was a mighty dish.

"Grandma! What you just said was so naughty."

"I know. But it's so much fun." - Slick

What a dime dame. Mom's mom.

Listening to: |> The Sonics - Since I Fell For You (Buddy & Ella Johnson Cover)

Twenty Two: Birthday Shmirthday.

Only kidding. On Thursday I had birthday-fun-times with Mom and Pop, 

then Jim and Matthew. Regardless of a few downers and setbacks, 

I'm pretty grateful for this one in particular.

Mom / Tresa / Battle Axe

Pops / Jesus / Tato

Listening to: |> Black Lips - New Direction

98 comparative years never looked so durn cute.

Best walking partner I know.

Taz is dropping weight like a contestant, thanks to the fact that 

I've been home to take him on 2+ hour walks.

Taken with my mobile phone. Best lookin' Westie in the land.

Listening to: |> Johnny Flynn - Brown Trout Blues

Graduation, 2011. Who knew?

Words, hand gestures, and yelping can't express how proud of this man I am. If someone were to ask me (when I first met Kurt in 1996) if I could see us learning our times-tables, getting through elementary school, skipping trick-or-treating on Halloween, graduating high school, then graduating college; I'd draw a serious blank and then give a stare to match it.

Kurt E. Anderson: Dashing man to the left of the frame.

Only Kurt could really understand the context of my song choice.

Still, enjoy.

Listening to: |> Billie Holiday - He's Funny That Way

Arecibo Observatory: GoldenEye007 Level

Should any of you get the chance to make it to Arecibo, PR there sits the largest single-aperature telescope ever built. But not only that: it also had crucial military intelligence uses in locating Soviet radar installations by detecting the signals that bounced off of the moon. WUT?

Also, pop culture reference (of many): 

Was a Filming location in GoldenEye, also a level in the infamous N64 game.

After we got the private tour, I had permission to snap shots.

Listening to: |> Thom Yorke - Hearing Damage

Del Mar.

Strangely enough, both my first and last name mean "of the sea." But that's latin for you. I suppose this means I'm really missing my father's side of the family. Once every three years isn't nearly enough. Happy Cinco de Mayo?

Photo taken at sunset at Surfer's Beach in Puerto Rico.

Listening to: |> Nara Leão - Morena Do Mar

Woah, Throwback.

I still can't believe it's been five whole years since this snap of a shutter. He'll be graduating in just ten days and it probably won't hit me until he leaves for his first, real fashion job. I couldn't be more in awe of one man. 

My other half and I Circa '06.

Listening to : |> Gorillaz - Crystalized (The xx Cover)

Stellar Remix.

One of my pieces from a year or two ago with a different color scheme. Lazy, I know.

Listening to: |> Golfrapp - Eat Yourself (Yeasayer Remix)

Unconditional Love. x2

Two boys that will always have my heart. 

Listening to: |> Ugly Casanova - Cat Faces 

Once upon a time, ...at Miller Park.

Bummer Riley's team still lost to Green Bay and the air was colder than Scott Walker's heart. But at least I got to take pictures, freeze my bum off, and eat japanese pan noodles afterwards and junk.

Brother-man got to play at the Metrodome in MN. Now he meanders around Miller Park too.

Listening to: |> Wu-Tang (Jay Da Flex & Yoof Remix) - Deep Space

A little birdie told me that it was your birthday.

That little birdie just so happened to be facebook.

So happy birthday, Kiddo. Today I'll be thinking about those goofy and snappy exchanges we used to have. Remembering you today, Liz.

Liz Benkert: Spitfire

Listening to: |> Kings of Leon - Red Morning Light

Harsh Epiphany.

This graphic was done by me and the background is a photo taken at Olbrich.

Listening to: |> Interpol - Obstacle 1

Untitled.

I can't say I'm sure I recognize her anymore.

I know I had claimed that I'd write about my accident in my last photoblog entry, but why be so serious on a day when all you have on the mind are sweets, family, and amazing brunch food? Tomfoolery aside, it would have probably taken me this long to get my wits about me anyway.

To be clear, this entry/message from me is not meant to make people feel any amount of pity for me, nor is it a plea for attention, recognition, to preach, or a way for me to clear my name. It's, simply put, an informative example for people in which a split decision can either ruin your life and the lives of your family and close friends, or, it can take you to an inexplicable edge. An edge where you can be lucky enough to see yourself magnified through your own eyes and your own mind without having being pushed over.

All vagueness aside, at the very end of March I'd apparently made the decision to get into my car around 7:30-8:00am and drive about twenty miles to my hometown after being awake all night at a party the night before. The reason why I say "apparently" is because I have no recollection of the night this happened nor the next three days after due to the concussion I'd suffered. 

Anything I say about what happened next, I don't recollect at all. I had to be told that it had happened as such. So, after I'd made this decision to drive, E.M.T.s say I fell asleep at the wheel and proceeded to lose control of my vehicle, veering off of the road and hitting a parked truck on my driver's side. From there the people in their home and their neighbors proceeded to call 911 as I was unconscious and Middleton Fire and Waunakee E.M.S. responded and extricated me from my car and took me to the E.R.

It took the life-saving quickness of that family, their neighbors, the E.M.T.s, and Fire Crew to get me to the hospital, but from there the UW Hospital doctors and nurses took on the next half of the life-saving and the tedious task of informing my family about where I was and that I was unresponsive and had just been in a car crash. From there I spent the next four days in the Trauma Unit and was constantly tested to make sure I'd come out alive and functional. This, was easily the four hardest and most agonizing days of my parent's lives.

During these days my close friends and family came to visit and after I'd awoke, the double checking and triple checking of my motor skills and memory ensued.

I'm happy to announce I feel close to 90% better. But the overwhelming guilt of the damage, premature grief, humiliation, and worry I put people through is insurmountable and I can't find the words to tell people how sorry I am. 

Now I say "humiliation" because that's exactly what was acquired. Because I was at a party the night before and consumed alcohol and hours later, made the decision to drive, my PAC was found just barely over the legal limit. And now my family is thought of as the family with the "Martinez girl who drinks and apparently drives" regardless of the main factors regarding the reason for the crash. I can piss and moan about that legality all I want to, but when it comes down to it, for whatever reason, I chose to get inside my car while tired and drive knowing there's always the possibility of being pulled over. Even though a considerable amount of time had passed since I drank from my cup, it didn't and it DOESN'T matter.

My parents are easily the type to live, breathe, and make decisions to better the lives of their own children in EVERY. SINGLE. decision they make. And for me to make a decision like the one I made is irrevocably unforgivable and ungrateful towards them, myself, and towards other people who've had their loved ones taken from them. The fact that no one was with me, in front of me, or involved in the initial crash makes me feel an overwhelming sense of relief and an extreme level of gratefulness towards the whole situation.

After this whole experience, I'm having trouble remembering who I was and why I'd made some of the decisions I'd made throughout my life even though I was "human."

So now, I'm looking forward to being a student again. And I'm looking forward to living a lot more authentically now that I have another chance. I can already tell that a lot of my words and actions have a little more "effort" behind them.

Even though we tell ourselves we are human, we know how to find ourselves hypocrites in every sense of the word but we still somehow make these poor decisions with our own unrelenting selfish sway.

Thank you (more than you know) for taking the time,

Marissa

Listening to: |> Brand New - Untitled

Autumn celebrates Easter in the Spring.

Just about the sweetest glimpse into Easter in Byron, Minnesota.

Listening to: |> Avril 14th - Aphex Twin

Kurt E. Anderson (Name/Force/Brand).

He is seen here, pictured with the icy-eyed minx that is Lauren.

Obviously it's been more than a while since I've posted anything in my photoblog and I hereby solemnly vow that I shall keep up with it from now on. A lot has happened since my most previous display of timeliness and I promise I will mention why in my next post. But for now...

...I scrounged up this old snap of a shutter I took a couple of years ago because I've missed the man-pictured-to-the-left's latest fashion show and the company of some magnificently creative and nontraditionally humorous people.

Kurtalish Edward Anderson just previously put his senior line (UN-DEAD) on display at UW Stout winning Best In Show along with one of his models (pictured to the right) winning Best Model.

How upset am I that I missed this? Insurmountable.

How proud am I of my childhood best friend and his accomplishments? I don't have those words.

Listening to : |> Place To Belong - Little Dragon

Oh hai, Winona State.

Seen here, Bro5000 gets signed with Winona State Baseball. 

Picture paired with Brothaman Riley's favorite dubstep track.

Thanks to yours truly.

Listening to: |> Existence (Monophonique Remix) - Excision & Downlink

Spot the "not" with spots.

I spy with my little eye: "A feline that does not belong."

Plain and simple, Joon likes bags much more than she should; 

so she imposes upon my laundry.

Listening to: |> Where Are You? - Al Bowlly & Anona Winn

A Penny for my thoughts.

Two of the prettiest lasses on this side of East Johnson.

Listening to: |> My Girls - Animal Collective

Autumn Symmetry.

This caption is dedicated to the boots.

I miss Autumn these days, as well as Momma McGraw.

Listening to: |> Dead Leaves & The Dirty Ground - The White Stripes

JimmyEatPopcorn.

Jimmy's step-by-step progression illustrating instant gratification.

Listening to: |> Treat Me Like Your Mother - The Dead Weather

Sleepy Elarse.

Name: Elise (Elarse) / Hobbies: Dreaming / Likes: Fat Cats / Dislikes : Terrible Music

Listening to: |> Be Good - Tokyo Police Club

"Penny, leave it!"

Name: Penny / Hobbies: Cat-Chasing / Strengths: Farting / Weaknesses: Matthew's Voice

Listening to: |> Iambic 9 Poetry - Squarepusher

A portion of my heart resides in Holly Springs.

With my witty cousins and their overweight dachshund.

Waking up to a high pitched bark, the smell of coffee, fresh toaster strudels, and Spongebob blaring on the television is what I miss. 

Besides some of my favorite faces in the world.

Listening to: |> Optimist - P.O.S.

With the help of Seb Lester.

Final Image. 7 Layers.

Photo taken by me off of a back country road on the edge of Waunakee. Two stellar images were downloaded via astronomy websites. Organic floral design purchased out of a graphic frames album. Typography is the work of one of my favorite typographers, Seb Lester. Approximately 20mins of work. 

Listening to: |> Cloudlight - Eskmo

Hell hath no fury like the Silent Treatment.

I'm met with bad breath and a mean stare. 

If gone from home for prolonged amounts of time, Taz will completely ignore you and make you feel like you're without a doubt the worst person ever.

It's alright. Tomorrow he gets a Beggin' Strip. Now I'm back in good graces.

Listening to: |> You're a Wolf - Sea Wolf