Rock Out: Ryan Adams

Alt-country super-prolific rocker Ryan Adams is probably my favourite musician out there.  Well, maybe.  I think he’s tied with Wilco for the title of “Avery’s Favourite Band/Musician”.

Anyway, Ryan has done some pretty crazy stuff in the last couple of years, including deleting his entire blog in March 2008 ( which is sad, as it was full of great writing and goofy photos), putting the blog back up and taking it down again repeatedly for over 6 months, marrying teen-pop star/actor Mandy Moore in 2009, and then releasing a sci-fi metal concept album. 

Oh, and up there in that first paragraph, I wanted to include a link to Ryan Adams’ website, but he took it down.  Or, more accurately, it auto-forwards to the sci-fi metal concept album website.  So I had to put his Wikipedia link up there instead.

Yeah, so he’s pretty nuts.  But in the best possible way.  So I was thrilled to see on his facebook page that he is working on a new solo album.

While I wait for that, I’ll be listening to my favourite Ryan Adams song, from a long time ago when he was in the band Whiskeytown.  YouTube clip below for audio… enjoy.

Boxsall Picnic Kits

My regular readers know how much I like picnics (I’ve posted about it here).  So you won’t be surprised when you see how much I love the picnic kits from Boxsall (especially the “urban picnic” box that looks like an old-school ghetto blaster).  These have been featured on more design blogs than I can count – they’re very popular.  I don’t think you can get them in Canada though.

Free eBooks

Regardless of how you feel about eBooks, I’m afraid/excited that they’re here to stay.  A statement from Amazon on Monday confirmed that they sold more eBooks in the last 3 months than actual old-school hold-’em-in-your-hands real books.

I have two eBook readers on my iPhone, and I’ve browsed through them a few times.  But I haven’t really given ePublishing a good testdrive.  That’s why I was excited to read about ManyBooks – a website featuring 28,000 free eBooks.  Yeah, they’re mostly old or obscure, and you’re not going to find any brand new top sellers.  But that doesn’t mean there isn’t good stuff!  I’ve been meaning to read Great Expectations for years, and there it is, in a variety of formats for different eReaders.  Also available are PDF versions and an audiobook.  Sweet.

Oh, and for you Toronto readers, you can download audio and eBooks on the Toronto Public Library’s website here.

Life Envy: Rosie Brown

I’m having a serious case of life envy right now.  No, not in the Single White Female kind of way – more in line with admiration and inspiration.  It’s all for Rosie Brown, a Scottish designer and stylist.  I read about her on Design*Sponge in 3 different posts (which also define why I think she’s the coolest and kind of want her life):

1. Sneak Peak into Rosie Brown’s gorgeous home in Edinburgh

2. Sneak Peak into Rosie Brown’s gorgeous home in rural Scotland, where they moved to after leaving Edinburgh

3. A recent feature on Papa Stour, an online shop run by Brown, featuring the best of Scottish contemporary design.  Just look at these awesome Scottish items. I love the posters with taglines from Scottish treats, like “Taking Over Teatime” from Tunnock’s Teacakes.  Or “It’s the National Treat” from Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers.

Oh, and while perusing the Papa Stour website, I noticed this – they’re renting out their holiday cottage in the Highlands.  I’ve seen this cottage before – I keep coming across it when I’m daydreaming of trips to Scotland.  Could this be a sign?  Am I supposed to rent this cottage in Scotland?  I just might have to…

Eat My Words Treat Boxes

Last week, I helped my friends Vic and Malia set up a website.  Their electric scooter was stolen, and they wanted a website to post videos, photos, and comments (all in an attempt to get some media coverage for their plight.  Crazy – it worked!)

I didn’t expect anything in return – Vic and Malia are great people, and I wanted to help them out.  But, being the awesome people they are, they sent me a gift basket from Eat My Words, featuring 12 beautiful mini-cupcakes in a gorgeous hat box.  (And they were dropped off by a really cute delivery boy – extra bonus)

And the best part of all of it – the proceeds from each and every Eat My Words treat box go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation.  So I can feel less guilty about eating 12 cupcakes at once (just kidding… kind of).

Now if only Vic and Malia can get their scooter back – then all will be right in the world.

OMG, Netflix is Coming to Canada!

Just read this on Toronto Life’s Hype Blog – Netflix is bringing its movie and TV-show streaming website to Canada in the fall.  I’ve always been jealous of Americans with the service – pay a low monthly fee (in the States it’s $9 per month) and you can stream unlimited movies and TV shows online. Netflix isn’t bringing its DVD-in-the-mail service up here, but that’s okay – we have Zip.ca already.  It’s the streaming that I’m excited about.

If Ian wasn’t addicted to sports, I would completely replace our cable TV service with Netflix streaming.  We have a PS3 video game system, and in the States at least, Netflix can stream through the PS3.  So we should be able to watch on our TV.  And if not, I’m happy with streaming on my two computers.

Want to know more?  Go to netflix.ca and sign up for updates.  They’ll let us all know when the service is coming.

DIY Party Invitation

I was perusing through the archives of Rifle Paper Co’s blog, and found this.  Anna Bond (aka Rifle Paper Co’s amazing head designer lady), did a guest post on Martha Stewart Crafts, featuring a DIY cocktail party invitation.  This is beyond cute.  Too bad I’m not so good with scissors – if I try to make this, it will probably turn out pretty bad.  But I might just have to try anyway.  Click here for full instructions and templates.