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The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.

Pablo Picasso

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Universal lessons from the concrete jungle.

Posting this for everyone's benefit, but mostly for my own. There are some worthy gems nestled in this article. They're too good to bookmark and leave for later.

The most salient one, at this point in my life:

31) What It Takes

Talent gets you invited to camp; determination gets you on the team; teamwork gets you on the field; confidence gets you on the starting unit; love for the game keeps you there. 

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We all know the tale, don't we?

Pop Chart Lab makes organizing things into categories really, really appealing.

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It’s either Hell, Yes – or it’s No. I don’t polish my turds. If it’s not right, I let it lie ... If you find yourself looking at a sequence and asking which image sucks less, do yourself a favour – they all suck. Move on. Your photography will get better if you spend less time justifying your weaker frames, and more time learning from them. Edit to find your best frames, not the most frames you can squeeze out of a shoot. 12 beautiful, compelling, images, are better than 100 mediocre ones.

David duChemin, my photography guru (though he doesn't know it), on his editing process.

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Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park | April 13, 2013

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Too awesome! East vs. West, and Pop Royalty earrings. $30 each. Get a pair and we can be awesome together.

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You cut up a thing that’s alive and beautiful to find out how it’s alive and why it’s beautiful, and before you know it, it’s neither of those things, and you’re standing there with blood on your face and tears in your sight and only the terrible ache of guilt to show for it.

Clive Barker (via claregreyhan)

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Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park | April 13, 2013

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So much awesome 90's influence. Ciara’s stylist and makeup/hair artists for this shoot were on POINT. And that living room dancing/choreography is sexy. And bonus, the song's fun. And I don’t usually get it, when it comes to Ciara. So if I'm endorsing her, then you know this is worth a watch.

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California State Route 198  |  April 13, 2013

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Sign Painters: A New Kind Of XXX

You know what gets my rocks off? Watching sign painters do their thang.

If you listen to This American Life, you're familiar with the recent story about ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response). If you haven't heard about it, people basically get the tinglies from different, "gentle" stimuli, be it whispering, or getting their hair cut, or hearing a paintbrush move over paper. This is what Wikipedia has to say on the matter:

'"ASMR is ... a claimed biological phenomenon, characterized as a distinct, pleasurable tingling sensation often felt in the head, scalp or peripheral regions of the body in response to various visual, auditory, olfactory, and cognitive stimuli."

Less tactful sites, like Urban Dictionary, sometimes refer to it as a head orgasm.

Now we know why everyone loved Bob Ross and his "happy little trees" so much.

I don't know about the head orgasm, necessarily, but watching people paint signs gives me a feeling that is almost that delicious. It soothes me. The slow, languorous strokes. The smooth, wet paint. The gentle turns of the wrist. The clean, beautiful lines. Yum. 

And now, there's a whole documentary about this dying art. Who needs erotica when you've got this to enjoy?

Sign Painters, the first anecdotal history of the craft, features the stories of more than two dozen sign painters working in cities throughout the United States. The documentary and book profiles sign painters young and old, from the new vanguard working solo to collaborative shops such as San Francisco’s New Bohemia Signs and New York’s Colossal Media’s Sky High Murals.

I am pleased as punch that somebody took the time to document these artists and the history of the art. And it IS art, whether you've ever noticed it or not.

The trailer can be found here, and if you're lucky you might be able to catch one of the screenings.

Once it comes out on DVD, you know what I'll have hidden under my bed.

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It just gets better and better.

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Setting off my heart murmur.

Get it on you. The new pave collection. http://bit.ly/14V33gN http://bit.ly/16Ldm5J

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Comedy and sleight-of-hand, done INSANELY well. The show ends this weekend; if you have a chance, do yourself a favor and GO. The venerable NPH directs, Derek DelGaudio and Helder Guimaraes amuse and astound, and really when's the last time you treated yourself to some good ol' fashioned magic? Next stop, The Magic Castle! #ThatOldBlackMagic

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Fellas, take note. A man in a nicely cut suit is a hard thing to resist. Can I get a witness, lady friends? Especially if he walks the walk. Or, in this case, dances the dance.

These four gents are known as the S**t Kingz. They are from Japan, took the international dance community by storm a few years ago, and have probably been wading through a sea of melted hearts since then. It's hard to pick their "best" video, but this one with its concept and camera interaction and MEN IN SUITS is as good as any other.

For some more creative juice, also check this one out.

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Hit "full screen," turn up your speakers, and get lost in this mesmerizing animation by Esteban Diácono. I don't really understand how it's happening -- probably magic -- but that's half the beauty of it. (It's a double-pleasure-whammy if the sound of strings makes you weak inside.)