iWant/iNeed

After purchasing my ticket to see Ryan Adams play at the Fox (yay!), I made my way to the Apple store to check out the new iPhone.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been reading reviews and sharing thoughts about this savvy little innovation from Apple with my co-worker Kell. We both agreed that while the iPhone is cool and would be very convenient to have when in need of a map, music, directions, camera, etc., it would be unwise to purchase such an expensive, unpredictable product at this point.

Well, at least up until the point of not having played with the iPhone for 30 minutes in the store.

Now I want one.

Scratch that -- I need one.

Not really. But it sure would be nice.

Apple truly has done it again -- adding cool little features that would cause anyone to blurt out more "oohs and ahhs" than at the most impressive of 4th-of-July fireworks displays. Even after reading about all of the features, I was even more impressed than I ever imagined I would be.

Bottom line: Do not -- I repeat -- do not go to the Apple store. You will want one. Guaranteed.

how to make my day

Tell me that Ryan Adams will be performing just three blocks from my house the night before I'll see him at Red Rocks. It's that easy.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/jun/25/ryan-adams-steve-earle-play-triple-summit/

easy tiger

Tomorrow, which shall commence in approximately 25 minutes, is a very special day in my life: Ryan Adams' new album, Easy Tiger, will be released to the public.

I'm not admitting to anything, but I will say that had I been given the opportunity to own the album a week and a half in advance, this day may not be quite as exciting as it would be had I not been listening to it non-stop in my car and had already memorized most of the words to all of the songs . . . hypothetically, of course.

And this is just a guess, but if I had been listening to the wonderful album, I may have even determined a few favorites, such as "Pearls on a String," "These Girls," and "Oh My God, Whatever, Etc." Just a theory.

Come what may, I'm going to go ahead and go out on a limb and say that the album is probably pretty amazing and that you should check it out ASAP.

on being 26 . . .

On Monday, I began my 26th year of life. With each birthday, I inadvertently spend the day reviewing my life and questioning what I've been doing, what I am doing, and what I want to do. This year, a few things came to mind concerning what I would like to do:

1. Save money--so I can . . .

2. Travel -- so I can . . .

3. Do some travel photography . . .

4. And have an excuse to learn bits of a couple of other languages: French & Italian.

That's it. I'm keeping it fairly simple this 26th year.

The day after my birthday, I went to see a film set in Paris, Paris je t'aime, which only aggravated this itch to see the world. And I'm reading a book called Eat, Pray, Love -- also helping me to remain motivated.

Just 362 more days to meet these goals . . .

andy & tara

This past weekend, Tara and Andy, two of my closest friends, were wed in Lyons, Colorado. I met both Tara and Andy at IWU, and then a little over two years ago, moved out here to Boulder with them. As you can imagine, these two people mean a lot to me, so it was a lot of fun seeing them start a new chapter of their life together.

Here are a few photos I snapped with my digital during the ceremony (photos from film still to come):

lately

What's been going on:

1. Three weeks ago: My mom came out for a visit, and I had a great time. We hiked, spent time on Pearl St., saw my friend Reid Foehl play a show, I bought a new car (Gypsy the Jetta) . . . had a really great time!

2. Two weeks ago: Memorial day weekend is one of my favorite times in Boulder. There's so much going on downtown--the Creek Fest, lots of live music, and on Memorial Day, 55,000 people run down the streets for the Bolder Boulder, the 2nd largest 10K in the U.S.

3. Last week: Bubba (Chris, a friend from high school) and Andy (Bubba's college roommate) spend the weekend in Boulder. We hiked, saw my friend Gregory Alan Isakov's amazing CD release show, went to Red Rocks to see Norah Jones and M. Ward, and hiked at Rocky Mountain National Park. Had a great time, once again! (For photos, click here.)

4. Tonight: Watching Casablanca for the first time in my life while drinking a fantastic red wine I picked up at the store down the street.

5. This weekend: Andy and Tara are getting married, and I have more friends coming in at the end of this week.

6. Next weekend: My birthday! Yay!

Some photos from the last few weeks: (The peacock and the donkey are from my friend's farm, and the rest are from this past weekend -- Rocky Mountain National Park). Click to make the photos larger.