My Name Is River

Long Island kindness and wine

[thelovejournals]

I wrote a poem about it, and then threw it away, because that’s the last thing I need right now: More words dedicated to people who will never dedicate a single thing to me.

Charlotte Green (via thelovejournals)

[myrosecolouredgirl]

No way his name was actually Anthony Weiner you’re making that up

sixteen-year-old AP US History student, circa 2048 (via halfdesiqueen)

[riveracrossthepond]

me,swimming:wow this is amazing i love the ocean

me, when seaweed touches my foot: I imagine death so much it feels more like memory

[animatedtext]

[jaspertilley]

[tinydeskcontest]

Introducing The Winner Of The 2017 Tiny Desk Contest

We watched more than 6,000 videos. 10 judges weighed in. Now, the 2017 Tiny Desk Contest has a winner.

We are proud to have fallen in love with the sounds of New Orleans’ own Tank and the Bangas.

The decision was unanimous among our judges. Here’s what a few of them had to say:

— Anthony Hamilton: “WOW! She’s a beast and their music makes you feel good. … Tank and the Bangas are what Tiny Desk is all about.”

— Trey Anastasio of Phish: “Tank and the Bangas is like a psychedelic joy rap explosion. Like a female Sly Stone teleporting into 2017 and landing in New Orleans.”

— WFUV’s Rita Houston: "There is star power all over this.”

— Stas THEE Boss of KEXP: “Tank and the Bangas gave me life straight out of the gate.”

In this third year of the Tiny Desk Contest, we got more submissions than ever before. We saw submissions from every state in this country, and the variety of ages and instrumentations on display was thrilling to see. There may be only one “winner,” but truth be told, every one of these videos is a testament to the joy of making music. It’s a way to share what is often so personal, publicly. It’s about a community of friends and sharing your art with a world beyond your bedroom. So from all of us at the Tiny Desk, thank you to everyone who submitted. Thank you for all the chances you took putting yourself out there.

Our next step is to have Tank and the Bangas come and record a Tiny Desk concert here behind my desk at NPR in Washington, D.C. And after that, we’re hitting the road with Lagunitas Brewing Company on a national tour with Tank and the Bangas and local Contest entrants we loved. Stay tuned for dates and more information — we can’t wait to meet you in person.

There will be more opportunities for us to feature some of the amazing music you shared with us, and I already know I’ll be spending a good deal more time listening to so many of the artists who entered. But for now, I want to thank everyone who entered the Contest for inspiring our team every day. And to Tank and the Bangas: Congratulations. Our adventure together is just beginning.

From the Tiny Desk,

Bob

[riveracrossthepond]

YES

[princesconsuela]

[shefeld]

sheffield, 1980s (the moor)

[byungmins]

why is this the truest shit to ever hit the internet

[juulcatmeme]

1917 / 2017

[spaceexp]

A shot of just a tiny bit of the Andromeda Galaxy, from the sharpest ever view taken by the Hubble Space Telescope

Full size image

[theonion]

Did You Know?

[wordsnquotes]

i am afraid that if i open myself i will not stop pouring. (why do i fear becoming a river. what mountain gave me such shame.)

Jamie Oliveira, “Erosion” (via wordsnquotes)

[riveracrossthepond]

Happee Birthdae River

In September 2015, I bought tickets to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and convinced Kailey to do the same. For September 2016. And thus began a year-long plan to do the Harry Potter tour of the UK.

Kailey and I met at Platform 9 3/4 because how could we not (and it was actually convenient). Those people do their jobs well.

Afterwards, we dropped our stuff off at our hostel and did a day of typical London stuff as Kailey had never been.

The British Museum

Trafalgar Square

It was assaulted... peanut.

Buckingham Palace priorities

While on the bus to the British Museum, we saw an ad for Wicked and did a quick what if... Turns out this what if was totally achievable, and so after the touristy shenanigans, off we went to see Wicked. It was good, but like way over hyped for me. Sorry Idina.

The next day was a full day dedicated to the greatest thing to every happen to humanity – Harry Potter. Let us make no grand illusions by singling out Cursed Child for that title (even though that’s what the full day was about), but let it also be said that the play blew my expectations out of the water. It was magical.

Around the corner from the theatre was a ramen restaurant called Bone Daddies, which I swear to god is just as worth noting at the play itself. We went twice.

Also around the corner was a pop-up Mina Lima shop, who are the graphic designers of the HP films. They had all the original props over three floors and it was incredible and totally free.

The next day we met up with Kailey’s cousins who flew to London from Italy for the weekend, and went to the Tate Modern.

Modern art

Afterwards (or maybe before, I don’t remember at this point), we went quasi-mudlarking on the Thames so that Kailey and her cousin could collect rocks to bring home as souvenirs. Who knew that was a thing. That night we decided to see another impulse play – Imogen at the Globe. Partially because the Globe is an iconic tourist spot, and partially so we could say we saw three plays in three days. Imogen was a modern hip-hop-y remake of Cymbelline and it was INCREDIBLE. Like, so so good.

The next day we got up early to catch a flight to Edinburgh – the place where the magic all started. (For those PLEBEIANS who don’t get it, Edinburgh is where Harry Potter was written.) We went to the National Galleries of Scotland to see the Inspiring Impressionism exhibition, which laid out how all the impressionists drew inspiration from each other and it was SO well done. I never go to a museum that has an entry fee, but I would play that one twice over.

After that, we went to Edinburgh Castle for some photo ops (of which I apparently did not partake because I have literally zero photos), and probably ate haggis and drank whiskey. I don’t know, this was five months ago.

The next day we went souvenir shopping and found the greatest souvenir – this photo

There was just some dude and his owl on the street, and for a donation to his owl sanctuary, you could hold the bird. Surprisingly heavy and surprisingly soft. Mom, I want one.

Our day continued on the animal theme because of another what if... Turns out Edinburgh does have a cat cafe, and it turns out they did have an open appointment.

This cat embodied my soul

That night we met up with some friends of mine that live in Edinburgh, and then they recommended a restaurant whose name I very unfortunately cannot remember because it was deadly good. This is a travesty.

The next day was myyyyyy birthdayyyyyyyyy! We took the bus to Glasgow airport, where we picked up a rental car and started on the road trip portion of our trip. The first stop was Luss and Loch Lomond, which has a tie to the movies.

Then we continued on to Glencoe, which had the most Scottish Highland-esque views ever.

There is basically nothing to do in Glencoe, and our hostel was in the middle of a forrest and it was raining, so we spent my birthday writing postcards to our friends and watching my favourite TV show, Naked Attraction. It was a great birthday.

The next day, we rode the Hogwarts Express. I RODE THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS. In muggle life it’s called the Jacobite Steam Train, and runs from Fort William to Mallaig. The views are INCREDIBLE.

Afterwards, we drove to Ben Nevis (which also has a tie in to the films) and took the cable car to the top of the mountain.

Then we (*I*, I want all the credit) drove back down to Glasgow, where we had more amazing ramen. We basically ate ramen all week. Like I’m not even exaggerating, it was at least four times.

We were only in Glasgow for one thing, and it was a thing well worth going to Glasgow for.

After getting inked, we flew back to London the next day for the Harry Potter Studio Tour. This place is incredible, but what was even more incredible was that I felt like I had already been here because Wizarding World of HP does SUCH a good job of recreating the whole set. But either way, I took a million and a half photos.

And that wrapped our Harry Potter tour of the UK. There’s a million other places we could have gone as well, but time was limited. Guess we’ll just have to do it again.

[riveracrossthepond]

Rivs Rigs Roadtrip

Whoops forgot to write this post when I took this trip 5 months ago. STANDARD.

I was invited to my friend Renée’s wedding in Idaho, but just assumed I couldn’t go, because Idaho. And then I ended up leaving Sheffield, buying a last minute flight to NY, and impulse buying a ticket to Boise. Gotta scratch off the middle states somehow. (It’s funny because Idahoans think they’re the PNW. They’re not.)

I met Rigby there, who flew in just a bit before I did. We spent the day exploring the super cute but super small downtown (which reminded us lots of Ithaca!), and then killed time at the mall, like 2000s-era teenagers. What do kids do nowadays for fun? Do they still go to the mall? I’m old.

We had a few hours left before we needed to pick up our friend Bryce from the airport, who was flying in from LA, so we drove back in to town in search for a park. Except the entire city of Boise had the idea to go to this park at the same time, because apparently the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic was starting literally just then. Guys, we stumbled upon a surprise hot air balloon festival. Let me say that louder, A SURPRISE HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL. 

That night was the opening night ‘ceremony’, where they tethered all the balloons and did a light show. It was MAGICAL. After it was over, we went to pick up Bryce but let’s skip that part and get to the next morning, when the HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL continued. We woke up crazy early to see the launch, and then ran back to the park, where we were promised port-a-potty bowling. I’M NOT JOKING.

I’m not sure I’ll ever take a prettier picture.

Unfortunately there was no port-a-potty bowling (or we missed it), but we did get to see a hot air balloon park in a parking lot a few spaces down from us, a hot air balloon shaped like a giant parrot, and also a balloon shaped like the liberty bell flying above the river. Then we got breakfast at a super kitsch but awesome diner, and then hit the road to drive a few hours north to McCall, where the wedding was happening.

McCall is this super tiny snowshoe town with two bars and nothing else to do. Renée had everyone to their Airbnb the day before the wedding for a BBQ, which was super cute because I met her CORGIS. We rented a cabin and played Monopoly, as you would. Bryce killed us, as he would. The next day was wedding day, where the board games continued, because instead of a traditional dance party, Renée and Alex brought approximately 75 board games for everyone to play. Also there was a photobooth. It goes without saying it was a great wedding.

The next day, Bryce flew back to LA and Rigs and I continued north to Washington. I have never in my life seen a landscape like what we drove through. It was just valleys and valleys of desert. Who knew Idaho and Washington were the desert? (See above re: not PNW.) It was shockingly beautiful. I made Rigby stop like every 15 feet for a new photo.

And then I made Rigby stop because we found THIS

Not pictured is the studio dog B&B, the outdoor bathroom shaped to look like a fire hydrant, or the wooden toaster as big as I am. Why??? Who cares, it was spectacular.

We made an overnight stop at Rig’s uncle’s (cousin’s?) house in the middle-of-nowhere Washington, and then continued the next day to Seattle, with a pit-stop in Walla Walla. Mostly because I thought it 100% necessary to go to a town called Walla Walla, Washington, but also because that’s where Rig’s mom went to college. Supa cute.

Washington is desert until like 10 miles outside of Seattle, when it turns into PNW landscape, which BLEW MY MIND. In Seattle, we went to Pike’s Place Market because it’s written law that any tourist within the city of Seattle get mac and cheese from Beecher’s.

And then Rigby took me to the Troll Under the Bridge, which completely changed my view of the city. Seattle went from like a 5 to a 10 with one stupid statue.

The next day I left Rigby behind to continue even further north to Vancouver, BC. The BC is important because as it turns out there’s a Vancouver Washington. FORESHADOWING.

When I got to Vancouver it was pouring and all the major things to do there are outdoor parks. So I went to the most covered park – Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. There are worse places to wait out the rain.

I can’t remember what I did that night since this was five months ago, but I do remember Vancouver shutting at like 6pm, so my guess is nothing? I probably read in the hostel. I’m a nerd.

The next day I joined a tour with the hostel to Lynn Canyon because it has a suspension bridge and apparently those are massive deals to Vancouver. It was covered with people so I couldn’t get a picturesque photo. I’m still mad.

We walked around the park to a cave/waterfall thing, that was very pretty but also weirdly unremarkable. Who am I becoming.

It’s like PNW meets Croatia

The rest of the day I spent with a bunch of Irish people I met while on the walk. My brethren. We went to Stanley Park, which was stunning, and had these in nod to the indigenous Canadians. I mean, Canada wasn’t great with their Native population either, but America WHERE ARE YOUR STANDARDS.

The next day was a slow-kill-time day. I went to Granville Island, which is this little hipster mecca just off Vancouver. Like, everyone that lives there is an artist, and there’s a shop solely dedicated to handmade brooms. And to top it off, you can’t even live there because of protective laws or whatever, so everyone has HOUSEBOATS.

I expect everyone to get me a marriage broom when the fateful day comes.

I ran out of things to do on Granville Island, so I took the ferry back to the mainland, and headed back to the hostel. That night I was meant to take the train from Vancouver back to Seattle, and then fly from Seattle back to NY, but without anything left to do, I decided to try to find an earlier train back. I casually looked, not really bothered either way. Until I realised that the train I’m scheduled to be on was actually from Vancouver WASHINGTON to Seattle. **** (insert four-letter curse word of your choice)

I ran to the train station and up to the jolly man sitting behind the help desk. (Jolly because he was super friendly and also looked a bit like Santa.) He got me on the right train (for free! bless), and also assured me that this happens like weekly. I don’t even care if he was lying to make me feel better because it 100% worked.

I took the train back to Seattle across an stunning landscape (stunning but expected, not like Idaho), sat next to a man who had just got off a cruise around Alaska. He talked to me the whole time and showed me all of his photos. I forgot what Americans were like. Can’t you see I want to read?! (To be fair, his photos were cool.) 

I got to the airport with just enough time to spare, and then flew back home. Everything about this trip was the epitome of perfect. I want to do it all over.

[the-real-eye-to-see]

The Proud Family,  the “I have a dream” episode.

Disney, please, play it every day this month!

#BlackHistoryMonth

[macleod]

List of words containing “meow”: meow, meowed, meowing, meows, homeowner

[tastetheraenbow]

This is literally destroying my life.