wonderland, oregon

my name is emma. i'm 24 years old. on august 1st, 2011, i moved from green bay, wisconsin to portland, oregon. the rest of the story will tell itself.

[wonderland-oregon]

saw this beautiful film last night. only watch this movie if you love teachers and you want to be sad forever.

[wonderland-oregon]

the view from mt. tabor park

[wonderland-oregon]

josie and i for the mad men premiere at the hollywood theatre

[wonderland-oregon]

31st and hawthorne

artichoke music

[wonderland-oregon]

35th and hawthorne

cup & saucer cafe

[swingsong]

this is me and dave, my best friend and the love of my life.  it was taken in a photo booth on hollywood boulevard in 1979 or 1980.  we may look much older to other people now but this is who we see when we look at each other.

[wonderland-oregon]

proof right here that my parents are pretty cool. 

[wonderland-oregon]

this movie was something beautiful, sad, and epic. i can't get it out of my head.

[wonderland-oregon]

[wonderland-oregon]

ten happy songs

10. the grateful dead - friend of the devil

"set out running, and i take my time. a friend of the devil is a friend of mine."

9. tommy roe - sweet pea

"i walked on over and i asked her to dance, thinking maybe later we would make a romance. but every guy there was thinking like me. i had to stand in line to get a dance with sweet pea."

8. talking heads - once in a lifetime

"same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was..."

7. silversun pickups - common reactor

"let's break the window panes and separate the walls from all the nails. and maybe if we're loud, we'll stay alive, while everybody wants to join the fight."

6. santana - everybody's everything

"don't you know, honey, maybe your light might shine this whole town."

5. the white stripes - hotel yorba

"i wonder how long it will take til we're sitting on the front porch of that home, stomping our feet on the wooden boards. never gotta worry about locking the door."

4. csny - everybody i love you

"when i tell you i love you, you can believe that it's true. everybody, i love you. everybody, i do."

3. derek and the dominos - keep on growing

"she said, 'you're gonna be alright, boy, just as long as you keep on growing.'"

2. rod stewart - every picture tells a story

"make the best out of the bad. just laugh it off. you didn't have to come here, anyway. so remember, every picture tells a story, don't it?"

1. stevie wonder - we can work it out

"life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend."

[wonderland-oregon]

ten sad songs

10. damien rice - cheers darlin'

a slow waltz about unrequited love, told through drunken tears, with the clink of glasses keeping the beat.

9. procol harum - too much between us 

a song about distance. not physical distance, but the space between two people who sit together and still have a sea between them.

8. death cab for cutie - tiny vessels

ben gibbard sings about breaking the heart of a girl he doesn't love, and you end up feeling sorry for them both.

7. tori amos - baker, baker

tori does sad songs so well. and though she still seems hopeful in this one, it's really about a love that's fallen apart.

6. duncan sheik - little hands

this is a dark song about being let down easy. duncan takes his time telling us about it, letting the silences spread out.

5. lucero - the war

a song about being haunted by memories of war. ben nichols' voice is rough and beautiful, and he spares us no details. 

4. joni mitchell - the last time i saw richard

this one is about a hopeless romantic and a frustrated cynic. joni begins the song as the former and ends it as the latter.

3. bright eyes - haligh, haligh, a lie, haligh

conor oberst is a master of sad songs. this one starts with the dial tone following a phone conversation that's just broken his heart.

2. marketa irglova - the hill

marketa's voice is heavenly, and her piano playing is delicate. but her loneliness in this song is devestating.

1. elliott smith - i didn't understand

there is no instrumentation on this track. just elliott's voice in the silence, singing about lost love, blaming himself for not knowing what he had.  

[wonderland-oregon]

currently reading a heartbreaking work of staggering genius by dave eggers. i love it a lot.

[wonderland-oregon]

[wonderland-oregon]

old steel bridge

[wonderland-oregon]

nw 3rd & couch

[wonderland-oregon]

nw 3rd & everett

lan su chinese garden

[wonderland-oregon]

nw 3th & everett

lan su chinese garden

[wonderland-oregon]

i cannot wait to see this movie.