To help you all get to know me a little bit better, I've decided to compile a list of ten of my favorite things!
Now, I don't want you all to think that this list is all-encompassing, or in any particular order. Really, it's just a small taste of what I love and am into. Maybe you'll identify with me. Maybe you'll think I'm strange (true). Maybe those things aren't mutually exclusive! Either way, this is one of my favorite ways of getting to know others; I love lists and favorite things! Those are two bonus items: 1. I love lists, and 2. learning people's favorite things! You're welcome.
Here we go:
Now, I don't want you all to think that this list is all-encompassing, or in any particular order. Really, it's just a small taste of what I love and am into. Maybe you'll identify with me. Maybe you'll think I'm strange (true). Maybe those things aren't mutually exclusive! Either way, this is one of my favorite ways of getting to know others; I love lists and favorite things! Those are two bonus items: 1. I love lists, and 2. learning people's favorite things! You're welcome.
Here we go:
- Florence + the Machine: Ms. Welch and her morphing Machine is my absolute favorite musician/band/recording artist, and has been for about four years. I feel that her music is phenomenal. It's big. It's ethereal. It's at times haunting, and at others very moving. It's feral and visceral. It's the kind of music I would make if I made music, and if I were a near six-feet-tall, crimson haired, willowy, porcelain-skinned, English land-siren with powerhouse pipes. Maybe someday. Ceremonials is my favorite of her two studio albums- I've yet to tire of its perfectly-polished, aqueous sounds. However, the single Cosmic Love (from the album Lungs) is my favorite of Florence's songs, followed closely by Only if for a Night, and What the Water Gave Me (both from Ceremonials). Give her a listen, if you haven't already.
- South Africa: Having spent two years of my life in this crazy country, I'm proud to say that South Africa feels like a second home. A home that is mighty expensive to get to, but a home nonetheless. The kind of work that I was involved in there allowed me to meet countless individuals from all different walks of life. I grew to love nearly all of them. I have several households that I now consider family. I miss them a lot, everyday. Now, I can't say I love all of South Africa. I mean, the government isn't that great, and it's definitely not the safest place to be (although I was never mugged there, as I was during my two and a half months in Botswana- a country with a much safer reputation than SA), and some places are downright frightening, but, all in all, if I had the chance to go back there tomorrow, I might just do it. You'll hear more about this place as time goes on. TBT and all that. Just know that I love the place and the people.
- Alexander McQueen: This genius fashion designer astounds me. His couture pieces were all phenomenal, impeccable, at times provocative, works of art. His runway shows were actually shows, full of drama, mystery, terror, cheek, emotion, and pure creativity. Sadly, McQueen took his life four years ago. However, Sarah Burton, who took over as creative director of his design house, is a phenomenally talented designer who has managed to keep the late McQueen's design aesthetic alive. Their collective body of work fascinates me. Look them both up. (PS: If you would like a great coffee-table read, get your hands on Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty [Metropolitan Museum of Art] by Tim Blanks, Andrew Bolton, Susannah Frankel, and Solve Sundsbo. It's a beautiful, high quality, full color book detailing the 2011 Met Gala's exhibition celebrating McQueen's work.)
* Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø
- Harry Potter: I'm a through-and-through Potterhead. It's pretty riddikulus! I'm not even sorry about what I just did there. I love Harry Potter. It's not because the books are "technically" the best-written things I've ever read, or even that the story is the best story I've ever heard. But there's something, well, magical about them. I love Harry Potter because it book-ended (heheh) a large part of my childhood. I've read and re-read those books since I was nine. I'm now 22. I remember waiting years for new books to come out, and the near-feverish excitement and re-reading experienced shortly before the new volumes hit the shelves. I remember the pre-orders and Midnight Magic at bookstores. I remember identifying with the wonder-filled eleven-year-olds in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and the angst-ridden fifteen-year-olds in The Order of the Phoenix. I remember the terror I felt at the idea of a child Voldemort while reading about him in The Half-Blood Prince, and the agonizing, exhilarating, epic Battle of Hogwarts in the final volume, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Ah, good times. I can't wait to have kids and watch them experience it all. The iconic series is unquestionably already a classic.
- The Elder S crolls Series: Discovered when I was in middle school, the Elder Scrolls video game series quickly rose to claim the s pot of my Fav orite Video Game, maybe sharing the spotlight with The Sims. Back in junior high, I was much more of an avid gamer than I am now, and I remember the trips my step-father (Pops), little brother and I used to make to Blockbuster to buy used video games. On one of these trips my brother was hunting for a game that was under twenty bucks, and I picked up The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. I had never heard of it before, but the synopsis on the back piqued my interest enough to persuade me to slightly manipulate my seven-or-eight-year-old bro into buying it. Best-played sibling manipulation ever. The three of us (Pops, lil' bro, and I) spent hours together on Saturdays and the odd weekdays that Pops wasn't working playing this game. My brother and I continue to play the Elder Scrolls series to this day, playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim frequently and even being included in testing out the Elder Scrolls Online beta. What I love about these games is the freedom of them. If you haven't heard of them, they're open-world, epic fantasy RPGs (role-playing games). You have quests and stuff, but the freedom to do whatever you choose. A fun way to kill some time, the game also is convenient as it's easy to get to a stopping point when it's time to be productive.
- Macy's Café: Flagstaff, Arizona is one of my favorite cities. The place has an awesome, university "granola lite" (as my mom calls it) vibe. There are tons of great thrift stores, art galleries, and bohemian shops. One of the greatest things about Flagstaff, though, is the excellent and diverse food scene. There are many fantastic places to eat in that city, my favorite of which is called Macy's Café. Part vegetarian restaurant, part ramshackle coffee place, part awesome bakery, Macy's Café is the perfect place to get a light, delicious meal and drink and just hang out for a while. There's free WiFi, a cabinet full of board-games you can pull out and play at your leisure, the founder's somewhat surreal (dare I say bizarre?) photography decorating the walls, and scattered tables and chairs, none of which match. It's fantastic. I try and visit Macy's every time I'm in Flag, and I've yet to be disappointed. It's a perfectly comfortable, cozy corner of the world with awesome food. Check it out when you can.
- 30 Rock: This weird little work-of-genius television show, created by Tina Fey, is one of my favorite shows of all time! With its comfortable mix of witty humor, deadpan deliveries, bizarre (but somehow relatable) situations, and light doses of slapstick, 30 Rock is as near to a perfect comedy there is. My favorite part of the show is Liz's relationship with her boss, Jack Donaghy, played to perfection by Alec Baldwin. They're polar opposites- with him being full of confidence and biting criticism, and she a dissatisfied, somewhat frumpy, grudging workaholic with a penchant for using food as a balm for her dissatisfaction. No line in the show is wasted. It's smart. It's awesome.
- Alphonse Mucha: Alphonse Mucha is a Czech artist best known for his work as an Art Nouveau poster illustrator and jewelry designer at the turn of the twentieth century. His work most often featured beautiful women with long, curvilinear tendrils of hair, set in intricate backgrounds of foliage and landscapes. He did a lot of work for the actress Sarah Bernhardt, creating posters for her various plays and productions. In his era, he was renowned both in Europe and North America. I admire his ability to depict the human form with fluidity and grace, as well as his superb line work and color. His art inspires me.
- Jurassic Park: This Spielberg science-fiction masterpiece is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's the first movie I remember watching as a child (I believe it was a gift from my father for my second or third birthday, which horrified my Mom and she tells me she promptly stuck the video on the shelf of the coat closet where it gathered dust for a while). Jurassic Park instilled in me a love of all things dinosaur for several years. Besides having nostalgic value for me, this movie simply stands out as one of the best all around films - especially for its time. The casting was impeccable, with Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Attenborough giving great performances. The direction was perfect, as were the special effects. The movie is agelessly surprising, moving, and spectacular. (PS: You like scary movies? You'll love this one. You might be surprised to learn the "kitchen scene" is widely acknowledged as one of the scariest movie scenes of all time- unless, like me, you've watched that scene with your face about an inch from the screen, hyperventilating with your hands pressed against your mouth, in which case you're not surprised to learn that at all. Don't believe me? Look it up.)
- People: No, not the magazine, although I'd be lying if I said I haven't read my share of celebrity gossip rags. No, I'm talking about the people in the world that mean the world to me. I love my friends, and I'm blessed to have plenty. There's Nathan and Robert- two of my best friends- whom you already know. I also have amazing friends spread across Arizona, California, and Utah. There's also those wonderful people of South Africa that I've come to know and love. I miss them. And, of course, I'm lucky enough to be best friends with my family. I have parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins who love me dearly and with whom I love to spend my time. I generally find it easy to make friends, and love to surround myself with 'em. The adventures we get up to are largely the inspiration of this blog.
There you have it! Ten of my favorite things, all listed out for you. As I stated earlier, there's plenty of other things I'm in love with/obsess over (graphic novels, Ellie Goulding, Michelangelo's sculptures, interior design, Burberry, Arizona, and don't even get me started on Baby Mama,) but we have plenty of time to get to that and more.
Much love until then,
Adam Steilen
Much love until then,
Adam Steilen