Sarah Maingot is one of the photographers that lives at the top of my list.  Her understated beauty, her extremely concentrated use of color, the modern twist she brings to her vintage inspired photos, the way that the mundane becomes beautiful through her lens is truly inspiring.

Whenever I am up early enough I turn on NPR to see if I can catch their "All Things Considered" show.   I was either a little too early or too late one morning when I heard Partick Watson playing a live version of his song "Beijing" using a piano, a guitar and pots ( you know the ones you boil spaghetti in).  A little later the interviewer pulled random items out ( I remember a cereal box, a coffee tin and a vase) and asked Partick and his band to create a song using these household items. It was something about a nurse... and that was it for me. If someone can make me stop what I'm doing, sit down and listen to them on the radio using a cereal box and a coffee tin to make music, then they have to be considered "wildly inspiring."  It was not that they were making sounds like they do in "stomp" they were making music. Music that makes your heart beat and makes you think of places you've been or places they have been or parts of a dream. It is music for the sake of music with no computers no synthesizer, no musical equivalent to "photoshop." I downloaded the album the same day and have not stopped listening to it since. I have sent it to my friends as gifts and if you have a birthday coming up, don't be surprised if you get the itunes download from me. Patrick's voice is magic to listen to. Here is some live footage from NPR.

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