God Bless the Sinner Man

“I have always lived violently, drunk hugely, eaten too much or not at all, slept around the clock or missed two nights of sleeping, worked too hard and too long in glory, or slobbed for a time in utter laziness. I've lifted, pulled, chopped, climbed, made love with joy and taken my hangovers as a consequence, not as a punishment.”

― John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley: In Search of America

Cheers to the sinner men, 

MK

Cocktails, oxfords, and chicken gizzards

2013 

Cocktails in NYC. 

Crabs in Baltimore. 

Kayaking in Michigan. 

Line dancing in Nashville.

Black iron coffee in Pittsburgh. 

Cactus wrangling in Arizona.

Cheese curds in Wisconsin.

Blues music in Indianapolis.

Horse back riding in Kentucky.

Mountain climbing in Colorado. 

Wind fighting in Chicago. 

Now for some 2014 dreams in the UK.

Landing 3 weeks from Friday! 

Beers, bands and boys in London.

Hiking in Scotland. 

Roaming in Ireland. 

Chocolat in Paris. 

Hugs in Vienna. 

New Years dreaming.

Ramblings of an insomniac, 

MK

She had never minded being alone

Truman Capote

"He loved her, he loved her, and until he'd loved her she had never minded being alone, she'd liked to much to be alone."

― Truman Capote, Summer Crossing

He'ART

© 2013 MK

I He'ART!

Bazinga, 

MK

Darksome Nest

© 2013, sketch #3, MK

O what a warm and darksome nest 
Where the wildest things are hidden to rest! 
It's there that I'd love to lie and sleep, 
Soft, soft, soft, and deep, deep, deep!

—Elinor Wylie

My body aches from climbing up and down snow covered hills, the chill hasn't yet left and my soul is weighted with a heavy fatigue... it's the kind of fatigue that comes with a satisfying few days of manual labor. Unintentional though it was, the holiday from hell, which peaked with the complete loss of water Saturday, was more satisfying than a thousand days behind a computer screen. From making many a trip for snow to melt over the fire, to freezing fingers off getting studded chains onto tires, to sharing your hearth with forest mice, to late night conversations in belly-up snow-stuck cars in the middle of a deserted white wood... it was a cold weekend that warmed my heart. I don't think there's anything more beautiful than tracing the veins of marshmallow covered trees across the dark lavender skies. 

Hoping y'all had a lovely, sleepy Thanksgiving, 

MK

Sleepless in Chicago / Slumber My Darling

Happy Thanksgiving!

To the forest I go! To the lakes and the snow! 

With a book, a sleeping bag, and a freshly curated playlist of campfire worthy songs.

This may be my favorite holiday.

I wish I could slumber but zzz's don't come easy these days and Netflix has a wonderful selection of French film to keep me company. 

Sleepless in Chicago,

MK

The Optical Delusion of Consciousness

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” 

― Albert Einstein

Passion for Compassion, 

MK

Straight & True

Insomnia becomes me. 

'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover.' 

–Mark Twain

Straight & True, 

MK

Consume Me

—Virginia Woolf

Words to live by

(Dear handwriting analysts, I don't want to know. Thx, MK)

To Denver next month with two of my favorite ladies! To London in January!

For someone who's not a great long-term life planner, this is quite character building. I keep waking up in the middle of the night from over-enthusiasm or stress. Things keep popping into my mind -- oh my goodness, I'm going to need adapters... how am I going to exist without my iPhone (and Instagram?!? and my Magic 8 ball app to make decisions for me?? and JBieb's newest selfie app? and the talking cat app? [disclaimer: not at all serious except for the maps app... the lack of is going to build so much character I may have sainthood thrust upon me])... gotta cancel my incredibly ridiculously expensive gym... long-distance relationship with my kayak (will it still love me?)... should I wear three jackets on the plane?... how does one prioritize shoes?

I really want to go camping while I'm there. Like all the time! Pinterest has promised some wonderfully beautiful sights in the UK -- Isle of this, Isle of that -- yes, yes, yes! And thank goodness for Meetups.com. That site has been the best travel companion since Couchsurfing. There's outdoor adventure groups, running groups, art groups, museum groups, beer groups, new british friend groups, and american-schmericans in the uk groups (I'm generally a big advocate of living like the locals, but I suspect there might be a point where I'll need someone to test my knowledge of all the US state capitols-- gotta stay sharp... Dover, DE; Hartford, CT; Olympia, WA; Carson City, NV; Topeka, KS; Springfield, Illinois! and all the rest).  Groups for every thing I like (and will soon love... I hope they have a tea enthusiast group!)

I was thinking, due to lack of said iPhone, I could put my memory palace enthusiasm to use on London and memorize all the roads, train schedules and restaurant reviews (minus the last two). I'll be a walking map app!

Also, British television! British film! British art! British music, music music!! MUSIC! I'm going to stuff my ears full of British folk, rock, classical, alternative, etc... so much so that I may go deaf. But it will be worth it.

With that said, I'm going to try and catch a few zzz's before I wake up at 3 a.m. and realize that I'm going to have to make sure not to forget that I'm 'merican and that they won't let me stay forever because I was accidentally born to American parents (whom I love despite the mixup).

(Sidenote: isn't it weird we're called Americans when Canadians, Mexicans, Brazillians, etc. live in (N or S) American countries too? ... I guess we're the most uncreative when it comes to naming things...)

Words to live by,
MK

Winter Sky

I fell into the wonder of the winter sky...

I fell into it like one falls into sleep -- 

slowly, deeply, without the surety of tomorrow, 

nor the wish to wake again.

Sweet slumber, 

MK

Wild Things

Bamboo Doodle, 2013

Memory palaces, meditative travel, dreamscapes,
perceived perception, intrinsic value, intangible life goals,
arts and crafts, a world that appreciates the imperfect. 

Yes, please. 

Hiding with the Wild Things, 

MK

Rory Sutherland is my weekend inspiration. And it's not just his accent. 

Fall Beasts | An Evolutionary Tale

Mind maps exposed. 

Next weekend will be filled with sleep! 

Now to trudge on through the week... 

Your weekend warrior, 

MK

The Wise Ones

I'm a-drownin' in projects. Sometimes, you just gotta take a break and sketch.

 Pipe smoking has always invoked a delicious, warm masculine feeling. So many wise and wonderful men have mastered the art of pipe smoking -- Einstein, Steinbeck, Twain, Sherlock Holmes, Gandalf. I can't help but think a bit better of an older gentleman with a pipe in his hand and his eyes in the clouds. 

I had this great uncle, he was a monk in this giant old monastery and we'd go visit him every year on my birthday. He was sort of wild for a man of the church -- sneaking out, smoking his pipe, hand drawing and programming elaborate computer games (before computers were popular), and spending long nights in his print shop... he was a groovy guy. He also had a penchant for making elaborate boats out of milk cartons which is probably the epitome of awesome in my book. It may have just been his pipe or wild gray hair, but he embodied the free spirited wise man that I idolize so much. He was my real-life Steinbeck. 

Good night, darling reader. 

If I was myself a piper, I'd think of you as I inhaled the dreams of the world. 

His and hers, yours and ours, 

MK

Illustrious Ideas

A requested illustration - draft #1 

Sketch & Fetch

© 2013 MK

Daily Doodles with Poodles! 

A 5-minute sketch a day -- DO IT! 

October Miracles

© 2013 Marie King 

Halfway through illustrating the other children's book and it's snowing!
October miracles all around!

Check out this beautiful video:
Autumn in Yosemite National Park from Henry Jun Wah Lee / Evosia on Vimeo.

Willie the One-Eyed Owl from Wistoria

The Golden Eternity

#2

To Maine we go! 

I watched a few episodes of Stephen King's 'The Colorado Kid' spin-off, Haven... so I'm pretty sure I'm ready to deal with anything supernatural and mysterious that I may encounter in my soon-to-be favorite eastern state. 

Also, I'm a Slytherin. Pottermore-official. I have to share with the world... sharing is the first step towards acceptance (or not). I think the fact that I chose to check out the silver tree with golden apples instead of the cute toadstools talking or wise wizard statues may have played a part in the Sorting Hat's decision... that and my preference towards Greatness instead of Goodness (my thought process was that good is implied as a shade of great... you know okay, good, great... guess it was more of a good vs bad question though and I failed). 

Media highlights of the week: Poo-pouri ad, Parks & Rec jam, Drive audiobook, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, old interviews of David Foster Wallace, silence 

This Must Be The Place...

I'm an Uptown Girl, Pretty in Pink and Head Over Heels in this Bizarre Love Triangle Under the Milky Way. This Charming Man, with the Eye Of The Tiger, is Just Like Heaven, Bringing Love My Way...Oh Yeah, I'm Walking On Sunshine. Once in a Life Time this Strange Kind of Love hits you like a Poison Arrow, a Total Eclipse of the Heart 

and you become a Maniac. 

It would take 1,200,000 mosquitos to drain you. There are more iterations of chess than there are atoms in the knowable universe. The Spanish anthem has no words and the state sport of Maryland is Jousting.

Dead people get goosebumps. 

“I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self respect. And it's these things I'd believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything.” 

― F. Scott Fitzgerald

It's always a good time for time lapse videos on vimeo, Damnyouatuocorrect, Parks and Rec (i.e., Ron 'loveofmylife' Swanson), baby pandas, and Kerouac. 

 "...

listen to the silence inside the illusion of the world,

and you will remember the lesson you forgot,

which was taught in immense milky ways

of cloudy innumerable worlds

long ago and not even at all.

It is all one vast awakened thing.

I call it the golden eternity.

It is perfect.

We were never really born,

we will never really die.

..."

--Jack Kerouac

The Concrete Jungle

I've traded my forest for a concrete jungle. Home never looked so shiny.

A whirlwind affair with the urban sophisticate that is Manhattan before settling down to the rugged mountain wilds seems both appropriate and necessary. And boy does New York know how to make you feel alive.

Your island damsel,
MK

Everything Believed In

“The pale stars were sliding into their places. The whispering of the leaves was almost hushed. All about them it was still and shadowy and sweet. It was that wonderful moment when, for lack of a visible horizon, the not yet darkened world seems infinitely greater—a moment when anything can happen, anything be believed in.” 

― Olivia Howard Dunbar

Never Surrender

#1

east by land
-->

west by sky
<--

the winds are a-coming and i am a-going
<==>

On the other side...

Aspirations

More like a perspiring creative -- a zingo! Just a-kiddin'... kind of. 

I've got to get this life in order. I'm about to go somewhere soon... I have no specifics, but I'm not much of a planner, just a spontaneous feeler (i.e., I'm awful at making choices and commitment). I'm hiking west or biking east, I'm sailing across the Atlantic or flying north to Canada... I'm going somewhere. I can feel the wind in my bones and the shakes in my feet. It is time. 

Aspiring to be yours, 

MK

In peace we rest...

In loving memory of my lost someone. 

He was good and he was kind and he was wild. 

Rest in peace. 

Forever, 

Marie

Snaps

© MK / Google Doodle

Snaps for...

Google chat doodles w/friends, lady flannel, Game of Thrones, growlers of hopped-up craft beer, dinner by candlelight, kayaking, early morning dog walks, the Blackhawks, Fathers, ugly flowers, hummus, protein powder, superheroes, the first three seasons of Arrested Development, Canadians, tattoos, biking turn signals, JLaw, bare feet, Barefoot wine, Mashable, your mom. 

+++

MK

In the Inbetween

This is why I love the internet....

And this is why I love getting away from it...

Chinese fire lanterns chasing the setting sun into the horizon. 

I ran, swam, kayaked, climbed sand dunes, mudded walls, hammered nails and scraped paint this weekend. I listened to war stories over beach fires, fell asleep to Billie Holiday, and read the poetry of Robert W. Service ("the Bard of the Yukon"). It's wonderful to escape, to work with your hands, to see the stars with your own eyes. 

To live in the inbetween.  

'Night you lovely people, 

MK

Bear Hugs, J-Law, and Digital Marathons!

I just did a 72-hr children's e-book animating marathon!

I'm going to pass out now but just wanted to shout from my digital mountain top! 

My life is one project lighter!

 (not true at all-- I still have to add text, sound, etc. -- but who the hell cares right now?!)

I turned down the car deal of a lifetime so I can get over to Europe, 

I bought a 6-pack of 'Moose Drool' from Montana, 

and I just got a surprise signed copy of one of my favorite books from Amazon! 

#thegoodlife

After I go to Europe, I'm headed to the Rockies, but I'm a bit torn between Colorado and Montana... 

I've been watching some Canadian television shows and one of my favorite is set in the Canadian Rockies. Like, wow that's beautiful (and I'm not just talking abooot their accent -- which I'm seriously manga-style starry-eyed over)! Anyways... I looked into moving up there, but the paperwork seems like a big pain in the butt.  So the idea of living on a dude ranch in the Montana Rockies has latched onto my mind. Last time I had a fever of this sort, I ended up in Alaska... the odds are ever in its favor (on another Hunger Games note, I have a serious YouTube-crush on Jennifer Lawrence)  

 But anyways... Colorado is the gem of the U.S. and my favorite state, so it's a hard choice. Any thoughts on the two? Perhaps this Moose Drool will help settle the score, though I just had a delicious Vanilla Porter from the Breckenridge Brewery and it was truly a delight for the tastebuds. 

God, my priorities must be questionable if I'm deciding where to live based on the quality of their micro-brews...  let's go for something reasonable. Whoever has the lower state tax wins my bachelorette rose and all rights to my micro-wealth. 

Anyways #3-- you can live in the U.K. for 6 months without a visa! 

If Canada is hard to move to, the U.K. is like Hogwarts when Dumbledore was alive,

so at least they throw us this Fang-sized visa bone. 

Let's end it on that happy note cause I get depressed every time I check in the with the citizen experts of Yahoo discussions for the secret to international relocation. 

Giant bear hugs, 

MK

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day! Many thanks to all the men and women who have and continue to protect us, who risk their lives for us, and especially to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. You will not be forgotten. 

A special thank you to my own family members who have selflessly served this great country. 

Yours, 

MK