Find and seek

Look, kids, even the pretty people can end up in the gutter.

I like to take pictures of stuff I find on the streets and I also like to take pictures of pictures. So you can imagine how much joy it brought me to catch these two birds with one stone (or actually a cellphone camera).
Found in Torshov, Oslo, Sunday 10am.

-bahareh

Did you get it, did you get it, did you get it?

I admit it's not very easy to read signs when drunk (which is pretty much the only time Norwegians eat kebabs and various other junk foods), but I wonder how many drunken questions they went through for each of the signs they added - which all contain the EXACT same information.

-bahareh

While the rest of you were sleeping...

Step two of the VISA process. Proving I don't have HIV or syphilis and taking a bunch of irrelevant vaccines. They are irrelevant because growing up in Norway - I've taken them all already, so I'm basically flushing money down the drain. But what's funny is that I used to be so scared of needles that it took like 4 people to hold me down every time my class was scheduled for their vaccinations. My 5th grade teacher actually joked once that it is very unlikely that I'll ever become a drug addict because I would cry just by getting the letter home informing about an upcoming shot...and look at me now. Not only am I taking pictures while being poked with needles, I'm also smiling! So I guess I DO have the potential to become whatever I want after all, huh.

Then again, it could be because it's a very small price to pay to get to be with the love of my life for like ever and ever. I mean that metaphorically, cuz seriously - these shots are costing me a bloody fortune.

2 vaccines down, 5 to go.

-bahareh

Jargon Desktop // 01 (March 08)

For the last, uhm, 3yrs....ive been taking periodic screengrabs of my desktop as a way of capturing what my world consists of at any particular moment.

So, now i'll be continuing this tradition and posting on the 1st of every month (sorry, im already late) on Courtesy Of.

God bless archiving.

- jelsen

A Proper Storefront

Whilst on a mission to give buddy bday girl Marge Lo the best birthday hug OF ALL TIME, i power walked from union sq to the packing district of meat in a pleasant mix of rain, snow, sleet & magical gust. en route i came across Christian Louboutin's store ( 59 Horatio st off Greenwich st) for my very first time....and the shitty weather was no more.

My oh my. it was quite a radiant sight.
And when i thought it couldnt get any better - booyah! he flipped it on me with neon signage in a side window display. classy fella.

- jelsen

DRIVE-BY TMI // 01

1st up - Jesus' Prince-O-Peacemobile. vroom vroom!

I think its very inconsiderate of this car owner to have not one but two (2) window bumpers asking you to flip through the Old Testament twice: first when reading it from your rear-view mirror then again when the bastard cuts you off.

How is anyone going to be saved with this new brand of 'mobile evangelism'? tsk tsk. what happened to slipping pamphlets through a car's cracked window in the local mega parking lot? evangelism has indeed lost its intimacy.

* oh wait, right. they got the Lord Approved 'FORGVIN1' tag. FREE PASS EVERYONE, FREE PASS! red lights and stop signs? puh leez.

B.O.M.B.A. - the acronym.
c'mon now. now you have a big-ass secret on a big ass rear windshield.

Better Off Masturbating Beneath A-train

Oh c'mon c'mon! pick a side, comrade! so, you honk & honk & honk & honk until i let you by and then you apologize for being an asshole?

You should just drive in reverse to avoid a whole lotta confusion.

thanks
- jelsen
(shout out to amy, mary & jeanny for 'Drive-By TMI')

Another reason to be a proud Norwegian

Photo: Mari Tefre/Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Norway has initiated and financed the opening of the Svalbard global seed vault, a.k.a. the "doomsday vault" and "Noahs arch". The facility is available to the entire world and the concept is to secure seeds from all over the world in case of a global crisis. Countries from all over the globe have sent their most treasured seeds, like rice, wheat, lettuce, potato etc. etc.

And if you're wondering, like the CNN anchor was, why they chose this "hell forsaken" place - the answer is in the video.

The setting is almost right out of a James Bond movie.



http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/26/norway.seeds/index.html#cnnSTCPhoto



and the official site ;



http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/lmd/campain/svalbard-global-seed-vault.html?id=462220

-bahareh

Step-Uncle Sam can relax now

Step one of my VISA medical exams required me to have an x-ray taken of my chest area to prove I won't bring tuberculosis to the U.S . Turns out I'm as healthy as can be. Surprise, surprise...

-bahareh

FLASH BACK // 01

Back in the day, before we even were a duo, these pics were taken at a school event. I later moved to Budapest and in between sending each other love letters and songs, I made him this little flash animation.

(click on picture for full effect)

-bahareh

More Amber Favoritism

....and it commences. we're REALLY excited about getting these babies soon; maybe we'll never actually send em out?

hmmm.

[ check out more of amber's process pics ]

- jelsen

"Saloon" as in "Bar", silly

Another one for googly eyes. tacky yet awesomeness, this sign's up in Grand Central Station. check out the ampersand.

- jelsen

Sundays in Oslo

My favorite thing to do in Oslo on Sundays is to walk through the many flea markets. I hardly ever find anything to buy, but I love looking and digging through all the stuff people put out there. I once found a toilet paper roll in one of the boxes. Some would call it half used, but I'd like to think it was half unused.

-bahareh

New York hold 'em

I see your snow and raise you.

-bahareh

Bye Bye Grandma

Grandma Guillaume lived a great 76yrs. 1 of 16 siblings.
She passed away peacefully in her sleep, exactly 2yrs + 1day after her husband's death.

They are both buried next to each other.

[ more photos from this day ]

- jelsen

K.O.

Just finished my first boxing lesson. I floated like an elephant and stung like a cotton ball - but I'm totally gonna go back for more.
The taste of blood is still in my mouth. Yum.

-bahareh

Love it or hate it

The wonderful world of old mixed with the world of new. Except right here, it's not much wonderful, it's more like a collision. Too bad they weren't smarter about the new part, it could have looked so much better. Or just good to start with.

-bahareh

Amber's our Favorite:

We're privileged to have the paper queen Amber Favorite build & letterpress our envelopes for the wedding invites.

Woo hoo, chicago!

Check out some of her process pics. gotta love it.
Look at that pwitty paper!




- jelsen

Good Morning // 05

Well, im supposed to fly to miami this afternoon from LGA. we'll see if mother nature permits.

- jelsen

Rafael Shot Me in the Face

Mr Rios came through the apt and took some cool portraits. def check out more of his work.

Good times were still afoot when we wrapped up the shoot with thai food and the Helvetica film.

- jelsen

Sunny Side of UPS

Now, since UPS likes to lie (in detail) about when they'll actually deliver a package to your home, i had the privilege of taking a good chunk out of my day to trek the 7 Train to Sunnyside, Queens to pick it up my damn self.

check out the glorious entrance.

- jelsen

Carb heaven and the birds condo

Started the day at my favorite bakery in Oslo with my lovely friend Line. It's called "Åpent bakeri", which translates to "open bakery" and it has the most delicious bread in the entire Norway. It's so good, they're always sold out actually, but luckily we were up bright and early and got our share. It works like this; you pick and pay for your choice of delightful treat (in this case wholegrain rolls) and then they let you eat all you want of their homemade strawberry jam which basically contains freshly squished sweet strawberries. They have a barrel full of it and you can fill a glass (or even ten) with it and bring to your table. It is heaven. Hea.ven. If I could go there for breakfast everyday I would, I swear. If you haven't had Norwegian bread, you can't understand what I mean and if "Smucker's" is your choice of jam, I want you to smuck yourself in the face for even thinking it comes close to this.

Anyway. After finishing my giant size roll of yumminess, I headed to the gym where my personal trainer told me I'm not allowed to have bread again. Like ever. Or should I say, never.



Walking from the gym to the subway, I spotted this awesome bird's condo. It looks like a little tree house. Although it's on a stick, so that basically makes it a stick house, I guess?! Pretty neat, except the pigeons couldn't fit in it so they were just using it as a pit stop. Sorta like a crap'n fly. The best part is the sign directing them towards the nearest Deli de Luca, which is coincidentally - the only place I like to get my crap when I'm about to fly.

-bahareh

Good Morning // 04

This morning while i was in the locker room at NYSC on 14th street (around 8:45) two men were caught 'doin the dirty' - in the steam room. the staff member who walked in on them approached this 'pleasant surprise' quite professionally. here it is:

Staff Member: "Guys, this IS NOT cool. You cant be doing this here...NOT cool"

He storms out for a few mins then comes back in with a female staff member. they go back into the steam room and to everyone's surprise - the two dudes were still at it! amazing, i know. now, the staff member was PISSED:

Staff Member: " What?! are you guys kidding me?! Get the fuck out of there NOW! You...and you....Yeah - YOU! I fucking saw you! no? you're tell me it wasnt you?! oh! you think it's cool looking at me jacking off right now?! you think this is funny!? FUCK YOU. get out right now!........I SAW YOU MOTHERFUCKER....IM LOOKING AT YOU RIGHT NOW!...yeah, i walked in and this guy was bent over giving you head. EY - get the fuck up right now! Be a man and get up....get UP"

Now, this entire time the culprits werent saying a thing back. of course not - their brains' blood was someplace else at the moment. tee hee.

i didnt stick around to see who they were - who cares! im def buying flip-flops today.

- jelsen

Scandi remedy

We're out of cough syrup, but being a true Scandinavian household - we have an industrial size bottle of Jägermeister in stock,.Hopefully it'll cure my cough before I get more than buzzed.
At least I can't feel my nose anymore. Or the snot hanging down from it.
Yes, I found another way of putting that word in there.

-bahareh

In between coughs and sneezes

I'm admiring my new shoes and dreaming that the sun will melt all the snow so I can use them somewhere else than my own house. They're too pretty for the inside.

I'm also on my fifth cup of tea and honey. Oh, and let's not forget the snot tissues, I know how you all must enjoy reading about those. It also gives me another reason to label this post under "snot", and well...i kinda have to create my own fun today. It's either snot or a "7th heaven" marathon...what would you choose?

-bahareh