i know. its been a while.

and so much has happened. so so so much.

the only thing worth bragging about though is that I'm now assisting for Brian Finke. So there's my big 'suck it' to all the people who "jokingly" said "haha now what!?" when you tell them that you just graduated, even though they're really thinking '...art school...you're never going to get a job! not with this economy.' 

anyways. im sitting here in the porch of my new apartment with my cat tossing around in his sleep next to me. this is about to be jill's room in a few weeks and I cannot even express how excited I am to live in the same house as my best friend, let alone the same county! or state even! and everyone says 'oh yea till you get sick of each other' but I think Jill and I are past that point where we know how to handle each other. We know when the other one needs alone time and knows how the other one handles stress therefore making it easier for us to stay out of each others way when needed. 

I don't know why but it's always been so hard for me and her to get along well with other people, or handle all the drama that life hands us. it just seems to flow in unnecessary amounts in our direction. hers more than mine unfortunately. for her that is. or why we have such a problem handling situations that everyone else around us seems to handle just fine. we're probably just socially retarded and don't realize that our inabilities to be satisfied by anyone but ourselves is really just our inabilities to function in society at all. great. socially retarded babes. story of my life.

Gus Gus is twitching in his sleep and i just wanna rub my face in his belly and fall asleep with him!!!!

Went to the Ikea in Red Hook today. its like an amusement park for adults. bought some household items that were needed. like a dresser, something of which I haven't owned in over four years. awesome. 

Here's a horrible video that my friend Alex posted on facebook once, and i just sent it to Jill to make her smile cause its NUTS. It's from Tim & Eric, a show I dont get to watch ever because I have neither cable nor internet. 

enjoy. don't let it get to you like it first got to me.!

fulfilled.

a lot has been going on this past week. 

R.I.P. Steve Parish. 

tonight i watched The Princess and The Warrior. 

it's a french film from 2000 and it reminded me a lot of 12th grade/freshman year of college and i have no idea why. just how i felt. or wanted to feel i guess. safe?

you should see it.

this is me bragging.

So back in January, George and I went to Magnum's book party at the Aperture Gallery. Thanks to my awesome teacher, Robert Stevens, I was able to meet so many awesome photographers within Magnum. I also got to view Cartier-Bresson's widow walking around. That was pretty cool, despite the fact that I'm not a big Cartier-Bresson fan. 

My friend, Aaron, found this on flickr. It's me listening to Bruce Gilden tell a story. That's Martin Parr on the right. oh yeaaaa.

movie of the year. besides the watchmen i guess. and the half blood prince.

ps. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD is coming out this year. 

    

and I bet you can't wait!!! cause I know I can't!!!

and I knowww none of you would dare see this amazing! movie without first reading the series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley.

I think it's only based off the first book, even though it has the title of the second. I could however be lying to all of you. but it has Michael Cera, some hot chick named Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, and Kieran Culkin. the only bad thing about it is I think Jason Schwartzman might be playing a part, and I absolutely despise him. I don't know about you, but seeing him cream himself over lameface Mike Way coming into a bar kind of diminished his merit, in my eyes at least (if you want the whole story - and the reason for Mike Way being lame apart from being in My Chemical Romance - just ask me anytime). anyway it's gonna be an awesome movie.!

i need need need need to read the fifth one. 

everything is good. pretty darn good. 

i really really really want to learn swedish.

fresh start.

Well it's been a long while since I've last updated. My life was stress city with not a lot going on to photograph or write about. The day has come though and I have acquired a laptop of my very own (finally). So I will not have to spend all my time at the school labs, and I can now be connected with culture. I don't have any photographs or anything to post right now. 

I just watched Apocolypto and I think that if I ever venture off into the wild and pursue an Alex Supertramp lifestyle, I'm giong to replace my septum ring with that thing Seven has in the movie:

So my friend Rob is in jail for a year. It's a whole big ordeal that got blown out of proportion and he doesn't deserve to be there. But he's handling it like a man and hopefully the time will fly by and he'll be out soon enough. Shelley's handling it really well. I know I'd be in shambles. But anyways, there's a benefit show on his behalf on Feb. 21st and 22nd up in Connecticut. Word on the street is there's a bunch of awesome bands playing and a few that will be surprises. Take a look see:

                                            

So come. How can you even not!? I'll be there. And I'm pretty sure we all know, I'm the most unhard of the unhard. 

Coraline!!

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS MOVIEEEEEEEEE.

the book was crazy disturbing. and it's for children. read it!

a month.

its been a while. and i don't have much to say lately. Obama is prez. horrah horrahhh. thanksgiving is coming and i cannot WAIT to put up my christmas tree. and go shopping in my mall and take in christmas with all i can this year. the christmas spirit hasn't hit me at all really these past three years, so i plan to make it happen this time.

on that note, here's a list of some photo books (among other things) i would like if anyone's looking for a gift to give me:

-Simon Norfolk "Afghanistan"

-William Eggleston books

-Joel Sterfeld "Oxbow Archive" & "Walking the Highline" (if you can find it)

-Mary Ellen Mark "Ward 81" (they reprinted it)

-Steve McCurry "South by Southeast

-Eugene Richards "The Blue Room"

-Troy Paiva "Night Vision"

i also want the two last volumes of family guy dvd's. as well as that rayman game for Wii where you have to kill the bunnies in the grass skirts and cocoanut bras. horrah!


BUY THIS FOR ME. please.

the day has come!

p.s.  www.erikaengstrom.com

still a few kinks to work out, but its pretty much done. finally.

Kristin, Jay, and Keli.

here's some photos i shot of pretty much the most adorable family in the entire world for a denim ad assignment i shot for a class:

jpegs always look awful on here. and everywhere. blast.