Today, I made a small donation to It Gets Better (you know, of the amazing YouTube videos starring all of our gay and straight heroes). In return, they are sending a copy of their new book to the school library of my choice. The following is a letter that I sent to the principal of a local high school: Dear Principal, My name is Casey Myers. I am a doctoral student studying Curriculum and Instruction at Kent State University and I am a proud citizen of Kent, Ohio. I am also a person who cares deeply about the wellbeing of... Continue reading

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Today is this guy's birthday: That's right, the muscle (and the beard) behind NCZ is now 32 and we're celebrating tonight in style, with veggie dogs, tots, and a few good pals (namely, these two). For those of you who might think this guy is down about being one year older, ya'll better recognize, SON! The better half of NCZ wakes up every morning to this theme song: And today the volume was at 11, so in your face, Dutch Father Time! Continue reading

He prefers "Quigley". Continue reading

Two people in love. Adorable pup. One of my favorite places on Earth. Sunny Sunday. Continue reading

It is with great sadness that I report the loss of a member of our extended Kent-based canine team, Charlotte Galizio. Tiny had a rough start in life as a puppy mill mother, but she hit the goddamned jackpot when she was adopted by an equally tiny family with a big deck, a penchant for smoked meats, and even bigger hearts. She loved her family, but she never really cared for me. Most often she opted to judge me from afar over midday meals of string cheese. Sometimes you need a dog to keep you honest, so I appreciated her... Continue reading

I've been on the hunt for safe toys for our niece. Beautiful, safe, modern, natural, organic, sustainable, local, affordable toys. Impossible, yes? "Keep dreaming," you say. Well, I may have been inclined to agree with you before I found Columbus-based Little Alouette. Behold, their rattles: and their teethers: Gasp! Sigh! Not only are these seriously affordable toys safe and gorgeous, they are locally sourced and handcrafted right here in O-H-I-O! Today I bought the little honeycomb beauty pictured above for NCZ's very own Mia and I can't wait to actually hold one of these well-made and well-mannered objects in my... Continue reading

We at NCZ are interested in far more than good design and photography. We love our city, we love our friends, we love produce. The up-and-coming KSU community garden, revived by none other than these two, combines all of the those things. We had the chance to visit last night to see the progress (lucky us!). It's beautiful in so many ways and we have the pictures to prove it (lucky you!). See the rest of the photos here. Continue reading

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See what else is in bloom. (Yeah, I just made a Nirvana reference. Sue me.) (Unless you're Dave Grohl. And then please don't.) Continue reading

And if you don't get that reference, just stop reading this right now. I mean it. Your lack of Dolly Parton and hilarious movie references and typewriter knowledge is going to preclude you from appreciating this post and I only want people who are really on board. For those of you who are still reading, check this shit out: That's right. Our vintage Royal typewriter (which I purchased from Mid Mod) arrived today! It needs a new ribbon, but it's otherwise as good as new showing appropriate wear for its age AWESOME. I realize that there are chartreuse and teal... Continue reading

O Brother, Where Art Thou? jokes aside, SPRING is about to bust wide open in our neck of the woods and this little guy that I found today while planting spinach in the garden is living proof. Lots of new things are on the vernal horizon here at NCZ; our creative juices are flowing with the sap. Continue reading

On Thursday, I attended the grand opening of the LGBTQ Student Center on Kent State University's campus. Understated, but also truly historic, it was a coming out that was well-attended by all stripes, including the president of the university. I was glad to be there with camera and best bud in tow. Continue reading

In my sweetest of sweet dreams, I live in a turquoise house where French macaroons pour from the ceilings and I wear felt Mary Janes while I harvest multicolored zinnias for a living. At night, a litany of small origami songbirds tuck me into a giant nest-bed woven from cherry blossom branches, Neko Case's hair, recycled cashmere yarns. To me, it's only a dream, but I feel somehow like it might be the real life of Amy, the marvelous style maven behind my new favorite blog, sweet sweet life. Okay, it's probably not her real life, but her happy aesthetic... Continue reading

Our little niece is finally here and I must say that she is perfect. Though we've only known each other for a few hours, it's hard to describe how much we love her. I'll just let her first photo speak its thousands: Continue reading

Although it was quite some time ago, it seems like only yesterday that Joe and I (along with a cast of characters) lived together in a crooked house in Athens, Ohio. These days, 10 Hocking Street alum and petite spitfire Morgan Fleming is dancing her way across the bible belt in her legendary gilded boots of fury. And she's doing it with our 2010 calendar by her side: Continue reading

Our niece is set to arrive at any moment. Of course, I'll be posting her first photo shoot as soon as it's completed, so I figured that I better show some of Dustin and Julie's pregnancy photos before my pre-auntie life is but a fading memory. Over Christmas, I had the pleasure of shooting some big belly pictures on the front porch of my Mom's century home in rural Ohio. The glowing couple and the golden sun proved to be a lovely match: See the rest of them here. Continue reading

We're currently working on a restroom remodel here at NCZ headquarters. In the plans: Good-bye, nasty bits! Hello, sleek and beautiful on a budget! If everything goes as planned, we will have enough in our meager budget to tile our shower with tiles from Modwalls! The samples arrived today and I am officially paralyzed by choice: For a variety of reasons, it's rare that anything from the vendor pages of dwell lands on our doorstep. It's mostly because my modest earnings will never be able to support my love for over-priced modern home furnishings. (But it is also because the... Continue reading

I've written about it before, but it's worth repeating that the KSU Library is a treasure trove of the mid-century sweet stuff. We went on a book-finding expedition today and found some beauties! Some were odd, like these two: (Fact: First wonder: Soap; Second wonder: Rubber bands; Third wonder: Chalk; Fourth wonder: Applesauce.) (Published by Water, Dry Grass & Frankenstein Press) But most of them were just flat-out beautiful, like these two: Finding these books has been an ongoing obsession for us here at NCZ. It's design Zen ... like some kind of whisper-filled treasure search that is at once... Continue reading

Due to the recent abundance of handmade projects, I have found myself practically buried under a mountain of scrap. Tiny bits of paper stuck to your socks, castoffs of string carried about the house by the cat. What do to? As it turns out, the season of giving is upon us. Since I love giving to those I love (Mother Earth included), I decided to make some recycled gift tags! It was a whim, but the combinations of vellum, block-printed cardstock scraps and red-orange clementine netting turned out beautifully if I do say so myself. Continue reading

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It's currently 10 degrees outside of NCZ headquarters. It's not all bad, though. The dusting of snow outside and the ice on the windows is bathing the lunchroom and the kitchen in a clear, frosty kind of light. Time to hole up and shoot away. Continue reading

For the past few months, I've been working on a multimedia project that focuses on my evolving understanding of the intersections of curriculum, literacy, and the social, environmental, and economic injustices perpetuated by those working within dominant politico-educational frameworks. As part of this project, I've been returning to the neighborhoods that I used to serve to collect visual data. One of the many things I admired about these neighborhoods were the vibrant murals and hand-painted signage. Today, I discovered that, unfortunately, many have either been painted over or the brick walls that they decorated have been razed. Art can't catch... Continue reading