#62: It's Not the Ending, It's the Beginning...

When we decided to launch http://dannyandnina.com back in mid-September, we did so out of a spirit of adventure and curiosity. One of the biggest questions in our minds concerned how our project would be received by the internet public. Would people care about our kooky endeavor? Would anyone vote? How quickly might things unfold?

Much to our delight (and somewhat to our surprise), our idea was received warmly and with positivity not only in the United States but all across the world. What we thought might possibly be of interest to some folks in our country rapidly sparked international interest and we quickly saw that our project had many passionate observers.

For the response we have received we are truly and greatly appreciative. It is humbling and wondrous to know that our site has taken on a life of its own, that it has sparked dialogue between citizens in towns in far-flung corners of the States, and that so many people have been as excited by this idea as we have been. In short, we feel thankful and blessed to have had this response.

At the risk of jumping the gun, it does appear that the voting will wrap up at some point in the next day or so. We know that all of the three towns competing for the number one spot have something different to offer us and are awaiting a winner with understandable anticipation. That isn't rhetoric, it's the truth, and we both look forward to exploring our new hometown and sharing our life there with you. There is no telling what the future holds in store for us but we are thrilled by the possibilities.

It was our sincere hope that this competition would engender discussion, make people smile, cause folks to reconsider their feelings about their own hometowns, and maybe even provide a vicarious thrill or two. Nearly five million votes later, it has presented us with an array of challenges we couldn't possibly have forseen at the project's start.

Throughout the process we have always tried our absolute best to ensure a fair and legitimate vote, dealing with new and unexpected obstacles as they arose. We know very well that no matter what town winds up the victor, some people will feel upset and cry foul. It is the nature of competition, as anyone who has ever rooted wholeheartedly for a football team can attest to. Since this cannot be avoided, we take solace in knowing that we conducted ourselves with integrity and honesty throughout this project.

We have obviously been treading in uncharted waters and we have done the best we can. Life is a learning experience and if we had to begin this process anew we would undoubtedly do certain things differently. However, we are both amazed at how things have unfolded. It has definitely been an incredible trek for us as individuals and as a couple.

Thank you again for your support. We put our lives in your hands and you have responded admirably. This is just the beginning, of course, and we look forward to giving you a window into our new town and our lives there.

With appreciation and love,
Danny & Nina

#60: New LCD Soundsystem MP3 & Eden Prarie Tosses in the Towel.

It seems as though certain people never sleep. We've blogged about James Murphy once before; the multi- instrumentalist and producer is half of DFA and all of LCD Soundsystem. Having already released two compilations of DFA remixes this year as well as the amazing 45 minute workout anthem 45:33 he's already eyeing 2007.

In late March, LCD Soundsystem will release his sophomore full-length, The Sound of Silver. Even Amazon doesn't have this up for pre-order yet, but we thought we'd whet your appetite with the second track, "Time to Get Away." Enjoy the download and let us know what you think--we're definitely loving it.

Meanwhile in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, some folks and even the local newspaper are lamenting the fact that their town is effectively out of the running in the voting. Things are getting very interesting as of late, with Plano, Texas having been dethroned not once but twice--first by South Bend, Indiana and this morning by Denver, Colorado. I wonder if this has something to do with the disenfranchised Fort Collins voters who held a big lead for so long in the early stages of the vote. Looks like we're in for a nice finish!

xoxox
Danny

#57: 3,000,000 Reasons to Move & San Diego Love!

We've hit another amazing milestone in the voting: today we surpassed the 3,000,000 vote mark. When Nina and I began this project back in mid-September, we had no idea how people would react to our idea (or whether they would respond to it at all). Three million votes later, it's clear that there are a lot of people who are as excited about our project as we are and that is, well, pretty rad.

We know our idea isn't for everyone and have heard our fair share of cynical responses to what we're doing, but the positive feedback outweighs the negative by far. This project has allowed us to connect with places and people across the country and the world and we would do it again in a heartbeat. Of course, there is still a lot of voting to be had, so we hope you'll cast another ballot or three.

Meanwhile in San Diego, folks are picking up this week's copy of CityBeat to find this article about our project. Thanks to Kelly Davis for asking us some questions and bringing us some California love... and hey, what do you call people from San Diego anyway? San Diegans? Diegoites?

xoxox
Danny

#55: Birthday Wishes & Moomintrolls.

Yesterday we woke up to find that our internet connection was not functioning properly again, only this time we interpreted it as a sign from the heavens that we should take the day off. Why? Because it was Danny's 24th birthday. Unfortunately, hours into the revelry Danny got sick. Too much excitement. If you're feeling generous, you can make him feel better by sending a birthday donation gift:

Danny mentioned my love of Harry Potter books earlier, but my first adventure book love was the Moomintrolls. They aren't trolls, they are really cute somewhat Hippo-like characters from Finland. Author Tove Jansson wrote the original books in Swedish (further proof that everything awesome has a Swedish connection) and they have been translated to 33 different languages. For some unexplained reason, they aren't as huge in the States as they are in Russia, but nevertheless: I love Moomintrolls.

If you are in the mood to check out some art go to artfaceoff.com. Love this site. The way it works is kind of like Hot or Not for art. Artists upload their images and they are rated for a month, after which the highest ranked pieces face off. The winner of the face off gets to go on to the next face off, and so on, playoff elimination style. By the way, if you want to help me out vote for me here. All 10's would be nice, but please vote for whatever you feel is appropriate.

Heart,
Nina

#46: 2,000,000 Votes!

Early this morning we reached a pretty impressive milestone on the site: our 2,000,000th legitimate vote.

It's a great feeling knowing that so many people have responded so positively and enthusiastically to our idea, especially since it was only a few weeks ago that we wondered whether we'd ever see one million votes, let alone two. In fact, exactly one month ago we were celebrating our 45,000th vote.

A lot of people think we're sort of nuts entrusting such a major decision to people who have never even met us, but this project has been an incredible amount of fun and a tremendous learning experience for us both. Our sincere thanks to everyone who has voted thus far and for all the votes yet to be tallied.

In honor of our recent millions, here's an interview with artist of all trades Brian Eno discussing his latest project, 77 Million Paintings. He uses light and generative software to create visual configurations that seamlessly shift and fade to produce a total of 77 million combinations:



xoxox
Danny