Artistic Book Autopsies:
http://centripetalnotion.com/2007/09/13/13:26:26/
Thanks, http://www.dooce.com
(And thanks, Cara, for posting dooce.com a while ago. I love it!)
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
I realized that I only have one scary story of genuine merit and need a few more to boost my repertoire. If you post yours, I'll post mine. Or you could create one a la Mary Shelley. (Frankenstein was written after she and some friends decided to bring their best ghost story to their next lake getaway.)
Friday, September 14, 2007
I have to confess, I have "Into the Ocean" by Blue October stuck on repeat, as I do "Calling You." I mean, one would THINK a girl would get sick of hearing about rain and oceans and motion and I thought of just your face, but after 572 times I'm still as in love as I've always been.
Things, however, that I'm not in love with
-Awkward silences. It's so psychological and just, well, awkward. We are perfectly capable of communicating and enjoying each other as human beings, but such little ideas can make a moment freeze over. Take, for example, last night. It's 1am and my friends and I (after, ahem, a few drinks) shuffle into the local equivalent of IHOP (International House of Pancakes for the uninitiated). As we're walking in, my all-time favorite junior, let's call him Drew, is exiting. Rather giddy already, I'm sure I say much too loudly, "Oh my GOSH! It's Drew!" He flashes that "I know you've been drinking but we'll pretend I don't know you know that I know" smile. We stumble over the usual phrases, and then, in a brilliant wave of charisma, I shout out, "It was great to see you! We should hang out!" Then, clearly brooding for a second, I shout, "You, know, friendly." Drew and I stand there just staring at each other for literally the amount of time it takes not only for the crickets to begin to chirp, but to develop a full out symphony. Then we mumble byes and he's gone.
-Walking around in a slightly dazed state ALL WEEK LONG. Forgetting to call people back. Forgetting to email people back. Forgetting to put your head back on just when you'd found it after the last time you lost it.
-Cleaning. (*shudders, cowering*)
Things I love
-Being more open and expressive the past few days. I think writing regularly helps you tell people what's on your mind.
-Not only having the boyfriend to lunch with Grandma, but seeing him hug her in the beginning, when he's only met her once. Did I mention he's a candidate for sainthood?
-Lake trips with friends you haven't seen for a while.
-My new friend Mandy. She just makes me smiley all over. This may be odd, but the first day in class I saw her, I immediately knew we'd be friends.
-My American Sign Language 1 class. We actually played the game "telephone" the other day. You know, where you tell someone something, and they tell the next person, and the next, and the next. I love reliving the glory days of 2nd grade.
-Babbling. And while I'm babbling, someone randomly latching onto my lip with his fingers and proceeding (oh the audacity!) to wiggle it up and down.
-Drawing. Even if it doesn't turn out perfect. Whoever said anything would be perfect clearly has a brain of mush. NOTHING IN LIFE WILL BE PERFECT. If I had really understood this from the beginning instead of learning it about 6 months ago, it would have saved me a veritable decade of angst, at least. You have to make thousands of mistakes to learn an art. Funny how life's like that, too, how you have to make thousands of mistakes to learn to live. That it all turns out okay.
Things, however, that I'm not in love with
-Awkward silences. It's so psychological and just, well, awkward. We are perfectly capable of communicating and enjoying each other as human beings, but such little ideas can make a moment freeze over. Take, for example, last night. It's 1am and my friends and I (after, ahem, a few drinks) shuffle into the local equivalent of IHOP (International House of Pancakes for the uninitiated). As we're walking in, my all-time favorite junior, let's call him Drew, is exiting. Rather giddy already, I'm sure I say much too loudly, "Oh my GOSH! It's Drew!" He flashes that "I know you've been drinking but we'll pretend I don't know you know that I know" smile. We stumble over the usual phrases, and then, in a brilliant wave of charisma, I shout out, "It was great to see you! We should hang out!" Then, clearly brooding for a second, I shout, "You, know, friendly." Drew and I stand there just staring at each other for literally the amount of time it takes not only for the crickets to begin to chirp, but to develop a full out symphony. Then we mumble byes and he's gone.
-Walking around in a slightly dazed state ALL WEEK LONG. Forgetting to call people back. Forgetting to email people back. Forgetting to put your head back on just when you'd found it after the last time you lost it.
-Cleaning. (*shudders, cowering*)
Things I love
-Being more open and expressive the past few days. I think writing regularly helps you tell people what's on your mind.
-Not only having the boyfriend to lunch with Grandma, but seeing him hug her in the beginning, when he's only met her once. Did I mention he's a candidate for sainthood?
-Lake trips with friends you haven't seen for a while.
-My new friend Mandy. She just makes me smiley all over. This may be odd, but the first day in class I saw her, I immediately knew we'd be friends.
-My American Sign Language 1 class. We actually played the game "telephone" the other day. You know, where you tell someone something, and they tell the next person, and the next, and the next. I love reliving the glory days of 2nd grade.
-Babbling. And while I'm babbling, someone randomly latching onto my lip with his fingers and proceeding (oh the audacity!) to wiggle it up and down.
-Drawing. Even if it doesn't turn out perfect. Whoever said anything would be perfect clearly has a brain of mush. NOTHING IN LIFE WILL BE PERFECT. If I had really understood this from the beginning instead of learning it about 6 months ago, it would have saved me a veritable decade of angst, at least. You have to make thousands of mistakes to learn an art. Funny how life's like that, too, how you have to make thousands of mistakes to learn to live. That it all turns out okay.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
In this moment, I feel so very happy. For starters, I've had loads and loads of this creative energy exploding inside of me. I don't know where it's coming from, but I've been having a heyday writing. I even drew tonight for the first time in months. The thing you must know about drawing and me is that it resonates within the deepest part of me, but it also is one of the most vulnerable parts of me. I feel like it is possibly my ultimate form of expression, and yet, I am the most scared of it. While writing is fairly hidden on the page and you have to dive into it to understand and judge it, drawing and painting is immediately there, vulnerable for the world to see. You can rate it in a second. And that scares me shitless, but it also thrills me. So I want to work more on drawing and painting as well as writing. (Writing is more comfortable, like a dear, old friend.)
And my subject tonight, haha. I drew an older Albert Einstein upside down! (Drawing things upside down is easier than right side up!) I love the faces of the elderly. The shadowy wrinkles, mmm, they tell so much.
And my subject tonight, haha. I drew an older Albert Einstein upside down! (Drawing things upside down is easier than right side up!) I love the faces of the elderly. The shadowy wrinkles, mmm, they tell so much.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Four
Four First Names of Crushes I've Had:
1. Bobby Yawn. For real. This was in kindergarten--I got started early.
2. Jesse (first kiss!)
3. Heath
4. oh, I think it was Zack
Four Pieces of Clothing I wish I still owned:
1. My teal jeweled earrings that killed each other this morning! One of them launched herself onto her sister, over great heights, to body slam her and knock out jewels from both earrings. It was quite dramatic. I almost cried.
2. grandma's brooch (thanks, Cara)
3. This pair of brown Arizona shoes that were Doc Marten look alikes. They were the best. Probably because they cost 30% of Docs price.
I can't think of any more. I like to move on and have variety in my clothes.
Four Names I've Been Called at One Time or Another:
1. Brittly
2. Sugar
3. Brita
4. Breet (that one's Spanish)
(I've always wanted a better nickname, but it's never worked out so well since my name is kind of a nickname.)
Four Professions I Secretly Want to Try:
1. National Geographic photographer or photojournalist
2. Orphanage worker in Latin/South America or the next Mother Teresa
3. Singer/songwriter
4. Surfer, ski bum, or hot scuba instructor
(So hard to choose just 4!)
Four Musicians I'd Most Want to Go on a Date With:
(okay, celebs, since I don't know offhand a lot of Musicians I'd like to date)
1. Tom Welling. Actually, I have no idea what Tom Welling is like in person, but I am positively fixated with Clark Kent in Smallville.
2. Chris Martin of Coldplay. Move over, Gwyneth! And he better sing me "Yellow" and swear it was written solely for me.
3. James McAvoy. Mr. Tumnus the faun in Narnia, you know. Maybe it's the goat thing.
4. Steve Irwin. I know he's deceased and all, but he was so fabulous.
Four Things I'd Rather Throw than Eat:
1. Mushrooms. (This could be quite comical, actually! Picture (with slight caveman accent): "Us hicks no like strangers in here parts. Pelt! Pelt strangers with mushrooms!")
2. Peanut butter. I'm sure you could make some kind of artwork while you're at it, of Japanese ink blot fashion.
3. Water balloons. (hehehe...)
4. Spam. (It kind of catches the breath in my throat even as I type it.)
Four Things I Like to Sniff:
1. My sweetie. Find a boy you really like, and even when he's sweaty and nasty, he'll still smell good to you.
2. Incense
3. Raining
4. My puppy. She has her own particular scent that is lovely and home to me.
Four People I'd Like to Tag:
1. You
2. you
3. you
4. and you
Four First Names of Crushes I've Had:
1. Bobby Yawn. For real. This was in kindergarten--I got started early.
2. Jesse (first kiss!)
3. Heath
4. oh, I think it was Zack
Four Pieces of Clothing I wish I still owned:
1. My teal jeweled earrings that killed each other this morning! One of them launched herself onto her sister, over great heights, to body slam her and knock out jewels from both earrings. It was quite dramatic. I almost cried.
2. grandma's brooch (thanks, Cara)
3. This pair of brown Arizona shoes that were Doc Marten look alikes. They were the best. Probably because they cost 30% of Docs price.
I can't think of any more. I like to move on and have variety in my clothes.
Four Names I've Been Called at One Time or Another:
1. Brittly
2. Sugar
3. Brita
4. Breet (that one's Spanish)
(I've always wanted a better nickname, but it's never worked out so well since my name is kind of a nickname.)
Four Professions I Secretly Want to Try:
1. National Geographic photographer or photojournalist
2. Orphanage worker in Latin/South America or the next Mother Teresa
3. Singer/songwriter
4. Surfer, ski bum, or hot scuba instructor
(So hard to choose just 4!)
Four Musicians I'd Most Want to Go on a Date With:
(okay, celebs, since I don't know offhand a lot of Musicians I'd like to date)
1. Tom Welling. Actually, I have no idea what Tom Welling is like in person, but I am positively fixated with Clark Kent in Smallville.
2. Chris Martin of Coldplay. Move over, Gwyneth! And he better sing me "Yellow" and swear it was written solely for me.
3. James McAvoy. Mr. Tumnus the faun in Narnia, you know. Maybe it's the goat thing.
4. Steve Irwin. I know he's deceased and all, but he was so fabulous.
Four Things I'd Rather Throw than Eat:
1. Mushrooms. (This could be quite comical, actually! Picture (with slight caveman accent): "Us hicks no like strangers in here parts. Pelt! Pelt strangers with mushrooms!")
2. Peanut butter. I'm sure you could make some kind of artwork while you're at it, of Japanese ink blot fashion.
3. Water balloons. (hehehe...)
4. Spam. (It kind of catches the breath in my throat even as I type it.)
Four Things I Like to Sniff:
1. My sweetie. Find a boy you really like, and even when he's sweaty and nasty, he'll still smell good to you.
2. Incense
3. Raining
4. My puppy. She has her own particular scent that is lovely and home to me.
Four People I'd Like to Tag:
1. You
2. you
3. you
4. and you
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Oh, that infamous, nearly unanswerable question--"So, what's new with you?"
Even though I just spent the evening with my parents and my Dad asked me this, I didn't give him the straight answer. Not on purpose, but just because the vast majority of us have that programmed response, "Oh, nothing much. School is busy."
But I think there are some new things in the life of Britt.
I had a fun Labor Day, helping prepare and eat Chicken Curry, potato cakes, and hummus at Shawn's dad's with his family. His sister even said, "Look! You fit in perfectly!" I won't go into the details of what I think about how I fit in with them, but I digress.
Almost humorously, I thought that Labor Day would be the last day in my life to eat meat. I've been playing for quite a while with the idea of becoming vegetarian (vegan, in fact), and this week I've started to take it to the next level. But the problem is all these food committments. And tomorrow I go to some old family friends' house for probably burgers (yuck!). But I have a hard time telling people. Usually because I think they'll judge me. As, oh, LOONY. But it's not loony to me. It makes sense in my head. And while I don't have the energy to type up all the whys of why vegetarianism/veganism appeals so much, I know I do it out of a sense of compassion. I think I'll actually be healthier thinking more carefully about getting balanced meals. Maybe I won't be able to make the change all at once, but I guess a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a step.
Ever the rebel, I'm thinking of taking a short course in naughty terms in American Sign Language. No, it's not really because I'm a rebel (although I positively am dreaming at this very moment of getting my nose pierced). But it's necessary to know those words if you work in education. This way I can shock the kids who try out all the "new words" they learn.
Wow, there are a lot of other things I won't go into detail about: how I have an interview scheduled with Big Brothers, Big Sisters (I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew), how I cooked fantastic spaghetti with sauteed veggies tonight and felt quite the accomplished cook, how I spent a day this weekend having a blast with just myself (I went to Pet Warehouse to look at all the animals, then grabbed sushi from the grocery store and ate it in Starbucks. Then I read for a while and wrote for a little bit. It was all a blast!), how the little girl in me would love to start taking horsebackriding lessons again, how I've started writing every day...
There's so much to life. Even in the shadows, it's ever beautiful.
Even though I just spent the evening with my parents and my Dad asked me this, I didn't give him the straight answer. Not on purpose, but just because the vast majority of us have that programmed response, "Oh, nothing much. School is busy."
But I think there are some new things in the life of Britt.
I had a fun Labor Day, helping prepare and eat Chicken Curry, potato cakes, and hummus at Shawn's dad's with his family. His sister even said, "Look! You fit in perfectly!" I won't go into the details of what I think about how I fit in with them, but I digress.
Almost humorously, I thought that Labor Day would be the last day in my life to eat meat. I've been playing for quite a while with the idea of becoming vegetarian (vegan, in fact), and this week I've started to take it to the next level. But the problem is all these food committments. And tomorrow I go to some old family friends' house for probably burgers (yuck!). But I have a hard time telling people. Usually because I think they'll judge me. As, oh, LOONY. But it's not loony to me. It makes sense in my head. And while I don't have the energy to type up all the whys of why vegetarianism/veganism appeals so much, I know I do it out of a sense of compassion. I think I'll actually be healthier thinking more carefully about getting balanced meals. Maybe I won't be able to make the change all at once, but I guess a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a step.
Ever the rebel, I'm thinking of taking a short course in naughty terms in American Sign Language. No, it's not really because I'm a rebel (although I positively am dreaming at this very moment of getting my nose pierced). But it's necessary to know those words if you work in education. This way I can shock the kids who try out all the "new words" they learn.
Wow, there are a lot of other things I won't go into detail about: how I have an interview scheduled with Big Brothers, Big Sisters (I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew), how I cooked fantastic spaghetti with sauteed veggies tonight and felt quite the accomplished cook, how I spent a day this weekend having a blast with just myself (I went to Pet Warehouse to look at all the animals, then grabbed sushi from the grocery store and ate it in Starbucks. Then I read for a while and wrote for a little bit. It was all a blast!), how the little girl in me would love to start taking horsebackriding lessons again, how I've started writing every day...
There's so much to life. Even in the shadows, it's ever beautiful.
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