Coroner of Darkness

Get it? Corner / Coroner sounds like the same word if you say it fast.
It seems like in my little slice of the blogosphere, everyone is doing some kind of post about Halloween. I don't know if this is just because they truly like the holiday and naturally want to blog about it, or if they are trying to get more visitors to their site by blogging about a relevant topic. Maybe there's some study or statistic which shows that people do more google searches about Halloween on the day itself? Well, I won't bother my head about people's motives; that can be just silly.

I think it is apropos to unveil my self-designed corner of darkness the day after Halloween.
Here it is:
(This is also the only neat corner of my room right now)

I realize that despite its name, it is still a pretty cheery looking spot given the yellow walls, pastel pinks, and the cute chubby bird, BUT I think the black leaves add a nice touch to the whole area. I got them at a local 99 cent store. Good deal, no? The bust of the Victorian woman was garnered at a post-Halloween sale at Michaels 2 years ago. I really love it. I swear, just like the Mona Lisa, her facial expression seems to change depending on when and from witch* angle I look at her. It's like she's got a friendly spirit living inside her. The funny thing about her is that at the time of purchase, she was a much darker shade of grey, with black circles under her eyes to give a more sinister look. However, since I didn't want it to be so seasonal but more of an everyday decor piece, I had Diana paint over it with a thin layer of White acrylic paint. Now the funny part is, she accidentally painted a thicker coat everywhere but on the chin and the space under her nose. So sometimes it looks as though she has a 5 o' clock shadow. It's the kind of thing that you really wouldn't notice unless it's pointed out, and when you do, it's hillarious (at least to us).

Most of the time she looks thoughtful and knowing


*Pun

Part deux of my night:
Note: The following two movies are in no way recommended. In fact, I recommend you to stay as far away from them as possible. Unlike Lemony Snicket, who loves to use reverse psychology, I completely mean what I am saying.


I am never letting someone so different from myself pick out what movies I watch ever again. Given these two poor choices, I suggested we watch Mother of Tears first. I thought it might be more complex than the other one. Big mistake. It had the basic theme of Pandora's box; a woman accidentally unleashes evil into the world through her curiousity and inexperience. It was also the most misogynistic, sexist, xenophobic, racist crap I've seen in a long, long time. If I ever see the director/writer, I would like to punch him in the face. It's unfortunate that such an idiot should have been in the position to make movies. The second one was better only by default given how abysmally bad the first was. During my after-movie talk with Angela, I mentioned how I found the first one to be xenophobic and she thought I was talking about that old show Xena: Warrior Princess and started enthusing about how much she had liked it. I was very confused.

I could go into countless examples* into why the movie was so bad, but I'm tired. I went to bed at 3 and woke up today at 8. I wound up sleeping over at Angela's because I was way too creeped out to be driving down dark twisty roads with no sources of light. That's another thing, I wonder if these types of movies scare me so much partly because the victims are usually female. In Prom Night, the dates of some of the females were also killed, but when they were killed, it was much less drawn out and with little to no suspense. Not so when it was a female victim! And I don't understand why people need to make movies with so much sadistic gore in them! The little that I saw was enough to last me a lifetime. A good portion of the night found me sitting with my back to the screen with fingers pressed so hard over my ears that I heard a faint ringing over the distant screams of pain. Isn't it bad enough to know that throughout history, there have been real humans beings who have had to die or be tortured in similar fashion? Why do people feel the need to recreate it?

*In Mother of Tears,the portrayal of the Head Witch and her followers was retarded. The script sucked. F's all around.

My attempt at a food blog

I cooked, I mean, really cooked today for the first time since Diana left for college! With anticipation, enjoyment, and most importantly of all, a vision! How did this come about? Well, I had driven to my boss' house to do some computer work with Connie. Now one would assume that when one has already spoken with the aforementioned person the previous week and agreed upon a specific date and time, said person will be there. Well she wasn't. So I waited for half an hour before leaving. Mind you I hadn't eaten since 9 in the morning and was quite ravenous. Feeling a bit depressed about the needless driving and time-wasting, I remembered that I had a packet of salmon in the fridge, waiting to be made...

And voila! Teriyaki salmon with pineapples:


Succulent and sweet pineapple chunks


To be nestled on a bed of organic basmati rice (with dried cilantro and dill weed)



The fragrant rosemary plant from whence the garnish came:


The End

And now! To be annoying like Lidia, I shall taste it for you! (I already did) Yum! A chef might say that the teriyaki taste is a bit too strong and interferes with the marriage of the salmon and pineapple, but I like it.

The 6 word memoir

I think the type of blog I'm about to write might be called 'meme' blogging. (Meme is French for 'same') Isn't that where you take an interesting subject seen on someone else's blog and write your own thoughts on it?
I need to watch this slide show again.

The 25 Basic Styles of Blogging ... And When To Use Each One

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: tips marketing)

My sister told me about a post on a blog I don't often read anymore(partly because his updates are getting fewer and fewer), about people who write their memoirs in only 6 words. I have to confess, my initial thoughts to this were, 'What is this? Some kind of lame attempt to be profound and unique?' It's a good thing my first thoughts are for the most part private because I'm sure I'd be heavily disliked otherwise. So, swallowing my initial dubious feelings, I checked it out, and lo and behold, it was quite a genius idea! Here is the original post if you want to look into it yourself. It might show my own dunce-like qualities to write this, but I first thought it would just be some random words strung together to describe yourself. For example I might put, Facebook, short hair, confused, young, Hopeful. Looking at some of the examples on the blog post, this task can actually be really difficult! I found this one to be particularly evocative:
"For Sale: baby shoes, never worn"
-Ernest Hemingway (of course!)

Wow. Now there's a sentence that is chock full of meaning and able to be thought of in several different ways. I'm not going to attempt to do a six word memoir of my whole entire life right now, but for the past 2-3 days I would say, 'Tulmultuous mind choked with moral quandaries'.

This writing excercise reminds me of poetry in a way; complex thoughts and emotions contained in a condensed little walnut. It also seems to be praising the taciturn personality by reminding us that a person who doesn't say much could actually have a lot on her mind and in her heart.

Eat, Sleep, Draw.

Boy with cup phone.

Girl with cup phone.

Dear,

I'm so sad that you're hurting. You weren't malicious or hostile at all when I told you. You reminded me of a little boy that had his favorite stuffed animal taken away from him. A little boy who wouldn't ever be mean, just lost and sad. If you have any claws, I haven't noticed them. I feel terrible. Anything I type gets deleted because words just can't seem to cover this. I re-read some sentence I wrote and just hate it. You were trying so hard to be understanding and fair; it made me cry. As much as this hurts you and I right now, I feel it needs to be done. Maybe this will be temporary. Maybe something better will come out of this. Don't think this is the end of us because it's not. Feelings about someone aren't just turned on and off. It sounds harsh, but I need to see what else is out there for me. This doesn't mean you are lessened in my heart one bit. There is nothing at all you are lacking in. I know you are very mature and I know we will work this out. I still love you.

Stereotypes should go kill themselves

Why My Son Wears Pink

By: Penni
-The F word

Written by a 10 yr old girl

So you really think we're stupid?
Taken from The F-word blog

Mice friends

I did a Birthday drawing-painting for Keith today. Finished it in about an hour and a half.

"Mouse party"


Close ups:

After lunch nap


So full after a wedge of cheese they had no room for even a nibble of peanut.


There was delicious camomile tea in dainty green cups.


And now, a well earned rest with snug matching socks to keep their feet warm. There's nothing worse than cold feet.

Seasons 3/4

Here are some stockings/tights combinations I came up with.

Fall colors:


Pine tree winter:


Sweet spring (or summer):


Last night, a boy from Japan told me that Haikus were originally supposed to be about each of the four seasons. Maybe that's what I was subconsciously remembering when I came up with these combos.

Oh! and Last, here is a slightly scandal-us picture of my new fingerless gloves. I didn't realize when I took it that my underwear would be showing. But now that your attention is directed towards it, might I point out that those are one of my favorite pairs. They are boys' size 6-7, and have an allover print of jungle green dinosaurs.



tag : fashion

art in lowercase

Browsing through this fun art blog, where anyone can submit a drawing and have it posted up fairly soon on the site. Usually, I don't click on this site from Google reader because a lot of the drawings are too cutesy and cartoonish for my taste, but I found a few gems today.

"Emergency Landing"

I love sparrows, and this one reminds me of Gulliver's travels combined with The Littles combined with the hazy dream world of Sylvie and Bruno.

This next one was untitled, but it reminded me of Bianca Cassady from cocorosie.
Very fitting since she has hazy gender boundaries and I remember hearing from her sister in an interview that she has thought about getting her breasts removed.
Click me

And from there I came across Me and My Pen who does really fine picture-like lettering. I love when words and images are combined.

2 Interesting mini-articles

I want to see more of where that picture came from! It looks so funny.
Kindergarten sex ed.

I like this guy. Four types of readers of Harry Potter being related to the four houses. I'm a Gryffindor according to him! With a tiny bit of Hufflepuff because I feel loyal to the book series, and also a bit of Ravenclaw because I do still see it as a fad.

What do you expect?

Brief interviews with very very conservative-minded people about Obama. I don't know what to think.



"This is a Christian nation."
A negro. A second stringer.
Palin is filled with the Holy Spirit?
Friends with a terrorist!
Anti-white?
Baby killer...

sigh

Blue Clown & Lion Head

Here's some small sketch/paintings I did back in September. Well the sketch part was in Sept. and the painting part was last week. I already posted them on Facebook and thought I'd put them here too. Diana said they look vibrant and jubilant, which is ironic since I drew these in my journal the day of my not-to-be second road test when I was feeling anything but vibrant and jubilant. I had been getting more and more nervous waiting in the car so I was just writing down whatever was in my head to get my mind off the impending 5 minute drive. Then, after I got bored of writing driving instructions and advice to myself, I decided to draw something that captures how I feel about Of Montreal (happy thoughts!) and voila. I tried to keep my hand motions very loose and fluid, which was pretty easy since I was feeling a kind of limp nervousness. That sounds so Victorian.

The figures in their original context.

If you can read my script, you'll see a small sample of what I was writing to myself to stay calm.

A gem of a quote

Today's Neitzsche saying? Completely applicable to Kevin Barnes and any other interesting artists/performers.

"You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star. "

This makes me really want to read something by him so I can find his quotes within context. Although the last time I picked up something he wrote at the Strand (forget the name of it), it was very hard to understand, aka boring.

It's so cold this morning! I have to go outside later and pick some cabbage leaves to make the chickens' breakfast/lunch. Brr! Then, driving to school.

Id Engager

Pretty good acoustic version! They're so colorful. Note the way Kevin (in the purple pants) is standing. That's my favorite position to stand, with legs crossed! It's very comfortable. High-five Kevin!

The garbage collectors' least favorite season is upon us

Okay, so I'm in lab entering data for surveys on political attitudes. One page requests you to "List 3 words that come to mind when you think of JOHN MCCAIN".

Person 1 : Old, determined, boring.
Person 2 : Old, money, weasel.
Person 3 : Republican, old, idiot.
For Obama she wrote : young, kinda cute, change.
While a Republican white male wrote : bad, tall, black.

That cracks me up.


McCain?

It's me

"Etsy: The Handmade's Tale"

Stumbled across this video not so much by chance. The background music adds just the right mood to what's being said. Really makes me love Etsy even more; it makes the viewer feel as though they are part of something bigger; a revolution even.



Like?
Then watch this too. He's one of my favorite sellers on etsy. He calls his stuff Cubist Literature. My favorites are his vague scribbled French/German phrases on tees.

Sigh!

I get so jealous of Emily Martin sometimes. She just posted up a new picture on her fashion blog 'Some Girls Wander' in which she dresses like Violet Baudelaire (my hero) and she has the old fashioned orphan girl look down to a T - and just where does that phrase come from anyway? I mean, I could look like that too I suppose. It would just take hours of nosing around in Beacon's Closet and probably at least a hundred bucks. Ha! Because looking at that outfit, she can't have gotten every part of it in a thrift store! And if she did, then I am even more jealous!

However, I did get a pair of patterned knee-high socks this weekend from Target, and I really like the way they look over a colorful pair of tights. I want to get more! Just a few, nothing crazy. I want one that looks like cozy sweater sleeves. Like this one from Free People.


(My what skinny legs she's got!)

I love their website style. They're another one of those very trendy, wanting-to-protray-an-urban-vintagey-style type of store. (Like Urban Outfitters, Athropologie, American Apparel etc.) That is to say, they're also ridiculously expensive. The socks cost $28. No thanks, I'll stick with Target where I can get them for under 1/4 of the cost.

Today's Nietzsche quote really confused me at first.
"When one has much to put into them, a day has a hundred pockets. "
Say what? Come again?
I think he meant that when a person has lots of meaningful, interesting activities to do, she'll get them done and be able to fit a lot more into her day. As opposed to someone who is bumming around and doesn't have a set plan in her head, who will feel like she never has enough time to do anything. I think.

In other news, I'll be filling up my first tank of gas today. I hope I remember later when I'm driving to work because the gas needle is on the verge of becoming dangerously low. Bye bye forty dollars! I don't even mind though because it feels like such a privileged (and slightly nerve wracking) luxury to finally be driving myself places. Hooray!

Apology

I'm sorry people, but I'm going to have to dedicate yet another post to something remarkably great Kevin Barnes said. I realize this blog is fast becoming a Kevin Barnes fan site, and I promise this will go on for roughly just one more week(?). Can you blame me? After their unrestrained, pull-out-all-the stoppers show at Roseland, there has been a veritable deluge of interviews, and I've been faithfully reading them all. I have to say, it's starting to make me feel quite special that I was a (small) part of the glorius spectacle that is of Montreal. Imagine how the band members must feel! Maybe in twenty years, I'll be talking about this to kids the way middle-agers today reminisce about some amazing Pink Floyd/David Bowie show they went to in their youth.
My friend let me borrow his SPIN magazine yesterday, and while I am not a huge fan of SPIN now due to their cover photo of the band and the interview write up, I did find these delightful quotes straight from the centaur's mouth:

"For a while, I really wanted to be gay, but it felt unnatural. I made out with guys, and it didn't give me the same feeling I got from making out with girls. I had this romantic notion that if people were gay, we wouldn't fight and oppress each other. But it didn't work out for me."

On his two main influences, Prince and Bowie:
" ...they didn't have a fixed identity; they could constantly change within a record. There's nothing more boring than being consistent."

Kevin, let me just say now for the record that I love you. It's sad to think that you don't know I exist, at least not individually. You might realize there are fans out there who like everything about you and all the music you make, including the amateurish sounding Cherry Peel, but you don't know me specifically. I completely understand where you were coming from in thinking things would be better if people didn't have a hang up over homosexuality. I've had similar romantic beliefs. I love how you say that all you need is your wife, brother, and daughter, and I wish I could be part of that cozy little group. That is, of course, not possible. Perhaps I need to have my own little world to belong in, which I do, but I wish I could visit your little world at least once. I realize you're not perfect, and that you may have a tendency to be too into yourself, but is that really such a bad flaw when it makes all the other cool things about you possible? Flaws and strengths go hand in hand. I smiled inwardly when I read that you didn't have any friends till you were 10 or 11, but made up your own world with entertaining things. I have to confess I had a little world of animal shadow friends whenever I felt lonely as a kid. (There were deer, rabbits, and an evil snake.)

Well, that's it, I'm all typed out. I will just conclude by saying that it's nice to go through life knowing there was another awkward twenty-something who felt the same way I did about things.

Mama my heart's not dead.

Just read a really awesome Kevin Barnes interview at The New Gay.



I especially like this quote:
"It’s an everything album, it’s not just one specific thing. I was trying to create something that mirrored my experiences and consciousness, it’s ambivalent and all over the place and contradicting itself. I’m proud of it for that reason, that it is very complicated and dense and bizarre."

I love this picture.

She looks like a softer version of Bianca Cassady.

The wizard needs food

This is a necklace I got this past weekend at a giant thrift warehouse near Soho. Twas only $5. What does it look like to you? I think it looks like a head, and Diana thought it looked like a kite.



I really need to google 'wizard rock' and find out what that's all about. Danii from the show was telling me how she's into that scene and it sounds so strange and interesting. It's basically a bunch of bands that base their name and songs around Harry Potter. I'm a fan of Harry Potter and have sometimes longed for that world to be integrated into real life, so this seems like a good deal. Must check out. She told me there are bands called Harry and the Potters (cheesy much?) and the Muggles or something like that.

My friend Kristian wants me to go see the Mountain Goats with him in November. The band sounds decent, I figure it'll be a good opportunity to check out something new, hang out with a friend, and have that friend become better acquainted with my (supercool) sister. So I'll look up tickets for that now(?) ... ugh I feel so lazy though, it just means spending more money, which pains me.
yikes never mind! I searched and couldn't find anything. They might've sold out already?! Wow, didn't know they were so popular considering I've never even heard of them. (Haha, and if I haven't heard of them, why they're nobodies!)

News

This is great of course, but lots of official videos, photos, and interviews have been posted for the Roseland show I went to. Of Montreal overload! I will do my best to slowly absorb all of it over the next few days.

Along those same lines...(not really)
I got my driver's license today! That's right chickies, at the ripe old age of 22 years I've finally got it. Feels so good. Strange to think that right now, if I so desired, I could drive over to the Cheesecake Factory and use that birthday giftcard that Angeline got me. But I won't because I don't want to get into an accident and plus, I'm making myself a package of organic whole wheat ravioli (courtesy of Costco). It's so good. This is definitely becoming a staple in my diet.

Deja Vu?

Non! Just attempt #2!



Do you see my mistake? It's supposed to be a half circle pocket shape...
oh well! I did my trademark 'O' for Octavius, our online etsy store that is not yet to be, but soon hopefully.

Here's a pincushion Diana made, in the shape of a tree, house, or mushroom. Whichever you prefer.



Thirdly, a hand made net by Diana. (We were productive this weekend)

Of Montreal with Love Is All

*Wrong date,wrong show, but click to see photos from this past Friday 10/10/08.


There was a white horse which was paid for by the one they call B.P. Helium. I wondered if it was deaf as it stood calmly on stage with Kevin on its back, nary but 10 feet away from speakers that made my voice box tremor and my jeans vibrate. This was just one of many great surprises. Well, to start from the beginning - the opening band was fun to watch. The lead singer was decked out in an old fashioned ruffly top, knitted pageboy cap, and simple black pleated skirt. Her singing style was not so much about the words but vocalizations. She reminded me of little Oliver Twist inciting all the other boys to start a riot against their cruel task masters.
Keith, Diana, and I got to Roseland ballroom at around 3:30 and there was only one other person there. So we can't claim we were the first ones, but close enough! The real first person was very friendly and so were her friends who later arrived. Her given name is Daniella but she said she changed it to Danii in 7th grade. Reminds me of myself and Zadie Smith. What is it with girls who change their names in middle school?! Re-inventionists - We're cool. Her friend Haya was a white looking Egyptian who had a way of saying "Hellz yeah!" that cracked me up every time. It sounded so authentic and full of attitude. A homeless man named Ron (Rob?) approached our group to ask for some change and a conversation was started when Danii said "NO" before he even got the full question out. I give props to him for being able to joke about it in such an easy going, not bothered sort of way. He was very intelligent and we peppered him with questions about his experiences, although for propriety's sake, none of us asked the question that was most on our minds, which was how he became homeless in the first place. After he left, we all agreed that he probably wouldn't have been offended, but it is such a 'bad' sounding question. So how did you become a failure in life? I don't think of him as a failure, in fact, I was kind of jealous of his lifestyle. It seems free. Lately I've been in a 'grass is always greener' kind of mind set. Don't know why. But back to the show, so many other surprising things! Golden budhha-like figures dancing behind Kevin. All the costumes were amazing. I wish people could dress like that in real life! Although if everyone did, would it cease to be amazing? Strangeness depends on the boring hum drums of daily life to exist.
Whoever choreographs these shows - good job of creating a fantasy world full of wonder and strangeness! There was a fat blow up creature in a ugly polka dotted suit, people in skin tight 'shadow' suits in staged fights against animals with human bodies. A bird with giant arms and legs. Kevin in a shaving cream suit rising out of a coffin. A centaur's tragic love story in which a slutty little satyr (or is it faun?) steals away two medieval women to have sex on the left side of the stage. Kevin getting hung on the gallows, then painted red. Kevin as a corrupt Catholic priest condemning a poor deer-human to death. I'm reciting the skits all jumbled up and it makes me want to re-watch the show to see if there is a coherent story line behind all these skits. I feel like there ought to be...

In a bit I'll post up a drawing I did a month ago in honour of the fanciful things that of Montreal puts into my head.

In this neck of the woods...

It's been very rainy here in New York, causing our chicken coop to be in a near perpectual state of muddiness. So this morning when I went to the fridge to get two eggs for my breakfast, this is what I found.


You know, I'm pretty sure that mud has at least 1% of chicken poop mixed in there. And I had to wash it. With my bare hands.

In other news, after several silly mishaps (including sewing the durn thing closed), I finally finished making this little #.



Inner view:



I don't know if you can see, but the inner patch has an 'O' for Octavius.
I call it Lucy Locket's Threadbare Pocket. Or just threadbare pocket for short.
It's a bit dinky looking but I'll get better at it. It's too much fun to pick out the colorful felts and fabrics and to mix and match. I'll be using it today to hold my new digital camera so it won't get scratched in my bag. Seeing Of Montreal tonight at the Roseland Ballroom. Should be as exciting as a barrel of starving monkeys with a banana thrown in.
I don't mean to be sadistic. It just comes naturally.

N.Y.S.

I just love Miss Heather's Bad Date Haikus! LOL! I especially like the cradle robber one.
At work I was talking with Joe the avid McCain supporter about (last night's?)debate, and he said Obama might be a charismatic public speaker, but so was Hitler.
Some guys at work like to hold doors open and try to let me go in first. I always stay behind and gesture for them to go ahead with a friendly grin. This is especially funny when it involves Carlos. It becomes a battle of the wills as he stands there holding open the door giving me a pointed look while I stare back and yell at him to just walk through already. He said he's just trying to be chivalrous (surprise surprise) and I told him that I think chivalry is completely unnecessary. What is necessary is basic human respect towards others. Opening the door for someone who is female by someone who is male implies that collectively males should take care of and watch out for females. To make it sound more positive, one could say it elevates females but I don't see why that's necessary. Females are not that different or superior from males to be 'served' in that way. It's cool in a personal, romantic relationship for the two people involved to mutually take care of and 'protect' each other, but not males in general for females in general. I mean, maybe in some rare situations this would be necessary. Say if I happened to find myself admist a gang of rapists in a dark unfamiliar territory and I had my friend ...Bob with me. I'd want him to fight or run with me rather than running off and forgetting all about me. So basically, I don't like chivalrous acts like having doors opened for me, so don't do it! I'd much rather play fight with a guy.

I like Somerset and the beach

I am reading this book.
It's the one that most closely mirrors his own life. And what an interesting life that was from the brief summary I read at wikipedia. "A career in the church was rejected because a stammering minister might make the family seem ridiculous."
The book has themes of emotional repression and homosexuality.
I got it from The Strand and was surprised to see it on a shelf among other Classics. This might sound snobby and ridiculous, but I thought I had heard of most classics and their authors by now to at least have a vague recognition of them. But nope! His name was completely unfamiliar, making it a cool new discovery. It reminds me slightly of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield because it follows a lonely little orphan boy during his bleak early years.

Jeff Koons

I remember seeing this artist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my visiting friend Angeline. Now he's doing an exhibit in Paris in a fancy building where some people think his art doesn't belong. They think it's a "sullying of French culture and identity".

Note to self: Listen to This later?

haha...


Also, why can't McCain pretend he knows exactly what he's talking about like Obama does? Does he not realize that repeating the same phrase he said five minutes ago, word for vague word, does not do a thing for his credibility?
And was it really necessary for Obama to make that crack about the "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" thing...? Maybe for theatric effect.

Try to be honest for now

In the body image psychology lab, the most interesting page of the questionnaires is where the participant has to list 10 things she would like to change about herself. A minority of people put body image related concerns for all ten, but most people have a good mix of physical, mental, and character traits they would like to improve in.
It makes me wonder what I would put if I were doing the survey. One particular person said that she wants to lessen the flab under her arms so that her arms don't look like a flying squirrel's. Haha! How descriptive!
Here are some more funny/interesting answers:

-I wish to change the color of my nails.
-I wish to change the part of my brain responsible for memory.
-I wish to change my inability to relate to others.
-I wish to change my fear of breaking free of the status quo.

My own list of ten things I want to change about myself: -
- I become too easily discouraged when obstacles arise and am quick to think that I can't do it.
- I am slow to work on/approach something that I fear a negative result in. (ie. failure, ie. grad school)
-
-
-
-
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What the...

Saw this article on Diana's blog a few days ago. Boy feeds reptiles to crocodile!?!?
Amazing. What would prompt a 7 year old to do such a thing? The article didn't give much background info on his family life except to say that his older brother had been part of a group (of boys?) who attacked the crocodile 5 years earlier.
Very few young children posess such a lack of boundaries as to not only climb over the fence at a zoo but also to hurt and kill the creatures behind it. It shows a complete disregard for authority and rules.(Maybe because he feels alienated from society and therefore feels that rules don't apply to him?) And what a strange twist that he fed the smaller reptiles to Terry the crocodile. Does that show a sadistic tendency or does it show a caring tendency? It would be so interesting to have more information on this boy and use them as clues in figuring out why he did what he did. Just like the psychologist in Equus who figured out why Alan blinded six horses by discovering his fascinating personal history. (whoa Freudian slip! I typed 'sex' instead of 'six'. Probably because in the back of my mind I knew that part of the reason Alan did it was due to something sexual.)
"Mr Neindorf said: “We’re horrified that anyone could do this, and saddened by the age of the child. He will just get worse and worse and worse - by the time he’s 10 he will be a hardened criminal.” "
I'm glad he didn't explicitly say, this boy is 'bad'. I don't feel comfortable with that label for young children who do destructive things. His statement sounds so condemning though. A humanistic psychologist like Carl Rogers might say that all the boy needs is someone to listen to him and make him feel cared about. That was the scenario in one of my favorite childhood books, There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom. All Bradley Chalkers needed was for someone to tell him that he wasn't a monster. I think that theory was written off by later psychologists as being too simplistic though...
Well work was crazy today! A lot of drama involving Jimmy the store manager and the boss, Vinnie. All is resolved though because Vinnie is a good mediator. He gets stressed out easily and upsets people, but he has a talent for soothing ruffled feathers.
Now lets see if I can put a decent background on this blog o' mine...

This funny video made me cry

Why did it have that effect on me?
Time for self analysis...

In other news, I got some cheap old books from the library. Two for the interesting prints on their covers. I might take a page from Emilyand paint something on it.
I love her idea, yet I wish I had thought of it or done it first. Everyone who's anyone wants to be original. I do realize that the creative 'public' figures I admire aren't truly original. They might be original in some ways, but never completely. It's like a chain. Every person's creations were influenced to some degree by other people's creations.

This I must look into as soon as possible. Oooh the possibilities! Should be lots of fun!

The Pompous Centaur

Oh the impertinent boy. He looks like he's about to give my initials a kick.

Detail

Veep!

Joe Biden seemed to have said things with more substance. Palin was really annoying how sometimes, right after Biden finished discussing something in a serious way, would come back with a cute chipmunk-like grin and a matching chipper voice. All her little 'down home' phrases annoyed me too. It seemed like she was trying too hard to connect with the 'common people'. And apparently the common people are Joe six pack and hockey moms. However, I did like how she switched smoothly from being rather light hearted and goofy to a more serious professional tone. I agree with what Geraldine Ferraro said after the debate. As a woman she was rooting for Palin to "hold her own" and be taken seriously for the sake of all women, while as a Democrat she agreed with Biden's policies.
This is the first time I've actually seen Palin speaking for herself. Previously I'd just gotten a general sense of her from things I've read and heard from SNL, people who dislike her, people who like her. It was nice to see her as 'herself'. I can see where the mockery and stereotypes come from, but to use the phrase she used a lot tonight, I do respect her. Speaking of repitition, Maverick! What a sickening word.
That was a tense moment when gay marriage was brought up. Smart move on her part to start off saying she supports the "traditional definition of marriage" (which made me tense up) but then to quickly follow that up with a whole spiel about how she's for tolerance and compassionate actions towards homosexuals. It ended on a light and slightly confusing note. "Yes both Joe and I are against gay marriage."
During some boring parts, I entertained myself trying to figure out who the moderator was leaning more towards. Maybe moderators have to be independent.
I should really try to go to sleep since I have to wake up early tomorrow, but I feel like I've just had coffee when I haven't. I think it's the cold that's making me jittery.

In other news, I am no longer camera-less!

Dumbo is not just a cute little elephant who got drunk and missed his mommy

*Just a reminder: I like to make all my pictures clickable!

This past weekend, I went to The New Museum and the DUMBO art festival. It was all a very unfamiliar breed of Art (to me). At The New Museum I was most affected by the video about what happened in Kuwait a few years ago. I knew that they burned all their oil, but to see it was quite depressing. To see what a human in power can decide to do. Was it all about money, pride, and power? The thick black smoke clouding up the sky for miles and miles and miles. How could a man do that to nature? Then to see the torture weapons, along with a theme of mutism. The mother who watched her two sons tortured to death lost her ability to speak. The little boy who was terrorized by soldiers at night said to his mother, "I don't ever want to learn how to talk" and stopped speaking.

I see it as a retreat. To stop speaking is an effective way to close oneself off and to hide away. It makes sense that people who have been extremely hurt would want to separate themselves from the world. It's the only way they can still try to feel safe. To stop speaking is to disappear, and if They can't see you, maybe they won't be able to hurt you anymore. It was depressing to first see photos of nature in all its vitality contrasted with the destructive power of human beings.
The artist Pawel Althamer made human figures out of grass, hemp fiber, animal intestine, wax, and hair. This seemed a very clear message relating to the photographs and video. It was a reminder of the link between humans and nature. Sometimes, people see themselves as separate and above nature. So they cut down trees, kill animals to the point of extinction, and burn gallons and gallons of oil. Making realistic human figures out of these natural and organic materials reminds us of how much a part of nature we are.

I have to go to work now.