Saturday, September 20, 2008
Book Crazy
So last month I tried cutting down on buying frivolous, lovely things like books, clothes, etc. It was totally not worth it, as my credit card bill came down to the same as it always is. I swear it's some sort of black hole; I think I might have a little into how we can all end up like Ed McMahon. Even the guy at my local Anthropologie said, "Long time, no see!" while I was plucking up a new dress after my big eff you to saving.
Now, I'm cutting down on buying lunch at work & planning grocery shopping more wisely instead -- and treating myself to whatever frivolities I want (within reason) since, as the bf kindly reminded me, I've got to while I'm still on a payroll! (I know, I should be responsible and save, I'm trying!)
I went on a big book coveting spree over the weekend since it will all be very useful resource material soon, hopefully! Here's what I got:
 Labels: books
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Reader of Books
Yesterday evening I was in a rather crummy mood. To pull myself up by the bootstraps, I curled up with my stack of library books, plowed through How To Breathe Underwater, and half-watched season one of Project Runway (borrowed from a friend at work since I'd never seen it). I have to say I'm not really a fan of Orringer's work - but it's topical rather than lack of skill (after all, the lady went to Iowa and had a Stegner). If you like well-written but totally depressing/anxiety-inducing stories about adolescent girls being oppressed in the hierarchy of middle school and dealing with cancer-wrought mothers, then you might want to pick this up.
So after satisfyingly closing that book, I picked up Matilda. I'm thinking of doing some concept designs for the characters (Matilda, Miss Honey, her parents, her brother, Miss Trunchbull, of course), so I wanted to revisit my childhood favorite. Can I just say I love this book? I love how witty and clever and sly it is, completely sidling with children (who doesn't think they have dreadful parents at some point in their life), while bringing some nudge & winks in for adult readers. It's so brilliant. Roald Dahl 4eva.Labels: books
Monday, July 21, 2008
And on the seventh day, she baked.
I made these black bottom cupcakes (recipe originally from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey, but I found it here) yesterday morning for a picnic at the Hollywood Bowl. My friends came up and the five of us went to see Feist play with Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. I'm mentioning Sharon Jones here cause I loved her fierce, shimmery silver shift dress. She looked like Tina Turner. Feist was alright -- her voice so lovingly reminds me of Cat Power sometimes, but a little younger/less whiskey. However, I would have far preferred to see her some place small and intimate, like the Music Box or something, because it was hard for her to carry the Bowl.
I still had a lot of fun though, drinking, eating, dancing, chatting in the cheap seats way up in the woods though. Experiencing cheap Bowl tickets with a big picnic basket is one of the best things about summer in LA. It was also great just to see my friends and catch up with them, since I have very few actually in the city, and we're all so busy with this growing up business.
Oh yeah, I also made those NYTimes chocolate chip cookies. Ah-mazing. The dash of salt and 36+ hours made SUCH a difference. A guy in my life drawing class said that I draw as well as I make cookies...which I'm taking as a compliment.
It's so funny that I don't have much of a sweet tooth really, because I love to bake so much. Things that are meditative for me: life drawing & baking. Oh and finishing a book, but it's really the act of finishing that's completely calming - the reading up to it is frenetic. Which reminds me -- this weekend I also took a break from The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle to read a short story from Amy Orringer: Pilgrims.Labels: books, domestic goddess, losangeles
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
An elephant and a robot walk into a bar....
I've been meaning to write down my thoughts on Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen, and throw in two cents about Wall-E while I'm at it, but of course there's never time -- there's big decisions to make RIGHT NOW (but not really), and headaches to mitigate and paintings to finish and bills to pay and oh, look here work. So here we go. I'm trying to write down more so I don't forget what I've read, and to focus on the literary aspects of books, since I'm finally buckling down on that grad school screw (even though it may still be about two years away). Oh my, this entry isn't a very good example of writing since it's all run-ons and stream-of-consciousness. But that's what a blog is for, right?
 Anyway, full steam ahead. Water for Elephants was addicting. The plot was consuming, fast-paced and driven as if you were jumping from cart to cart on top of a circus train winding round country. The facts were splendid and arresting. Gruen did thorough research on circuses in the Great Depression -- but I made the mistake of reading her Author's Note while I was halfway through the book, hence unraveling major plot points that were drawn from historical events. I wouldn't recommend doing that; it's at the end of the book for a reason.
However, as addictive as the book was (I read it in two working days), the writing was mediocre at best. It reminded me of reading The Da Vinci Code, where you just devour the book chasing the plot, but much too fast to notice the clunky, unwieldy writing. It wasn't distracting though, just straightforward and rather craft-less. I will give Gruen points on her ability to write a pinpoint turn in character emotions, but overall I felt that most events were built up and then would lose steam at the highest point of drama (except for one scene near the very end). I'd give this book a B+: worth a read in the summer, or if you just want a quick, entertaining story.
As for Wall-E, totally worth a watch. The adorable robots and the clever plot that come standard with Pixar packaging was up to snuff - the only set back was that the main characters don't talk. The pantomime made the film feel much much longer. I'm off to take a walk now, so I don't turn into a roly-poly of a human being, as the film predicts.Labels: books, films
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Summer Reading
With this weekend marking the official beginning of summer, equinox & weather-wise, what better to do than pick up a stack of books from the library to start summer reading? Though I don't have the pleasurable free days of summers long gone (quite honestly, I don't think I ever had free days in summer - most were spent volunteering at the library/hospital/local congressional office and/or taking SAT classes), the additional hours of sunlight still invite me to curl up next to a bright window and read with a glass of lemonade. Or sprawl in a park, sit on a bench, lay out on the beach, wait in an air-conditioned theater waiting for the movie to begin...
There was a professor in college who said he always carried a book with him, because God forbid he get stuck in an elevator and have to talk to other people. So whatever reason you want, I'm sticking to these for the next few months, hoping to add more as the stretching daylight hours help feed my voracious appetite for reading.
I just finished I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith today. It was easy to read, a pleasure to sink into 1930s English countryside with a bizarre and whimsical family living on the fringes of poverty in a decomposing castle. My favorite parts were the descriptions of meals -- which ranged from what the family could scrape together in their poverty days (clear ham bone soup), and grew richer as their lives changed (melon, cold salmon, tinned peaches). The beginning reminded me of the first Boxcar Children book, where the kids would buy a jug of milk and store it in a cave which served as their refrigerator, which was enough for them to be happy and survive. Somehow when you don't have much of something, what you do have becomes precious.Labels: books
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Southern Cakes
I can't wait until the library has this book ready for me on hold. My new favorite thing to read before bed are baking cookbooks; inspiring & waist-friendly. Don't get me wrong though, of course I'm going to try out a recipe or two, from the geographic place that brought us red velvet cake (my favoritest cake of all).Labels: books, foodie call
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Classics
So here's another sketch I did last night while I was on the phone with Laura. I thought she'd be a perfect compliment for a post about my desire to read more classics. In college, we were never required to take any proper literature classes -- I skirted by on a diet of film studies classes since, well, I love film. And there was that whole Film major thing going on the first few years. So while I saw Breathless and Un Chien Andalou about three times each, and wrote extensive term papers on the merits of The Graduate and The Matrix, I never once touched a Hemingway, Wharton, or Steinbeck (for class, anyway). These are the hallmarks of a hippie college founded on the scripture of John Muir and a writing department founded on the second wave of the New York School.
So now, in these next few years between Right Now, art school, and then Grad School, I want to read a solid grip of (modern) classics. Here's a list to start:
1. Madame Bovary, Flaubert
2. Timequake, Vonnegut
3. On The Road, Kerouac
4. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde
5. Vanity Fair, Thackeray
6. Middlemarch, EliotLabels: books, sketchbook
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Ann Hears A Who
I've been, in some ways, jumping right back into business as usual this week. Yet things feel different; there's a new stillness in my mind right now. Which is good -- to tune into responding to my body as opposed to my head dragging my body behind it. I will walk more, meditate daily, and pick up yoga again. I also plan on eating more conscientiously so that I can keep off the 13 pounds I lost in the first two weeks of being sick. (In a healthy way, of course). Peace comes from shedding the albatross of guilt and insecurity I (and I'm sure some of you) wear around a lot. So over it.
The surprising outcome of this is that I'm more productive than ever. In the past two days, I checked off some major looming to-dos, i.e. reporting the sidesweep-and-run on my car to insurance, going to the bank, picking up books on hold and paying fines, filing papers with HR, emailing admissions officers, etc.
So last night I saw Horton Hears A Who, which was adorable! I really missed going out to a theater and finishing the red vines before the previews are over. Hopefully we'll get to see My Blueberry Nights this weekend; I'm so looking forward to Wong Kar Wai's English language debut (!!)
I'm reading If You Want To Write by Brenda Ueland (which was highly recommended by Marta), and I'm so in love with it so far. Ueland has the voice of the most encouraging, accomplished writing professor you've ever had. I had also started Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, and quite honestly I'm not that enchanted with her writing. Maybe something was lost in translation.
Finally, a psst...I updated the archives and I've been posting frequently again at Things We Wore.Labels: books, films, site update, twentysomething
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
dress your family and bird houses
This little birdhouse in a tree on my street always makes me laugh. An M Cafe is opening up within walking distance too, which also puts a smile on my face. I'm looking forward to long summer days, with daylight extending its fingers far past 5pm.
In the meanwhile, I read Mary Poppins & Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. I forgot how quick and pleasurable David Sedaris' essays are to read. They make every day feel like Sunday morning.
Mary Poppins is a book I never read in my childhood (I blame Disney) -- and my, did they keep the good stuff out of the film. My favorite chapter involves an after-hours zoo birthday party. Although I'd have to say that Mary Poppins is not nearly as loveable as Julie Andrews is in the film; she's quite snooty and cold. What can I say, I don't like to work for affection.
In other news, this entry on decor8 and this one on Pikaland (thanks, Annie!) really resonate with me right now. Oh, trying to figure out what your ideal life looks like in reality.Labels: books, photolog
Sunday, February 03, 2008
California Dreaming
Between the foggy, runner-covered hills of San Francisco and smoggy, car-lined acres of Los Angeles, there is beautiful stretches of nature in California. This whole state could be its own planet, with the Mediterranean climate of southern California, the vineyards of wine country, the snowy caps of the San Bernardino mountains, and the briny north coast shores. I so needed to step out into it all, to breathe in air so clean that my lungs don't know what to do with themselves.
Late last week, I finished The Seas by Samantha Hunt and It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden. The Seas was as haunting as promised, almost like being trapped inside the head of an unwilling siren -- or mermaid, in this case. There are moments that are so manic that you feel like you're falling into this murky, unwonderland somewhere off the coast of Maine through the pages of this bite-sized novel. I found it best to read in a nice hot bath at the end of a long, bitterly cold day.
Arden's book is full of all those things someone should have told you at your college graduation. If I were to ever run a college, I would pass out a copy with each diploma.
Now my undivided attention can go to Little, Big. That and reading Bon Appetit cover-to-cover. Speaking of, I'm making Butterscotch Pots De Creme for the second time this week. They're addicting.* You should try them for yourself.
*Edit: I can't seem to get the custard just right yet. It's either too soft still in the middle or overbaked and eggy. I'm willing to work on it til it happens though.Labels: books, foodie call, photolog
Friday, January 18, 2008
To the Right Coast & Being a Duck
There's always a sense of thrill in the air before a trip. For me, it's the anticipation for the journey. I know, totally cliche, but walk with me here. When else do you get a pod of time where you're allowed to just be passive, but still be going somewhere?
I'm so looking forward to the five hour flights to and back from Baltimore this weekend. Sure, I could wax on about how I can't wait to see one of my best friends and her new(ish) row house in the city, or to spend the days gossiping and eating decadently and absorbing each other's awesomeness, but plans for that are better off spontaneous. For the long flights, I plan on reading The Seas by Samantha Hunt, knitting, and perhaps even handwriting my short story for the week.
I started The Seas over the weekend while I was sick, after I had finished The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. The latter novel had a brilliant spiritual realist concept, which was best detailed in the first chapter that had stood alone as a short story published in The New Yorker. Chapters then alternated between the "after-life-but-before-the-white-light" world and the story of the main character Laura's journey in our real world. I thought the novel was better left as a short story (proven by its many accolades); it dragged on as Laura painstakingly crosses the Antarctica tundra in the dead dark of winter. I get it: it's cold, it's painful, she remembers. For. Twelve. Chapters. Unfortunately these memories are neither too revealing of character nor plot development, but rather postmarks of her passing life. Brockmeier's pithy and refreshing use of language saves a novel that is overall rather underwhelming in character and plot.
Anyhow, back to The Seas, which is a bite-size novel, so it should be easy to finish in a few hours. So far I'm really enchanted by Hunt's stark yet richly gothic style. Also, I'm looking forward to reading her new novel The Invention of Everything Else, a fictional account of Nicolo Tesla's last days.
Aside from delving deep into a sea of lovely books, I've been actively thinking a lot about this upcoming year. Where I want to be at the end. Where I want to go. What do I need to do to get there. What do I need to let go of. How to get out. Loads of quarter-life crisis questions. The one good thing that came out of being incapacitated last week was that it forced me to slow down and take inventory of my life. The gritty day-to-day, not the curated, edited-for-television-audiences version. Remember to be happy on the healthy days, and to not get snagged in the small, ugly stuff (work, co-workers, bad customer service, surprise inspections). Let it roll off like water on a duck's back.
There are a million and one things I want to do this year, but I've decided to really focus on two and let all the other things fall into place: write a short story a week and take up photography more seriously to both document life and as an art form. Hopefully through making those habits in my life, all the other things like releasing a chapbook, figuring out whether to go to grad school or art school next, and traveling more will fall into place. Plans like that are better left spontaneous.
It feels good to write again, friends. Thank you for always reading and listening. Be a duck.Labels: books, twentysomething
Saturday, January 05, 2008
All the inspiration a girl could ask for...
I received a bunch of wonderful books for Christmas, that will keep my fingers busy, my writing evolving and my heart swelling. The sweetest present was when my mom pulled out a box filled old Baby-Sitter's Club books that she found at the library sale; you can see two of them peeking out in the corner of the first photograph. Oh childhood memories that have been evoked by sites like What Claudia Wore and BSC Headquarters. I had no idea that they were ghostwritten, but it makes so much sense now.
We took a trip to the fabric store today and stashed up with some really lovely yards of prints to make projects out of another book I got with a Christmas gift card to the bookstore: Sew Everything Workshop. I'm looking forward to trying out making boxers and the secretary skirt.
Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and making good progress on your 2008 goals & resolutions! Can't wait to show you more of what's cooking over here.Labels: arts+crafts, books
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
The Birthday Corridor
So my friends and I have something we call the Birthday Corridor. It's when your birthday extends to the days before and after it -- for example, Saturday night I had dinner with a few friends, then Sunday lunch with the family, then the actual birthday Monday celebrated around favorite spots in LA with my favoritest boy, followed by Tuesday dinner with Trinh (we went to the Alcove, which was incredible), and today all us November babies at work were presented with an enormous red velvet cake from The Bluebird Cafe.
With getting older and wiser comes a reconciliation of my annual goal of reading as many books as I am years old. So last year, of my goal to read 22 books I read:
1. Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs*
2. The Feast of Love:, Charles Baxter
3. The Anti 9-to-5 Guide, Michelle Goodman*
4. The History of Love, Nicole Krauss
5. Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger*
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
8. On Beauty, Zadie Smith
9. The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams
10. The Reptile Room, Lemony Snicket
11. Ruby, Francesca Lia Block & Carmen Staton
12. No One Belongs Here More Than You, Miranda July
13. An Invisible Sign of My Own, Aimee Bender*
14. Cesar's Way, Cesar Millan
15. Skinny Bitch, Kim Barnouin & Rory Freedman*
16. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
17. Coraline, Neil Gaiman*
18. Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity, Ray Bradbury*
19. No Plot? No Problem!, Chris Baty*
* indicates recommended reads.
It's a lot better than I did last year, but I'm definitely looking forward to hitting my goal this year. Now I've got to hit the keys for Nanowrimo, since I got a few days behind with birthday festivities. Wish me luck!Labels: books
Thursday, August 16, 2007
No One Belongs Here More Than You
I've tried really hard to like Miranda July. Sometimes she makes it really easy, like with her clever website and marketing campaign for No One Belongs Here More Than You. The cinematography in Me and You and Everyone We Know was startling and lovely in some parts, but would have made a better Senior Exit Show than an actual film. She has moments of startling genius, but I find it overbearing most of the time. Why am I not surprised she went to UC Santa Cruz, then dropped out to move to Portland and work as a performance artist?
I know she's the Hollywood Indie World darling, even being so far as accused of being in cahoots with the Scientologists. But her short stories, much like her screenplay, left much to be desired from such a hyped artist. Most of her writing reminds me of a pre-adolescent child who has learned all the salacious topics that make his/her parents uncomfortable, and delights in questioning said parents with a wide-eyed innocent facade. July's stories touch on uncomfortable, inconvenient truths of commonplace people and their commonplace lives. While this might be an attempt to be unapologetically real and witty, it just comes off as completely dull and juvenile -- just like you would expect of commonplace people (and hence why you, Sir/Miss/Madam Commonplace, are reading in the first place).
The voice is the same throughout all the stories - trying too hard to be quirky and thoughtful and observant -- despite the differences in gender and creed in every main character. I understand that this might just be case of different strokes for different folks, so I highly recommend just borrowing the book from the library if you must, or your friendly July fanatic so that they may talk you through why you should believe the hype. And then maybe you can come back and talk me through it.
BTW, feel free to take my book reviews with a grain of salt (as if you didn't already). I'm just working on remembering what I thought about the books as I read them, instead of completely forgetting why I have a burning distaste for Steve Martin's Shopgirl. And it keeps me steady on my reading 22 Books in My 22nd Year goal.
Things to do other than read No One Belongs Here More Than You:
Paint/draw yourself a series of foreign language flash cards that would look so charming displayed on your dining room wall. Or buy yourself the set at Fred Flare.Labels: books
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Ruby by Francesca Lia Block & Carmen Staton
Francesca Lia Block was my favorite author when I was in middle school; she was the reason I fell in love with Los Angeles and wrote all those novellas. Before falling in love with Esquivel's Like Water For Chocolate, Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude and Borges' short stories, there was Weetzie Bat. Even though it was published in 1989, a short decade later it still transformed the urban landscape for me.
But honestly, all her work after that has been about the same story of sexually abused girls and boys grown up, all told in a dreadfully cliche or over-romanticized to the point of caricature style. I might even venture to say Ruby was one of the worst, since its synopsis presents a thinly disguised Orlando Bloom fanfic. The only reason I even picked it up was because it was on the new stacks at the library; otherwise I would have continued to bypass it all together. Maybe it's for the better if I don't read any more of her work; maybe it's better that I just keep the postmodern fairytale of my adolescence alive.Labels: books
Monday, July 30, 2007
Lace & Letters
Last week I finally set up the sewing machine my parents gave me for Christmas. It's a bit of a toy machine, which I totally love, though it has all the serious parts (quilting foot, button foot!). I sewed up two 32" x 32" pillowcases for the mismatching pillows on the futon. They were a hand-me-down from Ryan's old apartment, and no longer matched our new combined furniture -- so they needed new outfits! I was so happy to find this pale blue lace patterned fabric at JoAnn's! As much as I love pouring over the fabrics at ReproDepot, there is a pleasure in the tactile experience of shopping (and not paying shipping!).
Another great pleasure, a nice big stack of library books -- mostly children's books and two novels by two of my favorite authors (Francesca Lia Block & Aimee Bender). It feels like shopping, but then I get to take them back when I'm done. You see the genius in that? It means I don't have to move them. Ahhh, luxury.Labels: arts+crafts, books
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Skirting the Summer
Hello, friends! There have been a couple reasons I have been missing the last few days, most of which enumerate to:
(a) Reading: my reading speed has multiplied tenfold since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and I'm running with the momentum while it's still here. I've also finished On Beauty by Zadie Smith early this week. It was great and witty in the beginning, one of the hippest books I've read, but then it lost itself cloying for meaning in its (honestly, tired) themes and I found myself completely disinterested and feeling no empathy or connection with any of the characters. Which raises the question: is it more important to have beautiful prose with a shallow plot, or clunky prose with an intricate plot? Is writing as an art sometimes disregarded for the Intriguing-Tried-and-True Plot? By the looks of the bread & butter of the publishing world (mystery novels, romance novels), the answer is yes.
(b) Finding a primary care physician. I think that's enough said.
(c) Sewing! I set up my sewing machine last night and stitched together two pillowcases (32" x 32") to match the two haphazard pillows on the futon. Pictures to come. Up next may be a skirt out of Sew U.
(d) Apartment hunting.
I think most of my non-updating is attributed to the fact that I feel like I should come armed with illustrative photos of my life and work-in-progress. What made me suddenly so threatened by just plain words? It's always been so good to tune into what other people are thinking; it's time to feel that way again.Labels: books
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows
I resisted spoilers for months, we went at midnight, we were out the parking lot by 12:30am, I kept Ryan up until 5am because the light was still on and it was only due to his increasing protest that I turned it off, and despite the fact that I woke up with a migraine this morning, 759 pages later I came to the end of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows within 24 hours.
What a relief it is to finally be able to use the internet!
Thoughts?Labels: books
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Bloom Where You're Planted
On top of all my summer goals (including 30 stories in 30 days on Anthologie), I'm also starting my first sketchbook series. Since I suck at drawing feet and shoes, I'm going to draw all my shoes and write each one's brief history. The project will be called "The Story of Shoes" and documented here.
Lately I've just been so inspired by all the great blogs and resources by (and for) illustrators out there. Check out DrawAnyway.com and the Illustration Friday Blog for some inspiration.
Now I've got to delve into the deliciously thick pile of books I checked out from the library today, including Jeffrey Yamaguchi's 52 Projects. Reviews soon. Or join me on GoodReads.Labels: arts+crafts, books, photolog, the story of shoes
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
For the moment, I'm enjoying 8pm sunsets and 75F evenings. It's lead me to rediscover simple pleasures like the public library. After work yesterday, Ryan & I walked two blocks (much to my protest in the beginning, as two blocks in my urban terrain meant up a steep hill and over an interstate freeway overpass) to our local library, where we both filled out applications for our shiny new Los Angeles Public Library cards. Then I collected an armful of hardcover books I can't wait to crack, including:
- The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
- On Beauty by Zadie Smith
- The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
- The Nanny Diaries by Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Kraus (necessary fluff)
All the potential for the impending summer is too exciting to nail down.Labels: books, lists, losangeles, twentysomething
Monday, May 07, 2007
The History of Love
 I finally finished The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. It took me quite some time to read it; although everything has been taking me quite some time to read it since I'm in the middle of 5 books -- but it was worth it. There is an unexpected surprise at the end, although the book doesn't string you along to think that there was a huge mystery to solve in the first place. Instead, you trod along trusting that the author has given you these two characters and a fractured timeline on purpose, and you truly experience every moment as you're in it. It's hard to stay interested in sometimes because of the character/time shifts, but once you get and stay in the swing of it, it's truly rewarding how visceral and honest some confessions on the human condition are.
Here is my new rating system:
!!! = Best book I've read in awhile, order it off Amazon now! (A)
!! = Good book, check it out at the library or find it at a used bookstore(B)
! = Pretty good book, check it out at the library (C)
... = Decent/indecisive, your call (D)
!? = WTF, why did I waste my time (F)
The History of Love: !!Labels: books
Sunday, January 28, 2007
All Happy Couples Are Alike, It's the Unhappy Ones Who Create The Stories
This past week has been pretty insane. All I know is that more changes are bound to be afoot very very soon.
I started art classes at Otis this weekend. The Marker Rendering Class turned out even better than I had hoped. I've been wanting to take a perspective class even though Otis doesn't offer one, but the instructor for this class is not only teaches marker rendering techniques, he teaches and emphasizes perspective! I'm so excited to become a better drawer in these next few months. Tomorrow I start Life Drawing at night, and the best part will be Ryan taking the class with me!
I've also watched Charade & An American In Paris this weekend, which are both really good (despite the extremely drawn out dance sequences in the latter). I'm almost done with Feast of Love by Charles Baxter, FINALLY. It's rich with beautiful passages, but also skillfully nuanced in how well Baxter captures the individual voice of each character. The novel shifts first person POVs between the few main characters in the book who are only loosely related to each other, and does it so well. I highly recommend it. I plan on digging into The Alchemist, The History of Love and Jane Eyre next, I really need to step up my reading goals for this year.
Thursday was our one year anniversary and I handmade a reconstructed sketchbook for Ryan. I don't think I want to say much else about it all except that I revel every day in how incredibly lucky I am.
I'll leave you with this short excerpt from Feast of Love:
People don't go to psychiatrists and pay good money to talk at length about how happy they are. Talking can spoil it. As a rule you don't settle down at the end of the day with a beer and tell your friend the particulars of how you lucked out and how well the day and the week and the year went, unless you're the gloating type. You just don't do that. It's provocation. You find some other neutral ground. If you're smart, you keep happiness to yourself.Labels: arts+crafts, books, films, photolog, quotes
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