Breaking Summer News

We briefly interrupt the blogging break for these important summer brained thoughts:

The summer reading project was abandoned on page 20.

One brushstroke was successfully completed.

Careful observation of a sparrow chirping on a branch is a valuable use of my time.

Either found enlightenment or got severely sunburned while hypnotized by the tides playing with seaweed.

Local farmer is missing some of his crop....Sorry???

Have joined the collective consciousness with brilliant obvious statements. "It is hot." Yes. It is. The leaves are green. The sun is bright. The night is dark....

My thumbs are too big for barbie sized keyboards. How is everyone?

There is a tractor heading my way. Gotta run.

Pssst.*whispers* You didn't see me. I wasn't actually here. Stay cool.

I Know It Is Time For A Blogging Break, When...

1. I post lists.
2. I ran out of cat videos and am considering replacing them with dog videos.
3. I procrastinate by trying to catch a moth in a cup, because it has only 1 day to find a mate.
4. Time is infinite, life is not.
5. My other hobbies have been sending me complaint letters for being neglected.
6. I have written about being overworked. Most boring information. EVER.
7. The can opener is back in the fridge. Why am I in the kitchen again?
8. I stll have not passed on the awards that I was kindly given months ago. *Cough* They are still on my To Do list.
9. My posts are written in email style.
10. I perpetually apologize for not being able to catch up with your blogs. *Hangs head in shame*
11. I miss blogging already.

I believe that I have just managed to write the most boring post in the history of Blogger, so here is an image of a T-shirt that reflects the amazing and talented people I have met in the blogosphere.

Image by TopatoCo.com

Update: Click on the image to enlarge. Thought the idea was so clever, I need to buy one. T-shirt that is.

Wish you all a great summer/winter and good writing thoughts. Stay healthy and fresh. Live long and prosper. Don't forget to feed the animals. Water the dog. Plant the cats. Watch the grass grow. Buy toothpaste.
Feel free to stop by and leave a message. I will see you soon.

Climate Change: When Scientists Rap And Swear In Public.

This video has been up for exactly one year. It did not go viral. Comments were disabled due to considerable (ignorant) backlash.

The climate has changed. It is too late to reverse the effects, but there are solutions.

This is the extended NSFW version. There is a clean one. Share. Pass it on. 





Our Planet. Our Future.

Sleepy Typing

 

I have recently been invited to the Overworked VIP Club, which unfortunately means that I will be unable to enjoy everything that the blogosphere has to offer.

It seems strange that at a time when sleep would be beneficial, my brain has chosen to experience the novelty of insomnia. As we all know; in life we have to try everything at least once.

Me: Alright. Bed-time.

Mind: No.

Me: I am going to be tried tired tomorrow. Sleep!

Mind: Nope. 

Me: Why not?
Mind: Mind over mattress.
Me: Is there something on your mind, Mind?
Mind: Deadlines, projects, stuff.
Me: If you let me sleep, I'll get everything done.
Mind: Let's do something fun.
Me: Let's not. How about dreadful late night television?
Mind: Whaaat?!? No.No.No...That's not fair....Zzzzzz.

I do not know why anyone needs a zombiepocalypse. Why not just call it Friday?

The Cat Video Awards

If cats had their own Oscars, their selections might be different than ours.

Best Sound Effects:



Best non-foreign foreign existential documentary: Henri

Best Action Movie (subtitled):




Harley: Hey Bambi. Whatchya doing?
Deer: Doe.
Harley: Oh, it's a game? Okay, I'll play.
Deer: Doe doe doe.
Harley: You're a...ummm...a riverdancer?
Deer: Doe doe.
Harley: Dances with grass?
Deer: Doe doe.
Harley: This is getting a little boring. The Wizard of Oz.
Deer: Doe doe doe doe dee.
Harley: No? Maybe I'm approaching this the wrong way. I think it's trying to communicate. It's Morse code, right?
f-mmpls---smlafrmp----a-k. That makes no sense.

Why do the weirdos always find me? Maybe if I ignore her she'll go away?

Harley: HEY! WTH? DOROTHY! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!
Deer: Doe big.
Harley: I don't know what you're talking about.
GO ON, SHOO! GET OUT OF HERE!
I SAID NOW, DEER TOURETTES. Go impress the tall green stuff over there with your tap dancing.
You're not a bull, buckaroo.
VACATE MY PREMISES OR I'LL EAT YOU!

Jeesh. Wildlife walks onto my property and shows no respect for the food chain. What's the world coming too?

The Self-Help Industry. Use With Caution.

By Comiclife

There they are. In the self-help book section. Which I have to walk through, pass by or climb over to reach the science fiction section. Which, in some bookstores is located in the back, next to witchcraft, obscurities and uncategorized miscellany.

With dismay, I have watched this section grow over the economic crisis, promising the achievement of happiness in a certain number of steps or habits.  Sometimes they are no more than an oversimplified version of how to practice Buddhism. On occasion, I follow a link only to find myself confronted with yet another one of those lists; different version, same thing. Banal advice with little application or truth.

In RL, I occasionally have to listen to summaries of such books, when a friend is excited about the possibility of self-improvement only to discover the disappointment of being marketed to. Secrets are not revealed, but maybe his life did not need improving to begin with.

I have a habit of looking at people's bookshelves when I am invited to visit their homes. Seeing 10 books on the shelf on organizing, makes me wonder if de-cluttering would not be more easily achieved by donating them. Just wondering.

This is not to suggest that some of these books do not offer value or great insight or that one cannot find useful (why did I not think of that) ideas and suggestions in a select few.

It is the heavy-handed approach of homogenization rather than accepting individuality that bothers me.  I have flipped through a few and what appears to be ubiquitous is the following promise:

Self-help: This is what is wrong with you. If you follow this 52 week program and 365 steps you will be the deliriously happy person you have always wanted to be. If you cannot complete it, no wonder you are miserable. You are as useless as this book. Thank you for making us wealthy. No refunds.

There are no instructions for life or living it. No one provided us with the blueprints of the outcome of choosing option A versus option B. The insightful fellow blogger Marylinn Kelly put it aptly when she described us all as amateurs at life in her post named "Community Theater". Now. That is useful.

The Visual Journal

As children, we draw and paint without giving any conscious thought to composition, materials or color theory.  Looking at some of my childhood creations, I see the unrestrained freedom of mixed media; collages, cutouts, stickers, crayolas and markers mixed with watercolors and found and flattened ephemera. If it could be glued down, I apparently did.  I created comic books, game boards and experimented with pop-up books.

While some stop drawing and creating altogether, my artistic endeavors became "serious". In my spare time, I studied the old masters, realism, art movements and focused on sketching and painting images inspired by the natural world.

At times prolific, at other times other interests took over, but I have always tried to keep some connection to the artistic needs of my right hemisphere. When lack of time prevented me from planning and executing completed paintings, I was restricted to sketching and doodling. Then I discovered the visual journals of Peter Beard; raw, visceral, sometimes graphic, yet always authentic.  I was familiar with his wildlife photography, but I had never seen a grown-up version of creating for the sake of creating with his childlike abandon.

Image by Peter Beard

Image by Peter Beard

Peter Beard's natural studio

I was fascinated and inspired by his journals and began combining writing journals with sketches, found images, paint and markers, without thinking about the end-product or attempting to create "art". It was liberating and allowed me to continue creating, when I had little time to devote to anything artistic.

Visual journals are not a new invention, they have been described as notebooks, field books, visual diaries, scrapbooks and recently resurfaced as "art journals". What they offer in their various guises are infinite possibilities to experiment, observe and explore the world around us and within us.  They require no artistic skill, art supplies or time-commitment. They are not restricted to subject matter or creating a work of art and can contain anything from mundane to-do lists to deep thoughts.  Eventually, they will add up to represent ones life, guiding memories through visual imagery.

I highly recommend them.