Happy Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day!!

Did you know that bubble wrap was originally designed for home decor?  In the '60s, the Sealed Air Corporation patented a textured wallpaper that later became known for its functionality in both packaging and providing hours of enjoyment for the easily entertained.  

My friend Elizabeth is pretty amazing.  She made a bubble wrap skirt... 

Reminds me quite a bit of the amazing Lady Gaga bubble dress by Hussein Chalayan...

Let's not forget Ferrah Fawcett...  Acutally, let's.  

Listening to:  Stars

Things Going on Today:  No work, because of my knee.  FHE.

Blessings:  Hurt knees.  Sleeping in.  No homework. 

Aminals

I went to the zoo yesterday with my favorite people...

I saw a lot of animals...

My friend, the creepy owl...

This is a lizard, not a snake.  Cool, huh?  I learned something!

Some had incredible senses of fashion...

Including Emily's friend Madison, who had amazing shoes.  

I especially liked hanging out with my cousin Aubrey, who is obsessed with all things that possess giblets.  

I worry sometimes, though, that she will break the glass cages and devour the poor rodents within.

"In order to think predator, you gotta be predator." 

Listening to:  School House Rock

Things Going on Today:  Dinner at Academy Arms 1, Game night in Academy Arms 12 and 13, church

Blessings:  A torn up knee.  I don't have to work tomorrow!

Music = Noise

I was reminded yesterday of how much I love Steve Reich's tape loops.  I'm not sure if you can call it "music" in the normal sense of the word.  I think Reich is a genius because he makes you find music out of just noise.  He takes these simple tape recordings of street preachers or interviews and loops them over and over again.  In some of the tracks, you'll hear two loops going on at once, and one of them is just the tiniest bit faster than the other.  It doesn't make much of a difference at first, but after a while you begin to hear the recordings stretch apart.  First as an echo, but eventually whole words will be out of sync.
The songs are rather long and somewhat monotonous, but I just have to keep listening.  It's kind of spooky.

Pages

I've created pages for my blog!  There are only two right now but I think they're pretty cool.

Wish List
This is stuff I someday wish I could have in my own two hands.  It may never happen, but I like to keep a running list of things like that anyway so one day, if I happen to have a bajillion dollars, I'll buy them.

Creepy
All this is is just a list of the scariest stuff on the planet.  View this page at your own risk.

...And I Like You...

I want to know enough about something so that I can tell the difference between poor quality and good quality.  I want to distinguish the good, artistic, aesthetically beautiful from the mundane, crappy crap that people apparently put out every but I can't recognize it.

Listening to:  The Christmas Song by Elephant Finger
Things going on today:  The Zoo.
Blessings:  My cousin Aubrey, summer sausage, and long car ride naps.

Higher and Higher

Blessings: No boss, capos, voice lessons
Things Going on Today: cake decorating

I do believe in Fairies...

I saw BYU's version of the musical Peter Pan last night and it was pretty incredible...

Never before have I witnessed so much pure, raw ENERGY in such a short given time.  Seriously.  There wasn't a moment of rest during this show.  Someone was always jumping, tumbling, screaming, laughing, flying, dancing, or posing in some wacky position.  How do MDT majors do it?

I especially was impressed with this little lady here -- Bronwyn Tarbaton.  She completely stole the show.  She had the cutest little accent and was always so alive!  I was just about convinced she actually was a little boy for a while, she played the part so well.  Probably the most moving part was that classic scene when Tinkerbell's light is about to go out for good.  Tarbaton stood up, turned to the audience, and after a pregnant pause, she whispered, "Do you believe in fairies?"  All the children in the audience -- and my friend Courtney, who accompanied me -- screamed YES!!!!  And then we all clapped our hands.  For a moment, I actually did believe in fairies.  I think deep down I always have.

I also was very impressed by Captain Hook....

He's the one who reminded me most of the Mary Martin film version (the Hook played by Cyril Ritchard) that I grew up watching... Ours was a little more flamboyant, but definitely a pleasure to watch.  Captain Hook is always the favorite character.



My favorite part of that 1960 NBC version was the Indians...



Which reminds me, in a weird way, of the Najinsky Revival of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring...



...which has a very high billing on my "Things that Are Creepy" list.  Watch Part 3 as well, if you dare.  Seriously, that's worse than any modern horror movie I have ever seen.

But anyway, back to Peter Pan...  Yeah, I've grown up with this musical.  I think Mary Martin is a great Peter Pan (not as crazy as Tarbaton, but very youthful and a great voice!) and the music is whimsical and carefree.

In our Program, there was a little snippet about Neverland that I found rather interesting.  It said Neverland was like the Garden of Eden, and Peter Pan and Wendy were like Adam and Eve.  I don't see the story of a boy who never grew up as biblical allegory at all, like it said, but I do sort of see a moral application to the play.  Yes, we'd all like to stay young forever, with little care or worry about the future and about death and responsibility.  But we, like Wendy, must grow up.  It's part of our eternal plan for happiness.  This doesn't mean, however, that we can't enjoy ourselves while doing it!  I think all of us need a break once in a while -- a vacation to Neverland, you might say.  We need a chance to bring out the kid in all of us.  Play with our children, dance when no one's watching, eat candy, and let out a good laugh. After all, didn't God tell us to become as little children?
Most of all, we need to simply think more happy thoughts.  We don't need the extra Pixie Dust to send us off into a world of magic and music and joy.  We just need a happy thought, and the world around us becomes a Neverland.   This production was surely a vacation to Neverland for me.  It was a blast of music, color, and fun.  

It might be miles beyond the moon

Or right there where you stand!

Just keep an open mind

And then suddenly you'll find

Never-Neverland!

Listening to:  "I'm Flying!"
Things Going On Today:  100% on Book of Mormon quiz, I stabbed one of my bosses in the hand with my fingernail during a game of Egyptian Rat Screw and drew blood.
Blessings:  Mary Martin's voice, free food at Dinner Group.  I'm off!!

Tina Turner Buddhist Chanting

This is very interesting.




Listening to: Death Cab For Cutie "Plans"
Things Going On Today: PETER PAN, ASL TEST, and a very easy day at work.
Blessings: Snow that doesn't stick to sidewalks, a free morning to do homework.

Don't Stop the POP!!

DJ EARWORM'S NEW TOP 25 SONGS OF THE YEAR 2010, ALL IN ONE GIANT MIX!!

No Guarantee

I wrote this about Hamlet.  It's a Villanelle.

Suicide may make man free,

But suicide has no provision. 

With death, there is no guarantee.

Each man is chained, to some degree:

Chained in his life -- the sweetest prison,

But suicide may make man free.

How can man not help but flee

When natural shocks impede his vision?

With death, there is no guarantee.

Man asks, "To be or not to be?"

This is his ultimate decision.

And suicide may make man free.

But what of things we cannot see?

Beyond the grave, will we be risen?

With death, there is no guarantee.

Thus man from life must never flee.

Thus ends man's constant indecision.

For suicide may make men free,

But with death, there is no guarantee. 

So, Hannah... that's an interesting notebook, there.

When I was thirteen, I really liked a guy named Paul.  I was head-over-heels for him, actually.  You can call my obsession with Paul the epitome of Junior High Romance.  Girl likes boy.  Boy never even notices girl.  Girl goes crazy and heckles boy until he fears for his life... yup.

One thing I would do to make my affections known is to write the words "I LOVE PAUL" on every page of my weekly planner.  Every page.  And this wasn't just a little note in the corner.  I bought myself a set of neon Crayola markers and I completely covered the page in fancy teenage-girl writing.  Each page became a work of art, a stunning calligraphic masterpiece of "I LOVE PAUL."  After about the sixteenth page, I got bored with "I LOVE PAUL" and moved on to "PAUL IS HOT."  Then, after another ten ages, I got more creative.  "PAUL HAS AN AMAZING SMILE."  "PAUL IS AS CUTE AS A MONKEY."  "PAULY WAULY IS MY DOLLY"...
You get the idea.
Why do I bring this up?  Well I found myself bored in ASL today I started doodling and I began to write the words "I <3 MARK" on the top of my notes.  I don't think I've done that since that major Junior High crush.  I wonder if that's a reflection on how Mark makes me feel...  maybe.  The really sad news is I have never really grown up since then.  Back then, I literally stalked the men I liked, lathered at the mouth when they passed, and told everyone how amazing he was without ever talking to his face.  Now, while I'm not quite as obvious, I still find myself obsessing over boys all the freaking time.  I've scared so many men out of liking me, and oh, so quickly.  I guess I'll never learn...

Listening to:  Jay May "Snow White"
Things going on tonight:  Dinner group at Kam's, writing a song about Hamlet.  Mark isn't coming over tonight at my request because I want some quality roommate time.
Blessings:  Free food, FHE, and Deaf wards.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

You know the phrase, "It's snowing today"?  Or "It's really windy outside"?  What's the IT??  Is "IT" the outside world?  Is it the clouds that are raining, or the sky?  It's sunny... that means the atmosphere is sunny, right?  It's warm... the air is warm?
I'm sure there's a concrete answer for this and I'm just that much more stupid for missing it, but my point here is that there are things that we say every day and we never think about what exactly we are saying.  This is just a chance for you to stop and ponder about the English language.

Listening to:  Ella Fitzgerald, "Anything Goes"
Things Going on Today:  First FHE of the Semester, dinner group
Blessings:  Getting out early from ASL, fast days at work, sunshine

Carl Bloch: The Master's Hand

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I visited the BYU Museum of Art last week and saw this amazing exhibit of works by painter Carl Bloch (1834-1890).  He wasn't a Mormon at all, but Mormons kind of have taken his work under his wing and you see him EVERYWHERE.  Meetinghouses, magazines, primary presentations... everywhere.  I believe he was led by the Spirit to paint certain images of Christ in the way that he did.
I feel like Bloch portrays Christ as a figure who is divine, but nevertheless human.  There's no plastic halo above His head, no host of angels following Him wherever he goes, but through his human figure, Bloch has created this light within Him.  He emanates this subtle, welcoming warmth to all who are around him.

I also like the way Bloch invites the audience to join his pictures by painting someone in the picture who breaks the fourth wall and looks out at us, the viewers. You can see that in his portrayal of Christ at the Pool of Bethesda.  The man in the red cap is looking right at us.  It's sort of an invitation for me to be more like Christ.  To come to those in need -- like that man in the picture.  The sheer size of this painting is pretty powerful, too.  I saw the original at the exhibit and it's HUGE.  A cool things I noticed when I saw it was the expression of the man underneath the makeshift tent.  I always had trouble seeing him in scans of the print because the shadow is so strong under there.  But the man looks awed, humbled, joyful and fearing.  Bloch has captured a great expression there.

Another painting I saw at the exhibit was the one of Christ Blessing a Child.  This isn't my favorite work of His.  It's a bit more iconographic than I would prefer, and that kid is sort of giving me this "I-Told-You-So" look.  It's a little imposing.  But maybe that's what Bloch was going for.  He's kind of showing us what we can learn from little children.  I mean, they're the ones who are automatically saved, not us.  I suppose the palm leaf in the kid's hand is a symbol of some sort.  I remember that palm branches were waved during Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Maybe it's a symbol for recognizing Christ when you see him.  We need to be able to greet his second coming with hosannas and shouts for joy, and we can't do that unless we know him when he comes!  What a deep picture...






I also want to emphasize these two paintings here:

Both of them are called Agony in the Garden. The one on the left is from an altarpiece and the one on the right is in some castle somewhere.  Mormons don't use these much because the angels have wings on them, and Mormons don't believe angels have wings.  But I think the depiction of Christ in agony is very moving in both of these renditions of his sufferings in Gethsemane.  Obviously Christ is exhausted, begging his Father to remove the cup from him.  I really like both of these, but I think I like the one on the left better.  You see Christ's face more, and the two figures fill the space more effectively.  Plus you got the mysterious background that counterbalances the quiet stream of light coming down from the right very well.  The wings of the angel are also softer, which is appealing to me.  I can give credit to the other picture for its clarity and its vibrant color, but I think the altarpiece version takes the cake for most spiritually moving.  

Listening to:  MoTab

Things Going On Today:  Ward Conference, game night, home teachers come over

Blessings:  Letters from missionaries, sleeping in, and amazing roommates. 

It's Sunday

I think I'll share a scripture...

Romans 8:16-17

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffere with him, that we may be also glorified together.  


To be a joint-heir with Christ sounds pretty nice.  I stand amazed at the idea that Christ is willing to give us all the glory He has, and we don't have to do anything AT ALL like what He did for us.  He loves us that much.  Makes me feel bad that I'm not doing more to show him my gratitude.

I recently saw an exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art
about this painter, Carl Bloch.  This was one of the images
that spoke to me the most.