The Portrait of an Author.

...I am always amazed with the introduction inside of books and how they always manage to take an authors life, lustrous or not, compile everything into one little section. Words like 'exquisite stillness', divine horizon', and 'incomparable impression' are thrown around, and yet, as 'courageously profound' as the authors of the author make their lives out to be, I'm not so amazed. I finish it wondering...'so yeah, they wrote this book and some other great ones and sure they hung out with other authors who spent time outdoors 'capturing life in its truist form'-well, obviously their love lives were awful and their childhood was predictibly the reasoning behind their insane brillance that ultimately coincided with their horrible downfall in life...but, really, is that it?'

You know, I don't even know what it is that I'm looking for, but it seems as though I'm hungry to know more about the author while reading their 'introduction'...maybe this is quite possibly why the introduction is written: they hook you with the sad pitiful life of the author, plainly draw out the questions that we haven't even come up with yet that explains the depth of the work that in the end, all together totals about thirty pages (vi-xxxv)-not including the bibliography (xxxvi-xxxvii) and this all happens even BEFORE page one.
Obviously-the short translated version of a classic that they slip right in there after the biography...real smart guys, huge page turner. Story ruined.

All I'm saying is, maybe just post a link that's some odd number long below the title page so that 1-paper will be saved, 2-promotion of other resourses are being used, and 3-human beings now a days won't feel like daft idiots whose hands are strewn with paper cuts from flipping back counting pages wondering what number xxvii translates too.

Now...I will try once more to continue my voyage of 'The Portait of Lady' by: the man whose 'personal life took on its penultimate form...' THE-Henry James

a little late...

...but i love it all the same. even after christmas.


may the christmas spirit continue throughout the year.

White Christmas

Merry Christmas to all!


I GOT ME SOME NEW SOCKS!
Lets make some snow families in the yard.

obsessed

i want these costumes.
i wish i could have done this dance.
i wish i could have just been there.
oh. my. gosh.

thinkin of packin some boxes...nah.

thank you madi. my all nighter would have been awful without you.
simple, yet addictive.

Shoutout...not via twitter.

If I were to ever have a dog...I would name her Stella. Inspiration: Streetcar Named Desire.

If I were to ever have a cat...I would name her Euguene. Eugee for short (Ew-G).

If I were to ever have a fish...another fish...I would name 'it' Sinkem.

If I were to ever have a goat...no. I wouldn't.



I want an apartment with landlords that will allow me to pretend I was a vet. Or like Dr. Dolittle (which he actually did a lot...if you think about it). No! I would be like Noah, animals would be eeeeeeeeverywhere. I love animals.

Too bad I am only allowed to have 'sinkem'...or a ferret. Merry Christmas.


This is a weird blog...I am sorry.
For the record-I don't like nor would I ever really and honestly want a ferret.

Kina.

Umm... I am in LOVE.

.Dear Norman.

"Good artists have total control over their work and express their own vision, while searching for truth."

Spin Spin Spin SPIN!

Major League Dreidel.

Intense.

The first night of Hanukkah many gather round for their chance of glory-who can spin the dreidel the longest. 'No gelt, no glory' is the theme of the competition and with the crowd chanting "spin, spin, spin, spin" those who wish to step up to the table can feel the heightened energy in the room. Unlike the traditional dreidel that is left up to chance, here, everyone has their own personal touch of technique. The past competition started out with about 64 competitors and those were set up into brackets much like other sports competitions. Sadly, unlike other sports, Major League Dreidel is the shortest competition as well as the shortest season. This does not mean that the season is not intense...oh no, some say this is possibly the most intense sport that has ever been. Needless to say, the competitors that come from around the globe, bring their A game. Last years winner, Howard Pavony-also known as Virtual Dreidel-states that his secret to a long, long dreidel spin is "to remain calm, and not show emotion. It's like the holiday of Hanukkah itself, he says. Just as the oil in the temple burned for eight days, so too a great dreidel player has patience and spirit."




Major League Dreidel


photos found at flickr.

set all things right

Stigma: small town America. Or should I say, 'Amurica'.

For some, this means many things. American flags. Cows. Wheat fields. Barns. Walmart. Small mindedness. Pies. Trailers. Dirt. Plaid. Conservative...Natty Light.


For me, the first I think of is...home. The wave of a neighbor hanging their flag out front. The beauty in the changing of seasons. The comfort of a four way stop at almsot every corner. The security that things might be as I left them. As if I bookmarked my favorite place in my most treasured story as a child so that I could return to it at a moments notice. Yet, at the same time, change is in consistent motion. Slower than others, but still, moving. Growing. Taking the time to cherish things around the lives of folks living in a community as they grow rather then pushing through them. The tradition of the same ol same ol...secrets of baking the perfect cherry pie. How to press a shirt in just the right places. Savoring a nice cold beer on the porch at a longs days end...Conservative and slow paced for some, but, for me...this is home. This is where it begins and where it should end.My small town will be apart of me for as long as I live and no matter where my life leads me-this corny yellow brick road will lead these ruby red slippers home to where it all seems to make sense. Where things seem to fit together. Where no matter how you shake the globe, things eventually seem to settle-a bit disheveled, but settle non the less. This, this is what I am thankful for every day of the year. Our lives are able to pause. Pause just as we are. Where we are, and observe our lives and those around us. Where we are. Not to take just this one day and then push forward again, but to really pause, step back and savor how exquisite the world is. How important taking our time to savor and how pertinent it is to give a gesture of gratitude in return. The wave of a neighbor. The talk with a father. The comfort of a dog at foot. The hope that the sun will rise again for yet another breathtaking day.
Happy Endless Day of Thanks my friends.

*The last five refined photos courtesy of the best brother in the world, alec