"Ball of Fire"

I just finished reading Ball Of Fire, a biography of Lucille Ball, better known as Lucy Riccardo of the show I Love Lucy. I'd seen various shows and movies of the star's and loved her humor. If you are unfamiliar with I Love Lucy or Miss Ball, I suggest you try and find the set of the 10 funniest I Love Lucy episodes, you will laugh. Anyway, I've been a fan for some time and I'd seen documentaries about her before but in this book I learned far more about her and her life than I ever had before. It's sometimes sad to find out the truth about famous figures and how they might vary from those they portray and there was definitely some of that in this book. One thing that this book did for me was to drive any last shred of wanting to be a star from me; it's all too ironic that so many people dream of stardom when the reality is that most stars are not very happy. I also came to feel pity for Lucille Ball, hers was a very sad life, some of it by her own making, some of it at the hands of others. She was a very funny lady though.

flowers

I took these pictures way back in May and I just finally got them on the computer, aren't they beautiful?

Little Black Dress

I have loved Breakfast At Tiffany's since the first time that I saw it years ago. I love many things about the movie, but some of the things I love are the clothes that Audrey Hepburn word in the movie. In particular the dress that she is wearing in the picture below... That's right, the dress that you can hardly see in this picture, you'll just have to look online and find it for yourself, it's not the long, evening one; the other one. Anyway I have greatly admired this dress and how beautiful she looked in it. A while back I decided to try and get myself a version of this dress, a little black dress. It couldn't be the same because 1) I am no where near the same shape as Audrey Hepburn and 2) I don't wear sleeveless dresses. I looked around for a while without much success and the project got slightly forgotten on the back burner. In the last few months the project was dusted off, I figured out what I wanted the dress to look like, now I had to find it. As what I had in mind was not actually what is hip and now, and after looking through a few stores and being proved correct, I decided that I'd have better luck finding a pattern and sewing the dress myself. I found the pattern and eventually got it and the fabric needed and set to work. I came to remember that it had been a long time since I'd done any sewing and frankly I was a bit out of my element, I read instructions and couldn't figure out for the life of me what they wanted me to do. Thankfully my mom's a better sew-er than I am and she could translate patternese into something I could understand. It took me a few weeks, maybe even a month, I don't remember when I started, but now I have my dream 'little black dress' which you can see below.

requiem for forgotten Italian

I was going to work so hard on my Italian, a little bit every day. Ha. Ha. Ha. I don't think I really believed that, but the thought was nice. Even starting out after classes, it took great will power to do my Italian/English reading, which is why I haven't done it for at least a week if not three. I need to get my act together, I haven't touched my text book since I brought it to my room. I need to do something or I should have just sold the book back when I had the chance. I'll have to make a renewed effort on Monday.
Ciao.

chocolate

My mouth is in love with this. A while back I saw it for what must not have seemed like a bad price and I bought it and put it in my stock. I thought that I was getting this, which is also sooo good, anyway I finally tried it tonight and it was so good, a perfect blend of flavors and textures. If you love chocolate and have not yet tried Lindt, you will be in for a treat. After Lindt you will wonder what you ever saw in makers like Hershey's. I never used to like dark chocolate, but trying better dark chocolate I was amazed at the flavors that dark chocolate could poses. This chocolate tastes fruity, naturally, it sounds crazy but I've tried it and it's true.
I'm thinking I'd better not delve further into this post, that I should wrap it up now because it's making me hungry for some more chocolate.

Far Flung

Today I have conversed, via the internet, with people in different states and even different countries. It seems funny, strange almost to remember the times when these people were close by me, in the same city, same room even. It's bitter sweet to recall good times gone by with someone you haven't seen for some time and who you can't talk to face to face as you were wont to do.
The internet and its swiftness of communication is wonderful, but it doesn't make up for real time spent together, for real things done together. There's more to talk about when you're not typing to a screen but talking to a person. On the other hand sometimes you can say all the things to a screen that you can't to a person...which is not a good basis for anything but an online friendship.
Sometimes if you talk to someone through letter or email or chat long enough, you don't know how to talk to them again when you see them. So it goes.
Those who are close again are far away. Those in distant places are close...er.
a mangled quote: the biggest problem with communication is the assumption that it has taken place. All the words in the world can't make some individuals understand one another, others don't need a single word.
Odd.

Blah

I think I had something maybe profound to say but it's gone and all that's left is tired and grouchy. I don't really like me when I'm grouchy. It's been a long weekend, and I've been missing my former life back at school, with roommates and a bigger single's ward. My little brother just got his eagle award tonight so good on him. I'm on a slippery slope to a pity party so I'll just remind myself that I get to paint again tomorrow, maybe even start a new piece.
here's a picture for picture's sake.

Field Trip

Today I went two places, first to the open house at the Church History Library, which is today and tomorrow from 9 am - 8 pm. This probably says more, but I didn't actually read it. It was pretty cool to see all of the things they have in this place. I haven't ever been terribly interested in Family History but I have been interested in history...or sometimes historical fiction; for a while I thought about minoring in history but it didn't pan out. Anyway I'm excited about this library because it will have things that the city library system (which is very good) doesn't have. In my last year at BYU I started discovering just how much cool stuff could be found in it's enormous library, I found things that interest me, but my time as a student is done and I can no longer check things out or even just walk over there, it's a trip left for something really important. Hopefully now that this new library's open, I can use it and find more of this really cool stuff.
While we were there, we also went next door to the conference center to see the art show that everyone's been telling me about. It was a fairly sizable show and we saw some really cool things. It was interesting to me that some of the things that really interested me, my mom didn't like because they looked catholic. I don't quite know what she meant by this but whatever.Anyway now I ought to go about my business, I've got a dress to sew, a possible trip to the art store to take, a talk that still hasn't really been written and so on and so forth.

in very great need of a picture

This is a piece by Van Gogh, it was really cool getting to see it for real. When I was in first grade I remember painting a picture like this piece.


My little brother made this guy and a band out of his Bionicles.

And there you have it, very random pictures.

hmmm

Well it seems that I might be giving art lessons to two little boys I used to baby-sit. I'm a bit unsure about how well this is going to work out, I only ever took one art ed class, it was required and on art criticisim, not educating. I just don't know, it's been a long time since I was doing day care and I just don't know. Hopefully it will go well... I don't really think that I'd want to do it a lot. Oh well, I'm doing it for a friend and it is a means to having some money so...
Oh and speaking of art, I finally got my green and yellow paints and it's been wonderful getting to use them and being able to finish pictures that I'd started over a month ago.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

I first read this book when I was in high school and I remember I thought it was alright, especially for a book I had to read in English class (I generally didn't care for my teacher's picks). I hadn't thought much about the book lately until my roommate was assigned to read it for her German class (unbeknown to me the book was actually first published in German).My roomie didn't like the book so much, and I was surprised as I had enjoyed it. Now that I'm graduated and have more time on my hands I decided to read it again and see if my opinion of the book would alter.
I still enjoyed the book. Siddhartha is the story of a boy who is seeking... I suppose enlightenment might be the best word, he wants to know and to understand things. Siddhartha is somewhat of a prodigy of his own religion, as a boy he has already reached the understandings of the grown men. Siddhartha wasn't satisfied with the knowledge he had and so he, accompanied by his good friend, go off and seek a different way.
I don't know that I really fully comprehend this book and all it's deeper meanings, however I enjoyed Siddhartha's quest for learning and some path of his own. I think maybe part of why my roomie didn't like it as much is because she was having to read it in German and the book can be a bit difficult to understand in English, I'm sure it would be even harder in a second language.
I recommend this book if religious philosophies interest you, or even if they don't.

"I want to go someplace American, and German... like Wienerschnitzle." -my little brother last night as we were having Italian.

Spiders

I REALLY REALLY HATE SPIDERS!!!!!!!

while I still dislike them, I don't mind them so much outside as long as they stay far away from me. Quite a lot of them live in my house, especially in the basement. I have started to keep a flip-flop in the bathroom as a spider killer. I don't know why I dislike them so much...well apart from having to share the shower with them on occasions and once even my towel.... Spiders, be ye warned, if you are in my house, I will make effort to end your lives. Do not crawl on me!