Hurray!!

Aaron got a job!! So it looks like we're headed to DC. Ask him for details.

The Waking

When I woke up this morning I had this Roethke poem running through my head. It's one of my favorites and one I've recently been thinking of often. War and Peace has got me thinking a lot about fate and choice and the role we play in directing our lives.

The Waking

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.

Personal Enemy #1 - The Garbage Truck

Central Virginia's cool wet spring has finally begun to warm so I'm biking to work again. I really love riding to work. I get to enjoy the birds singing, the glowing sunrise and that sweet dewy sent of early morning while I pedal through town. That is UNTIL I end up smack behind the garbage truck.
It happens EVERY day. I leave my house pretty early, I'm out the door before seven in order to avoid traffic, but those dutiful garbage trucks are already out and about. And it's not just one, today I came across Three!! And they stink! There's nothing like gasping up a hill and getting a deep breath of putrid rot.
Now I really admire and respect those who do such a thankless dirty job, but I think death by garbage truck would be the worst way to go. Those trucks do so much stopping and starting, we often end up playing a rather dangerous game of leap frog. Since they're so huge I'm pretty sure that if they did hit me, they wouldn't even notice just like what happened in NY, Portland and Oakland.
And I have a feeling that if I got killed by a garbage truck I wouldn't be able to enjoy my last few minutes of life because it would smell so bad. If I got hit by a bus (my #2 nemesis-they are driven much more recklessly and also do the leap frog thing) I could maybe have the cool Frida Kahlo thing going on, and if I got hit by a car I might actually have a chance of surviving, but to my knowledge getting hit by a trash truck has no silver lining.

Drawn

Bored? Looking for something interesting? Check out Drawn! There's lots of fun illustrators, illustration, design and plenty of links to help you surf away the day.

Brave New Squeaky Clean World

Adam found this but I think everyone should get a chance to see it, even those of you who don't read the comments on this blog. Here is the cover of the book Brave New World. Isn't it classy? So much better than the lame, cleaned up, respectable cover of the copy we read in high school. I bet a lot more kids would read the book if they kept the pulp cover.

Which got me thinking about a really interesting art exhibit I visited on Degas ballerina sculptures. Degas would sculpt pulpy wax forms almost daily, not for public display, but personal practice. Out of this daily practice came one of his most famous works and his only public sculpture, "The Little Dancer Age 14." When The Little Dancer was first exhibited in Paris, it provoked a public outcry and a raging scandal. I chalked that up to Victorian sensibilities, but at this show I learned that The Little Dancer wasn't originally composed of the respectable cast bronze we see in current versions. She was made of wax, had a head of human hair, was dressed in clothing Degas probably bought at a doll shop and wore a cloth ribbon (the later two being the only offensive remnants still represented on the metal replica today). She was a lot closer to something you would see at Madame Tussauds and contemporary critics complained she looked more like a medical specimen than a piece of art. You can read more about it here.
I think it's interesting that as the piece aged, she gradually lost her avant garde qualities and status.



That isn't the only example, the Parthenon which so many people admire for it clean, white marble was originally garishly painted with all kinds of bright colors. The British Museum in the 1930s so preferred the white version (which isn't surprisng, British imperialists were big fans of whiteness) they forcibly removed the last remaining bits of color on the sculptures they obtained.
I wonder why we are always trying to clean up the past, making it cleaner and prettier than it ever was. Are we improving on complex, challenging works when we present their more "ideal" form or are we simply erasing the complexity that makes us uncomfortable? I personally find the cleaned up Little Dancer much more beautiful even if it is much less interesting. I don't know if I would be capable of appreciating the original.

Everything Is A Competition

Between me and Aaron that is. Our friends have been inviting us to join Goodreads so last night I signed up. By the time I had put up around 100 books, Aaron had taken notice and was almost jumping up and down at the chance to make his own list. The rest of the night we played tug of war for the computer in an attempt to stay ahead. I'm still winning with 230+ while Aaron has only 196. Thankfully, I'm still running off the top of my head so I haven't had to dip into all those terrible books I read when I was 15 and subsisting on a steady diet of 1960-70 sci-fi paperbacks from the thrift store. I'm sad to admit that I learned I could read long before I learned what was worth reading.

My Pet Chicken

Have you been wondering and worrying which chicken breed is right for you?? Well, your worries are over! Thanks to the website My Pet Chicken. After answering a few simple questions analyzing your chicken needs, the site will let you know who your chicken companion should be. For me, they recommended the Silkie Bantam which I think looks kind of like the monsters from the Dark Crystal and kind of like Mom's poodle Orah. You can try it out yourself here.

And just in case you are worried about what a mess your new pet chicken can be, you can go here to buy your chicken diapers.

Radiohead - Myxomatosis - 09 May 2008 - Charlotte, NC (full)

These are the dance moves I was talking about. The audio isn't so great in this video, but at the show it was amazing.

15 Step - Radiohead Charlotte, NC

Aaron is DONE with law school!! He took his last final Thursday and Friday we drove down to the Radiohead concert in Charlotte NC. It was an AWESOME show, the BEST I've ever been too. If you watch the clip you may be able to catch some of Thom York's crazy dance moves. They alone would have made the trip worth it to me. The lights were amazing, the music was amazing, the show was amazing.
I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate law school's end. Dancing with Aaron all night under the stars made me think I might have my husband back!

Theo Jansen - Kinetic Sculptor

Dutch artist-engineer Theo Jansen constructs these self-sustaining "creatures" that live and move using only energy from the wind. All of the automation is independent of machinery or computers, it's pure kinetic power which I think is really exciting.
There are several more youtube videos about his work that I think are really fascinating and worth checking out.

Blueberry

I recently came across a new flavor of herbal tea: blueberry! It's delicious and makes really wonderful iced sweet tea. I've already gone through three boxes. It has my highest recommendation. It's healthy and tastes kind of like kool-aid for grownups or the nectar of the gods.

The Killer in Your Backyard

As a kid I had this fascination with praying mantises. They were my favorite insect and I was always impressed by how "tough" they are, but I think I underestimated them. They're ferocious! I found this account when I was looking up information on hummingbirds yesterday. Looks like this little hummingbird underestimated the threat too and he ended up lunch. Poor guy.

Barn Swallow

Here is one of the little paintings I made for the market.

Lot 58

Steve and I will be selling little bird paintings at the C-ville Farmer's Market this coming Saturday morning. We will be in lot 58 and we'd love to see friendly faces while we're there. I'll try to post a scan of one of our paintings later tonight.