Sunday, April 13, 2008

the Joy of Painting or Happy Clouds

I got up early, trying to adjust to my earlier sleep schedule even on the weekends. With my breakfast of coffee and cinnamon burst toast, I sat and watched The Joy of Painting (r) with Bob Ross. Bob has long since departed from this world, but Bob Ross Incorporated lives on, and has it's own website. I wish I could put a picture of Bob here, but "Copying and reproducing of any graphics in this website is strictly prohibited."

I remember watching his show when I was a teenager, and even trying some of the techniques a bit. He was all about painting to make you happy, if it doesn't make you happy, don't do it! Now there are Certified painting instructors that you can take classes from, even here in Minnesota. It's art as a hobby, so it's all about being happy.

Don't worry, I'm not about to change my painting techniques or style. But I am starting to experiment with other tools, namely a carpet cutter and pry bar. That's right! I'm working on the house, removing carpeting to reveal the beautiful hardwood flooring beneath. I've also painted some of the walls and am looking forward to sprucing up the trim as well. I'll post pictures once the project is complete

Friday, April 11, 2008

Sense and Nonsense

I just finished watching the conclusion to Jane Austin's "Sense and Sensibility" and it seems somehow both fitting and ironic that Jane never married herself. Her romantic notions breath life into the heart of every longing for love that a woman has, but it seems to me that life doesn't work out that way all the time.

The day to day existence of the modern world doesn't fit with the romantic view of things. People are more cynical nowadays than they were back then, or maybe we're more honest. Often, I meet men who find the decorum of Victorian times to be too much of a restraint on their manly selves. Honestly though, I've rarely met a woman who didn't enjoy Jane Austin's work.

Has loyalty, truth, and honesty taken a back seat to this modern shunning of all things genteel? It seems it has, except among a small group of people...namely women. Since I've been married, I haven't spent nearly enough quality time with my girly girl friends. This is something that I intend to remedy in the near future.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

A Month Since Marscon

Has it been a month since Marscon already? Wow! Time really flies when you're having fun! :) Friday night began it all with the Artist Reception. Michael, the art show head, tried playing it conservative with a one finger pour of wine in the glass for everyone. Turns out he's not very good at being conservative, as he ended up having to send some open bottles out with folks who had rooms at the hotel for the weekend. Some advice: Next year, let the people have at least half a glass, it's easier to keep count and pace yourself that way! As a graduate of Minnesota School of Bartending, I should know!! Now on the good stuff...the goodies I got in the dealers room.

My first purchase was Dimensions by John Lyell. It's a CD of ambient music, and after playing this while meditating over the past month, I have to give it two thumbs up...way up! It's groovy and way spaced out kinda cool vibe sets up a wonderful environment for me to connect with my inner light. John's a really cool guy too, both an artist and a musician, his kind of creativity really flows with where I'm at right now. He had a table right outside the dealer's room, where he had headphones and CD players to listen too his CD's with. I'll have to add his other CD's to my collection eventually, but I'm really able to play Dimensions again and again without getting tired of it. I wonder if he'll be at ConVergence?

The other cool thing I got was this awesome Greenman candle holder, which I light when I'm doing my nightly meditations as well. He's got a great face, and I just love him! I'm a sucker for all things treelike right now anyway. Oh yeah, I got it from Emerald's Emporium, who always have the coolest stuff imaginable. For all you gamers out there they have Dr. Wizard's Patented Elevation Indicator, so you can see just how high you can fly, or how low you can sink depending upon your gaming goal. And yes, they really did patent it! (U.S. Patent #6,938,897) Just put your favorite miniature on top to show everyone how powerful a wizard you are! Now if that isn't cool, I don't know what is.

So that's a brief summary of my shopping news from Marscon. It's a fan girl kinda thing. ;)