Nobody expected the Spanish Inquisition!

A friend of mine, watching the crawl on the morning news, couldn’t figure out who the Palin was that McCain had chosen for VP (“Sarah” was obscured by the logo).  The only “Palin” Chris could immediately come up with was Michael  ”get the comfy chair!” Palin.  I think Michael would have been a better choice – he’s better versed in world affairs – and if its the women’s vote the Republicans are after, well, Michael makes a very, striking female: 

Seriously, who the heck knew who Sarah Palin was before yesterday’s announcement? The Republicans found the least experienced candidate they could get their hands on and chose her because she is photogenic mother of a soldier to be – does that qualify her for the vice presidential post???  Well, you know what – we the voters require more from a candidate than race or gender.  We want someone who can lead, someone with morals and intelligence.  If you truly want to know more about Sarah Palin, please read this post from an Alaskan who is very familiar with Ms. Palin: Mudflats gives what I believe to be a fairly impartial look at the Governor of Alaska.  Mudflats blog http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/

Okay, I’m off my soap box – I won’t rant and rave about politics here anymore … or at least for a while… I just can’t believe McCain thinks that women will vote for him because of Palin … but then again, he doesn’t know how many houses he owns either …. I’d like a president who knows where his houses are…. how insulting is this to the whole gender… not to mention the slap in the face to all the truly experienced female Republicans out there…  sorry, I’m just muttering to myself as I wander off in disgust…

Not to get political or anything but…

Yaa hoo! Its official – Obama is the Democratic candidate for president. Here’s something that has bothered me for a while about the way Barack Obama is represented in the media – he is constantly represented as our first major African American candidate for president.  Well  you know what?  He is so much more than that!  He is our first interracial candidate for president.  He is half white as well as half black.  Obama’s dad was an African student.  Although I may be mistaken on this and I’m sure someone will correct me if I am, Obama will be our first “first generation American” president if elected.  Of course, I suppose, you could get all technical about all presidents before Van Buren not being American citizens at birth and therefore Van Buren was the first, first generation American president.

I guess what I’m saying is Barak Obama represents my America – he’s white, he’s black, his father is/was not born in the U.S., he has worked hard to get where he is and he is willing to work hard to make a difference.  Barack was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he did not have job after job handed to him by his rich father,  he is intelligent and is able to speak intelligently without resorting to the sounds and grimaces and bumblings that is common in the speech of the current chief of the executive branch. 

Obviously, what really matters in the Obama candidacy is not what the media has to say about him but what Mr. Obama has to say, what he plans to do and how he plans to get us out of this quagmire into which we have been placed.

Just so Queen Mab won’t visit me

I thought I’d best feature the third of the ACEO’s I put up at my Etsy store here lest old Queen Mab pay me a visit in my sleep tonight.  My favorite character in Romeo and Juliet was Mercutio (I cried when he died, the heck with that insipid Romeo and dim Juliet).  Mercutio’s Queen Mab speech is the inspiration for this ACEO.  Queen Mab is the fairy spirit that causes you to dream of things you cannot have and generally causes as much mischief as she can manage.

“O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Over men’s noses as they lie asleep;
Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut
Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,
Time out o’ mind the fairies’ coachmakers.
Her wagon-spokes made of long spinners’ legs,
The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,
The traces of the smallest spider’s web,
The collars of the moonshine’s watery beams,
Her whip of cricket’s bone, the lash of film,
Her wagoner a small grey-coated gnat,
Not so big as a round little worm
Prick’d from the lazy finger of a maid;
And in this state she gallops night by night

Hmm, that Shakespeare (if that really was his name) fellow really was capable of turning a fine phrase or two.  This speech is another piece I’d like to add to the list of items for Alan Rickman’s recording (not that I’m obsessed about this mind you).  T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock was suggested by Purrperfect - an excellent choice! Soon we’ll have enough for a whole CD.  That’s right … I live in a fantasy world … I’ll stop, for now.   You can go about you’re business now.

P.S.:  You can read the entire speech here:  Queen Mab

Always….

Here is another ACEO (see yesterday’s post if you don’t know what they are).  Be warned if you haven’t read Deathly Hallows, read no further.  This small drawing was inspired by a scene in Deathly Hallows where Snape reveals his patronus to Dumbledore – a doe (which apparently was Lily Potter’s patronus).  Dumbledore asks Snape “after all this time” and Snape replies “always.”   I am patiently waiting to hear Alan Rickman’s mellifluous voice pronounce the word.  That one word tells so much about Snape’s character.  Yes, he could be cruel, cold and hard but apparently he was also devoted, loyal and capable of love to the point of altruistically protecting Lily’s son for no earthly gain other than a duty owed to love.  Er, sorry – I get carried away.  Sooner or later  I’ll have to do a whole Harry Potter analysis post here just to get it out of my system.  Anyway, this is an original ink and pencil drawing.  If you’d like to visit my etsy store the portkey is the drawing.

Here’s a link, if you adore Mr. Rickman’s wonderful voice as much as I do, of him reading Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130.  By the way I’m starting a one woman campaign to urge Alan Rickman do more poetry recordings – starting with John Donne’s Song –  Go and Catch a Falling Star.  Such a beautiful, fun and yet cynical poem.

Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil’s foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy’s stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind. 

If thou be’st born to strange sights,
Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee,
Thou, when thou return’st, wilt tell me,
All strange wonders that befell thee,
And swear,
No where
Lives a woman true and fair. 

If thou find’st one, let me know,
Such a pilgrimage were sweet;
Yet do not, I would not go,
Though at next door we might meet,
Though she were true, when you met her,
And last, till you write your letter,
Yet she
Will be

False, ere I come, to two, or three.

Fairy Tale Ramblings and ACEO’s

I’m finding that working within the ACEO* constraints has reignited my desire to draw. I’ve always drawn. I think every child starts off as an artist and then through lack of encouragement or perhaps too much discouragement children just stop expressing themselves through art. Fortunately, some get that little bit of needed encouragement just at the right time that keeps them working to get better and then there are some of us who are just too stubborn to be discouraged. …. But wait, I digress.. I was saying, I enjoy drawing within the confines of the ACEO dimensions.  Why look, here’s one now…

The Snow Queen

I read all the fairy tale books I could get my hands on as a child from the Blue Fairy Book through the Lilac, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen.  And as light hearted as Danny Kaye’s film portrayal of Hans was, in re-reading Andersen’s stories as an adult – well, wow – he tackled some serious issues and frightening subject matter in those stories that probably would not be rated acceptable for children in this day and age. Actually, fairy tales are our most ancient stories and carry mythic themes and universal truths … Uh,  but I digress again… I remember this wonderfully illustrated version of the Snow Queen that I checked out of the library as a child.  It was beautiful.  The illustrations were pencil colored, just beautifully blended, something like the style of Jan Brett.   I remember trying to figure out how to blend colors that way.  I wish I had paid attention to the artist’s name but I was probably about 8 or 9 and that didn’t seem as important back then.  The Snow Queen itself is a very creepy story – its available on line if you’d like to read it.  Here is an annotated version:  ”The Snow Queen”

If you’d like to see more of my shop, just click (no, not your heels – click on the Snow Queen).  

ACEO stands for “Art Cards, Editions and Originals”. These cards have one main rule – they are 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches – the size of a trading card.

I’ve got the theme song to the Hans Christian Andersen movie going though my head now thanks to that YouTube link above…. be warned its very catchy.

All that rice made me thirsty…

You know with all that free rice we’ve been donating by improving our vocabulary – there must be people in need of water to wash the rice, cook the rice and, of course, to drink. Here’s a geography game that is built on the same premise as freerice.  I donated 181 cups of water on my first run – I intend to go back and try again to improve my geo-skills – in case the Amazing Race should ever call.
Give it a try.

Updated:  second go round got to 230 – all right, I hear ya, I need to go back to work on items for the Etsy store or finishing one of the 65 projects I’ve got waiting for completion and stop playing games on line …..

Whatever amuses…

Since this blog is supposed to be a help to me sell my art work in my Etsy shop and since I’ve been doing nothing on this blog but blather on about whatever pops into my head or whatever shiny thing I’ve seen, I thought I’d take a moment and post the latest entries into my shop..

This one is “Waiting for Inspiration (The Three Muses).  Sometimes even the Muses have a hard time getting inspired. You just have to cross your arms and wait.

As for the medium used on this ACEO* – well, I just grabbed a sharpie and went for it and then filled in the fine lines with an archival ink pen. Needless to say, its an original drawing on vellum bristol.

*ACEO stands for “Art Cards, Editions and Originals”. These cards have one main rule – they are 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches – the size of a trading card.

Not a total waste of time….

This is a wonderful site. I first heard about it at the Vlogbrothers site and then heard a report on NPR about it as well. You can play online and not feel guilty about wasting time. You play, you build up your vocabulary and the more right answers you get, the more you help feed people. How you say? Advertisers are willing to pay to have their names and logos put in front of our faces and these advertisers are willing to pay for that service in rice to feed people who are going hungry. Read all about it in there FAQ’s – they explain it much better. I’m placing a link here below and also on the side bar so should you ever want to play and feed you can find the link there (its also going there for my use too). Its fun. Try it and tell me what level you get too.

I could, if I wanted to – I just don’t want to

My inner monologue while watching the Olympics:  

Wow, look at her go.  Swimming doesn’t look all that hard.  I bet I could get in shape fast if I  took up swimming.  She doesn’t look all that muscular.  I bet I could compete even… yeah she is younger than I am but heck, look at that Dara person…. CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH  (sound of corn chips being consumed … what? they’re organic! ) …. that’s it I’m going to buy one of those spiffy swimsuits…. I bet they’re expensive though, uhg… I’d probably look like the Michelin man in one of those …. SLURP  (sound of Coke, not Diet Coke, just real, tasty, cold Coke being gulped) … Ooh track, man I used to run like the wind as a girl … wow, look at those guys go.  I should try running …. GROAN – as I swing the easy chair into upright position and head toward the ice cream…. Hmm, I guess gymnastics would be out of the question….

Oh, the shame, the shame….

(peeking out from paper bag on head)…. I don’t know why I take these foolish on-line tests.  They are not in any way valid or educational but I find myself taking them every time I come across one. I found out  earlier today I have the qualifications to be Mrs. Snape (altho’ the Weasley Twins came in a close second) and that if I were a fantasy/sci fi character I would be Galadriel and now this.  Are you a dork, nerd or geek?  I fancy myself a nerd in the best possible definition of that word.  And having many years of test-taking experience I figured I could slant the “test” in that direction but then this happened (see below).  First I’m told I’m an outcast and then they add insult to injury by foisting Bill Gate’s face upon me as my prototype!  I’m anti-Microsoft for the most part and an Apple gal all the way – why not use Jobs picture instead I ask myself – or is he not considered an outcast genius.  I guess Jobs is more “cool” than geeky, nerdy dorks like me and Bill (ugh – pulling bag down over face again and mumbling through bag…)   How accurate is this test really?  Would a “genius” be online taking these tests?  Read on MacDuff and take the test yourself.  (Stumbles off to take the Steampunk Fashion Test ….)

Your result for The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test…

Outcast Genius

For The Record:   

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in all three, earning you the title of: Outcast Genius.

Outcast geniuses usually are bright enough to understand what society wants of them, and they just don’t care! They are highly intelligent and passionate about the things they know are *truly* important in the world. Typically, this does not include sports, cars or make-up, but it can on occassion (and if it does then they know more than all of their friends combined in that subject).

Outcast geniuses can be very lonely, due to their being outcast from most normal groups and too smart for the room among many other types of dorks and geeks, but they can also be the types to eventually rule the world, ala Bill Gates, the prototypical Outcast Genius.

Congratulations!

Thanks Again! — THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

Take The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test at HelloQuizzy