Sunday, March 25, 2018
Creatures of Time
Then there is the greatest first - the moment you hold your first published book in your hand. There comes a time when you realize you need to stop talking about dreams and start making them happen. I've made a movie short, acted in plays, had my own art show, and now there is the culmination. It came in part from a promise to my dad, to compile his poetry and share it with the world, because it needs to be shared. I realized there were paintings he and/or I had painted that corresponded well with the poems, and there were poems I'd written myself. It became an anthology of art and verse, of memories growing up on a farm, of Appalachia then and now. I t is beautiful, and I'll treasure it forever, because of what it is, and of the first milestone it marks.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
This and that...
The latest litany of new stuff...but in an exciting way...
Gotten a new stamp in my NPS passport book - to recognize the 150th anniversary of Andrew Johnson's impeachment...
Had fun with Google Arts and Culture art comparisons...
Eaten at a French Market in Knoxville...
And tried petit fours. DIVINE...
Gotten a new stamp in my NPS passport book - to recognize the 150th anniversary of Andrew Johnson's impeachment...
Friday, February 16, 2018
And so it goes...
In keeping up the quest to ever strive to welcome newness and growth into life I have:
- Powered through the upper notes in a classical piece of piano music
- Celebrated Burn's Night with poetry and new foods with names like lamb croquette and cock-a-leeky stew
- Changed the server memory card at work
- Upgraded to a modern record-able tv system
- Taken a new road home from work
- Learned about Orangeburg tile
- Eaten at the Choo-Choo Cafe in Erwin
- Tried a new coffee flavor at the Steel Rails Coffee House
- Added tobiko and eel sauce sides with sushi - I'm a fan of both!
- Scanned a negative to recreate a long-lost photo
- Visited Fort Negley in Nashville, TN - commissioned by Military Governor Andrew Johnson
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Fahrvergnugen
Today's first - a foray into a new language. German is something outside of anything I ever thought I'd consider learning, but here goes! A new person in your life can spark new interests and desires, literally and figuratively.
Unfortunately or fortunately, my sister and I have had a terrible amount of fun with it already...When I asked her the first phrase from the book, "Was ist los?" she looked at me and replied very seriously, "Fahrvergnugen." We dissolved into hysterics for a bit, then she said, "No really, what does it mean?" I said, "It means, 'What is wrong?'"
"The first phrase they teach you is 'What is wrong?'" Insert hysterical laughter again.
I'll straighten up soon, I promise, and I'll be very proud when I can order some mulled wine from the Christmas markets in Germany. That is also on the list of desired firsts.
In the meantime, we've learned that "Fahrvergnügen was an advertising slogan used by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen in a 1990 U.S. ad campaign that included a stick figure driving a Volkswagen car...'Fahrvergnügen' means 'driving enjoyment' in English (from fahren, 'to drive,' and Vergnügen, 'enjoyment'). The term itself is not standard German but a neologism (compound noun) created especially for this advertising campaign."
Unfortunately or fortunately, my sister and I have had a terrible amount of fun with it already...When I asked her the first phrase from the book, "Was ist los?" she looked at me and replied very seriously, "Fahrvergnugen." We dissolved into hysterics for a bit, then she said, "No really, what does it mean?" I said, "It means, 'What is wrong?'"
"The first phrase they teach you is 'What is wrong?'" Insert hysterical laughter again.
I'll straighten up soon, I promise, and I'll be very proud when I can order some mulled wine from the Christmas markets in Germany. That is also on the list of desired firsts.
In the meantime, we've learned that "Fahrvergnügen was an advertising slogan used by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen in a 1990 U.S. ad campaign that included a stick figure driving a Volkswagen car...'Fahrvergnügen' means 'driving enjoyment' in English (from fahren, 'to drive,' and Vergnügen, 'enjoyment'). The term itself is not standard German but a neologism (compound noun) created especially for this advertising campaign."
Monday, January 15, 2018
One new thing...
One of the main principles of "The Artist's Way" is synchronicity - that mysterious and miraculous intertwining of events. I've found it true in my own life an uncountable number of times. That's why I wasn't surprised when, after making a New Year's Resolution to learn at least one new thing a day, a friend gave me the book, "I Dare Me." It's a challenge to DO one new thing a day. That ups the ante.
Upping the ante. Let's use that as an example - the Spanish word ante means before. So you raise the bets before a game of poker starts - a forced bet for higher stakes.
Okay. So far I've learned it's easier to learn something new each day than do something new each day. I have to admit I love the ease with which we can find out anything we want to know in this technological era. I heard a quote once that we have the wealth of human knowledge available in our pockets, and we use it to watch cat videos and argue about politics. We need to be more than that. We need to be grateful for the resources at our grasp.
So far my goal has been an amalgam (a mixture or blend), but I'm dedicated. Do you know how long it takes to jot down 1-365 in a small, shiny blue notebook? I can tell you it covers 15 pages of imposing yet exciting possibilities.
Examples thus far:
1. Eat at the Melting Pot - It was simple yet fascinating to sit down at a table with a hot eye and shiny silver pot in the center, then see the mixtures of rich cheeses and wines and broths appear before you. There are four courses, all in manageable sizes. Cheese and bread/fruit/vegetables start the feast; salad of choice appears next; then, heady broth with vegetables into which you drop your skewers of chosen tender meats to cook yourself, given the proper amount of time. Then comes dessert! We chose a pot of dark chocolate with sea salt, and the smorgasbord of fruit, cake, marshmallows, Rice Krispy tasties thrilled us like school children.
2. In progress: Read all the biographies in the young adult section of the library. I started this when I was a child, but the prickly library staff was so akin to the Gestapo that I vowed never to darken the doorway again. With a new staff, I've picked up the quest again, and am tearing through the books with childish gusto and zeal.
Louis Braille - whose grave I'd seen in the Pantheon in Paris this summer - died so disappointed that his system of writing for the blind hadn't been adopted made me wonder if his interment in the hallowed structured had come later. Indeed it had - his re-interment had been attended by Helen Keller herself.
Guiseppe Verdi - did you know that in addition to being a prodigious musician, he was an amazing philanthropist?
Others so far - Louis Armstrong, Crispus Attucks, Jim Bridger, Noah Webster, Lew Wallace, Harry Truman, Queen Victoria...
3. Listen to Les Eolides, music inspired by poetry: http://classicalwcrb.org/post/music-inspired-poetry-les-eolides#stream/0 It's about the winds, from Greek mythology.
4. Learn music theory - this is the part of childhood piano lessons I "tuned out." Also doing all those awful finger exercises.
5. Speaking of music - the difference between a Sonata and a Sonatina. "A sonatina is literally a small sonata. As a musical term, sonatina has no single strict definition; it is rather a title applied by the composer to a piece that is in basic sonata form, but is shorter and lighter in character, or technically more elementary, than a typical sonata." I'll leave the Sonatas to Rhonda.
6. Learn about Marie Bashkirtseff - a woman artist who broke the rules of Victorian culture by getting out and wandering about Paris - a "flaneuse." She captured scenes of every day life, even including a single girl walking by herself - or not? - in her painting, The Meeting. The girl is on the edge the painting and it's impossible to tell if someone is beside her.
There are many more ideas and thoughts to come! Some days I'll have a set goal. Some days will be an exciting adventure. But it's nice to have something to feel eager about for the new year.
Upping the ante. Let's use that as an example - the Spanish word ante means before. So you raise the bets before a game of poker starts - a forced bet for higher stakes.
Okay. So far I've learned it's easier to learn something new each day than do something new each day. I have to admit I love the ease with which we can find out anything we want to know in this technological era. I heard a quote once that we have the wealth of human knowledge available in our pockets, and we use it to watch cat videos and argue about politics. We need to be more than that. We need to be grateful for the resources at our grasp.
So far my goal has been an amalgam (a mixture or blend), but I'm dedicated. Do you know how long it takes to jot down 1-365 in a small, shiny blue notebook? I can tell you it covers 15 pages of imposing yet exciting possibilities.
Examples thus far:
1. Eat at the Melting Pot - It was simple yet fascinating to sit down at a table with a hot eye and shiny silver pot in the center, then see the mixtures of rich cheeses and wines and broths appear before you. There are four courses, all in manageable sizes. Cheese and bread/fruit/vegetables start the feast; salad of choice appears next; then, heady broth with vegetables into which you drop your skewers of chosen tender meats to cook yourself, given the proper amount of time. Then comes dessert! We chose a pot of dark chocolate with sea salt, and the smorgasbord of fruit, cake, marshmallows, Rice Krispy tasties thrilled us like school children.
2. In progress: Read all the biographies in the young adult section of the library. I started this when I was a child, but the prickly library staff was so akin to the Gestapo that I vowed never to darken the doorway again. With a new staff, I've picked up the quest again, and am tearing through the books with childish gusto and zeal.
Louis Braille - whose grave I'd seen in the Pantheon in Paris this summer - died so disappointed that his system of writing for the blind hadn't been adopted made me wonder if his interment in the hallowed structured had come later. Indeed it had - his re-interment had been attended by Helen Keller herself.
Guiseppe Verdi - did you know that in addition to being a prodigious musician, he was an amazing philanthropist?
Others so far - Louis Armstrong, Crispus Attucks, Jim Bridger, Noah Webster, Lew Wallace, Harry Truman, Queen Victoria...
3. Listen to Les Eolides, music inspired by poetry: http://classicalwcrb.org/post/music-inspired-poetry-les-eolides#stream/0 It's about the winds, from Greek mythology.
4. Learn music theory - this is the part of childhood piano lessons I "tuned out." Also doing all those awful finger exercises.
5. Speaking of music - the difference between a Sonata and a Sonatina. "A sonatina is literally a small sonata. As a musical term, sonatina has no single strict definition; it is rather a title applied by the composer to a piece that is in basic sonata form, but is shorter and lighter in character, or technically more elementary, than a typical sonata." I'll leave the Sonatas to Rhonda.
6. Learn about Marie Bashkirtseff - a woman artist who broke the rules of Victorian culture by getting out and wandering about Paris - a "flaneuse." She captured scenes of every day life, even including a single girl walking by herself - or not? - in her painting, The Meeting. The girl is on the edge the painting and it's impossible to tell if someone is beside her.
There are many more ideas and thoughts to come! Some days I'll have a set goal. Some days will be an exciting adventure. But it's nice to have something to feel eager about for the new year.
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