I love film. Film is beautiful. And film is expensive. I have a crisper drawer full of film rolls that I haven't been able to get processed yet, including rolls from my trip to New York and my friends' wedding last summer. I just haven't been able to afford it, which really sucks, considering that I am a photographer. On the flip side, while a digital camera would save me money on film and processing costs, this cost of a digital SLR is way out of my budget right now. There is no easy answer.
February 2006 Archives
Television Without Pity (which I truly adore anyway) has the most beautiful recap of Serenity. And I do mean beautiful.
TWoP recaps are not without their share of analysis, and this recap isn't without it's share of snark, but this is really one of the most lovingly crafted write-up I've every read on TWoP. Far beyond a simple movie review, it really highlights the themes and symbolism, some of which had gone past me the first time. Plus, the prose is well crafted.
Literally. I'm amazed the kid hasn't gotten himself killed. Very impressive.
I am just a busy bee lately. It all started with the Artists for Choice show this summer, and then getting juried into the "Classic Black and White" exhibition at Overture. I've been on a roll since then.
I was juried into Madison: People, Places & Events by Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors/Wisconsin Artists in All Media (WP&S/WAAM) at the Steenbock Gallery. Then I was juried into Space to Create at the Wisconsin Union Class of 1925 Gallery. Then I dropped off a piece for the CPM Member show at Fyfe's. All three shows are up (or going up) right now. But that's not where it ends!
Three of my photos have been juried into"About the Body" at Green Latern Studios in Mineral Point. That show will go up in mid-March. There is one more juried show that I am waiting to hear the jury results on, which will be happening in my neighborhood. Also, the Madison Art Guild will be admitting new members in April and I may apply, and Artists for Choice is planning another event for June.
I give a lot of credit for this renewed activity to Jill, who kicked my butt last year and got me to start looking to show again. Thanks, Jill.
It was another great Camp Wellstone experience. My only problem was the venue. Compared to the Pyle Center, the Sheraton was rather crappy.
I learned an amazing amount about running a political campaign, and even had quite a few people tell me that I should be a candidate. Heh. While I have no immediate plans to run for office (I'd be interested in the School Board, but their meeting schedule conflicts with choir, and I'll take choir over meetings any day.) I will certainly participate the the third track--the candidate track-- the next time Camo Wellstone comes to town (probably in 2008).
I had an new (for me) dining experience last night: spaghetti on the board at Rossario's in Monona. M was having her law school graduation celebration there. The set up was a lon (clean) wooden board over the table with a long row of spaghetti with sauce and meatballs piled down the center. All of the guests had napkin and utensils in front of them (but no plates) and there were little claw-scoops around the table to drag little piles of spaghetti from the row to your eating area. Bread, butter, and cheese were passed around the table family dinner style. We did have little bowls for our salads, thank goodness.
Everyone laughed a great deal and enjoyed the dinner--the food was quiet good--but at the same time we were all struck with how surreal it seemed. The marinara sauce and the butter made the table a bit hazardous for shirt sleeves. You had to be careful not to absentmindedly set your arms down on the table.
I've been enjoying this wonderful little site today. I was pointed in its direction by a piece on Weekend Edition yesterday. The Vault Radio is prety fun, although even with DSL, it is occasionally choppy and wierd for me.
I'm thinking it may be time to upgrade my Movable Type. For some reason it is making me log in all the freaking time now, when once I rarely needed to. I'm not sure what is up, but there may be other new things that I want in the newer versions, like better ways to deal with spam. However, given how non-savvy I am about the technical end of things I am not going to dive right in, in case I make everything blow up while transitioning. I remember a bit of rockiness in the transition from Blogger to MT.
I really need to stop looking at the Apple Store. I either fill myself with senseless envy looking at pretty shiny things that I will never afford and don't really need given that I already have two computers (Oh, for a 17" screen, a laptop that would run on it's battery and all that memory! >drool<) or I fill myself with slightly less senseless envy looking at shiny things that I may be able to afford someday but not now, and really don't *need* anyway (15,000 songs!).
Day one of Camp Wellstone went well. Our first group excersize was to make a pretend radio ad for a campaign. We recorded them and played them back to the group for critique. My group wasn't the best, but it did get good reviews.
And now, I should get to sleep.
I've also been a lousy diary-keeper, but somewhat more consistant blogger.
I may have some things to blog about this weekend, though probably not much time to do so. In a few hours I'm going to be at my secondCamp Wellstone. The one in 2004 was a great experience, so I'm looking forward to it.
I have been posting very little lately, mostly because I'm in a holding pattern. Very little time to post, but also very little new things worth posting. The direction of the blog has changed in the past few years, do in part to changes in my life, in part do to having written a lot of the "Big Things" already, and in part because I now know that people I know (ie, my family) are reading this. Add to that the fact that I'm not the world's most comfortable writer, and things will slow down.
But I'm not abandonning this. Not by any means. I just have to sort out what I want to blog, and then get my fingers to the keyboard. I still need a place to make myself write, to keep myself in practice for a discipline that I dislike.
It is funny to me, just slightly. I love to read. I adore a well-turned phrase and soak up the written word like a sponge. However, I am a visual person, and words don't come to me easily. They always feel awkward and unwieldy. I use cliches. I punctuate randomly. I don't edit as well as I should. But even if this is a trumpet I play poorly, I know that it is better to keep playing than to leave it in the case. I just need to figure out what music I want to play.
