owl moons and lupines...

Over the last few months there has been an overwhelming response to Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are". I remember when I saw the preview for this movie (and yes, it was at Harry Potter - I have zero shame) and I remember how the trailer brought me to tears. It was insane how moved I was.

It got me thinking about other books I loved as a child. During the time in which my mother and father were trying to mold my young literary brain, books like "Owl Moon" and "Miss Rumphius" were must-haves in my bookcase. I think I read "Owl Moon" at least a hundred times...and when i say 'read', I mean 'stare' at the pictures and get lost in the poetic verses like snow being "whiter than milk in a cereal bowl" and descriptors such as "ink-blue shadows". Between this book and "The Snowman", I became quite obsessed with snow and taking late night walks in the winter. It's amazing to me that I still hold onto these stories as I grow older and they somehow continue to shape my imagination.

"Miss Rumphius" was another example of literary influence that depicted the life of a girl from childhood into adulthood. Her journey was one that gave me an insight into the possibilities of another lifestyle. Her story showed many children that you can still have happiness and create beauty without living the stereotypical lifestyle of a woman. She lives a life without marrying or having children and instead gains other experiences of travel, culture, new environments, etc. and finally settles at the end of the story in a house on the beach scattering lupine seeds wherever she goes -making the places she walks and encounters more beautiful and full of life. That's a pretty rad idea and extremely influential for a young child to hear and carry with them throughout the course of their own life.

I can't help but plug the support of literacy and education programs - possibly because it's part of my job and the importance and influence stories and learning can have on a person of any age is something that can't be taken away.

"women hold up half the sky"

this may be one of the best articles i've read in quite some time.

check it: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1#

“Our interviews and perusal of the data available suggest that the poorest families in the world spend approximately 10 times as much (20 percent of their incomes on average) on a combination of alcohol, prostitution, candy, sugary drinks and lavish feasts as they do on educating their children (2 percent). If poor families spent only as much on educating their children as they do on beer and prostitutes, there would be a breakthrough in the prospects of poor countries. Girls, since they are the ones kept home from school now, would be the biggest beneficiaries. Moreover, one way to reallocate family expenditures in this way is to put more money in the hands of women. A series of studies has found that when women hold assets or gain incomes, family money is more likely to be spent on nutrition, medicine and housing, and consequently children are healthier.”

fewer bells and whistles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/business/12event.html?_r=2&em=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1250168409-9X9uUiS9R1hwhFDrDZ706w

some things are just wrong.

i'm not sure if i've made mention of how much i dislike the hype about MJ's death. overall, i'm not really one to drool over tabloids or gossip blogs or get overly emotional about celebrity happenins and such.

it's true that MJ's death is sad and his music was influential. there's no denying that. did i looove the black and white video with macaulay culkin? you know i did. do i own the jackson five christmas album? you better believe it. with this being said, i still don't understand why weeks after his death people are still trying rekindle the hysteria.

for instance, i was toolin' around on salon.com and i saw the title: "Michael Jackson's hair to be made into diamonds" my first reaction was to regurgitate my breakfast. the second and conclusive reaction was to click on the link.

i won't ruin the article for you. i'll let you see it for yourself:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jul/27/michael-jackson-hair-diamonds

basically, the next time you think about buying a diamond (which i'm not totally against as long as they are from canada) let this be your driving force to NOT purchase one that are related to such circumstances. perhaps Blood Diamond didn't sway you but maybe this will.

WrItInG tHe wRoNgS.

So, I came across an article in the NYT today: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/opinion/20hotchner.html

The title caught my eye: "A Moveable Feast" - quite possibly one of my favorite literary treats. As I got to reading this treatise, I was a bit floored. Who in their right mind would allow someone to re-write another man's memoir? For reals?

Sure, at times we find ourselves borrowing from those who inspire us - but we surely don't mutilate their work. So, at what point should a line be drawn between borrowing and defacing? Sure, renditions of famous paintings cause no real harm - in fact one pays a sort of homage by doing so. In any art form you can borrow to adhere to your own, but in no way should it be appropriate to amend an individual's praised and completed work...simply because you do not agree with what that individual has written.

In the case of literature, it's completely acceptable to form your style around the works of another author. However, it is not appropriate to take one's book, re-write sections of the story (that you feel are the correct set of occurrences)and then keep the title, with the author's name, and adding your own. I'm completely fine with someone taking the work and responding to it in a matter that they feel rights the wrong - but in their own words, on their own pages with their own title. Honestly, when this sort of thing happens I feel there is only one to blame - the publishers. As keepers of the books that authors entrust to them, they have no right to allow such blatent disgrace.

I seriously hope people do not buy this book if Scribner does decide to publish the piece. Srsly, now.

one man's trash...

...is another man's treasure. Some people may frown on the idea of dumpster diving/picking up random treasures off the side of the road, but for several years I've seen this as a way of acquiring new and eclectic pieces for my humble abodes.

Since I'm not ready to completely settle, I have found it easiest to decorate my apartment with Craigslist findings or the occasional trashed treasure then forking over buko (sp?) bucks for a bookshelf or a side table. Each piece has a story and character--every dent, scratch and loose table leg has a tale to tell.

It's incredible how much junk we accumulate. I consider myself a minimalist and like clean lines with less clutter (although I have been known to have a pile here or there) so when I moved about a month or so ago, I was surprised by the amount of junk I had accumulated in one short year. This got me thinking about how many of us base so much of our successes on what we can buy/afford. I'm a culprit. As I was packing I found things that I had never even opened - lotions, shampoo, clothes. It's ridiculous. It was the two for one sale that got me...it got me good...on several occasions.

Well, it's not going to happen anymore. In fact, as I was perusing the internet, looking at various furniture websites for items I didn't even need, and I across junktion: http://www.junktion.co.il/about.html. Although the idea isn't completely foreign or new for that matter, it refreshed my thinking and brought about this creative and inventive thought process that's been lacking for quite some time. It becomes so easy to fall into the trap of: "I must buy this and have it, even though I don't need it" - especially when those around you are constantly trying to outdo the other. I hate it. But I don't have to keep up with any Jones'. I feel encouraged. Instead of throwing out the broken picture frame and old soup spoons, I'm gonna get crafty.

three wolf moon.

http://www.amazon.com/Three-T-Shirt-Available-Various-Sizes/product-reviews/B000NZW3IY

the reviews are the best part.