It's time to take a breather.
Totally not your fault - I just need some time and space to figure things out... y'know, like formatting and content and what I actually want to say.
It's been a fun few years, blogging, but I think I'd better take myself 'off the market' for a while. Just to see. I might be back - probably will be. I'll let you know.
In the meantime, I'll leave my stuff and keep posting videos and other things that I want to keep track of... We're absolutely still friends, and you can come browse my e-bookshelf anytime. I'll also be trying a little harder to be consistent with my 'update' emails to friends and family - let me know if you want in on that list!
It's been great, really.
And there are plenty more blogs in the sea!
Watch out for falling turtles,
Cyd
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Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
April 23, 2012
March 25, 2012
Books and Blogs and (A and) B-Movies
I've been hearing and thinking about this quote quite a bit lately: 'Write the book you want to read.' And I think I have a related corollary: 'Read the books you wish you'd written.' There are so many books and so little time (relatively speaking) that we just can't afford to read things that are lazy, or stupid, or derivative, or just bad for us. I remember also hearing sometime ago that you should never read a book that's less than a year old - and while there are still some authors that I like and trust and whose work I'll buy the minute it's released, in general I think that waiting is a good strategy. That way there's time for hype to settle, and for something to pick up Amazon reviews (I'm also trying not to read things that have less than 50 generally positive Amazon reviews, as I do a whole lot of my reading through my Kindle these days - ooh, and if a novel that's only a couple of years old is free for the Kindle, there's generally a very good reason for that, with a few exceptions... TANGENT) and you can really make an informed decision about something you're about to commit a good chunk of your time too!
* * * * *
So I have this former student (well, she's not really my student, she's one of Phaid's students that I briefly taught and think is fabulous) who used to take a lot of teasing (PATRICK) for not believing in 'love'. It was really great, therefore, to see her post a link to A BLOG ABOUT LOVE: A Love Story with the preface: 'THIS. It's real, it happens, and I want my own.' She happens to be gorgeous, smart, talented, funny (obviously, we have a lot in common) and we have a similar taste in websites (particularly fashion commentary) so I figured this would be something extraordinary... AND IT IS. And she's absolutely right. That's what I want, too. (Kristen, if I stumble across any potential British candidates I will certainly send them your way - and if you run across any applicable older men let me know, -K-?)
* * * * *
I saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which was charming and delightful, with my friend Gemma last night, who is also charming and delightful. I'm fairly sure we were the two youngest people in the audience. (Also, The Decoy Bride, starring Kelly Macdonald and David Tennant, is not nearly as terrible as the critics made it out to be. It's not particularly good, but it's not horrific, either. And there are some good one-liners. And the scenery's great. And David Tennant.)
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I wouldn't mind a good sheep-stealing raid every now and then, myself. (Sorry. You'll just have to watch the film.)
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* * * * *
So I have this former student (well, she's not really my student, she's one of Phaid's students that I briefly taught and think is fabulous) who used to take a lot of teasing (PATRICK) for not believing in 'love'. It was really great, therefore, to see her post a link to A BLOG ABOUT LOVE: A Love Story with the preface: 'THIS. It's real, it happens, and I want my own.' She happens to be gorgeous, smart, talented, funny (obviously, we have a lot in common) and we have a similar taste in websites (particularly fashion commentary) so I figured this would be something extraordinary... AND IT IS. And she's absolutely right. That's what I want, too. (Kristen, if I stumble across any potential British candidates I will certainly send them your way - and if you run across any applicable older men let me know, -K-?)
* * * * *
I saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which was charming and delightful, with my friend Gemma last night, who is also charming and delightful. I'm fairly sure we were the two youngest people in the audience. (Also, The Decoy Bride, starring Kelly Macdonald and David Tennant, is not nearly as terrible as the critics made it out to be. It's not particularly good, but it's not horrific, either. And there are some good one-liners. And the scenery's great. And David Tennant.)
* * * * *
I wouldn't mind a good sheep-stealing raid every now and then, myself. (Sorry. You'll just have to watch the film.)
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March 20, 2011
One or the Other
Lookie, lookie! New blog design! That actually looks remarkably similar to the old one!*
I'm a creature of habit. I liked the old design - in fact, I only changed it so that the comic strips I like to post occasionally would, as they say, appear to greater advantage. *shrugs* Priorities.
I'm a creature of habit. I liked the old design - in fact, I only changed it so that the comic strips I like to post occasionally would, as they say, appear to greater advantage. *shrugs* Priorities.
(The strip is "Frazz" by Jef Mallett, by the way. Go buy his books - the characters are great, the art is engaging, and the jokes are fun-nnnny. Also funny? Bill Bryson. His "A Short History of Nearly Everything" rocks my socks.)
*ETA: Once you re-design, you can't stop... it's been changed three times since this post, and now looks pretty much nothing like the original. Oh, well.
July 02, 2009
Fake Upholstery is SO Five Minutes Ago (Literally)
I finished up today with the fanciest set piece for a two-minute scene EVER. (It's a carriage interior.) The tech guys agree that it looks much better than it did the last time they did the show, and the designer is all giddy because techs will be standing behind the piece shaking it while it's on stage, and the curtains and the fringe and the tassels will be bouncing which will make the whole thing look like it's REALLY MOVING. It's the theater equivalent of playing a moving video behind a stationary object - only, you know, the opposite.
Behold:
The staple gun and I: re-covered the cushions and bench, "wallpapered" with fabric, attached the corner trim, and hung all the curtains after sewing a couple of layers of fringe. The designer says that he likes having me work on things like this, because I really "get" fringe. (Apparently, some people don't. Can I list an understanding of fringe as a marketable job skill?)
Behold:
The staple gun and I: re-covered the cushions and bench, "wallpapered" with fabric, attached the corner trim, and hung all the curtains after sewing a couple of layers of fringe. The designer says that he likes having me work on things like this, because I really "get" fringe. (Apparently, some people don't. Can I list an understanding of fringe as a marketable job skill?)Nice, huh? The whole thing is kind of like a portable bordello. If, you know, I were to ever imagine what that sort of thing might look like, which I wouldn't. At all.
Ahem.
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My sister has started her own "30 Days of Posts" - go follow along! So far it's fun, patriotic, and has a picture of a skinny-dipping-slip-'n-slider! (And that's just the first day!)
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Stay tuned - tomorrow I take exception to my mother's advice. There will probably be ranting involved.
July 22, 2008
SRSLY!!! LOL!!!
If you don't mind a little gentle/clever/pointed mockery of some of the sillier aspects of Mormon culture, and enjoy rolling your eyes now and then at people who gush about their marriages/gush about their ward callings/gush about their hobbies and in general think they are the center of the universe (in a cute/perky/ditzy way), then this is a blog for you.
If you don't get it, don't worry - I'll do my best to put it in Laman's terms for you.
Hee.
If you don't get it, don't worry - I'll do my best to put it in Laman's terms for you.
Hee.
February 15, 2008
The Tortoise and the Hair(less)
In which we shall see: capslock, a French philosopher, a bus, a Holy Roman Emperor, Greek tragedy, a poster-child for Rogaine, a turtle's mother, chocolate, and obscure Latin.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Many, many years ago (not quite before the earth's crust cooled - at least a few weeks later) I took an A.P. European History class. It was my first exposure to both "A.P." and "European History" and I had no idea what to expect... and the unexpected was what I got! As we were stumbling through preliminary introductions the very first day, the teacher caught us all up short by saying, "I'm about to tell you the ONLY thing you will remember from this class..." (This was actually before people used capslock for emphasis - I plead storyteller's license.)
"...Rousseau had an unsatisfactory sex life."
Blank stares. Slack jaws.
"Please turn to page such-and-such in your textbooks..." (which, incidentally, weighed a good three pounds and had NO pictures - and got heavier and heavier as I lugged it home that day when, as it was not only my first day of 10th Grade but was also my first day of High School, I missed the bus and had to walk the two miles.) It was the left page, I remember, and no more than five or six lines from the top it read: "Rousseau had an unsatisfactory sex life."
Well, there we had it.
And she was right - that WAS the only thing I remembered from that class. I thought I remembered one other thing about Emperor Constantine, but it turned out I was wrong.
Move ahead to 2007, Fall, and me stepping nervously into my first classroom containing the high school students (grades 9 - 12) to whom I was to teach Theatre History. Naturally, one of the first things I said was, "So, I'm going to tell you probably the only thing you'll remember from this class..." I fully expect that someday at least one of them will name their dog Rousseau.
It turns out, however, that I was wrong once again. My students will actually probably remember two things from my class.
Come with me to Ancient Greece, and the toddler-hood of Theatre - I'll introduce you to a man named Aeschylus (pronounced Eh-shul-ous), also called the Father of Greek Tragedy. (Someday when you're playing Trivial Pursuit you'll thank me for this.) According to the picture of a sculpture of this popular playwright he had quite the thick head of hair in his prime... which evidently dwindled to chrome-dome-status in his later years. Now, in the natural world the Great Turtle has very few predators, since not many creatures have the capacity to break its outer shell. (This Discovery Channel commercial IS relevant - bear with me.) In fact, one of the only animals capable of menacing the large turtle is a species of eagle - one with the strength and wingspan that makes it possible to snatch an en-shelled turtle from the ground and lift it high in the air... at which point the eagle drops the turtle onto a protruding rock, cracking it open like an egg. Back now to Aeschylus - allegedly, the prolific playwright and his porcelain pate were out walking one day, and an eagle looking for lunch aimed his take-out at the nearest rock-like object. Tragedy - and a turtle - struck a little too close to home, and the playwright's pen was silenced.
See? My students remember a random French philosopher, AND that some other dude was (allegedly) killed by turtle. Progress!
So, the blog - some days you're the eagle, battling determinedly for lunch ("Take that, Crown Burger!"); some days you're the hapless playwright whose laurel-leaf hat is not nearly enough in the way of protective headgear; and some days you're the turtle, dragged gapingly away from reality TV and into sudden fears of heights and/or falling. I wonder about Aeschylus' Turtle - did he scurry (insomuch as turtles scurry) to the nearest overhang and a) wonder dazedly what just happened; b) curse the feathered menace that carried him away; c) weep over the fall that ended with a definite bang; or d) decide to call his mother and tell her that she really was right about the dangers of thrill-seeking? We may never know.
And there you have it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I read a suggestion somewhere that February 15th be declared "UnValentine Day" and I concur. In fact, I found this fun book, that I recommend and from which I would gladly post artwork (including unValentine cards! Yay!) were it not illegal. So, go check it out, and enjoy, and pass me any of your leftover chocolate.
Oh, and as far as I can tell, en medias res is a pretty much obsolete Latin phrase that basically means "in the middle of", i.e. starting a story or a play by dumping the audience into the middle of the action. In case you were wondering.
Watch out for falling turtles,
C
Meaningful phone conversations I had today: 1
Stupid things I did today: nothing springs to mind... oh, wait... nope, I'm good
Times I procrastinated: 5 (at least)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Many, many years ago (not quite before the earth's crust cooled - at least a few weeks later) I took an A.P. European History class. It was my first exposure to both "A.P." and "European History" and I had no idea what to expect... and the unexpected was what I got! As we were stumbling through preliminary introductions the very first day, the teacher caught us all up short by saying, "I'm about to tell you the ONLY thing you will remember from this class..." (This was actually before people used capslock for emphasis - I plead storyteller's license.)
"...Rousseau had an unsatisfactory sex life."
Blank stares. Slack jaws.
"Please turn to page such-and-such in your textbooks..." (which, incidentally, weighed a good three pounds and had NO pictures - and got heavier and heavier as I lugged it home that day when, as it was not only my first day of 10th Grade but was also my first day of High School, I missed the bus and had to walk the two miles.) It was the left page, I remember, and no more than five or six lines from the top it read: "Rousseau had an unsatisfactory sex life."
Well, there we had it.
And she was right - that WAS the only thing I remembered from that class. I thought I remembered one other thing about Emperor Constantine, but it turned out I was wrong.
Move ahead to 2007, Fall, and me stepping nervously into my first classroom containing the high school students (grades 9 - 12) to whom I was to teach Theatre History. Naturally, one of the first things I said was, "So, I'm going to tell you probably the only thing you'll remember from this class..." I fully expect that someday at least one of them will name their dog Rousseau.
It turns out, however, that I was wrong once again. My students will actually probably remember two things from my class.
Come with me to Ancient Greece, and the toddler-hood of Theatre - I'll introduce you to a man named Aeschylus (pronounced Eh-shul-ous), also called the Father of Greek Tragedy. (Someday when you're playing Trivial Pursuit you'll thank me for this.) According to the picture of a sculpture of this popular playwright he had quite the thick head of hair in his prime... which evidently dwindled to chrome-dome-status in his later years. Now, in the natural world the Great Turtle has very few predators, since not many creatures have the capacity to break its outer shell. (This Discovery Channel commercial IS relevant - bear with me.) In fact, one of the only animals capable of menacing the large turtle is a species of eagle - one with the strength and wingspan that makes it possible to snatch an en-shelled turtle from the ground and lift it high in the air... at which point the eagle drops the turtle onto a protruding rock, cracking it open like an egg. Back now to Aeschylus - allegedly, the prolific playwright and his porcelain pate were out walking one day, and an eagle looking for lunch aimed his take-out at the nearest rock-like object. Tragedy - and a turtle - struck a little too close to home, and the playwright's pen was silenced.
See? My students remember a random French philosopher, AND that some other dude was (allegedly) killed by turtle. Progress!
So, the blog - some days you're the eagle, battling determinedly for lunch ("Take that, Crown Burger!"); some days you're the hapless playwright whose laurel-leaf hat is not nearly enough in the way of protective headgear; and some days you're the turtle, dragged gapingly away from reality TV and into sudden fears of heights and/or falling. I wonder about Aeschylus' Turtle - did he scurry (insomuch as turtles scurry) to the nearest overhang and a) wonder dazedly what just happened; b) curse the feathered menace that carried him away; c) weep over the fall that ended with a definite bang; or d) decide to call his mother and tell her that she really was right about the dangers of thrill-seeking? We may never know.
And there you have it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I read a suggestion somewhere that February 15th be declared "UnValentine Day" and I concur. In fact, I found this fun book, that I recommend and from which I would gladly post artwork (including unValentine cards! Yay!) were it not illegal. So, go check it out, and enjoy, and pass me any of your leftover chocolate.
Oh, and as far as I can tell, en medias res is a pretty much obsolete Latin phrase that basically means "in the middle of", i.e. starting a story or a play by dumping the audience into the middle of the action. In case you were wondering.
Watch out for falling turtles,
C
Meaningful phone conversations I had today: 1
Stupid things I did today: nothing springs to mind... oh, wait... nope, I'm good
Times I procrastinated: 5 (at least)
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