La Vie de Rose

Thoughts on American Horror Story epi 10

2011-12-08T18:55:00.001-06:00

Typing this while I'm watching, so it's going to be very stream of conscious-y.

Holy crap, Tate!
I'd be pissed if someone was serving greens and cornbread for dinner, but that's no excuse for breaking the dishes! ...just makes a mess.

Drugs... really?

That's a nice coat. Wait.. what are you... STOP DROP AND ROLLLLLL

Do institution rooms really look like that? Thankfully, I've never been in one.
But...really? Can't be. Am sure that's done for looks and creep factor.

That's some pretty low blows there, Constance.

Oh Tate, you seducer, you.

ewwww... flies

Damn, Constance keeps bringing on them low blows. "...courseness.."
Oh no... no, you didn't. 'sup, puppies...

Ouch! Really, Tate! Was that necessary?!
Granted... I'd be a little offended if the pest guy was terrified of me... actually, what was he freaked out over?!?!?!

So... anyone else think Tate looks nice all wrapped up in that suit?

Awww, Travis is sweet with the OH MY GOD
ow ow ow ow ow that's just
ouch
This isn't... ok, it's rude but, I'm all itchy just looking at them.
OH HI MOM

Little diluted there, Barry?

DUDE FIGHT
Ben, the zipper! Zipper!
ouch... was that marble?

That lawyer guy's cute. He can buy me Starbucks anytime. well.. maybe not at night. You know what I mean.

.like Romeo and Juliet.. wut
whoa whoa whoa... wut
wait... STOP RUNNING IN THE HOUSE

"Why am I running around like a crazy person?" -- I ask myself this everyday, Violet.

oh gross, Violet! Close your mouth... flies will get in.. NEVERMIND

ok, Barry. Sometimes, I have a hard time disconnecting you from your True Blood character. And right now... I'm thinking you're up to some vampire tricks...
or not. You're being all "paying for my crimes."

October 1 and 2

2011-10-02T18:57:00.000-05:00

Much to my enjoyment, it is October again.
The weather's amazing, Daylight Savings ends and I'll get an extra hour of sleep and my birthday is right around the corner.

Continuing on with the tradition of watching something spooky each day of October, I'll be chronicling them here a few days at a time. Unless I watched something exceptional that requires it's own post.

October 1 - got caught up on My Dad's Tapes, a creepy ARG(alternate reality game) series with a plot that leans towards the Zodiac Killer story.

October 2 - Alexandra's Project, a movie of... well, without giving too much away, it plays on psychological destruction.

Like from a cookbook

2011-08-27T18:33:00.000-05:00

The first picture on this page over at New York is actually pleasant looking until you realize what you're looking at. What I thought was a harmless head of cabbage is actually a placenta.

At one point in the article, a professional placenta preparer says, "It's the freshest placenta I've ever worked with!"

Horrified, yet fascinated, I continued reading and found this nugget:

"I was prepared to wrestle it from the nurse's hands."

Apparently, you get a rush from all the nutrients and everything else that feeds the baby while it hangs out in your abdomen.
It's a strange thing to me, but it's another one of those that comes down to it being the choice of the people involved. However, I believe I'll have my next meal sans placenta, please.
(Come on now, did you expect anything else from the girl that's extremely wary of the idea of being pregnant.)

Art update

2011-08-08T21:37:00.000-05:00

For those of you that have been asking, here's a few things that I've been working on.
For the MS Paint Adventure Homestuck fans, start your squealing. That's right, I decided to do some headcanon troll silhouettes. I've finished lineart on six trolls so far: Feferi, Gamzee, Kanaya, Tavros, Terezi and Aradia.
Stay tuned for more!

In the defense of magnets

2011-07-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

When doing any sort of PR work, whether for yourself or others, one generally things of business cards, flyers and stickers.
But what about something that works as all of the above? What about magnets?

Being incredibly versatile, magnets can be shaped like business cards, handed out like flyers and peel off like stickers. And the best part, they stick on any metal surface with minimal fuss. Door, car, fridge - as long as it's metal, you just slap it on and you're good to go.

I've been thinking of heading up a small campaign of my own to get my photography, writing and art out to a wider audience. So, of course I've been toying with the general things that come to mind: business cards and flyers to hand out or leave on coffee shop tables and boards and slapping stickers about town.

As I was racking my brain for more ideas, I was stumbled upon a quirky idea: magnets!

Abstract art magnet via magnets.com

As luck would have it, I came across www.magnets.com and drooled over the customization options.

I was fortunate to get a sample pack from the company and tried them out. I actually got rough with them, especially with the outdoor magnet. It's weather resistant, but is it Rose resistant?
The answer was: yes, the magnet still lives.
The magnets are slick and brightly colored. You can upload your own art and give instructions on EXACTLY how you want your magnet to come out. You get free proofs. And they even offer a price guarantee!

There's a variety of styles, sizes and shapes. There's even a Save the Date category, perfect for weddings, baby showers, family and class reunions.
If you're thinking of getting the word about your business, event or gathering, I highly suggest you check out magnets.com.

You can't really forget about a website, business or special occasion if it's looking you in the eye every time you open your door.

Work log 62911

2011-07-03T10:32:00.000-05:00

Rose has been banned from popping popcorn at another workplace.
She only set the timer to two minutes!
Yet, when she checked on it, there was smoke steaming out the sides. Thinking to quickly remove the offending burnt offering, she opened the microwave... and then quickly shut it when billows of yellow smoke started pouring out. The branch will smell like burnt popcorn for the rest of the day.

Thankfully, Rose gets off early today.

Work log 62811

2011-07-02T08:31:00.000-05:00

You know how chickens, turkeys and cows have that loose, waddle thing under their chins?

from Northrup.org

Yeah, this customer has one... and I can't stop staring at it.

Rose has no idea why this woman is being rude. Perhaps it is because she has no neck and her forearm looks like a ham.

from littlefrugalista.wordpress.com

She should donate her arm; she could feed a starving family of cannibals.

Rose has an hour and a half until lunch, so she passes the time by doodling her friends, Nels in particular, and deciding what to have for lunch. She's thinking of having a baked potato and soup or sandwich and soup. She's addicted to McAllister's chicken tortilla soup.

Rose found out two very interesting things today: her column is being published and that it's apparently frowned upon to actually take the 15-minute break allotted you and use your cell phone in the break room. However, it's A-O.K. to use the office phones for long, personal calls of a mediocre nature.

Published!

2011-06-29T16:31:00.000-05:00

My column summarizing some of my racially-charged experiences in Mississippi is out!
Check it out at JacksonFreePress.com

Work log 62711

2011-06-29T15:43:00.000-05:00

Random thing I started writing the other day. It's written in third-person, which makes me giggle.

Rose woke up before her alarm, with Murmur greeting her as soon as she sat up.
She checked her messages and teased a friend about how he wasn't "THAT stupid."
Rose's mom made her special crispy waffles which Rose gobbled up. She had a small teacup of coffee that had a splash of chocolate in it.
She was disappointed that Homestuck wasn't updated but anticipated exiting ones to come. She felt too lazy to take a shower, so she picked out a red wrap shirt and grey trousers to wear.
Rose fed the cats, ran her hands through her hair, made sure she put on deodorant and dashed out the door.

Every morning at the job she despises (due to boredom, lack of creativity and general annoyances) starts out pretty much the same. Some inane passive-aggressive comment is made and she does her best to ignore it. Between intermittent customers, she stares outside, spacing out while listening to birdsong and doodling. In particular, she worked on a picture of Jacob kayaking, which is hilarious to her because she describes him as, "that 40-foot-tall guy." She also worked on a tattoo she's designing to go on her left wrist.
She scolds herself on the sheer amount of clothes she has that she doesn't wear.
Before lunches begin, she asks her supervisor if she can switch hours because she has a migraine. Her supervisor thinking it'll be busy, so she has to stay. During her lunch, she eats of cucumber sandwich and popcorn and downloads some game to her phone, half of which she gets bored of and deletes.
Back from lunch, her migraine lessens in pain but begins to affect her speech and reactions: math comes quicker, but conversation that requires her to think slows. She feels her expressions look nearly drunk and words are slurred. She doesn't feel as passionate about things as she normally does... perhaps migraines release her inner Gamzee (to use fangirl terminology) but in reverse.
One of Rose's coworkers laughs at something she says.
Rose's response was, "If you thought that was funny, just wait. The more this migraine continues, the more weird it's going to get."
Her bad hearing gets even worse and so does her hunger.
A gentleman came in wearing an ivory straw hat and bright pink suit. His reasoning was, "You gotta look good when you come [into the bank] to get money."
At Rose's work, aerosol dust cleaners are frowned upon because various people have allergies or respiratory infections. Rose wishes that rudeness was frowned upon because she has an allergy to assholes.

Responses

2011-06-08T12:38:00.000-05:00

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CARTER SMITH

GQ June 2011

My imagined response to seeing this in real life:

Oh! Well, hi there, Mr. Skarsgard.

What's that? You need me to tie that tie for you? No problem!

My realistic response to seeing this in real life:

Stare him down while slack-jawed, then pull one of these:

And THEN tie the tie for him.

I got skills, yo.

On a sidenote: True Blood season 4 comes out June 26. Get your necks ready.

Refreshing fashion

2011-06-07T13:02:00.000-05:00

Since Nerds 2 or E3 2011 summary will have to wait since someone got called for jury duty, I decided some refreshing fashion will have to tide us over...
or at least just some pictures of outfits I find cute.

I'm loving the casual feel and the striped socks

How cute!

Who love calivintage.com? This girl! Was just introduced to it today and immediately fell in love.

How adorable is this? I love browsing curveappeal on tumblr.

And remember: smiling is ALWAYS in fashion.

NERDS or E3 2010 summary

2011-06-06T11:55:00.002-05:00

My good friend, Mr. Cheese, is into video game coverage in a way I can only envy.
I don't have the attention span to go the distance that he does.
But I am lucky. I get to have the coverage summarized for me in his usual wit and prose. And this time, he has consented to me sharing nerdgasms with you.

To bring you up to speed, I give you:
Mr. Toasters Cheese's E3 2010 summary:
(the text has been altered to leave out answers to my goofy questions... unless they're hilarious;
also, lack of punctuation and grammar is kept for realism)

Last year Microsoft showed a bunch of "awesome" first person shooters and then "wowed" everyone with their new Kinect bullshit. They wrapped up by revealing their BRAND NEW CONSOLE which was an Xbox 360 with built in wifi, something it should have had since the start

Will Microsoft be a big of a screw up as they were last year?
Can't really say, no one has revealed what they will be discussing at their conferences really. What is to be expected: more kinect, more HALO, more GEARS OF WAR, more YAWN

Hillarious thing from last year that I hope happens again: when they paused for people to clap, no one clapped

After Microsoft, Electronic Arts will be having their press conference. Last year EA talked about all their SPORTS GAMES (whooooooo) and how you can WATCH OTHER PEOPLE PLAY THEIR GAMES! Just like watching

real sports

Purchase a game just to watch people play the game?

aw-right.

This was followed by a like 5 minute video talking about how people live their lives or some bullshit while talking about Sims 3.

THATS RIGHT, SIMS 3, A GAME THAT WAS OUT OVER A YEAR AGO, IS NOW COMING TO ALL CONSOLES.

The big reveal!!!!!!!!!

ALRIGHT!!!!!!

SIDE NOTE: gametrailier's live E3 stream fail

theres no sound

and yet people are still talking to each other

After EA we're going to have Ubisoft.

Not going to lie, don't remember much of all about Ubisoft's press conference last year. Let me try to piece it together.

The first part was them showing off a bunch of games they showed off at the Microsoft Press Conference earlier that morning.

I almost stopped watching here but I continued.

Rose says: for the good of all of us

I remember seeing the badass trailer to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Which only made me want to play the series more, which I finally got to do. I saw a bunch of games they were working on including a Rayman game! Holy crap Rayman!

And then the finished up telling everyone to "beat it" with a live performance of a bunch of people dancing to Michael Jackson's Beat It

At this point Ubisoft was doing best.

Which was kind of sad.

But that's ok, we had Sony coming up, surely they could beat everyone else after the fuck was going on during the morning.

sidenote: lol they randomly showed the wrong camera

some random chick sitting at a desk looking bored as fuck with some guy working on cue cards

Rose says: ::thumbs way up::

SONY E3 2010!!! THIS WAS GOING TO BE SWEET.

The Playstation move. Yeah so it's kind of like the Wiimote but there's this giant huge gay ball on top. It's way more precise than the Wii wihch makes it better.

Oh but don't notice we have NO MENTIONABLE GAMES for the playstation move yet.

And instead of watching game trailers, lets watch commercials. Yes. Commercials for games that are going to be coming out.

Rose says: >_<

But you know our amazing ad campaign for PS3 that you all seem to like with that comedy dude? Yeah well we found a little kid that's like exactly like him. So we're going to use him for a PSP ad campaign

that we will UNDOUBTEDLY drop after 4 months because no one likes him

Oh hey look it's Gabe Newall from VALVe. Portal 2 and Steam for PS3 is your big announcement? Gigantic fuck you to everyone hoping for Half Life Episode 3.

Trollface.jpg

So what about this year for Sony?

They couldn't fuck up any more than they did last year right?

Rose says: wrong

Oh what about their security? Storing everything on plain text! Nice! Not only did the Sony PSN get hacked, but another sony website got hacked too. Because everything was stoed on PLAIN TEXT YET AGAIN.

They're going to have to pull a lot more out than "hey there's an optional monthly fee for PSN to make it even better"

YEAH BIG FUCKING DEAL, next please

the big N, next day. Nintendo is always on a separate day. Everyone went into Nintendo thinking it would be as bad as the previous years, at least based on the fuck ups from the first day of E3.

Wii Music

xfd

Instead, people were greeted with

Rose says: bees

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY, MARIO, ZELDA SKYWARD SWORD, KIRBY, KID ICARUS, METROID

while not all of these games succeeded as much as they hoped

They hit what the fans wanted from Nintendo. Sequels of all of Nintendo's big things instead of shitty family happy games

Then Nintendo was like lol Nintendo 3DS. It's a 3D game console with no glasses!

And then they revealed a TONNE of more games that people wanted to play on Nintendo consoles and tonnes of games that people would love to play in 3D

What about Nintendo for this year?

The successor to the Wii is supposedly going to be revealed. More powerful than the PS3 or Xbox 360. A lot of promises, but it might not be as good as expected. (It's rumored to have 8 GB of a HDD. uhhh ok)

Nintendo is the biggest to watch right now though.

All Microsoft has is Halo 4, Gears of War 3, and

...........................

.................................

and Sony has security issues which they probably need to address because just showing a ton of games isn't going to cut it

thats my summary of 2010

and what to expect for 2011

and

FINALLY

my major disappointments

of both 2010 and 2011

the lack of new games

aka

not sequels

Trotting

2011-06-05T11:05:00.000-05:00

If I can get my stomach under control, I may actually hit up the bellydancing classes tonight.
I've been in a constant state of 'on the edge of nervous breakdowns and panic attacks galore' mode since Monday. A week later, I'm feeling pretty much the same.
Which is pretty good considering I had hopped over that edge Tuesday through Thursday.
Three whole days of panic attacks, crying and aching depression can really do a number on one's organs.

If you follow me on Twitter or facebook, you'll notice that most of my posts originate from tumblr.
I can't be bothered to post anything that doesn't center around some picture or quote.
I feel I'm pushing myself to my extent already.

FYI, the trip to California was amazing as usual! Most of my panic attacks centered around leaving the lovely state and its strawberries.

Overheard in the breakroom

2011-05-19T18:13:00.000-05:00

Overheard in the breakroom:

Me: -with head in fridge- Where's the brownies?
J: Oh, I took them home.
Me: -looks up- What? Why?!
J: Well, I didn't want to leave my Pyrex dish.
Me: I was just going to eat the brownies. I wasn't going to eat the Pyrex!
J: I'm sorry!

Don't come between me and some good brownies, yo.

Twinkle toes returns

2011-05-14T13:53:00.000-05:00

I've always been interested in ballet.
It's graceful.
It's beautiful.
It's elegant.

However, I'm built less like a swan princess,

and more like a belly dancer.

I see belly dancing in my near future.

Do I spy a David Tennant?

2011-05-13T20:35:00.000-05:00

The Fright Night remake looks quite promising.
And I'm not just saying that because I think Colin Farrell is a hunkbox.
'Cause there's also vampires. And vampires usually equal strong, sexy, deadly types.
So, we have a strong and deadly hunkbox. Not quite enough to make me watch something...
Oh... is that a David Tennant I see?

Vampires, hunkboxes and David Tennant?
Yeah, I'll definitely be watching this.

How I try to not be naked at work

2011-05-08T13:31:00.000-05:00

No matter where I am, I need a bit of paper and pen/pencil. I feel a bit naked without them.

Especially since my head likes to forget things: what I was supposed to be doing at that moment, people's names, basic etiquette...

So, I try and carry a notebook everywhere... including work.

I should say especially at work; that place is a plethora of ridiculous things. Which I have recorded for my enjoyment or just to get some rants off my chest.

Here's one from April, written the day after my most recent stomach episode:

To make us feel more responsible for the branch's success, my manager asked each of us what we did the day before to help the branch.

My answer: I stayed home so that I wouldn't projectile vomit on customers, thus getting us a low customer service score.

My manager paused, nodded and said: You have a point there.

First article

2011-04-30T22:01:00.001-05:00

With a silly sense of pride, I give you my first printed article for the Jackson Free Press:
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/tori_thompson-davis_042711/

Stop being a little twit

2011-04-23T14:17:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had someone sit you down, look you in the eye and then proceed to scold you on how you are wasting your talent and gift? Point out that the only person/reason/excuse that holds you down isn't the lack of funds, time or interest, but in fact the blame is solely on yourself? Your fear of rejection, failure, humiliation is probably unfounded?
Chances are you have. And it has been your parents that have done so.

However, A did the same to me yesterday.
And something in my head clicked.

Generally, when your parents tell you, your assumption is, "Yeah, well, they're my parents. They'll like anything I do." Kinda along the same lines as the old saying, "Only a face a mother could love."

Today, I told Cheese about it and he basically said the same. And that he had the same problem.

So, enough hemming and hawwing... I finally decided on a website service and am currently populating the galleries. Check it out at laviederose.me.

Overheard in my head

2011-04-21T18:30:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I'll replay things that I've said or heard or saw throughout the day.
Back when I had a serious problem sleeping, I seemed to have an incredible ability to retain the most minute things in daily life.
Eventually, I got to the point where I would replay everything before going to sleep. This actually seemed to 'cure' the sleep problem. Perhaps, by replaying the events, my brain was tricked into thinking my day was a lot fuller than it actually was.

However, this replay ability has its faults.
A good example of this would be when I would attend a funeral or other such somber event and the most ridiculous thing would pop in my head at the most ridiculous time.

So, if I say, "I just thought of something funny."
I'm not lying. Chances are, I'm finally understanding a joke someone told me a few days ago and now can't stop laughing.

Which brings me to the point of this post: I'm going to post 'Overheard in...' a random assortment of posts about random things that I overhear. Be it in my head or from the next stall over.

Today's Overheard in...

"Oh gawd! Why does everything suck? It's like my life is o.... holy crap, are those strawberries?!"

Half of Miss. Republicans think interracial marriage illegal

2011-04-10T09:28:00.002-05:00

I take a month off to reassess, to restructure, to regroup...
I had hoped to come back with great news, great ideas, great things.
And I'm not empty-handed. But first, I've got to address something. Something sinister. Something so stupid, so backwater that you would question which century you're living in.

Let me build a a nice little backstory for you:
I'm multi-racial. And proud of such. I've been asked more times than I can remember, more times than I can even IMAGINE, "What are you?"
Which to this day, is a phrase that friends and I mock, much to our nostalgic enjoyment.

This question was encountered ONLY after my family moved to my dad's native Mississippi.
I was born in Delaware and lived in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I'm an East Coast girl through and through.
We move, and suddenly, people had to know what I was.
My initial answer was, "Umm... a freshman?" I had just started high school, so I assumed this was the correct answer.

I had never been questioned about my race before unless it was on some sort of medical sheet or what have you.

And now, people had to know what my race was. And now, people had to hate me because I wasn't what they were. And now, I irritated people because I didn't fit into their labels. I ruined their idea of what the world is.
Needless to say, high school was a bit rough for me. Not only because I was somewhere new. But also because I was somewhere that I wasn't wanted.

Now, Mississippi isn't all bad. The weather sucks, but there's some good food and some good people.

And then the New York Times runs this article.
Imagine my pride.

Puffing up my chest proud, in fact. Not too much puffing though; my chest is big enough.

The 2010 census was the first time I had done the census myself and was proud and thankful to be able to mark myself as mixed. In fact, I believe the 2000 census was the first to have the mixed-race option.

Do correct me if I'm wrong, though.

This article was certainly eye opening: Mississippi, of all places, has the highest growing multi-racial populations - up 70 percent between 2000 and 2010.

Granted, that's still a single digit percent of the population. 1.2 percent I think.

So, this article raises my feeling of Mississippi a wee bit.

However, that pleasant feeling didn't stay.
And while 80 degree weather in the middle of March causes a constant frown for me, it's not the reason behind this post.

This monstrosity is the cause.
I couldn't sit still after reading just the first paragraph. It was one of those that I had to come back for several sittings. The revulsion was.... I couldn't finish my breakfast.

It's always awesome to know that my parents' marriage and my entire existence is illegal in the eyes of nearly half of Mississippi Republicans.
I had gotten vaguely comfortable with the place that I'll be living until I can find somewhere to work and live that's not here.

That's gone now.
Utterly. Completely.

I'm not surprised that there are people that still think that. Come on now, I live here. I've seen these people.
I'm surprised at the amount. I'm surprised that it was large enough to fit into the newspaper.
I'm surprised that people can even begin to think that they can try to explain it away.
I'm surprised that people can even defend, to think that they can defend such... stupid, closed-minded behavior.

I'm English, French, Portuguese and second generation American from my mom's side.
I'm African American, Native American and creole French from my dad's side. (also possibly Armenian)

I'm constantly asked if I'm Hispanic, Italian, Greek, West Indian, Hawaiian...
This does not bother me. I think it's pretty cool that I can change my race, my heritage, my appearance with clothes, a look and the lack of any sort of accent. It's fun! And sometimes, people guess close enough.
They'll say, "European?" Close enough.
And while this is fun, it doesn't help when looking for love here.
I've had two boyfriends kicked out of their homes because their parents didn't approve of them dating a girl that wasn't white.

Whatever happened to marriage being about two people in love?
Whatever happened to love being about what's on the inside not what color someone's skin is?

Edit: I love this quote:
"I believe God made us a different color for a reason and should be honored by not marrying outside of the race that God picked for me, however the color of one's skin does not make him/her better than another color."
Didn't we all start in the Middle East?

We were all the same color, then traveled to different areas and took on the characteristics of the area.

She must think that humans began right before her parents' birth.

The dreamy one

2011-03-13T10:57:00.000-06:00

I LOVE this dress.
The color, the cut, the floaty flowing dreaminess of it.

via Mod Cloth

I love ogling Mod Cloth.
However, I don't love that too few of their pieces would fit my curvy frame.
According to their size charts, I fit their XL/1X sizes, depending on whether I'm having a chubby day or not.

heehee

Sadly, the above dress' largest size is L. ::pout::

Maybe someday, as I am currently being a lot more determined about losing some weight.
I'm cringing as I'm typing this... but to be perfectly honest, I admit that I am on the other size of 200 pounds.
I've been told that I don't look 200+. I assume it all matters in how and where people carry their weight.
But it's not healthy.

I want it gone. I don't want to see 200 ever again!
I'm not asking to be a size 2 again. I felt so awkward and lanky.
I want size 12... 10 tops!

But at the end of the day... and the beginning and the middle: I'm a girl with polycystic ovarian syndrome.
It's incredibly tough to lose weight when you have PCOS.
I've used medication to lose weight. Medication that I can only take for three to six months without having serious repercussions. So I'm giving it a try again.
I'm going to have to do.. well, you can call it weight management for the rest of my life if I don't want to continue gaining weight.

It's going to be tough.
Wish me luck!

Sorry

2011-03-12T10:56:00.000-06:00

My sympathy goes out to Japan.
And though it sounds really trite, I don't know what else I can say.
Watching the news, staring in disbelief at the images filling the screen. I thought I was watching one of those "end of the world" movies.
Sadly, it was Japan's reality now full of hurt, pain, confusion, chilled water and angry earth.

I felt almost guilty that the first thought to come to mind was something along the lines of, "Holy crap... I'm so glad Nick (my brother) left Japan a few weeks ago."
It's true. My brother was stationed in Japan, not too far from Tokyo I believe.
He came back to the States not but two weeks ago-ish, to his new stationing closer to home.

Guilt, relief, shame.
Disbelief, sorrow, grief.

Japan's given us some pretty cool stuff.
I think we should give a little back.

I'm donating to the American Red Cross, which is sending relief efforts to Japan.
Will you be donating? If so, where?

Don't wanna grow up

2011-03-06T09:14:00.000-06:00

My current living situation is thus:
After moving out of my apartment, shared with my two sweet furbabies, I now take up residence with my parents -- in my old room, in fact!

All of my apartment is either crammed into a storage shed or stacked in bins in my room. It's a bit disconcerting to see everything that I have.
While packing, I came across things I had forgotten: clothes, papers, knick-knacks... too many knick-knacks actually. There's going to be a yard sale in the immediate future; I'll be sure to keep you guys posted.

I look around and am amazed at all of the stuff in my room! And yes, it's to be expected that there's quite a bit since taking a good size one-bedroom apartment does not equal one large room and one smallish storage space. It gave me reason to really consider my plans to move to California and have a career.
How am I supposed to move all of this?! And do I REALLY need all of it?
The answer is a resounding, "NO."

But in the meantime, I've come to the conclusion that I have to take a stand and only keep what I plan to have when my inevitable move does come up. This is no small feat. Even the smallest knick-knack has some sort of meaning and memory attached.

I think I'm afraid that the memory will not be enough. The knick-knack or shirt or paper with scribblings on it is the catalyst that jogs the memory. And without that item, the memory is lost.

I hate growing up.

A question on the pets

2011-03-01T08:04:00.113-06:00

I was asked about the situations presented in the previous post, specifically the pet situation.
I can honestly and sorrowfully say that I have witnessed pet punishment, even when someone was trying to impress me.

And when I say punishment, I clearly mean torture.
Let me explain.

A few years back, I had gone to dinner with a man whom we will call BH.
BH seemed like a nice catch at the time.
We were introduced by a mutual friend. And, though my first impression had him tacked as a flighty and flaky guy, I was willing to get him another shot because I believe that people deserve second chances despite the fact that my first impressions are usually spot on. A flake doesn't deserve my disdain, but I don't deserve to put up with more than my fair dosage.
And our second meeting went great - talked for hours on his couch while I played with his dogs.
So, when he asked me to drinks, dinner, movie, I accepted.
He may be a flake, but he may also be fun too. And he has pets!

BH seemed like a nice catch at the time. Kind, witty and funny, he was cordial with the wait staff. And he had chosen a great place: a well-known Mexican restaurant that was also the town favorite. And they had great cheese dip.
A++ in my book.

Then, we went back to his place to watch a movie.
We were greeted at the door by his pack of dogs - all of whom were incredibly sweet and lovable.
As we watched the movie, my attention was more on the dog laying its head on my knee.
I had already seen the movie, so I was more than fine with chilling with this sweet pup while BH and I discussed actor choices and great scenes.
And I use the term 'pup' loosely as the 'pup' in question was easily 30 pounds and at least 4 years old.
Things were going fine, until the pup hopped onto my lap.

Let me build a scenario for you: you've heard of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, right?
Well, someone let Mr. Hyde out of Dr. BH.
He flew off the couch, knocking over sodas and snacks as he grabbed for the dog.
He hoisted the pup up, gripping his neck and shaking him.

I'm not sure what he was screaming at the poor thing as I was in a state of shock, fear and speechlessness.
I jumped up as he shoved the dog away from him. He stopped me from rushing over to the pup and I obliged because I didn't want to be hoisted as well.
He tried to explain away his actions, stating that he had been training the dogs not to jump on people.
My retort was as the dogs were used to being able to sit on the couch, it's not their fault. And that his actions scared me, the pup, the other dogs and was totally uncalled for. He apologized and said he rarely got this angry with them.
For the rest of the movie, we sat in near silence. Well, he talked and I made noncommittal noises while glancing at the pup.
I swear he fixed me with eyes that said, "Get out while you can."

And I did.
But not until after a few more olive branch attempts, his flakiness infuriating me and another rage attack against another of his dogs.
I had got it into my head that I could somehow help cool his anger and save his dogs. He blamed his anger on his treatment in a past relationship. I didn't quite think this was the whole story. And this 'saving the pups' didn't quite work out.
We hung out infrequently and he eventually moved away.

I can't understand someone getting so mad at something that loves them unconditionally.
Sure, pets can break stuff and poop on the floor. They're smart, but not as smart as humans, ok?
It's not like you see people treating babies the same way for doing the same thing.

Hmm... considering the tone of current events, that's not really a good analogy.
Ugh...

Stylish according to Rose

2011-02-28T09:33:00.000-06:00

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -- Maya Angelou

Want to know, at least in my opinion, what's the most stylish thing you can pack in your personal arsenal?

The number one guarantee that will cause an increase in genuine friend and admirers?

A great personality.

Hands down.

Pepper in some charm, empathy and etiquette and you've got someone that most want to be and everyone wants to know.

You don't have to pour on the charisma. It will cause people to believe you are not sincere... or are a door-to-door salesman.

Nothing tickles my fancy more than a guy with a bit of charm.

Except for chocolate-covered strawberries.

In fact, give me a guy that's got a bit of charm holding chocolate-covered strawberries and I'll show you a girl that'll eat out of his hands, literally!

Don't worry.

The charm that comes so easy to some and so difficult for others is something that can be grown within you and doesn't require a lot of work or instruction manuals.

The easiest way for me is to just smile at people.

Now this is something that's been partially programmed into me from years of employment in retail and sales. At least I can say I got something out of it!

The other part came from my ability to laugh and laugh and laugh. It's something you could say I was born with. And it's stayed with me all these years despite relationships that threatened to smother it and an illness intent on destroying it.

A smile, a laugh can go along way. It's something that people remember.

Another easy way is to be aware of your surroundings and act upon them. Kindness goes along way.

Now, this doesn't mean giving the shirt right off your back.

This may lead to you getting arrested for indecent exposure and that's not really our goal here.

Hold the door for someone, allow someone to cut in front of you (especially if they have less items than you), lend some change when the person in front of you is short.

The possibilities are endless.

However, the possibilities are also endless to hinder that charm you're working to establish.

At the top of the list, here's a few things that I've found to be immediate turn off and possible situations where I was genuinely scared:

- Being rude to the general public (they're there to serve and help you, not get trashed and yelled at.)

- Getting furious/lash out at animals, specifically pets (they love you unconditionally and are not humans. Don't expect them to understand everything.)

- Getting malicious pleasure at an innocent person's expense (notice I said 'innocent.' Sometimes, people have it coming.)

There's no magic wand I can wave and make you amazing.

If I had such a thing, I'd of used it on myself years ago.

But with a little confidence, a pinch of self worth, a great smile, an easy laugh and a fun attitude can get you a lot farther, sincere-wise, than just a pretty face.

Some people have it easy.

It just takes a bit of work for the rest of us.

But it's certainly something to work toward.

Less mehing, more posting

2011-02-27T06:08:00.000-06:00

Eeeesh...
I've let a whole week get away from me.
Not that it was a particularly good week to serve as a growing area for productive interests. Pretty terrible week, health-wise, if you ask me. Not really sure what was going on. But I AM sure that I don't want a repeat anytime soon. Or ever, if I had my choice.

Luckily, during this downtime, I came up with some great ideas and managed to get a few down on paper before the thoughts flitted from my mind. Look to see some of those implemented soon.
I've also fixed the Photography tab. It's not quite up to my exact specifications, but it'll do for the time being.

In news, Monday was my last official day as an apartment dweller. Keys were turned in, electricity was shut and goodbyes were said. This past month as a parental home dweller has not been too shabby. I suppose that as long as you have a certain relationship with your parents, things can work out. That and making sure that all parties are on the same page.

Also, I've narrowed my choices for universities down to two: University of Southern Mississippi and University of Southern California. I'm still hesitant to pick one. Perhaps because I'm unconsciously holding out for something AMAZING to come my way. Not to say that these two choices aren't.

Or

I'm just afraid that I'll make a choice I, my future life and my check account will regret.
Yeah, I'm thinking it's the latter.

It's ONLY the biggest step in my career plan.
Yeah.
Seriously.
No biggie.

Ugh...

Giveaways du jour

2011-02-20T09:15:00.000-06:00

Geez... February seems to be the month for awesome giveaways.
Here's a few that I'm entering and you might want to take a peek!

Good luck to all!

Beauty by Sam is giving you a chance to win some gorgeous porcelain (yes, porcelain!) jewelry from Vintage Creations by miki's secret. Giveaway ends February 24.

Misadventures with Andi is doing another Parispalooza!
You have the chance to win five(5!) French related items. Giveaway ends February 25.
Note: this is one of the easiest giveaways I've ever taken part in!

Family Fashion and Facts is giving away this quaint and minimalist heart ring by Heather Gill of Cherry Creek.
Giveaway ends March 9.

Whatever happened to romance?

2011-02-14T13:21:00.000-06:00

This post originally appeared in 2007 as a blog post, which got resurrected as a column that ran in the HUB section of the Feb. 12 edition of Hattiesburg American in an edited format, which was rerun (again) as a blog post February 14, 2009.
Here it is, presented in it's unedited format.

Whatever happened to romance?

I realize that we live in an immediate gratification society, where everyone is trying to beat everyone else to the punch. Where lightning fast internet and up-to-the-minute news still isn't fast enough. Where competitiveness is a national sport and a much sought after personality trait.

Myself, I prefer a nice smile, a great sense of humor and almost lightning fast internet... that's probably why I would never make it as a retail manager or in any sort of competitive based job.

But, I digress...

Whatever happened to slow, soft kisses and holding hands?
They seem to have been replaced with hurrying to stick one's tongue down the other's throat and jumping into bed within minutes of meeting someone.

Call me old fashioned, but it takes more than three dates at allow someone to see the holiest of my... well, you know.

Is chivalry dead?

Women blame it on men; men blame it on women.
Honestly, I think it's both. Men think they can get away with things because there are women out there who let them. And the men who act like gentlemen are shunned by some women into acting... well... ungentlemenly.

Valentine's Day has become a bane to couples and singletons everywhere.

Couples fret over what to get their sweethearts and singletons want to vomit at the sight of couples attached at the lips.

Here's a tip for couples:
Handmade gifts are incrediblely sweet. Remember that old saying: It's the thought that counts. And while jewelry, flowers and other pricey gifts are great, they are almost the easy way out and can require little thought. A gift made from your own hands shows the thought you put into it.

And for you singletons:
Grab a friend or two and head out for a night on the town. Valentine's Day isn't just about lovers. Celebrate the day in your own way, on your own terms. Send valentines to your friends to show that you're thinking of them.

Drink a toast to singlehood, a toast to friendship or a toast to life!

Looking for love in all the wrong places.

I like walks along the beach, sitting around in pajamas eating ice cream and watching movies, hugs, shy glances across the room, roses(who knew?), soft-sweet kisses, more hugs, talking for hours about nothing at all, snuggling and, of course, romance.

Hello, everyone.
My name is Rose and I'm a love-aholic.

Rose Pendleton is a love-aholic looking in all the wrong places.
All roses, chocolates and poetry can be sent to ~~rnpendleton@hattiesburgamerican.com.~~ rosetheninja@gmail.com or rose@laviederose.com

Love

2011-02-14T09:15:00.001-06:00

In lieu of Valentine's Day, I'll be reviving some love-centered posts.
This gem was originally posted February 14, 2010.

Happy Valentine's Day, to all!
Valentine's Day isn't just for the romance between lovers, but for love as a whole.
Saint Valentine was cared for by a blind, peasant girl while he was in jail. Valentine prayed for her health and on the day he was to be executed, her sight was restored.

Caring for someone is what Valentine's Day is about, even if that someone is you.

So, I hope that everyone enjoys Valentine's Day in their own way: hang out with friends, be with your love, watch movies, etc.... but make sure to love one another and always remember to love yourself.

image by tanni7.wordpress.com

How much of a 7th grader do I sound?

2011-02-13T20:12:00.002-06:00

How much of a 7th grader do I sound if I said that I would be completely in love with the idea of having a secret admirer?
Not that I have one, mind you.
And not out of not wanting to have one. hint hint

But, seriously, if I received a valentine tomorrow signed, "your secret admirer," I would be over the moon.

Literally.
You think I'm joking, but I would flip the hell out. In a good way.

Hell, if I got any romantically-inclined valentines tomorrow, I would happily flip out.

However, I couldn't be won over immediately. That would be too easy.
There would have to be some sort of battle of wits, agility and strength.

Or just give me something shiny and cute.

image from aliexpress.com

Either way. You've got to prove your admiration.

Though, I wouldn't be completely naive. (naive, yes. completely naive, no.)
Not to be a downer, but a little bit of me would be worried that this imaginary secret admirer would be... oh, I don't know, possibly your average, run-of-the-mill creeper.

shloobykitten.tumblr.com

Just my luck.

Sweet, sweet zombie love

2011-02-13T12:33:00.000-06:00

So, I may not have gotten a job at Hallmark, but that doesn't mean I can bust out with some great sentiments:

Happy Valentine's Day!

If we were zombies, I would totally share my kills with you.

I'm not....

2011-02-13T11:31:00.000-06:00

I LOVE corny things. The cornier, the better.

Dogs barking, can't fly without umbrella

2011-02-12T21:30:00.002-06:00

So, there's an update on the nerd front.

It was recently pointed out that I could probably get away with cosplaying Urd of Ah! My Goddess! fame with minimal monetary involvement.

Not this outfit though. That's just a boobarmageddon waiting to happen.

White wig, purple contacts, cute dress and I'm covered!

Look at this bag!

That color is amazing!

Click on the bag for more amazing flickr photos.

And here's a few contests I'm entering.

Luck to everyone who enters!

Tabitha Emma is hosting a Japonicas coupon contest which ends Monday, February 14.

Previously Owned is hosting a Hinterlands Vintage contest which ends February 23.

Over 9000 Rose points to any of you that know where this post's title comes from.
Hint: It's a gas, gas, gas.

Super nerd

2011-02-05T11:46:00.000-06:00

It's official!
Well, mostly.
I will be trying my best to cosplay at Fanime 2011 in San Jose!
It's extremely likely that I will be a Final Fantasy white mage or red mage. (or both if I'm feeling particularly ambitious)
I'll be posting sketches of my ideas soon. And of course I'll be posting pictures of the costumes!

The main reason for my choices is the versatility of the costumes and simplicity.
Simplicity and cheap are going to go hand in hand in this case.

Here's a few pictures to give you an idea of what I'm working around.

Hoppy New Year!

2011-02-05T10:01:00.000-06:00

Cheezy... I know
It's a bit late, but Happy Chinese New Year!
To celebrate, I caught you a bunny.

Excited and inspired

2011-02-04T21:38:00.000-06:00

So, now that I'm settled in.. -ish, I plan on working on my jewelry again. Keep your eyes on theCompassRose for new things soon!

But for now, gaze over these positively drool worthy pieces from catbird of Brooklyn.
There is SO much to look at, but here are a few of my favorites.

some stuff by TuesdayRose featuring necklaces

catbird :: shop by category :: jewelry :: necklaces :: Spyglass...

catbird :: shop by category :: jewelry :: necklaces :: Switch Blade...

catbird :: shop by category :: Jewelry :: Thorn Necklace - rose gold

catbird :: shop by category :: Jewelry :: Thou Shall Not Talk Shit...

catbird :: Elizabeth Knight :: Claw Heart Necklace

I've got to work on my resume

2011-01-31T19:34:00.001-06:00

Wow.

I just read an amazing resume.
With a cover letter titled "Fine, don't fucking hire me, you can't handle my shit" you know it's got to be good.

Listed under "SHIT I HAVE DONE" you find:
-When I was 8, a frisbee flew into my backyard and I blew it up with my mind.
-My brother is the Eiffel Tower
-Direct descendant of Beowulf

It puts my paltry "Accomplishments" section to shame.

oh Christian!

2011-01-31T18:39:00.000-06:00

I got this amazing Christian Dior scarf as a going away present from one of my co-workers.
It's lovely!

And to continue on this thread, here's some lovely Dior pieces from the Spring 2011 runway.

images from Style.com

Lovely~

The full inbox

2011-01-29T22:07:00.000-06:00

My inbox is full.
While this isn't new, I'm starting to get very annoyed at the amount of random job offers that take up a good percentage of these emails.

Look, unless you're an amazing job and pays way more than I already get paid, allows me to be on vacation/sit on my butt doing fun stuff more than actual work and IS REAL (this one being the most important), then leave me and my inbox alone!
I have other things to do... like pet my cats, read a book, sleep or drown myself in chocolate covered strawberries.

LOST!

2011-01-26T15:28:00.000-06:00

To catch everyone up: My transfer came through and I've relocated.
Monday was my first day at my new job. Looking for a faster, more efficient way to get there, I took my dad's advice of a short cut.

My Tuesday morning went a bit like this:

Dad: Try this short cut to work. I bet it'll cut down on time. --insert directions here--

Me: - ten minutes after leaving the house - Wow! This is faster! :)

Me: - ten minutes after that - Hey, it's kinda pretty out here. ...wait a minute... is that a cow?

Me: - fifteen minutes after that - Aaaahhh gaaaaaawd! Is that the same cow? Where am I?!?

Turns out I took a left instead of a right.
I took my dad's route again this morning. Turning right this time and got to work in record time!

image from best-horror-movies.com

Bad apple

2011-01-24T20:49:00.000-06:00

Just got an email from Apple reminding me that my one year warranty on my iPod nano is nearly up.
Great, just what I wanted to hear.
I'm already expecting it to explode a minute after the warranty runs out.

I'm moving

2011-01-18T23:26:00.000-06:00

I don't know, little kitten, I don't know.
I hate moving. So much.
But I must. I want to save money to start working toward my masters degree and move to California.
But, I hate moving! I hate packing!

Evil liver is evil

2011-01-18T23:13:00.001-06:00

Ninja skills

2011-01-17T09:50:00.001-06:00

Literary jewelry

2011-01-09T12:21:00.001-06:00

I love a good book.
Sometimes I'll carry one around with me for little moments where I can grab a sentence or two.

Turns out, the creator behind Littlefly took the idea of carrying a book with you literally.

Jeremy May laminates hundreds of pages to make one piece; rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces.

Pretty amazing.

Apples

2011-01-09T11:44:00.000-06:00

So there's apparently an iPhone case that has a bottle opener attached to the back.
Yeah, 'cause people really need to down beers AND answer the phone at the same time.
I can't roll my eyes any harder without making my brain explode.

I see you riding 'round town...

2011-01-02T17:59:00.001-06:00

The second song I heard in the new year is, incidentally, the one that makes me the happiest.
I've never been so happy to hear someone say, "Fuck you," which is the title of this Cee-Lo Green song.

Man crush

2011-01-02T09:24:00.000-06:00

I feel like a little schoolgirl and that's ok.
Why?
I have a man crush. And you know what? That's ok, too.

Having an imaginary boyfriend is pretty fun:
- They rarely argue with you
- They don't care that you haven't shaved your legs since September
- Your morning breath doesn't turn them off
- They always want to know how your day went and listen intently while you vent

Right now, with things being turned upside down with preparing to move, fiddling with schooling and career plans... perhaps I'm not in the perfect place, mentally, for a REAL relationship.

So, want to know how we met?
His new song was the first one I heard this year! Isn't that cute?

Well, hey there, Enrique!

Aww... he's a bit shy. But here's his new song, "I like it," which, ironically enough, I like very much!

Happy New Years!

2011-01-01T08:43:00.000-06:00

I actually made it through East Coast and Central time zone New Years! Almost made it to Pacific New Years, but dozed off from ten 'til midnight to ten after... oh well, still counts. I guess...

Let's start the new year off right!

Happy Holidays

2010-12-25T15:34:00.000-06:00

Whatever you do and do not celebrate, I hope you enjoy it!
Staying the weekend at the parents'. Everything is great... except for the incredibly sad pet commercial with Sarah McLachlan in it. Sad animals, sad Christmas songs equals a sad Rose.
Cue the funny, pretty, cute pictures!

How delicate!

I LOVE dragees!

It's true. My mum is the only one that's able to text that too me and not get a cringe.

I love mercury glass. It's antique, vintage, amazing.

Sup?

Picture therapy

2010-12-22T19:23:00.000-06:00

Today was a haze in most part. Then it hurt towards the end of the day.
Best way to cure it is to snuggle up in bed and dig in to some good old-fashioned picture therapy.

Pictures are from shloobykitten.tumbler.com, nymag.com and (where I can easily spend HOURS) holymaurymotherofgod.tumblr.com.

Winter solstice

2010-12-21T20:17:00.000-06:00

For those of you that, like me, had their view of the lunar eclipse interrupted by dense cloud cover, here's a video of this morning's events.
It was amazing!

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

My (non)malaise

2010-12-16T08:32:00.000-06:00

This time of year brings around excitement, depression and general moodiness in me.
Between buying gifts, stress from packing and job hunting, people sharing their woes and good cheer, getting too much sleep, getting too little sleep and all the generalities of life, sometimes I get quite lazy and want nothing to do with anything at all. Just to curl up and think in solitude (plus two furry companions) eases my mind, but does cause other things to hurt and get pushed aside, including this blog.
::hugs and kisses for the blog::

Fear not!
I have several reviews, gift giving ideas, more pictures and even a podcast(!) in store for the near future.
Just got to nip that lazy bug.

The hurt

2010-12-12T07:58:00.000-06:00

I HAD to reblog this.

My heart broke when I began to read this. Then broke a million times more as I continued.

Please reblog.

Please send help.

Please care.

reposted from http://karmahasutra.tumblr.com

Yes. Those babies are lying on concrete.

Yes. That bottle is empty.

Yes. Those are mosquitoes & flies swarming their little bodies.

Yes. This is the condition of Pakistan, at the moment.

A couple of weeks have gone by since the floods in Pakistan have flowed and the number of people effected by this are staggering & record breaking.

Over 20 MILLION PEOPLE.

That is MORE THAN THE COMBINED TOTAL of the 2004 Tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the American Katrina disaster.

How many of you knew about this? It’s a shame at the extreme lack of coverage on this horrific disaster. Pakistan is getting MINIMAL help.

Ignorance never ends, a recent poll was taken in America on whether if they would donate or have donated to Pakistan or not. 67% DO NOT wish or want to help Pakistan. 67%.

And as for the donations that are being sent… 60% of aid needed now, has not been delivered. Who has them & why haven’t they reached the public?

I was born in Karachi, Pakistan. My city is located in the south region of Pakistan (Sindh province). I can not fathom the words….The amount of hurt I am feeling.

No one is helping.

I try to blog about it daily…only getting a few notes or so..I post a picture of myself and in come the notes and comments. What I’m trying to say is, Please…take note of this. These people are innocent and now they are homeless and sick. Children are dying quickly due to the lack of care. People have drowned, crops are ruined..animals are dead, & homes are gone. It is being speculated that my city will eventually drown since it’s already low. The floods haven’t hurt my region yet but they have affected my friends & families home and so many other innocent people.

This picture breaks my heart..I want you all to look at this picture. What do you see?

Do you see terrorists? Do you see future killers? Do you see another plot against America? Do you see that in those mosquitoes that can possibly and most likely have left diseases such as malaria? Do you see harm in that empty bottle?

Extremists are the ones to blame, not Muslims. Why should we be left hopeless? We didn’t do anything.

And as for the Qu’ran burning this weekend in Florida, I believe….

The thought of that night makes me cry. Do you all understand the severity and ignorance of that act? Why isn’t anyone stopping them? My religion, my faith didn’t hurt you. EXTREMISTS DID. They are NOT religious. My faith is NOT a cult.

I don’t know what to do. I honestly don’t know. I’ve never felt this helpless. No one is helping, no one cares. Fuck neither do my own best friends know much about this.

Just look at this picture and think about what you’ve just read.

Help. Please.

If you can…I’m not asking for a shitload of cash. But please, try to donate. Donating to UNICEF will send aid to children. Donate to the Red Cross & the UN Foundation. I trust the most in these three foundations, they’ve actually managed to send and successfully help the victims.

One-fifth of the country is under water; 20 million+ people are homeless. All I ask is for you to help a little and spread awareness.

A Polyvore wishlist

2010-12-05T13:24:00.002-06:00

A wish list for now by TuesdayRose on Polyvore.com
Here's my entry into the Polyvore wishlist contest:
Here's a few lovely items I'd love to get my hands on: a camera for my shutterbug mania, a vintage ring and glass beaded necklace for added sparkle and style, a peacoat in an amazing color to keep me cozy, gorgeous heels to strut about and a charming bag to keep all my goodies secure. Cozy, eclectic and fun.

Gifts for that vintage gal

2010-12-05T12:35:00.002-06:00

For that vintage gal by TuesdayRose featuring a vintage earring
This one of many visual lists I'm making as gift giving guides for hard-to (and not quite so) loved ones. This one is for the vintage gal in your life. The one that covets antique baubles and flowy gowns. The one that adores sparkle and class.

All I want for Christmas....

2010-12-02T08:45:00.000-06:00

Each year, I try and do a 'Things I'd like for Christmas' list.
However, this year, instead of making one long post, I'll be sprinkling several posts throughout December. So keep an eye out!
Like every list, there are revisions and a few gifts return to the list.

An honorary knighthood, to be made a Member of the Order of the British Empire

That flask

Something shiny

In addition to making lists for myself, I will also lend a helping hand in searching for gifts for YOUR loved ones as well. Not only because I like looking at presents, but because making lists is my addiction.

Ho Hum

2010-11-30T18:02:00.000-06:00

Although yesterday was the official day to have finished off all Thanksgiving leftovers, I had been saving the best for last: sweet potato casserole.
And I had planned to savor my sweet prize, topped with toasted French vanilla marshmellos, while sipping spumante and feeling throughly indulgent.

However, gravity had different plans.

As I lifted my Pyrex casserole dish out of the oven, I ogled the slight bubble of the casserole and the perfect toast of the marshmellos.
And then that glee turned to horror as the dish flew out of my hands and shattered into a mess of orangey, glassy goo. And ended up spending a good part of 30 minutes cleaning up and sweeping, sweeping and more sweeping as broken glasses causes great paranoia.

The good news, I was mostly unscathed. I only received minor stabs on two fingers and a leg.
The bad news, I no longer own a Pyrex casserole dish.

Ho hum...

Save the date

2010-11-26T18:48:00.000-06:00

This such a cute and understated necklace from Charm & Chain.

I'd have my birthday stamped on mine.

What would you have on yours?

Autumn dreams

2010-11-25T18:52:00.001-06:00

Autumn dreams by TuesdayRose featuring a leaf pendant

I LOVE the colors of fall: cognac tan, dove grey, muted green, burnished red and hints of black and white. As the mercury drops, I'm getting geared up to revel in all this autumnal glory.

Sagely pursuits

2010-11-24T20:11:00.001-06:00

I couldn't remember if I had posted this lovely little collection, so here it is (possibly, again).

Sagely pursuits by TuesdayRose featuring vintage style jewelry

Pipe detailed chiffon dress, $453
Color is fresh mint and dress with a zip-eruca. [Rocket salad - Item...
hardtofindcoolstuff - Strappy cocktail dress, 25 GBP
celine, 178 GBP
One Vintage | Taipa cuff | NET-A-PORTER.COM, 617 EUR
Pippa Small Six drop earrings, $3,275
Dior Lady 1 - Signature Ring Temple Sunglasses, $385
Mesh Flower Hair Elastic/Pin, $4.80
Satin Side Flower Headwrap, $3.80
Cargo Eyeshadow Duo - Pasadena at DermStore, $20
Pin Up Cosmetics > Gorgeous-Vegan Lip Gloss Pot, $12
High Quality Welcome - KK Center Hk, $5.50
hardtofindcoolstuff - Strappy cocktail dress, 25 GBP
Cargo Eyeshadow Duo - Corsica at DermStore, $20
1333 Minna Babylon Rocker Stingy Fedora

Chocolate zombie

2010-11-20T14:11:00.000-06:00

So, I found this awesome recipe over at Kitchen Daily for cheddar pepper palmiers.
This is something I plan to make asap. However, I'm probably going to replace the ground black pepper for crushed jalapeños for extra spicy goodness.
Cheddar, jalapeños and palmiers, how could anything that sounds that good go wrong?

Speaking of food, it's that special and incredibly annoying time of the month for me and my craving for anything remotely chocolate has gone into overload.
I'm (slightly) ashamed to say that I had chocolate chip cookie dough for breakfast....
and brunch.....
and a little with lunch.

I'm a little afraid to leave the house. I may just head to the nearest gas station and buy as much chocolate and Pepsi I can get my hands on.
However, I'm pretty sure my lazy-induced self will sit right here and browse the internet.
Perhaps look at pictures of brownies and cakes with the safe-filler off!

Paths are changing

2010-11-17T20:24:00.000-06:00

As my phobia of microscopes and greatly enhanced pictures of tiny things have halted my aspirations to become a medical lab technician, so has math and all of its frustrations halting my aspirations to become of pharmacy technician.

Which pretty much leaves me with teaching and any other wacky profession I will become interested in.

I really don't know what to do anymore. To be honest, I'm worried that, in the end, I don't really want to be a teacher.

On a side note, a co-worker asked me to tutor her daughter in writing. This could definitely be something that could help me decide whether I should continue seeking a teacher career.

November 14

2010-11-14T20:18:00.001-06:00

November 14 by TuesdayRose featuring denim shorts

Just something casual and fun on a lazy Sunday.

Pastry

2010-11-13T10:48:00.000-06:00

So much for thinking that yesterday wasn't going to be so bad.
It was the only day of the week I had to work and then WEEKEND!
However, I wasn't going to be let off that easily: I lost my apartment keys.

And spent most of last night and this morning digging for them.
I can only assume that someone picked them up, thought the key toppers were cute and kept them.

I'm not a perturbed as I thought I would be in a situation like this. I had a spare on me, so I'm not locked out of my apartment. And I just got paid, so I can pay for the spare.
Honestly, the donating of my old books bothers me more.

Speaking of donating, it made my day when I caused someone to do a double-take and give me a huge grin and cheer.
While leaving Walmart, there were sets of students outside each entrance/exit: one for a dance team and one for a baseball team from two different schools. (Two different school districts, I believe)
As I stepped out, one of the girls said, "Good morning."

I greeted her the same as I dug for my sunglasses.

"Would you like to donate to our dance group?"

"Sure," I said, as I pulled out all my singles.

Of the three girls, one did the jaw dropping thing, one did the double-take and the other cheer.
"Oh my god!" "Yay!" "Really?"

"Yup," I handed them two of my four singles, then motioned to the other set of teens. "Are they with your group?"

"No, those are (here she said something about their group and school, but I wasn't really listening)." "You don't want to give to them, they're boys."

I laughed. "Well, it's only fair. You guys have a good day."

"Thank you!"

I walked over to the other entrance/exit and handed the boys (there were two) the remaining two singles. I gave one to each since the boy farther from me looked disappointed that the other boy was going to get both.

That made me feel really good and so, I get to enjoy breakfast from the motherland:

Croissant, napoleon and a baguette filled with ham, Brie, feta, tomatoes and some herbs.
Baguette is not pictured; is already in my stomach. yum!

Them scandals!

2010-11-11T19:14:00.000-06:00

When asking anyone that's ever helped me move, the one thing that's complained about the most moving my books and movies. Bins and bins full of literature and DVDs.
In an earlier post, I wrote about the tragedy and scandal of selling my DVDs for cash to pay for bills and food.

Well, I have committed another crime, though this one is without profit: I donated massive amounts of books to the local library.
It's great to know that I'm helping stock a library I frequent.
But it was completely heartbreaking to let some of those books go.

It's still sitting funny with me.
I keep thinking about them, but I know it was for the best.
It's better that they're out in the open, where others can enjoy them instead of tucked away in a big plastic bin.

A delicious birthday

2010-11-10T07:32:00.000-06:00

As those of you that follow my Twitter feed know: I had a delicious birthday.

Here's what I ate:
Breakfast was a HUGE affair of bacon, eggs (my mum makes PERFECT eggs), grits and pancakes with strawberry.
Brunch was pieces of chocolate from the Whitman's Sampler Dad gave me.
Lunch was one of Keifer's famous gyros with grilled mozzarella AND feta. (I am a cheese whore!) I can never finish these things and the other half became the day-after-birthday lunch.
Dessert was pumpkin cheesecake ice cream in a dark chocolate dipped waffle bowl with Oreos mixed in from Marble Slab.
After-dessert dessert was more chocolates.

Which brings me to something I cooked up in my head. The ice cream was such a strange combination (or so it seemed at the time) that turned out AMAZING!
So, I want to make for Thanksgiving:

1. pumpkin pie filling and Philadelphia cream cheese
2. Oreo pie crust
3. ?????
4. Profit... er.. I mean, Eat!d

I'm sure there's more to it than that... but yeah, sounds good.

Rose vs the World

2010-11-08T08:27:00.000-06:00

Recently watched Scott Pilgrim vs the World.
It's definitely a movie I would watch again.
The characters were weird but believable, the effects were fun and the music was pretty good too.
I'm not entirely sure why it got all of the backlash it did and still receives.

Anywho, the movie centers around Scott Pilgrim, an average twenty-something slacker in a band who becomes enamored with Ramona, a girl whose lovelife is, well, complicated. Pilgrim has to defeat her seven evil exes in order to continue dating her. He earns coins, 1-ups and a little self-respect along the way.

The world of Scott Pilgrim looks like average modern-day Canada, but it's tweaked a bit. You can travel in subspace, pull huge mallets (my personal weapon of choice) out of your purse and have vegan powers.
Perhaps that's what a lot of people have a problem with: they weren't able to fully able to suspend their disbelief and take the movie at face value.
It's not supposed to represent or teach anything... well, not really: having self-respect is good, cheating is bad, the girl (or boy) of your dreams may not be who you think they are.
It's just a movie for entertainment sake and I throughly enjoyed it.
Made me wish that I had actually started a band in high school and had a huge group of friends for constant hijinks.

I did have a few problems here and there with things that weren't explained. Like the starred doors; I didn't understand them until I read the comic. Subspace was only mentioned once, in an off-handish way, so the connection wasn't easy to make.

It's not movie of the year good, but it's certainly something I would watch again and again. Probably even buy my own copy. It comes out tomorrow, btw.
If you liked the movie, check out the soundtrack and original score.
And don't forget, the movie was based on the Scott Pilgrim comics, which are also pretty fun (actually, more fun).

For Technorati: 7MRZ7BZ5XDUP

Happy Birthday to me

2010-11-07T08:14:00.004-06:00

Early rise

2010-11-06T21:50:00.000-06:00

Don't forget to turn back those clocks tonight.
Man, I LOVE when Daylight Savings Time ends.
Well, I used to love it. Now I'm just 'that's cool' about it. Now that I regularly get up at 6.30 a.m. or so, this whole setting the clocks back business is going to make me wake up even earlier.

So, those who can enjoy it, enjoy your extra hour.
At least for a little bit.

Try your luck

2010-11-05T18:56:00.000-06:00

Here's a giveaway I'm entering in and thought you guys might be interested in entering as well:

Tell me these aren't adorable... you can't!
I would LOVE to win this blue-grey pair and prance about the flat vacuuming and dusting while wearing them.
And some pearls too!
Want to try your luck? Click here.

Paranormal beh...

2010-11-04T19:15:00.000-06:00

Got around to watch Paranormal Activity 2, and I've got to say: I was pretty disappointed.

Half of the movie was gone before anything really good happened.
There were a few REALLY good moments at the end.
And a few things in between that put a different spin on the first movie.

Verdict is:
I LOVED the first movie.
I am meh about the second movie.

Dangerous

2010-11-03T16:48:00.000-06:00

While sifting through email, I come across one from Victoria's Secret heralding their new bra line.
Interested, I hopped over to the Web site and was greeted with this:

Well, hi there!
I certainly would consider myself a bombshell.

And surprisingly, this new bra line comes in my size. Usually, I have troubles with locating ANY VS bra wear in my elusive size.

However, I took a look at the WHOLE ad:

"Instantly add 2 cup sizes..."
Holy moly! This may not bode well for me.
Having DDs make life interesting. Adding two cup sizes to that may be a health hazard.
This is certainly worth some investigation. However, this investigation will have to be put on hold until a large influx of monetary funds come available.

You know... win the lottery and all.
Perhaps I should start playing the lottery...

Colorful poop

2010-11-02T16:55:00.001-06:00

I feel like a slacker.

"Why?" you ask.

Because it's 5.18 pm, the polls close at 7 pm and I'm not particularly set to go vote.

In my defense, (or excuse) I haven't given news much attention after being sacked from the newspaper. And while I get several emails from the president, (I kid you not!) I really don't know who or what I'm voting for. I haven't kept up with any election news or information or anything for that matter.

Shamefully, I was kinda surprised when people were like, "Have you voted today?"

According to Huffington Post, "Election web traffic tops Obama's Presidential Win."
Could that be other slackers, like myself, scurrying through the Web, trying to figure out what's going on?

I don't have cable, so I haven't caught any political ads, which are generally laughable and full of tripe anyway.

Curious about who I would PROBABLY vote for, I found a pretty fun website. Votesmart.org has this vote easy thing that breaks everything down for you by state and then asks you questions about social security, abortion, taxes and education and shows you which candidate is closest to your way of thinking.
Apparently, Anna Revies, reform, would be my candidate. However, in the state of Mississippi, a state so Republican it poops red, I doubt my little vote would weigh anything against the waves Republican and Democrat votes.
Though, my second closest choice was the Democrat candidate.

And yes, I'm aware of the disappointed head-shakes I'll receive from anyone who asks. And I'm aware of the third-degree burns from the grilling I'll get from my dad.
But, I'm just not exciting or interested.

And for that, I feel like a slacker.

Booooooooots

2010-11-01T19:51:00.000-06:00

Forgive yesterday's lack of post; after having a migraine Thursday, Friday AND Saturday, I used Sunday to get things done around the pad and venture outside, if only to get the past days' mail.

Got involved in a really good conversation about the pros and cons of social networking media. Good points all 'round. But it didn't change my view, but was certainly interesting. And found out that I was considered part of the 10 percent that actually use social networking to connect versus using it for attention.
::thumbs up::

For those of you that chat with me on MSN Live, you already know about the countdown I've been making to my birthday. And call me silly, but I was a little jealous when my assistant manager told me that her husband gets her a little gift everyday for the week of her birthday.

Planning to go to parents' over birthday weekend, Mum got some cheap boots for me (cheap as in not expensive). It's been a bit since I've had a decent pair!

Congrats

2010-10-30T21:11:00.000-05:00

Today, my good friend Sty Hand got married!
Unfortunately, my lack of money prevented me from attending.
But, if I close my eyes, I can imagine I am there, crying over such an emotional and beautiful event.

Here's something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

Vintage brooch bridal bouquet by Studio del Fiore

Congrats and love to you!

I wish you two a happy and successful live together!

Three or Ten?

2010-10-30T15:42:00.000-05:00

I've got to say: the first part of the movie was more comical than scary.
The opening credits had me questioning if I was watching the same movie I had selected.
But perhaps, that was the point. And by point, I mean theme.

The Eye 3 follows four young friends visiting their other friend's country, bringing the count to five.
Looking for something to do, Chongkwai brings out The 10 Encounters, a book that instructs on ten ways to see spirits.
The original title for The Eye 3 is The Eye 10; 10 for each encounter.

Some of the ten were pretty common, like Ouija boards, to the strange, like sitting in an intersection of sidewalks and bang chopsticks against porcelain plates to feed the spirits.
A few things you should know: make sure you don't have cheap plates and don't pee on ghosts, it's not polite.

About half way through, when things stopped being funny and started to get, kinda, serious, I started to lose interest. Although, the dance off was pretty amusing. And farting is a good tactic against ghosts.

Definitely recommend watching with friends, if just to laugh at the ridiculous reactions and situations these wacky kids get into. Probably wouldn't watch again or recommend otherwise.

Horatio?

2010-10-30T11:14:00.000-05:00

USA Films? Oh it's gotta be good! lol

So, I was recommended Session 9 and told that it would be an interesting review.
Not necessarily because it was spooky, but because David Caruso aka Horatio Caine was a main character.

The movie opens with Horatio er... Caruso speaking off camera, which caused me to dissolve into giggles.
However, I snapped myself out of it by reminding myself that I needed to put on my serious reviewer hat on and delved into the movie... with the occasional fangirl giggle here and there.

Session 9 tells the story of an asbestos cleaning crew that wins a bid to clean out an abandoned state hospital. The building is beautiful as it is eerie. The perfect backdrop, if you will.
The perfect backdrop to allow the human psyche to reign. Each person has their own story to tell.... well, not necessarily to tell. Perhaps... show. Each have their own conflicts, trials and tribulations.
Think: reality TV in an abandoned insane asylum.

The title of the movie comes from recorded sessions one of the workers find. Taking a little break from work out of each day, he listens to the tapes, getting more and more unsettled as he goes along.
And eventually, basic evils take apart the team: greed, mullets, parenting, bad taste in music....

And those little breaks become purposeful and long.
And then there's that Horatio tone.
And then things start getting a little weird.

Asbestos is a hell of a thing.

My recommendation is to watch this movie with others for laughs. Not something I would pay for, but would certainly watch. Wasn't quite scary enough for me. But certainly had me thinking.

So... it's not true?

2010-10-29T17:55:00.000-05:00

I've heard that it was customary, in olden days gone by, to photograph one's self with the recently departed.
And nowadays, you'll think it's just an odd photograph until realization overcomes you when you notice that there's a dead person in the photo.
The Haunting in Connecticut opens with these photos and the words, "based on the true story."

Haunting starts off with basic human tragedy: a mother driving her cancer-stricken son home from the hospital. The parents (which are an ass of a dad and a strong yet vulnerable mom) discuss moving closer to the hospital and the financial issues that go along with it.
Ten minutes in, that you already begin hearing those noises that my parents had always referred to as, 'the house is just settling.'

Well, that's not really the house settling...

And when the door that wouldn't open before, suddenly opens don't be surprised if there's spooky stuff behind it.

And suddenly, crabs!

And would you PLEASE keep your dead people to yourself!

And the theme that holds all of these together? The human tragedy that started off the movie.
Each deals with their feeling of hopelessness in their own way. And even the dad, despite being an ass, needs a hug and some comfort.... to an extent.
Human tragedy laced with creepy, spooky things. And coughing up goo.

And it's this human tragedy that kept me going, that kept me watching.
And then, I got into it.
And then, I wanted to know what was happening, what was going to happen and how it was going to end.

And all I can say is: how did they not notice the smell.

I recommend this movie for your viewing pleasure. It was certainly interesting. Not go to the theatre interesting. But still pretty interesting.

And I'll let you decide if it's a true story or not.

Did that chair just move?

2010-10-29T11:50:00.000-05:00

So, a sore and painful body gives a day off of work and makes conditions excellent to, once again, marathon some scary movies. And because I'm sick and bonelessly sprawled out under a blanket, it makes me more tolerable to terrible movies so I'll actually finish one and have something to write about.

First movie of the day is Death of a Ghost Hunter.

Movies shot in documentary style intrigue me and (in my mind, at least) serves as a sort of countdown.
A countdown to doom or terror or cake... or what-have-you.

Our cast of characters consists of the intellectual ghost hunter, the sexy Latina writer, the cute tech guy and the creepy church girl. They are investigating the Masterson home, which housed tragedy 20 years prior.

- Carter, our intellectual ghost hunter, is our narrator and referee; she keeps everyone from completely flying off the handle and poking fun at the church girl for being.... well, creepy. She also guides us through meatier findings as she's the ghost hunter.

- Collin, our cute tech guy, outfits the house with gadgets and wisecracks for our viewing pleasure. He also works with Yvette to push along the story with general snooping, question asking and normal human interaction. Part one of comic relief and story mover.

- Yvette, our sexy Latina writer, is a reporter from a local newspaper and builds history and insight into everyone. Also, as a reporter, her job is to dig deep into the Mastersons' lives and serves to find things no one else would have found. Part two of comic relief and story mover. These two serve to pull the crew together; without them, Carter and Mary would just keep to themselves and the movie title would be changed to 'Two women keep to themselves and stare off into space.'

- Bringing up the rear: Mary, our creepy church girl, is present to keep the Masterson name clear of false reportings. Mr. Masterson was one of the founding fathers of her church and she doesn't want their name or church pulled through the mud. She also makes sure to be judgmental and preaches about the evils of birth control, coffee and minorities.

As dark, spooky nighttime is conducive to spooky nighttime happenings, the crew sleeps primarily during the day in between viewings of EVP recordings and camera shots.
And, of course, Blair Witch Project shoutouts.
And catfights!
And a stinky bag!

And then we get the full story! And there's a bit extra at the end, an epilogue if you will.

In the end, it's not really a movie I would pay money to watch or have. But it is certainly an entertaining watch.
Thanks, Netflix!

Horror with a heart

2010-10-17T14:13:00.000-05:00

I'm apparently on a 'horror with a heart' kick as I'm reviewing another heartbreaking horror movie.
This time, it's the South Korean psycho-thriller Acacia.

via bloody-disgusting.com

Never come between a boy and his tree... errr... mom... er... whatever...

Acacia is another movie that struck me as a work of art. The colors, cinematography and thick emotions attracted me from the start.

The movie begins innocuous enough: Mi-sook and Do-il cannot have children, so they decide to adopt cute and quiet Jin-seong.
And things are going pretty well, Jin-seong meets the girl next door and befriends the tree in the backyard.
But soon, strange occurrences start popping up and you question what exactly is going on.

My advice: beware of red, woolen yarn!
I highly recommend this beautiful movie.

Etsy lust

2010-10-16T01:33:00.000-05:00

There are so many AMAZING artists and crafters out there.
Every time I flip through Etsy, I get inspired.... and perhaps a bit envious.

Here are some things I am currently lusting over:

Embroidered Chrysanthemum Clutch, bridal pink on blush silk Dupioni

This comes in other colors as well. It's amazing.

Pink Givre Rose - Vintage jewel earrings

I love these. The quaintness improves on the glamorous color.

Stainless steel flask key chain

I would totally wear this as a necklace; secretly taking little nips here and there.

Hey, where's my state...

You know what state I would totally get.

I'll give you a hint: it's the first state.

Rosary bracelet of aventurine and sterling silver

This is incredibly beautiful.

Antique branch, honey melon bead bracelet

I love the colors in this. It brings me thoughts of crisp fall days.

Paranormal doodads

2010-10-09T11:32:00.000-05:00

Paranormal Entity is today's movie of choice.

Reviews hailed it as the poor man's Paranormal Activity, but I was certainly willing to give it a shot.
And I've got to say, I was not really impressed. The main thing about Paranormal Activity was the feeling of realness. The attention to detail was fantastic; you felt like you were in the couple's home.
However, in Paranormal Entity, while bedrooms were panned over, they felt sterile. It was as if they were lifted from a Sears catalog. Rooms perfectly neat, no posters, no mess, no personal effects.

Well except for the guy's room, which looked like it was purposely made messy. As if the director was like, "Hey pull back the sheets on the bed. Yeah, that's good. Oh! Throw some random change on the bureau. And for the money shot, put some rumpled pants on the floor over there. Oh yeah, it looks like an average dude's room now!"

Except it doesn't.

And then the sister doesn't know how to use a kettle.
Seriously, I had to rewind it because I couldn't believe it the first run through.
Attention to detail, folks. Learn to use a kettle, please.

The 'bickering' between the brother and sister was forced. I was cringing through it.
The mom was.... wishy washy at times, but that might have been the point, so I can't really fault that. Although, it was a bit too easy to change her mind.

So, at one point, the women leave and the brother turns into MacGuyver, complete with fishing wire and bells.
And I must simple ask this... do guys normally have bells? Just, you know, random bells? Hanging around for situations like this...
I felt like I was watching Home Alone for a minute there.

Movie Rule to stay alive #78: don't taunt demons, ghosts or anything that can hurt/kill/maim you. If you do, you're asking for it.

Bells can't save you, you know.
And your doors suck, by the way.

Also, a word to the wise: if you have some sort of demon haunting you, stalking you and touching you while you sleep, you really shouldn't wear provocative things. Sleeping in matching bra and panties set is just asking for trouble.

My recommendation is to watch this movie with friends so you can make fun of it.

In the end, all I could say was, "Wut?"

A tale of love; a history of terror

2010-10-05T16:06:00.001-05:00

El Orfanato/The Orphanage was highly recommended by friends, movie reviewers and horror buffs.

The movie opens at, you guessed it, an orphanage where you see children playing, specifically Laura, whom would be adopted shortly after the children's game.
Years later, Laura would renovate and reopen the orphanage as a home for special needs children.
All seems pretty normal.
The house is beautiful, she has an adorable son and a sweetie for a husband.

Then, the movie took a dramatic turn I didn't expect.

And gave me an ending that I adored even though it broke my heart.

I really liked the eerie presence of the movie and the lack of obnoxious jump scares. The intriguing setting and mysterious goings-on didn't hurt either.

I highly recommend this movie watched with the lights turned off and while staying in a creaky house.

The poster and the tagline fit perfectly once I got to the end.

By the way, for those of you that saw it, what do you think Carlos saw?

Pass the candy corn, please

2010-10-02T21:10:00.000-05:00

October's here and it's going to be pretty fun; I'll be watching and reviewing a few choice horror movies.
My plan is to post every other day as time and annoying things allow.
Grab a big bowl of popcorn and your closest plushie as we delve into the frightfest.

There are a few must-see movies that have already been reviewed.
Be sure to check them out here, here, here, here and here.

Finale

2010-09-30T21:49:00.001-05:00

And to round out the last day of September's art everyday is a piece by Rene Magritte.
You shouldn't be surprised that surrealism shows up so much, it's my favorite art style, followed by art nouveau.

Le Plagiat (Plagiary)

Le Plagiat (Plagiary) is Magritte's way of showing that art imitates (or perhaps, plagiarizes) life.

Curves

2010-09-28T22:25:00.000-05:00

So, I've been compared to yakshis before.

And before you get any ideas, it was due to body type, not disposition.

Detailed close-up of a yakshi and her elephant at the Great Stupa in Sanchi, India.

Never invite a penguin to dinner

2010-09-27T11:17:00.008-05:00

Edward Gorey

Edward Gorey is one of my all-time favorite illustrators.
I have several of his books, large and small.
I love the style, but especially the content of his works.

From lilies to dancers

2010-09-26T10:54:00.000-05:00

Manet is known for his lilies.
Degas is known for his dancers.
Once again, I had the difficult decision of choosing ONE piece above all. But I'm pleased with my choice.

Dancers in the Wings, Edgar Degas, 1878

Thanks goes to Wikipedia, Google and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.

Lovely lilies

2010-09-25T08:54:00.000-05:00

I had a heck of a time deciding which Manet was my favorite.
I knew that his water lilies were my favorite collection of his work... but which one?

Water Lilies, Claude Manet, 1906

I finally settled upon Water Lilies 1906, which is housed in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Thanks goes to Wikipedia, Google and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.

The kiss in Times Square

2010-09-22T23:46:00.000-05:00

Seriously, how iconic is this photograph?

Cling to me

2010-09-21T17:50:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite pieces by Gustav Klimt is Der Lebensbaum, or The Tree of Life. The stylized detail in his work is amazing.

Der Lebensbaum, Gustav Klimt, 1909

Here's a close up of my favorite part.

Thanks goes to Wikipedia, Google and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.

Frida Frida

2010-09-20T09:55:00.009-05:00

Frida Kahlo painted her reality as she saw it, which is, perhaps, a bit different than we see ours.

What I saw in the water, Frida Kahlo

Kahlo was a well-known and influential painter from Mexico. Her work is full of symbolism, passion and pain. She influenced me as well; while studying in university, I began to depict my own reality.

Thanks goes to Wikipedia, Google and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.

Warmth

2010-09-19T22:08:00.000-05:00

I was just introduced to Pino Daeni, whom sadly died May 2010.
There are so many of his pieces that I adore, but this one is my favorite... for now.

Thanks goes to Wikipedia, Google and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.

Rose, Lotus

2010-09-18T09:35:00.001-05:00

A Tale of Two Sisters, also known as Janghwa, Hongryeon (Rose, Lotus), is a Korean psychological thriller is one of my favorite movies and, in my opinion, a work of art.

One of the things that first drew me to this movie were stills. The sheer beauty and color in the shots drew me in. And the amazing and twisting story helped a whole lot too.

I would (and do) recommend this movie to any and everyone.

Thanks goes to Wikipedia, Google and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.

Sunlight

2010-09-17T11:31:00.010-05:00

Queen Victoria in her Coronation Robe, Charles Robert Leslie, 1838

I find this piece incredibly beautiful: the sunlight streaming through the window, the intricate detail, shadows, design and colors of Queen Victoria's coronation robe and the overall mood of the piece.

Thanks goes to Wikipedia, Google and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.

Calm

2010-09-16T12:32:00.009-05:00

Still Life with Geraniums, Henri Matisse, 1910

How calming is this piece by Matisse?

Thanks goes to Wikipedia and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.

Haunting

2010-09-15T20:28:00.000-05:00

The Painter on the Road to Tarascon, Vincent van Gogh, 1888

I cannot tell you why I love this painting above all other Gogh works.
Why I like this painting, described by Francis Bacon(another artist) as, "haunting."
Perhaps it's the colors. Perhaps it's the artist's face peeking out behind the brim.

Thanks goes to Wikipedia and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.

Les Fleurs

2010-09-14T12:56:00.018-05:00

Alphonse Mucha is one of my favorite artists and deciding which piece was going to be posted was a very tough decision. However, I do believe that the prominent picture on my wall helped decide.

The piece can actually be considered four pieces grouped together.

la rose

l'oeillet

le lys

l'iris

Thanks goes to Wikipedia, Google and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.