Happy Holidays

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

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

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.

The hurt

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

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

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....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 14 by TuesdayRose featuring denim shorts

Just something casual and fun on a lazy Sunday.

Pastry

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!

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

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

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

Early rise

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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?

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?

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?

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seriously, how iconic is this photograph?

Cling to me

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

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.