Monday, December 12, 2005

Random Items from the Junk Drawer of my Mind #3

1a. I went to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" on Saturday and highly recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy stories and/or sumptuous visuals. I would watch it again if only to see the visions Lucy sees in the fire when Mr. Tumnus plays the pipes. I read the books so many years ago that I can't really compare the details for those who are true fans, but it seemed to me that they were very true to the spirit of the stories. I know that as I watched, things I thought I'd forgotten kept coming back to me. I think this is one I'm going to want to own on DVD when it becomes available. (That list just keeps getting longer, and longer, and longer, and longer...) 1b. People in the cinema were still too damn noisy and restless though. If I am ever overcome with a plague of money I will build a screening room with full-size wide screen, and big comfy seats, and an old-fashioned popcorn machine, and will pay megabucks to see the new movies there and will only let people see them with me who swear on pain of death that they will sit still and shut up for the duration of the movie. HA! 1c. Considering my vehemently expressed movie pet peeves, this passage from the book "Forever Odd" by Dean Koontz made me laugh out loud: "...she smiled and said, 'We were at the movies once, and this dork took two phone calls during the film. Later we followed him, and Andre broke both his legs with a baseball bat.' This proved that even the most evil people could occasionally have a socially responsible impulse." Have I mentioned before that I Heart Dean Koontz?? 2. The Elegantly Exciting Elena saw these earrings: and decided I had to have them because they would match my hair. And they do and I love them! They are very, very Me - totally something I would have chosen if I'd seen them in a store. Thank you, Elena! 3. And the Ravishingly Rambunctious Rachel sent one of her custom mix CDs with this fabu cover art (the pink fabric and black/white strip were the wrapping...yum!): Rachel is so good at making these CDs and arranging the music to tell a story. I still have another one she sent a year or two ago that was based on our mutual love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in general and the character of Spike in particular, and it's still one of my favorite CDs. Thank you, Rachel! (I haven't gotten to listen to the new one yet because J is home this weekend and has had the TV on constantly and I can't stand having the TV and music on at the same time. But as soon as he goes back to work I'll be listening!) 4. Speaking of Rachel, she and Anne Copeland have started a project for 2006 called "Daily Devotions - 365 Days in a Life". The goal is for members of the project to make at least one small artwork of any kind every day for a year starting January, 2006, and to exhibit the results of the experiment at various venues after the year is over. If you think it sounds interesting, you can click on the link above to find out more. I, fool that I am, have signed up. Yep, that's right, DebR - Ms. Procrastination, the Queen of Denial, Empress of Evasion - is going to try to do some little bit of art every single day next year, without fail. We'll see how it goes. Ahem. 5. And finally, I want you to take a look at something my friend Laura MacCary, weaver-extraordinaire, just finished because I just think it is SO darn cool. Laura posted this photo to a list we're both on, and I was so impressed by what she made that I asked if I could share the photo with all you RSR readers and she kindly gave her permission. Naturally, me being me, I wrote on her photo before I posted it. [grin] Laura based the entire color scheme and weaving pattern on the coat of her cat, Buddy. Isn't that fabulous? There's proof, if any of us need it (and I sometimes do!) that a person can find inspiration everywhere, if you're willing to look at things in a different way. Here's what she had to say about this woven piece: "The technique is doubleweave on 8 shafts, I am basically weaving 2 plaid fabrics at once, and interlocking them in various ways to make each part of the surface of the fabric show one fabric or the other. I used wool, cotton, and some synthetics, and then washed it in the washer to get the wool to felt to make the bubbly surface." (Laura, is this something you made to keep, or to exhibit and/or sell? I'm just being nosy. Heh.) Anyway, Yay Laura, for taking inspiration from an unexpected source and turning it into something unique and lovely. You rock!