Alright my lovelies. I've done it. It's official. Here's my new blog:

http://acaffeinatedcoma.wordpress.com/

It's still a little under construction but mostly functioning.

I believe there is a feed set up if you use bloglines.com or something similar. If you have trouble just comment and we'll see if we can get it straightened out.

Ho Ho Ho.

Three things:

It's Christmas.
I love Christmas.
This is possibly the weirdest Christmas I have ever had.
These ridiculous coconut magic bars from our neighbor are going to be THE END OF WHAT IS LEFT OF MY WAISTLINE.

Okay so that's 4.

It seems that my entire family is infirmed (save myself, unless you consider a sugar coma a legitimate illness) so we're postponing our official giant family get-together until next week. It's kind of nice to prolong the season a little longer.

I was so determined to feel all that Christmas cheer stuff this year. And it worked. I became the elf that waved her flag of glad tidings and puffed tinsel in the faces of passerby. I'm not entirely sure everyone else was quite as enthusiastic.

BIG NEWS:

So you know how you feel when your living room has been arranged in a certain way for about a month and it starts to feel kind of old and claustrophobic and the only way to fix it is to rearrange everything in a dusty flurry?

Well, that's how I'm starting to feel about this blog. It's not that I don't love it. We've had some great times together, I just feel like maybe it's time for a transition. Initially, this blog was about coming to terms with my arthood and now that I've embraced it, I'm going to open a new chapter.

Also, I just really like the way Wordpress looks.

I'll update with all the new info as soon as I get the site set up.

I have a lot more to say but I'll save it for the new blog.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Holiday Cheer

I was all prepared to write a scathing* blog about Target and how my last trip to the discount wonderland revealed a claustrophobic symphony of snowflakes and assorted Christmas decorations and how capitalism in the U.S. is completely out of control (Christmas the day after Halloween. Come on guys. What about poor Thanksgiving?) when a series of events took place:

1) While on a video chat with neighbour, she started playing Christmas music. I made her turn it off. Not yet! Not for another month!
2) I was feeling sentimental and needed some good romantic movies while bundled in a blankie and sipping hot chocolate.
3), and most importantly, here is a rundown of the movies I watched:

a) "By the Light of the Silvery Moon," Judy Garland and Gordon MacCray. Which led to...
b) "In the Good Old Summertime," Judy Garland and Van Johnson. The combination of the two made me want to watch something musical and romantic with soldiers circa 1950 so I decided on...
c) "White Christmas."

"White Christmas is only partly a Christmas movie. It's balanced with songs like "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me" (my personal favorite, thankyouverymuch) to make it something I watch all the time. Totally justifiable.

Did you know a Genius playlist based on "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me," by Rosemary Clooney is almost exclusively Christmas music?

So here I sit. Listening to Bublé and Frankie sing about holly and yuletide crap and I love it and cannot stop.

You see?? I was tricked. Probably by neighbour who listens to Christmas music all year round like some jolly elf.

I am officially a hypocrite.

*It wasn't actually going to be scathing. Just mildly incredulous.

S'not So Bad.

I've spent the last two days floating away on a cloud shaped like Michael Bublé's new album, "Crazy Love". This does not account for the two weeks of silence before this but I thought I would share.

It's cheesy but oh, what a guilty pleasure:

Do you know that feeling when you're sick and all you want to do is sleep and forget the entire world? But just when you lay down, one side of your nose plugs up. Suddenly, you don't even care about sleeping anymore. Your entire existence becomes about getting your stupid nose to drain to the other side because you cannot bear to lay in this position one more minute. You blow your nose, get up and walk around, there may or may not be plugs of tissue shoved up your nose. Finally, you're so exhausted that you finally give up and just start to drift off to sleep when your nose, that Judas of a facial feature, decides to slosh to the other nostril and the whole thing starts over again from scratch?

Well, that's why I didn't blog.

Speaking of blogs, all 12 of you should check out Davina Choy's newish blog, Uber Fantastic. She's a budding writer, blogger, journalist extraordinaire and, I'm proud to say, a personal friend. She makes my blog look like the homely cousin no one talks about except in whispered tones at family gatherings. It's okay, I'm taking one for the team.

ONE LAST THING: this is a dyptic I painted with acrylic. Keep in mind this is the very first painting I have ever produced that didn't mock me from the easel. That is not to say that it's perfect, but I'm very proud of it.



I apologize for the picture quality. Just pretend they match up.

Musica de Classical

Okay so I just discovered this guy. His name is like Choppin' or something. He might be dead. Anyway, his music is like, good and stuff.

Alright, I know, I know. It would seem sort of ridiculous of me to do a music Friday on Chopin because I mean, come on. Even if you were born under a rock and have made it your year-round home you have at least heard of the man. But this time I just have to.

I hadn't taken much of an interest in his work until recently when I discovered (via Pandora Radio: I am your humble servant) that while listening to classical music my art productivity levels shot through the roof. As opposed to my productivity while listening to say, all soft rock of the 90's.

Watch this. Plus it's really adorable.

Friday.

By now we all know about my fear of dentists which you can read about here and here. Well about 4 weeks ago, my teeth and jaw started hurting in some spots and after letting the sense of dread and panic completely overtake me, I finally decided to make an appointment. By the time I walked into that office this afternoon I had convinced myself I needed immediate dental reconstruction complete with laughing gas and pliers.

Good news: there is nothing wrong with my teeth.

Bad news: the muscles in my jaw are stressed which means I can't chew gum anymore and I have to do some sort of face exercises. If that doesn't work, it looks like a diet of ibuprofen and liquids are in my immediate future. All acceptable alternatives to teeth drilling and extraction.

I immediately went to the store and got some mints because heaven help me if I'm going to let my jaw stand in the way of my social aptitude.

Also, since Fridays seem to be musically inclined, here's some more:

Horsefeathers, "Curs in the Weeds". Also check out "This is what". They're a sort of a modernized bluegrass which, granted, isn't for everyone. I'll forgive you if you don't like it, but DON'T SHOW YOUR FACE AROUND HERE AGAIN.

Thursdays Are For Others

Let's look at someone else's stuff for a while. It's good to get some perspective on what other people are doing. It's healthy.

I saw this video a few years ago when I first started as an art major. I thought about it out of the blue a couple days ago and decided to look it up again. The concept is so simple but so great.

EDIT: Ah! I forgot to credit! Here's the sidebar info for the video:

"This was my final film at Kingston University, it is an animated film based on interviews with people about their first crushes. (best version). I can be found at www.myspace.com/angrypony_ and at www.juliapott.com. Animated By Julia Pott, Music and Sound Design by Christopher Frost (for all those who wanted to know who did the music!!)"

Music Friday - City and Colour

Let's try this music thing again. I could call it Music Monday, but that would be conforming to the man.

I woke up this morning and suddenly craved City and Colour. So good, so folksy. I don't know why I hadn't heard of these guys until about a year ago. It's the solo project of Dallas Green also of the Canadian metal band Alexisonfire. It happens that while City and Colour makes me want to curl up with a good book and a steaming cup of coffee, Alexisonfire makes me want to smash that cup of coffee over the head of a stranger. Completely opposite styles of music.

His new(ish) album "Bring Me Your Love" seems to be one part self-loathing, one part introspective and one part adorable. The album evokes so many emotions while you're listening to it that it's hard to settle on just one. Green shares his thoughts on love and forgiveness, death, the nature of humanity in a way that seems so raw and intimate. I love it.

Listen a little, watch this fantastic video, decide for yourself.

Music Mon--...Friday

Alright. I've posted about Noah and the Whale before but in celebration of their new album, "The First Days of Spring," I feel the need to post again because they are just. that. good. With their second release, they created a film to accompany with the new album as the soundtrack. Here's the trailer:

The First Days of Spring Official Trailer from charlie fink on Vimeo.

It's not released in the US until October 6th (I'm crying bitter tears) but it's out in the UK and they have it posted on their MySpace which you can find here.

This album is stylistically a bit different than their first, "Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down" but it doesn't make the newbie any less fantastic.

Check it out and if you like it, don't you dare torrent it. They are too good for that. The chupacabra will come and cut off your thumbs. Wait. I may be mixing up my folklore.

"I will carry you, carry youuuu..."

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, though I'm pretty sure this surprises no one. Sometimes it's hard to get it the right frame of mind when it's hot and gross. Not that it's been either one of those lately. Actually, the weather has been a perfect upper 80s. But my brain is in summer mode so it tells my hands not to type but instead to watch America's Got Talent while snacking on a bowl of grapes. 

Get this: I haven't had a decent cup of coffee in two weeks. TWO. I have some instant decaf I bummed off of my grandma the last time I visited (which she did not give willingly. She loves her Folgers) and I am trying to absorb as much as i can of the minuscule bit of caffeine in each cup in a desperate attempt just to STAY. ALIVE. 

Do I sound pitiful? I feel pitiful. I'm listening to Clay Aiken and enjoying it. That's how far this situation has deteriorated.

Classes have started and I'm in an intermediate drawing class (finally!). We are allowed to choose the skills we want to focus on this semester and I have chosen composition and concept and exploring how the two rely on each other. I'm excited. Now that I'm more comfortable with the actual drawing part of drawing, I'm able to pick up the slack in other areas. I'll keep y'all apprised.  

Julie & Julia, or, The Life of Ashely the Artist

Tonight, for her birthday I went with my good friend Laura to see "Julie & Julia". I am inspired. We loved it. The movie was totally adorable, Meryl Streep is my new favorite actress and Julia Child is my new favorite cook (move over, Gordon Ramsay, you old coot). I completely identified with the movie version of Julie the blogger. I think we share a lot in common. We both started out as frustrated 20-somethings, created a blog, and besides a great body we do not both share (I'll let you decide who has the better), both made strides towards a goal. Where she has already reached hers, I am still searching for mine. It's okay. I am comfortable in my slightly ambiguous personal and professional life and my meager audience in the the blog-o-sphere. I'm...not jealous. My blog, instead of being a short-term journey to finish a cookbook and find oneself in the process, is more of the life's journey of someone who already knows who she is but just needs to find where she fits.

But back to the movie. Can I just say the relationship between Julia and her husband as portrayed by the movie was so endearing and sweet. I wanted to cry on several occasions and would have done so had I not been surrounded by a packed movie theater and one particularly bad breathed man sitting behind us. Poor guy.

In a nutshell, go see the movie. It's worth your $10.50. The only thing we didn't like was towards the end and fairly easy to explain away. I won't tell you what it is in case it doesn't bother you. I don't want to ruin it.

Meryl Streep will win an award for this movie. If she doesn't, I'll sue.

Oh, and just to keep this thing art-themed, here:



Bon appetit!

Endings and Beginnings

It's a terrible thing to be all inspired to blog, fired up and ready to go and then have nothing to blog about. My life is THAT. EVENTFUL. I'll see what I can muster.

I'm obsessed with a show called The Colony. Mainly because I would like to imagine if there was a global catastrophe I would kick everyone's butt with my cunning and resourcefulness. The reality would probably be me in a corner, clutching my stubbly drawing pencils and sobbing miserably.

I took that drawing class this summer so I would be forced to draw, and draw I did. A lot. To be honest, what I wanted to do was to skulk around in my pj's and watch Jane Austen while chomping on a crunchy carrot but instead I was elbow deep in graphite trying desperately not to move lest the angle on the still life I was drawing should become askew. Despite all that, I'm really glad I did it. I learned a lot and can see changes in my drawing style.

Here's the final project of the summer:

The concept was to take a landscape (a black and white poster, in my case) and then stick something oversized and out of place in it. I chose a sock. Not sure why. Seemed right. Sorry it's so dark. I'm far too lazy to actually turn on lights when I take pictures of these things.

I'll post more drawings later, I have to save some to build suspense.

One last thing: my friends had a baby last night! It's a girl and they named her Karis. They're the first ones from my circle of friends to take the plunge into parenthood and I'm so happy for them. I'm pretty sure they don't read this blog but I'm saying congratulations anyway (I'm screaming it into the internets, maybe they'll get it): CONGRATULATIONS GUYS! I'M AN AVAILABLE BABYSITTER!! WILLING TO SPOIL HER THEN SEND BACK!!

Womanizer

Okay, here's the deal. I'm feeling really great right now. Mostly because I stood up for myself in a way the feminine gender has been fighting for [in general] for centuries: Respect. I firmly yet politely told someone I didn't appreciate being spoken to in an inappropriate, friendly, but inappropriate way. It worked, and I feel empowered.

Okay, on a mostly completely unrelated note here's the same drawing I posted earlier today. Only this one went through the scrutinizing eye of my professor this evening who promptly forced me to make it better.

Before:
After:
Haaaaa! It's a good thing I have a professor that isn't afraid to tell me when my art is crappy. Seriously.

It's a Smallish World After All...

So I just found out today that I've been in a class for two semesters with a woman my mom and I knew when I was little and I had no idea. Through our conversation, we discovered an intricate web of connections and coincidences that has been brewing for 15ish years. So. Bizarre.

Anyway, here's a drawing for the blawg:


Notice how my hair looks so fantastic from the back? That's photo-realism my friends.

YouTwitFace

As a direct result of peer pressure from neighbour, I made a Twitter. I shed a lone tear of despair as my self respect shriveled to a raisin. I thought I could just make an account and follow others without actually participating but now I have 3 Twitter applications on my iPod and check them fanatically while thinking I should show these lowly peasantfolk how it's done. It's just that I've spent a goodly portion of my time mocking twittering and all it entails. If I preface my twits (?) with "I resent that I feel the need to do this" does that justify it or make me a hypocrite? I'm going to ignore your answer and say that I'm justified.

Actually, I'm brainstorming a little. Maybe post some in-progress work? We'll see. We all know how my promises follow through.

So if you care to take a gander here's my link: http://twitter.com/ylehsa. If not, I completely understand.

At this point my Twitter is a documentation of my pathetic death knell in an attempt to resist the Twitter revolution. It's pretty embarassing, actually.