Artistic Fashion

I have no idea how people find art in fashion. I can't walk into a mall and know exactly what makes a pair of shoes "fashionable" or just regular shoes. My perfect picture outfit is blue jeans and a loose fitting tank-top. I don't think I'm the best candidate for a fashionista.




That said, I was watching the "Rachel Zoe Show" and that woman seems to have the eye necessary to spot artistic clothing. Every time she goes to a fashion show or to some store, she is drawn to the most amazing things: things with fur, dark colors, light colors, funny patterns, stuff to layer, stuff to dress down... I would have never thought someone could focus like that on clothes. The thing is, it's not the stuff she picks out for her clients that I adore, it's the stuff that she wears. Even though she's insanely skinny, she seems to wear these clothes that even I recognize as amazing.

I guess what fascinates me about her fashion in general is just how varied it is. She doesn't seem afraid to pull off whatever she wants, no matter how slumpy (yup, my word) it may look or how loud it is. That's what fashionable clothing is to me.

Van Gogh

I'm not a huge painting person; not enough mobility for me in a painting. But in elementary school, my art classes were some of my favorite. Looking back, I don't understand what they were thinking. How in the world is a 5 year old going to remember what artist painted during the Renaissance? When my first grade art teacher (Ms. Hall!!!) started talking about Michelangelo and Leonardo, I could have sworn she was talking about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, not artists.

Yet, Van Gogh always stuck out in my mind, and I'll never fully understand why. I think it's because of the ear thing (really, though, don't tell children about things like a man cutting his own ear off; that's the stuff that nightmares are made of).

My husband told me an interesting fact about him today, and it just made me start thinking about him the way I did as a little kid. Appearantly, the only painting he sold during his lifetime was called "Red Vineyards of Arles". In looking at it, the painting isn't one of my favorites by him. Yes, I've already admitted that I'm not all about paintings, but I can at least have an opinion about what I like. It doesn't feel... dark enough, I suppose. I'm so used to his things having this strange Gothic feel, even his sunflowers, and that's what attracted me to his paintings as I grew up. This one doesn't have that feeling. Perhaps that's why it sold...

Don't Tell Me How Happy I Am

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2009/10/14/ldt.women.happiness.cnn

I can't stand this! Why is it that we, as women, have fought for so hard to get the respect we deserve and have moved up in the world, but we have media telling us that we're still not happy? What happiness scale were they using? And what really determines "happiness"?

Quite honestly, I am very happy as a woman. I have a great job, a loving husband and two awesome dogs. I am going to college to better myself. What I am most happy about is that I am seen as an individual. I am not the product of my father or my husband. I am myself and no one can control me or stop me from being who I'm being.

Ladies, if you really are unhappy, find out what (or who) is making you unhappy and get it out of your life. We've come too far to be dragged down by emotions.

Jenifer VS. Jennifer

I'm SO tired of hearing how inventive Diablo Cody is. Really. It wasn't bad enough when she won awards for putting out practically the one-millionth teen pregnancy movie, but then she handed us her bomb, "Jennifer's Body". Not only was it lame, but it proved, to me at least, how UN-inventive Diablo is. In my eyes, she totally ripped from the B-movie put out by the Masters of Horror crew, "Jenifer".
Let's compare: In 2005, Dario Argento released a very frightening movie called "Jenifer", about a young, disfigured woman (Carrie Fleming) with an insanely hot body, who seduces men (at the end of the movie, your left with the idea that this happens A LOT) and who goes around getting people lured to her so she can eat them. The physically frightening succubus ends in this film by getting away with her wrong-doings and finding herself with another man to chomp on. In 2009, Diablo Cody casts the maturity-disabled, hot-bodied Megan Fox as the ultimate seductress, also named Jennifer(oh, so creative. Look, she added an "n"). In her movie, the audience is at least given the back story that she used to be a normal teenager who was turned into the succubus by a nerdy emo-ish band (arf?) who try to sacrafice her ... to... Satan...? (Really?) She then goes on an eating binge, taking out all of the stupid, nerdy boys at her school who, of course, aren't looking at those amazing dentures.

Both movies hold the same premise: evil succubus that must be stopped. They both have the same character-types: hot chick (in "Jenifer" there is a dream sequence where we see what Jenifer would look like if she weren't disfigured and, yup, she's a babe), and the underestimated person who is both seduced by the succubus but also realizes she must be stopped. Interesting scenes of sexuality and gore are, obviously, a must for both films. Hell, both of the title characters are named Jen(n)ifer!

I feel like "Jenifer" played more on the superficiality (and futility) of men, since we are dealing with a very disfigured woman who is still the object of desire, whereas "Jennifer's Body" had... well... Megan Fox.

Long story short, just because she used to be a stripper, it doesn't mean that Diablo has any sort of individuality... or taste... or so-called amazing ability to write dialogue.

Right Brain, Left Brain

Take this test for me. Go on, I dare you.

I used to imagine that I was a right-brained person simply because I was always the creative English major who thought outside the box for everything: cooking, writing, homework, etc. According to this, I am totally right-brained since I had no problem saying the actual colors (except trying to tell the difference between the purple and blue since they both look blue to me).

However, I kind of see it either way. I think I have left-brain tendencies, like when I'm cleaning, or working on homework for specific classes. It keeps me balanced, and that's the one thing people need to focus on rather than trying to prove they're more analytical or more creative: you need a proper balance. That doesn't mean the test isn't fun, though.

My Favorite (and Most Missed) Piece of Architecture

I don't always like to admit it, but I'll say it here: I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Please stop right now before you even start with the "Ohh's" and "Ahh's". No, I'm not a party animal, I don't know where all the good drug places are and I was NOT a stripper. It's not glamorous, it's not fun and, really, I don't miss it at all. Moving 3,000 miles away is probably the smartest thing I've done in my life.
Now that I've gotten that all off of my chest, I have another thing to admit: I ADORE the Venitian Hotel. My father started working at the hotel before it was even finished being built. As a slot technician, he was brought in to help design the layout of the casino area. I never cared about the casino area; once you've seen one cheesey carpet layout, you've seen them all. What always left me enchanted was the hotel section of the building. I know it's all fake, but the Gothic-style arches and hallways, gold inlays, cherubs and elaborate columns always take my breath away when I go out for a visit.
I think what always got to my was the indoors river that flows around the hotel. Unlike the real Venice, they've spared their guests the rank odor of dead fish. Instead, just beautiful pure, blue water, which perfectly compliments the light peach color of the interior. It adds to the romantic aesthetic of the rest of the hotel.
I rarely go anywhere near the Strip when I visit home, but if I do, this building is the only place where I ever find myself.

DANCE!!!

I have no rhythm. I would never be caught dead out at a nightclub, nor could I just randomly get out on a dance floor at a party. At my own wedding, I took more time walking around and talking with family and friends, not just because I loved hanging out with them, but because I refused to attempt something in 4 inch heels that I can't even do barefoot.

I know I can't dance, and the above should be proof enough that I know better than to try. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching others dance. Yes, it can be humorous watching others with my problem embarrass themselves, but mostly, I appreciate the art of dance.



Dance has undergone tons of changes. It has evolved from a form of ritual to a favorite past time. What I enjoy so much about dance is, if done right (not by me!) the fluidity and grace incorporated can seem almost hypnotic. Even new wave dances, street dances, break dances, whatever, there's just something appealing in witnessing the human body becoming a moving sculpture.

This Music Video is a True Work of Art

Not many people are unfamiliar with Peter Gabriel's song "Sledgehammer". It was very popular back in the 80's, and I'm sure that children with parents like mine can sing along whenever it comes on the radio. Yet, at the same time, what kind of parents did we have when they happily let their children listen to a song that was one big sexual inuendo? The best part about this song isn't the humorous thought that my folks thought I had no idea what I was listening to; it's the music video.

The video gives an eighties twist to Ray Harryhausen-esque affects. Gabriel had to lay under glass for 16 grueling hours while posing meticulously for each frame to make it look like he is singing for the few moments you actually see him in the video. If you take the song literally, then it's cute how he's just using the physical manifestations of his lyrics. But how can you not know its connotation when the video starts out with little spermies floating around?!



That's what really makes this video artistic, though. Not the fact that it's just interesting (and hilarious), but it's able to adapt the lyrics of a song to a visual medium in an innovative way. All before CGI came along and ruined the beauty of hand-made special effects.

My parents have no idea what they've done to me.