It’s all the rage

Kindle, it’s everywhere. E-readers are inescapable and aren’t going anywhere.

As a matter of fact they’re multiplying, like bunnies.

Barnes and Noble announced that they’re jumping into the fray and effectively sucker punching Amazon and Sony with their increase in e-book titles. The advocate watch groups are heralding this turn of events.  Increases in competition, lower prices and insures more e-readers all kinds of new toys.

But really, is this a good thing?

Amazon came under fire this week for an Orwellian action, they removed copies of 1984 from owners devices. Without prior notice.  Which brings into question ownership rights.

This would never happen with the old fashion models! it’s illegal to come into a readers sanctuary and remove their prized property.

Along with legal ramifications, what about the cultural ramifications?

James Walcott muses in this months Vanity Fair on ‘cultural snobbery’ and how the up-ward mobility of digitizing is working to erase it.

He comments on the audacity of a women reading a Kindle on the subway, the subway being the natural cultural highway, ” An anonymous block of pixels on a screen, making it impossible to surmise the state of her inner being, erotic proclivities and intellectual caliber.”

On the other-side of the argument, Walcott asks “How can I impress strangers with the gem-like flame of my literary passion if it’s a digitized slate that I am carrying around trying not to get all thumbprinty?”

As a passionate reader and an owner of 426 books, including 1984 and  ( yes I counted and no this doesn’t include all the loaned out copies which could be any where from 20 to 50) all I can say is that it will be a long, long time before you see me without a shiny, hefty book cradled in my arms.

And if you think this makes me a cultural snob, thank you!

“Lady Lazarus”

Upon finishing Andrew Foster Altschul’s debut novel Lady Lazarus, the only thing to do is contemplate.

Contemplate the novels strange narrative, the cacophony of the characters and the haunting sense of loss, grief and “scambiguity”.

The story revolves around mythic rock stars, the art of poetry, poetics, psychological theory, Zen Buddhism as well as a worthy chronology of past, present and loosely made- up pop culture.

The story of Calliope Bird Morath parallels the beginnings of Francis Bean Cobain, Sylvia Plath and a hot of modern pseudo-celebs.  Calliope’s story is not her own however, she shares time with her Biographer/Author.

The novel is meticulous with the construction of it’s epic journey, even cleverly including footnotes. The characters could have been one dimensional parodies but Altschul’s deft hand they become rich, full people you might even have sympathy for them they messes they created.

Other than Calliope, the second most interesting character is Roshi Bob.  The Zen Buddhist monk is the heart of the story.  Whether he is repeating his story about the “Sprint Cell Phone Tower”, talking of “Lost” as “Very conducive to Zen Buddhist state of mind” or imparting the circular Zen Buddhist wisdom.  He is clearly the man behind the curtain of this erstwhile tale.

It’s a read worth not missing

Stories from the set

The Shoot was a relatively simple affair, however, Murphy’s Law did come into play.

As a rule, the photographer is late but the models are very late. So late, one didn’t show.

The next snag, no one checked the checked the schedule. Which means it was open house weekend at the school. Yet, everyone rallied and in the end, we all won nicely.

The open house participants got to experience a real, live, experience, the photographer got to show off his skill and knowledge and JSL Designs scooped up a handful of potential clients  and an up incoming fashion student got to usurp the shoot for a time, showing off his design and allowing Stephanie Baird to give a demonstration to the audience.

As a model for the first time, an even greater appreciation for the art of modeling grew. It’s not easy or graceful. An hour under those hot, hot, flashing lights took its toll.

All in all, it was a great experience, even though this new model is considering anorexia*.  It’s true that the camera adds, 10 or 40 pounds!

* The author is joking about anorexia, but not the crack about the camera adding weight.

Anatomy of a Photoshoot

The Photo shoot took place @  the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.

Make up by Stephanie Baird of JSL Design

Photo Stylist: Taylor Sapone

Photographer: Humberto Vidal

Models:

Catherine Zigegler

Mary Huff

Jennifer Allen

Unknown Model

Nadiaa

Hair Stylist: Jennifer Allen of JSL Designs

Video Provided by Jennifer Allen ( That’s me!)

Ego-ism

throwing caution out the window, this is going to be personal in nature and a bit of ego stroking. You’ve been forewarned!

Lake Wales holds an event the first Saturday of the month downtown to showcase artists, craft people as well as an open market antique sale.  In June, yours truly, will be taking part along with my partner in all crimes, Stephanie Baird ( or as I call her Stephie Bear).

We have decided that we are going to start our own business. JSL Designs.  What do we design? A little bit of everything. Steph does make-up artistry, and I am a jack of all trades. But mostly photography and a lite amount of graphic work.

So this week I am in Ft. Lauderdale, the land I hate. It’s the home of bad memories. Which are stories for my shrink, not the internet. So here I am gathering supplies, using a real processing lab instead of attempting to poorly develop my own photo’s.

I am also here to help Steph with her photo shoot for her portfolio. I get to be a model, a life long dream come true. seriously. I’ve always wanted to have a go with a real photographer! Now I just have to pump-up the ego enough to get over what comes out on the film.

So to turn this thoroughly self-gratifying n post into something informative and educational post, I am going to share links to the places I will be visiting this week.

1. Pearls, the favored home of Ft. Laduerdale Art Instute students.

2. Total Chrome, a film processing lab that does Black and White developing.

3. Ft. Lauderdale Art Instute , the current place of employment to Stephaine, and this is the place that the photoshoot is going to take place!

4. Sephora, no trip is complete with a visit.

well this ends today’s informative and educational post. Next Up, pictures from the photo shoot! Wish Me Luck!

It’s Bonafide

Millions of people visit the  Sephora stores across the globe and hundreds of thousands have signed up for their Beauty Insider program, yet how many of them actually log into their beauty banks?

I have no answer.

But, if they don’t they are missing out on a host of neat-o things.

The Beauty Insider program is designed as a points system, as with everything these days, ( I am becoming on of those people) the more money you spend, the more points you get. You can trade these points in for super deluxe samples. And by super deluxe, that can mean a quarter of an ounce right on up to an ounce. Which to most means nothing but to beauty addicts that can be amazing.

This one time, they gave away ounce samples of dr. brandt microdermabrasion, they only sell it in two once jars, for like $85 bucks or something.  Sometimes, it’s worth it and sometimes it’s not. But, It’s not the only perk!

The on-line beauty bank, keeps track of your total points, of course, but it also keeps a history of every purchase you have ever made with them, including samples. So can’t remember what it was you bought, or when you bought, just look it up. Which is always helpful when you have five tubes of mascara and they all have a little scent to them. And a little hint here guys, this is the easy way to surprise her with what she likes!

The next thing this nifty little bank keeps track off is your favorite brands and will inform you when there is something special happening with them. They send out email alerts and not the annoying ones you get all the time, just the select few.

Another aspect that is accounted for is the personal beauty profile.  It keeps track of just what would be expected, skin type and tone, eye color, and hair color. There are even a few stores that have gone high tech and can do an instore consult on colors, skin care, application techniques and upload it all to your beauty profile.

And of course, the final benefit, they save you money. they send email coupons frequently, just received one today. 15% entire purchase in store or online.

Can’t beat that!

How To- Sephora Style

The History of Coloring Books

my coloring books

Coloring books are slowly disappearing off store shelves or priced right out of the average American family’s budget. It’s a shame the art of the coloring book is being phased out.

Sure they’ve gotten so expensive, but only because they are tied in with so many other products. Movies, TV, Toys.

At there conception they were used as tools to enhance education. A British artist and two Swiss educators created the concept, they hypothesized that an arts education strengthened cognitive abilities and conceptual idea’s of the tangible.

The first coloring books were created to be painted, it wasn’t until the 1930’s that crayons became popular. The first coloring book was “The Little Folks’ Painting Book”

The brothers who created it produced it with Kate Greenway.

It was in 1907 that Coloring Books became the tool for advertising that they are today. For that, you can thank the Milton Bradley Company, as well as, the Stokes Company.

No matter the purpose of creation, Coloring Books mean more and have had more impact on our society other than to sell the latest kids movie. (though I did own four Finding Nemo coloring books and I’m itching to turn EVE purple)

The education uses have moved beyond kindergarten right up to the graduate level in the 1980’s. Grad students took a cue from the younger generation to teach themselves anatomy and physiology.

This idea may have stemmed from the political uses of the 1970’s. The FBI used coloring pages secretly as propaganda against the Black Panther Party.

Also feminist artist, Tee Corinne, used them to promote female exploration.

Today, coloring books might be disappearing of book shelves but there are now computer coloring programs and also, more adults are using them for stress relief.

I do. Right now, I own 10 coloring books and with the research of this blog, I have found a handful of websites that offer free coloring pages for print.

For me, coloring allows my mind to switch off in a good way, not a reality TV way.

It’s a return to a time when the only thing that mattered was completing something that was pleasing to me.

Also in a strange way, it reminds me what matters and what doesn’t.

So next time you’re stressed, take 20 minutes, print out a coloring page, grab whatever is handy to color with and unleash your creative spirit.

And if anyone says anything about it, tell ‘em it’s therapy.

Nothing shuts people up faster than therapy!

Theme Song Squared

To continue the theme of theme songs and favorites in general, today’s song may seem sad and lonely but to me it’s empowering.

Kate Nash’s “Mariella” is a theme that has been on repeat for months now.

It’s about a girl who, “glues her lips together” and defies expectation, well that’s this girls take anyway.

Nash is compared to Lilly Allen, a fellow Brit, with powerful writing abilities but Nash’s sound goes beyond Allen’s punks hidden in pop.

Her arrangements while popish have harmonious grit. The depth displayed in “Mariella” with the simple opening of the clashing piano and cymbal, which replaced with a frenzied piano and the competing banging and clapping rhythm is a perfect accompaniment to her strong frayed voice and her passionate words.

A Question and then Answers

He Dugg It

The end of the semester is in sight and the stress is mounting over finals. So to ease some tension, give and receive some laughter I posed this question to a few near and dear beings in my life.

“Is it wrong to blame Jesus for finals since Warner University is a Christian university?”

The responses were laughter, appreciative laughter, some nervous, moral laughter and two of the best responses I could ever ask for, but we will get to those in a bit.

It was the nervous, moral laughter that told me “Maybe it was wrong to blame Jesus” that got me thinking about how serious everything in life is. I mean if you can’t make Jesus the butt of your stress-letting than who can you?

I think Jesus would’ve dug it.

Now the answers that made me proud, got it, not only got it but took it to a whole new level.

The more serious answer, “HAHAHAH!!!!LOL.Yes….Don’t blame Jesus. Blame the Legalistic and Ritualistic Christians.”

The less serious, the still true answer “no you can’t blame Jesus for a Christian school anymore than you can blame Elvis for one of his impersonators blowing up a building.”

How to write a good Television Show and Effectively Get it Cancelled

Joss Whedon, being himself

Joss and his creations aren’t alone, lets see if any of these others ring any bells. Arrested Development, Dead Like Me, WonderFalls, Studio 60 on Sunset Strip, Veronica Mars, and most recently Life on Mars. All of these shows exemplified talent, creativity, and for a mix of reasons failed.

They were well, with that I mean there was structure, literary even. They had character development, themes, episodic plots, season long plot arch’s driven by a hero’s quest, a mystery in need of answers or a search for self discovery. Also, the language in each show was distinctive. Google should thank Whedon for becoming a verb.

Dialogue wasn’t talking, it was an adventure. Were they serious or joking? Was that subtext? What the characters had to say elevated dialogue to an art, even spawning fans of the shows writers.

Maybe that’s why almost every television show has it’s own writers blog?

Next what made these shows excellent was the creation of worlds that looked like ours, could be ours but in some cases were too fantastic for most to believe. The final ingredient in writing a good T.V show is giving the audience what they need, not what thye want.

Take them on a journey that expands their worldview of life, the universe and everything.

Inspire yourself, imbue it with love and passion, which is what creates a connection and the identification is what makes it good. This is however, as the next four and a half catagories, show is also what gets you tossed from T.V.

1.) Life as Metaphor

Buffy did it. Whedon uses his Angel and Demons as metaphors for the troubles of adolescence. For those who got it, unlocked a rich story full of wise answers to the teenage dilemma. Those who were turned off by the title or seemingly juvenile subject matter missed the joys and heartbreak of watching Buffy Summers and her Scooby Gang literally fight for a world they wanted to live in.

The same could be said for another perky blonde, though her weapon of choice, keen intellect. Veronica Mars didn’t fight literal demons yet she took on the human variety as a private eye in training. Along with her own team of misfits, they also fought injustice while learning life lessons along the way.

2.) Think, think, think (and Believe)

Lost hasn’t been cancelled but it would’ve if the show runners didn’t save themselves with an end in sight or network exes too scared to be pelted with coconuts.

But Lost requires, nay, demands you think! Not only use your noodle, but pay attention! It teaches to notice details because isn’t that what life is all about.

In fact all of these shows require human thought. However 47 minutes once a week has been deemed too much to ask.

3.) Is that a Frying pan or Dead Pan?

The art of deadpan is lost on most people but shows like Arrested development, Studio 60 and Dead Like Me, took it to new heights.

Now for the millions who missed these shows dead pan is a comic art form.

These shows revolved around ‘getting the joke’ but also each used the best tenants of good writing too.

4.) This World isn’t my World ( It’s way more interesting)

Firefly was a ‘space western’. The setting was a post apocalyptic world where everyone was struggling with a new world order. It was funny, sweet, charming, and romantic. It tanked before it even debuted. The two-hour pilot movie aired only after all 12 episodes aired.

Life on Mars, a cop show set in the 1970’s. The twist was that the main character woke up there from 2008, with none of the how’s, what’s or whys. Just as the Characters, their development in movement, the situation and players established it was yanked. Never mind the same show in England is a huge hit.

4 ½.) Subsection on alternate communications with the Lord.

WonderFalls was placed in Niagara Falls where a young woman begins receiving mysterious messages from inanimate objects. It was fresh, quirky and new. It was supposed to be about her quest to find God behind the messages but it got pulled before they could talk.

Another Whedon one, Angel, was one vampires search for redemption. His fight was to save his soul. Did he find redemption? I doubt we will ever know.

There are exceptions to these rules. The Office is one, another is House, M.d. and lets not forget that Grey’s Anatomy started out as a mid season replacement.

But these shows don’t reach beyond the limits of the human imagination and inspire people to long for a better world, life or a better you.