Fragile Times

Hello All!
My, my, my, it's been too long.  In this time, I've finished "Dreamhunter" by Laura Knox.  It is listed as a young adult book, but Laura Knox is mostly known for grown up fiction so it definitely reads beyond the years of a young teen.  The concept is about gifted individuals who have the ability to share their dreams with others while they sleep.  Some people even make a living off of dreaming for an audience in opera houses.  But many mysteries lie in the dream realm of course.....It was the kind of book that I could not stop reading!  I picked it up in a thrift store on a whime.  Now I'm on the look out for the sequel.

For my colloquium class on The American Dream, I am reading T.C. Boyle's "World's End" with the intention of making a presentation for November 16.  In the spring I'd read an article about Boyle.  He seemed more like a literary rock star, like Neil Gaiman.  When I saw on the reading list in class I knew I wanted to dive into it.  I raised my hand and said, "I'm taking Boyle," like it was going to be some great challenge or feat since I'd known nothing of his work.  This book is surely full, exciting, and keeps the reader on their toes.

For pleasure, since I read so much for my studies, I picked up Neil Gaiman's short story collection "Fragile Things."  I really enjoy reading a good short story inbetween studies.  There are many in this book to be disired, including a favorite that I read online months ago (also, a nominee for a Hugo Award), "How to Talk to Girls at Parties."

Happy reading to you all.  Please tell me what you are in the middle of these days.

-J.M.

Etsy, finally!

I have listed one pair of these earrings on Etsy (here).  I'll see if the sell well (soon) and then I'll decide if I want to list other things I've pictured here.  If your interested in seeing more on my Etsy site, please leave a comment!

Zine

I think the time has come for me to announce that I am a contributing writer to a music and art magazine called Hook and Line.  You can check us out here.  Recently, we've moved from limited printing to putting the magazine online.

The Genius of Bradbury

image, devian art

“Embedded in the mud, glistening green and gold and black, was a butterfly, very beautiful and very dead" - A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury

*posted via Sherri Dupree-Bemis' tumblr

Check out her band Eisley sometime. 

The Power of the Written Word

I love that there are very few things that books cannot do. They can pluck you from under the covers and drop you into the outskirts of your imagination. They can rearrange the chemicals in your brain until you feel happy and uplifted, or wistful and nostalgic. They can with the careful placement of words side by side remind you of places you have seen in the dreams of your childhood that you thought you had long forgotten.

-Stacey, Free People's concept intern

photo by me

This quote sums up some of the reasons why I have a passion for the written word.  It reminded me directly of how I used to carry around a book ("The Perks of Being a Wallflower," which I photographed at the time) to try to dissappear while I was in school.  I even walked around the hallway on my hardest days reading that book.  During my freshman year, I read it many times just to be in the mind of someone I could relate to.  I had no confidants in my school mates, so I looked elsewhere: in books. 

Kaleidescope Eyes

I have many hobbies.  I've tried just about every form of art from childhood until now, and still dabble from time to time.  I have too many interests really.  Someday, when I'm aging on my front porch in the country with a husband, I hope that I will look back with joy knowing that I lived a full, adventurous life. 

In these lazy days of summer, mine peppered with studies still, I engage in childish things.  Pretty water color paintings, decorating pages in my notebooks and making jewelry are all so simply satisfying.  On Free People's blog, I found a new idea.  I recently organized all of the colourful friendship braclet string that I bought when I was probably ten.  Now, I've been inspired to make some long, colourful necklaces to wear each day.  Even when I'm not doing anything particularly exciting, I like to dress up my day dreams.

Check out the easy and fun tutorial here.

Wake the Earth

image by me

It has been quite a while since my last post.  These days I've been engrossed in Frank Peretti's "This Present Darkness" and what will be a life long hobby, yoga.  Us East coasters are all too familiar with unbearable humidity, but these past few days have been quite pleasant.  I've opened the windows, placed a tea light candle inside of a sea shell, and watched the water colors of sleepy summer sunsets with content (or Samtosa, a yoga principle I have to write a paper on.)  It seems that this season truly wakes the earth.  In the spring, little buds begin to open and leaves beging to form, but summer is the awakening.  Little creatures crawl and fly about, flowers are mature and abundant, it is a beautiful thing. 

To me, there's almost nothing better than being engrossed in a good book (I actually fall asleep reading "T.P.D." because I don't want to put it down), enjoying pleasant weather on my back porch and listening to an unbelievable music.  Listen to The Honey Trees once and you'll find yourself on BigCartel.com buying their "Wake the Earth E.P.", trust me. 

You said you're scared

But I'll catch you

If you fall

Don't fear

I'm right here

"Don't Fear" - The Honey Trees