list(ish) of excitement

08Jan07

Things I am excited about recently:

1) discovering that I can make rings out of wrapped wire and various beads
*I love the way the wire looks, all bent and curled and yet graceful
*this makes me want to learn how to work with metal
*pictures to come soon!

2) the idea of taking a metal working/jewelry making class

3) olive green angora hand/wrist warmers I got from this amazing sock/tights store
*these substantially reduce my hand pain and increase the circulation in my hands — shocking! amazing! I take them off only when absolutely necessary. Here they are (but these are not my hands):

4) the idea of getting another small, freakishly cute but not ratlike dog!

5) the dream of being organized :)

6!) music — Annuals‘ album Be He Me –
quite incredible, it sounds like it was created by a bunch of people in their late teens/early 20’s (as it was), in the sense that it feels light, airborne, wild, and unself-consciously risky (actually, this does not at all describe my experiences in that time in my life, but rather what I wished they would have been). At the same time, the songs are intricately layered and have an amazing emotional and musical depth. These elements are executed with surprising control and precision, however, and the marriage of this precision and the wild lightness is what I find most compelling and lovely about the Annuals’ music. I want to swallow up everything they’ve ever written and ever will! Plus, they give me hope about being able to withstand the pressure of creating a typical, “respectable” life, and let one’s creative drive and imagination grow as opposed to being squashed by said “respectable” life.

Wow, I just realized that one thing I’ve always recoiled from is succinct, abstract descriptions of music, especially when I’ve never heard that music. I often feel that this kind of description of music fails to capture what draws a person to the music, and instead simply sounds nice. Here I have just done the same thing to the Annuals! Alas!

7) The thought of being able to genuinely connect with people who are worthwhile

8) The possibility of finding a pain medication I can use occasionally to keep myself relatively afloat

9) The song “Long Distance Drunk” by Modest Mouse

10) Using my physical therapy ball as a desk chair (it bounces! I can stretch without getting up! it’s bright green!)

11) The book I am currently reading, Through the Eyes of Aliens, by Jasmine Lee O’Neill, a mute Autistic savant. This book is giving me more of a genuine understanding of Autism than any textbook I’ve ever read! My desire to work with Autistic people is renewed. I have ideas! I have questions! I am fascinated! I also find myself really curious about what Jasmine O’Neill looks like. This is a marginally ridiculous curiousity. Google images has this to offer:

and this:

neither of which is Jasmine Lee O’Neill. Sigh.

In closing, I would like to point out that it is possible to love heinous reality television and Milton’s Paradise Lost in the same moment.
Here is Satan, Sin, and Death:

and here are the models, in all their model-y splendor:

Not so different, really.

Filed under: books, jewelry, music   |