Spring Break and Super-Femme Frills

Of course, I *would* let an entire month fly by and not post until the final hours on the final day of the month.  This month has been a whirlwind what with the last few weeks of a hectic quarter, and the incredible and disastrous events of the world at large.  Japan and Libya have both been on my mind as well as those around me and it seems many of us can think of nothing else. Morale everywhere has been so low--everyone feels so strong an empathy and wishes there was more we can do individually.

In fact, I think that is why using my spring break to spring clean has been one of the best distractions yet; it is something that inevitably must be done and requires so little and yet so much attention from otherwise throwing myself back into melancholy.  From our storage shed to our closets to the kids' rooms to our furniture even, it has been pretty much a week-long process.  It's Thursday night and still ongoing--but, it feels SO GOOD.  Minus the part where I spilled a jar of chopped jalapenos all over the kitchen floor.  Here is an artist's rendition:

It hasn't been all work though--I did afford myself some time to play a bit and make this necklace:

I have a few other necklaces started that will hopefully be completed before the upcoming quarter (otherwise they'll sit until summer).  And in a Costco expedition I acquired an awesome movie collection to entertain when I do finally take a jewelry break:

I might also have bought these sexy, yet so mountain-y olive green ankle-high boots:

They're even more awesome in person.  Wearing these make me feel like I'm as awesome as this guy.

Sorry to anyone bored to death by the superfemme post. But what can possibly be better than wearing awesome boots while making jewelry and watching the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice in a thoroughly scrubbed and organized home?   Nothing.  I dare you to think of something.  See you can't.

Let Me Illuminate You, Reviewers...

Upon finishing Shane Jones' ever-so-surreal novel, Light Boxes, I was surprised it was so poorly reviewed.  I'm glad I was not dissuaded by these reviews when I started reading.  In fact, after finishing the novel, I let out a post-orgasmic sigh.  This is not to say that this work is pornographic (not in the least!), but it is such a sexy piece and I was sad to see its end (and thus went online to suss out more of his work).  Jones uses visceral and brightly layered images which transport the reader into an almost lucid dream-like meditative state.

What caught my attention most was the structuring of the "chapters" in creating voice among his assembly cast of characters.  Jones uses font sizing, breaks in pagination, bolded first lines simulating chapters, and negative space to introduce each character, rather than relying solely on dialect, tone and circumstance.  In fact, other than Caldor Clemens' speech, the characters (the children, Professor, February, et al) all use the same distancing voice and melancholic tone.  Before accusing Jones of being incapable of writing a varied voice, recall that February has reigned and raged over this town for several hundred days.  These morose voices are affected, or rather influenced, by the weighted umbrella of February's depressive state.

Perhaps its description as a novel leads reviewers to approach it rigidly, dogmatically. 'Light Boxes' reads  more as poetry than prose, or at least poetic prose.  I'm soothed by its lush description and (not always so subtle) lyricality.  I'm happy to have ignored the analytical droids feigning literary know-how.  And for the record, I have now decided to devote one of my limbs to some aspect of kite tattoos, kids twisting the heads of flightless owls, and a woman who smells of honey and smoke.

Free Books?! It's like Christmas all over again!

Because of expired U.S. copyrights, over 30,000 e-books have been made free and accessible at Project Gutenberg.  The e-books are available in a variety of formats (HTML, simple text, etc) for computers and other portable computing devices.

Follow the link to access Project Gutenberg.  Happy reading!

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page