It's a little late, but,

*drools*

Christian Dior, A/W 2007.

I loved that season, so many designers creating such... lovely 'dark' things.

In This Shirt

By The Irrepressibles

PAG - THE LADY IS DEAD
*NWS*

Director: Roy Raz

...I am lost in a rainbow

Now a rainbow is gone

Overcast by your shadow

As our worlds move on...

*Work safe version: Promotional clip from the film, 'The Forgotten Circus'*




***

BD: Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I)
DD: Joseph Joachim, Lei Feng 雷锋,
Woodstock begins; 1969
"Assumption of Mary"

Serenade

the 1000 piece puzzle, from Ravensburger Puzzle.

I found this set on July 29th, from a thrift store. Luckily, it looked relatively new, and thus, hopefully, not missing any pieces.
I have always loved jigsaw puzzles, and is relatively fast at doing them. Thus, here's a little photo diary, of my journey with this puzzle. =)
*warning, this post is image heavy, so dialups beware*

July 29th, day I:

Let the sorting begin!

Done sorting out all of the edges.

Now, to piece together the border. At this point, I was very afraid that I wasn't going to have enough pieces, it looked sketchy.

Lining them up = great help.

Done border! Nothing was missing, a very good sign.

This particular puzzle, had it's own 'border' on the drawing, so the second layer was fished out and pieced together.

And finally, flipping all of the pieces right side up.

And a slightly more detailed look at the board.

July 30th, day II:

The maiden is starting to take form.

And some more...

The other board looks like this now, a lot less pieces.

August 3rd, day III:

After a few hectic days of not touching the puzzle, returned to it, filling out the maiden some more. Then it got pretty hard, so I went and focused on the sky instead.

August 4th, day IV:

Transfered the sky onto the main board.

More filled out.

Almost there!

And... it's done =)

Though, missing a piece <.<. I think it might be in one of my rooms, from when I moved it around from room to room. But... at least it wasn't missing a lot of pieces.

And thus, completes the 1000 pieced puzzle, in 4 days. It was a lot of fun, though frustrating at times. And now, I'm debating on whether or not to buy another one.....

* * *

BD: Tom Thomson, Neil Armstrong

DD: Friedrich Engels, Carmen Miranda, Marilyn Monroe

International Beer Day

Melting Men

by Nele Azevedo

One Brazilian artist, thousands of icy men, countless people touched.

What started off as a 'critical reading of monument in contemporary cities'
turned into
activists' message on climate change.

This is what great contemporary art does, it makes you think, and often, there may be so many interpretations to it, from this very simple (almost.. pointalistic/minimalistic [musically speaking]) concept. I mean, I even have my own interpretation of it, that's completely different from her's and the climate change people's. The beauty of it is that it's so elegant, people can have their own interpretations of it, based on their believes, interests, passions.

Just brilliant.

In Times of Great Stress.....

The solution? Stress balls!

"Stress-busting balls have been in use right from ancient civilization days for a wide range of medical uses. Apart from relieving stress, they were used to improve coordination, treat arthritis and rheumatism, improve the circulation of blood, and help you in focusing the mind during meditation. They also help in the treatment of carpal-tunnel syndrome."

Years, even as recently as months ago, I did not see the point of stress balls. Honestly, they seemed to hurt the hand more by squeezing it, rather than helping to relieve stress. Though, they do make great toys to chuck at people and what not.

So back in April/May, during IB exam time, and friend of mine and I, started carrying around our stress balls.

Her's was the world:

And mine, of a brain:

All throughout the exam period, I carried mine around, more as a humourous show piece, and a toy, than anything (if you think about it, the shape of our stress balls are quite ironic/funny/fitting). And occationally using them (and again, hand hurts from squeezing too much).

Then last week, something interesting happened. I was in class, the morning of my bio exam, trying to do some last minute cramming. While I was doing that, I noticed that I really wanted something to squeeze in my right hand. Alas, I did not bring my brain with me that day, but luckily my cell phone charm, is this rather large (for a cell) plushie, that is spherical/cube shaped.

(Which looks very much like this guy, sans the hole, and the cherries 2D on the side of this head)

So... is this stress ball using really usefull, or just a habit? Either way, it does provide some comfort at stressful times; especially with those of us who likes to fiddle with something when nervous (honestly, my scripts = dead by the end of a presentation). Either way, they come in very amusing shapes, and very fun to look at, at least.

* * *

BD: Louis Armstrong, Barack Obama

Einstein's Dreams

There is a place where time stands still. Raindrops hang motionless in air. Pendulums of clocks float mid-swing... As a traveler approaches this place from any direction, he moves more and more slowly...

Einstein's Dreams
by Alan Lightman

"The novel fictionalizes Albert Einstein as a young scientist who is troubled by dreams as he works on his theory of relativity in 1905. The book consists of 30 chapters, each exploring one dream about time that Einstein had during this period. The framework of the book consists of a prelude, three interludes, and an epilogue. Einstein's friend, Michele Besso, appears in these sections. Each dream involves a conception of time. Some scenarios may involve exaggerations of true phenomena related to relativity, and some may be entirely fantastical. The book demonstrates the relationship each human being has to time, and thus spiritually affirms Einstein's theory of relativity."

Personally, I absolutely adored this book. The 30 stories are all very short, about three pages each, and very easy to read. The stories generally start of introducing the type of 'time', and then a few short clips from a few individual's lives to illustrate it. It usually end with a broader statement which would lead to questions, different views about that specific type of time.

The stories described in the book are all simple, clear, and straight forward, such that a grade schooler would be able to read and understand (though, some materials in there is probably not suited for audiences of a younger age). What is magical about them though, is that such simple stories, can bring on so much thought. It really makes you ponder about the concepts of time, humanity, our values, our stories, our lives. It is generally the last paragraph, which sums up the story, and brings on these questions. There is truly a lot to be gained from this book, if one looked deep enough.

Also, I loved Lightman's writing style. He makes everything just so poetic, and often, the style and structure reflects the type of 'time' which the story describes.

Here's a little excerpt:

... Thus, on any day, at any hour of any day, a line of ten thousand stretches radially outward from the center of Rome, a line of pilgrims waiting to bow to the Great Clock. They stand quietly, reading prayer books, holding their children. They stand quietly, but secretly they seethe with their anger. For they must watch measured that which should not be meaasured. They must watch the precise passage of minutes and decades. They have been trapped by their own inventiveness and audacity. And they must pay with their lives.

For more, click on the title of the book, that link contains the first three chapters of the book.

* * *