Robin's content... :): Blog

This Blog has Moved

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:33:20 GMT

I've been painting up a storm lately and I'm frustrated that I can't post all of my images on Windows Live Spaces. The site's code of conduct doesn't permit me to post artwork with nude figures which comprises the majority of my work. You can read my story here if you're interested or go to the homepage of my new blog at robintroy.typepad.com to see my latest work.

I also ported over some of my old Spaces blog entries that dealt with fine art. As I dug back into my old Spaces posts, I noticed that there are some missing images. Some are missing because I was told to delete them but others seem to have vanished from Spaces' servers due to a technical glitch. You get what you pay for, folks.

See you at typepad.
RT

I live for the weekends

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:53:00 GMT

J and I headed into this weekend thinking that we were going to need to be nursed back into health by my 17 and 8 year old kids. We felt like we were coming down with something vile but felt fine by Sunday. That ended up being a great day. In the morning, Elliot and I headed out for our weekend ritual. (Pix above.) At the end of our hike, he and I raced back to the house. As far as he knew it was a game (that made my heart feel like it was going to burst!!) but it was really because his sister had called me from a gas station -- her car was on e and she needed some $ on her debit card. Oy!

Later J and I took our first scooter ride of 2008. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHhh..... gad! that is so much fun! It was a beautiful, sunny, crisp day. We headed toward downtown Bellevue and found some twisty-turny roads with skylines in one direction, and water views in the other. Gorgeous. Stumbled upon some parks that I want to go back to with E (if I can find them again.) Those rich people know how to build their parks! The thing about tooling around on two wheels: you are completely immersed in the environment. I smelled flowers. Flowers! Spring is near. And there were a ton of people out walking and they were ALL smiling. (I love when folks on the street talk to me -- "that looks like fun!" is a common comment.) It's impossible to feel anything but happy when you're driving a Vespa. (Trust me: Flush your Prozac and buy a scooter or motorcycle instead.)

We topped off the evening off with a lovely dinner: beef stroganoff with asparagus, rosemary bread and red wine. Lovely, yes -- but it wasn't without drama. A potholder caught fire while I was browning the beef. Flames, back door thrust open, once trusted but now reviled implement hurled into the cold darkness... this *is* excitement in the 'burbs, my friend! Whew!

Two Girls and a Motorcycle

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:31:29 GMT

(And the Google search hits keep coming...)

I'm only a few hours in to this painting so its pretty rough but I like where its going:

The background needs to change dramatically. The figures and bike are coming along nicely and will just keep getting more refined.

Ribbon Painting: Nearly done

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 20:00:53 GMT

I made more progress on my ribbon painting on Saturday. I could work on this for an eternity but I think I'll clean up the edges, add some more depth to some colors and then abandon it so that I can move on to the next incarnation. I'd like to tackle another one but make a change in my approach. I am going to start the next one with no under-drawing. Instead of planning out the design in advance, I'd like to see what emerges if I paint one ribbon at a time and see where it takes me. It's riskier but could have a bigger pay off (such is life, eh?)

When it's complete I'll write about the inspiration for the piece and the reason I am pursuing this particular exploration.

Hopefully I'll have another start of a painting to post later today. I'm starting a new piece as an assignment for a painting class I'm taking. I have been studying with Barbara Fugate for some time now and she offered me and another long time student some additional mentorship. She is giving us assignments to work on outside of class and will be giving us feedback along the way. Today's assignment: "What is Red?" Stay tuned...

Best Weight Loss Plan -- plus increased creativity and less depression!

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 08:06:52 GMT

I'm taking a tip from Jim's crossword blog and using a title for this entry that is sure to increase my hits on Google! It's not all a ruse. Read on...

I've been a little concerned about my weight lately, so in addition to working out, I added a long walk to my routine every Saturday morning. It's great to get out and hike the local trails with my dogs. On the weekends that my son is with me, he is always enthusiastic to join me. Our conversations seem to be more meaningful when we're outside with fewer distractions. It's the perfect time to get to know him even more deeply and reflect back what I learn. We laugh a lot. We pause often to listen to the relative silence of nature together: a stream, a bird or nothing at all.

I always bring my camera. I really think cameras should be required equipment for Zen practitioners. Forget mediation pillows, nothing keeps me in the moment more than having my camera slung over my shoulder. It heightens my awareness of my surroundings, fine tunes my eyes and engages that place in my brain that is wired to seek and find.

Without my camera (and especially on walks when I am alone) I have a hard time not plotting, planning, worrying, regretting, yearning and dreaming. That last one is probably okay but the others can really bring me down. When I find myself being drawn into those dark places, it's such an uplifting feeling to snap myself out of it and start the visual hunt again.

For me this is the perfect weight loss plan: long walks in search of beauty. I could call it the "Best Weight Loss Plan in Many Easy Steps."

New Painting(s): One Work in Progress

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:33:43 GMT

I am making good progress on two paintings. The one below is unfolding at home -- acrylic on canvas, dark jewel tones in the background with warm orange and yellow tints on the ribbons in the foreground. The white that you see is bare canvas. I hope to have this finished in a week. I'll post a better quality photo of the final piece -- the shot below is pretty bad.

I'm working on another painting in the studio -- oil on canvas, a nude seated with her legs and arms crisscrossed and angular. Using a similar palette as the one above: orange, blues, yellow-greens. This painting will take a month to complete.

Ice walk and M's surprise party

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:07:45 GMT

Today I took an early morning walk with my son and the dogs...

E found some ice to slide around on...

I found some ice to take photos of...

No photos from last night...
J and I got together with friends to celebrate M's birthday. It was a surprise party at an Irish pub (and he actually was surprised!) Alas, we couldn't stay very long -- we had a babysitter to relieve -- but it reminded us of all the people we need to reconnect with. I'm looking forward to that. :-)

Talking 'bout a Resolution...

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 05:38:08 GMT

I am jumping on the band wagon to add to the 5,810,000 blog entries on the web that contain the words "New Year's Resolution" in them. Like so many other fellow bloggers, I am resolving to keep up with my blog this year. Last year I primarily wrote about plays Jim and I saw but I think I'll expand the entries to contain more "day in the life of" vignettes. I also plan on taking more photos and creating more sketches this year which I will share from time to time. I have other resolutions: no more sugar in my coffee, take more hikes with the dogs/kids, get back to painting, find an ongoing volunteer opportunity and take a power-woman-all-for-me trip alone (to some place I have yet to figure out.)

2008 is going to be a great year. Elliot is starting at a new private school that his Dad and I feel very good about. We think that the school's teaching style is well suited for him and that he'll really excel there. I'm learning that I need to be a little tougher with Elliot than comes naturally but I have been adapting and he seems to be responding well. Shay is in research mode for costuming work that she will be doing for Redmond High School Drama's production of Midsummer Night's Dream. It should be an exciting project for her and a good portfolio builder. Jim and I are settling in quite nicely. He and I are very different in many ways but our differences compliment each other well. We're learning a lot and I feel really good about where we're heading.

As I think ahead I can't help but look back. In 2007 I reached a new, very satisfying level in my artistic pursuits. For perhaps the first time, the paint brush became an extension of my arm, I mixed colors intuitively, and the things I imagined in my mind's eye would appear on canvas roughly the way I wanted them to. Another highlight of 2007 was when Jim whisked me off to Europe. We saw old and new sights, fantastic art and ate yummy, yummy food. The best part was learning that Jim and I travel well together which is a pretty good gauge for any relationship. That trip marked an important turning point. Shortly afterward we met each other's families in far off locations and celebrated his 50th birthday with an un-surprise party that was moving and entertaining all at once. In the fall, I shifted gears in my career and left a Project Management position with a design studio (fun, crazy, salesy, intense work) and took software design contract back at the big M working with a team who is full of funny, smart people. (How many teams eat lunch together everyday? It is such a great group - I really lucked out.)

Now that I feel caught up, here is a brief entry about New Year's Eve:

Jim and I saw the Seattle Symphony perform Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and it was absolutely lovely. Gorgeous singer's voices filled the hall. It was the perfect way to ring in a new year that promises to be full of much joy.

"Young Frankenstein" Paramount Theater

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 01:19:06 GMT

When the musical “Young Frankenstein” opened at the Paramount, it was a foregone conclusion that we go because the movie “Young Frankenstein" is my all time favorite film. We went this past Friday night and by intermission I was feeling disappointed. Musical numbers went on too long; locker-room jokes were belabored and far from clever. It just wasn’t the rollicking fun ride I expected. However I might be the only “Young Frankenstein” fan who thought so. The audience was so enamored with the original characters and material that they went crazy with whoops and laughter – even at times for the mere act of a performer walking onto the stage.

I think these audience members were able to do something that I couldn’t. They transposed Gene Wilder and Teri Garr’s original performances on top of the less talented comedic actors in front of us. The actors who played Igor and Frau Blucher embodied the original characters very well but the doctor and Inga made me wish that I was at home watching my DVD. I wouldn’t have minded if the characters had deviated a great deal from the ones in the film but these close but no cigar performances were simply frustrating.

The show really picked up and redeemed itself in the second act. The much anticipated “Putting on the Ritz” number was the absolute highlight of the show. It was an extended version of the original with over the top, funny choreography that was absolutely delightful. The quintessential Brooks’ make ‘em groan puns were reined in during the second half of the show and even the sexual innuendos seemed more subtle and consequently funnier. In the end I enjoyed the show and was glad to have gone. I hope that there are plans to tighten up the first act to do justice to a very entertaining classic film.

“If you're blue
and you don't know
where to go to
why don't you go
where fashion sits...
PUUUDM OM DA REETZ…!”

Penny for your thoughts

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:40:43 GMT

On Sundays I navigate my browser to postsecret.com to read the artful postcards people have mailed in. I have done this for the past few years fairly religiously. I own one of the post secret books. I read ps.com for a variety of reasons. Every postcard has a secret written on it. I read them out of curiosity, for the shock value, and for the occasional clever gems that crop up. Mostly I go because I want to see my secrets appear on the screen. I haven’t sent in a postcard (yet) but to see one of my secrets appear would mean that I’m not alone in my suffering, my confusion or my joy.

The creator of postsecret has created a video for the project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6rTkp1dek4.

Unfortunately this means there are no new postcards on his blog this week. Perhaps I should use this as an opportunity to create my own – or as they say in the convenience stores, “Take a penny, give a penny.”

“First Class” at Act Theater

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 05:54:45 GMT

I’m too young to have taken a poetry course with Pulitzer-prize winner Theodore Roethke at the University of Washington. He died a few years before I was born. I did not hear his inspirational talks about making music with words or what it takes to make a good poem great (and why great poetry is important.) I most certainly didn’t see the effects of his bi-polar disorder which propelled him into mad ravings and crazed phone calls to people such as the president of the University, the mayor of Seattle and governor of Washington State.

Last night however I traveled to a 1950s classroom and got glimpse into what it might have been like. We went to see “First Class” on opening night at Act Theater, a one man play that invites the audience into Roethke’s classroom and at times into his mind. John Aylward is absolutely riveting as the clever and intense poet. The show was written by David Wagoner a former student who wanted to share experiences that clearly made an indelible mark on his life – and now this play on mine. I will not forget the professor’s angst and torment – and I will remember some of his lessons, too. He taught that Shakespeare knew that “eee” sounds belong to witches. I can still see professor screeching “When shall weee threeee meeet again…?”

Well-acted, well-cast, unusual and interesting play.

Mahler's Third Symphony

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 19:26:08 GMT

This morning I find myself wishing that I have the skills to do justice to experiencing Mahler's Third Symphony at Benaroya Hall last night. I do however have an artist's heart; here is what my heart tells me to write:

A full orchestra - so many instruments. Two large golden harps -- how many French horns? How many strings...?!? The first movement - full, moody, then playful, now serene. Subsequent movements: Marching, marching - building up, multi layered. So many instruments. Loud thunderous sound and serene again. In comes "Man" in the form of an imposing mezzo-soprano. Powerful voice - hitting highs that made my nose tingle, eyes well up. Boy's choir; voices of angels as man transcends the cacophony that came before. An ending so powerful (I'm sorry but) it made me chuckle - it was too familiar (dare I say trite) in contrast to the some of the surprises throughout the performance (like the bundle of sticks beat against a bass drum.)

According to my learned friend, the French horns biffed it a little at the start -- but this was completely lost on me. At that point I was caught up in some weeping tones that sounded like what PMS feels like. Lol. Ignorance surely can be bliss. :)

Stuff Happens

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:54:28 GMT

We went to opening night of "Stuff Happens" at ACT last night. Whew! This is an impressive political play that dramatizes the events leading up to the Iraq war. Characters include George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz -- much of the dialog is taken directly from press conferences, interviews and speeches stitched together with fictional (yet believable/highly probable) scenes.

This is obviously heavy stuff. It's worth seeing for the realistic portrayal of the political figures (pretty funny at times) and for the accurate retelling of this story - many POV are conveyed (it helped me finally wrap my mind around why Blair was behind the push to go to war, for example.) This is a tight, well done, well cast production. It runs until July 22nd.

https://www.acttheatre.org/TicketsPlays/Play.aspx?prod=45

Nature Photos

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 23:39:48 GMT

My Dad rocks. Check out this edited excerpt from his blog:

"In his famous essay “Nature” Emerson says that...

“Every appearance in nature corresponds to some state of the mind, and that state of the mind can only be described by presenting that natural appearance as its picture. An enraged man is a lion, a cunning man is a fox, a firm man is a rock, a learned man is a torch. A lamb is innocence; a snake is subtle spite; flowers express to us the delicate affections. Light and darkness are our familiar expression for knowledge and ignorance; and heat for love. Visible distance behind and before us, is respectively our image of memory and hope.”

So I wonder what the meaning of mushrooms is."

Read the full blog entry here along with some of his lovely photos of mushrooms:
http://frankwinters.wordpress.com/2007/06/13/the-meaning-of-mushrooms/

I like the first photo -- the 'shrooms look like a couple Hobbit homes nestled in a wee forest.
There's also another set that looks like they reside on another planet. Nifty!

West Side Story

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 07:34:23 GMT

Jim and I went to see West Side Story at the Fifth last night. It was as swanky and cool as dancing hoodlums from the 50's are apt to be -- and unfortunately thematically still relevant (gangs, race relations and violence) fifty years after its premiere.

The set was appropriately urban and industrial: a fenced in play yard, dusty concrete, metal fire escapes ('oh, wherefore art thou.... Tony?') Scenes were flooded with deep red, purple and green lights -- and oh, how I loved the fluorescent lights in the magazine shop! The singing and dancing was fantastic -- the tenor who played Tony had such a wonderfully warm voice. Needless to say, I enjoyed the show very much... but tell me, when am I going to learn that I must bring tissues when I go to the theater?!? I walked away with a tear splashed shirt and a mottled, red nose. If I had to guess I would say this was a four tissue show. I just couldn't play it cool, boy. :)

FYI: New paintings are up on RobinTroy.com

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 21:03:12 GMT

Question: How do you know when you're ready for a gallery show?

Answer: When your living room looks like this...

Time capsule

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 07:12:31 GMT

This is a quick note to my future self so I remember that June 5, 2007 was a milestone day. It started by digging deeper, trusting my instincts, and taking a leap of faith. I believe this will be a day worth celebrating in years to come.

I just hope I remember what the hell I was writing about...! ;)

Laugh at least one night in June

Tue, 29 May 2007 04:40:25 GMT

There’s a wonderful show coming in June to SecondStory Repertory in Redmond. It has a very talented cast who will undoubtedly put on an extremely entertaining show. This *is* downtown-quality theatre on the Eastside.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

“Tragedy tomorrow,” begins this crazy farce…“Comedy Tonight!”

It’s an evening of beautiful women, lecherous men, young love, mistaken identities and slapstick comedy – not to mention a delightful musical score by Stephen Sondheim.

June 1-30 Fridays and Saturdays at 8:15 pm, Sundays (June 17 & 24) at 2:15 pm
Tickets $20-$26

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE to benefit SecondStory Repertory
Delicious desserts and fine wines served during intermission -- plus a chance to mingle with the cast.

Sunday, June 10th at 5:30 pm Tickets are $45 if purchased through May 31st – or $55 after June 1st.

To RSVP call (425) 881-6777 or e-mail caitlin@secondstoryrep.org

www.SecondStoryRep.org

Memorial Day Weekend

Tue, 29 May 2007 03:18:58 GMT

I have a laundry list of simple pleasures from the weekend. An experiment with 31 paper airplanes and a ceiling fan, a lovely ride on the new Vespa with J, roller skating (dancing) with my son at Skate King, framing a painting for an upcoming student show, watching "Searching for Bobby Fischer" with my chess loving son, mowing the lawn (and trying not to sneeze.)

All nice experiences, to be sure, but none of it would matter if not for the overarching feeling throughout the weekend: peace, calm, serenity - and of course gratitude for the life I have and all I have become.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Tue, 22 May 2007 04:00:45 GMT

I have been reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret to my son at bedtime. My goodness what a wonderful book (we're enjoying it so much I was compelled to write a review on Amazon -- my first ever.)

It is a beautifully illustrated story of a young French boy in the '30s who works to fix a broken automaton while uncovering the mystery of its creation. We learn about old silent films, magicians and the automata they used on stage. The book is over 500 pages long -- partly because some sequences of the book are told simply through the illustrations. Page after page of tightly drawn black and white images (similar to a silent film, eh? :)

Here's a passage from the chapters we read tonight:

Hugo thought about his father's description of the automation. "Did you ever notice that all machines are made for some reason?" he asked Isabelle. "They are built to make you laugh, like the (wind-up) mouse here, or to tell the time, like clocks, or to fill you with wonder, like the automaton. Maybe that's why a broken machine always makes me a little sad, because it isn't able to do what it was meant to do."

Isabelle picked up the mouse, wound it again, and set it down.

"Maybe it's the same with people," Hugo continues. "If you lose your purpose... it's like you're broken."

This is not your typical children's book. I am so impressed. It is deep, visually lush and well written. I don't want it to end.

La Boheme

Sat, 19 May 2007 05:07:48 GMT

Jim and I soaked in Puccini's La Boheme at the Seattle Opera last weekend. It was visually stunning and the music and singing was so very pretty. I was completely moved by the story. My face was covered in tears by the end.

I enjoy Opera because I find it incredibly entertaining on many levels. I don't experience it in an intellectual way. I don't understand how it is built or why. I can't even quite put my finger on why I love it so much. All I know is that every time I go, I'm swept up in the experience. This Opera is my favorite one so far (knocking Carmen out of first place.)

I love Carmen for all the obvious reasons -- the catchy singable tunes, the humor, the pure entertainment value. La Boheme did something, though that I've haven't experienced with an Opera before. The characters were so real; I felt like I knew them. Even more surprising, I felt like they could be my friends, and I could be theirs. There was a young painter, a writer and a attention whore (but of course, gotta have a diva!) and there was the sickly, insipid young seamstress. I couldn't believe how much I cared about the characters (see Edward Scissorhands entry -- harrumph!) I cared for my on stage friends, and I cried with them as they grappled with their deeply painful loss.

New painting

Tue, 08 May 2007 02:08:09 GMT

Check it out - there's a new painting on rt.com:
http://www.robintroy.com/figurePaintings.html

There was a key moment when I could have finished the painting but I stepped back and saw that the subject's hand just wasn't cutting it. The position was wrong and it took away from the entire piece. I generally paint with a model who is shared by 10 artists, so I can't make changes to the pose mid-stream -- but OH, bliss! -- with a half hour left to go in our sitting, I asked Zan to change the position of her hand. And you know what happened? She did! And it made a huge difference in this painting. What a great feeling to have control over the story I tell...

Zan is a remarkable woman; very creative, open, a free-spirit. We spent as much time talking as painting. I sense a Zan blue/orange series on the horizon... :)

Edward, what's his name? Eh, who cares...

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 06:58:52 GMT

We went to see Edward Scissorhands last night at the 5th. It's not something I would have gone out of my way to see but a Jim had gotten free tickets so why not? I thought it would be fun. Easy, over the top entertainment. I left at intermission. There was nothing wrong with the production per se. There were a few clever moments and certainly the sets were pleasing but it was completely flat. I didn't feel drawn in and I certainly didn't care about any of the characters.

One couple left midway through the first act and I watched them, longingly wishing they would take me with them. The show had no words: neither spoken nor sung. No words. Can you say, "Mime?" It's been a while since I saw the film but I remember that it was moving and subtle. The musical (mime) version was full of stereotypical clichés to convey who the characters were and exaggerated acting to tell the story. Subtle it was not.

I don't have a favorite type of performance. I'm as equally comfortable at the Opera as I am at a movie theater but damn it, I want my emotions manipulated -- and this didn't do it for me.

(sidenote: I've seen so much good theater lately that it is actually fun to have something to trash :)

Last Weekend

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 22:14:03 GMT

It's been a crazy week so this is a late update. Yet another fabulous weekend -- this one was a two play weekend for us: Steel Magnolias and Late Night Catechism. Both extremely entertaining. Steel Magnolias made me cry - I was completely depleted afterward but in a good way. I ran into the Director today and complimented her on ruining my night ;) Catechism was a hoot. I want to take my ex-Catholic mother to it. She'll be one of the people in the audience raising her hand and cracking everyone else up. If you haven't been, GO! It's very funny plus what have you been waiting for? It's been running for ten years.

Saturday morning I got together with a good friend on Capitol Hill for breakfast. He took some smashing photos of me and put them on his flickr site here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/speedforce/sets/72157600112248564/. If you go to the site, you'll see that he mentions that I dropped his camera in my cup of coffee. Seriously, I wanted to curl up and die -- but he was pretty cool about it and somehow that made the gaff tolerable. I even continued to drink my coffee. (Eh, whatever. I need my fix.) Then, today at lunch with this same friend, I dowsed myself and the table with a rather large glass of ice water. What is it with beverages and this guy?!? :)

Great Weekend

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:44:05 GMT

On Saturday I dug in and did a bunch of Spring cleaning and organizing in E's bedroom and my bedroom. Ah, bliss! As I put E to bed tonight I could feel how relaxed it made me feel to have everything in its place. Ahhh...

On Saturday night, we watched a classic family film that I had never seen: Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang. E balked when we suggested it -- but boy, he really enjoyed it! This has inspired us to find and turn him on to other gems from the past. It's a kick to see a modern 2007 boy laugh at jokes from 1968. His favorite scenes were the botched haircut and the bamboo dance. He's got great taste.

One other side effect of this is -- now I'm in love Dick Van Dyke! (The 38 years ago Van Dyke; he's a tad old for me now. :) What a cute, funny, sweetie; I love the way he talked, moved, sang... (she swoons....)

What a great weekend. Simple pleasures is where it's at. I truly (scrumptiously) love my life. It seems to be getting better all the time. :)

TRO: Totally Random Observation

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 06:57:33 GMT

huh. Triscuits are just flattened, salted Shredded Wheat squares.

I've enjoyed them both for years but never made the connection.

Now you know.

"Heaven Knows They're as Miserable Now as Ever" - A. Soto

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:33:33 GMT

The Village Voice has a great opening line in a review of Modest Mouse's latest album "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank." It reads: "First things first: Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock has not turned into Morrissey." Too funny.

Damn, I'm enjoying this album -- for some unexpected reasons. I really dig hearing the newest member Johnny Marr (former Smiths guitarist) play. There are brief moments, a riff here or there, when my mind is sent directly back to when it was housed in a pink mohawked skull. And believe me, those were good days. Mercer is holding back (or maybe he's matured) but I like the nostalgic feelings he conjures up just the same.

Another highlight for me is James Mercer's (the Shins) melodious tones blended into three of its songs. Especially wonderful is "Missed the Boat." A few years back, were it possible to plug headphones directly into my life, I wanted it to sound just like the Shin's song "New Slang." (I guess that was the point of that scene in Garden State.)

But enough about Mercer and Marr -- this album belongs to Brock! He delivers angry, quirky, gentle or at times David Byrnes-y vocals in a completely unselfconscious, unpretentious way.

Yum.

More of Robin's navel gazing

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 05:49:50 GMT

As I was driving to work this morning, I was thinking about doing some volunteer work (I commute in to Seattle now which is beginning to surpass the shower as a great time to think.) Anyway, I was putting together a plan to volunteer – maybe helping build houses or something – and (check this out) the thought that arose “that would be a great way to meet people” was instantly met with another negative thought “then you’re not doing it for the right reasons.” Whoa, whoa, whoa, little missy! I’m considering a volunteer gig and I have to be completely magnanimous about it too? Who am I? Mother Teresa? (I assure you, I am not.) So what if there might be a side benefit - and duh! it's great if both sides reap some benefit.

It’s so cool to shine the light on dumb beliefs! So where did this come from? It stems from some conditioning from loooong ago. Something to the tune of this: in order to attain spiritual rewards, blessings, what-have-you, you must be giving but ask for nothing in return. If you say a prayer, it must be for God’s will, not for anything specific. (Admittedly that seems more aligned with “goodness” than all the praying for specific outcomes of health scares, wars and football games.) Unfortunately while my child-brain was forming, it was a little black and white about it. I need to watch that. Remember that I can include myself in the “giving” equation, too!

Heads up: my next entry may be about a super-sized version of “The Secret" that I'm devising. Some ideas still percolating but I'll leave you with my thought of the day: 40 cars, with drivers who use the Secret, approach an intersection. 10 from each direction. All are “attracting” a green light. In the end 20 have their beliefs confirmed, while 20 others are clearly not doing it well enough! Ah magical thinking. You gotta love it -- for the entertainment value :-)

ooo la la... Google Themes

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:45:20 GMT

Users can now add themes to their personalized Google homepage. My favorite bit is that they change with the time of day and weather. Could be a little depressing here. I suppose if you want to escape dreary rainy days in Seattle, you could always set it to Maui... :)

Read about it here

Movies

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 05:05:13 GMT

Making a list of movies I want to see so when faced with the question, "What do you want to watch?" I will have a place to turn. It's ridiculous; I always draw a blank. No particular order here (some of these I've seen before):

Donnie Darko
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Big Fish
Ghost World
Mystic River
Groundhog Day
Ed Wood
The Big Lebowski
The Pianist
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3/30: "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my blue hair..." Honestly, not blown away but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Winslet's portrayal of a woman with intense anger issues and insecurities is believable -- and I liked that she never "grew beyond" techno-coloring her hair (could have been an easy device to make the character more likable with time - glad to see it wasn't used.)
Rear Window
12 Angry Men
The Usual Suspects
3/23: Kevin Spacey is brilliant. Completely, thoroughly satisfying film
The Godfather
Goodfellas
Raging Bull
Psycho
Citizen Kane
Vertigo
M
Modern Times
Metropolis
2001 - Space Odyessy
Cinema Paradiso
The Graduate
The Conversation
Children of Men: 04/08/07: I liked the beginning and the ending; I was a bit lost in the middle: lots of violence and not much to really grab me. 3 out of 5 stars.

Little Miss Sunshine

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:43:50 GMT

I love this article.

It made me think about how much of the grasping and struggling many of us do to attain happiness is wasted energy. Chasing after something or someone new is rarely fulfilling. Attaining a feeling of satisfaction in life has more substance, more meaning. Happiness is not always what we *think* we need (want.) What we really need is much more fundamental. Simple. Calm.

Victor Frankl believed that finding meaning in every moment one's life is the key and that it is possible to find this meaning even during times of the most extreme suffering. He wrote about finding beauty in a flower that grew in a puddle of muddy filth in a concentration camp. I look around me now: at my beautiful home and paintings that cover my walls. Gorgeous kids and cuddly dogs and of course there's this guy who almost never fails to make me smile. :-)

I remind myself daily how good my life is. I never want to take any of it for granted. There are moments that I feel overwhelmed (house, job, kids...) but they're brief and fleeting. Overall I'm extraordinarily happy: partly because of my painting explorations, partly because of the people in my life, partly because I simply choose to be.

New work

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 01:15:19 GMT

I haven't updated this Space (or my website for that matter) with my artwork in quite a while. Since the fall I've been taking classes from a talented painter, Barbara Fugate. I've been primarily focused on abstracting the human form, flattening the picture plan and working with a limited (analogous) palette. Here are two examples of this: seated man is complete, while the angry gal is close enough to completion to show here.

(UPDATE - 03/09/07: I had to remove my second painting from this entry. I received an email from Microsoft Customer Support threatening to disable my Space if I didn't remove the image that "involved nudity." The email included a URL to the Code of Conduct which states that there should be no images that "incites, advocates, or expresses pornography, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity..." OMG. It's fine art; not pornography. The model is only revealing her breasts in the image (her lower half is covered.) Is this the policy in WL Spaces Europe, as well? I find it hard to believe that Europeans would consider a painting of a topless woman offensive.)

I have another painting sitting in the studio that needs another couple hours of work and then it will be done, too. I'll post it if it turns out OK. (03/09/07: Nope, I won't be able to post it here, either. It shows a <gasp!> boob.)

My goal for this year is to show my pieces in public somewhere, anywhere: gallery, coffee shop, bathroom stall, back alley... anywhere but online. :)

Gross

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 07:31:04 GMT

I took E to the Pacific Science Center today to check out the Grossology exhibit. Yep. It was gross. I’m not sure what we liked the best: getting sneezed on, making fart sounds or playing the Urine Game -- but it was great to spend time together. Relaxed, smiling fun; no tension, no need to be anywhere but where we were.

It was very cold and windy when we left and walked hand in hand to the car. It’s such a good feeling, his small warm hand in mine. I’d better cherish that wonderful feeling while I can. In a blink he’s going to be a big, strong man.

I love being a mom. :)

http://pacificsciencecenter.org/

Previous week's highlights

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 06:36:14 GMT

Blah, blah, blah... continuing the theme of the previous entry: Jim and I had a lovely evening last weekend on Whidbey Island (Langley Inn is fast becoming a favorite get away); I took the team out to St. Germain -- a cute restaurant in the Madison Valley (very fun evening); got a fantastic start on a painting on Valentine's Day (I will have 6 more hours with the model and I'm optimistic that it will turn out well); and by week's end got to know myself a little bit better. Life's pretty humbling sometimes.

But to hell with the Reader's Digest, slightly veiled version of my life! Here's something really important: funny quotes by Homer Simpson. Enjoy!

Operator! Give me the number for 911!
I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman.
Dear Lord.. The gods have been good to me. For the first time in my life, everything is absolutely perfect just the way it is. So here's the deal: You freeze everything the way it is, and I won't ask for anything more. If that is OK, please give me absolutely no sign. OK, deal.
Maybe, just once, someone will call me 'Sir' without adding, 'You're making a scene.'
Marge, don't discourage the boy! Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals! Except the weasel.
Doughnuts. Is there anything they can't do?
[Meeting Aliens] Please don't eat me! I have a wife and kids. Eat them!
What do we need a psychiatrist for? We know our kid is nuts.
I think Smithers picked me because of my motivational skills. Everyone says they have to work a lot harder when I’m around.
Beer: The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.
I'm in no condition to drive...wait! I shouldn't listen to myself, I'm drunk!
Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.
The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor, and it's time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!
Lisa, if the Bible has taught us nothing else, and it hasn't, it's that girls should stick to girls sports, such as hot oil wrestling and foxy boxing and such and such.
Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that.
All my life I've had one dream, to achieve my many goals.
But Marge, what if we chose the wrong religion? Each week we just make God madder and madder.

Robin's busy week

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 00:04:50 GMT

My ex-husband Mike was in Mexico for a couple weeks so I was a tried and true full-time single mom for a while. To be honest it was kind of nice. I like the structure that the kids add to my life. Up at 7:00am consistently to get Elliot off to school, home by 3:00 to dole out snacks and hugs (that part happens everyday regardless) with dinner, homework and goodnight kisses capping off the day. Every evening was thus spent at home: reading a book, solving a crossword puzzle and tidying up. Simple. Structured – with only a weekly busting out to attempt to create a story in paint on canvas – but otherwise nicely mundane.

Not so this week. Mike offered to take E extra nights to give me time to “relax.” I have been out with J every night. We took in a beautiful view of the city atop the Space Needle one evening (haven’t done that in years.) Fog danced over the top of the Needle as the sepia colored city faded in and out of view. We saw two films (each preceded by fabulous dinners) on two consecutive nights: “Notes to a Scandal” and “The Queen” (I preferred Notes.) Tonight we're off to a Piano Concerto, tomorrow night we will sit amazed as some talented singers take on Sondheim…

I’m going to need a vacation from this mini-vacation when I’m done. I have more free time this weekend...! Amazing! I wonder what we’ll do next… :)

Shay

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 22:16:10 GMT

I'm not sure how it is that my daughter has such a solid sense of self but she does. She's incredibly wise for her age. I could write a long entry about how she doesn't bow down to peer pressure and makes good decisions but you'd probably think I was blinded by my own need to believe this. So be it. I know I see her clearly and I trust her and really that's all that matters.

I can share this with you, though. A blog entry from a talented artist who is roughly my age and lives in CA. She too has been lucky enough to be allowed to peek into Shay's soul:

http://themoldydoily.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/01/meet_shay.html

The year ahead

Sun, 24 Dec 2006 00:53:16 GMT

Two-thousand six has been the Best-Worst year of my life. As someone who has led her life by trial and error, this is pretty major statement. In my life I have had many truly unpleasant experiences and many wonderful ones. This year has given me both. I am left at the end of the year feeling invigorated. New. Ready for life's challenges no matter how seemingly insurmountable or foolish.

In two-thousand seven I will use all I have learned to make my way through new terrain. My hero Pema Chödrön encapsulates what I see as central to this investigation in the following passage:

On "negative" feelings:

"...we are always trying to get rid of it by punching someone in the face, by slandering someone, by punishing ourselves, or by repressing our feelings. In between repression and acting out, however, there is something wise and profound and timeless. If we just try to get rid of negative feelings, we don't realize that those feelings are our wisdom. The transmutation comes from the willingness to hold our seat with the feeling, to let the words go, to let the justification go. We don't have to have resolution. We can live with a dissonant note; we don't have to play the next key to end the tune."

Here's to letting go in 2007 and the peace that comes with it.

Shelter from the storm

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 07:39:12 GMT

Thursday night my house lost power. It is now the following Tuesday night and the lights just came on a few hours ago. It's not as horrible as it sounds. My kids, dogs and I only had to brave the bitter cold for two days and nights. We have been staying at Jim's house which was warm and fully lit since Saturday, thank goodness.

It has been an intense week. I received some bad news the night of the storm. Everything that was comfortable and easy (both physically and psychologically) was stripped away that night - but having faced it, I feel stronger now than I have in quite a long time. I was calm in the midst of crisis. I was extremely resourceful.

I move into the New Year with a new sense of compassion, focus and tenacity. I can do this; it feels good. :)

Elliot's stories

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 22:56:27 GMT

Elliot sat with my laptop today while I mopped our floors. This is what he wrote (he just entered first grade.) I helped with punctuation when he had finished, but I left his byline alone. Gave me shivers seeing as I had named him after TS Eliot, Emerson (and his initals were a very intentional nod toward ee cummings.) Maybe I should have left this in all lower case the way he wrote it...

The Sad Pig
Pig is sad. She is sad, sad, sad. She is 8 and sad, sad, sad. Her my friend won't be my friend. Pig is sad. Mom and dad are sad.

by e.e.hartzog

Stylist Change

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 19:11:00 GMT

I got my haircut the other day. I decided to go back to Burney, a stylist I hadn’t seen in 15 years. I remembered that he was hilarious (and I needed a good laugh) but also when I look at old photo albums, his haircut was one of the best I have ever received. However I felt a little awkward about switching stylists. I felt like I was cheating on the woman who had been washing and snipping my locks for three years. I had a simple non-confrontational solution. I scheduled the appointment on a day I knew she doesn’t work. What a wimp.

On the day of my infidelity, I got my hair colored right before the cut. I asked the colorist if I could consult with Burney before she got my hair all wet. She told me that wouldn’t be possible because he was getting his hair cut right at that moment. Putting my problem solving hat on, I suggested that I could stand behind him and he could consult with me in the mirror. We walked over to Burney, who happened to be getting his hair cut by my old hairstylist. One can try to avoid awkward situations, but sometimes it’s just not possible.