Art that I like

"Para Hacer Cortinas"
(transl. "To Make Curtains")
Ando-Mirando (the artist's Flickr username)

I love this painting!!! It's very satisfying to me.

I was trying to explain to someone the other day why Jackson Pollock's art is, well, ART. I explained that even in the midst of his chaos, there is a rhythm and an order that delves deeper than the surface visual perception. I "get" Pollock, but it stems out of the same area of my brain that "gets" bebop jazz music. I can't do it, but I can love it and enjoy it. It requires a skill I haven't yet acquired. I won't say that I never will, though, because twenty years ago I would've asserted to you that I would never be able to play out of my head, to invent music, or to change keys on the fly without batting an eyelash. That skill just happened to me one day, out of the blue. It really did. It was one of those things that I would put on the same level as a true "tongues" experience, where you're actually quite suddenly speaking fluently in a real (read: KNOWN) language you hadn't ever studied. I needed it at a certain moment, and it was given to me in an instant. Just like that.

It was very, very cool. And weird. And has been a gift I have enjoyed immensely ever since. It has taken me to some wonderful places, and it has taken me to some very difficult and painful places as well. They've all shaped me into who I am right now.

Dresses I like

This one's by Juicy Couture. I'm not into the *color* so much as I like the *shape*. I think that, in general, I tend toward Boho in my personal style. I would wear this with a dark turtleneck and nubbly leggings and knee-high low-heeled boots.



Found this one on Etsy. Just wow. The color is fantastic and, again, the shape is one I'm fond of. I still wouldn't wear it without some sort of undershirt, however. Old-lady arms, is all I'm sayin'.



I'm in love with the loose-hanging tunic shape (or shapeLESS), apparently. I'm not in love with gray. I would prefer this in some sort of bohemian or hippie print, not overly loud or large.

Happy Caturday!

More surgery! Goody!

Actually, this one really is kinda good. If surgery can be good. The powers-that-be have suggested that I consider a hysterectomy, since I am having such dire problems with anemia. My gyno (aptly named Doctor Finger -- no kidding -- I do not kid when referring to gynos) (thank God she's a chick) is a rock-star, but she just didn't feel comfortable messing around amidst my reconfigured innards, so she referred me to a dude who's a gyn-oncologist. No, I don't have cancer. But he's especially good at dealing with weird cases like mine. And when I consulted with him, he thinks he can work around my innards and still use the uber-kewl robotic laser-guided space modulator thingy to do the deed.

And if he gets in there and sees that there's more of a problem than he first suspected, he can still open me up the old-timey way if he has to. I hope not. But it's good to know that he can deal with it if he does.

It's all going down in March. They were all set to do it THIS WEEK, but I said Whoa, y'all, hold up, I can't take any more days off work. Can y'all pencil me in for, oh, say, Spring Break? That way I get a few days to lie around and chill and stuff. And they said OMG like duh, of course. So we're all set for Monday, March 14th.

They're also going to take out the egg factories along with the nest. Yeah, that means that the dreaded HOTFLASH will be all up in my grill 'n stuff. It was a matter of weighing the options... I have a slightly more elevated cancer risk than the normal person, thanks to genetics and a previous history of polycystic ovary syndrome, and if they DID turn cancerous, it might not show up until it's too late because they're just floating around in there unhooked... plus, I really only have a few more years of hormones at best... so it was kind-of a toss-up, and I just said take 'em out. I'll probably wish I hadn't, because I'll probably spend April and May in an insomniac rage, drenched in sweat and plotting the slow and painful demise of my husband.

Not that that's anything unusual, mind you.

Sarah Palin nails it, but good.

I really have a ton of respect for this woman. Presidential? I dunno... maybe, maybe not. I'm waiting to see how all the dust shakes out in that regard. But she says it very well here.

If you're a hater, don't bother commenting. You're welcome to disagree with her politics, but she isn't trying to silence YOU.

Here's her statement:

Like millions of Americans I learned of the tragic events in Arizona on Saturday, and my heart broke for the innocent victims. No words can fill the hole left by the death of an innocent, but we do mourn for the victims’ families as we express our sympathy.

I agree with the sentiments shared yesterday at the beautiful Catholic mass held in honor of the victims. The mass will hopefully help begin a healing process for the families touched by this tragedy and for our country.

Our exceptional nation, so vibrant with ideas and the passionate exchange and debate of ideas, is a light to the rest of the world. Congresswoman Giffords and her constituents were exercising their right to exchange ideas that day, to celebrate our Republic’s core values and peacefully assemble to petition our government. It’s inexcusable and incomprehensible why a single evil man took the lives of peaceful citizens that day.

There is a bittersweet irony that the strength of the American spirit shines brightest in times of tragedy. We saw that in Arizona. We saw the tenacity of those clinging to life, the compassion of those who kept the victims alive, and the heroism of those who overpowered a deranged gunman.

Like many, I’ve spent the past few days reflecting on what happened and praying for guidance. After this shocking tragedy, I listened at first puzzled, then with concern, and now with sadness, to the irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event.

President Reagan said, “We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election.

The last election was all about taking responsibility for our country’s future. President Obama and I may not agree on everything, but I know he would join me in affirming the health of our democratic process. Two years ago his party was victorious. Last November, the other party won. In both elections the will of the American people was heard, and the peaceful transition of power proved yet again the enduring strength of our Republic.

Vigorous and spirited public debates during elections are among our most cherished traditions. And after the election, we shake hands and get back to work, and often both sides find common ground back in D.C. and elsewhere. If you don’t like a person’s vision for the country, you’re free to debate that vision. If you don’t like their ideas, you’re free to propose better ideas. But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.

There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal. And they claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated? Back in those “calm days” when political figures literally settled their differences with dueling pistols? In an ideal world all discourse would be civil and all disagreements cordial. But our Founding Fathers knew they weren’t designing a system for perfect men and women. If men and women were angels, there would be no need for government. Our Founders’ genius was to design a system that helped settle the inevitable conflicts caused by our imperfect passions in civil ways. So, we must condemn violence if our Republic is to endure.

As I said while campaigning for others last March in Arizona during a very heated primary race, “We know violence isn’t the answer. When we ‘take up our arms’, we’re talking about our vote.” Yes, our debates are full of passion, but we settle our political differences respectfully at the ballot box – as we did just two months ago, and as our Republic enables us to do again in the next election, and the next. That’s who we are as Americans and how we were meant to be. Public discourse and debate isn’t a sign of crisis, but of our enduring strength. It is part of why America is exceptional.

No one should be deterred from speaking up and speaking out in peaceful dissent, and we certainly must not be deterred by those who embrace evil and call it good. And we will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults.

Just days before she was shot, Congresswoman Giffords read the First Amendment on the floor of the House. It was a beautiful moment and more than simply “symbolic,” as some claim, to have the Constitution read by our Congress. I am confident she knew that reading our sacred charter of liberty was more than just “symbolic.” But less than a week after Congresswoman Giffords reaffirmed our protected freedoms, another member of Congress announced that he would propose a law that would criminalize speech he found offensive.

It is in the hour when our values are challenged that we must remain resolved to protect those values. Recall how the events of 9-11 challenged our values and we had to fight the tendency to trade our freedoms for perceived security. And so it is today.

Let us honor those precious lives cut short in Tucson by praying for them and their families and by cherishing their memories. Let us pray for the full recovery of the wounded. And let us pray for our country. In times like this we need God’s guidance and the peace He provides. We need strength to not let the random acts of a criminal turn us against ourselves, or weaken our solid foundation, or provide a pretext to stifle debate.

America must be stronger than the evil we saw displayed last week. We are better than the mindless finger-pointing we endured in the wake of the tragedy. We will come out of this stronger and more united in our desire to peacefully engage in the great debates of our time, to respectfully embrace our differences in a positive manner, and to unite in the knowledge that, though our ideas may be different, we must all strive for a better future for our country. May God bless America.

Here's what Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review said in response:

There will be countless stories about whether or not Sarah Palin rose to the occasion. The former governor was bizarrely forced into a all-consuming news story. With an appropriate pause, she made use of her voice to bring some light to some ridiculous frenzied noise. She made a good and responsible use of her voice, not for the first time.

And, while she may be on contract with Fox News, she may just keep MSNBC in business.

Tru'dat.