Art for the home

My sister and I were recently talking about what kind of art we would like to purchase for our homes. During this conversation, we started a little debate of whether or not digital photography should be included. As an amateur photographer, I am definitely a fan of digital art, however, since photographs can be reproduced easily, are they really worth $200? If I bought art, I would want it to be original, unique and one of a kind, not something that could be also be hanging in a dozen other homes. 


I would much rather have a piece like this in my home: 

{mixed media art created by Deb Madigan}

Pronunciation challenge

Earlier this week, my friend sent me a challenge. To work on my English pronunciation by reading a poem aloud. According to the site she found this poem on, "If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world."


I have to admit, I tried about three times and though I made it more than half way through each time, I have yet to read the entire poem aloud. Try it; it's tougher than I thought. 


Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation’s OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Fe0ffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won’t it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!

Recreating famous art

In 2011, Adobe created a challenge for students in the UK to use photography to recreate famous works of art. The rules: "The idea is to put all your creative energy into re-creating and re-staging the image... Please reference classic works of art, I’m not looking for remakes of contemporary artwork, album covers, or fashion photography." The deadline has long past so there are plenty of submissions to look at. I may try doing this work some of my favorite works. It's a beautiful and creative idea. I especially like those submissions that added a modern twist to the recreation. 

Find these submissions and more at booooooo.com.  You really should look, they're amazing. 

The Tim Tebow puzzle

I think it's been established that I'm a football fan. However, despite my knowledge of the game, I never win in my fantasy football league. There's a simple explanation for that: when drafting players, I evaluate them based on athletic ability, focus, drive and off-field personality. Yes, their personality. Which is probably why I've never drafted Tom Brady or Randy Moss.  I appreciate players who are genuinely nice people and understand their role as role models. People like Donald Driver or Peyton Manning. 


But then, I also like puzzles. So this discussion takes me to quarterback Tim Tebow. He is obviously a good role model, but is he a bit too much? I honestly can't decide. I respect his deep faith and trust in God, but sometimes I feel that he uses his position as a public figure to display those beliefs inappropriately, such as wearing Bible verses on his eye black. He is definitely a confusing figure {and a polarizing one as well}, but I don't think anyone understands this more than the great social commentator Chuck Klosterman. He can explain this puzzle a little better than I can. 

"This, I think, is what makes Tebow so maddening to those who hate him: He refuses to say anything that would validate the suspicion that he's fake (or naïve or self-righteous or dumb)."

- Chuck Klosterman

New Year's resolutions

It's that time of the year... time to write new New Year's resolutions. Not that I'm particularly driven simply by the creation of these goals, but I thought I'd try a few new ones anyway. Last year, mine were...read more good books, take more and better quality pictures, keep up on current events {terrible for a journalism major, I know}, try cooking and eating new foods and stay in better touch with friends and family. Overall, I did well on all but the photography one. Which is why it's another goal of mine for this year. 


This year mine are: read more books, find new music, improve my teaching, eat healthier and  take more photographs. 

Happy New Year

"Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you!

Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing."

 Oscar Wilde

{image via}

Notes

There is this little white table at my favorite coffee shop downtown. It doesn't match any other table, but that's OK because they are all different. This table, straight out of the 1960s, has one single drawer in the side. In this drawer are dozens of notes left by coffee drinkers for strangers. Most of the notes are sweet hellos or quotes for the next person who opens the drawer, but some are slightly goofier. This idea is so simple but so cute. It reminds me of Katie's antics at Color Me Katie. She constantly leaves reasons to smile around New York City. I have yet to write a note for the drawer, but I have to soon. 

{image via}

little notes

dear children at school, 
i know i teach you how to share, but i would really prefer that you keep your germs to yourself. i am not excited about being sick for christmas. 


dear eggnog, 
i love how much better and more "christmas-y" you make everything taste. i wish it was acceptable to drink you all year long. 


dear my oven/stove, 
sorry for making you do so much work lately... cookies, fudge, party appetizers... i want you to know that i truly appreciate you.


dear massive pile of presents i bought,
you would really make me happy if you could somehow figure out how to wrap yourselves. thanks. 

Welcome, Elijah.

I have to say a belated CONGRATULATIONS to my friends Jake and Laura on the birth of their son Elijah Dean. He was born on  December 7th at 4:13 a.m. Mother and son are doing wonderfully. As is Dad. I am so happy for Jake and Laura, I just know they're going to be amazing parents and Eli is lucky to have them. 

I met Eli just yesterday and he is absolutely perfect.

Christmas movies

I finally have extra time to enjoy the holiday season so I'm going to spend it watching Christmas movies. There are a few Christmas movies that I could watch any time of the year, but most I save for December because they make it feel like Christmas time, officially. My favorites {somewhat in order}:

1. The Bishop's Wife
2. White Christmas
3. Miracle on 34th St {both versions}
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas
5. It's a Wonderful Life
6. Home Alone
7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
8. Santa Claus
9. Holiday Inn
10. Muppet Christmas Carol

*I know many people would put "A Christmas Story" at number one, but I think it was shoved on me too much as a kid to ever fully enjoy it. Remember, this list is of personal opinion and not created based on cinematic merit.