tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89058136318427782392009-12-08T20:42:28.380-05:00I believe in synchronicity and spirituality - gmail, google, iphone and technorati authority help. Facebook for social networking that’s hot. Who needs tv with youtube, itunes, blogging and internet! Michael Jackson? Great music. What’s the weather? Should I try new recipes or the master cleanse? This is almost a novel! Can I publish it? With optimism & open mind: everything is possible. When you’re on medication and depressed like me? Helps. I wanna do yoga, join me for a beginner class?Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.comBlogger1054125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-84577162543766430912009-11-30T00:55:00.006-05:002009-11-30T02:33:40.726-05:002009-11-30T02:33:40.726-05:00

It’s been a “my wife has burnt the scrambled eggs, the dog just bit my leg” kind of weekend. Saturday’s painting class takes everything out of me for some reason and I ended up crying myself to sleep last night, convinced I was a hopeless cause. Probably something to do with the fact that the painting I worked on, which was meant to be a tribute to Kandinsky’s Black Lines—no less (click on the

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com4http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/dog-just-bit-my-leg.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-22154382363221438382009-11-27T17:34:00.009-05:002009-11-28T02:37:47.246-05:002009-11-28T02:37:47.246-05:00

Not very many visits here on the bloggedy-blog on my part lately. I’m saving up my words for the NaNoWriMo challenge, which is ending in just three days. I am woefully behind on the word count. At this point, I’ve decided to let go of my competitive tendencies and just write for the pleasure of it. Which means I may or may not reach the 50K goal this year. But then, as I write tonight and see the

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com6http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/bathing-mimi.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-42091015535212210372009-11-20T12:06:00.004-05:002009-11-20T12:46:35.040-05:002009-11-20T12:46:35.040-05:00

« Un être cultivé, c’est quelqu’un qui sait vous ennuyerà la perfection sur les sujets les plus passionnants. »~ Georges Elgozy, Economiste français (1909-1989)“A cultured person is someone who can bore youto death while talking about the most fascinating topics.”~ Georges Elgozy, French economist (1909-1989)Not necessarily true of course, but it does bring to mind one or two people I’ve known in

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com2http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/quote-of-day_20.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-70169816500278149312009-11-19T13:26:00.011-05:002009-11-19T14:17:12.878-05:002009-11-19T14:17:12.878-05:00

5,553 words. That’s the exact amount of words I need to write today if I want to stay on track with my NaNoWriMo daily average. I just like to stay ahead of the game. Not that I’m competitive or anything...But then, today doesn’t lend itself to long bouts of writing what with a couple of outings on the agenda (including dinner with the Bipolar Ladies Club—aka ‘K’ from my painting class and me).

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com0http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/its-all-about-quantity.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-4335435647626707172009-11-19T13:09:00.003-05:002009-11-19T13:25:20.730-05:002009-11-19T13:25:20.730-05:00

Here, a few of the very funny videos graciously sent to me by my uncle this week (if it weren’t for him, this blog wouldn’t be nearly as amusing...)

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com1http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/winning-swine-flu-dinner-for-one.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-8513258508101137642009-11-18T00:38:00.004-05:002009-11-18T02:28:35.153-05:002009-11-18T02:28:35.153-05:00

“Art directing photo shoots is just like ridinga bicycle. Once you know how to do it, all you haveto do is just go with the flow.” ~ SmilerToday, my friend Mam and I did another test shoot with a different model called Liz. Stunning girl with beautiful freckles, fine sculpted features and long wavy red hair—tied down on the following shots but big, loose and flowy on the other looks we did. We

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com3http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/behind-scenes.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-28793939610989432052009-11-16T22:55:00.007-05:002009-11-16T23:55:24.393-05:002009-11-16T23:55:24.393-05:00

“Our campaign seeks to influence political leaders to come to a global deal in Copenhagen that is robust, fair and effective.” ~ Kofi A. Annan, Global Humanitarian ForumJoin the world’s first global musical petition! All you have to do is watch the video of the song “Beds are Burning” which was recorded by by over 60 artists and celebrities, including Duran Duran, Mark Ronson, Jamie Cullum,

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com1http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/tck-tck-tck.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-27586916555196444512009-11-15T00:49:00.005-05:002009-11-15T01:35:43.657-05:002009-11-15T01:35:43.657-05:00

“We cannot prevent ourselves from getting older,but we can prevent ourselves from becoming old.”~ Henri Matisse« On ne peut s’empêcher de vieillir, mais on peuts’empêcher de devenir vieux. »~ MatisseAbove: Henri Matisse, Odalisque in Red Trousers, c.1924-1925Oil on canvas 50.0 x 61.0cm. Musée de l'Orangerie, ParisMme Matisse: Madras Rouge (The Red Madras Headress)Summer 1907Oil on canvas, 99.4 x

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com3http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/quote-of-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-58652497166881471952009-11-14T00:33:00.002-05:002009-11-14T00:47:30.171-05:002009-11-14T00:47:30.171-05:00

I can’t believe I named one of my main characters Marcus. Makes me cringe every time I write out his name (sorry to all the Marcus’s out there...). It’s just a placeholder, but still. There's also a Palmer. Palmer? Where the heck did I get that one from? Oh right, this scandinavian mystery I’m reading right now. The women’s names are pretty benign so far; there's Katherine and Naomi and Nancy. I’

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com6http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/whats-in-name.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-72237368062609909662009-11-13T19:45:00.011-05:002009-11-14T00:30:56.888-05:002009-11-14T00:30:56.888-05:00

“He who despairs of the human condition is a coward, but he who has hope for it is a fool.” ~ Albert Camus“Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune.” ~ Socrates“Every man carries within him the entire form of our human condition.” ~ Michel de Montaigne“Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com4http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/human-condition.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-86156852743070845982009-11-12T18:03:00.010-05:002009-11-12T19:16:33.849-05:002009-11-12T19:16:33.849-05:00

Looking at the date today, I’m not quite sure what happened in the last three days. I recall going to the day hospital to finish up some of my crafts pieces yesterday, where T and E where friendly familiar faces who have since followed me here to blogland (you are most welcome of course). I’ve helped my friend M narrow down the selection from the hundreds of shots we took last Friday (and was

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com2http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/hijacked-by-dreams.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-40932403803681364582009-11-09T14:05:00.012-05:002009-11-09T14:55:41.040-05:002009-11-09T14:55:41.040-05:00

“The Great Monkey Wave”. Click image to view larger version.More copy/pasting today. A wonderful way to fulfill my NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) goals while I’m busily spending creative time on daily sleep-writing for NaNoWriMo (aka National Novel Writing Month). In his wonderful blog At Twilight, Jonas writes today about Days of Reckoning:“I’ve long pondered the disintegrations of the

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com5http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/re-days-of-reckoning.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-30032750048843796832009-11-09T12:53:00.003-05:002009-11-09T13:22:24.542-05:002009-11-09T13:22:24.542-05:00

Noirest NoirIn yesterday’s entry on her blog A Writer’s Notebook, my mum wrote about something I can relate to only too well:“I’ve discovered I function on an AC/DC -type system that alternates between ‘noirest noir’ and ‘gurgling fountain of mirth’. It’s an antiquated model with separate taps – like those hot and cold water fixtures that don’t have a common mixing spout. In other words, feeling

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com1http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/copypaste.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-48791692563529828612009-11-08T23:02:00.003-05:002009-11-08T23:26:54.578-05:002009-11-08T23:26:54.578-05:00

There are now so many characters in my NaNoWriMo draft that I can barely keep track of all the storylines each of them is leading me to. I haven’t even bothered to name them all yet. I just sit there and switch from one to another from one chapter to the next, making them more and more unlikeable and creating as many unpleasant situations for them as I can come up with. I do all this while I sit

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com4http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/sleep-writing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-89017332788965166192009-11-07T23:54:00.011-05:002009-11-19T13:35:58.265-05:002009-11-19T13:35:58.265-05:00

There might be a word to define that state you get to that is beyond fatigue and utter exhaustion, but I’m at point right now where I don’t even have the energy to do that 30 second search on merriam-webster.com to find out what other synonyms might possibly exist (something my inner nerd normally thrives on). This state has been brought on by many good things, so this is by no means meant to be

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com6http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/featuring-beautiful-tomboy-survivor.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-66738695553832208212009-11-05T23:56:00.004-05:002009-11-06T00:18:36.364-05:002009-11-06T00:18:36.364-05:00

“If you keep trying you’ll end up succeeding.In other words, the more you fail, the more you have chances of attaining your goal.”~ Jacques Rouxel, French comics creator“En essayant continuellement on finit par réussir. Donc : plus ça rate, plus on a de chance que ça marche.”~ Jacques Rouxel, ilustrateur de BD français“I say such intelligent things that most of the time I don’t understand what

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com9http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/victory-must-be-near.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-24561063694745245542009-11-04T16:30:00.005-05:002009-11-04T17:04:50.106-05:002009-11-04T17:04:50.106-05:00

Shut the gates at sunsetAfter that you can't get outYou can see the bigger pictureFind out what it's all aboutYou're open to the skylineYou won't want to go back homeIn a garden full of angelsYou will never be aloneBut oh the road is longThe stones that you are walking onHave goneWith the moonlight to guide youFeel the joy of being aliveThe day that you stop runningIs the day that you arriveAnd

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com1http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/enjoy-ride.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-20041020727577868932009-11-02T15:45:00.006-05:002009-11-02T16:23:07.409-05:002009-11-02T16:23:07.409-05:00

With NaNoWriMo just begun yesterday, I’ve committed to sitting down and punching out a minimum of 1667 words every day for the next month in a crazy attempt to come up with a rough draft of what could presumably become a readable and maybe even publishable (!) novel someday. I’ll only find out on Nov. 30th and beyond whether the third time is a charm or not, and I certainly hope the first 1700

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com1http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/if-you-cant-fight-em-join-em.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-52083406384688858662009-11-02T14:48:00.002-05:002009-11-02T14:59:04.178-05:002009-11-02T14:59:04.178-05:00

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com0http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/11/stay-scared-go-shopping.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-31273298435416068912009-10-31T22:42:00.004-04:002009-10-31T22:58:50.104-04:002009-10-31T22:58:50.104-04:00

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com2http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/10/have-happy-tree-friends-halloween.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-27946938595796138412009-10-31T20:29:00.005-04:002009-10-31T23:04:26.937-04:002009-10-31T23:04:26.937-04:00

Two of a series of four small paintings from today’s Painting as Expression class. Of course the originals look very different and even with my best efforts I couldn’t get the colours quite right here on the screen. Our teacher Vicki had asked us all to bring materials which we could share to inspire each other; images, books, poems or various readings which were in keeping with the prevailing

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com6http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/10/mes-de-los-muertos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-58675246343994172082009-10-30T16:59:00.007-04:002009-10-30T18:05:27.953-04:002009-10-30T18:05:27.953-04:00

For the third year in a row, I’m at that crucial point where I start telling myself: “What the hell is wrong with me? I’m no fiction writer! Why did I have to go and tell the whole world I’m participating in this stupid NaNoWriMo competition? I haven’t even got a decent storyline to work with and it’s starting in less than two days! Maybe it’s still time to just call the whole thing off?”What is

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com4http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/10/nanowrimo-jitters.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-23245444213648643442009-10-30T12:47:00.007-04:002009-10-30T16:33:22.981-04:002009-10-30T16:33:22.981-04:00

In her blog this morning, my mum mentions that she awoke from a dream where the internet service was down only to find that her email accounts were disabled (yet again). On my end of the world, I was woken up by contractors for the cable company drilling and talking loudly just inches bellow my bedroom window and then of course found both my cable and internet were down here this morning too.

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com4http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/10/graduation-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-54842700163720769632009-10-29T21:32:00.005-04:002009-10-30T00:11:52.426-04:002009-10-30T00:11:52.426-04:00

Tomorrow is my last day as a patient of the day program I’ve been participating in at the Allan Memorial. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I hadn’t expected the camaraderie or that I’d make buddies there, but in retrospect I guess it was inevitable. So many different types of people find their way there and the one thing we all have in common is we are all at crossroads, trying to find ways

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com2http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/10/crossroads.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905813631842778239.post-4952432442198971842009-10-24T21:04:00.006-04:002009-10-24T22:25:18.795-04:002009-10-24T22:25:18.795-04:00

Just a few quick (mostly blurry) snaps from my iPhone taken at the end of our painting class today. We often use the expression “child’s play” in a pejorative way but in this instance I meant it to convey how joyful and free things can be when you stop worrying about results and fully submerge yourself in the process without preconceived notions. Our wonderful teacher Vicki Tansey had us painting

Smilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888076998373335876noreply@blogger.com1http://fromsmilerwithlove.blogspot.com/2009/10/childs-play.html