Monday, March 27, 2006

Multi-media weekend


T'was a pleasant weekend, and I hope so for you too. On Saturday I met Kelly for lunch -- she is the first blogging friend I have met in person! I felt like I already knew her, and not at all like it was a first-friend-date, but it was! If you're not familiar with her site, do check it out and see her beautiful paintings, and marvel, as I do, that she has only very recently discovered art. I mean, just in the past few months! I love knowing that a person can turn into an artist all of a sudden. The cookbook writer/illustrator Susan Branch first started dabbling when given a gift certificate to an art store at the age of 30, and now she's a best-selling artist-author. There's an acorn of creativity in us all, just waiting for the proper encouragement to sprout! What would happen if we all gave art store gift certificates to our friends?

Later that day Jim and I went to my parents' house to watch the movie Serenity on their giant new plasma TV. The TV was giant, the new red cabinet my mother was compelled to buy for it was lovely, and the movie... wonderful. It's the third time we've seen it, and every time I am filled with wrath that Fox network canceled the show Firefly on which it is based, and also that not enough people went to see this movie in the theaters to secure the hopes for a sequal. Are you one of those people who don't think they like "genre" movies and TV and so have never given Joss Whedon a chance? I'm speaking of Joss of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame and yes, if you have never seen that show -- it IS better than you think. I think Joss is one of the best screenwriters/ creators working today, in any genre, but tragically his core audience hasn't been able to grow beyond the "genre" fans to ensure his oeuvre the fame it deserves! Buffy was fantastic, Angel was great, and Firefly was even better. All... sniff... 14 episodes of it... I hope you will rent it and watch it. Don't be put off that it's about space. I'm not into space either. Or that it's a western. I'm not into westerns either. Just trust me. Sigh. Any other fans out there, please chime in!

(Also, upon learning that Joss Whedon is writing and directing the upcoming Wonderwoman movie, Jim and I have decided that no one could be better cast as Wonderwoman than the exquisite Gina Torres from Serenity. I mean, she looks a heckuva lot more like an Amazonian princess than Linda Carter!)

Our multi-media weekend continued on Sunday with an author reading at Powell's City of Books, otherwise known as the best bookstore in the world, where we went to hear Christopher Moore speak about his new book. If you're not familiar with him, it's another "cult/genre" phenomenon -- in this case "supernatural horror humor"! He's a very funny irreverant writer AND speaker and much fun was had. In my college days I worked at a great bookstore that hosted author readings, and I even got to introduce some of the smaller events. As fun as it was to meet the authors, it was kind of terrifying to feel responsible for having an audience show up (not guaranteed!), and to write and deliver an introduction that did them justice. Oh, how I used to fret as I read the publicist's material and cobbled something together, and with what relief did I sink down in my chair when the author took the podium! One introduction I remember was Karen Armstrong, the amazing former-nun & theological writer, author of The History of God. Also, a guy whose name I can't even remember but whose stories about Albania have been burned into my brain ever since. (I can't resist sharing this: according to him, the brutal dictator of Albania in the communist years had a number of men abducted and forced to undergo plastic surgery to serve as decoy body doubles for him -- and that after he died these men were just cast adrift with their horrible false faces, looking like the dead dictator, with nowhere to turn! Oh, and he had the plastic surgeons murdered after the surgeries!) Could it be true? If so, fact really is stranger than fiction. But not EVER stranger than Christopher Moore's fiction. You need look no farther than the book Fluke for confirmation of this!

15 comments:

harmonyinline said...

I love Serenity-it needs a sequal

Claudia said...

Thankyou so much for the link to Susan Branch. What an inspiring story and wonderful website!

Unknown said...

Very coool sculpture , love the style! Thank you for visiting my blog and your nice comment. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm sitting here horrified at the thought of those plastic surgery doubles...somehow I find it easy to believe that story is true. Eeegads. Like a real life "Face/Off."

meghan said...

hi there -

I really enjoyed reading this post! I loved being walked through your weekend. And how jealous am I that you got to have lunch with a blogging friend?! Thanks for all of the suggestions. I really liked Buffy but got really nervous really easily (I'm a watch it through your fingers kind of girl) but wonder woman sound like it'd be AMAZING!!!

Sorry I've been a bit MIA - will write more soon!! xo

andrea said...

I've never met another blogger so I'm jealous. How wonderful that you've found someone who fits your 'demographic' so perfectly! As for the unexplored artist in all of us, I was really inspired by the responses I got to my 'art blogging' post. How amazing that blogging is all some people need to get the inspiration firing and the production line rolling!

hollibobolli said...

One of my friends named their dog after someone from the firefly series. I want to say they later found out his history and eerily - it fit.

Every picture of your house makes me think - darnit.. my house sucks!! Your house must be a freaking wonderland! But I guess that's the point - huh?

Rebekah said...

The picture is wonderful! And all the introductions - writers and movies and actors and bloggers. Wow! I love it, because receiving recommendations thrusts me into genres I might never have ventured into, given my own sadly narrow proclivities. I'm off to rent some movies!Thank you!

boho girl said...

OMG...did i find another Sci~Fi Geek?

what do you think about Battlestar Gallactica?

nerd~me.

Letha Sandison said...

I love this sculpture,it is so great!

Ok, I have to check out the shows you mentioned. I almost never watch tv these days but am feeling the need for a little mental get away...so thanks for sharing!

I buy a lot of art gift certificates for friends and their kids...it is magic!

Alex S said...

I am still swooning over your Misty painting and recovering from your very tasty fruit salad of last night and do not thank you for getting me tuned into another TV show! But then again, if it weren't for you (and Jim), I would have missed out on Arrested Development and The Office. Just a minute to write but wanted you to know I loved reading through these last posts I missed AND you can stop leaving messages now for me at every quarter hour to remember to post. Don't you know that I would be posting even more were it not for my unexpected shipment of llamas all at once? I told them, "just send five at a time," but they didn't listen. How am I supposed to care for 500 llamas in my tiny backyard? Please come over asap.

Shesawriter said...

Beautiful picture, laini.

Serenity: I discovered the series AFTER a watched the movie. Now I'm looking to watch Firefly. I'm a new fan.

Anonymous said...

I SO love this!! YIPPEE!! You make me happy. I love your words, pictures, paintings....you brighten my days STINKY POOP!
dawn, the Tucson bikram addict

kelly rae said...

i love that now you've discovered how to link that you're a linking mad woman! love it. and of course, looking forward to meeting you again after artfest!

Powpourri said...

Very interesting piece. I had first seen your art in an issue of Somerset Studio a while back. It is so amazing how you have built such a presence. Your work is fabulous and very original. Great stuff! Brandi