Refractions and Reflections

---1--- Over the last few weeks I have been reading the two-book series of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children . (I took a break this past week because I needed to focus on midterms.) But the books were inspired by old photographs found in bins at thrift stores and flea markets...you've probably seen them. I thought it was a great idea!! So today I went to a thrift store and finally found some here in town (I found some in the town I previously lived in, too, but these are the first I've come across here.) I found a few gems. I'll show you below!    This is the one I found the most striking. ---2--- I also found the following two intriguing.    What are they hiding behind their backs...? ---3--- And this one here?? Yeah. It looks all normal and everything....   But turn it around, and... ..."sort of a druggist" [druggist?]. Hmm. ---4--- The thrift store I went to was a new one to me, and I thought it was...

---1--- Last Saturday (September 7) I went with a friend to the Greater Ozarks Bluesfest . It was a hot day, but not too hot, and for most of it we happily sat in our lawnchairs in the shade. Late in the afternoon, though, we were in the sun, but it cooled off quickly. So, all in all - great weather, great day.   Right from the start (about 2 p.m.) there were a few tipsy spectators who decided to dance. Do I think they were tipsy because they were dancing? No. Just see for yourself:   But then I recorded a little bit of a harmonica feature and got a nice surprise with dancers who were not tipsy! It was quite fun!     At one point one of the artists said, "I know this is a Bluesfest, but can I get away with playing a little soul?" I leaned over to my friend and said, "We all white here - we don't know the difference!"   Here's a shot from when the saxophonist from the Selwyn Birchwood Band (my favorite band of the da...

I "like" Kay Redfield Jamison on Facebook. If you don't know, she is a renowned professor at Johns Hopkins in psychiatry and mood disorders. She has also written extensively (with enlightenment from personal experience with her own Bipolar disorder) on mood disorders, as well as on suicide, which is one of my personal research interests. Her books are fascinating. I don't see many updates on Facebook from her page, but tonight there was one, featuring artwork by Jessica Kizorek . Kizorek was inspired by Jamison's book An Unquiet Mind and made this (click on the link above to find out more about the piece): The featured quote from Jamison's book is this: " So why would I want anything to do with this illness? Because I honestly feel that as a result of it I have felt more things, more deeply; had more experiences, more intensely; loved more, and been more loved; laughed more often for having cried more often; appreciated more the springs, for all th...

---1---   Saturday night I went to a performance by the Springfield Symphony Orchestra called "A Whole New World," which featured cello soloist Wendy Warner. It was held at the Juanita K. Hammons Hall, and I have gone to other productions there sponsored by the Missouri State University music department, so I was not prepared for how formal it was! At least I wore khakis with a semi-dressy shirt...I think there might have been a person or two less dressed up than I was.... Oh well. Next time I'll know, this is the real deal!   The performance was terrific. I did not get a picture of the soloist, because they asked us to turn off phones, etc., but I did get a decent shot of the rest of the orchestra before the lights went down.   The thing that always catches my eye and my imagination at these things is the shiny black stage floor and all the scuff marks in the back from its past productions. ...It makes me remember my own experiences on ...

Tonight I watched the Broadway play (on video)  Passion by Stephen Sondheim . In it, Giorgio is a military captain who is deeply in love with a married woman named Clara, with whom he has been having a passionate affair. He receives orders and is stationed away from Clara in the home of a Colonel Ricci whose ill cousin, Fosca, also lives there. Giorgio and Fosca meet, and he is disgusted at the way she seems to submit to her illness and languish joylessly through life. He encourages her to look to the good things life has to offer. She asks how. He says, “Well…by helping others.”   “Helping others?” She replies. “I have worked in poor houses, Captain. Pity is nothing but passive love – dead love.” (I thought that was a great line.) He fails to draw her out of her self-pity, but she falls in love with him because he tries. She becomes obsessed, though he is honest with her from the beginning that he does not return her affections. She pretends ...

--- 1 --- Easter weekend. Wow. I moved to Springfield last year on April 1st - the weekend right before Easter. I can't believe it has been a year already! Last year a friend came up from Joplin and stayed with me Easter weekend. We spent pretty much an entire day shopping...then came back to my apartment that didn't have furniture yet and sat in the floor and watched YouTube videos...and went to church Sunday morning at North Point . I remember they did an amazing skit. My friend's first impression was that it was kind-of scandalous because of the outfits they wore (basically brightly colored, form-fitting body suits), but when she realized I had been deeply touched by it she said, "Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to judge. If it ministered to you, then maybe it ministered to other people, too." Yep - I have some awesome friends! It is also an awesome video (though it was better live). Check it out! (You only get a glimpse of the aforementioned outfits in t...

--- 1 --- I've been exploring the fine arts scene of Springfield (Missouri) this past week, and it has led me to make some uncharacteristic purchases. I'm really glad I've made them! Turns out, for one thing, I really like Opera! (Yeah, I'm as surprised as you are.) Here are the purchases I made: --- 2 --- I also bought some oil pastels and experimented with some art of my own! I have only ever drawn with graphite and charcoal, so this was my first attempt at color or anything like paint. I really enjoyed it! "Wisdom"    "Deep Calls Out to Deep"   --- 3 --- My plan was to visit a different local art gallery (or other fine art exhibition) each day this week, but I only got to three. This is not because I didn’t try to get to others! Some don’t open until later in the day…and the weather was crazy…and yeah, I know, excuses, excuses. I already blogged about the opera and first gallery visit . The following day I...