ART

Posted on July 2, 2005 by thathobbitlady

“Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”

The above saying is credited to Pablo Picasso. In his case, you can see how art is a “lie” because people don’t really have noses growing out of the side of their head. But let’s not be so literal! I have always liked this saying, because I believe the basic sentiment is that art is something that is not real that shines a light to make us realize what is real. We see a beautiful painting, or watch a wonderful movie, and we appreciate life more.

One thing I will never forget is seeing some made-for-tv movie years and years ago, it was a real melodrama about some teenage girl that got pregnant and had an abortion and got really sick, and I don’t remember exactly, but she may have died. This was a made-up story, but the drama and the emotions were so real and made me think “Man! It’s not worth taking that risk!” I’m not saying made-for-TV movies are necessarily “art,” but the suffering of these imaginary characters helped me to make some decisions about what I thought would be smart or not smart behavior in real life. It is always a good thing to learn from other people’s mistakes, even if those other people are not necessarily real people.

Anyway, that’s my thought on all this. I was talking with Mary about this the other day and she strongly disagreed, taking exception to the term “lie” because she interprets it as “deception” and does not see how a deception can lead to truth. Mare, if you read this, you may want to expound upon your viewpoint. I’m just wondering how other people view this statement.

Artists of all types, feel free to comment!

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1ST NOVEL

Posted on July 2, 2005 by thathobbitlady

I HAVE FINISHED MY NOVEL!!! I HAVE FINISHED MY FIRST NOVEL!!! IT IS SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 325,000 WORDS, AND IT WAS FINISHED THIS MORNING AT 9:17AM.

I HAVE A FIRST WORD AND A LAST WORD AND A LOT OF WORDS IN BETWEEN. I HAVE FINISHED.

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF.

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THAT PLACE

Posted on July 1, 2005 by thathobbitlady

Got a lot of comment on my latest entires, so I am encouraged to post again. Just thought I’d put this out into the Universe, because I’m not really sure if I have yet, in writing.

If ever I should win the lottery and suddenly have so much money I don’t know what to do with it, I would undertake a business adventure called “That Place.” This is something I would like to do, but I think it’s potentially risky, so I wouldn’t want to do it with my last dollar, but I would do it with money that I didn’t care if I lost it or not.

Anyway, the whole point of “That Place” is that it is a movie theatre/concert hall/meeting place/whatever. It will be “that place where you go to see movies,” or “that place where you go to a concert” or “that place where people read avante-garde poetry in a coffehouse atmosphere.” Whatever artistic pursuit the community might be interested in, you would go to “that place” to see it or hear it.

The main point is that it would be a movie theatre, and I would show really odd offbeat films that you usually couldn’t see anywhere else. Sometimes I would show old films, foreign films, student films, etc. The other stuff would be incidental. Unless, of course, I found that the community was digging the other stuff more than the movies. I would be willing to go with the flow.

The most important thing about setting this up would be “location, location, location.” I think the only place something like this could really be successful would be in a college town. And I certainly wouldn’t mind living in a college town. I would probably be in some kind of partnership with the college so that I would provide services the students need, and the students in turn would provide business for me.

There’s a lot more that goes into this, but this is the germ of the idea. If I ever got all altruistic and wanted to give back to the community, this is the way that would be the most comfortable and make the most sense for someone like me.

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MUSICIANS, WRITERS AND HIPPIES

Posted on June 29, 2005 by thathobbitlady

I have come to the realization that there are certain kinds of people that interest me, and certain types of people that do not. Of course everybody is like this, but I have finally put a label on my own peculiarities. I happen to like Musicians, Writers and Hippies.

I think maybe my next book will be called “Musicians, Writers and Hippies.” No idea what it will be about, but I like it for a title.

I also like “Quit Your Day Job” because everyone is always telling you NOT to quit your day job, so wouldn’t it be great if you were in a situation that was so full of hope and promise that people actually encouraged you to quit your day job?

I also like “Odd Job,” though not quite sure what that book would be about either.

I’m pretty good at thinking up titles for books and names for bands, but not as good as I’d like to be at writing the books that go with those titles or the songs to be sung by those bands.

Anyway, here is the question. What is a Hippie? I looked it up in Webster’s, and the definition was painfully lacking. Something like this: a usually young person who adopts unconventional beliefs or practices. Okay. Going by that, anyone who believes the moon is made of green cheese and likes to go horseback riding in their pajamas would be considered a hippie. I don’t think that definition quite cuts it. Joey had a better definition, shorter and more to the point: “Peaceful Rebel.”

Any other ideas?

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FIVE THINGS TO DO UPON COMPLETION OF THE NOVEL

Posted on June 29, 2005 by thathobbitlady

It’s true! I haven’t posted in so long. My novel is keeping me very busy. Any time I have free time, that is where I want to be writing. But I will report now that I am nearly done, probably only ten thousand more words or so. Last time I looked I was up to 308,000, so another 10,000 is not that big a deal. Anyway, it is going to be really weird when I don’t have this story to write any more because it has been so much a part of my life these last four or five months. (So much for
Write a novel in 30 days—though in November I am going to take up the challenge to do just that!)

Anyway, here officially is the list of Five Things to Do Upon Completion of the Novel:

1. Write to Chris Baty and tell him what I have done, and thank him for his inspiration.

2. Write to Chris Rice and tell him what I have done, and thank him for his inspiration, and ask if it is okay for me to use some of his song lyrics. I don’t imagine he would have any problem (free advertising), but I think it is proper to ask. Plus, I’ve been wanting to write to him and tell him how much I enjoy his music, but he probably gets oodles of letters like that, so to make mine stand out from the rest, I’m going to include, “Oh by the way, can I use your lyrics in a 300,000 word-plus novel I am attempting to get published?”

3. Take the typing test at work and find out what my typing speed currently is, because I’m sure it will be higher after I type up my novel…

4. …on my brand new laptop computer which I am going to buy for myself!!!! Next time I write a novel it is going directly into the computer, so I don’t have to do double duty. I want to be ready for next time.

5. And of course go out and celebrate. Although in a way I will be very sad, it will be like the last day of school (when you had a good year at school or you are graduating) so you are both happy and sad at the same time.

That’s all for now. Have another scene to write tonight.

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Posted on May 27, 2005 by thathobbitlady

I have nothing to say, but I do have a minute, so I thought I’d put out a reminder that I am still here. Too busy with both my lives, and this weekend taking a little vacation, so all is good.

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GET A LIFE!

Posted on May 21, 2005 by thathobbitlady

As lives go, I know mine is not very interesting. However, despite this, I feel exceptionally content most of the time. My motto for this Journal is “I make myself rich by making my wants few” and I really go by that. Doesn’t take much to make me happy. If my life had a theme song it would be that hymn (I don’t know the name of it) that begins, “Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free…”

Well, anyway, that was before I started writing again.

Now, if anybody were to say to me, “Get a life!” I would immediately reply, “Thank you very much, I already have TWO.” I spend half my time in “the real world,” and half my time in Beatrice’s world. Not only that, but I am beginning to consider another little writing project, just for fun, in which case I would have THREE lives. But, actually, I think that is more than I can handle at the moment.

Still, if one must be burdened with the cares of life (or “lives,” as the case may be), there is no better dilemna to have than this one.

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MANCHILD

Posted on May 12, 2005 by thathobbitlady

Here’s a quick question for all those who like to haggle about semantics. Mary and I are having a debate about the exact meaning of the word “manchild.” Is this a man that acts like a child? Or a child that acts like a man? The dictionary is no help, not even the on-line dictionaries. I guess the term is just too new. Any thoughts? I’m fairly certain I am right, and can use grammatical rules to back up my case, but I’m wondering what other people might be thinking.

I mean, if you like to think about such things as the true meanings of words.

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Posted on May 3, 2005 by thathobbitlady

Just a thought: wouldn’t it be great to go live in another place where everybody talked English, but with a different accent than yours, so that when they heard you talking they would all think YOU had the coolest accent ever? You would just be talking normally like you always do, which is no big deal, but they would all be saying, “Oh, I love your accent!” That just occrred to me today, that it could be a lot of fun.

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Dreamy Latino

Posted on April 21, 2005 by thathobbitlady

This is Nestor Torres, jazz flutist extroidanaire. Those lips, those eyes! He’s wearing a red shirt (for me) and is “lightly toasted” (for Mary). I’m not usually attracted to Latin men (the one major exception being Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite) but this guy gets to me. Maybe it’s because I’ve heard his music. Very sexy music! You young ladies may not necessarily agree, but I just thought I’d share him with whoever might be interested.

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