Project Runway Finale

I know I haven't written about the tv show Project Runway--I haven't written about any tv show for that matter--on my blog before, but my fiance and I have been avid fans of series. So, I have to permit myself a little comment on its finale. We both thought that Kara would win. Then, after seeing the first half of the finale, my fiance thought that Kara would win whereas I thought it would be Jay. Jay did end up winning, but the judges seemed to have agonized over choosing between them.

I was trying to come up with a way of explaining why I thought they chose Jay. I think I have a good explanation: Jay's designs seemed much more trend setting whereas Kara Saun's seemed a lot more in the now. I think if they went with someone who's doing what people want today, she might have won. Instead, I think they must have really focused on what people will want tomorrow. Her show was very sort of couture for couture. Jay's looked really couture, but it was hip at the same time. Jay's line will set trends whereas Kara's is part of trend which has already been set.

I TAKE IT BACK!

Ok, you can't even imagine the number of emails that I've gotten from my friends about my Neil Gaimon related post. I wrote a brief paragraph about his Coraline. I give up.

I know literature lovers always take themselves and their opinions quite seriously and I should have known that you Gaimon lovers wouldn't appreciate my opinion. So, I'll say this: I was probably too harsh in my rejection/critique of Coraline. I'll admitt that I didn't actively dislike it, but that it simply failed to engage me at the time that I read it, and I'll give it another try. Plus, I think I wrote about liking the Sandman series. P.S. If you would like more information concerning graphic novels especially Ray Bradbury sci-fi etc., you might like to read The Best of Ray Bradbury: The Graphic Novel

For God's sake you all are taking my blog quite seriously. I appreciate the attention and am slightly wigged out by it. At least that means you're reading it at all, which I can't seem to get my own parents to do. Anyway, for more info concerning Gaimon, visit http://www.neilgaiman.com/ for info about this author.

By the way, I just read Graham Greene's End of the Affair, and I was blown away by it. More to come on that note!

Leonardo da Vinci copied Brunelleschi's machines! You may be asking, "Who the hell is Brunelleschi?"

Well, I've been reading The Feud that Sparked the Renaissance and was amazed to find that some machines commonly atttributed to the inventor Leonardo da Vinci were actually invented by an artist from Florence, namely Filippo Brunelleschi, who was an architect, goldsmith, inventor, artist, and so on. While this information is probably quite commonly known, it came as a great suprise to me.

I have so much to write of and so little time to do it!

Ode to Boggle

Boggle is one of the best games ever! I remember playing it while away at college, and I'd forgotten how much fun it could be. Just a couple days ago I found a website that has a Boggle knockoff called Spellbound at www.spogg.com. It's not exactly like Boggle, but it's pretty close. For those of you that have played Boggle, you'll understand my one complaint about the knockoff game--that is, that it requires clicking each letter in by mouse rather than being able to type in letters to form words. It's still fun, and, in the absence of knowing other Boggle players, it's better than not playing at all. I haven't found a letter limit either which is nice because so many other Boggle game variations wont take longer words.

On the wedding planning front, may I say: Thank God one only has to plan once. Talk about expensive! There are so many details to a wedding. Though it may sound like I'm not enjoying the process, I am actually, especially the process of getting baptized and preparing for Lent. I want to get married in the church, and I can't do that unless I'm baptized. Today, for the first time ever I participated in an Ash Wednesday Mass. It was moving. And, I appreciate that with each day my understanding of marriage and my desire to be married is growing because my relationship with God is growing.

Having adequate time to read religious materials and attend Mass has been a great help. Plus, the Rite of Christian Initiation class has been fun for the most part. There is one participate who asks really bad questions (yes, there is such a thing as a dumb question) and demands a lot of attention and that slows the class down and makes it more awkward than it needs to be, but other than that it's been quite interesting. I still don't entirely understand Original Sin or the Immaculate Conception (Mary's having been born without sin). Anybody have an explanation?

I read the Handbook for Today's Catholic, and while it has some beautiful passages, including those on Formation of a Correct Conscience and Baptism: New Life and Ways of Living, it hasn't provided adequate answers to many of my questions. I found the following passage particularly moving:

Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon
himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to
do what is good and to avoid evil, tells him inwardly at the right moment:
do this, shun that. For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God.
His dignity lies in observing this law, and by it he will be judged. His
conscience is man's most secret core, and his sanctuary. There he is alone with
God whose voice echoes in his depths (p. 38).

I think it's one of many beautiful passages in a short but intellectually hefty book. It's like the cliff notes to the Catholic Catechism book. Some of the passages contain language that sounds like Aristotilean and in other instances very Platonic philosophy--neato! I don't feel like it provides full explanations for everything "Catholic," like the Immaculate Conception or Original Sin, but it's a good start.

The nice thing about being on vacation is that I have the chance to read and write alot. I finished Dan Brown's Demons and Angels (no I don't read just "religious-related books"), enjoying it for what it was. It was a basic beach book--fun but light. I do commend the author for meticulously weaving the credible with the unreal, creating a fun explanation of real historical events and architecture. I did find portions of the book's end to be a bit trite and overly predictable. It has made me think that I might like historical fiction. Any suggestions?

I've also been reading books about wedding planning. May I just say that I haven't found a super useful one yet. Most of them have titles like Budget Wedding, How to Plan a Dream Wedding on a Small Budget. They've been useless. They give advice like invite fewer people--duh! Of course the smaller the wedding party, the less expensive it will be. Anyway, Miss Manners on Painfully Proper Weddings by Judith Martin was good for basic wedding etiquette most of which I already know or would have guessed. I'm sure there's a great wedding planning book out there but I haven't found it yet.

On a different note, I have to admit that though I've been reading alot, I had to set aside Voucher Wars by Clint Bolick because it was reading like a bullet point memo to me. I'll go back to it, but I needed a break from it. Instead of that I've been reading other law related material and working on becoming a Guardian ad litem for children. Plus, I'm preparing a piece about law school to submit to a literary agent. I've had good feedback from attorneys and nonattorneys that have read it, so now I have to take that next step and see what an agent thinks about it. I also have an idea for a children's story-don't know when I'll find time to work on it though.

Anyway, back to looking at a book titled Impressionist Roses in order to prepare for spring gardening, reading The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels, another Lemony Snickett installment...and listening to my Bob Schneider cd. Ooh, plus I should send my Valentines.