the scarlet pimpernel

Last week I was finally able to read a book "for fun." Yay! The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy is this month's read for my book group, and I was worried that I wouldn't finish it before we meet next week. However, once I started the book, I had a hard time putting it down. I think this is partially because the book was very engaging and fun, but also because I simply loved having the time to read a novel again (instead of an art history textbook or theoretical article).

I think most people are familiar with the Scarlet Pimpernel story, either from a movie or the musical, but I would guess that a lot of people haven't actually read the book. (Am I right? Have you read it?) Perhaps people are even familiar enough with the story to quote the little poem that Percy recites ("We seek him here, we seek him there, Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he in heaven? Is he in hell? That demmed, elusive Pimpernel!").

It's not surprising that the Scarlet Pimpernel story was turned into a play and musical. When reading the introduction of this book, I learned that Orczy wrote this book with the hope that it would be performed onstage. You can really see how different scenes within the story are well-written for a play, especially when Marguerite is hiding in the inn and watching all of the action take place. And even though the plot is furthered by all-too-convenient conversations and explanations (do villains ever reveal their master plans to anyone who happens to ask?), such a device would be appropriate during a play, when the plot needs to move forward in a concise manner.

The plot revolves around a daring, mysterious Englishman who saves French aristocrats from the guillotine in 1792. Okay, truth be told, this is really a story about Marguerite, the woman who tries to discover the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel (and consequently save him from death). If you like stories about the French Revolution, adventure, or romance, you should read this book. I especially liked the romantic aspect of this book. It was fun to follow Marguerite's process of falling in love with her husband, especially as she realized that he wasn't really a mindless fop, but actually an extremely intelligent man.

american idol slump

A lot of people have commented to me that American Idol isn't great this season - and I have to agree. I'm not terribly interested in the contestants or show. Even though I am still watching every week, I tend to fast-forward through most of the episodes performances that are boring, pitchy, awkward, etc.

But why is American Idol so boring this season? Can you pinpoint it to one specific thing? For me, I think there are a couple of reasons why the show has suffered. Here's what I think:

- Interesting and talented performers were dismissed too early in the season, like Lilly Scott and Todrick Hall.

- Singers with extreme pitch and tone problems made it too far in the competition (i.e. Tim Urban, Paige Miles, and Katie Stevens). I have to say, though, I am SO. GLAD. that Tim Urban is gone. His incredibly pitchy performances lowered the whole caliber of the show.

- Performers with awkward stage presence (i.e. Lacey Brown, Aaron Kelly, Andrew Garcia, and Alex Lambert). And aside from performances, how about all of those horrifically awkward, lame comedic segments from last night's "Idol Gives Back" episode? Ugh.

- Producers haven't built up good connections between the audience and contestants. I feel like we don't know much about the personalities of many contestants, especially Casey James.

- Several singers have dated styles and sounds. A lot of the stuff reminds me of the 1990s. Michael Lynche sounds like a Usher/Boyz 2 Men type singer, Lee Dewyze sounds like Dave Matthews, and Crystal Bowersox fits more into a Tracy Chapman/Alanis Morrisette category.

- All of the singers I liked were kicked off weeks ago. Sigh.

baby shower decorations

Yesterday I helped to host a baby shower at my house. Before this shower, the last time I threw a party was at my old house in Utah (if you discount the small gathering for Sam's birthday last June). After packing up our old house and selling most of the furniture, J and I decided that wanted to say goodbye to friends by organizing a "Cookie Picnic." We sat with friends on the floor of our barren house, and ate prepackaged cookies like Oreos and Chips Ahoy. It was the most low-key event you can imagine.

Needless to say, this baby shower was the polar opposite of our Cookie Picnic. My friend Carrie helped me host and organize the shower, and I'm grateful that she is more creative than me in regards to decorations and games. She really was the creative mind behind most of the party. And I'm glad that we put forth the effort to make this shower special. Rose, my expectant friend, is an interior designer and therefore she (obviously) appreciates decorations, small details, etc. It's much more fun to decorate when you know that such details will be appreciated by the guest of honor. Anyhow, here are some pictures of the decorations and food:

Another friend helped me and Carrie hang this clothesline with small baby clothes. It's great as a decoration too, because it also serves as a gift for the expectant mother

We kept up with the clothesline theme by making this banner

Carrie and our friend Kristin are responsible for the darling cupcakes.

Another decoration idea that Carrie had. Guests were invited to write little "wishes" or characteristics/traits that they hoped for the new baby.

The shower was a lot of fun. I'm don't think that I could recreate such a cute party, though, without the help of a creative (and motivated) friend. Thanks, Carrie! I'm glad that this shower was a lot nicer than my Cookie Picnic.

"popcorn!"

About three weeks ago, Sam invented his first joke. When we wanted him to answer a question or complete a phrase, instead of saying the correct word, Sam would answer, "Popcorn!" Then he would throw his head back, laugh heartily, say "No..." and then give the correct answer. To give you an idea, here's a sampling of Sam's joke:

Me: "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great..."
Sam: "Popcorn! Ha! Ha! Ha! No...fall!"

Now he answers most questions with his popcorn joke. It's funny that he has such a fascination with popcorn, since he's only eaten it about three times in his whole life. He does have a favorite book about popcorn, though, and I'm sure that is related to his obsession. You can imagine Sam's excitement the other night, then, when my sister L wanted to eat popcorn and watch a movie. I posted a picture of them with popcorn in yesterday's post, and here's another one of my favorites:

trip to the miffs

Sam and I just got back from a trip to see my family (whom he calls the "Miffs"). Here's a compilation of photos from our trip:

Sam was excited to see the snow, especially since we didn't have any snow in Washington this winter

Easter eggs were mildly exciting...

...but the chocolate inside the eggs was exciting (and delicious!).

Reading books with "Lee-la" and "Ly-la"

Heather won Sam's heart right after we walked into her new house, mostly because she immediately offered Sam a cookie. Now, every time he hears Heather's name, he says, "Cookie! Cookie!" Smart move, Heather. I'm going have to remember that cookie tactic when I want to make new friends.

Okay, so not everything was "peachy" (or "pumpkin-y" in this case, since they're sitting on a pumpkin coach at the park)...

...but we have to rate our overall trip with "two popcorns up!"

postmodernism is messy

I've been thinking about postmodernism lately, since I'm currently teaching that theoretical perspective to my contemporary art students. In a nutshell, postmodernism is a rejection of modernism. Modernism is a mid-20th century movement which basically believes that art and architecture should stand on its own - modern art doesn't celebrate the viewer or even consider the viewer's reaction/experience to a work of art. Modern art is self-referential, and you can argue that it is very austere. Postmodernism, on the other hand, embraces the viewer's reactions, interpretations, personality, cultural makeup, etc. Basically, when it comes to the art world, I think postmodern thought is an explosion of "anything goes" sentiment. Right now, any and all interpretations/creations of art are valid within a postmodern paradigm.

Anyhow, with that background, perhaps you'll see the humor in my recent chat with J. The two things that have been on my mind lately, postmodernism and cleanliness came together here:

me: tidiness is a modern aesthetic, i would say.clean lines, no distraction, no evidence of the viewer/humans

J: quite

me: messiness is postmodern

J: which I've always thought was pretty ironic about me

me: yeah, i've thought it too

actually :)

J: I love the clean, thought-out and considered nature of modernism, but fail to ever actually live that way

me: ha ha

J: but I'm learning

me: well, good thing your wife adheres to modern tidiness

J: yep

me: and keeps you from being postmodern

spotless vs. squalid

Several weeks ago, my sister C showed me this picture of us in our old house. That's me on the left (the one folding clothes), and C on the right (the one fast asleep, with her arms raised above her head). We've been laughing about this picture recently, because it pretty much sums up our relationship from when we shared a bedroom. C was a very messy little four and five year old, and I was constantly exasperated as I tried to keep our room in order. I was so frustrated at one point that I cut open an old refrigerator box and partitioned off a corner of the bedroom, so that I could at least maintain control over a small amount of floor space. I felt a little like a homeless person, huddled inside by cardboard box space, but at least my cardboard box was clean.

I'm a clean and organized person. I don't think that I am obsessive-compulsive or overly fastidious about keeping an immaculate environment, but I am very consistent in my efforts to have a clean home. I like things to be put away and organized, largely because I don't have a clear head or organized thoughts when I'm surrounded by chaos. For that reason, it drives me nuts when things accumulate in "rat's nest" piles of junk. And it really bothers me when people are oblivious to a mess that they have created, or if they are irresponsible and don't put things away.

Although I realize that order and cleanliness tie into part of my personality, I also know that my habits are because of the way I grew up. And it wasn't because my family kept a clean and orderly house - on the contrary, my penchant for cleanliness is a reaction against the way my family's house was kept. It wasn't that my mom was opposed to cleanliness; she really liked the idea of a clean house, but didn't spend the time or energy to consistently enforce order.

From what I can tell, many people are directly influenced by how clean their homes were kept as a child. And I would guess that there are a lot of people who verge toward one extreme or the other (in terms of cleanliness): either they are excessively messy/clean because their family's home was kept the same way, or they are very messy/clean as a reaction against the way that their family's home was kept.

Am I right? Where do you fall in the cleanliness factor? Are your habits a product of or reaction against the way that you lived as a child?