A firefly glowed ominously bright, as the last drops of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon. The night continued to proceed as the bioluminescence of the invigorating creatures continued to explode in rays of radiation-like brilliance. Somewhere in the dark, a small group of youngsters in the up-and-coming Foggy Bottom Art School painted striking visuals on their mini-canvases using acrylic paint (purchased for a small sum at a local supply store). In the end, the fulness of the Potomac atmosphere was captured on two small and palpable palettes, while the finished products managed to recreate the vibrant scene witnessed by the modern-day tourists paying homage to Jefferson.
I am now an independent artist, and I need to let my artistic light shine, much like a firefly. I've been told that fireflies glow in order to attract mates; perhaps they glow because they are prettier that way. The idea makes me glow inside, deep down where no one can see it...and that's a special thing.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Crosswords
Hey...so, I saw wordplay today. Good documentary about people who are really into doing crossword puzzles. Enigmatologists join forces with former presidents in this exciting romp through the multifarious facets of the English language, which shows us that by enclosing words into tiny boxes and forcing us to feel incomplete until we solve the clues which allow us to place the words into a logical order, the editor-in-charge at the New York Times, and unelected leader of the crossword community, Will Shortz, has brought together a diverse and eclectic bunch of people. Well, not so diverse. Sure, some are young and some are old. Some are gay and some are not. But, all are white, all are word-lovers, and all have nothing else to do. It is always interesting to see people who put such passion into their hobbies. It's also fun to see the Bill Clinton smile when he knows that the manitee is a sea creature on the florida license plate.
This film would undoubtedly have been interesting even if I had never seen a crossword in my life. However, due to the fact that I've actually acquired a certain interest in completing the daily crossword myself, I found that I felt a very similar feeling that many of the people featured in the film felt. It is amazing that, even though you may think you're stuck, if you look at the crossword puzzle long enough, and try enough options, eventually you get it. We seem to know things that we didn't even think we knew. It's pretty cool.
So, I'm going to do a crossword every day, because I think it's pretty cool. But, I will never get to the point where I'm timing myself to see if I can get below two minutes. And I'll never be able to do that. If I could, I would certainly time myself. However, I'm usually happy just to finish the puzzle. And even for that I usually need help. But, that's part of the fun really. So, good luck to all you other gamers, and I hope you all see this movie to understand the beautiful art of puzzle making a little more.
This film would undoubtedly have been interesting even if I had never seen a crossword in my life. However, due to the fact that I've actually acquired a certain interest in completing the daily crossword myself, I found that I felt a very similar feeling that many of the people featured in the film felt. It is amazing that, even though you may think you're stuck, if you look at the crossword puzzle long enough, and try enough options, eventually you get it. We seem to know things that we didn't even think we knew. It's pretty cool.
So, I'm going to do a crossword every day, because I think it's pretty cool. But, I will never get to the point where I'm timing myself to see if I can get below two minutes. And I'll never be able to do that. If I could, I would certainly time myself. However, I'm usually happy just to finish the puzzle. And even for that I usually need help. But, that's part of the fun really. So, good luck to all you other gamers, and I hope you all see this movie to understand the beautiful art of puzzle making a little more.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Phish: Live in Brooklyn
I had the wonderful opportunity of attending my first Phish concert in over 4 years. This is partly due to the fact that they haven't been touring since 2004, but, I also haven't seen Trey or any of the others play individually since that time either. In fact, I haven't been to many concerts at all since before I left to Ukraine in October, 2002. I did see Moe. on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas in 2003. And I bought a ticket to Moe. out here in Washington, DC, but couldn't go due to my being in Ukraine again at the time.
I was expecting a fairly excited crowd for the Phish concert last Monday at the local Movie Theater. This show was the Phish: Live in Brooklyn concert that was apparently broadcast to movie theaters around the country simultaneously when it first aired, and now, due to it's release on dvd (which I have also purchased) was being shown again in select theaters around the country. Washington DC being the large city that it is, saw fit to show the concert at 9PM in a Regal theater in the Ballston Mall in Arlington, VA. I knew the crowd would be excited, because obviously only a true phishhead would buy tickets for $12.50 a piece to see a pre-recorded performance of a concert that happened two years ago.
But, I was just happy to be able to see my good friends Trey, Mike, Page, and Fish playing again. Up close and personal. The sound was incredible in the theater, almost better than seeing the band play live because there weren't the bad acoustics that come with some venues (like I'm sure a baseball field would have). It also didn't rain in the movie theater, which was nice. The audience was spectacular, dancing in the aisles and cheering the band on, even though I doubt the band could hear us (but maybe they did hear us...two years ago...there's a thought).
I was very impressed with the filming of this concert. It did well at focusing on the main points of the music, and highlighting Trey's magnificent work on guitar as well as Page's piano playing.
Overall, I was overjoyed that the evening went so well. Also, I thought the mall looked really great, and I think I'll go visit it sometime soon to do some shopping and 'chillin.'
After the show, my friend and I went to catch the 12:45 AM bus, which never came. We then ate at IHOP to appease my stomach ache. I thought a glass of grapefruit juice would help (I know, contradictory logic...I'll have to explain that later), but it didn't. In fact, I think it made it worse. I don't know what was going around, but when I got home that night, Glenn, my roommate, also had a bad stomachache, so, maybe it was something we ate. In any case, my friend and I decided not to attempt the 6 mile walk home, but rather, catch a $10.00 cab ride home. It was delightful and exciting and I would highly recommend the experience to anyone else. However, it was a one night only experience, so...you lose.
I was expecting a fairly excited crowd for the Phish concert last Monday at the local Movie Theater. This show was the Phish: Live in Brooklyn concert that was apparently broadcast to movie theaters around the country simultaneously when it first aired, and now, due to it's release on dvd (which I have also purchased) was being shown again in select theaters around the country. Washington DC being the large city that it is, saw fit to show the concert at 9PM in a Regal theater in the Ballston Mall in Arlington, VA. I knew the crowd would be excited, because obviously only a true phishhead would buy tickets for $12.50 a piece to see a pre-recorded performance of a concert that happened two years ago.
But, I was just happy to be able to see my good friends Trey, Mike, Page, and Fish playing again. Up close and personal. The sound was incredible in the theater, almost better than seeing the band play live because there weren't the bad acoustics that come with some venues (like I'm sure a baseball field would have). It also didn't rain in the movie theater, which was nice. The audience was spectacular, dancing in the aisles and cheering the band on, even though I doubt the band could hear us (but maybe they did hear us...two years ago...there's a thought).
I was very impressed with the filming of this concert. It did well at focusing on the main points of the music, and highlighting Trey's magnificent work on guitar as well as Page's piano playing.
Overall, I was overjoyed that the evening went so well. Also, I thought the mall looked really great, and I think I'll go visit it sometime soon to do some shopping and 'chillin.'
After the show, my friend and I went to catch the 12:45 AM bus, which never came. We then ate at IHOP to appease my stomach ache. I thought a glass of grapefruit juice would help (I know, contradictory logic...I'll have to explain that later), but it didn't. In fact, I think it made it worse. I don't know what was going around, but when I got home that night, Glenn, my roommate, also had a bad stomachache, so, maybe it was something we ate. In any case, my friend and I decided not to attempt the 6 mile walk home, but rather, catch a $10.00 cab ride home. It was delightful and exciting and I would highly recommend the experience to anyone else. However, it was a one night only experience, so...you lose.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Okay, Here I Am
Alright, it's official. I've posted a little note on my MySpace blog that I would no longer frequent that site, at least not for blogging purposes. This site will be sufficient for all of my blogging needs. I'm more than happy to field any questions at this point; just submit questions in the form of comments, and I'll be happy to get back to you as soon as I can. I'll give you a little while to ask your questions before I post anymore to this blog. In the meantime, please check the back posts at http://www.myspace.com/yarjka. That's my old blog, for anyone that's new to my life.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
A Second Chance
Okay, my friend thirdmango has convinced me to give this blogspot thing a second chance. My first post here will be what Novel Concept suggested: a listing of all things that confuse me about this site. If you know of easy ways to reduce the stupidity of the site as a user, let me know.
1) There was no way to title individual posts, and that caused me to highly doubt the usefulness of this site. I mean, without a title, there is no post, in my opinion. However, thirdmango showed me that in the settings, I simply had to set the title option to yes. Well, why in the hell did blogspot assume I wouldn't want a title? The fact that that's the default really upsets me.
2) The fact that each user has more than one blog causes me to question the whole concept of a blog (not that I haven't been questioning that concept since day one...I mean, blogs are really silly things). My idea of a blog is one that ranges in its topics from harpooned seals to interesting spots on the skin, and to give an option to bloggers to make a blog dedicated to just one topic seems to go against what I think blogs should be.
3) This is probably the biggest problem, and if there's a way to fix it, please let me know. I want to be able to see my finished post on the actual page, and read the comments, etc. as if I was not signed in, and just looking at my blog page. However, if I click to look at it, I am then taken to my blog with no link to return to my home editing page area, and have to sign in again from the start page of the site. This is completely annoying. I know, I could open my blog in a separate window, and alternate windows, but that's just not the way I usually work. It seems like it would be very simple for this site to include a link back to the signed in page from the blog page, or give the option of signing in again from that page.
However, overall you're absolutely right. MySpace is much less cool in it's layout, and is much less appealing to a person who wants to read a blog. Who really wants to sign up for myspace with all the hassle it entails just to be able to read a blog. However, I really like the subscription options, and the ability it has to link you to a page dedicated to the person who writes the blog...it's much more personal than blogspot in that way. However, it is clear that MySpace is more about relationships between people, and since I hate that, I really should switch to blogspot. Thus, the second chance.
1) There was no way to title individual posts, and that caused me to highly doubt the usefulness of this site. I mean, without a title, there is no post, in my opinion. However, thirdmango showed me that in the settings, I simply had to set the title option to yes. Well, why in the hell did blogspot assume I wouldn't want a title? The fact that that's the default really upsets me.
2) The fact that each user has more than one blog causes me to question the whole concept of a blog (not that I haven't been questioning that concept since day one...I mean, blogs are really silly things). My idea of a blog is one that ranges in its topics from harpooned seals to interesting spots on the skin, and to give an option to bloggers to make a blog dedicated to just one topic seems to go against what I think blogs should be.
3) This is probably the biggest problem, and if there's a way to fix it, please let me know. I want to be able to see my finished post on the actual page, and read the comments, etc. as if I was not signed in, and just looking at my blog page. However, if I click to look at it, I am then taken to my blog with no link to return to my home editing page area, and have to sign in again from the start page of the site. This is completely annoying. I know, I could open my blog in a separate window, and alternate windows, but that's just not the way I usually work. It seems like it would be very simple for this site to include a link back to the signed in page from the blog page, or give the option of signing in again from that page.
However, overall you're absolutely right. MySpace is much less cool in it's layout, and is much less appealing to a person who wants to read a blog. Who really wants to sign up for myspace with all the hassle it entails just to be able to read a blog. However, I really like the subscription options, and the ability it has to link you to a page dedicated to the person who writes the blog...it's much more personal than blogspot in that way. However, it is clear that MySpace is more about relationships between people, and since I hate that, I really should switch to blogspot. Thus, the second chance.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Sunday, May 07, 2006
I have decided to adopt this website as the home of my official blog. This is due to the fact that I often write these little short stories, that I enjoy having other people read even though they don't particularly enjoy reading them. So, I need a place to post them, and myspace just doesn't cut it. Most people that blog do so on a blogging site, so it's high time I joined the bandwagon. So, enjoy (even though you won't) reading through my various theories and ideas, as well as some of my short stories. Many of these first posts will be directly transferred from my myspace blog so as to accomodate the change more efficiently. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to post a comment. Until then, have fun reading anonymously.
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