Weblog 217

April 4, 2010~ 12:00am
I still have a cold plaguing me that's held on all week, so my mind is filled with cotton candy. I've been walking through a fog since Tuesday, blowing my nose and feeling like I'm floating.

Easter has arrived, and visiting to be done later in the afternoon, but there's LOTS of sleep needed before then. Gotta be well-rested for riding around and visiting.

The best thing to do when I'm feeling 'woozy/floaty' is to dive into graphics of some kind on the net, and let the images and the colors drift by me. I love that. What I did notice, is that no matter what anyone's selling, the central image of a beautiful woman's face is what draws the eye.



Maybe it's because our first memories are of our mother's features- who knows. It works. People might think it's primarily 'T and A' that sells, but I believe there's nothing that has the immediate draw of a pretty lady's face. I found a WONDERFUL SITE with movie posters going back to 1912! I got lost in there. Over and over, I noticed that movies are advertised via the feminine mystique....



1919... Marion Davies....Mistress of William Randolph Herst, who built a palace at San Simeon for her, all because of her wonderful face. (Silly hat, notwithstanding. LOL) Even with its faded colors, this wonderful Art Nouveau-style theater poster draws us in the way it does because of that great face, those clear eyes. Just think about the power of terrific faces that become iconic in our culture...Garbo....Elizabeth Taylor....Marilyn Monroe. Some faces we never tire of... their beauty is fascinating. Hypnotic and fascinating.



Man o man...look at Theda Bara. She was known as 'the vamp'-short for 'vampire'. (Actually, I believe that term could be applied to all breathtakingly beautiful faces, because of the way they draw the gaze... draw something out of us and toward them.) Something vital.



Again and again, the beautiful face feels like a bolt of lightning. If you look at these women, their bodies are no great shakes... but the faces, and in particular, the eyes are what captivate.

Even in profile- (even with that intriguing OXEN tattooed on her shoulder...lol) it's the eyes that are power itself: they're the intelligence.... and the life.... inside the woman.



Everything becomes animated-- just with the eyes. I guess it can be said that 'bodies are, well...bodies'.....

but the face..... is the person. (At least that's the way it's always seemed to me) and if you want to get lost in the site I've been searching- and if you LOVE old movies and the artwork that goes with them -stop in and spend some time right here. You'll plop down right in 1921, but here's a trick: just backspace on 1921 in your address bar, type a different year and it will come right up for you. It's a nice, quick way to navigate.

Oh, and pay attention to how many LADIES are the subject and centerpiece of these old gems. We hear repeatedly, 'sex sells'....well, yes.....but personality has to be there first, and that's in faces......alluring, animated, hypnotic.. (And have a HAPPY EASTER!)




April 4, 2010~ 1:30pm
We saw 'Crazy Heart'. It's one of those times when an actor and a role mesh perfectly- a role Jeff Bridges was surely born to play.



It's the story of a man's descent into the butt ends of alcoholism'a shredded dreams-- and a last chance struggle to get his life back in order. Bridges sings, scowls, squints, plays guitar, jokes....perfectly.

Instead of a fairytale ending, it nonetheless has a good ending--- a realistic one that just plain makes you feel rewarded at the end to have gone through the wringer with him.

What surprised me was the quality of the original songs written for him. They're wonderfully wrought, traditional country tunes that easily could have been hits for any number of Nashville stars. The catchiest one -and the one line that stays with me is "Fallin' feels like flyin'......for a little while" -that's a damn fine lyric, and sums up the movie in one line (and probably a lot of folks' lives as well.) Gritty, heartwarming, realistic-- that's how I'd define this gem of a film. And the appearance of Robert Duvall in a supporting role was a real treat. As always, he's the cherry on the sundae in my books. I love the guy.




April 6, 2010~ 7:00pm
Spring colds are the WORST! Mine keeps hanging on. I thought I had it on the run the latter part of last week, but it reBOUNDED. I went to work yesterday, but felt so woozy, I took today off so I could stay in bed and just SLEEEEEEEP....(which I did, magnificently.) I need a tonic.



Maybe some of that, with good stuff like bee pollen and golden seal and would help.

I DID find the source of my wooziness, however. I bought a different over-the-counter allergy medication on Saturday that lasts 24 hours. When I read the bottle after I took one today, it's NOT the non-drowsy. In fact, it says 'may cause drowsiness'. LOL!!! (Don't shop for medicine without your reading glasses on.)

The coughing is less. The head's a bit clearer....the drowsiness, well that's probably chemical, so I think I'm on the mend. Another good night's sleep tonight and I just may be in a lot better shape tomorrow.




April 7, 2010~ 5:00am
Woke up feeling pretty good.....till the first coughing bout. Dang bug has moved downward into the intestines. I'll be dashing into the loo on and off all day. Crawling back in bed here.





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