Rants, Books, Dolls and Ceramic Indians

Well, I'm going to start today's rant with a subject that's very near and dear to me, books. I love books, I love the feel of them, I love the smell of the paper, especially the old books, I love the print and most of all, I love reading them. Yesterday I saw "Fahrenheit 451." It's a wonderful movie from 1966, directed by the famous director, Francois Truffaut, written by Ray Bradbury. I read the book back when and it made me very nervous, just as Orwell's, "1984," and "Animal Farm," and Huskley's "Brave New World." Yea, I was a super nerd in high school, but a pretty one!! LOL

In "Fahrenheit 451," (in case any of you don't understand the title, that's the temperature paper burns at when ignited. Now I'm not being condescending, I didn't get it either till college, the first time around back in the 70's) it was illegal to own or read books and if you were caught, you were arrested and your books would be burned...very scary! There was a scene that particularly held me bound to my couch; the "firemen" had found this blind woman who owned many book, hidden away in every nook and cranny of her home then they discovered a hidden library...OMG!! As the chief was picking out books, he explained to Montag, played by Oskar Werner, how ludicrous books were, a joke, they introduced too many feelings and ideas dangerous to the masses. Anyway, I won't go into the whole movie, but please read the book or rent the movie, it's well worth it because we're beginning to see such things now.

I refuse to go digital when it comes to books or newspapers, I will not in any way, shape or form, conform to those gadgets to make your reading pleasure easier without the clutter of books...very scary! We are told we need to be young, thin (anorexic), and beautiful with big boobs or pecks and a six pack. I don't know about you, but I've been using Ponds moisturizer for years on my face, my hair is graying at a very fast rate, especially with what I've been dealing with lately but I decided years ago, back in my 40's to go gray but that's my choice and that's what's important to me, that I have a choice and nobody will tell me otherwise.

Now for something completely different (alla Monty Python), my mother bought a ceramic Indian woman last year for her yard. Minihaha, as she named her, (a character from Disney's "Peter Pan.")needed some major work last year, but she was just happy to get such an interesting statue (in Russia maybe) at such a good price..$20. So Ms. Minihaha was displayed with a huge metal rod up her "dress," to avoid her falling over during our big winds we have around here. Well, our West Texas summers can be brutal especially to a $20 ceramic statue that was made in Mexico with crappy clay ( I know my clays) that leached all kinds of stuff during her summer in mom's backyard. Fast forward to March of this year: Mom:Honey, do you think she needs some restoration? Georgina: Yes mom, it's called the dump! Mom: Oh, I don't think she's quite ready for that, but can she have a little face lift or something like that? Georgina:Mom, she needs major restoration and it will cost more than the stupid statue!!, Mom:Well, what does she need? Stupid Georgina: She'll need to be sanded then have several coats of enamel paint in brighter colours than she has now and some detailing then sprayed with industrial type polyurethane that causes cancer, miscarriages, brain tumors, etc. Mom:Oh good, that's right up your alley. I didn't send you to school and get your degree in art to just make funny little dolls. Defeated and Stupid Georgina:Ok, mom, let's hit Walmart...I just love Walmart!!!

So here our some before and after pics of Ms. Minihaha. I will probably continue to restore her every year from now on until she's nothing more than an eroded blob!






I forgot to mention that while I was working on this marvel of crappy terra cotta clay, my CD part of my little studio stereo gave up the ghost. I can't work without music and I sure didn't want to have to listen to our local radio stations...they suck!! But then it occurred to me I still had some cassette tapes in my office closet and the tape section of the stereo still worked. Well, talking about going back memory lane. I forgot I had 2 cassettes of Harry Chapin...oh wow, I love that guy and miss his music...all his story telling songs. Of course there was "Cat in the Cradle," "Taxi," "Circle," that brought tears to my eyes because I sang that song to my older kids when they were babies, "30,000 Lbs. of Bananas," and one of my all time favorites, "Mr. Tanner." Steve Windwood's, "Back in the High Life Again" tape, Basia, George Michael's "Faith," Julia Fordham, Lou Graham, Pat Methany, Rickie Lee Jones, Tuck and Patti and many more old friends. I know I can get these now on CD or download them onto my MP3 player, but I think I'll just hang on to the tapes for a while! Have been enjoying listening to all these wonderful artists that have taken me back to many good memories and some sad. Oh well, that's life.

Also, want to show off some more of my Can-Do series of dolls. They are mixed media pieces made with tuna cans or olive cans. Tell me what ya think and peace out.