Monday Photo Montage

What's so cool about this bed? Well first, let me fill you in on it's details.
Thom Buchanan of The Pictorial Arts posted this photo of a bed with four life-size bronze figures, made for Nawab Muhammad Bahawal Khan Abbasi V of Bahawalpur in 1883.This is what he has to say about it.
"The four figures at the corners represent women of France, Spain, Italy and Greece. With clever mechanisms, the statues were able to wink and wave fans and fly whisks... [T]he bed was fitted with a music box that played a thirty minute interlude from Gounod's Faust, activated by a button."
Ok so besides this being a total love machine, take a closer look at the women. This is proof of how, well, fucked up our society's image of beauty is. The women carved on this bed have meat, have curves, have boobs that aren't perfectly round and sitting up high. This is the natural women. This was the fantasy of men, this was the erotic idea, these women were supposed to be luxurious. But today, what do we fantasize about?

....yea. The world is full of pigs. Be natural.

On a side note, I'm the happiest I have been in a long time. Tomorrow will be a life changing day. I've been meaning to collect my thoughts about Spencer, but frankly, my thoughts are no where near collected. But I can tell that life is going up, completely up.

Much love to summer 2010.

Sometimes.

Sometimes life calls for silent drives, lots of hugs, and surrounding yourself with your best friends and realizing how fragile life is.

Ah yup.

The new definition of a "hipster"

Firmly Implanted

Rooted. Sensation. Happiness. Wholeness. Thankful. Blessed. Lucky. Opportunities. Discovery. The way my feet feel on carpet. The way my feet feel in your bed. Rooted. Finally. Wandering not for the sake of being lost, but for the sake of discovery. Carpet. Wood. Cold metal bar. Warm wood floor. Lines. Age spots. Mother's hands. Safety. Wise. All-knowing yet so eager to learn. Teaching for the sake of sharing love. Wholeness. Laughter. Non-awkward silences. Long-distance relationships. Tracing. Non-accepting floor. Absorption. The ability to walk on chairs. You make my insides feel the sunshine. Time is lost. Never before have I felt like the time was flying by and it was still well spent. Organizing myself. Exploring myself. Feeling ok with myself. Feeling ok to be myself. Touch. Touch. Touch. Pattern. Patternless. Excitement. Conflict. How my mind tells my body what to do. Voices of limbs. Jealousy between body parts. No one should be that excited unless they see cupcakes. Dad. Father. My father is in a wheelchair. He needs walked. Don't they know the beauty of weight, the beauty of feet on a surface? Your feet support you. Cold feet. I don't think about marriage with you. Because I'm not scared of the future. You make my soul feel safe. Secure in whatever will be. Secure in your arms. Secure in your six-foot-four-ness. Basketball Jones. Space Jam poster. Pure complexity of feelings. Funny faces, faces facing the sun, with you. Point on Park Avenue. Skipping class. Your presence affects me. Your touch affects me. Anxiety. Nervous to be around new people. Nervous to touch those who look judgmental. Happiness runs in a circular motion. I continue to be upset with you. Infinite possibilities. Runs runs. Sunshine soaking up my heart. Clouds don't bring me down. Do you believe you belong in the clouds? That you are so much better than us? Hurt. I know it hurts. Risk of rebound. Trusting your goodness. Wholesome. Totally complete yet non-consuming. Supportive. In love with my smile. In love with your nuzzle. Very cool. You sweat when you sleep. Is that your sweat or mine? HA! You snore. But the sleep I use because of it, I don't consider lost, but spent accepting an adorable, uncontrollable bodily function. Writing about moving. Writing about my soul healing, painting a new life. Always being watched. Mommy!!!! Kitty!!! My cat has hyperthyroidism. She will live to be 40. Two week depression. Basically my sister. Best friend. Puffy face. Tattooed beauty. I don't think you're a whore. I love you. I love life!

Jump Into the River

Kid Sam - We're Mostly Made of Water (Dir. Sherwin Akbarzadeh) from Sherwin Akbarzadeh on Vimeo.

The reason I am drawn to this video is because it depicts the magic of everyday life. As the viewer, you are watching these two human beings aimlessly walking through what seems like a common neighborhood. You start to guess when and if they will cross paths and the suspense you create for yourself is very intriguing, at least it was for me. When finally, you see on either side of the split screen, a common gray house, you start to feel excited for what comes next, where is the music video magic of two humans meeting on the sidewalk and falling in love? You have been waiting for this moment for a whole two minutes. And finally, they simply pass each other. Not a glance, not a pause, just each one keeping to their side of the sidewalk. Wow. This happens everyday and yet, without the music, without the split screen, without the view from both sides of the pathway, no one notices the magic, the mystic, the pure innocence of human beings sharing a space on the planet. Why does it take music for some people to realize how truly moving and beautiful ALL aspects and moments in life are? Maybe that is why music is such a powerful tool for living. We cope through music, celebrate through music, embrace through music, and simply live with music in our ears constantly. You can't walk ten steps on this campus without seeing someone with some sort of MP3 player streaming their personal soundtrack for the day into their ears. We have become a society of hopefuls, wishing our lives were like the movies in that, we need music, we need "movie moments". But a primary goal of movies has always been to recreate true life, to depict how "real" people, real humans live their lives. When did the shift happen when the real people wish their lives were more like the ones in the movies?

You think you had a bad night....

Life is too short....

PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God from Frank Warren on Vimeo.

We all want answers anyway.

The worst part of the human, is the act of being artificial. I have never understood why people feel the need to act one way and believe another. If you don't like someone, tell them. If you love someone, tell them. Standing on the line between is easy, and it allows one to keep up their walls for protection, but think of everything that they are missing. Life isn't an acting game, it's a survival game, and getting by without being hurt means that you also shield yourself from other true feelings, like happiness, and bliss. If you have to put on an act to prove a point, if you have to perform a skit to get someone to like you, if you are flat out fake to someone, then you are hindering all chances of discovering who that human is.
Life is all about experiences, go through life asking yourself, what does it feel like to be in the situation? Strip the situation down to it's bare nakedness and see the true beauty that it contains.
Yes, it is easier to put on a mask and act like you don't care, act like you are happy, act like you are the coolest thing since toilet paper, but you are still acting! I know this is an overemphasized point, but be yourself. Not the self that you want to be, but be who you are. The soul is often referred to as a fake entity but I truly believe that it is real. If you show your soul, even glimpses, then you will attract the people into your life that will make you the happiest, and isn't that what we all want to be? Happy.
It's hard not to be spiteful, but the classiest and the most successful people learn graciousness. Humility and self-respect can go hand in hand, and they should. Let your spirit be in harmony and your soul will ultimately glide to the perfect finishing point.

Nicht So Gut

What's the worst part about vacation?
Coming home.

I love life.
-Sami


P.s.
You are so great, I hope you know that.