More marching

weaving9

Originally uploaded by Bearolyn

Day and night, the halloween house.

Forward march

weaving8

Originally uploaded by Bearolyn

Day and night, Davis Square.

Time flies. . .

weaving7

Originally uploaded by Bearolyn

This one was finished on Friday; I’ll have a couple more up in a few days. Night and day in Davis Sq.

Close to home

weaving6

Originally uploaded by Bearolyn

Night and day at Victor’s convenience. I just finished this the other day.

Returning to reading, old sport.

I read Gatsby again in the darkroom recently, and it was better than ever. Then, I read Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac which was lots of fun but just a little silly. Still, getting all the time to read is yet again another advantage of the darkroom time — and I haven’t read a book in 24 hours like that in a while (as I did with Amnesiac.) Now reading: What It Takes To Pull Me Through: Why Teenagers Get in Trouble and How Four of Them Got Out. It’s kind of random, but I am really enjoying it so far.

More on the new project

macys

Originally uploaded by Bearolyn

This one is also a bad picture of a new project, but I’m beginning to get excited about how everything’s shaping up.

Camera obscura and more

It was such a pleasant surprise to realize that one of my perks as a part-time SMFA student is free MFA movies. . . and I am taking full advantage of this. I think I’m going to miss the Alice Neel movie, the preview for which made me drool for its insidery soap-opera promises — but I did see a documentary about Abelardo Morell called “The Shadow of the House” — and it’s wonderful. I won’t even lie, I cried at the sometimes silly but ultimately touching documentary moments — and it was incredible to see his working process. I also gained more of an understanding of how more varied his work is than I ever realized.

Coming into the theater, I expected somewhat more of the rollercoaster offered by the 2005 Eggleston documentary, which as a side note literally made me sick to my stomach because of its Blair-Witch style camera work. The Morell piece, following the way he presents himself to the world, is not as frenetic and wild as the Eggleston, — but each gives a look into the working processes of a talented photographer, and I’m glad to have seen them.

I also headed to the Manhattan Short Film festival (shown at the Boston MFA) last weekend. I hate to say it, but I thought it could’ve been better; lots of over-wrought plot lines and unnecessary repetitions of pretentious ideas from other movies. One of the few standouts was an Israeli film, Boris’s Complete Book of Rules — which I ended up voting for, and which did not win. Not that I’m bitter.

Tuvalu

I watched this movie with a friend last night. It’s firmly in the realm of art films that are intentionally obtuse, but it’s filmed in a beautiful way and the story, in the end, is very sweet. It’s also impressive as an example of a modern, almost entirely silent film. I would recommend that you watch it on the largest screen available, and prepare to be confused but amazed.

The meaning of life is . . .

This morning I was sitting on the T (as a side note, it has been beautiful in Boston this week, and I want to recognize it for the hen’s teeth that it is) and I saw a man struggle on, obviously on his way to the airport. He already had the look that the T gives you sometimes when you’ve got some luggage and it’s a little humid, a bit strained and uncomfortable, the already-been-in-the-airport-3-hours -and-the-escalator-stopped-working look. I glanced at his shirt, which had some “Life is good” looking art on it, and glanced again when I realized he was actually wearing something much more appropriate. What was he wearing? A knockoff: “Life is crap.”

Telemarketing in iambic pentameter

Someone just called me on the telephone to ask if I would be interested in pursuing a graduate degree in Shakespearean studies. After a long day at work, this is the real test of a person’s tolerance for unusual requests.