Have you ever read such a good book and been so disappointed that there was nothing else like it that you start writing your own? Because that’s what I feel like doing after finishing all of Donna Tartt’s novels.
I just wanted to come on up here and explain that I am in fact still on Tumblr, just really busy these days.
Enjoy my favorite Gravity Falls artist.
Stay yourself, stay curious.
Sorry for spamming your notifications in the last like 20 mins— absolutely love your art and am eating it up yes. 💖 Also could I request either more Bill and freak (maybe something to do with more hands cuz OUGGHH so good) or angsty Fiddauthor like Ford trying not to cry as he’s making himself watch Fidds get married to Emma-May? 👀 Maybe even at the reception after when they’re dancing and Ford’s getting drunk af and clearly emotional/lashing out in frustration. If not it’s perfectly okay and tysm for even reading. Have a good day/night! <3
ILYSM Thank you <3 these are all such good ideas I'm drawing all of them
Some wedding night shenanigans for now
I watched ''Black swan" with a friend today and was pleasantly surprised. Most of the 'girlblogger' films I watch are either mild in their social critique or rely too heavily on shock factor, but Aronofsky's film is harsh and relatable. One thing I enjoyed immensely was the cinematography.
If anyone could share their thoughts on the film I'd appreciate it very much! I intend on writing an analysis in the next few days.
Stay yourself, stay curious.
Oh snap
That coffee mug just fell from my hand from that hot take
Has anyone read IWWV ? I've been considering reading it but I've heard it's a bad rip off of TSH... Answers will be appreciated.
BLACK SWAN - THE UNREWARDING CHASE AFTER PERFECTION
Tw: bulimia, self-harm, sexual assault, body horror
''Black swan'', directed by Darren Aronofsky, is a 2010 film. It deals with our main character, Nina, a ballerina which gets picked for the role of both The white swan and The black swan in a production of "Swan lake", but as she is urged by her artistic director to 'lose herself' her sanity crumbles before her. In this post I'd like to address the themes, motifs, character development, and what black swan made me feel, because I find art is about emotions.
★ SWAN LAKE ANALOGY
The story of "Swan lake" is a direct analogy most readers can pick up on during their watch of Black swan and I'd like to highlight some thoughts of mine on the parallels between the two.
" virginal girl, pure and sweet, trapped
in the body of a swan. She desires
freedom, but only true love can
break the spell. Her wish was
granted in the form of a prince.
But before he can declare his love,
her lustful twin, the Black Swan,
tricks and seduces him.
Devastated, the White Swan leaps
off a cliff, killing herself. But,
in death, finds freedom. " - Leroy
This recounting of "Swan lake" is a basic synopsis of the movie Black swan. Nina is perfect, and she finds this need for perfection a prison. We see her eat half a fruit for breakfast, spend all her time in the company, and put mountains of effort into every step she takes. This is exactly Nina's downfall - if Leroy was right about one thing it's that perfection is inherently imperfect. It's messy and dirty and full of mistakes, because perfect is expected.
Nina believes her 'freedom' will come in the form of Leroy, that he can cultivate her into the girl she was destined to be, and sees Lily as her doppelganger - an evil xerox who wishes to steal her only answer away from her. Nina is mistaken, and actually her mistake falls perfectly into the plot of Swan lake - she mixes up the roles. Lily is much closer to the prince in the sense she allows Nina to be herself. She genuinely desires to see Nina succeed and yet doesn't believe that Nina should torture herself to perfection. Although it's difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion during the film, when the credits roll, I think we all know who's the twin, who's the swan, and who's the prince.
★ THE THEORY OF ART
Nietzche (😒...) Coined the terms 'dyonisian' and 'apollonian' in his book, Birth Of Tragedy. The Dyonisian is the tendency for freedom - pleasure, lack of thinking, impulse. The Apollonian is the tendency for structure - order, planning, perfecting. Nietzche claims that good art is the balance between the two, you can't be overly obsessive over detail nor carelessly creating.
Nina is Apollonian. She is so invested in being the perfect dancer she loses what made her good in the first place - her love for the profession, her daintiness, her emotional connection to pieces. Throughout the movie, we see how obsessive Nina becomes with perfection as her bulimia gets worse, she grows suspicious of her peers, and eventually resorts (does she...?) to murder for her sake. Truly, Nina couldn't balance art because she couldn't let herself go, and only when she did her performance was perfect.
Black swan made me unnerved. As an artist, it's truly an enthralling experience seeing a young woman shred herself to bits trying to be perfect. I almost cried when Nina forced herself to puke the nothing she ate, because it's an amazing metaphor; trying to use up something that is not there. I think about black swan from time to time, and I realize that Nina isn't perfect - she was. She was her best when she loved dance. When she lived living . When she loved herself.
Stay yourself, stay curious
Just got up at 4:30am in order to go to a march that demands returning war hostages.
I know it's a good cause but my dear brothers in Christ why FOUR THIRTY AM 😭😦
Stay yourself, stay curious
I Just wanted to HIGHLY recommend this artist! They are really talented and as a person majoring in religious studies, their interpretations are detailed and very thought provoking. If you are interested in religion, their blog is highly accessible.
Stay yourself, stay curious
son. my son
Hello. This is my first essay post - maybe I'll make a masterlist, maybe I won't.
''Frog and Toad'', a short book series written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel in the 1970s, is a collection of tales about two friends - Frog and Toad. They both live in the forest and go on many adventures together. Every time my mind reminds me of the existence of the duo, one word comes to my mind - Home. Frog and Toad is a cozy sort of series, and every tale has a comforting feeling attached to it. In this post, I'd like to address the philosophy of Frog and Toad - Simple living.
• Most Frog and Toad stories have a similar premise - one of our two protagonists has an everyday issue he has to face and the other helps him overcome this. When we think about everyday life, we think about moving forward - getting promoted, making more money, moving away, getting fitter - always an additive, and fast. A great example for this is hustle culture - the glamorization of putting all of your self into your line of work. I personally strongly dislike hustle culture - as a communist I believe that the improvement of the self should not be calculated with money, but with health and happiness, and that instead of success being isolated to an individual, if someone succeeds it should benefit their surroundings. "Frog and Toad" doesn't fit with those sort of ideals of hustle and constant improvement. The duo's problems are, well, very simple.
• Arnold Lobel describes himself as a domestic kind of person ;
"I'm really not much of a traveler or wanderer or adventurer and I think that feeling certainly comes into my books. I notice that all of my books are rather homebound"
He is certainly right. In his writing and illustrations, Lobel creates a very welcoming (ahem cottagecore ahem ahem) atmosphere - his language is simple and inviting and his coloring style consists of warm earth tones. Even the protagonist's houses have this feeling, consisting of wooden furniture and warm, fluffy pillows. (I'd like to add Frog and Toad are both very middle class, and these stories are affected by their privilege). Although they don't own many possessions - honestly, the most common item you'll see that costs any money in the Frog and Toad series is the protagonist's bed - Frog and Toad find their place in moments and people.
• Allow me to give an example (my favourite personally). The story "A list" follows Toad - a usually anxious and worried type. He wakes up and realizes he has many things to do, and so he writes a list of the things he wants to get done that day;
- wake up
- eat breakfast
- get dressed
- go to frog's house
- take (a) walk with frog
- eat lunch
- take (a) nap
- play games with Frog
- eat supper
- go to sleep
Before the story even starts, we can see Toad doesn't really have many things to do that day, and yet he puts heavy emphasis on what he does have. That is one of the building stones of simple living - the silent agreement to enjoy every minute you get out of your life.
As the day progresses, Toad crosses out what he accomplished, until he takes a walk with Frog. As they are walking, a gust of wind blows over his list, and he is frozen in place. Frog starts running towards the list, while Toad stays back, claiming that running after his list is not on his list, and thus not something that he should engage in.
• Frog didn't manage to catch Toad's list. Toad claims "I cannot remember any of the things I wrote on my list of things to do. I will just have to sit here and do nothing." In this instance, Label criticizes the close minded way people who are only interested in 'the grind' (Jesus Christ I can't believe I just wrote that) think - they only see the things they want to achieve as goals worthy of energy, and nothing else. Toad may have wanted to play games with Frog to strengthen their bond, but the intention or the way didn't matter - it was the goal that did.
• Frog and Toad sit around all day. After a lot of nothing, Frog says "Toad, it is getting dark, we should be going to sleep now". Suddenly, frog realizes that was the last thing on his list, to sleep, and they both slip into unconsciousness. I think this ending really clears out they way Label thinks about always moving forward - sure, maybe they weren't on Toad's list, but there were many activities he and Frog could have partook in he skipped out on out of sheer stubbornness. Instead of trying to make the most out of his day, he wallowed in his own sadness over not achieving every goal he had, and let a whole afternoon slip by.
• to summarize, Frog and Toad are friends. They are friends and they enjoy each other's company. They prefer to have a cup of tea instead of building a bigger house, and they'd never call each other on the telephone, if they want to talk to each other, they simply walk over to their friend's house. I personally have started to pick up some of their habits - I now drink my morning Tea or coffe without any distractions, I spend more time outside, and I try to not get hung up on every little detail. As a perfectionist this is a... Hard task, at the least, but it's worth it. I have calmed down. I have become more at peace with less.
Thank you for reading - Stay yourself, stay curious.
Has anyone read IWWV ? I've been considering reading it but I've heard it's a bad rip off of TSH... Answers will be appreciated.
"Here it comes, a better version of me" -Fiona🍎 an artist | she/her | Jewish | majoring in the old testament
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