No matter how many times I watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the thought still crosses my mind, "Maybe Cedric won't die this time..." As if, maybe THIS time that I watch it, Cedric won't touch the trophy/port key at the same time as Harry when they are in the maze and Harry will be the only one that goes to the graveyard where they bring Voldemort back. And no matter how many times I have seen Harry successfully get out of this graveyard situation alive, I still wonder, "How the HECK is he going to get out of this?!!"

Jackson Pollock

So, this week in Western Art and Culture After 1400, we studied Jackson Pollock and the artistic "genius" of his action painting within Abstract Expressionism.

He was not always this expressive action figure that he is known as, but he used to produce nicely thought out compositions like these:


In his transition period between this work and the action painting we studied in class, we find the University of Iowa owned (which was recently an item of huge controversy) Mural:


I much prefer the earlier work compared to this, but I much prefer this to work from the "height of his career" such as Autumn Rhythm:


This is the piece we have to memorize for our final exam and this is probably my LEAST preferred work by Jackson Pollock. Now, I don't want to be some douchey art critic, but I will ALWAYS prefer a well-thought and composed piece of art work compared to something splatter-painted. I know, I know it's not about how the piece looks, it's about the "act of doing it..."

Even though this action painting in the canon of Jackson Pollock's work is what he is known for and considered the peak of his artistic career, it is refreshing to know that it did not end this way. Toward the end of his career, we find pieces like this:


... which I actually think is pretty neat!

Anyway, I realized that even though my life currently revolves around being an Art History student, I have never made some nerdy blog post of some rant about art. Don't even get me started on feminism. I hope to make a post soon about the influence of critics in both art and music because I find it fascinating how much crappy art and music has been ADORED because of these guys... even though it sucks.

me and D.

Here is Denise:


Last week on Monday, Denise and I had the pleasure of seeing one of our most favorite bands at the IMU. Here are the Decemberists:


I have been wanting to see this band for quite sometime, and how convenient that they would be playing at the University of Iowa Memorial Union with tickets that I could just charge to my ubill?!

I have always loved the lead guy's voice, but I never knew what he looked like. Here is Colin Meloy:


They sounded just wonderful, which makes sense because they have been playing as a band for years. Not only that, but their stage presence, friendly-ness, and overall charm (specifically from Colin) really made this one of the best, most enjoyable shows I have ever been to! Colin was goofy and did all sorts of quirky things and I felt like we were friends afterward even though I didn't even talk to him.
As a whole, I was expecting them to play a bunch of new stuff, which would have been fine, but they played a little bit of everything (except the Crane Wife, which I thought was weird)! They came out for 2 encores-- the second of which, they played the Mariner's Revenge Song. That was the first song I had ever heard by the Decemberists, and they required crowd participation, and it was just great. Possibly the best way to end a show I have been waiting to see for years. I feel inspired to write songs that are semi-autobiographical (which is how Colin referred to a few of the tunes) and tell stories.

Last Friday, I stopped in Des Moines to see D before I went to my parentals' for Easter. It was wonderfully foggy out and so we took some nifty pictures.


Phew! 2 posts AND a layout change in one day!

classical music.

Despite it still being rainy and kind of chilly and not really sunny or "spring-like" at all outside, I thought it was still an ideal time for a layout change. Sure, I still hold onto my faded, dull colors, but hey, just because it's spring doesn't mean I have to like bright things!

Also, I just finished my last paper for the semester last night and though I still have tons of slides to memorize before finals week, I feel like there is more time in the day to relax, drink coffee, and leave a blog post that is longer than 3 sentences.


More importantly, however, is the theme of this blog post. Classical music. Sometimes I forget about classical music. With the weather and overall thing that is "life," classical music has never seemed more perfect as background music. I was listening to my 3 S. Carey songs on my itunes and they automatically fade into Debussy's "Clair de lune," played by Sam Rotman. This coincidental music change seems to have altered everything. The ups and downs from song to song more perfectly than they have before.

how am I supposed to finish this paper if Microsoft Word keeps freezing?!?! I knew I shouldn't have gone through with the update! bladfkjalfkjeaw!

can't sleep. caaaaaaaaan't sleep. more party down.

why did it take me so long to see this?!?!?!