Accidental Internet Finds

I ran across this image at Apartment Therapy while looking for information about IKEA's new SVABBA soap. The internet is a strange and fascinating place. Now to decide whether we should have spaghetti hot dogs for dinner or not....

Uniform Project

Take one dress, make seven copies, add one creative and idealistic individual and what do you have? The Uniform Project, devised and carried out by Sheena Matheiken, is the record of one woman's plan to wear the same dress every day for 365 days. She takes her inspiration from school girl days in uniform. Despite the fact that they had to wear uniforms, she and her classmates managed to individualize their outfits using a bit of creativity. Sheena's also using this project as a way to raise money for the Akanksha’s School Project, which helps slum children in Mumbai and Pune, India to get an education. What she doesn't say, is that this is a fantastic exercise in the principle of "less is more" in the clothes if not the accessories department. The project has only been running since May 1, so if you start following now, you will get to see a lot of creativity and watch her transition into cooler seasons, too.

I'm looking forward to seeing the dress pattern and I'll be thinking about how this might influence my own ideas about style, clothes, and whatnot. Since moving to the Netherlands and beginning what feels like my adult life (no more funky t-shirts every day), I've had a number of clothing crises and epiphanies. Unfortunately, they don't always follow on each other in that rapid succession, either. For the moment, there is an awful lot of black in my closet. Sometimes I think it's highly unimaginative of me, but then I figure that wearing bright red shoes most days probably helps that problem. There's more thinking to be done about this.

This project is not the only on-line project or even one year project I've encountered. I mentioned some of them in an earlier post. Plus, there's myyear's project, which may come to an end unfortunately soon. I've also seen other 365 day projects, like Mithi's 365-day photo project or the sketch-a-day project that I can't find anymore (there are a lot of them out there, I just can't find the one I saw first). Blogging seems to be a way for people to log their progress and build a supportive network for their projects. Have you run into any interesting long-term blog projects?

Shocking Review

I am saddened to report that the New York Times Book Review and I have are in total disagreement about The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. The book review I read today, written by Ginia Bellafante, criticizes author Rief Larsen for the very things I admire, namely the way he combined visual and written work. That which I find inspiring, Ms. Bellafante finds tiresome. All I can say is that I'm glad that the book came to me long before the review entered my gmail inbox - and in the end, we have to follow our own feelings about things like books.

As a side note, if you have some time to kill (and don't we all?), the book has a great website!

Have any of you read The Selected Works? What did you think?

Word Toy

That's what I wrote yesterday, brought to you by Wordle. This is about how it's going to read to me today when I start editing, too! What fun.

I can't figure out how to make it bigger just yet - but if you click on it, you'll go to the site.

Writing Panic

My dissertation adviser informed me recently that I'm ready to write a brief theoretical framework for my thesis. In other words, about two pages of text explaining what theories I would like to use, how they are useful for me, and the pros and cons of each. You know, just a sketch so I have something to work with. This surprising and encouraging news. Basically, it means that in my reading and thinking, I've reached a point where it makes sense to stake out a position from which to tackle the rest of my project. Think of it as having figured out the spot where I want to pitch my tent and admire (or in my case, critique) the view for this project.

In reality, thinking about this has sent me into a blind writing panic. The signs of panic are classic. First, there are wildly colorful and superficial notes in my notebook. Deciding to use fun stationary products is a classic writing panic move. Secondly, I started pulling up all the files in which I had written anything at all about these topics. These were read repeatedly and still don't make any sense to me. The third classic move was the research diversion. This is where I start googling the phrase "theoretical framework" and pulling books off the shelf that have to do with writing. One of my favorites is Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones, but as great as it is, it's not really an academic writing tool. Another one I got out was The Craft of Research Writing. Finally, this morning I tried the ultimate diversion: reading. In this case, it involved getting out two books on a topic I'm not sure about in order to try to find some grounding. This is a great move because it allows me to forget the fact that there are things that I'm actually quite certain about even if I've failed to articulate them fully.

And then I came to my senses.

I put away all the books and the notebooks and the old writing. I opened my "daily writing" file and looked at the clock (11:20am). Then I wrote, telling myself I would write without a break for at least 10 minutes. At 11:52, after writing a full 22 minutes longer than I had planned to write, I stopped in the middle of a thought (this is a good thing). The just-sit-down-and-write method worked. After ranting and raving about my panic and well-refined procrastination techniques, I wrote probably a good third of my theoretical framework. All the things that have been composting (thank you Natalie and Dad for the terminology), finally broke through the surface and, in rough form, are on paper.

So, the solution for writers block? It's never changed. Write.

Ask and the Internet Shall Deliver

Last month, I was grumbling about the internet. More specifically, I was grumbling about the fact that Hulu doesn't work outside the US, making it impossible for me to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. My complaining is over. The internet delivered in the form of (1) a helpful comment from alala and (2) YouTube. I'm watching now. Life is groovy. The internet is back in my good books.

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book. Think of it as Harriet the Spy for the new millennium. The story of a young boy from Montana who likes nothing better than to record his life in precious notebooks. His records take the form of intricate and beautiful maps that are featured in the book as sidebars and notes. I originally bought this book because it was fun to look at. I'm recommending it (and sending copies to friends) because it's also a great story. I didn't read anything about it before starting, so this review stops here. Read it, be surprised, and I bet you'll end up adoring it, too!