tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32523001.post115819050222367375..comments2007-06-26T17:58:17.703-05:00Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847605396658754483noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32523001.post-49802438657510695822007-06-26T17:58:00.000-05:002007-06-26T17:58:00.000-05:00Yes, Jennifer, I definitely get blank stares! <BR/><BR/>After our wedding (we got married in France) I came back to Texas, and drove the 2 hours from Dallas to Tyler where we lived at the time, and all I saw around me were broken down old shacks and utilitarian ugly buildings, and it seriously depressed me!! I couldn't explain to people what it was...but I think after being surrounded by such a culturally and architecturally (is that a word? lol) rich part of the world, to come back to a place so empty of architectural (and artistic and musical) beauty was just really sad, it just felt so lacking. I need these things to feed my soul!!<BR/><BR/>That's one of the reasons I'm so greatful for the cathedral in Austin...I'm able to get my weekly dose of beauty (art, music, architecture) at mass. :-)Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847605396658754483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32523001.post-42274084178348965632007-06-26T15:36:00.000-05:002007-06-26T15:36:00.000-05:00LOVE this post, especially your last paragraph.<BR/><BR/>Do you find that when you talk to others about this, about half the time they respond with blank stares? I've tried to articulate this as a part of my conversion and feel like the concept of seeking deep truth and beauty is just not something that many people are interested in.<BR/><BR/>...Or maybe I'm just not explaining it well. :)Jennifer F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11894992378619176830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32523001.post-28935625791305978212007-06-25T10:30:00.000-05:002007-06-25T10:30:00.000-05:00Thanks prairie...I don't know why it wasn't working, but it's fixed now :-)Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847605396658754483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32523001.post-48946954796698210242007-06-25T08:57:00.000-05:002007-06-25T08:57:00.000-05:00Thanks for the tip about this artist. BTW, check your link to the on-line gallery of his work.Prairie Princesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07520071285272110432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32523001.post-1158591639426401462006-09-18T10:00:00.000-05:002006-09-18T10:00:00.000-05:00Ha! You know it's funny...you're not the first person that has told me that about a Bouguereau painting, lol! Maybe that's why I like them so much...that seems kinda vain, lol! <BR/><BR/>I wish I could go to a Ren Faire, I've always wanted to go to one, just so I could have an excuse to dress up! :-DStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847605396658754483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32523001.post-1158556726956321052006-09-18T00:18:00.000-05:002006-09-18T00:18:00.000-05:00Have u noticed the girl in the picture (the way he draws them) kinda looks like u?<BR/>U should do Ren Faire with me next year :)Puphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05979045599630837792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32523001.post-1158425737592567462006-09-16T11:55:00.000-05:002006-09-16T11:55:00.000-05:00Thanks Thomas!! Lovely poem, and I'll check out your recommendations =)Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847605396658754483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32523001.post-1158414910787777522006-09-16T08:55:00.000-05:002006-09-16T08:55:00.000-05:00I totally concur. . .<BR/><BR/>Oh steph, if I could only TELL you how frequently I get discouraged when I start to talk about the passion i feel for these things with other people, and they look at me like I said a dirty word. I get so excited over music, art, literature, etc. . .whether contemporary of classic. . .and so many people just don;t seem to "get" it.<BR/><BR/>One of my favorite Lyricists, Neil Peart, wrote this several years ago, It is called "Mission"<BR/><BR/>Hold your fire-<BR/>Keep it burning bright<BR/>Hold the flame 'til the dream ignites-<BR/>A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission<BR/><BR/>I hear their passionate music<BR/>Read the words that touch my heart<BR/>I gaze at their feverish pictures<BR/>The secrets that set them apart<BR/><BR/>When I feel the powerful visions<BR/>Their fire has made alive<BR/>I wish I had that instinct-<BR/>I wish I had that drive<BR/><BR/>Spirits fly on dangerous missions<BR/>Imaginations on fire<BR/>Focused high on soaring ambitions<BR/>Consumed in a single desire<BR/><BR/>In the grip of a nameless possession-<BR/>A slave to the drive of obsession-<BR/>A spirit with a vision<BR/>Is a dream with a mission...<BR/><BR/>I watch their images flicker<BR/>Bringing light to a lifeless screen<BR/>I walk through their beautiful buildings<BR/>And I wish I had their dreams<BR/><BR/>But dreams don't need to have motion<BR/>To keep their spark alive<BR/>Obsession has to have action-<BR/>Pride turns on the drive<BR/><BR/>It's cold comfort<BR/>To the ones without it<BR/>To know how they struggled-<BR/>How they suffered about it<BR/><BR/>If their lives were exotic and strange<BR/>They would likely have gladly exchanged them<BR/>For something a little more plain<BR/>Maybe something a little more sane<BR/><BR/>We each pay a fabulous price<BR/>For our visions of paradise<BR/>But a spirit with a vision<BR/>Is a dream with a mission...<BR/><BR/>You keep that vision. . you keep that idea that "beauty is truth". That is why we labor, either with our writing, or our art, or our music. This is why I will labor in the dead of night to get the music or the lyrics "just right". . not for accolades, or money or fame. . but for BEAUTY.<BR/><BR/>Recommendations:<BR/><BR/>Lawrence Ferlenghetti--"Constantly risking absurdity and death"<BR/><BR/>Dylan Thomas--"In my Craft or Sullen Art"<BR/><BR/>Hugs to ya!Thomas J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14073497592486545386noreply@blogger.com