THE Guilty Pleasure of the Day

Yes, I am proud to admit that I am a romantic.  I am in my studio and it's 4:20 am.  I have coffee and my sketchbook watching a crowd of well-dressed people in London awaiting the wedding of Catherine and William.

The "fascinators", hats similar to what we would call cocktail hats.  If I were there, I have chosen one of these to wear:

                      

Happily Target-Marketed

                             So, I was in my local discount shoe store,
                              looking for cute, comfortable, colorful,
                               spring shoes. After trying many on, I
                                          choose the $11 pair:

                                     

                                I go to the cashier to pay.  I stand in
                               line.  A manager, not wanting to miss
                                a sale because I am impatient (am I
                             that easy to read?), says to me, "Ma'am,
                                  I'll take you over at that register"
                                As he's carefully entering the vast
                                information needed to process my
                                 huge purchase, I am compelled to
                            browse the sock display (as we all know,
                           marketing is a conspiracy to add full-price
                               extras to your carefully-chosen items).      
                                     I need socks. I choose a package
                                that had been hiding behind flowery
                                                    neon socks.

                                           

                               

                            Really, there were MUCH more vivid options.

                                  So, here's where I get to my point.

                            I get in my car and, beacause I chose not to

                                have a bag, my colorful purchases are

                                                  making me smile. 

                           Then, I notice what you, Observant Reader,

                                            have already noticed:

                                          

                                                       THEY MATCH!

                                           Yes, it is the small surprises

                                                  that make us want to

                                                       share our glee.

                                                     And now I have.

  

Surreal Entertainment

I created my own surreal world recently by accident (how else?).  You can do the same, and I hope you do.  You need to be able to switch back and forth between two recordings or have the serendipitous luck to have one recorded, as I did, and catch the other on TV.

The programs are:
     1. A Mighty Wind and
     2. PBS'  John Sebastian Presents Folk Rewind

Because it always seems to be Pledge Week at PBS, you should be able to find it (please note I am NOT getting on my they-only-show-things-I-want-to-watch-dusing-pledge-week soap box, but it's a challenge) and Christopher Guest's movie seems to be on fairly frequently).

I realized how truly surreal the experience when I did not know which I was watching.  At first I was afraid I'd lost another part of my mind, but then?  WAHOO! What fun!  I sure hope you try it.  If you like it, you might try Best in Show and one of the National Dog Shows.  I'm not sure I could handle it. 
           

How to Steal Like an Artist

Someone shared this link today and I am paying it forward by sharing it with you.  It is simple wisdom that can be used immediately by anyone (shhh!  It's not really just about art).  I really wish someone had done the same for me then I was in college.  Sister Mary Remy Revor (look her up; it will be worth it) told me at a 3-day workshop when I was a month away from graduation.  College would have been so much easier and I more constructively productive. Seriously, what is the point in all the mystery?  Help others, help yourself.  Keeping everything you have learned to yourself does not make you powerful;  it ensures you will be truly lonely and demonstrates you are selfish.  STOP IT!
http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/