Sleeping insects covered in morning dew

Photos by Miroslaw Swietek.
I thank my friend Shel for turning me onto these.

[source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/]

How to Brighten a Dark Room

The first tip I would share with anyone asking how to brighten a dark room would be to figure out whether the room actually needs lightening or brightening. I learned the hard way that they are not one and the same. You can add more light through natural sources, through adding lamps and light fixture as well as mirrors to reflect and amplify but still have a dull, lifeless bedroom that has no personality. Basically what you have is a well lit room that lacks pizzazz!

What you need to know is how to brighten a dark room without sunlight and running up the electric bill. You can buy a new comforter set choosing bright fabrics and change the wall color to something cheerful if you have the funds for a complete makeover. But if you are looking for less expensive decorating ideas look for ways to rev up the engine of the paint and bedding set that you already have in place.

Bright, energetic artwork is a cheap way to pump life into an otherwise lethargic space. Choosing art prints and accent pieces with movement and bright colors is the key to bringing your bedroom to life. Skip the dark colors, the still life pictures, landscapes and the floral arrangements. Look for prints that have twirling, spinning graphics and a bold splash of color for the best results. Even though light colors will never never brighten up a dark room. Dark colors can make the space seem small and dim.

Dancing prints work well with most teenage girls bedding bedding sets as well as sports prints. Basically, anything that is bright as well as lighthearted should do the trick.

NERD WALL ART

Find it at scribbleoneverything.com


This decal that a client's daughter presented to me as nerd wall art that she wants as a focal point in her "nerd bedroom" (her words not mine, evidently being nerdy is very cool these days) is a painful reminder that I didn't apply myself when I was in high school. I was not the only teenage girl who memorized the periodic table of elements just long enough to pass chemistry class so I was not an odd duck.


Today nerds are the new "IN CROWD" and this young girl is perhaps the leader of the pack because she is drop dead gorgeous and not your dingy absent minded professor type either! Good looking, high achievers like her have become so trendy that they are developing their own decorating style and nerd decor like this decal and other pieces of nerd wall art are popping up all over the place!

In light of the monochromatic nature of the nerd wall art, I have to find a set of bedding and take her bedroom furniture and the headboard to her bed to be painted with flat black paint to match the periodic table wall poster and decals that she bought at scribbleoneverything.com.


Since I signed on to decorate this young lady's self-proclaimed nerd bedroom I have hopes that I get more jobs working for the intellectual set because I have my eye on some Legend of Zelda bedding that I'm dying to use teen girls bedding set in a gamer bedroom design.

The Photography of Craig Varjabedian

Craig Verjebedian has been photographing the American West for over 30 years. I discovered him from reading this article on NPR Ghosts, Dudes And Ranches: A Large-Format View Of The American West. It's worth checking out.

The Old Patriarch, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 1999

Lowrider Cadillac named "Chimayo," Owned by Victor Martinez, Chimayo, New Mexico, 1997

Cottonwoods No. 5, Autumn, near La Cienga, New Mexico, 1998

Moonrise over Penitente Morada, Dusk, Late Autumn, New Mexico, 1991

Capilla San Antonio, Sunset, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1999

Cruciform Penitente Morada and Family Chapel on Hill, Late Afternoon, Autumn, New Mexico, 1990

La Iglesia de San Francisco de Asís, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico 1997

The Grand Tetons, Sunset Jackson,Wyoming, 1998

TOONYOPEENG-YA (Very Spotted Mountain), The Black Mesa San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, 1986

Capilla de Nuestra Señora de la Luz, Sunset & Evening Storm, Cañoncito at Apache Canyon, New Mexico, 1985

Lodgepole Pines, Dawn, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 1998

[photos: afterimagegallery.com]

Happy 86th Birthday Marlon Brando!

Born April 3, 1924

Died July 1, 2004

"Acting is the expression of a neurotic impulse. It's a bum's life. The principal benefit acting has afforded me is the money to pay for my psychoanalysis."

Ah, Marlon.

[photo: thenewyorkseason.com]

Hysteria

Portrait of T.S. Eliot by Wyndham Lewis

Hysteria by T.S. Eliot

As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved
in her laughter and being part of it, until her
teeth were only accidental stars with a talent
for squad-drill. I was drawn in by short gasps,
inhaled at each momentary recovery, lost finally
in the dark caverns of her throat, bruised by
the ripple of unseen muscles. An elderly waiter
with trembling hands was hurriedly spreading
a pink and white checked cloth over the rusty
green iron table, saying: "If the lady and
gentleman wish to take their tea in the garden,
if the lady and gentleman wish to take their
tea in the garden ..." I decided that if the
shaking of her breasts could be stopped, some of
the fragments of the afternoon might be collected,
and I concentrated my attention with careful
subtlety to this end.

The Damned United - My Review

It seems like Michael Sheen is everywhere right now! He's in the ever pop culturally present Twilight franchise as Aro, the super baddie vampire. I've seen him on a bunch of talk shows recently promoting his small role as the White Rabbit in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. He was amazingly fabulous in a two episode stint on this season of 30 Rock as Liz Lemon's "Future Husband" - a daffy, delightful storyline that I wish had gone on longer. Frost/Nixon has been playing a lot on cable and he can be spotted in the new trailer for Disney's highly anticipated Tron Legacy. Plus, I follow him on twitter where lately he's been tweeting links to music he loves (The Specials, Roy Orbison, Son House, The Duke Spirit). Then my boyfriend and I netflixed a British football (soccer) film called The Damned United and guess what? Michael Sheen is the star.

Not only is he the star of The Damned United he is absolutely brilliant in it playing notorious British football manager Brian Clough with a mix of arrogance and earnestness and a glint in his eye. The movie was not at all what I expected it to be. It's not a "thrill of the game" sports movie, there aren't a lot of scenes even filmed on the pitch. It's a behind the scenes film about what is involved when a sports manager runs a successful (or struggling) team: the money, the politics, the team owners, the players, the media. In fact, if I had to categorize this film at all I would call it a love story. The film centers around Brian Clough's relationship with his assistant manager and best friend, Peter Taylor, played by the always excellent Timothy Spall. Their relationship is loving and mutually beneficial, until it isn't. When their relationship sours, your heart breaks for them, and you keep watching in anticipation to see if they will get back together.

With a wonderfully sharp script by Peter Morgan that takes a convoluted sports story and focuses it in on the human relationships within that world, The Damned United was a pleasure to watch.