Have you ever tried to paint on layers of subtlety, so that you could become more human? What is it to be human, if not to have these levels of sentience, of experience, and reflection, and graceful separation and yet revelation with the world around you?

I don't know. I feel like we are losing depth, even as we sink deeper into the stagnant mediocrity of Western civilization. A few people are breaking out of the monotony; sometimes I have to shake myself awake in order to keep on swimming up and out of it.

Planning a future.

A year without restaurants.

So while I was watching the Food Network yesterday morning and lazily studying for a humanities quiz, I thought seriously about resolving to only cook at home for a year, with a few exceptions for birthdays and celebrations if need be. I know some people do this quite often, while others are understanding to my lifestyle because they live it, too: not enough time in the day to cook. But that's not really true, and I know it's not, because my roommate cooks pretty frequently and although she isn't working while going to school (my main excuse), she is still tied up in a college student's hectic schedule of class, homework, tests and studying (and a little playing to balance it all out).

And so I have found my New Year's resolution for 2010: to cook at home exclusively, using very little premade things (like cheating with frozen dinners, I mean) and taking the time to plan out menus and make grocery trips that aren't sporadic at best. It could be the worst idea I've ever had, but it's a challenge that I feel could help me feel healthier, challenge me to recreate dishes I miss, and to save up for who knows what.

Stuff on my mind.

Magical.

The Secret History.

Somethings change my life because of their resonance. The Symbolist movement that I read through in a haze of library books from the 1930's; falling in love with Kurt Vonnegut two weeks before he passed away as I read A Man without a Country for my high school senior English class; the afternoon I read most of On the Road.

I am currently about a hundred pages into Diana Tartt's The Secret History and I can feel it changing me as I read. It's mood is autumn and winter, its language is my fleeting dreams, and its ending is as mysterious to me as my own unspoken and truly unwonderered future.

In form.

So I've decided to combine Earring du Jour with Mad with Art, so I can update more frequently on the topics I am interested on most often. Since I have such few followers anyway, I don't expect it'll be a big deal. :D

Resolve.

Penelope.

Umbra.

This display caught my attention at Target last night. It was a rather dark twist to the normal Targetwares, but it's very trendy and I expect many dorms and student apartments to be decorated with these pieces this year. That being said, the most intriguing piece, for me, was the Halftime Clock because it's just a big slice of clock. How curious.