Speeding

You're a passenger in a car.  You want to go fast, and even though you have the authority to exit the car at any time, you don't.  

You want to go fast.  

You love the thrill as the car takes corners a little too fast, as the buildings race by the side windows in a never-ending blur.  Butterflies and a hint of exhilarating panic dance in your belly as the car weaves in and out of traffic.

The car goes faster still.  Horns honk as your bumper glances off of other bumpers.  People dive out of the way, as your car is going way too fast to avoid them if they don't.  Faster still, more danger, more panic.  The car is coming up behind cars too fast to weave anymore, you're just hoping to miss them by sheer luck.

You have a decision to make.  Live with the panic, close your eyes, and continue, or open the car door and jump out.  

It's not a matter of whether or not you'll survive the jump; you will.  You will roll, and you will bruise, but you eventually will come to a stop, stand up, and hobble away.  Staying in the car is a far more dicey proposition.  You might not survive, then again, you might.  It's exciting, and others look on in envy.  You can maintain your daredevil flourish; but those that notice it aren't the ones with their life at stake.  You are.

The car bounces off a curb, spins out of control, knocks your head against the side door before continuing on, just as reckless as before.  It's time to jump, or time to resign yourself to reckless fate.

You open the door and exit the vehicle, landing on your side, and rolling.  Finally you stop; you're okay.  Sore, but alive.  

Hopefully, it will be awhile before you get back into a car like that.

***

It's getting cold.  The summer is gone.  Yes, the same summer that I bitched non-stop about, with 75 days of 100+ temperatures.  The summer that I couldn't wait to end...is gone.  And I miss it.

But dammit, I'm holding out.  Even if I have to wear a jacket, I'll wear shorts or a skirt.  And if it gets too cold for a skirt, I'll still wear either flips, or open-toe shoes.

And if and when it gets too cold for that...I'll be depressed.  I'm not a winter girl.

But soon enough, it will turn summer again, and I'll be happy. My swimsuits will come out again, and so will I.  Then it will be blistering hot again, and I'll bitch about the summer, and wish it would go away.


***

TumblrArt vs. Traditional Art


Does new art, the digital stuff and otherwise, get the same respect as traditional art (oil, acrylic, watercolor paints, etc.)?  Should it?

Before about a year ago, I didn't have much experience with art of any kind.  School trips to the museum was about the extent of it before I really started getting interested.  Even then, it was mostly in the way of traditional art.  I dated a painter for a short while, took a few lessons, and studied the great ones (and still do).  There's a certain quality to it, whether it's classic-style or contemporary painting.  It seems 'fine' and more often than not is very layered and finished looking, even if it's a very busy-looking abstract.

http://www.gallerytoday.com/

In contrast to that are the newer styles of artwork.  Some of it is paint, but a lot of it's digital as well.  Here are a few Tumblr sites that feature different styles of the newer art:

http://magicalfelix.tumblr.com/


http://prathmesh.tumblr.com/

http://www.gaksdesigns.com/

http://resouled.tumblr.com/

A lot of it has the 'feel' of illustration more than anything else.  Is illustration the same as art?  I think it is, it just carries a certain style.  I also notice that a lot of it draws from sci-fi, anime', and fantasy styles.  I'm sure a lot of these artists are graphic artists with formal training, but I can also imagine that a lot of them are self-taught. They're the introverts who sit in the back of class, creating incredibly intricate pen and pencil drawings, now graduated to intricate pieces of digital and mixed-media art.  

The new art, the TumblrArt, is the future.  Something about it lends itself to online viewing, where traditional art, in my opinion, always just makes me think "this is great, but I wish I could see the real thing."  With digital art, you're already looking at the real thing.  

***

Human beings are filled with endless and insatiable desires, one must take a steadfast vow to cease from vainly striving to satisfy them.

This is the struggle of life.