liszt and Chopin dream sequence

So I decided to make a picture dedicated to Liszt and Chopin and in the end got something that, after I looked at it for a while, could be a really nerdy tattoo.



To explain the picture, Liszt (on top) was an extravagant performer in Paris, and at the same time was Chopin (bottom), a hermitish composer. They're two pianists that are opposites of eachother but were freinds during their lifetimes. Apparently at every one of Liszts performances, women threw their gloves and their flowers at him. He'd throw off his glove from a balcony and they'd freak out. He was pretty much the first rock star. But a rock star playing Rachmoninoff.
Chopin got really sickly and had a lot of failed relationships and went down in history as the boy that dated George Sands. George Sands decided to break up with him because she's unromantic like that.

Shakespeare

So today I realized, as I was cutting dozens of little copper wire peices for a Ham Radio order (my part-part-time job) that I've been really tired lately. I wasn't sure what to make of it. I'm not sick, I'm definately not working myself too hard--what is it?

And then I realized what it is--my body is trying to hybernate through the recession. Like a bear. Instinctually, every time I hear something about the economy I have to take a nap. It's the weirdest thing, and it's getting worse; Every time I hear Obama's voice I start yawning and gorging on cheese and berries and tearing apart cars with my bare hands and eating their packs of oreos and marshmallows.

So here's something I've worked on. I thought maybe I should do a series of historical portraits in Black and White, and I don't like this because it looks too much like Shakespeares portrait.


that and I've never been able to get down his last name. My next portriat will be better, more original. It's going to be Lizst and Chopin. Because I'm obsessed with piano, hopefully I'm not the only one that will get the reference.

Aliens VS Sasquatch

I have not updated this blog in a long time, not because I haven't been doing any art, but because I had a qualm with having a blog that I know should look quasi-professional. Keeping it Quasi-professional stressed me out, because blogs were not invented to look at all that way. So I made another blog for my portfolio, RachelAnneJonesPortfolio.blogspot.com which has nothing that you haven't seen before. It needs its own help; my portfolio needs to be reproduced a lot better and I need more black and whites since those aren't very strong right now.

Until then, I breathe a sigh of relief that now this blog has the potential to be a lot more fun.

My days since graduation have been sort of uneventful, this is mostly because they are much, much shorter. I get out of bed at 9:50 and I try to go to bed at about 10:30. In fact, I don't think I've made an effort to sleep this much ever since my Senior Year of High School, back when I liked naps.

I Take that back, I've only truly napped once in my entire life: I'm an insomniac.

So I try to go to bed at about 10:30 because my doctor orders me to, but I don't actually go to sleep until 1:00 and then I wake up at 4:30 for no good reason and don't sleep until 6:00 and then wake up at 8:00 feeling that wet and awful morning nausia and then pass out for five minute spurts dreaming strange dreams that have something to do with dozens of Boiled Eggs, Deforestation, and Nightcrawler from the X-men.

I wish I remember what it was about because then I could brag fanfic rights and never, ever write it beyond this image.



End of story: I hate insomnia.

I've burned through some books and here is my opinions on them:

"Hunchback of Notre Dame" was one of the most beautiful Analytical Essay on French History I have ever read, second to Les Miserables. The actual plot, making up of only the last third of the book was rediculously awkward (as all victorian novels are), but as Hugo tells us in the last chapter, Well, hello, it was supposed to be a tradegy. I killed everyone and their bodies bounced off of rooftops in glorious detail. I hung them by nooses and made you travel through time as their bodies, embracing eachother for millenia, decomposed into bones and then broke apart into millions of peices at a single touch.

And I was like Disney, what the F? This sick story is now a musical?

But as a book, It's a beautiful book and he writes incredibly and everyone talks to eachother in Shakespearian.

But I'm pretty happy I was kicked out of Lit AP so I never read this in High School, because its really a long description of French history and geography secretly talking about the Frech Revolution in which Victor Hugo played a part. Why we have kids read books like these before they learn World History I'll never know.


"Nation" by Terry Pratchett was very good. Intense, which is the direction he seems to be going now-a-days, but still has the joy that his earlier books have. Its a wonderful description talking of what is faith, what is the difference between honest questioning and doubt and the more aggressive attacks on faith. It also talks on racism, British society, death from tsunami, all that wonderful stuff that shouldn't make a story that is kind of funny. Like all good British Satire, he follows a strange formula of "I will at first tell you there is no God, and then tell you there is, and then say there isn't, and then suggest of course there is, and then reject what I just said and confirm there won't be any way its possible, and then at the very end say just kidding, there still is, but leave it really open ended so it sounds like a cool twist."

It isn't part of the Discworld series, too--rare for him. He is one of my writing heros because his words are like butter on a biscuit, adding flavor, joy, fat, a whole lot of things that Hemmingway would think is unnecesary but we all know is grade A what sells biscuits every time.

I started reading "Dune" and while I am somewhat fascinated I am also somewhat creeped out. I've been reading it pretty slowly. For some reason every time I put the book down after reading I want to take a really long shower.

But Sting was in it so its peachy keen!



Other than that I've been working on my art and my stories because getting a job is futile and I've decided I've done all I can do, so right now the best thing is to get myself with enough stuff so that when the economy comes around I'll have several different stories and drawings to dish out.


So, bored as I am, I thought to take a plunge and start on a YA--not like I've ever taken a creative writing class--but I have taken a business writing class and attended some conferences and read the books from the many creative writing classes that I had to drop from schedule conflict--that I thought it would be something to do with my time that isn't solitaire. I write and read enough anyways that it just...happened. Its a story combining North American and European folklore to make something that sits in between Fantasy and Sci Fi. Its got perks like alchemy, Sasquatches, Ghosts, lake monsters, artists, and a really wierd road trip through the North East.

I never thought it would go anywhere, but now that I've somehow written 65,000 words in about a month and a half I thought maybe I need to do more research so its more legit instead of a fun thing to do with my time.

So to research I've been gleaning The History Channel on what I like to call "Speculative Wednesday," that has everything I need to inspire some weird types of book in my genre. Features that discuss the possibility of things you just don't think about, like Alien Nazis.

Because Nazis aren't weird enough? Oh History Channel, it's embarrassing to see you dress this up as History but I can't keep my eyes off of it. Now show that episode again about the mediums that work in the White House and have saved us from the Vietnam war. Yes. Just like that.

So I thought Aliens were a fascinating folklore and I decided what better (and safer) place to find Speculative rants than on the History Channel Website? And there I found a chatroom from the future. Yes, the future: Someone insisted that Obama is an Alien and will start World War 5. No one really felt like questioning about World war 3 and 4, and I can only assume that it is because, to them, it has already happened.

It quickly became apparent I had to make a decision between two things that cannot exist in my story at the same time. I had to make the choice between Aliens, or Cryptozoological animals like Sasquatch and land jelly fish and that is a hard choice I vacillated with for several days.

I thought...a lot of sources suggest that we are related to both aliens and Sasquatches. Therefore, somewhere out there is maybe a Human Alien Sasquatch. Which, again: can be all sorts of strange and possibly interesting book. But it probably won't sell unless the Human Alien Sasquatch has a romantic interest. I know. I could use an Edward Cullen! I can call him Cedward Ellen! Oh, the possibilities of obsessive love.



and I figured maybe I should nix the Human Alien Sasquatch idea. Forgive my sloppy drawing at such a random time at night. I always start thinking in comics late at night. Its weird because I never read/wrote comics. As you can tell.

So I made a T-chart of the pros and cons between Sasquatches and Aliens to see which is more interesting.




And then I slap my head and say 'ah! why have I been so stupid! Of course, Sasquatches win by a long shot.' Why?

because aliens are boring looking...they're stick figures with two boggly eyes. Why can't anyone get abducted who can draw?