Describe your ideal day- Ok I'll play.

PS Above is my most favorite header I've had in a long time: Doug Wheeler, light installation artist, everyone. Mmmm.

Above the Clouds at Sunrise. 1849. An early Frederic Edwin Church painting from his days when he still retained traces of religious symbolism in his landscapes (Notice the vague cupping hand shape of the clouds). Ever since I first saw it two years ago, I have wanted a poster of this painting to wake up to every morning. Simultaneously tranquil and majestic.

(The following is yet another inspiration from the girl who writes Healthy is Always Better.)

My Ideal Day

-Wake up warm, rested, and headache-less at sunrise

- Reese's Puffs mixed with Cheerios in my blue striped bowl. While sitting in bed. Listening to General Conference talks.

- Put on a skirt.

- Cobb's in a good mood and runs to hug me when I come in.

- Text from crush in the morning. Because, let's face it... crushes are the second thing I think about after I wake up.

- Drive Cobb around in my boss's sexy Land Rover and pretend for a second that it's mine. Then remember that I am getting PAID to drive said car, and subsequently cherish my own life all the more.

-Text someone I think could use a bit of encouragement, renew a friendship as a result

- Get off work early and metro to GWU Library, where beautifully illustrated books from InterLibrary Loan sit waiting for me, holding in their new glossy or old delicate pages tons of fascinating information that supports my budding thesis topic perfectly.

- Good workout at the GWU gym with a friend who is only slightly better than me to motivate me.

-Walk home from metro in the sunset (Preferably 68 degrees or warmer, this is important :)

- Get all gussied up while listening to my muse, Alicia Keys

- Go out to eat at one of the new and fun restaurants in the area with friends/boy; intensely thoughtful or side-splittingly funny conversations ensue

-Stroll around DC/VA neighborhood in which restaurant is situated. Find a cute piece of architecture and take a picture of it to send to dad.

- Say focused prayers and then go to sleep with much to look forward to the next day

4.0 and 2011

Breaking news: I NAILED my classes with another 4.0 and I DO feel like being braggy about it. I worked so dang hard, and had to deal with some MAJOR personality clashes in one class. I literally poured my sweat, tears, and thousands of dollars into finals week this semester (the money, fyi, went to buying myself a new laptop and paying for the repairs of a second, borrowed laptop that I also ruined during finals... long story). Phew.  The image of grief I posted at the end of my first semester of grad school (here ya go) flickered to mind after I turned in my final paper a week ago, but I'm happy to report that I'm not as wrecked as I was that first semester, which was, amazingly, two whole years ago. I can't believe how long this master's is taking. TWO SEMESTERS TO GO!!!!!

2012's gonna be good. Gonna be a game changer. This scares me a little, I've actually grown to enjoy DC this year, more than I have in years past, when I've merely tolerated it. Visions of moving to the West Coast still dance around in my head, but for now I'm just going to leave my moving/career plans to fate and faith.

I don't want to make resolutions. I DO want to ruminate on what's just happened this year, though. Some years go quicker than others; this year was a long, slow haul with lots of mini-mile-markers that resulted in gradual progress and change in my life.

Biggest surprise of 2011: my job nannying Cobb, which came out of the blue in March and was a 1,000% improvement over my previous job managing the bakery. Cobb is a delightful little 2 year old, and his parents are absolute joys to work with. They love their son so much and support me in anything I want to do to help him develop into a happy, healthy, smart young man. I've really appreciated this job because, among its many, many great aspects, it has helped me realize how intellectually stimulating and rewarding the act of raising children full-time can be. I've had reservations about that in the past. But now I know I can do it, do it well, and absolutely love it. (Please oh please let my future children be perfect angels like Little Man is!)

Clearest memory of 2011: Running the last five miles of my first half marathon in November at full speed :)

Best unexpected answer to prayer: this is random, but a few weeks ago, coming home from one of my finals, I started to feel an unreasonable amount of anxiety about my train. I think I'd seen some sketchy guy with a pink suitcase on the platform or something. At any rate, by the time the train reached the bridge over the Potomac on its way into Virginia, I was convinced that death/an explosion was imminent. I know this sounds dramatic but it's true, and inexplicable. I don't do anxiety like that hardly ever. I started to pray. More earnestly that I had in a long while. I recognized the change in humility and intent with which I now spoke to my maker, and I acknowledged that I was not, in fact, where I would like to be should I really truly meet him in the next few moments. As the seconds wore on and the train chugged forward, my prayer turned to one of pleading for my family in case they were the ones in danger, and then, heart rate slowing, I began to thank Him for the many wonderful aspects of school, friends, and work that had been blessing my life lately. I thanked him for the gift of his son, Jesus Christ, who has been teaching me how to have faith and not fear all year. I told Heavenly Father about my plan to recommit to him and to use the atonement in a more dedicated manner to be who I want to be. I also told him that I have been thinking about actively trying to be more grateful to him, which plan I was going to implement immediately. :) As my train pulled safely into Pentagon City, I wondered why Heavenly Father caused me to have that weird near-death feeling (I knew it wasn't my own doing). I even said a prayer to him; "Well, that was weird, but I trust that You will tell me why You allowed me to feel that soon enough!" A mere three days later (a Saturday :) I found out I was teaching a lesson the next day on the second coming. I knew as soon as I saw my topic that Heavenly Father really wanted me to KNOW the urgency with which He wants us to prepare ourselves, our families, and the nations, for His Son's return. I needed to have some experience in this area in order to best give that lesson to my Relief Society sisters. So there you go; an unexpected answer that was actually given before I'd knew I'd had a need. I really appreciate these types of small reminders that Heavenly Father actively watches over our days and minutes.

Favorite purchase of 2011: The Red Dress :) ----seenhere----->

Love-life triumph: a fun, brief love affair with the most confident, thoughtful question-asker I've ever met

2011 Low Point: a poorly-timed visit from an ex. :)

2011 High Point: visiting my very pregnant best friend Jessica in August and then getting to meet her little daughter only a few days ago. Whatever makes Jess happy makes me happy too, so we were pretty dang happy this year!!! I'm so grateful for the enduring and enlightening power of eternal friendships.

College BFF Jess, bebe Olivia, me, bebe Jence, HS BFF Breann

Things that happened in 2011 that I want to repeat in 2012: 

Finish a half marathon, 

get straight A's,

make/save a lot of money,

see a musical (Les Mis at the Kennedy Center),

Things that didn't happen in 2011 that I want to do in 2012:

eat at Virtue Feed and Grain in Alexandria,

get a Master's degree,

get a job with business cards and a 401k,

visit Florida and Harry Potter World,

fall in love with a boy that is NOT 2 years old

Funnier than adding "In the Bathtub" to the title

So I'm preparing a lesson for my singles ward Relief Society right now on... Eternal Marriage (sigh). Aka the same thing we've been talking about for 6 years (but I'm not complaining! Got plenty to learn!). I am, however, throwing in a twist today for my own sanity. I'm making it a rule that no one can say the words "single" or "dating" in their comments. We're just talking the bare-bones principles of the essential ordinance of marriage today here, ladies.

Also, I found out that the teacher gets to pick which hymns are sung at the beginning and end of her lesson. My roommate and I got a great kick out of debating which hymns would have the most thematically inappropriate undertones at the end of a marriage lesson amongst older single girls. My favorite rejects:

Does the Journey Seem Long?
I Need Thee Every Hour
The Happy Day At Last Has Come
Did You Think to Pray?
Praise to the Man
Silent Night
I Have Work Enough To Do
Father, Cheer Our Souls Tonight
The Time is Far Spent

And, the ultimate winner:
Tis Sweet to Sing the Matchless Love

This is the place.

This is the stuff.

This is the end goal.

This is precious.

This is just because.

26

Here's a list of fabulous things accomplished by people during their 25th year of life:

Orson Welles co-scripted, directed, and starred in Citizen Kane.

Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly alone across the Atlantic, thus winning a $25,000 prize.

Fayette, N.Y. farmhand Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints after translating the Book of Mormon from golden tablets revealed to him by the angel Moroni.

Physician Roger Bannister broke the four minute mile. As he collapsed unconscious into the arms of his trainer, the loudspeaker announced, "The time was three..." The uproar of the fans drowned out the rest of the announcement.

Natalie Wood earned her third Oscar nomination.

Charles Chaplin appeared in his 35th film.

I, Lindsey Ann, earned approximately $14,000, opened two bakeries, took out my endowments in the LDS Las Vegas temple, did research at FBI headquarters, fell in love with Ethiopian art, traveled to New York City 3x, rode a blue bike along the Outer Banks, saw Brad Paisley in concert, and loved my friends and family.

Ashley and I on the NYC Subway

Blue bike on Bonito Road... I think my face accurately expresses how I felt about being alive at that moment.

Marissa, Brad, and I, rockin out

Miracles occur. These three besties making it down to Vegas for my endowment was one of them.

Example of the type of contemporary Ethiopian art that lights my fire! by Wosene Kosrof 

Me and Amanda, my boss at Crumbs.
She also had never opened a store before, I think we did a pretty good job!! 

More besties

Notable accomplishments by people age 26:

Albert Einstein published five major research papers in a German physics journal, fundamentally changing man's view of the universe and leading to such inventions as television and the atomic bomb.

Benjamin Franklin published the first edition of Poor Richard's Almanac, which was to play a large role in molding the diverse American character.

College dropout Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple Computer.

Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, revolutionizing the economies of the United States and Britain.

British ethologist Jane Goodall set up camp in the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve on Lake Tanganyika and began studying the lives of chimpanzees.

Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Italy.

... My journey for similar glory starts tomorrow. I'm turning 26.

Some ideas for how to change the world in a year:

- Continue to get more education

- Be financially self-reliant and thus be prepared to aid others

- Deepen my relationship with Jesus Christ and invite others to get to know him, too

- Marry up and start making wicked smart, funny, beautiful babies

- Pass my French certification

- Stop running the tap while I brush my teeth

- Laugh til I cry with choice friends
- Get a new stamp  in my passport

- Be in the right time at the right place for somebody

Probably the most self-indulgent post I'll ever write, but it's Vday. Love me.

I love love.

Everyone does, it's magical, so that's NBD.

I love dating!

Not so many concur with that one.

I really do. Getting dressed up, daydreaming about them before the date and after the date if it goes well, giving someone your full attention, seeing how they put their best foot forward (or don't :), etc. It's all great stuff! Sure, there's the whole three-day-agony when he doesn't respond to your text, and of course, breaking up or being rejected absolutely sucks, but such is life. Dating's so worth it, getting to know someone one-on-one. Such a great thing.

Whenever any downtime occurs, I just tell myself he obviously isn't worth the worry and move my focus elsewhere. Being 25 1/2, almost a decade into my dating career, I've done that quite a few times now, just as I have broken a few hearts, brightened a few boys' weekends, and even gotten to change a few lives, and be changed myself, for the better.

In Institute last week our teacher challenged us to think about all of our best and worst decisions, and what made them so. Both my best and worst decisions involve relationships (and charity and pride, respectively). I can say with confidence, though, that there's only been a single date in the almost TEN years I've been dating that I regret going on. That's a really good track record I think.

It sounds cheesy, but I really do feel like I've learned from each boy/guy/man I've dated, even if none of them have become my true love quite yet. I remember when I was a sophomore in college I made a list of every boy I'd ever been on a date with. There's no way I can recreate that list now, five years later, I can't remember them all... but I do have some highlights. :) The following is a grossly, unfairly, stereotyped survey of select guys I've gone out with, because it's V-day and I'd like to remember that it's not because I haven't given things a shot with a variety of fantastic and not-so-fantastic menfolk. We all nickname our crushes: "Library boy," "volleyball boy," "motorcycle man," etc., please don't judge me for having had this list in such a format in the back of my head. Is your list really any different? (Especially you marrieds??) How do you feel about YOUR list? I hope you can take pride in it, it's a pretty important thing to be content with.

A survey of Lindsey's love interests (Future husband, you get to feel proud that you bested all of the following):

Eldorado HS soccer player (my first date :)

I stayed good friends with all these guys,
I don't think they'll mind being the
visual content of today's post :)

HS prom date who moved into my singles ward 5 years later and announced over the pulpit that I made a great date
The Hobbit (he was 5'5"... and VERY confident, so manly!)
BYU football players 1, 2, and 3
BYU Swimmer
Harvard Tennis Player
Utah Football player
BYU Rugby player (the most gentlemanly of all the athletes)
Guy who got married and became the 1st counselor in my singles ward bishopbric... AWKWARD.
Skiier Boy
Guy who introduced me to Jack Johnson (my very favorite boy of all time... sigh. Win some, lose some.)
Guy who studied Computers at the Y and had zero social skills (worst date EVER)
BYU Mascot ( he didn't know I knew!)
Harvard MBA
Afghanistan EOD Officer, (owner of the most interesting boy award).
BYU JD
BYU MACC
BYU MBA
Yale JD
Boy who gave me the extra set of keys to his car (schwing!)
Drummer in a jazz band
Future prophet
Princeton Prepster
African do-gooder save-the-world type
Hill staffers 1, 2, and 3
Most beautiful guy I've ever seen (congrats to his new wife :)
Boy who liked techno and wanted to wear a Batman suit the first night of his marriage
Shakespearean actor
Guy who let me drive his dad's Corvette
Rich surfer boy from the OC, sweetest guy ever
Orthopedic surgeon
My second cousin (JK... although my best friend tried to set me up with him once :)
FBI Agent
Dental students 1, 2, and 3 (GO UNLV!!!!!)
Florida boy (I'll always wonder what happened to him...)

I'm still missing a collegiate lacrosse player. They've always topped my list of boys I wanted to date. Well, them, and THE ONE of course, whoever the heck he may turn out to be. I've still got time!

I need to end this post on a less braggy, more V-day appropriate note. My friends and I were recently talking about our "types," and I was surprised to find that the other girls had no idea what their types were; the men they've dated vary too widely. I was surprised because my type has remained consistent since high school, maybe even junior high, when I first began to love boys.

I'm going to tell you what I told these girls, the same thing I told my stake president in 12th grade when he wanted to set me up, the same thing I thought to myself at age 11 when the class clown asked quiet little me about the necklace I was wearing: I love funny men, the kind that can entertain a roomful of people but especially the girls. The ones that like asking girls questions. He can even be a little high maintenance, I like maintaining someone :). Find me one of those, universe, make sure he loves God and family and learning about the big wide world, and we'll be in business. Thank you in advance, so much.

Happy Valentine's Day, my friends. If you have someone to love, do so with all your heart. Such is the sweetest gift life has to offer.

Lord Frederic Leighton. The Painter's Honeymoon. 1864. MFA Boston.

What I like about a winter sleet storm

1. Sitting in bed watching a lot of movies on my laptop
2. Opening a new tab and making this list

This is me, at work, on a bad hair day (thank heavens for bandana!), with Flat Stanley and some sample size Red Velvet Cupcakes:

Please note that silver espresso machine in the back. It probably cost more than your new car.

This is me, going to church, on a good hair day:

The end.

I'd like to thank my sponsors...

As my school muse Hermione says in a bad American accent, "Booyah!"

3 brilliant theses and 58 pages later, my finals are finished, and I have emerged out of my sweatpants-draped room, gone on a bright, snowy run, and returned to the real world (aka Harris Teeter the grocery store).

Last finals week I showed you this:

My old school "posulating" about the religious overtures of Frederick Edwin Church's Aurora Borealis. 

This finals week I present to you my more technologically advanced method of composing big fat essays:

Copious research notes and a laptop. Old school might be better...

I really feel the need to thank those entities that have gotten me through this week. In no particular order, I heartily express my gratitude to:

-NOVA Institute choir (Beautiful concert Tuesday night!)

-http://www.bibme.org/ (Holy shiz.SO unbelievably happy to now avoid hour-long hunts for the original place of publication!)

-Spike Mendelsohn and his lovely The Good Stuff Cookbook (concocting  his raspberry sugar cookies and red velvet brownies with white chocolate icing helps ease whatever ails ya).

-Wikipedia.org, particularly the entries on Christine de Pizan and Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. Even my professors admit to popping over to Wiki to read a few facts about their subjects translated kindly from academic gargle into English. No shame. Only love.

-Facebook.com- I hate you, always. But I did enjoy browing my friends' pics when I was really stuck. Nothing like a baby in a Bumbo to make you realize everything's gonna be ok. :)

And now, dash away HOME!!!!!!!!!!! Christmas in Vegas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This being a responsible citizen is just not working for me.

I have this list that's been building up in my head all summer of the mature, sensible things I suspect other youngsters my age and religious bent are doing that I'm not. They're all responsibile actions, the kind that benefit the doers' mental well-being, as well as their roommate relations, dating lives, future job opportunities, health, and probably their future spouse and kids's welfares and probably even impact their eternal salvation. Yet, I lack motivation (though not desire) to pqarticipate in the following actions/:

-Put money into a Roth IRA.

-Kick sugar back to its place at the TOP of the food pyramid where it belongs.

-Go on dates outside the ward boundaries.

-NOT go on Google reader 10x a day at work.

-Floss daily.

-Drive my own car or bike.

-Develop "hobbies." (Gol that is maybe the ugliest word in the English language, next to BLOG)
-"Networking."

I laugh in the face of flossing- hahahaha!


Instea, I get fired up abou an alternate set of goals. These are my heart's desires that probably not ONE of my sensible friends have considered doing, which ultimately makes them all the poorer (at least in spirit, in my opinion). Ahem.

Quirk list:


-Go on a date with a DC-area homeless man (Imagine the stories he could tell me!)
-Be a homeless woman (twelve moves in the space of two months- CHECK.)
-Earn a superfluous $40k degree.
-Go wading in a public fountain in every major metropolis in Europe.
-Donate the full value of a luxury car to charity before buying one (a tall order that I've had in place since I was 19. I figure it's a good way to check my pride whenever I start telling myself I DESERVE a $40k BMW).
-Jump off a bridge (a low one, into deep water, the East Coast version of cliff jumping. NOT suicide)
-Rock a pink streak in my hair like a high schooler.
-Get my yoga instructor license from some random school in Florida.
-Get married in the temple wearing Vans (used to be Chuck Taylors, but they're too popular now).
-Publish a blissfully nerdy scholarly article in some minisculely-subscribed academic journal.
-Date a collegiate Lacrosse player.
-NOT go sky diving (I have no desire to, ever. I know my limits.)
-Promote this event wherever possible: http://candlelightserenade.com/ If you live in Utah, GO to this awesome concert-- check out the A-list headliners! I'm so impressed with it, and I would be even IF my wonderful friend Genna weren't directing it! It's for an amazing cause, and it'll be a rocking summer jam session. If I were in Utah, I'd be there.

-And finally, cook the following. Ok I'm cheating, I've cooked all these already--I LOVE summertime recipes and I just wanted to share the bounty! Thank you, Pioneer Woman, for being my #2 distraction website after Google Reader. Click the pictures to get the recipes. Make #4, the roasted red pepper sauce, immediately. It might very well be the best thing you ever cook!

Bon appetite, to all you good citizens out there.

Rock, Hard Place

Yesterday I started writing about the crazy volcano images we're all looking at, then I switched in quick succession to such meh topics as my archival work, the Owl City concert I'm attending in two days, faith, how to efficaciously commiserate and simultaneously commemorate the scourge known as finals week, and, again, how much I miss my family, particularly the funny ones. None of it made the cut ("ODviously!" What movie??).

This morning I crafted a near-perfect facebook status, but my reluctance to actually join the human race in their online drivel-reporting prevented me from hitting the button and committing to its publication. (The status, in case you're dying to know, reflects my somewhat jaded view of online social media. It reads, "I love/hate the Lakers/Jazz/finals/sunshine/my boyfriend... [random inspirational or movie quote]... listen to my bands X,Y, and Z... [narcissistic link to my blog]... and the worst thing ever: Look, FB- my baby pooped!")

What I'm trying to communicate through this list of the past 48 hours' worth of half-baked thoughts is that I am currently suffering from both writer's block and writer's overload. I need a fresh jolt of creativity... and also, less mental stimulation. Maybe at the end of next week, after I have exhaustedly handed in my fatty papers, I will know peace and smart writing again.

It has an end, right, void? If you are reading this and have no finals, are enjoying the freedom to work and earn money, or watch a movie, or use your mind to contemplate whatever you want, give thanks!!!

That being said, here's a few pictures from a recent art event I attended (Hat tip Maggie and Caranine)... because when you've got nothing else to say, when the words come slower than frozen ketchup out of an old school glass bottle, pictures can still spin an interesting story!

Best regards,
Thoroughly Modern Lindsey

The Railway

Edouard Manet's The Railway (alternative titles: Gare Saint-Lazare or Le Chemin de Fer). 1872-1873. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. (I visit her on a regular basis :)

I STILL don't even know where to begin with this piece. Since the last time I mentioned her, I've logged more than 150 hours of research and writing time on its behalf, and wagered half of a class' grade on a 26-page paper about her (Update: B-. Totally Satisfied). Oddly, when I first I started to talk about this painting here on my blog in November, I referred to it as a him. During the course of our time together this work must have imbibed a bit of myself-- my passion and interest-- because it changed gender in my mind. Whatever. This bad boy is now a bad girl, at least to me.

And still, after three blissful weeks of theory-less, art-less Christmas holidays, I am overwhelmed by complicated art theory ideas whenever I start to think about The Railway.

OK, this is how we'll do it. If you'll recall, last time I asked you to make up a story about what is happening in this picture (If you didn't do it last time, take 15 seconds and do it now). I got a pretty creative smattering of responses back in November, ranging from a mother and child watching a father leave to a bubble-bath-less nanny about to quit. I call this painting a bad girl because, in actuality, she represents none of these stories. There is no story behind this work, per the artist himself!! In art history fancy-speak, this painting arrived into the art historical canon without an identifiable narrative. This was a deliberate, infuriating habit of the artist, Edouard Manet (who is a different person than the Impressionist artist Claude Monet, fyi).

Here are some of Manet's other most famous works. There are a few thematic and stylistic patterns to pick up between them: can you see any similarities?

A Bar at the Folies-Bergere. 1882.

Olympia. 1863.

Luncheon on the Grass. 1863.

Here are a few I can pick out:

• All have women models with odd, half-bored looks on their faces.
• There are no identifiable narratives going on-- in fact, in most of them you kind of have no idea what's supposed to be happening.
• None of them are very strictly painted to look like reality; the artist has used a "sketchy" brushstroke instead of a careful, tedious, realistic one .
• Yes indeed, there's some nudity present. Have your laugh now, so we can get back to business.
• None of them are legendary scenes. No Greek gods here, nor biblical heroes. These are all scenes of late 19th-century Paris, Manet's own time and place.

These patterns apply to The Railway, too, can you see that? All these patterns, these artistic contrivances of Manet's, are why he is called the father of modernism: a very, VERY BIG title. Modernism, in this case, is a somewhat muddled term. For the sake of clarity, we'll just say that all art you would call modern displays, in some way, a focus on the act of making art. A modern artwork peels back the curtain on itself a little bit. It is focused on the modern time, it's own place in history.

In effect (and I'm grossly generalizing here), Manet was the first to say to himself, "Well, obviously I'm using a model, so I think I'll just paint her looking bored, because she is. I mean, I'm making her sit there for hours for heaven's sakes!" Manet also said, "Well, all the pretty art has been done. Let's loosen up the brush strokes like the 16th century Spanish painters did, add in a few nudes like the Frenchies, and just to throw everyone for a REAL loop, let's make the people in my paintings real-life Parisians, just going about their daily business." Manet took away the storyline in his paintings-- the easiest source of grandeur-- and the audience in his day and age HATED him for it. However, they eventually realized how cool it was that he was at least doing something different. "Lady and baby??" they cried, "Come one. That's not new. They're EVERYWHERE!... but they sure are pretty in this painting."

There are literally millions of articles written about Manet: his accomplishments, his scandals, and his story. It was a little daunting to try and add something to this pile of knowledge (and admittedly, I don't think I did a great job of it... got a lot to learn while in graduate school!). Funny story: when I first met with my university librarian to get started researching this painting, she laughed at me and said, "Manet, huh? It's all done. There's nothing left to write!" &!%$#..... like I'd let that stop me. Haha.

For Auntie J and those with an insatiable desire to know more, here are some of the things I said in my paper about The Railway, boiled down as much as I could get them. In bullet point form, my fav. :) For those with dwindling attention spans, just know that The Railway is a little slice of life, no more, no less, but its beautiful lines, all of its luscious contrasting spaces that go tripping across the canvas, make it no less fine of an artwork:

• It is interesting to note that neither Clark nor Fried discuss The Railway in terms of its potential symbolist meaning, something Harry Rand does in depth in Manet’s Contemplation at the Gare Saint-Lazare. Meyer Schapiro has previously addressed Manet’s symbolic content in a broad sense, stating that Manet’s subjects were not chosen on the basis of pure aesthetic appeal, but rather, because they related symbolically to the outlook of Manet himself (Schapiro 1954). Rand pushes this idea much further within the context of The Railway. His argument is that Manet was depicting his five senses.
• Rand traces this painting’s psychological effect back to Velazquez’ Los Borrochos (1628). The Velazquez image displays a compendium of the various psychological reactions to alcohol in its various figures. Rand’s link to The Railway is the grapes (aka wine) in the corner of the canvas.
• I feel that Rand’s interpretation stretches credible iconography. The Railway’s intriguing subject matter better fits Fried’s idea about instantaneousness. The way that the older female looks up at the viewer casually, finger marking the page in her book, signifies the tiny moment of time in which a viewer might behold this same scene in reality. The bars in the background and the obtrusive steam cut off further imagination about any potential significance for this depicted moment.
• The model’s cool and detached look signifies her presence as a model. All access to the meaning of this painting will pass through her, and she is rather cavalier in this duty.
• The Railway shows that Manet is still capable of quoting, although it was executed later than the 1860s. Instead of Old Masters, he now quotes his contemporaries: Puvis de Chavannes and Berthe Morisot’s 1872 post-war paintings (images below, Morisot on top, Puvis on bottom).
• Clark’s extant writing on this work starts with the note that Manet employs the controversial face of model/prostitute Victorine Meurent once again, although he renders her as benign (and as dressed) as she will ever be. Clark focuses on the modern life depicted in this image. The billowing clouds of immaterial steam and the identifiable piers on the right side of the canvas place this scene at the Gare St. Lazare railroad station, a place of transition and change that often appears in the Impressionist canvases of the same time period. He thus connects this work to the fleeting, absorptive milieu of modern Paris. I would further Clark’s Marxist reading by asking why the little girl gazes into the steam. No doubt Manet turned her little back to the viewer as a way to provoke him or her into contemplating her relation, and their own, to the Parisian spectacle of art and technology.

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Meet Marcus

Welcome to my very favorite picture EVER of me and my little brother Marcus. BAHAHAHA oh my gosh it still slays me! So, we were totally lost on this dirt mountain last summer, trying to find the HOLLYWOOD sign in LA, and we whiled away the hike by having an INTENSE fiery debate about the merits of The Dark Knight. He was devoutly pro, I was obnoxiously con. Right in the middle of our fight I turned him sideways, tugged my digital camera out of his backpack (probably still sniping about how I don't CARE that the score is musical genius), and we leaned our heads in as close as we angrily felt we could stand, and snap! Favorite photo was born. I'm 99% positive that after we turned the camera setting to "PLAY" and laughed our heads off about how stupid we looked, we picked up exactly where we left off and waged war on each other's cinematic opinions all the way back to the car. Good, no, AWESOME times.

This is a much more typical (and aesthetically pleasing) picture of me and that bro, taken a year ago this week! That's right; Elder C hits his one year mark on his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints this week- GAAAH LONGEST FREAKING year EVER! Some of you recognize him, some of you don't. Marcus is 4 years my junior (got a wonderful brother Spencer in between us... love you too, man!), but as my parents and siblings will all whine-ily testify, Marcus left a gaping hole in our family dynamic when he took off. Oh he's living the high life, hanging out with God and all types of Latinos in the ghettos of Orlando, Florida. Good boy. We, on the other hand, miss him every day.

For those that miss him, too (or for those who do not have the pleasure of his acquaintance but would like to understand why he gets a whole post to himself), here are some of Marcus' most magical qualities, in honor of his big 1/2-way day. I haven't made an OCD-style list for a while, humor me here:

Why Marcus is Neat
- He possesses the extraordinary ability to hold comfortable and cohesive conversations with you using only quotes from Disney movies.
- He possesses the maddeningly enviable skill of making EVERY baby he meets love him instantaneously. This is achieved through
- His elastic face, which he can contort into the world's funniest looks.
- He develops really random talents, like free running (a la Casino Royale, which got him into trouble at BYU once upon a time), making spectacular facebook graffiti drawings, and who can forget his Oscar-worthy imitation of Gollum in The Two Towers???
- He is thoughtful, loyal, genuine, working hard, and growing weekly in the gospel. It's so fun to read.
- It's even MORE fun to read when he writes home gems like these (oh yes. A list within a list):

• "YOU have the choice to be happy, and to be positive. Same thing with the people. Sometimes you just want to punch someone on first contact, but we need to see the good in everyone."
• "HOLY SHNIKIES THE TEMPLE'S GOOD!"
• "I've started to bash again. I know it's wrong. I can't help it, because it's so dang fun! E. C________ = 2, Adventists = 0."
• "So with a combination of Vicodin and Barricade the Decepticon, My happiness level is plaining out."
• "Man spinach is good. It's healthy, tastes good (to me), and it goes well with everything. Except ice cream and Kellogs Power Ranger's Fruit Snacks (which are delicious and only 79 Cents here at Walmart). Tangent."
• "Feliz Navidad, WHITEYS!"

But I'll let him speak for himself. Ladies and gents, friends and foreigners, I introduce to you now Embrace Your Liberty's first guest blogger, all the way from Orlando, Florida (via email), Elder Marcus C________ himself! Mwah ha ha.... parents and siblings, you all really believed he shafted you this week on email, huh??? NEVER! We're just tricksy. Ok, ok, on with the show. Ahem. Elder C_________:

.....oh..... Hey big internet. Haven't talked to you in..... one whole year. :) It's my mission birthday. I'm one years old! I'll die when I'm two, but what a fruitful amazing God-saving way of life I've been blessed to have these past 12 months!

I don't know any of you. At least I don't think so, I'm kind of writing this in an awkward state of thought right now, because I'm not sure if this is going to be reached by the masses, (hopefully not) or by some stalker-like aunts who love to view the growing brains of their nieces and nephews. (Auntie Cheryl!!!) I hope you're being good to my beloved sister Lindsey, she's an amazing person you know! (*Lindsey-the-Editor's note: I'm pretty sure most of you are my stalker-like aunties and co., but I read on my secret counter thingy that people in the Phillipines, Denmark, England, Korea, and Brasil have all visited this site. Welcome, one and all!)

So these blog gigs? They're supposed to entice and persuade people out in the lone and dreary world to do better and to make people pause and say, "Man, that guy's wise in the ways of _____." I rather doubt this awe will happen today, but I'll take a whackity-whack. So I'll share what I know, share a little bit of what I've learned, and share the things that are important in this life, (which subsequently slide in perfectly into the world hereafter).

A.) Serving a mission in the Florida Orlando Mission has saved my life. Saved it spiritually, and saved it eternally. Before I became an "elder" I was revealed as a good, humble (*Lindsey-the-Editor's note: Haha.) mormon-boy, who did what he was told, and tried his best. But inside I had so many doubts, questions, bad expectations, and "come on give me a break's." But while serving a mission, I've learned that EVERY question HAS an answer. EVERY doubt HAS an evidence. EVERY "thing" that is hard to believe HAS a reason for being hard; it's a test of faith, and if we are WORTHY, and READY, we will understand and receive enlightenment on the subject. That is what I've learned most of all I believe. Let's take an example. The good ol' Book of Mormon.

No, it's not the Mormon-Bible. We believe whole-heartedly in the Bible. The BOM is another testament of Jesus Christ that was written by the Prophets in the ancient American continent. I've run into a lot of people who have said, "ehhhhh... nooo... bleh.." to its message. I don't blame a lot of people. It's kind of hard to believe in ANOTHER book, when so many churches have OTHER books: Muslims - The Qur'an, Jews - Torah, Jehovah's Witnesses - New World Translation, Christianity - The Bible. To me, it's kind of wierd that God would send another book in our day.

BUT BEHOLD! :) He did! This is my outlook on this nice book. We have soooooooooo many religions today. It's hard to choose. Many believe in Christ that he was the Son of God, and there are MANY that don't. The religions that don't are actually on the incline. God KNEW that people would be confused, lose faith in the Son of God, and go off the straight and narrow. So what did he do? He revealed ANOTHER record that is physical tangible evidence, which one can read and pray about, and from which one can recieve a testimony that Jesus IS the Christ, our Elder Brother, and The Way. And this record was kept for who? Us. Us in these hard troubling times. Times where we lose faith because we're losing jobs, moneys, hope, and an over-all happiness in the world.

But I know that God loves us, and he will NEVER leave us here by ourselves. That is why I'm here on a mission. To share this message of hope and happiness with everyone. And I'm not coming home. "Nope-itty nopeitty nope." (Ratatouille) As one of the modern-day prophets wrote: "We have a great work to do, and we CAN NOT come down." And in this work, my life has been emdified and saved in the loving arms of God. (Lindsey note: You can always tell when Marcus is in a hurry, his spelling tanks :)

2) As Abraham Lincoln said, and as quoted in the movie Pollyanna (Good movie! Buy it! Netflix it! Download it illegally!), "When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will."

LINDSEY!! I'll write more later today! I gtg shop! BRB!

Secrets (Maggie my fellow fan, this one's for you)

The blog Post Secret asks readers to send anonymous postcards containing their secrets to its founder, who then publishes them on the web. Sometimes funny, sometimes sweet, sometimes horrifying, and sometimes galling, it is always so fascinating to read what everyday people have an itch to reveal to the world at large. The creator of this website also published a book of these secrets (and I guess he has another one in the works... so excited to read that one soon!). I spent part of my Friday thumbing through Post Secret Book the First at a store, and spent another part of my Friday composing a list of my own secrets.

One of my favorite postcards in the book reads something like, "Instead of writing down my secrets I share them with those dearest to me... and my life is better for it." Betting that this is very true, here are two of the seven secrets I wrote down. Have a great week, my friends:

6. My regrets from college can be reduced to: kissing Spencer Thomas after we broke up, not going the extra mile for that A- in French 201, putting up that picture of Jenny kissing her future husband's roommate on the end-of-the-year ward slide show, and not telling that boy how distracted I got when I looked at his beautiful face in the library.

7. Every day I wake up to a future that most modern girls' dreams are made of, even though it's not the life I always wanted and planned for. But it's ok. I don't have control over God's timing and I'm doing the best with what I've been given... and I experience real, true, simple happiness almost everyday because of this truth (although each day's happiness comes in the guise of simple adventures such as walking to a friend's house in the rain, talking to a girl at the pool about her friend's suicide watch, or riding the bus home after a long day at work and cherishing the thought that I might belong to the bottom rung of society now, but I'm a free and independent girl in the heart of a great city... and have much to hope for.)

Pable Picasso (Spanish). The Butterfly from the illustrated book Eaux Fortes originales pour textes du Buffon (Histoire Naturelle). Print executed 1936, published 1942.

Iran do Espirito Santo (Brasilian). Butterfly Prussian Blue. 1998. Gouache on paper.

Mark Grotjahn (American). Untitled (Coloful Butterfly White Background Three Wings A#2 504). 2004. Colored pencil on paper.

All courtesy of the online collection at MoMA (Art world's newest version of "The Man.")