Currently Lungs By Florence + the Machine see related

Quotes-a-licious

I'm back with a vengeance!!

Haha, uh, just kidding. I've always wanted to start a post like that.

In less dramatic news, I'm currently in a swap (the first in a long time) sending postcards with favorite quotes on 'em. Sounds like fun to me! On my end of the bargain, I've sent out:

To ArizonianbutmissesMichigan: "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."-Mark Twain (I actually have a book mark with this quote on it. I would like to think that I read good books...)

To ChezLara: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."-Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

To Mom2Alex2008: "Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."-Oscar Wilde

That's all for now! I'm excited to see what quotes I will receive and how they will benefit me in the new year!

-Moriah

Currently Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix By Phoenix see related

Hello again!

My, oh my! It's been quite a while since I've been here. For good reason, though, I assure you.

Hmmm...what's been going on with me lately? Well, I will be moving soon, so that will be quite an exciting, little adventure! And on my birthday, too! I see it as a positive metaphor: God is saying, "Here, Moriah. At the start of a new decade, I'm giving you a new life with new friends and a new environment to explore in. Happy birthday. Make the most of it!" Well, perhaps I'm just imaging it, but the thought of an omniscient being being interested in something as mundane as birthdays makes me smile. :)

I'm also currently constructing a self-portrait for my Advanced Visul Art final. I'm happy to say that it will be the other half of the self-portrait of my marvelous and incredibly talented friend Tonya. I'll have to see if I can post it when I finish! :) Hint: it has to do with Sherlock Holmes!

Also, the coldest time of the year is here and everybody knows what that means...The Annual Becca-Emily-Moriah-Bethany Gift Exchange Party is here! Indeed, tomorrow night it'll be a pasta-eating, gift-unwrapping, hot chocolate-sipping extravaganza like you've never seen before!

I don't know what else to cover at the moment. I don't have my latest postcards scanned yet, so I think I'll just do a minor music recommends section. My current picks:

Sainthood-Tegan and Sara

Glee Volume 2-Glee Cast (Yes, the finale was last night! I highly recommend you purchase the season DVD, out on December 29th.)

Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever-The Cribs

Dylan: Greatest Hits-Bob Dylan (Yes, I'll always recommend Bob Dylan. For obvious reasons, though!)

-Moriah

Currently (500) Days Of Summer-Music From The Motion Picture By Soundtrack see related

Man, oh, Man

All right, kiddos, it's been a while, but for good reason, I promise!

Before I get really into the post, I just want to say that I'm dying to see (500) Days of Summer, but it only plays in certain cities. Ridiculous, I know. I'm not waiting for it to come out on DVD because there are only so many things I can be patient about, and Zooey Deschanel movies are not one of them. THUS! I'm being a slave to my desires and driving hours to the nearest showing next week. Silly: maybe. Worth it: definitely. Well, we'll see...For now, I can busy my uncontrollable self with the soundtrack and my newfound addiction to Memory Cassette.

Now for the postcards you [might] have been eagerly awaiting! :) If you hadn't read the last post, I celebrated my 100th day on Postcrossing, and this post is to kick off my next 100 days! WHOO!

Okay, so I said I was going to send a postcard to my friends here at home, and I eventually got around to doing it. One of my favorites was the Bourse where Emily and I hung out in Philly:

^^^Mmmm...they have some mighty fine pizza. Unrelated to the food reference, I remember when a group of us had walked to the Bourse and saw a man with a little boy in the corner outside. He kept pleading with the kid to stop crying and he did not appear to be the kid's dad, so my friend and I finally convinced ourselves to ask if everything was alright, just in case he was a psycho kidnapper or something. The guy just kind of brushed us off and to this day we still wonder what happened. Hmm...

This is one I sent this one in a private swap to Cate in Texas. She asked for something retro/illustration, so I thought she might like the Trusty Guide to Mens and Boys Hairstyles. :)

I sent this one in a private swap to Kathryn in Chicago. Currently, she's a part of Texas 4000 (www.texas4000.org) in the fight against cancer. Go Kathryn!!

In return, she sent me this BEE-uu-TIFUL card of soldiers in a photobooth. Truly an amazing card and by far one of my favorites. :)

I bought this one while I was at SCAD (you can find more at www.shopscadonline.com) and just had to buy it. I thought I'd share it with a Katya in Russia.

Haha, that's Arkansas in a nutshell...just kidding. :)

I find myself sending out more and more superhero comic cards. What can I say? I love 'em! I sent the Hawkman card through a swap on www.Swap-Bot.com

More Mucha! I love these cards, too. I also sent this one out on Swap-Bot.

Now for what I've received!

My dad sent me a whole bunch of postcards from his trip in Hawaii. Thanks pop-a-roo!

This is from one of my favorite PC enthusiasts: Chris Overstreet (www.wildpostcards.com). To answer your question, Chris, I think you're right about #26 being a Luehdorfia Japonica, although the ones I've seen normally appear to have a bead-like behind. I lovelovelove the Japan reference, so thank you, Chris! :)

The top two are from swaps on Swap-Bot. The first is from LongVacation and the second is from FROGGY42. Thanks, gals! ;)

I really love the artistry of this card. It's of spring in Southern China. Love it!

I can't tell you how happy I was to receive this card. It's handmade by Nadine (Russia), meant to be of things I love: the color green and nature. You're the sweetest, Nadine! (SUPER plus: Pushkin poem on the back)

She included wonderful stamps, too!

I received these two from a private swap with Ulla (France). Absolutely wonderful! I live for chocolate and art, so these cards are my life in a nutshell. :) Thanks, Ulla!

Also, I've recently been drawing lots of characters on my cards. Haha, who am I to try and control my pen?

That's all for now! 'Hope you enjoyed. :)

-Moriah

CELEBRATE! :)

Currently Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters By Jessica Valenti see related

Let's Do The Wave...

I'm very proud of my dad and the way he's been handling me being a feminist, which sounds weird since I shouldn't necessarily have to feel that way over something as simple as wanting equalism for both men and women. It's not like changing your religion or coming out of the closet, but if you knew my father (who grew up when nobody wore seatbelts, and everybody was a Baptist, and people said things like, "'You sure the milkman ain't your daddy?" since women all stayed home, which left time for instances like being banged by the local dairyman), you'd know that is a big step for him.

My dad's always supported my interests, though. He's always wanted me to succeed and get into good colleges, and he's supported me by coming to sports and school events when I was younger. He discusses political endeavors with me and business tips, and always brings me newspaper clippings of things he thinks I'd be interested in, so it's not like he lives by the whole "Women don't know nothin' about nothin'" mindset that a lot of men (and women!) still do. Still, when I first told him, he kind of did a double-take, like he automatically ran all these weird (and wrong!) feminist stereotypes through his head (lesbian? no. Hairy? No. Ugly? Noooo...). Luckily, that was the last of those mini freak-outs, which weren't much because my dad has always considered me as the activist of the family anyway.

I witnessed an example of his progress the other day, which was a bit of a surprise. (I've realized there are a lot of surprises on both ends of this spectrum...) My dad and I were out on his boat, helping my youngest sister with a party she was hosting at the lakehouse, and I guess I was being rather nurturing to my sister (I hadn't noticed) because my dad suddenly goes, "You'd be a good mother, Moriah." I kind of just look up, hadn't said anything yet, when he quickly adds, "...Only if you want to be, though!" That might not seem like a big deal, but that is. My father is the biggest family man on the planet. He lives in the very traditional Christian view that people should have a big family to keep themselves happy, so it was amazing that he saw me as an individual who could make my own decision about that. Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure I do want kids (once I get my career going, of course), but not for the purpose of "pro-creation" and "spreading the Christian seed"; I just love kids in general. (They generally get me and my wacky ideas.)

All right, you leap a step, and then go two steps backwards. My sisters and I met up to eat with our dad last night to eat some Thai food and ask about each other's lives, when somehow we get onto the discussion of last names. We went into the whole "woman changing her name when she gets married" thing, and my dad automatically takes the side of "Mens' names are important to them. It's a strong symbol of themselves in society." Well, what makes womens' names unimportant to them? We're trying just as hard to make ourselves known in business, so why shouldn't that be seen as so? What makes people think it's oh-so easy for us to just change our names: our identities? There are papers, and confusion, and getting used-to's....ugh, one big fat mess.

Now, I'll give him credit, he did try to see from our point-of-view, but his argument completely surrounded the "Man is head of the family. He gets whatever he wants nom nom nom" side. The Bible says nothing about women changing their name, it's just a tradition started for men by men, so why should it be considered standard? I would think he'd be more understanding of this, since his wife got to keep her last name (I'm talking about my stepmom). He said, "Well, she's an established doctor, so she needs to keep her name to be known...." Well, tons of other women are establishing themselves and their names! Tons of women are ALREADY known and they're still expected to change. My whole opinion is that if I'm going to have to change my name, so will my partner, because that's ridiculous to be the only one. Actually, I wouldn't even attempt to change my name anyway. What's so wrong with wanting to be yourself?

Another one of his arguments was, "Changing the woman's name depicts making the couple one." If you're so worried about the combining of the couple, why doesn't the man just change his name? Or why doesn't the couple just hyphenate? Or combine their names altogether!! There isn't just one option, people. We live in the 21st century, and it's time to stop making excuses.

So, despite his efforts, he got pulled back into the 1950's viewpoint. It was a good try, though, and I applaud him. Who knows, maybe he'll be a feminist one day, too.

-Moriah