Art Bomb-2/27/2015 Leonard Nimoy Tribute

Aleathia says:

This afternoon I heard Michael say, "This was a day all Trekkies knew would come, eventually." Since I have known Michael he has been heavily into Star Trek.  He can watch it for days without end, owns memorabilia, books, films etc.  He has never called himself a Trekkie despite knowing it was true.  Today, on the death of Leonard Nimoy, he admits this.

Yes, we have lost Spock.  He was a sci-fi hero, a singer, a photographer, a director, actor, and family man.  I remember watching him as a child with my grandmother.  She was the only one in the house that liked sci-fi.  I remember loving his character's very calculated way of speaking.  I remember spending many hours training my fingers to split in just the right way so I too could "Live Long and Prosper".  I later used these talents to also be able to Na-noo, Na-noo.  But that, my friends, is a horse of a different color.

Today at The Forked Road we shall remember Leonard Nimoy, but not for his adventures in space, but for his work as a photographer.

He shockingly did a series on large bodied women called The Full Body Project that was at the same time tasteful and inspiring.  It allows that just because someone is overweight does not mean they are not intelligent and beautiful and useful to society.  It gives these women a moment to shine and stand proud.

Nimoy also did another photography series called Secret Selves which looks at the lost or hidden self. The idea was that people would share who or what they always wanted to be by way of photograph.  I love this idea of being able to set a secret free.

It is a solemn day in our house.  My best friend has lost a friend, not just a character.  Thank you Leonard Nimoy for all that you have done for so many generations.  Thank you for letting children and adults open their minds and believe that we can achieve great connection with a little effort.  We shall see you in the afterlife my friend.  Live Long and Prosper.

Foodies-2/26/2015 FODMAP (or trying not to ignite my eating disorder)

Aleathia says:

It is no secret that I have had a struggle with food my whole life.  In high school I had an eating disorder that I thankfully was able to wean myself out of and modify to survive somewhat normally. I would binge eat because I hated myself.  I would sit there crying as I shoved the food in my mouth knowing that I was not hungry and that I would regret it in the long run, but I couldn't stop.  I would hate myself even more the next day and do a combination of starvation and exercise and excessive gum chewing to make up for what I had eaten.  I was able to get away with not eating because my mother was either not home or intoxicated so she didn't follow my habits.

It was a miserable existence.  I know why it started.  Binge eating for me was about filling a hole.  I had a shitty emotional life and that was my coping skill along with joining every club I possibly could to not have to go home.  I have a love hate relationship with food.  Good food makes you feel good.  I just have a hard time stopping putting it in my mouth.  Diets are a touchy subject for me because if it involves counting calories I get uniquely obsessive and anxious and the eating disorder wants to creep out.  I promised myself I would never go back to that place.  Never.

The reason I stopped in my senior year, despite my life having not changed, was that a friend of mine was also suffering with bulimia, but was enacting the vomiting portion of the disease.  She was getting ill and as friends an intervention was staged and she was put in a program for help.  I understood where she was coming from.  I knew the pain she was held down by and I didn't want to have to go through an intervention myself if anyone found out about me.  So I did my best to quit my behaviors.  It was hard.  It is still hard to find balance.  I haven't gotten very good at it.

Last August we went off our gluten free diet.  I was only on it to support Michael while his stomach healed and we found his real allergy which was peanuts.  We were also tired of not having fun and enjoying fairs and nights out.  It felt like we were trapped in a box or that we were in our 70's.  It was depressing, so we thought we would cheat off the gluten free diet just a little.  We are full force gluten again and it is the worst I have felt in 3 years.  I gained 20 pounds, my joints ache terrible, and I have abdominal discomfort almost all day long.  You would think that would be enough to stop, but it isn't.

There have been some studies coming out about whether or not gluten is really the problem or if it is the sugars created by the gluten that cause the problems.  There is some sort of diet called FODMAP which guides people to eat foods that will not cause the stomach to have high fermentable items in the intestines.  Sugars, gluten, and yeast cause fermentation.  I started looking this up today because I am getting so uncomfortable in my body.  Michael rolled his eyes because he knows that I have such a hard time sticking with it.  He was nice enough to say I wasn't weak, just easily swayed.  He and I have both had food problems though his was more about germs so I know he understands the difficulty in trying to stop bad habits.

The FODMAP list is very reasonable.  There are inclusions of so many things that I love to eat, but the thought of excising all the stuff I have been eating throws me into a panic...a deep internal struggle despite knowing I will feel so much better in the end.  I have to do something.  Even if it hurts.

Lit Bits-2/25/2015 Sena Jeter Naslund

Aleathia says:

By Job I finished a book today.  It was a long one...almost 500 pages.  This used to not be a huge feat for me, but as I have gotten older my attention span is waning.  It seems harder to sit still long enough to read.  Maybe this is ADD or maybe it is just the culture of instantaneous gratification that has taken over my life.  I hate to think it is the latter, but it is most likely the reason.

I forced myself to sit down and read for almost 2 hours to finish out "All The King's Men".  It was a fantastic book.  I didn't expect to like it so much as it started out based in politics and ended up a book on personal discovery and truth through hard life.  I feel great to have finished it.  With that one done I have now read 29 of the 86 Pulitzer Prize winning novels for fiction.  I will get there some day.

Today I was looking through the stack of books that I had started over the last 2 years but not finished.  I feel bad for these books because they weren't boring by any means.  I was a bad reader and couldn't keep task.  So the next few books will be finishing what I've started.

"Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette" by Sena Jeter Naslund is next on the hit list.  I have always been very interested in the life of Marie Antoinette but was never a good reader of non-fiction.  This is not a biography, but it reads like one with a bit of creative licence.  There has to be some historical significance to it at least culturally.  There would have been much research into the time in which she lived, the customs, the dress, the mannerisms.  Who knows, this might spark me to read a biography of her in the future.  It feels great to be reading again.

Let's Go Somewhere-2/24/2015 Yes, let's

Aleathia says:

Since we have bought the house we haven't left it much.  Sure we have gone locally to places no more than 3 hours away, but we haven't GONE anywhere.  I might be suffering from cabin fever.  I might have used up all of my sedentary stores.  I feel like I need to go somewhere.

Having said that I can't think of where to go for the life of me.  There isn't one particular place grabbing me and pulling me there, but more so I think it is the desire to see a different environment. My curiosity in the world is waking up again.  It has been a long few years of hard work, death, and huge life changes.  I am definitely a cocooning sort of girl.  I've cracked open this silk pod and now it is time to see what I can see.

I know I don't want to take a huge trip, because I love sharing the discovery and wonder with my family.  I know I want it to involve art or art museums.  I love wandering around and discovering my own senses and being awed by the inspiration of other humans.

Should I drive there?

Should I fly there?

Do I visit friends?

Do I go where I know no one?

I have officially bitten off all of my fingernails (not that there was much left of them in the first place) trying to decide.  Anyone know of great art exhibits going on that I might like?  Drop a comment and help a sister out.

Quills and Frills-2/21/2015 The Boy Who Wasn't Funny, Aleathia and Chloe Drehmer

Aleathia says:

You Can’t Win Them All

The room was full of awkward silence.

Doug waited patiently for a hint of laughter, a cracked smile, or even a nod of a head to show that what had just come out of his mouth was not just funny to him.  He practiced this joke over and over again in his room, pacing the floor, and attempting to get the timing just right.  His dog Bones watched him intently, his small white head moving from side to side as if he were watching a tennis match.

Sometimes Doug could not contain himself and bust out at the end of the joke.  It was just too funny. But now he was standing in front of his friends nervously waiting.  His palms were slick with sweat, his heart racing, and his mouth dry as the Arizona desert in summer.

Come on, come on….somebody laugh for Christ’s sake, he thought.

The girls looked down at their desks embarrassed for Doug.  The guys had that look in their eye, that look of having something evil to lord over a person at a future date.  It took everything Doug had to not run from the class crying.

“Well, you can’t win ‘em all,” he said as he slunk back to his chair.

Silence ensued.  It was the funeral of Doug’s social life.  It was all downhill from there.

Aleathia Drehmer 2015



Chloe says:

Asfora’s Advanced Sorcerer’s Academy

It was another boring day at Asfora’s Advanced Sorcerer’s Academy (AASA) in the year 2023 where I was currently living in a dorm with my best friend Jamehkey, who is a 13 and a half year old boy, and my younger brother Tiflefer Kuok Jinx III who is 11. My name is Efira Monlehey Jinx, I am 13 years old. I am half-fox, half-human and I am Polish. My brother is crazy and I’m sane. Asfora is a weird place filled with indescribable things. The grass can talk, trees can walk, and cats can play banjoes… (I told you it was weird)… back to the story of yet another unique day at AASA.

                “Hmmmergarbergaberghebabababababa…” That was Jamehkey (Jamey) snoring before my brother jumped on him. Tiflefer (TJ) ran from my bed on one side of the room to Jamey’s bed which was on the other side. “ROOO-UMMPH” yelled my brother as he landed on Jamey who was cringing from the impact and was now on the floor. “Great accomplishment TJ,” I said as I grabbed my black cloak from my tiny closet, “you probably made his kidney explode!” As I was walking toward our bathroom, I heard Jamey moan as he tried to get up off of the floor. I sighed and carried on with my day.

I was the only girl in this entire academy of downright douchebags and just plain dumb people. This was also the reason why I wore a black cloak, black under-garments and everything in between so  I could be singled out. It was now 9:31 am and I was late for biology since I had to help Jamey down to the Witch’s Cauldron, or as other people would call it, the Nurse’s Office. Mr. Drobj was kind enough to excuse me for my “heroic deeds” and before I knew it, I finished his class and went to Math, Scottish Speaking Class, Herb Class, Cooking Class, Dorm Management, and finally Lunch!!!

                As usual, I sat at lunch with Jamey, my brother, Jeskoiay, Afloveter, Samik, Hensao, and 5 other guys. There was one guy who was very quiet who slipped away during the middle of lunch to go to the Library (I didn’t know this at first but I decided to follow him). I also got up unnoticed and proceeded to stalk the new guy who I knew nothing about except that his name was Clark. I waited for him to enter the library first before I entered the separate building myself. I poked him on the shoulder, ever so lightly, then all of the sudden he swirled around and grabbed my throat. Once he saw my black chaciluo (cloak in Pedorfe which is the common language for the people in the west. The main language in the northern area was English, but now it was slowly turning into a mainly Scottish speaking area).

“Oh….. Oh my god… I-I-I’m sooo sorry….. I tho-” Clark released me quickly and his voice was full of embarrassment and a bunch of other things “I thought that you were Jamey or your brother or one of those other bullies.” I looked at him quizzingly and wondered why he was stammering so much… Tons of people in this school have already tried to kill me so… Yeah. As I was looking at him I could tell that he was one of those private/loner/high-tempered/quick to react people (I wasn’t judging him since I was almost all off the things he was except for being private).

“It’s okay dude… no worries,” I said since it was now really awkwardly quit and I had nothing else to say. “You’re like a mermaid with a ton of different seashells, but they aren’t encrusted with dirt or sand, or broken, they are just perfect, little seashells….. Just so you know…” Than he just picked up his book and walked away. I had absolutely no idea what he had met. I was thinking about it all day long, but before I went to bed at 10:35 pm, I knew what he had meant.

You are someone beautiful who has different perspective on things, but they’re the good ones.

Chloe Drehmer 2015

Art Bomb-2/20/2015 Erin McIntosh

Aleathia says:

Continuing on with our 50 states artist series will bring us to Erin McIntosh who originally hails from Ohio, but has made her mark in Athens, GA.  So for all intents and purposes, this entry will represent Georgia.

Erin McIntosh was born in Ohio in 1980, but has lived and received her education in Athens, GA at the University of Georgia.  She has had extensive showings in the state of Georgia both as a soloist and in group exhibition.  She has taught art for a short time in Italy and teaches locally now.  She lives and creates in the great community that makes up Athens.

Years ago I lived in Athens for a short time, but can tell you that it is very rich in artists and musicians.  I worked at a coffee shop and at a kitchen store when I lived there and met a wide variety of special people.  Please enjoy some great art work from Erin McIntosh.  She has pieces for sale at reasonable prices.

From the Organic Series:

"Coral Beach 2"

"Prism Dance"

"Three Zen Circles"

Watercolors and Geometrics:

"Connect no. 117"

"Connect no. 143"

"Connect no 172"

"Foundation no 7"

"Foundation no 8"

Lit Bits-2/18/2015 Ian Leslie is "Curious"

Aleathia says:

So....no I am not finished with "All The King's Men", but I am getting there.  I have maybe 50 more pages to go.  It is a great book so I am not so sure why it is taking me so damn long to get through it. It might have something to do with 8,000 stitches of my cross stitch project, or maybe my binge watching of Helix or Fringe or 12 Monkeys....maybe.

I have found in my advancing years that fiction is harder to read.  It scares me that I might be losing my sense of literary adventure for more stodgy things like non-fiction...gasp!  When I was younger you couldn't get me to crack a non-fiction book unless it was for homework or astrology.  It just didn't happen.  Michael was the opposite.  He spent most of his life reading non-fiction and is now swimming in the great make believe sea of words known as the novel.  Life is spectacular that way.

In addition to reading "All The King's Men" and "The Buddhist's Handbook", I am also teaching myself Basic Statistics from an online text that is 684 pages long.  Let's hope I finish a few things.

On a trip to the library this week to return some items, I found Ian Leslie's book "Curious" on a stand on the shelf.  I was curious about "Curious".  I liked the owl and his quizzical look.

I love choosing books by their covers.  It lets art lead art. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.  I have made it through a lengthy introduction and the first 15 pages and I am hooked.  "Curious" is a book that pulls apart the types and phases of curiosity.  It explains why it is important for learning more than anything else, and why today's high paced, very connected society is less curious than generations before.

It was interesting to think about how there was a great boom in technology and intelligence once the printing press was invented.  Finally there was a way to spread our individual experiences, experiments, and findings.  The world blossomed and grew.  One would think that in the face of the internet that this would happen again.  We have access to so many remote places in the world.  Ian Leslie states this isn't true.  The internet has spawned a large generation of people with surface curiosity.  These people are not deep thinkers and might not investigate further the new found piece of information or technology.

It talks about how we are stripping away, essentially, the imagination of today's kids by focusing them on only one type of academic path.  Teaching is hyper-focused onto what the kid should become rather than letting the child think and decide for themselves.

I'm not very far into the book yet but I look forward to figuring out how to re-infuse the curiosity back into our world.