Ghosts of Things to Come

Started

2007-08-25T03:05:47Z

On Thursday I stepped on the Zoloft highway again. We'll see how it works for me. To be honest I'm not thrilled about this, but at this point something is better than nothing.

Unseen, Unsought, and Uncertain

2005-07-11T13:25:21Z

I know I am not alone in this nagging sense of failing to measure up, a feeling of not being good enough as a woman. Every woman I've ever met feels it--something deeper than just the sense of failing at what she does. An underlying, gut feeling of failing at who she IS. I AM NOT ENOUGH, and, I AM TOO MUCH at the same time. Not pretty enough, not thin enough, not kind enough, not gracious enough, not disciplined enough. But too emotional, too needy, too sensitive, too strong, too opinionated, too messy. The result is Shame, the universal companion of women. It haunts us, ninpping at out heels, feeding on our deepest fear that we will end up abandoned and alone.

After all, if we were better women--whatever THAT means--life wouldn't be so hard. Right? We wouldn't have so many struggles; there would be less sorrow in our hearts. Why is it so hard to create meaningful friendships and sustain them? Why do our days seem so unimportant, filled not with romance and adventure but with duties and demands? We feel UNSEEN, even by those who are closest to us. We feel UNSOUGHT--that no one has the passion or courage to pursue us, to get past our messiness to find the woman deep inside. And we feel UNCERTAIN--uncertain what it means to be a woman; uncertain what it truly means to be feminine; uncertains if we are or ever will be.

Aware of our deep failings, we pour contempt on our own hearts for wanting more. Oh, we long for intimacy and for adventure; we long to be the Beauty of some great story. But the desires set deep in our hearts seem like a luxury, granted only to those women who get their acts together. The message to the rest of us--whether from a driven culture of a driven church--is TRY HARDER. ~ John & Stasi Eldridge

Art lovers snap up junk exhibit

2005-04-10T22:27:43Z

An artwork made of junk including washing machines, furniture and rusty shovels has been given away to visitors to a gallery on Sunday.

"My Play-station", by Turner Prize- nominated artist Tomoko Takahashi, consisted of 7,600 bits of rubbish - most of which was taken by visitors.

Ms Takahashi, 38, collected bric-a-brac from skips, car-boot sales and friends.

She spent three days setting up the exhibition, which opened at London's Serpentine Gallery in February.

Stuffed Blackbirds

The gallery, in Kensington Gardens, had over 4,000 people visiting for the last day of the show, a spokeswoman said.

Other items visitors could take included vintage sewing machines, old computers, three stuffed blackbirds and a miniature pool table.

"People queued up and were given three raffle tickets, and these tickets could be exchanged for items, which a member of staff would go and get. People could then go to the back of the line and queue again," she said.

The give-away event is the biggest to have been staged at a public gallery in the UK, she said.

Serpentine curator Rochelle Steiner said earlier: "Many people have described these works as 'a load of rubbish' but I think this show is giving these objects another use.

"Games come with rules, and she's really interested in how with rules comes order, and how you break out of order, and the relationship between order and disorder."

Tokyo-born Ms Takahashi slept in the Serpentine while she was creating the artwork.

When she was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2000 she moved into the Tate Britain to complete her entry, which was inspired by taking a driving test.

Today is bright, and I am always looking down.

2005-04-10T22:01:28Z

Long live the king
long live the queen!