More photo experimenting. I feel this is like my alter-self. I like the rough edges and bold colors and that feeling of motion that reminds me of the city, but it is so far removed from who I really am… or is it? In some alternate reality, this Kristina is writing hard-edged literary fiction in grungy cafes in London, pounding out the words on her battered laptop and drinking straight shots of espresso while people speculate over whether she might be famous. What’s your alter-self up to these days?
Jay mocks me for my… um… interest in the teenage vampire drama The Vampire Diaries. I could just claim it as research for editing paranormal anthologies like Dream Lover: Paranormal Tales of Erotic Romance, but is there any woman who wouldn’t be interested in this??
For the record, Damon (the licker above), is not in high school. And he’s not played by a kid, he’s played by the very delicious Ian Somerhalder. Again I ask, is there any woman (and some men) who wouldn’t be interested in this??
(Yes, I know, he’s not every woman’s idea of sexy. But that’s okay. The fewer women who share my obsession, the more Ian there is for meeeeee!)
I don’t know what to say about the tragedy in Arizona that hasn’t already been said. I suppose that as a parent I’m glad Patrick is too young to understand such things-- or to not understand them and then look to me for answers. How do I explain bad people, bad actions? How do I explain evil in the world when I don’t fully understand it myself? How do I explain acts of violence on innocent people without breaking down in front of my very innocent little boy?
I don’t know. Thankfully, and selfishly, I don’t have to know this week. But some day sooner than I would like, another tragedy will occur and I’ll have to look into a sweet little face and answer the question, “Why did that man do that, Mama?”
There are a handful of parenting blogs I read; blogs that aren’t overly sweet and cloying and tell it like it is when it comes to parenting. One of those is The Daddy Complex. And I found myself nodding in agreement about how he intends to handle these discussions when his twin boys are old enough to ask the questions:
Personally, I want my boys to be armed (gun-related messaging intended) with as much information about this life as possible. I trust that my boys — and all children for that matter — will understand any situation if I do my job, if I answer their questions, if I talk with them instead of to them, if I give them time to comprehend. So, that means having hard conversations, like one about why a little girl born on the day of our nation’s greatest tragedy was killed by a stranger at a grocery store in Arizona.
Would that we lived in a world where such conversations weren’t necessary.
I got a new iPod Touch for Christmas and it comes equipped with a camera. Oh, technology! I downloaded a photo application called Hipstamatic and I have been having so much fun with the old-fashioned effects. As someone who still mourns the death of 35mm and misses the smell of dark room chemicals, it’s kind of fun. Baby is often my photographic subject of choice, but is usually in motion and doesn’t photograph well. But I thought this turned out nicely and gives me a glimpse of the boy he’ll be before I know it.
For those who care:
lens-- John S
film-- Kodot XGrizzled
flash-- off
It looked like this last week… and now all the snow is gone. But it seems we might be getting some more snow this weekend!
What’s it all about?
Life. Love. Writing. Editing. Sex. Books. Romance. Movies. Friendship. Photography. Teaching. Coffee. (Lots of coffee.) Travel. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Memories. Experiences. Rants. Raves. Reviews. Babies. Pregnancy. Motherhood. Insanity. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
