Elizabeth Bartel

I want to start this post by saying that I have no
knowledge of art. Read on if you dare.

Now that I've said that, I want to say that my boyfriend Brian's friend, Elizabeth Bartel, is the best artist I have ever seen. I also know that seeing a painting posted on someone's website is not the same as seeing it in person. But I think you'll enjoy seeing some of her paintings, and so with her permission, I'd like to share some with you.

The painting on the left is called Paralyzed. I love it. The colors are so beautiful and so vivid when you see them in person it just takes your breath away. This one is one of Brian's favorites.

I always get amazed when people I know prove themselves to be really talented. Whether it's singing, painting, playing a sport, it's just really cool to learn more about people and see where their talents lie. At the same time, it's so hard not to creep them out by being a fan of their work. I'm not going to make Liz a hair doll, but this girl fascinates me.

The painting on the right, Repose, for me, is almost a completely opposite in terms of the way it makes me feel. I think it's gorgeous, but for very different reasons than Paralyzed. The warm color tones are gone in this one, but there's so much more passion. Liz really has a gift for capturing the female form and giving so much life to it, even in paintings without a lot of movement.

When people ask me why I like hockey so much, it's hard for me to give them an answer. That's the same way that I feel about Liz's work. I know I love it, on some very basic level that I can't really understand. It's very soothing to be in the presence of the stuff I'm looking at when I'm there.

The next painting I wanted to talk about is My Woman, the installation piece on the left. This was the first piece of Liz's work that I had ever been exposed to, and to this day I think it's the piece I'm most impressed by, in terms of sheer ingenuity and creativity.

My Woman is a collection of canvases depicting different parts of a woman showering. It is temporarily (I hope) installed in the corner of her bedroom, with each of the canvases being hung from the ceiling at different levels behind an actual shower door. When the door is opened, the sounds of falling shower water start to play. When you are able to look closely at each individual canvas, you see that any of these pieces could stand alone, outside of the entire piece, as its own painting. When you take in the enormity of the entire piece, it is a really beautiful work.

I think the thing that impresses me most about Liz's paintings is the fact that Liz isn't as impressed by them as I am. The talent is so imbued in her that she doesn't get impressed by her work. She gets happy. And I think that's one of the most gratifying things about knowing Liz, is knowing that the work she gives life to, gives life to her. It makes her happy to create, to get her hands in the paint and just make life.

You can see lots more of her work at her website:

http://phobos.ramapo.edu/~ebartel/lizart/artmainpage.htm

Thanks for taking the time to read my longest blog post yet, I promise I'll give you a short one next time around...

Hockey Update

So I just posted another shut-out yesterday in my game against the Tuques.

It was a 3-0 victory, bringing our record to 7-4, with only allowing two goals over three games.

The last couple of games have been well-played, and the people I play with are just a great example of what a team really should be.

We're on a bit of a streak, so the pressure is on to do well next week. Stay tuned, the rest of the season is tough, but we're confident we'll end up on top.

That's How I Roll

Flagstaff, Arizona.
Live Fast, Die Flag.



Picture courtesy of Nicole Heinicke


Love ya Nic. MWAH!

Shows to Watch

Ok, so I just finished watching "Angel" last night, with David Boreanaz. I've decided to post a couple of shows I really love that you can get on DVD, that I would recommend you watch. They are as follows:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (great writing, solid acting)

Angel (same writer as Buffy, good story lines)

The Simple Life (Seasons 1 and 2, the rest are so-so, and Nicole Ritchie is hilarious)

Saturday Night Live Commercial Parodies (so much fun)


...that's it for now, just a couple of things I wanted to help promote. Especially Buffy.




Pee Pee Demon gives it two thumbs up. <3

The War Is Over

Ummm...now I'm not one of those people who is going to make a sweeping generalization of an entire group of people.

But you KNOW that these people are freaks.

Hi, it's 2006. So people who participate in Civil War re-enactments, I'm talking to you. THE WAR IS OVER.

I'm also not one of those people who is going to shy away from my past. This business takes place in my hometown every year. Walton, NY.

That's right, every year these freaks descend on my town, on my fairground, and set up tent. Literally. They stage battles of the Civil War and fight with each other and stitch quilts and drink some type of liquor (I'm sure they give it to the kids too, that's how they are), and pretend that they're important.

I think we really need to be displaying the Confederate flag prominently in front of our children. I think that's pretty recommended by child psychologists. You know, set up a sturdy socialization network for your child at an early age. Because children love believing that they're at the Battle of Baton Rouge.

It's creepy, and I think it should be illegal. Why do we need to re-enact the Civil War? I think I heard that the North won, but I'll probably go next year just to make sure. Never can be too sure with those Yanks.

You think the people of Vietnam have re-enactments? Yea...NO.

Civil War re-enactment participants? Get OVER it. The rest of the world has been for over a hundred years.

I Love Kathy Griffin

Funniest woman alive.

I love Kathy Griffin. If you haven't had the chance to see Kathy live, you need to.

Kathy recently played at the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ and I had the chance to see her. I laughed consistently for 2 hours straight. And it hurt, but I loved it.

For those of you who are in love with the Bravo network like I am, you already know about "My Life on the D List". That's Kathy's reality show about her life, starring Kathy, her husband Matt, her parents (you'll love them), and her assistant Jessica.

This show is brilliant, because it allows Kathy to be showcased outside of the world of stand-up. The woman is hilarious and I give it my full recommendations for you to watch. And love.

Don't. Trust. These. Children.

So I went to Great Adventure last Saturday with my boyfriend Brian and his family and it was a really rainy day. Whatever, we decided we'd just go and have fun with it. The rain held out for most of the day, but the kids wanted to go on a water ride. None of the adults wanted to take the kids on and get wet, so me, wearing only jeans and a t-shirt, said what the hell. I'll get wet, as long as the kids have fun.

The littlest girl, Amber, is four years old. She takes my hand and walks me around the outside of the ride, which is essentially just a water trap, with falling water buckets and spraying fountains, etc. I run through some of it, getting a little damp, but again, it's for the kids, so whatever.

Amber is holding my hand the entire time, mind you. She pulls me to a spot and looks up at me and says "Thank you for coming with me" with the most adorable eyes and smile. It's one of those moments where you realize that some children can be really beautiful.

Some. Children.

Well I'm an idiot. Standing there, with Amber holding my hand, she laughs as her brother CJ (pictured above) dumps an entire bucket of water onto me.

Yea, drenched. That's me. Picture provided, as always, for your enjoyment...

So for the rest of the day (in which the temperature dropped dramatically in a very short time) I was walking around like the big idiot in the soaking wet jeans and the too-tight t-shirt. I was really well-behaved about it and didn't complain too much. And if I did, I was allowed.

And maybe I sobbed a little.

So? You don't pay my bills...

...and...

A SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT TO MY SISTER LAUREN...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!