Art Doll Challenge

I participated in an art doll baggie challenge on the Art Doll yahoo list. The rules: gather together a sandwich-sized baggie of materials and send on to another person. The recipient creates a doll out of the materials, using any or all. Personal materials could be added, if needed.

I received my bag and mulled over if for weeks. I mean, the deadline is November 15--why would I rush it?! [I really need to work on this procrastination issue...]

Still mulling and moaning and groaning, I flipped through the new Soft Doll and Animal magazine and found pattern I liked (Dylan the elf). I liked it so much, I changed it.

And Lola was born. Lola, you snicker. As in Copacabana? Yes! Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl... I've had that darn Barry Manilow CD in the car since watching "Foul Play" last weekend and became inspired.

My Lola is somewhere between showgirl and has-been. Not quite the faded feathers in her hair, but getting dangerously close!

Check out her "shoes"--yes one has a bell and the other a baby's button. Surely Tony and Lola meant to have children!

Everything came from the baggie, except the thread and stuffing. Nothing came from my stash. And I didn't use everything. I couldn't even come close. There were some things just dying to be used, but I couldn't manage it. Maybe there's another doll lurking in that tyvek envelope.

Culture! Culture Everywhere!

I am getting so cultured here in suburban Chicago!

Jim and I saw Wicked for our anniversary. It was incredible! Spectacular!

I was concerned because the only seats I could get were "limited view." They were the best seats ever! Second row. One more seat over and they would have been terrible. Beyond limited view. But these were great.

We were so close you could see the texture of the costumes. Thick fabrics. Upholstery fabrics. Embellishments all over the place. I wanted to reach out and touch them all!

Elphaba was played by Ana Gasteyer of Saturday Night Fame. Wow! She was so good. Her voice is amazing.

If you get a chance to see Wicked...run, don't walk! It's worth every penny!

This week I went to see The Vagina Monologues at the Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights. Four women. Four very funny women.

I thought it was solely a comedy. But there were sad moments too. And it made me think.

Another must see if you get the chance!

I've got to have more culture! What's next?!

Trading Spouses

OK, I'm a sucker for embarrassing television. And who could resist the previews of last night's Trading Spouses on Fox?! The yelling, shrieking, cursing Marguerite Perrin was enough to draw me to the tube...

Except it was part one of two. I guess next week is the second part. [Let's take a moment to vilify network television executives who sucker us in with two-parters without indicating this in the previews! Hardly anything previewed even showed up in last night's episode! I will not be fooled again!]

But Marguerite Perrin wasn't the embarrassing part of last night's show. It was her bigoted, rude friends.

Marguerite Perrin traded houses with Jeanne D'Amico-Flisher. Marguerite is a devout Christian, Jeanne D'Amico-Flisher is a hypnotherapist. [I'm not sure why hypnotherapy is a "dark" thing as Marguerite kept implying.]

Jeanne was introduced to Marguerite's friends at a little party attending by Marguerite's daughters and friends.

And the friends were amazing bitches! One friend interrogated Jeanne about her "faith," asking what her family's beliefs were, and insinuating that Jeanne was "New Age" which was made to sound like something right up there with baby sacrifice.

It embarrasses me that these people advertise themselves as Christians. I think God and Jesus were overwhelmingly embarrassed that these are the people on TV representing them.

I was brought up to believe that the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have done unto you.) was the basis for life. Even in my Catholic school, this was the underlying message. We were certainly never taught that if you are a Christian you get to be rude to strangers in the name of your religion.

When asked what she believed in, Jeanne said something like "that we are all equal." And the blonde woman replied, "We're all equal...terrorists...rapists...and us?" This was sneered and snarled, suggesting that Jeanne was a complete and utter moron for even consider people equal.

I hope I am not her "equal" because she should have been bitch slapped.

I guess the bottom line is I don't understand how some "Christian" people use their religion as a weapon. Do they truly believe that God and Jesus are in Heaven giving each other a high five and yelling, "Alright! She was rude to someone else! Gold star for her today!" Or my favorite, "Alright, they are discriminating against entire groups of my people! Of course they are better than everyone else! More gold stars!"

Or is God slowly shaking his head in disbelief that this is what it has been reduced to? Call yourself a Christian, make some pithy comments about God and grace and you have carte blanche to treat people like dirt?

Personally, the people I know who identify themselves as pagan or believing in a higher power, certainly have a better grasp of the Golden Rule than these so-called Christians.

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Surely someone will read this and be offended because I used the term "Christian" and they are a Christian who doesn't behave this way. I am a Christian who doesn't behave this way. I'm not implying that all Christians are mean, rude, and bigoted. But everyone will recognize someone like this...and it's usually the person telling you all the time how religious they are.