#SherlockS3 #cubicleparty

****Nerdy Fangirl Warning****

It's been 1 year, 2 months, and 3 days since The Fall.

And today it finally happened:

Yes.  It'll probably be another year before we get Season 3, Episode 1 "The Empty Hearse."  But, as of today, it is officially on it's way.

And that meant today was a cause for celebrating!

So today was my first ever "Cubicle Party" - and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to do it again. 

There were already about 5 other "fans" in the office (I told one friend that on a scale of 0 to clinical, they counted as positively infected).  So today was both a celebration with those fans, and a marketing push to infect introduce Sherlock to more people.  And I think it was successful because several people said they'd be checking it out :)

Alright, a run-down on the cubicle-party-components:

[I started building the "shrine" last Friday with printed pictures on the left (gift from co-worker),  Last April's Radio Times with you-know-who on the cover (gift from Lois in London), pictures I took last spring of Sherlockian chalk-art at UW, and Volumes I and II of the The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes.]

[A few details - including a parody of the telegram / text Sherlock sends John: "Baker Stree. Come at once if convenient... if inconvenient come anyway."]

[Deerstalker (aka - death frisbee), eye-glass, pipe, Sherlock Holmes V. I + II, and books published circa Sherlock's era]

[Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman
Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Smaug & Bilbo
...can these two just please keep making art together?]

[Sherlockian Donuts (via Top Pot):
A 3 patch problem: maple bar
The Riding Crop: chocolate bar
Invisible Ink: lemon filled
A Scandal in Belgravia: bavarian creme filled
Irene: raspberry filled
Molly - raspberry glazed
M (for Moriarty): old fashioned chocolate glazed
1895 - old fashioned
On the side of the Angels: powdered
A Study in Pink: pink frosted cake
The Fall: double trouble chocolate cake]

More symbolic donut shots:

Each of the donuts have significance to one degree or another... so ask if you're wondering :)

[Houndstooth Dress]

[popped collar]

And finally, some fandom fun:

[From one of the guys I've recently got hooked on this show]

[Ok... maybe I'm not that bad.  Maybe.]

Happy filming, Sherlock!!

We've become "the Fandom that Waited" - and wait we shall... but not without unbridled excitement, intermittent squealing, and occasional cubicle parties :)

B+W Love

There is just something about black and white.

I think it automatically appears to us as art because, while we see in color, someone or thing has been cast in a black and white re-presentation of themselves.  It's mimetic while remaining boldly artistic.  Or in the words of our beloved, bow-tied Nerd-man: "the obviously constructed nature of the scene would by its own artificiality, create it’s own sense of... verisimilitude."  It is real, but at the same time it is unafraid to be art.

But I may be reading into this too much :)

I've been watching a lot of B + W films lately and have been impressed with shots from them - especially behind-the-scenes - but also of more recent shots in B + W.  Here are a few faves:



[Marlon Brando in his Academy Award winning performance of Terry Malloy - On the Waterfront]



[Because just wow!]



[Oh and he had a kitty]

  

[Walt Disney and Shirley Temple presenting at the 1939 Oscars]



[Adorable Audrey]



[Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard filming Breakfast at Tiffany's]





[These three!!  PS - I love Harrison's hipster glasses! Via]



And in honor of the new season they're about to start shooting, in B + W, the gents of Sherlock:



[Thanks to the dear friend who forwarded this along to me ;) ]





International Women's Day

A few quotes from some favorite ladies in celebration of International Women's Day -


"I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives." - Jane Austen

"A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment..." - Jane Austen - cheeky, but true ;)


“As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.” - Virginia Woolf

"Blame it or praise it, there is no denying the wild horse in us.” - Virginia Woolf

"Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, to absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.” - Charlotte Bronte
      And there are so many more... but I am off to lunch.  Happy International Women's Day!! :)

"A response from the author..."

I'll gladly admit yesterday's #refusetobeacog post was a bit ranty - I probably should have closed with a quote from Ecclesiastes or something.  I'll also admit that yesterday I was restless, frustrated, and emotional (which contributes to the state of mind most conducive to writing).

But thank you to those who have inspired and supported the challenging of the status quo. I've been reading responses to this post for a day now - both here, on facebook, via email and texts, and even a friend's response on her blog.  I've mulled over these and I've slept on it.

I see that it's not capitalism that I take issue with - well, not just capitalism.  I still see issues with capitalism and whole heartedly believe that there is a more Kingdom, more personable system of economics just waiting to be discovered.  "Creation yearns in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed..." - Romans 8.19.  And I'm yearning too.

But I see that I equally take issue with the mediocrity and materialism people settle for when they forget or ignore that they were made in the likeness of their Deity-Creator. The translation of that oft-quoted verse from Romans in the Message reads:

The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead.  Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens...

Annnd I'm back to the title of my blog - wait AND hope.  Don't just wait for things to change, allow the "joyful anticipation" to deepen while you challenge the status quo and ask tough questions.  But also, let the passion for change fuel the determination to do whatever you can - big or small - to change your piece of the world... starting with your mindset.  Yesterday, via Braden [which could now be via-via-via :) ], I read this quote from Graham Cook:

To say YES to Jesus we must also say no to something else. A YES is always accompanied by a no. To be a world class musician, athlete, or actor, it means you have to know what your distractions are going to be and have a plan to overcome them.

We have to affirm the need for personal discipline and develop a desire for it. We have to endure hardness, learn to persist when people around us want to give up, and cultivate perseverance as a way of life. Some people call it obsession because it suits their own purpose. It's PASSION - an intense enthusiasm for something, and it requires disciplined pursuit and a focus of intention that mediocre people never attain.

We don't have to settle.  We don't have to accept the status quo.  We don't have to embrace mediocrity.    But it depends on what we see.  What do you see?        

* * * * * * *   And to those who have encouraged my writing - thank you!  I have always placed myself on the reader side of the reader / writer dichotomy.  But when it comes to things I'm super frustrated by or super excited about, I must write or blow a fuse.  It's the discipline of writing I'm no good at.  But even that has been changing lately.  So, thank you for the encouragement and I can only hope you feel encouraged too.

I have to admit that there are times when I think there might have been something to Marx's critique of the way our economy is set up.

I think about it when I wait in line at 7.34 am to get on the bus with a whole line of people.  Everyone seriously stands in a line as if they were about to be reprimanded by their kindergarten teacher.  Or maybe they do it for a reason worse than social reprimand, maybe they do it because it's easier.

And the whole scene reminds me of the issues with capitalism.  The bus-lady cog picks up the line of other cogs to take them off to the factories to make widgets.  But before that, we sit in a line on 405 with all the other coggy-cogs heading off too.  And some cogs are more important than others, but a lot of cogs just seem interchangeable.

I think about it on days (like today) when I feel like saying, "You seriously expect me to reply to emails and put a smile on and update the schedule and create another excel spreadsheet and make copies and just go about business when I should really be a. under my desk crying or b. at a therapists?" 

I think about this whole 8 - 5 thing.  We spend - at a minimum! - 40 of 168 hours per week (only 167 this week - thanks a lot Ben Franklin!) working to pay for the rest of it.  That's 24%!! An approximate 29% is then spent on sleeping.  So once you add the "time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet"* and the commute... we get to spend about 40% of our time on life. Real life.  And that's when capitalism does feel like a contract saying "I will be your cog for a quarter of my life so that you can give me paper that I can then trade to fulfill my needs."  [Josiah, if you're reading this right now, you probably hate me... Sorry.]

Then we went and made the whole thing worse.  Someone had the brilliant idea to make a machine to make the work faster.  Let's build a computer.  First binary computer - 1936. Fabulous. Then in 1982 - the world wide web.  Why web? Something a spider uses to catch its prey.  The Internet with a capital I (until Apple made it lower case).  Great - we can email.  Do away away with memos.  And, they seriously thought, people will spend less time working.  Perfect.
But then it got really messed up when someone thought - lets make it portable. So circa the year of my birth we got "lap-tops." But they wouldn't stop there.  Now, 2013, you're expected to put Outlook on your iPhone and you get to never really stop working.  [Ugh... now my secret luddite sympathies are coming out too.] 

I say all of that to intentionally mis-quote Churchill -

[Capitalism] is the worst form of [economy] - except for all those other forms that have been tried.**

Sorry for the rant... I'm getting "back to work" now.  But I can't wait for an economic revolution. Even if it was just a group that would stand for Monday - Thursday 10 hour days with a 3-day weekend.  Even if it was startup who's motto was "we're artists, not cogs."  Even if it was a group who danced to Billie Holiday while waiting for the bus.  Life is too short to accept the monotony!  It's too precious to spend it as a coggy-cog!!  God made us for more than settling a paycheck so we can accumulate more stuff that will tie us down to a system we never agreed to.

Join me in the revolution!  #refusetobeacog




*taken from TS Eliot's "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" - which is a stunning piece on the "cog-ness" of modernism
**Originally "Democracy is the worst form of government  - except for all those other forms that have been tried."

Still slowly recoverring from being sick.  Last week Bob was calling me "Typhoid Samara" and I had lots of people telling me I looked "tired" or "not so well" [read: awful].  But this week my energy is up and the tissue consumption is down, but the best sign of recovery came just now in the form of a compliment from Bob:

Well, you look better...  I knew you were too young to die.  You know, you don't want to become one of those tragic figures in a Victorian novel.

Thank you, Bob, you just articulated one of my life goals :)

Sincerely,
Still silently cracking up at my desk

Of Tangled and Typology :)

This weekend I had one of those great "Wow!  Not everyone thinks everyone thinks the same way I do (thank God!)" moments. 

I was at my sister's watching Tangled with my neice and nephew. We were watching the scene at the end [er...Spoilers?] and I exclaimed how much I love this film.  My sister asked why.  I rambled off a few things quickly:

- Mother Gothel's mirror breaks - a symbol of the shattering of the power of vanity [very much a Mirror Mirror relationship going on here... interesting since Snow White was Disney's 1st feature film and Tangled was it's 50th :]

- Flynn chooses to save Rapunzel rather than himself - amazing!

- The shards from that mirror would prove the very weapon Flynn would need to free Rapunzel and defeat Mother Gothel.

- There's a brief, but powerful shot of the rapidly aging Mother Gothel looking in the broken mirror - representing her fractured psyche [unfotunately, I couldn't find a picture of that shot]

- Pascal uses Rapunzel's hair (of all things) to trip Mother Gothel and she falls out the window to her death.

- Then of course we get the touching death of Flynn Rider - and even though you know Disney is going to bring him back to life, giving Rapunzel a haircut and killing off the "prince charming" in the same scene automatically qualifies it for "Most Unpredictable Disney Clip" - if not entire movie!

- And in one final, gorgeous shot before the resurrection a la Beauty and the Beast... we get this: the shattered mirror and shattered dreams - the (seeming) finality of death - bathed in rays of light.  And the Sun has not lost it's healing power after all.

So anyway... I rambled off most of those thoughts about the power of imagery very quickly, until my sister said, "Stop it, you're hurting my brain!"  After laughter and a "Wait - really?" - I had that wonderful shock to the system that, yes, I am odd.  And maybe people who are not constantly reading into things have a less stressful life.  Maybe they actually get more out of it!!

But its actually come at a wonderful time.  I've been learning so much about people lately - about our differences. We took the Meyers Briggs / Jungian Typology test at work [seriously, take it if you haven't and then visit the personality pages to get a scarily accurate description of your Type].  There are 16 different types of personalities according that test.  I'm also reading the 5 love languages.  I've had some really eye-opening experiences with family members and friends and co-workers. 

And I'm becoming aware again of the variety that exists in the human race - and that ALL of it is a reflection of who God is.

Some of you may just get this easier than I do.  But I've seriously been amazed listening to people who think in an entirely different way - not just from a different point of view, but an entirely other grid. Yet that grid is as much in the image of God as any other - even when they seem contrary.  And when I say "grid," I'm not talking about worldview as much as I'm talking about the personality and perspective each of us was born with.  Obviously each personality has its strengths and weaknesses... but there is something God just LOVES about each of them.  He's put a piece of himself in introverts and extroverts, in people who see black & white and those who see color, in the nerds and the free spirits.  They all reflect who He is!  And that's incredible!!

So even when you get bugged or someone doesn't understand you - take a moment to enjoy the variety in other people and to discover an aspect of God's character that you might not have seen or appreciated before!

You remember that scene in Devil Wears Prada were Emily Blunt's character - Emily - becomes an "incubus of viral plague"?  That's what I feel like at work today.

Things I wouldn't mind:

being over this cough

not hearing "you look really tired/sick/(awful)" the rest of the day

not needing a tissue in the forseeable future

having energy

being all better so I can eat chocolate again

being back under the covers

it being five o'clock

Ok... now, back to billing... :l :)

Hello!

Guess who's home sick?  I know...bummer.  Just when I thought I had beaten this flu season :/

I survived an onslaught of bugs 3-4 weeks ago when it seemed like half of everyone I knew was sick.  But sure enough, after dragging my crummy-feeling self to work on Tuesday morning, I found myself packing my laptop and on a bus heading back home.  Then I slept for about 15 hours, with one 2-hour period of consciousness in the midst of that.  But I'm really hoping to be back at work tomorrow!  I'm kind of going stir crazy.  A girl can only take so much laying around, trying to push through sick-brain to work, and drinking gallons of orange juice.  Plus, this sickie thing is eating into my vacation days...grr!  I can do some work from home, which helps a bit, but I'm ready to be back to normal.

How about a few random thoughts to hold us over:

• I joined twitter!!  You can find me @iwaitandhope :)  And yes, the large majority of people I follow are fictional or fandom related :/  So if you're a real person on there, please follow me so I can follow you back!
• I'm finally going to buy a car :D  I start looking next month (which is also next week!).  I've been kind of slow on this front... or at least there were other priorities.  But I really wanted to pay cash for a decent car.  And I'm going to be able to!
• Once I have the car, I'll have greater freedom to road trip!! I'm thinking of finding a weekend to go visit my brother in Spokane, or one to go visit Portland.  Portland's been calling my name lately.  Maybe I'll just have to find weekends to do both!
• I've been on an old-movie kick lately... seriously, there are some reeeally good ones!  More to come on that.
• Oscars this weekend!  So excited :)

With that, I'm off to take even more Vitamin C and a nap.  Loves!

For real...

Tonight, this man reminded me why I fell in love with him 10 years ago.

Sigh... what a scoundrel :)

Really loving the Ralph Lauren Autumn/Winter 2013 Collection

fun fun fun :)

The topper on my day :)

fandom love... what fun!

No... seriously.

Pictures & pubs - 2013 Best Picture Nominees

Last night I had the joy of participating in the Kindling's Muse "Theologies of the Best Picture Nominees."

As always, so fascinating!

Oh! I just absolutely love story-telling!  And films.  And award season :)

The 2013 Best Picture Nominees:

Life of Pi - Ang Lee

Amour - Michael Haneke

Zero Dark Thirty - Kathryn Bigelow

*Beasts of the Southern Wild - Benh Zeitlin

*Argo - Ben Affleck

Django Unchained - Quentin Tarantino

*Les Miserables - Tom Hooper

*Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell

*Lincoln - Steven Spielberg

* - one's that I've seen

Partner in crime ;)

(We have way too much fun together!!)

Dinner - bangers & mash in mushroom gravy... thank God for delicious pub food!

[In other news... I miss England.  Yah... shocking.]

Ok... but back to the pictures themselves.  I'll speak briefly to the one's I've seen:

Beasts of the Southern Wild - Odd. Mythic in an Odyssey type way. Art-house. At times uncomfortable, boring, stunning, jaw-dropping.  Maybe it was because I was at home, but I had a rather visceral reaction to this film.  Learning about how they made it was more intriguing than actually watching it.  Wouldn't recommend it widely, but I know certain people who would really enjoy this.

Argo - Solid film.  Almost everything Americans love about films - action, humor, redemption, beating the odds - wrapped into the representation of a true story (obviously exagerated at moments, but you know).  Yes, for more mature audiences due to language - but surprisingly clean/uplifting.  Strangely prophetic about where we are at right now.

Les Miserables - Obviously amazing story.  The weaknesses of the film were due to not letting the lyrics, the story, speak for itself.  Some incredible performances, but at times, over-performed and over-pathetic.  And, of course, too many close-ups.

Silver Linings Playbook - So... really didn't get what all the hype was about.  I expected something more art-house, or at least an unexpected ending.  What I got was a darker, more vulgarized What About Bob.  I applaud the screen-writers, directors, and production team for wanting to tackle a difficult-to-talk-about subject.  Bradley Cooper let us see a different side.  The other actors are pretty great at what they do.  But it's gotten so much hype I was pretty disappointed.  Don't feel a need to see it again.

Lincoln - Wow!  Saw it twice in theatres - cannot wait to own it.  Most immersive biopic I've seen.  I felt that each actor, with the exception of Joseph Gordon Levitt [Sorry, JGL], dissolved into their character.  Of course Daniel Day-Lewis was amazing.  But I was surprised by and grateful for Spielberg's restraint in this piece.  Last night many said that this will probably be remembered as his masterpiece and I have to agree.  Even more than being masterful film-making or gifted acting, I felt it was the film America needed.  It wins "Best Picture" in my book :)

The other films:

Life of Pi - I don't feel the draw to see this film.  Maybe read the book, but no particular desire as of now.

Amour - I had been very anti-Amour, but last night, I think I was convinced to at least watch it.  Thank you, Jeffrey Overstreet.  I'll be waiting to see it on a smaller screen - I don't want to go to the cinema for a downer.

Zero Dark Thirty - some may not understand, but I need to wait to see this film.  I think it might be emotionally too much for me right now, but I look forward to seeing it, again, hopefully on a smaller screen.

Django Unchained - Sorry, Tarantino is just not my cup of tea.

Finally, the painful hole in this list of Best Pictures - Moonrise Kingdom [obvi!]

More than responses or ideas about the specific films discussed last night, I was so grateful for some of the great insights on what these stories say about us as humans, especially humans in the 21st Century.  It was a thought-provoking night - and a much needed one.  I miss criticism--wrestling with art and examining its affect.  So, so grateful for last night's good food, profound thoughts, and fun people.

Alright... there are my reflections on the years Best Pics - what are yours?

couple crush

[so proud of them and their artistry]

Wait + Hope

Well, after about three years... I decided it was time for something new.

New name, new layout... hopefully new fun!

The actual title comes from the closing lines of one of my favorite books, The Count of Monte Cristo:

Until the day when God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words - "Wait and hope..."

The Lord has been speaking so much to me about "Wait + Hope"--and not just recently.

But He has been reminding me of this truth everywhere I turn.  And I've realized it's the theme of what I've blogged the last five years! 

Here are just a few reminders He's shared with me lately:

What would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living!  Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring.  Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

- Psalm 27.13-14 [Amplified]

Those who wait for the Lord, who expect, look for, and hope in Him shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up close to God as eagles mount up to the sun; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.

- Isaiah 40.31 [Amplified]

So I'll be bold

As well as strong

And use my head

Alongside my heart

So tame my flesh

And fix my eyes

A tethered mind

Free from the lies

I'll kneel down wait for now

I'll kneel down, know my ground

Raise my hands

Paint my spirit gold

Bow my head

Keep my heart slow

I will wait, I will wait for you...

- Mumford & Sons, "I will wait"

Just have to say...

I am getting SO excited for Valentine's Day this year!!

Last year, I practically missed out on Valentine's Day altogether--and this is worth a story all unto itself...

I had a big presentation on Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse that day.  So I was up late on the 13th into the 14th researching and writing and prepping for this presentation and an annotated bibliography that went with it.
It was practically comical, though, because one of my best friends was up just as late/early as I was - watching Braveheart with her boyfriend.  That's how cool my friends are - they think of Braveheart as the perfect, romantic precursor to Valentines Day [duh!] :)

So anyway... After staying up till 2, sleeping for just a few hours, running around like crazy trying to get things printed, dashing to work for the morning shift, racing to school to set up for the presentation, and giving a presentation which I enjoyed, but my professor thought pretty mediocre........ I wasn't exactly in the mood for a great Valentine's Day.  In all that, I hadn't even been able to write up notes to my family, let alone friends.  If I remember correctly, a few texts were exchanged on the bus.  But I felt awful finding chocolates, flowers, and cards at my spot on the kitchen table, but having nothing to offer in return than a verbal "Thanks... I love you, too!"  After the presentation, waiting around on campus before my evening plans, I did pop on tumblr and found a host of fabulous Sherlock Valentines - which my other mischevious friends received ;)

That night, when I usually would get all dolled up and go out with girl-friends, I took my brother to a friend's "Non-Valentines Valentines Day Party."  It wasn't all single people... it was just a group of friends who didn't want to give into the consumerism and pressure of Valentines Day.  So it was pizza and apples-to-apples rather than dresses, dinner, and a movie.  It was fun... but I missed "going out."

I really don't believe in moping around on Valentine's Day.  Sure I'm looking forward to spending it with my Mister, but I have been blessed with so many people to love on!!  And this year I'm looking forward to making up for last year... because I can!  Instead of worrying about annotated bibliographies, I've got little gifts and cards planned, my brother is going to be receiving a marvelous little care package my sister have been creating, a few ladies at work are doing "Secret Valentine," (there's going to be some LBD drama!), and I have a double-sister date planned with dear friends!  A smashing way to spend Valentine's if you ask me ;)

And it's a perfect picture of the season that I'm in.  I at peace with all the possibilities of the future before me; knowing that they're not quite here and that's ok.  I thoroughly mean to enjoy the here and now, and wait--eagerly leaning--towards all the new things out there.  My life right now is full... so wonderfully, fabulously full.  So this Valentine's Day, there is only reason to celebrate all the people I love now.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

*Celebrating six months on the job :)

Loving lately...

These kiddos!

My view

My fictional life - 

221B is coming along... filming finally! begins next month! :D

Pride and Prejudice,

200 years and we're as delighted as ever!

^ is this v moment

New jeans :)

Inspiration - 

Paris in the early 1900's

Words to live by

Happy February, Everyone.

What have you been loving lately?

Around the bend...

[via]

Agreed :)

Since I woke up this morning I've been inexplicably excited.  My sister can bear witness to happy dances in the closet, short squeals, and hopping around for no apparent reason.

Yes, I'm tired... but it's not just that.  I was actually surprised at myself this morning.  It's been kind of a heavy week [mostly due to the large amounts of fiction I've imbibed :/ :) ].

But this morning I was overwhelmed with excitement at all the good things coming "around the bend" - small things, big things.  Every time I see "2013," it seems to translate as "opportunity."  It's all quite the adventure!

"I don't know what lies around the bend... but I'm going to believe that the best does."