Post-Haitus

Hello, all.

Apologies for being less than loquacious as of late. After the aforementioned move into the new house, my new semester started, and I auditioned for (and received a lead role for) a play at my college. I'm painting the set for this show, as well as doing prop design and art direction, along with a full roster of classes. Needless to say, life has been quite hectic and busy lately.

I posted my first vlog here earlier, and since, I have recorded a singing vlog. I am going to try to record another vlog sometime this weeked just to let the people who may or may not) follow me on youtube know why I've been absent.

With that out of the way, Ay dios mio! So much has happened in this past 2 or 3 months! I'll start with saying that my heart goes out to all those affected by the metro rail crash last Monday, and you'll all be in my prayers. Secondly, the world was grieved to lose the King of Pop yesterday. We'll miss your musical genius, MJ. Millions of people are going to remember you for your music, and not for your unfortunate publicity. I almost feel bad for Farrah Fawcett- her death was slightly overshadowed by Jackson's for most.

The sad stuff out of the way, lets talk movies!

First of all- Star Treeeeek!

5 out of 5. Absolutely. I will admit to being a Star Wars nut, and I saw very little of the original Star Trek, but I had geekgasms at the original Star Trek trailers that simply showed the Enterprise. Needless to say, I've been very excited for the movies release, moreso with watching the cast grow on Imdb. I went and saw it as soon as it came out with my Bff, and we absolutely loved it.

The movie has a perfect balance of action and plot with accurate representations of the characters. I was very impressed by Chris Pine's ability to carry the absolute smugness of Kirk with out doing continual Shatner impressions, and Zachary Quinto's Spock stood apart from as well as paid homage to Nemoy's immortal character. I absolutely adored Simon Pegg's Scotty, and I will admit to continually drooling at Karl Urban's Dr. McCoy.

There were a couple story line problems (someone didn't do much research on black holes... and if they needed that small of an amount of the red matter to blow up a planet/ destroy a black hole, why were they hauling such a huge and dangerous amount around the galaxy?) but they didn't even bother me in the big picture. There were many surprising cameos, and I very much hope that there is a sequel in the making.

So, yes. 5 out of 5. If only for Chris Pine indignantly running around in his skivvies and Karl Urban scowling his way through the entire movie. ^_^

Next! Up!

You know its bad when you get choked up at the freaking SHORT at the beginning of the movie. Regardless. Another cinematic masterpiece from Pixar. The story was absolutely and completely touching, and the montage in the beginning of the movie positively took my breath away. As usual, the character design is gorgeous, and Ed Asner's vocal work as Carl Fredricksen is impeccable. Honestly. I have nothing bad to say about this movie. It made me laugh, it made me cry (twice, goddammit) and I left the movie wising I could turn back around and watch it again.

This is why I want to work for Pixar. These people are amazing at creating these beautiful masterpeices. And they love their jobs! Have you seen their offices? Want! I need to mention that I did not get the internship I applied for in the spring, but no matter. I will apply again and again.

So, Up. 5 out of 5. Loved it.

Finally, The Hangover.

Dear God, hysterical. From the very first scene, I was laughing out loud. This movie was great. It had jokes in it for every level of humour. From brash, to smart, to gross, to stupid, whatever type of humour you have, you'll get your moment in this movie. The storyline was clever and moved along quickly and smoothly. Ed Helms (or Andy from The Office) was an absolute riot from his first scene in the movie. Bradley Cooper is, quite surprisingly, in a movie where he doesn't sleep with someones girlfriend/fiancee/wife, and shows some surprising comedy chops. This is the first time I'd seen Zach Galifianakis, and he played such a delightful awkward and odd character that he is certainly the most memorable coming out of the movie.

Full of huge, crazy surprises and many, many laughs, I would absolutely recommend it.

5 out of 5.

Some exciting, completely unrelated news- My birthday is this Tuesday, the 30th. I'm going to Florida! I'm very very ready for doing nothing but lying on the beach an soaking up some sun for a week. I definitely need the vacation. I'm ging to take lots of pictures and hopefully doing some drawing while I'm gone so I'll have plenty of stuff to post when I return.

I'm going to try and get back into a regular posting schedule. I have lots of movie reviews to post, including angels and demons, love n' dancing, and others. Plus, I have an awesome story for when my BFF and I tried to go and see Tally Hall in concert. More to come in the near future though. Stay classy, all!

T

My first Vlog!

So, here's something exciting!

Today I posted my very first video blog on youtube!

Now the editing is quite crappy, I'm still considering re-uploading the vid,but I'm still quite proud of my work.

Check it out!

Sorry for the absence...

Um...

Hi. ^_^

Sorry for disappearing for a month. My family is in the middle of a move at the moment. Good news is that we finally signed the contract, bad news is that we have to finish packing all this crap and actually move it to the other place. Le sigh.

I'm buried in pre-finals homework assignments and studying as well, and just generally losing my mind.

I have, however, whipped up some art pieces, so I'll upload a few of those as well.

On a really awesome note! I applied for an art internship at Pixar studios this summer, so I'm crossing every digit I have in hope to get it.

I've decided, also, that I want to join the video blogging community over on Youtube. I need a webcam, which I'll be ordering here in a few days. I plan to blog about movies, music and art (and very likely lots and lots of Doctor Who). Hopefully I can get my music uploaded there and get my name out atleast a little.

Also, I signed up for a Dailybooth.com account, so you can follow me there at http://dailybooth.com/trit . I'm trying to update as often as possible there. Also, if you don't lready know, I have a twitter, so you can follow me there at twitter.com/toryritter . That one is also updated fairly often because I'm a total twitter nut.

Anyways, I still have movie reviews to post, and art, and the rest of the roadtrip, (man, I'm behind...), but I have homework to do first and foremost.

Have a good night folks, I'll be seeing you soon. (blows kiss)

T

Inspiring poetry

Taking a pause from roadtrip posts and movie reviews and broken fingers for a moment of inspiration.

I love Shakespeare. Like, absolutely ADORE Shakespeare. I've read nearly all his plays, and I've been slowly making my way through his sonnets for a while now. I came across one tonight, however, that I've officially fallen in love with and dubbed my favorite:

Sonnet #29

When, in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least,
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

I came across this in a song by Rufus Wainwright, "When, in disgrace with fortune in mens eyes", which is a beautiful representation of the sonnet.

Hope it provides some inspiration.


Also, my condolences and prayers go to my best friend Kitty, who found out today that her wonderful dog Lucky has cancer. So sorry, Honey.

<3

Possibly fractured my finger, but its definetely borked. Going to an ortho this week for the full gist, I'll let you know then.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Roadtrip Day 5

Roadtrip, day 5! On our second day in Georgia, Kitty and I woke up bright and early to go into Atlanta and go to the Georgia Aquarium (and subsequent Titanic exhibit within). This was a good day, and by far my favorite stop of the trip.

We walked around for quite a while before we got to the belugas. This little girl walked right up on the glass, and the (somewhat camera-hog of a) beluga came up to the glass to say 'hi'. She was delighted.I love all things cephlapod I'm obsessed with squid and cuttlefish and I think that octopi are just about the coolest sea creature EVER. So I was INCREDIBLY happy to see that the north pacific octopus was out and about (strange for the nocturnal predator). His name is, as are all octopi to me, Alfred. Fred for short

Ah, The whale sharks. The GA aquarium is home to 4 of them, and they are, without a doubt, absolutely stunning. They are completely magestic, and glide throught the water with very little effort. Apparently, the aquarium has two girls and two boys.

The GA aquarium is also the only aquarium in America with a manta ray. She's nine years old, but you and rather small so far for a Manta. Their wing span can reach upwards of 20 feet, amazingly. I have named her Jodi.
Obligatory Jellyfish picture. I'm fascinated by jellyfish. They actually sleep- they rest on the bottom and dont move and then wake back up. This is fairly uncommon with water creatures. Most sleep on half of their brain, and their body keeps moving to keep water, and therefore oxygen, moving across their gills.
Goby. He seemed to be checking me out.. this is also the tank were a mental giant of a girl told her friend she was really into the ocean but didn't want to do it as a career because she didn't want to be "one of those marine aquarius people".
Outside of the museum were lots and lots of pretty flowers, IE- reasons for me to play with the micro lens.
Standing out front of the World of Coke!

We ended up touring the World of Coke, which was pretty interesting, despite being gimmicky and a bit more bubbly (pun intended) than Kitty and I really thought was needed. The soda tasting center stood apart for me, and was very interesting In one room, coca-cola collects a sampling of sodas from all over the world that they produce so you can try them and give your own verdict. there were a few standouts for us- The watermelon Smart soda from China was good, while the Mint soda from Djibouti was just weird. The most disgusting soda in the entire place was Italy's Beverly. I swear to you, this stuff tasted like Ass and Hangover mouth. Disgustinggrosseww. We recieved a free (pshh We paid 15$ to get in. Shit wasn't free.) bottle of coke on our way out, and took a short stroll through the store and surprisingly walked out empty handed.

On day 6, we go to the zoo, the king tut exhibit, and the terra cotta warrior exhibit!

Movie review- The History Boys, Watchmen

Alriiight, movie review number two.

Now, I am a big fan of plays and musicals, and I have been hearing about The History Boys for quite a while. I meant to get a hold of the movie ages ago, but as usual, I'm way behind.

Okay, first things first. The dialogue moves very fast, and you can easily miss a plot device or even a good joke if you aren't paying attention- typical of stage to screen adaptations (like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead, for example). That being said, the dialogue is clever, and the cast preforms effortlessly.

I thought the ending seemed a little rushed, but other than that I enjoyed the movie.

So, overall? b-

Alright, heres a big one- Watchmen.

For those of you who don't feel like reading the entire review, here's my short sum-up:

Boobs and Blue wang.

Now. I'll explain. I read the Watchmen comic, and though most people say the cliche, "You either hate or you love it" I wasn't either. I was sort of.. unmoved by the whole thing. The story line was confusing, and not incredibly grabbing. I honestly fought to finish the thing, but I loved the artwork, and I was interested in the characters.

Similarly, I found myself fairly unmoved by the movie. It had its strong points: Outstanding cinematography (obviously, considering the director), the fight scenes (with the exception of the very first one, that looked terribly rehearsed) were very badass, cg was very good, the acting was good, and Rorschach was a stand out for great acting.

The sex scenes, however, were gratuitous, and came off quasi- soft core porn more than once. I understand that it often develops a character to have a sex scene, but these just stretched on too long (Similar to the sex scene in 300... I'm spotting a trend..) and really, I've seen enough of Malin Akerman (the silk specter 2)'s breasts to last me a life time. Also- I can't focus on a scene when Dr. Manhattan's giant blue wang is waving back and forth on the huge theatre screens, and I feel retarded for getting distracted by his boys.

All bitching aside, it wasn't a bad movie, it just wasn't amazing. Give me Ironman ANYDAY.

the verdict? C. Good acting, cinematography, and fight scenes, but the plot meanders and takes occasional breaks for a wank.

Reviews coming soon- I love you, Man , The Mummy 3, Mamma Mia, RocknRolla

Movie Review- Australia

My goodness, is this late. Taking a small detour from the roadtrip updates with one or two movie reviews.

Australia! Queue sweeping, dramatic orchestral music!

Now, I will readily admit that I had something of a bias coming into the movie. I have always been a Baz Luhrmann fan, and I was positively stoked, that's right- STOKED, for his latest.

Alright, lets get the obvious out of the way- this movie is long. Like, EPICALLY long. We're talking longer than Lord of the rings long. Baz could have made Australia into two movies and they BOTH still would have been pretty long. That being said, he managed to keep the storyline moving in a way that you only wondered once or twice, "Jesus, can I get up and pee sometime this CENTURY?".

The acting was very impressive on Hugh Jackman (Drover) and David Wenham (Fletcher)'s parts, but Nicole Kidman (Lady Sara Ashley) kind of fluctuated through out the movie. Her character changes alot over the course of the movie, but Nicole played the change like a switch being flipped- there isn't a great deal of transition for her character. After saying that, though, sweet jebas its lovely to see her with a facial expression again. She's been overindulging in the botox-fairy for quite a while recently, and I was really starting to miss non-zombie Nicole.

Now the REAL standout in the entire cast was none other than Brandon Walters, who played Nullah, the films narrator. This kid is incredibly talented and I certainly hope he goes on to big things.

The sweeping ladscapes and gorgeous visuals that Baz is fairly known for really stole the show. The costumer, Catherine Martin, Baz's wife and costumer on all of his movies, really outdid herself.

All that technical film stuff aside, I could have died very happy 20 minutes ito the movie after Hugh Jackman parades around the campsite, shirtless and dripping from an impromptu bathe.

Oh yeah Baz, you certainly know how to rope in the ladies.

And Hugh? It was lovely to see you in a movie when you didn't cry 3/4 of the time after X3 and (Shudderhiss) the freakin Fountain.

Verdict? B+

Ah, sorry, my best friend and twitter movie reviewer (http://twitter.com/miss_kitty) Kitty uses the A-F grading scale, and I like it more than my previously used number scale.

I still have quite a few reviews to post- Watchmen, The History Boys, RocknRolla, The M 3, I love you, man, ... yeah. I got a few... So expect them to come filtering in.

Till next time!

Roadtrip, Day 2

On Day dos, we packed up and headed over to the Columbia Zoo. This post will have less pictures than some of the others because we went to to the Atlanta zoo later in the week, and I have similar pictures from there.

Anyways! We saw all the regular animals normally found in zoos, plus one of my favorites-


He cracked me up, but I still haven't come up with a name for him. Any ideas?

A little bit later, we ended up in the koala house and SURPRISINGLY one of them was moving-

Alan named him Stanley, which I think is very fitting.

Moving right along, I played with my macro lens again-
And then we headed into the reptile house-

After the reptile house, on our way out, we stopped to hang out with the (INCREDIBLY NOISY) flamingos-

After the zoo, we went to a resturant named California Dreamin', which was very good.

Headed home after a long day while the sun was setting-

Day 3 was spent shopping and hanging out with family for our very last day in South Carolina.

Day 4, Tuesday, we left around noon and headed into Georgia, about a 4 hour drive. When we arrived at Kitty's mother's house, we were tired from driving and spent the rest of the day hanging out with family.

Onto day 5!

Roadtrip, Day 1

Hiya folks! I gave a lot of thought as to the easiest way to post my roadtrip, and I ended up deciding to post each day separately, with its corresponding pictures.

But here's the gist- My spring break was March 7th to the 15th. My best friend Kitty and I decided that we wanted to take a roadtrip down south. Our first stop was Columbia, South Carolina, to visit my grandparents. After that, we were heading to Marietta (about 10 minutes outside of Atlanta), Georgia, to visit Kitty's mom and step father Jim. After that, we would head for Ashville, North Carolina to go and visit Kitty's grandparent's. Soon after was the OH SO FUN 10 hour drive home.

Friday the 6th, we left Virginia and drove somewhere around 7 to 8 hours to South Carolina. Surprisingly, the drive was actually really enjoyable (with the exception of EVERY driver from Conneticut, which Kitty and I have decided require you to be a douchebag to get a drivers liscense) and we drove in shifts with the much needed guidance of the TomTom. We arrived in Columbia at around 5:30, where my grandparents were VERY excited to see us. That night, we had some absolutely fantastic pizza, watched a Fred Astaire movie and PASSED OUT.

So. Day 1.

Saturday the 7th (The official day 1) we woke up to my grandfather making his famous sourdough pancakes, eggs, and sausage. After stuffing ourselves to the brim, we packed up and drove to the Columbia Canal.

Kitty, in the car on the way.

Heres the river-side of the canal. It was an absolutely beautiful day, so we got lots of wonderful pictures of the water.

Then, I started to play with the macro lens on my Nikon d50...



Kitty, meanwhile, shoots with a Canon.


My Grandma was excited to be there...



The canal was really moving, as well. The city had had a lot of rain before we came into town.



From the canal, we headed for the South Carolina state museum. I was instantly enchanted by the giant fiberglass replica of the Megladon shark, hanging in the main hall of the museum-



Kitty and I named him Theodore (Teddy for short) and I tried to figure out a way I could nonchalante-ly steal him. I figured he was a little big for me to stick him under my shirt, but we could probably put him in Kitty's purse. His tail would stick out a little though...

The state museum was really neat. They had some cool dioramas of South Carolina wildlife, a section on dinosaurs, a really neat section on storms and such, and finally- a big hands-on area, where they explained various phenomena. This is where I bashed the bejezus out of my left index finger. I caught it in a lever of one of the models, and successfully borked it for the rest of the trip. It was all purpley and swollen well into the week and even though it isn't swollen now, I'm still having alot of problems with residual pain and continually bashing it on things.

That night, we headed back to the house, had some home-smoked bbq pork shoulder, compliments of my grandfather, and watched Wall-E. Also another crashing night.

Ps- I forgot to mention. Before we left, Kitty and I met Christopher Moore!

We went in for a book signing, and both bought his new (And totally AWESOME) book, Fool.

In case you were wondering- the man is totally awesome.

After the slight detour, On to day 2!

Post roadtrip

Goooood evening, all! I went on a roadtrip down south with my best friend for spring break this past week and just got home late last night. I've been running errands today AND I bought a new phone. Now, if only Verizon could pull their head out...

ANYWAYS. I'll have a big group of updates in the next few days with a rundown (with pictures) of the trip, some art updates, and some new movie reviews (Watchmen, History Boys, Role Models, to name a few!) !

Thanks for your patience, all.

Talk to you soon!

T

A quick one!

I've been up to my eyeballs with homework, and I've had the opportunity to stop and sketch a few minutes the past few days but I have something I HAVE to recommend.

The webcomic Girls with Slingshots (Daniellecorsetto.com) is FANTASTIC. It's crass, its hysterical, its original, and its terribly tongue in cheek. Really- I'm absolutely in love with it.

Please, PLEASE check it out!

Movie Review- He's just not that into you

And again with the movie review!

Monday was He's Just Not That Into You.

Now this movie was a chick flick, no doubt, but it had elements of it that made it bit more guy friendly than the usual. HJNTIY (Because the name is too damn long to type over and over ><) is clever, as expected, and moves quick. The Director, Ken Kwapis, included quick and funny interview statements at the beginning of each section, and they work very well at tying the movie together.

Great ensemble cast, right off the bat- each actor had their own opportunity to shine (although I would have liked to see a bit more of Barrymore). Also, Affleck is back! Haven't seen him since Smoking Aces, but he hasn't lost his touch doing his daddy duties. There are a lot of quick, surprising cameos, including one of the Author of the book the movie is based off of as a minister for Aniston's sister's wedding. The real standout in the movie, for me, was Jennifer Connelly. She had the opportunity to show off a full range of emotions while being clever and quirky at the same time.

All in all, its a good date movie. But be warned- If you're not that into your date, this movie will totally give you up.

So, 3.7 out of 5.

Review coming soon! Australia!

Movie Reviews, Taken, Coraline, and Slumdog Millionare

It's been a busy weekend for movies for me!

Friday night, I saw Slumdog Millionare. I can honestly say that if there is one movie out in theaters right now that you must definitely see, it is Slumdog. Although it tends to be exceedingly rare, the awards committees certainly got it right with this movie.

Director Danny Boyle (who also directed Trainspotting, The Beach, and 28 days later, to name a few.) worked with screenwriter Simon Beaufoy (Who simply sounds like a Jane Austen character...) to adapt the novel "Q&A" by Vikas Swarup. The result is Slumdog.

The movie follows a young man named Jamal, played very well by Dev Patel. Jamal has managed to get on the Indian incarnation of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and when the movie opens he has already won a lot of money. The problem is that hes just a kid from the slums, a tea boy in the office in which he works. How is it possible he could know all of the answers? Thinking that he is cheating, the police haul him away for questioning and he tells them of the specific events in his life that taught him these facts. You follow him from early childhood with his brother in a small slum in Mumbai to events that carried him all over the country, and the lengths he goes to to help out his cildhood friend (and the girl he loves), Latika.

I don't know very many Indian actors, so I'm sure that rattling them off wouldn't help either of us, but Freida Pinto, who plays the older Latika, is stunning. There is also Amil Kapoor, who plays the spot-light-loving host of Millionare, and Irrfan Khan, the police inspector. Khan is a more familiar face, who seems to be edging into American cinema slowly but surely. Recently, he's been in A Mighty Heart, Wes Anderson's flop- The Darjeeling Limited, and the last place I saw him, The Namesake (with Kal Penn).

All in all, the movie is very, very good. I found myself rooting for Jamal more and more as the movie went on, to the point of crossing my fingers and muttering, 'Please be right, please be right, please be right...' near the end. The score is very good, with some grungy hip hop and pop thrown in for good measure. The story moves quickly and smoothly, so you don't sit for ten minutes twiddling your thumbs waiting for it to get interesting. The ending matched up perfectly with the beginning, and I can't wait to pick up the DVD in a few months. One of my favorite moments is in the very beginning when they flash the title credits during a cricket game on an airstrip in Mumbai.

For extra cool points, stay during the credits for the psuedo-bollywood dance scene and watch for Dev Patel to break out some surprising moves, not to mention the chuckle-value of the little kids dancing.

Definitely a 4.5 to 5 out of 5.

Saturday was Taken.

Now, I had high hopes for Taken. I adore Liam Neeson (a jedi who can kick Batman's ass, alriiight!) and went in hoping for the best. The movie took a few minutes to get into the real thick of the story- the director took the first few minutes to bludgeon you with how much Neeson's character cares for his daughter and how awkward he copes living his 'normal' life. His daughter wants to go to Paris with a friend, and begrudgingly, he lets her go. There, of course, she gets taken, and its up to Neeson with his 'very particular set of skills' to go in and save her.

Now let me begin by saying that the movie wasn't bad, I was just expecting something more along the lines of the Bourne movies. The action was good- fast and detailed. The cars, although mainly Audis and Renaults, were nice. The acting wasn't horrible either, the movie just wasn't great. Neeson had an American accent and sadly, it sounded far too camp. At one point he said, 'dude', and I swear something inside me cried. Now, I'm dramatizing a bit, but his accent just didn't feel very genuine. Also, for a moment in the beginning, he gives another character a 'hip' handshake and appears more awkward than I would have expected.

Other than my nitpicks, Director Pierre Morel did a decent job, but I will admit that I went because the script was written by Luc Besson, writer of my favorite movie, The Fifth Element.

All in all? 2.5-3 out of 5.

Tonight was Coraline.

I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman (I'm currently working my way through Stardust, which I highly recommend) and I was very excited for the first few trailers I saw of this one.

Coraline is a young girl who has just moved to a new house with her parents. Her parents don't pay much attention to her (though, admittedly, she is quite difficult) and after talking to the eccentric bunch of housemates and ending up quite bored, she finds a door in the wall of the house that leads to an alternate version of her home and the people living within it. But, as is common with these stories, not all is as it seems.

Director Henry Selick keeps up with his usual dark and twisty, Burton-esque cinematography, and this movie is just as interesting as usual. Dakota Fanning provides the voice for Coraline. Ian Mcshane does a great voice for Mr. Bobinsky, and even Saunders and French stop by to voice the two huge, terrier-loving former actresses living in the basement.

The movie is clever, and moves quick, and the 3d was surprisingly less annoying than usual (of course, the last movie I saw in 3d was My Bloody Valentine, so perhaps I need a new control group). The graphics are beautiful, and the characters are very interesting.

Mostly, it's a kid's movie, but a few clever jokes were stuck in for the parent in tow. Not one I'd necessarily want to see again, but good none the less.

So... 3 out of 5.

Hoping to see He's Just Not That in to You tomorrow and Push on Wednesday. I'll drop by and let you know how that goes.

I have the graphics work for Musical DJs to drop here, but I need to talk to the client first, so expect to see it in the next few days. Other than that, taa for tonight.

T

short Memoir for English

One of the assignments in my last english class was to write a short personal memoir. Now, originally, I read the directions wrong and created my own character to write a memoir about (which I will post), but at the request of my teacher I wrote one about myself.

My great grandfather died when I was sixteen years old. He was ninety eight. I didn’t really know him too well; what I knew of him was mostly from stories my mother or my grandfather told me, or from the few times we sat down and talked over tea. I do know that he was a brilliant man, that he was funny and adventurous, that he designed parachutes for the British Royal Air Force during World War two, and that he liked his earl grey with a bit of lemon. I also know that he was a fantastic artist. My family says that I got my artistic abilities from him, and I couldn’t be more honored by such a wonderful man.
Art is my life. I see paintings everywhere. When I look at clouds, I often think of what brush I could use and what colors I could mix and what technique I would need to achieve the same affect. I have a large collection of art supplies that I keep meticulously organized, and drawers brimming over with old sketchbooks. I am a Fine Art major now, but I remember what it was like to visit my grandparents and look up on the wall at the framed drawings by my great grandpa Arthur. I used to wonder how he saw things like he did. I used to wonder how those frail old hands could carve out such precise movement of the figure like they did. And when I saw some of his architectural drawings from his old jobs, I would pour over them for hours, trying to figure out how he managed to draw his lines so damned straight. When I was about six, I had a wooden toy box that used to belong to my mom that had a koala painted on its side that I adored. In the bottom right corner in delicate cursive it read ‘Arthur, ‘69’. I loved art, and had an eye for it, but I wasn’t thinking about it in terms of a career then- it wasn’t something I honestly saw myself doing. Really, I didn’t decide that art was what I wanted to do until after Grandpa Arthur had passed away.
When Grandpa Arthur passed away, he was at my great grandparent’s home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Apparently he had woken up and dressed himself, brewed himself a cup of tea, and went into the garden to watch the birds. He fell asleep in his chair, and the rest is silence. I remember getting the phone call from my grandma. I was horribly upset, but I remember thinking, ‘hold on, I barely know this man’. But in truth, I really did- all of the raucous stories my family told, my mom’s frequent proclamations the he was the smartest man she had ever met, and even our quiet, polite talks over tea and biscuits. But really, I knew him best through his paintings and drawings. An artist can tell you about another artist simply by looking at their work. An artist can tell you if the person is courageous or shy, funny or dramatic, weak or strong, simply by looking at a picture- and I had spent so much time analyzing the art that my grandfather did that I knew him on an entirely different level than I had realized.
Before he died, when my parents spied me doodling in a sketch book and said ‘So like Arthur’, I sort of shrugged and moved on, but after, I realized how much I adored art and how much he had helped me see it. Very often, when I give my parents or my grandparents a painting or even a sketch, they say, ‘Your grandpa Arthur would be so proud’ and it’s the greatest compliment in the world to me. If I can be half as artistically talented as he was I would consider myself a very accomplished person. But I always think of him, everyday, because everyday, I think of art, and through art, I think of him.


Voila.

Keeping up to date

Hello, folks.

Not a whole lot new to post at the moment, besides some particulars-

I'll be posting some graphics work I've been working on to the blog shortly, to give you an idea of what I've been up to. I'm working with a freelance DJ/musician (a friend, who helped me put together my CD), Dan Lamaestra, on some quick little graphics jobs for his company, and eventually his web page.

I'm supposed to be creating some Mocks for a web page for a company named Forgentum, a technical contractor in the DC area, hopefully I'll be able to post some thumbs at least. At the moment, however, we haven't quite worked out the particulars- more news on that later.

I'm working on my usual doodles and pictures, I have a few ideas for paintings in mind as well, so hopefully I'll have some artwork up to prove I'm actually doing something.

In other news, I'm healthy again (mostly...), but we'll see how long that lasts- I've been pretty busy with classes as of late, And I have to fill out that dreaded GMU app again in the coming months.

Interestingly, my best friend and I are trying to arrange a road trip down south for our spring break. We would stop at my grandparents' in South Carolina and then her mother's in Georgia (where I've never been. VERY cool.). It will likely be our typical brand of debauchery, so we'll see how everything pans out.

I have a few pieces of writing to post so I'll drop a few of those on here next.

Have a good night, everyone!

Still sick.

Man, I hurt. Just... everywhere. I'm coughing and hacking like mad, and my body temperature keeps bouncing up and down. It just sucks. Alot.

But, even though I'm sick, I went out to a movie tonight with my sis and my spanish partner/non/pseudo- boyfriend. Long story, don't ask. We'll see how it all plays out.

Anyways, it's the first I've met him, and he was exactly how I'd figured he'd be. He's a very sweet guy, I like him alot.

My sister and I managed to irritate each other, but we both know we're being bitches to each other, so we'll be fine tomorrow.

We saw My Bloody Valentine (3D, oh joy.).

Dumbest. Movie. Ever.

So much cheese that I should have brought wine and crackers with me. That being said- classic date movie. And we enjoyed ourselves, so it works out.

Anyways, I'm exhausted, and feel like crap, so I'm going to go crash.

Talk to you folks later.

P.s- look at this! I'm actually updating!

continuing on the web blab update...

I've fallen back into my old habit of frequenting daily blogs and webcomics, Oh dear.

Currently, I'm a fan of quite a few.

I go to Gofugyourself.com everyday, and it never disappoints. The commentary on the pictures of horrendous fashion is always hysterical, and the page itself provides hours of entertainment.

I adore lunchbagart.tumblr.com . This father draws on his kids lunch bags everyday and uploads the pictures. It's incredibly sweet, and hes an amazing artist.

Theres the 'well duh' that I go to icanhascheezburger.com and nearly all of its affiliates (read- loldog, lolceleb, pundit kitchen, and failblog) on a daily basis.

For webcomics... well, here we go.

Leasticoulddo.com . My all time favorite webcomic. Updates every single day. Make sure you read Sohmer's blogs under the strips, its definitely worth it. Lar Desouza does some amazing artwork here and at LFGcomic.com, their other love child, a D&D-esque webcomic.

3panelsoul.com from the makers of MacHall. Geek humor and amazing art. Very good, unreliable upload schedule.

questionablecontent.net . Fantastic webcomic that my best bud Kitty got me addicted to. More geek humor, the occasional obscure musician joke. Pretty tongue-in-cheek.

requiem.seraph-inn.com/ - The Pheonix Requiem. An ongoing and completely captivating comic. Beautiful artwork. Very recommended.

lackadaisycats.com - Hysterical webcomic set in the 20s. Main characters are cats. AMAZING artwork.

http://kitsune.rydia.net/comicsfeywinds.html - can't really describe this one. Fey Winds is a fantasy comic with all the necessities. Sword fights, dragons, sorcerers, elves, fox girls... It's amazing, and I love it. Once again, fantastic artwork.

thedreamercomic.com - a story about a girl wo goes back to revolutionary America when she falls asleep. Captivating and extremely well planned story, really good artwork.

evildivacomics.com - just recently got into this one. A demon feels the need to do good deeds, and it keeps getting her in trouble. Funny, and very cute.

Thar. Hope you're sated!

Tv shows!

On the entertainment front, I have a couple new TV shows that I am obsessed with. I've become a big fan of the Mentalist, with Simon Baker. It's basically your typical crime drama, but it's entertaining. I am ABSOLUTELY in love with BBC's Robin Hood. Good GOD what a great show. You can watch the episodes on Megastic.com- they have all of them. Jonas Armstrong, who plays Robin, is a great actor, not to mention complete mancandy. Besides appealing to my hormones, the show is incredibly well written, despite messing up their timeline occasionally, and the characters are fantastic.

I've also caught on to the show Coupling, a couple years late. One of its stars is Jack Davenport (you'll remember him as Commodore Norrington from Pirates of the Caribbean) and it’s written by Steven Moffat, one of the writers and producers from Doctor Who. It's absolutely hysterical, and I'm hooked.

Following my BBC trend, I've been watching Merlin (while waiting on the new episodes of Robin Hood). Merlin is interesting. They completely screwed up the story of Merlin- Chretien de Troyes would be rolling in his grave. Morgana is now Uther's ward, Arthur is the crown prince of Camelot, and knows that Uther is his father, and starts the series as quite the prat, honestly. Mordred is a young Druid boy, not the son of Morgana and Arthur, Gwenivere is the maid-servant of Morgana (And seems to have the hots for Merlin).... I could go on. But you know what? I really enjoy it. Despite the fact that the writers took MAJOR artistic license, it's really good. It's sort of like the Mummy movies. The history is ALL jacked up, but I love the movies, they're great. Merlin doesn't exactly have the same captivating characters that Robin Hood does, but it is equally well written. I'm looking forward to see how the story continues to develop.

Now! Lets talk Doctor Who! I finally got around to watching the Christmas Special, “The Next Doctor”, and it didn’t disappoint. Same cheesy Doctor antics. It was great to see Tennant work with David Morrissey again, after they worked together in the excellent Blackpool. I bet the off screen antics were a sight to behold.

I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of Russell T. Davies writing style- he usually has a flair for the melodrama, and has a tendency to over extend the sap, but this episode, written by him, is not his typical. I look forward (with great excitement and immense depression) to Tennant’s last couple specials before the new Doctor, Matt Smith, takes over. I’m not completely impressed with the new guy, but I’m not going to shoot him down before I’ve even seen him do his thing. All I gotta say- You never forget your first Doctor. I’ll always be a Ten girl.

For now, though, I’m down to my last two episodes of Merlin, and I’m still waiting for the new episodes of Robin Hood, and I’m twiddling my thumbs impatiently for Doctor Who’s next special, “Planet of the Dead”. In the meantime, I have Top Gear to fall back on and nurse me out of my illness with a good case of the funnies.

Whats new

Hey, folks.

Here's my opportunity to catch you up on the past couple months.

At the moment, I have a nasty cold, and it totally blows. I had my semi-finals for Nova Idol, the singing competition at my college, tonight and it was pretty rough. Some of my high notes were really scratchy and rough, and I was so light-headed. The judges were nice, and they said I still did a good job, and there were alot of strangers in the theatre who told me I did a great job as I walked by. I needed the ego boost, I was pretty deflated. I talked to Herb, the organizer of the competition and a former professor of mine, after performing.

I just sound rough. I have the sick voice. It keeps cracking and I keep coughing and hacking, so its not getting any better. Heres hoping they remember me from last year though, and pass me on to the finals.

My friend Lauren is in town, she flew up from Texas for the inaguration. We were best friends in Middle School, and she moved, but we've stayed in touch. Regardless, I haven't seen her for 3 years, so its wonderful to see her again.

As of December 21st, my very first CD was completed, and I'm very proud of it. I put alot of energy, heart, and soul into it, so it means alot to me. My parents and grandparents have been passing the cd around their coworkers and friends and the reactions have been fantastic. It really gives me the confidence to send it out to recording companies and producers to try and get it signed. You can listen to a couple of the songs from my CD at www.myspace.com/toryritter and I'm working on aking some music videos to put up on YouTube to get even more exposure. If you have a facebook, I've also set up a musician's page there.

I've started a new semester of classes, and I'm diving head first in there, so it should all be very interesting. Its all pretty laid back- Spanish, College Success Skills (required, ug), Psychology, and a Speech class, also required. I took two acting classes, but for some reason, that doesn't count as a speech class. Bulocks. I tried to get into the last required Math class this semester, but no dice. Theres always the Summer.

My former (and now, again, current) Spanish partner has turned out to be quite a guy. We're going to see a movie tomorrow night, I hope I'm not still feeling like death warmed over then. My sister is tagging along- she suggested the movie. Should be interesting.

Excited about the inaguration, and surprised that nothing bad happened, besides Ted Kennedy's attention grabbing seizure. The more interviews I hear from the inaguration the more impressed I am with President Obama. Even if I don't necessarily agree with some of his policies, I will admit that he is an amazing and personable guy, and at the very least, he has manaed to create hope in millions of Americans that i haven't seen in many years.

That being said, Cheezus Christ. I live in the DC area, and inaguration day SUCKED. Like every other local I know, I decided to stay in and watch the festivities on the telly. Now I'm irritated hearing peopole complain about the state of DC for the day. People don't realize that DC isn't really people-friendly, like Miami, or Chicago, LA, or NYC (I know, not the best example). DC maybe fairly 'touristy' but, its not designed for its tourists. DC doesn't normally issue warnings to its inhabitants about anything, so when they were saying stuff a WEEK before inagurations about which Metro stations to avoid, and street closings, blahdeeblahdeeblah, we took the hint. Tuesday was one big security SNAFU. I'm very irritated with people's reaction to police and security doing their job. How can anyone be surprised that the infastructure cracked here and there when we had an influx of nearly 2 million people who had little to no idea where they were going?

I have some papers I did for my english class last semester that I'm planning on dropping on here- just to give you some idea of what I've been working on.

For now though, I must be off to take some more cold meds. Fun fun. The stuff is supposed to be 'honey lemon' flavored.

Honey Lemon my ass.

See you on the flip side.