Artist: Diem Chau

TGIAF (Thank God It's Art Friday)!

You've all used crayons, I'm sure. But I'm also sure you never thought about carving them into miniature three dimensional portraits!

Aren't these amazing? This artist, Diem Chau, a refugee from Vietnam, does some lovely, clean, and simple work with dinnerware and thread that intrigues me. Go to her website to see more. But like last week, looking at art on the internet frustrates me. I feel like I'd get so much more of a grasp on it's intricacies if I could see it in person. But beggars can't be choosers.

Anyway, I wanted to display her crayon work today. I think I'd go insane if I had to carve something this tiny. My middle-aged eyes couldn't take the intense concentration this type of carving must require. On the other hand, her raw materials couldn't be cheaper. Must be nice!

If you really love this, of course you can purchase her artwork. If you really really love it, you can commission her to carve you, or someone you love. What a funky Valentine's Day present that would be!

Have a fantastic post-Super Bowl weekend!

Thursday 3: Accomplishments

Today I felt productive. Here are three things I did.

1. I went through the pile of junk to deal with, which included a few days worth of mail, various coupons, papers from the junior high and high school, tax forms, a check, and magazines to distribute either to Mr. T (aka dh), my sons, or my TBR pile.

2. I sent my entries and fees to Passionate Ink for their Passionate Plume contest. However, I'm not sure I'm going to DC for the RWA conference. *sighs*

3. I made a pot of split pea soup from scratch. It turned out yummy!

Fishy Fishy

My betta fish died last week. I had him for several years, but I knew he was getting old because he wasn't eating regularly and was more sluggish than beta fish usually are. Nor did he make bubble nests anymore.

I now have a new betta. His name is Chow. (The old fish never really had a name.) He's pretty feisty and is a beautiful comination of red and blue. He is luxuriating in the old bowl, but with new, living plants, instead of plastic ones. He must like it in his new digs, because he has made a bubble nest. I think that's a hint he wants to be a Player. His little cup was next to several female bettas at the PetCo, but I think he's doomed to lifelong bachelorhood.

And yesterday's actor was Kevin Spacey. I just love his voice. It's so distinctive.

Name That Actor #3

Below are four roles played by the same actor. Who is it?

Professor Micky Rosa (2008)
Lex Luthor (2006)
David Gale (2003)
Hopper (1998)

If you need a hint, the movies are: 21, Superman Returns, The Life of David Gale, and A Bug's Life.

Cold Feet, Warm Heart

What follows is an analysis of a Woman's World story with suggestions and observations for people who want to sell stories to WW, peppered with some personal opinion, too. :) If you truly want to get the most from this weekly blog feature, it's best to have your own copy of the story to refer to. (And no, I don't get a kickback for pimping the magazine here!)

Cold Feet, Warm Heart by Tessa Ireland
January 26, 2009 issue

Tagline: Anne wasn't even looking for Prince Charming when he unexpectedly arrived on the scene.

In A Nutshell: Anne loses her shoe at the movie theater. The manager helps her look for it, to no avail. Since it's raining and she took the bus, he insists on driving her home. The next day, he shows up with her shoe, two movie tickets, and a request for a date.

Teaching Points: The story occurs in the traditional three acts. Act 1: We find out what Anne's problem is and she meets the hero.

Act 2: He is driving her home and we find out the backstory. He's a widower, she moved back home to take care of her ailing mother.

In Act 3, everything wraps up nicely. We even get an explanation as to why they couldn't find her shoe--something I'll admit I was wondering, too. How the heck could it have disappeared? There's also a cute surprise in the form of the movie tickets.

WW stories always end happily, and usually with a date, not a wedding. However, I have seen a nuptial ceremony or two on the pages of Woman's World, so don't be afraid to give that a try.

In My Humble Opinion: I've seen Cinderella WW stories before, and this one was cute, original, and believable.