Week 1: Friday Favorites

1. 11 of 17 (catching up), 2. have i mentioned..., 3. Untitled, 4. Moss Sprouts , 5. dandy 2, 6. natural, 7. japanese autumn, 8. Bowls, 9. winter scene, 10. Saturday raspberries, 11. Seeding..., 12. seeing stars

A new tradition here, an adaptation of what had already been brewing. I had loved mav's Friday flickr favorite tradition, so I started collecting little crumbs on this addictive site. I loved Abby's film week, Emily's green week, Shari's white week (and previously, her five senses Friday). I love the idea of taking the time to reflect on the other (and when I say this, I don't mean "otherness" in that sense), on the creativity and beauty of the world around us. On the fact that this is a blog, which has readers, and we exist within a community of bloggers.

And I want to call attention to things (ah, the vagueness of things). So Fridays are going to be more than just flickr favorites around here, though I will keep that tradition up. But other "of-the-week" sort of things too. Images with other adornments. Maybe not recent experiences, but little bits of love I want to point out to you, and maybe hope you'll find something you love too.

Of-the-week: First impressions, first inspirations, first favorites. What woke me up to the world.

Book: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. This, and The Diary of Anne Frank, were two of my main inspirations for focusing my own life on writing. I love her prose; I love that she's a poet too. This is the story of Esther Greenwood, her life as a college student, as someone whose live descends into madness, whose life is based on the author. There is a cultish following to this novel, a kind of frightening worship of Plath, and I'll have to admit this: it's where "sylvia" came from in "the teacher," my long ago attempt at anonymity.
Film: High Art. This was one of the first movies to draw me in that wasn't a blockbuster. This film opened up a world of gorgeous more independentally minded films, films that focused on character development, on the image as art, on setting and scenery. I think the tag line is something like, "A story of ambition, sacrifice, seduction, and other career movies." This is a movie about photographers, and I was really drawn into how the framing of the film shots mimicked the framing of the photographic shots. I loved the conversation. I loved the colors.
Music: Ani Difranco. For the longest time, my friends in high school would nudge me, try to convince me to tell me who my favorite band / singer was, but I'd refuse, saying I loved too much, that I didn't mind any of it. And when I heard Ani for the first time, I'll admit, her angry Dilate was not love at first listen. But now, I don't know what I would do without her--the way I made mixed tapes of her songs for my then-crush, now-husband; the dozen concerts I've been to; the way certain songs were about me, right at that moment.
Eco: Six Energy Saving Tips for the Dishwasher. We were recently in the market for a dishwasher, but in the end, we decided against it because ours still runs okay. Not great, but better than tossing it, the thought of which made me cringe--such a hulk of something to be rid of. I was searching the energy efficient models, and thought: Is it worse to replace or to wait? I don't know the answer, but I can use some of these tips in the meanwhile.
Get Involved: MPIRG. A student-run non-profit focusing mainly on environmental and social justice issues. What makes this one different? The empowerment of the students. Petitioning, lobbying, getting involved in actual issues, making change both on campus and beyond. Ah so long ago, in my undergraduate days, I was heavily involved in this organization. I was task force leader for women's issues, worked on producing The Vagina Monologues for the first four years, helped organize Take Back the Night, was on the local board, then the state board and even was secretary, and I canvassed for them.
Blog: I must feature my topography as my first blog because it is what jump started a new way to use this space. Before, it'd just been about teaching, about little snippets, when I thought about it. Not a way to record the everyday. She writes beautifully, is an artist, a mother, a fallible human being. And I return, again and again for inspiration.
Etsy: pearl + marmalade. Beautiful letterpress cards. I love them so much, I ordered my holiday cards for next year through them.

What about you? Any suggestions for next week? Reflections on what I've included here?