Last Minute Encouragement & Sin

14 Days/ 2 Weeks

I'm very excited to announce that I will be living in a flat in London, not a dorm room (HOORAY!) So I will be living in the same building as all of the other masters students, so hopefully I can make some friends and have people to study with and bounce ideas off of. 

That would be a great way to spend my last two weeks here! ; ) weheartit 

I spoke to Dr Orenduff this afternoon and she really helped to ease my worries and encourage me. She's always been the best at that. It's impossible to not be happy and feel like you can take on the world after speaking with her. Her course on art criticism is what made me realize that I wanted to study Art History and that it could be so much bigger and better than naming artists and flipping through slides of paintings that I can't make relevant for myself. She also wrote one of my recommendation letters for my application, so I really owe her for helping me get into this school and all the encouragement she has given me. Dr O, if you're reading this, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! 

Sin

Some of my old friends are going on a tour all the way to California from Georgia and they hosted a "Sin-efit" to help raise some bones for their tour. I showed my support and also took some pictures for them to use and I thought I would share them with you all.  

Sin

  I've know these guys, Jimi and Anthony, since high school and as they've gotten older their music has gotten better and better. I love the fact that they have always stuck with a raw diy ethic that is definitive of the early days of punk rock. Their attitude and persona conjure up images of Iggy and the Stooges and Crass. They're really great guys, so check out Sin. I've linked to their facebook page so you can look them up and listen to some of their tunes. Be excellent to each other and be kind to yourselves. ♥monica  

New Camera and Band Photos

I'm beyond excited to tell everyone that I am now the proud owner of a Canon Digital Rebel XT with a 35-80mm lens. I love how terrible the "Rebel XT" sounds in the name, but it's a wonderful camera that I bartered for with a massive supply of oil paints. I'm proud to be the next person to shoot with it. My dear friend, Josh, learned to shoot on it and so the torch has been passed to me; I just hope that I can get as good as he is. He will tell you that he hopes to be as good as Jamie Harmon, his photography mentor. I received a crash course in photography last night and hopefully I absorbed some! I went on today to shoot pictures of my friend's band, Pigtoad. They're really goofy guys and after shooting with them, I have spent most of my afternoon listening to the storm outside and editing the pictures of them.  Have an incredible weekend and be kind to yourself and one another. -monica

Not too shabby (first time photographing a band)

Inspiration: Lady Gaga aka Mother Monster

I love Lady Gaga. I love everything about her. She is consistently inspiring and has brought so much hope and happiness to popular culture that has been missing in a sea of ennui and self-loathing. She has made a global message that is it ok to be yourself, even if you're a weirdo-freak-a-zoid-monster. You have a place to belong and someone to take up for you. 

weheartit

This message really resonated with me because I've never fit 100% into any mold. Growing up I got into punk rock because it supplied me with a forceful sense of self, but it came with its own limitations and as I have gotten older I have realized that we are all these incredible amalgamates of our experiences, never just one thing or one clique and in trying to limit ourselves to that we are injuring ourselves. I can't say that Lady Gaga inspired these ideas in me rather, she gave strength to a weak flame that I had nearly extinguished by trying to only be one part of myself

weheartit

Her music is well crafted and all of the interviews I have read or seen show that she is serious about her craft and knows exactly what she is doing. She is an artist, not just a pop icon or a musician. People can argue against her all they want and that is their prerogative and I'm not going to try and stop them, because it doesn't matter. I love her and so do millions of other Little Monsters.

weheartit

Thank-You Lady Gaga, for letting us all know that we aren't alone. I'm glad to have your records tucked in with my Hot Water Music, Sigur Ros, Have Heart, Bouncing Souls, Dead to Me and AFI albums. I don't have to sacrifice any part of myself for the rest any more -little monster monica