There's a reason classics are classics

(posted by roanne)

Jane Eyre is a classic story of love and self-discovery written by Charlotte Bronte (Emily Bronte's- author of Wuthering Heights- sister). One book critic writes that "Jane Eyre is the rare book that manages to be good by virtue of ineffable charm alone, despite not having very much going for it in terms of overall plot."

It is the story of a quaint, plain-looking  orphan girl named Jane Eyre. Of course, when a story like this is translated to Hollywood speak, it is: a quaint, beautiful-but-modestly-dressed orphan girl named Jane Eyre. Hollywood doesn't seem to grasp the concept of plain-looking too well. The recent movie, "Jane Eyre" starring Mia Wasikowska, was (understandably) dramatized to reach a less-than-patient audience of the 21st century. It did, however retain a sense of it's innocence and softness. All in all, the movie was good, with a surprisingly comprehensive structure of a could-be-all-over-the-place movie, where many flashbacks were necessary.

The book tracks Jane Eyre's life in a score masterfully written. It is both deep and intricate, but still captivating and fresh. Basically Jane is on a journey of discovering how to love and be loved while remaining true to herself. This journey takes her from Lowood, a school for girls, to working for a man named Mr Rochester ( who is described as physically unattractive as well, rather different from today's books) with whom she falls in love, involuntarily and irretrievably. Jane then encounters life and circumstances and has to choose being true to herself over her feelings.

I love that Charlottle Bronte makes that distinction between who you are and what you feel. This book is incredibly outspoken through its subtle characters and boldly states radical views on gender inequality (for the 19th century), religion and morality. There are some really cool quotes from this book. the kind of quote that would make you either: a) be confused, b) be awkward or c) think. Here's a quote from my favorite character, Helen Burns (a girl Jane meets at Lowood), "Hush, Jane! You think too much of the love of human beings."

I really like this book. Maybe you should try reading it, because maybe you'll see the work of art and skill that it is. Maybe you'll see the reason it's a classic.

tokyo-go-go

Tokyo-Go-Go is Greg Darroll. he is one of the coolest young illustrators/ graphic designers around, and he's from Durban :)

i just love his detailed, quirky drawings: they have so much character and spunk. his designs are creative and bold; he does not shy away from bright, vivid colours and strong lines. his characters are unique, slightly offbeat and distinctive... they almost have personalities of their own.

i just love these characters!

he also designs decks!

this is my FAVOURITE thing ever. these are money boxes! the mouths are the slots for your money... have you ever seen anything cooler in your life?

this is just amazing.

Greg is an example of a young person who is stepping out and using his creative gift, and making it happen. i love that.

if you want to check out more of his work, you can visit his blog here

it's just picturesmovingreallyfast!

Stop-frame animation is one of my favourite things in the whole world. (I know I say that about a lot of stuff, but I really do have many favourite things. The world is full of amazing and beautiful ideas, and they’re all my favourite)

I think it’s amazing how much thought and creativity goes into making even the simplest little animation. I think it’s amazing how just putting lots of pictures together and making them move really fast adds so much life to an otherwise lifeless art form. I think it’s amazing how animation can add character, personality, individuality to completely inanimate objects – I love it.

Having made a few animations in school, I know a little bit of how much effort goes into the planning, photographing, and editing of an animation, and I have bucketloads of respect for people who have mastered the art (especially those who make entire full-length animated films! The mind boggles…) It takes a special kind of patience and perseverance to keep clicking away on that camera for hours, knowing that in the end it will all pay off in the form of a two-minute-long video clip.

Some of my favourite movies ever were made using stop-frame animation. I think they’re just so much more beautiful, and have so much more character than normal films. Movies like Coraline (which scared the heck out of me!), Wallace and Gromit, and Fantastic Mr. Fox make me soso happy. Just seeing the detail – the tiny stitching on every item of clothing; the ridiculously expressive faces – makes me marvel. They aren’t just movies – they’re works of art.

and here's a stop-frame animation video i am soso proud of, even though i had no part to play in the making of it, because it was made by some of my friends for the launching of our Youth group's new name, the Red Riot. i think it's amazing. but that's just me.

even the hulk gets hurt

this is cool:

most this amazing

i'm a bit too lazy to read poetry in general (which is why this is the first post on poetry since this blog started). i think it requires a lot more deep thought and introspection than prose, which is why i avoid it. but last year, we did this poem by ee cummings at school, and i LOVED it.  i love how honest, how quirky, how humbling, how awe-inspiring it is. i think it's a beautiful example of worship. the last two stanzas are my favouritefavourite :) i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything wich is natural which is infinite which is yes (i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth day of life and love and wings:and of the gay great happening illimitably earth) how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any-lifted from the no of all nothing-human merely being doubt unimaginable You? (now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

my teacher last year asked us all to write our own poems before we actually read it, based on the words "this amazing day". so i wrote one. and it was pretty lame. (my poetry is never actual poetry; it's just prose broken up into shorter lines) but i will put it here anyway...

this day. today.

like nothing else before it or after it

but always the same 

like You, like me

like the sun on my back

like the little things

the very little things

the mischievous grin on my sister's face

that old saying:

"We've run out of shampoo again"

excellence in advertising

so, my cousin told me about this website called iDale ... so i went there. and i found some really cool stuff!
like me, Dale Immerman (the guy who writes it) loves creative advertising and design. i had found a happy place indeed :) 


i think clever advertising adds so much interest to our daily lives, and can turn something otherwise annoying into something you actually enjoy seeing (anyone have a favourite advert?). i love it when advertising companies go the extra mile; when you can just see how much thought and creativity has been poured into a project; when advertising is done with excellence. and, okay, it's not very often you see advertising like that. let's face it, most of us are stuck watching brainless infomercials and insurance ads the majority of the time. but when i see a really thought-provoking, clever, or just plain funny advert amidst the everyday drivel, it reminds me that excellence is possible. it reminds me that innovation is still alive, and that we live in a world of endless possibilities. 


so. after that rather long ramble, i think i should show you some pretty darn cool business cards and adverts from iDale:

this business card for a personal trainer is really cool: the idea is that you're getting a "workout" before you even call!

i love this. (don't really know what to think about the fact that they have a Cheese School in New Zealand, though....)

this is a really clever ad showing the face-detection setting on this camera

this is just too cool! imagine seeing this on your wall

LOVE this!

and my personal favourite:

this is crazy-cool. it's an advert for a yoga instructor :)

vampire weekend

vampire weekend: i hate their name; i love them.

in a world slightly obsessed with pointy teeth and bloodsucking immortals, do we really need a band named Vampire Weekend? that's what i thought when i first heard of them. i also thought they were probably going to be one of those angst-ridden emo bands, so i kept my distance.

but then i heard Horchata. and it made me veryvery happy. and i realised that, despite their uncool band name, Vampire Weekend is actually very cool. i love the way they incorporate so many different styles of music into their songs: in any given song you could hear anything from reggae to kwassa kwassa, punk to electro. i love the way they are unafraid to experiment, and i really love the african influence in most of their songs.

i think it's pretty dang exciting that the world gets to hear african music and musical elements played in a new, creative way. the rich drum beats and guitar riffs add so much to the music - i think it's the coolest thing ever :)

Vampire Weekend makes feel-good, happy music. it's music that instantly lifts your mood and takes you to a brighter, more colourful place. you can't help but smile. you can't help but tap your feet and bob your head along to the steady beat.

(i chose this video because i think music videos distract from the music sometimes)

(i chose this one 'cause it has Jake Gyllenhaal in it. and 'cause it's so darn weird)

you can listen to the full album here