tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8418805197475473392024-03-13T21:20:00.643-07:00Concerning Rembrandt and Rubber DucksMusings and whimsies of a sixteen-year-old artist.Madeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-40879118618156340922013-10-25T19:47:00.000-07:002013-10-25T19:47:10.851-07:00Project 365 New Things: Days 44, 45, 46, 47, and 48. Whelp.My apologies for being absent so long. I have been doing challenges each day, but I've honestly had a lot going on, and been unable to spend a lot of time online. So, I shall now do my best to mentally re-stitch the crazy, threadbare, patchwork quilt that has been my week in an attempt to reconstruct for you the challenges that I've done while I was away from all you lovely humans.<br />
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<b>Day 44:</b> I finished reading <i>Two Gentlemen of Verona</i>, a Shakespeare play that I had never studied, seen, or read before. I'm currently working on a monologue from that play for Young Company.<br />
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<b>Day 45: </b>I learned how to write a geometry proof by contradiction. Whoop-de-do. But honestly, it was kind of fascinating. I like them much better than normal proofs; I feel like they're more creative.<br />
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<b>Day 46:</b> I finished reading <i>A Tale of Two Cities</i>. I may or may not have started crying on the Metro.<br />
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<b>Day 47:</b> I used a Shakespeare lexicon for the first time. And I. Want. One.<br />
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<b>Day 48:</b> Today, I discovered the sheet music from some songs I had written when I was about four years old. Now, before you begin wondering how on earth I learned to write music when I was four, let me assure you that it was transcribed for me at the time by my father. For the first time, I played these pieces that I had written with the eye and ear of someone who actually understands music theory. I've gotta say, I wasn't awful when I was four. The songs actually have discernible melody lines (for the most part), stay within a given key, and (mostly) follow the basic rules of music and melody. That being said, the four songs I wrote are creatively titled "Lemon Drop," "The Doughnut Song," "Lollipop," and "Cupcake." The lyrics are even more amusing and confection inspired. I'll upload clips if I get a chance tomorrow.<br />
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I really am sorry for my absence. I know that the few of you who read this blog aren't exactly waiting on pins and needles to devour my every post as soon as I publish it, but I said I'd be more on top of this, and I wasn't. Honestly, it makes my life easier if I don't have to try to remember the things I did for the challenge for a string of days, so I'll definitely be making more of an effort from here on out to write about a challenge the day I do it.<br />
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Onwards!<br />
~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-43985498801901082082013-10-19T20:15:00.001-07:002013-10-19T20:15:41.699-07:00Project 365 New Things: Days 39, 40, 41, 42 AND 43...*slinks into blog through the back window* hey guys...<div>
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I don't need to regale you with the reason that I've been absent more than is customary, for three reasons: 1, I don't feel like it. 2, you probably don't feel like reading about it. 3, the version that you will conjure from the depths of your imagination will probably be much more entertaining than the truth ever could be, and I don't want to spoil that for you.</div>
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<b>Day 39:</b> I tried a new kind of memorization technique in Shakespeare. It consists of saying a piece of text aloud as one continually draws a picture of what is happening. If it weren't 11pm where I live, I would upload a scan of my cartoonish depiction of Hamlet's soliloquy. Perhaps tomorrow.</div>
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<b>Day 40:</b> I learned of the existence of the dhole, a fox-like animal that probably lives in Asia.</div>
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<b>Day 41:</b> I watched a Disney short that I had never seen before. Boring, I know, but it was from Tangled. What can I say? I adore that movie, and the fact that Flynn Rider isn't real is a real source of grief for me and often feels like a very physical wound in my side.</div>
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<b>Day 42:</b> I finished season one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, I acknowledge what a hopelessly lame challenge this is. But let me point out that the reason for my absence on this blog (as you've probably guessed, you clever thing) is that I have been (say it with me) extraordinarily busy and tired this week! So I'm giving myself a pass here. And it is true that I had never done that before.</div>
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<b>Day 43:</b> I began season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Deal with it.</div>
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Anyway, I hope you all had a lovely week. Onwards and upwards!</div>
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~Maddie</div>
Madeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-36519148520465660052013-10-14T19:10:00.003-07:002013-10-14T19:10:31.042-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 38Today, for the first time ever, I grew a large, healthy crop of mysterious orange mushrooms. Completely by accident.<br />
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Yes, you read that right. No, I am not making this up as part of an elaborately crafted excuse to get out of doing today's challenge. Still don't believe me? Please observe these photos:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUB3OBrIe0YmiqiUo7017-vfeZd75HwF6A-bspxZbPiLv9gS8sphjYCGKvaUiv_og7ZCBcEI2yg_cf7URoOk54ZUeVgNd-Xs7Al-9IOXaOQ0HIsPFNbew9BL0_6js0Yq-P36_KtPC5TMbt/s1600/IMG_2345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUB3OBrIe0YmiqiUo7017-vfeZd75HwF6A-bspxZbPiLv9gS8sphjYCGKvaUiv_og7ZCBcEI2yg_cf7URoOk54ZUeVgNd-Xs7Al-9IOXaOQ0HIsPFNbew9BL0_6js0Yq-P36_KtPC5TMbt/s320/IMG_2345.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BA1OOQXvsBOk_n7TBeFqCDpWeaCK8l3CO59PqWyJKboXZ_gnA00c1kwBJkfLbY-FcROu0uhSH1KEyQW62nT7dH9QZj_2K6LRqwjZQaGHN_sq_STb6DOTTU1IZRYihclMqz496jnDoE7u/s1600/IMG_2346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BA1OOQXvsBOk_n7TBeFqCDpWeaCK8l3CO59PqWyJKboXZ_gnA00c1kwBJkfLbY-FcROu0uhSH1KEyQW62nT7dH9QZj_2K6LRqwjZQaGHN_sq_STb6DOTTU1IZRYihclMqz496jnDoE7u/s320/IMG_2346.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyY0zPCmumSLcrMW2Ip0o2xltmKE1iCuUF19Vc8ILd0kNxA2hwTNzc3-AVylUqrUyZUpUg3EoYcqnxBNIIGjsGCtI3LKOYpqm0lyTqhLth-D8PURTdUqOTl44FuliU_p0wiqSK3xUEVT6/s1600/IMG_2347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyY0zPCmumSLcrMW2Ip0o2xltmKE1iCuUF19Vc8ILd0kNxA2hwTNzc3-AVylUqrUyZUpUg3EoYcqnxBNIIGjsGCtI3LKOYpqm0lyTqhLth-D8PURTdUqOTl44FuliU_p0wiqSK3xUEVT6/s320/IMG_2347.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHRSSRGoXNTO5ZrDkb8K9DKjoPuKX_vu0CnNy6rmAhQ0ZG-7yXYHlvbmLdH7dDEdayFKyUCSNprN4Zi7yMUm1bWwHyBOvmv-78RcuYmrj-7K7eQD2DzbnLG0UU7zBVNfqAW14Qg2ss3xn/s1600/IMG_2348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHRSSRGoXNTO5ZrDkb8K9DKjoPuKX_vu0CnNy6rmAhQ0ZG-7yXYHlvbmLdH7dDEdayFKyUCSNprN4Zi7yMUm1bWwHyBOvmv-78RcuYmrj-7K7eQD2DzbnLG0UU7zBVNfqAW14Qg2ss3xn/s320/IMG_2348.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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What you are looking at is half of my tea garden. When I checked on my plants this afternoon with the intent of surveying them to see what kind of a final fall crop I was going to get this year, to my great surprise, I found that a bunch of very healthy, very happy, bright orange mushrooms had taken up residence alongside my mints. What do you call a group of mushrooms? A mob? A pack? A murder, like crows? I like the sound of "a murder of mushrooms," so I'm gonna go with that one.</div>
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And so, because I have truly never done so before, I am counting "accidentally growing a murder of mysterious orange mushrooms" as today's challenge. These sorts of things just seem to happen to me, and I've decided to simply roll with it.</div>
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As always, lemme know if you've been following along or if you have suggestions for me!</div>
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Ciao,</div>
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~Maddie</div>
<br />Madeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-49493295030740351842013-10-13T20:11:00.000-07:002013-10-13T20:23:58.444-07:00Project 365 New Things: Days 35, 36 and 37I am still alive. And I am still doing new things. I have just been thoroughly exhausted during the past couple of days, and when I wasn't being thoroughly exhausted I was out of the house. I'll switch back to posting every day from now on, don't worry.<br />
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<b>Day 35:</b> Just for fun, I began to read a Shakespeare play that I'd never studied at all before: <i>Pericles.</i><br />
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<b>Day 36:</b> I learned the word "Lethologica." It means 'the inability to recall a precise word for something.'<br />
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<b>Day 37: </b>Today, I made French toast in a mug in the microwave. It was pretty good, and satisfyingly quick to make, but next time I'm putting in maple syrup, as it was a bit dry and not sweet enough. Here's a link to the recipe that I used: <a href="http://prudentbaby.com/2012/01/entertaining-food/2-minute-french-toast-in-a-cup/">http://prudentbaby.com/2012/01/entertaining-food/2-minute-french-toast-in-a-cup/</a><br />
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Also (and this is completely off topic), I figured out one thing that I definitely want to do as part of my future career as a musician/actor. Observe the process that I went through to reach this epiphany:<br />
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My brain: "Hey, Maddie, did you know that you've got an entire board on Pinterest devoted to 'how to be a princess?'"<br />
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Me: "What did you say? I was singing a Disney song and I couldn't hear you."<br />
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My brain: "Also, I've noticed that you're planning to be Cinderella for Halloween this year, despite the fact that you are sixteen years old."<br />
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Me: "Yeah. So?"<br />
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My brain: "You also really like acting and singing and being nice to children."<br />
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Me: "Brain, where are you going with this?"<br />
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My brain: "Maddie, why don't you just give in already and aim to work for Disney as a character actor someday?"<br />
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Me: "That sounds like a great idea! Why didn't <i>I</i> think of that?"<br />
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My brain: *hangs head in despair*<br />
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So yeah, this is a thing that is happening now. I really want to work as a character actor at a Disney park. Preferably as a princess, because I've been a princess in a play before, and it was pretty wonderful to have little girls I didn't know run up to me for hugs and autographs. But honestly, I'll take whatever I can get.<br />
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May all your dreams come true. Except for that one about showing up naked for a test that you didn't know you were supposed to have been studying for all year.<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-31494840553451237532013-10-09T19:25:00.000-07:002013-10-10T08:51:06.205-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 34Busy day today! I shall rant about it for a moment, and then tell you all about today's challenge.<br />
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I had my first Girl Scout meeting of the year, and my friend Daniella came and is most likely joining the troop! (For those who don't know, I have an awesome Girl Scout troop. We are more colloquially known as the Evil Minions-- a strange tradition dating back to 2008. Basically, you had to be there. Our mascot is a rubber duck. We actually do hardcore camping as well as other things, so don't tell me all about how Girl Scouts don't do as many outdoor activities as Boy Scouts). Anyway, we had a great time and a really productive planning session. Then I was off to rehearsal, where we did a lot of scansion (analysis of Shakespeare's writing). So, all in all, it was a good day, albeit very busy one. In the cracks between activities, I was pretty much doing as much homework as humanly possible.<br />
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But I still managed to do today's challenge. As I type this, I currently have a scratchy gold pseudo-necktie (read: re-purposed costume sash) around my neck that I tied myself. It does not match my pajamas, but I think I am probably mature enough to move past that.<br />
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Actually, I found an entire website dedicated to tying ties in different configurations. Apparently, there are all sorts of different knots that can go with various kinds of outfits. Who knew? Certainly not me. <a href="http://www.tie-a-tie.net/">http://www.tie-a-tie.net/</a><br />
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Farewell, dear readers. Farewell.<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-84163065958932055612013-10-08T18:52:00.002-07:002013-10-08T18:52:32.399-07:00Project 365 New Things: Days 32 and 33Been off for a while, as I've been exceptionally busy and tired (shocker, I know). By the way, I originally titled this post "Project 365 New Things: Days 32 and 34." I am <i>that</i> tired. I only mention this as a sort of disclaimer: If I wake up tomorrow and re-read this to find that I in fact wrote it while sleepwalking and these conglomerations of letters that I now believe to be words turn out to be mere gibberish when both the morning light and my common sense and coherency return, do not be surprised. However, if you've made it this far in the post, that is hopefully not the case.<div>
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<b>Day 32:</b> I got further up towards a headstand on my own than I ever had before. My legs briefly brushed the wall in a much-anticipated gesture before they realized that they were not in their normal orientation, panicked, and made a sorry and rapid return to the earth's surface. Still working on it!</div>
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<b>Day 33:</b> Today, I learned the word "pecuniary" from reading <i>A Tale of Two Cities</i> for lit group. Good ol' Charles. It means 'monetary' or 'economic.' Example: "Despite her unfortunate pecuniary predicament precipitated by congress' inability to participate in progress, Maddie still, against all odds, managed to pay for Metro fare to her Thespian training. At least, so far."</div>
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I am tired. Dear and gentle readers, I cannot seem to stress this enough. I am rapidly losing the ability to form coherent thoughts, let alone string them into comprehensible sentences. In the immortal words of one of my fellow company members, forever spoken into living memory after we had just done a particularly difficult and tiring physical exercise: "Maddie no verb, adjective or adverb. Maddie noun."</div>
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Farewell, friends. As the moon rises sluggishly in the sky and the owl goes about his dark and organic business, I bid adieu to this day and ask myself why, as a culture, we are so inordinately obsessed with both cheesy, poetic descriptions of the nighttime and random French words.</div>
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~Maddie</div>
Madeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-220737712788787772013-10-06T19:42:00.002-07:002013-10-06T19:42:58.936-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 31Today, I got a Pinterest account. Well, technically I got it yesterday, but I really got into it and started exploring it today, so I'm counting it as Day 31's challenge. Deal with it.<br />
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I am sort of addicted. Pinterest is very shiny and pretty, and I find myself checking it more often than is probably good for my health and the well-being of my homework. I have spent more time looking at pictures of baby geckos today than I did when I was looking to adopt my own gecko years ago.<br />
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And now, I would like to share with you an example of Pinterest's marvelous, state-of-the-art search function. Observe:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBKIg3lvgrFASig7HpJALXiWAake11GkojLLGFlcB5Cr_y2L-VwrLnFiQBsWy3NDcLNxg31JsyMCOwIZvENRO_tZkjh5wjDvWGmhD7BTYt8RDHaO66umDo0JAuzfH8eMR6UXdnT-lTo5j/s1600/Um,+no.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBKIg3lvgrFASig7HpJALXiWAake11GkojLLGFlcB5Cr_y2L-VwrLnFiQBsWy3NDcLNxg31JsyMCOwIZvENRO_tZkjh5wjDvWGmhD7BTYt8RDHaO66umDo0JAuzfH8eMR6UXdnT-lTo5j/s640/Um,+no.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Yes. Because if I can't find the page of my best friend, the next best thing is obviously corgis. Duh.<br />
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Farewell, friends. Good night.<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-30266931620104642132013-10-05T15:53:00.000-07:002013-10-05T15:54:08.011-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 30<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today was the first truly relaxing day I've had in a while. I know from experience that if I don't spend a while simply taking it easy when I have a cold, it will persist for weeks. So I was only minimally productive today. It was really nice.<br />
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For today's challenge, I learned of the existence of the dwarf azalea, which grows in Asia. (It's the picture in the middle).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="http://www.iat-sia.org/uploads/images/Natural%20Heritage%20-%20Mike%20Jones%20-%20Common%20Alpine%20Plants%20-%206a-e.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="208" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture was shamelessly stolen from <a href="http://www.iat-sia.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=84&cntnt01returnid=21">http://www.iat-sia.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=84&cntnt01returnid=21</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">For those who aren't botany enthusiasts, here's a picture of a regular azalea to give you an idea of why I found the existence of the dwarf azalea to be both entertaining and adorable.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRD0Y3nsYQQmQeYdS_ffArhjo_aZAfySpSQjhVZCR6iC733vNpqf8KwIAc9RMTlZHFDeqM-FdXWZ47tPRNgOZ2PxrbzCejHObILlcJEGYpGF2sytwS0klyghu_EJn_oUfZWs75elHyNZc/s1600/Azalea+Blog+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRD0Y3nsYQQmQeYdS_ffArhjo_aZAfySpSQjhVZCR6iC733vNpqf8KwIAc9RMTlZHFDeqM-FdXWZ47tPRNgOZ2PxrbzCejHObILlcJEGYpGF2sytwS0klyghu_EJn_oUfZWs75elHyNZc/s400/Azalea+Blog+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture was shamelessly stolen from <a href="http://scottwykoff.wbal.com/2009/05/azalea-push-and-pull.html">http://scottwykoff.wbal.com/2009/05/azalea-push-and-pull.html</a></td></tr>
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And then after I had been googling pictures of tiny azaleas for a while, I began to think about other tiny plants. Observe:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="224" src="http://www.happinessisblog.com/.a/6a0120a5c8d9a9970c016760b2200d970b-pi" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a class="irc_hol irc_itl" data-ved="0CAQQjB0" href="http://www.happinessisblog.com/happiness-is/2012/01/diy-teeny-tiny-house-plants.html" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;"><span class="irc_ho" style="background-color: white; margin-right: -2px; padding-right: 2px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue;">www.happinessisblog.com</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html">http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="213" src="http://theinspiredroom.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/indoor-plants-teacup-garden-e1362976088405.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://theinspiredroom.net/2013/03/11/indoor-house-plants/">http://theinspiredroom.net/2013/03/11/indoor-house-plants/</a></td></tr>
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Thank you for sharing with me this brief foray into the land of adorable, teeny tiny plants.<br />
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~Maddie</div>
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Madeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-20196799915928321912013-10-04T20:07:00.000-07:002013-10-05T06:02:02.531-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 29Today I was very busy with homework, attending to a sick family member, and trying to register myself for the PSAT, so I sort of left off doing today's challenge until, like, an hour ago (read: 10 pm. I don't know why, but the timestamp on my posts is always off). I was out of ideas, too. But luckily for me, Drew came to my rescue with the idea of writing a letter to someone by hand. I have, of course, done this before, but it's been a while. To make it even more challenging and new, I decided to write him a letter backwards, so that it could be read in a mirror.<br />
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Now, I've read that some synesthetes are able to write backwards very easily. Let me assure you that I am not one of these people. At the end of three and a half paragraphs, my brain was like a very colorful alphabet soup. It was actually pretty fun, though. I enjoy word puzzles and things like that immensely, and the combination of writing in a way I'm not used to while actually trying to record something interesting in a message to someone was rather entertaining, in a head-breaking sort of way. Tomorrow, I shall place this letter in the mailbox and send it on its way to Drew's residence. I think I'll write the address on the envelope in the normal direction, however.<br />
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And now, sweet and gentle readers, I bid you goodnight.<br />
<br />
~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-60988410467165225212013-10-03T12:52:00.002-07:002013-10-05T06:01:49.100-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 28Today, Young Company was cancelled because of the shootings at the Capitol. I'm just sort of tired of humans being awful, and that's all that I have to say about it right now.<br />
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In happier news, my new thing today was that I participated in a role-playing game of the dice and character-sheet variety. I don't know if I've extensively mentioned my literature group on this blog, but here's a sketch of them just for background. The group consists of six of my friends and me, and every Thursday we meet and discuss a work of literature. I love all of these people. We drink a lot of tea. We have deep discussions about characters. We talk about a lot of fandoms. We call ourselves "hermits united."<br />
<br />
Anyway, today we brought a Doctor Who RP game to play after the discussion. It went quite well. Before we even began, we lost the dice (I think Ellen had been sitting on them). Kaila and I had an argument over whose character was more attractive, and Elizabeth lamented the fact that Martha Jones didn't get a special object whenever Rose Tyler was in the game. We all discussed the metaphorical resonance of this rule. Then we realized that Elizabeth didn't have a discernible pulse, and was probably dead. She thought this was amusing. Then, Elena, Kaila, and Missy and I began checking for our own pulses, and after some initial fear, finally found them.<br />
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I suppose we sort of deviated from the direction of the game when our characters stole a shop full of unattended candy, all donned bikinis (especially Captain Jack), and they all boarded a pirate ship on which they found the body of Jay Gatsby, covered in shirts. At this point, Joseph, our game master, claimed that there weren't any rules in the game book that pertained to this scenario. I remain skeptical on this point.<br />
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I don't think we're ever going to get invited to D&D meets. Maybe we'll become writers for SNL or something instead.<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-37016070797128053362013-10-02T19:24:00.000-07:002013-10-02T19:24:03.978-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 27Today I did two new things. One was intentional, and the other was an accident that I rather wish hadn't happened.<br />
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The purposeful new thing was (wait for it): I FINALLY got into a headstand. For those who don't know, I have been attempting this ever since Young Company started a few weeks ago. (Has it really only been a few weeks? Hard to believe). Now, before you start sending away for trophies to be engraved with my name on them, let me make two things clear: I was supported by a wall at the time, and my friend actually had to grab my feet and help me get into position. BUT. Success was, ever so briefly, mine. It was weird. And pretty nice.<br />
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The accidental thing was that I witnessed a theft. It was quite jolting. A few of us were walking back to the Metro from rehearsal, and as we were passing through the turnstile, this guy came running towards us, vaulted over the barrier, and ran out of the station. This woman (whose iPhone had been taken) was yelling "THIEF!" What kills me is that I was literally right there-- less than a foot away from the guy-- and I did nothing. I just didn't react fast enough. My reptilian brain was totally ready, but it couldn't get the rest of my mind to do anything. When he was in midair, he was RIGHT in front of me. I could have just given him a solid push and he would have stopped. But I didn't, merely because my brain didn't react fast enough to grasp the situation and do something about it. I know it's probably slightly irrational, but I actually feel guilty. Because I am a thought-y sort, I got to thinking about how society lulls us into false senses of security, which we invite, because we all want to feel safe. But it's an illusion. At any given moment, literally anything could happen, and we forget that in favor of the illusion of normality. Humans are so wedded to ideas of 'how things should go' that many of us don't react properly when stuff like this happens. I thought about a lot of other things along that theme, too. Anyway, I really just wanted to talk all of it through with my friend Drew on the train home, because he really helps me think through stuff like this. But he STILL lives multiple states away from me. I wish he'd stop that. It's annoying.<br />
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Anyway, I hope your day was better than mine. Hasta luego.<br />
<br />
~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-63902034679431772482013-10-01T19:18:00.000-07:002013-10-02T08:49:22.919-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 26Is it October already? Jeepers.<br />
<br />
So, I'm absolutely mentally and physically exhausted, and I'm still fighting this cold. Thus, I shall try to keep this report brief.<br />
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For today's challenge, I ate a cupcake with a spoon. I would not recommend this to others, on the grounds that it is a very unwieldy way to consume one's dessert, and I ended up having to fish chunks of cake out of a pool of ketchup. So, technically, I suppose I did two new things today, because in an attempt to salvage the chunks of cake, I tried to eat them. Do not eat chocolate cupcake chunks with ketchup. It only leads to despair and heartfelt sighs. Mark my words.<br />
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In other news, I came back to rehearsals today. I was still feeling a little too sick to do this, but I am incredibly stubborn when it comes to my passions, and so I may or may not have let on that I was feeling a little healthier than I actually was. However, I did not pay too dearly for this, as for the first half of the workshop, we all lay on the floor in a dimly-lit area and closed our eyes as we did various voice exercises. It was actually quite lovely and very relaxing. And I enjoyed it from a synesthetic point of view, too, because one of the exercises involved letting out vibrating 'puffs' of sound with each breath. As I lay there with my eyes shut, I got to watch the different colors of everyone's vocalizations in this rainbow of colored dots. It was absolutely beautiful.<br />
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In other news, I am out of a dog walking job until congress can act like adults, because my employer is forcibly home from work (she works for the government). I don't know how this will effect my ability to pay for Metro fare to Young Company, and it's actually concerning me a bit. I've got some money saved up, of course, but I don't know how long this madness will last. And that's all I'm going to say about it here, because I'm honestly just sick of arguing, politics, whining, whining about politics, arguing about politics... well, you get the idea. Congress, you had *one* job...<br />
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May sunny fields be involved in your future activities.<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-77625355753464981472013-09-30T16:12:00.000-07:002013-09-30T16:13:20.176-07:00"Humans of New York," and why I retain hope for humanity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There is an excellent Facebook page called "Humans of New York," and it has actually played a fair role in my life. It is run by a photographer who lives in (spoiler alert): New York City. He takes street portraits of people and asks them questions. Now, this in itself may seem fairly unremarkable, but please take this story as an example. The photographer is the voice asking the questions; the man in the photo is the one who answers and speaks first.<br />
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(Disclaimer: Obviously, I copied the following story and image from HONY's page. I don't own any of it).<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"I've been examining my values lately, and determining whether or not I like the feelings that result from those values."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"What's an example of one of your values?"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"I'm very competitive."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"And what's a feeling that results from being competitive?"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"Jealousy."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"How does competitiveness result in jealousy?"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"When you have a competitive mindset, you tend to view the world in terms of winners and losers. So you resent other people getting recognition, because you somehow believe that less recognition is available to you. I'm learning that this is a false mindset. There's not a fixed amount of success and recognition in the world. So another person's accomplishments don't diminish the accomplishments available to you."</span><br />
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What fascinates me most about HONY is merely his ability to capture deep sketches of real people that he has never met before. (Not to mention how outgoing he needs to be to do that, but maybe I only take note of that because I'm an introvert). When I see someone when I'm in public, say, on the Metro, the stranger and I are generally both in what is known to actors as "first circle:" the impersonal, self-absorbed realm, in which the people in the interaction (if you can even call it that) make no attempt to connect whatsoever. The stranger has stories, and I have stories. But all we will ever know of each other is based solely on the physical, if we even take the time to glance at one another. When I scroll through HONY's page, I get to see a web of stories that are disparate yet interconnected; touching and insightful, or funny and lighthearted; heart-wrenchingly sad, or sweet and innocent. Basically, it's a place where everyone gets to tell their story: whether they're perceived by society as someone invisible, like a garbage worker, or if they're hilariously flamboyant and irrevocably noticeable. </div>
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When I think about HONY, there are two thoughts that strike me the most. The first is that despite the masks we put on-- class markers, facial expressions, clothing-- nobody is as different as we like to believe. We all share in a common humanity, and trying to escape that would be like trying to drain the blue from the sky and the green from the grass. We're different, undoubtedly, and that is a wonderful thing. But we often get caught up in that and forget how much we truly share. </div>
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The second thought is that when I look at the simple (or complex) wisdom of ordinary people, I realize that I'm not giving humanity enough credit. I look at the things going on in the world: hunger, wars, oppression, and just plain, everyday meanness, and I often despair. But it is the majority; the ordinary, everyday people, who will ultimately make a difference in the future. Not some group of politicians: the everyday humans who constitute the biggest part of the global population. And just by getting a small glance at what these ordinary people think about through HONY, I honestly don't feel so dejected. Yes, there are a lot of problems in the world, and yes, they're horrible. People kill each other. People emotionally abuse other people. People are denied what we all agreed long ago were basic human rights: education, happiness, the right to marry the person you love, etc. But we are not without hope. And this Facebook page is just something that helps remind me of that.</div>
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As someone truly great once said: Ta ta for now!</div>
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~Maddie</div>
<br />Madeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-47424849358123789542013-09-30T15:41:00.001-07:002013-09-30T15:42:11.463-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 25The bad news is that I'm still sick enough that I had to miss rehearsal. But the good news is that I turned in all my world history homework, I'm feeling a bit better, and my right ear is no longer ringing in a way that I can only describe as a wall of gray with burgundy specks trying to block out all sensation on the right side of my head.<br />
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Because I am still sick, I didn't have a lot of options for today's challenge. After I finished the veritable mountain of work I had to do (whoot!), I was still without ideas. I was going to go on YouTube to find a 'how-to' video for something, but I had the attention span of a fruit fly, and soon I found myself watching Hank Green make mistakes on Crash Course outtakes and I wasn't learning anything (other than how hard it can be to pronounce the names of certain molecules). So, in a fit of brilliance, I decided to go to Wikipedia, click 'random article,' and write a poem inspired by the material of whatever article I got. Desperately hoping not to get an article about anything dirty and/or hopelessly boring, I embarked upon this adventure.<br />
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I got this very short article about an R&B song called "Lock and Key:"<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_and_Key_(Klymaxx_song)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_and_Key_(Klymaxx_song)</a><br />
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I then listened to this abominable cacophony of noise on YouTube:<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9B1IMVKGY8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9B1IMVKGY8</a><br />
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As my ears (and eyes) were assaulted by this very poorly rendered collage of uncomplimentary colors and sounds, I penned this modern classic:<br />
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As I gaze upon the voluminous mass that is this woman's hair,<br />
I cannot help but wonder what she could hide in there.<br />
A teapot, a thesaurus, a pair of yellow sneakers,<br />
A colony of starfish or old computer speakers.<br />
This song is both musically and intellectually lacking;<br />
If I were her producer, I'd simply send her packing.<br />
But she'd be just fine; with a cumulonimbus of hair like that<br />
She'd have everything she needed to bring the '80s back.<br />
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As always, lemme know what you did for today, if you're following along! If not, and if you have an idea for something new I could try, I'd love to hear from ya!<br />
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Peace and prosperity,<br />
~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-9653343398284720902013-09-30T08:53:00.000-07:002013-09-30T08:54:11.633-07:00I wrote a thing...Hello, lovelies.<br />
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I am taking a short break from studying madly and coughing up my lungs to post a short...thing. I don't know if it's a poem, a short story or an essay, but I do know that I wrote it (that is, unless someone has played a very clever joke on me and I only <i>think</i> that I wrote it). I wanted to post my first draft on this blog. Yes, it's still in draft format, so any input sent via comment or the communication widget on the right of your screen would be greatly appreciated, because it's still at that early stage of life where I can't tell if it's absolute rubbish or not.<br />
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~Maddie<br />
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Forever Almost</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><i>A thing, by Maddie.</i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">If I loved
you, I would love you in the complete and indisputably, unquestionably existent
way that the wind blows through branches in October, creating fingers of air
that, just for a fleeting instant, are solid enough to shake down dead leaves and
toss them into a stormy sky, to turn and flip in one final celebration of a
vitality already lost. I would love you in a way that just happens, so normal
and so right that no one thinks about it, like the clockwork heartbeat of the
universe. I would write you songs that could freeze snowflakes in the air and
leave them there to hang, as specks of lace trapped in an immortal beam of cold
afternoon light. I would sing down the moon and the stars and all the planets
for you, and then launch them back into the sky to hover more brightly and more
brilliantly than they ever could have before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">If I loved
you, I never would have expected to. My love would be the lazy, slinky light
that seeps in through the window at about four o’clock in the afternoon, and
reminds me that even though the morning was full of life, the late, sluggish
hours of the day will still slink in and claim my productivity as they trap
sparkling dust in their glittering wakes. Though I forget this will ever
happen, it does, as surely and as predictably and as beautifully as it can. You
would have crept up on me, becoming an integral and irreplaceable part of my
life before I even had the sense to stop and catch my breath. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">I would tell
you wonderful things, if I loved you. All those secrets that I have been saving
for the one I love would be yours, by right of birth. I would tell you the word
that means the smell of puddles, dirt and worms right before it has finished
raining. I would show you all the ways that I hide my soul in plain sight. As
we would lie down on our backs to look at the late September sky, I would talk
about reds and yellows and blues, but mostly blues, because they are my
favorites. And you would tell me things, too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">If, someday,
you read this, then the future from this point, this fleeting and pregnant <i>now</i> will have laid itself out along the
pebbled path of my imagination, to meander down streets held up by cafes and
cobblestones and clouds and glass windows and the smell of books and the
probable freckles on your nose. If you never read this, someone else will,
someday. If you never read this, I wonder if you will know that you were my
almost someone, and I yours. I wonder if one day, when your grandchildren are
out of the house and you look up at the October sky, if you will remember our
small, wind-tossed dance of possibility. And then the dead leaves will sink to
the ground, and the memory will once again be claimed by the past.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Madeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-170631177104613722013-09-29T15:22:00.001-07:002013-09-29T15:22:51.660-07:00Project 365 New Things: Days 22, 23 and 24I write to you from my bed, which is covered in disheveled blankets, crumpled tissues, and, most notably, my cold-germ-infested body. There is also a textbook. I am trying to ignore the textbook. The textbook is trying not to be ignored, and is, as far as I can discern, going to great lengths to continue to be white and immobile in the most attention-grabbing, flamboyant and irritating way possible. And I think it's winning.<br />
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Anyway, this and an all-day event yesterday are the reasons why I did not write individual posts for days 22 and 23. So, before I begin studying and/or sneezing again, here are the short versions of the new things for the past three days:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>September 27, day 22:</b> I learned the word "<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">entrepôt." It is French in origin, and means 'a trading port.'</span></span><br />
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<b>September 28, day 23:</b> I went zip-lining. It was a blast, and I loved it. Unfortunately, it only served to exacerbate the cold germs which currently reside inside my body.<br /><br /><b>September 29, day 24:</b> I applied to become an admin on a Facebook page. The page is called "Stay Strong," and it's a lovely community for teens struggling with depression, bullying and/or self-harm. I've been a fan of it for a while, and I just have a strong desire to make the world a better place by helping these people maintain the awesome online support community they've built. (Before you start worrying about me, I just want to let you know that I personally am not depressed or anything, but cannot help but have empathy for those who are).<br /><br />Now I am in bed, recovering slowly and trying to get homework done. I am beginning to have fantasies about mailing the good-natured, albeit very vocal small dog under my window to a nice, warm place that is far, far away, where he can yell at squirrels and chew bones such that his canine heart may overflow with contentment without making my fevered head pound in agony.<br /><br />Hope you had a splendiferous weekend. Is that a word? It is now.<br /><br />~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-20457871446625496812013-09-26T19:20:00.000-07:002013-09-26T19:20:36.225-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 21Today, I saw the first episode of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." It's set in the Marvel universe, and was basically created because people were really upset when Whedon killed off Agent Coulson in The Avengers (or so I hear). I gotta say, I'm a huge fan of the Marvel movies, and I was especially pleased to learn that Joss Whedon himself played a major part in the creation of this series (even if, like Steven Moffat, he is a massive troll who kills innocent characters in the way that most people slap mosquitoes).<br />
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I honestly think the show is off to a brilliant start, and I look forward to the next episode. (I've purposefully avoided giving too many details, just because I have an anti-spoiler policy on this blog).<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-56813202100865931742013-09-25T17:01:00.000-07:002013-09-25T17:01:13.801-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 20Today, in celebration of banned books week, I read the entire list of books that have been banned by various people and organizations, as listed by Wikipedia (so who knows if it's accurate or not, but I'm just gonna go with it). I have read 19 of these books. Also, if any of you can explain to me why <i>Where's Waldo</i> was ever banned, I would actually appreciate it, as I haven't the faintest idea why.<br />
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Onward and upwards!<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-7565357075728406192013-09-24T18:51:00.001-07:002013-09-24T18:52:10.811-07:00Let me show to you a thing...So, you know the vlogbrothers? <br />
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(If the answer to this question is 'no,' please take a moment to watch this video. After you've seen it at least once, you may rejoin us for the rest of this post. Thank you for your cooperation).<br />
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So, you know the vlogbrothers? (And you say, "yes, I do," and I nod at you encouragingly and we can now continue).<br />
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Well, the wife of our dear John Green, Sarah Green, is starting this wonderful, amazing, fantastic project that I am just like ASDGFHJAKSFDASLDKHJAS about. Please watch this brief, explanatory video to be sufficiently enlightened:<br />
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Isn't that just wonderful!? This is exactly the sort of thing I adore. (Well, I mean just look at Project 365 New Things). God, I love the whole Green family :')<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-48062421902275522332013-09-24T18:27:00.000-07:002013-09-24T18:30:20.005-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 19Today, for the first time ever, I watched (wait for it): <i>Friday</i>, by Rebecca Black.<br />
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Now, before you balk, let me stress that being the pop-cultural hermit that I am, I had actually never seen it before, only heard about it. I decided to make today's new thing something that I would never, never do if I weren't going out of my way to try something that is as yet an alien sensation to me. And it was every bit as awful as I expected. Honestly, I don't know why I do these things to myself.<br />
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That being said, I do not condone the obnoxious negative behavior that people tend to engage in when discussing this video. Yes, the song is poorly written. Yes, the artistic direction of the video isn't very good. Yes, the song is out of sync with the lips of Rebecca Black, who is not very good at singing in the first place. But I think that celebrity culture-- in which the majority of a population chooses a random person and elevates them to an insanely high status that they may or may not deserve-- can make us forget that behind that microphone and under that stage makeup, a real, live person with wants and hopes and fears lives and breathes.<br />
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We put people up on pedestals for two reasons: so that we can tear them down, and thus feel better about ourselves, or so that we can create a (false) image of perfection, thus making that perfect ideal something tangible and attainable (at least in our heads). By 'fictionalizing' real people and turning them into celebrities, we are able to explore who we are by comparing ourselves to that other person. This can sometimes be a dangerous thing, because we imagine them as, well, perfect-- or at least, only as perfect as we want them to be in our imaginations. Because (spoiler alert) celebrities are just human, that can be unhealthy for both the fan and the famous person.<br />
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Now, I'm not saying that comparing oneself to someone else is necessarily a bad thing, conceptually speaking. It's very important for humans to learn from other humans, because one of the main reasons that we are so successful as a species is that we are very social, and share knowledge with one another. Before the age of newspapers and radio, people compared themselves to people that they actually knew, and so these comparisons, by virtue of their nature, did not rise to the level of obsession that comparable comparisons do nowadays (yes, I'm looking at you, Tumblr).<br />
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This was because it would be pretty awkward to obsessively follow around someone you know in real life because a) seeing as you know them in real life, you've perhaps seen examples of their faults thrown into sharper relief, and b) wouldn't it be awkward if they came to your house and saw all those swimsuit photos of themselves plastering your bedroom walls? But because we don't actually know celebrities, it's easy to imagine them the way we want to. This becomes unhealthy when we forget that they are real people and either start bashing them in ways we would never do to people we know, or start making ourselves miserable by believing that we can never be as physically attractive or talented as the idea of that person that we've cultivated in our minds is.<br />
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Perhaps I'm getting a bit too philosophical over what is really just a bad music video, but that's what I took away from this experience, and so that's what's going on this blog. Deal with it.<br />
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Hope your day was filled with pretzels and/or other lovely things,<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-51993447897473410692013-09-23T19:29:00.000-07:002013-09-23T19:29:11.646-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 18I am about to collapse from fatigue, so I'll keep this brief. No, seriously, I'm engaged in an active battle with my eyelids, who insist that they want to set down their burdens and extend across my eyes, thus shrouding me in darkness and making it difficult to type. And I think they're winning.<br />
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Today, at the suggestion of Drew, I listened to several songs from a band called Walk Off the Earth. They're really creative and quite talented. Here's one of their covers:<br />
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Now, as I was listening to these awesome people, I remembered that I had, in fact, heard their cover of "I Knew You Were Trouble" a while ago. But I'm going to count this as a new thing anyway because that was a long time ago and I didn't know it was them at the time and it was only one song AND I'M BLOODY TIRED, OKAY?</div>
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As always, I'd love to hear any suggestions for things to try or challenges that you've been working on for the project, if you're one of the few who are following along.</div>
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Sweet dreams, lovelies :)</div>
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~Maddie</div>
<br />Madeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-1539500917283316802013-09-22T19:14:00.000-07:002013-09-22T19:14:36.404-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 17Today's new thing: I did about three and a half day's worth of Spanish homework in roughly five hours. Yeee-haw. I'm not saying that this is particularly exciting. I'm saying that it's new. I don't think I'll be doing it again if I can help it, though.<br />
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I suppose the main thing I'm learning as I do this project is that finding interesting new things to try is challenging when one has a busy life, but worth it. Sometimes, you just need to appreciate what you're able to do and not fret over what you're not able to do. Occasionally, that means accepting a somewhat boring 'new things' challenge and moving on. Drew and I were just talking about how lucky North Americans are to have access to such wonderful educations, and so I'm doing my best to appreciate what I have in that regard, even when the going gets tough.<br />
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Also, in a break from the crazy studying that happened today, I wrote an article about synesthesia, which, in addition to being a condition that I have, is a scientific interest of mine. The article was linked on <a href="http://www.youngsynesthetes.org/" target="_blank">The Young Synesthetes Association</a>'s page, and, as you can probably see, right beneath the header of this blog.<br />
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Looking forward to getting a reprieve from my weekend break so that I can go back to Young Company workshops tomorrow. My parting words for all of you are: Take life head-on in a confrontational stance, brandishing an umbrella threateningly if needed.<br />
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And now: To whatever adventures await! In my case, this adventure is getting a good night's sleep. Adieu!<br />
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~Maddie<br />
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<br />Madeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-40207855085820409942013-09-21T18:25:00.000-07:002013-09-21T18:25:46.020-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 16I went to the Renaissance Festival today with five of my good friends. We had a blast, and while I was there, I did today's new thing: I played a kind of musical instrument called a bowed psaltery. Here's a picture:<br />
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They were selling these at a booth (the Unicorn Strings Music Company, if you care to check them out). I'd never played one before, but I just really took to it, and I began making up songs on it. The man was very nice to me and let me play it for a while. I absolutely loved it-- it sounds kind of like a bowed harp. </div>
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~Maddie</div>
Madeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-38193198182681260152013-09-20T20:08:00.001-07:002013-09-22T19:27:53.087-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 15Today, I climbed a tree and put my ear next to the trunk so I could listen to a woodpecker rhythmically searching for food above me. I was surprised at how well the sound carried through the wood, as the bird was easily 20+ feet above me and I could hear the pecking sound descend down the trunk to my ear, as if through a naturally grown tin-can telephone. The sun shining through the leaves was beautiful, and almost exactly the color that I hear G Major in. And that's really all there is to tell. It was just a lovely, spontaneous thing to do in the midst of a day filled with studying and work.<br />
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Good night, lovelies!<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841880519747547339.post-12351202302878919212013-09-19T19:24:00.001-07:002013-09-19T19:24:51.592-07:00Project 365 New Things: Day 14Disclaimer: Today's new thing may not seem all that exciting to you, but it is a big deal to me. So deal with it.<br />
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As most of you have doubtless deduced by now from reading this blog, I am about as coordinated as an intoxicated housefly. As you also undoubtedly know, I am part of a Shakespeare company that I have been rhapsodizing in great detail as of late. I am absolutely loving it, but it is incredibly physically demanding. We do several warm-up exercises that leave me with the general feeling that I have been liberally coated in meat tenderizer. However, the more I do these exercises, in general, the easier they become. Except for (wait for it): The headstand.<br />
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Yes, just lean back in your chair and picture it for a moment: A lanky blonde, clad completely in black, surrounded by reasonably coordinated people as she desperately flails like an aerial starfish in an attempt to create a mere, pale shadow of their success, falling over a lot in the process. That blonde is me. During the first day, I couldn't even get my feet off of the ground. BUT. Today --and this is where the new thing comes in-- today, I GOT BOTH FEET OFF THE GROUND. AT THE SAME TIME. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. Now, I didn't manage to a) do a complete headstand, or b) keep the aforementioned feet in this position for more than the count of three, BUT. Progress was made. I found (more or less) my 'balance point,' which is apparently an important element of a satisfactory, non-lethal headstand.<br />
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I will keep practicing this at home, but I will avoid doing so right next to my book case again, as tonight I nearly knocked it over as my blonde head went sailing through the air on an unexpected journey towards the Earth's core. Fun stuff.<br />
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As always, comment what you've done today if you're doing the project too, and feel free to leave any ideas for new things that I could try.<br />
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Farewell for now.<br />
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~MaddieMadeline Murchie-Beymahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14101624430872888501noreply@blogger.com3