The Art of Nerding

I am a nerd.

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I tend to be more subtle in my nerd-dom then others, but it is there.  Always lingering.

I usually nerd out over British things.  You know, the usual suspects:  Sherlock, Downton Abbey, Luther, Pride and Prejudice (the '95 version of course),  French and Saunders, Fry and Laurie..not Harry Potter, sorry....but my latest nerd out is over something very American.  This is, of course, the latest and last installment of Nolan's Batman films.   There was something about this last one that made the nerd in me blossom like my inner nerd hasn't in quite a while.  This led me to scour various Tumblr pages for information regarding the film, which in turn revealed to me the greatest insight of them all.  As with all things American, they are usually inspired by something fantastically British.  The Dark Knight Rises is no exception!  One blogger claimed that there were numerous references to A Tale of Two Cites and, being the ardent anglophile I am, I delved right into the book to see for myself.  I read the book in a record 18 days (yes, I am a meticulous reader) and now report to you my findings:

Exhibit 1:

Barsad.  Yes there's a character named Barsad in TKDR
and if you don't know which one he is...

this is he. 

           

Exhibit II:

Have we started the fire? Yes brother, the fire rises!
Need I say more?

Exhibit III:

There are so many things mirrored in this film:  the storming of the Bastille, the storming of Black Gate Prison for one

Exhibit IV:

The felons were trying the honest men...

Scarecrow anyone?

Exhibit V:

A great storm coming

I think this line is famous enough right now that I don't need to explain it

Exhibit VI:

Mme Defarge infamously knits through the entire book.  I scoured the
internet to find a pic of Bane and his rope knotting during the sentencing
scene, to no avail.  And let me just add this, if I was an actress and was told
that I could plan any role of my desiring, it would be a toss up between
Lady Macbeth and Mme Defarge.  

Exhibit VII:

Eulogy of course, the most obvious connexion.  I decided not to post pics

of all the lines in the eulogy, but they were all taken from the last few 

paragraphs of the book.  

Case closed.  

My Grandma's Things

6 years ago this month, my grandma died.  I was living in another state and didn't have to witness her decline like the rest of my family did.  I wasn't even at her funeral.  Maybe because of this, she never seemed to die for me.  It is only with the passing of the years that I've come to realize that she is gone forever.  Last week, I went to visit my family back home and take one last look at her house that will someday be inhabited by another family.  There were still a few articles of clothing that my mom couldn't get rid of and, with barely any prompting, I was more then willing to take them home with me. My grandma was a classic woman of the 50's and being so, her waist was a good 2 to 4 inches smaller then mine.  I'm not sure if some miracle of stitchery will ever make it possible for me to fit into these treasures, but even if it were the case, I don't even own a sewing machine, let alone know how to use it.  But, for now, I'll hold onto them anyway.  The dresses that still smell like her perfume, even after all this time.  The little pink trash can that lived in her little pink bathroom.  Little items hidden behind glass that I would gaze at as a child, jealously wishing to play with them.  Even as her memory warps with time, these little things will keep her alive to me. 

The dress my grandma wore to my parents wedding. 

Fantastic wool dress, with an impossible 26" waist!

Blue and yellow plaid, pleated bottom half of this dress

Top of the dress with matching blue jacket, 3/4 length sleeves

The top of the dress with matching belt

Pink knitted skirt and sweater number, also with matching belt

Little pink trash can, missing a bejeweled butterfly

Classic fake bonsai tree, all wire and glass

Tiny tea set

A Slow Return

I have been horrendously neglectful of my blog.  Really, I haven't been active at all since December I think.  But in an effort to reconnect and put myself out there, I have sworn to renew my efforts!  Now I just need to figure out which direction I want this to go...

In the meantime, I may just start a series of skirt and shoe pictures.  Enjoy.  ;)