Simon and Garfunkel's song "The sound of silence" makes a beautiful comparison to our ever eroding culture. The song depicts a dream in which a man watches ten thousand people worship "the neon god they made", referencing our societies obsession with money and fame as well as the corruption of values. The song describes the power we give to the media, and the the silent power the media has over us, "people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening". The rest is pretty self explanatory.

I often wonder how much I make a religion out of consumerism without even realizing it. How much I am actually saying, and who I am supporting without ever opening my mouth. Sadly, it is not always enough even when I do realize- 

" And no one dared disturb the sound of silence"

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
Beneath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one deared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools," said I, "you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed 
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the signs said the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence 

(This one is for you Madi)

This is a rendition of Edgar Allan Poe's literature, The Raven, done by the 1980's Allan Parsons Project- Needless to say, Poe's dark ideas are Halloween worthy. 
Enjoy:)

Right now I am in love with the work of an artist named Brian Kershisnik. I love the expression, movement, and color in his paintings and most of all the subtle things he paints about. I was in Brown Stone Gallery the other day, where I am getting a painting, done by my good friend Dallas framed (check her out HERE she is amazing!) and I saw a painting by him called "Dancing on a Very Small Island"

                                                   (This small picture doesn't do it justice)
I instantly knew that I HAD TO HAVE this picture in my house- I just love it so much and to my luck, they even have layaway set up- which I figured would make the whole idea much more appealing to Chris. Lastly I brought Chris in to get his approval, and so you don't get the wrong idea about him- I'm going to preface this next part by saying that Chris is very art savvy- and much more creative than I am. 


First thing he said: "The guy on the far right looks like something out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre". 


After that remark, I decided it was time to leave the gallery.

(SIGH) I just haven't been able to look at it the same way since.


Setting my sights on some of his other amazing work, Enjoy:

There is no better way to bring on Halloween than with the Danse Macabre by St. Saens. Danse Macabre basically means the "Dance of Death" or to dance with the dead. The song is about the one night the dead are allowed to come out and dance in the darkness among the graves and the music is marvelous. I actually first heard this piece when I was tutoring first graders a couple years ago. Their music instructor roughly choreographed a little dance for them which demonstrated the interpretation of the piece perfectly and if you listen closely, you can hear the skeletons and then the ghosts and lastly the beckon at dawn for the sleep awaiting them in the graveyard. 


Basically, you're going to need to plug this in to your speakers and blast it for the full effect.
Happy Halloween!

When I was little, I used to build little sanctuaries in the bushes for fairies and elves. I went into great detail, structuring the homes with twigs and string, and then, filling in the holes with mud, which was very clay like where we lived. The roofs were moss, and if it was a good home, I would try to make a little stone walk way for the entry. I remember trying really hard to think of what a fairy or elf might want to eat, and left welcoming gifts like berries and really small morsels of random foods inside the little houses. At recess, I even did this on the school ground, if I could find a special spot where elves and fairies might want to live (the sprinklers ruined this plan). My mom, who since I can remember, would collect moss, and bird eggs, four leaf clovers, and even planted a little fairy ring in the middle of our lawn one year, was pretty much the only who thought it was cool (besides small rodents and birds). She even loves to find random mushrooms growing in the lawn, or anywhere. Cirac doesn't mind my fairy seeking habits, he even puts up with my little orange garden gnome (love him). Luckily he has the greenest of thumbs and can build ANYTHING so we can live in a magical little place like this- someday.....

So about 6 months ago Chris and I bought a T.V. (finally). At first the plan was just to watch dvd's, but Cirac of course found a way around THAT one and somehow connected our cable to the neighbors. That lasted for a good month- Cable company wasn't down with our fiendish ways I guess, and since I just can't justify paying for cable, it was back to Red Box, and I have to say: those were some good times.
Here's the Thing:
Red Box didn't sustain us for long (lets be honest, there's like the same 10 movies to pick from every week and all the new ones are always checked out) so pretty soon, it was just Chris, Molly, And I. Nothing else to fill up that small and precious gap that we have after working for the man from 9-5, except each other. And as contrived as this whole thing might sound, without the noise filling up the small moments we rarely have in this OUT OF CONTROL fast paced world we have to survive in, I started feeling like I was in some sort of...60's  sitcom like the Wonder Years or something, except it was AWESOME. I'm talking: HOMEMADE dinner (yes folks, I cook now), evening walks, playing fetch with Molly at the park, among other things...all the good stuff that MTV's "16 and pregnant" was taking away. 
For the record, I don't miss T.V. one bit (not even DAWG the Bounty Hunter).
 3 1/2 months so far!!!! 


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XOXO- Senorita Stephanie

Rock Me, Baby (Live at Velour) by Gypsy Cab

Yes, I know the stereotypical reaction you get when someone tells you that their little brother plays in a band, and "seriously, they are really good"-Yeah right.

However

My little brother plays in a band, and SERIOUSLY...they are really, really good. 

Check out Gypsy Cab at Velour on Saturday, September 11th

(or just come hang with Chris and I, cuz we will be there)

That's right...The Braces are officially OFF. Check out those shiny bones of mine. No longer do I have to worry about whether or not I will be able to get my lip back over my braces when I laugh, or ask my fellow servers at Chang's if "I'm good" before greeting a table. My tongue has also had a lot of rest since it isn't fishing out random assortments of food intertwined in my brackets....AND I think I made record timing with the floss tonight. 

All is well here at the Cirac residence.

Please jaw, stay put.

Although I am a die hard BEATLES fan, I had have no reluctancy to say: the Stones album EXILE on MAIN STREET is an album to end all albums.
When this Album first came out in 1972, it was not received well and had mixed reviews. As it is with most artists, later, the Album was revered by some as the greatest album in rock history, and most definitely the Stones at best. The Album was composed in France, As the Stones were kicked out of England for tax issues, hence the name "Exile on Main Street".
 Just recently they re-did a bunch of unfinished tracks that never made it to the album- the extended tracks are AMAZING...THIS one in particular, although it isn't done justice without speakers.




XOXO- Stephy

 Pg 140: "It's not only that, Alvah. It's not you alone. If I found a job, a project, an idea or a person I wanted- I'd have to depend on the whole world. Everything has strings leading to everything else. We're all so tied together. We're all in a net, the net is waiting, and we're pushed into it by one single desire. You want a thing and it's precious to you. Do you know who is standing ready to tear it out of your hands? You can't know, it may be so involved and so far away, but someone is ready, and you're afraid of them all. And you cringe and you crawl and you beg and you accept them- just so they'll let you keep it. And look at whom you come to accept."....(141) "I take the only desire one can really permit oneself. Freedom, Alvah, freedom."

As someone who has dieted the majority of my life and read up on/ tried just about every way there is to loose weight, I can say that this book Women, Food and God was a breath of FRESH AIR. I will never, ever, EVER go on a diet again. Most women have an emotional connection with food, and often times use it as a sedative to get through hard times, discomfort or to disconnect. The theory Geneen Roth presents in this book is the Idea that if we become aware of ourselves and are living in each present moment- owning up to any emotions we might have, whether positive or negative, we will learn to listen to our bodies and eat only when we are hungry, stop when we are full, and actually enjoy how wonderful food really is. IMAGINE THAT. Such a simple Idea, yet surprisingly  difficult.
 The first week I did it I lost 5 lbs.  I ate what I really wanted- but only when I was hungry and stopped when I was full (which by the way comes really fast). Unfortunately  I got back into my old habits of mindless eating and.. back to square one. It takes time to master thats for sure, but I believe its' an endeavor that will be worth my while. 
I tutor children at an Elementary school and supervise them at lunch. I always watch in fascination as they unwrap their AMAZING lunches (We are talking PB & J sandwhiches, oreos, chips, twinkies, cheese, crackers, juice- everything you have ever wanted to have packed in a lunch)and not even halfway through(often times before they have even opened their cookies or eaten more than one chip) they are zipping up their lunch boxes and off to enjoy LIFE on the playground, while I am wondering to myself how I can get my hands on that left over Ding Dong. Bottom line: Kids listen to their bodies, they are present in their bodies, they live each moment to it's fullest and as a result they are HEALTHY. So forget what your parents told you about "finishing everything on your plate"(that has obviously gotten America NOWHERE) and stop depriving your body on fad diets and grapefruit juice cleanses. Be nice to yourself and eat when your body (not your mind) really truly wants- because it will tell you. 


Also read the book, because she tells it all way better than I do- Oprah is my witness.

xoxo- Stephy

CREAM- Ultimate band of the 60's, if you don't have this in your album collection by now, you are missing OUT. Can't go wrong with Eric Clapton. 

                          

Putting together a Blog is HARD- All this HTML junk. I still can't figure out how to get one simple stripe/line across the top of my page... So hats off to all of you with gorgeous blogs, you are in the right generation. Cheers to my first post EVER!  xoxo - Stephy