Muses and Fruit

Sometimes writing a song is just copying down the words and music that something greater is giving me freely.

Sometimes writing a song a like birthing a watermelon.

Guess which one this is?

-b

Cliches and Records

I would like to go on record that the movie which made me want see Italy in person was a terrible movie from 1994 called, "Only You." It was really bad. Don't even rent it. However, because is was so bad, I was forced to look around the scenes for something--anything--interesting. And, that is when I decided I had to see Italy in person. It became a fat-free obsession.





It was NOT the book or the movie, "Under the Tuscan Sun."



It was NOT the book or the movie, "Eat. Pray. Love."



And I have signed up for a converstional Italian class because a) I will be going back to Italy soon and b) learning a new language helps to stimlate the brain, and I think my need for that goes without saying. I've been talking about signing up for a class for four years now mostly because I got lost in Montacatini and no one spoke English. It was kind of scary and I'd like to address that, post-trip even.




NOT because Elizabeth Gilbert likes Italian, too.



So there.



-b

Huge Announement

Today, Tuesday, August 17th, 2010, I, Belinda Smith, was EARLY for a writing appointment. Ten minutes early. Mr. Bourke captured the occasion video. I am not showing said video because the camera adds ten pounds. Still, it is documented.

And totally blogworthy.

-b

Birds

We went to dinner with my cousin, Darnell Arnoult and her husband, William Brock, last night.

The last time I visited Darnell and William at their home down I-40, there sat an extremely large bird in the yard. I had to walk past it to get around to the front door, but I really didn't want to disturb it. I knew William was making birds, but I didn't realize he was also displaying them in the yard. So, I crept down the sidewalk, fascinated by the huge bird, thinking, "Wow, this is what you get when you live in the country." Just about then, the sun hit it just right and I realized it was one of William's creations. Duh.

William makes each bird out of copper or tin and cuts each 'feather' by hand. Isn't that insane? I mean, in a really good way. You can see more images and get some information at www.rustedbirdstudio.com.

And to the lady who told him she could buy one of these at Wal-Mart: a double duh.

-b

Blue

Where have I been? Ugh. Has it really been a month since I've updated? Judge me. Go ahead.

The good news is the bad neighbor is gone. I'm guessing he abandoned the house since it appears to have been the landlord who removed the 100 or so tires that said bad neighbor had stacked up against my back fence. I haven't seen anyone over there for a few weeks. HOORAY! There is still a blue tarp over the roof of the house, but we'll take what we can get.


I played a show with Benton Stokes the other night. Benton makes me want to write different kinds of songs--a huge compliment to him. I think I've mentioned his record to you before, but if you don't have it, I would recommend it. He has a song on his CD called, "Blue."


I also spent a week at the TN Young Writers Workshop. We lived on the campus of Austin Peay University. My, how I'm missing that ridiculous plastic mattress. Yeah. Anyway, the young writers were really inspiring this year. I gave the kids a title prompt with the word "blue" in it, and the blue songs were some of my faves from the week.


And, in what is probably the most important news, for first time in my entire life, I've painted a room in my house blue. I know. Who have I become? Well, it's actually called, "Deep Ocean," and that's exactly what it looks like to me, and I LOVE it. And, if you're looking for a good paint, try Benjamin Moore's Aura line. It took one coat of paint to make a white wall blue. Stunning.

When Do You Care About a Book?

I've been reading a lot more since Jim got me my Kindle for Christmas. Have I mentioned how much I love this thing?

As I look back over my book list for 2010, I have to admit I'm a little underwhelmed. I listened to the audio book The Help by Kathryn Stockett and didn't want it to end, but since then I've been on a run of books that I just don't care about.

First, I read "Three Junes" by Julia Glass. I can say that it was well written, sure. But did I care about any of these characters? Nope. Not at all. Well, maybe the guy who died early on who had moved to Greece, but he wasn't around long enough to really mean anything. I kind of didn't even like the book and I definitely wouldn't recommend it. But that's just me.

Now, because my brother pleaded with me, I'm 25% into, "The Passage," by Justin Cronin.

This is apparently a 600 page horror novel, I found out today. All I know is that at 25% in, according to my fabulous Kindle, I don't care. I kind of care about one person, but I could give him up tomorrow for a better book.

I am interested in reading, "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake," because, well, it's a great title. As one who has equated food with love her whole life, I could weep over the title if I thought about it too long. Oh, wait...that's too much information for you, isn't it?

Anyway, with that, dear friends, I'm asking: what books have you read that you really cared about? What's your favorite book that you've read in the past year that you are glad you did?

I'm in need, gang!

-b

Irons, Fires and Custom Decorative Mirrors, Oh My!

I have a million irons in the fire. At least it feels like it, anyway. As a true Scorpio, I'm really great at getting something started, but finishing takes a little more discipline. No, all that glitters isn't gold, but it still glitters, and I like glitter, darn it.

One iron of late has been making decorative mirrors. Anytime I'd see one, I'd think, "How did they do that?" and when I start asking that question, you can pretty much bet that I'm seeing "glitter." I found everything I needed to know about getting started on the internet, read everything I could, and went to it. Here is one of my first tries:

So, while this is a bit time consuming, it's a nice creative thing to do while I'm trying to come up with new lyrics or melodies. You can imagine how excited I was when the owner of the brand new James Gang Company in Nashville offered to sell some of my work. We've already gotten a few mirrors hung in the "not so general general store," and I'm working on some others. This is so much fun!

Here's one of my favorites so far:

There are some cool green splashes throughout that are hard to photograph. I love it.

Here's one I made as a gift for owner, John Grimes:

And, yes, I forgot about photographing it till I was loading it in the car. Oops. Trust me, it looks amazing over the antique upright piano at the The James Gang Company store.

I'll let you know when John is officially open for business and maybe you can pop in sometime. Thanks for indulging me, friends.

-b