More Attempts

Blogger seems to have Helvetica now! Excellent; except for the fact that I still haven't found a muse worthy of Trebuchet, let alone Helvetica. 

The reflective surface on my laptop screen caught my eye, however, and this was the result-

The lateral inversion being an obvious error.

One million long necks

It seems there's this person collecting one million giraffes to prove a point. Having pursued a similar project once involving sheep, I uploaded these doodles:

 

I should put up all the sheep I managed to get sometime. But my laziness gets in the way when I try. 

Once Again

I've come to a new year with a fewer number of posts to urge me on, this time from considerable admonishment from others on this blogroll. So, here goes my first excuse- I was busy. No, I don't mean that in the "I'm too lazy to blog" or the "I'm supposed to be doing work" kind of way. I mean that in the "I have been working my tiny behind off on a lot of things and just couldn't get around to post, or anything to write about" kind of way. Until about two weeks ago when I became utterly jobless. But come, I've forgiven myself for the lack of attention to the blog (haha), and have got down to typing furiously again.

First, Happy New Year. Personally, it's more of a good riddance to the last, but at least that part starts off with a positive-sounding "good". Since I am one of those people who make goals every year and break them by the first week, I've decided to read more, blog more, draw more and finish the painting I started a year and a half ago. Aish gave me this nice little A5 sketchbook to urge me on the third.  I've no excuses on that front anymore.

In other news, I saw Avtar yesterday. The plot seemed like a mix of Tarzan, Pocahontas and Warcraft III, really; you have the civilized people trying to claim the resources of the savages, renegade civilized man that falls in love with the Chief's daughter (who listens to the spirits, too), seen as betrayer by both clans... and is a trapeze artist with vines in the forest (eventually). There's mother willow/Eywa /the world tree... ah, did I forget to alert you for spoilers? Never mind, I've done it now. So in the end you have a criticism of colonization and guns. I wish they'd detailed the taming of the Toruk, though... the movie's effects were undeniably brilliant.

After a badly-structured and very random set of statements I call a post, I'll sign off.

Unbridled

And I'm back to post, besides having drawn something fairly complete after a very long time. Done in charcoal in a bout of enforced sleeplessness while trying not to torture people awake at ungodly hours to keep me company (I think I failed there). I had no particular inspiration to draw this piece, it was more of an attemt to force myself back to my pencil having lost the feel of it for quite a while, and the high I reached at 3 in the morning having completed it made me conclude that the inspiration is in the blank sheet of paper that cries out to be conquered and the pencil that so teases you with its pretentious compliance.

I cannot do without something which is greater than I am, which is my life, the power to create.

-Vincent Van Gogh

Not bad at all

I am referring of course to the Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women that figures they would like to send pink underwear in protest against violent attacks against women in pubs and threats of moral policing on Valentine's. Naturally, anything peaceful in protest against conservatism would gain my unflinching support, even something as perfectly obnoxious as couriering pink underwear. Not to mention going ahead with any Vday plans, knowing fully well that marriages (allegedly to be performed according to Hindu rites by priests prowling the streets with mangal sutras) where consent is obtained by force are voidable, at any rate.The threat of violence may be harder to avoid; I've heard that there are suggestions of taking advantage of this moral policing in order to get married where the couples' families are uncompromising.

Did I also mention that I love Amul? They always manage to get the best ad campaigns up in context and this time round havecome up with ads in support of the pink chaddi brigade. Amul will always have my loyalty for aye (coming to think of it, I've always liked their products anyway.) Meanwhile, college has its own box for contributions; they've stated unequivocally that we could put in anything wrapped in a polythene bag, from chaddis to contraceptives, anything that right conservatives disapprove of are welcome.


Meanwhile, I'm curious. How many forced marriages will Vday see? Bangalore police stations welcomed eloping couples and married them as long as they were of a marrigeable age and registered them; what will they do when faced by right wing brigands forcing a couple to tie the knot? Indeed, what of dating teenagers? [Though I recently came across a statistic that gave the average age of marriage of Indians as the minimum age of marriage. Freaky.]


Happy Valentine's y'all, and lots of love.

Highs

Wistful

Delusional

Playfulness and Caprice

Enamoured and Bewitched

Flames. 

Eye!

The problem with drawing yourself is that you can either begin to love or hate yourself, or in my case, a little bit of both.