Wow, time flies. I haven't touched this thing in ages. What's new?
1) Exercise. I know it's only been one month, but I'm sticking to my New Year's resolution of keeping more active :) I'm trying a weekly yoga class, although it's not going so well. It's way harder on my back than I had imagined. It's a beginner Iyengard yoga class, but it clips along at a pace faster than I can manage half the time. When the classes are over, I won't be signing up for the next session. I'm also jumping back on the elliptical trainer for a bit of cardio. The main drag about that is that it's located in my ugly basement, so there's nothing interesting to look at. I much prefer to be outside. I have been going on the occasional walk in Fish Creek Park, which is great, but I can't get my heart rate up without breaking into a jog. Jogging more than a block squishes my herniated disc too much. Even doing the elliptical two days in a row is bad for my back. I found this great video on YouTube by Alain Gonzalez. He demonstrated 4 easy exercises you can do at home to build up your deltoids. I'm going to do that. I just bought a new sleeveless dress, so I gotta shape up the arms! I also bought a Groupon recently for some sessions at a local dance studio. Me dancing? What a (disastrous) sight that would be. I'm a terrible dancer. They've also got fitness classes, so I hope to try the abs and buns one. I'll join when we get back from holidays.
2) Upcoming Holiday. This will be different from our usual escape to child-friendly all-inclusives. We are spending 8 days in Arizona and Nevada. We're flying into Phoenix and will be spending a few days in the Scottsdale area. We hope to see some museums, botanical gardens, Old Town Scottsdale, the Apache Trail and do some outlet shopping. Then we'll head up to Sedona and stop at all the sites along the way. The Grand Canyon will be our final Arizona destination before we drive to Las Vegas for a few days. We're not gamblers, but just want to take in the sites along the strip. We're staying at Treasure Island, and have tickets for the Cirque du Soleil show, Mystere, one evening.
3) Writing. I've wanted to write a Fun Trivia* quiz on Jean-Michel Basquiat for a while now. About a year ago I saw Tamra Davis's documentary, "Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child", and was absolutely fascinated. I had heard of him many years ago because of his association with Andy Warhol, and was curious about him back then. Then the movie about him came out, but I never did get around to seeing it for some reason. Finally, this documentary fell into my lap and revitalized my curiosity. I still needed to know more about him, however, so I searched hard for a biography. On Amazon.com I found a used copy of Phoebe Hoban's "Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art". It was packed with details about the art world and satisfied my interest in the man. I had hastily deleted the film off my PVR though, and wished I hadn't. The film came on TV again recently so I recorded it again. After viewing it for a second time and taking some notes, I think I will now go ahead and write the quiz. I need to revisit the biography again first, as it's been about a year since I read it. Sometimes when my quiz writing has lain dormant, I get suddenly inspired to write one again. In most cases it's such a laborious process. I'm not a talented writer who can just whip something off quickly. I usually study the subject in depth first, unless I already know everything about the topic. Anyway, there is only one other quiz written about JMB on the entire site, so I think he deserves another contribution. Trying to think of appealing questions for an artist most people know nothing about will be challenging. I know writing this will feel like homework, but I feel like I absolutely have to do it. RIP JMB, you were truly a genius.
*Fun Trivia is an international trivia website, filled with games and quizzes. I am a contributor to the database of quizzes on the site.
