Shirley's Mind Grapes

Shirley's Mind Grapes

The answers to questions nobody asked

draw

Dailies 12/13/13

Dailies 12/13/13

Daily Doodle: Puppy Flip Flops

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Song of the Day: I Started a Joke by the Bee Gees

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq6YmSVAOG8

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m strumming on an acoustic guitar hooked up to an amp. At the end of a stanza I strum the pick slightly forward as I go down the strings and look up for the cue to start up again.

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Blurb 1/365: If I ever get famous or have a reason to be on a talk show like The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, firstly, I’d have to pinch myself to make sure it was real, and secondly, I’d be sure to sit like a normal person would. I wouldn’t slouch or anything, but I would sit normally where a normal stomach pooch would naturally stick out. I have seen one too many interviews with men and women sitting at the edge of a seat, looking like they need to pee or poo, all seemingly to keep their tummy from sticking out. Not only does it make them appear awkward, I end up looking at their stomachs being sucked in and thinking about it more than I would if they had just sat like a normal person. There shouldn’t be so much pressure on people in the public eye to look like mannequins. Shoooot, mannequins shouldn’t be looking like that either.

Dailies 12/11/13

Dailies 12/11/13

Daily Doodle: Rook Castle

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Song of the Day: Do Right Woman, Do Right Man by Aretha Franklin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhdgFfNsst0

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m playing the organ on the raised back part of a stage. I’m wearing a white button-down shirt and a reddish maroon vest with pea green and yellow undertones on the lining with matching pants.

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Blurb 1/365: I have this bad habit of picking at and peeling the skin around the tips of my fingers. I consider it a step up from my bad habit of scratching my eczema to shreds. Seriously, my hands were just big open wounds of moderate to severe levels over a span of 10 years. I’ve realized that some of my fingertips are smoothing out from the constant picking, almost like a callous, like Marge Simpsons’s quilting finger.

So now sometimes I feel like Kevin Spacey’s character in Seven because I’m losing my fingerprints. It’s kind of cool.

Dailies 12/10/13

Dailies 12/10/13

Daily Doodle: “Aaaaeeeyyy!”

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Song of the Day: Donna by Ritchie Valens

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMcHbh6HBDk

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Musical Pipe Dream: On a small stage, I’m singing lead into a bulbous, shiny microphone and strumming an electric guitar. I’m wearing a fitted, black suit with pencil pants that show a bit of my ankle which contrasts from my black, pointed-toe, high-heeled pumps. All the Donnas in the audience are swooning over me.

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Blurb1/365:

Dear Peanut Butter on Toast,

Thanks for being there to comfort me when I get home.

Sincerely,

Auntie Pesto

Dailies 12/09/13

Dailies 12/09/13

Daily Doodle: Link Pajamas

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Song of the Day: Sixteen Tons

by Merle Travis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pfVvqLM_e4

and as performed by Tennessee Ernie Ford

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRh0QiXyZSk

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m slappin a bass. My posture is bent over with my butt sticking out. I’m really into the beat and nodding my head and two-stepping to the beat.

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Blurb 1/365: There is so much beautiful music out there, I just thought it was a good time to say that I’m thankful for my ears and my brain.

Dailies 12/07/13

Dailies 12/07/13

Daily Doodle: Homage to the Tipsy Penguin

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Song of the Day: We’ll Meet Again by Dame Vera Lynn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqA5IJPEONY

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m playing percussion with a big band. We’re all wearing white tuxedos with black bow ties and lapels. We’re performing for a large group of people who start to sing along. Some people have their arms around each other and are swaying back and forth, some are patting their knee to the beat, some have tears in their eyes.

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Blurb 1/365: Gathering my instruments: a plastic bag, a stick, and a Meowsic keyboard.

Dailies 12/06/13

Dailies 12/06/13

Daily Doodle: Exhale

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Song of the Day: The Hole by The Soul of John Black

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMQwgngbhlk

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m chillin in a quiet corner of a small venue, enjoying the music and remembering when I decided to change my life.

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Blurb 1/365: Today I felt like remembering back on the first day I started dailies. I made a commitment to at least draw one thing everyday for a year. Every other day before this, I’d wish that I would do something creative but end up sleeping or loafing instead, blame the fact that I worked too many long hours and didn’t have time, be angry that nobody wanted to pay me money for my good ideas.

The truth is that even if I had people to listen to my good ideas, all the time in the world, less stress, nobody would see what I wanted to share if I didn’t do something about it.

My first drawing shows that I have my certain style and quirky ideas, but I didn’t have any practice at all. Drawings took me 2 hours and the end product looked labored. I love those first drawings but I also love how much quicker I’ve gotten and also not obsessing over every line and its width and the exact girth of a chubby circle. The first big step was posting something that I wasn’t 100% proud of. If I waited for that, I probably still wouldn’t have posted anything.

I love music and picking songs of the day and imagining being part of them has opened my mind to touch instruments and just play around with sounds. I could invest in lessons, but I really don’t have the money or the time to commit to practicing. I realize now that doesn’t mean I can’t make music. Though I won’t profess to be a professional by any means, ha.

My first Daily Doodle & Blurb: Me at Chipotle.

My first Song of the Day & Musical Pipe Dream: The Hole by The Soul of John Black with me imagining I’m singing backup and playing the drums.

That song is really awesome and I can’t recall how I came upon it. Maybe a recommendation from a friend, or maybe I was looking up all of the intro songs from The Wire. I dunno, but I think it has significance.

I spent time in a dark place of my own and I think I needed to be there and avoid doing anything creative possibly for me to realize how good it feels to now share what’s inside of my head. Sometimes I go back to dark places, that’s my business and I don’t think it’s all that unhealthy. We can’t be in sunshine all the time. The good thing is that instead of choosing to be happy, I just am. And when things get tough, I can actually make the choice not to be angry.

It may be mellow dramatic to feel like this, but I think doing dailies has changed my life. I’m being myself more and more everyday.

On my journey to mid-March 2014, there’s a detour down Memory Lane:

http://auntiepesto.tumblr.com/post/45090895822/dailies-03-10-13

Dailies 12/04/13

Dailies 12/04/13

Daily Doodle: Red Roof

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Song of the Day: Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder) by Maxwell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y91V1iDmNto

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m wearing a black party dress with a small hat that has accented netting. The skirt of the dress is puffy and ends at my knees. My stockings are red and my shoes are black suede. I’m wearing bright red lipstick and grooving with my elbows tucked in slightly above my waist. I’m singing backup for the hook.

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Blurb 1/365: Animal Crossing is kind of like eXistenZ. I saw one of the animals walk by another animal’s house and look through the window. I was like, “Should I call the police?”