I heart INXS: Rock Star

I'm never proud of myself when I end up wasting time in front of the tube. I never got into Survivor or The Bachlorette. But I'm loving the reality TV show, INXS: Rock Star. These things always start off so innocently, I was channel surfing and caught an enthusiastic singer with a mohawk. Hmmm . . . it's that INXS show. I had heard that a bunch of Chicago talent had tried out for this show. I was a huge fangirl of INXS back in the day. I was madly in love with Michael Hutchence. He was just so sinewy, so sexy. He was feminine enough to draw the female crowd yet man enough to earn respect from men.


My personal favorite is Marty Casey. His acoustic version of Mr. Brightside was just awesome. I am so disappointed with myself for not seeing him perform sometime in the 14 years that I have lived in Chicago. Where the hell have I been? This is what I get for not hanging out in bars. I have a confession to make, I think he is really cute and now I have a silly fangirl crush. He has the saddest eyes and of course what a great voice and presence. He also seems like a really interesting person off-stage.

What also takes me aback is how supportive these rockers are of each other. Most of the time they really enjoy hanging together. Their attitudes are really inspiring. Wouldn't you just love to hang out with them and have dinner (maybe not J.D. but the rest of them) and talk about music all night? Ty's a great singer with a lot of confidence. Jordis is great too. On one hand Marty deserves to win yet I kinda wish he wouldn't so I can see him play with Lovehammers somewhere here in Chicago. This show always make me proclaim, "Damn I wish I could sing."

This is Me

This is a fancy photo taken at a work X-mas party. No, I don't dress like this everyday. It's downhill from here as far as any new posted photos. I like that it is sort of prom-ish. I never went to my prom. By the time I was a Senior I was so over high school. I grew up in Northwest Indiana where cow tipping is considered something fun to do on a Saturday night. I didn't want to spend money on prom and have bad mosticholli and dance to Journey's Open Arms, which was still considered a hit even like 10 years later according to those who actually like things like prom. On the night of my prom I went to a nightclub in Chicago with my pals called Medusa's. I wore this Cher like ensemble that I couldn't wear a bra with and it chaffed my boobs. Medusa's didn't serve booze but was a hit with the punk rockers and straightedgers.

My Latest

Ater the Pursuit of Strength series I was still fascinated with the human body and anatomy chart drawings especially. I feel like I'm always around them, at the gym they are plastered on every machine and at the plethera of doctors offices I'm in.

There is sort of a serene elegance to the poses. I started thinking about the heart and how I love the symbolism of the heart especially in Frida Kahlo's work. I also love heart tattoos and endearments like True Until Death. I wanted to capture a mix of beauty mixed with brutality. The idea of the heart with blood droplets forming a second heart came to me. Sort of like saying I love you so much that my heart does this when I see you.

I Can Draw Tippy!

This work is from my Pursuit of Strength series which dealt with my childhood experience with the growth disorder precocious adolescence. By definition, premature, or precocious, puberty is puberty that occurs before the ages of 8 in girls and 9 in boys. It is rare, occurring in about 6 of every 1,000 otherwise normal children. Children who develop premature puberty may initially be taller than their peers, but since their growth is likely to stop early, they may end up abnormally small. The premature development can lead to psychological problems. In some instances, the early puberty is hereditary and normal, as it was for me. More commonly, the premature development is due to an organic disorder.

By the age of four I started growing very fast. By the time I reached the second grade I grew nearly to adult height. Adults expected more of me because I looked so much older. I began to take on more responsibilities than my schoolmates, who were still playing in the sandbox. I was teased on a daily basis because of my “oddities.” It didn’t help that I was clinically hyperactive with learning disabilities. I felt as if I was from another planet. I could not wait to stop growing or eventually age into adulthood. I wanted nothing more than to be “normal.”

Two fighters struggle in the boxing ring. Opponent #1 is “the big girl,” who symbolizes the child I was while I was experiencing my growth disorder. Opponent #2 is the “little woman” who is myself as an adult. “The big girl” is dressed in the classic pink party dress. Facial features are diminished because even though this is my personal storytelling, struggle is universal. It is hard to tell who is going to win; the childhood pain seems everlasting and unbeatable. In the end they both win when I decide to respect both the girl and the woman.

Spin-off Reader Matches

Last fall I posted my profile on the Chicago Reader Matches Internet Dating site. I got a few interesting responses, mostly from Japanese business men. Anyway, I was thinking I should update my profile. A man recently wrote me and said that I should reconsider my dealbreaker of not dating men who golf. I suppose that is fair and really judgemental of me. So okay, I think golf is lame and boring but hey maybe I am not being open. The Reader only allows five words to create a dreamy headline that is suppose to grab the attention of my potential soulmate. Five Words!!! And only 100 for a profile. So I'm doing an alternative profile right here in my blog where absolutely no man will see it.

I'm Not the Type of Girlfriend That Needs to be Watered Every Day

(My other headline idea was: I'm a Carrie with a Charlotte Rising)

What I mean by that is I can go to a movie sans a man. I like and need a lot of alone time. I contradict myself a lot. I like Coltrane and . . . Tenacious D. I like camping and the opera. I'm both spiritual and sarcastic. I'll laugh at a SNL rerun with Stewart Smally yet I practice yoga. I cry at every Charlie Brown Holiday special.

Like the Diane Keaton character from Something Has Got To Give, I don't date well and I don't date often. I'm a very faithful girlfriend but I hate the phrase "settle down". I want to "settle up"! Settling down implies the attitude that you might as well put a fork in you because you are done. I want a man who inspires me that I can grow with and by grow I don't mean—wide. I'm committed to a healthy lifestyle. My morning protein shake is like a NASA science project.

I want what every woman wants—someone funny, smart, sensitive and attractive—ya know somebody I would actually want to make out with. I do believe that there are many nice guys out there but I'm just not attracted to them. Besides the golf thing, I'm not into guys who are Super Fans. No Chicago Da Bears action here. I'm the last girl that would ever be seen at a sports bar on Kareoke night singing something from the Bare Naked Ladies catelogue, which makes me something of a novelty here in good ole Chicago. I also have some more serious dealbreakers like racism, verbal abuse and I prefer to date men that do not have children.

Oh and I'm a Scorpio which means I'm deadly sexy.