<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007</id><updated>2011-09-14T07:34:58.541-07:00</updated><category term='escher'/><category term='stairs'/><category term='oxymorons'/><category term='Rome'/><category term='birds'/><category term='ascending and descending'/><category term='Italy'/><category term='impossible'/><category term='Europe'/><category term='doves'/><category term='reminders'/><title type='text'>{dolchessa}</title><subtitle type='html'>Bits and pieces that may be good, bad, 
or just plain random.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>18</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-1708270607403702784</id><published>2008-12-31T22:56:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-31T23:01:23.959-08:00</updated><title type='text'>New Project - AIR</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://air.dynalias.com/air"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 236px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/SVxp303SyoI/AAAAAAAAABQ/xB9R4g0e7dE/s400/Air+screenie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286216470430403202" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a title="Air" href="http://air.dynalias.com/air" mce_href="http://air.dynalias.com/air" target="_self"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a title="Air" href="http://air.dynalias.com/air" mce_href="http://air.dynalias.com/air" target="_self"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a title="Air" href="http://air.dynalias.com/air" mce_href="http://air.dynalias.com/air" target="_self"&gt;http://air.dynalias.com/air&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;My ongoing work on a novel =)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;(Yes, aspiring novelists are like lawyers...never in short supply of them)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-1708270607403702784?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/1708270607403702784/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=1708270607403702784' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/1708270607403702784'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/1708270607403702784'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/12/new-project-air.html' title='New Project - AIR'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/SVxp303SyoI/AAAAAAAAABQ/xB9R4g0e7dE/s72-c/Air+screenie.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-4696968947032518048</id><published>2008-10-07T23:02:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-10-08T19:46:57.807-07:00</updated><title type='text'>New Blog!</title><content type='html'>Head's up!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I created a new blog, &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Etat d'Esprit&lt;/span&gt; ! (means "frame of mind" but "state of mind" literally)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It features an array of topics, from weird but interesting things to, yes, literature (of course) but current events as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You can check it now at: &lt;a href="http://etatesprit.wordpress.com/"&gt;http://etatesprit.wordpress.com/&lt;/a&gt; and thanks =D&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-4696968947032518048?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/4696968947032518048/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=4696968947032518048' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/4696968947032518048'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/4696968947032518048'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-blog.html' title='New Blog!'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-6224725273231254645</id><published>2008-01-22T20:26:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-22T20:29:58.079-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Incredible Hand Paintings</title><content type='html'>Guido Daniele (I do believe he's Italian) is a bodypainter who creates extraordinary art using hands and other body parts. He mainly creates animals here, but he does numerous other things as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Link:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Guido Daniele - Official Website with Pictures: &lt;a href="http://www.guidodaniele.com/bodypaint01.htm"&gt;http://www.guidodaniele.com/bodypaint01.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Examples:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://frontier.dreamhost.com/0hand1.jpg"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://frontier.dreamhost.com/0hand4.jpg"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://frontier.dreamhost.com/0hand7.jpg"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://frontier.dreamhost.com/0hand3.jpg"&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-6224725273231254645?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/6224725273231254645/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=6224725273231254645' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/6224725273231254645'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/6224725273231254645'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/01/incredible-hand-paintings.html' title='Incredible Hand Paintings'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-3287680308305051981</id><published>2008-01-22T19:09:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-22T19:25:23.060-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Lego Artist</title><content type='html'>Okay, so I know that there's already some Lego artists out there right now, but this dude has got to be one of the best.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He's Nathan Sawaya, and he's a dude who obviously has a lot of time on his hands. (Which isn't a bad thing. Dunno about you, but I would personally kill to have more than just 24 hours a day) According to the article at CNN.com I read, he's already traveled the US doing exhibitions. (Nathan also apparently built a functioning air conditioner once.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nathan makes a living out of his Lego art, with some pieces selling for tens of thousands of dollars.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Links:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;CNN Full Article: &lt;a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/05/31/lego.artist/index.html"&gt;http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/05/31/lego.artist/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blogzine with Pictures: &lt;a href="http://haha.nu/amazing/nathan-sawaya-the-lego-artist-2"&gt;http://haha.nu/amazing/nathan-sawaya-the-lego-artist-2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some of my personal favourites:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2289/2136549044_b8a7500d20_o.jpg"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2037/2136548148_2b06964e72_o.jpg"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2073/2136548610_113ec8e262_o.jpg"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2072/2135768991_ea268517a1_o.jpg"&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-3287680308305051981?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/3287680308305051981/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=3287680308305051981' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/3287680308305051981'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/3287680308305051981'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/01/lego-artist.html' title='Lego Artist'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-1364945998475935677</id><published>2008-01-13T16:40:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-13T16:55:59.381-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Bent Objects</title><content type='html'>The cool guy who creates these photos, Terry, has, in my opinion, a brilliant sense of humour, art, and originality.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What he does is he takes these little, everyday objects such as paperclips, pieces of wire, fruit, mini hourglasses, toilet paper rolls, etc., and assembles them into these fantastic scenes, which he photographs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blogger Link: &lt;a href="http://www.bentobjects.blogspot.com/"&gt;http://www.bentobjects.blogspot.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Examples:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;A Slight Chemical Imbalance&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_viHEhhBk2WY/RzPS7a1GGUI/AAAAAAAAAn4/zkkPKKXxTUw/s400/Chemical-Imbalancefinal.jpg" /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Just One of Those Days&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_viHEhhBk2WY/R2BPwEFlieI/AAAAAAAAAqo/FOoUd8HhGbQ/s400/Bad-Day.gif" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Prehistoric Citrus Were Very Clever Hunters&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_viHEhhBk2WY/R4XmJCkrCNI/AAAAAAAAAr4/y26tq6thYLU/s400/banana-splits.gif" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Italian Food Is Serious Business&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_viHEhhBk2WY/R2YIbfdZY_I/AAAAAAAAAq4/5-0QeQWSyRk/s400/with-sauce-web.gif" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Chained To His Desk&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_viHEhhBk2WY/Rx03Ov5hFII/AAAAAAAAAmM/UsFXDWmcNCY/s400/chained+to+his+desk.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;This Chap Sticks The Landing&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_viHEhhBk2WY/R0o4BSLK8NI/AAAAAAAAApo/5WGvppyzAUE/s400/finalchapstickweb.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I loved them so much I installed a little feed widget on the left-hand side of this page =D&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-1364945998475935677?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/1364945998475935677/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=1364945998475935677' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/1364945998475935677'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/1364945998475935677'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/01/bent-objects.html' title='Bent Objects'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_viHEhhBk2WY/RzPS7a1GGUI/AAAAAAAAAn4/zkkPKKXxTUw/s72-c/Chemical-Imbalancefinal.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-4631163792534307799</id><published>2008-01-13T14:37:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-13T15:07:47.159-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Surrealism by Vladimir Kush &amp; Jacek Yerka</title><content type='html'>Examples of works by Vladimir Kush (Page 2 link located at the bottom of the pictures, above the response posts): &lt;a href="http://www.zuzafun.com/surreal-paintings-of-vladimir-kush"&gt;http://www.zuzafun.com/surreal-paintings-of-vladimir-kush&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Examples of works by Jacek Yerka: &lt;a href="http://www.zuzafun.com/surreal-paintings-of-jacek-yerka"&gt;http://www.zuzafun.com/surreal-paintings-of-jacek-yerka&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Official Website of Vladimir Kush: (all works plus description with most): &lt;a href="http://www.vladimirkush.com/"&gt;http://www.vladimirkush.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Vladimir Kush&lt;/span&gt; is a Russian-born surrealism painter and sculptor who refers to his work as metaphorical realism. I, however, refer to his work as inspired by Dali with a touch of Margitte, plus a whole lot of brilliant and creative work. Some examples:&lt;center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/2750/coolestpictureillusion2bi9.jpg" /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6426/coolestpictureillusion5ac5.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5462/coolestpictureillusion6nc1.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/3791/coolestpictureillusion1oz9.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5488/coolestpictureillusion1ko9.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/3866/coolestpictureillusion4ds7.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5756/coolestpictureillusion3st1.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/3986/coolestpictureillusion2fj5.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/9893/redpursecj4.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/5254/oceansproutan2.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6508/keyslb3.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/1942/startargetmm9.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There are also some pretty impressive surrealism by Jacek Yerka as well, like below...&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/8066/jacekyerka12sx8.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/9701/jacekyerka09fm9.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/3425/jacekyerka07hb7.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9486/jacekyerka20wk6.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/8258/jacekyerka06yw7.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/9676/79541572ct1.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/9419/83027036fx7.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/5236/73774458qy8.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-4631163792534307799?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/4631163792534307799/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=4631163792534307799' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/4631163792534307799'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/4631163792534307799'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/01/surrealism-by-vladimir-kush-jacek-yerka.html' title='Surrealism by Vladimir Kush &amp; Jacek Yerka'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-1911622973505933085</id><published>2008-01-13T14:29:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-13T15:06:11.797-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Eyescapes</title><content type='html'>Link: &lt;a href="http://www.art-dept.com/artists/rankin/portfolio/specialprojects/eyescapes/portfolio.html"&gt;http://www.art-dept.com/artists/rankin/portfolio/specialprojects/eyescapes/portfolio.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There's no words, just large pictures of differently-coloured irises. o_O&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It looks kind of disturbing at first, like they're all staring at you or something (which I guess they are) but then you look more closely at it and it's very...fascinating.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Who could have guessed that eyes were so interesting?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some examples: &lt;center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.art-dept.com/artists/rankin/portfolio/specialprojects/images/Eye%20Scapes%20-%2001.jpg" /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.art-dept.com/artists/rankin/portfolio/specialprojects/images/Eye%20Scapes%20-%2003.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.art-dept.com/artists/rankin/portfolio/specialprojects/images/Eye%20Scapes%20-%2007.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.art-dept.com/artists/rankin/portfolio/specialprojects/images/Eye%20Scapes%20-%2015.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.art-dept.com/artists/rankin/portfolio/specialprojects/images/Eye%20Scapes%20-%2010.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.art-dept.com/artists/rankin/portfolio/specialprojects/images/Eye%20Scapes%20-%2008.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.art-dept.com/artists/rankin/portfolio/specialprojects/images/Eye%20Scapes%20-%2016.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-1911622973505933085?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/1911622973505933085/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=1911622973505933085' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/1911622973505933085'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/1911622973505933085'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/01/eyescapes.html' title='Eyescapes'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-500999591596268385</id><published>2008-01-13T14:22:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-13T14:29:07.620-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Fat Fingers</title><content type='html'>Link: &lt;a href="http://fatfingers.com/"&gt;http://fatfingers.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What this is, basically, you type in what you're looking for on eBay here, and it automatically looks it up for you with that spelling plus, like, 30 more possible wrong spellings of that word.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For example, if you look up, say, &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Tiffany &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;(as in the popular jewelry company)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, then it looks up all these spellings as well:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Tiffamy,Tiffaby,Tifgany,Tigfany,Tifdany,Tidfany,Tiffsny,Toffany,Tuffany,Tiffanu,Tiffant,Yiffany,Riffany,Tiffiny,Taffany,Tiffann,Tiffaay,Tifffny,Tiifany,TTffany,Tiffanyy,Tiffanny,Tiffaany,Tifffany,Tifffany,Tiiffany,TTiffany,Tiffa ny,Tiff any,Tif fany,Ti ffany,T iffany,Tiffayn,Tiffnay,Tifafny,Tfifany&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And the result is tons of items on eBay that not many people bid on because there's a spelling mistake. Apparently it's supposed to save you a lot of money too.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-500999591596268385?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/500999591596268385/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=500999591596268385' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/500999591596268385'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/500999591596268385'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/01/fat-fingers.html' title='Fat Fingers'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-30560586668819767</id><published>2008-01-13T14:20:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-13T14:21:53.331-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Some Useful Condescending Phrases</title><content type='html'>One word: Ouch...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Link: http://marvin.ibest.uidaho.edu/~heckendo/usefulPhrases.html&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   1.  Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.&lt;br /&gt;   2. The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.&lt;br /&gt;   3. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.&lt;br /&gt;   4. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.&lt;br /&gt;   5. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't care.&lt;br /&gt;   6. I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.&lt;br /&gt;   7. What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?&lt;br /&gt;   8. I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.&lt;br /&gt;   9. I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.&lt;br /&gt;  10. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.&lt;br /&gt;  11. It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off.&lt;br /&gt;  12. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.&lt;br /&gt;  13. No, my powers can only be used for good.&lt;br /&gt;  14. How about never? Is never good for you?&lt;br /&gt;  15. I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.&lt;br /&gt;  16. You sound reasonable...Time to up my medication.&lt;br /&gt;  17. I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.&lt;br /&gt;  18. I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...&lt;br /&gt;  19. I don't work here. I'm a consultant.&lt;br /&gt;  20. Who me? I just wander from room to room.&lt;br /&gt;  21. My toys! My toys! I can't do this job without my toys!&lt;br /&gt;  22. It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level I'm really quite busy.&lt;br /&gt;  23. At least I have a positive attitude about my destructive habits.&lt;br /&gt;  24. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.&lt;br /&gt;  25. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.&lt;br /&gt;  26. Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-30560586668819767?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/30560586668819767/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=30560586668819767' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/30560586668819767'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/30560586668819767'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/01/some-useful-condescending-phrases.html' title='Some Useful Condescending Phrases'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-8103634309204481121</id><published>2008-01-13T14:17:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-13T15:04:21.471-08:00</updated><title type='text'>500 Random Facts</title><content type='html'>Only the first 31 are posted here...I doubt anybody will have the time tor read all 500 in one go lol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here's the link for the rest: http://www.djtech.net/humor/useless_facts.htm&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1.  Most American car horns honk in the key of F.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2.  The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3.  Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4.  Every time you lick a stamp, you consume 1/10 of a calorie.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;5.  The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;6.   Studies show that if a cat falls off the seventh floor of a building it has about thirty percent less chance of surviving than a cat that falls off the twentieth floor. It supposedly takes about eight floors for the cat to realize what is occurring, relax and correct itself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;7.   Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every 2 weeks otherwise it will digest itself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;8.   The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; '7' was selected after the original 7-ounce containers and 'UP' for the direction of the bubbles.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;9.  101 Dalmatians, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and Mulan are the only Disney cartoons where both parents are present and don't die throughout the movie.  .&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10.  A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;11.  'Stewardesses' is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;12.  To escape the grip of a crocodile's jaws, push your thumbs into its eyeballs - it will let you go instantly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;13.  Reindeer like to eat bananas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;14.  No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver and purple.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;15.  The word "samba" means "to rub navels together."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;16.  Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;17.  The electric chair was invented by a dentist.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;18.  The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II Killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;19.   More people are killed annually by donkeys than airplane crashes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;20.   A 'jiffy' is a unit of time for 1/100th of a second.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;21.  A whale's penis is called a dork.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;22.   Because of the rotation of the earth, an object can be thrown farther if it is thrown west.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;23.   The average person spends 6 months of their life sitting at red lights.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;24.   In 1912 a law passed in Nebraska where drivers in the country at night were required to stop every 150 yards, send up a skyrocket, wait eight minutes for the road to clear before proceeding cautiously, all the while blowing their horn and shooting off flares.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;25.   More Monopoly money is printed in a year, than real money throughout the world.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;26.   Caesar salad has nothing to do with any of the Caesars. It was first concocted in a bar in Tijuana, Mexico, in the 1920's.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;27.   One quarter of the bones in your body are in your feet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;28.   Crocodiles and alligators are surprisingly fast on land.  Although they are rapid, they are not agile.  So, if being chased by one, run in a zigzag line to lose him or her.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;29.   Seattle’s Fremont Bridge rises up and down more than any drawbridge in the world.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;30.   Right-handed people live, on average; nine years longer than left handed people.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;31. Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the sale of vodka.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-8103634309204481121?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/8103634309204481121/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=8103634309204481121' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/8103634309204481121'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/8103634309204481121'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/01/500-random-facts.html' title='500 Random Facts'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-7976545913809801967</id><published>2008-01-13T13:57:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-13T14:15:29.095-08:00</updated><title type='text'>StumbleUpon - Procrastinator Heaven!</title><content type='html'>Okay so I recently installed a Firefox add-on called &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;StumbleUpon&lt;/span&gt; and, I gotta say, &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;I love it!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What it does is you sign up (really quick) and it shows you lists of tons of subjects like Fine Arts, Creative Writing, Knitting, Autos, Opera...the list goes on and on. Then you tick all the boxes that interest you, and every time you click the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Stumble!&lt;/span&gt; button on your Firefox toolbar, it leads to random website about one or more of the subjects you said you were interested in.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(Also, it adds your own website to the StumbleUpon list for a small fee if you want too...Increases your traffic substantially, or so I've heard.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I tell you, it's perfect for procrastinators, a.k.a. yours truly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I will be posting interesting things I found when &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Stumbling&lt;/span&gt; soon.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are the links for &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;StumbleUpon&lt;/span&gt; :&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Main Website: &lt;a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/"&gt;http://www.stumbleupon.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To download Firefox &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;(IE version available on main website)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; add-on: &lt;a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/138"&gt;https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/138&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-7976545913809801967?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/7976545913809801967/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=7976545913809801967' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/7976545913809801967'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/7976545913809801967'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2008/01/stumbleupon-procrastinator-heaven.html' title='StumbleUpon - Procrastinator Heaven!'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-2681136623246122482</id><published>2007-12-23T20:06:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-23T20:11:11.231-08:00</updated><title type='text'>the Elusive</title><content type='html'>This could be something else.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is the means to deliver groundbreaking news a nanosecond before they mutter, "Well, this is awkward..."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is pinning the horseshoe upside-down and getting the devil to hold in your luck anyway.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is watching Romeo kneel under Juliet's balcony, and not calling it teenage stupidity, but rather raging hormones and some sort of medieval crack, as a person who shall remain anonymous once said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is the genius who said that of course the chicken came before the egg, because eggs obviously can't have sex.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is the battered heap of winnings slowly collected through time, and then suddenly gone, all gone, in a great gamble of cruel luck.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This means scratching out the fine line (if there ever was one) between the bold and the insane.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is something else.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-2681136623246122482?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/2681136623246122482/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=2681136623246122482' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/2681136623246122482'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/2681136623246122482'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2007/12/elusive.html' title='the Elusive'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-3993212623069059217</id><published>2007-12-21T20:39:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-21T22:11:19.841-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='birds'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='doves'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='impossible'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='escher'/><title type='text'>Escher's Birds</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/R2yqfRFuXtI/AAAAAAAAAAk/VEgHS7zXy9Q/s1600-h/harris.gif"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/R2yqfRFuXtI/AAAAAAAAAAk/VEgHS7zXy9Q/s400/harris.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146675928317714130" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/R2yqfRFuXuI/AAAAAAAAAAs/zP9XlsKGAyw/s1600-h/relativity.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/R2yqfRFuXuI/AAAAAAAAAAs/zP9XlsKGAyw/s400/relativity.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146675928317714146" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Neighbours have always found Auntie Lara to be a tad...well, odd. Some people claim it is her eccentric personality, and others say it’s more those ridiculous hats she always wears. Auntie Lara jokes around about it a lot, saying that she got lost in a garden maze once when she was little and have never been the same since. I didn’t really get it. &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;The day I came to visit, she was dressed in a lime-green sweater and an ivory-coloured gypsy skirt sewn with silver beads and miniature mirrors, which made it clank and jangle merrily every time she moved. As usual, there was a stuffed dove, bright orange this time, perched on top of her straw bonnet.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;                &lt;/span&gt;“Kat, darling, it’s so good to see you!” Auntie Lara gushed, enveloping me in her soft, thick arms. I stammered out a passable reply and she herded me into her house, chattering animatedly all the while. Everything went in one ear and out the other though, because her house was like an art museum: Every single whitewashed wall was crammed with newspaper clippings, photocopied images from books, and random complicated-looking doodles scribbled on torn-out pieces of scrap paper. Each picture glued, tacked and taped to the walls seemed to be all somehow alike in their peculiarity. Staring closely at the picture closest to where I was standing, I noticed some very strange and quite impossible details. Labelled &lt;i style=""&gt;Relativity&lt;/i&gt;, there were 16 faceless figures, all upright, left-leaning, or right-leaning. It was as if three kinds of gravity existed at the same time, and the little figures lived in their own world, oblivious to the sideways and upside-down people around them. There were also three gardens and five stairs that were even odder than the people: They were, like the people, tilted, but a few of them also had stairs on their undersides as well! One staircase had an upright person climbing it on one side, yet a left-leaning person was descending on the other side at the same time.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;                &lt;/span&gt;“Ah, I see you enjoy Escher’s art too!” Auntie Lara said happily, pricking my balloon of thought.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;                &lt;/span&gt;“Er...who?” I asked.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;                &lt;/span&gt;“M.C. Escher, darling. He was a &lt;i style=""&gt;most&lt;/i&gt; intriguing Dutch artist who liked to bend the rules of art to create impossible things,” she offered enthusiastically, eyes sparkling. “I find his works quite &lt;i style=""&gt;fascinating&lt;/i&gt;, as you can see.” Laughing, Auntie Lara gestured to the art-laden kitchen walls around us.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;                &lt;/span&gt;“Now, would you like to see your room?”&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Webdings;"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;---&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;The wallpaper in my room was, of course, unusual. Snow-white birds entangled in curling shoots of ivy twined loosely with large bunches of leaves that somehow managed to look like miniature bird wings. No part of the picture was exactly alike, and it was easy to get lost among the swirling haze of white and green.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;There was something missing on the wall that faced the bed. I couldn’t figure it out at first, but then it hit me like that time in Phys Ed. when someone smacked my forehead with a dodgeball: There was just another tangle of greenery where another bird should have been. When I pointed this out to Auntie Lara, she simply shrugged and raised an eyebrow. &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;                &lt;/span&gt;That night as I lay asleep, I dreamt of Escher’s birds on my wallpaper. Cooing softly (they were apparently doves), they led me away with a soft rustle of their feathers. We were drifting over an impossible world, Escher’s world, where double-sided staircases and multiple gravities were the norm. As we flew over the strange scenes below us, the bizarre became even more bizarre. Bird people, insect curl-ups with a dozen pairs of feet, contrasting viewpoints from a dangerously tall building, hundreds of wild tessellations, reptiles coming to life from paper, drawn hands drawing themselves, fish in fish scales, magic mirrors, reflective spheres, neverending stairs, impossible architecture, and tribars, and running dwarves, and falling water going the wrong way...&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;                &lt;/span&gt;Images spun around my mind like a carousel going a hundred miles an hour, and were whipped away, only to be replaced by another one in an eternal dance of the kind of reality so rare and deadly that you can afford to live it only in your dreams.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Webdings;"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;---&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;With a start, I woke up in a cold sweat panting in my now-twisted covers. Sitting up, I noticed that my hands were ice-cold, as if a freezing wind had struck at it for the entire night.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Glancing around the simple room filled with sunshine streaming in through the window, my eyes fell upon the part of the wallpaper with a missing bird. I nearly choked on my morning spit.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Another one of Escher’s birds was missing.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Leaping out of bed, mind whirling with impossible possibilities, I stumbled across room and stared at the two empty spaces. Resting my elbows on the smooth wooden top of the dresser in front of the doves, I felt my bare skin brush against something soft and delicate.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;A single snow-white feather.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;---&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Image #1 - inspired by an illustration from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Image #2 - &lt;/span&gt;Relativity&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt; by M.C. Escher&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-3993212623069059217?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/3993212623069059217/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=3993212623069059217' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/3993212623069059217'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/3993212623069059217'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2007/12/eschers-birds.html' title='Escher&apos;s Birds'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/R2yqfRFuXtI/AAAAAAAAAAk/VEgHS7zXy9Q/s72-c/harris.gif' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-579456601960954785</id><published>2007-12-20T21:10:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-20T21:38:10.769-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Dear Diary...</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;I think since the first time I poured out my heart on paper, I've kept at least 6 different diaries, all no doubt crammed with childish secrets ("I didn't make my bed today...I hope Mom doesn't notice!"), typical teenage ravings (OMGG HE IS SOOO HOT), and random scatterings of philosophical musings here and there (I bet the person who said 'step on a crack, break your mother's back' didn't have a mother. Or a father. Heck, he was a heartless orphan).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Everybody should have kept a diary once in his/her life. It's like a mandatory STOP! square on the board game of Life. If you didn't buy one, then somebody must have given you one as a Christmas or birthday present, with pretty stationary and shiny lock and key. I admit, I was quite ecstatic when I first got mine. 8 years old, I think, in the little shop in the lobby of the Disney hotel where I was staying over the summer. I still have it, you know. It's tucked away, hidden under a pile of old sweaters in my closet. My first diary had Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Snow White on it, with a cutout heart-shaped mirror stuck to it and girly, exaggerated font with rather Barbie-like curlicues. (Yes, I had the Princess phase going on at the time. My next diary even had the words "Hello, Princess!" in purple font on the cover.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You know the classic diary key? That tiny, simple one that every diary-manufacturer seems to use? That one was on my Disney Diary. I brought it along with me on a sleepover once to a friend's house, and lo and behold! &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;My&lt;/span&gt; key could open &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;her&lt;/span&gt; diary lock! Imagine! The coincidence! The &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;magic!&lt;/span&gt; (Yes I was rather naive as a child.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I experienced the normal teenager routine: the &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Dreaded Hormones&lt;/span&gt;!&lt;br /&gt;You can imagine what was in my diary during those starry-eyed years.&lt;br /&gt;(And can you believe I actually blacked out all mentions of my crush when I went back to read it afterwards? Yes, it's not just an urban myth: Girls are way too . . . )&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Eventually, just like nearly every other diary-writer, my entries started appearing weekly, not daily, and then they slowly trickled to a rare paragraph here or there. Finally, I just stopped writing them altogether. They had become a burden, like a tedious task that I felt forced to keep doing, rather than an eagerly-anticipated pleasure.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It took me 3 years to finish that diary.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During that time, I had begun, but never finished, 3 other diaries.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Diaries aren't meant to be finished. That's my theory. Notice how hard it is to finish one?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They're just meant to be a sounding board for people's thoughts, randomness, rages, lovesick speeches, etc. They don't really mind very much whether or not you finish them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What's in your diary?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-579456601960954785?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/579456601960954785/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=579456601960954785' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/579456601960954785'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/579456601960954785'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2007/12/dear-diary.html' title='Dear Diary...'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-1499751816591522990</id><published>2007-12-13T19:32:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-13T19:55:53.049-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Rome'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Italy'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Europe'/><title type='text'>Tidbits from Europe</title><content type='html'>&lt;img src="http://photos-220.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v105/97/19/514860220/n514860220_1570470_691.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://photos-220.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v105/97/19/514860220/n514860220_1570456_6354.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://photos-220.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v105/97/19/514860220/n514860220_1570483_4246.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://photos-220.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v151/97/19/514860220/n514860220_1603697_1422.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://photos-220.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v151/97/19/514860220/n514860220_1603698_1684.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://photos-220.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v151/97/19/514860220/n514860220_1603707_4084.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;From  top to bottom:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City (Rome)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. Example of art in Basilica (ooh wonder what's beyond the glowing door...lol)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;3.  Roman ruins beside the Colosseum in Rome&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;4.  St. Mark's Square in Venice&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;5.  See above&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;6.  A canal in Venice&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-1499751816591522990?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/1499751816591522990/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=1499751816591522990' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/1499751816591522990'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/1499751816591522990'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2007/12/random-photos-from-summer-07.html' title='Tidbits from Europe'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-5323891400093353321</id><published>2007-12-12T18:22:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-12T18:33:20.896-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='ascending and descending'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='stairs'/><title type='text'>Ascending &amp; Descending</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/R2CZ4ZUVrzI/AAAAAAAAAAM/P2x73Fk9bqI/s1600-h/A%26D.bmp"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/R2CZ4ZUVrzI/AAAAAAAAAAM/P2x73Fk9bqI/s400/A%26D.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143279968605024050" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt;"&gt;&lt;span class="MsoBookTitle"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;    Nicolaas de Vries&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt; was just about to give up and leave when &lt;i style=""&gt;that man&lt;/i&gt; suddenly materialised in the shadows between the two columns behind him. &lt;i style=""&gt;About time,&lt;/i&gt; he thought as he quickly stood up and brushed the dust off the seat of his unfortunately black trousers.&lt;span style=""&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Nicolaas had been waiting for the past half hour, sitting on the cold stone steps of the monastery counting the cracks in the cement for lack of better entertainment. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“Ah, Nicolaas, how good to see you,” Brother Johannes said smoothly, hands clasped together and bowing his head respectively. “And to what do I owe this pleasure?”&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“I think you know precisely why I’m here, &lt;i style=""&gt;Brother&lt;/i&gt;,” Nicolaas scowled, “so let’s skip the formalities and get to the point, shall we? What exactly are you doing up on the roof every night?”&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“Meditation,” he said simply.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“Continuous footsteps for six hours does not sound like meditation, it sounds like a tape stuck on replay. I’ve had countless complaints already from people yelling at &lt;i style=""&gt;me&lt;/i&gt; saying they can’t sleep well anymore because the sounds of pounding feet and, I quote, ‘evil hyena laughter’, keep echoing around the neighbourhood. And apparently it comes from the roof of &lt;i style=""&gt;your&lt;/i&gt; monastery, Brother.”&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“The footsteps are mere sounds, Nicolaas. What matters more is how one changes as one contempulates thought in such a way so that it produces other matter,” Brother Johannes murmured softly, gently pressing the tips of his ink-stained fingertips together.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;Nicolaas rolled his eyes and sighed. He would have to consult somebody to check up on Brother Johannes soon; the poor old man was not entirely sane. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;Some years ago, the number of brothers in the monastery had plunged due to lack of interest, with many priests becoming artists in favor of the “New Age” art craze. Brother Johannes had been the only one left in the once-crammed monastery after only a few months, but still clung to the old building, refusing to have it knocked down despite many generous offers on the land. He claimed that the building had special properties that made it doubtlessly important , and kept insisting that it was “absolutely magical”. Brother Johannes had raved so much about his precious monastery that he had become known as &lt;i style=""&gt;that man&lt;/i&gt;, the crazy old man that lived in a run-down building. The monastery was already centuries old, and the peeling paint and crumbling walls made it fall just short of a ruin. Nevertheless, the council had decided to leave Brother Johannes alone and let him live out the rest of his secluded life as he chose; besides, it wasn’t as if he could hang on to it forever. They figured it was only a couple of more years before old Johannes would finally kick the bucket and it would be the go-ahead with the new apartment complex. Lately however, the monastery had been the cause for more complaints than usual.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;Now, these footsteps. Those were new. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;Nicolaas found himself baffled. Why on earth would somebody suddenly start walking around their roof at night? And, Jesu, could they do it any louder?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;Looking around impatiently, Nicolaas’ eyes landed on the top of the monastery, which was a good three or four stories from the ground, including the two small extensions on the roof. Standing at the top of the stairs in front of the main entrance, he could see the dull iron railings that ran around the perimeter of the roof. As he studied the outline more closely, a thought struck Nicolaas like a sharp slap.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;i style=""&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;Oh my Lord, that roof…&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt; &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;The roof was not normal. It wasn’t sloped like Nicolaas’ and everybody else’s, or even flat. From what he could make out squinting up into the unusually bright fall Dutch sky, the edges of the roof were jagged. Or, to be more specific, &lt;i style=""&gt;stepped&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;i style=""&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;I bet there are stairs on that roof. And I bet that’s what Johannes is doing every blasted night. Climbing blasted stairs. The man’s not exactly an athlete, so I can see why he might want to lose some pounds here or there. God knows why he laughs like that though.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“Johannes…—” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“&lt;i style=""&gt;Brother&lt;/i&gt; Johannes, if it pleases you,” he cut in rather haughtily.&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“Fine, &lt;i style=""&gt;Brother&lt;/i&gt;. Could you please stop making such a racket at night, whatever you’re doing?” Nicolaas asked. “Climbing stairs are good for your health and all, but there’s no need for you to go and wake up half the town.” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;Brother Johannes visibly caught his breath before quickly rearranging his expression to a suitably wary one, raising a cautious eyebrow. He was silent for a long while, looking intently at Nicolaas in an unnerving way that made him exceedingly nervous for no apparent reason whatsoever.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“Er…well then, farewell and good afternoon, Brother.” Nicolaas said awkwardly, taking his silence as an affirmative. “I’ll drop by soon to see if everything’s all right, ’kay?”&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;With that, Nicolaas de Vries, veteran member of the Amsterdam police force, hurried away as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;Leaning heavily against the stone column beside him, Brother Johannes stared after Nicolaas’ rapidly retreating back and sighed, closing his tired eyes. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;* * *&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;The noises didn’t end&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt; that night. Nor did it get any quieter, for that matter. In fact, one or two people claimed the sounds were even &lt;i style=""&gt;louder &lt;/i&gt;than the night before, although Nicolaas suspected that was only because they had heard of his unsuccessful confrontation with Brother Johannes and wanted to rub it in. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;True to his word, he dropped by the monastery again the following day. This time, he tried to be more patient and open-minded in reasoning with Johannes, but that was more easily said than done. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;He still wasn’t prepared.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“Would you like to see?” Johannes asked.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“Er…what?” Nicolaas replied dumbly. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“Would you like to see the roof?” &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;“Oh…er…sure,” he said, although he really couldn’t see the point. They was just &lt;i style=""&gt;stairs&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;A few minutes and some huffing and puffing later, the pair reached the roof. It would be an understatement to say that Nicolaas’ jaw scraped the floor of it. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;Because they weren’t &lt;i style=""&gt;just stairs&lt;/i&gt;. They were stairs that ran around the edge of the roof &lt;i style=""&gt;forever&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i style=""&gt;continuously&lt;/i&gt;,&lt;i style=""&gt; ad infinitum&lt;/i&gt;…While a bemused Johannes looked on, Nicolaas ran up and down the stairs and somehow ended up exactly where he had started. It was a most unsettling sensation, as if he were terribly itching to scratch somewhere but could not for the life of him figure out where. He was an onion, and every step he took stripped away another layer of worries, thoughts, fears…Nothing was holding him down now, and he felt weightless to the point where he slammed his foot against the stone steps with extra vigour just to ensure he wouldn’t all of a sudden be lifted straight off the ground. A hysterical laugh of ecstasy escaped his throat, a barbaric noise that sounded foreign even to his own ears as it echoed back to Nicolaas. But the moment he stopped, Nicolaas recoiled and winced with an aching pain as everything came plummeting back from the void to weigh him down again. There was another feeling too; a desperateness, maybe. A drive, probably, compelling him, commanding him, charming him, wickedly whispering, &lt;i style=""&gt;You never have to feel like this again, if only…&lt;/i&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;If only what?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  ***&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;The next morning&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt;, people in the Haarlem Quarter of Amsterdam, Holland, reported what sounded like two pairs of feet pounding all through the night…&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Inspired by M.C. Escher's lithograph, &lt;/span&gt;Acending and Descending &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;(pictured above)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 9.25pt; text-indent: 36pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:&amp;quot;;font-size:12;"  &gt; &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-5323891400093353321?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/5323891400093353321/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=5323891400093353321' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/5323891400093353321'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/5323891400093353321'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2007/12/ascending-descending.html' title='Ascending &amp; Descending'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/R2CZ4ZUVrzI/AAAAAAAAAAM/P2x73Fk9bqI/s72-c/A%26D.bmp' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-3420133525925419480</id><published>2007-12-12T18:11:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-12T18:20:42.161-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The Eleventh Hour</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs14/i/2007/107/3/3/The_Eleventh_Hour_by_Cupidia.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs14/i/2007/107/3/3/The_Eleventh_Hour_by_Cupidia.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;         When the bells call in the Eleventh hour&lt;br /&gt;Amber-eyed doves cry out and flee in haste,&lt;br /&gt;Sunlight shrinks from the ivory tower&lt;br /&gt;And its spires too; mottled and ivy-laced.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The grating chimes ring through all of Venice&lt;br /&gt;Grimly echoing down the shady lanes,&lt;br /&gt;Striking fear into the butcher’s menace&lt;br /&gt;Silencing the songbird’s merry refrain.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And Lo! the mighty sky’s all a-quiver&lt;br /&gt;As the Unholy pound against its doors,&lt;br /&gt;Soon to break, under the ever quicker&lt;br /&gt;Tides, sweeping up to the End’s blackened shores.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Behold humanity’s immortal plane,&lt;br /&gt;Embedded in the rocks of mortal bane.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;PS- No, I did not intend it to refer to the documentary "The Eleventh Hour" &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-3420133525925419480?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/3420133525925419480/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=3420133525925419480' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/3420133525925419480'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/3420133525925419480'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2007/12/eleventh-hour.html' title='The Eleventh Hour'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5948161292479079007.post-2712427523285463596</id><published>2007-12-12T18:08:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-12T18:11:49.728-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='oxymorons'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='reminders'/><title type='text'>Reminder</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: center;" class="text"&gt;             &lt;i&gt;On those dark and stormy days&lt;br /&gt;when the moon is Circe’s night,&lt;br /&gt;Remind me of those days long gone&lt;br /&gt;remind me of Mankind’s blight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Remind me when the Light is gone&lt;br /&gt;and Darkness comes to reign,&lt;br /&gt;Remind me when Freedom is imprisoned&lt;br /&gt;and tortured with rod and cane.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Remind me when Nature is no longer Mother&lt;br /&gt;and Father Sky takes all,&lt;br /&gt;Remind me when madness erupts in the world&lt;br /&gt;and Sanity suffers a fall.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Remind me when the Truth is lost&lt;br /&gt;and Justice gets some glasses,&lt;br /&gt;Remind me when the solution is found&lt;br /&gt;and rejected by the masses.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Find me when eyes are blind&lt;br /&gt;and Music is tone deaf,&lt;br /&gt;Find me when all rights are wronged&lt;br /&gt;and Ignorance is Beauty’s chef.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Find me when the Devil gets burned&lt;br /&gt;and Hell freezes over,&lt;br /&gt;Find me when Luck is scorned&lt;br /&gt;and every leaf’s a clover.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Find me when Joy takes drugs&lt;br /&gt;to maintain its happy expression,&lt;br /&gt;Find me when Purity is tainted&lt;br /&gt;and Innocence makes a confession.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Love all those who cannot love&lt;br /&gt;Whose broken hearts cry out in despair.&lt;br /&gt;Shun all those who love no one&lt;br /&gt;And refuses to admit thy err.&lt;/i&gt;            &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5948161292479079007-2712427523285463596?l=dolchessa.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/feeds/2712427523285463596/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5948161292479079007&amp;postID=2712427523285463596' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/2712427523285463596'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5948161292479079007/posts/default/2712427523285463596'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dolchessa.blogspot.com/2007/12/reminder.html' title='Reminder'/><author><name>Ivoire</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10408666965094474478</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9cM0hzyBxT4/S1FL5q-JSFI/AAAAAAAAACA/NUqrbXTibDc/S220/IMG_0662.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
