Seven interest-meme
alfrecht is playing this game, and I thought I'd play along, because it looks like fun.
How this game works: Just comment on this post saying you'd like to play. Then I will choose seven interests from your profile, and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post these instructions along with your answers in your own LiveJournal so that others can play along, too.
Alfrecht
Since I know so many of your more academic interests, here's a bunch that I know less about in relation to you (or that I know nothing about at all!), and would like to hear more on:
1. alma-tadema
2. bookmarks
3. getting mail
4. jostein gaarder
5. pre-raphaelite art
6. red pandas
7. welsh (just to satisfy that requirement...!)
So there we go:
1. Alma-Tadema
Alma-Tadema is a Dutch painter of the mid-nineteenth century who just paints absolutely beautiful paintings, like this one:
I love his style, use of colour, the brightness and the subjects (and of course the naked women help! ;)) After moving to England in 1870, het got to know and befriended many Pre-Rafaelite painters (see below) so for me he always seems part of that group. I find it hard to describe art, I'm not a critic. Art has to touch me in some way, and this does. I can look for hours at his paintings.
2. Bookmarks
As an avid reader and book-lover who cannot stand folds in pages, bookmarks are first of all a necessity. Over the years, I have built up quite a collection of them and it is amazing how something that small can be so beautiful and meaningful. Many of my bookmarks were given to me by friends and have personal messages on them. Some are hand-made, some I brought with me from my travels, some just caught my eye. Some have an interesting quote, some a beautiful picture. Most of them hold memories...
3. Getting mail
I have been writing letters to people since I was about... I cannot even remember it, but it must have been before I was 8 years old. It's a way to connect with people whom you met once and may never meet again, whom you have never met before, or with your closest friends. Writing is my primary form of self-expression. I journal a lot, write stories, poetry and letters. It is very natural to me to be friends with people whom I have never seen before. I experience their friendship in writing letters to them and in getting mail from them. It's wonderful to come home at the end of a long day and find a letter, or a postcard, waiting for you from someone who is dear to you. Getting mail is very important to me. When I was still living at home, the entire family would know the postman had been, because I would come running down the stairs (having kept an ear open for the tell-tale sound of mail falling on the doormat). The magic of it has never really disappeared.
4. Jostein Gaarder
I suppose everybody has heard of "Sofie's World", but very few people actually know that Jostein Gaarder, the author of the book, has written many more books (most of which are a lot easier to read than "Sofie's World"!). I love almost all of them. I love the way he puts the deep philosophical questions into a storyline. I love the way he can turn your world upside down just by looking at it slightly differently. And besides, he has an absolutely beautiful style of writing. I would love to learn Norwegian simply so I can read his books in their original language. I can advise "The Solitaire Mystery" and "Vita Brevis" to anyone. I am writing this in my office, and my books are still at home, so I can not actually give any quotes here at the moment, but I wil rectify that as soon as possible.
5. Pre-Rafaelite Art
Very closely linked to my reasons for liking Alma-Tadema. Their art touches me. Sometimes it is way too stylized (if that's a word), but generally it is very, very beautiful. The Pre-Rafaelite Brotherhood and the associated artists consisted of more than only painters, but I'd be mainly interested in the paintings (the poet Christina Rossetti being the exception here: I love her poetry). Again, I know very little about art, other than how to appreciate it, so I will not go into the ideas of the Brotherhood too much. It was formed in 1848 with the idea of basically creating good, heartfelt art. If I remember correctly, they called themselves Pre-Rafaelites, because they wanted to go back to art befor Rafael, but don't quote me on that, I may very well be wrong. My own personal favourites are:
Dante Gabriel Rossetti:
Burne-Jones:
Waterhouse:
Hughes:
and the above-mentioned Alma-Tadema.
6. Red pandas
I am very much an animal lover and the kind of person that can go all hyper and emotional at the sight of almost any animal. Red pandas are definitely one of my favourites though: they are so cute:
7. Welsh
It being one of the Celtic languages, of course I love it! I studied Middle Welsh during my degree in Utrecht and will hopefully get back to it this year, because I am really missing it. Irish is definitely my favourite, but Welsh is very beautiful too. I never really got into learning Modern Welsh, about the only thing I can say is "Esther is in the closet" (to which Kicki famously replied: "No you're not!") and I can't even spell that correctly. I've got some Welsh folk-music though and I love the sound of the language. They should learn to make a little less depressing films, though. I forgot what it's called, but the film of the Welsh girl who falls in love with the Jewish guy? Beautiful, but dear gods that is depressing!
So, those were my seven interests. Feel free to comment, and of course tell me if you want to play!