Parable of the Madman

My photos today were inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's Parable of the Madman. If you are not familiar with the parable, below is an explanation for it.

Analysis:

 
   When Nietzsche stated, "God is dead." he was making a cultural statement. The claim was that God has died in the popular imagination. It is not believable for there to be a God. In the opening sentence it states, "...that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours,..." now, there is no need for a light in bright morning hours except for the fact that 1. he is mad and 2. the people are in the dark. The madman is laughed and jeered at by the crowd as he calls out in search of God. This shows the apparent attitude of the crowd toward God. The madman angered by the crowd, speaks out, "Whither is God?" he cried; "I will tell you. We have killed him -- you and I. All of us are his murderers." In this, Nietzsche is pointing out that in the last couple years we have killed God from society with the rise of reason and science. That the death of God in society is our doing.

   The madman goes on to explain the significance of taking God out of society, "What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing in on us? Do we not need to light lanterns in the morning? Without the sun the earth loses its balance, its sense of motion, regulation, and its life and light. Essentially, Nietzsche is showing them the consequences for what they do not understand. For what they have done is taken the center out of virtually everything they knew, out of their churches, their universities, their foundation. The center in society was God. When God was taken out, the consequences resulted in WWI, WWII, The Atomic bomb, Vietnam, AIDS,... the bloodiest century known to human history. The 20th Century was the result.


   










  The Parable continues, "I have come too early," he said then; "my time is not yet." At the end of the 18th Century, when this was written, society did not understand the consequences of their actions. They did not understand that reason without God has no rules. That reason without God does not solve our problems. That reason without God only gives us better ways to kill each other. As society had killed all thought of God,  the madman found no hope in God.  


[[The full work by Nietzsche is available here: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/nietzsche-madman.asp]]  


*My notes are from a lecture series by Summit Ministries.  http://www.summit.org/about/


With Love<3

The Art of Thrifting

   Yes, I did just say thrifting is an art.
   It can be done mediocrely, moderately, or masterfully. It is something you have to develop and make your own. I used to thrift occasionally and play the cards of chance with my thrifting. Now however, I am an avid thrifter and have learned many ways to play my cards in favor of success. Below are 3 basic tips I use every time I go out thrifting:


1. Mindset
   When studying, before a game, or before a project, you have to focus your mind and energy into what is before you. Before you begin you search through the racks of clothing and shelves of knick knacks, browse the store. Get your mind in gear by just getting the feel for the store and getting into the thrifting vibe. You will only have truly successful thrifting if you put your mind to it.

2. Openness
   Thrifting is a great creativity exercise! If you view each outing as an adventure and discovery of something new, you'll have more options in what you see. Often, it's better not to walk in with expectations or something largely specific. This allows for your thought to not be narrowed. With every piece that strikes you, think of different ways to use or wear the piece. [Could this be hemmed? Would this work high waisted? How would this be layered?] Trying things on always gives you a better feel for the clothing. Be open with your mind and creative with what you see and I guarantee you will discover some fabulous pieces!

3. Quality
    Only buy clothing that is in good condition and is made of  nice material. If something looks worn, don't buy it. No matter what or how good the price is. If you want to look put together and get the most of your money, be critical of each piece you pick up. This will ensure that your wardrobe won't look as if it has been thrifted, and then the worn pieces in your closet will truly be your comfort pieces and worn with your love. Not someone else's old favorite clothing piece.

    Thrifting is the King of shopping possibilites. Some days you will come away with one or two pieces, others a bulging bag. Pieces I have thrifted are often favorites in my wardrobe, as they are the pieces that you searched and found. Not the pieces inspired by the current trend or the massive stocks of repetitive pieces in the department stores. Thirfted pieces will reflect your personality with originality. With a little practice to develop your own thrifting taste, you will soon be the ace of this art and the cards will be in your favor.




With Love <3

First Snow of the New Year

this girl is so talented and adorable:)
http://theeggyview.tumblr.com/

I love lakes. alot. 

Style Journal: Afternoon in the Downtown

As I will be writing a bit on style and clothes I will be up-keeping a photo style journal of different outifts. The outfits will be mine unless specified otherwise.
                                                                                                                                                                       I have a love for downtowns. Each is filled with unique shops, old books stores, good restaurants, original coffee bars, boutiques, etc. I also love the casual carefree environment they create. So here is what I wore.

Shirt sweater: Thrifted
Skirt: Banana Republic
Tights: Kohls
Sweater: Cato
Scarf: Gift <3
Socks: My sisters sock drawer
Boots: Gabriel Brothers
Bead Ring: Women At Risk
Belt: My mother

Wearing socks with your shoes is a great way

 to tie in colours and add some fun.

always have your waist centered 

when wearing a long sweater or other 

thick material so you do not lose the definition 

scarfs are a great way to add personality 

or to opt out of wearing jewelry for the day:)

With Love <3

DIY Jewelry Frame

 Almost every female I know, including myself, has quite the collection of accessories. I love my accessories and wanted more storage space for them. So I found this lovely DIY project! It took me 30 min at max and is so easy. [mine is pictured to the right]

Supplies:

-Ribbon of your style choice
-Scissors
-A frame of some sort*
-Hot glue gun
-Nails and hammer to hang

*I just went to Walmart and picked up a long photo frame and took the back off it. Thrift stores would be a great place to look for unique frames too

                                                                                                                                                                       

Steps:

1. Once you have all your supplies, take the back off your frame if there is a back, and measure the length for your ribbons
2. Cut as many ribbon strips as needed to go across your board at the appropriate length
3. Hot Glue the ribbons all up one side and then move to the other side of the board. [i.e. if you start on the left glue all the ribbon sides to the left. then glue the other end of the ribbon to the right side after the left side is done and dry]
You will want to do only one whole side glued down at once, to allow the hot glue to dry, so you can ensure a tighter ribbon fit.
4.  Let dry and hang! Its that simple.

                                                                                                             

inspiration jewelry board 

                                                                     

With Love <3

Style and Fashion

  In early middle school I loved the word fashion.

Since 8^th Grade however, style has been my love word for anything clothing related.  

  Why the change of opinion? The answer is simple: I realized the difference between the two.

   Fashion can be bought. It is what you are offered four times a year and every day in between.  The girls and guys wearing only the latest trends, the women who only buy the big names [Gucci, Prada, Channel, etc.] the girls in only Aeropostale, Hollister, American Eagle…all these individuals start to blend together. There is nothing that sets them apart; that shows what makes them uniquely them. If you only wear fashion, what the current trend is, without taking the time to personalize it. You are missing out. Now, I am not saying don’t buy name brands. But wear them in moderation. And I am not giving a bad rap on trends. I love runway. I love the keeping up with seasonal trends.  Through middle school, I realized that plastering myself in trends and name brands was 1. A lot of work for nothing and 2. Super unoriginal. I looked like everyone else. That wasn’t the plan. So I had to figure out how to wear fashion. How to wear the trends and be me.  This is where style comes to play.

  

   Style is personal. It comes form knowing who you are. As Nina Garcia puts it, “Style is a deeply personal expression of who are, and every time you dress, you are asserting a part of yourself.” Style is what you pick out of the fashion, out of the trends, boutique shops, thrift shops, any store that has clothes essentially. Having style means you know how to wear fashion. You know how to incorporate trends to your look. Style is something only you can do for yourself. You can’t take someone else’s style. You can learn from others style, but not take their whole image. That defeats the purpose. Style incorporates trends, and vintage clothing, and name brand clothing, and your average store clothing with personal flair and preference. It is a personal expression of who you are. There is no herd to follow. There are no rules. There are no ‘in’ seasons. Style comes from within. If there is anything absolute about style, it is that it holds you accountable to yourself at every moment. The possibilities and creativity of style are endless.

I’ll go further in to style and how to cultivate it for yourself in a later blog post. I just want to lay out the basic differences between the two before getting into either one.

With Love <3