an avatar bought these tights for me

Happy Monday, everyone! Before I start blogging up a storm here, I just want to let you know how much it means to me that you read my little blog! It seems as if every time I log in I have a new follower (which obviously isn't the case, because there are only 14 of you... but that makes each of you that much more special :)!), and all of your sweet comments really make my day every day. So thank you for stopping by, and if you have a blog be sure to leave a link because I will always, always, always want to check it out!

Now, down to business. I'm not crazy about this outfit. I kind of threw it together based on these floral Betsey Johnson tights that I picked up at Marshall's this weekend (but it's Monday, so I overslept and didn't have time to put much thought into the rest of it!). I always allow myself to sleep a little later and be a little lazier on Monday morning because I want my week to start off niiiice and sloooow...

So, yeah. I'm not sure how I feel about the tights, either. They looked better in the package, and while I knew the print would shimmy&stretch over my legs, I was hoping the black would stay intact a liiiittle bit more. Alas. I probably should have bought them (or been shopping at all), but one thing led to another...

My mom and I went to see a Sunday matinee of Avatar in 3-D (because K went to see it without me (!) when he was home over Christmas), but the 1:30 showing was sold out when we got to the theatre. First of all, can you believe it? Avatar has been out for ages and it's still selling out! Anyway, we decided that we'd just have to shop while we waited for the 2:50 showing. I ended up spending far more than I should have (my mother is a bad influence... but so is everyone I shop with, so I guess maybe I should start blaming the common denominator...) and came home with a gold brocade swing coat, two pairs of oddball tights and a set of thigh-high chunky-knit socks. Kind of random.

But Avatar was awesome! I've mostly just been wanting to see it because it's the most expensive movie ever made, blah blah blah and I hate to miss out on major culturally iconic movies... or anything, really... but I was super impressed! First of all, it was visually stunning--I kind of wish I lived on a moon as beautiful and full of light as Pandora--and the 3-D effect was subtle but the added dimensions brought out the beauty of the landscape like a delicious dish deliberately paired with a fine wine. More surprising (to me), it was also GOOD. The story sucked me in immediately and held fast. We were a few minutes late to the movie because my mother thought it started at 3:50 (like mother, like daughter, I suppose...) and when we finally arrived the theatre was packed so we couldn't even sit together. The ultimate measure of the movie's effect on me, however, was that I had a chai latte before it started and skipped the bathroom because we were running so late... and I didn't even have to get up and go! It was like I forgot about my body (or entered a bladder-free Avatar body when I walked into the theatre)... if you know me, you know what a feat this is.

I do have a strange affinity for science fiction/fantasy movies that use new worlds (or the future) as a metaphor for or social commentary on the currect state of humanity, especially in a spiritual context. I like to entertain the idea that an energy runs through all of us and everything around us, so the "bio-botanical neural network" on Pandora really struck home with me. I find it interesting that James Cameron compared an avatar to "...an incarnation of one of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form," because I have also always identified this concept of an energy-network with eastern religion, particularly Hinduism. The Na'vi people live in a world that is as close to Nirvana as I can imagine ever existing... I honestly do believe, to some extent, that all we need to experience divine peace is true compassion and connection to each other and our environment, but as long as we continue to see everything (each other and our environment) as the means to a monetary end, we will always be seeking and sad and angry and alone.

Wow, that was kind of intense for a Monday morning. To lighten the mood, here's another photo of my smirking face in some funny tights:

(FRANCE shirt&knit cap: UO; jumper: etsy; tights: Betsey Johnson, Marshall's; shoes: Chinese Laundry, Marshall's; necklace: vintage)

Oh, and although I have just tried to lecture you on the meaning of life, I hope you are at least inspired to go see Avatar now (if you haven't already... I'm always so behind)! And I hope you don't go running for the hills, because like I said at the outset, I love you all for listening to me!