Beauty

Top Blogs And Blog Posts (2012)

Garth Beyer

These are the top 5 blog posts in the sense of the number of views.

These are the top 5 blog posts of my choice and popularity.

These are the top 5 blogs I kept up with throughout the year. Admittingly, Seth Godin’s is the only one that I read nearly every single blog post from. The other blogs I stop by every week or two.

A Lot About Women And Love

Garth Beyer

Yes, it’s that kind of post. A trend I see with famous writers and thinkers is that their thoughts on love, women, and relationships never get brought to light until they are dead. (The people themselves, not their relationships. Well, those too I suppose)

Note: This post is not going to be the typical inverted pyramid style. The small stuff will grow into the deep stuff. Ready?

 

“Ethics is just a word made up by women” – Co-worker I’m starting to keep notes of all the one liners he says. Maybe I’ll write a book from them someday.

 

Beauty: When you first meet, you either see it right away or she slowly opens your eyes to it. The way in which it happens is not the matter. The matter is that every woman, once their beauty is seen by another, must perform upkeep. While she may think her beauty lies in makeup and moisturizer, it really is a result of the relationships she maintains with another. Once severed, she does not become ugly, hideous, grotesque. Her beauty disappears, becomes void, incoherent. When it comes to a woman’s beauty, it is there or it is not, nothing replaces it. Beauty is impermanent.

 

A woman who loves knows everything, a woman who doesn’t is clueless to everything, including herself.

 

I get a hard time, mainly from myself, about not finishing puzzles. I always match two pieces and call it finished. My views on life and puzzles is that there can be 500 pieces or more than 7 billion pieces, but all it takes is two that connect to make it worth it.

 

I made you responsible for my happiness, not only that. I made it hard for you. I lost myself. I forgot I create my own happiness and that is what makes you most happy and vice verse. Being there, sharing experiences, giving support, having fun, that is a relationship, that is love. I respect our differences in our way of living and dreaming and I’m loving the process of growing into everything love means.” – an excerpt from the journal of a guy whose relationship ended three days later.

 

If your arm is not around her when you introduce her to anyone, it’s unlikely love.

 

When it comes to love, always dream more than you can. The tragedy of a perfect relationship is that once success is met, it doesn’t matter. Once you are living with your partner, are financially sound, are entertaining each other on a regular basis, once you feel that it’s perfect, none of it matters. You got to where you wanted to go and once you do that, you decline, everyone does. (Aside from those who feel stuck, which is a fair amount, but being stuck is just another type of decline). So dream HUGE about the relationship you will nurture, make it an impossible goal; when you tell someone your plans, they better be in disbelief, they better tell you it’s impossible, they better expect you to fail. You better fail! The point isn’t to succeed, it’s to have a goal of a successful relationship so high that you will never reach it. But you will try because that is how love manifests.

 

The best memories hurt the most.

 

The Impermanence of Love

“What is a plan?”

“Gods have a plan

but animals don’t”

“What happens when a God has a plan and animals don’t?”

“It’s magnificent – the love that wont happen ’til the God ceases to be.

See – you can pray for love, but it doesn’t change a thing”

“What does the animal see”

“Nothing…

Nothing changes, only deteriorates

and that’s not change, change is too late”

“What is change?”

“Do you know of sacrifice? it is very strange,

It is when you want to give up a piece of your heart

to gain a piece of life with another.

Change succeeds sacrifice”

“Do you think me a God or animal?”

“Neither.

I’ve been a God

and done as an animal – sacrificed everything for another.

I once thought as you may,

that you become more of what you sacrifice. –

It is not true.”

“What are you?”

“Non-existent.”

 

Humans are passionate, but inconsistent.

 

A stable relationship can be judged as such when there is a balance between the number of times you open the car door for your lady and the number of times that you let her do it herself.

 

Never say to a woman that you are letting her do something. It can even be in the most considerate way such as, “I’m letting you have your space.” Think about it. Really think about it right now because every woman reading this is smiling in agreement at the truth of this. Never say you are letting them.

 

When people are using their phones and iPods, are they unavailable? I’d say the iPod is the new promise ring. You may hit on someone that’s wearing a ring, but you don’t say a word to someone with their ear buds in. Is this what the world has come to?

 

Why I don’t approve of homosexuality with women: Quite plainly, they decrease the chance of a guy finding the girl of his dreams. When a girl is lesbian, that is one less girl in the world the guy has a chance with. The world is hard enough for men to find a good woman, and now they go off and enter relationships with other women leaving the guy less of a chance.

Now you may think, well, why doesn’t the guy become gay as well? Don’t the gay guys balance out the gay girls?

Why I don’t approve of homosexuality with men: Most gay guys aren’t just gay, they are super gay, and can you guess who likes super gay guys (beside other gay guys?) Girls. And not just any girls, typically the gorgeous ones. They cling to their gay boys like their prized possession and protector. Gay guys make it so girls don’t feel the need to have a real man and that decreases a guys chances even further to finding the right girl.

 

Life is so much about competition as it is, and of course, Love, the only reason worth living, is the toughest competition of all.

 

Why is it only girls that we see often can we have a chance with? Why is society built so that if I see someone I can’t just introduce myself and see if we have anything in common? We make love so difficult. My imaginary world would be a place in which you can go and talk to any girl and it’s normal. If that was the case, there still isn’t a promise you would find love quicker. The chances of finding someone that you spark something with right away is somewhere around 2% I would imagine. Although, you would make more friends but more friends doesn’t make it more likely to turn a friendship into a relationship because you know that there are so many other girls out there you can talk to and hopefully spark something with right away. So, this general acceptance in society to make starting conversations with strangers doesn’t really make finding love easier, it simply makes finding love more of an experience. What do you think?

 

Stay Positive & Heck, In Love You’re Doomed, But Best To Make Your Journey To Damnation As Near To Cloud Nine As Possible

Garth E. Beyer

Turning Beauty Into Art

Garth Beyer
Credit and Source: Giuseppe Arcimboldo

“To stimulate creativity, one must develop the childlike inclination for play and the childlike desire for recognition.” – Albert Einstein

Anything can be art: a simple doodle, a crumpled paper or one huge collage of junk. The best art though is intentional art, no matter the depth of beauty.

Intentional art is art that originates from a beautiful source, it is not something the is created and then made beautiful. Knowing me, I have to say that everything is beautiful, but what you already believe is beautiful is the best source of art.

What are 5 things you think are beautiful? Now, how can you turn them into art?

It’s a simple process to becoming an artist. After knowing the answers to those two questions, all that is required is action, a bit of your imagination and a touch of insanity.

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere” – Albert Einstein

Stay Positive & Youthful

Garth E. Beyer

Unlocking Potential: Interview #4

Garth Beyer

It’s the weird ones you have to look out for in this world, really and truly. They are the ones that know how to live life, know how to express themselves and know more about success than the most popular person in school.

You are now entering the fourth interview in the Unlocking Potential series. You can view the third here, second here and first here. If you haven’t yet noticed, part of the Unlocking Potential series is to bring out more of the weirdness. John Le, who you will meet in a few seconds, may not seem weird to you, that’s good because you’ve embraced your own weirdness but for the majority, he may seem “different”.

One way I see weirdness is like this. An average American can travel to any other country in the world and they will without a doubt get a large amount of culture shock. The American who understands different cultures and embraces them can travel nearly anywhere without getting hit with a bad case of culture shock. What is comes down to is whether you want to avoid everything outside of America or embrace it. Which one lives life to the fullest? Which one has real experience? Which one has a greater insight into the world?

Embracing culture shock is a lot like embracing weirdness.

After all, we are all a bit weird aren’t we? And that’s a good thing.

Interview: John Le

In high school I had a favorite teacher who knew how to make a class fun, or at least she was okay with my friend (not John) and I making it fun. She was one of those teachers that you go back and visit and that’s exactly what I did, but I didn’t go back and visit after school or during study hall, I went during one of her classes. Of course I made it my goal to make a ruckus while there. But it was during a couple of the classes that I went back and realized someone was already making a ruckus. That is when I met John Le. I was quick to admire him for his openness, wit and downright honesty.

Q: Thank you so much for participating in this interview. Would you like to give the readers a short bio?

I was born and grew up in Rockford, Illinois, and attended the local schools through the RPS205 “Gifted” program for the intellectually advanced students. I grew up in a humble family, my parents had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, so I had plenty of time on my hands to think and grown creatively. I attended high school at Belvidere North High School ’12, graduated with High Honors, and this coming Fall/Winter semester, I will be attending Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois with a focus in Chemistry. My ultimate goal in life is to become a chemist that formulates cosmetic products.

Q: Let’s jump into some questions. What is your passion?

I have a personal passion for the sciences and arts. I plan on pursuing a job related to the field of chemistry, possibly cosmetic chemistry, in the future as a life-long career. On the art front, I plan on privately pursuing portrait photography as a means of emotional expression. I will not work in the art field for a living because I personally disagree with the thought of creating art on demand. I would rather spend time and let a piece of work develop at its own natural pace, rather than mechanically turning out cookie-cutter corporate art that are not unique in their own respect.

Q: What skills do you need to be successful?

Tenacity, motivation, honesty  & common sense.

I could write for endless ages about the skills necessary for success and achievement, but I think my short list of four words should suffice for the common reader.

Q: Which side of your brain do you use more often?

Neither, I am an individual that lingers on the blurred divide of the two hemispheres of the brain. The left side of the brain is said to be of scientific and mathematic manners, and I am a person that is interested in such and exhibit traits that characterize this side of the brain. Such traits would be an affinity for the familiar, categorization, analytical thought process, use of strategy, and pragmatic.

Right minded people are said to be creative, free-spirited, passionate with boundless imagination; I too exhibit these traits alongside those of my “left-brain” personality. Most of my teachers and mentors say that I am a walking oxymoron, a combination of two opposite ideas. I would most likely [think] that this is true.

Q: What or who is your biggest inspiration?

I would say that my biggest inspiration in life is the late British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, founder of the eponymous house of fashion. McQueen juxtaposed strength and fragility in his designs, and made what was once ugly once again beautiful. He was a lotus, a special individual that  could cultivate beauty from common things.

Q: What is art?

I personally think that art, and the definition of art is subjective. What I might view as beautiful may be deemed hideous by another person, but I think that is the beauty in the world of art, different viewpoints are to be had on the same piece of work. It’s very interesting to unravel people’s minds and figure out what they find beautiful, and the reasons that they find certain ideas or images pleasing to the mind or eye.

To be curt, I think the form of the human body is art in itself. Far too many people are offended by the naked human, and this amazes me, for we are all the same beneath our socially constructed idea of  “clothes”.

Do you have a product you want to create that has never been thought of before?

http://www.vat19.com/  Enough said on that subject. Seriously, just check out the website.

In case you were wondering, NO(!), I am not being compensated to advertise the website, I just think that this website has every weird product that has ever been thought of.

On an entirely unrealistic level, I would like to create tiny devices that would be utilized in a medical setting to repair bodies of patients that ordinary human precision could not do. These microscopic “robots” would mend human flesh and bone. Imagine a bucket of silver robotic spiders being poured over a tragic wound like a shattered face, or a broken leg, and then watching these tiny robots healing your body right before your eyes. Amazing, right? Right.

Q: What makes you standout?

I think the fact that I am very blunt with my thoughts and speech truly makes me stand out in today’s society where all taboo subjects that everyone questions is quietly swept under the rug of propriety for the sake of society’s general comfort. Sometimes I have a bad habit of speaking my mind openly on subjects that make people feel very uncomfortable, and it gets me in a few “hot-water-debates” sometimes, irregardless I never blame myself for the fact that others do not feel at ease when certain subjects are talked about in public. The only people that dislike me for speaking the truth are those that are living a lie, until then, I will continue to speak the truth. No sugar to sweeten the subject, or any frills to make any unappealing subject for palatable for the common mind.

Q: What advice or life lessons would you give to someone with an interest in your field?

For any young man or woman pursuing the fields of science or visual arts, you’re a special person for wanting to help this sick world and helping it to be a better person through scientific work and also filling it with beautiful art.

Addressing those specifically interested in the sciences, there are not many people that care enough to make the world a better place in the long run, rather, they choose to fulfill their own desires for the sake of personal gain, which by all means is fine, but you are remarkably special because you are doing a service for all of mankind by uncovering new knowledge that is necessary for the survival of our species. Do not allow others to mock your choice of the path you plan on taking, because they are most likely too afraid to take the one that you’re going to leave a blazing trail of glory on.

For those interested in the arts, I want you to never lose your inspiration. Personally, I view the best inspiration as intrinsic, coming from within, only you can have the unique power to express the universe that is confined to the cells of your brain. Art takes time to fully ripen and mature, and I want you to always let your art to mature at it’s own rate, though I do not agree with the idea of creating art for money, I want you to be able to share your art with the world. Never let money impede on your artistic process. Never be afraid of any subject matter, or to try something unconventional, it will almost always end up more beautiful in its own manner than you would have possibly ever imagined.

Q: Define your life purpose in 11 words?

Never abandon your dreams due to obstacles, they’re opportunities in disguise.

(this subtext doesn’t count, but the above sentence is my life motto and purpose)

Q: What quality does a person need in order to achieve living their passion?

Personally, the most important quality/trait/what-have-you that a person needs to achieve living their passion is tenacity in the face of adversity. Let me break it down, a person must still want a certain goal in their life to come true even if nobody in their surroundings believes them. (This idea might be redundant in this interview, and I want to stress that every time it is mentioned, it is used in the utmost importance of inspiring the people of the world) Millions upon millions have lost hope in their wildest dreams because some person in this world told them that it was impossible, or that they would never be able to achieve something so great in their lifetime. I always think that these people are seriously wrong, and incorrect with their judgement on the subject. Only the dreamer can shape their own wishes, not another person. Who told these idiots that they had the right of imposing their will over a person? Whoever you are, if you’re still reading this, I don’t want you to give up on your wildest dreams, they might come true one day!

Q: Do you have any art you would want to share?

I have a simple(and small) photography portfolio that can be viewed at; http://johnle815.carbonmade.com/ (user friendly!)

For the art-minded folk; http://johnle815.deviantart.com/   This portfolio will have the bulk of my portfolio added to it, slowly, but surely.

My stream of consciousness using photos; http://johnle815.tumblr.com/ (potentially NSFW, I guess people are afraid of the human form in all of its infinite splendor)

Q: Any last comments?

Yes, I do have a few last comments. If you ever want to bribe me to do anything, legal(!) of course, feel free to dangle a few steak tacos and fruit slushies in front of my face. I’m quite serious…..

(You can contact John Le at Viet611Forever@aol.com or visit his profiles listed above)

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Stay Positive & Ever Hear That After Being Shocked Enough Times It Starts To Feel Good?

Garth E. Beyer

What Everyone Needs To Invest Their Time In

Garth Beyer
Evil Lumber

This picture is not beautiful, but it is art. In the post yesterday, I related that art is the product of beauty, meaning that making art does not make your work beautiful but making your art from beauty makes it art. Art is channeling that beauty through your creative senses (in this case, drawing). What is beauty though? Beauty is the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, most commonly arising from sensory manifestations (in this case, visual).

I’m an artist. We all are. I’m a really great drawing artist as well, even though my drawings can be pretty ugly. I mean, I tried drawing a friend one time while waiting in the airport and it was so bad that she wasn’t even mad, she pitied me. That feeling though, that mental stimulation that goes along with just creating something is why I draw. -actually, we should probably just call it doodling- That feeling is actually why I do anything I do. See, many people live by mottos such as “YOLO” or “Make the most of every moment” but could I, could anyone go wrong with “always create art”?

No matter how ugly it is, no matter how few people would care to look at it or how many would throw it away, to create art all day everyday takes a certain kind of person, it takes a beautiful person. A person who cares, a person who is passionate and a person who can find that intense pleasure in everything they do.

Stay Positive & Make More Art

Garth E. Beyer

Two Ideas About Art

Garth Beyer

1. Something beautiful doesn’t come from art, art is the product of something beautiful. Beauty gives birth to art. (You are beautiful)

2. Art is bigger than ourselves, a new world to venture out into. A much larger door that we must open?

 

Stay Positive & Dive Into Random Art From Time To Time

Garth E. Beyer