Art, Emotion, and Muses.

October has been a very busy month here at Casa Mercury. I got to participate in one of the coolest things ever.

I got to experience a photo shoot with the hugely talented and visionary Michael Baxter. Internationally known as the premier belly-dance photographer in the world, he was willing to meet with me and work on some portrait and retro-style pinup photographs.

Michael is the sweetest person you'll ever meet. He's generous, kind, and the very definition of artist. In between shots, we talked about what makes a photo or a paragraph or music into art, something transcendental.

Not to get all Aristotelian on everyone's asses, but we kept coming back to the idea that art evokes emotion. For example, tragedy arouses fear and pity, then creates a catharsis for those emotions. All art forms revolve around emotion- the arousal, examination, and release thereof.

The visual arts can suggest a story in a single image. The written arts can suggest actions and meanings that re-create or imitate the world.

Thank you, Michael, for being a Muse for me.

Finding the Fun.

I just watched The Fun Theory videos and now I feel really up and at 'em!

The premise of The Fun Theory is that we can change everyday behaviors by making them more fun.

I firmly believe that making and having lots of fun creates a much healthier life. Today, in the spirit of the Fun Theory, I am going to go see what I can do to make my environment more exciting and playful.

What will you do?