Sculpting / sculpture, painting, sewing, movies, books, art museums, mythology, animals, insects (especially praying mantids--they make really cool pets), helping poor defenseless snails cross the sidewalk so they don't get shmushed, meandering about and finding creatures in nature, traveling and having adventures, belly dancing, acting like an idiot in public, harmless mischief and pranks while still looking innocent, looking for treasures at thrift stores and swap meets, Production Design, dressing up and making costumes (doesn't matter if it's a spontaneous throw-together or a well thought out design; its all good), theatre, working on my website (which I will now pimp out as being... drumroll please, www.michellefennema.com) throwing elaborate Victorian and Mad-Hatter-like tea parties, wearing corsets (I was born in the wrong era), collecting tea cups and tea pots, purchasing old tarnished silver and polishing it, buying old furniture to strip and refinish it, going to Disneyland or California Adventure and wearing stupid hats while speaking with a jewish-Jersey or southern accent and pretending to be with child and getting on the the bigger rides (I love getting reactions from people when you act outside the social norm--it facinates me) , antiques, dancing like a baffoon, my gorgeous chat noir(s), washing dishes in pearls (some childhood upbringings cannot be repressed, no matter how hard you try), and my guilty confession: performing at renaissance faires as a historic noble-woman named Elizabeth Vernon who had a promiscuous reputation (can you say nerd? I'm also a guildmember of the Southern California REC Queen's Court). If you are so inclined to ridicule or have a curiousity, you can see my character's bio at:
www.renfaireman.org/newbios.aspx?CharID=124
I'd like to meet:
Several of the people I'd like to meet would require either a time machine or a good shovel. This would include the great artists John William Waterhouse, Lord Leighton, Mucha, Rodin, Camille Claudel, William Morris, Klimt, Egon Scheile, and Sargent. Living people I'd love to meet would be Tim Burton (God), Cate Blanchett, Lucien Freud, and Lee Bontecou. I'd like to add Brian Froud, though I met him once, and could only stare, drool, and ask him stupid questions./style
Music:
I'm very picky when it comes to music, so I'm more of a song-by-song type, but some of my favorites are: String Theory (I saw them perform "Coffee" from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite--it was the most beautiful musical performance I have ever experienced), Radiohead (can't seem to get enough lately), Muse, The White Stripes, System of a Down, Blur, Portishead, Beck, Stone Temple Pilots, The Violent Femmes, Green Day, Nirvana, Opera/ Classical (Ravel, Bizet, Prokofiev, Puccini, and especially Beethoven-I know, it's the generic answer, but his work has so much passion! Not like the flippery of Mozart), Tori Amos, Marilyn Manson, the soundtrack of Kama Sutra, Van Morrison, some musicals (I'm hanging my head down in embarrassment, but I like them campy), Depeche Mode, Korn, and should I say? No...yes...nevermind.
Movies:
There are few movies that stir my soul to such an extreme that I wish to isolate myself from mankind and not speak after I have seen it--simply so I have more time to allow the spell to linger for but a beat longer while I absorb what I have just observed. I have recently become more exposed to silent films, and have found that with the simplicity of music rather than the sound of speech, film lends itself better as an artform--music amplifies the composition, photography, editing, and story. In my humble opinion, music directs the audience into a more emotional, logical, intuitive (and perhaps active) processing of a story rather than being dictated by the narration of a voice. One such film is Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) an absolute masterpiece of juxaposition, montage, symbolism, and story. If you ever have the opportunity to see it, I HIGHLY recommend it. And now I shall shut my trap (since no one is probably reading this--except perhaps for a fellow film student) and just start naming my favorite movies:
Pride and Prejudice... and I'll admit it, I finally saw the new release and....I loved it. So both the mainstream and the A&E versions (Colin Firth will always be Mr. Darcy to me), Star Wars (and the artwork of the first bombs), Lord of the Rings, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Garden State, Goonies, Labyrinth, Harry Potter (waiting for #5 with breath that is baited), Amelie, Princess Bride ("Have fun storming the castle!"), Fight Club, Kill Bill, Matrix, Edward Scissorhands (I weep everytime!), Charlie and the Chocolate factory, The Corpse Bride, Wallace and Gromitt's The Curse of the Were Rabit, Spaceballs, Nightmare Before Christmas, City of Lost Children, Monty Python, The Triplets of Belleville, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, An Affair to Remember, Some Like it Hot, Gone with the Wind ("fiddle-dee-dee"), The Dark Crystal, My Fair Lady, cheesy 80's comedies (great classics like Secret Admirer, Sixteen Candles, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, The Pirate Movie--"gotta keep pumping, blowing", Don't Tell Her Its Me, Can't Buy Me Love, and Better Off Dead. And I prefer them on their original VHS format), Donnie Darko, Immortal Beloved, The Christmas Story, Kama Sutra, Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, Moulin Rouge, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, There's Something about Mary, Fiddler on the Roof, Elizabeth, and the silent films Daddy Long Legs, Sunrise, Safety Last, Metropolis, Sherlock Jr.
Television:
Sex and the City, The Simpsons, Malcolm in the Middle, Soap, TV Funhouse, Little House on the Prairie, um... dare I say it.... Jem (but only for the Misfits! I swear!), South Park, Futurama, The Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, Talk Sex with Sue, Will and Grace, The Discovery Channel (but I'm sick of the home make-over shows!), The History Channel, Animal Planet (but I cannot watch the ER vet show, it makes me cry no matter what time of month it is), Comedy Central, BBC, and Turner Classic Movies.
Books:
I have an addiction to art books and vintage/antique copies of literature. If I'm not to be found, you can locate me at the local bookstore. Since I'm not yet rich and living in a fabulous English Manor with a huge library and Victorian paintings on every wall, my collection is taking over my bedroom and living room.
Pride and Prejudice, The Princess Bride (the book is better than the movie), Gone with the Wind, The Count of Monte Cristo (don't even bother to watch the movie-- they butchered the book and made the greatest story ever written into complete crap!!! My guess is the script-writer only read the first 100 pages...idiot!), Tess of D'ubervilles, Wuthering Heights, The Decameron, Arabian Nights, Hans Christian Andersen, The Brothers Grimm, Harry Potter (Yes, again, I'm a nerd and I can't wait for The final book!!), Lemony Snicket, The Hobbit, Aesop's Fables, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories, The Stinky Cheese Book, Calvin and Hobbes, Kate Chopin, The Clan of the Cave Bear, The Devil Wears Prada (this one hits close to home because it perfectly describes my old Boss), Tristan and Isuelt, Gilgamesh, Beowolf, literature in general, and absolutely any book on mythology.
Heroes:
People who do kind, unconditional things for others. For example, my friend Raffy (see his profile). This man, boys and girls, is my own personal hero! Once upon a time, when my backpack was carelessly left in the Art Center parking lot, waiting for my return, and feeling alone, frightened, and betrayed, this man, the fabulous Raffy who was a perfect stranger at the time, rose to the occasion, took my backpack into his loving embrace and protected it until I could come to claim it. Of course he checked to make sure I was worthy of its return; having been abandoned the backpack was still feeling rejected. But after careful observation, he came to the conclusion that I had merely been thoughtless due to the hardship of too many classes, and had not meant to harm my dear personal vessel. What a guy! We should all sing his praises! HALLELUJA! Gloria en Raffy! Oh, and I'd like to add, that he accepted (and was most gracious) as reward a plate of home-baked chocolate chip cookies!
My parents. Who have always been supportive and believed in me. Who taught me there is such a thing as a realistic "happily ever after".
My sisters, Melissa and Jenny, whom I have known for almost my entire life, and have been there when times got tough. There's nothing like being related to your friends.
Zoe. The coolest niece ever, a total flirt, a future artist, and a great dancer. She should be mine; she already enjoys drinking herbal tea and wearing fancy dresses with strands of pearls.
