Double-Stacked Bookshelves

This week's topic is:  Tattoos.  Do you have them?  Why or why not?  Talk about one. I actually got my first tattoo this year...and immediately followed it up with another!  It's true what they say: tattoos are addictive.  It took me a long time to finally get a tattoo because I was indecisive.  I had ideas of what I wanted, but was never totally certain on placement/exact image/etc.  I was also worried that it would be more painful than I wanted it to be.  It took my fiancé making me schedule an appointment to force my decision.  And I'm glad he did because it wasn't painful (really) and now I am on the path to possibly doing a full sleeve!  YIKES!  My first tattoo is totally FOR ME.  I specifically turned it upside down to face me (not the correct placement for tattoos) because I wanted to look at it.  It's not for anyone else's pleasure but my own.  It speaks to my nerdy-ness and my l...

Week one of the A-Z Blogging Challenge has come to an end and landed on the letter G.  Today's post is all about my favorite painter: Gustav Klimt I remember the first time I encountered one of Klimt's works.  It was in college during a Vienna 1900s course taught by my favorite German professor, Dr. Laura Stahman (an incredibly inspirational woman who I still have coffee with).  In this class we covered everything pertinent to that era in Vienna: literature, culture, economics, society, and art.  The first painting of Klimt's she showed us was this: Life and Death   I remember being in awe right off the bat.  The use of color and the juxtaposition of elements is breathtaking.  The actions and feelings of society are clearly reflected throughout his work. His work is a true representation of the Fin de Siecle of Austria, especially Vienna.  I became obsessed with Klimt and all of his work.  He had such a wide array of work that it's imp...