I have been looking forward to this weekend all year. The Utah Valley Arts Festival begins tomorrow, and I get to be there for all the fun.

Because I volunteer at the Salt Lake City Public Library, I get to go to the festival every year, and each time I go, I see something different and exciting. Like last year, my friends and I went to a performance of the Utah Valley Jazz Ensemble and I got these amazing finger puppets from a puppeteer.

This year I am looking forward to seeing the Wasatch Music Coaching Academy, a studio of friend of mine runs, perform on the Park Stage Friday evening at 7 p.m. The Salt Lake City Community Writing Center is also hosting several readings, workshops and competitions going on that I hope to be able to catch.

But most of all, I look forward to working at the library. I love that place. The people are wonderful and even the building itself is beautiful, but during the festival, I get to meet so many different people from all over the country. It really will be a weekend to remember.

So if you will be in or around SLC June 26-29, you should stop by the Library Square and enjoy the art, music, writing, food and more. (Wow, I sound like a walking advertisement.)

I also can’t wait to go to a town that has a bookstore this weekend. Don’t get me wrong, Rexburg is a lovely place when it’s not snowing, but other than the University bookstore and one religious bookstore, the closest place to buy and brows is half an hour away. Amazon.com just isn’t cutting it anymore. I want to go sit in The King’s English Bookshop and sit in every one of their five book rooms and spend far too much money.

I know it’s on Wordpress and not LiveJournal, but you should also check out The Inkblotter Blog where the manager Jen and guest bloggers post about books and events. You can also catch up on author appearances like Shannon Hale, sarazarr, adellis and Stephenie Meyer.

I read the news, a lot. I have worked for a lot of different newspapers across the United States, and when I worked for the government, one of my biggest jobs was to do press clippings of dozens of newspapers every week. So when I say I read a lot of news, I mean it.

I have also spent the past two years working at a high school. This means I get to have a lot of fun talking about YA books and seeing what teens think and how they are influenced. So when I read about the Miley Cyrus pictures, I was intrigued and wanted to learn more, especially because Annie Leibovitz is my favorite photographer. And I think this picture is beautiful.



Can I tell you a couple of things that I see in it that I think make it a beautiful picture? First off, you have to know that Annie Leibovitz tends to take pictures that are a parody on the kind of life the particular celebrity lives and then shows their vulnerability to that life. They also tend to push the limits of art, as does the magazine Vanity Fair for which this photo was taken.

In this photo in particular, Miley is shown exposed, with very little makeup, clutching a high-end linen to her chest. You can see the individual ridges in her spin, and her hair is brushed over one shoulder but hides the other. To me, this is a statement about what celebrity does to young women. It shows that she is still a child, half living in an adult world. She is shielding herself protectively, yet is still pale and slightly emaciated for all the world to see. It washed out, showing none of her usual vibrance and life.

Maybe this isn't so much a photo of what Miley is, but the danger of what she might become of she does not continue to protect herself--what might happen if she is left alone, secluded as she is in the photo. Yet she is still a beautiful little girl, and this picture shows that beneath the make-up and the flattering lights, she still has clear and hopeful eyes.

I think this photo isn't so much about what Miley is but really what she isn't. In twenty years, this is a photo she can be proud of. It is a picture of what she has the potential to overcome.

Don't worry, I won't often comment on current celebrity news, and honestly, I've never even seen an episode of Hanna Montana. But this story hit on an issue of art and celebrity I think is important.