illuminating medusa

i got two lamps for Christmas this year. one is a pole with places for three bulbs on it, covered by a long, straight, columnar paper shade (that you can adjust to be crinkly or straightened out. very muted light, i'm guessing.

the other lamp has 5 heads that bend and will, therefore, point anywhere you need them. lots of light, multi-directional, in no way muted, i'm guessing.

of course, i wouldn't really KNOW, considering the fact that i have yet to drag my lazy butt to the store to pick up the special bulbs they both require. so until then, it's light in theory.