Non-negotiable

Obama wins, oh thank god

2008-11-07T11:09:00.001-05:00

Obama wins, oh thank god, originally uploaded by Mr. Biggs.

with hope this will be the end of a most cynical era...
and the end of the bumper stickers that accompanied it.

photo from mr. biggs over at flickr.com

Insane! Got a brain!

2008-10-09T21:53:00.001-04:00

, originally uploaded by beebo wallace.

God bless southern women.

the more we get to wordle

2008-09-02T08:47:00.005-04:00

Too much fun can be had when plugging your favorite words into Wordle, a nifty and easy tool for you wordnerds of the world. I plugged in lyrics to one of my favorite Parker Paul songs, "Golden Buckeye", changed up the colors and created the image below. Too much fun. Make your own at wordle.net. Thanks to John for the idea.

paging tony danza

2008-08-01T11:22:00.006-04:00

one thing i kind of forgot about with having a new baby is that the tired day flies by ever so damn fast. it's already 11:30 am and i'm just getting done dropping the boy off to school, checking email and putting the girl down for a nap. only 2 hours left to get stuff done before the kiddo comes home. how does this happen? and why does this happen? when i worked full-time, the day went by so slowly.

i'm carrying around that ol' stale mantra right now about not having enough time to do anything. and i know that i shouldn't really be doing anything right now other than resting and feeding the baby (and reading), but it feels quite impossible. i want the abode to be set right side up and my business in order. i guess that i need an assistant. perhaps i'll be like a 3-year-old and create an imaginary one. if he (yes, he) doesn't get the laundry done, perhaps it will be his responsibility in the end. there ya go.

catching up and slowing down

2008-07-29T13:55:00.007-04:00

our modem died during a lightning storm a month or so ago, so we've been relying on friends for electronic correspondence and posting of all things relative to the newness in our life. i'm finally getting caught up on everything.

the whole family is well and thriving. we're enjoying our new monday-friday work freedom, though caring for a newborn and a 3 1/2-year-old is no easy task. the rewards are worth it all.

we're not sure who she looks like. she's got her own thing going on. i look forward to watching this baby girl inchworm grow.

here are a few shots from her first 2 weeks here. enjoy!

we love you, calla bea!

2008-07-23T14:28:00.003-04:00

and baby makes 4.5

we are glad to welcome to the world,

miss calla beatrice indie wilkinson

born 07.08.08 at 4 am in columbus, oh

7 lbs, 14 oz., 20 inches tall

a little dear to us and oh so delicious!

more posts to come now that i'm unemployed!

goodbye, dear friend

2008-04-26T10:12:00.013-04:00

dogs get you lost. lost on a trail. lost in the park. lost in your head with all the things they do. sometimes it's not you who is lost, but them. i know too well about the agony over a dog who wanders off. but i was lost in love for over 10 years with one of my best friends. fragile, dear and sweet miss figi (sometimes called babydog, little bear or mrs. applesauce). today, i believe that i'm even more lost.

yesterday in the early evening as the sun began to kiss the sky goodnight, figi's sweet soul was released to that wonderful place we in our home now call "dog heaven". she was 13 and had been battling terrible arthritis for years. she'd recently lost most of her ability to control her bodily functions. she'd been suffering falls on hardwood floors for quite some time, and now she was falling in places that weren't safe for her. i decided that i wouldn't crate her, for that was a sentence of boredom for any animal. we'd tried medications that only seemed to serve as a buffer to an inevitable and undignified decline, though they helped so much in the last 3 years.

for the last year i tossed and turned daily (with lots of guilt) about euthanizing my beloved friend. last tuesday i was finally able to understand why letting it happen was more about love than letting go. so yesterday, i did just that. she's free now to run as fast as she can in the green fields that will always stay green. and as my son says, "she can walk again...and she's going to be better...and she won't have any more accidents or struggle." and he's right.

over the past week i've come to realize quite a few things about this great friend of mine. she'd battled a lot of odds. when i met at age 2 or 3, she had been saved by a no-kill rescue group in richmond, virginia. her skinny, tick covered self was originally found in a dirty backyard dog pen in god-knows-where. i loved her instantly--especially her pointy little ears with their wispy hairs. she also beat the odds many times over the last 10+ years by avoiding the wheels of trucks and cars, often after wandering off through an unclosed gate--by a forgetful parent. and then there were the animal attacks and terrible falls. in '99 she fell down a flight of stairs and dislocated her leg. in 2001 she was viciously attacked by a german shepherd, which left both of us (particularly myself) with a bit of PTSD. i was really never able to go to the park or walk her again without fear of her being attacked. but she weathered all of those trials--including the arthritis and mild dementia. yesterday, i realized that this dog had gotten through so much on her own. to deny her dignity in the end would be dismissive of all that she had survived.

yesterday we took one last good walk together without fear and with lots of gratitude. i think that she had decided that it was going to be a good day for her--or perhaps her body did. she didn't have any falls and was able to walk with me in the park for a good hour and a half, curling her feet through the lovely trees and trails. the weather was perfect with a touch of wind that kept us cool. we ate turkey and cheese sandwiches (she had 3) under a beautiful tree and sat by the river (her choice) to watch one last time. then we went home. the spring flowers that surrounded her time at the park made it all the better.

i tried to make her last moments meaningful. the walk made her tired and the tranquilizer that the vet gave her brought her to the afternoon nap she had probably been waiting for. i lit candles and brought in flowers. the room was beautiful. our good-bye so peaceful. everyone allowed me to cry, a lot. but most importantly, though i got to say everything i needed to her beforehand. i apologized for the times i had been angry at her, especially in her most recent condition. and i got to tell her that i was so grateful for all that she'd given me in this life, which included her total unconditional love.

the last thing that i got to say though, which i don't know i had really realized until that point, was that i was thankful to her that she had made a space in her life for me. it's always obvious that dog owners are making space in their life for dogs, especially those that they rescue or get from a shelter. but it's a foreign idea that somehow dogs give themselves to you...make space in their little lives for you. those last words i spoke to her marked probably the one moment in my life when i have felt the most gratitude. and there she goes again...giving me more.

i will miss her so.

photos are from our time together yesterday

do...not...destroy...yard...erp

2008-04-13T20:12:00.004-04:00

"what has the world come to?"

when we bought our house in 2003, the place was decked out and ready to move right in. all the walls were painted in a generous color scheme, lending itself to the feeling of being in a greenhouse/christopher lowell wet dream. no, it was lovely. and most of the color is still there, downstairs anyway. we've done a pretty good job covering up the other poo/natural colors that wrapped the walls upstairs. we showered them with lovely pinks, greens and blues. and i feel fine about those choices. painting is easy peasy. however, when you take on a house that really don't need taking on, there's really only one way, other than paint to do it...

destroy it.

and that we did. not anything inside, really. paint is all we really know how to do as of now. and moving furniture. and pooping on the floor. the prime place of our damage to date is in the back yard. the back half, the selling point, the oasis of our home, the hot spot for boozin' and firing up the fire pit has taken the hardest hit. not really because we wanted to, but because we just couldn't. this 5-10K of well-spent urban opulence (potential, with high maintenance) is what we inherited from the two men who owned the home before us. and we killed it. we had a pond, a well landscaped yard, a nice brick patio, a boozin' spot. almost all gone before our eyes.

this winter we realized that we'd neglected it to starvation and ugliness due to the fact that we weren't really using it at all. didn't want it. it didn't fit anymore, especially for a couple with a 3- year-old and an old dog who pooped everywhere. some recommended that we level it and start over. others said not to touch it. i was one of those, fearing that another potential buying couple might take a look at a boring grassy lump and turn right away. the yard was the main selling point. and it is, if you're into that stuff. i reasoned that anyone into a sexy back yard (or a sexyback yard) just isn't going to buy in our neighborhood during these po' times. with that, we decided to revamp the lump and keep it sexy but for the kids and sod it on up. so here we go. first milestone is to clean it all up. then we'll turn to sod king to give it a wig. then the face lift.

"...And what have my people done?"

i hope that something beautiful and useful will come of the mess we have made. i send to the universe my apologies to walter and ruben for ruining what they spent so much time cultivating. thankfully, they probably don't care and are busy flipping another house somewhere else...or not.

5 years

2008-03-19T21:18:00.001-04:00

Mother's Day Proclamation - 1870

Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

kate walsh the singer, not the doctor actor

2008-03-11T14:25:00.003-04:00

i heard this gal on public radio about 10 am this morning. she has a sweet voice that reminds me a wee bit of harriett wheeler (former sundays lead), but less forced. she does have a sugary voice, but it's totally tolerable. we all need sweet every once in awhile...maybe. i do anyway, hell with all these mean girl hormones raging through my body every day.

anyway, if you like harriett, elizabeth mitchell or very early shawn colvin, you will like this kate walsh girl. check out her little place on verve rekkids. quite loverly. paul, i will be stealing your itunes cards soon, so you bets finds em.

photo swipered from verve.

Karl Rove can Kiss Our Ass!

2008-03-05T07:34:00.039-05:00

photo by the super gergy McGerg Huma Abedin

I'd been grappling over who to vote for in the Ohio primary elections for a few months. I love Obama's optimism and am inspired by his words...and of course, those who love him. We have his photo on our fridge and his book on our shelf. And we dream of him taking the White House back from the good ol' boys. I love Michelle and her ease with talking to the people. However, I also love all of the good about Hillary Clinton...and ALSO dream of her taking it all back and cleaning stuff up. Karl Rove said that women wouldn't vote for her. Well, I told myself many years ago that if Hillary ran, I vote for her. I know that for some, she's part of the problem--and not at all part of the solution. But for me, she seems to have some good solutions, including health care for everyone. I agreed with the sentiment of a friend that I just couldn't look myself in the mirror and not vote for a woman--especially now that I'm having a girl of my own. So Tuesday, Hillary got my vote.

The Ohio Primary Rally was held Tuesday night in downtown Columbus--and quite perfectly right next door to my office building--so no parking! I jumped in around 7:30 pm and took it all in for a good 3 1/2 hours before she arrived. I was impressed by the good mix of women and men at the event. I took an opportunity to find a few of those men and capture their images (sorry for the poor quality of a few of them). There was definitely a lot of women of all ages in attendance. I had a chance to sit with a group of iconic middle aged broads for Hillary. Go hot flashes! I was pretty tired the day after, having stood for a good 2 hours with available seating now and then. But it was an wonderful time to be in Ohio Tuesday night with the growing baby girl in my belly, dancing around to the cheers and noise and probably wondering who the hell let all that extra estrogen in.

press in the hizz

NBC's Andrea Mitchell in the hizz

chiseled menz for the Hillz

more awesome menz for the Hillz

prego me for the Hillz

Octo-Astro for the Hillz

the Hillz...Killz!

Happy Birthday, Ol Man

2008-02-26T15:49:00.002-05:00

Dear Sweet One,

You're still shiney and sweet after all these years. I'm so glad to know you.

xo,

Your Wifey Wife

oh tina fey, why must you make me think even more?

2008-02-26T10:42:00.005-05:00

Robin Morgan's well-travelled words on Hillary Clinton first jolted me a bit from my leanings to Barak Obama. I know too many women who are in my place...feeling the need to support her, but unsure. I do know that I hate her ever so slight anti-choice leanings she started on to gain more support from conservatives. I also hate that she voted for the war in Iraq. I also hate that she's played it old school to get political power. But I still don't know all about her. Or him for that matter. There's plenty to read, and I need to do it now, in order to get myself right about these two.

Tina Fey didn't help me last Saturday night though. She is right...bitches get stuff done. But will it be the good stuff? How can we tell? Looking at her track record, she did throw a lot of weight around during Bill's presidency. But is it enough? What do we really need?

Bear from cafepress.com/gigglechick

2008-02-21T12:36:00.011-05:00

dear tiny-baby-girl-yet-to-be-borned,

i do not have enough hours in the day to sew you pretty embroidered dresses...well, as splendid as this one anyway. i should secretly have your gran buy it. but i will learn soon. just taking a peek into the world of wee-girl-wear facinates, terrifies and delights me all at the same time. embroidery classes await me!

xo,

your lady above

we'll be great in 2008

2008-02-19T16:19:00.006-05:00

here we go again. i'm going to try my bestest to keep up with writing. being pregnant (but in the second trimester, thank goodness), having a full-time job, a 3-year-old and a super duper husband to tend to takes up quite a bit of time. but it's good to write. i need to write...more. it's good to write...write...write. if only the screen sounded, felt and looked like paper.

i'll be back!

best news of the day

2007-11-12T18:24:00.000-05:00

One of my all-time favorite bands, Ida, will release a new album at the end of January '08. According to Pitchfork, the band recorded the Lovers Prayers album in the Catskills-based home of Levon Holm (who used to play in The Band). I can not wait until January to hear this sweet music. Hopefully a well-connected-to-the-music-world fairy will send me one in the mail. Otherwise, I'll have to wait in agony!

sew, mama, sew! handmade holidays

2007-11-12T14:59:00.001-05:00

so very excited about all of this! if i only had all day long to craft and craft. i wonder if the fabric store will let me barter mopping the bathrooms for fabric...

it's coming, it's coming

2007-11-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

we've decided to hand make most of our christmas gifts this year instead of running up ridiculous amounts on our credit cards. so the weekend of hollerday crafting will begin tonight! i've been getting some inspiration from uncommon grace and soulemama lately. i also found a handy list of diy holiday gifts over at family fun. and now that i'm over my fear of sewing, i think i'll be ready to dive in and make all sorts of goodies. yippie!

even a 12-year-old knows how to pull a burt reynolds

2007-11-08T06:24:00.001-05:00

to the left, my son parker. to the right, my nephew wesley--in disguise. he is probably the coolest 12-year-old around. smart, witty, so so so kind, generous, best friend to his sister, and moreso, friends with everyone. one of the most wonderful persons on the planet.

these were taken this summer at their joint birthday party. one of parker's gifts from me was a set of mustaches for accentuating his pirateness. note the pirate t-shirt from wesley's mom jen...matches perfectly with his friends in low places hat. anyway, we finally downloaded photos from that day this week and they've been a blast to look at. it was a pretty poignant day for me (i was in the middle of a miscarriage) but the photos of these terrific boys help me to remember just what a great celebration that was...and how awesome it is that they are here in this life with us. their existence is a true gift.

The Swedish Chef vs The Chicken

2007-11-07T19:38:00.001-05:00

thank goodness for both the chef and the pigs in space!

decor8: Calendar Round Up 2008: Part One

2007-11-05T17:30:00.000-05:00

calendars make me oh so happy. i only wish i could look at each of these right now. please see part two as well.

back to work.

decor8: Calendar Round Up 2008: Part One

if you teach him to fish (a.k.a. juvenile post for sunday)

2007-11-04T18:10:00.000-05:00

last year we took our son to the hog calling contest at the circleville pumpkin show. we finally got ahold of the images that he took while standing with us in the crowded audience. i gave him my canon powershot camera to play with--i know, bad mother. anyway, he eventually dropped the camera, then picked it up and smashed the lens in. it rendered it useless and we've been without a real camera for a year. we've been using a video camera that "take photos, too!" but it ain't the same. i might as well be using a shoe to take a photo. anyway, back to those butts. we didn't know that while below he was getting some booty shots. here are a few to enjoy. feel free to provide captions.

sweet november

2007-11-02T07:44:00.000-04:00

next week will be the third anniversary of our wedding reception, what i like to call our "second wedding" and what i consider was our real wedding. we had a shotgun ("with child") wedding with family and two friends (adamant about being in attendance) in march of 2004. we didn't have enough time to throw together a fancypants party, so we thought we'd wait several months. boy was it crazy. i had no idea how insane it would be trying to plan a wedding reception diy style with a 2 month old. i do not recommend it, unless you're a nihilist.

so on november 6, 2004 we held a renewal of vows and blessing of the family before all of those we loved. the ceremony/party was held at a barn outside of town. friends helped us throw the event together. a local vegetarian restaurant catered it with comfort soups, salad and bread. my mom put together the floral arrangements. and tons of people showed, despite the country location.

there were a few sour notes to the day. i was late, having been caught in a baby feeding call as i was on my way out the door. and, unfortunately, it was just a few days right after bush won his second term. for some, it was a very bitter time and no one was really up for celebrating anything. despite that, the whole day was lovely and the weather was perfect. it was an honor to celebrate with our friends and family. it was dreamy. i had wanted a full scale bourgeois martha stewart wedding for many years and struggled that this wasn't going to be the perfect one--but the event turned out to be quite the opposite. everything i wanted. color. food. loved ones. sunshine. music. sweet cake. we had it all.

i love to look at the photos from that day each november. they always remind me of how wonderful life is and how lucky i am to have experienced this day.

the randy's

paul and me. (that baby is now in kindergarten, i think)

flyboy looking for food

folks dancing with the bubbles

the photographer and oh so midwest modern jessica miller

all things on my mind

2007-10-30T16:23:00.000-04:00

tree trimming way overdue

babies don't eat kimchee is due at the library

electrical work

wee horses

preschool class picture, so cute

soccer in the spring

snow tires this year

insurance

will the car die?

broken hearts/angry hearts

amy butler trunk show next week

halloween trick or treating

fall leaves swirling around my neighborhood

purl soho

gratitude for a toddler in my lap at the sewing machine

gratitude for sea kelp and iodine

jen and brian's wedding ceremony

grace

peace

my own forgiveness

chicken in the fridge that is almost a week old

cook it up!

he's the real deal

2007-10-26T12:03:00.001-04:00

we're worried about his sword holding abilities, but it might be okay. as long as his sash don't fall down, it will all work out. see him next week when he's working down the panama canal.

code pink on condi

2007-10-25T13:26:00.000-04:00

Code Pink member Desiree Anita Ali-Fairooz confronted Condesleeze Rice yesterday at a House Foreign Relations Committee hearing about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, telling her she was a "war criminal". I'm totally in awe of this woman who went out on the line to have her voice heard--bloody well heard. Sadly, the committee chair ordered all of the Code Pink members in attendance out of the hearing. (WTF?) Those who were kicked out didn't go down without a fight. Towanda! See the footage here.

dylaney miller as amy winehouse

2007-10-18T09:48:00.001-04:00

This is Dylaney Miller. She's about 65 dog years old. She lives in Silver Lake in LA. Her longtime companion, Jessica Miller is one of my best ever friends and is a rising star in the photography scene (commercial and art). I'm going to petition that she does more work on this lovely houndlady. Isn't she photogenic? Happy Thursday.

my little pirate

2007-10-15T18:03:00.000-04:00

my son has decided that he wants to be a pirate for halloween, which for him is every day this month. so he's a pirate right now as i write. the character he took on, "parker the pirate", has actually kind of bloomed in the last week. it started with a full weekend of pirate hat and eye-patch wearing the weekend before last. it's now moved to being a full-time pirate, with or without the garb (or, as i should say, "garrrrb").

so what's the behavior involved? a lot of arrring, especially at strangers walking down the street. randomly. like a social psychology experiment to see how they respond to random verbal attacks by local 3-year-old pirates.

this weekend we visited a local park ("parrrk") to catch the last showing of a garden sculpture exhibit (made coincidentally by a guy who looks like a pirate). at one point my husband had to fetch himself to the restroom. parker and i decided to wait at a bench along a walk close to the entrance. after helping me devour a sweet banana ("banannarrrr"), parker the pirate decided that he'd pass the time by harassing passers-by, shadowing them with fear and pirateness. he decided to perch himself in the middle of the asphalt path with his hands on his hips, legs out (you know, to stop anyone being able to go the full 4 feet around him), chin down and a scowl on his face.

grown adults and individuals who approached were met with a very loud "AAAAARGH". most greeted him back with their own "aaaaargh"s, which he ignored as insignificant to his reign over that spot on the sidewalk. he'd hold his pose and let his eye follow them as they passed--which was hilarious. the whole thing brought me lots of joy. one woman tried to politely and quickly slip by without an acknowledging "aarrgh" back and instead giggled with tight lips. everyone on the walk during that 10 minutes was amused by my little pirate. oh i love him so.

we went to a local outdoor mall yesterday and it his terror trip was met with less of a response from the shoppers. he still managed to bring out smiles and chuckles, if not responding "arrrghs".

i haven't had a good working digital camera in awhile, but once i get one (soon, i hope) i will post pictures of my pirate and his horse "pencil". this whole pirate thing is definitely the most fun we've seen him have with himself--and makes the defiant three's so worth it.

perfected Jews?

2007-10-12T09:57:00.000-04:00

Jesus probably wouldn't want to break bread with Ann Coulter, the bad PR she's giving him these days. Ugh. Will this woman never die in a freak accident?

where the crafty ladies be at...who knew?

2007-09-26T11:01:00.000-04:00

i love the world of crafty blogging. i could spend hours reading what these folks have to say about crafting and baby tending and crafting some more (amanda soule is my new hero). and honestly, this year has brought about for me a new interest and love in learning and finally doing. just doing. the doing has been a little slow, especially when i don't know how to properly use my sewing machine or when i feel overwhelmed to the point of giving up. but the inspiration keeps me going.

so back to that doing. well, i recently discovered a facet of the world of crafty blogging--one that i really knew existed, but perhaps wasn't ready to journey into until i had figured out how to use that ol' machine. that would be the one where they actually show you how to do it...so that you can do it now and stop not doing. duh, that's what the crafty bloggers are supposed to do, no?

craftapple is such a site. the owner not only posts her love of the craft, but shouts, in bright colors "hey, i can do make this and that and here's how, sister". the owner (ms. apple?) posts tutorials and patterns made with delish fabrics (joel dewberry, amy butler) in addition to maintaining an etsy site. so you can buy, but also learn, make and do. three cheers for the spirit of sharin! hip-hip-hooray!

baked orange FINGERTIP!

2007-09-21T15:37:00.000-04:00

I'm guessing that these came out in 2003, which is the pretty much when I fell off of the face of the earth, because I had no idea that Baked Cheetos existed until today. And apparently they taste exactly the same as the old regular kind--cheese breath and unhealthy food coloring included. I'm quite excited and plan to use it in my celebration of "end-of-poison-ivy-coming-out-of-my-body, beware of the 'roids" week.

Baked Cheetos!!! You know, though that this means that there will be double the amount of orange filament on my fingertips--yet with half of the fat. Now for the collective "eeeew"...you know you love it!

conversions and the mr. t

2007-09-19T15:39:00.000-04:00

i had to convert inches to yards for my non-numbers self today and found this handy site along the way:
http://web.telia.com/~u54504162/javascript/convert/

this tool helps you convert basically anything you need to, from money to measurements to volume for cooking, and weights and area (all up in your area!). i had to calculate how many yards of divine amy butler fabric i'd need for some curtains. i'm off to order.

oh, another note: steroids that help treat poison ivy (bitch!) also make you INSANE. seriously. i feel like mr. t. today, only slightly less mr. and a little more bi-polaroid. just wanted to share that. stay away from the 'roids!!! eek.

have a lovely day.

lyrics for my new poison ivy song, entitled "poison ivy: bitch, 2007"

2007-09-17T23:49:00.000-04:00

poison ivy
in my yard
BITCH!

dormant in silence
"it's just a bug bite"--NO
BITCH!

on my legs
for a week
BITCH!

poison ivy
she is mean
BITCH!

crappy medication
looks like bad foundation
BITCH!

urgent care
to repair
BITCH!

looks like i've
got fried turkey legs
BITCH!

fasting 2 days
to make it go away
BITCH!

cephalexin
and prednisone
to heal my wounds
BITCH!

i'll never wear shorts
when i do yard work
BITCH!

If this woman were on Top Chef, she would take down Tom Colicchio and then cook him up with a nice risotto.

2007-09-11T12:17:00.000-04:00

If you live in or stop by Columbus, Ohio, you must get yourself to Alana's Food and Wine. Meet Alana Shock. This woman is a force for good food, a lover of fine wine and magician of tasty morsels. And the language she speaks is food--all food. My husband and I had our wedding reception at her restaurant and gave her full control over the menu. As a chef she is trustworthy and the food is always impeccable.

I had a special opportunity to eat at her home the other night--something I will always be grateful for. For her, it was a simple BBQ with some friends. However, for me, it was an opportunity to transport myself to another land where Morningstar Farms and frozen peas don't exist and the the honor and love of cooking reign.

She served up a fabulous spread of food, including ribs slathered in tasty BBQ sauce and flank steak that I probably could have been buried with. "Oh, no problem being dead now. As long as I have this steak...we'll be okay." I ate so much food that I think I hit the brim of my throat. Now, I know that this is really not what you do when you are eating such fucking incredible food ("savor it!"), but when you are me and you need to hold on to a little to save for the rest of the bland vegetarian week, you take all that you can. I seriously ate so much meat, that I won't have to eat meat until Thanksgiving 2008.

Have I been inspired to get off my ass and make good food? You bet. There's no need not to ever, ever. So I have to hit the books and get myself learned up! Thank goodness Fall will keep me indoors where I can take my time practicing. Get me the risotto!!!

carb tuesday

2007-09-04T15:25:00.000-04:00

i can not believe how many bread products i have consumed today. here's the list:

2 slices of bread (for a turkey sandwich)
2 ginormous bob evan's biscuits*
2 ginormous slices of banana nut bread*

my oh my. and now for the sugar crash.

*given to me by a coworker who can not consume gluten

tomorrow will be an all lettuce wednesday. and tomorrow, i will turn into a carbutterfly.

a peek goodbye at summer

2007-09-01T21:15:00.001-04:00

http://flickr.com/photos/bellabluebell/967550659/

why teenage boys in central ohio aren't all that bad

2007-08-31T21:52:00.001-04:00

bringing smart and snarky back to the high school boy world

labor day, how i love thee

2007-08-30T09:16:00.000-04:00

i'm taking the next 2 days off to extend the already nice and lovely long weekend. this will create kind of a mini-vacation for us, which i'm so grateful for. it's been much needed for my already clouded head. in addition to the r&r needed, the main goal for this extra time is to reconnect with my son, who is currently watching dora's pirate adventure as i type this. we'll soon whisk ourselves away to the fun that awaits us in columbus, ohio (woo woo!).

on the agenda:
cosi
library
zoo
train exhibit/celebration
haircuts !
nature walks
a trip to yellow springs for bike riding
crafting

on my agenda:
crafting with some ladie-friends
cleaning up
sleeping
sewing
eating
happy hour with co-workers tomorrow
giving lots of kisses to my boys, who i am so grateful for

happy labor day, everyone.

joni mitchell

2007-08-28T10:31:00.000-04:00

joni mitchell's music has always made me feel wonderful. she's releasing a new album at the end of september. the lyrics are available for preview at her website. she's updating big yellow taxi on this one. can't wait!

holy blessings

2007-08-23T15:19:00.000-04:00

i work for catholic social services--actually, in the dept. that does counseling for catholics and those who are uninsured. and consequently, i work with quite a few catholic folks day in and day out. today i discovered that a lot of folks who work for the church close their phone messages and conversations with "god bless you". who knew?

this is something that i have never experienced until today...when i was the recipient of 4 of them, including a voice mail from sister mary frances.

i will just assume with all of these saintly send-offs that god is wanting me to be blessed. thanks catholics! i needed that.

cross stitch text generator @ subversive cross stitch!

2007-08-22T11:38:00.000-04:00

Get your own cross stitch pattern (text only) here:

http://www.subversivecrossstitch.com/howto/robot.htm

Yay!

and the sweetness of the leaving

2007-08-15T14:28:00.000-04:00

ah, and every day you gaze upon the sunset
with such love and intensity
why it's ah, it's almost as
if you could only crack the code
then you'd finally understand what this all means

ah, but if you could...do you think you would
trade in all, all the pain and suffering?
ah, but then you'd miss
the beauty of the light upon this earth
and the sweetness of the leaving

from jane siberry's "calling all angels"

in the last few days i have lived through quite a loss all to myself with my first experience with miscarriage. it's no fun, at all. nothing redeeming, as anyone would guess. just ugly and tormenting and brutal. and i'm so very, very sad and angry. yesterday i read sharon olds' very raw and personal miscarriage over and over. i needed that though, i think in order to find my own recollections somewhere else--in someone else, i should say. it didn't bring much light though. just stretched out the darkness i was lying under. and i know that's okay to do.

on my way to my ob's office this morning, i shuffled through paul's very icky 80's-male-laden ipod collection and found some light: jane siberry. i'm always aware that things will be okay in the end, even when they're not right now. and when i'm in the thick of pain though, especially this kind which is so foreign to me, peace seems so damn far away. hearing these words, "but then you'd miss/the beauty of the light upon this earth/and the sweetness of the leaving" helped remind me that there is love on the other side of so much of this that's sad and heavy.

for nay nay

2007-08-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
--Mary Oliver

index my heart, index my heat

2007-08-06T15:21:00.000-04:00

Up until this weekend, I had forgotten how much I hate my lovely barely air conditioned house. We have a tiny AC unit on the side of the house that emits just a whisper of cool air during the summer. The sweltering weekend reached up to 90-something at one point. Even my anti-AC, "I heart window fan" husband brought in the extra troops--our second AC unit, which we installed in our bedroom window. That unit, so icky and awkward and big and loud, was a godsend (This is where my husband would say, "that's what she said". I second.) Every year I am reminded that we need to update the AC--primarily because dualing units are a fire hazard for the outdated electrical system, something that the electrican will probably be reminding me when he visits us on Friday. I'll be so glad when October is here.

almost three

2007-07-26T15:58:00.000-04:00

if eyes are windows to the soul, then here is the spirit of my wee one, parker. every day i am blessed by this child's wonderful eyes that welcome me into my place in this world.

sewing

2007-07-19T11:38:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a series of how-to workshops at a local sewing shop in August. Although the primary goal is to learn sewing 101, the ultimate and most blessed goal of all is that at the completion of the workshops, the student will receive their own Huskystar E20 sewing machine! Free! (For those who don't know how to sew, we are idiots, and idiots will believe anything is Free!)

But how much fun is that...learn the basics, and there you got it, fancy pants sewing machine for you! And knowledge. That's like going to grandma's house, learning how to sew, quilt, make curtains, read patterns, size up stuff and then walking away with your own damn machine--a new machine, at that. I'll also learn how to use this machine while I'm in the series. Owners can upgrade the machine in the future as they advance in their sewing skillz. Here is a loverly photo of the Husky E20. So glorious! So husky! So Free! not so much!

*a note, this 101 class is so glorious, that even my friend Natalie wanted to take it, but they would not let her (boo, hiss) since she wasn't in need of the Free! machine (she has her own bad ass Viking). It makes me sad, since I'll be going solo. However, this will mean that Natalie and I will have a sew-a-thon at some point in the future, making sun dresses for every boy and girl in Columbus, Ohio, including Charles and Chester.

Also check out Wholly Craft if you are in Columbus, OH for sewing classes. They have some of the best basic and creative sewing classes in town.

bike and tie to bonnaroo

2007-07-10T14:56:00.000-04:00

last thursday, our wee family was driving home from the library when we spotted 2 mormon elders on bikes, cycling for the good mormon word. i always wonder if going door to door to recruit mormons really works--or is worth it to those young men. so the following tiny exchange happened between my husband, paul and i:

me: i just don't know why they don't do something better with their time
paul: like go to bonnaroo?

at this point, i realized that it would be so much better for them to be at bonnaroo. without the ties. good luck, ya'll elders!

why potty training sucks in the summer

2007-07-03T14:30:00.001-04:00

because you have to go places, like the zoo, the science museum or grandma and grandpa's house with the hope that your child will not pee his or her pants--especially since he or she will not pee on an adult toilet. so what do you do? put a diaper on him or her, which inevitably throws any potty training accomplishments that you might have reached out the window.

or you bring mr. potty and the jar o' potty candy with you.

Veggie Booty Recall

2007-06-29T15:28:00.000-04:00

Arrrrh. Who knew that if you ate booty, there's been doodie from yr booty? Arrrrrh! A setback for the vegetarians. It seriously is, though, the best nutritious crack that your kids will eat (and packed full of vitamins...and salmonella.)

berry angel cream

2007-06-25T11:34:00.000-04:00

easiest summer dessert (yet messiest)

i made this for my family this weekend. everyone devoured it like a pack of wolves on fried chicken.

angel food cake, cut in half lengthwise, 1/3 way through

1 cup blueberries

5 cups strawberries, cut in quarters, with 1 tbs sugar mixed in

whipping cream (whipped) or light cool whip for fewer calories

cut the cake, whip the cream (a chilled bowl or metal pan works best), sort of hollow out the inner layer of the cake, layer cream on inner layer, put on a layer of half of strawberries, add in a half of the blueberries, add layer of whipped cream onto bottom of top layer of angel food cake. put top layer of cake on (make it fit!). add whipped cream on top of cake and then the rest of berries.

here's my rendition:

fyi, i was actually inspired by martha's new cake, but it went it's own way. as is the case with martha's ideas. that martha.

here's hers:

also in the running

2007-06-24T09:07:00.000-04:00

i went to the sweet glass thimble quilting shop yesterday to pick out fabric for the curtains (re: post below) and was informed that they will soon be carrying amy butler's nigella collection. one of the fabrics will include this lovely one, called "passion vine". so now i'm a bit unsure.

the best thing about this one is that it will help in blocking out light. it's also a thicker fabric, which is probably best for curtains. however, i'm not sure if it's too dark for a pink wall. hmmm.

if you are in columbus, you should check out the glass thimble. they've been carrying amy butler's stuff lately and have a good amount left. the owner told me that they had had more of it but that it was flying off the shelf. i guess the good word is catching on. now if i could only learn how to sew fast enough...and grow a money tree. the new nigella fabric is running at $15 a yard. eek!

pink n' cherry n' _____?

2007-06-21T10:13:00.001-04:00

the mr. and i are currently refabbin' our boudoir this summer (thanks to domino). we got a jump start this spring by painting it pink. pink, in the form of valspar's "quebec calm", which is more of a light-blue-pink. "a calming effect" pink.

i'm now in the midst of upgrading the room's decorative elements, primarily the lamps, rugs, and curtains. but i've hit a boo-hooey stumbling block in this process. the lervly light cherry furniture that lives in the space, the cherry that once pleasantly matched the sage color on the walls, now stands alone in it's earthiness. pink and cherry might go well in some spaces, like a gynecologist's office, but not so much in this case.

to that end, the cherry wood must become one with the quebec calm. the main priority now is to decide on the best fabric for four single panel curtains--all of which will be backed by a basic, plain ol' color, like khaki or black or something that matches. i'll post photos of the room soon. in the mean time, feel free to comment on the swatches below. fabric is from amy butler's lotus collection.

pick the perttiest one:

trumpetessness

2007-06-19T09:59:00.000-04:00

This is Leslie. She is a librarian, friend, creative being and a musician. She can work a number of instruments, including this here trumpet. Her band, Church of the Red Museum is playing this weekend at Columbus' annual Comfest. If you are in town or coming to to Columbus (come ya'll!), check them out on Sunday at 7:10 pm at the Offramp stage at Comfest. They're also playing on Friday at Little Brother's.

i love charlottesville

2007-06-18T14:49:00.001-04:00

how many times have i come to you out of my head with joy, if ever a man was, for to approach you i have given up the light and all directions. i come to you lost, wholly trusting as a man who goes into the forest unarmed. it is as though i descend slowly earthward out of the air. i rest in peace in you, when i arrive at last. -wendell berry

we went to charlottesville this weekend to see tyler and sena get married. tyler is an old friend of my husband's. i had only met tyler twice or five times and paul hadn't seen him in about 4 years. however, he insisted that we be at their wedding. it was lovely,charming and genuine. i've never heard "venus in furs" played for a wedding party processional. and my friend dominic read "in the country of marriage" by wendell berry. it was awesome.

as is the case with most out-of-town weddings, i had a chance to meet a lot of folk whose names/histories i'd only heard about. i was also reintroduced to people who i met over 10 years ago. both myself and the person i was meeting again could remember way back in our skulls when we had first met. it was quite endearing to have a bit of blank space filled in. it also left me wanting to know them all more.

i told paul this morning that we should move to charlottesville so that we can spend more time with these kind people. he then reminded me that most of the clan were ex-c'ville pats. too bad. charming charlottesville has such a brigadoon feeling. paul's mantra for the weekend was that "everyone's important in charlottesville"--from the burrito dude to the rocker. and loved. we'll definitely be back for more.

in my head now

2007-06-13T14:49:00.000-04:00

1) tony soprano is not dead...or is he?
2) bedroom inspiration board--make it!
3) jim gill, children's musicmaker. will there always be sunshine?
4) tyler and sena's wedding in charlottesville party=PARTY ya'll
5) is christina aguilera pregnant?
6) am i pregnant?
7) parker's potty training almost done, except for the poop part
8) tire tread thin, needs repair
9) clean up the back yard now
10) huntington dog beach...and dylaney
11) i want my own ipod
12) library books due
13) ramona is a lovely name
14) spurs will probably win. i am sad for cavs

and bread will once again be 2 cents

2007-04-24T23:33:00.000-04:00

one thing that i hate about living in columbus, oh is that there are no direct flights to my hometown of richmond, virginia. there's never ever, to the best of my knowledge, been a direct flight. and when you do take a flight, the only option has been to connect in charlotte, nc or washington, dc at the average cost of $300. bullshit in darkness.

today, april 24, 2007, lightness came wrapped in a sugary sweet, ice cream and french fries-filled 6-letter word: skybus. direct flights to my home town from here on out. no connecting flights to drag my toddler through during nap time. god has shown us his love and mercy forever, amen.

but wait, it's not over. the best is yet to come. and with this, war will be over. and britney spears will pull off her straw cowboy hat to reveal a returned mane of hair. and each day will be a spring day, filled with flowers, avocados and basil.

TEN DOLLAR ONE-WAY TICKETS

I had a feeling that this clever, new Skybus airline had some tricks up her sleeves, but I had no idea it was this ridiculous. REEE-DIC!

And what does one do when prices are so awesomely, sugar smack low?

One buys oneself a ticket to Los Angeles for that which is less than the cost of one of the following:
a meal at O'Charley's for 1
a pair of K-mart jeans
8 thrift store shirts
a subscription to People magazine
half a bag of groceries at Whole Foods
a full tank of gas for a Volvo Station wagon, on a good day
2 pizzas

$20!!! LA.!!!

Get in on the action while the summer spots are still low!

Sestina for the Working Mother

2007-03-21T15:32:00.000-04:00

I recently picked up Deborah Garrison's The Second Child at the library. It's the most recent work by the Pantheon Books editor, and mom of three.

This one was quite beautiful--no less another reminder of the awkward and sorrowful reconciliation between working and staying at home.

Sestina for the Working Mother
No time for a sestina for the working mother.
Who has so much to do, from first thing in the morning
When she has to get herself dressed and the children
Too, when they tumble in the pillow pile rather than listening
To her exhortations about brushing teeth, making ready for the day;
They clamor with "up" hugs when she struggles out the door.

Every time, as if shot from a cannon when she shuts the door.
She stomps down the street in her city boots, slipping from mother
Mode into commuter trance, trees swaying at the corner of a new day
Nearly turned, her familiar bus stop cool and welcoming in the morning.
She hears her own heart here, though no one else is listening,
And if the bus is late she hears down the block the voices of her children

Bobbing under their oversized backpacks to greet other children
At their own bus stop. They too have come flying from the door,
Brave for the journey, and everyone is talking and no one is listening
As they head off to school. The noisy children of the working mother,
Waiting with their sitter for the bus, are healthy and happy this morning,
And that's the best way, the mother knows, for a day

To begin. The apprehension of what kind of day
It will be in the world of work, blissful without children,
Trembles in the anxious and pleasurable pulse of the morning;
It has tamped her down tight and lit her out the door
And away from what she might have been as a mother
At home, perhaps drinking coffee and listening

To NPR, what rapt and intelligent listening
She'd do at home. And volunteering, she thinks, for part of the day
At their school—she'd be a playground monitor, a PTA mother!
She'd see them straggle into the sunshine, her children
Bright in the slipstream, and she a gracious shadow at the school door;
She would not be separated from them for long by the morning.

But she has chosen her flight from them, on this and every morning.
She's now so far away she trusts someone else is listening
To their raised voices, applying a Band-Aid, opening the door
For them when the sunshine calls them out into the day.
At certain moments, head bent at her desk, she can see her children,
And feels a quick stab. She hasn't forgotten that she is their mother.

Every weekday morning, every working day,
She listens to her heart and the voices of her children.
Goodbye! they shout, and the door closes behind the working mother.

march, march, march!

2007-03-01T16:05:00.000-05:00

those of us in central ohio have been slowly recovering from a bi-polar snowstorm that hit us about 3 weeks ago like a bad case of the miseries. the ice is now slowly melting and there are just a few traces of snow left around town in dirty bits that remind me of the piles of laundry in my bedroom. one thing that i actually love about living in ohio (i'm a southern transplant) is that we actually get snow...and i often look forward to it arriving, preferably during the winter holidays, now excluding valentine's day and president's day.

this year it came kind of late and in a big glob. it snowed straight for almost a week and ultimately caused tons of chaos--for me anyway. my husband and i landed ourselves into crazy bickering sessions over how to handle it ("you're not supposed to boil pots of water and pour them onto your car! don't break my window!!!"). and our cars took a beating as well, ending up with holes in the pipes underneath and layers of salt coating the exterior. thankfully we were able to get around after digging ourselves out many times over throughout the days. there was one sweet moment where about 8 people stopped what they were doing to help get my husband out of the snow while he tried to turn a corner.

the most significant impact the snow has made, i think, has been my mental stability. snow is beautiful and makes things clean and all, but for someone like myself who prefers the predictable, the snow war created a ton of anxiety. i assume because of the work we had to do to get around and the lack of options for childcare once the school shut down for several days. i think also because of how isolated i felt from the world, though it was only for a few days.

so three cheers for march! hip, hip, hooray!

all in a day

2007-02-08T18:45:00.000-05:00

The last 24 hours of the insatiable E! RSS feed has included the following headlines:

"Anna Nicole's New DNA Deadline"

"Anna Nicole Dead"

"Anna Nicole Dies"

Kinda gross. Kinda sad.

Sorry, Anna Nicole.

who is the wee little woman?

2007-02-07T09:40:00.000-05:00

One of our favorite bedtime books is "The Wee Little Woman", a story about small, single gal who spends her day milking her cow and hanging out with her animals. The book has been such a staple that I've give it it's own song, titled "Wee Little Woman", sung to the tune of Asia's "Heat of the Moment", respectively.

Anyway, the wee woman gets in a fight with her cat when he tries to drink her milk. The cat gets scatted ("scat cat!"), leaves town and returns to a very sad wee little woman. They all make up--and drink up some milk.

I have been trying to figure out who the wee little woman reminded me. Perhaps she's a woman from Guatemala...a lady from downtown...a figure from a work of art. I finally got my answer. Last night as I opened up the book and read out the title, my husband said from across the room, "...starring Lisa Bonet, circa 1986."

Moments like these make story time rule even more. Thanks, Paul!

water, trail mix, pen

2007-01-26T10:20:00.000-05:00

I've often wondered what I'd do if I were faced with an animal attack on myself or a loved one--or total stranger. I'm still not sure. However, it appears that this 65-year-old woman knew what to do while when her husband was ambushed by a lion while the couple hiked in a northern California park last week.

As I started reading about the attack I wondered how this granny chased off the cat. With the machine gun she had nestled next to her Patagonia fanny pack? No, a pen. She used a pen to save her spouse. Apparently, she pulled a pen from her husband's pocket (at his request while being attacked) and gouged out the animal's eye. I've been wondering how on earth did she could have mustered the courage to make it happen. A pen! She also grabbed a large log and clubbed the cat in the nose until it backed away. I'm absolutely blown away by her bravery.

So this brought me to some pondering about whether or not I'd respond so well to an attack as such on my own partner. One seriously has to get it together, dig in and go on the offense. I'm still marveled that she got as close as the eye--let alone the head or body. Do you need to have taken a self-defense class to have your brain and body in that place? Do you have to read "The Power of Now" or is it pure love that makes us to apt to save our beloved during these frightful moments?

Apparently, it's just teamwork, according to a statement she gave to a reporter:

"We fought harder than we ever have to save his life, and we fought
together," she said.

The collective. The we. The together. That's the answer. I can almost believe it. Pens are useful though, I suppose.

Happy almost Valentine's Day.

resolving to be simple--but not broke

2007-01-12T16:26:00.000-05:00

My resolution for this new year was to live a little more simply: not buy as much crap as I usually do (from Target), not give in to the urge to have all the latest of coolness, get rid of my credit card debt, not fill my brain with celebrity gossip (sick, sickedy, sickness), not eat as many pre-packaged foods, spend more time with the family, read more, walk more, sing more, enjoy life more simply.

Simplicity all of my own doing--until I was hit with the reality that December was a 5-week month and that the money that I would have used to spend on my bills at the beginning of this month was used to actually pay for Christmas (I was avoiding credit cards the last two weeks of December...part of my "simplicity" plan, which is actually a "get off the master's card" plan). SO I have had no extra money at all, other than that needed to buy gas and groceries. So it's not so much fun any more that I'm actually broke. But it is indeed, I think, my own fault. I know it is my own fault.

Making this transition from semi-broke to living with less is hard. But I think that downgrading has allowed me to see how much I really don't have and how much I depended on charging for things.

(I have to insert here that I work with low-income folks for a living, so I know what real broke is and RRrrrreeeeal broke is. We aren't real broke. Just 1% real broke. But I feel the pinch.)

So what are we doing this weekend? Using our Blockbuster "get one free" coupon, swimming at the Y, making pizza at home, taking the dogs to the park, singing, playing cards, putting away the decorations (such a cheap option for entertainment), and dreaming of next Friday: payday...and Wendy's fries.

gramma's up!

2007-01-04T18:25:00.000-05:00

Who knew that Nancy Pelosi could turn Senators into little boys!

You go, gramma!!!

yay for everything

2006-12-03T13:43:00.000-05:00

i'm back. trying to return to the routine of just writing...to anything. writing is good. not writing is bad, sometimes. but i'll keep posting...more soon.

until then, i'm in a frenzy of knitting a million scarves (the only thing i can knit) for holiday gifts. starting now. when i get to the end of the yarn pile, i'll write a little more.

the new job is amazing. working with therapists is the best thing. no drama. and it's quiet. and everyone is nice. and i only have one job to do...not three in one.

happy december. stay safe and warm.

and the wisdom to know the difference

2006-09-29T22:47:00.000-04:00

I'm not so great at keeping up with this blog. I'm definitely not what I'd call a real deal cheese wheel blogger. But I've found that writing here does some kind of good in my life. The simple act of writing is enough to keep my brain healthy amidst the whirlwind I live in right now (2 year old, being broke, working full-time, politics in Oldhio, dirty house, eroding landscaping on my property that beautiful gay men created, fleas!!!). It's been good. Hopefully, I'll write more...more that's somewhat better, anyway.

99% of my brain:
I'm about to quit a job that I've been in for over 5 1/2 years. I'm pretty down about leaving it. The change must happen though for a good number of reasons, one of which is the necessity for more money (a whole 75 cents more--but it adds up!). I could list all the nasty and heartbreaking others, but won't to save my ass. No steam needed in the last week.

The place is a non-profit career counseling/education agency that serves women in career/life transition. The clients I help often face multiple barriers in their search for meaningful work and a sustainable income. They come to us to find the answers they've been carrying in their pocket all along. A rainbow of options, with Jesse Jackson at the end, cheering them on. Or maybe someone just as fabulous and skilled. The work and results are absolutely rewarding. I've had a chance to recruit and work alongside hundreds of volunteers and witnessed the life change of well over 400 women. Have even changed myself and of course, learned via the stories of countless, what NOT to do with your career (thank GOD!!!). I'll make some mistakes in the future, no doubt.

My next job will provide me with a lot more space in my noggin to be creative, I hope. It's still in the non-profit, counseling vein--but with the Catholics! And thankfully it won't be as fucked up and complex. So I hope to write more, maybe. And hell, think more about what I'm writing. Or write what I'm thinking, or write...think...

And now Ms. Natalie has linked me to her blog. Yikes. The pressure to do well is on!

Happy Fall, ya'll. And to the Canadian...single-sex education benefits those who want to be there in addition to benefiting the world. Just ask Miss Jamaica World 2006!

Oh, quick poll: is it benefiting or benefitting? The dictionaries disagree and the bets are on...

dervishes

2006-09-23T09:03:00.000-04:00

we attended an evening with the whirling dervishes of turkey last night. it was pretty amazing. and on top of that, i was soooo tired, so i ended up half quite lucid the show. midway through the long and very quiet set i realized that they reminded me of the "spinners" at grateful dead shows, minus the tall camel haired hats--and obvious influence of islam. and a little more dreamy.

can't-a-name-a-mammal

2006-09-20T21:13:00.000-04:00

tonight we ate this for dessert...

...and later, i told my son that this animal was a cantaloupe.

i'll take part of the blame for the low scores he gets on future aptitude tests.

the rest i'll leave for the idiots who name zoo animals after fruits!

2006-09-19T16:12:00.000-04:00

Our Mayor, Mike Coleman is a big fan of the Pearl Alley Market. I myself was down at the market today, in fact, doling out information about a non-profit I work for. As I got up to leave, I spotted the city big whig with his bodyguards (2 of them, in fact).

On my way out, I told the pie selling ladies from southeastern Ohio that the Mayor was around. Maybe he'd buy a pie. One of them then turned to me and asked, "now which one is he, the big one?," referring to the bodyguards. I looked around and noticed everyone's eyes on the Mayor and his staff and said, "no. He's the one with the glasses."

And at that moment, the Mayor became just another passer by lookin' for some goods--and not buying nothin'.

Now until the end of October you can get some goodies from MaMaw's on Tuesdays and Fridays at the Pearl Alley Market in Columbus, OH (if you can make it).

you know you're the daughter of Nursery owners when...

2006-09-18T22:53:00.001-04:00

you "accidentally" kill 50% of the plants in your yard while spraying round-up to get rid of those pesky weeds you've been too lazy to pull all summer. i didn't need those damn plants anyways.

better get me some mulch!

but can she get write her own code?

2006-09-15T12:22:00.000-04:00

as some of you know, my alma mater has decided to go co-ed. there's a good sized fight to keep this from happening. with hope, it will be overturned soon. there are actually hundreds of folks pullin' out the can of whoop ass right now, including students, parents, alums, faculty, lawyers and area residents. it's all very serious.

with that, though, i thought that i'd post a little smidge of talk from the alum listserv that happened recently between a few of us.

a little background: the school hired a firm to do a feasibility study on the college's future as single sex (which i call a paid study to tell them to go co-ed, known to others as prostitution). the firm's conclusions found that the women the college would eventually want to attract--to keep them financially afloat would be:

"A new variety of female students. These women are more social and outgoing, dress up for class and seem to care more about their appearance."

Someone from the listserv then posited, "Might these be the 'normal girls?'"

To which I replied, "Actually, they're robots."

Suddenly, I had it all figured out.

i hate fleas

2006-09-13T10:12:00.000-04:00

i hate fleas,
they hate me.
i wish them death,
for being a flea.

one day, i will break all the chains
they put around me,
kick them out of my house,
put 'em where they should be.

in the flea grave!!!

Three steps forward, two steps back.

2006-09-09T12:21:00.000-04:00

photo from Save Randolph-Macon Woman's College

The Board of Trustees at R-MWC voted this morning on a strategic plan that will admit men into the school starting next Fall. The school will also regear as a "global honors college"...and die faster than a Hollywood marriage.

i heart my neighborhood

2006-09-06T22:21:00.000-04:00

I have a tragic love/hate relationship with my neighborhood. I've lived here in the home that I share with my husband for over three years. In this time I've created a tiny family, made new relationships, gone through personal losses, purged enough clothing for every Gap in America, learned how not to garden, created art and loved like I've never loved--all in my home. I am thankful for this place.

The neighborhood is nestled much like a kidney between the bustling and trashed northern end of the University District of The Ohio State University and the quaint southernmost end of "Clintonville"--a village of sorts that features craft-style homes, quiet streets and 30/40 something's who fear the leap into suburbia--so they hold on for dear life.

The fact that the area is in flux/semi-despair makes it somewhat sexy. There are lots of working class folk, rockers, artists, university folk, professionals, hipsters and elders who call this kidney space home. It's grungy exterior in itself makes irresistible note of the softness and beauty that must reside within the tiny to mid-sized dwellings. And a good number of first-time homebuyers rejoice with new properties they bought for 0% down--a major draw for those in debt and without a nest egg.

About 40% of the time though, I loathe this neighborhood. I typically voice the same laundry list of complaints:

air pollution from cars, planes, and trains
deteriorating homes (with ours slowly joining the lot)
dead smelling trash in the alley
speeding cars (our street is a major vein out of downtown and campus)
3 a.m. fireworks
drug dealers
loud porch parties
a weird and anti-social neighbor who I know is keeping something or someone in his basement
unfinished eyesore properties
the occasional roaming pit bull or t-shirted poodle

And this is just my block.

But at night, I am especially grateful for all the life around me. And it's all pretty unintentionally unique and genuine. I would appreciate the silence and clean air outside of the city, but I think it'd miss the gifts this area gives me every day. The trash in the alley eventually gets cleaned up. And the fireworks stop. And the dealers move and deal somewhere else. The air pollution I'll give away any day, but the sincerity of this neighborhood, no. Can't get that in the suburbs.

Thanks, Neighborhood!

Yes, they are

2006-09-05T19:01:00.000-04:00

This week, Randolph-Macon Woman's College Board of Trustees will be voting on whether or not to go co-ed. The vote is really just a formality--something that has pissed hundreds if not thousands of alums off. The Board lied and told alums and students alike in '05 and '06 that going co-ed was the last thing on the list of options that they'd ever consider. This plan has schematically come in through the back door. They have even hired a fancy pr firm to help them handle the anger coming from all directions. Alums only had a few weeks to mobilize and educate other alums about this decision...and unfortunately, this hasn't been enough time to cause enough of a ruckus.

I think that I could be wrong though. Despite the lack of afforded time, a good deal of work has been done very quickly in reaction to the plan the Board's chosen to vote on. Alums have collected enough money to file a lawsuit against the school, there's a huge ass protest planned this weekend, there will be walkouts and hopefully Osama or Jerry Fallwell will show up and take the Board of Trustees hostage. Or maybe Oprah will show up and take over the school...with everyone getting a new car.

The Board of Trustees have no idea how screwed they are. And they never thought that the women they educated to be fierce leaders would rear their ugly heads in defense of their school...loudly. It's going to be nasty.

This photo is from a recent DC gathering of alumnae. Quite inspiring to say the least.

Kick some M' effin' ass, ladies. And play some good music while you're at it.

black sheep

2006-08-25T10:37:00.000-04:00

i don't plan on writing much about my son in this space, but his official foray into the two's this week is an occasion that i thought i'd make note of.

i know that this is so damn cliche, but i really had no idea how painfully difficult the transition into being a parent would be. i also wasn't ready for how magically wonderful toddlerhood is.

the song baa, baa, black sheep is now a balm for my chaos, particularly when sang: "baa, baa baah shee, pah ney wooo" at any given moment. life is indeed so very beautiful.

happy birthday, parker.

folding in

2006-08-21T18:58:00.000-04:00

I wrote last week (screamed into an entry, that is) about the Board of Trustees at Randolph-Macon Woman's College making preparations for a vote of yes in the case of the school going co-ed. After a few days of reading hundreds of emails on an anti-co-ed listserv as well as the school's Strategic Plan, I've realized that it's a no-win situation. Someone even said that it's a done deal...the vote on September 9 is simply a formality.

The petition that someone set up has only gathered 2700 names. And there are only several hundred letters in protest that have been written to date. They need thousands. It's pretty hopeless. But I am not going to give up hope. Mills College, Hampden-Sydney and others out there have stayed co-ed after long fights between the Board and alums. Maybe a force of hidden alums will come about at the last minute and take over, like the ghosts in "Pirates of the Caribbean." Oddly enough, those who would be fighting the hardest right now are much like those ghosts...they've past on.

I did have a chance to meet Helen, an 89-year old local woman who attended the college from '37-'39. She was the sole attendee at a get-together I threw together for alums with not so much order. She somehow got jaundice and had to leave the school in '39 or '40. She told me that she so regretted never going back and finishing her degree. She was still sending money to the college, even though she hadn't graduated. "It's a shame that there aren't that many women's colleges left," she said. "This just doesn't make sense."

There are about 40+ alumnae in the Central Ohio region. I'm planning a get-together for the Fall...a funeral of sorts for our school. But I think it will also be a celebration of what we all had the chance to experience in our life. Helen remarked to me before she left, "you never get another time in your life to really do something like this." She sure is right.

Pearl S. Buck is rolling in her grave!

2006-08-15T22:42:00.000-04:00

I had no idea what college I'd go to my junior year of high school (back in '92/'93). So long as I could be near my boyfriend, that's all that mattered to me at the time.

I settled on Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Virginia. It so turns out that I loved it and benefited quite well from my four years there. I would not be the same unlevel-headed, over/underachieving feminist that I am today. My husband would probably disagree, but whatever.

Among R-MWC alumnae are Pearl S. Buck, author of "The Good Earth" and a bevy of other minor-celebrities, politicians, artists, scientists and scholars. Not all dead, btw.

"Back in the day" (1900-1975) it was common for women to attend single-sex colleges. It's was actually almost a given if you lived in the Southern parts or the Northeast. In fact, my mother attended Radford University, which--ha, coincidentally went co-ed in 1972. It's now a trash heap of bad sex, booze and Dave Matthews. Enough said about going co-ed. All bad-bad-bad news, folks.

So here's what appears to have gone down: the school took a look at poor turnout from a costly recruiting campaign as well as their finances--you know, for the glow-lights in the pool, new and cooler gym, the suede tablecloths, gold-leaf shower curtains, trips to Amsterdam, stock of caviar... the list of luxuries goes on and on!

They licked their wounds and realized that they "didn't have enough money to run operational costs," like salaries. The only option was to dip into the Endowment fund. All of a sudden--fuck, they're in a jam! The past-President, Kathleen Bowman just took a B-Line out of the school before all of this went down. What part of thou shalt not borrow from yeself's future did they not understand?

The board hired a research group that carried out a loverly (mock) study with results that pointed in a "not-so-good-news" direction: the college needed some dick to get more ladies, which would, of course, bring in more revenue over time. The Board summoned and agreed that indeed, maybe it needed to part ways with it's century-old, single-sex/vag-a-lot history and bring those smart, stunning men, waiting in earnest(!) into the campus fold. And then die a slow death...like the kind that involves your arm being stuck in a KitchenAid mixer, except the attachment is not a wisk but a small collection of knives that keep twisting your arm in and cutting it to shreds.

The Board alluded to this move back this Spring, but never said that a vote (scheduled on September 9) was eminent--or that a vote of yes would mean the fusion of a co-educational institution in Fall of 2007. Nor did they mention that faculty, alums, community members or those who had established planned giving in their estate had not a nary-eary of a voice in the matter. Lame-a-tastic!

Alums are up in arms and turning their plowshares into swords. Word got out last Friday about the vote. An online petition has collected almost 2,000 signatures in the last 3 days. Please sign it if you can. If you disagree with the board, you can also send a letter of non-support for making the school co-ed at board@rmwc.edu The more letters the better.

sleater-kinney in dc, so freaking hot

2006-08-08T17:59:00.000-04:00

went to dc last week.

i do not have enough time to write. so, quick story:
flew to dc to see sleater-kinney
go to show.
everyone excited.
and sweaty.
19-year old woman stands next to me.
first time i have felt older. very weird.

everyone in dc is using their AC, as they should be.
so, it's too damn hot & the transformer for block blows
before the ladies of sleater-kinney start
show cancelled!!!!!
some have flown in from london to see the show.
some have driven in from springfield as well.

everyone cries and sarcastically screams.

people hang outside for an hour.

news is big. makes pitchfork next day.

everyone turns into a pissy 17-year-old girl. sad.

i plan to go home
but decide to stay.

"see dc!
see zoo!
see museums!"

see heat hanging in the air like monkeys on branches

everyone is hot, including the very cute and somewhat terrifying ratdogs.

almost hallucinate from the breath of satan!
hit the galleries: portrait, hirshorn, national gallery...all wonderful

see sleater-kinney thurs night.

they rock out. amazing. carrie brownstein is queen on guitar.
go home at 4:30 am, baltimore to columbus.
love southwest.
tired as hell.

heat hallucination at the zoo="humans+squirrels+shrinking pills=golden lion monkeys"

more water, please. rrrawr.

best green

2006-07-27T21:08:00.000-04:00

.5 lb green beans (boiled 15 mins)
1 regular sized package sauteed mushrooms
rosemary
salt
mix, slightly fry.
delicioso!

clothing of the american mind

2006-07-25T22:18:00.000-04:00

one of the sweet ladies at clothing for the american mind called me tonight to let me know that the L shirt i wanted to exchange for an XXL was actually not available in the women's section, but that i could get a woman's XL instead (and that would be a bit more curve enhancing anyway). i thanked her and told her that it would be especially helpful in this election year in our great state of ohio.

she then asked me, "actually, do you have any friends who would want the shirt that you were going to send back? because i'm discontinuing them anyway." i wanted to give her a hug.

with that, i have an L "US Out of Ohio" if anyone wants it.

go to cotam.org and get some shirts! i'm sure that she's gearing up for this election year and, of course, '08.

"jellyfish, jellyfish, what do you hear?"

2006-07-24T23:22:00.000-04:00

hey Florida, nice earrings!

2006-07-21T16:38:00.000-04:00

We're shaking things up in Congress. The Voting Rights Act of '65 got some new earrings, bracelets and a sapphire ring last night. Keep up the good work, folks...I mean, me. Maybe I did the work in my sleep. Who knows? I am missing some jewelry, now that I think of it.

Dear Katherine,

Last night, on a 98-0 vote, the Senate passed the bill reauthorizing the expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (S. 2703). This enormous victory could not have been won without the grassroots pressure ratcheted up by activists like you.

Throughout the fight, your calls, letters and petition signatures were instrumental in moving this critical legislation. Right-wing members of Congress tried to put up roadblock after roadblock but the message from Americans was clear that we were not about to tolerate such a blatant attack on voting rights. When the GOP leadership in both houses looked ready to acquiesce to the will of the most radical in their party, we and our allies turned up the heat with our more than 100,000 petition signatures and instead made them follow the will of the people.

We should all feel energized by this win. But we know right-wing efforts to restrict voting rights and disenfranchise poor and minority voters are far from over. People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation will be there to fight them at every turn. Legislation needs to be implemented and we’ll be working both in Washington and in the states to demand that the Bush administration enforce all provisions of the Voting Rights Act in every election.

So, the fight rages on tomorrow, but today we celebrate.

Thank you for standing with us in this fight and truly answering the call to save the Voting Rights Act.

-- Your Allies at People For the American Way

either sh!t or get off the pot: harnaduche and jpo are getting married!

2006-07-20T08:53:00.000-04:00

despite the confused look on his face,
Brian knows for sure that she is
forever his girl.
congrats to the perty couple.

the folks at zero population growth might have air conditioning in their offices, too

2006-07-18T13:56:00.000-04:00

things to do in the hot, hot heat:
NOTHING.
SLEEP.
dream about drowning polar bears
EAT APPLESAUCE.
feel bad about climate change
NOTHING.
PLAY SLOW.
think about having more kids
SLEEP.
NOTHING.
talk about heat
GO TO WORK WITH MONSTER AIR CONDITIONING
and let the cycle of global warming continue.

ode to issac and ovaries

2006-07-14T09:35:00.000-04:00

3 minutes to dress.
what is on the floor?
ms. polly, 95%
my laughing toddler, i adore.
both saving my soul
one day more.

17 minutes to get to work.
now get your ass out the door.

a little curry in our own crazy

2006-07-13T13:27:00.000-04:00

Me:
"So, did you see project runway last night? I decided to start watching it at the beginning this year. The british guy is caaah raaaay zeee! This is goingto be a good season. They're keeping the crazies on. And the blonde chick is so amazing. She has a cool accent."

Sharon:
"The british guy is a creepy young Tim Curry. I hate him because I think he's a poncy bitch. The blondy is a total cutie. I forsee a lot of ruching and little tucked puff sleeves. The boy who won last night is kind of arrogant but he's a looker. Man oh man, he's cute. The guy who was big in the 80's is INSANE and seems like a wishy-washy jerk at the core (remember his "Oh, I wasn't really sure about the hat" in front of the judges and the insanity that was spewing from his mouth when he was trying to make the hat work in the workroom?) and I can't believe that they kept him on, although the woman who got kicked off didn't even know how to use a sewing machine. Had she gone on she would have been eaten alive.

I love love love that show. Drama + Fashion = PORN"

get yer fab on

2006-07-12T11:01:00.000-04:00

granville, ohio is so close to me, which means that my new hero is as well: amy butler

i love, love, love her fabrics. this spring i spent a good bit of time planning my new and improved work wardrobe, which included a good number dresses and skirts made from yards of her beautiful designs. i'm still working on that (a budget change put a kink in for a bit) but i did manage to get a plan. whatever your taste, prarie or mod, check out her fabrics.

no birthday parties either

2006-07-10T23:04:00.000-04:00

"You will never see a dog give another dog a treat."
-Dr. Dan Monfort, DVM of Clintonville Animal Hospital, on the overuse of treats to maintain peace in dog/human relationships. That just ain't happenin' with the dogs...with a few exceptions.

coronary in a day

2006-07-07T16:47:00.000-04:00

I attended my first ever post-wedding party where FRIIIIED food was served. It rocked.

From the grave,
Kate

summer weekend: hippies, brides, wingfoots

2006-07-06T12:57:00.000-04:00

friday: attend first ever dark star orchestra (grateful dead tribute band) concert. promised cynthia i would go with her. get out alive and off the bus.

saturday: say goodbye to sonya and family who are leaving for the south. attend jenny's bridal shower. attend post-commitment ceremony party for katie and fran. attend bachelorette party for jenny (she gets two parties in one day!). stay an hour and go home to sleep.

sunday: drive to akron, oh and spend the day at wingfoot park for a family reunion. hopefully leave early so that i can get my laundry put away.

R.I.P. Skinney-Kinney

2006-07-05T14:23:00.000-04:00

Last week, Olympia/Portland-based Sleater-Kinney announced that they'd up and be gone at the end of the summer. They had hinted of a break-up several years ago, so it's no real surprise that they have decided to end the show. I myself thought that the success of their last work, The Woods, would keep them around and put them on the road. I guessed wrong.

The raw and reverberating sound of the trio came to me in my last year of college via my friend Dominic, who has influenced quite a bit of my music collection in the past. He and I share a startling Grateful Dead-past together, one that I dare not drift into. But that's what Yo La Tengo is for.

My 20's are peppered with S-K moments. I've seen them more than a handful of times. I had a crush on Carrie Brownstein. I nerded up and joined a mailing list of fans, one of whom I made dear friends with when I moved to Columbus. I listen to them when I need to be fierce, when I'm sad and joyful and when I'm angry. "Skinney-Kinney" as my mom referred to them, contributed to who I was during those years...and still do now.

Songs like Little Babies, Rollercoaster, Get Up, God is Number, The Professional, Buy Her Candy, Sympathy, and I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone are in oxygen in my blood.

I once had a chance to talk to Greil Marcus about the band. He and I nodded our heads in agreement that they are one of the best American rock bands in all of history. He even went as far to say that at the time they were the best band in America--and that he hoped that they'd be around for a long time.

Good bye for now, Skinney-Kinney. I'm hoping you'll come back some day renewed.

more of a Shelley Winters, actually.

2006-06-30T09:50:00.000-04:00

For some reason, people think I look like Reese Witherspoon. I don't really see it, maybe in a few things, but not overall. I think it started right after that god-awful movie she was in with Marky-Mark. Once a week or so I tend to hear, "Has anyone ever told you you look just like Reese Witherspoon?" I usually talk about how tiny she is to change the subject and keep eyes off my enormous jaw line.

I stumbled upon myheritage.com, an Israel-based genealogical site dedicated to recording family history and bringing folks together, primarily using face-recognition technology. They’re getting folks in the door by enticing them to find the celebrity who they most resemble. I’m not sure what purpose it serves other than to say, “hell yeah I look like 50 cent, and the folks in Israel agree!” I immediately jumped on board, for I have the word "retard" etched across my Reese Witherspoon forehead--or perhaps chin. I wanted to know once and for all if it was true. True, damnit!

After signing up, which costs nothing but the sanctity of your email inbox (that's what gmail is for), you're asked to upload a photo of your face. Their special web tool then scans your face and searches its extensive celebrity database for your long lost twin. I figured it would be a crapshoot.

Sadly, Reese was not first in the results marquee. Selma Blair, Nicolette Sheridan, Susan Sarandon, Renee Zellweger, Shelley Winters (who knew) and a few other terrible actresses are all my sisters. Reese: number 7 in line though, so maybe we're long lost kin. We are Southern, after all.

Alas, my standard reply to the Reese resemblance question will have to change to "no, actually, Selma Blair. Sorry." Or some woman living in Moscow who shares my DNA. Or maybe I look like me. Or maybe I used the wrong picture. Check it out.

Union Leveled

2006-06-28T09:11:00.000-04:00

My paternal grandfather attended school in a nearby township through most of his formative years. The spot was and is still "Union Level" in Virginia. They eventually built a high school, which became the neighboring building to what I can imagine was a packed schoolhouse.

He's long gone, as are most of the kids who came and went, probably. In fact, the school appears to now be a used car dealership...or old man's meeting haus--who knows. More significantly though is gone the little town that sat alongside the same set of asphalt (probably dirt in his time) as the school--Union Level. My father gave me a tour of the town when I was recently home for vacation. The tour lasted under 45 seconds. Seriously. Small, dead, crippled, almost dust...wrapped in what's left of country in southern Virginia.

I did a google search for Union Level. Below is a list of what I found. I deleted the url's. It's our bit of irony for the day:

Local School Finder - Union Level, VA - Find Schools in Union ...Find Schools in Union Level Virginia VA either public or private. Local Virginia VA School Finder and Directory.

Apartments for Rent in Union Level, Virginia - VA Apartment FinderApartments for Rent in Union Level Virginia. Free Apartment Finder for Union Level VA.

Used Cars in Union Level, Virginia Looking for a used car, used truck or used SUV in Union Level, Virginia? ... Need to find a used vehicle in Virginia or the greater Union Level metropolitan.

Union Level, Virginia Neighborhood Lawyer Virginia, Union Level Neighborhood Lawyer. ... Medical Malpractice Union Level Medical Malpractice Lawyer: Free Legal Services in Virginia (VA).

Need a school, apartment, car or lawyer? You'll only find a used car in Union Level. Pick from one of the above featured in the "schoolhouse-turned-used-car-lot" photo.

One guy did manage to write a bit about the town.

And there's no mention of it's history anywhere on the web, with the slight exception to an online site for the "Ogburn" family in Virginia. Even I'm a descendant from this family line, so I know that they lived around Union Level...or in the woods somewhere round those parts.

Tiny little blips on the map, these pint-sized towns are. And their history seems to be just as insignificant, it seems. My history-loving father, of course, did manage to hand down a story told to him by his dad along the way. Apparently, when my grandfather was 10, his father gave him and his brother the mighty chore of "walking" a cow to the Clarksville railroad station--which was a good 15 mile trip. I guess it taught him a lesson to get the hell out of Mecklenberg, Virginia as soon as he was grown. He took my grandmother with him, too...on the back of his motorcycle.

col' cucumber soup

2006-06-26T14:07:00.000-04:00

a must share from a well-loved restaurant's cookbook:

2 cups of plain yogurt
5 cucumbers, peeled (one seeded as well and set aside in a bag)
1/4 cup chopped chives
1 T mint
2 T dill
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp pepper
1/2 T honey
1/2 T lemon juice

*I'll correct ingredient measurements in the near future if I'm wrong

combine ingredients and puree a third of mixture at a time until smooth.
dice remaining cucumber and add (without seeds)

chill or serve immediately! yum!

bring 'em home...to these states!

2006-06-23T10:31:00.000-04:00

Looks like Hawaii, California, Illinois, Iowa, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersy, Vermont and Oregon are where the smart people live.

Voters of the Kerry-Feingold proposal (and badasses of the week):
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Sen. James Jeffords (I-VT)
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

hello, goodbye and hello trees

2006-06-20T11:18:00.000-04:00

I took a week-long trip home to Virginia last week following a wedding in D.C. .The trip involved quite a whirlwind of an agenda, set only by myself for practicality--and to see everyone I need to see and miss.

As I looked back on my visit this weekend, I realized that above the friends and family I cherish, I so long for beautiful, lush, trees...miles and miles of them. I live in Ohio, a state just recently wiped clean of it's trees in the last hundred or so years. I was once told that you could actually walk the entire latitudinal length of Ohio on the tops of trees alone. I was mesmerized by the green, green--Southaan green trees back home. I became hypnotized by them at one point on a train trip up to D.C. As a matter of fact, I felt an urge to write poetry and sleep on a porch for an entire year, I was so under the spell.

I listened to Al Gore on Larry King Live and couldn't help but think about how we need a new green revolution...one so separate from the Democrats who failed to pull Bush out of the White House the second go round. It has to be green, and forceful, and now--and not just for party comeback. It has to be for just what it is...for the earth alone, and what's left of it. Check out what's being done now. Thanks Trees!

Holy Virgin Viva Glam

2006-06-05T15:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I returned to the place I consider the holy concrete, plastic and glass form of a best gay boyfriend...MAC (at Nordstrom's). I have turned to the MAC counter one too many times in my life for solace in a tube of lipstick. Yesterday, I came so close to God, I thought the round face sponges were the body of Christ himself.

I located the second to best lipstick in my entire life. MAC's Verve is first, the Virgin Mary of all lipsticks for me...the Holy Mother. I found her sister in Viva Glam V...one of the best lip colors for those of us crushed by fair skin and blonde hair. I can say no more. Be a witness sisters and brothers!

Amen

What has happened to Margaret Cho?

2006-06-02T10:07:00.000-04:00

Margaret Cho wrapped up 3 days of comedy in the lovely Mall of Suburban Columbus, Easton Towne Center, where she showcased her act at the Funny Bone Comedy Club. We were lucky enough to even know about this quiet event. It received very little coverage in Columbus, probably in part to the fact that she's recently split from her over-zealous manager of 16-years, Karen Taussig. I could be wrong.

Live and on TV, Margaret Cho has always made me laugh. The "Rice Rights" routines she rattles off so well--including the glorious tributes she does to "Mommy", the sex jokes she rolls out from her lady parts like a flapjack on Sunday morning--all gems that make me glad to be alive. We were sure to get more of those last night, in addition to her motivational and fierce musings on war, Bush, poverty and homophobia. But we got them...in a "Best of Margaret Cho" kind of way. Margaret Cho fans had already heard most of them, right down to the persimmons diet=poop in the car joke she wrapped up with. We left feeling a little in flux. Someone so brilliant and courageous and well versed in sharp language--recycling her comedy from 5 years ago. Why? What has happened to Margaret Cho?

Should I be offended? Should I just not worry and chalk it up to the fact that she has to make a living and is going through a difficult time in her life? Is it me? People did indeed laugh, out loud, hard...including myself. But what went wrong? Why is she reusing old material in 80% of her show? Does she assume that most of the audience hasn't heard it, because I think that we have (on Friday nights at home with a bowl of popcorn and her DVD's oh yes). And her hardcore fans follow her every move religiously. They know the routines almost by heart (you know that "daddy had a friend who was a gay" story!). And I love them, don't get me wrong. I just hope that she's not losing her stride.

If you look at other projects in her life, this might all be explainable. She's a supreme bellydancer, has been attempting a sitcom, hosting gobs of events, working for all kinds of things for awareness of social justice/injustice. And she's touring like a madwoman. Girl busy. I just hope she that doesn't lose her cerebral mojo and continue to revert to poop and cha-cha jokes for the sake of posterity. She's a genius alright, but still evolving. This queen of comedy can't keep it at the Vaudville bus station though. Maybe she's just staying there right now til this whole Taussig tornado blows over.

blog switch

2006-06-01T16:05:00.000-04:00

now on. now off.